Dirtminers
AMERICAN TYPEWRITER

All lyrics and music © 2007 Raph Worrick

Sweet Loneliness

Sweet loneliness
and sour frustration
thanks for nothing
thanks for nothing
my only wish
my one redemption
was your attention
your sweet attention
like pity for poverty
is no compensation
bad chance and circumstance
left the hollow ache
of sweet loneliness
and sour frustration
thanks for everything
thanks for everything
my one regret
the missing layer
of our failed protection
of our missed connections
take up a collection
a new army of salvation
of the leftovers and extras
of that longlost harvest season
of sweet loneliness
and sour frustration
thanks for everything
thanks for everything

Empty Boys and Girls

And all the girls have grown up to be beautiful girls
Empty and self-conscious
And all the boys have grown up to want beautiful toys
and Sunday morning’s nauseous
When they were young they stuck out thier tounges at the cameraman
Now they are grown they sit like stone and they think about thier plans
All the worlds at their command

She’s got a ring on her hand and her head in the sand
Nothing left to ponder
He’s got a job at the bank and nobody to thank
Its a perfect wonder
They never knew when they signed on the line at the wedding stand
That this was more than a carnival ride the coal-tender demands
You callus up your hands

Too many nights spent
Baking by the screen
Hollywood lights and
New York magazines

To all the people in line who are clutching thier finds
Waiting for a buyer
They sent a message in time to the kids in thier prime
Stand clear of the fire
She was the pet of the kitchenette set, he was just a man
Still every night when he turned out the light
she longed for something grand
But the morning found her damned

Previously Loved

Theres an old Carhartt jacket
Hanging out on the line
A little frayed at the cuffs
And the zipper runs rough about half of the time

You say youre short on passion
And we’re both short on time
I’m already broke in
So it won’t be no sin to skip the opening lines

Previously loved, previously loved
Its the one saving grace, its the one mercy of being previously loved

A little worn round the edges
Theres a corner stove in
Suffered some stains
Been left out in the rain
But still not ruined

I’ve done my share of holding
Hands of cards and of girls
And its true I’ve been cut
By the edges and such
But the wounds have all healed

Previously loved, previously loved
Its the one saving grace, its the one mercy of being prevously loved

Shiny and new
Has its appeal I suppose
But the comfort of wear
By the marks show your hands where to go

You can tell I’ve been driven
You can see I’ve been worn
Busted and mended
Polished then dented
Patched up and torn

But you’ll know when you’re with me
Why they used me so well
And if I’m not worn too thin
When our time’s at its end
Pass me on to someone else

Previously loved, previously loved
Its the one saving grace, its the one mercy of being previously loved

 

Funeral

he used to sit out in the parking lot
of the drug store or the supermarket
burned out an engine every year
idling there
watching the girls walk by

who goes to the funeral
of the gravediggers mother
who calls on the casket
of the hearsedrivers lover

they put everything
in a box and
put the cover on
thats the end of it

theres a bugle part they’re supposed to play
they have to fake it theres too many everyday
folding the flag in the pouring rain
the widows pain
bounces off the loader

who goes to the funeral
of the gravediggers mother
who calls on the casket
of the hearsedrivers lover

as the flowers wilt
and the note fades
all thats left to read
is the price paid

remember the fire in the filament plant
that one week he had to dig six by hand
won’t allow the backhoe to make the hole
your immortal soul
needs square sides and corners

who goes to the funeral goes to the funeral
of the gravediggers mother, gravediggers mother
who calls on the casket calls on the casket
of the hearsedrivers lover hearsedrivers lover

 

Right Between the Eyes

Shoot me full of cortisone and send me back in
I take it all to heart, I take it on the chin
Sometimes love sneaks up on you from behind
Sometimes love hits you right between the eyes

These days I get to thinking my brain it starts to itchin’
Lately I remember sitting in your kitchen
You should have picked me up and thrown me against the wall
I meant just what I said but it made no sense at all

Do you think I’m out of my mind?
Did you drive me out of my mind?

I headed out on Route 9, past the rusty bridges
That last look that I gave you, Jesus, that was vicious
So thats the last thing you remember in my eyes
I gotta carry that around the rest of my life

Do you think I’m out of my mind?
Did I drive you out of your mind?

