O, america

Verses: Am, G / Chorus: F, G, C, Am

O, america-- you with your great pride 

O, america-- you with your great divide 

O, america-- you with your disguises 

O, america-- and all your compromises 

Oh, but that's alright 

We will fight-- to guide you through the night 

O, america-- you with your great thirst 

O, america-- you with all your hurts 

O, america-- you with your great purse 

O, america-- you with your surprises 

We say, that's alright 

We will fight-- to guide you through the night 

O, america-- you with your great power 

O, america-- your fruits were often bitter 

O, america-- mountain goats and flowers 

O, america-- more than just two crashing towers 

And we say that's alright 

We will fight-- to guide you through the night 

Yes that's alright 

We will fight-- to guide you through the night 

(October 2003)

End of America

I get a lot of emails from my buddy Don
Pictures of hot females with no panties on
They stand behind the screen and scream let's get it on
I close the office door, and then I write this song
End of America

Living in the country is the way I roll
I bought a funky farm house that I heat with coal
It's got a hardwood floor and plaster walls
It's got a claw foot tub and alcohol

I miss you

Do you miss me too?

What a thing to say, it's so cliche

Don't listen to

Me anymore

Break the phone

I'll fight this war alone

At the end of America

Feels like the end of America

They say the meek shall inherit the earth 

I guess I'm cursed

I've got a lot of damn pride

And my heart hurts

End of America

Seven years ago I wasn't half this sad

Seven years from now it might be twice this bad

Washington, D.C. might look like Leningrad

Carbondale might look a lot like Baghdad

I love you
Do you love me, too?
What a thing to say, it's so insane
Don't listen to
Me anymore
Smash the glass
I'm gonna tell my buddy Don to kiss my ass
Like it's the end of America
Feels like the end of America
It's not the end of the world
It's just the end of America

I say we change our names
Take a trip to Northern Maine
See a moose, free a goose
Give thanks
End of America
End of America
Feels like the end of the world
End of America

Go Easy on Me Boss (My Heart is Breakin')

Go easy on my boss, my heart is breakin’
The woman that I’m lovin’ has been taken
The foundation of our union has been shaken
To my sad surprise it seems I’ve been forsaken

The foreman, he gets paid to make things happen
But why’s he have to wake me when I’m nappin’
‘Cause I ain’t worth a damn when I awaken
Go easy on me boss, my heart is breakin’…

Chorus:
Time is money, so I’ve heard it spoken
But money won’t hold back these tears I’m chokin’

Well I tried to cook a meal and burnt the bacon
I tried to frame a wall but it’s misshapen
I tried to call her bluff but she ain’t fakin’
Go easy on me boss, my heart is breakin’

Chorus 2:
Time is money, yes I’ve heard it spoken
But money don’t mean nothin’ when a poor boy’s heart gets broken

Well I tried to cook a meal and burnt the bacon
I punched the wall and now my hand is achin’
She said she’d stick around but was mistaken
Go easy on me boss… my heart is breakin’

Laborer

My great grandfather was a young slave-driver
In a small diamond mine in South Africa
He arrived from Norway on a big wooden ship
And he worked for two long years with a gun and a whip.
Yes, he worked in the mines afraid and ashamed
And then he moved to North Dakota with the tokens he attained
And he put a diamond ring on my great grandmother's hand
That was stolen from the labor of an African

I am a laborer, I am a laborer
I work hard for the money, I work hard

Now the ring was passed down all the way to my Pa
Who traded it in for a hammer and a saw

I am a laborer, I am a laborer like him
I will work hard, I will work hard, I will work hard
l wake up early, about five-thirty
And I work hard, I work hard, I work hard

Now the basic tragedy of a racist legacy
Is a racisty destiny, but now there is a remedy

We can be laborers, we must be laborers
We will work hard, we will fight hard, we will work hard (x2)

White Line Highway

She’s a country girl, she likes cocaine
Helps her hide the shame
She misses her daddy ‘cause her daddy’s long gone
And that’s where I come in

I’m a country boy, I travel around
I drive my truck from town to town
I rock and I roll all across the land
I’m a country boy in a hip-hop band
A-huh, a-huh huh, huh huhhhh

Country girl she tends bar
Lives off tips and Master Card
I was on the stage, playin’ guitar
And the crowd was dancin’
The crowd was dancin’

I like the women and I like to flirt
I like country girls in their mini-skirts
So I played my songs and no one got hurt
Until about 2:30
Until about 2:30

