Plastic and Perfect and Lifeless and Dead

Scared Little Boys
Inside Out and Upside Down
Corner Liquor Store
The Not So Incredible Tale of James and Catalina
Who to Love (They Can’t Tell You)
Who to Love (Cont.)
The Robot
These Hands
Future State

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Lyrics

Scared Little Boys

When I go out and I see them
Standing in the corner drinking
I can see the sad look in their eyes

Peering through the smoky haze
I’m trying to get through one more day 
Please don’t talk man you’re gonna ruin my high

Clad in black the latest fashion
Flashing plastic, carry no cash and
A glued on smile the moment they walk through the door

Clones look great until they’ve spoken
Please insert another token
To hear the same shit that you’ve heard before

We are all scared little boys
We are all scared little boys
We are all scared little boys

So unhappy with yourself
Now you want to be someone else
But you can never really escape your past

Better to take what you’ve got
And keep the best and let the rest rot
I’m telling you man this life goes by too fast

We are all scared little boys
We are all scared little boys
We are all scared little boys

Inside Out and Upside Down

Oh I would be king of all this madness
If I could make sense of anything
And I’d rule my subjects with an iron fist
If I thought that it would make a difference
But I don’t know what I don’t know …

There’s something about this revolution
I’m watching from the dark shadows of sleep
Fists in the air you shout out your new words
A beautiful diatribe falls on deaf ears
And I don’t know what I don’t …

I’m inside out, I’m upside down
I can’t believe this king’s been crowned
And I, I don’t know what else to say
It’s all so extraordinary

If this blessed life is supposedly easy
Then why is it so damn hard to breathe?
When it seems like everything is changing
But underneath it’s all the same
And I don’t know what I don’t know …

Do you believe in evolution?
In nature or man or in anything?
Your stirring rendition of the national anthem
Does little to settle my misgivings
And I don’t know what I don’t …

I’m inside out, I’m upside down
I can’t believe this king’s been crowned
And I, I don’t know what else to say
It’s all so extraordinary

What a world we’re living in …

Corner Liquor Store

What’s that you been sayin'?
You been sayin’ I ain’t any fun
Well I been workin’ all day in the sun 
I been workin’ all day
I’m just the messenger
I don’t work for these bloodsuckers
But I got to pay the rent
Yeah I got to, you know I’ve got to

Down to the corner liquor store
Down to the corner liquor store

I wanna reach a crimson high
Close my eyes to the disintegration
Astrophysical cosmonauts
Let’s head on down to Uncle Ike’s, you know it’s just
Across the street from the liquor store
The deadbeat circus parade is marching on
Does the nurse still feel a pulse?
Let’s smoke and drink and forget and forget some more

Down to the corner liquor store
Down to the corner liquor store

Liberated from my molecules
Daredevil on autopilot
I’m a bottlenecked romantic
I’ve not been privy to your machinations
I’m liberated from my molecules
Daredevil on autopilot
I’m a bottlenecked romantic
And don’t pity my orientation 

Don’t pity my orientation …
Don’t you worry don’t you worry don’t you worry—hey!

What’s that you’re sayin?
You sayin’ heads are gonna roll and roll
Heads of state or heads on plates?
It don’t matter, no it don’t matter no more

Down to the corner liquor store
Down to the corner liquor store

The Not So Incredible Tale of James and Catalina

James goes down to the plant,
He’s got two holes in his pants
A lunch pail made of metal, a paper to read though he can’t
Catalina stays at the flat, 
She’s getting old she’s gotten fat
Got three small mouths to feed, the mouth of a sailor at that

James recalls the love of his high school days
Catalina wonders when the magic went away
They’ve been together forever …

James don’t like her mouthing off, 
James gets a nasty cough
He brings in 14k a year, it’s been some time since he’s laughed
Cat hates linoleum floors, 
Green shag carpet and broken doors
Watches her shows and talks on the phone, still finds time to do chores

James recalls the love of his high school days, yeah
And Catalina wonders when the magic went away
They’ve been together forever …

James often comes home late, 
James always cleans his plate
He kisses all three of his kids, puts them to bed then watches the game
Cat sneaks out back for a bit, 
Cat grabs a bottle and takes a nip
Stares long and hard up at the stars, then she takes another sip

Who to Love (They Can’t Tell You)

