Ladies and gentlemen, here's my disease
Give me a standing ovation and your sympathy
Poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
See the jeaned genie on his high-wire act
At the back of his mind lies a suicide pact
Poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
See the young men itching to burn
Waiting for their own star turn
Needing danger, a war would do
If they can't let it out, they'll pick on you
Poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
See Houdini and his underwater tricks
You were sitting at the front, hoping his locks would stick
Watch Knievel hit the 17th bus
You got crushed in the souvenir rush
Poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
I said poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
See the young men itching to burn
Waiting for their own star turn
Needing danger, a war would do
If they can't let it out, they'll pick on you
Poor old Johnny Yen set himself on fire again
Ladies and gentlemen, here's my disease
Give me a standing ovation and your sympathy
Come on, somebody, finish him off please
Put the poor fool out of his misery, will you
Can't you see he's had enough?
Finish him off, somebody
Next!
To be loving when the knives are out
Takes much courage and a mind without doubt
I'm just some robot, wind up the clockwork jerk
Trying to impress is the nature of my work
And it's so hard to remain open
If it's true, it can't be spoken
Really hard
Really hard
Rhetoriticians think they're running this show
Words as power is all they'll ever know
I'm just some reflex, when struck, the knee will jerk
Trying to impress is the nature of our work
And it's so hard to remain open
If you bend, you won't get broken
Really hard
Really hard
Wake up from this dreaming state
A long scream out, it's not too late
I am dying to begin
I am dying to begin again
Really hard
Really hard
An earwig crawled into my ear
Made a meal of the wax and hairs
Phoned friends, had an insect party
But all I could hear was the bass drum drum
All I could hear was the bass drum drum
Now if you put your ear close you'll be able to hear
Not the sea shore noise of the shore sea shell
The clatter of plates
And the bronze of the bell
Going ding dong, ding dong, ding dong dong
Going out of my mind as they hollow my head
I'm floating in the air, but my body's in bed
The more they eat, the more I see
What is not, but just could be
You can hear them laughing in my head
You can hear them laughing in my head
Ha ha ha ha ha
Now they've eaten my memory, I can't recall
How the world used to be before
So a vision is the same as what is real
Depends upon the lighting, and how I feel
Ding dong, drum drum, ha ha ha ha ha
And then the music stopped
The musician went away
They'd eaten all my brain
The red and the grey
They all stack at home
Dug a tongue through my nose
Where my brain used to be
Now there's only a hole
Which scarecrow has the power of voice
It will stab you in the thigh
And when she wails, it twists your insides
Wise scarecrow
Which scarecrow
Which scarecrow
A pitch for which she has been searching
Holds the key to the dreams she's been dreaming
(refrain)
Coming on, coming on, coming on
She's coming on strong
She's coming on coming on coming on coming on
Coming on strong
Droll,
Try to mix her ego with her soul
Never mix the ego with the soul
I always twist my ego with my soul
Which scarecrow
Wise scarecrow
Which scarecrow
And 'cause you was her inspiration
Got a plan that could shatter a nation
(refrain)
When your song strikes me
My walls fall down
And I can sit down
In your perfect light and sound
There are so many traps been laid
How can you avoid one
Put your foot down in a moonlit glade
Snap, your ankle's broken
(refrain)
I don't know how decisions get made
Which are the turns to take
It doesn't seem to matter what plans are laid
You can't tell when the wave will break
So many ways
There are so many colourful rays
How are you going to choose one
Bright lights look all right from here
But seduction has to be wrong
(refrain)
So many ways
I don't know which path you're taking,
If it's bent or straight
All I know is I've found something that will take me home again
So many ways
If you keep your wits about you,
Search with an open heart
You'll be sure to find your answers, penetrate the scream in the cynics
So many ways
Lost and if you are looking for foot's path
Floating free in space
There are all these lights coming out the dark
Do they lead to the same place
So many ways
An emotional charge like an electrical spark
But the fuses are two, you can't tell them apart
When the bodies collide, the bodies emerge back into one
The only urge all change, all change etc.
Change your paths
But you can't help the thought that when nothing stays still
The tiger moves on when its taken its fill
But you cling to the part like a shark to its prey
When the part doesn't last there's pain, but no one to blame Who's to blame?
