BNL lyrics


Born On A Pirate Ship

  1. Stomach vs. Heart
  2. Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank
  3. I Know
  4. This is Where it Ends
  5. When I Fall
  6. I Live With it Every Day
  7. The Old Apartment
  8. Call Me Calmly
  9. Break Your Heart
  10. Spider in my Room
  11. Same Thing
  12. Just a Toy
  13. In the Drink
  14. Shoe Box






    Stomach vs. Heart

    (words & music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson)



    In through my veins, without brains
    I involuntairly take what I need, then I bleed
    And it coms right back to me
    But guts only eat
    And sometimes they repeat on you
    Keeping you on your toes or crouched above the loo

    That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart

    Blood turns from blue into red
    'Cause of oxygen that it's fed
    And I turn back to blue
    'Cause I'm losing you.
    but Tummy just growls
    Not real words, mostly vowels
    And I always forget sometimes Y
    Gratification can cause constipation
    If organs are left to die

    That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart

    I gained all this weight out of love, not hate
    I've got so much to give (give me a break)
    I'd love to sleep in late, but that dessert looks great

    Was it something I said or was it? something I ate?
    Hearts beat in sync, beat in time
    Beat in bodies like hers and mine
    But I fed only one,
    And look what it's done;
    I've run out of blood and I'm chewing my cud
    And my gastrointestinal festival's best of all
    The cardiovascular questions they ask you are
    Less than the answers they give you like cancer and

    That's what you get when you confuse you stomach with your heart


    (top)




    Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank

    (words & music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson)



    I tend the wheat field that makes your bread
    I bind the sweet veal, pluck the hens that make your bed
    Mother Nature & Mother Earth
    Are two of three women who dictate what I'm worth

    I'm the farmer
    I work in the fields all day
    Don't mean to alarm her
    But I know it was meant to be this way

    You cried a tear, I wiped it dry
    I put you up upon a pedestal so high
    If you should waver, if you should sway
    I'd catch you, spread my tiny wings and fly away
    You signed your picture with an O and X
    I bet you don't write "love" each time you sign your cheques

    (chorus)

    All of this corn I grow I grow it all for you
    I took a hatchet to the radio I did it all for you
    You could have written back,
    You could have said "thank you"
    I guess you've got better things,
    Better things to do

    You say you love me, is that the truth?
    Although they've heard the songs, my friends want living proof
    I know your address, I ring the bell
    I bring you flowers and a .22 with shells

    I'm the farmer
    I work in the fields all day
    Never wanted to harm her
    But I know it was meant to be this way


    (top)




    I Know

    (words & music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson)



    I know why I like you
    It's 'cause of your haircut and your clothing
    And 'cause you're racist
    I have a match: your face
    My asking you questions you can't answer
    You want to box me?

    Our world works in a weird way
    I've heard them say a man with a beard may
    Frighten children or dogs but a moustache scares me more

    I know why you bite me
    It's cause of your canines and your instincts
    And 'cause I kicked you
    I have a bone to pick:
    Please go on the paper, and fetch me my slippers
    And stop meowing

    Man's best friend wags his tail and
    Bares his teeth to the man with the mail and
    Though he's frightened of thunder he never goes to war

    Tell me what's the circumstance of circumcision?
    And what goes in my daughter's pants is whose decision?
    I've seen the facts of inter-race relations
    Of see-through slacks, of cyber-masturbation
    If a hundred monkeys each could get their own show,
    Perhaps one day a chimp might say
    You have faith, you just need to use it, sayeth the Lord

    I know why I like you
    It's 'cause of your sandals and your supper
    And 'cause you're Jesus
    I have a match: your Dad, my dad has
    Your picture right next to your mother's
    And one of Charo

    They hold hands up to heaven
    And they say their son's name is Kevin
    But I read in a book somewhere that his name is Jack


    (top)




    This is Where it Ends

    (words and music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson)



