[2002-10-30] deHTMLized by script by Zrajm C Akfohg
[2002-12-04] corrected titles according to CD folder

Ani DiFranco: Little Plastic Castle [COOK CD 140]
(c)1998 Righteous Babe Records

 1. Little Plastic Castle
 2. Fuel
 3. Gravel
 4. As Is
 5. Two Little Girls
 6. Deep Dish
 7. Loom
 8. Pixie
 9. Swan Dive
10. Glass House
11. Independence Day
12. Pulse


1. Little Plastic Castle

In a coffee shop in a city
Which is every coffee shop
In every city
On a day which is every day
I pick up a magazine
Which is every magazine
And read a story then forgot it right away

They say goldfish have no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
The little plastic castle
Is a surprise every time
It's hard to say if they are happy
But they don't seem much to mind

From the shape of your shaved head
I recognized your silhoutte
As you walked out of the sun and sat down
And the sight of your sleepy smile eclipsed all the other people
As they paused to snear at the two girls from out of town

And I said "look at you this morning
You are by far the cutest
But be careful getting coffee
I think these people wanna shoot us
Or maybe there's some kind of local competition here
To see who can be the rudest"

People talk about my image
Like I come in two dimensions
Like lipstick is a sign of my declining mind
Like what I happen to be wearing the day
That someone takes my picture
Is my new statement for all of womankind

I wish they could see us now
In leather bras and rubber shorts
Like some ridiculous team uniform
For some ridiculous new sport
Quick someone call the girl police
And file a report

In a coffee shop in a city
Which is every coffee shop
In every city
On a day which is every day


2. Fuel

They were digging a new foundation in manhattan
And they discovered a slave cemetary there
May their souls rest easy
Now that lynching is frowned upon
And we've moved on to the electric chair
And I wonder who's gonna be president, tweedle dum or tweedle dummer?
And who's gonna have the big blockbuster box office this summer?
How about we put up a wall between houses and the highway
And you can go your way, and I can go my mine
Except all the radios agree with all the tvs
And all the magazines agree with all the radios
And I keep hearing that same damn song everywhere I go
Maybe I should put a bucket over my head
And a marshmellow in each ear
And stumble around for
Another dumb-numb week for another hum drum hit song to appear

People used to make records
As in a record of an event
The event of people playing music in a room
Now everything is cross-marketing
Its about sunglasses and shoes
Or guns and drugs
You choose
We got it rehashed
We got it half-assed
We're digging up all the graves
And we're spitting on the past
And you can choose between the colors
Of the lipstick on the whores
Cause we know the difference between
The font of 20% more
And the font of teriyaki
You tell me
How does it make you feel?

You tell me
What's real?
And they say that alcoholics are always alcoholics
Even when they're as dry as my lips for years
Even when they're stranded on a small desert island
With no place in 2,000 miles to buy beer
And I wonder
Is he different?
Is he different?
Has he changed? what's he about?...
Or is he just a liar with nothing to lie about?

Am I headed for the same brick wall
Is there anything I can do about
Anything at all?
Except go back to that corner in manhattan
And dig deeper, dig deeper this time
Down beneath the impossible pain of our history
Beneath unknown bones
Beneath the bedrock of the mystery
Beneath the sewage systems and the path train
Beneath the cobblestones and the water mains
Beneath the traffic of friendships and street deals
Beneath the screeching of kamikaze cab wheels
Beneath everything I can think of to think about
Beneath it all, beneath all get out
Beneath the good and the kind and the stupid and the cruel
There's a fire just waiting for fuel

There's a fire just waiting for fuel


3. Gravel

I heard the sound of your bike,
As your wheels hit the gravel,
Then your engine in the driveway
Cutting off
And I pushed through the screen door
And I stood out on the porch
Thinking fight, fight, fight
At all costs,
But instead I let you in,
Just like I've always done
And I sat you down and offered you a beer
And across the kitchen table
I fired several rounds,
But you were still sitting there
When the smoke cleared.
And you came crawling back
To say that you wanna
Make good in the end

[ so let's go before I change my mind ]
[ I'll leave the luggage of all your lies behind ]
[ 'cuz I am better than everything that came before... ]
[ and you were never very kind... ]

