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Weekly Song Project v2

by Jonathan Burks

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1.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
2.
one grain at a time lifting weight from the stone giving up to the wind what aint mine to hold can't tip the slope of the hill gotta lessen the load techtonic plates aint got nothing on me rearranging my face grinding glacially where I'm at right now aint where I'm gonna be get my needle stuck on a particular note swimming round and round confusing ocean for moat if the craft is sound why not get in and row? every step of the way every bend of the fold I'm breaking skin crawling out of my mold I aint the same as I was before what I am right now tomorrow won't be no more
3.
I aint got no money, I aint got no girl fear I been misplaced I aint wanted in this world like a square peg lego I don't seem to fit I lay me down upon the wall but I don't hear no click gradients of static saturate the lens I'm having a hard time making out any kind of sense like a fly in jello, embedded in the hoof frozen, full of dread unclean and underfoot trudging thru another day goddamn this life roll on aint nothing around every bend except another way to fall cut my teeth at every turn (the con is long and wide) spitting sand out the side of my face water beats rock over time
4.
roll me up, I wanna get you high I wanna be the smoke that gets in your eyes honey dim the lights I'm gonna shake your mind you so good, wonderful and weird some other kind of people must have dropped you here I get a far out feeling when you hold me near I been running round like a chicken with no head just a bloodless body propped up on fear and dread honey you woke the ghost that been sleeping in my chest waking up aint never been so sweet that good old sun left alone this dream honey you so fine I aint never going back to sleep roll me up, I wanna get you high wanna be the smoke that softens your eyes honey dim the lights I'm gonna shake your mind
5.
6.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
7.
8.
bottle of wine deep running on 4 hours of sleep instead of getting a bite to eat I tottered to the bar and got blasted out of my mind,so wicked so divine now my body feels so dirty but my mind is clean a friend ran into me there falling out of my bar chair when closing time arrived she offered me a ride I gave her a hug goodnight said 'darlin you're alright' fumbled with my keys and stumbled up the stairs getting wasted, getting drunk getting lit and all tore up it aint good but that don't bother me none once in awhile you gotta let loose the reins run wild with the joy and the pain dumb down that stuffy brain and have some fun it aint cool the way I live let me be clear folks and friends I do the best I can but I'm a flawed man my role in this model aint glue it's more like a stompin shoe the pieces just make more sense to me when i'm smashed this world is one of woe this life it aint no joke it's as dear to me as all the good people i've known if you see me at the corner bar eyes glazed, drinking hard it aint cause i hate this life I love it so
9.
10.
you gotta beg, you gotta bow you gotta bite you're lip and kowtow they pink slip, they straight trip knock you down a peg every chance they get the game is fixed, seven-ten split man, that's the only way them pins get set but the powers that be aint got nothing on you and me they don't know joy, they don't know fun least not how good we get it done you crack me up, you fill my cup and when I'm wrong you let me know what's up we're getting by, side by side we gonna take everything in stride come what may, you'll see nothing standing but you and me when I'm feeling down, like I wanna quit I think on my folks and my friends they wouldn't leave no note, just up and split leave me alone in this filth to tread it's sink or swim, you float my boat and together we gonna row row row we might be lost at sea but we're sailing on you and me
11.
I aint got no money, I aint got no girl fear I been misplaced I aint wanted in this world like a square peg lego I don't seem to fit I lay me down upon the wall but I don't hear no click gradients of static saturate the lens I'm having a hard time making out any kind of sense like a fly in jello, embedded in the hoof frozen, full of dread unclean and underfoot trudging thru another day goddamn this life roll on aint nothing around every bend except another way to fall cut my teeth at every turn (the con is long and wide) spitting sand out the side of my face water beats rock over time
12.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
13.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
14.
I aint hungry roof over my head no kind of problems are the only ones I have something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right running water fruit on the table all kind of program on the internet cable something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right tear in the fabric smudge on the blueprint everybody gone maverick a frayed bunch of loose ends something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right
15.
ants in my pants, moon in the sky my heart it dance when she walk by throw back my head, full of praise she wake the wolf, she raise that kane gotta have her, gonna make her mine I'm courting heartache, one more time she break my head, she bust my mind she throw the ocean on my appetite pawed and pummeled, out to sea torn asunder when she wave at me dead man walking, in comes the tide I'm courting heartache, one more time
16.
the sun it sets and then does shine in some other patch of sky here we sit neath friendly dome hand in hand all alone all alone all alone so it goes all alone your my friend great and good until the end, knock on wood arm in arm down the road in between all alone when we get to where we go there's a hand, there's a home until then here we stroll all around all alone
17.
I can tell by the way that you walk and the way you slang your talk you and me gonna get along at least until that morning sun comes 'round everything flits and fleets so it goes, so it seems I'll be sad tomorrow when you go but I'd rather be sad than leave here alone I'm reaching out my hand may I have this lonely dance make my night more grand honey won't you be my one night stand the fruit don't fall far from the tree I'm at your trunk on my bended knee hoping your boughs might reach down here where I tend to be won't you drop a corn-dog a bone come over and stay at my home hold me forever for now now now at least until that morning sun comes 'round
18.
thirty-something years old recovering alcoholic Jon Burks is in the place the stage, man I'm on it Johny Bizzle with the flame to the wick rock a many style, flow indiscriminate from Woody Guthrie to Old Dirty Bastard my influences range from Wimbledon to Nascar I'm not the hardest, not the farthest out still I get around when I roustabout from the Zoom up to the final cut keep it from the gut when I light it up wanna check my stats go ahead and Google me got more tracks than black and yellow got bumble bee I'm not your average rock and roll maverick I be the butter spread on all kinds of sandwiches bring the dip and the fixings for your munchies five second rule, gritty and grungy serve up the floor save with a side of straight face drop a little fly into the soup of the stage like a home cooked meal gets you a different kind of stuffed feel it in my gut when I light it up captain crabby, king curmudgeon only happy when I'm banging out beats in the dungeon got an attitude that could use adjustment me and my git-box, we got some blues to bludgeon dig in and feast, wipe the fur from your teeth I don't keep the lucky foot I eat the whole beast and I been wrestling rabbits till I'm straight jacket manic, bass drum kicking like a habitt it's the missing link that catches the release so I keeps my mange free range off the leash open head like Whoopi on Next Gen when I push pen and Ten Forward my two cents from the Zoom up through to the final cut I keep it from my gut when I light it up
19.
