In an age of video wallpaper and aural anesthesia,

Music has become a prostitute.

No longer is it a gift from the gods;

It has become a pacifier,

a tranquilizer,

and a tool.

A tool to protect us from loneliness,

to entice us to buy

and to keep us from seeing

how bad things have become.

At one time,

music was a vital experience,

it was physical,

emotional,

almost religious.

Today music is just

one more device

used by the new sun

called civilization

to control itself.

I’ve read the book

I’ve been the film

I’ve heard the song

now I live the life

you come from across the sea

and you shudder when you listen to me

but I know I’m all right

because I am american

I know my sitcoms

I stay informed

They smile at me on my TV

They make me feel so good

They’d come to me if they only could

I’ve read the book

Growing up with shiva

is not as easy as it seens

it’s getting harder to sleep at night,

and I don’t always like my dreams

everybody’s living down here

I don’t hate,

but I dertainly fear

white is white,

black is black

everybody’s know we aren’t going back

as time goes by,

it gets more clear

nobody’s going to leave from here

let’s all life in festive desperation

we’re all flushed with annihilation

give me a yard

and I’ll take a mile

because chaos never goes out of style

you can trust him

he’s no fair weather friend

he’ll stay with you

until the bitter end

we’re all familiar with life at versailles

and I get the feeling time’s passing us by

we’re realized our true intention

we’re relaxing in the tension

let’s dance our dance

and sing our song,

and hope to God that we are wrong

scared of being bored

and bored with being scared

I wonder if anyone really cared?

Get up away from that thing

Andmove to the obscure rhythim

get up away from that thing

try to get out of their reach

Get up away from that screen

And create a look of your own

get up away from that screen

create a life of your own

Untie yourself from that tube

And move in a way they can’t fathom

Get up away from that thing

there’s mor to the world

than say show me

I I believe in the power of rock’n’roll

I believe that Exxon can save my soul

II They pull your strings,

you just don’t know it

they pull mine too,

but I try not to show it

III I don’t know what to say

when you take your light away

I try to do my very best

and to disregard the rest

IV When you leave what can you do?

When you dream what do you see?

I’m afraid it’s just too new

can you live as fast as me?

Repeat Chorus I - II

I got my baby on a chain

because it helps to ease the pain

occam’b razor cuts so deep

it’s the one thing I can keep

Repeat Chorus IV - I - II - III - IV

I wanna know

what you're thinking

There are some things you can't hide

I wanna know

what you're feeling

Tell me what's on you mind!

Pure energy ... pure energy

Here I am in silence

Looking round without a clue

I find myself along again

All alone with you

I can see behind your eyes

The things that I don't know

If you hide away from me

How can our love grow?

I wanna know

what you're thinking

There are some things you can't hide ...

I wanna know

What you're feeling

Tell me what's on your mind.

I know I could break you down

But what good would it do

I could surely never know

That what you say is true

Here I am in silence

It's a game I have to play

You and I in silence

With nothing else to say

I wanna know

What you're thinking

There are some things you can't hide

I wanna know

What you're feeling

Tell me what's on your mind!

Day after day I'm waiting

And I'd lie for you, I'd die for you

And it makes me laugh to think

That I ever heard you say "I Love you"

I might never see you again

But I'll get along cuz I always know

Tomorrow will happen just like today

Tomorrow will happen don't care what they say

Night after night you used me

I'm afraid of you, I hated you

I wanted a chance to run

To get away, I thought you knew

I might never see you again

But I'll get along cuz I always know

Tomorrow will happen just like today

Tomorrow will happen don't care what they say

My life would be right if you only knew

I'd come back tomorrow to be with you

You weren't jealous before we met.

Now every woman you see is a potential threat.

Now you're possessive, it isn't nice.

You used to say that smoking was your only vice.

But now it isn't true.

Now anything's new.

And all I've learned

Has overturned

What I think of you.

Don't go wasting your emotion.

Lay all your love on me.

I used to think love was sensible.

It makes the truth even more incomprehensible.

I still don't know what you've done to me.

A grown-up boy should never fall so easily.

I feel a kind of fear

When I don't have you near.

Unsatisfied,

I swallow my pride.

I beg you, dear.

Don't go wasting your emotion.

Lay all you love on me.

Don't go sharing your devotion.

Lay all your love on me.

I'm coming back to you

Just like before.

I've been a lonely boy

Since I walked out your door.

If there's a life for us,

I don't know.

But I can't live like this

Anymore.

The time I spend alone has nothing to give.

It's repetition,

I'm coming back to you.

Repetition,

The only thing I can do.

I'm coming back to you,

This time to stay.

If I've learned one thing

It's that I can't stay away

The time I spend alone has nothing to give.

The life I lead alone has nowhere to live.

