[2002-10-30] deHTMLized by script by Zrajm C Akfohg
Ani DiFranco: To The Teeth [?]
(c)1999 Righteous Babe Records
1. To the Teeth
2. Soft Shoulder
3. Wish I May
4. Freakshow
5. Going Once
6. Hello Birmingham
7. Back Back Back
8. Swing
9. Carry You Around
10. Cloud Blood
11. The Arrival's Gate
12. Providence
13. I Know This Bar
1. To the Teeth
The sun is setting on the century
And we are armed to the teeth
We're all working together now
To make our lives mercifully brief
And school kids keep trying to teach us
What guns are all about
Confused liberty with weaponry
And watch your kids act it out
And every year now like christmas
Some boy gets the milk fed suburban blues
Reaches for the available arsenal
And saunters off to make the news
And the women in the middle
Are learning what poor women have always known
That the edge is closer than you think
When the men bring the guns home
Look at where the profits are
That's how you'll find the source
Of the big lie that you and I both know so well
By the time it takes this cultural
Death wish to run it's course
They're gonna to make a pretty penny
And then they're going to hell
He said the chickens all come home to roost
Malcolm forecast the flood
Are we really going to sleep through another century
While the rich profit off our blood
Yeah it may take some doing
To see this undoing through
But in my humble opinion
Here's what I suggest we do
Open fire on hollywood
Open fire on mtv
Open fire on nbc and cbs and abc
Open fire on the nra
And all the lies they told us along the way
Open fire on each weapons manufacturer
While he's giving head to some republican senator
And if I hear one more time
About a fools right to his tools of rage
I'm gonna take all my friends
And I'm going to move to canada
And we're going to die of old age
2. Soft Shoulder
I don't keep much stuff around
I value my portability
But I will say that I have saved every letter
You ever wrote to me
The one you left on my windsheild
Outside of the motel
Is in the pocket of my old gigbag
From back when life was more soft shelled
Letters littered with little lewd pictures
Drawn by the ghost of woody guthrie
Who would use your big thick hand
Just to draw one two for me
And I think of your letters as love letters
Which is how I think of songs
In that it is the writing of these things
That tend to carry us along
And I dance to one of your old tunes
With my true love on our wedding day
And your voice sang the way my heart would sing
That finally knew just what to say
Two people pulled over on the same night
To look up at the same stars
They both found their wheels
Were spinning in a soft shoulder
When they got back into their cars
They missed fate's appointed rendezvous
And then a whole lot of time went by
And finally they were done worshipping
The landscape and they put down their hands
And moved into the sky
And they had barely said hello
And it was time to say goodbye
Goodbye ...
3. Wish I May
Losing my love of adventure
Losing all respect for me and myself tonight
I wonder what happens
If I get to
The end of this tunnel
And there isn't a light
I've worn down the treads
On all of my tires
I've worn through the elbows
And the knees of my clothing
And I'm staring down the gravel
Driveway of desire trying not to
Wake up my sleeping self loathing
Do you ever have that dream
When you open your mouth
And you try to scream
But you cant make a sound
Thats everyday starting now
Thats everyday starting now
Don't tell me it's gonna be alright
You cant sell me on your optimism tonight
Don't tell me it's gonna be alright
You cant sell me on your optimism tonight
It's a stiff competition
To see who can stay up later
The stars or the street lights
And all I really want
Is to be alone with the darkness
No more wish I may
No more wish I might
It takes a stiff upper lip
Just to hold up my face
I gotta suck it up and savour
The taste of my own behaviour
I am spinning with longing
Faster then a roulette wheel
This is not who I meant to be
This is not how I meant to feel
Do you ever have that dream
When you open your mouth
And you try to scream
But you cant make a sound
Thats everyday starting now
Thats everyday starting now
Don't tell me it's gonna be alright
You cant sell me on your optimism tonight
Don't tell me it's gonna be alright
You cant sell me on your optimism tonight
I don't think I am strong enough
To do this much longer
God I wish I was stronger
This song can never be long enough
To express every longing
God I wish it was longer
I don't think I am strong enough
To do this much longer
God I wish I was stronger
This song can never be long enough
To express every longing
God I wish I was ....
4. Freakshow
Life in the circus ain't easy
But the folks on the outside don't know
The tent goes up and the tent comes down
And all that they see is the show
And the ladies on the horses look so pretty
And the lions are lookin real mad
And some of the clowns are happy
And some of the clowns are sad
But underneath
There's another expression
That the makeup isn't making
Life under the big top
It's about freedom
It's about faking
There's an art to the laughter
There's a science
And there's a lot of love and compliance
Welcome to the freakshow
Here we go...