piss and moan don't get nothing grown aint no way around the work I'm up to my teeth in soiled schemes trying to keep my mouth free of dirt two steps back aint nothing jack but a running start 9 to 5's breaking my stride might as well commoditize my heart I wanna get paid gonna grab me a slice they say money don't buy everything but it buy everything I like row my boat against the flow common sense aint my friend if I had a lick I would take the hint and hang up my pen but I'm a stubborn man gonna lay down tracks till my craft catches wind if you don't hoist that mainsail you aint gonna do nothing much but drift I don't rock no bling, that aint my thing I don't roll with rent round my neck I'm living like a king on some rice and beans bouncing from check to check pinching pennies and dimes for some studio time my head aint getting less thick I do it for the art, because it's from the heart but you can't eat a 7" split
20.
whatever has to happen, let it happen whatever the situation, it is fine I don't really need too much of anything no, I don't need anything at all the crux of my fear and apprehension is a rats nest of "what ifs", "shoulda" and "coulda beens" but the moment don't hold no junk and I'm cleaning out my trunk little bits at a time, often as I can sour grapes aint got no vitamin D tiny violins play a thin melody no hope, no despair just hanging in there little bits at a time often as I can whatever has to happen, let it happen whatever the situation, it is fine I don't really need too much of anything no, I don't need anything at all
21.
where you at, that's where the fresh start is back from the dead more times than Jack Harkness I resurrect myself on a daily basis, I'm turning pages I aint a quick read, lessons come slow poke taking my time, digging deeper than the cliff notes dog-eared, highlighter in hand in between the lines is where I'm setting up camp any port in the storm, any shell in the sea I'm crawling and crashing towards any dim opening inspiration it come and go, the only constant is the work flow they say 'strike while the iron is hot' most times you gotta swing even when it's not don't touch that pan pot, I'm hitting sweet spot like getting a fresh cop of Tape Op in the mailbox I'm in the saddle crafting transmission adjust the angle of my mic position any port in the storm, any shell in the sea I'm crawling and crashing towards any dim opening
22.
pretty girl from Vermont you're the only one I want when I'm dead and put in my place won't you lay me down in your lovely state the scenery is the prettiest when it's passing light seems to shine the brightest in the darkness flashing but it must be true love cause I feel so sad I won't never see here again pretty girl from Vermont you're the only one I want when I'm dead and my soul does fly won't you lay me down in your countryside her and her friend they we're shooting pool I got on up off of my barstool I said hello and she said hi I felt a warm fuzzy feeling all deep inside her hair was yellow but her roots we're brown she was visiting from out of town she taught art at a high school I bet all the students there thought she was so cool we talked for five minutes, maybe ten then she went to go watch the band as she sat by the stage and drooled I sauntered back to my barstool pretty girl from Vermont you're the only one I want when I'm dead and put in my place lay me down in the green mountain state
23.
got a heavy handed touch of winter madness feeling lowdown, sunken like Atlantis need me a Stargate, my mind-frame aint taking me no place I want to be my brain got a chemical glitch that makes me wish I didn't exist from time to time my mind gets sick but I'm figuring it out man I'm dealing with it I aint even entertaining the notion just describing the view from this low in the ocean it's hard to see the plankton for the trees when you all up in the teeth of the beast flossing alcohol free going on year three but my demons got mouths to feed they got new moves used to beat 'em down with the booze still learning how to use my new tools won't you lend your lungs to me I could use a melody blue is the surface, darker are the depths reporting from the floor till I'm running out of breath I'm sinking down, I'm getting low feeling alright, it come and go pacing around my kitchen, breaking down like fission pull up the game plan and reevaluate the mission I get nuclear when I meltdown, forget to breathe deep and countdown it aint effective, need a new method a proportioned response to the challenges presented sometimes I get too upset can't elevate above the noise-floor in my head waves of static screaming I'm pile steaming over the pettiest of reasons I'm keeping on the light side of the force but deep seated issues got a tight grip on my Swartz I'll be alright man, I aint quitting I just need to stare at this wall a minute convert the tense to present, unwrap each second no returns on what the moment is presenting can't all be tinsel and bows chunks of coal aint nothing but fuel for the fire yo they say it's darkest before the dawn from my window aint no shadows on the lawn I'm sinking down, I'm getting low feeling alright it come and go
24.
lately my mouth don't do nothing but whine need to sharpen the edges of my battle cry I got one foot rooted in the mess I'm in and the other one moving on, I'm spreading thin blade to the path, I don't chiromance got a read on the backside of the task at hand I'm catching lumps taking it on the chin most times where you're at aint where you're trying to get I fall to pieces like Humpty Dump the hunch in my back is packed with psychic junk I'm sweeping up, sorting wants and needs I aint trying to keep what don't fit up my sleeve rebuilding the backend, updating the code rearranging the furniture up in my dome I'm YouTubing yoga, stretching my limbs expanding my reach till I'm handling it drop a line in the water, you catch a boot sometimes resistance and dead weight are not too hard to find fish in a barrel aint no fun to eat I'm seven seas deep, harpoon tucked in my teeth a head that's liquid has got some give what slips through the cracks parts for the fin flash in the pan evaporates quick it's the grease on the grill that makes the fire stick
25.
