|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| note:
this is NOT a comprehensive list of lyrics to all songs i have ever
written. just a few i chose to type up in HTML when i was on a train
once to boston.
half-boyfriend
music and lyrics by jay brannan
i don’t know where we’re going
but i know we’ve gone too far and
i hope it isn’t showing
but i think i love you and
i can’t believe you’re leaving
just when i let you in and
when you had me believing
i could feel again
i could give a million reasons
why we should not be friends
our moods change like the seasons
when my mood ends your mood begins and
you’re a tease, you’re a cockblocker,
you’re a loudmouth bitch, and a big talker,
but that’s okay
you’ll grow up someday
chorus
you’re the pill i never wanted to take—
an anti-misanthrope
mine was the heart i never thought you would break
my one hope was that i’d survive you
i’ve shown up for you
in ways that boy never would, but
i know you’ll go back to him and
maybe you should, but
hope you don’t go backwards
cuz i’m going on ahead and
one day you’ll wish that you had
stuck with me instead
chorus
as i wander through union square
i remember when you followed me there
you were the stalker i kinda wanted to have
being your half-boyfriend was only half bad
chorus
© 2004 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
body’s a temple
music and lyrics by jay brannan
perfect body, perfect smile
your touch renders me servile, i love the
the way you speak to me, so sweet yet obscene
the way you smell of chlorine
i’m addicted, and you’d agree
i crave you endlessly
i feel useful on my knees
and i take comfort at your feet
chorus
they say your body’s a temple, well, boy were they right
this feels so simple, i could kiss you all night
and i could spend forever in the palm of your hand
but when the clock strikes twelve, oh, you’ll go home to another
man
in my mind you found a fortress
one i’m happy to provide
no need to ask, just receive
believe it’s yours to take what thrills you inside
chorus 2x
© 2006 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
26-hour day
music and lyrics by jay brannan
once upon our time
in a land far gone
where hate crime’s enforced by state crime
even though they say the land of the free was made for both you and me
well, the girl next door might have cancer
and the hospital nearby’s got the answer, but
she’s never been there, can’t afford healthcare
in the arms of the home of the brave, she’s carried to her grave
marionettes for presidents, strung out on wars
and we’re not sure who’s american anymore
division of church and state is my kind of separatism
spreading god’s love through scare tactics is casual terrorism
and if abortion’s murder, let’s strip that right away, and
who gave women the right to vote anyway?
so many babies
brought into the world today
amongst so many maybes
like maybe they’ll feel loved, be provided for, and have a place
to stay
but instead of placing them in loving stable homes
that might not fill the conservative bill
they’re tossed around the foster system like a hot potato
instead of making friends of dorothy
they’re thrown to the tornado
death warrants signed by murderers
who came to power through the back door
is this democracy or a monarchy
what do we hold elections for
you write your personal agenda on a post-it note
and leave the constitution lying on the bathroom floor
this is for the world trade center, for columbine
for oklahoma city and the lost and lonely friends of mine
for ireland, iran, iraq
and the suffering caused by the indian ocean’s attack
for falun gong and the berlin wall
the homeless, the hungry, and slaves to drugs and alcohol
indian, australian, african slaves
native americans whose amber waves of grain
were melted down into white men’s riches
victims of war and for salem’s witches
for boys who were told to act more like boys
and girls who were told to only play with girl toys
the voiceless, forgotten, plagued by disease
god help us please, please, please
maybe one day i’ll stop alternating
between thirteen hours of eating and thirteen hours of sleeping
and do something about it with what i guess could have been a
twenty-six hour day
© 2004 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
unstable boy
music and lyrics by jay brannan
staring down the barrel of another holiday
force-fed a christmas carol of another time, another place, another way
what child is this who, who laid to rest
on mary’s lap is sleeping
well, what child is this who, who feels so blessed
yet cannot keep from weeping
pre-chorus
i should be tending to the horses who intend to cart my joy
from now into forever, i’m just a lowly unstable boy
i’m a failure on a journey, but my strength is gathering
and it’s only fair that i make it there, yeah, i’m on my
way to mattering
chorus
but all the way, on the way, i couldn’t contain my fear
my lips only look rosy cuz my skin looks so white in here
shred up my fingers on this bottle cap that won’t twist off
aching for the syrup that could cure me of this hacking cough
ask me how i’m feeling and i’ll say i’m okay
though my mind is reeling, can’t think of anything better to say
is that what you get for running a yellow light—
piss full of regret and a fix that doesn’t last
i'm a super-cali-fragile piece of fucked up à la i need a
spoonful of something fast
pre-chorus
chorus
bridge
stupid fucking world of mine
you keep moving the fucking finish line
you trick me over here, you hide it over there
you start another game when you see me starting to care, well
i don’t expect you to hear me say
i’m gonna chew my way out of your lab rat cage someday
chorus
© 2005 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
soda shop
music and lyrics by jay brannan
the sidewalk is rushing at my head again
i’m lying on the street in the rain and wind
from doing forward rolls down avenue A
with my guitar on my back, don’t let it end this way
somehow i dialed my cell
i didn’t know i could get service in hell
how quickly can you get here, don’t know where i am dear
finally the world actually seems to be revolving around me
chorus
shoo-be-doo-be-doo-wop
i overdid it at the soda shop
thanks for being my girl at the
i-don’t-know-when-to-stop sock hop
you held my head over the edge of the bed
i remember it now, but at the time i thought i was dead
you put a pan there, and held back my hair
how can i repay you for saving me and my hardwood floor?
