“bitch nation”

written by Dan Reeder

Bitch Nation dances til the break of dawn

long after the last of the guests has gone

a tumbleweed tumbles across her front lawn

then she sleeps with the TV on oo

then she sleeps with the TV on

There's a puddle in the driveway from last night's rain

a car up on blocks and a dog on a chain

it's actually simple but it's hard to explain

oo she sleeps with the TV on

The sharp smell of gunpowder in the air

means meat on the table means Tienemien square

it's hard to know which though if you're not from there

oo she sleeps with the TV on

There's a rock concert poster thumbtacked to her door

cat litter scattered all over the floor

she hears the rumors of famines and wars

as she sleeps with the TV on

oo as she sleeps with the TV on

Bitch Nation dances til the break of dawn

long after the last of the guests has gone

a tumbleweed tumbles across her front lawn

then she sleeps with the TV on

“james brown is dead and gone”

written by Dan Reeder

I wake up and read the paper

James Brown, James Brown

James Brown is dead and gone

I get up and read the paper

James Brown, James Brown

James Brown is dead and gone

I wake up and read the paper

James Brown, James Brown, James Brown

James Brown is dead and gone

I get up and read the paper

James Brown, James Brown, James Brown

James Brown is dead and gone

I get up and read the paper

James Brown, James Brown

James Brown is dead and gone

“brain the doon (part one)”

written by Dan Reeder

Brain the doon and doon the brain

I’m a man, I feel no pain

Whoa I ain’t scared of nothing

Brain the doon and doon the brain

I’m a man, I feel no pain

Whoa I ain’t scared of nothing

Brain the doon and doon the brain

I’m a man, I feel no pain

Whoa I ain’t scared of nothing

“beachball”

written by Dan Reeder

The weak spot on a beachball is the valve

if you don't count the smell

or the fact that

the harder you hit it

the slower it seems to go

til the wind blows

and takes it away

to the side of the bay

where the guard at the gate

has a gun and a phone

and a radio

You say the world isn't fair

you say you don't care

you say it was cheap

and you tell me

the damn thing never did hold air

hold air

as we watch it float toward

the boats over there

where the guard at the gate

has a gun and a phone

and a radio

The weak spot on a beachball is the valve

if you don't count the smell

or the fact that

the harder you hit it

the slower it seems to go

till the wind blows

and takes it away

to the side of the bay

where the guard at the gate

has a gun and a phone

and a radio.

“angels may”

written by Dan Reeder

Angels may come and stand around you

and if you don't chase them away

you're sure to go home with the feeling

that this is your lucky day

And they may laugh and they may tease you

and they may take you by the hand

and on a good day they may feed you ravioli

right out of the can

Angels may come and stand around you

and if you don't chase them away

you're sure to go home with the feeling

that this is your lucky day

And they may laugh and they may tease you

and they may take you by the hand

and on a good day they may feed you ravioli

right out of the can.

“long ago”

written by Dan Reeder

Long ago

before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

long ago before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

Eons it spun 'round the earth and the sun

until it was perfectly round

and I have been waiting an hour now

for a bus on the outskirts of town

Long ago

before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

long ago

before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

Maybe this bus doesn't run anymore

or maybe the schedule is wrong

walking is out of the question from here

it's raining and my youth is gone

Long ago

before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

long ago

before the world had cooled

the moon flew out of the earth

“the walk to the god house”

written by Dan Reeder

The walk to the god house

seems to take forever

people seldom go that way

the path is like a cemetary

groups tend to string out over miles

'cause the people want to just be left alone

And the walk to the god house

often ends in disappointment

'cause the gods there don't move anymore

they sit on the same damp stones

in the same damp glass cages

just like they sat there a hundred years before

The walk to the god house

seems to take forever

people seldom go that way

the path is like a cemetary

groups tend to string out over miles

'cause the people want to just be left alone

And the walk to the god house

often ends in a picnic

the people try to break that god house spell

'cause it always leaves them empty

and it always leaves them hungry

and it always leaves them feeling unwell

The walk to the god house

seems to take forever

people seldom go that way

the path is like a cemetary

groups tend to string out over miles

'cause the people want to just be left alone

“I’ve been hiding”

written by Dan Reeder

I've been hiding for a year

in a cave near Forchheim

evenings I can faintly hear the autobahn

there are wild pigs and deer

and if I had a rifle

I think I could hold out here forever

O Canada

I'm down to my last few packs

of cigarettes all the sugar smacks are gone

and so is all my money

I came seeking peace and truth

three months ago I lost a tooth

and came down with a cough that just won't go away

O Canada

An angel came last night to say

that Buddha just can't hit the B

the root note in the last chord of the last chorus

well you know it's not that easy

if you've ever played a fretless

and hell he's only had the thng since Christmas

O Canada

I've been hiding for a year

in a cave near Forchheim

evenings I can faintly hear the autobahn

there are wild pigs and deer

and if I had a rifle

I think I could hold out here forever

O Canada

“everybody wants a cookie”

written by Dan Reeder

Now some people say they do

and some say they don't

and some say they will

even though they won't

but everybody

everybody

everybody wants a cookie

Some people say they do

and some say they don't

and some people say they will

even though they won't

but everybody

everybody

everybody wants a cookie

“fireball”

