Flood (1990)


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Lyrics:

Theme From Flood

Why is the world in love again?
Why are we marching hand in hand?
Why are the ocean levels rising up?
It's a brand new record for 1990.
They Might be Giants' brand new album:
Flood
 
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Birdhouse In Your Soul

I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
but I'm a little glowing friend
but really I'm not actually your friend,
but I am
 
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
who watches over you
make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
 
I have a secret to tell
from my electrical well
it's a simple message and I'm leaving out
the whistles and bells
so the room must listen to me
filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one-note
spelled l-i-t-e
My story's infinite
like the Longines Symphonette
it doesn't rest
 
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
who watches over you
make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
 
I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
but I'm a little glowing friend
but really I'm not actually your friend,
but I am
 
There's a picture opposite me
of my primitive ancestry
which stood on rocky shores and
Kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off and
countless screaming argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
like guardian angels its
always near
 
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
who watches over you
make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
and while you're at it
leave the nite lite on inside the
birdhouse in your soul
 
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
(Blue Canary in the outlet)
and while you're at it
(by the light switch)
leave the nite lite on inside the
(who watches over you)
birdhouse in your soul
(Make a little birdhouse in your soul)
 
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
(Blue Canary in the outlet)
and while you're at it
(by the light switch)
leave the nite lite on inside the
(who watches over you)
birdhouse in your soul
(Make a little birdhouse in your soul)
 
Not to put too fine a point on it:
say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
make a little birdhouse in your soul
 
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Lucky Ball & Chain

I lost my lucky ball & chain
and now she's four years gone
Just five feet tall and sick of me
and all my rattling on
 
She threw away her baby-doll
I held on to my pride
But I was young and foolish then
I feel old and foolish now
 
Confidentially --
she never called me baby-doll
Confidentially --
I never had much pride
But now I rock a bar stool
and I drink for two
just pondering this time bomb in my mind
 
I lost my lucky ball & chain
and now she's four years gone
Just five feet tall and sick of me
and all my rattling on
 
She walked away from a happy man
I thought I was so cool
I just stood there whistling
"There goes the bride"
as she walked out the door
"There goes the bride"
as she walked out the door
 
I could shake my tiny fist
and swear I wasn't wrong
But what's the sense in arguing
when you're all alone?
Sure as you can't steer a train
you can't change your fate
And when she told me of that day
I knew I'd lost my home
 
Confidentially --
I never told you of her charms
Confidentially --
we never had a home
But this railroad apartment
was the perfect place
when she'd sit and hold me in her arms
 
I lost my lucky ball & chain
and now she's four years gone
Just five feet tall and sick of me
and all my rattling on
 
She walked away from a happy man
I thought I was so cool
I just stood there whistling
"There goes the bride"
as she walked out the door
"There goes the bride"
as she walked out the door
"There goes the bride"
as she walked out the door
 
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Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's turkish delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've got a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul
 
Even old New York
Was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way
 
So take me back to Constantinople
No you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks
 
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
 
Even old New York
Was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way
 
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks
 
So take me back to Constantinople
No you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks
 
Istanbul!
 
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Dead

I returned a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the expiration date
I came back as a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the date stamped on myself
 
did a large procession wave their
torches as my head fell in the basket,
and was everybody dancing on the casket?
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want
or, I'm still alive
and there's nothing I want to do
 
I will never say the word
"procrastinate" again; I'll never
see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed
I didn't apologize for when I was eight
and I made my younger brother
have to be my personal slave
 
did a large procession wave their
torches as my head fell in the basket,
and was everybody dancing on the casket?
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want
or, I'm still alive
and there's nothing I want to do
 
so I won't sit at home anymore
and you won't see my head in the window
and I won't be around ever anymore
and I'll be up there on the wall at the store
 
I returned a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the expiration date
I came back as a bag of groceries
accidently taken off the shelf
before the date stamped on myself
 
did a large procession wave their
torches as my head fell in the basket,
and was everybody dancing on the casket?
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want
or, I'm still alive
and there's nothing I want to do
 
Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't
done anything that I want
or, I'm still alive
and there's nothing I want to do
 
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Your Racist Friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend
 
It was the loveliest party that I've ever attended
If anything was broken
I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't tolerate this bobbing and pretending
Listen to some bullet-head
and the madness that he's saying
 
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
can stand by your racist friend
I know politics bore you
but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
You and your racist friend
 
This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend
 
Out from the kitchen to the bedroom to the hallway
Your friend apologizes, he could see it my way
He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking
Can't shake the devil's hand
and say you're only kidding
 
This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
but I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend
 
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Particle Man

Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What's he like?
It's not important
Particle man
Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he's underwater
does he get wet?
or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, particle man
 
Triangle man, Triangle man
Triangle man hates Particle man
They have a fight, Triangle wins
Triangle man
 