chorus
and when the world stopped spinning ’round
i picked the pan up off the ground
i read my upheaves, much like tea leaves
they said it’s over, so get sober, or you’ll die again
chorus
© 2005 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
american idol
music and lyrics by jay brannan
you say good start
i say perfect ending
this world has no heart
and mine is beyond mending
wiping down menus
of food i can’t afford
if this is my destiny
then why am i so bored?
chorus
am i suicidal?
or am i hungry?
american idol
get the hell off my tv
can’t write songs
as well as you
can’t play guitar
the way that i want to
i can sense the future
in this pennsylvania night
it is sealed for my protection
but if i can pick my poison, i just might
chorus
breaking up is hard to do
but waking up is harder
i had plans, and they fell through
now i’m back to beg and barter
chorus
© 2007 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
drowning
music and lyrics by jay brannan
it’s four a.m. again
father, forgive me this sin
uncomfortable in this life, yeah
i can’t put down this knife, yeah
i’m carving words in my arms, baby
hey, scars are part of my charm, maybe
i need the touch of a hand
this isn’t what i had planned
chorus
i need relief from this life
i wanna slip away into the night
don’t wanna see the sun again
but can’t get swallowed up by this tragic whirlwind
i wish the ocean was warm
i feel like drowning
i’m losing my faith in me
i can’t remember the last time i felt free
from voices inside my head
when i taste liberation, they just feed me fear instead
you say i’m out of control
at least i still have a soul
no, i don’t need your advice
some compassion would be nice
chorus
[optional bridge (i can’t decide if i’m cutting this
from the song or not):]
i can’t take any more of your pills
they hold my head up
but still it feels so wrong
i can’t believe the price that i’ve paid
for this chemically-induced, perceivably ideal,
take-it-with-a-glass-of-water day
chorus
© 2002 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
ever after happily
music and lyrics by jay brannan
the smell of a candle
freshly blown out
the light of the clock
shines on my skin
like a sickly green moonlight
on a pale white day’s decay
i try to wipe you from my memory
but your face won’t fade away
another boy kissed me today
i laughed in his mouth
it’s not funny that i’m not kissing you
i’m not laughing because we fell through
it’s the stories they told us when we were younger
about life and love
how our happiness lies in the hands of another
who’d fly in on the wings of a dove
chorus
well, that’s the way the fairy tale goes
boy meets girl and they wed with roses
but that’s not the way it seems to be
and i’m pissed that they lied to me
cuz boy meets boy and boy runs away
or girl meets girl and she’s afraid to stay
we end up home alone watching court tv
not living ever after happily
you’re right
you are prince charming
onto the next princess when he’s bored with the last
he’s the hero of every story
he’s got his chapter in every girl’s book
he walks away with all the honor and glory
but i wonder what else he took
goodbye, prince charming
and drown sleeping beauty
shove cinderella’s slipper where the sun don’t shine
toss the little mermaid back out to sea
cuz the fairy godmother had to perform another abortion today
and the seven dwarves live in the forest, of course, cuz they were
driven away
but this part of the story could spark a cultural rage
so at the sound of the tone we just turn the page
chorus
outro
starting today
we’ll tell the story my way
the king of imperfection
takes back the prince of mistakes
© 2004 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
housewife
music and lyrics by jay brannan
two bodies pressed together
two boys are falling hard
the smell of sweat and leather
a kinky greeting card
crazy about each other
we both have fucked up pasts
but when we are together
we have a fucking blast
chorus
i wanna be a housewife
what’s so wrong with that
i wanna be a housewife, yeah
and that’s just where i’m at
i’m making guacamole
he’s working on the car
when he grills turkey burgers
he knows i like them charred
i like to wash the dishes
i like to scrub the floors
don’t mind doing his laundry
what are boyfriends for
chorus
i wanna have his baby
i wanna wear his ring
he drives me fuckin crazy
i am his everything
chorus
2nd chorus
i wanna be a housewife
what’s so wrong with that
can’t wait ‘til he’s in my life, yeah
cuz we haven’t met
we haven’t met yet…
we haven’t met yet…
