John Wayne: lyrics

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Ten Gallon Hat
John Wayne
Glimpses of Grace
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writer's block

I paint a thousand pictures here
on the inside of my skull
Sometimes I'll crack it open
though my instruments are dull

I focus in, then out of view
when the blows land on my chin
A wild river's seeping slowly
through the cracks in my skin

I've got a hunger for sweet admiration
but can't exchange it for my occupation
as the
fallen cleric
chief of sinners
poor of spirit

Take all the mud and glory in
the blood that swells my hand
shake it out with delirium tremors
and guide my palsy pen

Who's impressed enough to follow me?
Please consider now the source
Count my golden vanities
in the fire of remorse

I've made an art of clever demonstrations
but can't exchange it for my occupation
as the
fallen cleric
chief of sinners
poor of spirit

I paint a thousand pictures here
on the inside of my skull
Come on, crack it open, kill me
burn the bridges, break the walls

I've got a hunger for sweet validation
but can't exchange it for my old vocation
as the
fallen cleric
chief of sinners
poor of spirit

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

mr. flutter

Well, I'm in a mess
and I need a friend
I've been thinkin' 'bout success
and how the story might end
but with friends like these
who needs enemies?
They've been lurking around
I see them coming down
and

Here comes Mr. Flutter
He and Mrs. Dread, well, they love each other
Gonna build a haunted house
and be my mother and father
They're tyin' the knot
in the middle of my gut
and they both want kids
so there's one in the oven
They've picked out a name (he's called "little Nothin'")
I think he was born to be
my kissin' cousin
He's pullin' the chain
in the middle of my brain

Well, I'm tryin' to write a song
but I don't have the words
and my kids need a doctor
but I'm not insured
and my wife she looks pale
she got the check in the mail
and it's not the amount
we were thinkin' about

chorus

I got a friend on high
and he feels my pain
but I still got this dust
flowin' through my veins
and I wanna have faith
and I wanna know grace
but it's hard to break through
when the rent's overdue

chorus

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

too many angels

Too many angels near the ground
They're buzzin' 'round like
lovely killer bees
Little knick knack cherubs,
busy bodies, always
puttin' on the squeeze
All those shrill celestial voices
and a million phony
holy wills to please
Our vain and pointless genuflections
block the heart's connection
to our knees

Yes I want you
You're the only one I need
I need you
You're the only one that bleeds

Sheets and feathers, tarnished halos
disguising all us
wingless, grounded saints
Their [sic] either fallen or they're broken up
or a little bit too precious
and quaint
There's not enough glue to mend them all
not enough spackle
and paint
Always leaving much too early
and predictably arriving
much too late

chorus

They're tuned to amuse you
and fill you with dread
they're beneath your feet
and over your head
You see them hitch hiking
and under your bed
They hang around gift shops
pretending they're dead

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

boom town

Skeletons are moving under ground
There are angels on the sly
God is busy turning a big wheel 'round and 'round

Camels trudge across the desert sand
with their humps of holy water
They're looking for a home in the needle's eye
See them fly

And we go 'round in Boomtown
('round and 'round in Boomtown)
(but we don't cry in Boomtown)
(live and die in Boomtown)
Up and down

High rises reflect a gleaming spire
It's another faithless Sunday
God's still busy turning the big wheel
'round and 'round

chorus

The fire fell here a long time ago
but the glory could not last
We still wear our veils to the dark afterglow
and pray for some shadow of the past
for a star leading home
above the Savings and Loan

Skeletons are moving under ground
(ghosts and angels on the sly)
God is busy turning a big wheel

chorus

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

you told them exactly what I didn't say

You told them exactly what I didn't say
exactly how I didn't say it
You played them exactly what I didn't play
exactly how I didn't play it
You wrote down exactly what I didn't write
exactly how i didn't write it
You typed in exactly what I didn't type
exactly how I didn't type it

Guess what's good for the money
is good for the soul
and I'm tempted to fill
the credibility hole
You might be my model
'cause you're on a roll
If I ever decide
to go for a ride
on you're [sic] noblest lie
would you be my guide
to riches and paradise?

chorus

You're a genuine imitation
of a virtual variation
an approximate simulation
with your eyes flashing bright
like an angel of light
there are no words for the sight
except "beautiful!" ("tactful!")
"Beautiful!" ("Tactful!")
"Beautiful!" ("Tactful!")

la la la la la la la la la la......
You deserve appreciation
for having served the nation
and to lend your representation
to philistines like me
too naive to see
it's a jungle out there

chorus

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

big shot and miniature girl

There's a miniature girl
and she orbits 'round my world
(this mass known as My Head)
She's feeling at home
knows to launch out on her own
is to be alone or dead

She loves my ascot, pipe, and my smoking jacket
my quick-witted ways and my income bracket
accepts my narrow views and my nasty habits
My irresistible force
keeps her on course
So what about you?
You're welcome, too!

