Skeleton Crew Lyrics

The Inner Life
Written by Wendy Hearl

Without going out of my door
I can know only my inner life
I can shut out the world
The jagged edge of the social knife
I close my eyes
Imagination fills my senses
I go inside
So nothing can disturb my inner life

Without going out of your door
You cannot begin to live
The people that you look for
The living circle takes and gives
You find your thoughts
In the words that flow in ceaseless rain
In the crowd you’re caught
You know little of the inner life

Without understanding each other
We are locked in a futile dance
You with your endless babble
Me in my impenetrable trance
Feel the beat
Fluid movement in harmony
We’re incomplete
Without the outer and the inner lives

Westwood
Written by Wendy Hearl

Here in our town
People work too hard
A tear follows every smile
We all have some scars
But there’s a place called Westwood
Where life is a dream
They’ve got an answer to every problem
Every surface gleams

So come on, babe, jump into the car
We’ll drive all night; we’ll steer by the stars
It don’t matter what gets left behind
We got to keep on movin’; it’s a long, hard climb
Up to Westwood

People in our town
Close and lock their doors
Every face cover secrets
And no one quite knows the score
But they say that in Westwood
The doors are open wide
Each life is written in the public book
There’s no way to hide

So come on, babe, jump into the car
We’ll drive all night; we’ll steer by the stars
It don’t matter what gets left behind
We got to keep on movin’; it’s a long, hard climb
Up to Westwood

Are we ever gonna get there?
Can it be all that they say?
Are we ever gonna make it?
Will we look back, wishing we had stayed?

Here in the shadows
Nightmares come at your call
You can stand in the sunshine
And it don’t feel warm at all
But they say up in Westwood
There’s a pill for every mood
They’re even workin’ on a cure for dyin’
Wouldn’t that be a dream come true?

So come on, babe, jump into the car
We’ll drive all night; we’ll steer by the stars
It don’t matter what gets left behind
We got to keep on movin’; it’s a long, hard climb
Up to Westwood

We’re headed to Westwood

Paragon
Written by John Franjione and Wendy Hearl

It’s the most exclusive affair
The cognoscenti at ease
Exquisite conversation
Fine wine and thunder cheese
I smile
But her eyes only say goodbye
Not here
Not now

3 AM, a knock on the door
Apologies and ardent hugs
Is it her eyes that so bewitch me
Or the awesome Zudokhan love?
Sunrise
And by now it’s not a big surprise
A kiss
She’s gone

Paragon
You’ll be hiding when the lights come on
Can you only be what they expect to see?
What’s behind that perfect mask?

I’ll see her again tomorrow
At her usual table for three
Instead of whispering, “I love you”
I’ll say, “May I take your order, please?”
She’ll dine
And I’ll try not to lose my mind
Two fools
Playing by rules

Paragon
You’ll be hiding when the lights come on
Can you only be what they expect to see?
What’s behind that perfect mask?

Impatience
Written by John Franjione and Joe Arrington

Your bedroom eyes are telling lies and that’s where you are
You’re slippin’ in and slidin’ out the door
You try to hide your darker side, and twist the truth around
But I can see right thru your whole charade

And I’m getting’ tired of waitin’
For you to make up your mind
And I think you know what’s true
And if your heart starts talkin’
Be sure you take the time
To tell me what I need to know
From you

Without a doubt I’m holdin’ out until the end
In the beginning I knew our love had it all
But somehow you see fit to do the things your body tells you to
Now I hope your heart can win this time

And I’m getting’ tired of waitin’
For you to make up your mind
And I think you know what’s true
And if your heart starts talkin’
Be sure you take the time
To tell me what I need to know
From you

Hoping that you tell me…

And I’m getting’ tired of waitin’
For you to make up your mind
And I think you know what’s true
And if your heart starts talkin’
Be sure you take the time
To tell me what I need to know
From you

And I’m getting’ tired of waitin’
For you to make up your mind
And I think you know what’s true
And if your heart starts talkin’
Be sure you take the time
To tell me what I need to know

Clothesline
Written by Wendy Hearl

Will you change my life?
I’m busy
Doing all the things
I know once made sense

Can you bring me hope
On Friday?
All the other days
I work on defense

When I was a boy I was running
Knocked my tooth out on the clothesline
The world belonged to someone else
But the blood upon my lips was mine

