1. |
92111
04:04
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Well, we are Knockout Bell; and we are coming to you from Linda Vista
Which is in San Diego, CA 92111
And if you’re not familiar with the Linda Vista area of San Diego, CA
Just find yourself at the Fashion Valley Transit Center, catch that 120
Well, in Linda Vista there is a taco shop — a particular favorite of ours, here at Knockout Bell
And one night I was walking home from said taco shop
When a shadowy figure appeared out of a shadowy corner with a shadowy knife
And I knew what I had to say, how it was all gonna go down:
“So, you want all my money, huh? And my wallet, too, I suppose. Well, I’ll tell you what. I got a flier in my back pocket, and a cigarette behind my ear. And the only thing that I got left, is this burrito. So, if you wanna try to beat a dead horse while he’s down — well, be my guest. Shit, go to town.
“But, I’ll tell you this: when I am done with that burrito, I’m gonna smoke that cigarette. And the next pretty girl that I see? Well, she is getting that flier.
“So, you’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘Well, that don’t leave much for me.’ Well, for you I got my two big fists, and my big fat mouth.
“Then that’s when you’re gonna say, ‘That’s not what I want. I mean, why the fuck would I bring a knife down here for a fucking burrito? Give me some money, man!’
“Well, too bad.”
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2. |
Oh! la Vache
05:03
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I said, “Oh, la Vache!”
“La Vache, le boeuf.”
“The Bouffant?”
“No, the bleu cheese baby…”
Oh Denise, my barista in the morning
And you can stop with all the warnings
Cuz the roast you brew is fine
And at least we can feast upon the chatter
Cuz it really wouldn’t matter
If I rolled into work on time
Cuz when I drink, I think about you
And all that coffee that you brew
For this percolating heart
And I’m on the brink; I sing about Truth
And all the damage it can do
To this palpitating art
Now Mary, my librarian of choice
Though, I’ve never heard her voice
Any louder than a hush
She scares me so, if she barely lifts a finger
Puts this reader through the wringer
My little literary lush
Cuz when I read, I dream about you
And all the books that would choose
For this ever-hungry mind
And I take what’s real, I feel for the clues
I don’t get hung up on the blues
Of your ever-changing eyes
And I said, “Oh, la Vache!”
Now, there’s Belinda — my marimba of emotion
Cast my heart into the ocean
Upon her ever-rising tide
Her best friend Brandi is the candy-of-the-apple
Man, she got Babylon to babble
With that Albuquerque smile
Now, how ‘bout Joni? Matrimonially minded
Got her Master’s same as I did
Pouring water into wine
Her sister Jamie used to play me all her records
On all those rainy days in Texas
Back when time was out of mind
And I like to think I haven’t a clue
Washed up while weeping in this brew
The paralysis of choice
And I start to sink, I fend for the few
Fight the flesh and flash a tune
Find the breath to fill the voice
And I said, “Oh, la Vache!”
“La Vache, Bouffard”
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3. |
Fences & Fields
04:49
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From these fences and fields, well I
Get the feel that I don’t know Real from Reality
And once I stop making deals, then I
Sequence the squeals and I start to steal your security
From the box to the beat, where ya
Worked your feet till ya tried to meet your material
And with the sand in the street, that ya
Tried to sweep but ya only reaped your residual
So, what is friction?
And what keeps holding me down —
But keeps on begging me to sound out your inscription?
And, what is friction?
Yeah, it keeps holding me back —
But keeps on begging me to ask for your description
Yeah, what is…?
From the goose to the gown, that we
Tried to drown but we couldn’t down your complexity
And from the edges of town, where we
Tried biting down and we couldn’t crown your obscenity
But, what is friction?
Yeah what keeps holding me down —
But keeps on begging me to sound out your inscription?
Yeah, what is friction?
Yeah, it keeps holding me back —
But keeps on begging me to ask for your description
And, what is…?
From these fences and fields, well I
Get the feel that I don’t know Real from Reality
And once I sequence the squeals, then I
Stop making deals and I start to steal your security
Oh, what is friction?
Yeah, what keeps holding me down —
But keeps on begging me to sound out your inscription?
And, what is friction?
