I had this dream where I relished the fray And the screaming filled my head all day It was as though I'd been spit here Settled in, into the pocket Of a lighthouse on some rocky socket Off the coast of France, dear One afternoon, four thousand men died

This is heartache on the big screen This ain't a movie that I wanna see A tragic story, starring you and me Yell "cut", we're stuck inside this scene The clock is ticking, and I'm out of time The camera's rolling, and I forgot my lines My script is

My flesh is ripped at daily It's the cross I bear I am the Promethean Tragic figure in this dream Dream known as life I bring spark into the lives Take the molded, show them fire Fire's the spark in their eyes

I'm in awe of no one, I'm made for this, teach me what to want I am the hot mic, I pick up asides, of the modern tyrant Laws of the shadows, colors of justice, I don't know what it meant How patriotism is now enough and it's powerful stuff Can we get it

I said yeah, yeah Now come one come all to this tragic affair Wipe off that makeup, what's in is despair So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not If you look in the mirror and don't like what

It can't be Nashville every night With its la la oh oh ohs, Whoa-ohs and He said, 'Fuck this' and 'Fuck that' And this guy's the diplomat Stares into the blur of the tuner lights He said, 'We are what we lack' And this guy's the autodidact

My memory is muddy, what's this river that I'm in? Bourbon blues on the street, loose and complete Under skies all smoky blue-green I can't forsake a Dixie dead-shake So we danced the sidewalk clean New Orleans is sinking man, and I don't wanna swim

This is where I want to be Here with you so close to me Until the final flicker of life's ember I who was lost and lonely Believing life was only A bitter tragic joke Have found with you The meaning of existence

And after all that training With something we could no longer contain I don't endorse that (slammed in my face) I didn't want this And that's my sister It was handsome at the auction Oh but when we got it home It grew up into Something we could no longer

And somehow you left me neglected We've found our life's been changed We've lost it all The love is gone And we had magic And this is tragic You couldn't keep your hands to yourself I feel like our world's been infected, And though we tried