And oh, oh,
Let me count the ways
That I abhor you,
And you were never a good lay
And you were never a good friend
But, oh, oh, what else can I say...
I adore you

All I need is my leather,
One t-shirt and two socks,
I'll keep my hands warm
In your pockets
And you can use the engine block,
And we'll ride out to california
With my arms around your chest,
And I'll pretend that this is real
'Cuz this is what I like best,
And you've been juggling two women
Like a stupid circus clown
Telling us both we are the one
And maybe you can keep me from ever being happy,
But you're not gonna stop me from having fun.
So let's go before I change my mind
I'll leave the luggage of all your lies behind
'Cuz I am bigger than everything that came before

And you were never very kind,
And you let me way down every time
But oh, oh, oh what can I say...
I adore you

I heard the sound of your bike,
As your wheels hit the gravel,
Then your engine in the driveway
Cutting off


4. As Is

You can't hide
Behind social graces
So don't try
To be all touchy feely
Cuz you lie
In my face of all places
But I've got no
Problem with that really

What bugs me
Is that you believe what you're saying
What bothers me
Is that you don't know how you feel
What scares me
Is that while you're telling me stories
You actually
Believe that they are real

And I've got
No illusions about you
And guess what?
I never did
And when I said
When I said I'll take it
I meant,
I meant as is

Just give up
And admit you're an asshole
You would be
In some good company
I think you'd find
That your friends would forgive you
Or maybe I
Am just speaking for me

Cuz when I look around
I think this, this is good enough
And I try to laugh
At whatever life brings
Cuz when I look down
I just miss all the good stuff
When I look up
I just trip over things

And I've got
No illusions about you...

--(from an old version, pre-album)--
You can't hide
Behind social graces
Cuz I don't buy it
Like everyone else
And you can lie
In my face of all places
Just don't
Lie to yourself
------------------------------------

Cuz I've got
No illusions about you
And guess what?
I never did
And when I say
When I say I'll take it
I mean,
I mean as is...

...as is...


5. Two Little Girls

You were fresh off the boat from virginia
I had a year in new york city under my belt
We met in a dream
We were both 19
I remember where we were standing
I remember how it felt
2 little girls growing out of their training bras
This little girl breaks furniture, this little girl breaks laws
2 girls together
Just a little less alone
This little girl cries wee wee
All the way home

You were always half crazy, now look at you baby
You make about as much sense as a nursery rhyme
Love is a piano dropped out a four story window
And you were in the wrong place at the wrong time

I don't like your girlfriend, I blame her
Never seen one of your lovers do you so much harm
I loved you first and you know I would prefer
If she didn't empty her syringes into your arm

Here comes little naked me padding up to the bathroom door
To find little naked you slumped on the bathroom floor
So I guess I'll just stand here with my back against the wall
While you distill your whole life down to a 911 call (chorus)

So now you bring me your bruises
So I can oh and ah at the display
Maybe I'm supposed to make one of my famous jokes that makes everything ok
Maybe I'm supposed to be the handsome prince who rides up and unties your hands
Or maybe I'm supposed to be the furrow-browed friend who thinks she understands

Here comes little naked me......(etc)


6. Deep Dish

Cold and drizzly night in chicago's deep dish
Fluorescent light of the bathroom
Shows my hands as they are
See an eyelash on my cheek
Pick it off and make a wish
And walk back out into the bar
Wind at the windows
Neon lights the patterned pane
The waitress wields the weight
Of her tray around her palm
The doorman cups his hand
And lights his cigarette again
And the rain marches on

This is only a possibility in a world of possibilities
There are obviously there are many possibilities
Ranging from small to large
Before long there will be short
Before short there was nothing
When there was nothing
There was always the possibility
Of something becoming what it is

Don't even bother trying
To say something clever
Clever is as clever does
No matter what it says
I'm looking for a sign
Says you're for real this time
But I don't trust what's in your head
I walk up to the bar
And point to the top shelf
And then I throw my head back
And laugh at myself
I raise a toast to all our saviors
Each so badly behaved
It's too bad that their world
Is the one that they saved

