FRONT ROW
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
Do you go to the dungeon to find out
How to make peace with your days in the dungeon
Writing a letter to you didn't make me feel any more peaceful
Than how I felt when we werent' speaking
Because I didn't cop to what I did
I can't love you because we're supposed to have professional boundaries
I'd like you to be schooled and in awe
As though you were kissed by God full on the lips
I'm in the front row the front row with popcorn
I get to see you close up
I'm too tired to recount the unpleasantries one by one
One minute I want to banish you
The next, I want to be on a deserted island with you
Along with my three favorite cd's ambivalent yet in your bed
We've yet to acknowledge what really happened
Slid into the ditch I have this overwhelming loss of ambition
We said let's name thirty good reasons why we shouldn't be together
I started by saying things like "you smoke"
"You belong to the world" all of which could have been easily refuted
But the conversation was hypothetical I am totally short of breath for you
Why can't you shut your stuff off...
I'm in the front row the front row with popcorn
I get to see you close up
And I laughed until my lungs hurt
I love how you bust my chops
You don't always feel seen sometimes you feel erasable
Unfortunately I cannot reciprocate in my current state
I think we should be careful
Of how much time we spend together
...For a while while I'm speaking you know
How much you hate to be interrupted maybe spend some time alone
Fill up your proverbial cup so that it doesn't always have to be about you
I've been wanting your undivided attention
I like the fact that you're nothing like me
Are you not burdened by the lack of perspective
People have of your charmed life (seemingly)?
I'm in the front row the front row with popcorn I get to see you close up
You never meant to be ungrateful nor held up to be whipped or wept
For certainly not analyzed prodded at more ways than one
Apparently you'be been misinterpreted dealing with the concept
Of arrows being slung towards your outrageous fortune
Hey I'm not mad at you guardian
I'm mad at myself for spending so much time with you and your Jeckyl and Hydeness
I'm glad I figuratively slapped you on the wrist
You laughed a wicked laugh and said, "Come here let me clip your wings!"
(I know he's blood but you can still turn him away
You don't owe him anything"
"Raise the roof" he yelled "yeah raise the roof!" I yelled back
(Unfortunately you needed a health scare to reprioritize)
No thanks to the soap box
Having me rile against them won't make an ounce of difference...
I'm in the front row the front row with popcorn
I get to see you close up
Oh the things I've done for you many a sitch a friend
A man's been left for you
Oh the books I've read for you the tongues I've bitten for you
Many a new city for you
Many a risk taken for you (not a single regret)
[Top]
BABA
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
I've seen them kneel
With baited breath for the ritual
I've watched this experience raise
Them to pseudo higher levels
I've watched them leave their families
In pursuit of your nirvana
I've seen them coming to line up
From Switzerland and America
How long will this take Baba
How long have we been sleeping
Do you see me hanging on to
Every word you say
How soon will I be holy
How much will this cost guru
How much longer 'til you
Completely absolve me
I've seen them give their drugs up
In place of makeshift altars
I've heard them chanting
Kali kali frantically
I've heard them rotely repeat your teachings with elitism
I've seen them boasting robes and foreign sandalwood beads
I've seen them overlooking God in their own essence
I've seen their upward glances
In hopes of instant salvation
I've seen their righteousness
Mixed without loving compassion
I've watched you smile as
The students bow to kiss your feet
Give me strength all knowing one
How long 'til enlightenment
How much longer 'til you
Completely absolve me
[Top]
THANK U
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
How 'bout getting off of these antibiotics
How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up
How 'bout them transparent dangling carrots
How 'bout that ever elusive kudo
Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence
How 'bout me not blaming you for everything
How 'bout me enjoying the moment for once
How 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
How 'bout grieving it all one at a time
Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence
The moment I let go of it was the moment
I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it
Was the moment I touched down
How 'bout no longer being masochistic
How 'bout remembering your divinity
How 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How 'bout not equating death with stopping
Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence
[Top]
ARE YOU STILL MAD
(Alanis Morissette)
Are you still mad I kicked you out of bed?
Are you still mad I gave you ultimatum?
Are you still mad I compared you to all
My forty year old male friends?
Are you still mad I shared our problems with everybody?
Are you still mad I had an emotional affair?
Are you still mad I tried to mold you into
Who I wanted you to be?
Are you still mad I didn't trust your intentions?
Of course you are
Of course you are
Are you still mad that I flirted wildly?
Are you still mad I had a tendency to mother you?
Are you still mad that I had one foot out the door?
Are you still mad that we slept together even after we had ended it?
Of course you are
Of course you are
Are you still mad I wore the pants most of the time?
Are you still mad that I seemed to focus only on your potentials?
Are you still mad that I threw in the towel?
Are you still mad that I gave up long before you did?
