one’s slow & one’s grumpy
they live in the white house
they have lots of parties the fun never ends
let’s make sure when the day finally comes
time to move out
they don’t hand the keys off to one of their friends
and how long are we gonna put up with this
how long can we keep getting kicked in the head
come back and beg for more
this renegade frat boy is hazing the country
his cronies and yes men all cheering him on
when we beg him to stop he just pulls off our dignity
pins down our arms ’til our spirit is gone
and how long…..
the Miller’s next door, we don’t see them much lately
their kids used to play ’til the light disappeared
and the oldest one, James, so proud in his uniform
let’s see, he would’ve been 20 this year
still you send off our boys with a patriot noise
and you can’t even show up on weekends to serve
you strike up a war to settle a score
yeah you know what it’s for
and you’ve got your nerve
and how long….
what happened to leaders who actually cared
for their places in history, cared for the truth
now we get dimwits who gloat over gimlets
with kerosene eyes and hearts cold as duluth
and how long…
i’d so love to not feel so constantly twisted up
heated, clench-fi sted and chronically mad
no better than those dealing the blows
and spending the time i’ll wish later i had
when you care for the cause,
you act to protect it
when you care for the truth,
you do not correct it
when you care for the earth,
you try not to neglect it
when you care about light,
you help to refl ect it
history’s memory is snap photographic
and history’s eyes have the deadliest aim
but history’s heart will be far from empathic
when it fi nally gets to uncover your game
and how long….
one’s slow & one’s grumpy
they live in the white house
they have lots of parties the fun never ends
let’s make sure when the day fi nally comes
time to move out
they don’t hand the keys off
to one of their friends

kenny white…piano

i don’t like this guy and i don’t want him here
and i’m not really crazy about you either, my dear
to tell you the truth, i think you’d all better leave
you’re just using up the air that i breathe
hey…didn’t i see you on avenue B
reading some miserable, lame poetry
and i remember thinking, ‘why don’t you just
get a job?
all this whining and moaning…
man, you don’t know hard’
yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
i’m dark and despondent and easily pissed
maybe i just need a good therapist
yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
i will sing what i want to, you beady-eyed mole
fi nd someone else’s soul to cajole
i’m no fresh, fl y, johnny-come-lately
i prefer my songs in a minor key
yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
i’m crampy and cranky and certainly pissed
don’t ask me to smile, i will resist
yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
now all of a sudden there are things to avoid
i used to be fun, but now i’m annoyed
and it doesn’t help any to read the tabloids
are we more in harm’s way or just more paranoid?
oh tell me again, you think i’m stressed?
y’think i’ve got issues i need to address?
well, i can’t argue that, but tell me how do i keep
these visions away and get back to sleep
i’m thinkin’ montana or saskatchewan
i am thinking about some boat i can get on
but wait just a minute, i love nyc…
let those sick sonsofbitches just try and get me
and yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
i’m nauseous, neurotic, but primarily pissed
and now someone resents the fact i exist?
well yeah, i’ve been down, but never like this
yeah
i’ve been down, but never like this

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…bass
duke levine…el guitar & mandola
larry campbell…banjo & violin

the fires burned all summer long
ate up half the northwest
another kid has turned up gone
everybody hoping for the best
from overseas, the casualties
come graphically detailed
we just hope for cooler winds
and cooler heads to prevail
we overdosed on heroes
felt the tender ghosts of autumn
we lit the skies with fi ery rain
still, we never caught him
our inner child was traded in
for something far less holy
we’re dusting ourselves off again
but this time much more slowly
i wander through the streets
i look for hope around the corner
a dollar for the veteran
a shoulder for the mourner
i’m staring at the clouds
from above the carolinas
there’s not much in this world of ours
more precious than time is
i will touch your head
and i will kiss your cheek
and stop counting words
that i did not speak
i will feel the rain
as it cools my face
and fi nd my own way
to live in peace

shawn pelton…drums & drum loop
paul ossola…bass
duke levine…el guitar
larry campbell…banjo & string arrangement
christopher cardona…strings
david creswell…strings
stephanie cummins…strings
peter donovan…strings
antoine silverman…strings
anja wood…strings
paul woodiel…strings
krystof witek…strings

pat robertson i think your eyes are like poison
your smile’s suspicious, your lips are too thin
i’m wondering if you might be fond of young boys
and that’s why you’re so darn impatient with sin
but don’t go blaming jesus for your homophobia
he wasn’t a bigot, he wasn’t afraid
do me a favor, just once try to go be a nice man
and do something good for a change
‘thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not kill’
you read it out loud and you hold it up high
at the same time you say this isn’t god’s will,
you cheer for the war, i’m just wondering why
the icy cold gaze that mirrors your heart
your words don’t leave hope, pat,
they only leave stains
what goodness you might’ve had at the start
has been tapped like a keg
and drawn from your veins
you question my faith and what i believe
i’d hold off on that ’til you valued all life
if you weren’t so cute, pat, i’d probably leave
you murder the truth and hand me the knife
you represent all that is empty and hollow
y’see, i forgive those who trespass on me
how did you fi nd so many who follow
so many lost and adrift on the sea
if your savior himself showed up at your door
looking like that, would you ask him inside?
it’s more likely you’d turn him away
and what’s more
hate couldn’t recognize love if it tried
two sides to a coin? no way
if there’s anyone else’s opinion,
you turn off the sound
but when the will of the few
is imposed on the many
it’s a matter of time before we all drown
with compassion a curse, and love obsolete
and rewriting the bible not taken too well
it’s ok your admission’s denied by st. pete
they’re already printing your name tag in hell
ok that’s enough now you’re starting to scare me
besides, you’re beginning to look kind of stressed
a direct line to who?? oh pat, c’mon spare me
in god’s corporation you’re a stock boy at best

kenny white…piano

for all we have saved, for all we have cost
for all we have played and all we have lost
some of us loved more than love would allow
but it’s back to the drawing board now
for all of our hell fi re, believing in right
for all of our money and all of our might
and all of the times that we stand up to bow
it’s back to the drawing board now
didn’t it seem like yesterday
we were tough, bring ’em on, we could take any of ’em
y’gotta admit this is a hell of a way
to start a millenium
there’s comfort in faith
and there’s rhythm in prayer
and how many times
have we looked for it there
if we didn’t know why, well at least we knew how
but it’s back to the drawing board now
didn’t it seem like we couldn’t be shaken
we had our alibi sewn up tight
but yesterday another angel was taken
and the moon’s had a hard time performing tonight
for all i have known for all i have seen
from fort lee to fresno and all in between
for all i have tasted for all my ideals
the times i have faked it, the times i was real
for all that we’ve mended, then torn and then sewn
for all of the fi ngers worked to the bone
famine and fl ames and fl oods to the roof
man, i wish that hearts were made disaster proof
somehow we get past stalin, hitler and mao
but it’s back to the drawing board now
yeah we just rolled up our sleeves
and we knitted our brow
but it’s back to the drawing board now

jay bellerose…drums