Making Stuff Up: An Interview With Regina Spektor
by Rod Alonzo
I met Regina Spektor at a small French café on E. 5th Street where I interviewed her for this column. Afterwards we ambled over to Sidewalk Cafe and Regina gave an impromptu performance at the Monday night "Anti-Hoot". She sat at the piano with the air of someone who was presiding over a religious ceremony. Instantaneously she was in the performing zone. Her song unfolded with two people eyeing each other at a Meat Packing district bar. The song deftly rose into a beat-poet realm as Regina interchanged and exaggerated the words creating new meanings and revealing surprise emotions that we didn't know were there at first. Her performance reminded me of Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" in that she became the channel for the souls of her characters; she takes the listener into their world. Her music is exciting and unique. Her shows are not to be missed.
WOMANROCK:
You've just finished recording an album, yes?
Regina:
No. I thought I was. I thought I was just going to have nine songs on it and I kept convincing myself that was fine. But I think that's really skimpy. So I'm going to put more on because I have a lot of songs. I'm going to go and record a couple more.
WOMANROCK:
How did your recording come about?
Regina:
Well, I had just come back from Paris…
WOMANROCK:
Were you playing there? Regina:
Yes, I met this wonderful guy who owned an old pub near the Eiffel Tower called Malone's (he's French but it's an Irish name). He had a cellar with a piano and told me I could use it whenever I wanted to. I played lots of gigs down there. When I came back I played a show at the Knitting Factory.
Allan Bezzozo, who is the drummer for They Might Be Giants, he'd heard of me from someone like David Poe, he checked out the show and really liked it and was very nice. He started coming to a lot of shows and wanted to produce something. He was really good friends with a guy named Gordon Rafael who produced the Strokes. So Gordon came to New York for Christmas vacation and we worked together. I told him that I have this one song where I hit a stool and play left hand at the same time. It's called "Poor Little Rich Boy." It was really fun to record that. I invited him to come to a show at Tonic. He wrote the most amazing review and put it on this great British site for indie music called rockfeedback.com. He then hooked up all of this studio time.
We went in for five days straight. We got six songs and thought we'd put out an EP. Then we thought it was too short and I thought about making a full record. I got this opportunity to go to London and recorded three songs. I even got to have strings! There was this other song called "Punky" or "Your Honor" (depending on who you talk to). I recorded it with this great punk band that Gordon had worked with before. They're these three young guys from Brighton. They were such great punk musicians. Everything was so crazy. They're called Kill Kenada. So now I have nine songs but I'm getting ridiculously greedy. I might as well put out eleven songs. There's one song I'm trying to get, I'm not even going to say its name because so many people are going to ask, Is this song on it? If I don't get it, I'll just feel really bad.
WOMANROCK:
It's hard because you can't get the studio time or because it's not in the state that you want it to be in?
Regina:
It's a little bit of both because you get the studio time and just hope for the best. But if it's not just what I want, I'm not a perfectionist. The recordings have so many imperfections. But I'm a perfectionist in weird kinds of ways. I'll know if it has the right feel about it or if it doesn't. If it doesn't, then why listen to it?
WOMANROCK:
Do you hear the song in your head before it's recorded? Do you have a set idea for how you want a song to be or does it change when you're in a room with musicians?
Regina:
I usually have a pretty clear idea and I'll talk to the people I'm working with so we all know what's going on. Like those songs with strings; I knew I wanted strings on those two songs. I coached the string players and once they knew the song they had suggestions of their own. It was a nice collaboration.
WOMANROCK:
What standards do you use in arranging your songs? Do you try to avoid clichés? You have a unique sound.
Regina:
I do try to avoid things. I wouldn't necessarily say they're clichés. I have this fear of getting stuck and doing the same thing over and over again I'm always trying to push the dexterity thing. When I was a kid I studied classical piano. I never thought to combine it with singing until much, much later. When I started combining it, it was so crude and awful. From then on I was trying to have independence so that I could play the instrument and sing against different rhythms and have it free. I'm always trying to push that.
