1. Round Here 2. Omaha 3. Mr. Jones 4. Perfect Blue Buildings 5. Anna Begins 6. Time And Time Again 7. Rain King 8. Sullivan Street 9. Ghost Train 10. Raining In Baltimore 11. A Murder Of One
Counting Crows: August And Everything After
1. Round Here Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog Where no one notices the contrast of white on white In between the moon and you, the angels get a better view Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right And I walk in the air between the rain through myself and back again Where, I don't know Maria says she's dying, through the door I hear her crying Why, I don't know 'Round here, we always stand up straight 'Round here, something radiates Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand She said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis And she walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus She parks her car outside of my house and takes her clothes off And says she's close to understanding Jesus And she knows she's more than just a little misunderstood She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous 'Round here, we're carving out our names 'Round here, we all look the same 'Round here, we talk just like lions, but we sacrifice like lambs 'Round here, she's slipping through my hands Oooh, sleeping children better run like the wind Out of the lightning dream Mama's little baby better get herself in Out of the lightning She says it's only in my head She says "shhh", I know, it's only in my head But the girl on the car in the parking lot says "man, you should try to take a shot Can't you see my walls are crumbling?" Then she looks up at the building, says she's thinking of jumping She says she's tired of life, she must be tired of something 'Round here, she's always on my mind 'Round here, I got lots of time 'Round here, we're never sent to bed early and nobody makes us wait 'Round here, we stay up very, very, very, very late
2. Omaha Start tearing the old man down Run past the heather and down to the old road Start turning the grain into the ground Roll a new leaf over In the middle of the night, there's an old man Treading around in the gathered rain "Hey mister, if you gonna walk on water Oh, could you drop a line my way?" Omaha Somewhere in middle America Get right to the heart of matters It's the heart that matters more I think you'd better turn your ticket in And get your money back at the door Start threading the needle Brush past the shuttle that slides through the cold room Start turning the wool across the wire Roll the new life over In the middle of the night, there's an old man Threading his toes through a bucket of rain "Hey mister, you don't wanna walk on water 'Cause you're only gonna walk all over me" Omaha Somewhere in middle America Get right to the heart of matters It's the heart that matters more I think you'd better turn your ticket in And get your money back at the door Start running the banner down Drop past the color, come up through the summer rain Start turning the girl into the ground Roll a new love over In the middle of the day, there's a young man Rolling around in the earth and rain "Hey mister, if you're gonna walk on water You know you're only gonna walk all over me" Omaha Somewhere in middle America Get right to the heart of matters It's the heart that matters more I think you'd better turn your ticket in And get your money back at the door Omaha Oh, somewhere in middle America Get right to the heart of matters Oooh, it's the heart that matters more I think you'd better turn your ticket in And get your money back at the door
3. Mr. Jones I was down at the New Amsterdam Staring at this yellow-haired girl Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation With a black-haired flamenco dancer She dances while his father plays guitar She's suddenly beautiful We all want something beautiful I wish I was beautiful So come dance this silence down through the morning Cut up, Maria Show me some of them Spanish dances Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones Believe in me Help me believe in anything 'Cause I wanna be someone who believes Mr. Jones and me Tell each other fairy tales And we stare at the beautiful women "She's looking at you, oh, no no, she's looking at me" Smiling in the bright lights Coming through in stereo When everybody love you You can never be lonely Well, I'm gonna paint my picture Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray All of the beautiful colors Are very, very meaningful Gray is my favorite color I felt so symbolic yesterday If I knew Picasso I would buy myself a gray guitar and play Mr. Jones and me Look into the future Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women "She's looking at you, I don't think so, she lookin' at me" Standing in the spotlight I bought myself a gray guitar When everybody loves me I will never be lonely I wanna be a lion Everybody wants to pass as cats We all wanna be big stars, yeah but We got different reasons for that Believe in me 'Cause I don't believe in anything And I, I wanna be someone To believe Mr. Jones and me Stumbling through the barrio Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women "She's perfect for you, man, there's got to be somebody for me" I wanna be Bob Dylan Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky When everybody loves you Oh, son, that's just about as funky as you can be Mr. Jones and me Staring at the video When I look at the television I wanna see me stare right back at me We all wanna be big stars But we don't know why and we don't know how But when everybody loves me I'm gonna be just about as happy as I can be Mr. Jones and me We're gonna be big stars