It's repetition,

I'm coming back to you.

Repetition,

The only thing I can do.

And I can still recall

How you would hold me.

The way a vast wave

Broke so slowly.

It's repetition,

I'm coming back to you.

Repetition,

The only thing I can do.

Repetition,

And we can see this through.

It's repetition,

I'm coming back to you

Cold winds blow around me,

And I can't help but think of you.

All the things we wanted,

All the things we had to do.

Wrap yourself around me,

We can steal away sometime.

Your whispers surround me,

But it's only in my mind.

'Cuz I'm walking away from,

Walking away from things in my own past.

Walking away from,

Walking away from things that just won't last.

You got what you wanted,

But you can't help but think of me.

All the things you wanted,

all the things you got for free.

One thing to remember

Is that I have feelings, too.

I surely would have closed my eyes

If I had known the real you.

'Cuz I'm walking away from,

Walking away from things in my own past.

Walking away from,

Walking away from things that just won't last.

And I'm walking away from,

Walking away from things that move too fast.

'Cuz I'm walking away from,

Walking away from things in my own past.

Walking away from,

Walking away from things that just won't last.

And I'm walking away from,

Walking away from things that move too fast.

Walking away from,

Walking away from things in my own past...

I'd write you a letter

But who knows where it would go

Something sad and hopeless

Tells me what I know

And if I left you by yourself

Who knows what you would do

Something tall and mindless

Let's you walk right through

Are you on the sea

When will you come

Come back to me

Coming back for one more week

Of what I have to do

Never ending changes

Everything is new

I'd write you a letter

But who knows where it would go

Something sad and hopeless

Tells me what I know

Are you on the sea

When will you come

Come back to me...

Jhonny moved to the big town

To be who he could be

But the tough guys on the sidewalk

They don't want him to be free

But he knows he has the power

He knows someday they'll be dead

They can't get him to turn around

He keeps walking straight ahead

I Cuz he's got attitude

And it will get him through

And he's got attitude

And it will see him through

Backstage Mary she grew up with nothing but

Hunger and her purse

All the fancy ladies tell her

You'll only go from bad to worse

But she just keeps on believing

She tells them she's doing fine

They get rich while she gets smart

She's feeling strenger all the time

Repeat Chorus I

Everybody knows who they are

They need no address

They make sure things are going their way

And the country's in a mess

They say:

"Buy that land, Stop that war

Keep those people poor"

They don't care if people aren't gonna

Take it anymore

II And they've got attitude

And it will get them through

Repeat Chorus II (4x)

There's something strange going on right here

I can't explain what's going on right here

There's that look to every street

And my heart just skipped a beat

I feel like there's someone watching

And I feel like there's someone listening

I'm all alone and light surrounds me

But I feel like something's found me

There's something in the air

And girl you drive me wild

You can turn me on all night

There's something in the air

Treat me like a child

You can lead me on all night

There's a touch I've never felt before

There's a song I've never heard before

There's a light in every window

And a fire behind every door

I feel like there's someone watching

And I feel like there's someone listening

I'm with you and you warmth surrounds me

And I feel that love has found me

There's something in the air

And girl you drive me wild

You can turn me on all night

There's something in the air

Treat me like a child

You can lead me on all night

Hot steamy night alone

I wait for you.

Cold brittle morning alone

And I cry for you.

And when you finally call,

You cloak your moves in the shadows.

Those days and nights I was good to you.

They must not have meant very much to you.

The night I needed you the most,

My cries fell on deaf ears.

And I'm running so hard to find it

And I'm running so fast.

And I'm telling you now to leave me,

Our romance cannot last.

And if someday I need to see you,

I'll come back from the past.

I'll come back and find you,

I'll never leave you now.

Those days and nights I was good to you.

They must not have meant very much to you.

The night I needed you the most,

My cries fell on deaf ears.

Now I don't want to play games with you.

But I don't know what to say to you.

The digits change so slowly now.

I'm going it alone.

And I'm running so hard to find it

And I'm running so fast.

And I'm telling you now to leave me,

Our romance cannot last.

And if someday I need to see you,

I'll come back from the past.

I'll come back and find you,

I'll never leave you now.

How long til you and I can be together

How long until we see this through

Do you recall that winter evening

The night that I first said I'm leaving

Hoping

You would change my mind

I lay my head upon you knees and

Whispered please but inside I was

Leaving

I'm the leaving kind

I could put you off forever

This longing has no end

Repeat Chorus

And when the burning leaves are falling

I can always hear you calling

Fearing

That we are losing ground

But in our secret hearts we're knowing

Our love is winter and it's snowing

Falling

Comfort coming down

I could put you off forever

This longing has no end

Advertising lasts a lifetime

If not now, then when?