There's a spider spinning cobwebs
From your elbow to the table
While my eyes ride the crowd
In a secret rodeo
I smile with my mouth
Lift my watch up to the light
Say oh, look, I have to go

Now you got to dance with me,
Now is when it's gotta be
'Cuz I can't wait for the dance floor to fill in
If you want to dance with me,
I'll show you how it's gonna be
Cuz I can't wait for the band to begin


7. Loom

You've always got those dark sunglasses
Covering half your face
But if you promise to take them off
I promise I won't squander your gaze
I will be picturesque
I will be nice
I won't do anything you can't tell your wife
I will think before I act
I will think twice
Just let me see your eyes

Each time we've spoken, we've put in a token and ridden the tilt-a-whirl
I was giggling and dizzy
Flirting like a 12 year old girl
The carnival of you and me is coming to town
Watch how we spin and spin and then fall down
Now we just say hello and head for firmer ground

You are the one-way glass
That watches me
Standing in line at the bank
I always looked into your glasses
Like a cat looks into a fish tank
But all I could ever see
Was the specter of me reflected
I want a monument of friendship
That we never had erected
I want it to take up lots of room
I want it to loom

You always got those dark sunglasses
Between us when we talk
After the party is over
If you wanna take a walk
We could just look around
Not to nothing wrong
Just try to be at least as brave as our songs
I will bring my heart
I will bring my face
You just name the time and place


8. Pixie (Be Nice)

I'm a pixie
I'm a paperdoll
I'm a cartoon
I'm a chipper cheerful free for all
And I light up a room
I'm the color me happy girl
Miss live and let live
And when they're out for blood
I always give

The man behind the counter looks like he's got
A half a dozen places he'd rather be
And furthermore it looks like he's prepared
To take it all out on me
Buddy, I don't really care what your problem is
Just don't make it mine
Come on kids, let's all hold hands
And pretend we're having a good time

Maybe you don't like your job
Maybe you didn't get enough sleep
Well, nobody likes their job
Nobody got enough sleep
Maybe you just had
The worst day of your life
But, you know, there's no escape
And there's no excuse
So just suck up and be nice

All the privileged white kids on tv
Playing at death
Brandishing their cold cuts
With their ghostly makeup
And their heroin breath
And all the little fishes are flapping wildly
On their hooks
While all the top critics find great meaning
In the telephone book

The little emperor he has no clothes
So he can't come out to play
And besides which life is suffering
And he likes it that way
And the little guy is not so friendly
But you know life has been cruel
So wipe that smile off your face baby
And try to be cool

Maybe you don't like your job
Maybe you didn't get enough sleep
Well, nobody likes their job
Nobody got enough sleep
Maybe you just had
The worst day of your life
But, you know, there's no escape
And there's no excuse
So just suck up and be nice

Yeah, I would like to perfect the art
Of being studiously aloof
Like life is just a boring chore
And I am living proof
I could join forces with an army
Of ornery hipsters
But then I guess I'd be out of a job
So I guess that's out of the picture

Cuz I'm a pixie
I'm a paperdoll
I'm a cartoon
I'm a chipper cheerful free for all
And I light up a room
I'm the color me happy girl
Miss live and let live
And when they're out for blood
I always give


9. Swandive

Cradling the softest, warmest part of you in my hand
Feels like a little baby bird fallen from the nest
I think that your body is something I understand
I think that I'm happy, I think that I'm blessed

I've got a lack of inhibition
I've got a loss of perspective
I've had a little bit to drink
And it's making me think
That I can jump ship and swim
That the ocean will hold me
That there's got to be more
Than this boat I'm in

'Cuz they can call me crazy if I fail
All the chance that I need
Is one-in-a-million
And they can call me brilliant
If I succeed
Gravity is nothing to me, moving at the speed of sound
I'm just going to get my feet wet
Until I drown

And I teeter between tired
And really, really tired
Im wiped and im wired but I guess its just as well
Because I built my own empire
Out of car tires and chicken wire
And I'm queen of my own compost heap
And I'm getting used to the smell

