Back when I was 4 and I knew the name of every dinosaur I knew how to read ROM comic books My babysitter said I was really smart When the lights went out everything changed The radio music made me feel strange And I had a real bad dream about a gorilla in the bathroom Back when I was 6 and I took some things real serious And I thought that every song that came on the radio Was referring to strange sexual acts Because they thought I wouldn't know the facts And being small is hard and no one ever tells you how And back when I was 8 I would sit outside on an old milk crate And look out at the world from the stoop across the street The boomboxes and the hot concrete And every Halloween they hung A million rubber skeletons across ninth street. And back when I was 12 or so I swear to god I never felt so low Everyone but me was making out and eating cookies I had more than my brain could stand I threw my life in a garbage can I felt so weird I had to disappear In crying suicide disease. At 15 getting stoned felt good and it sent me back to childhood And nothing ever mattered to me more than that. But then 16 became eclipse My brain became apocalypse I was lost and found and I've never been the same. And back when I was 22 I left the best thing that I knew and I gave it up for fortune and for fame I played like I didn't know how I shocked the world I wowed the crowd But I deserved more than what they gave Back when I was 27 still nothing had been forgiven Clay turns into rock and rock just sits So sitting on a crowded beach I'd pretend I was a leech And I'd stick to things here and there for a little bit And back when I was 31 I knew I'd become what I'd become Nothing left to reveal And there was nowhere else to turn So shocked and withered dumb and bitter And in need of a babysitter I'd gladly let my hand fall off and burn burn burn Back when I turned the big 4-0 I realized just how much there was to go And I started to think that being alone forever Wasn't where it was at So I took my head out of the window And I taught myself how to love real fast I started talking about painting With a woman in the laundromat And back when I was 50 and my first wife had just left me I felt okay and I sang my daughter Funny little songs And just when I thought the best was past I fell in love for real at last And it didn't even matter that it had taken me so long And back when I was 63 the public rediscovered me My comic books and albums had all become rare cult-collector items And both my parents were deceased So they didn't see my records get re-released And I got a dog for the first time in my life And back when I was 74 my dog died and I got two more I still felt really good about my daughter And also about my girlfriend And I would sing and draw a little bit But mostly I'd just wake up early and sit And hang out with the puppies and wish that I could live forever And back when I was 87 and my grandson had just turned eleven My woman was dead And my dogs were getting pretty old My body didn't work quite like it should But overall things were pretty good I was getting decent royalties from the reissued comic books and records And back when I was 106 My only friend Was one goldfish Everyone I ever knew was dead and gone And the goldfish never had a name And the neighbors thought I was insane And I flushed it down the toilet when I saw it floating upside down And back when I was 128 I'd sit outside on an old milk crate And look out at the world from the stoop across the street The boomboxes and the hot concrete And every Halloween they hung A million rubber skeletons across ninth street Every Halloween they hung A million rubber skeletons Every Halloween they hung A million rubber skeletons Every Halloween they hung A million rubber skeletons

late at night cloudy white will creep over my old house and the chair where I once sat someone new is there and he'll stare at that wall and we're all parts of an alphabet we spell new words in new spots we're at and the big, round, blue boat drifts around in the dark when you feel like a jerk does it make you confused like how could you become as awesome as you are and still feel like a loser when you feel ugly and petty awkward and unsteady just try not to forget there's so many people who've liked you and I hope that the art school enjoys your big drawing of ruin we've all got good things to do and it's good when we do them from Austin to Brooklyn they're all smart and good-looking we're all parts of an alphabet spell new words with new folks we met and the big, round, blue boat drifts around in the dark and the big, round, blue boat drifts around in the dark and they say that we'll drift for awhile until we die and the sun hits a spiral it's a combination lock and I'm just hoping that I'll get it open and that these joys and frustrations are just turns in the combination

