The beer don’t ever slow down It just turns to bourbon When you’re not around When you’re not around It turns to bourbon And Dry Sack sherry When I hit the ground I toppled and out I poured Spilling through the cracks Underneath your door Underneath your door Spilling through the cracks Sinking like blood Through these old pine floors I flooded out into the night Dripping down the street Under dead streetlights Washed down to the creek Found a low tide Sank in the mud Like I sank in your eyes Like I sank in your eyes Like I sank in your eyes Like I sank in your eyes Like I sank in your eyes

Skip town and disappear To where I cannot say Same shit, different hemisphere A hired gun on a sleeper train Sitting cross-legged beside me A mystery with no name Fishnets, stolen microchips White linen with a lipstick stain I’ve got a passport A passport to danger I’ve got a passport A passport to danger Ooh A feeling I cannot describe Covert, status disavowed Adrift with no alibi I can hear the siren’s call at night Always on a secure line I could never work a 9 to 5 Wasn’t cut out for that life Or a normal job or loving wife Or a kid to teach to ride a bike Got no family but my loaded .9 I’ve got a passport A passport to danger I’ve got a passport A passport to danger I’ve got a passport A passport to danger I’ve got a passport A passport to danger

Your ex-wife loved Carson So now you watch Cavett You spilled half a can of beer On your favorite sport jacket And your beige Chevy Vega Just up and died in traffic You can’t beat Detroit No matter how hard you try No matter how hard you try But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit, those sonsabitches Broke down on the freeway Stalled out in the desert Didn’t even want the damn thing The dealer laid on the pressure Your wife was hot for the sales guy Who happened to be your neighbor You can’t beat Detroit No matter how hard you try No matter how hard you try But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit But you know that you can’t Beat Detroit, those sonsabitches Take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home Saw your ex-wife with the sales guy At the park with your kid You were gonna say a word to that bastard But you never did ‘Cause you know that you can’t Beat Detroit Take the bus to work Take the bus back home I take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home I take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home I take the bus to work Take the bus back home Take the bus to work Take the bus back home I take the bus to work Take the bus back home

It’s gonna be a scream in newsprint All over town Dinner parties and stolen blueprints Spinning their heads around A kinescope of a backwards note you’re whispering Keeps flickering On the screen It’s gonna be the buzz of the lounge car On the express train Robber barons and debutante dances Spill off the gossip page Your heart is a triple-coded cryptogram Please understand My love Everyone will toast Our daring caper When they read the feature story In the Sunday paper Never was the kind of man Who liked a scandal But we got the kind of love The press can’t handle It’s gonna be a scream in newsprint It’s gonna be a scream in newsprint The city desk is gonna trace our every footprint It’s gonna be a scream in newsprint Let them stick their top reporter on the trail To no avail They’ll chase Your mind is a cryptic clue unraveling And traveling Through space Our love is a secret crossword they can’t solve Oh, let them talk ‘Til they’re blue in the face

I saw a serpent In a fever dream Coiled around a dagger Its eyes a ruby sheen In the grim blackness A bell began to toll Blaring in my mind Ever since I found a skull I wandered vaults Of torch-lit cobblestone Slowly grasping That I wasn't alone Darkness by night Darkness by day Nightmares even as I lie In bed awake Visions of hell Urging me on Spurring me closer Toward a blood-soaked dawn I felt a presence In my fantasy Keeping to the shadows Yet mere steps behind me I crept into the chamber Or jade lair of the snake He smirked and disappeared But left behind a blade I wrapped my palm Around its ornate handle When I woke up It was in my hand still Darkness by night Darkness by day Nightmares even as I lie In bed awake Visions of hell Urging me on Spurring me closer Toward a blood-soaked dawn I was walking home from work Through the woods The day I found the skull On the path between the Creek and bluff by some rocks Obscured by amber leaves and I stared at it and sensed a change Grow within my brain And I felt strange And I picked it up and stuffed it Into my briefcase and Then I was on my way I unearthed a skull I unearthed a skull I unearthed a skull I want your blood I want your blood I want your Blood blood blood On my blade I want your blood I want your blood I want your Blood blood blood On my blade

I can feel you over my shoulder Projecting into my room What’s the point of painting you a picture You already know the view I can’t keep a secret When you’re around I could lock it up in my brain But it’s still found You say just trust the blinking Oscilloscopes at night My hand picks up the pen But it’s you who writes I can feel the chemicals kicking in The line begins to blur Between delusion and coincidence Is it parapsychology The way that you talk to me Your words spilling out of my head To the notes that you left on my bed In intricate script every one of them said: “I shouldn’t have to deign to chase you I shouldn’t have to deign to chase you” Is it parapsychology The way that you talk to me Is it parapsychology The way that you talk to me Your words spilling out of my head To the notes that you left on my bed In intricate script every one of them said: “I shouldn’t have to deign to chase you I shouldn’t have to deign to chase you”

