The Hold Steady

I thought you're through with all the bougie guys, don't you wonder about the other side? They only get invited 'cause they think that they might buy Ain't it sad about these metro guys, don't it hurt to watch them moisturize? They're never funny and they'r...

Do you like American music? I like American music Don't you like American music, baby? I want you to hold me I want your arms around me I want you to hold me, baby Did you do too many drugs? I did too many drugs Did you do too many drugs, too, baby? Y...

To me it just felt like six or seven seconds, But I guess we went coast to coast To me he didn't seem all that holy, But I guess he might have been that ghost I'm not saying that he came off all that hot He burned a hole in me eventually I've been mostl...

If she asks, don't tell her that I'm living hand-to-mouth Don't tell her I've been sleeping on your couch If she asks just tell her that we opened for the Stones It's her favorite band except for The Ramones If she happens to suggest a love based on trust...

Holly wore a string around her finger She said it helps her to remember all the nights that we got over And besides, it ties her outfit all together Holly wore a string around her finger There are strings attached to every single lover But they still can...

You should have seem 'em just after midnight When they were down on their luck and still high from a street fight Told it like it wasn't really much of a big thing To be out on the tiles and barely breathing, we were barely breathing Showing up at shows l...

Kids with broken hearts, kids with broken bones Kids with kidney stones giving birth to bloody stereos Systems are all dripping wet with the gristle piss and the swizzlesticks Mary got a bloody nose from sniffing margarita mix She licked her lower lip and...

(Verse) She says she always smoked cigarettes ever since she was 7 She always likes the big ones best, you get more for that money I know that she's gorgeous, I can't take her serious She looks kinda ridiculous with her Malibu 120s (Verse) Some nights s...

She says sometimes she sees these things Right before they're happening Hail Mary, full of grace Some nights she swears she feels her face She's known a couple of boys that died And two of them were crucified And the last one had enlightened eyes The f...

They got to the part with the cattle and the creeping things, said I'm pretty sure we've heard this one before Don't it all end up in some revelation with four guys on horses and violent red visions Famine and death and pestilence and war? I'm pretty sure I...

I guess you're old enough to know Kids out on the east coast Roughly twenty years old They got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio Of warm beer to the summer smoke And the Meat Loaf to the Billy Joel Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls...

When he's holding then the streetlamps, they seem an awful lot like spotlights Yeah, sometimes Charlemagne gets uptight Running numbers between bars, running girls between the cars And sometimes Charlemagne feels alright, alright, alright Charlemagne had...

When I left I wasn't thinking That I wasn't coming home But first Al Green and then Barry White Convinced me not to go And I didn't come home for vitamins I came to bandage up my hand And if you're gonna talk to me like that Then I'll just go back out...

Nelson Algren came to Paddy at some party at the dead end alley Yeah, he told him what to celebrate And I met William Butler Yeats, Sunday night dance party, summer 1988 At first I thought it might be William Blake We mix our own mythologies, we push them...

There was a stage and a PA up in western Massachusetts The kids came from miles around to get messed up on the music She drove down from Bowden with a carload of girlfriends To meet some boys and maybe eat some mushrooms And they did and she got sick, now...

She put $900 on the fifth horse in the sixth race I think its name was Chips Ahoy Came in six lengths ahead, we spent the whole next week getting high At first I thought that shit hit on some tip that she got from some other boy We were overjoyed I got a...

Hey citrus, hey liquor I love it when you touch each other Hey whiskey, hey ginger I come to you with rigid fingers I see Judas in the hard eyes of the boys working the corners I feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers Hey barroom, hey...

Me and my friends are like The drums on "Lust for Life" We pound it out on floor toms Our psalms are sing-along songs This old town is lifeless Been that way our whole lives, just Work at the mill until you die Work at the mill and then you die We're...

Hallelujah came to in the confession booth Infested with infections and smiling on an abscessed tooth Running out on residue and crashing through the vestibule The crucifixion cruise, she climbed the cross and found she liked the view And sat reflecting o...

The call came in on a princess phone on the patio. She said: hey if that's jeppetto tell him I'm not here yet. Tell him that I ain't done with my beers yet. Tell him that I'm up in massachussetts. If he wants to buy me some I'll be in the kitchenette. Mak...

He said what about Los Angeles? She said we never really made it that far west We scored big in Denver and thought it might be best To go hang around in the upper midwest He said what about New Orleans? She said I don't think you understand what that mea...

Charlemagne shakes in the streets Gideon makes love to the suites Holly's not invincible, in fact she's in the hospital Not far from the bar where we met on that first night Charlemagne pulls street corner scams Gideon's got a pipe made from a Pringles c...

It's poison, first it feels like a prick and then it hits you like a jumbo jet. It's heaven, and heaven is a place you can never find your cigarettes. For Boston, shamrock shakes and Oxycontin. Bob Cousy, when they say they're looking around for the O.C. th...

He was drawn-up in the dark up in Penetration Park He says he's got your medication She was sitting on the edges of his vision trying to start a revolution But he's done with all the parties, he's covered in contusions Your laugh leaves laugh lines, your l...