You hopped the border and came up to this town
I mistook your nervousness for a frown
You trembled when I put my hands on your hips
Still tremblin’ when … when I kiss your lips

I know you sometimes miss everything back home
I see your eyes well up when you’re talking on the phone
Tiny bird dancing in hurricane winds
Sometimes you take one … right on the chin

They can try to bring you down
Try to kick you out
Try to rule you from above
But they can’t tell you who to love, love

Weekends on the east side seem long ago
Wandering through the mountains and the snow
My nerves took over but I did my best
Mangled the words … you still said yes

You hate it when the rain is falling down
You’ve always been a little afraid of clowns  
You squeeze a lime over a bowl of chips
You drink Mezcal … In tiny sips

They can try to bring you down
Try to kick you out
Try to rule you from above
But they can’t tell you who to love, love
They can try to bring you down
Try to kick you out
Try to rule you from above
But they can’t tell you who to love, love

Who to Love (Cont.)

Can’t tell you who to love and they
Can’t tell you who to love and they
Can’t tell you who to love and they
Can’t tell you who to love and they …

The Robot

These tiny tubes deliver fluids to my parts
I had emotion once but they took it away
I stare at you unblinking for hours
I can go to sleep and not wake up ‘cause 

I am the robot, I do what I’m told
I’m cold and plastic, I ask no questions
I am the robot (I am the robot) I do what I’m told
I’m cold and plastic, I ask no questions

Calculated steps, I no longer hurry
Time no longer has meaning for me
I can do my task without thinking
I will obey you with no questions ‘cause

I am the robot, I do what I’m told
I’m cold and plastic, I ask no questions
I am the robot (I am the robot)
I’ll never break down (and I’ll never break down)
I am hard wired (I am hard wired)
I go through the motions (I go through the motions)

The motions … honey I go through the motions …
Through the motions … oh honey, oh honey

I lack your emotions (I lack your emotions)
I go through the motions (I go through the motions)
I lack your emotions (I lack your emotions)
I go through the motions (I go through the motions)
I lack your emotions (I lack your emotions)
I go through the motions (I go through the motions)
I lack your emotions (I lack your emotions)
I go through the motions (I go through the motions)

These Hands

When you take the hand you take the heart 
You silence the beat with your robot parts
And still you sing your siren song
The words are all missing it’s oh so wrong  

The bodies do fall in this neighborhood
Never thought we’d die, never figured we would 
Your touch is so soft on the ancient hardware
We pushed the button on a childish dare

Oh! These hands and the things they can do
Reflections of the heart’s intent
The mind’s a fuzzy instrument
The mouth is dry but the hands they never lie
They never lie

The electro-machines, they tap out this beat
I’m certain there’s symmetry in their circuitry 
A hinge and the clasp, its skin and bone
It points to where it wants us to go

But our motor skills are so finely tuned 
We turned the radio dial back as far as we could
And still there’s a pulse, touch and you’ll feel
The current still alternating inside of you

Oh! These hands and the things they can do
Reflections of the heart’s intent
The mind’s a fuzzy instrument
The mouth is dry but the hands they never lie
They never lie

You took my hand, you took my heart
You killed its beat with your robot parts
I lost my mind, it fell apart
Falling in love is a lost art

Future State

Our televisions present visions of doom
Is it superstitious to say I love you?
In your pocket sits a locket
It’s hard and warm and smooth and true
Say I’m dreaming this odd world stained blue

Pink eyes and signs float by me and you
These are the last rites of mankind, say I do 
Advocated what’s fabricated
It’s plastic and perfect and lifeless and dead
I must be thinking of something else instead

We are living in a future state
We are living in a future state
We are living in a future state

No, I don’t want to know how this age will end   
No, I’d rather know how the next one begins …

Our favorite actors have all disappeared
Their voices have faded just as we feared
But still we listen, it’s our mission
To find a sign, a song or a truth
Multiple choices make it so hard to choose

Our words are our weapons, and thought, our light
A fountain of flickers does temper this night
A clarion trumpet in time with the drums
Inside our chests, hearts beating in time
Judgement at last, we pay for all our crimes

We are living in a future state
We are living in a future state
We are living in a future state

No, I don’t want to know how this age will end   
No, I’d rather know how the next one begins …