4. Perfect Blue Buildings Just down the street from your hotel, baby I stay at home with my disease Ain't this position familiar, darling Well, all monkeys do what they see Help me stay awake, I'm falling Down on Virginia and La Loma Where I got friends who care for me You got an attitude of everything I ever wanted I got an attitude of need Just help me stay awake, I'm falling Asleep in perfect blue buildings Beside the green apple sea Gonna get me a little oblivion, baby Try to keep myself away from me It's 4:30 AM on a Tuesday It doesn't get much worse than this In beds in little rooms in buildings In the middle of these lives which are completely meaningless Help me stay awake, I'm falling Asleep in perfect blue buildings Beside the green apple sea I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby Try to keep myself away from myself and me Well, I got bones beneath my skin, and mister There's a skeleton in every man's house Beneath the dust and love and sweat that hangs on everybody There's a dead man trying to get out So please, help me stay awake, I'm falling Asleep in perfect blue buildings Beside the green apple seas I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby Try to keep myself away from me Perfect blue buildings, oooh Beside the green apple sea I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby To try to keep myself away from myself and me Oooh, I'm in a perfect blue building But I can't keep myself away from me Oooh, in a perfect blue building I say, how am I gonna keep myself away How am I gonna keep myself away from me? Keep myself away I'm gonna keep myself away from me Keep myself away I'm gonna keep myself away from me
5. Anna Begins My friend assures me "It's all or nothing" I am not worried I am not overly concerned My friend implores me "For one time only Make an exception" I am not not worried Wrap her up in a package of lies Send her off to a coconut island I am not worried I am not overly concerned With the status of my emotions "Oh", she says, "you're changing" But we're always changing It does not bother me to say this isn't love 'Cause if you don't wanna talk about it, then it isn't love And I guess I'm going to have to live with that But I'm sure there's something in a shade of grey or something in between And I can always change my name, if that's what you mean My friend assures me "It's all or nothing" But I am not really worried I am not overly concerned You try to tell yourself the things You try to tell yourself to make yourself forget To make yourself forget I am not worried "If it's love", she said "Then were gonna have to think about the consequences" She can't stop shaking And I can't stop touching her and This time, when kindness falls like rain It washes her away And Anna begins to change her mind "These seconds when I'm shaking Leave me shuddering for days," she says And I'm not ready for this sort of thing But I'm not gonna break And I'm not gonna worry about it anymore I'm not gonna bend and I'm not gonna break I'm not gonna worry about it anymore It seems like I should say "As long as this is love" But it's not all that easy So maybe I should Snap her up in a butterfly net And pin her down on a photograph album I am not worried 'Cause I've done this sort of thing before But then I start to think about the consequences I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and then This time, when kindness falls like rain It washes me away And Anna begins to change my mind And every time she sneezes, I believe it's love And oooh Lord I'm not ready for this sort of thing She's talking in her sleep It's keeping me awake And Anna begins to toss and turn And every word is nonsense, but I understand And oooh Lord I'm not ready for this sort of thing Her kindness bangs a gong It's moving me along And Anna begins to fade away It's chasing me away She disappears and oooh Lord I'm not ready for this sort of thing
6. Time And Time Again I wanted so badly Somebody other than me Staring back at me But you were gone, gone, gone I wanted to see you walking backwards And get the sensation of you coming home I wanted to see you walking away from me Without the sensation of you leaving me alone Time and time again Time and time again Time and time again I can't please myself I wanted the ocean to cover over me I wanna sink slowly without getting wet Maybe someday I won't be so lonely And I'll walk on water every chance I get Time and time again Time and time again Time and time again I can't please myself So when are you coming home, sweet angel? You leaving me alone, leaving me all alone Well, if I'm drowning, darling, oh, you'll come down this way on your own Yeah yeah yeah I wish I was traveling on a freeway Beneath this graveyard western sky Gonna set fire to this city And out into the desert, yeah, we're gonna ride Time and time again Time and time again Time and time and time again I can't please myself Oooooh I can't please myself And I can't please nobody else And time again Time and time again Time and time and time and time again I can't please myself No, oh, oh
7. Rain King When I think of Heaven Deliver me in a black-winged bird I think of flying Down into a sea of pens and feathers And all other instruments of faith And sex and God in the belly of a black-winged bird Don't try to feed me 'Cause I've been here before And I deserve a little more I belong in the service of the Queen I belong anywhere but in between She's been crying, I've been thinking And I am the rain King And I said mama, mama, mama Why am I so alone? Wel, I can't go outside, I'm scared, I might not make it home Well, I'm alive, I'm alive But I'm sinking in If there's anyone at home at your place, darling, why don't you invite me in? Don't try to bleed me 'Cause I've been there before And I deserve a little more I belong in the service of the Queen I belong anywhere but in between She's been lying, I've been sinking And I am the rain King Hey, I only want the same as anyone And the son is waiting for the sun Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends After all the dreaming, I come home again When I think of Heaven Deliver me in a black-winged bird I think of dying Lay me down in a field of flame and heather Render up my body into the burning heart Of God, in the belly of a black-winged bird Don't try to bleed me 'Cause I've been here before And I deserve a little more I belong in the service of the Queen I belong anywhere but in between She's been dying and I've been drinking And I am the rain King
