Chronic Disappointment

Wanna bet? Filtered faces on Instagram Sell me some sugar, sell me some glam Scrolling for something that I can feel I find a cake…but is it real? I swear that it’s not cake I promise you that it is fake Try to slice it but it won’t break Cuz it’s not cake Reality divas all share one face Swap the name, cinch the waist Scripted proposals, the roses are laid Tune in next season, the same vows are made Vickie’s boob job and Andy’s chin All manufactured by the same surgeon I swear that it’s not cake I promise you that it is fake Try to slice it but it won’t break Cuz it’s not cake Reunion shows with recycled tears Drama is fueled by vodka and beers Knife goes in and nothing bends Everyone knows it’s all pretend Cut through the hype and cut the show Plastic kisses and a plastic “Hello” I swear that it’s not cake I promise you that it is fake Try to slice it but it won’t break I swear that it’s not cake I promise you that it is fake Try to stab it but it won’t break I swear that it’s not cake It’s not cake.

Taking me back to the good old place where I started off so little Cracking open my suitcase, unpacking from the middle Come on up to the best, you step right in the sunshine Feel the mud ooze through my toes, swimming in the gold mine Chasing shadows down the old road where the day and evening blend Picking up a shiny rock, flipping it end on end A swirling breeze, a gentle smile, a tune to hum and hear A day like this is all I need to set aside my fear You say we were created by a guiding hand I haven’t seen a sign to make me understand Ask me to leap where the logic bends? I’ll walk with reason to the end In the middle of the puzzle there’s a hidden piece It’s a half-remembered dream There’s a secret found in its melody The dream recognizes me Put your pies on the window sill The smell won’t travel when the wind is still Serve it up to your long lost friend You’ve found your way to the end You say we were created by a guiding hand I haven’t seen a sign to make me understand Ask me to leap where the logic bends? I’ll walk with reason to the end

Brother, come with me to the dark sea Walk with me to the empty Face with me all the misery The torment that you will see Feeling small up against the tall They would not pass you the ball Being less than all the rest Holding yourself to their test It’s not too late. Brother, let me show you what we all do The others out there just like you Ask some questions, seek replies Let me help you realize Know-it-alls don’t have a heart Napoleon Fucking Bonaparte Others have their likes and needs Think of them as you breathe It’s not too late. Brother, my experience of you Was ridicule and torment, too You gave me those Indian burns Your alliance, I rarely earned One-upping me was your game Keeping me inside my lane Making fun of what I’d do A lifelong nickname to remind me, too It’s not too late. Brother, as you get there up in age I’ll help you put away your rage Open up and face your truth A brand new portrait in the photo booth I’ve been here all along Our name will live after we’re gone You are still my family But is this all there will be?

“Not a soul was laughing, we’re gonna hire someone new You were never even funny, what were we supposed to do?” A clown cannot perform when the world is full of pain Now I’m crying in the alley in this cold, cold hard rain The rain is falling on my face It’s washing my smile away I’m crying in the alleyway Let it rain all day Now I’m sitting in a puddle, my tears fall to the ground My bag of funny tricks is nowhere to be found I traded in my clown shoes for a pack of cigarettes Behind my painted smile, a lifetime of regrets The rain is falling on my face It’s washing my smile away I’m crying in the alleyway Let it rain all day I used to make them laugh With silly tricks and games But now they just laugh at me And it always rains The rain is falling on my face It’s washing my smile away I’m crying in the alleyway Let it rain all day

It doesn’t really square up No, you can’t add it up Try to make it make sense But maybe I am too dense You can pass it on to me Maybe then we will see Put it inside a jar But that’s a little far Captain Picardy The captain who can’t see All the troops are gone Captain marches on When you were under my nose Unlike any of those You got under my skin I didn’t let you in Then it all came to me Though I could not see I had to fleece it out And that made you pout Captain Picardy The captain who can’t see All the troops are gone Captain marches on Captain Picardy Picardy Picardy Picardy Picardy Picardy Pi-car-dy On the road to the end I see there’s on last bend Just a minute too far I like you right where you are Take it any way you please Don’t make me get on my knees Captain can’t complain About his lack of a brain Captain Picardy The captain who can’t see All the troops are gone But Captain marches on Captain Picardy He doesn’t want to see All the troops are gone Captain marches on

I’m thinking about that blue train, coming around the bend I’m wondering about my suitcase, I’m wondering again I’m thinking about tomorrow, and what it has in store I’m looking at that doorknob, and opening that door And I don’t think I can live like this, and I don’t think I want to try And I don’t think I can do this again, just to say goodbye I’m thinking about my money, how far will it go? I’m wondering if you realize, maybe you know? I’m typing on my keyboard, a letter to you But when I am finished, will I really be through? And I don’t wanna live like this anymore, and I don’t think that I even can And I don’t know what it means anymore To be a Modern Man When I look at you I feel strange, I’m not quite at ease It didn’t used to be this way. It’s probably me. And when I get home again, I start looking at the clock I’ll take a walk to the bay, and take a nap on the dock Cuz I don’t even like to live like this and I didn’t ever want to try When I want to gaze up at the moon, it’s always hidden by the sky

Irregularly? Undoubtedly. Justifiably? Arrhythmically. Erratically? Chaotically. Unpredictably? Capriciously. Programmatically? Illogically. Collaboratively? Incompatibly. Unsteadily? Turbulently. Disjointedly? Incongruously. You have to ask the right question. You have to ask it in time. Singularity? Plurality. Incomprehensibly? Audibly. Discontinuously? Intermittently. Fragmentarily? Incompletely. Longevity? Fatalistically. Availability? Inescapably. You have to ask the right question. You have to ask it in time. Ask it in time. Ask it in time.

I got some ideas for Einstein He shoulda listened to me “Stop thinking so fucking relatively Longevity is key” He just glared at me from behind his cluttered desk. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. I got some ideas for Beethoven He shoulda listened to me While he still could. He was writing in silence, but that’s just applause that hasn’t happened yet “Why is it called Fur Elise, why not write about Skin Elise? Something more human?” He just groaned and he walked away. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. Maybe then they would see. I got some ideas for Darwin He shoulda listened to me Survival is overrated Thriving is key I sent him a selfie I titled it, “Missing Link Found” I told him to try smiling more, like me, But he didn’t get it. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. They shoulda listened to me. Maybe then they would see. They shoulda listened to me.

In the face of everything Take my face off everything My name’s not everything But to them it is everything My Face My Face My Face Your Face We lost it all when we weren’t looking So they could sell us anything When that thing costs us nothing The product of that thing is us The product is us The product is us They took all of our words from us Then they sold them back to us Made us fearful that we’d miss out Now it’s useless to scream and shout Shout. Let’s shout. Let’s shout. Shout. Shout. Shout. Shout. We lost it all when we weren’t looking So they could sell us anything When that thing costs us nothing The product of that thing is us The product is us The product is us Are we for sale? Do we have a choice?