Universe man, Universe man
Size of the entire universe, man
usually kind to smaller man
Universe man
He's got a watch with a minute hand,
millenium hand and an eon hand
and when they meet it's a happy land
Powerful man, universe man
 
Person man, person man
hit on the head with a frying pan
lives his life in a garbage can
Person man
Is he depressed or is he a mess?
does he feel totally worthless?
who came up with person man?
degraded man, person man
 
Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates person man
They have a fight
triangle wins
triangle man
 
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Twisting

She set your goldfish free
and now she's sighing
Blew out your pilot light
and made a wish
She doesn't have to have
her db's record back now
But there's not a lot of things
that she'll take back
 
She wants to see you again
She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting in the wind
Twisting twisting in the wind
 
She's not your satellite
She doesn't miss you
So turn off your smoke machine
and Marshall stack
She doesn't have to have
her Young Fresh Fellows tape back now
But there's not a lot of things
That she'll take back
 
She wants to see you again
She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting in the wind
Twisting twisting in the wind
 
She wants to see you again
She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting in the wind
Twisting twisting in the wind
 
[scream]
 
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We Want A Rock

Where was I? I forgot
the point that I was making
I said if I was smart that I would
save up for a piece of string
and a rock to wind the string around.
Everybody wants a rock
to wind a piece of string around.
Everybody wants a rock
to wind a piece of string around.
 
Throw the crib door wide
let the people crawl inside.
Someone in this town
is trying to burn the playhouse down.
They want to stop the ones who want
a rock to wind a string around,
but everybody wants a rock
to wind a piece of string around
 
Throw the crib door wide
let the people crawl inside.
Someone in this town
is trying to burn the playhouse down.
They want to stop the ones who want
a rock to wind a string around,
but everybody wants a rock
to wind a piece of string around
 
If I were a carpenter I'd
hammer on my piglet, I'd
collect the seven dollars and I'd
buy a big prosthetic forehead
and wear it on my real head
Everybody wants prosthetic
foreheads on their real heads.
Everybody wants prosthetic
foreheads on their real heads.
 
Throw the crib door wide
let the people crawl inside.
Someone in this town
is trying to burn the playhouse down.
They want to stop the ones who want
prosthetic foreheads on their heads,
but everybody wants prosthetic
foreheads on their real heads
 
Throw the crib door wide
let the people crawl inside.
Someone in this town
is trying to burn the foreheads down.
They want to stop the ones who want
a rock to wind a string around,
but everybody wants a rock
to wind a piece of string around.
 
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Someone Keeps Moving My Chair

Mr. Horrible
Mr. Horrible
Telephone call for Mr. Horrible
But before he can talk to the ugliness man
there's some horrible business left
for him to attend to:
something unpleasant has spilled on his brain
As he sponges it off they say:
 
"Is this Horrible?
Is this Horrible?
It's the ugliness man, Mr. Horrible
We're just trying to bug you
We thought that our dreadfulness
might be a thing to annoy you with."
 
But Mr. Horrible says, "I don't mind,
the thing that bothers me is:
Someone keeps moving my chair."
 
"Would you mind if we balance
this glass of milk
where your visiting friend
accidentally was killed?
Would it be okay with you
if we wrote a reminder
of things we'll forget to do today otherwise,
using a green magic marker, if it's alright,
on the back of your head?"
 
Mr. Horrible
Mr. Horrible
We're not done with you yet Mr. Horrible
You have to try on this bag so the ugliness man
can decide if you're just as
embarassing as we think
we have to be sure about this
 
But Mr. Horrible says, "I don't mind,
the thing that bothers me is:
Someone keeps moving my chair.
Someone keeps moving my chair."
 
Mr. Horrible says, "I don't mind,
the thing that bothers me is:
Someone keeps moving my chair."
 
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Hearing Aid

Frosty the supervisor lives by himself
Sometimes I feel sorry for him
Usually I can't
 
I've turned off my hearing aid
Don't say the electric chair's not good enough
for king-lazy-bones like myself
 
More coffee for me boss
Because I'm not as messed up as I want to be
 
I've turned off my hearing aid
Don't say the electric chair's not good enough
for king-lazy-bones like myself
Because
Because
 
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Minimum Wage

Minimum wage!
Yeehah!
 
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Letterbox

I'll never know what you'll find when you
open up your letter box tomorrow
'cause a little bird never tells me anything
I want to know, she's my best friend,
she's a sparrow
and I'll never never know what you never never
want to know when you know what you are, O.
 
If I had a pair of eyes in the back of my head
for each time you forgot to take out
all the things you forgot to talk about
when you took a bite out of my spine,
I would have a lot of eyes on me by this time
Wouldn't I? Wouldn't that just be fine.
 
??Too late or soon....and there's no time for sorrow??
??Run around....hole .....??
 
I'll never know what you'll find when you
open up your letter box tomorrow
'cause a little bird never tells me anything
I want to know, she's my best friend,
she's a sparrow
and I'll never never know what you never never
want to know when you know what you are, O.
 