Yeah, it keeps holding me back —
But keeps on begging me to ask for your description
And, what is…?
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4. |
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Well I fell in love with a cloud that floated by
But she broke my heart with the cold wind of the night
Then she saw me walking and turned off all the rain
But I had seen her crying and I thought I was to blame
So I held my breath for a year to ease the pain
And I acted tough at the sweet sound of her name
But then I saw her dancing so high up in the sky
And I could feel her watching from the corner of her eye
But she drifted off, and fell out of my mind
Now some words ring true, but most Truths they’re hard to find
And one steady voice is still strong enough to lie
Cuz in the moonlight, gawking, and making such a noise
While in my headroom, talking, that should come as no surprise
And what was once love, sinks slowly into rust
And letters lost behind you in the dust
Cuz in the meanwhile, questions, well they’re fought like all the rest
And while we meant well, working, the axle in my chest
But I drifted off, and fell out of my mind
Now, one thing’s for sure:
Is we can never tell which way the wind will blow
Until we find our way
So, hold on as we go, for we forgot to say to
Lighten up your load unless you're hellbent on some helping
And, away we go!
Where all the languages that you thought that you would know
Well they’re getting tangled in the Spangle and the Snow
Until that reservoir is two inches below
The line you thought you’d need for melting
So, yeah I fell in love with a cloud that floated by
And she broke my heart with the cold wind of the night
And when they saw me walking, they turned on all the rain
And I could hear them laughing without a hint of shame
But they drifted off, and fell out of my mind
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5. |
This was a Battleship
03:17
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This was a battleship’s broken hip
Ground in the gears of a power trip
But don’t let your memory slip
Cuz this was the place where the vultures
And cultures collided with arrogance
Caught up in their own Devil’s Dance
Yeah, this was America
Here was the home of the tease
And the land of the slightly incompetent
Yet mistaken for prominent
Cuz we had a business that passed as a church
In the eyes of its fellowship
Seduced into membership
Cuz this was America (but, was this ‘my America?’)
That was the ‘ding’ of the Knockout Bell
That got all those hounds selling blasphemy
Tied up with their own rosaries
Cuz we had a name that we dragged through the mud
While our smiles handled currency
But that’s breaking down currently
Cuz this is America
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6. |
3,2,1...
03:26
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So you shed a couple coats of feathers
And you let the seraphim settle in?
Well you’d put your lips to anything
Even if you found out where it’s been
Now there are those that may call that trying
But, they’d be implying that you would want to win
But we both know that of all the good things you’ve done
They were better done in sin
Now you’ll spend a couple days with money
But you’ll spend a couple weeks without
And you’ll spend most of your free time
Just trying to dig your way back out
Now some may find that funny
Sitting sunny up in their cloud
When all your nickels turn to dimes
When it’s negative you count
Like 3,2,1… and 33
Yeah it’s a cadger’s life for me
And 51 shiny guns
Are hiding in that tree
And 24 metal doors have all
Closed their arms to me
Cuz no-one said how hard it is
To look but not to see
So you caused a cumbersome collision
In this cosmic pursuit of Truth
And you blamed it all on alcohol
As you stumbled around on your roof
Now, please make your decision
But we will all need to see the proof
That what you said came from your head
And not from me, the man with the hooves
So yeah I sold you 66 silver bullets
And roughly 600 bottles of gin
And when I asked you what was lacking
You asked me, ‘Where to begin?’