The crowd was thick, so were the fish flies
The Mississippi River was on the rise
The beer was brown so I closed my eyes
And sang my final number
It went a little somethin’ like this:

Have you heard of the sexy man
Who puts you to sleep with the magic sand
He travels around in a magic van
And makes your dreams so slippery

Well country girl got the point
Handed me a jar filled with dollars and coins
The crowd was gone so we smoked a joint
And did a little cocaine
We did a little cocaine
Just a little cocaine

Country girl likes cocaine
Helps her hide the shame
She misses her daddy ‘cause her daddy’s long gone
And that’s where I come in
Yeah, that’s where I come in

Ol' King Kong

I smoked a bong, I stroked my dong 

I soaked my thong, and I wrote this song 

In New York City all hope is gone 

Innocent people have died today, died today, died today 

In New York City all hope is gone, innocent people have died today 

Ol' King Kong called Taiwan

Said "Send a banana boat, don't take long 

I'm hungry and lonely, and it might be wrong 

But innocent people will die today, die today, die today 

I'm hungry and lonely and it might be wrong

But innocent people will die today 

Ol' King Kong, it's a sad old story 

He wanted some love, but the love turned gory 

He trampled all over our territory 

And innocent people have died today, died today, died today 

He trampled all over our territory and innocent people did die today 

His last words were, "They won't ignore me." 

He beat his chest, and then he started to worry 

For he was not just lonely, but also sorry 

For the innocent people who died today, died today, died today 

He was not just lonely, but also sorry for the innocent people who died today 

So don't wave your flag around my face 

I've seen it flappin' all over the place 

It seems to me to be in bad taste 

When innocent people have died.

Nothin' to Say

My cell phone got stolen and my voice box got broken 

But that's okay, I've got nothin' to say 

My email got severed, but I hate writin' letters anyway 

And I've got nothin' to say 

I'd rather sing, I'd rather play 

That's the best I can do and as for you and him too

I've got nothin' to say 

I'm in Louisiana on a sunny, spring day 

Long way from Montana touring the country with my buddy Jay 

We'll be gone for a long time, February till May 

And when we return, perhaps you'll have learned 

I've got nothin' to say, nothin' to say 

Now you might think I'm stallin', but there's no use in me callin' 

You anyway when I've got nothin' to say

My lips were made for kissin', so if your ears can listen 

Please go away. I got nothin' to say

Go Bama Go!

My dear, old mother's got a crush on Barack 

She keeps his tiny photograph next to her clock 

If you ask my mother what time it is 

She will say, "The time is HIS"! 

 Chorus: 

 Go Bama, go Bama, go Bama go 

And if yr pro Bama, you’ll wannna show Bama love 

Mama say, Mama saw, my Mama sez she’s got hope 

For this man with his plan and we can if we vote

I've seen him on Oprah I've seen him around 

He's got a rad personality, his skin is brown 

His father's from Kenya, not from Botswana 

His mother's from Kansas, not from Okla-hama 

Chorus 

He's not Abe Lincoln, he's not Dalai Lama 

He's not Jesus Christ or Siddhartha Guatama 

He's not Martin, Malcolm, Marshall Mathers, or Mahatma 

Michael Moore, Moses, Mohamed, or Madonna 

Bridge: 

He's Barack Obama, he’ll rock your mama 

Barack Obama will rock your mama Chorus 

Mr. Obama, I appreciate you 

You're a politician I can relate to 

Who else is relevant? I think it's evident 

You will be President, this will be excellent 

 His middle name is Hussein, he’s the talk of the block 

He’s a Christian on a mission, and he’s walkin’ the walk 

Some people hate underrate him, but they’re missin’ the mark 

I think these haters just can’t face that they’re afraid of the dark 

And it’s all groovy at the movies and celebrity balls 

Yeah, but these peoples don’t want sequels, they want justice for all 

Obama started at the bottom, hurdled over the wall 

Became a scholar and a lawyer, met Michelle in the hall 

Now he’s the father of two daughters, he’s a Senator too 

Known for knockin’ out fascists, like Cassius, it’s true. 

