On a street where no one lives I told my wife I would give Everything in heart and mind To make our child come to life And I told her that your voice would fill this room someday And then I prayed that if there’s a god That it is sane Truth, be a tiger Rip me open and feed

As I look around this room And I reflect on the scene: Girls who just wanna cry Guys loaded and high And the only thing constant is the sound of my teeth As they grit and lock in place And my temples pound a beat Seven melodies high Twelve verses beneath In a style that’s firm yet sensitive I don’t know No one’s gonna hurt me But I get the feeling I should guard Every angle and pitch Every grace of my heart God willing my soul will never take part in this release of fever When you get too hot, you start to sweat Come on, sweat it all out There’s no need to be shy I could drink you forever and ever ‘Cause time is on our side The sun won’t rise till a quarter to five And even then, you’ll be begging for more I’ll be begging for less But I’ll service for sure I’ll be yours But, I don’t know No one’s gonna hurt me I’m a frantic preacher I’m the best I’m the best of my kind I service in rhyme I’m a winged receptor of the harmony kind Camero Avenue is where I first realized that my abuse Was at the hands of hands I’d cleaned ‘Cause no one’s crueler to myself than me I’m here to prove to me I’ve failed I’m here to point out mountains I can’t scale I’m here to dedicate the week To memorizing all the ways I’m meek I’ve gotta get out of here Gotta escape from me Gotta get out of here Gotta get loose from me God of Big Hands, do bless these fingers tonight Camero Avenue The orange chair in our old living room That’s where I heard a doctor’s voice Reveal the numbers that defined the choice that we would have to make But how? There is no guidebook for choosing your hell How do you aim at victory when every arrow is pure fantasy? I took fifteen breaths Shorter than ever Told my best friend that I would defend her I controlled my voice Made it sound steady Told my best friend I was good and ready But my brain said, “What if you’re wrong?” So I started writing this song Because Camero Avenue Is where I gotta get back Gotta get back to you Camero Avenue Is where I gotta get back Gotta get back to you Camero Avenue Is where I'm gonna get back I'm gonna get back to you Camero Avenue Is where I gotta get back Gotta get back to you As I look around this room And I reflect on the scene: Girls who just wanna cry Guys loaded and high And the only thing constant is the sound of my teeth As they grit and lock in place And my temples pound a beat Seven melodies high Twelve verses beneath In a style that’s firm yet sensitive

Sitting in the waiting room Home and Garden Television Shaky knees man with a bad sore throat And the once a week sensation partners hogging up your doctor’s hours Check out this chick, I bet you’re healthier than her See, I don’t know what I’d do if I found out That you’re never, ever, never gonna be ok I don’t know what I’d do if I found out That you’re never, ever, never gonna be ok I’ve tapped the nurses' phones I’ve trailed the doctors home I left the lab alone, those guys are cool I’ve asked them all to drink the same amount of water That they forced you to, but later said was up to you I don’t know what I’d do if I found out That you’re never, ever, never gonna be ok I don’t know what I’d do if I found out That you’re never, ever, never gonna be ok I’ve called on all of the best religions With a special focus on the ones that say they don’t believe in heaven Just life So, boyfriends Rock your bodies Take your man to the Christmas party Old flames Call that number Don’t you dare be too scared to love her All the hours I’ve wasted All the moments not spent embracing Why’d I spend nights sleeping? Those were minutes we both were breathing So now boyfriends rock (I can heal you with my voice) Flames stay hot (I must heal you with my voice) Flesh don’t you dare rot (I can reach you with my voice) Time please stop I will save you with my voice Sitting in the waiting room Home and Garden Television Wiping your lips with my bright blue shirt That I wore the night that I first touched you What if now’s the last I’ll get to? Here comes the doc I bet you’re healthy as can be We’ll see