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Whistling In The Dark

A woman came up to me and said
"I'd like to poison your mind
with wrong ideas that appeal to you
though I am not unkind"
she looked at me, I looked at something
written across her scalp
and these are the words that it faintly said
as I tried to call for help:
 
"There's only one thing
that I know how to do well
and I've often been told that you only can do
what you know how to do well
and that's be you,
be what you're like,
be like yourself",
and so I'm having a wonderful time
but I'd rather be whistling in the dark.
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
There's only one thing that I like
and that is whistling in the dark.
 
A man came up to me and said
"I'd like to change your mind
by hitting it with a rock," he said,
"though I am not unkind."
We laughed at his little joke
and then I merrily walked away
and hit my head on the wall of the jail
where the two of us live today.
 
There's only one thing
that I know how to do well
and I've often been told that you only can do
what you know how to do well
and that's be you,
be what you're like,
be like yourself,
and so I'm having a wonderful time
but I'd rather be whistling in the dark.
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
There's only one thing that I like
and that is whistling in the dark.
 
There's only one thing
that I know how to do well
and I've often been told that you only can do
what you know how to do well
and that's be you,
be what you're like,
be like yourself,
and so I'm having a wonderful time
but I'd rather be whistling in the dark.
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling in the dark
Whistling, whistling, whistling in the dark
 
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
Whistling (whistling) whistling (whistling) dark (dark) dark (dark)
 
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Hot Cha

Hot Cha, where are you?
Everybody's eyes are closed
I can't see why I miss you so
So Hot Cha, where are you?
 
First time Hot Cha went away
A floating island was his home
Then the phone rang off the hook
and Hot Cha had to run back home.
 
Hot Cha, where are you?
Everybody's eyes are closed
I can't see why I miss you so
So Hot Cha, where are you?
 
Second time he went away-
left the bathtub running over,
stereo on and cooking bacon
Never came back to tell us why.
 
If that honey would come back
we would throw such a party
Drink and cook the prodigal son
Fondue forks for everybody
 
Hot Cha, where are you?
Everybody's eyes are closed
I can't see why I miss you so
So Hot Cha, where are you?
Hot Cha, where are you?
Hot Cha, where are you?
 
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Women And Men

When the ship runs out of ocean
and the vessel runs aground
Land's where we know the boat is found
Now there's nothing unexpected
about the water giving out
"Land's" not a word we have to shout.
 
But there's something beside the shoreline
moving across the beachhead
coming up from the shipwreck
Making as if to say:
 
Women & Men
Women & Men
Women & Men
Women & Men
 
Women & Men
Bringing with them messages of love
and everywhere they go love will grow
(Women & Men)
When you see the faces of the women
and the men, you too will know
 
Women & Men have crossed the ocean
They now begin to pour
out from the boat and up the shore
Two by two they enter the jungle
and soon they number more
Three by three as well as four by four
 
soon the stream of people gets wider
then it becomes a river
river becomes an ocean
carrying ships that bear
 
Women & Men
Women & Men
Women & Men
Women & Men
 
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Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love

Pistol shots
Gun shots
Pistol shots
Gun shots
Bullets from a revolver
Bullets from a gun
Bullets through the atmosphere
here they come.
 
John, I've been bad and they're
coming after me,
done someone wrong and I fear
that it was me
 
Sapphire bullets
Bullets of pure love.
Sapphire bullets
Bullets of pure love.
 
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They Might Be Giants

"Hang on, hang on tight"
 
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants
They might be rain
They might be heat
They might be frying up a stalk of wheat
 
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants
They might be brain
They might be washed
They might be Dr. Spock's back-up band
 
"To make the merry-go-round go faster,
so that everyone needs hang on tighter
Just to keep from being
thrown to the wolves"
 
Tabloid footprints in your hair
Tabloid footprints everywhere
We can't be silent
because they might be giants
and what are we going to do unless they are?
 
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants
They might be bald
They might be snow
They might be something else in the snow
 
"Hang on tight."
 
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants
They might be fake
They might be lies
They might be big, big, fake, fake lies
 
Tabloid footprints in your hair
Tabloid footprints everywhere
We can't be silent
because they might be giants
and what are we going to do unless they are?
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants, boy
They might be giants, boy
[continues to fade out]
 
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Road Movie To Berlin

We're in a road movie to Berlin
Can't drive out the way we drove in
So sneak out this glass of bourbon
And we'll go.
 
We were once so close to heaven
Peter came out and gave us medals
Declaring us the nicest of the damned
 
Time won't find the lost
It'll sweep up our skeleton bones
So take the wheel and I will take take the pedals
 
We're in a road movie to Berlin
Can't drive out the way we drove in
So sneak out this glass of bourbon
And we'll go.
 
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Copyright © Heisenberg Productions 2000
Last updated Monday 3rd April 2000