WOMANROCK:
So classical music plays a big part?
Regina:
A big, big part. I started to write before I went to SUNY Purchase music conservatory. As an audition I submitted what I now think are really awful songs, but I guess they saw something in them. Maybe they're not that bad. When I was at Purchase I heard a lot of Jazz and Blues for the first time ever. I ate it all up and then spit it all out in my own way. My first record, which I made in college, is very Jazzy and Bluesy.
WOMANROCK:
By Jazzy you mean Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald?
Regina:
Yeah. My singing and my songs were very influenced by all of that. People would come up to me and ask, Is that a Billie Holiday song? I'd say, No, it's my song. The lyrics would be in my style, but the songs would be very jazzy. Then I started listening to Tom Waits, Bjork, and Radiohead. And then I started listening to all of these anti-folk people and really felt at home at Sidewalk Cafe and became friends with a lot of talented people there. I realized that I was doing it all wrong and needed to find my own voice. There's a part of me that's really into performance art, so it's almost like acting. It's really fun to assume the role of Billie Holiday or Edith Piaf or someone with an accent.
WOMANROCK:
So you're not just performing the song when you're on stage; it's a theater piece?
Regina:
That's what I try to do. It's in my nature. I think of accents and play around and make weird sounds with my voice. I don't want to have one voice. I don't want to have a sound. I want to be able to sing a song and have people ask, Is that her?
WOMANROCK:
When you re composing the song, do you have a set character in mind?
Regina:
It's not that sophisticated. The reason I really relate to Eminem or Tom Waits is because I get into this headspace and become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not with every song, but with a lot of them. Most of the time the songs are not about me. I use a lot of imagination. Imagining this little world and these people. I relate it much more to short stories or little cinema pieces and making up characters rather than songs.
WOMANROCK:
If you're not writing about your own life, how do you zero in on what you want to write about?
Regina:
It's like this curiosity. I love people and their quirks. I make up one characteristic and see how it would influence his whole view. I don't know he's a dentist who practices but he doesn't have a real license. But his wife is his assistant and she is a real dentist. So she's got his back. I'm interested in what they do together and why they do it. It's really fun. I can just make stuff up. People are so kind and good to give me an hour of their lives so I can just rant and rave. It's so much more interesting to write about that than myself. I think most of them are sympathetic characters because I think most people are sympathetic.
WOMANROCK:
I'm not familiar with your life story. Weren't you born in Russia?
Regina:
I was born in Moscow and then we immigrated when I was almost ten. We went to Austria and then Italy and then we were allowed to come to America. We came to New York and then we moved right to the Bronx. That's where I live with my Mama and my Poppa and my brother and our new cat. I've traveled a lot, but I haven't seen enough of America. I've seen much more of Europe at this point.
WOMANROCK:
When you re traveling do you watch people and write down your observations?
Regina: I'm not organized at all. I always try to write things down but then I stop. Sometimes I write it in my head and since I don't have access to a piano they become acapella songs. When I travel I'm a big museum freak. I spend hours there. I also spend lots of time on trains. People tell you so many things on trains. I've met some amazing people on trains.
WOMANROCK:
Was Russia the Soviet Union when you lived there?
Regina:
Yeah.
WOMANROCK:
Do you consider yourself Russian?
Regina:
I'm a Russian Jew. It's a very big part of who I am. It's a very specific thing being a Russian Jew. I'm very lucky. It's a rich culture. Plus I have the Russian language so I can read all of the literature as well. I now have such a clear division in my life between when I was in Russia and when I'm here. It's really cool.
WOMANROCK:
Do you feel the Russian chapter in your life is over or do you still feel invested in it?
Regina:
When I came here I was thrown into this all-American community. We were in a place where there were no Russians. We were in the papers because we were the first Russians in the Bronx for twenty years. It was so important to learn English and become American. I was reading a lot in English. I wasn't really talking to Russians so much. Then I switched schools and was in with a lot of Russian kids. I feel more Jewish than Russian. I think I feel like an American Jew who came from Russia. It's a rich place.