I asked for a sign, didn't like what it said I kept on keeping on instead they say nothing beats a fail but a try guess that's one thing I'm doing right been kicking round these same old tunes tangled up in a predictable hue all the ink I've spilled on rambling songs aint floating me none or getting me gone stubborn is as stupid does my head knows better but my feet won't budge my donkey sense has got me frozen in this track some kind of death down every other path I wrote my self into a bit part now I'm sketching out the framework of a fresh start they say nothing beats a fail but a try I'm gonna mess it up good tonight
26.
one grain at a time lifting weight from the stone giving up to the wind what aint mine to hold can't tip the slope of the hill gotta lessen the load techtonic plates aint got nothing on me rearranging my face grinding glacially where I'm at right now aint where I'm gonna be get my needle stuck on a particular note swimming round and round confusing ocean for moat if the craft is sound why not get in and row? every step of the way every bend of the fold I'm breaking skin crawling out of my mold I aint the same as I was before what I am right now tomorrow won't be no more
27.
you gotta beg, you gotta bow you gotta bite you're lip and kowtow they pink slip, they straight trip knock you down a peg every chance they get the game is fixed, seven-ten split man, that's the only way them pins get set but the powers that be aint got nothing on you and me they don't know joy, they don't know fun least not how good we get it done you crack me up, you fill my cup and when I'm wrong you let me know what's up we're getting by, side by side we gonna take everything in stride come what may, you'll see nothing standing but you and me when I'm feeling down, like I wanna quit I think on my folks and my friends they wouldn't leave no note, just up and split leave me alone in this filth to tread it's sink or swim, you float my boat and together we gonna row row row we might be lost at sea but we're sailing on you and me
28.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
29.
I aint hungry roof over my head no kind of problems are the only ones I have something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right running water fruit on the table all kind of program on the internet cable something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right tear in the fabric smudge on the blueprint everybody gone maverick a frayed bunch of loose ends something's burning but there aint no light low and heavy can't get right
30.
I found my soul in the cracks of the sofa with an old pizza box and a soda pop bottle top rocking out every day with this new-fangled method pressing my face to the pain to taste this life lesson she is gone the healthy move on through the land of the living while dinosaurs in bliss skip through their doomed existences paving natures way, the embodiment of evolving the bitter-sweet ruthlessness of being human she is gone need me a crush to smush this smoldering ember a new flame to make pale all these stubborn remembrances aint got the gumption to chase no women around so I'll just write it down till all these feelings are gone gone gone gone
31.
32.
once the words came to me now I'm chasing around all these lame and useless verbs and nouns I might be lost I might be found I'm a square the earth is round over around the bend good lord it never ends they say hope springs eternal but she always been my fair weathered friend I had it all and threw it away not just once over and over again I must be lost I must be found the sky was so soft hard is the ground all this syn tax ing my brain all in all I got nothing to say I might be lost but not too lost to find a melody and some bull to ride
33.
34.
struggling to find my place these clumsy hands can't catch no break hustling, too dumb too quit guess some folks aint got no sense nothing left to do chin up and punch through feeling anything but whole busted, every kind of broke the pieces shift, can't get a grip never been quite this over it hard rain filling up the boat best laid plans don't always float the tide just rips, it don't rise or lift 20,000 leagues sitting on my chest
35.
one grain at a time lifting weight from the stone giving up to the wind what aint mine to hold can't tip the slope of the hill gotta lessen the load techtonic plates aint got nothing on me rearranging my face grinding glacially where I'm at right now aint where I'm gonna be get my needle stuck on a particular note swimming round and round confusing ocean for moat if the craft is sound why not get in and row? every step of the way every bend of the fold I'm breaking skin crawling out of my mold I aint the same as I was before what I am right now tomorrow won't be no more
36.
I don't like my roommate, I hate my job I like getting drunk but it don't pay a lot I like getting high, I like writing tunes love me some women, baby I miss you so dissatisfied, so doggone blue pacing the floor, wearing holes in my shoes drinking beer in the morning, smoking all day long I'm in love with a woman who's gotta get around if I had my druthers I would surely stroll stuff my duffle bag and just hit the road if I had the money I wouldn't even pack just hit that ol' highway with the clothes on my back I can't stand my roommate, lord I hate my job I like singing songs but it don't pay a lot going out and getting loaded, I aint never coming down I'm in love with a women who's gotta get around
37.
WSP 138 Paid 03:01
piss and moan don't get nothing grown aint no way around the work I'm up to my teeth in soiled schemes trying to keep my mouth free of dirt two steps back aint nothing jack but a running start 9 to 5's breaking my stride might as well commoditize my heart I wanna get paid gonna grab me a slice they say money don't buy everything but it buy everything I like row my boat against the flow common sense aint my friend if I had a lick I would take the hint and hang up my pen but I'm a stubborn man gonna lay down tracks till my craft catches wind if you don't hoist that mainsail you aint gonna do nothing much but drift I don't rock no bling, that aint my thing I don't roll with rent round my neck I'm living like a king on some rice and beans bouncing from check to check pinching pennies and dimes for some studio time my head aint getting less thick I do it for the art, because it's from the heart but you can't eat a 7" split
38.
lately my mouth don't do nothing but whine need to sharpen the edges of my battle cry I got one foot rooted in the mess I'm in and the other one moving on, I'm spreading thin blade to the path, I don't chiromance got a read on the backside of the task at hand I'm catching lumps taking it on the chin most times where you're at aint where you're trying to get I fall to pieces like Humpty Dump the hunch in my back is packed with psychic junk I'm sweeping up, sorting wants and needs I aint trying to keep what don't fit up my sleeve rebuilding the backend, updating the code rearranging the furniture up in my dome I'm YouTubing yoga, stretching my limbs expanding my reach till I'm handling it drop a line in the water, you catch a boot sometimes resistance and dead weight are not too hard to find fish in a barrel aint no fun to eat I'm seven seas deep, harpoon tucked in my teeth a head that's liquid has got some give what slips through the cracks parts for the fin flash in the pan evaporates quick it's the grease on the grill that makes the fire stick
39.
