Alas I Can not Swim
Theres a house across the riverbut alas i cannot swim
And a garden of such beautythat the flowers seem to grin
Theres a house across the riverbut alas i cannot swimI'll live my life regretting that i never jumped in!
Theres a boy across the riverwith short black curly hair
He wants to be my loverand i want to be his peer
Theres a boy across the riverbut alas i cannot swim
And i never will get to put my arms around him
Theres a life across the riverthat was ment for meinstead i live my life in constant miseryTheres a life across the riverbut i do not seewhy i should please those who will never be pleased
There is gold across the riverbut i dont want noneThere is gold across the river but i dont want none
Gold is fleeting, gold is fickle, gold is fun!Gold is fleeting, gold is fickle, gold is fun!
There is gold across the riverbut i dont want noneI would rather be drythen held up by a golden gun
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
The Wrote by the writ
They're taking pictures of the man from GodI hope his cassock's clean
The burden of being our holy fellas
Your halo'd better gleam, better gleam
What of all those wayward priests?
The ones who like to drink
Do you suppose they'd swap their blood for wine
Like you swapped yours for ink, for ink
You wrote me, oh so many letters
And all of them seemed true
Promises look good on paper
Especially from you, from you
The weight of all those willing words
I carried all alone
You wouldn't put your pen to bed
When we hadn't found our own, our own
Your sentences rose high at night
And circled round my head
The circle's since been broken
Like the priest before me is breaking bread
I'm being asked to drink the blood of Christ
And soon I'll eat his fleshI'm alone again before the altar
Shedding all my old regrets
The last of which I'll tell you now
As it flies down the sinkI never knew a part of you
You didn't set in ink, in ink
The letters that you left behind
No longer shall I readYour blood's between the pages
And I can't stand to see you bleed
And I'll soon forget what was never there
Your words are ash and dust
All that's left is the song I've sung
The breath I've taken and the one I must
If you're born with a love for the wrote and the writ
People of letters your warning stands clear
Pay heed to your heart and not to your wit
Don't say in a letter what you can't in my ear
What its like
We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange
He ask the man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
Get a job you fuckin' slob's all he replied
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it's like [x4]
Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love
He said don't worry about a thing baby doll I'm the man you've been dreamin' of
But three months later he said he won't date her or return her call
And she sweared god damn if I find that man I'm cuttin' off his balls
And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the doors
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose
Then you really might know what it's like [x4]
I've seen a rich man beg
I've seen a good man sin
I've seen a tough man cry
I've seen a loser win
And a sad man grin
I heard an honest man lie
I've seen the good side of bad
And the down side of up
And everything between
I licked the silver spoon
Drank from the golden cup
Smoked the finest green
I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times
Before I broke their heart
You know where it ends
Yo, it usually depends on where you start
I knew this kid named Max
He used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late at night
Liked to get shit faced
And keep pace with thugs
Until late one night there was a big gun fight
Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45
Talked some shit
And wound up dead
Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of his pain
You know it crumbles that way
At least that's what they say when you play the game
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose
Then you really might know what it's like [x3]
To have to lose...
Yellow
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow".
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all "Yellow",
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know,
For you I'd bleed myself dry,
For you I'd bleed myself dry.
It's true,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.
Theres a house across the riverbut alas i cannot swim
And a garden of such beautythat the flowers seem to grin
Theres a house across the riverbut alas i cannot swimI'll live my life regretting that i never jumped in!
Theres a boy across the riverwith short black curly hair
He wants to be my loverand i want to be his peer
Theres a boy across the riverbut alas i cannot swim
And i never will get to put my arms around him
Theres a life across the riverthat was ment for meinstead i live my life in constant miseryTheres a life across the riverbut i do not seewhy i should please those who will never be pleased
There is gold across the riverbut i dont want noneThere is gold across the river but i dont want none
Gold is fleeting, gold is fickle, gold is fun!Gold is fleeting, gold is fickle, gold is fun!
There is gold across the riverbut i dont want noneI would rather be drythen held up by a golden gun
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
sayingWork moreearn morelive morehave more fun!
The Wrote by the writ
They're taking pictures of the man from GodI hope his cassock's clean
The burden of being our holy fellas
Your halo'd better gleam, better gleam
What of all those wayward priests?
The ones who like to drink
Do you suppose they'd swap their blood for wine
Like you swapped yours for ink, for ink
You wrote me, oh so many letters
And all of them seemed true
Promises look good on paper
Especially from you, from you
The weight of all those willing words
I carried all alone
You wouldn't put your pen to bed
When we hadn't found our own, our own
Your sentences rose high at night
And circled round my head
The circle's since been broken
Like the priest before me is breaking bread
I'm being asked to drink the blood of Christ
And soon I'll eat his fleshI'm alone again before the altar
Shedding all my old regrets
The last of which I'll tell you now
As it flies down the sinkI never knew a part of you
You didn't set in ink, in ink
The letters that you left behind
No longer shall I readYour blood's between the pages
And I can't stand to see you bleed
And I'll soon forget what was never there
Your words are ash and dust
All that's left is the song I've sung
The breath I've taken and the one I must
If you're born with a love for the wrote and the writ
People of letters your warning stands clear
Pay heed to your heart and not to your wit
Don't say in a letter what you can't in my ear
What its like
We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange
He ask the man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
Get a job you fuckin' slob's all he replied
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it's like [x4]
Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love
He said don't worry about a thing baby doll I'm the man you've been dreamin' of
But three months later he said he won't date her or return her call
And she sweared god damn if I find that man I'm cuttin' off his balls
And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the doors
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose
Then you really might know what it's like [x4]
I've seen a rich man beg
I've seen a good man sin
I've seen a tough man cry
I've seen a loser win
And a sad man grin
I heard an honest man lie
I've seen the good side of bad
And the down side of up
And everything between
I licked the silver spoon
Drank from the golden cup
Smoked the finest green
I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times
Before I broke their heart
You know where it ends
Yo, it usually depends on where you start
I knew this kid named Max
He used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late at night
Liked to get shit faced
And keep pace with thugs
Until late one night there was a big gun fight
Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45
Talked some shit
And wound up dead
Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of his pain
You know it crumbles that way
At least that's what they say when you play the game
[CHORUS]
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose
Then you really might know what it's like [x3]
To have to lose...
Yellow
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow".
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all "Yellow",
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all "Yellow."
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know,
For you I'd bleed myself dry,
For you I'd bleed myself dry.
It's true,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.