8. Sullivan Street Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street Cross the water, home through the town Past the shadows that fall down wherever we meet Pretty soon now, I won't come around I'm almost drowning in her sea She's nearly fallen to her knees Take the way home, ba ba ba ba Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street Where all the bodies hang on the air If she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet Either way now, I don't really care 'Cause I'm gone from there I'm almost drowning in her seas She's nearly crawling on her knees She's down on her knees Down on her knees Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street Where I'm just another rider burned to the ground Come tumbling down I'm almost drowning in her sea She's nearly crawling on her knees It's almost everything I need I'm down on my knees I'm down on my knees I'm down on, down on my knees I'm down on my knees I'm down on my knees
9. Ghost Train Took the cannonball down to the ocean Across the desert from the sea to shining sea I rode a ladder that climbed across the nation Fifty million feet of earth between the buried and me "How do you do?" She said "hey, how do you do?" She buys a ticket, 'cause it's cold were she comes from She climbs aboard, because she's scared of getting older in the snow Love is a ghost train rumbling through the darkness Hold on to me, darling, I've got nowhere else to go "How do you do?" She said "hey, how do you do?" Hey, yeah I took the cannonball down to the ocean Watched the diesel disappear beneath the tumbling waves Love is a ghost train howling on the radio "Remember everything", she said, "when only memory remains" "How do you do?" She said "hey, how do you do?" "Hey, how do you do?" She said "hey, how do you do?"
10. Raining In Baltimore This circus is falling down on its knees Big top is crumbling down It's raining in Baltimore, fifty miles East Where you should be, no one's around I need a phone call I need a raincoat I need a big love I need a phone call These train conversations are passing me by And I don't have nothing to say You get what you pay for But I just had no intention of living this way I need a phone call I need a plane ride I need a sunburn I need a raincoat And I get no answers And I don't get no change It's raining in Baltimore, baby But everything else is the same There's things I remember and things I forget I miss you, I guess that I should Three thousand five hundred miles away But what would you change if you could? I need a phone call Maybe I should buy a new car I can always hear a freight train Baby, if I listen real hard And I wish, I wish it was a small world 'Cause I'm lonely for the big towns I'd like to hear a little guitar I guess it's time to put the top down I need a phone call I need a raincoat I really need a raincoat I really really need a raincoat I really really really need a raincoat Really need a raincoat
11. A Murder Of One Blue morning, blue morning Wrapped in strands of fist and bone Curiosity, kitten Doesn't have to mean you're on your own You can look outside your window He doesn't have to know We can talk a while, baby We can take it nice and slow All your life Is such a shame, shame, shame All your love Is just a dream, dream, dream Are you happy when you're sleeping? Does he keep you safe and warm? Does he tell you when you're sorry? Does he tell you when you're wrong? Well, I've been watching you for hours It's been years since we were born We were perfect when we started I've been wondering where we've gone All your life Is such a shame, shame, shame All your love Is just a dream, dream, dream Well, I dreamt I saw you walking Up a hillside in the snow Casting shadows on the winter sky As you stood there, counting crows One for sorrow, two for joy Three for girls and four for boys Five for silver, six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told There's a bird that nests inside you Sleeping underneath your skin And when you open up your wings to speak I wish you'd let me in All your life Is such a shame, shame, shame All your love Is just a dream, dream, dream Open up your eyes You can see the flames, flames, flames of your wasted life You should be ashamed, shamed, shamed Yeah, well you don't wanna waste your life, baby I mean, you don't wanna waste your life, no, it's (????) You don't wanna waste your life, baby You don't wanna waste your life, no, darlin' Oh, you don't wanna waste your life, no baby I said that you don't wanna waste your life, now darlin' Oh, you don't wanna waste your life, now baby You don't wanna, you don't wanna waste your life, now darlin' Change, change, change Change, change, change Change, change, change I walk along these hillsides, in the summer, 'neath the sunshine I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me I said I walk along these hillsides, in the summer, 'neath the sunshine I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me I said I will walk along these hillsides, in the summer, 'neath the sunshine I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me I said I will walk along these hillsides, in the summer, 'neath the sunshine I am feathered by the moonlight Change, change, change Change, change, change, yeah Change, change, change Oooh, change, change, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Whoa, change, change, change Whoa, change, change, change, hmmm Change, change, change, change Change, change, change, change, change