My album's out, I played some shows Some strange things happened i'll have you know (Hey you're Jeff Lewis, you like acid, right?) Some people hear my acid song and seem to take it kind of wrong (Yeah, you're Jeff Lewis. You're the guy that likes acid) Well making druggie mentions has gotten druggie attention But getting you to give me some was not my intention We don't want no LSD tonight I played a show in Chapel Hill some dude dressed like a daffodil came backstage (Hey you want some acid? I got some decent acid) I played a show in Williamsburgh some dude dressed like a giant bird came backstage (Yeah, i got some decent acid, you looking?) We got a lot stuff to do and a long way to drive Thank you for the offer man, maybe some other time We don't want no LSD tonight Well being drunk is fun i guess but being stoned makes me depressed I can't do it (The last time i did acid i went insane, it was awesome!) I did try ecstasy one time and one night i drank some codeine cough syrup (Hey i thought you were into psychedelic music, man) But i'm just a tender thing i can't handle too much stress I start to fall apart after a couple of cigarettes So we don't want no LSD tonight But everybody says Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try But did you hear that song i played about the time i went insane? I hate acid (Oh yeah, that was a good song, man. Do you know where i can get some acid?) I played it till my fingers bled ,you didn't listen to a word I said, I guess (Yeah, that was a funny song. You want some acid?) It made me moan it made me groan it made me lose my mind I do not like that stuff my friend and so I must decline I do not want a little drop, I do not want a gallon Did you see those words right on the cover of my album? I know it can be cool and fun I'm just a bad example So just to set the record straight I've got to say it simple: We don't want no LSD tonight (I think in the right environment you'd be fine.) No. But everybody says Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try Don't you panic, don't you panic Give it one more try No, not for me. Thanks but no thanks.

Don't let the record label take you out to lunch, you're the one that's got to pay at the end of the day. And try not to want people to like you too much, you'll just need more and more flattery to recharge your batteries. And don't let showmanship become more important than honesty, if you don't want to be so many singers you see. You don't have to act crazy to do something amazing, you can be just like you should and still do something really good. And even when you know there's nobody listening, say it to yourself because it's good to your health. I know nothing makes sense if you think too much, religion, a pigeon, radios and television. Though it takes so much strength just not to suck, and not to be a cynic looking for another gimmick. But you are distraught at the thought of losing everything again, and they say it's not the way you play the game but if you win. But don't let the record label take you out to lunch, because every sip of soup is going to get recouped. And you get a good review and then you get a bad review, but don't get suckered either way 'cause none of them know you. But don't let the record label take you out to lunch, because they'll call you a cab and put it on your tab. I'm leaving town for a while but I'll be in touch, one thing that I know is true is that I got a lot to do. And that it takes big heart to make great great art, and I'm just a little dot in the great big pot. But now that I have started and it's hard to stop, I'm wondering at night about the wrong and right. And is somebody your savior if you owe them back a favor, no they are not, so there's only one choice that you got. Don't let the record label take you out to lunch, though the fishes look delicious someone's got to do the dishes. People might say you're insane or just looking to complain. And you need them more than they need you, so don't bite the hand that feeds you. Everyone has been fair and nice and you consider them a friend, but everything still has a price and you don't want to overspend. Because it's your wallet and your soul when the check comes in the end, no matter what the situation, art, love, occupation, I'll hold off on the hors d'oeuvres, it is not what I'm in it for, I only want what I deserve, I want no less, I want no more.

A silver lining Take my building Take my pizza There's cloud I feel so threatened It's a dustbowl Is there hope? A cloud of dust A blue horizon Go to Texas Back to New York Where's my pizza? Where's my building? Where's my brother? How's the pizza? Fucking awful Now it's raining How's the people? Fucking boring Bowl of mud I get confused Disoriented Where am I? Back in New York It's a desert Made of mud Dusty blood Soggy crud Now it's raining Where's my lining? Good for it Silver lining Leave the dustbowl Where's my building? Leave the building Where's my building? Where's my brother? How's the pizza? How's the weather? It's a desert Home to New York Go to Maine I'm in Maine Stay in Maine Back to New York Good to see you Good to see you For a minute Wanna seed Gotta sow Wanna flower Gotta grow Where's the tower? Don't you know? Where's the other? Had to go Awful secret desert pizza brother people building Texas tower tower boring burning How's the? how's the? how's the? how's the?

