Climate: Swallow All Letters All Songs by Nathan Beach & Grant Kuneman (c) 2000 Bryan's Cabin Songs (ASCAP) "Sally's On The Phone" This happens every time you call my line I've got plenty say About the state of things in my life And the weather to-day Then I feel okay You see, I don't feel so alone When Sally's on the phone And I'm asking her about the next time she's driving home Sally Marie is a sad girl but she smiled bright blue When I told her the good news About how all my friends are dead now except for her So I don't have to choose Between the stiff and fragrant corpses and her little hand All fleshy and new And with her long lost love like a spaceship in my empty mind I've got something to do You see, I don't feel so alone When Sally's on the phone And I'm asking her about the next time she's driving home And Sally says I am a human being with doors and ceilings and floor like you I've even got a kitchen and a cat named Richard just like you I know the names of your servants and have had mine renamed like yours We've got the same initials, November birthdays, and brand of shoes You see, I don't feel so alone When Sally's on the phone And I'm asking her about the next time she's driving home "Show Me Your Fingers" Have you changed my question Or asked another one of me? I've abandoned my plans completely To make you need me Show me your fingers Count them, darling That's how many times I've loved you And nine times is enough that's all I can do I want something new As I live alone in Dallas Texas, my love, has never looked so cold A snowflake falls uniquely But when it lands we'll see Show me your fingers Count them, darling That's how many times I've loved you And nine times is enough that's all I can do I want something new Mr. Clarke has got wine for you Only the best, he knows what to do Mr. Davis is putting on the moves He's sixty years old with so much to prove Mr. Prather writes you a book There's no telling how long it took Mr. Henty is picking his swords He's fighting in a duel over who gets you Mr. Ford, his name is Ernie, sings you one about how The love is gone Love is dead Love is wrong And you once said That life's too long It never moves But hear these words They might remind you "Fashion!" Tell him It's Sad With secondary sorrow They say Something that you borrowed Having empty chests of drawers Has entered your main line Eyes closed Won't you Stumble down the runway Today Drifting towards Monday Buy something at a department store Television currency Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin Skinny legs You must Folding up nicely Look the same Sedentary red sea As everyone we see Celebrity tributary Mud caked On TV Over lime green eyes On the screen Water worth gem hides Or you can't be friends with me In your worthless currency Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin Tuesday morning You're home And a blinked eye Your mobile phone Heaven in a blue sky Starbucks cup and SUV Farm life never seemed so sweet out here Are great On the dirty street is home They are really great Nice shoes and a phone Buyers forget their misery Lots of new friends to meet Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! In the empty margin In the empty margin "Take Me Home Now" I woke up to-day And my friends had all gone to the beach I wish I were there, too Sunscreen in my eyes Hot white sand in my hands Sun-burnt lips laughing Choking on salt water Take me home now "Tomorrow May Be The Day" I watched you turn dead In that hospital bed The nurse and your cat A crutch and a hat With pillow in hand What put to your face Gloves on nightstand A grimy suitcase The collar was loose I'd shucked off my boots Crackers and juice And doctors in suits Looking at your rigid limbs It's difficult not to think About the time I spent Laying on the couch Sleepless One eye on the door One eye sealed shut Until the door opened And in you came Whisky on your breath Death in your eye Your shallow skin Parched red Making making me Taste the fear Taste the pain Taste the love We used to share My dear This is the day I've always looked forward to The day when i could say You're very much alive You're breathing just fine But tomorrow may be the day You'll never know, dear Darling, there's something here in this sack The garden and the trees And the flowers and the bees They'll never have a chance to grow back "1999" I can't face the days Without her here at night And eight long years to go In my lonely life For the little folds in her eyelids The gentle sighs in the dark The way down as a failure Isn't too far I wouldn't feel better if it were the real thing Ending the summer with crying and fear Nineteen ninety-nine was such a long year I'm so blue and beat down So tired from from traveling But I can't seem to find room At your inn The wine stain surrounds us On the pillow that you chewed But despite your love for murder I'd rather be you I wouldn't feel better if it were the real thing Ending the summer with crying and fear Nineteen ninety-nine was such a long year My eyes are tired beasts But it doesn't matter in the least If you'd marry me We'd kill the priest And all the congregation And i know you'd cry To have eight long years to go In your lonely life I wouldn't feel better if it were the real thing Ending the summer with crying and fear Nineteen ninety-nine was such a long year "Happy Birthday To Me" Dallas, Texas morning Bloody Mary at