Repeat Chorus

How long until we know that this is forever

How long til I say I love you

Until we see this through

The sound of thunder in the distance

Tells me what to do

When the daylight turns to darkness

I'll be coming home to you

How long til you and I can be together

How long until we see this...

How long until we know that this is forever

How long til I say I love you

Until we see this through

Can I say I love you?

We've got to see this through

Imagine if I said I sometimes need you

I need you to this day

Imagine if I said I sometimes hear you call my name

Imagine if I said I still could love you

Imagine what you'd say

Imagine if I said I sometimes still can see your face

Think about all the things we shared

Think about all the times we cared

When all of your hopes have come and gone

Think about me and I'll be there

There's something in the air that feels like winter

The kind we used to know

Yesterday can seem like such a long, long time ago

Who could ever count the miles between us?

But now I know it's true

Imagine if I said that all my dreams are dreams of you

Think about all the things we shared

Think about all the times we cared

When all of your dreams have come and gone

Think about me and I'll be there

Think about images we've drawn

Think about all those empty songs

Whenever you're sure that I won't dare

Think about me and I'll be gone

It took me a long, long time to learn

That love is a thing you have to earn

I finally realized it's true

I just can't make it without you

Think about all the things we shared

Think about all the times we cared

When all of your dreams have come and gone

Think about me and I'll be there

Think about images we've drawn

Think about all those empty songs

Whenever you're sure that I won't dare

Think about me and I'll be gone

You've got to believe there's something inside of me

That makes me feel this way

You've got to believe that you're still a part of me

Today

But telling a tale cannot be like living it

No matter what you say

And talking of love cannot be like giving it

Away

I know

And you know

The voices are calling

Now that I have you

Whatever in the world can I do

Now that I have you

Whoever in the world could say it's not true

Now that I have you

I wonder how much of our life is memory

Remember yesterday

I'm hoping to god you don't believe everything

I say

Remembering every page of our history

A year is like a day

You've got to believe that things won't always be

This way

I know

And you know

The voices are calling

The walls are falling

For my love

And your love

I've got to keep stalling

Now that I have you

Whatever in the world can I do

Now that I have you

Whoever in the world could say it's not true

Now that I have you

Whatever in the world can I do

Now that I have you

Whoever in the world could say it's not true

Now that I have you

There's nothing in the world to get in the way

Now that I have you

So why do I keep saying not today

Now that I have you

Whatever in the world can I do

Now that I have you

Whoever in the world could say it's not true

Now that I have you

Well, there's a hot wind blowing tonight in the east

And I heard that the park is filled tonight with police

On the radio there's nothing but a man saying to stay inside

Well, I remember what you said on the telephone

That you didn't feel like it was safe to stay alone

And you would get yourself to me if you could find a way across the line

But there's fire tonight on your side of town

Orange light in the sky without a sound

Well, there's a faint sound of sirens tonight in the air

And I heard that the downtown streets tonight are bare

On the TV here they're telling me the roads now are all closed down

You said that if you couldn't take the car you'd walk instead

It was the last thing you said before the line went dead

And now I'm waiting by the window holding all the things of yours I found

But there's fire tonight on your side of town

Orange light in the sky without a sound

Fire tonight on your side of town

I watch and wait for you to come around

I know we always said that we were free.

I know we never thought this would succeed

But now your face is all that I can see

And there's fire tonight on your side of town

Orange light in the sky without a sound

Fire tonight on your side of town

I watch and wait for you to come around

My heart is a drum that's pounding

My mind is a note that's sounding

Let the choir sing your praises

I'll state my case in four-note phrases

Can I get a witness to my rate?

Will anyone quantify my fate?

While I've been waiting for you

Lives I've been creating for you

I can't slow down

Like a river I'm flowing on and on

Some way, somehow

I will find where I am going

Someday

The meaning of life is to attack

There's a special joy in coffee black

When I see the red, the black, the green

I'm seeing the color of my dreams

My song is a tree that's hollow

My mantra is I must follow

Where those hooded eyes are leading

I cannot be stopped for speeding

I can't slow down

Like a river, I'm flowing on and on

Some way, somehow

I will find where I am going

Someday

One last drive through the suburbs

You feel ready to leave the ground

You've got your records packed away in boxes

But you don't really know what it means to leave

Move out - on your own

You're finally in control

Now you're - on your own

Just watch it all unfold

Turning onto the freeway

You can't remember why you want to leave

You're holding onto pictures of your friends

But you don't want to stay around here anymore

Move out - on your own

Though your future is unknown

Sailing - under your own power

Now your life is yours

Here are a few notes from the underground

Load them at your pleasure

These are the dusty pictures that I found

While on my search for treasure

Here is the hazy vision that I saw

Here's what she said to me:

For a scientist I am too raw

I know all about you can't you see?