I asked for a sign, didn't like what it said I kept on keeping on instead they say nothing beats a fail but a try guess that's one thing I'm doing right been kicking round the same old tunes tangled up in a predictable hue all the ink I've spilled on rambling songs aint floating me none or getting me gone stubborn is as stupid does my head knows better but my feet won't budge my donkey-sense has got me frozen in this track some kind of death down every other path I wrote my self into a bit part now I'm sketching out the framework of a fresh start they say nothing beats a fail but a try I'm gonna mess it up good tonight
40.
your heart is always restless your feet they never touch the ground the truth is what you're avoiding your lost and you don't want to be found it's one, one for the money and two, two for the show your heart is good and golden but your soul is all rock n' roll resting in the arms of a woman who wept for forty days and forty nights but aint no flood or mad amounts of love gonna get you clean tonight all your bridges are burning you sail upon a funeral pyre sure as your still moving your bound to be spreading fire
41.
I asked for a sign, didn't like what it said I kept on keeping on instead they say nothing beats a fail but a try guess that's one thing I'm doing right been kicking round the same old tunes tangled up in a predictable hue all the ink I've spilled on rambling songs aint floating me none or getting me gone stubborn is as stupid does my head knows better but my feet won't budge my donkey-sense has got me frozen in this track some kind of death down every other path I wrote my self into a bit part now I'm sketching out the framework of a fresh start they say nothing beats a fail but a try I'm gonna mess it up good tonight
42.
lately my mouth don't do nothing but whine need to sharpen the edges of my battle cry I got one foot rooted in the mess I'm in and the other one moving on, I'm spreading thin blade to the path, I don't chiromance got a read on the backside of the task at hand I'm catching lumps taking it on the chin most times where you're at aint where you're trying to get I fall to pieces like Humpty Dump the hunch in my back is packed with psychic junk I'm sweeping up, sorting wants and needs I aint trying to keep what don't fit up my sleeve rebuilding the backend, updating the code rearranging the furniture up in my dome I'm YouTubing yoga, stretching my limbs expanding my reach till I'm handling it drop a line in the water, you catch a boot sometimes resistance and dead weight are not too hard to find fish in a barrel aint no fun to eat I'm seven seas deep, harpoon tucked in my teeth a head that's liquid has got some give what slips through the cracks parts for the fin flash in the pan evaporates quick it's the grease on the grill that makes the fire stick
43.
getting dirty and down to work hands underneath the hood frontal lobe ‘neath my fingernails diy I don’t knock on wood I might be out of luck but I ain't afraid of rut every valley’s got peaks I might never get out this crevice but it won’t be 'cause I didn’t reach you can give off heat or take it away you can be the radiator or the drain haters don’t say nothing but nay it’s the only phrase they know I’m trying to keep my head moving on a different kind of flow this aint no cruise ship, if you aint moving get out and push bound to get your feet wet some get on little doggie mush stop motion couldn’t capture this slow growth I’m plugging along hard to take in the scope of momentum when the arch is so long early bird catches the worm early worm wiggles off of the hook I’m writhing like a snake in the ocean dancing ‘round every rule in the book
44.
thirty-something years old recovering alcoholic Jon Burks is in the place the stage, man I'm on it Johny Bizzle with the flame to the wick rock a many style, flow indiscriminate from Woody Guthrie to Old Dirty Bastard my influences range from Wimbledon to Nascar I'm not the hardest, not the farthest out still I get around when I roustabout from the Zoom up to the final cut keep it from the gut when I light it up wanna check my stats go ahead and Google me got more tracks than black and yellow got bumble bee I'm not your average rock and roll maverick I be the butter spread on all kinds of sandwiches bring the dip and the fixings for your munchies five second rule, gritty and grungy serve up the floor save with a side of straight face drop a little fly into the soup of the stage like a home cooked meal gets you a different kind of stuffed feel it in my gut when I light it up captain crabby, king curmudgeon only happy when I'm banging out beats in the dungeon got an attitude that could use adjustment me and my git-box, we got some blues to bludgeon dig in and feast, wipe the fur from your teeth I don't keep the lucky foot I eat the whole beast and I been wrestling rabbits till I'm straight jacket manic, bass drum kicking like a habitt it's the missing link that catches the release so I keeps my mange free range off the leash open head like Whoopi on Next Gen when I push pen and Ten Forward my two cents from the Zoom up through to the final cut I keep it from my gut when I light it up
45.
I aint got no money, I aint got no girl fear I been misplaced I aint wanted in this world like a square peg lego I don't seem to fit I lay me down upon the wall but I don't hear no click gradients of static saturate the lens I'm having a hard time making out any kind of sense like a fly in jello, embedded in the hoof frozen, full of dread unclean and underfoot trudging thru another day goddamn this life roll on aint nothing around every bend except another way to fall cut my teeth at every turn (the con is long and wide) spitting sand out the side of my face water beats rock over time
46.
silent night, holy night purple dome, approaching light golden pink glorious crown pouring splendor on centuries down songs of heavenly peace sweet songs of heavenly peace silent night, holy night all is calm, all is quiet softly listens the wondering air holy infant with clustering hair sleep in heavenly peace sleep in heavenly peace silent night, holy night all is one, love's pure light radiant beams from thy heavenly face speaking the knowledge of abundant grace songs of heavenly peace sweet songs of heavenly peace
47.
sometimes I'm up other times I'm down something different always coming round I got thin skin pulled taunt over tender frame one breeze and I'm flying squirrel blowing round every which way dark thoughts rolling down the barrel of my mind synapsis claw and scratch leave me staring down the great divide I can feel something breaking but it aint coming quick enough there's a breakdown in the making but it aint coming quick enough all this slo mo salvation is quickly making me nuts
48.
on mushrooms in the moonlight twenty-five years ago I knew you for the first time your head beaming rivers of gold heavy frozen branches bursting silent and still halo round your frame throwing light down on Graceland Hill when I was a kid winter brought lost wind and flight thin plastic spaceships sailing on physics and ice into the cold we climbed to catch that thrill one with the now zooming down Graceland Hill innocence lost experience awkwardly won your hands told mine how to finish what didn't get done headlights grabbed our shadows and tossed them into the chill cold dark relief of the backseat at Graceland Hill
49.