Of course you are
Of course you are
[Top]
SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER
(Alanis Morissette)
I was afraid you'd hit me if I'd spoken up
I was afraid of your physical strength
I was afraid you'd hit below the belt
I was afraid of your sucker punch
I was afraid of your reducing me
I was afraid of your alcohol breath
I was afraid of your complete disregard for me
I was afraid of your temper
I was afraid of handles being flown off of
I was afraid of holes being punched into walls
I was afraid of your testosterone
I have as much rage as you have
I have as much pain as you do
I've lived as much hell as you have
Adn I've kept mine bubbling under for you
You were my best friend
You were my lover
You were my mentor
You were my brother
You were my partner
You were my teacher
You were my very own sympathetic character
I was afraid of verbal daggers
I was afraid of the calm before the storm
I was afraid for my own bones
I was afraid of your seduction
I was afraid of your coersion
I was afraid of your rejection
I was afraid of your intimidation
I was afraid of your punishment
I was afraid of your icy silences
I was afraid of your volume
I was afraid of your manipulation
I was afraid of your explosions
I have as much rage as you have
I have as much pain as you do
I've lived as much hell as you have
And I've kept mine bubbling under for you
[Top]
THAT I WOULD BE GOOD
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
That I would be good even if I did nothing
That I would be good even if I got the thumbs down
That I would be good even if I got and stayed sick
That I would be good even if I gained ten pounds
That I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
That I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
That I would be great if I was no longer queen
That I would be grand if I was not all knowing
That I would be loved even when I numb myself
That I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
That I would be good even if I was clingy
That I would be good even if I lost sanity
That I would be good
Whether with or without you
[Top]
THE COUCH
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
You hadn't seen your father in such a long time
He died in the arms of his lover how dare he
Your mother never left the house
She never married anyone else
You took it upon yourself to console her
You reminded her so much of your father
So you were banished and you wonder
Why you're so hypersensitive
And why you can't trust anyone but us
But then how can I begin to forgive her so many years
Under bridges with dirty water
She was foolish and selfish and cowardly if you ask me
I don't know where to begin in all of my 50 odd years
I have been silently suffering and adapting
Perpetuating and enduring
Who are you younger generation to tell me
That I have unresolved problems
Not many examples of fruits of this type
Of excruciating labour
How can you just throw words around
Like grieve and heal and mourn
I fell fine we may not have been born
As awake as you were
It was much harder in those days
We had paper routes uphill both ways
We went from school to a job to a wife
To instant parenthood
I walked into his office
I felt so self-conscious on the couch
He was sitting down across from me
He was writing down his hypothesis I don't know
I've got a loving supportive wife who doesn't know
How involved she should get
You say his interjecting was him just calling me on my shit?
Just the other day my sweet daughter I was driving past 203
I walked up the stairs in my mind's eye
I remember how they would creak loudly
She was only responsive by photo
I was only trying to be the best big brother I could
I've walked sometimes confused
Sometimes ready to crack open wide
Sometimes indignant sometimes raw
Can you imagine I pay him 75 dollars an hour sometimes
It feels like highway robbery
And sometimes it's peanuts
I wish it could last a couple more hours
So here we both are battling similar demons (not coincidentally)
You see in getting beyond knowing it solely intellectually
You're not relinquishing your majestry
You are wise you are warm you are courageous you are big
And I love you more now than I ever have in my whole life
[Top]
CAN'T NOT
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
I'd be lying if I said I was completely unscathed
I might be proving you right
With my silence or my retaliation
Would I be letting you win in my non reaction?
How would I explain?
How would I explain this to my children
If I had them?
Because I can't not
Because I can't not
Because I can't afford
To be misread one more time
Would I be whining if I said I needed a hug?
Would you fell slighted
If I said your love's not enough?
How can I complain?
How can I complain
When I'm the one who reaches for it?
Because I can't not
Because I can't not
Because I cannot walk without my crutches
Because I can't not
Because I can't not
Because I can't help wonder why you ask me
To all the unheard wisdom in the schoolyard
You think you're the right ones
You think you're the charmed ones i'm sure
How can you go on with such conviction?
And who do you think you are
Why do you question me?
Because we can't not
Because we can't not
Because we can't help
Laugh at underestimations
Because we can't not
Because we can't not
Because we can't afford
To be misled one more time
Because we can't not
Because we can't not
Because we cannot help
Without your willingness
Why do you affect me?
Why do you affect me still?
Why do you hinder me?
Why do you hinder me still?
Why do you unnerve me?
Why do you unnerve me still?
Why do you trigger me?
Why do you trigger me still?
