1996 – Acoustic Rescue

On the heels of a bad idea, bad idea
Really made it clear made it really clear
Oh well ok better let it go
In the wake of a blue eye sky, blue eye sky
And faces slowly by, it was you and I
Worried, lying

I pace and I sweat and I claw at the door till I’m out
To bury a secret I don’t even know to be true
I’m your satellite there’s no getting around you, around you

In the throes of a year-long lull, lifelong pull
Tugging at the skull of a satellite sailing helpless
Passing doors that are real enough, real enough
They’re answers in the rough, answers in the rough
Oh well ok

I’m passing through barbed wire and stretching out over the fields
Snatching at chances I know that I don’t want to take
I’m your satellite there’s no getting around you, around you

Well I get so close, then pull away in time
I have the smallest dreams, I’m your satellite
I get over your house, I go around and around
It’s such a little life, I go round and round
I’m your satellite, that’s what a satellite’s for

I rode my bike just past the line of demarcation
And pushed my pencil to the point that I was almost screaming out
All us animals belong, all us animals belong, all us animals belong
You can’t keep us out for long, we belong

And in that gleaming tower, I’m the monkey with the mail
I know you have me by the tail
I know you love to see me fail
And though I will not find release from the wheel
There may be time to make a deal
And I’ll return to crush your nuts in a leveraged buy out

I rode my bike just past the line of demarcation
And pushed my pencil to the point that it was almost screaming out
All us animals belong, all us animals belong, all us animals belong
You can’t keep us out for long, we belong

And when there’s pressure, I go out on a limb and lose my skin
Here’s the path through the woods
Here’s the house at the end of the path through the woods
Where I stood and made wild empty gestures and reckless claims
And I can’t decide who to blame

Of all the horrors I can read between a single line
I can’t name a single time they’ve reached beyond the page
And now that I’m in love I sit perched to laugh above the irony
Here’s the stone in my shoe
Here’s the bone in my throat
Here’s the dam at the source of my hope
I called all of my friends again and no one came
And I can’t decide who to blame
Now my mother and my brother and my lawyer and my lover are insane
I can’t decide who to blame

Dance on the rim of fire
Run to the rhythm of memory
And sway as the sounds of sanity demand attention
Listen to the rainbow warrior
She’s your fellow patriot
And before we look the other way we’d do well to wonder why

In the big bend of the Rio Grande the sand and sky glow red with passion
And it is as if we shed the blood of the gods

There’s a hotel below, the balcony overlooks God’s creation
And the wind through the rocks tells you everything is right with America
I’m not selling some vacation; this could be the only chance we’ll ever have
Maybe we’ll talk and laugh
Maybe we’ll cut the days in half

I’ve already found our place, and we won’t rest until we really
See Ruby Falls (it’s not on the map I imagined it all)
I know that my shadow will outlast me, but I could almost believe that I’ve
Seen Ruby Falls (it’s not on the map I imagined it all)
I’ve seen…

He sits on the rock, and I’ve asked him to stop but he’s still kicking stones off the edge
He does it right in front of me, I know he’s the enemy, and I think it’s time he learned how to fly
Once I resolve to help him atone I feel a peace that I have never known
Maybe he’ll ride that wave, maybe we’ll ride that wave on the way down