50.
51.
bound to crack some eggs when you're hatching plan I'm breaking dirty, I got hatchet hands there's more than one way to get across I'm riding backdraft, tossing matches like a boss small mind fit inside small frame hanging big picture on the walls of my brain adjust the angle of the view till the colors pop and the sound rings true ear to the ground, rumble pulling me down the road that siren song got me locked in like Hypnotoad I'm moving forward, I've gathered my wits they're tied up in a kerchief at the end of a stick how lucid is the dream how tight is the stitch of the seam there's glue in everything there aint no meant to be carving a fit for my frequency in the mix high pass the mud, notch filter my niche eyes peeled, poised to grab the glitch 0 10 01 get it in I got feet in my shoes and a new attitude abide like The Dude when life gets rude I'm punching trees, gathering building blocks plucking the fruit of hard knocks glasses on my nose, chewing on some prose songbird takes life from the worm in the rose I'm building flight on the meat of the blight tossing tunes like a kite to catch a higher sight how lucid is the dream how tight is the stitch of the seam there's glue in everything there aint no meant to be
52.
nothing pressing to do today think I'll roll a spliff and drift away set up camp in my inner space think on nothing at all I'm gonna tuck these blues away save em up for a sunny day let the shadows on the wall battle the grey dissolve tomorrow brings a little everything I'm getting gone, I'm on my way stepping out on a taller plane all these tumbles from grace don't mean nothing at all I never been to outer space hear the view there is 'A-OK' you can see it all the cracks in the wall the crush of the dream little everything
53.
I been writing more than I been living I been talking to myself more than anybody else it's an odd inclination I been given love the alone time, live for the song I been thinking, lord I been thinking round and round these walls my thoughts scramble and crawl the only time my soul is calm completely is when my head is empty and there's room for the song it's all been sung and done before I know stronger hands than these have crafted finer works of prose this light aint the brightest but it shines love the limitations, live for the rhyme I been dreaming, baby I been scheming thought maps on the ceiling, post-its on the cabinet doors let this be my tombstone when I'm gone die when you have to, live for the song
54.
leaves are getting thin out here on the limb you can see the landscape in all it's vacant heartache full force of the wind cutting thru my chin sand of my glass jaw rolling thru the back door mind on the prize nose to the grind head in the clouds boat on the brine I'm owning this moment victory is mine hands on the plow toes on the line moving on what's next with embryonic steps goosebumps are my map quest follow my excitement shattered like a glass floor picking up my slack jaw no stitch left to hem haw you get what you ask for resistance is fertile friction grows the flame furrows on my brow could use some gasoline the tiger needs an eyepatch went ahead and grabbed my groove back man, I got a deep scratch nothing gonna salve that
55.
aint no wrong side of the bed when you're waking up warm and fed set of lungs pumping breath arm around your chest aint no star that shines longer than a finite time you get one go around feet barely touch the ground and you're gone and you're dead I never been one to rise with hope singing out my eyes but I'm learning to shift my temperament a bit I been above, I been below I been flush, I been flat broke sometimes this life just floats other times it don't I never been one to rise with hope singing out my eyes but I'm learning to shift my temperament a bit
56.
everybody needs someone we all need somebody to love it's been said it gets done we all need somebody to love Preacher Casey told Tom Joad human beings we are one big soul I can't say I don't know seems to me it just might be so everybody needs someone we all need somebody to love it's been said it gets done we all need somebody to love Captain Janeway, Kirk and Picard exploring life in the belly of the stars back home their people finally earned some peace they learned the hard way we was all on the same team everybody needs someone we all need somebody to love it's been said it gets done we all need somebody to love
57.
I hate my mind it froth and spit it wound too tight it tourniquet I hate my mind it don't let go it don't know how to ebb and flow I hate my mind it don't relax cold and coiled poised for attack I hate my mind it don't play nice it nip and poke it pick dumb fights I hate my mind it don't land no punch it swing and lurch just out of touch I hate my mind it don't work it's all ass and no twerk I hate my mind it don't play nice it nip and poke it pick dumb fights I hate my mind it don't quit 24-7 open for biz
58.
I aint got no money, I aint got no girl fear I been misplaced I aint wanted in this world like a square peg lego I don't seem to fit I lay me down upon the wall but I don't hear no click gradients of static saturate the lens I'm having a hard time making out any kind of sense like a fly in jello, embedded in the hoof frozen, full of dread unclean and underfoot trudging thru another day goddamn this life roll on aint nothing around every bend except another way to fall cut my teeth at every turn (the con is long and wide) spitting sand out the side of my face water beats rock over time
59.
lost on the way lost on the way already good and gone lost on the way got a heavy heart full of hope and dread teeth on the tail foot on the head angle of the bone shakes out the roll cut of the jibe carves out the stroll lost on the way lost on the way stepping on a sweet song lost on the way out of sight, out of mind out of space and time in between the lines of the infinite monkey mind you can't sample or hold the sine don't unwind it's the attack, decay, release that sustains the ride lost on the way lost on the way it's all good and gone lost on the way
60.
