The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind (2012)




















Erase Me lyrics - Ben Folds Five

What was our home?
Paper, not stone
A lean-to, at most
And when you pulled
Your half away
Gravity won
Like it always does
Did I weigh a ton?
Would it be easier
To just delete
Our pages and the plans we made?

Erase me, so you don't have to face me
Put me in the ground and mow the daisies
Ah, the memory
See how it goes when you—

Erase me
Erase me

So what will you do
With no me for you?
I know what we said
What if I left
A thing or two?
We know that you don't seem
To think about what you need
'Til you reach to find that you've—

Erased me—what the fuck is this? You're crazy
Turned around, in two weeks'e time, replaced me
Ah, the memory
Everybody knows how it goes
You just erase me, do me like a bro and taze me
Fireworks, poof! It's gone, amazing
New bio, you've gone solo
Drawing mustaches on our wedding photo

Erase me
Erase me
Erase me

(Erase me) This is not shouting, baby
(Erase me) Go and call the cops now, baby
Ah, the memory
Everybody knows 'bout the brand-new ho
Erase me, and you'll never have to face me
Erase me, Option-Command-Escape me
And if you feel nothing, guess what I wanna be?
Nothing

Michael Praytor, Five Years Later lyrics - Ben Folds Five

It was the opposite of 'Fire and Rain'
You know the song
I never thought I'd see this guy again
But I was wrong
Oh, every five years
Since 1972 when at recess
He recruited me to try to kick
The church down to the ground

Michael Praytor
So random
Who knows why some satellites
Come by and by
While others disappear
Into the sky

Good morning, mirror
Break the change to me
I tried to stay too close to see
That there's a pattern in the tiles
And a fool who marks the miles
It was long hair
And this time it was no hair
Seeming thin, divorced, inspired
Engaged in chemo, born again and fired

Michael Praytor
So random
Who knows why some satellites
Come by and by
While others disappear
Into the sky
Disappear into the sky

Hey

At Hanes Mall parking lot at 5am
I saw him sleeping in his car
I've been up all night from New York
Bumming out on 95
Now I'm 30 and we all live with our parents
"And my wife," he said, "she kicked me out"
I said, Same here
Guess I'll see you 'round
(I'll see you around)
Guess I'll see you 'round
(I'll see you around)

Michael Praytor
Michael Praytor
Michael Praytor
Michael Praytor
So random
Who knows why some satellites
Come by and then they disappear

Sky High lyrics - Ben Folds Five

Shattered at dawn, so far for so long
Feeling newly baptized
Thinking I don't want this thing to end
And all the blue sky

Where our stony paths meet
Coffee-coloured sheets
Looking down at pale knees with a cigarette
And my morning beat under the blue sky

Last night at the bar, I was wrong, I was only hurting
And you were acting too polite
When we held onto the pain, through the storms and the rain
Like a crumpled, empty, discarded Newports box

Ah, the blue sky
Ah, sky high
Ah

Pawn-shop billboard, We Buy Gold
Old dreams just fade and twist, it's a heartache that never ended

The brightness of air
Out walking somewhere, and when they ask you
Just tell em that you knew me back when, under the blue sky

Ah, sky high
Ah, below the blue sky
Ah, sky high

The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind lyrics - Ben Folds Five

Apehead's brother wants to beat up Paul
The boys have gone to watch
Some of the girls are down at the mall
Justine's got cherry cola and scotch
Later on it's everyone around to Beck's
Her parents are away in New York
Sara, well, she just can't bear
The stupidity, the boredom, the grind
She stays at school so that she can hear
The sound of the life of the mind

And it's noisy up there
It rocks me like a mother
Rosa Parks and DNA
Joan of Arc and JFK
But it's noisy up there
(Noisy up there)
It rocks me like a mother

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
She's cut 'em all out of her social circle
Won't introduce them to Lincoln or Frost
Doesn't want to let them get to know Keats or Studs Terkel
They'll never know what they have lost
But Sara, well, she just can't bear
The stupidity, the boredom, the grind
She stays at school so that she can hear
The sound of the life of the mind

And it's noisy up there
(Noisy up there)
It rocks me like a mother
Copernicus and Fortune's Wheel
Plato, Glenn Gould and the New Deal
And it's noisy up there
(Noisy up there)
It rocks me like a mother

Sara already knows pretty soon she'll be leaving
Well, she's hoovered up whatever she can find
But she doesn't want to hear about
Pregnancies, foam fights, TV, take-outs, have sex, weddings
The sound of the life she'll leave behind

Yeah, it's noisy up there
(Noisy up there)
It rocks me like a mother
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
And it's noisy up there
(Noisy up there)
It rocks me like a mother
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

On Being Frank lyrics - Ben Folds Five

I had it all
Or should I say, "I saw it all?"
And it's a long way from the dustbin of New Jersey to the top
Who would have known?
Who would have known?

I had a dream
But dreams had other plans for me
For thirty years, I set the thermostat where Frank Sinatra liked it
Pulled his girls and hung his hats—I never knew which ones were mine
Now, he's gone
I'm alone

And I don't know where I might be going
I rode the wind; the wind stopped blowing
Set me on the roadside coming home
But home—
For me, was always someone else, you know?
That shadows always fall when the sun goes down

I shook the hands
Of Mafia dons and presidents
And though they always smiled politely with a measure of decorum
Still, their eyes would scan beyond me for a glimpse of something more
But now, he's gone
Now, they're gone

And I don't know where I might be going
I rode the wind; the wind stopped blowing
Set me on the roadside coming home
But home—
For me, was always someone else, you know?
That shadows always fall when the sun goes down

Alone
A shadow of a star
Don't you know?
That shadows always fall
Yeah, shadows always fall
When the sun goes down

And I don't know where I might be going
I rode the wind; the wind stopped blowing
Set me on the roadside coming home
And home— (Home)
For me, was always someone else, you know?

(Home)
(Home)
(Home)
(Home)

Draw A Crowd lyrics - Ben Folds Five

Ah-ah-ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Damn

I ordered something, it took a while
This morning something was on my doorstep
What's this I'm holding? Time capsule order
'Cause I'm a brand new man, and I don't think I want it
I don't think I want it
A row of flags hangin' behind me
A garden of mics and questions, and photo-flashes blind me
And I'm so high, I can't recall my statements
I only know I made 'em because my face vibrated

Is it all in my mind? I could've sworn I saw it
I thought I was fine, just fine is what I call it

Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall

I was gruntled when it was just feet on gravel
To have come apart, I must have once been raveled
Now when pretty phrases don't mean nothing
And I wanna sell 'em, I sing the line again
So smooth you can hear the beard
So smooth you can hear the beard
Three times is poetry
So smooth you can hear the beard

Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
If you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall

And if you can't draw a crowd, settle for what you can draw

I'm just saying
I-I-I-I'm just saying
Why does saying, that "I'm just saying"
Lend any weight to what I'm saying?
Oh, it's come back again, I can't ignore it
I'm a brand new man, but I'm still payin' for it

Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
Oh-oh, if you're feeling small
And you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
If you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall
If you can't draw a crowd, draw dicks on the wall

And if you can't draw a crowd, settle for what you can draw

I only wanted to be Stevie Wonder
But I got to settle for this vanilla thunder
(If you can't draw a crowd) Oh, this vanilla thunder
(If you can't draw a crowd) Oh, this vanilla thunder
(If you can't draw a crowd) Taste my vanilla thunder
(If you can't draw a crowd, if you're feeling small)

