RIFT



1993

Rift - Fast Enough For You - Lengthwise - Maze
Sparkle - Horn - The Wedge - My Friend, My Friend
Weigh - Mound - It's Ice - The Horse - Silent In The Morning -




RIFT

 Last night, in the moments my thoughts were adrift
And coasting a terrace, approaching a rift
Through which I could spy several glimpses beneath
Of the darkness the light from above could not reach
I spied wings of reason, herself taking flight
And upon yonder precipice saw her alight
And glared back at me one last look of dismay
As if she were the last one she thought I'd betray

So much better I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge
And silence contagious in moments like these
Consumed me and strengthened my will to appease
The passion that sparked me one terrible night
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite

So much better I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge

And silence contagious in moments like these
Consume me and strengthen my will to appease

The passion that sparked me one terrible night
(And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite) x5


FAST ENOUGH FOR YOU

 If time were only part of the equation
Then you could draw the bound'ries of our cage
You wouldn't pile another stone upon me
And I'd be happy just to watch you age

But everything is in its own dominion
And waiting in the shallows as I do
Appeases me as water slowly trickles out
Which isn't nearly fast enough for you

It isn't nearly fast enough for you
It isn't nearly fast enough for you
Its what I was afraid of
I stumble into view
But it isn't nearly fast enough for you
It isn't nearly fast enough for you


LENGTHWISE

 [(appears twice on the album)]

When you're there, I sleep lengthwise
And when you're gone
I sleep diagonal in my bed


MAZE

 The overhead view is of me in a maze
And you see what I'm hunting a few steps away
And I take a wrong turn and I'm on the wrong path
And the people all watching enjoy a good laugh

Embarrassed with failure, I try to reverse
The course that my tread had already traversed
So doing the trauma engulfing my dream
Invaded through what was an unguarded seam
The torrent of helplessness swept me away
To the cavern of shame and the hall of dismay
Inside me a voice was repeating this phrase:
"You've lost it, you'll never get out of this maze"
You'll never get out of this maze x7


SPARKLE

 The pressure builds, you buy a gift
You're hoping that your dread will lift
It glitters on her like a glass
You shudder as it comes to pass
Apologize to Luce and Lil'
Converse with Ed, a drive with Jill
Your friends confine you in their worlds
One by one, a string of pearls
Confuse you say, this isn't me
You hover in their unity
Ashamed, you slowly lose your grasp
Release the links, undo the clasp
The skin that drips down from the tree
And peels back slowly from your knee
Erupts into your lung and heart
You laugh and laughing, fall apart
Laugh and laughing, fall apart(x28)

Laugh and Laughing fall apart(x14)


HORN

 Rhine wine, Car horn

Now that you've deceived me, and played my name around
And hung those nasty flyers, on all the buildings in town
Dribbled my possessions in a ring around the earth
And bought and sold my self-control for less than it was worth

Now I know the reason that I'm feeling so forlorn
I'll pick you up at eight as usual, listen for my horn

Rhine wine, Car Horn


THE WEDGE

 We're bobbing on the surface
and the shadow glides below
They say she feels my heartbeat
Oh..But how I'll never know

That it's the ocean flowing in our veins
Oh..That it's the salt that's in our tears
Oh..'Cause we could have come so very far
Oh..In at least as many years!

Take the highway through the Great Divide (x2)

I'm building you a pyramid
With limestone blocks so large
I drag them from the mountain top
You'll need a two car garage

And it's the ocean flowing in our veins
Oh..That it's the salt that's in our tears
Oh..Cause we could have come so very far
Oh..In at least as many years

Take the highway through the Great Divide x2

Cause it's the ocean flowing in our veins
Oh..That it's the salt that's in our tears
Oh..Cause we could have come so very far
Oh..In at least as many years

Take the highway through the Great Divide


MY FRIEND, MY FRIEND

 My friend, my friend he's got a knife
A statement from his former life
When he was easy but alone
Beside him was an empty throne
But what of silver silken blade
Affix his gaze, his features staid
Grasps the handle, clips the cable
One steps up, sits at his table
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a wife

