Happiness is Submission to God

With the cops on my tail and the devil on my back
I crossed under the bridge and over the tracks
A pillar of smoke and an old Cadillac
To take me back to wherever I came from

Sailboats of fire as far as I can see
Junky chicks with needles in their knees
I don’t have time for your ridiculous decrees
Ain’t nobody gonna make a meal outta me

I saw a skeleton wrapped in a poodle skirt
I saw a telephone ringing in the dirt
I saw the face of Christ in the cigarette burns on my shirt
Lord, I am not worthy

A voice in the clouds screamed, “Lay off the Junk!”
Everything is on cocaine and I’m always drunk
All the towns look the same and everybody’s punk
I’m a street
I’m your favorite crazy uncle

Someday I’ll be back
But for now I’m off counting sidewalks in the crack

18 wheels on my heels and I’m feelin’ fine
When I get to Winnemucca gonna have me some wine
Usta be I could see but now I am blind
Ya wanna spend the night with me, baby I don’t mind

I was drunk off my ass
I was loaded like a gun
I slept like a Camaro in the sun
But the cactus on the hills aren’t having any fun
It’s another slow news day in Heaven

Someday I’ll be back
But for now I’m off counting sidewalks in the crack

The sun filled the sky with jealousy & rage
I am a child of this ridiculous age
My fist is the actor your face is the stage
That’s just true

The moon hung low in a Bettie Page sky
Marilyn Monroe it’s time for you to die!
Hollywood girls & hollow-eyed guys
With murder in their hearts & stars in their eyes

Reality is relative, or so I’m told
Whoever said that never spent a night out in the cold
The meek shall inherit the earth and luck favors the bold
You’re old enough to know better

Someday I’ll be back
But for now I’m off counting sidewalks in the crack

The snow was wearing handcuffs and we were in love
In the back of a squad car I finally discovered
My purpose, drunken disheveled & covered
In bruises from head to toe

I don’t need a nurse & I don’t need a medic
Everybody knows bad news is genetic
All this heartache is giving me a headache
So put down the cure and pass the anaesthetic

I’m full of piss and it’s 9am
She’s talking to me but she’s looking at him
The lights in the waiting room are a little too dim
Can somebody please tell me what I’m doing here again?

Someday I’ll be back
But for now I’m off counting sidewalks in the crack

Spare the child and spoil the rod
Happiness is submission to God
I thought I was in control but I was a fraud
From the barstools of Barstow
To the land of nod

©2006 Nathan Payne
Brooklyn, NY - Watertown, MA