20 Years of Snow

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):

He's a wounded animal
He lives in a matchbox
He's a wounded animal
And he's been coming around here
He's a dying breed
His daughter is twenty years of snow falling
She is twenty years of strangers looking into each other's eyes
She is twenty years of clean
And she never truly hated anyone or anything
She's a dying breed
She says, I'd prefer the moss
I'd prefer the mouth
A baby of the swamps
A baby of the south
I'm twenty years of clean
I never truly hated anyone or anything
Twenty years of clean
But I've got to get me out of here
This place is full of dirty old men
And the navigators with their mappy maps
And moldy heads and pissin' on sugarcubes
While you stare at your books
And the words float out like holograms
They say, feel the waltz, feel the waltz
Come on, baby, baby, now feel the waltz...

2.99 ¢ Blues

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):

Somewhere far away where I roam
there live my buffalo twin in our twin buffalo home
he calls me by my native name
and takes good care of my native son
he even lets us drink spring water on Sundays 2.99 a gallon

And somewhere further down the road where I also roam
there lives my caterpillar cousin beneath a fancy engraved tomb head stone
in the middle of his southern town
beneath a cemetery burial plot
he don't pay rent no more
but he sure likes the spot

but in the furthest place I've ever known
where even I so rarely roam
there lives a boy who just come back from war
his flesh was wounded but he made it back home
his mother calls him by his given name
and the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone
and he gets nightmares about boys dripping blood sold for 2.99 a gallon

but when I get me all real tired
and I got no more strength to roam
I catch me a horse driven carriage ride
from a local man named Ethan Frome
he don't say much as he tips his hat
and he carries his body as heavy as lead
and he could have been flying through the snow on his sled
but he wife was in bed and the horses had to be fed
besides it's 2.99 a story
pay up it's just 2.99 a story...
2.99 a gallon

8th Floor

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

no one waits for her inside the house
she spots a stranger in the mirror
and the record spins her nearer
to the outcome of her day
you live inside the city
you forget how tall the trees can get
a bird sits on a branch across
from my eighth floor window

and you can't really say
that it's an eight floor branch
cause trees don't have floors
and buildings do
[ummm...lots of not English words]

I came in from the rain which
wasn't really rain it was just
january snow in denial
and something must have gotten lost
in the translation, russian to english
and winter wasn't wintery today

she comes into the house and no one
waits for her inside the house
she spots a stranger in the mirror
and the record spins her nearer
to the outcome of her day
you live inside the city
you forget how tall the trees can get
a bird sits on a branch of my eighth floor window

AB

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I don't know how to fall down the stairs
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without hurting myself
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without skinning my knees and bruising my elbows
twisting my ankles and bending my wrists back

and I don't know how to fall down the stairs
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
even if I don't want
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
but something inside me lets go of the banister
tumbling I tumble down towards the corridor
people rush in clasping their mouths real tight
in case of emergency contact my blood type is
AB...

My blood type's AB and AB it'll be for a while...

but I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without breaking the wall
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without breaking the wall with my fall
I don't know without breaking the wall
cause my head rolls so quickly and with such precision
I can't help but making a big round incision
left near the bookshelf by that book on division
in case of emergency contact my parents, my blood type is
AB...

My blood type's AB and AB it'll be for a while...

My blood type's AB and AB it has been
and AB it'll stay for a while...

My blood type's AB and in case of emergency, smile

Aching to Pupate

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
Pu-pupate, pu pate,
Pu-pate, pu-pupate, pu pa-ate...

I should peddle butterflies
There's a shortage in the city,
I'll stand on the street corner
All mysterious and giddy,
When the passers by pass by
I will open up my trench coat,
They will see the butterflies
Dangling like fake rolexes...

Every morning I wake up
With a purpose and a smirk
I'll put on my fake mustache,
I'll drink Heineken, eat cornflakes...

Then I'll call my mum and dad
Tell them that I'm doing fine,
Or I'll write a tipsy letter
To a real good friend of mine,
Or I'll jump upon the bed
Waltzing madly with the broomstick
But before I leave the house
I will fill my lips with lipstick...

But peddling is a dirty sport
There's competition in the city,
Everyone is on a street corner
All mysterious and giddy.
Some are selling bags and shoes,
Some are selling books and gold,
I've been standing here for days
Not one butterfly's been sold...