She said don't be making no provocation

Unless you're ready to handle the nation

I'm cold and bold and I don't do what I'm told

She wore Mirrorshades

And I can't explain a thing about her

Mirrorshades

But I know that I can't live without her

Mirrorshades

And I kind of lose my mind about her

Mirrorshades

And the strange attractors that surround her

Remember as you bust north at her call

That you can never doubt it

No matter what you cannot have it all

'Cuz she leaves home without it

But in the darkness where we both were caught

In the heartbeat of El Nido

I had a VHS for her to slot

And now I never want to go

She said "Now you're here, you gotta show and prove

And do that dance until it don't move

The phone doesn't work so you won't be calling home"

Repeat Chorus

She was so absolutely digital

To jack in now was wrong

But Cupid punches deck with chemicals

While Dark Madonna sings her song

If only I had known you better

If only you weren't afraid to try

You and me, we'd make a bad, bad team

But we'll never understand the reasons why

If only you

If only me

If only you

If only me

I remember the day that I met you

The politics were already strong

I think you knew, like me, that it would never work out

And I'm surprised that it even lasted so long

If only you

If only me

If only you

If only me

If only light didn't come in the morning

If only darkness didn't come at night

If only you and me had led different lives baby

I know that everything would have turned out all right

So drop your hesitation and come with me

Nothing that we say can hurt us now

We'll take this night and make it remember us

There's nothing stopping us now

So come with me

We're in the darkness we are here inside our hiding place

The sound and smoke pour down on us

And so we have to speak with our eyes

To hear your voice would be a surprise

We're all just kids from around town and so we know

That outside in the real world it doesn't matter

What we do

We know for us there's nothing new

So drop your hesitation and come with me

Nothing that we say can hurt us now

We'll take this night and make it remember us

There's nothing stopping us now

So come with me

I know you're only here to kill a few more hours

I could be somewhere else but now I've got my reasons

Not to go home

I don't want to be there alone

You know you've got to stop thinking about right and wrong

Tonight it's you and me it's now or never we've got

Nothing to lose

We can do whatever we choose

So I've been thinking of the way you used to talk to me

And now it seems we never talk at all

So kiss me like you would kiss me if it were the last time

Hold me now, hold me like you did hold me when it was the first time

'Cause I can feel you slipping away

And I can't think of anything to say

That will turn you around and make you stay

I can feel you slipping away

Slipping away

Now I can see you talking softly on the phone again

And more and more you need to be alone

Now I make you angry just by being near

And even when we're together now we still feel lonely

So kiss me like you would kiss me if it were the last time

Hold me now, hold me like you did hold me when it was the first time

'Cause I can feel you slipping away

And I can't think of anything to say

That will turn you around and make you stay

I can feel you slipping away

Slipping away

Look at the world

It's a complicated place

And it's hard to keep the pace

You've got to wear a smiling face

But what we've got

Is a blue-light special on truth

It's the hottest thing with the youth

You've got nevers we need to soothe

I If you've got to believe in something

Believe in us cos we'll make it easy

Peace and Love, Incorporated

Shop around

See if you don't agree

We think it fits you to a "T"

And the best part is it's free

I believe

We got the market cornered this time

We can make you feel fine

It could impact your bottom line

Repeat Chorus I

II If you've got to belong to something

Belong to us and we'll make you PC

Peace and Love, Incorporated

Peace and Love

It's the newest cause by far

And we've got all the biggest stars

Get your politics up to par

Repeat Chorus I

Repeat Chorus II

Welcome...

To Peace and Love, Incorporated

Sometimes looking back I can't

Believe how many times I left her

I guess it's all part of the game

That we play

All is fair in love and war

But in this case they're quite the same thing

What's the difference if I go

Or if I stay?

I tried to tell her

I was not the only one to turn to

But she was indifferent to my pleas

And now she's

Going, going, gone

And I did nothing wrong

But she's going, going, gone

If I disappeared tonight

It would not change her mind about me

She's in love with someone who has changed

Since that day

She tried to show me

I was not the only one to turn to

But I won't get down on my knees

So she's

Going, going, gone

And I did nothing wrong

But she's going, going, gone

Never had to tell a lie

Never had to say goodbye

It was only you and I

Then

Memories will have to do

They will take the place of you

Can't you tell me what is true

When

Words are lies the day they're spoken

Love's a lifetime's only token

Words are lies the day they're spoken

Promises are made to be broken

Life is always compromise

Ties that bind are a bind that ties

All I had was your two eyes

Then

Never had to tell a lie

Never had to say goodbye

It was only you and I

Then

Words are lies the day they're spoken

Love's a lifetime's only token

Words are lies the day they're spoken

Promises are made to be broken

They're made to be broken

So I dreamed

We were somewhere

And everything you said was real

And everything I said was right

That we don't have to fear the night

Then I'm in light and I still find

That when we look around we still feel

Like we're running out of time

And there's nothing left for us to try

We stay together now

When all the signals say we

Should move on from here

But I don't think it's coincidence

And I don't believe in accidents

It's time to ask ourselves

Why are we still here?