    I don't buy everything I read, I haven't even read everything I've bought
    I don't cry every time I bleed, my eyes are dry but they're bloodshot
    I have faith in medication
    I believe in the Prozac Nation
    You play doctor, but I've lost patience

    But this is where it ends
    This is where it ends
    Call the police and call the press
    But please, dear God, don't tell my friends
    This is where it ends
    This is where it ends

    Where's my pride? Where's my self-esteem? Does it show in the drinks I've bought?
    I don't hide every time I'm seen, but I try not to get caught
    Make excuses for behaviour
    Can my illness be my saviour?
    Hid my heart while you still gave yours

    (chorus)

    She says she wants to live in a movie
    I say I want someone else to stand behind me
    And write it all down
    'Cause I can't be bothered
    Doing it myself
    And I don't want the responsibility of showing its importance

    I have loved an I have waited
    Been picked up and been sedated
    Mental health is overrated

    (chorus)


    (top)




    When I Fall

    (words by Steven Page & Ed Robertson, music by Ed Robertson)



    I look straight in the window, try not to look below
    Pretend I'm not up here, try counting sheep
    But the sheep seem to shower off this office tower
    Nine-point-eight straight down I can't stop my knees

    I wish I could fly
    From this building
    And if I should try
    Would you catch me If I fall?

    My hands clench the squeegee, my secular rosary
    hang on to your wallet, hang on to your rings
    Can't look below me, or something might throw me
    Curse at the windstorms that October brings
    I look in the boardroom; a modern pharaoh's tomb
    I'd gladly swap places, if they care to dive
    They're lined up at the window, peer down into limbo
    They're frightened of jumping, in case they survive

    I wish I could step from this scaffold
    Onto soft green pastures, shopping malls, or bed
    With my family and my pastor and my grandfather who's
    Dead

    (chorus)

    Look straight in the mirror, watch it come clearer
    I look like a painter, behind all the grease
    But painting's creating, and I'm just erasing
    A crystal-clear canvas is my masterpiece

    (chorus)


    (top)




    I Live With it Every Day

    (words & music by Stephen Duffy & Steven Page)



    On August first, nineteen-eighty-one
    I cycled to Scott's house with a BB gun
    We were almost twelve, but we looked thirteen
    He had baby-blue eyes that I shot him between
    Nature provides for us a safety net
    Whatever we do, we can never forget

    I live with it every day
    Even thoughwe moved away
    Our yesterdays are on a loop;
    A marathon of heartbreaking moments
    I live with it every day
    For every step I have to pay
    The only thing that they can't take:
    The guilt that spirals in my wake

    The day they found me asleep on the floor
    Engine running, closed garage door
    Was the day the For Sale sign arrived on the lawn
    Two weeks later, and we were gone
    Everyone falls through time and the funnel it makes
    But I'm staying here inside my biggest mistake

    (chorus)

    The love I put away
    Like games that children play
    The hearts you choose to break
    Like cars dumped in the lake
    The laugh lines on your face
    The life I won't embrace
    The cold house I won't leave
    The guests I won't receive

    (chorus)


    (top)




    The Old Apartment

    (words and music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson



    Broke into the old apartment
    This is where we used to live
    Broken glass, broke and hungry
    Broken hearts and broken bones
    This where we used to live

    Why did you paint the walls?
    Why did you clean the floor?
    Why did you plaster over the hole I punched in the door?
    This is where we used to live

    Why did you keep the mousetrap?
    Why did you keep the dishrack?
    These things used to be mine, I want them back

    Broke into the old apartment
    Forty-two stairs from the street
    Crooked landing, crooked landlord
    Narrow laneway filled with crooks
    This is where we used to live

    Why did they pave the lawn?
    Why did they change the locks?
    Why did I have to break in, I only came here to talk
    This is where we used to live

    How is the neighbour downstairs?
    How is her temper this year?
    I turned up your TV and stomped on the floor just for fun