Do It Anyway lyrics - Ben Folds Five

You might put your love and trust on the line
It's risky, people love to tear that down, let 'em try
Do it anyway
Risk it anyway

And if you're paralyzed by a voice in your head
It's the standing still that should be scaring you instead
Go on and do it anyway
Do it anyway

There'll be times you might leap before you look
There'll be times you'll like the cover and that's precisely why you'll love the book
Do it anyway
Do it anyway

Tell me what I said I'd never do
Tell me what I said I'd never say
Read me off a list of the things
I used to not like, but now I think are okay

(Ah, ah ah, ah ah ah)
Sometimes it's not subjective wrong and right
(Ah, ah ah, ah ah ah)
Deep down you know it's downright wrong but you're invincible tonight
So you do it anyway
It's done, you did it

(Ah, ah ah, ah ah ah)
Despite your grand attempts the chips are set to fall
(Ah, ah ah, ah ah ah)
And all the stories you might weave cannot negotiate them all
Do it anyway
Be honest anyway

(Ah ah ah)
So tell me what I said I'd never do
Tell me what I said I'd never say
(Ah ah ah)
Read me off a list of the things
I used to not like but now I think are o-

Kay!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Whoa whoa whoa whoa

It's gonna be so very hard to say
And watch the trust and joy all drain from her innocent face
But you must do it anyway
It sucks but do it anyway

(Ah, ah)
Call it surrender but you know that that's a joke
(Ah, ah)
And the punchline is you were actually never in control, but still
Surrender anyway

(Ah)
Tell me what you said you'd never do
(What you said you'd never)
Tell me what you said you'd never say
(Do, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Read me off that list of things 'cause I used to not like you
Now I think you're o-

Kay!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Everybody knows that you just gotta do it anyway

Do it anyway, do it anyway
Do it anyway, do it anyway
Do it anyway, do it anyway
Do it anyway, do it anyway
'Cause you don't do nothing to avoid self punishment
(Do it anyway, do it anyway)
You won't do nothing, you won't feel nothing gotta
(Do it anyway, do it anyway)
Do it, do it, do it anyway
(Do it anyway, do it anyway)
Ah, do it anyway
(Do it anyway, do it anyway)

Hold That Thought lyrics - Ben Folds Five

She broke down and cried
At the strip mall acupuncturist
While the world went on outside

The Chinese doctor took her arm
Gazed at the floor and read her wrist
For the secrets in her life

"Here's your medicine," she said
"If you not smile at him, then someone else will."
You hold that thought
And I'll hold that thought, too

Ah ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

I was shown the thirty-six
Ways I'm not available
On a simple, easy chart

Later on that evening
On the beach in Santa Monica
It was a very risky start

Suppose the stupid chart is right
In a year will you still feel the same way?
Ah, well, you hold that thought
And I'll hold that thought, too

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ah, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ah, ah

Did you ever see the film
Where a man is given spectacles
That make the world look upside-down?

He falls about the place
But in time he somehow readjusts
And when they take the glasses off
The eyes he's always had see sky below him
And he falls again

Ah, but you hold that thought
And I'll hold that thought
You hold that thought
And I'll hold that thought
You hold that thought
And I'll hold that thought

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh

Away When You Were Here lyrics - Ben Folds Five

Dad I know you were sad when you died
And I was young it's the way I kept you in my mind
The mess that was left and my mother cried
And when she stood up she was nobody's mother
I'd be fine

But I missed you then
And I miss you now
Like you'd missed things I might say
You're still lost in clouds but I'm older now
I can see through lifting haze
That you were away even when you were here

Sometimes a phrase or a manner that's you
Comes through me, it goes in a flash
It's a frame, it's a blink like life
Oh and how much now should we pay for the past
'Cause you could age with grace if I freed you in my mind

But I loved you then
And I love you now
All the things I wished I'd asked
When I'm lost in clouds
I remember how I was robbed and I was blessed
And you were away even when you were here

'Cause it's not about you, not you, anymore
It's about what I'd do with it all
And I, I'll never let you let me down

This morning I wake to be older than you were
Fresh white snow for miles, every footstep will be mine

You'd have lost that weight, you'd have gone so straight
You'd have made my wedding day
You'd have saved my youth from that bullet of truth
You'd have kept those wolves at bay
But you were away, you were away even when you were here

Thank You For Breaking My Heart lyrics - Ben Folds Five

Yeah, I want a different answer
So, I ask you once again
But the truths and the silence
And this time I got it
It's over

Thank you for breaking my heart
Now I know that it's in there
I left it wide open and asked you to stay
But you know better

Guess I thought it wouldn't happen
And I could care until it hurt
Damn the ironic timing, the clouds and their linings
That open up and pour

And thank you for breaking my heart
Now I know that it's in there
What a fool to imagine that you'd feel the same
But you know better

Rain has washed the leaves away
Skeletons and stars
I'm pulling the door too
And closing the blinds

So thank you for breaking my heart
Now I know what it feels like
And it hurts so badly
Tell me this will pass
Soon and I know better

Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold (1999)


 

Don't Change Your Plans Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

sometimes i get the feeling
that i won't be on this planet
for very long
i really like it here
i'm quite attached to it
i hope i'm wrong

all i really wanna say
is you're the reason i wanna stay
i loved you before i met you
and i met you just in time
'cause there was nothing left

i sat here on my suitcase
in our empty new apartment
until the sun went down
then i walked back down the stairs
with all my bags and drove away
you must be freaking out

all i know is i've gotta be
where my heart says i oughta be
it often makes no sense
in fact,
i never understand these things i feel

don't change your plans for me
i won't move to LA
the leaves are falling back east
that's where i'm gonna stay

you have made me smile again
in fact, i might be sore from it
it's been a while
i know we've been together many times before
i'll see you on the other side
but don't change your plans for me
i won't move to LA
the leaves are falling back east
that's where i'm going to stay

all i really wanna say
is you're the reason i wanna stay
but destiny is calling and won't hold
and when my time is up i'm outta here
(note: please add a space here)
all i know is i've gotta be
where my heart says i oughta be
it often makes no sense, in fact
i never understand these things,
i feel

i love you, goodbye
i love you, goodbye...

