Actual Miles: Greatest Hits

"i make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something i can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry

Well, i coulda been an actor, but i wound up here
I just have to look good, i don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eye
It's interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry

You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff
Kick 'em all around

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do "the innuendo"
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!

It was pretty big year for fashion
A lousy year for rock and roll
The people gave their blessing to crimes of passion
It was a dark, dark night of the collective soul
And i was somewhere out on riverside by the el royale hotel
When a stranger appeared in a cloud of smoke
I thought i knew him all too well
He said now that i have your attention
I got something i wanna say
You may not wanna hear it, i'm gonna tell it to you anyway
You know i've always like you boy
Cause you were not afraid of me
Things are gonna get mighty rough here in gomorrah-by-the-sea

Ya said it's just like home
It's so damn hot i can't stand it
My fine seersucker suit is all soaking wet
And the hills are burning
And the wind is raging
And the clock strikes midnight in the garden of allah
In the garden of allah

Nice car
Ah, i love those bavarians
So meticulous
Y'know i remember when things were a lot more fun around here
When good was good and evil was evil
Before things got so fuzzy
I was once a golden boy like you
And i was summoned to the halls of power in the heavenly courts
And i dined with the deities who looked upon me with favor,
For my talents, my creativity
And we sat beneath the palms
In the warm afternoons and drank the wine
With fitzgerald and huxley
And they pawned the biting phrase from the tongues hot with blood
And drained their pins of bitter ink
Vainly reaching for the bottle full of empty edens
Branded especially for the ones who had come with great expectations
To the perfumed halls of allah, for their time in the sun

And we were stokin' the fires and oilin' up the machinery
Until the gods found out we had ideas of our own
And war was coming and the earth was shaking
And there was no more ruin in the garden of allah

Today i made an appearance downtown
I am an expert witness because i say i am
And i said gentlemen, and i use that world loosely
I will testify for you, i'm a gun for hire,i'm a saint, i'm a liar
Because there are no facts, there is no truth
Just data to be manipulated
I can get you any result you like
What's it worth to you?
Because there is no wrong, there is no right
And i sleep very well at night
No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution
Just people selling t-shirts
Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus
And winning, winning, winning

It was pretty big year for predators
The marketplace was on a roll
And the land of opportunity
Spawned a whole new breed of men without souls
This year notoriety got all confused with fame
And the devil is downhearted babe, cause
There's nothing left for him to claim

He said it's just like home
It's so low-down i can't stand it
I guess my work around here has all been done

And the fruit is rotten, the serpent's eyes shine
As he wraps around the vine,
In the garden of allah
In the garden of allah
In the garden of allah

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But i know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But i know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

Sometimes i wonder where it is love goes
I don't know if even heaven knows
But i know you had some dreams that didn't
Quite come true
And now i'm not the one, little girl, who's
Keeping you
I was either standing in your shadow or
Blocking your light
Though i kept on trying i could not make
It right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world
I know people hurt you so bad
They don't know the damage they can do,
And it makes me so sad-
How we knock each other down just like
Children on a playground
Even after that ol' sun went down-
I was either standing in your shadow or
Or blocking your light
Though i kept on trying i could not
Make it right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world
Oh darlin', this is still a shady little town
And sometimes it's so hard to smile-
For the world, for the camera-
And still have something left
You don't have to prove nothin' to nobody
Just take good care of yourself
I'm not easy to live with-
I know that it's true
You're no picnic either, babe
And that's one of the things i loved about you
But a time will come around when we need to settle down
Got to get of this merry-go-round
I was either standing in your shadow or
Blocking you're light
Though i kept on trying i could not make
It right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world

They're pickin' up the prisoners and puttin'
'em in the pen
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
Rebels been rebels since i don't know when
And all she wants to do is dance
Molotov cocktail-the local drink
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
They mix 'em up right in the kitchen sink
And all she wants to do is dance
Crazy people walkin' round
With blood in their eyes
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
Wild-eyed pistol wavers
Who ain't afraid to die
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
And make romance
She can't feel the heat comin' off the street
She wants to party
She wants to get down
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
Well, the government bugged the men's
Room in the local disco lounge
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
To keep the boys from sellin'
All the weapons they could scrounge
And all she wants to do is dance
But that don't keep the boys
From makin' a buck or two
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
They still can sell the army
All the drugs that they can do
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
And make romance
Well, we barely made the airport
For the last plane out
As we taxied down the runway
I could hear the people shout
They said, "don't come back here yankee!"
But if i ever do-
I'll bring more money
'cause all she wants to do is dance
And make romance
Never mind the hear comin' off the street
She wants to party
She wants to get down
All she wants to do is-
All she wants to do is dance
All she wants to do is dance
And make romance
All she wants to do is dance

The boys of summer
Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer's out of reach
Empty lake,
Empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I'm drivin' by your house
Though i know you're not home
But i can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your
Sunglasses on, baby
And i can tell you my love for you
Will still be strong after the boys of
Summer have gone
I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how i made you scream?
Now i don't understand what's happened
To our love,
But babe, i'm gonna get you back
I'm gonna show you what i'm made of
I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
I see you walkin' real slow and you're smilin' at everyone

I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone
Out on the road today i saw a deadhead sticker
On a cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, "don't
Look back. you can never look back."
I thought i knew what love was,
What did i know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-
I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got that top pulled down and that radio on baby
And i can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone
I can see you-
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got that hair slicked back and
Those wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone