Oh no, here we go again
It's time to spend the last lucky dollar
Can't you see it now: sleeping on the train
And singing that sad refrain
Oh.. You could have been a contender
By the look in their eyes
You can see that they despise you
But you know it doesn't much really matter
Because there's the train, there's the track
Don't say goodbye and don't look back
Because if you do
You know that you're going to shatter
You never took me where I wanted to go
You never told me what I wanted to know
You couldn't see what I was trying to show
It must have been some strange reaction
And you split me when I started to crack
And you forgot me when I went off the track
And you just put another knife in my back
It must have been some strange reaction
Must be some strange reaction of a chemical kind
When all your problems develop complications
Can't get to sleep when all the people on the street
Are just like insects crawling on a carcass
You were crawling when I wanted to fly
You were laughing when I wanted to cry
And where were you when when I wanted to die?
It must have been some strange reaction
I was cursing when you tried to pray
To an idol with feet of clay
You had a party but nobody came
It must have been some strange reaction
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
It must have been some strange reaction.
Firewater - Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire Album Lyrics
Firewater - Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire Lyrics
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Bourbon and Division
On the corner of Bourbon & Division
Crawling down the crooked streets at dawn
She said: don't come back, all is not forgiven
So you fall inside a bottle and a song
Splinters of thought dropping slowly
Snapping like branches in the wind
So you light a dog-end smoke
And you're laughing as you choke
And you give the wheel of fortune one more spin
Do you remember what you came here for?
Her words of wisdom scratched into the door
You can almost taste the emptiness
Hung inside her tallow dress
Can the darkness be as empty as it seems
When the factories of night hum with their dreams?
And you watch a skinny dog cut across that dusty lot
Like the surface of the moon
In the decompression chamber
Cooling in the conversation pit
Sleeping underneath yesterday's papers
And pretending the tsunami hasn't hit
Friday was the crucifixion
Saturday cremation under glass
The Resurrection was on Sunday
No, correction, make it Monday
'Cause Monday's when they come to take the trash
Do you remember what you came here for?
Her words of wisdom cut into the door
You can almost taste the emptiness
Hung inside her tallow dress
Can the darkness be as empty as it seems
When the factories of night hum with their dreams?
And you watch a skinny dog cut across that dusty lot
Like the surface of the moon
Crawling down the crooked streets at dawn
She said: don't come back, all is not forgiven
So you fall inside a bottle and a song
Splinters of thought dropping slowly
Snapping like branches in the wind
So you light a dog-end smoke
And you're laughing as you choke
And you give the wheel of fortune one more spin
Do you remember what you came here for?
Her words of wisdom scratched into the door
You can almost taste the emptiness
Hung inside her tallow dress
Can the darkness be as empty as it seems
When the factories of night hum with their dreams?
And you watch a skinny dog cut across that dusty lot
Like the surface of the moon
In the decompression chamber
Cooling in the conversation pit
Sleeping underneath yesterday's papers
And pretending the tsunami hasn't hit
Friday was the crucifixion
Saturday cremation under glass
The Resurrection was on Sunday
No, correction, make it Monday
'Cause Monday's when they come to take the trash
Do you remember what you came here for?
Her words of wisdom cut into the door
You can almost taste the emptiness
Hung inside her tallow dress
Can the darkness be as empty as it seems
When the factories of night hum with their dreams?
And you watch a skinny dog cut across that dusty lot
Like the surface of the moon
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Refinery
Tonight
Strung out
Like a hazy web of lights
Until the dawn
And the rain
Is falling all along
The Reiperbahn
And you're gone
Ain't it strange
It seems like no one
Touches you these days
Must be unclean
And their words
Are haunting you
Like shadows veiled in storm
Never ending
And she shimmers from the sky like a million golden opportunities
All scattered on the ground
And floating in the gutters of your memory
She's written on the overpass and her broken promise sleeps beside the factory
She's ugly in the dawn and her dress flies on the fence below the refinery
Refinery
In the air
Anonymous
And floating in your chair
You rewrite the story
What's your name?