Mess Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

there was a time when i had nothing to explain
oh, this mess i have made
but then things got complicated
my innocence has all but faded
oh, this mess i have made

and i don't believe in god
so i can't be saved
all alone as i've learned to be
in this mess i have made

all the untested virtue
the things i said i'd never do
least of all to you
i know he's kind and true
i know that he is good to you
he'll never care for you more than i do

but i don't believe in love
and i can't be changed
all alone as i've learned to be
in this mess
i have made the same mistakes
over and over again

there are rooms in this house that i don't open anymore
dusty books of pictures on the floor
that she will never see
she'll never see that part of me
i want to be for her
what i could never be for you

but i don't believe in god
so i can't be saved
all alone as i've learned to be
in this mess i have made

Magic Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

from the back of your big brown eyes
i knew you'd be gone as soon as you could
and i hoped you would
we could see that you weren't yourself
and the lines on your face did tell
it's just as well
you'd never be yourself again

saw you last night
dance by the light of the moon
stars in your eyes
free from the life that you knew

you're the magic that holds the sky up from the ground
you're the breath that blows these cool winds 'round
trading places with an angel now
saw you last night
dance by the light of the moon
stars in your eyes
free from the life that you knew
saw you last night
stars in your eyes
smiled in my room

Hospital Song Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

lying awake in my hospital room
silas creek parkway is my only view
and the doctor just came by and told me the news
i need a second opinion
i don't believe that it's true

Army Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

well i thought about the army
dad said, son you're fucking high
and i thought, yeah there's a first for everything
so i took my old man's advice
three sad semesters
it was only fifteen grand spent in bed
i thought about the army
i dropped out and joined a band instead

grew a moustache and a mullet
got a job at chic-fil-a
citing artistic differences
the band broke up in may
and in june reformed without me
and they'd got a different name
i nuked another grandma's apple pie
and hung my head in shame

i've been thinking a lot today
i've been thinking a lot today

oh, i think i'll write a screenplay
oh, i think i'll take it to LA
oh, i think i'll get it done yesterday

in this time of introspection
on the eve of my election
i say to my reflection
god, please spare me more rejection
'cause my peers, they criticize me
and my ex-wives all despise me
try to put it all behind me
but my redneck past is nipping at my heels

i've been thinking a lot today
i've been thinking a lot today
i've been thinking a lot today
i thought about the army...

Your Redneck Past Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

choose from any number of magazines
who do you want to be?
billy idol or kool moe dee?

if you're afraid they might discover your redneck past
there are a hundred ways to cover your redneck past
they'll never send you home

roots!
the funny limbs that grow underground
that keep you from falling down
don't you think that you'll need them now?

just find a place where no one knows of your redneck past
yeah, you can easily dispose of your redneck past
you'll show them all back home

desole
je suis american
please cook my steak again
je suis american
desole
je ne parle pas francais

laws vary from state to state
getcha some books on tape
learn about holes in space

if you're afraid they might discover your redneck past
there are a hundred ways to cover your redneck past
it's good to be back home

Your Most Valuable Possession Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

6:49 A.M. Friday, November 20

Good morning, Mr. Ben, it's about 6:30
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Just laying here in the bed, half awake, half asleep
Thinking about you, uh

I was, uh, wondering if you were looking after your
Most valuable possession, your mind
I was thinking about John Glenn
His space journey and all

They said that when you're in space
You lose muscle mass and the body mass
And I wondered if there was any end to it
Or whether if you didn't exercise in space

How long it would be for you were just
A head or a mind and have no body or arms
You would have them
But you couldn't use them

I was wondering if, uh
If your body mass would drop to a certain level
And then it would stop right there
And keep whatever you needed to use your mind

'Cause it would still be working
Thirty seconds remaining
Anyway, I was just pondering that
What do you think about that?

I hope everything is going alright
I'm going to wake up here in a little while
And forget what I was thinking about

Regrets Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

i thought about sitting on the floor in second grade
i couldn't keep the pace
i thought i was the only one moving in slow motion
while the other kids knew something i did not
but if i acted like a clown
i thought it'd get me through, it did
but that don't work no more
you're not a kid no more
i thought i'd do some travelling
never did

regrets, regrets

i thought about the hours wasted
watching t.v., drinking beer
i thought about the things i thought about
until immobilized with fear
and all the great ideas i had
and how we just made fun
of those who had the guts to try and fail
and then i ended up in jail

regrets, regrets

... but just for a day
seems the police had made a computer mistake
said there must be thousands like me with the same name
anyway, i thought about the things i settled for or never tried
i never visited my grandma even once
when she was sick before she died
so i don't blame you if you never come to see me here again

regrets, regrets...

Narcolepsy Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

i should warn you
i go to sleep
i know you don't
know what i mean
yet
i get upset or happy
i go to sleep
nothing hurts when
i go to sleep
but i'm not tired
i'm not tired

i know it seems that i don't care
but something in me does i swear
i don't remember all last year
i left you awake to cry the tears
while i was dreaming in streams
flowing between the shores
of joy and sadness
i'm drowning
save me
wake me up

i should warn you
i go to sleep
you won't know when i go to sleep
because i'm not tired
i'm not tired
i just sleep

Jane Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

jane be jane
you're better that way
not when you're trying
imitating something you think you saw

jane be jane
and if sometimes that might
drive them away
let them stay there
you don't need them anyway

you're worried there might not be
anything at all inside
but that you're worried
should tell you that's not right
don't try to see yourself
the way that others do
it's no use

you're worried there might not be
anything at all inside
but that you're worried
should tell you that's not right
you've had it harder than anyone could know
so hard to let it go

but it's your life
and you can decorate it
as you like
beneath the paint and armour
in your eyes the truth still shines
jane be jane
jane be jane

Lullabye Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

goodnight, goodnight sweet baby
the world has more for you
than it seems
goodnight, goodnight
let the moonlight take the lid off your dreams

we took a small flight
in the middle of the night
from one tiny place to another
and my parents they remained
at the shack with lorraine
and my aunt and my grandpa and brother
we walked past the tarmac
and boarded the craft
the rain had me chilled to the bones
just the three of us took flight that night,
uncle richard, me and james earl jones

and the pilot he gave me a blanket
while the tall dark man sang to me in deep rich tones...

goodnight, goodnight sweet baby
the world has more for you
than it seems
goodnight, goodnight
let the moonlight take the lid off your dreams

album: "Naked Baby Photos" (1998)

Eddie Walker Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Won't you smile, you look so shocked,
put the name-tag on your smock.
We've come to see ya,
Eddie Walker.
And we may pack a little tight,
the nurse up-front says it's alright.
And look there's more of us still getting off the bus.
We wish you'd come back home with us.
Eddie Walker this is your life.
This one's you when you were small,
and you learnt how to walk.
They pick you up and you keep falling down.
There you are with Aunt Louise,
you're bouncing on her knees.
Remember all those trees behind the garden?
They're gone.
They all got cut down when she died.
Eddie Walker this is your life.
You never had a son or a wife,
you sure had a hell of a time.
Eddie Walker this is your life.
You never had a son or a wife,
you sure had a hell of a time.
This one's you and Mary Jo.
Well she couldn't come, she's says hello.
No, Eddie Walker, she doesn't hate your guts.
It's just the whole thing shook her up.
How they picked you up and you kept falling down.
Eddie Walker this is your life.
You never had a son or a wife,
you sure had a hell of a time.
Eddie Walker this is your life.
You never had a son or a wife,
you never had a reason to cry.
This whole stack, and all of these,
for your semester overseas.
We're gonna leave ya,
Eddie Walker.

Jackson Cannery Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Stop the bus
I wanna be lonely
When seconds pass slowly
And years go flying by
You gotta stop the bus
I'll get off here
Enough's enough
I'm leaving this factory

All she wants
Is food on the table
I won't be able
To bring it home
All she wants, come on,
All I need is free
I'm a factory

[chorus]

Did Mother Nature tell you
Boy you come and go as you please
That's what she said to me
Big brother got the keys
And I got Jackson Cannery

Millionaires and mill rats live side by side here,
Messed up my brother's mind
He's far from earth
What's he worth
The same as you or me
In this factory

[chorus]

It's 4 in the morning
Mother don't know
That I'm going far away
She's whispering to the moon
I hope he don't join you soon

Baby boss
Climbs up on his soapbox
But Great Caesar's ghost
Knows what's best for me
He says stop the bus

[chorus]

Emaline Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I wish it was last September.
So we could lose ourselves in crowds everyday.
'Cos Emaline, don't walk in time,
she's not the same that's all you can say.