How would you know? I never said anything I never said anything In a dingy little coffee shop Overlooking the trunk road And some stout man in the car park Arguing on a pay phone I turn the page in the paper The MPs want more cuts I spoon a little more milk In my coffee cup Do fifteen years of civil service Add up to much Would I rather the answer Remain out of touch But how would you know? I never said anything I never said anything Strong resistance to the agitprop In the outlying postcodes And the tin cans in the city Are running out of things they can upload We’re on the threshold of something We cannot fathom what We feast on fanciful plans Then start coughing up Surrendering all sense of purpose To gather dust In a richer man’s manor Locked up out of touch But how would you know? I never said anything I never said anything I never said anything I never said anything Reports of riots in the North Armed attacks at the shuttleport Nervous newsreaders on the vidscreen Smuggling neurostims from the canteen Doped-up tearaways with Molotovs Laser-knives and tear gas and pipe bombs Atomising everything around me Dissolving in one last cup of coffee But how would you know? I never said anything I never said anything I never said anything I never said anyth—

I still have your mixtape I never gave it away Though maybe I should have I still have the faded train Ticket to a distant state Where we kissed inside a cab You were patient with this basketcase Who couldn’t keep his head on straight From the way you made it spin Some things we had to take on faith Hundreds of miles away In a room in a New York inn I keep excavating memories Like artifacts from a dream Buried under a howling desert The ancient ruins of us Still screaming to be seen You spilled coffee in your lap All you could do was laugh And point out my ragged shoes Your eyes contained a map To the future we could have had When we left behind our youth I was anxious to a fault If there’s blame, I want it all It’s one thing I’ll never share I’ll keep it locked up in a vault Every year will just add salt To a wound that won’t repair I keep excavating memories Like artifacts from a dream Hidden down in the deepest jungle The ancient ruins of us Still screaming to be seen

But, ooh, there’s blood Blood on the beach There’s blood on the beach tonight Dead bodies in the surf Blood on the beach tonight There’s a man With a hook for a hand Lurking by the jetty Don’t look at the jetty Don’t go to the jetty Tell your promiscuous friend Not to walk down the jetty ‘Cause, ooh, there’s blood Blood on the beach There’s blood on the beach tonight Dead bodies in the surf Blood on the beach tonight There’s a wraith Who will defenestrate You right out of the lighthouse Push you out of the lighthouse From the top of the lighthouse Tell your dumb jock brother Not to climb up the lighthouse ‘Cause, ooh, there’s blood Take heed There are some extra teeth In the aquatic life By the power plant discharge pipe Be warned Of fish with devil horns And UFO sightings And the bony hands tightening Around your feet And pulling you down, And pulling you down, And pulling you down, down, down We could’ve just Gone to the movies We could’ve just Gone for a cup of coffee We could’ve Gone to a different beach Like maybe one not literally called Blood Beach But, ooh, there’s blood Blood on the beach There’s blood on the beach tonight Dead bodies in the surf Blood on the beach tonight There’s blood Blood on the beach There’s blood on the beach tonight Dead bodies in the surf Blood on the beach tonight Blood on the beach tonight Blood on the beach tonight Blood on the beach tonight

The lights were dimmed The show began Leaned back in the seat And took your hand Can't even count All the compromises Does your palm against mine Justify them, justify them? Under the stars, projected Up on the screen, neglecting All of my dreams To be with you I know it's all subjective My poor old brain, misdirected All of my veins, infected With you You and I don't belong Underneath the same sky There are as many stars As there are reasons why Tell me again I'm so afraid Of being alone I dare you to, I dare you to Under the stars, projected Up on the screen, neglecting All of my dreams To be with you Tell me again I'm so afraid Of being alone I dare you to, I dare you to

Long nights at the lab Trying to make something stick All the residue From industrial glue Can make you feel sick I should’ve stuck by you You could’ve stuck to me But we came apart Like all the prototypes That ceased to be When an adhesive bond Just isn’t quite as strong And doesn’t last as long And starts starting to budge From the slightest touch Is that not love? I said is that not love? Long days in the field Testing different amounts Practical trials Sometimes conjure a smile When you figure it out Resins and cements Epoxies and pastes Trying everything we can To hold two hearts in place Were it all for show My dirty lab coat Would be white like snow Not splattered in mud And slathered in sludge And ragged and smudged And coming undone And covered in blood Is that not love? Find me down in the lab Trying to make things right I swear to God I’m gonna fix our love If it takes all night