My friend, my friend, the clever ruse
Persuasion through his thoughts peruse
A hidden relic from his past
That wasn't there when he looked last
He feels it ticking like a bomb
Feeding fear, assaulting calm
Takes the object, starts the game
Moves closer to the flame

My friend, my friend, the clever ruse
My friend, my friend, he lights the fuse

My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
My friend, my friend, he's got a knife
Myf
[maniacal giggles]


WEIGH

 I'd like to cut your head off so I could weigh it, what do ya say?
Five pounds, six, pounds, seven pounds
I'd like to go to your house and gather all your razors and pick all the
little prickly hairs so I can weigh them, what do ya say?
Five pounds, six pounds, seven pounds
I'd like to gather all your friends and squish them all into a small
swimming pool so I can weigh them, what do ya say?
Five pounds, six pounds, seven pounds
Why weigh on a sunny day?
So much to do so why, why weigh?
On a sunny day, why wei-igh-hey?
Why weigh, why weigh?
I'd like to hear my options, so I can weigh them, what do ya say?
Five pounds, six pounds, seven pounds
Why weigh on a sunny day?
So much to do, so why, why weigh?
On a sunny day, why wei-gh-hey?
Why
Oh Why[x11]
Why weigh?


MOUND

 The old man knows very well
Going down by the snowbank, there's a mound
A mound that an old man knows good
Look who raises his shoe all over this mound
Right over the world that's another rewind

And it's time, time, time for the last rewind
For a broken old man and a world unkind
He buried all his memories of home
In an icy clump that lies beneath the ground

No one knows how far he traveled
Oh! I heard he walked miles from the little mound
Can he find some shelter?
He doesn't know to behold what the cold frost can do
And at last till he realized he'd circled back around
Round a back circle, round a back realized

Ice is all he was made of
The bitter blue, and frozen through
He went over to the mound
Reclining down his final thoughts
Were drifting to the time this life had shined


IT'S ICE

 I press on the elastic sheet, I'm breathing through a slice
'Are they worms or are the serpents?' bubbles through the ice
The source was quite invisible, the ever-present voice
While skating, both legs tracing different shapes, I made my choice

Mimicking the image in whose radiance I bask
I'm tied to him, or him to me, depending who you ask
None the less reluctantly reflections tumble in
I slide with all the other on the wrong side of the skin

He's fallen on the ice, it cracks
Will he plunge in and join me here?
He meets my eyes, to my surprise
He laughs in full light of my frown
My double wants to pull me down

Slipping on the friction slide, my skin peels to the bone
The flesh I leave behind, is something that is not my own
I beg my mirror image for a moment with my soul
He's leaning back, time to attack, to see who's in control

And every move I make he's got a hand up just in time
He's throwing several punches, and he's blocking most of mine
Defeated now I sulk and squirm above the frozen heights
Waiting, calculating till he ventures onto the ice.


THE HORSE

 It's time I sling the baskets off this overburdened horse
Sink my toes into the ground and set a different course
Cause if I were here and you were there
I'd meet you in between
And not until my dying day, confess what I have seen.


SILENT IN THE MORNING

 My glance is always darting, when I stroll the avenue
Avoiding all the obstacles that terrorize my view
If you are here with me, I trust you to lead the way
When you're not I follow you, and always go astray

Silent in the morning
Suspended in the trees
Lunch time comes you've found your voice
It brings me to my knees
The volume just increases
The resounding echoes grow
Till once again I bask in morning stillness, I love so

The target that I shoot for seems to move with every breath
I tighten all my arteries and make one last request
Divine creation hears me, and he squashes me with fear
I think that this exact thing happened to me, just last year

Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to
Silent in the morning
You found your voice that brings me to my knees
I will not dismiss you, shelter you, speak with you
Smile at you, trust in me, He'd like to brush you off, and I'd agree




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