© 2002 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
lower my gun
music and lyrics by jay brannan
well, you’re just across the table, but we’re worlds apart
looking back now, it’s clear that we weren’t so smart, but
you found the lover inside this fighter
and we found god inside a kick ass one nighter
pre-chorus
but that was long ago, and i owe you money
but business is slow, sounds kinda funny
hey there you go calling me honey
though i think you know you’ll never see me again
chorus
in the same old house, two different people
same drops of blood still light the path
to what used to be us hanging in the hallway
now just shreds of paper and shards of glass
well, i’m not in the business of bursting bubbles
but blowing you now takes more gum than i can chew
well, don’t press your luck unless you want a pity fuck
but i think that’d be the wrong way to hold on to yesterday
pre-chorus
chorus
bridge
when you burst through the gate, i stood up straight
you poured some wine, i drank yours and mine
then you took my breath and tied up my tongue
yeah, you were the one to lower my gun
you were the one to lower my gun
you were the one to lower my gun
pre-chorus
© 2006 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
on all fours
music and lyrics by jay brannan
three weeks and counting ‘til he’s on his way to france
not a dime in his pocket, but a ticket in his hand
he’s a cynical bastard, but there’s hope in his eyes
it’s been a long time comin’, spent a long time
runnin’ from his insides
he tries hard to songwrite his way out of bed
but nothing tastes as clever as it sounded in his head
he wants to get his teeth wet and sink his feet in
he should have billions of dollars, cuz every asshole’s put two
cents in
chorus
but he writes the songs and he can say what he wants, yeah, he can be
who he wants to
and they say he’s wrong, but they keep tagging along, yeah, they
can leave if they want to
and his way will never meet yours
he’s got the world on his back and watch him take it on all fours
9 out of 10 motherfuckers agree
that his fucking foul language is a fucking travesty
but motherfucking fuck is just another fucking word
the idea a word is dirty is to him fucking absurd
chorus
bridge
and this world will soon be the death of him
and his voice will fade away
and his jeans will be all that’s left of him
and they’ll wonder if he was okay
and the alkies’ll say it was drinkin’
and the preacher’ll say it was sin
and his mother’ll say he was thinkin’
only of himself again
and the gays they will say it was straight people
and the straights will said it was AIDS
and he’ll be in line at the gate
people still standing in his way, in his way
chorus
© 2007 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
uncle auntie-socialite
music and lyrics by jay brannan
so many have penetrated this body
how can you say i’m not easy
sure my social skill set is shoddy
so is your personality
and i’m just sick enough to keep writing this song
and you’re just thick enough to clap your hands and sing along
well i wish i may, i wish i might
rule the world one day as uncle aunti-socialite
cuz i don’t believe in heroes, but i believe in friends
and i believe that optimism without cynicism is a sin
just let yourself have one quote unquote bad day
i dare you to have a feeling, they’ll have you someday anyway
and what’s so wrong with feminine boys?
sorry for the euphemism
there’s a fun valley girl in this sad texas boy
and we don’t need your sexorcism
i’m an indoor person and you can suck it
my idea of the great outdoors is a nice big patio
or a cigarette on a fire escape
an air-conditioned roadtrip down a well-paved interstate
and i throw words like love and hate
around like confetti, then i watch them dissipate
and i’m almost comfortable in my own skin
i’ve walked around in it for years without fitting in
i shouldn’t have to suntan or highlight my hair
in order to feel beautiful if i don’t really care
i’m always going all the way down, but i always find my way back
up
i tend to choke on dicks and emotions, drink placebo potions, cry
rivers and oceans
bridge
and i can sing my own damn lullaby
and if you want a happy song, then you can write your own
i love me, i hate me, i need to escape me
but more importantly i need for you to leave me the fuck alone
and thanks to those who loved me when i could not love myself
who embraced the raincloud above me
and dragged us both down off the shelf
i never dreamed that i would stay this long
© 2005 Great Depression Publishing (BMI)
back to top
|
|
|