Bounce the signal light Off the lake Skirt the rocky shore In a mountain state Creep the creaky dock Toward the boat Touch the foggy glass Draw the secret code Brown-bagging is permitted Plus a heavy veil of smoke Should one want to get lifted We’re gonna just vanish Vanish tonight We’re just trying to vanish Vanish tonight We’re gonna vanish tonight We’re gonna vanish tonight We’re gonna vanish tonight Tarot cards scattered By the portside couch Oscilloscopes blinking Through the menthol clouds UNIVAC mainframe Buzzing down below deck Dozens of electrodes On your boyfriend’s neck Radar picking up some ley lines In the tall peaks to the north Would you please spark up the engine But first have another pour We’re gonna just vanish Vanish tonight We’re just trying to vanish Vanish tonight We’re gonna vanish tonight We’re gonna vanish tonight

When the midnight fog Drapes the dock And the seabirds flee The harbor watch Just clamber up The lighthouse keep When dark shapes appear On a blackened sea There’s a length of wire Strung up in the cave Overlooking the bay And an old radio With one final transmission to make Brass binoculars Watch the rocks ‘Til they’re startled by A stranger’s knock Shadows gliding From tree to tree Reaching for your heels As you race to the beach But the lightering craft Approaching the coast Carries cargo unknown And a covert message Although it’s not so hard to decode Call me should things turn so grim That you can’t take another minute Call me when your heart’s so broke That you haven’t a clue how to mend it Ships in the harbor Beckoning escape Tangles of vines Choking all the gates You’re sending signals in the dark Boats in the harbor Start to lose their interest Statues in the garden Of your long-lost dearest They’re sending signals in the dark And waiting And waiting And waiting And waiting Call me should things turn so grim That you can’t take another minute Call me when your heart’s so broke That you haven’t a clue how to mend it

Burn a couple more bridges Wreck a couple more nights I'm so good at letting you down I'm so good at letting you down Scrap a couple more missions Throw a couple more fights You're so good at breaking me down You're so good at breaking me down I promised you I couldn't do Half of the things That you expected me to Cut a couple more heartstrings Crack every eggshell I'm so good at breaking you down I'm so good at breaking you down Endure a couple more dumb flings Invite you to go to hell You're so good at letting me down You're so good at letting me down Look at me How could I be Anything besides The last thing that you'd ever need You had me figured out And I'm afraid I felt much the same About you How sickeningly simple was it for us To dismantle everything we ever had How disgustingly easy is it for me To clam up every time you say you’re mad I promised you I couldn't do Half of the things That you expected me to Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down Asheville, you’re letting me down

Our little boat is running out of gas The investors worry about their cash I don't crunch numbers but I can do the math No amount of fanfare and splash Will ever win the passengers back The sea turned a ghastly shade of gray As if to mirror this gloomy day Standing out on the deck I feel the ocean spray And on my Walkman I press play And I scrub and earn my pay The Poseidon Express began service With great ballyhoo late last year But now it's 12 months later And it seems all the hubbub is disappearing ‘cause those new hoverships Promise faster round trips And smoother operation But as long as I've still got A skiff to sail on I'll be surely standing at my station Don’t wanna be the bearer of bad news But innovation strikes in twos Now there's a bullet train beneath the ocean blue New York to Liverpool Just 3 hours, give or take a few But wait, Captain, wait, this just in They’ve invented a matter beam in Berlin Now you can jump across planets just as quick as you can grin To the investors’ great chagrin Market research has labeled us has-beens The Poseidon Express began service With great ballyhoo late last year But now it's 12 months later And it seems all the hubbub is disappearing ‘cause that new transporter Makes traveling shorter Much to the public's elation But to me it takes the point Out of taking a vacation When you effortlessly hopscotch From nation to nation The investors scream damnation Stock losing elevation While modern modes of transportation Render fruitless our vocation ‘cause our customers keep crying For instant gratification The Poseidon Express ended service With little ballyhoo early this morning And all the crew dissipated Feeling useless and dated And the Captain issued me a drunken warning He said, "Boy don't you know that The way these things go Everyone alive’s gonna be Replaced by robots And the best thing to do Don't cry in your stew When they finally decide To come and kill us Yeah just take it like a man With a ray gun in your hand Pull the trigger tight And zap yourself headless" Then the Captain stepped back And fired up his jet pack And he blasted off into the blood-red sunset And I stood on the deck Of the Poseidon Express As he vanished off into the blood-red sunset Yeah I stood on the deck Of the Poseidon Express And watched him vanish off into the blood-red sunset