And how I'm
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
Pu-pu-pate, pupate,
Pupate, pu-pu-pate, pu pa-ate.

Ain't No Cover

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

it ain't no cover
it ain't no style
I shouldn't bother
he's eight miles high
but I adore him
and I implore him
saying I love none other [?]
but this ain't no style

he sits there smoking
his breath away
he sits there choking
on what they say
but I adore him
and I implore him
saying one of these mornings
I'm going away

the sun is setting
the day is done
good night, my lover
good night, my son
I shouldn't bother
he's eight miles high
but I love none other
til the day that I die...

"all the rowboats" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

all the rowboats in the paintings
they keep trying to row away
and the captains' worried faces
stay contorted and staring at the waves
they'll keep hanging in their gold frames
for forever, forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away

hear them whispering french and german
dutch, italian, and latin
when no one's looking I touch a sculpture
marble, gold, and soft as satin
but the most special are the most lonely
god, I pity the violins
in glass coffins they keep coughing
they've forgotten, forgotten how to sing

first there's lights out, then there's lock up
masterpieces serving maximum sentences
it's their own fault for being timeless
there's a price you pay and a consequence
all the galleries, the museums
here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs
they're just public mausoleums
the living dead fill every room
but the most special are the most lonely
god, I pity the violins
in glass coffins they keep coughing
they've forgotten, forgotten how to sing

they will hang there in their gold frames
for forever, forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away

first there's lights out, then there's lock up
masterpieces serving maximum sentences
it's their own fault for being timeless
there's a price you pay and a consequence
all the galleries, the museums
they will stay there forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away...

Another Town

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):

In another town
Don’t let me forget
In another town
Mouth full of regrets
In another town
Please place final bets
In another town
But I know I know I know...
In another town
My fingers so cold
In another town
My soul feels so old
In another town
I’ve sold all my gold
In another town
But I know I know I know
I love you...
In another town
They’ve given me the key
In another town
I’m drinking for free
In another town
A girl just like me
In another town
But I know I know I know...
In another town
The light fills my room
In another town
They’re painting my moon
In another town
I won’t see it soon
But I know I know I know
I love you...

Aprés Moi

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):

I must go on standing
You can't break that which isn't yours
I must go on standing
I'm not my own, it's not my choice
Be afraid of the lame
They'll inherit your legs
Be afraid of the old
They'll inherit your souls
Be afraid of the cold
They'll inherit your blood
Après Moi le déluge
After me comes the flood
Fevral'. Dostat' chernil i plakat'!
Pisat' o fevrale navzryd,
Poka grohochuschaya slyakot'
Vesnoyu chernoyu gorit.

Aquarius

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

dear someone listening in the shadows
I only talk to you sometimes
and though I ask for help in riddles
it is clearer in my mind
clearer in my mind

born of a sign that carries vessels
but in a month that's cold as ice
I know I question things too quickly
but I have never questioned if I've loved

dear someone watching from the shadows
I'm clenching water in my fists
the drops, they slip right through my fingers
but there's water on my lips
water on my lips

born of a sign that carries vessels
but in a month that brings just ice
I know I question things too quickly
but I've never wondered if I've loved

dear someone watching from the shadows
you've seen me lose all the water from my hands
I'm not a skillful water carrier
but the raindrops keep falling on my head
falling on my head

born of a sign that carries water
but in a month that brings just ice
I'm not a skillful water carrier
but I've learned to carry love
learned to carry love...

Ave Maria

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

a boy on a train with a birthmark on his forehead
listening to language tapes and all he hear is birds
everyone laughs cause he brings his own chair to the office
convinced that the cushions will give him steadier thoughts

the muscles of the intellectuals are atrophying
nobody’s running, nobody’s hiding
they’re lit by a light that isn’t even the sun
lit by a light that isn’t even the moon
ave maria…

now how many times have I told you not to go there?
how many times have I begged you not to go?
and how many times have you snuck down to that cellar
just to watch how the roots begin to grow straight up through our floor?

