From the Oakland Airport runway
he could see the Bay Bridge
Greasy faced and smelly,
California seemed fresh

Drunk and droopy all night with four hometown friends
Joking in the Vegas lights with the slot machine women

There's something about California
that even from the airport
Something about California -
he knew he'd never go back home
Tell the truth and shame the devil

From the Oakland Airport runway
ears popping cleared his head
Organized and used up,
too tired to be depressed

Thirsty for some fruit juice and anxious for his next flight
Back to the city he still doesn't call his home

There's something about California
that even from the airport
Something about California -
he knew he'd never go back home
Tell the truth and shame the devil

My runway was wet and light reflected off it
Clean in the morning as the plane touched down

I was feeling sick sitting with Las Vegas frowners
But the Oakland Airport runway got my feet back on the ground

Tell the truth and shame the devil
Tell the truth and shame the devil
Tell the truth and shame the devil

There's something about California
that even from the airport

Something about California -
he knew he'd never go back home

It's the little dimes
That are pinning you down
One at a time
The nickels and dimes

It started with a shape
Simple and exact
And you followed the shape
But you've lost the path

She's a poker whiz
Even when we're just messing around
Poker mouth
No smile and no frown

It's like the sound of shoes falling off my bed

It's the little dimes
That are yanking at your ankles
One casino at a time
The nickels and dimes

It started with a shape
on a canvas mostly clean
now the canvas is a blur
the meaning is obscured

She has hard eyes
But there's something soft inside
Like a jellybean
It's amazing what she can hide
It's like the sound of shoes falling off my bed

It's the little dimes
That keep plopping you down
On the couch
Too tired to mind

She reads like James Joyce
Every smile's about a paragraph long
It's like I don't have a choice
But to figure out what's going on

But when our lips meet
I know what she means
When she leans to me
She's so easy to read

It's like the sound of shoes falling off my bed

Soupy sidewalk in the city tonight
Chicken men heat me on both sides
Barefoot children in school uniforms
My back won't let go of my shirt

Soupy sidewalk in the city tonight
Scabby dogs growl but it's too hot to bite
Purple dressed woman looks for someone to buy her
This town will just swallow you whole

Dirty town instant coffee in a small café
Tropical rain works the grime away
I'll head north at dark on an overnight train
Thousands of miles and I'm finally sane

Six months of chipping away

Skinny girl by the window her chin in her hands
Rice in the aisle pawned by a toothless man
The ceiling fans just don't want to satisfy
Gonna be a long mostly sleepless night

Dirty town instant coffee in a small café
Tropical rain works the grime away
I'll head north at dark on an overnight train
Thousands of miles and I'm finally sane

Six months of chipping away

Soupy sidewalk in the city tonight
Six months of chipping away

I can't complain. I ran away
After my big mistake, I can't complain
It was work-related. I killed a man
I knew his sister

Now I make calls to the USA
I order parts eight hours a day
For German cars made in here Mexico
"A NAFTA triumph", that's what I'm told

I'm Invisible
And if I'm fast enough
If I'm quick enough
I'm invisible - even to myself

I tried California right afterwards
But the West Coast wouldn't take
My mind was stuck deep in Ontario
On the frozen edge of the lake

So further down. You couldn't get to me
I'd pay my price. Death to memory
I wish I could get it back. I wish I could get it back

I'm Invisible
And if I'm fast enough
And if I'm quick enough
And if I'm fast enough

I'm Invisible even to myself

It's a delicate balance, and I'm seesawing
Ashamed when I question throwing my hat into the ring

Making love in the corners of this town
But, I'm stuck jabbing in the final seconds of this round

You just shut my car door,
and I'm high on your fumes
Lately the most drunk I've felt
Has been when I'm smelling you

It's dark ... Fly them
It's dark ... The bar lights flickering
It's dark ... My inside's sizzling
Fly them ... Fly Them

It's a delicate balance, and I'm seesawing
Making love, but I'm stuck jabbing

You just shut my car door,
and I'm high on your fumes
Lately the most drunk I've felt
Has been when I'm smelling you

It's dark ... Fly them
It's dark ... The bar lights flickering
It's dark ... My inside's sizzling
Fly them ... Fly them

Yeah, those lights look fine
Big houses line the state line
Old brick at 18th and vine
I talk about home with you on the phone
There's not a good reason why

Train whistles blow in the dark
I saw a thousand crows in that park
And I just can't think of one good reason why

There's not a good reason why
I miss the Missouri sky
Hot summer mornings and tornado warnings
There's not a good reason why

And yeah, those lights look fine
Driving in on highway 99
And I've got a good job and I like looking out
my window at the mountainside

And yeah, you can catch lightening bugs barefoot at night
But the horizon is low on all sides
And it's a couple days drive to the ocean's tides
I miss it for no reason why

Yeah, those lights look fine

There's not a good reason why
I miss the Missouri sky
Hot summer mornings and tornado warnings
There's not a good reason why

Yeah, those lights look fine

Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If i, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.

Like a baby, stillborn,
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
He said to me, you must not ask for so much.
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
She cried to me, hey, why not ask for more?

Oh like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
have tried in my way to be free.