And tell them who you are
And why you came
And they believe you
Thinking back on nights
When you were just a broken doll
Behind the window
And you know
That no matter which way
You decide to go
You're never going back there
And she shimmers from the sky like a million golden opportunities
All scattered on the ground and floating in the gutters of your memory
She's written on the overpass and her broken promise sleeps beside the factory
She's ugly in the dawn and her dress flies on the fence below the refinery
Refinery
Strung out
Like a hazy web of lights
Until the dawn
And the rain
Is falling all along
The Reiperbahn
And you're gone
Ain't it strange
It seems like no one
Touches you these days
Must be unclean
And their words
Are haunting you
Like shadows veiled in storm
Never ending
And she shimmers from the sky like a million golden opportunities
All scattered on the ground
And floating in the gutters of your memory
She's written on the overpass and her broken promise sleeps beside the factory
She's ugly in the dawn and her dress flies on the fence below the refinery
Refinery
In the air
Anonymous
And floating in your chair
You rewrite the story
What's your name?
And tell them who you are
And why you came
And they believe you
Thinking back on nights
When you were just a broken doll
Behind the window
And you know
That no matter which way
You decide to go
You're never going back there
And she shimmers from the sky like a million golden opportunities
All scattered on the ground and floating in the gutters of your memory
She's written on the overpass and her broken promise sleeps beside the factory
She's ugly in the dawn and her dress flies on the fence below the refinery
Refinery
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
When I Burn This Place Down
After 29 years
On the stroke of 13
I woke up from my life
Like it was all just a bad dream
My get up and go
Had just got up and split
After you ground me under your heel
Like a spent cigarette
When your memory's crashed
When your out on the tiles
Just remember that
Everyone loves a good kid
Who can loose with a smile
When they break both your legs
Don't come running to me
And baby if you were drowning
I'd throw you a funeral wreath
When I burn this place down
I'll make sure you're around
Girl, I want you to see
The big smile on my face
As I hitch a ride out of town
Well, I ain't gonna come to your party
But baby, I'm sure gonna dance on your grave
It's the least I can do
For the time that I spent as your slave
On the stroke of 13
I woke up from my life
Like it was all just a bad dream
My get up and go
Had just got up and split
After you ground me under your heel
Like a spent cigarette
When your memory's crashed
When your out on the tiles
Just remember that
Everyone loves a good kid
Who can loose with a smile
When they break both your legs
Don't come running to me
And baby if you were drowning
I'd throw you a funeral wreath
When I burn this place down
I'll make sure you're around
Girl, I want you to see
The big smile on my face
As I hitch a ride out of town
Well, I ain't gonna come to your party
But baby, I'm sure gonna dance on your grave
It's the least I can do
For the time that I spent as your slave
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
The Circus
THE GIRL:
I remember a jet slowly scraping
Low and heavy across a sky of slate
I remember the angle of your elbow
As it doubled back
In the crack of fists across a face
I remember the suck of boots in mud
Guttural, sexual, in those clandestine woods
THE KILLER:
Down at the river's edge
Below the concrete bed
The smell of lilac in your hair
Where the stinging nettles grow
The the lonely rushes blow
I left you in a culvert there
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
Cause the circus is coming to town
Cause the circus is coming to town
THE GIRL:
I remember dying to cry out
But throat-stuck with briars and stones
As your ruddy lips grew much ruddier
THE KILLER:
Step you lightly now
We must keep our voices down
The dogs of remorse
Follow close on the wind
Take your face off, don't be shy
They can't hunt you with their eyes
But surely they know the scent of sin
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
Cause the circus is coming to town
Cause the circus is coming to town
THE GIRL:
I remember falling, falling back
Into that tangled bed: a mesh of twigs
Deflowered like a virgin bride
In the ground swell of spring
Underneath that deciduous canopy
Propped up with jagged scaffolding
Is that a train or thunder coming?