Come back down and we still find

That all our waking fears are around us

And shining in our eyes

They're blinding out the skies

Something still you don't give me

Something that just won't break

You sit there

Silent in your place

And try to see your face

Why do we still try?

When all our time is spent in

Holding on to hope

I Turn up the power

This is the hour

From every tower

A million watts of love

There comes a time when

You need a good friend

But all that you have

Is that glowing screen

You know you could fly

Your rate could run high

But you've been squeezed in

To that same old scene

You know what I mean

II Turn up the power

This is the hour

From every tower

Shout it from above

Repeat Chorus I

By turning that switch

You're finding your niche

And you could tell them

where to put the advice

You should get back in

It's time to jack in

We'll help you hack in

To that glowing life

You wont have to think twice

Repeat Chorus I, II

Repeat Refrian I, II

I could never care enough

To do what I had to do

And now that I am scared enough

It all comes back to you

Communication's rarely open

For messages to get through

I would speak: I'd be outspoken

If I could think of anything new

Where would I be without my radio?

Where would I be without birth control?

Where would I be without fair-weather friends?

Where would I be without IBM?

You tell me what I should need

Advice is your specialty

But could I ever need enough

For you to set me free?

I'm afraid to make decisions

That's where you come in

In the case of chance collisions

I look at you as my friend

Where would I be without my PC?

Where would I be without MTV?

Where would I be without CNN?

Where would I be without IBM?

Where would I be without all my toys?

Where would I be without sampled noise?

Where would I be without seeing you again?

Where would I be without IBM?

Staring at an empty screen

I can sometimes

Feel like dying

Doing what I have to do

I can almost

Hear you crying

This is how it feels

Funny how it's all so real

This is how it feels

To be free

To be free

Figures slowly come to life

Almost always

They are having

Minor problems minor strife

I can almost

Hear you laughing

This is how it feels

Using up the time we steal

This is how it feels

To be free

So this is how it feels to be free

The two of us have seen it all

The good times and the bad

Life can get so cold

When you think of what you've had

The time has come to make a change

I'll fallow where you lead

I can be so warm

If I get what I need

I always fail

Whenever I try

To explain to you

The reasons why

I don't know what you're thinking

And I don't know how you feel

But I only want to be with you

If it's real

Only if it's real

And when I learn you feel the same

The future and the past

We can make a change

This time things can last

And every time I think of you

I can't believe it's true

The world can seem so old

But I born anew

If I could say I still loved you,

I would do it - For you

And if I could say that I'd be true,

I would do it - You know I would do it

But I can't ignore

The lives I've lived before

And you will find

That you can't change my mind

So cry, baby, cry, I don't care anymore

Cry, baby, cry, 'cuz I'm out the door

If I could stop the hands of time,

I would do it - On a dime

And if I could say that you're still mine,

I would do it - You know I would do it

But life goes on

And I am already gone

What can you say?

I'm still running away

So cry, baby, cry, I don't care anymore

Cry, baby, cry, 'cause I'm out the door

Cry, baby, cry, turn your gray skies blue

Cry, baby, cry, 'cause I'm over you

So cry, baby, cry, I don't care anymore

Cry, baby, cry, 'cause I'm out the door

Cry, baby, cry, turn your gray skies blue

Cry, baby, cry, 'cause I cried for you

For you

When all my homes don't feel like home

And the doors don't open the way they should

When all my senses are telling me

That the situation's changed again

It's not the miles that I must drive

Or the endless questions in my mind

It's all the birds that I can see

And the soaring circles that they fly

And half the world is moving on around me

The sun goes down but I'm still standing here

Where the I divides

Where the I divides

You'll find me where the I divides

When there is no way to go ahead

Without leaving something else behind

Where there are signs that point me on

To a shining path or a simple mind

When all my machines have all run down

And I don't know what I'm fighting for

There is some change inside of me and

I know I can't stay here anymore

Cuz half the world is moving on around me

And I'm still standing hesitating here.....

Where the I divides

Where the I divides

You'll find me where the I divides

SO WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY IN CURITIBA IN 18 HOURS, BUT OUR BUS IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY THE LOCAL PROMOTERS. THEY'VE FORMED SOME UNHOLY ALLIANCE WITH THE BRAZILIAN COUNTERPART OF ASCAP; THE PRS. APPARANTLY THE PRS HAS THE LEGAL POWER TO ARREST PEOPLE, AND THEY WANT A PIECE OF THE NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER'S MONEY.