Health is the only thing that makes me pray But, each time, I think: “I’m saying a prayer that’s based on air Chanting some words without the faith that they’re heard above” If a prayer without faith is shared Is it even a prayer? I know that all must die But I have yet to understand why So I’m saying a prayer that’s based on air Trying to make believe that my words are heard above They tell me you might sink No matter what I do or I think But I’m saying a prayer that’s based on air ‘Cause either I pray or don’t do anything for my love If there’s nothing that I can do Why does quitting feel wrong? If there’s nothing to do but wait for you to live or die I choose to go down swinging for you But Herbert Hoover The gallery mover The three types of mothers who would never accuse her It’s all swirling around in my yearning I can’t get my thinking to behave while you’re burning You need saving And I’m failing praying But I’ve gotta know by now that there’s no fooling doubt I’m saying a prayer that’s based on air Lifting my arms as though I’m holding your chances up North Beach lovers Found their hearts last summer Then they died Have you ever heard of something sadder Than when North Beach lovers Found their hearts last summer Then they died? “But at least they got to find each other” That’s a lie Nobody gets to last forever But no love deserves to die So, let’s try Who says that death must be the victor Each time it battles life? So: North Beach lovers Found their hearts last summer They’re alive There was nothing that could break their union See: The North Beach lovers Found their hearts last summer They’re alive Death can’t tell me what to write I’m not losing Herbert Hoover The gallery mover The three types of mothers who would never accuse her Maybe I can’t control what I’m thinking But this song’s proof that that can’t keep me from singing Hear me, hear me I am my own weapon You can’t defeat me with a hell or a heaven It’s beginning to look like I’m winning See, I’ll figure it out I’ll figure it I’ll figure out How to live with it Take a look at my legs They’re quaking from the weight of taking a vow Take a look at me, folks I’m bending at the waist I’m taking a bow What if a power on high is in need of help from me down below But it’s saying a prayer that’s based on air Chanting some words without the faith that they’re heard at all: “All you faithless, I am here I read you loud and clear But I have no cure and have no answer I will end one day the same as every single one of you And I do not know what will come after Help me stay alive”

Downtown relievers, are you insane? You leap towards pain No matter what the heavens offer Be it bullets, bombs, or planes The world outside is gonna be fine Downtown relievers, I am ashamed I spied the change But knew that you would come to fight it So, behind my door remained I knew my world was gonna be fine Miracle mile Ease my denial I have lost my truth That’s the cost of failing you I sense your outline Within my skyline I won’t visit you ‘Cause I don’t deserve to Warm nights There’s a crescent moon that’s hanging Like a blade that’s eager to slice through the ones I love I would not reach for the weak So who should speak for me and my wife? I’ve no right Downtown relievers, you’re not insane I am to blame I represent the kind yet silent, so I’m qualified to claim: If not for me the world would be fine Downtown relievers, we are insane Downtown relievers, we spied the change Downtown relievers, I am to blame (Someone on our roof Someone in the blinds Someone for the west Someone out of line Someone found the cave Someone is the lie I told myself to spurn you Someone by our fence Someone at my trial Someone out of speech Someone for the wild Someone in the press Someone is the weakness that made me disown you) Miracle mile I am your child I was born as you fell While I just watched you

Dark is good It’s good for my empathy Light, light is good It’s good for my sanity Left is good It’s useful for my memory Right, right is good It’s good for my vanity Take your chances in the west room It’s the best room of all Check your rages in the pages It’s the best fight of all The future is ours Child, the future was a liar to me The future is ours Child, the future is a liar The future is ours Child, the future was a liar to me The future is ours Child, the future is a liar Sometimes, God is good Other times not so much If wrath is a sin How come God has so much? Loud is good It’s good for complacency Soft, soft is good It’s good for anxiety Health is good It’s useful for longevity Death, death is good It gives life some brevity What’s the first sense of connection? What’s the last sign of control? They said go inside ‘Cause I’m shivering deeply But I feel my best When I’m feeling cold What’s the best type of protection? What’s the worst land to patrol? They said save yourself But it’s them who need saving I do my best work with broken bones I do my best work when broken See, World War II is coming for you World War II is coming for you that’s who World War II is coming for you World War II is coming for you that’s who And the man in the middle of tomorrow With his arms wrapped around his family’s sorrow He is warning the future that tomorrow He’ll be back, he’ll be back, he’ll be back, he’ll be back I’m the man in the middle of tomorrow With my arms wrapped around my family’s sorrow I am warning the future that tomorrow I’ll be back, I’ll be back, I’ll be back, I’ll be back Shock is good It’s good for sobriety Awe, awe is good It generates piety Help is good It’s useful when in jeopardy Harm, harm is good I save it for my enemies Take your chances in the west room It’s the best room of all Check your rages in the pages It’s the best fight of all The future is ours Child, the future was a liar to me The future is ours Child, the future is a liar The future is ours Child, the future was a liar to me The future is ours Child, the future is a liar Sometimes, God is good Other times not so much If wrath is a sin How come God has so much?