Is that a train or thunder?
I remember a jet slowly scraping
Low and heavy across a sky of slate
I remember the angle of your elbow
As it doubled back
In the crack of fists across a face
I remember the suck of boots in mud
Guttural, sexual, in those clandestine woods
THE KILLER:
Down at the river's edge
Below the concrete bed
The smell of lilac in your hair
Where the stinging nettles grow
The the lonely rushes blow
I left you in a culvert there
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
Cause the circus is coming to town
Cause the circus is coming to town
THE GIRL:
I remember dying to cry out
But throat-stuck with briars and stones
As your ruddy lips grew much ruddier
THE KILLER:
Step you lightly now
We must keep our voices down
The dogs of remorse
Follow close on the wind
Take your face off, don't be shy
They can't hunt you with their eyes
But surely they know the scent of sin
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
Cause the circus is coming to town
Cause the circus is coming to town
THE GIRL:
I remember falling, falling back
Into that tangled bed: a mesh of twigs
Deflowered like a virgin bride
In the ground swell of spring
Underneath that deciduous canopy
Propped up with jagged scaffolding
Is that a train or thunder coming?
Is that a train or thunder?
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
I Am the Rain
You: back on the town
Skulking around
Looking for something that you lost
What was the price?
And who paid the cost?
And I'm watching
You: hard shiny and cold
And me: feeling so old
Cause I have waited so long
Waited so long
Waited for nothing.
And I, I am the rain
You: back on the case
Checking your face
Looking for evidence of time
Where has it gone?
Our lines have been drawn
And we follow
You: antiseptically clean
And me: like a broken machine
And I have been broken so long
Broken so long
Broken and hollow
And I, I am the rain
You: antiseptically clean
And me: like a broken machine
And I have been broken so long
Broken and hollow
And I, I am the rain
Skulking around
Looking for something that you lost
What was the price?
And who paid the cost?
And I'm watching
You: hard shiny and cold
And me: feeling so old
Cause I have waited so long
Waited so long
Waited for nothing.
And I, I am the rain
You: back on the case
Checking your face
Looking for evidence of time
Where has it gone?
Our lines have been drawn
And we follow
You: antiseptically clean
And me: like a broken machine
And I have been broken so long
Broken so long
Broken and hollow
And I, I am the rain
You: antiseptically clean
And me: like a broken machine
And I have been broken so long
Broken and hollow
And I, I am the rain
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Balalaika
When the moon opens up her eye
And the sun bows down his head
You come stealing softly to my bed
When the dogs chase rabbit dreams
Cats are milking up the fire
You dance toward me
Balanced on a slender wire
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
How I miss your sorrow and your smile
Now the trees are whispering
As I lie here in the grass
Waiting for this long, cold night to pass
A thousand eyes are gazing down
Like bullet holes shot into the roof
As I lie here scratching
For a grain or truth
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
How I miss your sorrow and your smile
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
Drink with me before I have to go
Before I have to go
And the sun bows down his head
You come stealing softly to my bed
When the dogs chase rabbit dreams
Cats are milking up the fire
You dance toward me
Balanced on a slender wire
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
How I miss your sorrow and your smile
Now the trees are whispering
As I lie here in the grass
Waiting for this long, cold night to pass
A thousand eyes are gazing down
Like bullet holes shot into the roof
As I lie here scratching
For a grain or truth
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
How I miss your sorrow and your smile
Balaliaka sing to me
Like a siren from the deep
Balaliaka sing a tender song
Balaliaka soothe my soul
Like you did so long ago
Drink with me before I have to go
Before I have to go
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Mr Cardiac
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Where's my heart attack?
I placed my order six hours ago.
