1. MY LITTLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE

Once it started
The frail and fainthearted
Just withered to the floor
Oh, so sadly
We examined hands burned badly
By that which no man fears more.

The terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire

My best friend
Was alone in the alcove,
Does anyone see her there?

Such a sweet face
Trapped in a staircase
By the smell of her own burning hair and the

Terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire

Glow baby glow as the embers they died there,
Nobody knows what we saw inside there.
Twisting and burning, the girls' fine young bodies

Yes, we're burning can you help us please?
Yes, we're begging, we're on bended knees
Oh, My Little Shirtwaist Fire.

Girls work hard for
Small rewards or
Invatations to dine.

Or one kind word from
One who loves them but
What I have earned is mine-

The terrible flames of
All that remain of
My Little Shirtwaist Fire


2. STUMPSIDE

All that I have is this dull paring knife
Peeling potatoes for the rest of my life.
Dirt floors make dust so I hope for the best.
I carry candies with pains in my chest.

Face tied together with three-times-used string.
Follow me see what I mean.

Fixing a fencepost or feeding a cow,
Twopenny saltlick I never ask how.
Animals like me though folks turn away,
I like the pigeons I like what they say.

We come alone and leave alone and look the horse in the mouth.
We scratch the skin and break the bone and see birds migrating south.

By the side of the stump where she told us these things
If you hear a bell ring you get some wings.
Don't bother looking for what I've neglected to bring.
By the side of the stump where she told me these things
If you hear a bell ring you get some wings.
She's fallen farther than feathers that float in the wind.

I saw a wishing well down by the stream
I never understood what wishes mean
Just ask for nothing you get what you get.
I asked for something I've not got it yet.


3. NOZZLE

Nozzle, nodule, eraser, chip: a few thoughts on the subject by a little nothing.
What was so obviously strange, yet mystifying true about the whole situation, was Miss Connie Pallups failure to grasp that the time was indeed now if she was to ever recover vitality to her immortal envelope.
Oh sure, she liked perfume, and she had a lot of it, too. But pampered wisps do not a clothdoll make. And there we have a lesson that is easier to speak of, than it is to -how you say- live by?


4. TRANSYLVANIA CONCUBINE

If you want to know how
To fly high, then go now
To the place where all the concubines...

Meet and converse with them
Marvel at their pale skin
Wonder how they chew on their pointy...

Teeth and hair are beauty
They know it's their duty
To be countess in their hearts and their...

Minds that have to whisper
See in them a sister
Look into their eyes and you'll become

Transylvanian Concubine.
You know what flows here like wine.

Sorrow is their master
Cackling with laughter
Now he's having just one piece of...

Cakey is their make-up
Catholics try to shake up
All the things that form their lives, but they're...

Dead, their sighs, their songs
They know what they do is wrong.
Stay here with us, it's just time.
Transylvanian Concubine.

Candelabra's lighted
Satan has been sighted
Never has there been an evening like...

This is what they wanted
Always to feel hunted
You can never be too rich or too...

Thin.
The blood has run out.
Fangs ruin any cute pout
Morning has come now they've flown
What have you learned from what has been shown?


5. WHY DON'T YOU DO RIGHT?

You had plenty money 1922
You let other women make a fool of you
Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?

Sitting there wondering what it's all about
If you ain't got no money they are going to
Put you out
Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?

Get out of here and
Bring me some money too.

I fell for your jive and I took you in
Now all you got to offer me's a fifth of gin
Why don't you do right
Like some other men do?
Why don't you get out of here and
Bring me some money too.


6. MR. E. LEON RAUIS

I keep pictures of him in my mind yeah you know the
Kind they curl up on the edges, the corners are bended
Into a trickpulled from behind.

Physically he is serene he looks good he looks
Clean yeah I know he's dead but I know what he
Said and I think I might know what he mean.

With many thanks for your well, well wishes he says
Believe me, sincerely yours
Mr. E Leon Rauis would say
It's sentiment which he abhors.

Seventeen Union Square North did he walk back and
Forth in the glass at the shop did he smile did he
Stop for awhile did he question his worth?

Seventeen Union Square West dressed up looking his best
Mr. E. Leon Rauis could never know
How this would seem his one small request.

With many thanks for your well, well wishes he says
Believe me, sincerely yours
Mr. E Leon Rauis would say
It's sentiment which he abhors.

Regretfully so he still wants you to know of the
Things in his heart he can't say.

His penmenship does a disservice,
It's illegible to this day.

Oh, Mr. E. Leon Rauis believe me
I hope it all turned out O.K.

Picking a shop for the shoot did he buy a new
Suit? Was he tall, was he kind, did he finally
Find it that day, was his end absolute?

He got old like everyone, was he somebody's
Son? Did he fall, did he try to succeed or deny
What he knew or things he had done?