THE LOCAL SECURITY FORCE, "GANG MEXICANA", HAS BEEN BOUGHT OUT FOR 1800 CRUZADOS AND A CARTON OF MARLBOROS EACH. THE ONLY FACTION STILL OPERATING IN OUR DEFENSE IN "BIG JOHN", OUR PERSONAL SECURITY MAN, AND HE'S HIDING IN HIS ROOM BECAUSE A LOCAL GANG IS OUT FOR HIS BLOOD BECAUSE OF A 1982 KNIFING INCIDENT IN WHICH HE WAS INVOLVED. OUR 345-POUND ROAD MANAGER, RICK ONLY HAD THIS TO SAY: "YOU WANTED THE LIFE OF A ROCK STAR!". PAUL, JIM AND I REALIZED THAT THIS WAS ONE SITUATION WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT OF OURSELVES.

WE CONVENED A HASTY CONFERENCE IN THE NOVOTEL LOBBY. PAUL SUGGESTED CONTACTING OUR NATIONAL TOUR PROMOTER IN SAO PAULO, BUT WE REMEMBERED THAT HE WAS IN RECIFE WITH FAITH NO MORE, WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED FOR THEIR BRAZILIAN TOUR. WE THOUGHT ABOUT CONTACTING OUR BRAZILIAN RECORD COMPANY IN RIO, BUT THEY WEREN'T HOME. OUR EVER-DILIGENT AMERICAN MANAGER WAS ARRANGING HELP OF NUMEROUS FORMS, BUT HE WAS IN NEW YORK, AND JUST TOO FAR AWAY TO GET ANYTHING MOVING IN TIME.

AND THERE WERE 6000 KIDS IN CURITIBA WHO JUST WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

WE KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR ACTION. PAUL WENT UP TO THE PRS GUYS AND INVITED THEM INTO THE BAR TO DISCUSS IT LIKE CIVILIZED MEN OVER A FEW BRAZILIAN DRINKS, OFFERING EACH OF THEM A CIGAR ON HIS WAY. THE AMUSED PRS HEAVIES SEEMED TO LIKE THE IDEA OF A FEW FREE DRINKS, EVEN IF THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER GIVE US OUR BUS BACK. WHEN PAUL WINKED AT JIM AND I ON HIS WAY IN, WE WENT INTO ACTION.

I STOLE OFF TO MY ROOM TO PREPARE WHILE JIM WENT INTO ACTION. CREEPING CAREFULLY THROUGH A SERVICE DUCT, HE MANAGED TO GAIN A VANTAGE POINT SOME THREE METERS ABOVE THE BUS, AND DROPPED CAREFULLY ONTO THE ROOF. AFTER USING HIS ALL-PURPOSE SWISS ARMY KNIFE (AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS THE "SKIT KNIFE") TO JIMMY OPEN THE ROOF HATCH, HE WENT THROUGH THE DARKENED INSIDE OF THE BUS AND REMOVED THE INSIDE ENGINE SERVICE PANEL. USING SOME SPARE ELECTRONIC PARTS HE FOUND WHILE ON AN ISLAND IN THE AMAZON, HE WIRED THE ENTIRE BUS FOR REMOTE CONTROL, NOT UNLIKE A REMOTE CONTROL TOY CAR.

AT THIS POINT, HE ASKED HIMSELF "NOW HOW SHALL I GET OUT OF HERE?!?" PAUL WAS HAVING DIFFICULTIES OF HIS OWN.

"COULDN'T YOU SEE YOUR WAY CLEAR TO LETTING US FULFILL OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS IN CURITIBA? THINK OF THE KIDS!" THROUGH OUR TRANSLATOR, FABIO, THE PRS MAN, ALDO, SAID; "NO. YOU AMERICANS THINK YOU OWN THE WORLD. HAH! WE'LL BURN DOWN OUR RAIN FOREST IF WE DAMN WELL PLEASE. WE NEED ROOM FOR COWS!! WE WANT A MACDONALD'S ON EVERY... OH, SORRY, YES ANYWAY, NO. WE NEED 40% OF YOUR CONCERT RECEIPTS TO GIVE TO DAVID BOWIE." HE SAID, WINKING TO THE LOCAL PROMOTER, PHILLIPE.

