one formula
// sexy woman's speaking voice, like an ad for something
"to make an actual man,
there's only one formula"
// singer
we drive our machines
we were built for driving
// to read like a cliche professor, philosopher
"a little natural history:
the automobile
has always existed.
man has evolved
for the wheel
and the accelerator."
// singer and choir (Tallis Scholars) sing in imitation of gear changes, with each our/are/or as a shift and motor noise:
our machines:
are we driving them?
or
are they driving us?
are they
our machines?
// echo fragments
"the automobile...
the accelerator"
// singer
i am my machine
it makes me
faster than fast
faster than fast
this is my
time machine
i am the future
you are the past // passed
// woman's speaking voice conspiratorially
"i know it's awful, but...
red flags attract me -
who wants to live...?
a life without danger?"
// singer
if you need me
i'll be
in the news
if you need me
i'll be
at the bar
if you need me
i'll be
round the bend
if you need me
i'll be
i'll be
the man on fire
// a narrator
when you hit the wall
there's a sudden now
an absolute transition
from maximum sound
to // stop it abruptly
before the war
we have things
to attend to
planning an evening
a walk in the woods
the upcoming school year
minor bureaucracy
a new pair of shoes
spring cleaning
a hard week at work
auto repairs
a movie i have to see
before the war
we are always
before the war
how much money
do you have
in a burning bank?
how much home
do you have
in a heap of brick?
lots of fucking
going down
in this story
lots of
not very nice
sometimes you
fuck cause you
don't have a
choice
cornered where
nobody
would hear your
voice
to keep yourself alive
you teach yourself
to like fucking as fucking
like having a smoke / stroke
you finish yourself
you teach yourself
mattress mindfulness
you teach yourself
breath control
you learn to hover over a bed
you learn to hover above yourself
you learn to drift away
one of the tricks of the trade
to keep from finishing
he's concentrating
it's difficult for him
like counting to ten
and
you think
oh, just get it
o-ver already
oh, just get it
o-ver already
oh, just get it
o-ver already
oh, who you
trying to impress
you think about
something else
somewhere else
you learn to drift away
we like the way
your house burns down
from the inside
we see
we see the flames
through the windows
we see
we see the smoke
through the cracks
we hear
we hear accusations
of blame
then blam
the frame blows out
then fwoom
the sky is lit
orange and black
we always wanted to see
to see your house burn
down to the ground
we're so grateful
you saved us the bother
we're so happy
you did it for us
on location / no animals were harmed
no more shooting
on location
darling
i'm too old for
gallivanting
around your world
dust off old paint // cliche horse's name and real paint
there's authenticity // the real thing
right here
for my latest/final/ultimate production
i'll film on the back lot
an epic about my time in the world
we'll drive an automobile
with no wheels but
you'll see white walls
a car they don't make anymore
we'll crank the scenery
by on rollers
we'll project the street scene
on a rear screen
head out to the aerodrome
catch us an aeroplane
fly till the fuel gauge
sinks to zero
fly till the engines
jerk and judder
propellers stutter
count our parachutes
and realize
somebody
has to go
down
don't look now,
there's a stranger
under the streetlight,
reading a paper,
incognito, and
somehow it's midnight
1941 // 1951. 1961, 1971
calendar pages
blow off, blow away
in the whirlwind
somehow it's midnight
and i've got a knife in my back
let's shoot this one
on the back lot
shoot this one
in the back
let's put on a show, shall we?
you steal
your mother's pills
your mother's pearls
i know a derelict warehouse
and i have asbestos snow // rhyme with show
strap in your tits
and your bits,
boys and girls
cause we're
putting on a
holiday show // christmas/easter/pageant
just remember
just remember
when it's finished
i want to be able to say
no animals were harmed
and hardly any people
induced
in a blue light motel
in the badlands between
las vegas and
the city of the saints
you shoot me up
with something
you always shoot me up
with something
you always keep me up
all night
to ride in your rodeo
then we're
halfway there
we're always
halfway there
edging closer
closer
halfway to
nowhere
your eyes
glaze over
you're no longer...