[Top]
UR
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
Burn the books
They've got too many names and psychoses
All this incriminating evidence
Would surely haunt me
If someone broke into my house
Suits in the living room
Do you realize guys
I was born in 1974
We've got someone here
To explain your publishing
We know how much you love to be
In front of audiences
Hopeful you are
Schoolbound you are
Naive you are
Driven you are
Take a trip to New York
With your guardian
And your fake identification
When they said
"Is there something anything
You'd like to know young lady?"
You said "yes I'd like to know
What kind of people
I'll be dealing with"
Precocious you are
Headstrong you are
Terrified you are
Ahead of your time as you are
Don't mind our staring but
We're surprised
You're not in a far-gone asylum
We're surprised
You didn't crace up
Lord knows that we would've
We would've liked
To have been there
But you keep pushing us away
Resilient you are
Big time you are
Ruthless you are
Precious you are
[Top]
I WAS HOPING
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
As we were talking outside
It was cold we were shivering
Yet warmed by the subjet matter
My wife is in the next room
We've been having troubles you know
Please don't tell her or anyone
But I need to talk to somebody you said
"Wouldn't it be a shame if I knew how great I was
Five minutes before I died I'd be filled with such regret
Before I took my last breath"
And I said "You're willing to tell me this now
And you're not going to die any time soon" and I said
I haven't been eating chicken or meat or anything and you said
Yes but you've been wearing leather and laughed and said
We're at the top of the food chain and yes you're still a fine woman
And I cringed I was hoping I was hoping we could heal each other
I was hoping I was hoping we could be raw together
We left the restaurant where the head waiter (in his 60's) said
"Goodbye Sir, thank you for your business, Sir
You're successful and established Sir and we like the frequency
With which you dine here Sir and your money"
And when I walked by they said "Thank you too dear"
I was all pigtails and cords and there was a day
When I would've said something like "Hey dude I could buy
And sell this place so kiss it" I too once thought
I was owed something
I was hoping I was hoping we could challenge each other
I too thought that when proved wrong I lost somehow
I too once thought life was cruel
It's a cycle really you think I'm withdrawing and guilt tripping you
I think you're insensitive and I don't feel heard and I said
Do you believe we are fundamentally judgmental?
Fundamentally evil?
And you said yes I said I don't believe in revenge
In right or wrong, good or bad
You said "Well, what about the man that I saw handcuffed
In the emergency room bleeding after beating his kid
And she threw a shoe at his head
I think what he did was wrong
And I would've had a hard time feeling compassion for him"
I had to watch my tone for fear of having you feel judged
I was hoping I was hoping we could dance together
I was hoping I was hoping we could be creamy together
[Top]
ONE
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
I am the biggest hypocrite
I've been undeniably jealous
I have been loud and pretentious
I have been utterly threatened
I've gotten candy for my self-interest
The sexy treadmill capitalist
Heaven forbid I be criticized
Heaven forbid I be ignored
I have abused my power forgive me
You mean we actually are all one
One one one one one one one
I've been out of reach and separatist
Heaven forbid average
(Whatever average means)
I have compensated for my days of powerlessness
I have abused my so-called power
Forgive me
You mean we actually are all one
One one one one one one one
Did you just call her amazing?
Surely we both can't be amazing!
And give up my hard earned status
As fabulous freak of nature?
I have abused my power forgive me
You mean we actually are all one
One one one one one one one
Always looked good on paper
Sounded good in theory
[Top]
WOULD NOT COME
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
If I make a lot of tinsel then people will want to
If I am hardened no fear of further abandonment
If I am famous then maybe I'll feel good in this skin
If I am cultured my words will somehow garner respect
I would throw a party and still it would not come
I would bike run swim and still it would not come
I'd go travelling and still it would not come
If I'm masculine I will be taken more seriously
If I take a break it would make me irresponsible
If I'm elusive I will surely be sought after often
If I need assistance then I must be incapable
I'd be filthy rich and still it would not come
I would seduce them and still it would not come
I would drink vodka and still it would not come
I'd have an orgasm still it wouldn't come
If I accumulate knowledge I'll be impenetrable
If I am aloof no one will know when they strike a nerve
If I keep my mouth shut the boat will not have to be rocked
If I am vulnerable I will be trampled upon
I would go shopping and still it would not come
I'd leave the country and still it would not come
I would scream and rebel still it would not come
I would stuff my face and still it would not come
I'd be productive and still it would not come
I'd be celebrated still it would not come
I'd be the hero and still it would not come
I'd renunciate and still it would not come
[Top]
UNSENT
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
Dear Matthew
I like you a lot
I realize you're in a relationship
With someone right now and I respect that
I would like you to know that if you're ever single in the future
And you want to come visit me in California
I would be open to spending time with you