    I know we don't live here anymore
    We bought an old house on the Danforth
    She loves me and her body keeps me warm
    I'm happy there
    This is where we used to live

    Broke into the old apartment
    Tore the phone out of the wall
    Only memories, fading memories
    Blending into dull tableaux
    I want them back


    (top)




    Call Me Calmly


    You and I were meant to be
    Even though you don't know me
    I don't even know your name
    And do you think that you know mine?
    You were lonely, I was bored
    I may be more than you can afford
    But I'm sure we'll meet halfway

    And I've got this crazy feeling
    You've been trying to get to me
    When all you have to do is calmly
    Call me, call me, call me

    Basic service: sixty bucks
    I'll roll the dice, you try your luck
    A pair gets me a week in rent
    And a straight gets even more
    I'm no good at playing cards
    I hold my dates in high regard
    Pay up front and ye shall receive

    Love is never in-between
    If it isn't one thing, then it's always something else
    I don't even know what I mean
    I thought that it was nothing, but now I can't find nothing else
    Oh, you can't hide
    But at least you tried to

    (chorus)

    Are you ashamed of what you've done? All we did was have some fun
    I won't judge and I won't tell
    And I'll forget you when you've gone
    I pity all you working stiffs,
    Living wondering "what if?"
    "What if someday I was free?"

    (chorus)


    (top)




    Break Your Heart

    (words and music by Steven Page)



    The bravest thing I've never done
    Was to run away and hide
    But not this time, not this time
    And the weakest thing I've ever done
    Was to stay right by your side
    Just like this time, and every time
    I couldn't tell you I was happy you were gone
    So I lied and said that I missed you when we were apart
    I couldn't tell you, so I had to lead you on
    But I didn't mean to break your heart

    And if I always seem distracted
    Like my mind is somewhere els
    That's because it's true, yes it's true
    It's this stupid pride that makes me feel
    Like I have to follow through
    Even half-assedly, loving you
    Why must I always speak in terms of cowardice?
    When I guess I should have just come out and told you right from the start
    Why must I always tel you all I want is this?
    I guess 'cause I didn't want to break your heart

    And you said
    What'd you think that I was gonna do
    Curl up and die just because of you?
    I'm not that weak, you know
    What'd you think that I was gonna do,
    Try to make you love me as I love you?
    How could you be so low?
    You arrogant man,
    What do you think that I am?
    My heart will be fine
    Just stop wating my time

    And now I know that you will be okay, and that I got what I want and that's rid of you
    Good-bye
    And it's not 'cause I'll be missing you
    That makes me fall apart
    It's just that I didn't mean to break
    No I didn't mean to break
    No I didn't mean to break
    Your heart


    (top)




    Spider in my Room

    (words & music by Jim Creeggan)



    There's a spider in my room
    There's a spider in my room

    And then a voice above my head
    Said if that spider were made dead
    I'd better grow some fins 'cause
    It would make it easier to swim

    I don't like spiders and snakes
    The was theycrawl, the way they shake
    If a spider gets killed how does that make it rain
    How could I be the one to blame
    A whisper drizzled down from the ice in its eyes
    It said, "Try pickin' on your own damn size,"
    But the Hoover was quick, termination complete
    In its bedroom not a chance to eat

    In the corner beside my head
    Very busy spinning thread
    Eight legs and a little head

    I hear the thunder from outside
    And the water's gettin' high

    I don't like moths and bugs
    They buzz, they get in the rugs
    But where does a guy find some room
    In this life raft home, a little rubber tomb

    There's a spider in my room
    There's a spider in my room


    (top)




    Same Thing

    (words & music by Ed Robertson)



    What does it mean to wake out of a dream and be
    Wearing someone else's shorts?
    I've been around the block, at least on my bike
    I was prepared for the news but not for
    The Third World War

    I found me an answer, in a grocery store
    I found me an answer in the form of an old man with a cardigan on, this guy's got thirty years on me but he stops and smiles just to say "Hello, didn't I see you on TV?"