We live to hear the slak-jawed gasping
We live under a halo of held breath
And when the children raise up a giant shield
Of laughter, it's like they're fending off death
And we can make something bigger
Than any one of us alone
And then the clowns will take off their makeup
And the people will go home
But life on the ouside ain't easy
No sequins, no elephants
No parading around
Oh the circus comes
And the circus goes
And they're stuck in this fucking town
You need a lot of love and compliance
Welcome to the freakshow
Here we go
5. Going Once
Going once
Going twice
Sold to the girl who ignored all the good advice
Of all the people who knew better
She just stood there
On the front porch
Waiting for her (will) to come and get her
She was packed
She had a suitcase
Full of noble intentions
She had a (map)
And a staight face
Hell bent on reinvention
And she was ready for a long day
She was in it for it (only)
And they said "you think that you don't need us
But you're not going to get far
All your big ideas are suckers
None of them work
None of them have cars"
But she was not deterred
It was like she hadn't heard a word
And just then a primer grey el camino
Pulled up to the curb
Going once
Going twice
Down the road less taken
Through the coffee
And the wd40
And the gasoline
And the beer
There was always someone there to say
Why don't you just stay
And hang your hat
Here
But she was packed
She had a suitcase
Full of fumbles and near misses
She was swinging through a jungle
Of last calls and first kisses
And she was learning
About please
About hugh/cute? humilities
And then one day she looked around her
And everything up till then was showing
And she wondered how did I get here
Without even knowing where I was going
And now there's no getting out of this
And there's no going back
And it all seems so odd sometimes
And the odds all seemed stacked
6. Hello Birmingham
Hold me down
I am floating away
Into the overcast skies
Over my home town
On election day
What is it about birmingham?
What is it about buffalo?
Did the hate filled want to build bunkers
In your beautiful red earth
They want to build them in our shiny white snow
And now I've drawn closed the curtains
In this little booth
Where the truth has no place to stand
And I am feeling oh so powerless
In this stupid booth
With this useless little lever in my hand
And outside
My city is bracing
For the next killing thing
Standing by the bridge
And praying for the next doctor martin luther king
It was just one shot
Through the kitchen window
Just one or two miles from here
If you fly like a crow
A bullet came to visit a doctor
In his one safe place
A bullet ensuring the right to life
Whizzed past his kid and his wife
And knocked his glasses right off of his face
And the blood poured off the pulpit
Yeah the blood poured down the picket lines
And the hatred was immediate, yeah
And the vengence was divine
So they went and stuffed god down the barrel of a gun
And after him they stuffed his only son
Hello birmingham; it's buffalo
I heard you had some trouble down there again
Just calling to let to know
That somebody understands
I was once escorted
Through the doors
Of a clinic
By a man
In a bulletproof vest
And no bombs
Went off that day
So I am still here to say
Birmingham
I'm wishing you all of my best
Oh birmingham
I'm wishing you all of my best
Oh birmingham
I'm wishing you all of my best
On this election day
7. Back Back Back
Back back back in the back of your mind
Are you learning an angry language
Tell me boy boy boy are you tending to your joy
Or are you just letting it vanquish
Back back back in the dark of your mind
Where the eyes of your demons are gleaming
Are you mad mad mad
About the life you never had
Even when you are dreaming
Who are these old old old people
In these nursing homes
Scowling away at nothing
Like big rag dolls just cursing at the walls
And pulling out all of their stuffing
Ever day is a door leading back to the core
Yes, old age will distill you
And if you're this this this full of bitterness now
Some day it will just fill you
When you sit right down in the middle of yourself
You're gonna wanna have a comfortable chair
So renovate your soul before you get too old
Cuz you're gonna be housebound there
When you're old you fold up like an envelope
And you mail yourself right inside
And there's nowhere to go
Except out real slow
Are you ready, boy, for that ride?
Your arrogance is gaining on you
And so is eternity
You better practice happiness
You better practice humility
You took the air, you took the time
You were fed and you were free
Now you'd better put some beauty back
While you got the energy
You'd better put some beauty back, boy
While you got the energy
8. Swing
She came to and her
Whole life was how she remembered it
She had a mouth full of fur
And she was laughing
She parked her hearse across
Three spaces posted motorcycles only
And jumped out shouting
Wha the cus could make a nice girl like us
Feel so lonely?
Are you weary as water
In a faucet left dripping
With an incessant sadness
Like a sad record skipping
And an ugly and ornery
And shadowy dread
Lurking like a troll under the bridge
Between your heart and your head
Please dumb blind kind sir
Lend little miss listless a little bit of christmas
She's been a real good girl
But now she's stuck here
The world is so little and still
Mysterious and ominous as ever before
Like an unmarked bottle of pills
On the shelf right next to the thing
You were reaching for
Swing the groove 'round here
Where I can reach it
When I get my ass back on track
I'm gonna need it
Swing shift til I get the money
To buy me and my baby a moon full of honey
Then I'm gonna turn off the nagging voices
Inside my head
That follow me to bed and say
You suck...