7. THE DONNER PARTY

The similarities in situation between the Donner Party and the colonial pilgrims is both appalling, frightening and incomplete. In both cases you'll find: One, a fairly large group of ill-prepared greenhorns pitting themselves against nature and each other. Two, An insufficient willingness to endure the very real hardships of frontiering. And three, coincidental misfortune at every turn. Number three, coincidental misfortune at EVERY TURN.

Disasters at both camps were initially brought about by departure delaying a decent inertia, which caused our heroes to begin their journeys at absolutely retarded times weather-wise. If fantasy is the refuge of the frightened man and a castle in the air is a safe-harbor for a foolish few, just imagine living in a hut buried twelve feet below the snow, where the sight and smell of the scattered carcasses of loved ones at your feet is the lay of the land--just another day. I would like to propose that cannibalism was indeed rampant among America's earliest settlers--the Pilgrims. (hmm?) The Pilgrims! For what does "settler" imply, if not the willingness to settle? To settle for a meal of human flesh if my thoughts on the subject are to be believed!

In conclusion, spread the word of this. Look to the night sky and hark back to our forefathers shortcomings--and your own--as you cut your meat and lay the groundwork for a new...tomorrow.


8. ENDOMORPH

Morning has broken and what do I see
Those same bloody fingerprints following me. So it's
Backwards and forward and back again twice it don't
pay to be thankful don't pay to be nice. I don't
Think i'll try it again.


Guilty was all that I felt until now
Go ahead say I'm wrong, but I'm surious how all you
People get up and then don't arrrive late. Do you
Pray every day and then patiently wait? I don't
Think I'll try again.

I'm known as The Endomorph.
I'm slow, I go back and forth.
I'm known as The Endomorph.
She's grown attached to the kid. Punishment comes for no reason I've seen, then it
Stays for a while keeping quiet between what you
Said would take place if my big mouth was shut, and I
Pray every day, it's all o.k. but I don't
Think I'll try again.


9. BRAND NEW KEY

I rode my bicycle past your window last night
I rollerskated to your door at daylight.
It almost seems like you're avoiding me.
I'm o.k. alonee but you've got something I need...

I've got a brand new pair of rollerskates
You've got a brand new key.
I think that we should get together and try them on to see.

I been lookin around awhile, you got something for me.
I got a brand new pair of rollerskates
You got a brand new key.

I ride my bike, I rollerskate don't drive no car.
Don't go so fast, but I go pretty far.
For somebody who don't drive, I been all around the world.
Some people say I done alright for a girl.

i asked your mother if you were at home.
She said 'yes,' but that you weren't alone.
It almost seems like you're avoiding me
I'm o.k. alone but you got something I need...


10. CRYBABIES

Two big babies met
On a winter's day.
They thought they'd get
All dressed up to play.

So they went outside,
Never to return.
They laugh, they hide.
Babies never learn.

But they cry and they cry.
Who said babies never die?
They cry.
Who said babies never die?

One pushed the other down
Into the salty snow
He looked around.
No one would ever know.

Bad things happen to
Babies all the time.
They laugh at who
Kisses then times nine.

But they cry and they cry.
Who said babies never die?
They cry.
Who said babies never die?


11. HOWARD HUGHES

He want you to put this plate of crumbs into the frigerator.
When you do, he wants you to make sure to bring this plate with dessert later.
Stand to the right. Give him a bite.
Insulate the bed. Shoot him up when he's dead.

He wants you to take a box Kleenex and cut it with a knife.
Use a stack of tissues for each hand, killing germs could save his life.
Climb into he cockpit. He drops his pants to grin
Just act like it's nothing. Just nod and smile at him.

Howard Hughes pops valium blue and he reclines the naked chair and watches just one more movie.
Howard Hughes has got something on you when the fingers grow long
And the toenails they wrap around him.
Howard Hughes,
What he did
What he'd do.

He wants you to seal windows and doors of his hotel room with tape.
He will be alowed to pee on floors, cause his codeine constipates.
Listen to him moan. About a million dollar loan.
Don't answer the phone. It's been a long time since he's flown.


12. SISTER SLEEP

We like to smoke pot. We like it a lot.
Our small eyes are tearing for what we have not.
The nice pipe is here. A lighter is near.
I won't become freaked out, fear not, sister dear.
We miss the blue sky. It is cold, we will cry.
Our being mind is waning and we now know why.
We want to feel warm, yet outside the norm.
We want to be a cradle-held, and then to be reborn.


13. FIVE FLEAS

Five fleas band together against all odds to form a new company. A new company, performing treachery, translations, advice to givers, and other varied services. Starting in new business in any climate is always very very difficult. But these stars had charisma, had it, the extra x-quotient, the pure, unadulterated scheltsbar that put them head and shoulders above the rest. What they lacked, however, was backing. So if you know anybody that can help them out......