She said always remember never to trust me She said that the first night that she met me She said there's gonna come a time when I'm gonna have to go With whoever's gonna get me the highest She said I won't be much for conversation If we go and do the re...

A knockoff necktie The way he wore it made it look more like a tourniquet I looked deep in his eyes I saw Lynn, Massachussetts She hung a sleeveless dress up on a sleeved up lifestyle Girl you gotta cover that He was gushing blood from wide open wounds...

All your favorite movies. They ain't all that funny. If you ain't that high. And I ain't that high. All your favorite books. They wouldn't seem so well written if you were just a little bit more well read. Jack kerouac is dead. He drank himself to death...

I was not involved up at the Northtown mall As a matter of fact I didn't even know that that's where it happened I was France Ave when they came out dancing, I was Lyndale South, I was kicking it with cousins We were talking about going clubbing but instead...

Her parents named her Hallelujah, the kids all called her Holly And if she scared you then she's sorry, she's been stranded at these parties These parties they start lovely But they get druggy and they get ugly and they get bloody The priest just kinda la...

Jessie, I'm not joking around I see the crowd you're hanging with and those kids don't seem positive Don't all the cigs make you tired? You know I'd never ask you to change, I'll only ask you to try I know you're gonna do what I know you're gonna do But...

They used to think it was so cute when she said Dy'er Mak'er All the boys knew it was a joke about Jamaica She'd always find a ride back home from the bar She used to feel so stupid when they'd talk about the music Born into every single tune They used t...

If they ask about Charlemagne Be polite and say something vague Like another lover lost to the restaurant raids And if they ask why we left in the first place Say we were young and we were so in love And I guess we just needed space We heard about this...

I've been trying to get people to call me Freddy Knuckles People keep calling me Right Said Fred And it's hard to keep trying when half your friends are dying And it's hard to hold it steady when half your friends are dead already We got taxmen coming aro...

Lord, I'm discouraged The circles have sucked in her eyes Lord, I'm discouraged Her new friends have shadowed her life Lord, I'm discouraged She ain't come out dancing for some time And I'm trying to light candles But they burn down to nothing And she...

She's always funny in the morning She isn't always funny in the night Once she gets a couple drinks in, she's probably gonna tell you you ain't doing anything right Then you'll roll your eyes and then you'll probably fight She mainly trades in adoration...

The guys were feeling good about their liquor run The girls were kinda flirting with the setting sun We all kinda fumbled through the Jitterbug We were all powered up on some new upper drug Everyone was funny and everyone was pretty And everyone was comi...

The gin was just like gideon. The kings were just like solomon. The bashes were like babylon. The jester kept on jacking off. Nervous cough, nervous cough, nervous cough and now we're off. Went down on the denver slums and she woke up in the rocky mountai...

I can't believe I was worried about hurting you. I should have kicked it with your cousin when I had the opportunity. I was at some party and she said she had to talk to me and then she didn't say anything. I can't believe I worried about hurting you while...

Well, hold steady Ybor City You're up to your neck in the sweat and wet confetti If you want to get a little bit light in the heady It's gonna have to get a little bit heavy They're jamming jetskis into the jetty now With some guy who looks like Rocco Si...

She drove it like she stole it. She stole it fast and with a multitude of casualties. She said I shipped it out from boulder. Packed in coffee grounds and wrapped around in dryer sheets. We spent a few months just wandering the sonoma. High as hell and sh...

I guess I met a couple bona fide angels But they all seemed kind of fat and fatigued And now we're trying to match their mouths from the screens Match their heads to their dreams Everybody's searching out of the softest seat All dolled up for the funeral...

(Verse) There were days from last week I couldn't quite complete Skipped ahead to the next afternoon Swept through the sheets, slept in my shoes Hung around with a house of balloons (Chorus) Keep the speed steady, hold the wheel straight We scratch and...

Let's get on with the business! I worry inside about that prick in the parking lot I wanted this to be our year! But they cut off supplies and they sent over some guys And those guys have made it perfectly clear! I know I made them a promise, but those a...

When there weren't any parties she'd park by the quarry Walk into the woods until she came to a clearing Where townies would gather and drink until blackout Smoke cigs 'till they're sick, pack bowls and then pass out Windows wide open to let the hard rock...

The kids are ripping into sugar packets The townies taking off their tavern jackets I'm in the pews sticking bills in the basket Praying that they're cool when I come pick up the package Tonight we're gonna have a really good time But I want to go to hea...

I guess I met her at the party pit She said those kids she's with were selling it So we sailed off on some separate trips She got pinned down at the party pit I went away to school that fall She stuck around with all those stickpin dolls Sped through th...

Woke up in the '20s and there were flappers and fruits in white suits It was right before the crash, we got thrashed throughout the '30s Queuing up for soup with scabby sores Then they sent us off to war We came back in the '40s and there were wheelchairs...

The power of love is a curious thing Make a one man weep, make another man sing Change a hawk to a little white dove More than a feeling, that's the power of love Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream Make a bad on...