Baby Jesus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
last night I saw the owner kiss it
and whisper in its ear
I was walking home from walgreen's
and he did not hear me see him
and on the
very very next morning
all the subway cars were hallelu-leluing
welcome back the baby king, the baby king
all the believers they were smiling
and winking at each other
I could honestly say I was scared for my life

they said, all the non-believers they get to eat dirt
and the believers get to spit on their graves...

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
they've been showing it on the news
it was thirty times its size
with a megaphone and a heart-shaped bruise
it was hovering in the skies
and all the
subway cars were hallelu-lelu-leluing, hallejuah
welcome back the baby king, the baby king
all the believers they were smiling
and winking at each other
I could honestly say I was scared for my life

they said, all the non-believers they get to eat dirt
and the believers get to spit on their graves...
believe!...

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
when I woke up I ran and bought it
and locked it in my closet
with a little bread and water
and a flashlight and a first aid kit til he grows

Back of a Truck

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):

She lifted the monument in her monumental arms
She was the mother superior with carry-on luggage charms
She was this androgynous powder nosed girl next door
She had eaten her dog and he was back for more back for more

Her gym teacher thought himself a sweat sock demi god
Her geraniums thought themselves an alien pod
Her front porch gave way beneath classified weight
And when the ambulance came they said it's much too late oh it's much too late

Now the people of New Guinea and the people of LA
Have been pen pals for years cause they both hate ballet
Only the pandas and bears have made a clean getaway
But the news bulletin claims it's gonna be ok
Now Miss Lucy had a sweatshop where the immigrants worked
Problem was they all turned to pumpkins at the twelve o'clock stroke
Promptly confiscated by police precinct number X
That was when the alien geraniums demanded the facts
No violence off course no violence off course hey no violence off course. Off course? Why yes, of course

Here the story gets hazy and the hair gets too long
The TV gets quiet as we hear a real bad song
The mothers get whiskey and the girlfriends get tongue
And there's a back of a truck selling smoke free lungs
There's a back of a truck selling alien pods
There's a back of a truck selling game show hosts
There's a back of a truck selling the souls of the dead
There's a back of a truck selling crumb free bread
There's a back of a truck selling the back of a car
There's a back of a car selling roadway maps
There are roadway maps selling the back of a head
Hey how much for that back of a head, man?
Hey wait a minute that's my back of a head
Hey you can't sell that man.
That's mine.
Hey sell it back to me man.
Hey sell it back to me It's mine!'

She lifted the monument in her monumental arms
She was the mother superior with carry-on luggage charms She was this androgynous powder nosed girl next door
She had eaten her dog and he was back for more...

Baobabs

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

You have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns now
and I feel them sprouting
they'll grow right through
if I don't watch it
and they'll grow right through
even if I watch it
and a sunset couldn't save me now
these baobabs and baobabs and baobabs some more
but you can't outwait fate

and you have tamed me
now you must take me...

and I wouldn't raise my child inside the city anyway
they grow up too savvy and they grow up too fast
and they know about buying shit and they know about sex
and they know about investment banking and also about brokerage firms
and they know about the numbers and they know about the words
and they know about the bottom lines and also about stones
and they know about careers and about the real deals
and they all grow up and become people's people with people skills

but you have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns now
you have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns

Bartender

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

come on, bartender
won't you be more tender?
give me two shots of whiskey
and a beer chaser
love will be the death of me
love is so fickle
it starts with a flood
and it ends with a trickle

come on, bartender
just a little more tender
I ate all your peanuts
return me to sender
I've been too candid
now I'm barely standing
just call me a taxi
and prepare me for landing

ooh, you have got to kick me back out into the
cold and nasty weather
and maybe if I sober up I will stop pretending that
love is forever...

"begin to hope" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

begin to hope and all the colors start to change
beneath the light you might forget that the world's so sad
you might forget that things are awful bad
and it's alright if you eat all the apples from the knowlege tree bowl
the fact that they're plastic shouldn't deter you at all
just grab your sharpie and write your message on the wall
yeah, i was here, i was here

we know that our whole world is all around us all the time
and still we might forget to stand up straight
we might forget that we should never wait
and it's alright if we don't let the others make the last call
that fact that they own us shouldn't deter us at all
just grab your sharpie and write your message on the wall
yeah, i was here, i was here
uh huh, i was here, i was here

yeah i was here but now i've gone to take a walk
and i won't be back until you know my name
cause none of us are the same name

begin to hope...