well I aint been laid in a month of Sundays this life it aint been no fun can't remember when I had some arms around me or felt a kiss descend upon me I've known loneliness but not like this Lordy this life, it aint no fun used to get into trouble, used to get into fun stuck in a rut so wide and deep dinosaur bones more alive than me most women want a man with a job that pays at least some kind of living wage working every day, no money in the bank this life it aint no fun aint got much leverage to impress or woo when you're pushing 40 and pushing broom top of the stairs, single bed, single room this life it aint no fun used to get into trouble, used to get me some now I aint doing nothing but a bunch of hum-drum stuck in a rut so wide and deep miles of ocean coming down on me you reap what you sew, aint that the truth oats don't grow no kind of fruit sitting neath the tree, staring at my shoes this life it aint no fun
61.
there lies my heart hung up on the fence stubborn ripple thru the rag is the only breath that's left gotta get over, gotta get on caught up in the barbwire ,roasting in the sun I do believe my goose is cooked serve it up what's done is done gotta get over, gotta get on dragging my heels, no bounce left in my step plugging along is the only move I got left gotta get over, gotta get on caught up in the cusp of some kind of release frozen in the wave, ice blocks around my feet gotta get over, gotta get on
62.
63.
you're not alone, it aint you the way you feel is only passing thru it aint nothing but a mess of wind the wild rough edges of the good within you got troubles it's true but they aint nothing that you can't get thru don't take it hard, honey you're alright even a broken window lets in the light we all catch a bit of rain every picture looks different from the inside of the frame you got troubles it's true but they aint nothing that you can't get thru this world of shadows tells no truth that grunt work falls on the likes of you the light might not be any more real sometimes you gotta grab whatever tools you can steal you got troubles it's true but they aint nothing that you can't get thru
64.
piss and moan don't get nothing grown aint no way around the work I'm up to my teeth in soiled schemes trying to keep my mouth free of dirt two steps back aint nothing jack but a running start 9 to 5's breaking my stride might as well commoditize my heart I wanna get paid gonna grab me a slice they say money don't buy everything but it buy everything I like row my boat against the flow common sense aint my friend if I had a lick I would take the hint and hang up my pen but I'm a stubborn man gonna lay down tracks till my craft catches wind if you don't hoist that mainsail you aint gonna do nothing much but drift I don't rock no bling, that aint my thing I don't roll with rent round my neck I'm living like a king on some rice and beans bouncing from check to check pinching pennies and dimes for some studio time my head aint getting less thick I do it for the art, because it's from the heart but you can't eat a 7" split
65.
I got nothing left to take that won't fit on my frame I've given it all away I aint holding nothing but a guitar and a song and a little something something hey hey I don't want what can't fit in my lungs give me some room to breathe and a bit of that indica meow super trooper I'm a real Roto-Rooter chewing thru till I get unstuck dirt in my teeth, chasing grit with elbow grease got a gullet full of sticks and mud I'm going to bite off more than I can chew that's how you find out just what you can get thru I aint sitting on my hands, no if buts or ands I aint praying on my knees getting down to work, inspiration is for jerks the muse aint the boss of me I'm going to try and fail and fail and try some more until I get at that getting at I'm searching for aint sitting on my duff, got a bug in my butt busting hump every day luck is for chumps, these hands fist pump my fingers don't cross they bang I don't want what I didn't earn that candle's got more surface to burn
66.
I got nothing left to take that won't fit on my frame I've given it all away I aint holding nothing but a guitar and a song and a little something something hey hey I don't want what can't fit in my lungs give me some room to breathe and a bit of that indica meow super trooper I'm a real Roto-Rooter chewing thru till I get unstuck dirt in my teeth, chasing grit with elbow grease got a gullet full of sticks and mud I'm going to bite off more than I can chew that's how you find out just what you can get thru I aint sitting on my hands, no if buts or ands I aint praying on my knees getting down to work, inspiration is for jerks the muse aint the boss of me I'm going to try and fail and fail and try some more until I get at that getting at I'm searching for aint sitting on my duff, got a bug in my butt busting hump every day luck is for chumps, these hands fist pump my fingers don't cross they bang I don't want what I didn't earn that candle's got more surface to burn
67.
there's circles on the floorboards where I wound my nights into the cupboards of my neighbor's lives running down this small room my secrets storm the halls the best and the worst of me dripping from these walls I'm leaving here and I'm never coming back the past holds dear what don't fit on a future track imprints from my forehead blood from my tongue air still displaced from my lowest rung hole in the drywall fist shaped in size salt in the carpet shook from my eyes I'm leaving here and I'm never coming back it's getting clear this is not my fade to black handled my possessions piece by piece till they granted their blessings and set me free now I'm nothing but a body a man shaped leaf guided by the fall pinched from the tree I'm leaving here and I'm never coming back the heart of fear fills up what you think you lack
68.
I'm gonna roll and tumble baby, stumble through every town gonna romp and ramble 'till my name gets around I'll be doing this 'till I'm 76 no doubt at least until these old planks and beams give out I was born to ramble, I was born to step and stroll don't you think about me honey, when I go I got ants in my pants, toes up in my sox I got a heart that's aching like a big beat that just won't stop I'll be doing this 'till I'm 76 for sure head in the clouds and my feet all up in the dirt I was born to ramble, I was born to step and stroll don't ya think about me honey, when I go
69.
70.
71.
I can't quite seem to get it right feeling the heft of my loneliness tonight there's no way around it evidence abounds there's something wrong with me rust, bondo and duct tape crack in the fuel tank got a hole in me that can't be killed running on fumes every which way but loose can't catch no thrill there's a flaw in the design the meat of my mind aint blessed with no special gifts you work with what you got when it aint a lot only so much you can do a work in progress, obsessive neurotic a red hot mess, a stone cold fool can't take a hint don't know how to quit guess I'll push on through can't quite seem to get it right I'm feeling the flex of my loneliness tonight there's no doubt about it evidence abounds there's something wrong with me
72.
