Blue in the Face

Everyone's turned their back, of course
Writing a story just to endorse
I used to measure time by the length of the horse
Put a beat behind me and I'll sound even worse
The ghost of you behind me
Like a bleeding watch reminds me
With a smile you can find me
Sitting next to you with my other self beside me
Tin Pan Alley for the new arcade
Holding a funeral for a love not made
Nothing to give you but what do you have for trade?
Call a priest and draw the shades
And backwards down back alleys
Your laugh still brings me to my knees
I've got three cars outside but no keys
If I step out there, let me back in please
And I torture you for fun, hazy memories
I put a loaded gun in every word I speak
I don't ever draw the gun because I laid it down in ink
Looking now for a trace of oil slick
Down on hands and knees to corner the market
Can you tell me please just this:
Is there a room where I can be sick?
And now the thieves gather round me
Trying to sound like me
Wasn't lost till you found me
And the sun has gone down on me too
And a medicine man sells love
The kind you experience with a glove
Like your wedding day seen from above
You keep living because you're just happy enough
I keep living because I'm scared to die
That seems to be my only alibi
And I couldn't tell you why
But there's a poison between you and I
There's a line keeping us apart
It's a crack in some cosmic heart
Clocksprings unwind and fall apart
I don't rehash stories, I make them art