This Ashphalt Eden
I walk alone, this ashphalt eden I must have outgrown
Just flesh and bone, no indication, no way to get home
Now feel their hands, and their demands
And understand the way that it could have been
I remember myself as I wanted to be
When you walk past my cage I'm gonna set myself free
If it was obvious then, well it's just history
It's too late, it's too dark to see

They speak their names
They still walk in fire and can't feel the flames
They stake their claims
But this place was taken before trespassers came
Now feel their hands, and their demands
And understand the way that it could have been
If it was obvious then, well it's just history
It's too late, it's too dark to see

Never Come Back
Well I came to this land where the snow and the sand
Cover my footprints with ice
The cool gray sea calls me "come and be free"
And I almost take that advice
And in the night I cling to the names
Of the women I wanted and the men that I blamed
And their scorn that scorches my tracks
One thing I know you can never come back
Oh darling please meet me in the dark empty streets
Won't you bring me the things that I need
No-one is waiting where she used to stand
Just the jagged thorns of the weed
And in the day they drink their hot wine
And I long for the things that can never be mine
So your pretty clothes do not unpack
As plain as the day you can never come back

 Nonapology
Excuse me, you know I hate to complain
But I never argue, I shouldn't have to explain
There's a million restless reasons in here
I can't repeat again
Lizards eating flies in the oriental sun
Swaying towers, lean attention
And I'm jumping from your hands
Out where the currents run
I've seen what you think is unseeable
Disagreed with what you think's disagreeable
I think and I blink of my own accord
Now is that so unreasonable
Your vested interest seems so small
And your blessed contest makes me fall
Sorry to waste your time
Maybe I was never here at all

 Shell
Hello sweet creature
Won't you give me some bloodlike guarantee
I've been listening to myself too long
And they're making a prophet out of me
I'm as empty as a shell can ever be
I've been walking through the desert
No it must have been the library
Reading a book which once gave me hope
Now it's making a fool out of me
I'm as empty as a shell can ever be
Lazy dreaming, half remembering, half remarking to myself
Never noticed that the crowds were leaving
Never looked for anyone else
Now it's market day almost every day
Yet they give away their love for free
I'm just waiting for a ship to come
And it's making a slave out of me
I'm as empty as a shell can ever be
Lazy dreaming, half remembering, half remarking to myself
Never noticed that the crowds were leaving
Never looked for anyone else
Hello sweet creature
Won't you give me some bloodlike guarantee
I've been listening to myself too long
I've been walking through the desert
Must have been the library

 Forgetfullness
Paper flowers tacked to the walls
And cotton sheets back two by two
Softness where the dreamer storms
Leaves are crushing up on you
Different hearts play on these strings
Strangers waking, talking strange
Bad nights on the pillow again
Among the pretty flowers change

I take forgetfullness
I'll share some out

Trust these cards and watch me talk
A million people call out in gold
Success and failure feed my heart
And everything is fine between
Sundail marks the Island time
And all the dust it makes you swoon
Come to as you find your mind
Your memories, details, (You learn these details ?) much too soon

Spirit of Christmas Yet To Come

I am the spirit of Christmas yet to come
The future, the source of your grief
And all the little details and the things left undone
Catching you up underneath
Gray snow falls, cold night comes down
Into the hearts of the men in this town
Chains on the stairs, a sudden chill
Something beside you is keeping quite still
I am the spirit of Christmas yet to come
The future, the source of your grief

 As You Like It
As love rides up, saw Lone Ranger
Changed you into something, richer, stranger
Stranger than fiction, truth or the dare
I say "when you come down", you say "come down from where"

Riding to the future would be easy for you
To fall into your heart would be easy to do
Love doesn't come as you like it
Rob you of your dreams, repossess your soul
Give me nothing back for the time they stole
Love doesn't come as you like it

Aim low on the cupids, arrow can't go through
The woman is an island, and not even you
Standing here together in the new land
I won't bear arms if I can hold your hand

I could never say what I really wanna say
Would you understand, would you walk away
I don't know how it's gonna end
Will we be lovers or just good friends

Love doesn't come