That we've learnt our lesson, but I,
Don't wanna walk away from Emaline.

They're talking now.
Does she know what they're saying?
She's got the air, to float above it.
I'm sinking in the summer champagne.

She's dear to me, and so expensive.
Now I'm not talking 'bout money.
Money talks,
I hate to listen,
but lately it's been screaming in my ear.

When I've heard enough, I tell myself-
That we've learnt our lesson, but I,
Don't wanna walk away from Emaline.

It only took me one look to understand Emaline,
sometime I don't know what she's saying.
Sometimes I do,
Sometimes I don't,
know what she's saying.
But I know,
I know,
I know what she wants to believe.

It wish it was last September.

Don't let me walk away from Emaline.
For stupid reasons,
now I'm talking 'bout money.
Money talks,
I hate to listen,
But lately it's been screaming in my ear.
Yeah, what advice! Girls need attention.
Or are you diffrent than all mine?
For all it's worth, she's got attention.
But people accuse you black and white.

Now I've heard enough, I'll tell you what.
Really shouldn't sit here and whine,
I'll take you down to see my Emaline.

Alice Childress Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Some summers in the evening after 6 or so
I walk on down the hill
And maybe buy a beer
I think about my friends
Sometimes I wish they lived out here
But they wouldn't dig this town
No they wouldn't dig this town

[chorus:]
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore

Alice, the world is full of ugly things
That you can't change
Pretend it's not that way
It's my idea of faith
You can blow it off
And say there's good in nearly everyone
Just give them all a chance
Now let's give them all a chance

[chorus]

No it didn't work out
No it didn't work out the way we thought it would
No it didn't work out
An arranged marriage is not so good

Thank God it's you
Y'know your timing is impeccable
I'm not fooling you
I don't know what to do
Some dude just knocked me cold
And left me on the sidewalk
Took everything I had
Everything I had

Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
It's getting late where you are, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore

Tom and Mary Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

For the benefit of Tom and Mary,
before our guests arrive.
If they haven't found out already it's gonna blow their minds.
Will they find the strength to find the will to testify?
And for the benefit of Tom and Mary,
there's something we can't hide anymore.

Everybody here knows the story,
some have fabricated extra parts.
See the sisters shouting whispers,
feeding heartache to the sparks.
Put a damper on the party,
it'll lighten up this room.
And for the benefit of Tom and Mary,
they've got to see the truth today.

Miss Powersson says here they come.
And all the chatter and the smiles have come undone.
And you could here a pin drop on the carpet floor,
everyone's pretending not to hear them knocking at the door.

For the benefit of Tom and Mary,
before our guests arrive.
If they haven't found out already it's gonna blow their minds.
If they haven't found our already,
And all the seams all seem to show,
and for the benefit of Tom and Mary we gotta let,
the truth be known.

For Those Of Y'all Who Wear Fanny Packs Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Oh goddamn, I saw a goddamn
Fuckin' goddamn, goddamn, woah
Oh goddamn, shitchya it's cool

Play it on the radio
Come here one time, wassup y'all
I got this funky groove goin' on
I gotta give a shout out to my homeboy in L.A.

Wassup boy? Wassup y'all, come on
Yo, this goes out to my homeboy Trey
Going out in Chapel Hill
Yeah, shouts out to A.K.A. known as Roadie Killer
New York City

Yo, shouts out to my main manager man
Al Wolmark known as A.K.A. you're a bad motherfucker
C.E.C. bring in the bass, y'all
Yeah and I thought that's how you felt about the motherfucker
Yeah I thought that's how you felt
Yeah Sledge, bring in the bass

For those of y'all who wear fannie packs, come on
For those of y'all that wear fannie packs, come on
For those of y'all that wear fannie packs and pony tails, come on
For those of y'all that wear fannie packs
And got the pony tails come fucking on

Yeah, my boy, Sledge on the bass in your face
My boy, Ben on the piano coming in, let him in, let him in
Yeah, let my boy, Ben in, alright, yeah

Hey D? Hey D? Yeah, wassup?
You gonna let me in D? Wassup?
You gonna me in? Yo let that piano solo in
Let me in, let me in, Goddamn, yeah

You and your mother have seen things happen
I don't mind singing and I don't mind rappin'
I can find at least a hundred ways to get my shit
I play the piano, goddamn that's some funky shit

Yeah, I said for those of y'all who wear fannie packs
This song's coming out, it's coming attchya
I wanna borrow an allen wrench
I wanna borrow some duct tape
I wanna borrow a mic cable bass in your face

Bass in your face, let's break it, break it, break it down
We're gonna break this shit down, gimme some bass
That's pretty good bring this shit in
Oh goddamn, shitchya it's cool

Play that cymbal, man
Play that tasty, tasty high hat work
Yo, I'm gonna bring that tasty high hat work bring it
I'm gonna bring that shit in, I wanna taste it, man right now

Yo, this sound goes out to my main man
At the point in Atlanta, wassup
Gimme my fuckin' monitor, man
Ernie, I'm sorry, I can't give you any more

Monitor than that
It won't go any higher than that
Because the transistors the resistors
They won't go any higher

Alright, y'all, take this motherfucker out with a piano solo
Goddamn, uh, uh goddamn
Alright, turn that shit out

I hope you taped that, that's our next single
Oh, they've left, they gave up
These guys are fucking idiots
That sucked

Bad Idea (Retarded) Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Pull over the car
Pull over the car
I think I see a fly fisher
Pull over the car
Pull over the car
My dad wants to break up with your sister

You make me feel so retarded
You make me feel so...

I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't wanna
You make me feel
Make me feel
Make me feel retarded
Can't leave it alone
Jerk off on the phone
I want you to come on over
Pretty Bad Idea
Pretty Bad Idea
Really Really Bad Idea

You make me feel so retarded
you make me feel so...

I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't wanna
You make me feel
make me feel
make me feel retarded
When I stood you up
I thought that you'd give up
Now I realize your just like a dog

You make me feel so retarded
you make me feel so...

Underground Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I was never cool in school
I'm sure you don't remember me
And now it's been 10 years
I'm still wondering who to be
But I'd love to mix
In circles, cliques, and social coteries - that's me
Hand me my nose ring (Can we be happy?)
Show me the mosh pit (Can we be happy?)
We can be happy underground

Who's got the looks, who's got the brains
Who's got everything
I got this pain in my heart, that's all
Hey you with the long and lonely face
There's got to be something else
Let me tell ya something else
There was this girl who passed me by
She gave a smile but I was shy
I looked down, so down
Don't look there no no, go go underground
But now there's a place to go
It's the morning, it's the evening
It's everything
I click my heels and I'm there

Underground, underground
Everything's happy underground
You been kicked around
Did life bring you down here
Everything's heavy underground

We'll be decked in all black and
Slamming the pit fantastic
Officer Friendly's little boy's got a mohawk
He knows just where we're coming from
It's industrial, work it underground
Get down, get down, get down

Underground, underground
Everything's happy underground
You been kicked around
Did life bring you down here
Everything's heavy underground

The Ultimate Sacrifice Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I'm standing before my old high school
It's been 10 years since I touched the door
But to heal the old pain we must face it again
So I'll walk down that hallway once more