and it's alright if we eat all the apples from the knowlege tree bowl
the fact that they're plastic shouldn't deter us at all
i grabbed my sharpie and wrote my message on the wall
regina was here, regina was here
uh huh, regina was here, regina was here

yeah i was here but now i've gone to take a walk
and i won't be back cause it's a lovely day
and none of us know how long we've got to stay

"be like a cloud" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

who said I was original?
who said I was allowed
to sing as if I really sing
to write as if I really write?
who said that I could suddenly
get up from underneath
and walk away completely stumbling
between each breath I breathe
and walk away sublimely stumbling
between each breath I breathe?

who said I was allowed?

I once flew by a real tall wall
with ivy all around
and saw two eyes I really liked
and saw two ears I really liked
and saw two lips I liked as well
and saw a face that I could love
but it was far, so far and cold above
inside the big above
but it was light and dark and cold
inside that big above

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

and so I walked to everywhere
and stopped in every town
the big ones with a little pond
the small ones with no pond at all
and though I've eaten dirt before
I've never grown to like the taste
and I prefer on any day
a big green apple in its place...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

and so I closed my eyes and watched
and when I opened them again
I knew the clouds had snowed on me
and then they poured on me some rain
and there stood this cold icicle
the very shape and form of me
I tried to cry but couldn't, so instead
I made myself a cup of tea...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

so who said I was original?
who said I was a cloud
to rain as if I really rained
to snow as if I really snowed?
you know the fastest thing in this world is
the speed of snow into your eyes
as you walk off sublimely stumbling
sublimely slipping on the ice...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

Belt

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I know I say I'll go away
but then I don't, I come right back
and walk right smack into your lips
and turn all black and blue
and though I've seen the light so many times before
I've also figured out the light is just a switch
that I can turn on, I can turn off
please, oh please
when it's off, you cannot see, you cannot hear
even in your ear, saying
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...

upside down a frown becomes a smile
and so he thinks I take it with a smile
double upside down a frown remains a frown
too bad he never checks the double upside down
when I'm doubled up on the floor
and I see a double him
giving me a double wham bam
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...

chicken soup, mashed potatoes, gravy
orange juice, milk shakes, pudding
oatmeal, soft served ice cream
ain't it good that there's soft food
cause I couldn't eat very much else right now
they ask me how
well, hahaha, I fell down some stairs
yeah, hahaha, I bumped into a door
oh, I'm such a clutz
I say that very same thing to myself
all the time, I say
yo girl, can't you watch where you are?
you don't watch where the hell you're going, you're going to get yourself killed
you know, hey girl, can't you watch where you are?
you're going to get yourself killed...

I know I say I'll go away
but then I don't, I come right back
and walk right smack into your lips
and turn all black and blue
and though I've seen the light so many times before
I've also figured out the light is just a switch
that I can turn on, I can turn off
please, oh please
when it's off, you cannot see shit, you cannot hear shit
even in your ear, saying
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...

Better

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):

If I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

Born like sisters to this world
In a town where blood ties are only blood
If you never say your name out loud to anyone
They can never ever call you by it

If I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

You’re getting sad, you're getting sad
You're getting sad, you're getting sadder
And I don’t understand and I don’t understand

But if I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

Blue Lips

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

he stumbled into faith and thought,
god, this is all there is
the pictures in his mind arose
and began to breathe
and all the gods in all the worlds
began colliding on a backdrop of blue

blue lips, blue veins

he took a step but then felt tired
he said, I'll rest a little while
but when he tried to walk again
he wasn't a child
and all the people hurried past, real fast
and no one ever smiled

blue lips, blue veins,
blue, the color of our planet from far, far away

he stumbled into faith and thought,
god, this is all there is
the pictures in his mind arose
and began to breathe
and no one saw and no one heard
they just followed the lead
the pictures in his mind awoke
and began to breed

they started off beneath the knowledge tree
then they chopped it down to make white picket fences
and marching along the railroad tracks
they smiled real wide for the camera lenses
they made it past the enemy lines
just to become enslaved in the assembly lines

blue lips, blue veins,
blue, the color of our planet from far, far away...

blue, the most human color...