written by Dan Reeder

Contemplate the subtle grace of Ditmar

as he drives his race car

through turn six at Riverside in a powerslide

He used to play the cello in a jazz band

O so mellow and so low

the guys would close their eyes and say go man go

Well there ain't now sunshine when she's gone

and there ain't no peace when she's at home

If it had been a boxing match they'd say

he tried to save the bout with a sunday punch

and a knockout in the last round

He braked too late in the back straight

hit the wall they all say that car was a fireball

before it hit the ground

And there ain't no sunshine when she's gone

and there ain't no peace when she's at home

Contemplate the subtle grace of Ditmar

as he drives his race car

through turn six a Riverside in a powerslide

He braked too late in the back straight

hit the wall they all say that car was a fireball

before it hit the ground

And there ain't no sunshine when she's gone

and there ain't no peace when she's a home

“Breathe in on the g”

written by Dan Reeder

Breathe in on the G

and breathe out on the D

you can't help it anyway

just keep on breathing even as you sleep

so breathe in on the G

and breathe out on the D

Zen and Feng shui

nearer my god to thee

Breathe in on the G

and breathe out on the D

you can't help it anyway

just keep on breathing even as you sleep

so breathe in on the G

and breathe out on the D

Zen and Feng shui

nearer my god to thee

“she won’t even blow”

written by Dan Reeder

Excuse me

did you say

you want me

to do something I don't want to do

well baby

just maybe

I can think of something

you don't want to do too

She won't even blow

she won't even blow

she won't even blow me on my birthday

“the weather is a dead man”

written by Dan Reeder

My rockets were disqualified for reasons I'm too old to understand

but there are still a few things that I need to help me become all I can

but speaking of the weather

the weather is a dead man

In chapter one we'll be discussing I need a tube amplifier to express my inner feelings

followed by an in-depth review of that's what you said about the saxophone

but speaking of the weather

the weather is a dead man

As the semester ends we'll be concentrating on why you can't stand to see me having fun

followed by a closing statement based on the concept oh come on

but speaking of the weather

the weather is a dead man

My rockets were disqualified for reasons I'm too old to understand

and there are still a few things that I need to help me become all I can

but speaking of the weather

the weather is a dead man

“troubled soul”

written by Dan Reeder

I know some hard ways to earn a hundred dollars

and I know some easy ways to lose a hundred dollars

if I could only find a way to use a hundred dollars

to soothe my troubled soul

The hard ways all hurt your back and tend

to cost more time than you're willing to spend

make you feel like you've been robbed in the end

you think I wish I never had to do that again

I know some hard ways to earn a hundred dollars

and I know some easy ways to lose a hundred dollars

if I could only find a way to use a hundred dollars

to soothe my troubled soul

I go out and check the prices of exciting new devices

all designed to beat the boredom

love to buy but I can't afford 'em

I know some hard ways to earn a hundred dollars

and I know some easy ways to lose a hundred dollars

If I could only find a way to use a hundred dollars

to soothe my troubled soul

“maybe”

written by Dan Reeder

The first guy I know who died

I can't remember his name

the tenth grade started

he just never came again

all his friends sat around and cried

for a day or two

You can say what you want about immortal soul

when that guy died it left a hole

it was my first clue

that when they're gone they're gone

Maybe Jesus beat that rap

we're not sure

maybe you can live forever

if your heart is pure

or maybe you'll come back

some day a a king prawn

Maybe angels come

and take you away to heaven

or the other way

but from down here it appears

that when they're gone

they're gone

Me and Stevie Gibson used to walk home from school

he used to have this little turn around rule

if you turn around the one way gotta turn around the other way or it's bad luck

He went out rafting on the river

the river went around and the raft went around

and his luck got all wound up and he drowned

and he was gone

Two weeks after Dieter died you could call him on the phone

and he would tell you that he's not home

and it gave you an eerie feeling even though you knew it was just an answering machine

'Cause somewhere deep inside you know

that they don't come back when they go

and he had gone

and when they're gone

they're gone

My mother died in intensive care

we were sitting around singing on folding chairs

when I got the feeling somebody wasn't there

Well I counted noses but it came out right

the doctors said she died that night

but I felt that hole and I knew that she had gone

I looked up death in the dictionary one day

just to see what the dictionary had to say

it's the complete and irreversible cessation of life functions

Which is not very poetic but it's precise and clean

and if you analyze it what that means is

when they're gone

they're gone

“it feels so good”

written by Dan Reeder

I have been away from work so long I can't remember what I do

and god it feels so good

I spend my days surfing ebay buying things I never knew I needed

and god it feels so good

I have been away from work so long I can't remember what I do

and god it feels so good

god it feels so good

“this new century”

written by Dan Reeder

It's weak ass to fake laugh

won't do that no more

I'm going to meditate

according to a schedule

Gonna pimp my situation

learn some jazz chords and bossa nova

watch TV uncritically

I'm down for this new

down for this new

I'm down for this new century

Gonna bone up on wartime ethics

brush up on my chemistry

check the price of farm land around here

come a crash we'll be ready

hey hippie times

are happy times

And less is never more

if it's the right stuff

there's never enough

I'm down for this new

down for this new

I'm down for this new century.

“two songs that i know”

written by Dan Reeder

And now I'd like to play you

one of two songs that I know

there's mary had a little lamb

and heart and soul

And of those two songs

heart and soul would be the better choice

scientifically arranged for trash guitar and voice

It goes on forever

you can play and play and play

until the neighbors call

or you just let it fade away