Will you show me which
Is my face?
It was camouflage
So good I got lost

Give me the magic spell
To right things
To set my mind to “high”
And my heart on “defrost”

When I was a boy I was running
Knocked my tooth out on the clothesline
The world belonged to someone else
But the blood upon my lips was mine

There’s a dream I had
A good one
Where I lived my life
And no one minded

When I was a boy I was running
Knocked my tooth out on the clothesline
The world belonged to someone else
But the blood upon my lips was mine

Empty Spaces
Written by Wendy Hearl

Can’t go back
Can’t go back down that road
The world’s up for sale
Lives are bought and sold
All eyes are on that prize, but
It’s time to realize that
We can’t go back
Can’t go back down that road

These empty spaces between souls
Are waiting to be filled by love
Only love

You can’t live
Can’t live without a home
Yeah, no matter how high you climb
Or how far you may roam
There’s still time to discover
That we still need our Mother
We can’t live
Can’t live without a home

These empty spaces between souls
Are waiting to be filled by love
Only love

Every day
Every day we make a choice
Whether to keep silent
Whether to raise a voice
Is this a world of others
Or a family who need each other?
Every day
Every day we make a choice

These empty spaces between souls
Are waiting to be filled by love
Only love

Turn It Around
Written by Wendy Hearl

You are maimed
A falling star
You are hiding in the shadows
Wondering who you are
But don't you quail
You can't lose
If you can reach out to the source
Inside of you

Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up, get up now
Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up
And turn it around

You remain
Left behind
You are hiding in a bottle
Trying to lose your mind
You won't let go
In love with a ghost
But you can step into the light
Receive what you need most

Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up, get up now
Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up
And turn it around

You're enraged
At a world of fools
You can't play the game
When they keep on changing the rules
All your hate
Is spinning out of control
There's still time to step outside
Yourself and see the whole

Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up, get up now
Everybody falls down but you can't stay down
You've got to get up
And turn it around

Ace of Blues
Written by Wendy Hearl

At the show, looking for some little ingénue
Making believe I was walking in sunshine shoes
Then, like the stroke of doom
She danced into the room
In her hand was the card called the Ace of Blues
I felt a tightening in my chest like the turn of a screw
One touch of fleeting bliss
Then, with a laughing Judas kiss
She left me alone in a daze with the Ace of Blues

(The Ace of Blues)
It’s the card from no place
(The Ace of Blues)
Many colors and a blank face
Try though you may
If you play, you’ll always lose

Headed downtown to try to get myself unglued
Hoping the dudes in the back hadn’t heard the news
Soon they had had enough
A joker scowled and called my bluff
The card up my sleeve was clearly the Ace of Blues

(The Ace of Blues)
It’s the card from no place
(The Ace of Blues)
Many colors and a blank face
Try though you may
If you play, you’ll always lose

The dealer say,
“Man, there’s no need to lose your cool
Did you forget the age-old rule?
The Jack of Hearts always trumps the Aces of Blues”
The Ace of Blues
The Ace of Blues

Revolving Door
Written by John Franjione and Wendy Hearl

Clem Kansas City
Clem ain’t too pretty
It was all in the papers
He lost his head
Fell out of favor

Clem was king of the night time
Camera snapped, severed the love line
Used up and alone
It’s all he can do
To keep holdin’, holdin’ on

Are you feeling that you’ve heard this one before?
It’s the same revolving door

Scared Mary, willing and able
Hiding fears under the table
She remembers all her dream
But she’s still asleep
Or so it seems

Poor Mary tries to fix him
He’s not a saint as she depicts him
Afraid to be alone
It’s all she can do
To keep holdin’, holdin’ on

Are you feeling that you’ve heard this one before?
It’s the same revolving door

Turnin’ around and round and round

Your Doll
Written by Wendy Hearl

She gets me down from the shelf
Runs her fingers through my hair
Tells me about the mess she’s in
While I sit and stare

Holds me beside her when she sleeps
Drags me behind her when she goes
She doesn’t like to pull my string
‘Cause my desires start to show

Don’t wanna be your doll anymore
Don’t wanna be your doll anymore
There’s so much more I was hoping for
And I won’t be your doll anymore (Be your doll anymore)
Be your doll anymore