I think about Russian history a lot. It's so full of art and decadence. We have this collection of reproductions by this artist Illya Repin. I look through his paintings and make up stories about them. I also love Russian literature. Tolstoy does something in Anna Karenina that I wish I could do. He has so many phrases where he just switches to French and then something in German or Italian. There's this worldliness. It's not like you re talking down to your reader or thinking, They won't understand this. Why don't I dumb it down for them? Let's respect them. Let's say they're as intelligent or more intelligent than I am. I'm really against the idea that music has to be really accessible. I think people are more intelligent than all these labels think they are.
WOMANROCK:
How do you educate yourself musically?
Regina:
I don't buy a lot of music because I can't afford it. I'm very lucky because I have a lot of friends that will make me mixes or take me to a show or explain things to me. I'm so grateful. I love it when people show things to me.
WOMANROCK:
Are there any musicians that you really love to go see?
Regina:
So many. This amazing band called Doofus. The Tracksenberg Family Slide-Show Players I love.
WOMANROCK:
Would you say your foundation in music is informed by Russian Classical music or Jewish music?
Regina:
It's definitely informed by classical but I wouldn't say Russian classical. I do feel those Slavic melodies like Prokoviev and Tchaikovsky are in there. I also feel just as strongly towards Chopin and Mozart. I really love Mozart. I've also listened to Klezmer and Yiddish songs. Other big influences were the Russian singer/songwriter bands that were very underground. Not really public. Vladimir Vosotsky really influenced me. He is so amazing. I wish I could communicate what he does. His lyrics were amazing poetry.
Then I heard people like Bob Dylan. I listened to a lot of Beatles and Queen when I was a kid cause my dad had all of these illegal tapes. They weren't really available. Like the Moody Blues and Italian and French pop! My dad was a photographer and went to Hungary and Czechoslovakia. He snuck a lot of tapes back and would get together with his friends and have dances that weren't allowed. They didn't really have the acid revolution. They were always ten years behind. They wore bell-bottoms in the 80s! There was also this innocence about it. No one had any clothes that were fashionable so everyone was funny looking.
To find out more about Regina Spektor go to: http://www.reginaspektor.com
Rod Alonzo is a songwriter and teaches second grade in Brooklyn.
ReginaSpektor.net is an old fan site dedicated to the music of Regina Spektor. This site is in no way affiliated with Regina, her management, or her record company.
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Early 2003 - WomanRock.com
Friday, February 28, 2003
2003-02-28 New York, NY | The Baggot Inn
Saturday, February 15, 2003
2003-02-15 New York, NY | C-Note
opening
Dusseldorf
interlude
Prisoners
interlude
Carbon Monoxide
interlude
Oh, Marcello!
interlude
Ave Maria
interlude
Dance Anthem of the 80s
interlude
Better
interlude
Your Honor
interlude
'the floor heard everything'
interlude
Sailor Song
interlude
Us
interlude
Ghost of Corporate Future
interlude
Samson
closing
Thursday, February 13, 2003
2003-02-13 New York, NY | NYU Thompson Center
Sunday, February 09, 2003
Saturday, December 21, 2002
2002-12-21 New York, NY | Sidewalk Cafe
Thursday, December 19, 2002
2002-12-19 New York, NY | Tonic
The Flowers
Poor Little Rich Boy
Ave Maria
Chemo Limo
Saturday, November 30, 2002
2002-11-30 New York, NY | Sidewalk Cafe
Tuesday, October 01, 2002
Late 2002 - AntifolkOnline.com
Once upon a time i went away to Paris, and when i came back there were all these ideas. Some of them were extravagant, like turning into a tutu wearing doll.... While others were simpler, like learning to sew dresses and baking cookies.... though i prefer garlic to chocolate, and not many women do....and they are right... in a way...i decided that the thing i would hate most would be being president Bush's court composer...... then the crowd chanted "Monarch for President!" and my brother got a kitten named Barsyk, a common cat name in Russia, like "spot" or "killer" for a dog..... but in NY it is exotic. Especially in the Bronx. Then i also have a new CD called "Songs". It is 12 songs that are just piano and voice, and they are black and white, like the cover photo, only quieter and more snowy...
