Last Dog & Pony Show

Look through the classifieds, maybe i'll find a friend who cares
(decent and true, but my interests are few)
How would i reply? start with "i've never done this before"

And all the chains that bind, you might find they're just threads that float around
It's fun to fantasize through someone else's eyes

Every week, i read the advertisements from start to end
(stable, mature, but a little unsure)
What i am i looking for? #340's in here again

Like the characters portrayed in a play no one ever stops to read
I have to say that this all seems strange to me
It's not that different from my life
Condense it down into five lines
Now i know the reason why these ads all look alike

How can anyone describe who they are in a page or less?
(desperately looking for someone, i guess)
But when the morning comes, both of you will be scratching your heads

In the aftermath, head to the bathroom to straighten up and then
You realize you forgot your toothbrush again

And what you saw in those five lines:
Did it materialize?
Now you know the reason why that one's in there every time

Look through the classifieds
Who's in the classifieds?
I'm through with the classifieds

This fever on my mind / i'm burning down inside
My luck may never change / or so it seems that way
I know in seven years / this curse will disappear
Where has my ladder gone? i feel like i've been robbed

In taking everything from me now
I'm making over what i hoped to be, i know
This is my only folder left with all these words
You've taken everything from me now

You take my license plates / you've taken everything
The place where i belong / you take all my songs
You've taken what i wanted / the few things that i kept
I turned around to help someone / and then you helped yourself

In taking everything from me now
I'm making over what i hoped to be, i know
This is my only folder left with all these words
You've taken everything from me now

So take away the skin / you scratch until you win
And in this lottery / what is the prize for me?
I'd give you anything / but i can't match this happiness
What's right or wrong / where do i belong?

In taking everything from me now
I'm making over what i hoped to be, i know
This is my only folder left with all these words
You've taken everything from me now

Where has my ladder gone? you take all my songs
Where do i belong?
In taking everything from me

Scratching at the surface / keep the conversation light
Lest i seem offensive / wouldn't want to be ostracized
I don't want approval for what i say
Only an honest reaction
All i get are looks of confusion
I guess i lost you somewhere along the way

I found out some time ago that people can live with their lies
Finding ways to bury bones in graves full of alibis
I don't give a damn what anyone thinks
Every time i try to reveal the truth
All i get are blank expressions
I guess i lost you somewhere along the way

Bullshitting me, bullshitting you
To the point where no one cares
With everything so far away from where it ought to be
I guess it's safer there
Who knows the difference any more
Is this how life is going to be from now on
I could never dance, so i guess i'll take my chances
I've got nothing to hide

Good things come to those who want it, but no one likes what remains
Like the drudge that washed up from the ocean and spoiled your finest day
There, beneath the moon, you can only see the shadow
Of the sun from the other side
It seems the stars have blurred your vision
I guess i lost you somewhere along the way

Tell me that you're feeling trapped in this life, thinking of moving away
You say that it's all for the best, we'll both be better off that way
My jaw hits the floor as the words sink in
I didn't know you felt so strongly
Makes me wonder what went wrong

Trust barely drips through the sieve / and i still can't believe it
Our love fades and drifts away / stand by for the last refrain
The moving trucks are pulling up in our front yard

So this is the way that it feels / i wondered how this might feel
The sound of your voice fades away like an echo in some empty cave

The 411 in my area code has got no listing for me
All my mail sits there in the post box, it seems i've lost the key

Coffee, it comes to a boil / the percolator's making noises
No one left to blame / stand by for the last refrain
I still hear the moving trucks back up in our front yard

Today is the day i forget all about it / it's over, don't worry about it
Today i can open the window / today is the day i can fly

Today i am starting the rest of my life / today, i can touch the sky
And i can leave that beeping sound of that truck behind

No moving trucks to hold me down

Floodlight, arizona / the fire trucks rush in
Double wide double bed / specks of ceiling paint fall off the tin
And they're standing by / brow begins to moisten as you take
Another hotshot to stiff you up / the room is spinning now

That's it, man / inhibitions fall by the wayside
Happy man / you don't care what's happening
To you now, it's all one big blur of lights and action
Later on, you find out
You've been had, you've been tricked, you're exposed, you've got it

Made in the skin trade with your heavy head and heart, you fall apart
And the hole in your arm won't heal the pain you're feeling
Made in the skin trade, darling / every stitch of you has been revealed
And there's nothing left to conceal

Hemispheres so high and mighty / velveteen and chalk delight
You've become the new obsession of everyone that you've caressed
But you can't tell who recognizes you / can't tell who knows your face
Can't tell anything, can't tell anyone what you've done, you've got it

Made in the skin trade with your heavy head and heart, you fall apart
And the hole in your arm won't heal the pain you're feeling
Made in the skin trade, darling / every stitch of you has been revealed
And there's nothing left to conceal

Who was around when the world was falling down?
Who turned away? couldn't bother to be around this now
Who walked away when the game wasn't fun to play?
And my escape became my only game

Hand me over and hand me down
Get me out of your sight
No direction, my compass is broken
Where'd you leave me tonight?

I was a child, and now it seems so long ago
Why'd you abandon me? maybe it's not for me to know
No explanation needed, nothing can change the way things went
You just weren't interested, i guess, i guess

Some days fine, others out of my mind
And the curse i curse is the worst it gets
I hold it inside as you sleep, as you hide from
The mess that you made of your life


(who was around when you were hungry?
Who eased the pain of all your sadness?
Who played with you when you were lonely?
Who was around?)

What will your conscience say? maybe you'll change the channel soon
Or simply hide it in the chest of drawers inside your room
Like old linoleum, battered and worn beyond repair
Go burn the whole house down, like anyone cares

Maybe in time, these indelible lines will
Fade like the hopes and the fears you denied
These feelings are gone, they've been buried along
With the rest of the mess that you made in your chest of drawers