Fail to achieve a basis for collaboration
Fail to achieve a basis for collaboration
But you cling to the part like a shark to its prey
The preacher looked out on my doing today
And he said, "Oh, this looks curly to me.
Down the chute and out the door
I know that I've been here before
The blinding lights, the long white coat
Cut the cord before I choke
Oh, please sir, handle me gently
I've got nothing to protect me
This man in a mask stabbed me in the back
No sooner alive than I'm being attacked
If this is the planet Earth
Oh please, mom, take me back in your sack
My keepers aren't too bad this time
The man's quiet, the woman's crying
When I arrive, what's hers is mine
I take and take it all the time
Oh please sir, do not tempt me
Those sweet things, they just destroy me
I always want more than I can get
My belly's full, but I'm not done yet
Need something to kill
The world is ????
It's true, it's true, it's true
You taught us how to be the same as you
If only you really knew
We wouldn't do what you do
It's true
As you poison the Earth you poison our lives
This isn't living, but another disguise
Go looking for truth
As all of this is built on lies and lies
Hey, now you've found me
Everything's so clear
With your arms around and your song in my heart
There's simply nothing I can fear
??? He'll ??? inside, put through my head
Replacing my eyes
??? Please don't let me hide cut through my head
Replacing my eyes
Why so close
Big boys in black hats
Cowboys with white guns
White guns shoot blue white
Blue white baptism
No buffaloes
No Indians
No more buffaloes
Red sky is falling
Blue blood no stalling
White heat will strip you
No time to run far
(refrain 1)
Ivan's built a wall of lead 'round his house
Nobody can get in or out
Running out of food for ammunition
Frightened of the darkness
Sending out scouts
Why hang the fire so close
Why hang the fire so close
Why hang the fire so close
Why so close
(refrain 2)
Wayne's got a wall that's much more subtle
Wore headphones since he was born
Watches Ivan through dark glasses
Hand on his gun waiting for the storm
One false move and we all fall down
No funeral games, no such fun
Here's your ticket to the party
That's what you get for playing with a gun
Six-gun so close
(refrain 1)
Ivan's got a wall of lead 'round his house
Nobody can get in or out
Running out of food for ammunition
Frightened of the darkness
Sending out scouts
(refrain 2)
Wayne's got a wall that's much more subtle
Wore headphones since he was born
Watches Ivan through dark glasses
Hands on his gun waiting for the storm
Why stand the fire so close (Why)
Why stand the fire so close (Why)
Why stand the fire so close (Why)
Why?
Withdrawn, muscles all tense
Nothing flows for the self-obsessed
Feel all washed up
Restless, can't sit still
A mental state, or a physical ill
Toxic, bones all cracked
Step on a bus, get a panic attack
Of that you took me so high
Now getting out of bed is enough to make me cry
Saps all my energy
That's how it used to be
You came just in time
Feel all washed up
Need a wash up
Need a wash
Restless, muscles all ache
So tense, watch me shiver as you shake
Not a dance but a scream by the body at the stake
Pierces my heart, something's gonna break
Amazed when you cannot deny
Going out of bed is enough to make you cry
That's how it used to be before you came by
Screwed up at school
Hate bad food
Too many T.V. views live in you (My friend)
Feel all washed up (Need a wash)
Much to take, I'm overcome
So wash me up with a loving song
I've been digging this grave, but now that it's made
I see that black is one hell of a colour
Want to break out so I start to shout
But the mortician's returned to his parlour
Black hole
Wrapped in my shroud upstairs, the music's so loud
That I can't concentrate on my sorrow
Let down my hair and find something to wear
And then dance myself into tomorrow
Black hole
I'm in a hole here and all I can see
Are these grey walls that are closing in on me
Throw me a ladder, lend me an arm
Beam me up Scotty, lift me from harm
Oh why, why deep holes?
Oh I love my holes
Black hole
If the weather would change these clouds might blow away
And my body'd be wrapped up in sunshine
I want out of this wind that is wearing me thin
Blasting my flesh to the marrow
Why deep holes?
Why deep holes?
Black hole
Johnny Yen