here
nor
am i
your sister
my sister
your mother
my mother
your neighbor
my neighbor
your daughter
my daughter
whore of babylon
mother of
mother of
god
in your mind
when you're
out of your mind
you are
out of your mind
who are you fucking
when you're fucking
out of your mind?
then see you later
yeah, i'll see you later
that's no answer
when will i see you?
where will i see you?
halfway to nowhere?
in the back of a pickup
in the middle of summer
in the desert
on a night full of stars
you shoot me up...
i think i'm dying
i keep on trying
i hope i'm dying
but i cannot die
i've got places
he's just a boy
he thinks girls
are built for good // "to last" or "to be good"
i'm going to
burst that bubble
pop that cherry
i'm going to
show him
till it hurts
i'm built for speed
aerodynamic
try out my curves
i will slip away
it's just my body
take it
i've got places
to be
// gunshot
shh, baby,
let it slip away...
don't struggle
let it slip away...
it's just a body
roll it up in the carpet
take it out after dark
drive it out to the country
don't ask me where,
just drive
it's just a body
take it
i've got places
to be
oh, my goodness
is that for me?
this old thing?
it's just a body
the machines that kill us
are fascinating
fascinated with us
they sniff us on the wire
they look at us
and into us
as if we had souls
they would search out our souls
as if we had souls
they would winkle them
out of our shells
our souls
our allegiances and
hidden temptations
would appear
as hot spots
while the machines
pretended to
mind their own business
and mend our broken bones
and swollen organs
but they would
hold them against us
i bet they think we're funny
(a) man re-
sponds to a
silhou-
ette
to a
shape you could
trace on a
wall
if it
matches, this
silhouette, a
shape in his
mind...
(it) triggers a
nervous
response
(a) cascading
nervous
response
(the) whole thing is
out of his hands
he is who he is
she thought she
knew him like
she thinks
he knows her
backward and
forward
but does she?
is he who he is?
is he how he is?
sweet jesus
the middle of the night
the middle of america
the middle of the road
we took a family vacation
in a blue cadillac sedan
an absurd car for a
working-class family like ours
a crazy car to pile in
and drive
across america
but dad got a good deal
and it was dependable
so off we went on a
cross-country tour
to see america
late at night or early morning
deep in the dark
i was riding in front
to keep dad awake
while mom and brother and sister
slept in the back
so just me and dad
awake at that hour
coming off an exit
with a tight curve
we ran over a dead dog
that came out of nowhere
as our lights swung round
too late to think
anything but look out
the dog was a big
barrel-chested dog
would have been
formidable in life and
now lying dead
and stretched out
across the middle of the road
and we were riding so low
in our fully loaded cadillac
when we looked back
we didn't see the dog in our taillights
but we could hear something dragging
sweet jesus
the middle of the night
the middle of america
the middle of the road
the dog was stuck
underneath our chassis
and i could hear it
we could hear it dragging
we could hear the dog dragging
sliding down the road
i looked at dad
and dad looked ahead
and we didn't speak
we could only listen
where the big dog
under the low chassis
pressed between
asphalt and cadillac
was sliding along
when dad stopped the car
and put it in reverse
we saw a wide red smear
painted fresh in our headlights
running straight up
the middle of the road
sweet jesus
the middle of the night
the middle of america
the middle of the road
we eventually backed up
far enough
to get the dog loose
then went forward and around
and never spoke a word
about it
not that night
not ever
it was just between dad and me
and dad's gone
so it's just you and me now
and
sweet jesus
the middle of the night
the middle of america
the middle of the road
tarzan
the apeman
inside you
is old and
tired
no more
yodeling to elephants
to save jane from crocodiles
circling her boat
think of your throat
no more
swinging through jungles
to swoop your fine lady friend
down from the trees
think of your knees
tarzan
you need a rest
you need a nest
high in a tree
and a
nice chimpanzee
girl to
feed you bananas
light your havanas
all your mañanas
she could be a girl
who believes she's a chimp
she could be a chimp
who believes she's a girl
no one will judge in this jungle
it's a whole new world
//
posting is boring - i just like to write them - but i want to put them somewhere