You know what its like when you’re driving in new shoes
And your feet won’t do what you tell them to
You go for the brakes, but you clip the gas
You try to make the clutch but its too late to pass

Do you think I’m out of my mind?
I can’t drive you out of my mind

Shoot me full of cortisone and send me back in
I take it all to heart, I take it on the chin
Sometimes love sneaks up on you from behind
Sometimes love hits you right between the eyes

 

Coffee All Morning

He had a piece of John Dillinger
he kept in a jar
The Lindbergh baby’s booties were hanging
from the rear view mirror of his car
He used to drive around this old town all day
And he’d tell me how
He ended up this way
Coffee all morning, beer all afternoon
It ain’t no way of living
But I hope that it don’t end too soon

Back in the old days
He’s been telling me
You couldn’t hardly hear yourself think
Over the whine of the machinery
Pulled out into traffic
Upholstery ain’t leather
And he’s been driving around in circles
From then ‘til never
Coffee all morning, beer all afternoon
It ain’t no way of living
But I hope that it don’t end too soon

He’s got a plan
Says I oughta help him out
Five’ll get you ten, he ain’t got no doubt

Well I grew up in a house
On the other side
With a picture of Jesus on the wall
Off the cover of an old TV Guide
So if it all works out, it sounds good to me
And if it doesn’t we still have alcohol
and caffeine
Coffee all morning, beer all afternoon
It ain’t no way of living
But I hope that it don’t end too soon

My Lovely Assistant

My lovely assistant
Will draw close the curtain
My lovely assistant
Will light the ring on fire
My lovely assistant
Will keep her footing certain
While I’m trying to fly

My lovely assistant
Her hand upon the lever
My lovely assistant
Her million dollar smile
My lovely assistant
Our eyes lock together
Now its time time time

I might as well be down on the other side of town
With a five dollar bottle of wine
She made it clear that if I disappear
She’s letting the curtain back down

Down on the ground
My lovely assistant
I’m looking down
But shes walking away
The saw and the box and
My lovely assistant
And the dark at the close of the day

Two of the chains
Have ten pound padlocks
Two of the chains
Have links made of gold
With two of her hands
My lovely assistant
Lets the rope on the pulley go

This is the end of the act my friends
This is the end of the show
I’d rematerialize but without her eyes
It hardly seems worth it at all

The Flying Girl

Once there was a girl who barely weighed a pound
So when the wind came up if there was nothing to hold her down
She’d fly up over the rooftops of the town
And watch the smoke rising from the chimneys down below

She said its not that I care
For the view from up here
Its that I get so tired of holding on

Her mother would follow through the streets down below
Saying “oh my child oh my child I told you never ever ever let go”
She said “mama, don’t you know my hands get so sore
And sometimes you just have to be the way that you were born”

And the passers by
Who all yearned to fly
Would smile and wave as she blew along

ch Step right up and see the flying girl
The ground reflected in her eyes
Who would choose to be the flying girl
Caught between the earth and sky

All the things she saw when she was in the air
When she came back down she would never share
Through peoples windows sorrow joy and care
All hidden from us walking on the ground

She said I’m not sure that I want a cure
Though its gets so cold up there

(ch)

Once there was a boy who was born without his eyes
He said I don’t mind not knowing day from night
But I hate not being able to cry
One day he heard a sound as the wind died down
As if someone came to ground nearby

I know you want to hear
Theres a love story here
And there may be, we can only hope

Paragon Park

They dropped us off in front of Playland
And we flew up over the hotdog stand
We were too young to even hold hands
So we watched the waves coming in on the sand

Saltwater taffy
Bubblegum machine
I wore my new sneakers
You wore your new blue jeans

Pa pa pa pa Paragon Park

Five dollars in quarters
Fifty cents a ride
Looking back over my shoulder
At how you made me feel inside

Musclemen and the coaster
Fifteen stories tall
We laughed at the barker
Yelling “skiball skiball skiball”

Pa pa pa pa Paragon Park

It may be that I have wasted time
But some of what that got me
Is something you can’t buy
They tore the coaster down
The midway thats all gone
But I think of your hair in the nightbeach air
And it all comes back so strong

Pa pa pa pa Paragon Park

Step right up and take a shot
Hey young fella in the blue tshirt,
I bet your aim is hot
Everybody is a winner
That young lady next to you,
don’t you want something to give her?

Walking out on the beach now
The skyline’s so damn bare
Staring up at where that big wheel spun
Wondering if you’re out there

Not that we’d have much to say
After all this time
But I imagine you agree
That night was pretty fine

Pa pa pa pa Paragon Park

American Typewriter

I have got an american typewriter
it was built in 1962
I am gonna write a little letter
I am gonna mail it off to you

Ginger cookies and vanilla ice cream
You said I need something for my hair
You said go on put on another record
I heard your mom coming up the stairs

Price of postage is going up but you know I just don’t care
Double sided on onionskin and I’m folded up in there

I have got an american typewriter
it was built in 1962
I am gonna write a little letter
I am gonna mail it off to you

Heard you’re living way out west in Kansas
Theres a song thats called than don’t you know
Do you ever think about that time we
Rolled your car right over in the snow

Its been ten years maybe even twenty
I can’t tell you why I even care
You don’t owe me not even a phone call
That much later waiting for my share

Licked the glue on the envelope and it tastes just like your skin
Fold the paper in halves then thirds thats about the shape I’m in

I have got an american typewriter
it was built in 1962
I am gonna write a little letter
I am gonna mail it off to you