Finally, a curtain specialist came to my house for a free consultation. He said that though my case is rather unique, he would open my left curtain for half the regular price... I shouldn't tell his boss, though, and i can throw in a cup of cranberry juice (he didn't sctually mention the cranberry juice, but i could see how his eyes yearned for it sliding over the bottle on the counter) so i though, who am i to refuse such an offer. What am i, a millionaire? so i took it, and lived happily. Ever. Catheter.
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
2002-09-18 New York, NY | Knitting Factory
Recorded by pattivill:
01) Ave Maria (partial)
02)
03) Poor Little Rich Boy
04)
05) Somedays
06)
07) Just like the Movies
08)
09) Music Box
10)
11) Samson
12)
Sunday, September 01, 2002
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
2002-05-15 New York, NY | The Living Room
Recorded by pattivill:
01)
02) Prisoners
03)
04) Just like the Movies
05)
06) The Soup
07)
08) Poor Little Rich Boy
09)
10) Twenty Years of Snow
11)
12) A Lesson in How Fleeting Preservation Is (aka Left Hand Song)
13)
14) One String Blues
15)
16) Reading Time with Pickle
17)
18) Ne Me Quitte Pas
19)
20) Samson
21)
Thursday, May 09, 2002
2002-05-09 New York, NY | The Frying Pan
Saturday, May 04, 2002
2002-05-04 New York, NY | Sidewalk Cafe
Recorded by pattivill:
intro
Title Unknown ("in the studio" -- aborted)
Baobabs
interlude
Soho (w/ Anders)
interlude
Aching to Pupate (w/ Anders)
interlude
Anders Griffin (solo) - Title Unknown
interlude
One-String Blues
interlude
AB (w/ Anders)
interlude
Poor Little Rich Boy
interlude
Lulliby (w/ Anders)
interlude
Belt (w/ Anders)
interlude
8th Floor (w/ Anders)
interlude
Twenty Years of Snow
closing
Wednesday, May 01, 2002
2002-05-01 New York, NY | Tonic
01)
02) Soho with Anders Griffen
03)
04) AB with Anders Griffen
05)
06) Music Box with Anders Griffen
07)
08) Belt with Anders Griffen
09)
10) Poor Little Rich Boy
11)
12) Lounge with Anders Griffen
13)
14) Twenty Years of Snow with Anders Griffen
15)
16) 8th Floor with Anders Griffen
17)
18) Lulliby with Anders Griffen
19)
20) Samson
21)
And as a special bonus, Sufjan Stevens' set from the same show:
01)
02) Romulus
03)
04) All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands
05)
06) Seven Swans
07)
08) In the Devil's Territory
09)
10) Rake
11)
12) A Sun Came
13)
14) Happy Birthday
15)
16) Vito's Ordination Song
17
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
2002-04-17 New York, NY | The Living Room
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
2002-03-13 New York, NY | The Living Room
Friday, June 01, 2001
11:11
Love AffairRegina's debut LP was recorded in her senior year at Purchase College and self-released in 2001. It eventually went out of print on CD, owing mainly to the loss of the original artwork, but it is currently available as a download from CD Baby and other outlets.
Rejazz
Back of a Truck
Buildings
Marry Ann
Flyin
Wasteside
Pavlov's Daughter
2.99 Cent Blues
Braille
I Want to Sing
Sunshine
Sunday, December 31, 2000
Public Domain
MockingbirdThis compilation from 2000 was the inaugural release from Purchase Records--a label showcasing the talents of students & faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College (Regina's alma mater)--and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Friday, December 29, 2000
ReginaSpektor.com - The Official Site
Regina's official site is home to the always friendly and informative brümstix forum, going strong since 2003.