    Must've been the same thing
    Must've been the same thing
    Must've been the same thing
    Charlie Brown went through

    I'm in a comic store
    Lookin' for some mistakenly priced comic I could make
    A fortune on and in wlks the Fantastic Four
    I say "Don't go;"
    That last issue was cool!"

    Must've been the same thing
    Must've been the same thing
    Must've been the same

    These things all end
    Who asked you anyway?
    You'll have to bend
    Who asked you anyway?

    I'm in a thunderstorm
    Staying out from under trees never holding
    Golf clubs, but still seem to be getting
    Struck by lightning - must be
    Something in my veins
    My weathered veins

    Must've been the same thing


    (top)




    Just a Toy

    (words & music by Steven Page & Ed Robertson)



    Look at my mouth, a thin painted line
    Look at my limbs, bent up and bundled in twine
    Forever, ever mine
    Form of a tree, shape of a child
    I wish I could cry, stuck in a permanent smile
    Forever, ever mine

    I know you must have loved me sometime
    But now I'm just a toy
    I know you must have loved me sometime
    But now I'm just a toy

    First there was me, nothing but time
    Till he came along, you told me you'd always be mine
    Forever, ever mine
    Look at his face, somewhat like mine
    But look at his nose, you can always be sure that he's lying
    Forever, ever mine

    (chorus)

    Who needs you
    A boy-to-be who
    Needs to be

    Better than him, worthy of you
    Given the chance that he had, I know what I'd do
    Forever, ever mine
    I call him liar, you call him son
    If I could move, I'd set him on fire and I'd run
    Forever

    (chorus)


    (top)




    In the Drink

    (words & music by Jim Creeggan)



    I'm in the drink for love
    And want to drink your love
    Swimmin' a swim in the suds
    I want to drink you blood

    Up like a rocket, down like the rain
    Back and forth forth like a choo-choo train
    I have a secret that just won't keep
    All I wanna do is brush your teeth

    Butterfly kisses
    And the taste of delicious
    I'd like to sip the sap from your tree
    And the honey in the tea
    Dripping amber drips
    Patiently

    (chorus)

    I'm in the drink for love
    And want to drink your love
    Squishin' toes in the mud
    I want to drink your blood

    Caught a snowflake on my tongue
    A feathery crystal in the flavour of gum
    Dropping clouds fallin' fast
    Are you going to try some while they last?
    Once the birds have migrated
    Come Spring twitter painted
    Up the river, I journey on
    'Cause this salmon is ready to spawn

    If you have swimming lessons it would make it easier

    (chorus)


    (top)




    Shoe Box

    (words by Steven Page & Ed Robertson, music by Steven Page)



    A key in the door, a step on the floor,
    A note on the table, and a meal in the micro
    Note says "I'm in bed, please make sure that you're fed
    If you're taking a shower, you can borrow my bathrobe
    When I'm asleep I dream you move in next week"
    I crumple the note and save it to put inside

    My shoe box
    Shoe box of lies
    Shoe box
    Shoe box of lies

    It's under my bed, it's never been read
    It's in with my school stuff and my mom never cleans there
    From my first little fib, when I still wore a bib
    To my latest attempt at pretending I'm someone
    Who's not seventeen, doesn't know what you mean
    When talk turns to single malts, or stilton, or

    (chorus)

    Did somebody tell you
    This is how it's supposed to be?
    Or did you just find it
    And you don't want any more from me?

    (chorus)

    Was it something I said, or was it something you read
    That's making me think that I should never have come here
    I can offer you lies, I can tell you good-bye,
    I can tell you I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the truth, dear
    And what if I could - would it do any good?
    You'll still never get to see the contents of

    (chorus)

    You're so nineteen-ninety
    And it's nineteen-ninety-four
    Leave this world behind me
    'Cause you don't want me anymore


    (top)





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