I have come to this 10 year reunion
For my heart is still pris'ner of war
An' if I find it's alright, we're escaping tonight
That's what I came back here for

Won't you please waltz with me?
I feel like I'm just like I used to be
My heart is locked up here so quietly
Believing that you hold the key

Won't you please waltz me free?
The turns of our steps are untangling me
Free from some dragged around memory
And the rusty old remnants of fear
And after 10 years
I'm melting the shackles with tears

I'm as nervous as if it's still high school
You're happily married I know
But it's not just this dance that I'm asking you for
I'm asking you ten years ago

Remember I wrote in your yearbook?
"Could you please waste some time on me?"
There's just a few things I must tell you
But that's as brave as I could be

So won't you please waltz with me?
I feel like I'm just like I used to be
My heart is locked up here so quietly
Believing that you hold the key

Won't you please waltz me free?
The turns of our steps are untangling me
Free from some dragged around memory
And the rusty old remnants of fear
And after 10 years
I'm melting the shackles with tears

Satan Is My Master Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Satan is my master
He has always been
He tells me what to do
He buys my Metallica records for me
And sometimes I think...

Satan is my master

Julianne Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I met this girl, she looked like Axl Rose
Got drunk and took her home and we slept in our clothes
In the morning put my feet on the floor and thought
Being awake never felt like this before
And Julianne y'know she wouldn't approve
Spent all day on the phone 'cause I had nothing to do
Got rid of Axl by the afternoon
Being awake never felt so clear and blue

That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
I don't miss Julianne

A friend she told me she felt sorry for me
She said the truth would come crashing down on me
That I'd be sorry but the truth of it is
That I feel guilty for not giving a shit

I got my bag of trash
I got my bag of trash
I drag it up and down, I drag it up and down the road
How could she miss a man
Who drags a bag of trash down the road

This week I feel like I been born again
I know that Julianne would have a fit
She'd find a reason for the things that I did
And gave me credit for the things that I've never been

That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne

Song for the Dumped Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

So you wanted
to take a break
Slow it down some and
have some space

Well fuck you too
Give me my money back
Give me my money back
you bitch
I want my money back
(And don't forget to give
me back my black T-Shirt)

Wish I hadn't bought you
dinner
Right before you dumped me
on your front porch
Give me my money back
Give me my money back
You bitch
I want my money back
and don't forget

And don't forget.

Philosophy Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Won't you look up at the skyline
At the mortar, block, and glass
And check out the reflections in my eyes
See they always used to be there
Even when this was all was grass
And I sang and danced about a high-rise

And you were laughing at my helmet hat
Laughing at my torch

Go ahead and laugh all you want
I got my philosophy
And I trust it like the ground
That's why my philosophy
Keeps me walking when I'm falling down

I see that there is evil
And I know that there is good
And the in-betweens I never understood
Would you look at me I'm crazy
But I get the job done
I'm crazy but I get the job done

So go ahead and laugh all you want
I got my philosophy
And I trust it like the ground
That's why my philosophy
Keeps me walking when I'm falling down

I pushed you cause I loved you guys
I didn't realize
That you weren't having fun
And I dragged you up the stairs
And I told you to fly
You were flapping your arms
Then you started to cry, you were too high

Now you take this all for granted
You take the mortar, block, and glass
And you forget the speech that moved the stone
And it's really not that you can't see
The forest from the trees
You just never been out in the woods alone

So you can laugh all you want to
But I've got my philosophy
And I love you you're my friend
But you got no philosophy
Now it's time for this song to end

Twin Falls Lyrics – Ben Folds Five (originally by Built To Spill)

Christmas Twin Falls, Idaho's her oldest memory
She was only two
It was the first time she felt blue

Cafeteria, Harrison Elementary
Beneath a parachute
I saw her without shoes

7UP I touched her thumb and she knew it was me
Although she couldn't see
Unless of course she peeked

My mom's good she got me out of Twin Falls, Idaho
Before I got too old
You know how that goes

That's where she still was the summer she turned 17
1983
Three weeks after me

Last I heard was she had twins or maybe it was three
Although I've never seen
That don't bother me

Boxing Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Howard, the strangest thing
Has happened lately
When I take a good swing
And all my dreams
They pivot and slip
I drop my fists and they're back
Laughing Howard
My intention's become not to lose what I've won
Ambition has given way to desperation and I
Lost the fight from my eyes

[chorus:]
Boxing's been good to me, Howard
Now I'm old, you're growing old
The whole time we knew
In a couple of years I'd be through
Has boxing been good to you?

Howard, I confess I'm scared and lonely and tired
They seem to think I'm made of clay
Another day, not cut out for this
I just want to say, I say

[chorus]

Well sometimes I punch myself as hard as I can
Yelling nobody cares hoping someone will tell me how
Wrong I am

[chorus]

Has boxing been good
Has boxing been good to you?

album: "Whatever & Ever Amen" (1997)

One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

September '75 I was 47
inches high
Mom said someday I would have
A badass mother G.I. Joe
for your little minds to blow
I still got beat up after class

Now I'm big and important
one angry dwarf
and 200 solemn face
are you
If you want to see me
check your papers and your T.V.
Look who's tellin' who what to do
Kiss ass my ass good-bye

Don't give me that bullshit
you know who I am
I'm your nightmare little man
Vic you stole my lunch money.
made me cry.
Jane remember second grade
Said you couldn't stand my face
Rather than kiss me you said
you'd rather die

You'll be sorry one day
Yes you will, yes you will
You shouldn't push me around
Cause I will, yes I will
You will be sorry when I'm big
Yes you will be sorry

Fair Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

He shouted out his last word
And he stumbled through
the yard
And she shattered her last
china plate
And spun off in the car
When he lunged onto the hood
She stopped to tell him she'd
been wrong
HE was thrown head over heels
Into the traffic coming on
But then
All is fair in love

Did you get my other letters
Sometimes I think I oughta call
Cause you know I often
Wonder if you open them at all
Every couple nights or so
You know you pop into my
dreams
I just can't get rid of you
Like you got rid of me
Ohh but I send my best
Cause God knows you've seen
my worst
But then all is fair in love
All this breathing in never
breathing out
I guess she made her way
Through the mob too late to
hear him say

That he'd gotten all he'd
wanted
A crowd to watch him bear the pain
He'd been keeping in
so what
All is fair in love

Brick Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

6 am day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping
I am numb

Up the stairs to the apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They're not home to find us out
And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Than I ever have before

She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Can't you see
It's not me you're dying for
Now she's feeling more alone
Than she ever has before

She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son, it's time to tell the truth
She broke down, and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying

Driving home to her apartment
For a moment we're alone
Yeah she's alone
I'm alone
Now I know it

She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

Song for the Dumped Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

So you wanted
to take a break
Slow it down some and
have some space

Well fuck you too
Give me my money back
Give me my money back
you bitch
I want my money back
(And don't forget to give
me back my black T-Shirt)

Wish I hadn't bought you
dinner
Right before you dumped me
on your front porch
Give me my money back
Give me my money back
You bitch
I want my money back
and don't forget

And don't forget.