And finding out how old you were when you wrote your first song
Dear Jonathan
I liked you too much
I used to be attracted to boys who would lie to me
And think solely about themselves
And you were plenty self-destructive for my taste
At the time I used to say the more tragic the better the truth
Is whenever I think of the early 90's
Your face comes up with a vengeance like it was yesterday
Dear Terrance
I love you muchly
You've been nothing but open hearted and emotionally available
And supportive and nurturing and consummately there for me
I kept drawing you in and pushing you away
I remember how beautiful it was to fall asleep on your couch
And cry in front of you for the first time
You were the best platform from which to jump beyond myself
What was wrong with me
Dear Marcus
You rocked my world
You had a charismatic way about you
With the women and you got me seriosly thinking about spirituality
And you wouldn't let me get away with kicking my own ass
But I could never really feel relaxed and looked out for around you though
And that stopped us from going any further than we did
And it's kinda too bad because we could've had much more fun
Dear Lou
We learned so much
I realized we won't be able to talk for some time
And I understand that as I do you
The long distance thing was the hardest
And we did as well as we could
We were together during a very tumultuous time in our lives
I will always have your back and be curious about you
About your career
Your whereabouts
[Top]
SO PURE
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
You from New York
You are so relevant
You reduce me to cosmic tears
Luminous more so than most anyone
Unapologetically alive knot in my stomach
And lump in my throat
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
Supposed former infatuation junkie
I sink three pointers and you wax poetically
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
Let's grease the wheel over tea
Let's discuss things in confidence
Let's be outspoken
Let's be ridiculous
Let's solve the world's problems
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
I love you when you dance
When you freestyle in trance
So pure such an expression
[Top]
JOINING YOU
(Alanis Morissette/Glen Ballard)
Dear dar(lin') your mom (my friend)
Let a message on my machine she was frantic
Saying you were talking crazy
That you wanted to do away with yourself
I guess she thought I'd be a perfect resort
Because we've had this inexplicable connection
Since our youth and
Yes they're in shocked they are panicked
You and your chronic them and their drama
You this embarrassment
Us in the middle of this delusion
If we were our bodies
If we were our futures
If we were our defenses I'd be joining you
If we were our culture
If we were our leaders
If we were our denials I'd be joining you
I remember vividly a day years ago
We were camping you knew more
Than you thought you should know
You said "I don't want ever to be brainwashed"
And you were mindboggling you were intense
You were uncomfortable in your own skin
You were thirsty but mostly you were beautiful
If we were our nametags
If we were our rejections
If we were our outcomes I'd be joining you
If we were our indignities
If we were our successes
If we were our emotions I'd be joining you
You and I we're like 4 year olds
We want to know
Why and how come about everything
We want to reveal ourselves at will
And speak our minds
And never talk small and be intuitive
And question mightily and find God
My tortured beacon
We need to find like-minded companions
If we were their condemnations
If we were our paranoias I'd be joining you
If we were our incomes
If we were our obsessions
If we were our afflictions I'd be joining you
We need reflection
We need a really good memory
Feel free to call me a little more often
[Top]
HEART OF THE HOUSE
(Alanis Morissette)
You are the original template
You are the original exemplary
How seen were you actually?
How revered were you
(Honestly) at the time?
Why pleased with your low maintenance?
You loved us more
Than we could've loved you back
Where was your ally
Your partner in feminine crime?
Oh mother who's your buddy?
Oh mother who's got your back?
The heart of the house
The heart of the house
All hail the goddess!
You were "good ol'"
You were "count on 'er 'til four am"
You saw me run from the house
In the snow melodramatically
Oh mother who's your sister?
Oh mother who's your friend?
The heart of the house
The heart of the house
All hail the goddess!
We left the men and we went
For a walk in the Gatineaus
And talked like women
Like women to women would
Womyn to womyn would
"Where did you get that from?
Must've been your father your dad"
I got it from you I got it from you
Do you see yourself
In my gypsy garage sale ways?
In my fits of laughter?
In my tinkerbell tendencies?
In my lack of colour coordination?
[Top]
YOUR CONGRATULATIONS
(Alanis Morissette)
I wouldn't have compromised as much
So much of myself for fear of
Having you hating me
I would've sung so loudly
It wouldn've cracked myself!
I became self-conscious
Of anything exuberant
I wouldn't have sold myself short
I wouldn't have kept my eyes glued to the ground
If I had've known my invisibility
Would not make a difference
I would've run around screaming proudly
At the top of my voice
I wouldn't have said it was in fact luck
I'm talking idealism here
I would not have been so self-deprecating
I wouldn't have cowered
For fear of having my eyes scratched out!
I wouldn't have cut my comfort off
I wouldn't have feigned needlessness
I would not have discredited
Every one of their compliments
It was your approval I wanted
Your congratulations
[Top]
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© 1998 Maverick Recording Company
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