Come on, listen man
You got to understand
I got places to meet
And people to make
And money to blow
Heyy Mr. Solitaire
I ain't no Frigidaire
Don't play the martyr
Like the rest of those clowns
Get off your easy chair
Call Tony Millionaire
Cause we're going to town
And you're setting 'em up
And I'm knocking them down
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Don't tell Chameleon Man
He never understands
Sits on his fortune
And stares at the wall
Let's hot-wire a Cadillac
Take it to hell and back
Let's get away from it all
You've got her in your hand
She's got him by the balls
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Little Miss Succubous
Caught a downtown bus
Chasing the dragon a quarter to five
Spare me the tickertape
Time to negotiate
Give me the long and the short
Are you on the inside?
Is she dead or alive?
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Where's my heart attack?
I placed my order six hours ago.
Come on, listen man
You got to understand
I got places to meet
And people to make
And money to blow
Heyy Mr. Solitaire
I ain't no Frigidaire
Don't play the martyr
Like the rest of those clowns
Get off your easy chair
Call Tony Millionaire
Cause we're going to town
And you're setting 'em up
And I'm knocking them down
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Don't tell Chameleon Man
He never understands
Sits on his fortune
And stares at the wall
Let's hot-wire a Cadillac
Take it to hell and back
Let's get away from it all
You've got her in your hand
She's got him by the balls
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Little Miss Succubous
Caught a downtown bus
Chasing the dragon a quarter to five
Spare me the tickertape
Time to negotiate
Give me the long and the short
Are you on the inside?
Is she dead or alive?
Hey Mr. Cardiac
Please can you spare me ten dollars?
Hey, what do you say Mr. Cardiac
I'll pay you on Friday
But can't you help me with a dime?
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Snake-Eyes and Boxcars
Daddy was a dirty fighting man
He walked tall with his money in his shoe
With a left and a right
And a sonny say goodnight
Eyes were a cold steel blue
Momma went down like a ton of coal
Shared her bed with anyone who dared
Wash your hands
Take it like a man
Never let em know your scared
Never let em know your scared
Oh, what shall we do with the drunken failure?
Shanghai the bastard to Australia
If we never see you again
Buddy that'll be too soon
Everybody knows that the odds ain't even
Show me a god that's worth believing
Better place your bets cause the boat is leaving
Underneath an eastern moon
Underneath an eastern moon
Sissy had a thing for contraband
Nose to the grindstone
Finger in the pie
No way out
Give the kid a clout
Drowned her in a pint of rye
Brother was a drunken gambling man
Rolled his dice and always played the fool
Roll 'em high
Sock 'em in the eye
Beat him like a rented mule
Beat him like a rented mule
Oh, what shall we do with the drunken failure?
Shanghai the bastard to Australia
If we never see you again
Buddy that'll be too soon
Everybody knows that the odds ain't even
Show me a god that's worth believing
Better place your bets cause the boat is leaving
Underneath an eastern moon
Underneath an eastern moon
(repeat 1)
He walked tall with his money in his shoe
With a left and a right
And a sonny say goodnight
Eyes were a cold steel blue
Momma went down like a ton of coal
Shared her bed with anyone who dared
Wash your hands
Take it like a man
Never let em know your scared
Never let em know your scared
Oh, what shall we do with the drunken failure?
Shanghai the bastard to Australia
If we never see you again
Buddy that'll be too soon
Everybody knows that the odds ain't even
Show me a god that's worth believing
Better place your bets cause the boat is leaving
Underneath an eastern moon
Underneath an eastern moon
Sissy had a thing for contraband
Nose to the grindstone
Finger in the pie
No way out
Give the kid a clout
Drowned her in a pint of rye
Brother was a drunken gambling man
Rolled his dice and always played the fool
Roll 'em high
Sock 'em in the eye
Beat him like a rented mule
Beat him like a rented mule
Oh, what shall we do with the drunken failure?