I’ve never been to a psychiatrist ‘Cause I know what they’ll find Wires and wires In my mind I will not go to a palm reading savior ‘Cause I know what they’ll find Wires and wires In my lines I dread to see old friends of mine ‘Cause I know I can’t hide All of these wires From their sad, worried eyes Wires and wires How I’ve tried I can’t believe you married me When you knew in my mind Wires and wires For all time Wires and wires Now they’re yours Same as mine Blue lanterns Turn on for me Make me worthy of her love Make me worthy of my home

Tigers and claws You’re gonna face them all You better get yourself together Nobody’s life Gets to be lived out twice Your first try’s in the books forever Savage direction But I still think I can change where I am heading Savage direction But every day’s a chance to save my life Raise the flag Alert the people There’s a new way There’s a new way over Blow the bridge Flee the highway There’s a new way There’s a new way over See, one of us has to end For the other one to begin One of us has to end For the other one to begin The Bronx High School of Science On a Thursday I was fifteen years old I had a vision of my future in the stairwell And I said to myself, I said: “One of us has to end For the other one to begin One of us has to end For the other one to begin One of us has to…” Tigers and claws You’re gonna face them all You better get yourself together Nobody’s life Gets to be lived out twice Your first try’s in the books forever Savage direction But I still think I can change where I am heading Savage direction But every day’s a chance to save my life I can remember Standing in the doorway of my first recital Raw nerves and pressure building in my skull But I refused to buckle I’m a destination fully unstable That’s the reason they call me the lookout baby I’m a destination fully unstable That’s the reason they call me the lookout baby As time crept onward The doorways kept on coming But I’d step inside them Never allowing my body to defeat the only thing I wanted I’m a destination fully unstable That’s the reason they call me the lookout baby I’m a destination fully unstable That’s the reason they call me the lookout baby Yet I’d say to myself that the name they gave me Was for them and not for me But years Started hurtling by And no matter how hard I seemed to try I’d lose Every single time And each loss took one more piece of my mind Come on Come a bit closer They say that I have good hands Feel how perfectly structured They say that I have good hands I’m blessed with a loving home Yet I still have this dream stuck inside my bones I’m told I should chase my joy But If I am not built, I can’t be destroyed If I am not built, I can’t be destroyed If I am not built, I cannot be… Fathers are dreaming Lifting their hands to a bright red sky Dreaming their children Will grow up brave enough to live life Sometimes I get knocked down by the feeling That the best feeling of all’s not getting up But if I stay down How can I expect that my child will be able to get up When they get knocked down by the same old feeling? Give my baby a life Give my baby a life That is not filled with their father’s frights Give my baby their fears Not mine You’re not even born But child, I love you So I must change Myself to protect you See, in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of The dream’s the same In fact, it’s stronger The only change: I’m ten years older And in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing that I’m scared of Any moment you’ll be born I must change before you’re born If I wait until you’re born I’ll be too late to reform So, in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing I’m not scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing I’m not scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing I’m not scared of It’s in my mind There’s a cold wind blowing I’m not scared of I’ve been waiting for so long For the moment that you’re born Come meet your father He’s not strong But he will not crack Tigers and claws You’re gonna face them all You better get yourself together Nobody’s life Gets to be lived out twice Your first try’s in the books forever Savage direction But I still think I can change where you are heading Savage direction But every day’s a chance to save your life One of us has to end For the other one to begin One of us has to end for the other one to begin One of has to —

This is the air It’s for breathing This is your heart It is always beating This is the light If it feels too bright, your eyes can close This is your mom She’s a fighter This is your dad He’d be lost without her This is the moment they realize that you own their souls This is the doctor who helped us These are the nurses who would not give up The life of your mother was slipping But they would not let go This is my hand It’s for holding This is called time It’s always unfolding Just a few seconds ago, there was no hand to hold I can’t tell you how long you’ll be here None of us know, that’s the source of all fear See, I’ve had a hunch that that fear’s worth feeling But, kid, now I know This is your voice It’s for singing Each day, a new song written just by living Some may feel impossible to perform But the show must go on So let’s sing this first song together Some say that there’s nothing that lasts forever But I think infinity is love So this song will always echo On a street where no one lives I told your mother I would give Everything in heart and mind To make you come to life And I told her that your voice would fill this room someday Well, today’s the day Your mother brought you to life I witnessed her fight for your life The goodness of others kept her alive While your mother brought you to life