Selfless, Cold, and Composed Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I said what you wanted to hear
And what I wanted to say
So I will take it back
Are all the dishes intact?
Let them be broken
It's easy to be
Easy and Free
When it doesn't mean anything
You remain selfless, cold and
Composed

You've done me no favor
to call and be nice
Telling me I
Can take anything I like
You don't owe me to be so
Polite
You've done no wrong
You've done no wrong
Get out of my sight
It's easy to be
Easy and Free
When it doesn't mean anything
You remain
Selfless, cold, and
Composed

Come on baby. Now throw me
a right to the chin
Don't you stare like
You never cared
I know you did
You just smiled
like a band teller
telling me bleakly
have a nice life

Kate Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

She plays wipeout on the drums
the squirrels and the birds come
Gather around to sing the guitar
Oh I...have you got nothing to say

When all words fail she speaks
Her mix tape's a masterpiece
Walks through the garden
so the roses can see
Oh I...have you got nothing to say
And you can see the daisies
in her footsteps
Dandelions, butterflies
I wanna be Kate

Everyday she wars the same thing
I think she smokes pot
She's everything I need, She's everything I'm not
Oh. I...
Have you got nothing to say

She never gets wet
She smiles and it's a rainbow
And she speaks and she breathes
I wanna be Kate

Down by the Rosemary and Cameron
She hands out the
Bhagaved Gita
I see her around every couple days
I wanna meet her so that
I can say...hey Kate

Smoke Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Leaf by Leaf page by page
Throw this book away
All the sadness all the rage
Throw this book away
Rip out the binding, tear the glue
All of the grief we never ever knew
We had it all along

Now its smoke
The things we've written in it
Never really happened
All of the people come and gone
Never really lived
All of the people have come have gone

No one to forgive smoke
We will never write a new one
There will not be a new one
Another one, another one
Here's an evening dark with shame
Throw it on the fire
here's the time I took the blame
Throw it on the fire
Here's the time we didn't speak
it seemed for years and years
Here's a secret
No one will ever know the
realsons for the tears
They are smoke

Where do all the secrets live
They travel in the air
You can smell them when they burn
They travel
Those who say the past is not dead
Stop and smell the smoke
You keep on saying the past is not dead
Come on and smell the smoke
You keep saying the past is not even past
You keep saying
We are, smoke

Cigarette Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Fred Jones was worn down
from caring for his often
screaming and crying wife
burning the day but
He couldn't sleep at night for fear that she
In a stooper from the drugs that didn't even
ease the pain would set the house on blaze
with a cigarette.

Steven's Last Night in Town Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Everyone gather round now
sing him a song
just in case by tomorrow
it happens he's gone
For two weeks and seven days
Our fair foreign friend
I have this feeling
We might never see Steven again
We thought he was gone
But he's come back again
Last week it was funny
Not the jokes wearing thin
everyone knows now
That every night now
Will be Steven's last night
in town

He's charmed everyone here
Except for Tamara Easter
Who later revealed to him
Her innermost secrets
Won us over with stories
About Linda McCarthey
Lost points with the ladies
For saying he couldn't love a
woman with cellulite

We were talking bout something
seems like was funny
Then Steven got quiet
I think Steven was mad
Maybe he wasn't mad
But we felt really strange for a moment
then the moment was gone
and forgotten

Battle of Who Could Care Less Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Do you not hear me anymore
I know it's cool to be so bored
I know it's not your thing to care
But it sucks me in
when you're aloof
It sucks me in, it sucks it works
I guess it's cool to be alone
Will you never rest
Fighting the battle of who
Could care less
Everyday you wake up late
Sometimes I wish I was
that way

And you think Rockford Files is cool
But there are some things
that you would change
if it were up to you
So think about your masterpiece
Watch the Rockford Files
Call to see if Paul can score some weed.

Will you never rest
Fighting the battle of who could care less
Unearned unhappiness
That's ok I guess...

I've go this great idea
Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin Fucking Mint
Fine pewter portraits of
general apathy and major boredom singing...
Whatever and ever Amen
Oh well maybe not try again
This should cheer you up for sure
See I've got your old I.D.
And you're all dressed up like the Cure
Will you never rest
fighting the battle
of who could care less
unearned unhappiness
You're my hero I confess

Missing the War Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

All is quiet his tired eyes
see figures jotted down
And clothes all strewn around
the bedroom flood
Now nothing's adding up
And nothing's making sense
She's sleeping like a baby
She doesn't like a baby
She doesn't know he wasn't meant for this
I'm missing the war
I'm missing the war all night
Missing the war
He drove home again
Pissed and beaten
Its really no big deal
It happens all the time
Its no big deal

I'm missing the war
I'm missing the war all night
Missing the war
I'm missing the war

'Till beads of sunlight hit me in the morning
So much time so little to say
Time may fly
And dreams may die
The shaking voice that tells him go
Still thinks he might
He knows he won't
I'm missing the war
Missing the war all night
Missing the war

Evaporated Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

What I've kept with me
And what I've thrown away
And where the hell I've ended up
On this glary random day
Were the things I really cared about
Just left along the way
For being too pent up and proud
Woke up way too late
Feeling hung over and old
And the sun was shining bright
And I walked barefoot down the road
Started thing about my old man
It seems that all men
Wanna get into a car and go
Anywhere
Here I stand--sad & free
I can't cry and I can't see
What I've done
God...What have I done
So don't you know I'm numb, man
No I don't feel a thing at all
Cause its all smiles & business these days
and I am indifferent to the loss
I've faith that there's a soul
whose leading me around
I wonder if she knows
Which way is down...
I poured my heart out
I poured my heart out
it evaporated...see?

Blind man on a canyon's edge
of a Panoramic scene
Or maybe I'm a kite
That's flying high & random
Dangling a string
Or slumped over in a vacant room
Head on a stranger's knee
I'm sure back home
They think I've lost my mind.

album: "Ben Folds Five" (1995)

Jackson Cannery Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Stop the bus
I wanna be lonely
When seconds pass slowly
And years go flying by
You gotta stop the bus
I'll get off here
Enough's enough
I'm leaving this factory

All she wants
Is food on the table
I won't be able
To bring it home
All she wants, come on,
All I need is free
I'm a factory

[chorus]

Did Mother Nature tell you
Boy you come and go as you please
That's what she said to me
Big brother got the keys
And I got Jackson Cannery

Millionaires and mill rats live side by side here,
Messed up my brother's mind
He's far from earth
What's he worth
The same as you or me
In this factory

[chorus]

It's 4 in the morning
Mother don't know
That I'm going far away
She's whispering to the moon
I hope he don't join you soon

Baby boss
Climbs up on his soapbox
But Great Caesar's ghost
Knows what's best for me
He says stop the bus

[chorus]

Philosophy Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Won't you look up at the skyline
At the mortar, block, and glass
And check out the reflections in my eyes
See they always used to be there
Even when this was all was grass
And I sang and danced about a high-rise

And you were laughing at my helmet hat
Laughing at my torch

Go ahead and laugh all you want
I got my philosophy
And I trust it like the ground
That's why my philosophy
Keeps me walking when I'm falling down

I see that there is evil
And I know that there is good
And the in-betweens I never understood
Would you look at me I'm crazy
But I get the job done
I'm crazy but I get the job done

So go ahead and laugh all you want
I got my philosophy
And I trust it like the ground
That's why my philosophy
Keeps me walking when I'm falling down

I pushed you cause I loved you guys
I didn't realize
That you weren't having fun
And I dragged you up the stairs
And I told you to fly
You were flapping your arms
Then you started to cry, you were too high