AS PAUL CONTINUED THIS ELABORATE DISTRACTION, JIM EFFECTED AN ESCAPE FROM THE HEAVILY GUARDED BUS BY CRAWLING DOWN INTO THE CARGO BAY, CUTTING A HOLE IN THE FLOOR WITH THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE'S ARC-WELDER, SLIPPING INTO THE MANHOLE COVER SITUATED UNDER THE BUS, AND WALKING UP INTO THE HOTEL'S BASEMENT FROM THERE. JIM CALLED UP TO ME IN MY ROOM AND GAVE THE SIGNAL. WE WERE NOW TO MEET AT THE BACK ENTRANCE, WITH OUR TECH GUYS. BUT FIRST, PAUL WOULD NEED SOME HELP GETTING AWAY FROM HIS UNWELCOME GUESTS, AS THINGS WERE GETTING UGLY.

"HE SAYS HE HAS LOST HIS PATIENCE, AND THAT HE CAN THINK OF OTHER WAYS OF EXACTING PAYMENT FROM YOU KURT AND JIM PHYSICALLY." OUR TREMBLING INTERPRETER SAID.

THE MOMENT HAD COME. JIM BEGAN OPERATING THE BUS FROM HIS BACK ENTRANCE VANTAGE POINT. AS THE REMOTE-CONTROLLED BUS LURCHED TOWARDS THE PARKING LOT EXIT, THE SUPERSTITIOUS SECURITY YOUTHS FLED IN TERROR. PAUL WAS PULLING ANXIOUSLY ON HIS COLLAR AS THE PRS MAN BEGAN DESCRIBING HIS COLLECTION OF WORLD WAR II NAZI CERIMONIAL KNIVES WHEN A SUDDEN CRASH SPLIT THE TABLEAU.

JIM HAD PURCHASED ME THE GIFT OF A COMPLETE BLACK NINJA STEALTH ASSASSIN OUTFIT IN ARACAJU. I HAD BEEN GEARING UP AND CRAWLING THROUGH THE AIR CONDITIONING DUCTS ALL THIS TIME. AS I CRASHED THROUGH THE CHEAP IMITAION-STYROFOAM HUNG CEILING TILES, SKATES FIRST, I FLASHED NINJA STARS ALL ABOUT ME.

IN THE ENSUING PANIC, PAUL ESCAPED TO THE PRE-ARRANGED BUS PICK-UP POINT.

UNFORTUNATLEY, MY SKATES WERE A POOR CHOICE OF FOOT GEAR FOR ESCAPING OVER THE BROKEN GLASS OF THE TABLE I HAD LANDED ON. WERE IT NOT FOR THE CONFUSION AND THE NINJA-STAR-INFLICTED WOUNDS DELIVERED TO THE BAD GUYS, I WOULD HAVE BEEN SET UPON WHILE FOUNDERING ON THE GLASS-STREWN CARPET. AS IT HAPPENED, HOWEVER, I LEAPT THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR OF THE CAREENING BUS AS IT DEPARTED THE CITY OF MARINGA FOREVER.

IF ONLY WE HAD MANAGED TO GET OUR EQUIPMENT IN THE BUS, TOO . . .

EVERY WORD OF THIS STORY IS TRUE.

This night is mine alone

But all that I can do is taken

From me

By something that I fell

My head is clear

My eyes are dry

But still there's something

Going through me

It's something all too real

I Look around and hear the sound

Of things that I can use

To help me now

II But I lack the strength

To walk alone

To stay away

From the telephone

It's much too hard

To fight my way

From day to day

And preserv my isolation

And purity

So here I am

I've worked so hard

I've worked so long to be free of her

And still I'm not all here

And I can hear her pain resounding now

But still I'm living though her

I want to have her near

III Come back down

And look around

At broken things

She's spread out on the ground

Repeat Chorus II, III, I, III, II

Crawl across the floor

If it feels like something you know

Curl up in a ball

If it feels like home

Sleep as much as you can

If you can't sleep then lay there

Pick at yourself

Until you feel pure

Something's pulling you to the floor

Like a longtime friend

Someone's banging your head on the wall

As a means to an end

Empty

Filling up with sick

Like water in your lungs

Sucking yellow fog around your head

This must be the end of you

But you know this will never stop

You can't hear anything anymore

Just the hammer in your chest

Walk on through the growing noise

Of your inescapable path

Walk willingly into the dark

Nothing can touch you now

Once you were a child

The world was darker then

Fear was in the hall

But you won't think about that now

Just some warmth and a home

And an end to the task

Your doors are standing wide open

But it's too late for you now

I can't see ever feeling right again

I'm on a raft in a river that's roaring away with me

What good does it do me to have what I want

When I'm in no shape to enjoy what I have

Boiling

I'm burning

I'm losing my hold

On the life that I had

Running

I'm hiding

I'm telling myself

That these things aren't so bad

I can see there's just no way out of this (one)

I can feel the walls closing in on me

The door at the end of the tunnel is far too small

And there's 24 metric tons of fear closing in on me

Still dark outside the window

Fucking alarm clock, start the day in fear

It's not the fun or any sense of community

They're just trying to dull the pain

The scientists say that it's a

Different animal altogether

And driven by forces deep

Within the chest that won't let it sleep and...