I dreamed of finding love
As something we both could share
But I can only keep her
By pretending I’m not there

I’m sorry now that I lied
But now I’m walking away
We’ll both feel so much better
Finding new games to play

Don’t wanna be your doll anymore
Don’t wanna be your doll anymore
There’s so much more I was waiting for
And I won’t be your doll anymore (Be your doll anymore)
Be your doll anymore

Burning Down Both Sides
Written by Wendy Hearl

He was burning down both sides
It was something to see
We all gathered around the great divide
Wringing hands and shouting down,
“You should’ve talked to me,
You should’ve talked to me”
So wary and wise

From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
To sing a new song
From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
And fly headlong into the
Rush of improbable moments

He was burning down both sides
Did he smell the smoke?
The pressure slowly magnified
He shuddered and bent down
We couldn’t hear him choke
We couldn’t hear him choke
But we heard him cry

From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
To sing a new song
From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
And fly headlong into the
Rush of improbable moments

He was burning down both sides
Couldn’t make it to the sunrise

From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
To sing a new song
From the ashes I’ll rise again
I will rise again
And fly headlong into the
Rush of improbable moments

Moment
Written by Wendy Hearl

An unexpected September
Plans in disarray
Question marks were piling up
And your life was slipping away
Slipping away

Looking for a message
But then I realized
Sometimes these things happen
And there's no reason why
No reason why

But we've got blue skies
And the sun's still shining bright
And for everything that's gone so wrong
There's still so much that's right
And there's no guarantee
That it all won't come unglued
But I'm so thankful
So grateful
Sharing one more moment
With you

Hours spent in sadness
Life is full of pain
Sometimes it's so hard to bear
That I can't find words to say
No words to say

Nothing lasts forever
Don't want to say goodbye
But that's another day, right now
I'll hold on to moments passing by
Passing by

Cause we've got blue skies
And the sun's still shining bright
And for everything that's gone so wrong
There's still so much that's right
And there's no guarantee
That it all won't come unglued
But I'm so thankful
So grateful
Sharing one more moment
With you

Small Name, Big Ego
Written by John Franjione and Wendy Hearl

He bowed and left the stage with head held high
Confident the judges were electrified
But his voice, the consensus seemed
Evoked Lou Reed gargling gasoline

Friday nights you’ll find him throwing down
Some karaoke shack in Flemingtown
By the second verse he’s asked to leave
Disbelieving outrage on his sleeve

He’s famous
Outrageous
Small name
Big ego

Rolling Stone still hasn’t called for his interview
Nor has he played at Bonnaroo
Stumbling on prickly truth
His self-esteem is bulletproof

He’s famous (a legend in his mind)
Outrageous (a close encounter of the vexing kind)
Small name (he’s all talk, all of the time)
Big ego

“The sheep don’t dig it, what’s the diff
They have no taste,” he sniffs
What makes him think
He’s God’s gift to humanity
Could it be that, like you and me
He sees his image through a mirror, darkly

He’s famous (a legend in his mind)
Outrageous (a close encounter of the vexing kind)
Small name (he’s all talk, all of the time)
Big ego

Skeleton Crew
Written by Wendy Hearl

You, you’re on fire
All you have
Never keeps up with your desire
Give with your left hand
Take with your right
Live off the fat of the lambs
Grandstand, sleight-of-hand, promised land
You say you built this all by yourself
So who are these people?

Dance upon the lives you never knew
Your skeleton crew
Squeezing out so much more from the few
Your skeleton crew

It’s the new deal
Changing rules
A set-up for a legal steal
Cruel games
You can’t lose
It’s easy when you have no shame
Champagne, gravy train, acid rain
All this time you’re fooling yourself
If you think they don’t see you

Dance upon the lives you never knew
Your skeleton crew
Squeezing out so much more from the few
Your skeleton crew

Dance upon the lives you never knew
Your skeleton crew
Squeezing out so much more from the few
Your skeleton crew
I saw a valley littered with dry bones
They began to assemble
Sinew, flesh, and bone were soon regrown
You’d better tremble

The skeleton crew
What ya gonna do?
What ya gonna do?
One moonlit night they’re coming for you

Lyrics © 2013 Chameleon Red.  All rights reserved.