Chorus

Galahad

Woman I want you, yeah, and I want you so bad 

I'm honest when I promise you're the best that I've had 

I've been around the block like Angelina and Brad 

I've slayed a lot of dragons, I ain't braggin', it's sad 

They call me Heart Breaker, they call me Galahad 

But have no fear, Guinevere, you can be glad 

CHORUS:

'Cause I want you to be my lover 

I want you to be my lover 

I don't want to be bothered by others 

I want you to be my lover 

I want you under my covers 

I want to help you discover 

The sweet lover within, now let's begin

It's possible, Lover, it wasn't meant to be 

For us to be together neither now, nor eventually 

It's also possible, most certainly 

That you and I could surf this wave for eternity 

For all we know are these feelings we feel 

These desires, and these fires, and these tires that squeal 

The love potions, and emotions--we don't know what's real 

So we just go with the flow, and we hope for the best deal 

But sometimes we gotta buck up and stand up 

For the things that might seem corrupt, like our own dreams 

We been cold bought by robot machines 

Caught fightin' for freedom and love and called obscene 

Look at what happened to that cat, Howard Dean

Disempowered all because of what we labeled a scream 

And you might wonder what the hell does this mean

You should know, though--I'm just a philosophical sex fiend 

CHORUS

Woman I want you, yeah, and I want you so bad 

I'm honest when I promise you're the best that I've had 

I've been around the world like Angelina and Brad 

It's embarrassing to share this, you don't need to get mad 

I've got a lot of lovers, plus a mother and dad 

But I'd throw 'em all away if I could stay at your pad

Because-- I want you to be my lover I want you to be my lover 

I don't want to be bothered by others 

I want you to be my lover I want you under my covers 

I want to help you discover 

The sweet lover within, now let's begin

Jade's Song

Oh chain-smoker 

Sex, drugs, and poker 

Alcohol . . . goodbye 

I did not know her 

And I did not hold her 

Mardi Gras, goodbye 

We're still so young, Rachel 

Shoplifting newspapers 

Smoke in your eyes . . . just cry 

Oh, sweet soldier 

Blonde-haired bulldozer 

Last cigarette, goodbye. 

(For Rachel Corrie, co-written w/ Chad Austinson)

It's Good to Be Awake When She Arrives

She simmers like tea

She glimmers on the sea

And it's good to be awake when she arrives

She dances with the sun

In front of everyone

And it's good to be awake when she arrives

Chorus:

In the morning the world is on fire

Even the policeman is inspired

The miners muck around in the mire

Waiting for their rescuers to come

Waiting for their rescuers . . .

Reflections on the sand

Illuminate the land

And it's good to be awake when she arrives

She serenades the moon

With her gypsy tune

And it's good to be awake when she arrives

In the morning the world is on fire

Even the policeman is inspired

The miners muck around in the mire

Waiting for their rescuers to come

Waiting for their rescuers

Waiting . . . 

Ballad of a Salad

Lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts and potatoes

You satisfy all my needs

Portobello mushrooms and when there's enough room

Carrots and sunflowers seeds

You keep me earthy, you keep me healthy

You keep me wealthy and wise

When I'm feelin' crappy, you make me happy

You help me to open my eyes

With your lettuce and tomatoes

Your sprouts and potatoes

Your carrots and sunflower seeds

Portobello mushrooms, step into my sunroom

'Cause I can tell you're as hungry as me, yes I can

We'll start with the salad bowl

Work our way to the casserole

We'll eat dessert while makin' love

Whipped cream and pecan pies

Butterflies flutter underneath the summer skies

I just can't seem to get enough of your lovin'

Lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts and potatoes

Carrots and sunflowers seeds

Portobello mushrooms, and when there's enough room

Maybe we can raise us a garden and eat for free

Really eat for free, alright

Lettuce, tomatoes

Sprouts and your little red potatoes

Carrots, and avocado, and sunflower seeds

Portobello mushrooms, baby

Step into my sunroom, lady

Oooooh oh . . .

Ol' Highway 90

Highway, highway, highway
Ol' Highway 90
Please remind me I'm not alone

I've been, I've been, I've been
I've been kinda lonely
For my family, but now I'm comin' home

Chorus:
And when I make it to your summit
I will plummet into your valley

On down ol' highway, highway, highway
Ol' Highway 90
Thank you kindly for stayin' true

I've been, I've been, I've been
I've been shootin' blindly
But now I'm finally comin' on home to you

Chorus

Highway, highway, highway
Ol' Highway 90
You are the finest, the finest work of art
Highway, highway, highway
Ol' Highway 90
Forever windin' around my country heart

Chorus +
And when I reach your windin' river
I will swim in your sweetness forever

On down ol' highway, highway, highway
Ol' Highway 90
Thank you kindly for stayin' true