Do you love me, love me?
Maybe you don't
like me like me
You will or you won't
Oh I see, I see
I understand
That's all right, all right
I got a plan
for you to like me like me like me....
yeah I got a plan
to make you my miniature man

Meet the miniature girl
who orbits 'round the world
(this mass known as My Head)
She's feeling at home
knows to launch out on her own
is to be alone or dead

She understands (She's my miniature girl)
All these demands (she's my miniature girl)
She's my biggest fan (she's my miniature girl)
'cos I am her man (she's my miniature girl)
her one and only man (she's my miniature girl)
She understands (she's my miniature girl)
She's my biggest fan (she's my miniature girl)
I've got a plan (she's my miniature girl)
And she needs her man (she's my miniature girl)

There's a Miniature Girl
who orbits 'round my world
(this mass known as My Head)

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

ten gallon hat

I'll put a ten gallon hat
over my devil horns
I'll lasso the sunset, in fact
I'll wear it like a uniform
They'll say "There goes one good man!"
I might fool 'em for another day
then at the crack of one glorious dawn
I'll ride away

I'll be ridin' away
to where they say
that they love you (and they MEAN IT!)
or for instance,
there's no fences
'round your dream when you dream it
and the heart
in the dark
finds a light to redeem it
In the meantime let me say...

God knows I got a ten gallon hat
over my devil horns
I'll lasso the sunset, in fact
I'm gonna wear it like a uniform
they'll say "There goes one righteous man!"
I might fool 'em for another day
then at the crack of one glorious dawn
I'll ride away

Words and music by Terry Scott Taylor
©1998 Twitchen Vibes (BMI)

hey, john wayne

The mighty grunion
are rising up and storming the beach
and on the toll road
the trolls are slipping out of their leash

Hey, John Wayne
it's good to see you
when I get off the plane
Your bronze skin has turned pale
He say's [sic] "Pilgrim, tell me how did I fail?"

On Fascist Island
the reservoir is taking a leak
The money boys and boy toys
are sexually reaching their peak

Hey, John Wayne
we can't get credit
and we're feeling your pain
Mother Marion says "My hands are bleeding
and I wish I were dead!"

Coming down with
deep neurosis
carcinoma
ketosis
It's the Big C
for my Sharona
We got that O.C.
melanoma

Hey, John Wayne,
we never meant
to take your name in vain
He says "It's too late
I guess I'll always be your patron saint"

So please release us
put back the pieces
heal our diseases
extend our leases
The well has run dry
We need a tough guy
We need a dead eye
to save us from the mess that we're in

Hey John
Hey John Wayne
Hey Duke!

A majestic mighty warrior
is rising up and storming the beach...

chicken crosses the road

So you concede
You're on the spot
Find all you need
in what you've got
and run
everybody come
to the otherside
It's all right
gonna be all right

We cross the street
by faith and fear
We catch some heat
but we're in the clear

Love
everybody love
and come into the light
where it's all right
it's all right
gonna be all right

Some fall
Some faint
Some give
Some take
Some true
Some fake
Some small
Some great
Some soon
Some late
We crawl
by faith
'til everybody's home....

You will be led
on through the tide
of lost and dead
so deep and wide

So run
everybody come
to the otherside
where it's all right

Love
everybody love
Come into the light
where it's all right
it's all right
gonna be all right ('cause everybody's home)

Find all you need
in what you've got......

you lay down

In a garden of thorns
my Rose of Sharon
bleeds till she's the color
of the moonlight
and though the angels wrap her
in their feathered arms
they cannot conceal her from
the darkest night

And you didn't say a word
when they accused you
You did not fight back when the whole world used you

When hate was crowned King
and love was diminished
you stood meek as a lamb there
without blemish
And they laughed when you cried out
"It is finished"

You lay down
You lay down
and I'll step upon your back
up high enough
above the fence
to see all the way to glory land

Above the garden of thorns
my Rose of Sharon
climbs up and clings to an old rugged tower
and though the angels offer her a thousand tears
still she wilts in the cold flames
of her darkest hour

And I lied when I said
I never knew you
You did not fight back
when I scarred and bruised you

chorus

And you didn't say a word
when we accused you
You did not
fight back
when we scarred and bruised you

When hate was crowned King
your love never diminished
You stood meek as a lamb there
without blemish
and we laughed when you cried out,
"It is finished"

So you lay down
you lay down
and I'll step upon your back
up high enough
above the fence
to see all the way to glory land

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