14. ANY OLD ACTRESS

They saw her break through barriers 40 feet high.
It was the finest moment in a long life.
Young boys will tack her pictures over their bed.
They saw her mouth move but couldn't hear what she said.

"You're a souvenir, a darling, dear."
She used to say that kind of thing.
"You're a mantlepiece with strong beliefs."
Only her black rainbow meant something.

Don't cry for her now. Oh yeah. Don't cry for her.

I saw the sailor talking with the cops.
I saw the sailor walking with the cops.
First comes the nurse, that just got back from war.
She had a feather in her cap. That's all she wore.
Then comes the mother and she's got a friend.
And they start yelling at you and that's how it all began.

It's one of those things you should not try at home.
What's meant by intentional falls can never be known.
And old actress worth her salt outta know
The higher you are you want to see what's below.


15. DIG OPHELIA

Dig Ophelia consider it dug
Flowers madness and polar bear rug
Here's the water, just ankle deep high.
Lay back and relax and look up at the sky.
Your eyes never close, your mind's not at rest,
Lay back, get waterlogged
Give us a kiss.
Water spreads the small seed
Water kills the tall weed.
Ophelia.
Cut the stem and you'll see how you feel
Floating orchids just ain't no big deal
Never knowing's like knowing too much
Tap the table, oh here's more bad luck.
Your eyes never close, your mind's not at rest,
Lay back, get waterlogged
Give us a kiss.
Water spreads the small seed,
Water kills the tall weed.
Ophelia.
Ophelia.
Ophelia.


16. KATE MOSS

If you think real hard about the aches, the card, the blackboard that you've drawn on for so long. You realize that it's gone, and with it that swan song, the mirror of your life has turned to shards. If that means broken glass, na'er you won't have the chance to laugh at those who always laughed at you. Think back - yes it's cool, to jump up and be through, when even worser things have come to pass.


17. RUSTY THE SKATEMAKER

She was born in an oil-drum South side of Chicago
When East St. Louis was not far away.
She'd lace knives to her boots and go down to the riverbed
Skate around and around till the night became day.

The cannery fellows would follow her everywhere
From the grocery store to the B.Q.E.
With their hearts all aglow from her icy back-at-you stare.
When her teeth became tight when her eyes couldn't see.


And she told herself that this was enough.
For a girl who was born in an oil-drum
She had her skates didn't need lots of stuff.
She didn't need it but she still wanted some.


She had one thing that she liked and she kept around
She would take it with her to the riverbed.
As she skated around she always thought of a pretty sound
That she heard as a girl in her mother's bed.
The sound of some breathing another breath in and out
When some lungs expand and contract like they do.
And she looked at herself in the ice of the riverbed and
She saw a girl one which she could see through.


18. TRUST ALL-STARS

You're not the boy that you say you are.
You come from outerspace you drive a rental car.
Thanks, but no thanks just the same.
Time was when this became obvious.
You're eyes were never clear, you did not eat enough.
Strangely afraid of the rain.
Trust all stars.
Never ask your way around.
Buffalo is Venus.
Texas is a town.
Planets we know do come and go
When meltable aliens run toward the snow.
Missions are fine but piece of mind
Won't come from a boyfriend who lies all the time.
Alien wishes won Damn the sight
Scanning those soggy skies with a small reading light.
harder to see late at night.
Millions of listeners close their ears
Hoping their dinner's warm stifling sunny cheers.
Wait till dinner's done to start to fight.

Du bist nicht der Junge, der du vorgibst zu sein
Du kommst aus dem Weltall und faehrst ein gemietetes Auto
Danke, aber nein danke, es ist das selbe
Die Zeit war, als dieses offensichtlich wurde
Deine Augen waren nie klar, du hast nicht genug gegessen
Seltsamerweise hattest du angst vor dem Regen
Vertraue allen Sternen
Frage nie nach deinem Weg
Der Bueffel ist die Venus
Texas ist eine Stadt
Planeten, die wir kennen, kommen und gehen
Wenn schmelzbare Ausserirdische auf den Schnee zurennen
Die Missionen sind gut aber ein Teil des Gedaechtnisses
Wird nicht voneinem Freund kommen, der die ganze Zeit luegt
Die Wuensche der Ausserirdischen gewannen Vernichten die Sicht
Suchen diese durchnaessten Himmel mit einer kleinen Leselampe ab
Schwerer spaet in der Nacht zu sehen.
Millionen von Zuhoerern schliessen ihre Augen
Hoffen, dass ihr Mittagessen warm ist, Ersticken sonnige Hochrufe
Warte bis das Abendessen fertig ist, bis du anfangst zu kampfen