I have a hard time letting go afraid to lose my hold upon some kind of feeling that I've come to know get my head wrapped around some notion I've found when it outlives its usefulness I forget to put it down it's a thin line between what's real and just how ya feel I don't trust any one of us not to slip on that banana peel a joke lands or it don't some plans just won't keep on darlin, keep rolling on whatever floats your boat be a dog, get your head out the ride is going past suck it up, every ounce of wind this weather aint gonna last
73.
aint waiting round with bated breath boot drop don't designate next step you get yours honey, I got mine I'm working out my piece of the pie I took my last chance gonna grab something better than that disconnect, discontent working all the time, barely making rent feel a bit like human fuel for somebody else's dream come true you aint got a chance you have something better than that the world we're in has got the bends coming up too quick thru the primal depths mounting pressure, space/time rift in our bones as we breach the surface on the tail winds of the soul we aint got a chance we have something better than that
74.
roll with the punches follow my hunches drink a 6pack for lunch and smoke that shit all day long It's me Johny B the honky tonk m.c. piece of straw in my teeth when i flow fancy free stoned on the weed and the beer for sure loose like Willy and haggard like Merle it's Sunday morning and I'm coming down damn straight fools can drink up in the brew town so raise them glasses and put em back the spatula is raised for a playful slap on the rump we bring it like that so get up and get down brew city keep it simple kinda more like a town fresh and crisp as autumn in the Midwest Godbless Wisconsin Chicks working class cause I'm a Milwaukean 8 days a week that's how we be rocking it life is a bitch a switch a flicker in the darkness it's cold and heartless but it's on it's on we keep it loose we keep it country them city gooses taste a little bit funky go ahead and savour the gamey flavor aint no shame in this piss poor behavior everyone's talkin bout a stimulus package i'm down at Lake Park hunting fowl with a hatchet life is a bitch a switch a flicker in the darkness it's cold and heartless but it's on it's on
75.
I got piss poor life skills for a grown-ass man honey I aint as tall as you think I am quiet desperation throwing 'round its weight got me dancing a side-step shuffle down this load bearing plank time waits for no one every man got needs there's somebody else that I have to be quiet desperation loosing its restraint floating on the surface tension held taut behind her face I suppose I should have seen it coming how could I know it would be as sweet as this every pause and mis-step have brought me here every finish line don't bring only cheer quiet desperation got nothing left to say I hear between the lines crawling 'round the page I suppose I should have seen it coming how could I know it would be as sweet as this
76.
your heart is always restless your feet they never touch the ground the truth is what you're avoiding your lost and you don't want to be found it's one, one for the money and two, two for the show your heart is good and golden but your soul is all rock n' roll resting in the arms of a woman who wept for forty days and forty nights but aint no flood or mad amounts of love gonna get you clean tonight all your bridges are burning you sail upon a funeral pyre sure as your still moving your bound to be spreading fire
77.
they say happiness don't grow on trees but your love grows wild and reckless like a weed my heart buds forth like a swollen spring when I walk through your fields of green I drink you up until my cup runs high you make me wanna sing when I feel like dying I know you aint the solution to my woes but this world is a whipping post and I'm getting stoned you make my gray skies green you're the sweetest thing I ever did see I love you Mary Jane for some your love is a cure you help them see straight when their vision is blurred you settle the stomach and ease the pain why the man wanna keep you locked up in chains? they say that to love you is a crime too many who have known you are doing time I guess I'll take your loving on the sly with these smoke rings I take thee for my bride you make my gray skies green you're the sweetest thing I ever did see I love you Mary Jane
78.
mine is a water sign I get wet I get dry it's all just a state of mind mine is a water sign full moon is high I feel the pull of the tide levy's busted open wide flooding this ol' heart of mine liquid is light I seen 'em both in her eyes in the folds of her mind in the soul of her thighs I feel the pull of the tide it cuts like ice carving up this glacial night opening up the great divide swimming in the mystery fishing neath a shady tree sipping from a slippery stream rolling like a stone across the belly of the beast in the mystery sitting on a fallen tree slithering thru the swampy reeds skipping like a stone washing up on the beach there's a path, there's a current viciously determined frothing and churning raw meat in the broth of learning soft curve of a wave cuts like a knife washing away and rearranging the lines of a life the bones of a man fold and crumble like sand in the palm of a plan in the ducts and channels of a hand swimming in the mystery fishing neath a shady tree sipping from a slippery stream rolling like a stone across the belly of the beast in the mystery sitting on a fallen tree slithering thru the swampy weeds rolling like a stone washing up on the beach mine is a water sign I get wet I get dry mine is a water sign
79.
lord have mercy on my wicked soul it keeps taking me places I don't want to go again things that I've said and things that I've done they wont leave me alone I'm going out tonight, gonna drink my mind and look at the ladies looking so nice this space and this time they are mine to fill got a restless heart and a twenty dollar bill one dollar short and two steps behind I try and I try but can't seem to walk no straight line a fate and a path they get bent like a back so I just try to stand up as straight as I can got an itch in me that I cant seem to scratch short on patience and short on cash 'there's floor space at my place if you need somewhere to crash' darling you bet I said as she slid off my lap
80.
81.
82.
hold me like you hold your liquor hold me like you hold your gun ride me like a freight train baby be my honey buns you and me's two peas in a pod two drunks in a brown paper bag i know i can't quite drink like you but i can still hang gin soak baby my gin soak girl apple schnapps of my eye rye whiskey of my world here's to you my darlin a toast to you my friend when we get together girl the good times never end you're smarter than most and tougher than the rest sexy as you wanna be and cool as a pimp long as I'm being honest, sometimes you're a total bitch somehow it suits you honey, don't ya change a bit you're complex like a russian novel you've got depth in spades you blush at the silliest of things yet you really don't care what nobody say you're classy and brassy, a woman to the core a feminist to the nth degree without the pomp and bore
83.
84.