Friday, December 15, 2000
Regina's MySpace Profile
Regina's official MySpace profile has the usual trappings, and also features her infrequently updated but always worthwhile blog posts.Friday, December 08, 2000
i heart regina - LiveJournal Community
Another venue for Regina talk and sharing, with more more style & flexibility (and less structure) than the forum format.
Friday, December 01, 2000
The Unofficial Regina Songbook
If you're aiming to play like the lady, you'll probably want to check out this communal fan effort to transcribe her songs.
Monday, November 20, 2000
ReSpekt Online - Fan Site
A multimedia-oriented fan site after our own heart, with a particularly excellent video download section, as well as a unique page devoted to Regina covers performed by her fans.
Saturday, April 03, 1971
20 Years of Snow
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...
Thursday, April 01, 1971
2.99 ¢ Blues
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 gallonAnd 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 spotbut 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 gallonbut 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
Monday, March 29, 1971
8th Floor
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 windowand 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
she comes into the house and no one
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
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
Monday, March 01, 1971
AB
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 backand 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
My blood type's AB and in case of emergency, smile
and AB it'll stay for a while...
Sunday, February 28, 1971
Aching to Pupate
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.
Friday, February 26, 1971
Ain't No Cover
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 stylehe sits there smoking
the sun is setting
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 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...
Thursday, February 25, 1971
"all the rowboats" (title unknown)
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 awayhear 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 singfirst 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 singthey will hang there in their gold frames
first there's lights out, then there's lock up
for forever, forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away
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
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...
Wednesday, February 24, 1971
Aprés Moi
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.
Tuesday, February 23, 1971
Aquarius
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 mindborn 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 loveddear 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 lipsborn 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 loveddear someone watching from the shadows
born of a sign that carries water
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
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...
Sunday, February 21, 1971
Ave Maria
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?
Thursday, February 18, 1971
Baby Jesus
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 lifethey 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 lifethey said, all the non-believers they get to eat dirt
you know that statue
and the believers get to spit on their graves...
believe!...
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
Wednesday, February 17, 1971
Back of a Truck
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...
Tuesday, February 16, 1971
Baobabs
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
Monday, February 15, 1971
Bartender
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 tricklecome on, bartender
ooh, you have got to kick me back out into the
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
cold and nasty weather
and maybe if I sober up I will stop pretending that
love is forever...
Sunday, February 14, 1971
"begin to hope" (title unknown)
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 herewe 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 hereyeah 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 namebegin 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 hereyeah 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)
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 abovedon'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?
don't ask for their permission
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...
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...
Belt
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
I know I say I'll go away
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...
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...
Saturday, February 13, 1971
Better
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
Monday, February 01, 1971
Blue Lips
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...
Saturday, January 30, 1971
Bobbing for Apples
Available Recordings: Click to view
Lyrics (fan transcription):
bobbing for apples in somalia
the man with the iron curtain is following you
no one’s coming for tea time
except my own holy ghost
you’re somewhere far probably drinking a whiskey
I dating jack daniel’s and caleb - swiss miss, nicky - tea,
nacho's with cocoa -- hey, to each his own
lovely people, lovely places
I can’t remember names and I can’t remember faces
someone next door’s fucking to one of my songs
hey light fixture, you are much too bright
oh, won’t you stay with me through the night
just grab a pillow tight
and wait for the dizziness to pass
rock and roll, you ate my soul
you sucked dry my bones but you spit out my mole