ten On a special day like this They should have kept the kids in It's Saturday morning and the cars back up As I'm standing in the yard with a ladle and a cup It's little Mary's birthday with an end so abrupt They'll have to clean it up with a bucket and a mop Mrs. Hansen had the girls At her house for breakfast today Slumber party PJs Eleven candles on the cake, hooray! It's Saturday morning and the cars back up As I'm standing in the yard with a ladle and a cup It's little Mary's birthday with an end so abrupt They'll have to clean it up with a bucket and a mop Coca-Cola and cupcakes Turn on the faucet for noise I guess her friends will have to enjoy All her brand new toys It's Saturday morning and the cars back up As I'm standing in the yard with a ladle and a cup It's little Mary's birthday with an end so abrupt They'll have to clean it up with a bucket and a mop Elementary school used to leave me cold It's so hard to get a fix when you're eight years old "Julie's Clothes" Driving to the lake A day for sailing boats Chase is in the back Ron is in the front Julie's at the wheel She's wearing Julie's clothes Ron works at the garage Julie works at the bank Chase he has A crippling disease He's only eight And he tugs on Julie's clothes Ron left work at noon Julie packed her bags They packed a lunch Of cake and punch Their swimming suits And other parts of Julie's clothes Veering off the road The car burst into flames Witnesses claim They had no chance They highway lanes Were strewn with Julie's clothes Drifting in the wind Ignited gasoline And burning socks And linen shorts I'm looking for a skirt While picking up Julie's clothes I remember you In starkest black and white The way you held That boy so tight With Ron's head cracked I thought you'd never go "Hitting Costs Nothing" If you're awake I would just love for you to come on by! You told me it wasn't on you You told me it was at some place downtown Well, I'm going to have to beat you blue on the sofa I don't know why you won't answer me But hitting costs nothing since kissing isn't free anymore The bird's head sinks in the bird bath The pencil on your arm will leave marks in the dark The park's dried up the swings won't swing But hitting costs nothing since kissing isn't free anymore Sally, forget all your problems I'm here i hope I can be on your team The news is not as bad as it seems but you scream I don't know why you won't answer me But hitting costs nothing since kissing isn't free anymore I am not sure whether or not you Check your message service everyday I thought I saw your car in the driveway in the shade at least That is where it doesn't get so hot, so hot But hitting costs nothing since kissing isn't free anymore "In The Harbor" Some people like him but some folks don't Rusty sails in the harbor flap just like The a&r man who's shaking his hand As the bass drum thumps in the rock and roll band She fell down the stairwell but tucked in her skirt Scabby knees in the hallway are red just like The apple that fell from the tree to the dirt She's always wearing his favorite shirt The razor takes a nick off the business man He's standing in the bathroom in just his knee-socks While his wife is in Cannes with an all-over tan He's back home eating chunky soup from a can Charmers on the edge of the lake Rusty nails beneath rake Shorty sings the songs in tune Cindy shakes the dust-filled broom Sockets sucked into the head Falling snow onto the dead Some folks like it but some folks don't When you're talking to them Or someone just like them It makes them think Imagine if they'd think About the top 40 music out on the ice rink "The Executive Spouse" Filled up boxes with ship sails Worked a while with a spade and a pail There's little reason to stay on the job With all the people and the banks I could rob And that's made us rich now, Cindy Now we're the rich kids, Cindy Buying power has made me withdraw From the salesmen and the shops on my road What do I need lately? A peaceful kitchen and a hammer and nails And that's made us rich kids, Cindy Oh, we're so rich now, Cindy Shoes and furs and Mercedes A wife's a great investment In flesh and hair And a nice set of toenails And let's make some rich kids, Cindy Let's make some rich kids, Cindy "Somewhere Toward The Back" When your arm touched mine while in the bank line You became a piece of my mind Synapse and cardboard the pieces shift and crack I stuffed you in somewhere toward the back Pale white even grey the hand that shook the arm to-day A fleshy mass filled with DNA Covered in lime in the casket next to mine But you don't have to worry about that for some time You might slide your arm under the pillow to-night To find some place cool and out of sight But don't forget to turn out the bathroom light Floss your teeth and brush with Dent-o-Brite™ "They Rolled Up The Rug" I haven't been to Dallas since Texas Andrew's on the stage with his baton Each corner brings a new intersection Of lines in this building I say Brown-haired girl leans over the loge She says how do you like the show so far? Mr. Hough can hit the keys really well I say, afterwards we could drive up to Richardson She rests her hand on her thigh Did you see they rolled up the rug? Yes, it used to be here and people would always trip on it Making tracks on I-75 Traffic slows on the highway Driving north to Richardson With the daughter of Mr. Adler Did you know they rolled up the