And I've got a lack of information
But I got a little revelation
And I'm climbing up on the railing
Trying not to look down
I'm going to do my best swan dive
Into shark-infested waters
I'm gonna pull out my tampon
And start splashing around

'Cuz I don't care if they eat me alive
I've got better thing to do than survive
I've got a memory of your warm skin in my hand
And I've got a vision of blue sky and dry land

I'm cradling the hardest, heaviest part of me in my hand
The ship is pitching and heaving, my limbs are bobbing and weaving
And I think this is something I understand
I just need a couple vaccinations for my far-away vacation
I'm going to go ahead and go boldly because a little bird told me
That jumping is easy, that falling is fun
Up until you hit the sidewalk, shivering and stunned

And they can call me crazy if I fail
All the chance that I need
Is one-in-a-million
And they can call me brilliant
If I succeed
Gravity is nothing to me
Moving at the speed of sound
I'm just gonna get my feet wet
Until I drown...


10. Glass House

Sitting in my glasshouse
While your ghost is sleeping down the hall
Watching the little birds fly
Kamikaze missions into the walls
Think I'm gonna stay in today
Sit on my couch and watch them fall

(drums)
Life just keeps getting harder
Keeps getting harder to hide
Darker it is around me
Easier it is to see inside
And outside the glass
The whole world is magnified
And it's half an inch
From here to the other side

(chorus)
Guess that push has come to this
So I guess this must be shove
But before you throw those stones at me
Tell me what's your house made of
If you think you know what I'm doing wrong
You're going to have to get in line
For the purposes of this song
Lets just say I'm doing fine
Sure, I'm doing fine

Trapped in my glasshouse
Crowd has been gathering since dawn
Make a pot of coffee
While catastrophe awaits me out on the lawn
Think I'm going to stay in today
Pretend like I don't know what's going on

I guess that push has come to this
So I guess this must be shove
But before you throw those stones at me
Tell me what's your house made of
And before you'll know what I'm doing wrong
You're going to have to get in line
So for the purposes of this song
Lets just say I'm doing fine
Sure, I'm doing fine

Sitting in my glass house
Sitting in my glass house


11. Independence Day

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp
On the 4th of july
We sat out on the hood with a couple of warm beers and watched the fireworks
Explode in the sky
And there was an exodus of birds from the trees
But they didnt know, we were only pretending
And the people all looked up and looked pleased
And the birds flew around like the whole world was ending
And I don't think war is noble
And I don't like to think that love is like war
But I got a big hot cherry bomb, and I want to slip it through the mail slot
Of your front door

You can't leave me here
I've got your back now
You'd better have mine
Cause you say the coast is clear
But you say that all the time

So many sheep I quit counting
Sleepless and embarrassed about the way that I feel
Trying to make mole hills out of mountains
Building base camp at the bottom of a really big deal
And did I tell you how I stopped eating?
When you stopped calling me
And I was cramped up shitting rivers for weeks
And pretending that I was finally free

And you can't leave me here
Now that your back
You'd better stay this time
Cause you say the coast is clear
But you say that all the time

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp,
On the 4th of july
And I planted my dusty boots on the bumper and sat out on the hood,
And looked up at the sky


12. Pulse (Bug Poem)

You crawled into my bed
Like some sort of giant insect
And I found myself spellbound
At the sight of you there
Cocooned in my room,
Beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff
Bluffing your way into my mouth
Behind my teeth, reaching for my scars
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home

That night you leaned over
And threw up into your hair
And I thought
I would offer you my pulse
If I thought it would be useful
I would give you my breath
Except
The problem with death is that you have
Some hundred years and then they can
Build building on your only bones
100 years and then your grave is not your own
We lie in out beds, and our graves
Unable to save ourselves from
The quaint tragedies we invent
And then undo from the stupid circumstances
We slalomed through
And I realized that night that the hall light
Which seemed so bright when you turned it on is nothing
Compared to the dawn
Which is nothing, compared to the light
Which seeps from me while you're sleeping
Cocooned in my room
Beautiful and grotesque resting
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home
And I held you there thinking
I would offer you my pulse
I would give you my breath
I would offer you my pulse

[[eof]]