Now you take this all for granted
You take the mortar, block, and glass
And you forget the speech that moved the stone
And it's really not that you can't see
The forest from the trees
You just never been out in the woods alone

So you can laugh all you want to
But I've got my philosophy
And I love you you're my friend
But you got no philosophy
Now it's time for this song to end

Julianne Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I met this girl, she looked like Axl Rose
Got drunk and took her home and we slept in our clothes
In the morning put my feet on the floor and thought
Being awake never felt like this before
And Julianne y'know she wouldn't approve
Spent all day on the phone 'cause I had nothing to do
Got rid of Axl by the afternoon
Being awake never felt so clear and blue

That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
I don't miss Julianne

A friend she told me she felt sorry for me
She said the truth would come crashing down on me
That I'd be sorry but the truth of it is
That I feel guilty for not giving a shit

I got my bag of trash
I got my bag of trash
I drag it up and down, I drag it up and down the road
How could she miss a man
Who drags a bag of trash down the road

This week I feel like I been born again
I know that Julianne would have a fit
She'd find a reason for the things that I did
And gave me credit for the things that I've never been

That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne

Where's Summer B.? Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I'd like to tell you, like to tell you
Tell you everything
'Cause nothing changes, ever changes
Nothing seems the same these days

Dave's been a mess since Cheryl left
Just sits at home and beats back death
And Beth still wears his stupid dress

There goes Joe Caparo again
With Darren's girlfriend
They're asking where ya been, like I know
Where ya been? Hey Summer, where ya been?

I tried to tell you, tried to tell you
Just took a bit too long
And now your phone is disconnected
And your shit's out on the lawn
The hardback cafe closed down
Now we've got Office Town
You shoulda stuck around

There go Ross and Frank again
They're holding hands
They're asking where ya been
Like I know where ya been
Hey Summer, where ya been?

I could take a train or fly away
Maybe write a book or change my name
I could settle down

Alice Childress Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Some summers in the evening after 6 or so
I walk on down the hill
And maybe buy a beer
I think about my friends
Sometimes I wish they lived out here
But they wouldn't dig this town
No they wouldn't dig this town

[chorus:]
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore

Alice, the world is full of ugly things
That you can't change
Pretend it's not that way
It's my idea of faith
You can blow it off
And say there's good in nearly everyone
Just give them all a chance
Now let's give them all a chance

[chorus]

No it didn't work out
No it didn't work out the way we thought it would
No it didn't work out
An arranged marriage is not so good

Thank God it's you
Y'know your timing is impeccable
I'm not fooling you
I don't know what to do
Some dude just knocked me cold
And left me on the sidewalk
Took everything I had
Everything I had

Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
It's getting late where you are, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore

Underground Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I was never cool in school
I'm sure you don't remember me
And now it's been 10 years
I'm still wondering who to be
But I'd love to mix
In circles, cliques, and social coteries - that's me
Hand me my nose ring (Can we be happy?)
Show me the mosh pit (Can we be happy?)
We can be happy underground

Who's got the looks, who's got the brains
Who's got everything
I got this pain in my heart, that's all
Hey you with the long and lonely face
There's got to be something else
Let me tell ya something else
There was this girl who passed me by
She gave a smile but I was shy
I looked down, so down
Don't look there no no, go go underground
But now there's a place to go
It's the morning, it's the evening
It's everything
I click my heels and I'm there

Underground, underground
Everything's happy underground
You been kicked around
Did life bring you down here
Everything's heavy underground

We'll be decked in all black and
Slamming the pit fantastic
Officer Friendly's little boy's got a mohawk
He knows just where we're coming from
It's industrial, work it underground
Get down, get down, get down

Underground, underground
Everything's happy underground
You been kicked around
Did life bring you down here
Everything's heavy underground

Sports & Wine Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Destiny was calling
Monday afternoon
Wednesday you'll be crawling
And you'll pray to be there soon
With sports and wine

Some men never grew up
Fortunate like you
Some men never found out
What it takes to be a dude
That's Sports and Wine

The girls don't understand it
What you think is art
My oh my we're all impressed
How sensitive you are
Everybody's talkin' about you now
You know it's true
Always has been sports and wine for you

So you ask me how I think I know
Just what makes you tick
I know what I know y'know
I know you make me sick
Sports and wine

Girls don't understand it
Anything you say
I don't understand it either
Guess that makes me gay
Everybody's talking 'bout you now
You know it's true...

Uncle Walter Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Your Uncle Walter's going on and on
Bout everything he's seen and done
The voice of 50 years experience
Drunk, watching the television
You know he's been around the world
Last night he flew to Baghdad
In his magical armchair
Cigarettes and a six pack, he just got back
Now the spit's flying everywhere

Hey, hey, hey, hey (Your Uncle Walter's going on and on)
You're back so late (Where did you go that you were gone so long)
how could you leave me here so long
With Uncle Walter

Your Uncle Walter saw who fired the shots
He drove his chair in the cavalcade
He's flown from South Africa
To countries where
They beat themselves on the backs with chains
There was a fleet of battleships
And 1 reclining chair
Headed north on the Arabian sea
Now he's back and he'll tell us what
He and his oldest boy Blair
Are getting rich with their mail order scheme

Oh, oh, oh, oh
We're glad you're home
But how could you leave me here so long
With Uncle Walter

Your Uncle Walter told me
Everything he'd do if he was president
Oh what a perfect world
This world would be
If he were President now

And he sees the children
Smoking pot
He knows that in a moment
They'll be shooting up heroin
Teardrops in his armchair
A 50 minute lecture
And tobacco juice rolling down his chin

Hey, hey, hey, hey
You're back so late
How could you leave me here so long
With Uncle Walter

Best Imitation of Myself Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

I feel like a quote out of context
Withholding the rest
So I can be free what you want to see
I got the gesture and sound
Got the timing down
It's uncanny, yeah, you think it was me
Do you think I should take a class
To lose my southern accent
Did I make me up, or make the face till it stuck
I do the best imitation of myself

The "problem with you" speech
You gave me was fine
I liked the theories about my little stage
And I swore I was listening
But I started drifting
Around the part about me acting my age
Now if it's all the same
I've people to entertain
I juggle one handed
Do some magic tricks and
The best imitation of myself

Maybe I'm thinking myself in a hole
Wondering, who I am when I ought to know
Straighten up now time to go
Fool somebody else, fool somebody else

Last night I was east with them
And west within
Trying to be for you what you wanna see
But I can't help it with you
The good and bad comes through
Don't want you hanging out with
No one but me
Now if it's all the same
It comes from the same place
And if my mind's somewhere else
You won't be able to tell
I do the best imitation of myself
Yes it's uncanny to see
You'd really think it was me
The best imitation of myself
The best imitation of myself

Video lyrics - ben folds five

Barren stares as they light up the screen
Bearing teardrops that shatter in slow-motion
Novocaine our brains and we're out like lights
But as I'm growing older I'm bored
I remember when misery thrilled me much more
When I can't relax
And I'd like to go back
But that's gone
Yeah, that's gone, Turn around
Turn the volume down
We're counting the days down

Till the day when we live in a video
I'll be stone-faced and pale
You'll pout in stereo
24 hours every day of the year
Oh, what fun I can't wait 'til the future gets here

Closing in on the pain and the torture
He's slamming the doors like it's something to strive for
The girl tearing the curtains down looks funny as hell

And of sense of humor is there be any doubt
But that natural selection has weeded it out
Used to keep me from laughing out loud
But that's gone
We don't think that way no more
That's gone, turn around, turn the volume down
We're counting the days down

I've seen some old friends sort of die
Or just turn into whatever
Must've been inside them
And whatever all of us had then in common
Grew up and left home
We don't think that way no more
Turn around, turn the volume down
We're counting the days down

The Last Polka lyrics - ben folds five

Well, she crept back in the house at half past three
Shook her head to see him snoring in his sleep
If you really loved me she said
I wouldn't have to be so mean

He's a heap of junk that pours from his top drawer
Sometimes likes to spread it out around the floor
It's evidence of what he was like
He likes to remember when...

