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I used to live down by the quarry off the highway
they put a chain-link ‘round the whole damn place
they put up signs, “no swimming, danger, threat of drowning”
always graffiti on the old rock face
They said that water was a couple-hundred feet deep
I heard about the bodies trapped down there
and anyhow, we had a cozy situation
no neighbors, miles around, the middle of nowhere
I always wondered
what kind of trouble
what kind of monsters
would we wake from sleep
what rusty engines
what chains and mine shafts
what sunken devils in the dark, so deep
we’d run our set down in the basement on the weeknights
some Mickey’s Big Mouths and we’d talk real deep
one night, we’d take a running jump in someone’s headlights
from our front porch, those rocks don’t seem so steep
I know we had some wire cutters in the tool shed
I know that landlord never came round much
some version of me lived to push it in the red
I wonder when it was I lost my touch
I always wondered
what kind of trouble
what kind of monsters
would we wake from sleep
what rusty engines
what chains and mine shafts
what sunken devils in the dark, so deep
we let that house go in the fall of ‘95
I moved to Brooklyn, where the rents ain’t low
somehow we never got around to going swimming
seems like my garden’s full of seeds not sown
but I heard they dragged the quarry couple times that winter
some other kids, no time for warning signs
there must be lessons here for someone who was smarter
somebody who can read between those lines
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In this hard time paradigm it’s hard to make just a pair of dimes
And we are all doing time because we all did the crime
Still it’s hard work to hoe the row and it’s hard work to tow the line
And we all got the hard time paradigm blues
Hard work, I know what it means to wear a hole in a pair of jeans
While I’m out here getting my clock cleaned, ground to the ground by the old machine
And every day is a little more lean, every hard heart is a little more mean
I’m just telling you what I’ve seen and I know you’ve seen it too
Cause we’ve all got the hard time paradigm blues
It’s hard news everywhere, it’s hard to look and it’s harder to care
It’s “mind your own” and “buyer beware,” it’s “keep your hands off my share”
We’re hard to hurt and even harder to scare so we’ll keep hitting it hard ’til we strip it bare
We can’t stop now cause we’re on a tear, it’s sad but it’s true
Cause we’ve all got the hard time paradigm blues
Give a man a pair of dice, in his mind he’ll see paradise
If he tries it once, he’ll try it twice, next thing he knows he’s hooked for life
He’ll lose his home, he’ll lose his wife, there’s nothing that he won’t sacrifice
He’ll just put the whole damn thing on ice cause what else can he do?
He’s got a bad case of the hard time paradigm blues
It’s hard work just to make the scene, keep your head up, keep your nose clean
It’s hard work just to pay the dues, keep you head down and push on through
It’s hard work just to be alive, you’ve gotta keep the motor running baby and drive
It’s hard work no matter what you do, cause we all got the hard time paradigm blues
Cain was just a natural man, we’ve all gotta get it where we can
When you take the food, you take the hand cause there’s a darkness moving across this land
The criminals and thugs who are in command want see how much more we can stand
Corruption’s not a defect, it’s the brand as I’m sure you’ve noticed too
Cause we’ve all the got the hard time paradigm blues
Hard nosed pragmatist, his face buried in The Economist
Between the lines he can read the gist, he sees pitch forks emerging from the mist
He knows in every plot there’s always a twist so he keeps his hand clinched in a fist
He’s afraid if he gets taken he won’t be missed, yeah he’s got it just as bad as you
He’s got the hard time paradigm blues
There’s a cool rage it’s about to blow, you can feel brewing everywhere you go
The kids are always the first to know, you’ll see ‘em diving for the corners in slo mo
When some broken damn starts to flow cause he’s the star of his own tv show
He’s gonna take me out now, it’s time to go so I guess that means we’re through
And I’m gonna finally get break from these hard time paradigm blues
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v1:
We're all clutching at straws, we're all walking the high wire
Will we follow the laws of a broken down empire
Try remembering what was as we sing 'round the campfire
ch:
What would it take to feel a little better than alright
You focus on the simple things, the ones you try to hide
You find it hard to deal, when you know you're not enough
But you find you're lucky to be lost in the neighborhood of love
The neighborhood of love
v2:
Once in all the blue moons we can look back in hindsight
Did you give up too soon? Did you shut out your inside?
We should dance in the ruins, we could trade the day for the night
ch:
What would it take to feel a little better than alright
You focus on the simple things, the ones you try to hide
You find it hard to deal, when you know you're not enough
But you find you're lucky to be lost in the neighborhood of love
The neighborhood of love
- actual harmonica solo -
v1.2:
We're all clutching at straws, we're all walking the high wire
ch:
What would it take to feel a little better than alright
You focus on the simple things, the ones you try to hide
You find it hard to deal, when you know you're not enough
But you find you're lucky to be lost in the neighborhood of love
The neighborhood of love
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