("break it down" freestyle by Corey Parker added to this song during some performances)
If you dig it on the sound
Break it down
No walls up, break it down
Break it down
Happiness spread it all around
Break it down
Racism stomp it in the ground
Break it down
So if you dig it on the sound
Break it down
No walls up, break it down
Break it down
Ignorance stomp it in the ground
Break it down
Happiness spread it all around
Break it down
Check, who said folk and hip-hop can't latch
Put us together on the stage and light a match
Kaboom, guess who stepped in the room
Sweeping you off your feet like we had a broom
With Ani DiFranco and maceo
Add a little freestyle flow and who knows
Put a little scratchin' into the mix
And it's enough to get you high if you need a fix
So, if you dig it on the sound
Break it down
No walls up, break it down
Break it down
Ignorance stomp it in the ground
Break it down
Happiness spread it all around
Break it down
If you dig it on the sound
Break it down
No walls up, break it down
Break it down
Racism stomp it in the ground
Break it down
Happiness spread it all around
Break it down
So, if you dig it on the sound
Break it down
9. Carry You Around
How pleased can one
Sun setting make you
If you humble yourself
To it?
How grateful can you
Really say that you are
Just to be here and live
Through it?
And when beauty asks a question
How often do you reply?
How often do you wonder
About life on the other side?
On the other side of sorrow
On the other side of rage
On the other side of ok
Ok at all
In any way
Imagine what loneliness
Will drive someone to do
Now multiply that times me
And multiply that times you
Now imagine what it would take to make this all happen again
And just when you think you're gonna cry
Multiply that times ten
You
Are distracting me
From all other activities
And I know the fact of your presence
Will dominate my memory
Of this restaurant, this table
This day and this town
Cuz I carry you baby
I carry you around
10. Cloud Blood
I've been wondering what you meant
When you asked do you have a light?
I've been wondering where you went
When you left that party that night
Cloud blood smudge smeared on the sky
Its dawns roadkill
I've been driving since midnight
And I'm driving still
Stop on the top of the ridge
Just to feel the wind on my rand mcnally
Then I feel the air grow cold
As I drift in to the first blue of the valley
And you're wondering how far down you are on my
Call back list
But you don't realize
Everytime I find I'm by a phone the landscape shifts
Every other song someones trying to write
Angels into the world
Every grace every ace every near miss
Every decent kiss by a pretty girl
She was an angel
She looked like an angel
And all of the angels did sing
And the angels were watching
And the angels were listening
And the angels were on hand to stand in for everything
You can call it magic
When a man pulls a rabbit out of a hat
But the reason I don't call
Is cuz I wonder if there isnt a better word than that
And you can call me crazy
But I think you're as lazy as white paint on the wall
And I know you'll only speak to me in dial tones
If I call
Its been way too long
Since I've been behind the wheel
Headlights guiding me right through the dark
I feel
Dry eyed, trying to resist
Sleeps first kiss
Everytime I have time to think
I think of this
Da da da da
Da da da
Da da
11. The Arrival's Gate
Gonna go out
To the arrivals gate at the airport
And sit there all day
Watch people reuniting
Public affection is so exciting
It even makes airports ok
Watching children run
With their arms outstretched
Just to throw those arms
Around their grandpas' necks
Watching lovers plant kisses
Old men to their misses
At the arrivals gate
Watching a mother
With a mother's smile
Don't tell me to move
I just wanna sit here for a while
I have determined
It's a sure cure for cancer
Watching excitment turn family
Dogs into dancers
At the arrivals gate
I got me a white bread sandwich
With some shredded lettuce
And I got me a ringside view
For my quaint little fetish
I just wanna drain my little pink heart
Of all its malice
And kick back for the afternoon
In this flourescent palace
Everybody's in a hurry
Here in purgatory
Except for me
I'm where I need to be
At the arrivals gate
12. Providence
Who knew
At this party that
I would walk in and I'd see you
I guess now
We could just get drunk
Yeah, and that would be our excuse
You could slip
And outta nowhere
I could be there to catch your fall
And we could laugh at ourselves
And the writing that's on the wall
It's a narrow margin
Just room enough for regret
In the inch and a half between
Hey, how ya been?
And
Can I kiss you yet?
So we talk like
Nervous neighbors over a tall fence
True love
But for lack of providence
But I just got one more
Thing to tell you
Cuz words are vitamins
And life is short
And I know when we get up
To the front office
We're gonna have to fill out
A full report
The first question will be
What were you thinking?
And the nexy question will be
What did you say?
And then they're gonna check to see
If the answerss to one and two
Matched up much
Along the way
In the interest of poetry
And the cowboy movie
That's you and me
I'm back on the horse now
And I am riding
I am striding so effortlessly
What I mean is
It's late
Much too late for us
And I'm fixing to go home
With just my conscience
And a bitter sense of irony
As my chaperone
13. I Know This Bar
I know this bar
With a jukebox full of medicine
And christmas lights blinking
Around a clouded mirror
It's not that far
From old voelkers bowling alley
Just go up there and turn right
It's about four blocks from here
You'll probably find grace
Her shift starts at happy hour
She's got this sweet face
Easy as tea leaves to read
You gotta know what to look for
You gotta know what's there to find
But then I gues syou don't really know her
So nevermind
I used to hang out a lot around there
In that part of town
Where all the white kids
Still have feathered hair
I know this song
With this one really killer line
I don't remember it exactly
But it slays me everytime
It's on the jukebox there
I know it's number 5403
Go put that song on for me won't you
And make gracie think of me
[[eof]]