Now, you can load these turrets
But just pray that they do not start to spin
Cuz all the loved ones in your life
Will soon be ashes again
Like 3,2,1… and 33
Yeah it’s a cadger’s life for me
And 51 shiny guns
Are hiding in that tree
And 24 metal doors have all
Closed their arms to me
Cuz no-one said how hard it is
To look but not to see
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7. |
Tangle & Li
03:50
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Well, Tangle
Yeah he’ll weave his twisted strings
Of inconsistent melodies
Cuz he believes it was in his dreams where he had written
All those symphonies
That, well, he can’t complete
And, yeah he can see
Even though his eyes, they may have shifted
Just what is Real and What Just Seems To Be
But he concedes
That his tongue it does get twisted
And the taste of Truth? Well, that’ll always be out of reach
And for all of his charm
Well he let that girl’s number just wash right off his arm
(Not too smooth, hombre)
Now, Li
Well she can read between the lines he has scripted
She don’t need the name to know the man
But she can breathe
Cuz she can sort through all that shit he has conscripted
She don’t need to know to understand
But Li is real
She’s not just the ink upon Tangle’s paper
Pressing and pulsing
Cuz she would pull through these paragraphs
Naw, cuz she believes it is to her dreams that she would always cater
To the wanderlust of her Golden Calf
But for all she knows
This could be the wolf just dressed up in woolen clothes
Because it’s a digital kiss in this long distance lullaby
Now, Tangle
Well he’ll peel another veil as he steps in closer
Because, uh, with tambourines he can’t be beat
And Li can feel the tiger’s tail
But for those who know her
They can take the hint that she can take the heat
And they can see
Just what is Real and What is Only Their Projection
And boy do they feel every mile between their thoughts
But what they dream is theirs
It’s theirs for their protection
Until their two lines are tied up in knots
Because it’s a digital kiss in this long distance lullaby
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8. |
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So you got your right foot tied tight
Tied to the top
And baby, well you’re just twistin’ away
You take that trouble and you
Turn it to gold
Just to melt it away
Until you’re right back where you began
Which is just a-wishin’ away
You watch the world through your double disguise
Until you fade away
But this is your lucky day
But you took the wrong turn back
Back into town, man you just drove away
You dove for truth but you wound up with wit
So what? You’ll just give it away?
Until you’re right back where you began
Which is just a-wastin’ away
You wait and watch for those whispers to begin
Because they will, and you’ll just wither away
Yeah, then you fell asleep
It probably wasn’t easy, but it happened
And for what must have felt were hours
Well, there were turns and there were tosses
Oh, but this was nightly, right on the money
And now, thoughts they will race
And yeah, they’ll chase down those silver fishes
And they’ll ride rings of red around your tired eyes
Oh, but the taste was sweeter than honey
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9. |
Exist in This
04:59
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You say with no conviction that you have no time
I responded sleepily that I don’t care
You have your addictions, and baby I got mine
The only thing that separates is when or where
Define your situation with your voiceless words
Then note the lack of sympathy in my dull reply
Your drunken invitations were very loudly heard
You tried so many times in many different ways
To find a reason
Now you say you don’t like dollar bills, or the thought of them
But I wonder how you buy your clothes, or how your rent gets paid
Yeah I believe you had your fill with all of them
Now you dabble in denial that you favor shade
And your inconsistent will will get the best of you
Or get the rest of what is left once we are through
You’ve taken all of these pills and made them medicine
And watered down the chemistry of what we knew
To find a reason
Exist in this, your existential calamity
The trials and tribulations of your last request
Your try for bliss was met with much hostility
Those summer days spent slumbering in my idle rest
And our lasting kiss was shot down by my scrutiny
And our last goodbye was memorized inside my head
And your name upon my list of infidelities
The tangle of your heart is caught inside my chest
Yeah we found a reason
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10. |
The Chartreuse Hood
05:02
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11. |
Letters from Exile
04:52
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It was the quiet of the morning, and I had two thousand miles to go
But I felt nothing, no I was the night as it swallowed the road
So I keep on, yeah I keep on
It was the right time for leaving, because my hope outweighed my doubt
And I must keep believing, that any love that we had could help me out
So I keep on
And I paint my smile wide
And what I said were tears of joy, well they’re all just lies
Cuz I’m still that same old boy who’s lost inside
But I lost so much more, when I lost my way
Then it was the bright flash of winter, that woke all the thoughts inside my head
And they all tasted bitter, as I stoked all the flames that I had fled
So I keep on
And I paint my smile wide
And what I said were tears of joy, well they’re all just lies
Cuz I’m still that same old boy who’s lost inside
But I lost so much more…
And I hope these letters from exile don’t get lost along the way
Or get torn up and thrown away if they reach your hand
Cuz I cry nights
And the sting of your words, they hold me tight
They hold me tight, and they won’t let go
Then it was the quiet of the morning, when every ounce of strength that I had left had left me dry
It left with a warning, said any love that I had lost could still be mine
So I keep on, yeah I keep on
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