rug? "Grey And Black Unswitched Tracks" Where was I? It's coming back Cars move past in grey and black Railway station Unswitched tracks Sixty years without a clack Make friends in the afternoon It's morning now but won't be soon Lungs blow out a pipe of steam Feet step down start to breathe In a wind that can't be seen Frenchman wants to intervene Concierge five foot three Bus to pier it drives past me Take a left or right you'll see Bakery match company Walking down an avenue Baguette crust beneath my shoe Crosswalk little man is red Someone English has just said Thirteen high school children dead Tourist caps are on their heads Find the place with beds and sheets Reservations not til three Take the load off of my feet Read a map with lines for streets Winding thick the boulevard Spanish children in the yard Playing tag and pick up sticks One will grow up and make bricks One will grow up cut cow licks One will die young cold and sick Pick the feet up to the road No more hotel lobby moat So much for this famous town Spend some hours walk around Spill the water on the walk Passing girls like to talk Do not let them see my hand Bandaged cut passing sedan In the bus towards the lake Hear no words don't understand Walking down bright alleyway Bushes line this sun-filled day Olympic games were underway Cars parked here i heard them say Need some food i hate to eat Must take body off of feet Swiss girl at the sandwich stand Lipped in French a crimson band Communicate embarrassment Saw the way her body bent Eat my sandwich near her Watch the churchyard saints interred Americans sit on the curb Hips in love I won't disturb Walk back down the hill to take Time to think at the lake Should I take the train back home Bathers sunning in the foam Or go find a vacant room Shopkeeper brushes with his broom Go to the back past the tracks Open the door just a crack Grey and black unswitched tracks At this house girls stay in Aunt Jane knocks door opens On the cot on the porch Grey and black unswitched tracks Neighbors tell her daddy knows Socks on ledge mended toes Apple tree arbor leaves Grey and black unswitched tracks Dew on grass moonlit tub Rust on rake worms and grubs Girlfriend in the 4h club Grey and black unswitched tracks Burn the barn he won't care Take the cow he won't care Take the daughter he won't care Grey and black unswitched tracks Barbed-wire fence in my jeans Wants to know what it means I say it's not what it seems Grey and black unswitched tracks Where was I? It's coming back Cars move past in grey and black Railway station unswitched track Sixty years without a clack "Today Is The Day" Blood in the sink there is no rival But clean white sheets To your friends in the bible If you wash your face make it red Take off your socks before you get in bed It's not the day it's night that I dread, thinking Not this time not this way As a hot bullet rattles in your empty head Not this time not this way You're maybe going to lose you life today Kiss me now or never again Brush your hair then count to ten Beige bath towel a fountain pen And folding chairs for the other men What will you say when it all begins? Not this time not this way As a hot bullet rattles in your empty head Not this time not this way You're maybe gonna make me mad today I can see the strain in your eyeballs now As you cross the room take a bow Sorry it just won't work out somehow A few more minutes the time allows Your naked legs it's this night that I dread, screaming Not this time not this way As a hot bullet rattles in your empty head Not this time not this way You're maybe gonna make me mad today Blood in the sink There is no rival But clean white sheets For your friends in the bible "Rock and Roll in Dallas, Texas" (additional lyrics by Michael Blount, Jr.) Hello, my future girlfriend This is what I sound like Rock and roll in Dallas, Texas Has helped me back up on my feet Trucks still pass by on the highway Debutantes are still out to eat They parked on my street I was riding the bus yesterday On a downtown Dallas street Don't you love it on the plains, babe? This asphalt lot marks the place That the hopefuls spent their days Walking up and down the street With whiskey in their smiles And leather on their feet They had biscuits with their toast And gravy on their plates Said the Yankees maybe play But the Rangers play it straight All the Sidekicks and kicking at Reunion The Mavericks are shooting up some hoops My girlfriend lost my car keys I'll be taking DART home tonight But we're turning up the amps And we're dropping down the nutz Grant's screaming on the guitar And the garage door The garage door is up Rock and roll in the suburbs Has got a cleaner kick drum beat Level roads and well-built sidewalks Blades of grass under my feet And they hear us play the rock and roll With the garage door is up Seen drooping streaks and Rufus leaks The garage door is up See white and blue hair and ermine stoles When our garage door is up See plastic spoons and cereal bowls When our garage door is up Rock and roll is important If our garage door is up Rock and roll is back If our garage door is up Rock and roll in Dallas, Texas Our garage door is up Rock and rollers in Dallas, Texas Our garage door is up Close the garage door Our garage door is up Rock and roll in Dallas, Texas Our garage door is up Bye Thanks for stopping by All Songs by Nathan Beach & Grant Kuneman (c) 2000 Bryan's Cabin Songs (ASCAP)