The girls want to go to the party, but no one's in any shape to drive So we called up your guy, and when he comes we're gonna ask for a ride We get to the place and she don't want to dance, she says she's not really into this track She wants to know what's...

They found me in a florist, I was fried and out of focus I was kicking it with chemists The scratches on my back, they formed into a choir And belted out a chorus There were clicks and hisses and complicated kisses Gideon's got a pipe made from a Pringle...

It started when we were dancing It got heavy when we got to the bathroom We didn't go back to her place We went to some place where she cat-sits She said, "I know I look tired But every thing's fried here in Memphis" Now they want to know exactly which...

She only pays attention to the prices of cigarettes She says she hopes they'll get cheaper She only takes the pick-me-uppers To counteract all the put-me-to-sleepers She used to be a receiver Went out deep for guys that looked like Johnny Fever Last win...

Don't tell my sister about your most recent vision Don't tell my family, they're all wicked strict Christians Don't tell the hangers-on, don't tell your friends Don't tell them we went down to Ybor City again Don't tell the dancers, they'll just get distr...

Well, the hospital's going to let you go, but the city's gonna stick around Yeah, sure the stars are in the sky, but the money's still down on the ground Man, if money didn't matter then I might tell you something new You can't tell people what they want to...

Southtown girls won't blow you away But you know that they'll stay Southtown girls won't blow you away But you know that they'll stay Southtown girls won't blow you away But you know that they'll stay Southtown girls won't blow you away But you know th...

Once she figures out what's wrong Put another record on She picks it up and she carries her cross Heartbreak hurts but you can dance it off Sure, some nights she'll curse these clubs She's two years off some prairie town She goes out almost every night...

(Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh) (Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh) I gotta lotta old friends that are gettin' back in touch And it's a pretty good feelin, yeah it feels pretty good I get a lotta double-takes when I'm comin' around...

You came into the party with a long black shawl And the guys from the front lawn were making jokes about the white swan Some nights we just need to get touched and rub up against something plush Some nights it's just a crush and some nights it's blood lust...

There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right Boys and girls in America, they have such a sad time together Sucking off each other at the demonstrations, making sure their makeup's straight Crushing one another with colossal expectations, depend...

Payne Avenue lives up to its name Some nights it's painful and strange The whole city seemed sane in the day But some nights it seems distressed and deranged The east side is where we met with those guys That said they'd get us high but then changed Now...

You're in Michigan just pretty much living in Three, two bars stretched to call it quits Let's call the ambassador She's pretty much crossing the Space between the skin and all the blood We're hot and hissing back and out Taste been climbing walls like...

A bear there was A bear up there All black and brown And covered in hair Three boys, a goat And a dancing bear They danced and spun Right to the fair How sweet she was And pure and fair The maid with honey Up in her hair He smelled her on The sum...

Once you were close I knew that you would leave For a while I couldn't breathe I couldn't even breathe Sure she's still with you, But first she was with me. What tangled webs we weave! She said some things I don't believe Sleeping at a storage space...

We used to lie to each other about using computers When we couldn't get it here, we used to cruise to Vancouver We used to lie to the people when we'd show up at parties We used to pretend that we'd never met and then you'd send a signal with your cigarette...

Back when we were living up on Hennepin She kept threatening to turn us in At night she mostly liked us, we used to pass around the thermos Some nights she was gorgeous We were living it We delivered it We didn't feel a thing We were living in... The...

Pills and powders, baby, powders and pills We spent the night last night in Beverly Hills This chick, she looked just like Beverly Sills We got killed Tights and skirts, baby, skirts and tights We used to shake it up in Shaker Heights This chick, she lo...

There was that whole weird thing with the horses I think they know exactly what happened, I don't think it needs any explaining I'm pretty sure I wasn't your first choice I think I was the last one remaining I wish we hadn't gone and destroyed it 'Cause...

His two handed handshake says he's so glad to meet you His one silver earring says he parties on weekends He turns through the channels when he's watching the TV He recites lines from movies when he's trying to be funny Guys, it's like we're not even tryi...

She played "Heaven Isn't Happening" She played "Heaven Is A Truck" She said Heavenly was cool, I think they were from Oxford I only had one single, it was a song about a pure and simple love There's a "Girl On Heaven Hill" I come up to her cabin still S...

Yeah, Sapphire I'm sick and I'm tired and I'm fried and you gotta believe me Yeah, Sapphire If I cross myself when I come would you maybe receive me? Yeah, Sapphire You were feisty at first but I broke you and I showed you the tempo Sacramento It swung...

You don't have to deal with the dealers Let your boyfriend deal with the dealers It only gets inconvenient When you want to get high alone You don't have to know how to get home Let your boyfriend tell the driver the best way to go It only gets kind of...

Say a prayer for the cityscape skins. Half are getting sprung and half are going back in. There ain't no getting thru to gideon. He lost his mind when they jumped him in. Say a prayer for sweet charlemange. He had the pigs at the door. he put the drugs d...

Your little hoodrat friend makes me sick but after i get sick i just get sad. because it burns being broke and it hurts to be heartbroken but always being both must be a drag. she's been calling me again. she's been calling me again. yr little hoodrat friend's...