When you’re at sea, Please be careful Of the storms and the sharks And the whales and the dark Watch out for wrecks Swab the decks Steady at starboard And hard to port While a hand made of water picks you up and puts you down. When you’re at sea With your hands on the wheel Keep it under control Looking through your port hole And a giant turtle on the back of another It’s the oceans grandmother on the back of the turtle With the head of a bird And this tower of turtles Is eternal immortal Right outside of your port hole And the ocean so deep Gently rocks you to sleep When you’re at sea Tucked into your bunk bed Put a shell to your ear And the sound that you hear Is all the thoughts inside your head Upside down and backwards So it turns into one word When you’re at sea All alone in your cabin Watching the waves blow And reading a book Sing a sea song Write some lines in your log Patch all the cracks Check all the maps And the north star will stay Just as far, far away And a hand made of water picks you up and puts you down again And the ocean so deep gently rocks you to sleep

Time flies like an arrow baby in a wheelbarrow swaying where the wind blows static on the radio now, Bats eat fireflies look at how the time flies baby in a wheelbarrow static on the radio now, Stayed up all night looking at the moonlight, saw another bat fly and a firefly die, no more grapes left, no more tapes left, no more time left no more space left, I think that the DJ left his booth, I'm staring at the roof and there's static on the radio now, Time flies like an arrow, I will be a man tomorrow the world is quiet there's a rainbow on the TV now, I will stay awake the tooth fairy wont take all my teeth away a rainbow on the TV now. Take my teeth to the cemetery, don't walk up the spiral stairway, monkeys & babies are scary, my mom is not the tooth fairy, I think that the DJ left his booth, I'm staring at the roof and there's static on the radio now. There are rainbows, There are daisies, sweet old ladies, bats and babies, There are no babes in wheelbarrows, no tooth fairies, no tomorrows, Where's my past and where's my future? When did the DJ leave his booth? When did the wheelbarrow fall off the roof? and where did the tooth fairy put my tooth? Time flies like an arrow, I will be a man tomorrow, world is quiet and theres static on the radio, I will stay awake the tooth won't take all my teeth away static on the radio, I think the DJ left his booth I'm staring at the roof and there's static on the radio now, And I don't fall asleep, I ascend to it.

This is the state of national emergency Mind-blowing massacre at the cemetery When the groundskeeper came to check out the place They knocked him down and they ate his face Little Billy Baker said he saw it first A thousand rotten carcasses Climbed out of the earth Now we're holding a crisis information meeting at the high school And we say if you shoot the head you kill the ghoul If you shoot the head you kill the ghoul Come on, this is the state of national emergency It's happening in Texas and in Idaho and in Tennessee Hideous hordes of crumbling undead men Are slaughtering and eating the population We've just received word from Washington DC It's every man for himself against the zombies They say a high-powered, short-range weapon is a man's best tool And they say if you shoot the head you kill the ghoul Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, Aahhhhhh....This is a state of national emergency Why is this happening? What are the dead returning? Have we gone too far, do we deserve this fate? Is Hell too full, have they opened up the gate? It's earth last stand against our final death They'll eat and eat till there's no one left We don't know if it's radiation or if it's something biblical But we know if you shoot the head you kill the ghoul If you shoot the head you kill the ghoul