[chorus:]
Sha la la, sha la la lo li
The end is growing near
We're treading water now
And holding back our tears
And the day is rising
We're sinking sha la la lo li

In a minute it will all be coming down
And they know it now but no one makes a sound
Such a shame to ruin this bright
Lazy summer day...

My my, the cruelest lies are often told without a word
My my, the kindest truths are often spoken, never heard

She said, "You've been pushing me like I was a sore tooth.
You can't respect me 'cause I've done so much for you."
He said, "Well I hate that it's come to this
But baby I was doing fine. How do you think
That I survived the other 25 before you?"

Boxing Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Howard, the strangest thing
Has happened lately
When I take a good swing
And all my dreams
They pivot and slip
I drop my fists and they're back
Laughing Howard
My intention's become not to lose what I've won
Ambition has given way to desperation and I
Lost the fight from my eyes

[chorus:]
Boxing's been good to me, Howard
Now I'm old, you're growing old
The whole time we knew
In a couple of years I'd be through
Has boxing been good to you?

Howard, I confess I'm scared and lonely and tired
They seem to think I'm made of clay
Another day, not cut out for this
I just want to say, I say

[chorus]

Well sometimes I punch myself as hard as I can
Yelling nobody cares hoping someone will tell me how
Wrong I am

[chorus]

Has boxing been good
Has boxing been good to you?

other songs:

Cool Whip Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Saying shit that don't sound too cool,
like lovey-dovey honey-bunny,
give us all a break dude.
You're checking out.
Cool whip.
Oh Oh Oh.
Cool Whip.
Oh Oh Oh.
Cool whip.
Oh Oh Oh.
Cool Whip.
Oh Oh Oh.
That tops it off,
we think you'd better cool it down.

Guilty Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Another guilty white boy, won't you turn me in?
Always had it easy, charge me for my sins

Ain't been through the slavery, ain't been through the cotton fields
Through the back of a ....., cos I'm guilty

Ain't been through the slavery, ain't been through the cotton fields
Through the back of a ....., cos I'm guilty

Broken bones and bruises, Daddy brought the ball this far
But living on his shoulders, he passed it with his car

I've been through the little league, a 9 years old in the social arena
Oh baby gonna be an appeal, cos I'm guilty

I've been through the little league, a 9 years old in the social arena
Oh baby gonna be an appeal, cos I'm guilty

Always had it easy my future's in the mail
Every reason to succeed, every chance to fail
Ain't got nothing on nobody, .......
When I found that opportunity, .........
........ World War II, ........ Vietnam
I spent my life ........ .my pals
And now I'm guilty

Ain't been through the slavery, ain't been through the cotton fields
Through the back of a ....., cos I'm guilty

I've been through the little league, a 9 years old in the social arena
Oh baby gonna be an appeal, cos I'm guilty

You wonder why we fall on top of everyone
You wonder why we're no fun
Cos we're guilty

Kalamazoo Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Ran out of time, running my mouth
Ran up a tab and all the way back to Kalamazoo
All the way back home
I was surely stoned, now I'm sober in my yard
Can you believe I was there?
Can you believe I've been anywhere else?

There was a time, almost forgot, we had been drifting all the way to Kalamazoo
And I said that I loved you too
All the way back home
There's a little joke, I just made up
How many of me would it take to screw up your life?
One to settle down, one to turn you around
Now I'm sober in my yard
I would say you had to be there, now I regret that you're still there

Seems like you've been frozen, frozen there in time
Waving your goodbyes
Up to the sky

You place on the ..... has faded away
Used to be lost in more than one way
Kalamazoo, don't you know that I've been there too
And it'd put your mind more at ease
If you'd say those words of release
All the way back home

Mitchell Lane Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Having isn't bliss, sunshine is amiss
Happy when you're cold, wanna be alone
He's a lot of steam, she's a lot of breath
Takes a lot to see, takes a lot to beg

And it's just like Mitchell Lane, everything's the same

Wanna kill your friends, reminded you of when
Happy when you're stoned, wanna be old

And it's just like Mitchell Lane, everything's the same
So go on, go on and complain

Remember when we were 15, and Robbie made that stupid face all day
I guess he made his point, cos I'm still here when I could be anywhere

Having isn't bliss, sunshine is amiss

And it's just like Mitchell Lane, everything's the same
So go on, go on and complain
[REPEAT]

Protection Lyrics – Ben Folds Five

Tourists wear their wallets in odd places when abroad,
so as not to be ripped off and ways to ..........
Lawyers write some goofy terms in letters to the future,
so as not to be all screwed by........

So will I.

And I guess I will protect myself from you.
Sometimes I get so tickled I just can't talk.
I will protect myself from you.
I'll keep on reminding me,
I'm always free,
I'm always free to walk.

You're not exactly what I'm looking for,
You don't even know that when I've got it straight,
now keep it in mind,
No you're not what I was looking for.
I just need a little more of what you've got.
A little bit dumb, make me laugh.

And I guess I will protect myself from you.
Sometimes I get so tickled I just can't talk.
I will protect myself from you.
I'll keep on reminding me,
I'm always free,
I'm always free to walk.

.......................different country anyway.

Whatever happens between you and me today,
probably will be OK,
but it won't bother me anyway.

And I guess I will protect myself from you.
Sometimes I get so tickled I just can't talk.
I will protect myself from you.
I'll keep on reminding me,
I'm always free,
I'm always free to walk.

Always free.
Free to walk.
You can't hurt me 'cos I don't care about you.
I don't give a shit about you.

Rocky lyrics - ben folds five

We were in a park
and I could jump so far.
Seems that all I'd ever done,
is smoking pot out in the car.
And this fear faded in,
.......in my old school.

He says
"Ben, we both know you're a saint,
I've been running through these fields
it's such a lovely place you drink,
is it your imagination,
it's been years since I've been on my feet?"

Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's on it's way.
Sun won't be coming out today.
Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's time he went away.
Sun won't be coming out today.

Now I recall,
but I don't know who,
told me Rocky was a runner,
won a medal back in school.
Now at Christmas Momma says,
you go up in Rocky's room.
And as we watch the sun go down,
he thanks me for my dreams.
He says "I know you think you are,
but you're not completely free.
The man who's seen the spectre of....
is completely free."

Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's on it's way.
Sun won't be coming out today.
Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's on it's way.
Sun won't be coming out today.

Then he smiled,
and he turned and walked away.
He said over his shoulder,
"I'll be gone when you're awake."

Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's on it's way.
Sun won't be coming out today.
Now it's Rocky's day,
and it's on it's way.
Sun won't be coming out today.

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