I try to talk to you and you avoid me like the plague my loving aint contagious I aint no leper babe you got me going crazy it just aint right wont you please call me up or better yet honey stop by oh my god I'm so hot for you but you turn me cold as ice when I try to talk to you you got me going crazy... I should have known it was too easy the way you fell into my arms blew against me like a breeze and like the breeze you was gone you got me going crazy...
85.
oh sweet sister won't you be my morning wanna be you comrade, don't want to be your informant you and I are lovers baby but that don't mean we can't be friends I want your hand to hold I aint asking for your hand to wed don't wanna be your mister, wanna be your homey saving all of my kisses for you and you only we can take a stroll we don't have to know what's coming around the bend I want your hand to hold I aint asking for your hand to wed I know where you see yourself in the future because you showed me I know you think I'm super dooper but it wasn't me you was holding I wanna feed your campfire don't want to be your white-picket fence I want your hand to hold I aint asking for your hand to wed
86.
I got some bucks in my pocket a gut full of blues churning in my stomach, in my heart, in my shoes burning in my mouth like a stubborn dying tooth I been searching every corner bar for good time to ignite this lonely lonely carcass moping round lame and lifeless oh me oh my man the irony is priceless the cure of my blues is the cause of them too hey hey hey ha ha ha hee hee hee if god has got a sense of humor the joke is on me do what I want, I got style, I got grace so gracefully falling down on my face it aint cool it aint good but it's o.k. I'll get on up out this rut someday I get stuck, I get stumped, I get carried away stuck in all the in betweens that aint got no names caught up in the bramble, stranded in the rain I keep on writing rambling songs but I aint going no place self medicated, frustrated and jaded so lonely lonely lonely getting fucked up and faded there's so many girls in the bar tonight for a change but my words keep getting slurred as they make their way out my face I aint known a woman's touch now for so many days I've reached the born-again-virgin stage of not getting laid I know what to say and I know what to do but I'm too messed up to get up and make a move
87.
88.
89.
90.
money, pussy and weed three of my favorite things getting laid getting paid getting higher than space two out of three aint bad honey please hand me that grass watching you undress feeling blessed I'm on my knees taking in the scene like it's my one and only breath happy as can be sated and free money don't buy love but money buys time and time can be spent making love and doing other fun stuff the holy trinity money, pussy and weed
91.
silent night, holy night purple dome, approaching light golden pink glorious crown pouring splendor on centuries down songs of heavenly peace sweet songs of heavenly peace silent night, holy night all is calm, all is quiet softly listens the wondering air holy infant with clustering hair sleep in heavenly peace sleep in heavenly peace silent night, holy night all is one, love's pure light radiant beams from thy heavenly face speaking the knowledge of abundant grace songs of heavenly peace sweet songs of heavenly peace
92.
hope is a skill much like any other practice don't make perfect, it just makes a problem comes loaded with solutions love aint nothing but the total absence of hate prayer goes up in myriad variation in drink, in dance, in casual conversation in each other's dream we sew our hopeful schemes tail of the river, mouth of the sea open circuit of mud and brine those we've lost, the ones who've left us here in our thoughts, in the air electric in each other's dream we feed our hopeful schemes one unit, cool and complete in the wake of the second line even though it's dark times in the kingdom love and light ruled so hard tonight
93.
I bent my head to the stream and I fed a feast of electric blue light my consciousness is mine to remix and tune however I like flashing on, sine wave of the time grab me some cloud when I want to sit down to ease the ache of body and mind aint nobody's business how you get your kicks no one can walk in the shoes you drive stepping hard, big and bright flutter and wow, here and now phase shift of the infinite ride static and hiss, the rub, the twist color the tape as it winds over and on, wound up tight
94.
you win some, you win none you have fun, you had fun you're undone, you're a whole one little everything you feel bad, you feel good you ought to, you should you're the real thing, you're a ghost dream little everything we all haunt the same grand hall one by one peel like paint from these walls you're hot babe, you're a cold doll your glass eyes seen it all you're a dust spec, you're the whole mess little everything we are pulled from the same dirt root bones and fur, teeth deep in the fruit you unwind, you rewind you playback, you divine you build sense, you hop fence little everything
95.
96.
there's a low mean light thrown down by the moon pushing through this chilly, love-less room it's a hard line, the kind that don't cut no groove stone cold sober and bored to death I watch the candle flicker, take another breath both feet on the breaks, dead weight still on the move don't know what you're made of till you get took apart fingernails and bootprints in every vital part it's a soft life, that's just salt in the wound don't take it so hard, this too shall pass just like the good times, don't nothing last the plot tends to twist when the story-line forgets to move fixed to a point, a ground for every wire parameters surround every kind of fire it's my own hands that done most the damage, it's true both feet lift off for a fraction of a sec when you walk with purpose and some bounce in your step you dance till you don't, that's the move
97.
for the first time in a long while feeling good, feeling alright it's bound to pass and I don't mind I was counting my blessings when I bent all my fingers and toes no more guessing, I'm in the know sometimes my minds eye fix on a stink vibe sometimes I don't see further than my nose I forget that I am where my attention goes I been walking the straight and narrow loose and wide, high and low don't matter where or how get on the go for the first time in a long while I'm feeling good, feeling alright it's bound to pass and I don't mind
98.
it was the best of times it was the worst I can remember if I stretch my mind I can touch a sweet surrender in the tender spots of my harshest season time is always on well money spent on libations a plenty we wrecked our heads we swallowed every penny full bellies swoll on treasure and heavy metal song time is always on body on our tongue we ate alley mulberries the setting sun throwing color at the LSD that low sweet rung we swung from like a tire swing time is always on
99.
100.
WSP 200 02:00

about

B-sides from the archive and works in progress

New track every Tuesday. My goal is to make it to 1,000 songs.

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released September 1, 2014

all songs by Jonathan E Burks unless noted otherwise
cover art background by Nathan Mayer

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Jonathan Burks Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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