See the arm is sliced and

See the taken life and

See emaciation

Little scars are showing

On the outside

So now they've grown up in these

Brilliantly beautiful sterile communities

Floating like the sleepers through the

Flowers and emptiness, the boring futility

So now they're educated

12 years of chains and lost opportunities

What they have learned is how to

Jump when the bell rings and fear the breakdown

See the pain inflicted and

See the vein restricted and

See the pain inside

Caressed, unfolded, delivered

To the outside

It's known that nothing can be done

There's just no room for the unconverted

It's known that anything is possible

But there's nothing worth doing here

See the forgotten sun and

See the forsaken ones and

See them driving cars

As big as they are, as fast as they'll go and

See the eyes turned in and

See cigarette-burnt skin and

See self-loathing love

Assumed, turned up, and used

On the outside

And I was born in a world that's ending

tell me you're gonna fall down any day now

eternal change outside me howling

and inside everything stays the same

And it's the end of my world once again

and things are never gonna change when I die

as the circle comes to an end in my room

and everything stays the same outside

The sun is rising...

Sure is dark here

Insanity

My commodity

Watch them try

To get through to me

Angels

Are just an image that makes you feel

So cut free

So easily lost

Angels

Splattered on the road

Looking up gracefully

They still love you

They always will

And the dream that you paint

Will live longer than you

But always in a different place

Live

Do what you want

Do what you can

To be more than just yourself

The sky

Is wildly amazing

Infinite compassion

Infinite absorption

The sky

Splattered overhead

May be your only friend

But can never hear you call

And the song that you sing

Will speak louder than you

But always in a different language

Repeat Chorus

It's cold outside

And the paint's peeling off my walls

There's a man outside

In a long coat gray hair smoking a cigarette

Now the light fades out

And I wonder what I'm doing in a room like this

There's a knock on the door

And just for a second I thought I remembered you

So now I'm alone

And I can think for myself

About little deals and s.u.'s

And things I just don't understand

Like a white lie that night

Or a sly touch at times

I don't think it meant anything to you

So I open the door

It's the friend that I'd left in the hallway

Please sit down

A candle-lit shadow on the wall near the bed

You know I hate to ask

But are friends electric?

Only

Mine's broken down

And now I've no one to love

So I found out your reasons

For the phone calls and smiles

And it hurts and I'm lonely

And I should never have tried

And I missed you tonight

So it's time to leave

You see this meant everything to me

The holy girl is in our focus

She's the story of us all

She can feel our eyes upon her

And the hope that she will fall

On her left so warm and honey-sweet

Like a jealous loving friend

On her right such a steep cold and lonely climb

The clinging threat of rejection

And the thought of her imperfections

She says she's nowhere near the end yet

And she makes no guarantees

She's comfortable with failure

And her blood may one day freeze

And in her iodine stretch

Her eyes recede and roll away

She knows she's where nothing can reach her now

Beyond where you can see

Beyond where she wants to be

She walks the ridge

So glassy sharp

You can't find her now

you can't speak to her now

She's going out again

One day she was a child

She could touch the sun somehow

She was held in the arms of the galaxy

And that child is with her now

And in her cobalt moments

She'll show that she's afraid

Her hands reach out and grasp at you

But she's falling further...

Falling further in the churning dark slide

Repeat Chorus

She's closing off again

Now she's walking slowly onward

Through the garden you can't know

Her dance so beautiful so twisted

A spinning madness in the snow

She's got a black hole in there with her

She's got the sun all in there too

They're her partners in her eternal dance

She's not aware of time moving past her

She's not aware of getting any further

Repeat Chorus

She'll never cry again

Do you feel small

Do you feel like nothing

Do you feel like you're wasting your time

Can you stand sunlight

Do you feel too much

How will you know where you're broken

But you know that the fear you feel

Comes back this time each day

And you know if you live a thousand years in silence

You will still feel this way

Can you see home

Can you see tomorrow

Can you see the sun anymore

Do you walk the world

Waiting to be discovered

Do you want what he said

You can never have

And you know that her tears were taken

And cooked up for the queen

But you will never find her now

She's gone and her trail is far to clean

And every single moment feels like everything is wrong

And everything around you says that this's not your home

And everybody else just seems to be already there

And you can't get from here to there

Without some sort of help you've never seen

It's white roses

It's a spinning sky

It's a field with the sun in your eyes

And do you ask yourself for help

To get you through the day

And when you're on the street you find

The world is moving away

Spend all day under water

Spend all night curled in a ball

And when you're all alone what reason

Can you see for trying at all