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end
lovely people, lovely places
drunken faces, slurring their phrases
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end
you so jealous, I’m so lonely
you’ll never forgive me but I love you only
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end…
someone next door’s fucking to one of my songs…
Thursday, January 28, 1971
Bon Idée
Available Recordings: Click to view
Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Don't tell your secrets to anyone
Because ideas are vulnerable
As soon as you say your idea out loud
Then it can go and live on its own
And you will miss it oh so much
And you will wait for it's return
And you will wish it were your own
But ideas that left never come back home
Don't tell your mother that you are afraid
Don't tell your lover that your heart might break
Don't tell your gods that you no longer believe
Because as soon as you say it out loud they will leave you
And you will miss them oh so bad
And you will wait for their return
And you will wish they were your own
But gods that have left you will never grace your home
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Don't tell your secrets to anyone
Because ideas are vulnerable
As soon as you say your ideas out loud
Then they can go and live on their own without you
And you will miss them oh so bad
And you will wait for their return
And you will wish they were your own
But ideas that left will never come back home
Tuesday, January 26, 1971
Braille
Available Recordings: Click to view
Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
She was lying on the floor and counting stretch marks
she hadn't been a virgin and he hadn't been a god
so she names the baby Elvis
to make up for the royalty he lacked
And from then on it was turpentine and patches
from then on it was cold Campbell's from the can
They were just two jerks playing with matches
Cause that's all they knew how to play
And it was raining cats and dogs out side of her window
And she knew they were destined to become sacred road kill on the way
And she was listening to the sound of heavens shaking
thinking about puddles, puddles and mistakes
And from then on it was turpentine and patches
from then on it was cold Campbell's from the can
They were just two jerks playing with matches
Cause that's all they knew how to play
Elvis never could carry a tune
she thought about this irony as she stared back at the moon
she was tracing the years with her fingers on her skin
saying why don't I begin again
with turpentine and patches
with cold Campbell's from the can
after all I'm still a jerk playing with matches
it's just that he's not around to play along
I'm still an ass hole playing with matches
Blowing out my wishes blowing out my dreams
Just sitting here and trying to decypher what's written in Braille upon my skin...
Sunday, January 24, 1971
The Bronx
Available Recordings: Click to view
Lyrics (fan transcription):
Come downstairs, I’m buzzing you
Come downstairs, I got nothing to do
Come downstairs now
Come downstairs now
Come downstairs now
You know there’s a legend and it goes like this
if you kiss the lamppost between 224th street and 225th
in the bronx
when it’s a full moon
you’ll be granted three wishes
but nobody does it
they don’t believe in magical realism in the bronx
they don’t even believe it exists in other places
but especially not in the bronx
come downstairs now
I’m buzzing you
it’s a full moon
our wishes will come true soon
Do you know what I’d wish for? Do you know what I’d wish for?
Do you know what I’d wish for? Do you know what I’d wish for?
a 24-hour baskin robbins in my neighborhood
an elevator in my building so that I wouldn’t have to walk up to the eighth floor
and also a dog
Monday, January 18, 1971
Buildings
Available Recordings: Click to view
Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
he was a husband who drove his wife home drunk from the parties
he was a husband who drove his wife home
and in the car he would gently lean her head on the side door window
and in the bathroom he would hold her hair back and hope, saying;
they build buildings oh they build buildings oh they build buildings
so tall these days
and in the morning she'd wake up and crouch recollections all day
but she would always always wake up the next morning
and he'd take one look at her a say baby that's ok
and her conscience would issue yet another last warning, saying;
they build buildings oh they build buildings oh they build buildings
so tall these days
and she would ask for time and she'd ask for time and she would ask for time and she would beg for time, and she would beg for time and beg for time and call it a gift
and he would give her time and he'd give her time and he would give her time and he'd give her time-
but time is not given and time is not taken
it just sifts through its sift
and it was coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee some more
he'd go to work and she'd take a sick day and rot at the core
and by the time he came back she'd scrub the bathroom and make it smell like pine
it would be almost as if nothing had happened and he'd give her time, saying;
they build buildings, oh they build buildings, oh they build buildings, oh don't they build buildings, oh they build buildings, they build buildings so tall these days
and she would ask for time and shed ask for time and she would ask for time and she would beg for time, and she would beg for time and beg for time and call it a gift
and he would give her time and he'd give her time and he would give her time and he'd give her time-
but time is not given and time is not taken
it just sifts through its sift
he was a husband drove time home pine scrub bathroom window don't they build buildings so tall these days...