Shanghai the bastard to Australia
If we never see you again
Buddy that'll be too soon
Everybody knows that the odds ain't even
Show me a god that's worth believing
Better place your bets cause the boat is leaving
Underneath an eastern moon
Underneath an eastern moon
(repeat 1)
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
One of Those
Johnny wiped out
He can't walk
He's got a prosthetic hip
(yeah yeah)
And Jenny don't care
She can't talk
She got Prozac 'scrip'
(oh no)
And daddy's alright
Just retired
He's got an artificial heart
(yeah yeah)
But mommy don't mind
She gets her loving
At the Jiffy Mart
(oh no)
And they look so sad
In their regulation check-out clothes
It makes me so glad
That I'm not one of those
No, I'm not one of those
Will Jimmy's going down
But it's okay
He's got elevator shoes
(yeah yeah)
And sissy got a jones
Riding her bones
She got the methadone blues
(oh no)
But I'm on hold
And I don't mind
I've got the muzak groove
(yeah yeah)
Cause it's gone cold
But I won't fight
Cause I'm born to lose
(oh no)
And they look so sad
In their regulation check-out clothes
It makes me so glad
That I'm not one of those
No, I'm not one of those
He can't walk
He's got a prosthetic hip
(yeah yeah)
And Jenny don't care
She can't talk
She got Prozac 'scrip'
(oh no)
And daddy's alright
Just retired
He's got an artificial heart
(yeah yeah)
But mommy don't mind
She gets her loving
At the Jiffy Mart
(oh no)
And they look so sad
In their regulation check-out clothes
It makes me so glad
That I'm not one of those
No, I'm not one of those
Will Jimmy's going down
But it's okay
He's got elevator shoes
(yeah yeah)
And sissy got a jones
Riding her bones
She got the methadone blues
(oh no)
But I'm on hold
And I don't mind
I've got the muzak groove
(yeah yeah)
Cause it's gone cold
But I won't fight
Cause I'm born to lose
(oh no)
And they look so sad
In their regulation check-out clothes
It makes me so glad
That I'm not one of those
No, I'm not one of those
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Hold On Slow John
All the locks are broken
Everything's been stolen
Hold on, Slow John
All she left you was a slogan
Now your heart is breaking
Lonesome and forsaken
Hold on, Slow John
There's always a chance
For the taking
Hey now, two is a crowd
Plus that's what you get
For dogging around
Nothing I can say to you
Will return her grace to you
Nothing I can do for you now
Remember when you couldn't wait
To get out of the starting gate
Well, that all seems like history now
Trucks along the highway
No one's going your way
Inside a crippled car
Celibate stars
You wonder if anyone's noticed
You're gone
So hold on, Slow John
There's no getting used
To the taste of a gun
Looking for the silver lining
Where's the f*cking happy ending
Words reverberate and then decay
There's no need to say you're sorry
Cause you know that she ain't sorry
She just shut the door and walked away
Everything's been stolen
Hold on, Slow John
All she left you was a slogan
Now your heart is breaking
Lonesome and forsaken
Hold on, Slow John
There's always a chance
For the taking
Hey now, two is a crowd
Plus that's what you get
For dogging around
Nothing I can say to you
Will return her grace to you
Nothing I can do for you now
Remember when you couldn't wait
To get out of the starting gate
Well, that all seems like history now
Trucks along the highway
No one's going your way
Inside a crippled car
Celibate stars
You wonder if anyone's noticed
You're gone
So hold on, Slow John
There's no getting used
To the taste of a gun
Looking for the silver lining
Where's the f*cking happy ending
Words reverberate and then decay
There's no need to say you're sorry
Cause you know that she ain't sorry
She just shut the door and walked away
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire is the debut studio album by Firewater, released in 1996 via Jetset Records. It is a marked difference in sound from Tod Ashley's previous work in Cop Shoot Cop. In 2017, the album was re-issued on vinyl in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of its release by Checkered Past Records.
Performed By:
FirewaterGenre(s): Alternative rock, Ska
Year: 1996