I saw a hippy girl on 8th avenue She barely looked at me for a second or two And I suddenly realized I no longer looked much like a hippy mmmmm She had a long thin dress and rainbow clothes Not long ago I wore one of those But now-a-days I guess I don't dress very much like anything mmmmm I had a great pair of bellbottoms, I had two My friend borrowed one and the other I outgrew And now to the eye I'm turning into another non-descript guy But I still travel light and my hair is still long I still hate deoderant and I still sing songs But over the years I've noticed I'm not dressing as colourfully and psychedelic as I used to 'Cause I wore my tye-dyes until they rotted to shreds And I can no longer follow The Greatful Dead And it's gotten to the point where I don't even identify with most Phish fans anymore And someday soon I'll probably cut my hair And a week after that I know I won't even care Is that what it comes to all along Everything that you feel will one day feel wrong I was talking to my friend Eric Just to see what he thunk And he said "Jeff, it's weird But I no longer look like a punk I guess we don't need our clothes for an identity crutch" And we looked at each other and we didn't look like much And we looked out at the world like a movie theatre At all the hippies and the punks and the skinheads and the skaters And someday or other maybe sooner or later they'll come to the realization That what's important is whether you can carry on a human conversation It's not what you wear on the outside It's how you think and feel on the inside.

well there's blackbirds on the turnpike in the midnight sun there's roosters on the railroad look out, here they come! the sun went down three days ago & it don't look like it's coming up too soon but i'm walking like a werefolf & i've got my compass pointed at the moon when my daddy was a-dyin' on his death bed he said "son don't you never choose to chew no voodoo flavored bubble gum" but i chawed myself a jawful & i blew a bubble shaped just like a skull it laughed & bit the head off of a baby before flyin' off to hell oh dolly mae i'm sad & i can't understand the way that these birds pass before my eye they look like water in the sky if they ask, just tell 'em i'm living in the graveyard well the moon became a mirror & it fell down from the sky it melted through my vison & it landed in my eye i went to see the shaman & he turned my head into the face of an old man i went to see the shaman & he smashed my face to dust with his bare hand i fell down off the mountain i got stung by a snake i ate a moldy cobweb i puked into the lake tied my shoes with tadpoles & i climbed the weirdest tree that i could find & i sat there for a hundred million years without a darn thing on my mind oh dolly mae i am sad & i can't understand the way that these birds pass before my eye they look like water in the sky if they ask, just tell'em i'm livin' in the graveyard there's wolves the size of raindrops & they smash out thru your face spiders big as horses runnin' all over the place i wanna build a barn to put my momma in to keep her out of sight put a padlock on the graveyard & go swimming in the black lagoon tonight well now i hear a knocking, knocking on my old back door there's a dead dog in the basement, fire on the second floor the refrigerator's full of blood & this'll be the last you hear from me cuz by this time tomorrow i'll be hitch-hikin' down route infinty.

You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments On your own heart I had no place to put myself But I had lots of time I had no place to put myself But I had lots of time I had no place to put myself But I had lots of time So I threw out some past And made room for more future Now I'm standing in the seam Between my memories and dreams Balanced on the seam Between my memories and dreams Floating down the stream Between my memories and dreams And I see a better person Waiting his turn to be me And you don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments On your own heart Now I'm running down the runway In between gigantic numbers I'm running down the runway In between gigantic numbers I'm running down the runway In between gigantic numbers With my knapsack And a zero for a halo And my halo's got a hole in it So it don't keep me dry My halo's got a hole in it So it don't keep me dry My halo's got a hole in it So it don't keep me dry But it's ok 'cause My brain is my heart's umbrella You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments On your own heart I had a girl I had to leave But I saw her face upon my sleeve I had a girl I had to leave But I saw her face upon my sleeve I had a girl I had to leave But I saw her face upon my sleeve It kept talking So I put it in the laundry And as it spun and spun It tried to ask me what I'd done And as it spun and spun It tried to ask me what I'd done And as it spun and spun It tried to ask me what I'd done But I was gone On down the road out to the wind 'Cause you think patience is a virtue And what you don't know can't hurt you And that events can change and shape us More than we can change ourselves And that conscious attempt at growth is stupid And I should just relax and be myself And you even think it's arrogant to try But you don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments You don't have to be a scientist To do experiments On your own heart