Counting Crows - August and Everything After Album Lyrics

Step out the front door like a ghost
Into the fog where no one notices
The contrast of white on white.

And in between the moon and you
The angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.

I walk in the air between the rain,
Through myself and back again.
Where? I don't know

Maria says she's dying.
Through the door, I hear her crying
Why? I don't know

Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates

Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand
She said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis
She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land
Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus
She parks her car outside of my house
Takes her clothes off,
Says she's close to understanding Jesus
She knows she's more than just a little misunderstood
She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous

Round here we're carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here she's slipping though my hands

Sleeping children got to run like the wind
Out of the lightning dream
Mama's little baby better get herself in
Out of the lightning

She says, "It's only in my head."
She says, "Shhh...I know it's only in my head."

But the girl on the car in the parking lot
Says: "Man, you should try to take a shot
Can't you see my walls are crumbling?"

Then she looks up at the building
And says she's thinking of jumping.
She says she's tired of life;
She must be tired of something.

Round here she's always on my mind
Round here I got lots of time
Round here we're never sent to bed early
Nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very very late

I can't see nothing, nothing
Round here
Catch me if I'm falling
Catch me if I'm falling
Catch me cause I'm falling down on you

I said I'm under the gun
Round here
Oh man, I said I'm under the gun
Round here
I can't see nothing, nothing
Round here

Start tearing the old man down
Run past the heather and down to the old road
Start turning the grain into the ground Roll a new leaf over
In the middle of the night,
there's an old man treading around in the gathered rain
Well mister, if you're going to walk on water
Could you drop a line my way?

Omaha Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door

Start threading a needle
Brush past the shuttle that slides through the cold room
Start turning the wool across the wire Roll a new life over
In the middle of the night,
there's an old man threading his toes through a bucket of rain
Hey mister, you don't want to walk on water
you're only going to walk all over me

Omaha Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of the matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door

Start running the banner down
Drop past the color come up through the summer rain
Start turning the girl into the ground Roll a new love over
In the middle of the day,
there's a young man rolling around in the earth and rain
Hey Mister, if you're going to walk on water
You know you're only going to walk all over me.

Omaha Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la
Mmm
Uh huh

I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation
With a black-haired flamenco dancer
You know she dances while his father plays guitar
She's suddenly beautiful
And we all want something beautiful
Man, I wish I was beautiful

So come dance the silence down through the morning
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la, yeah
Uh huh, yeah

Cut up, Maria
Show me some of them Spanish dances
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
'Cause I wanna be someone who believes
Yeah

Mr. Jones and me
Tell each other fairy tales
And we stare at the beautiful women
She's looking at you
Ah, no, no, she's looking at me
Smilin' in the bright lights
Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you
You can never be lonely

Well, I'm gon' paint my picture
Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very, very meaningful
Yeah, well, you know gray is my favorite color
I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso
I would buy myself a gray guitar and play

Mr. Jones and me
Look into the future
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
She's looking at you
I don't think so
She's looking at me
Standing in the spotlight
I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me
I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
Said I'm never gonna be lonely

I wanna be a lion
Yeah, everybody wanna pass as cats
We all wanna be big, big stars
Yeah, but we got different reasons for that
Believe in me
'Cause I don't believe in anything
And I wanna be someone to believe, to believe, to believe
Yeah

Mr. Jones and me
Stumbling through the barrio
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
She's perfect for you
Man, there's got to be somebody for me
I wanna be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody loves you, ah son
That's just about as funky as you can be

Mr. Jones and me
Staring at the video
When I look at the television, I want to see me
Staring right back at me
We all wanna be big stars
But we don't know why, and we don't know how
But when everybody loves me
I wanna be just about as happy as I can be
Mr. Jones and me
We're gonna be big stars

Just down the street from your hotel, baby.
I stay at home with my disease.
And ain't this position familiar, darlin'?
Well, all monkeys do what they see.
Help me stay awake, I'm fallin'...

Down on Virginia and La Loma,
where I got friends who care for me,
you got an attitude of everything I ever wanted.
I got an attitude of need.
So, help me stay awake, I'm fallin'...

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,
beside the green apple sea,
gonna get me a little oblivion, baby,
and try to keep myself away from me.

It's 4:30 A.M. on a Tuesday.
It doesn't get much worse than this.
In beds in little rooms in buildings in the middle
of these lives which are completely meaningless,
help me stay awake, I'm fallin'...

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,
beside the green apple sea,
I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby,
and try to keep myself away from myself and me.

Well, I got bones beneath my skin, and mister,
There's a skeleton in every man's house.
Beneath the dust, and love, and sweat that hang on everybody
There's a dead man tryin' to get out.
So please help me stay awake, I'm fallin'...

Asleep in perfect blue buildings,
beside the green apple sea,
I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby,
Try to keep myself away from me.

Perfect blue buildings,
oh, beside the green apple sea,
I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby,
and try to keep myself away from myself and me.

Oh, little perfect blue buildings.
I can't keep myself away from me.

Oh, little perfect blue building.

Said how am I gonna keep myself away?
How am I gonna keep myself away from me?
Keep myself away...
How am I gonna keep myself away from me?
Keep myself away...
How am I gonna keep myself away from me?

My friend assures me, "it's all or nothing."
I am not worried
I am not overly concerned
My friend implores me, "For one time only, make an exception."
I am not worried
Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried
I am not overly concerned
With the status of my emotions
"Oh" she says "You're changing"
But we're always changing

It does not bother me to say this isn't love
Because if you don't want to talk about it
Then it isn't love
And I guess I'm going to have to live with that
But I'm sure there's something in a shade of grey
Something in between
And I can always change my name if that's what you mean

My friend assures me "It's all or nothing."
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned
You try to tell yourself
The things you try to tell yourself
To make yourself forget
I am not worried
"If it's love," she said "then we're going to have to think aboutthe consequences"
She can't stop shaking
I can't stop touching her and...

This time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away and
Anna begins to change her mind
"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days" shesays
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing

But I'm not going to break
And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
I'm not going to bend
And I'm not going to break and
I'm not going to worry about it anymore
It seems like I should say "As long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy so maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net
Pin her down on a photograph album
I am not worried
I've done this sort of thing before
But then I start to think about the consequences
Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...

The time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away and
Anna begins to change my mind
And everytime she sneezes I beleive it's love and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

She's talking in her sleep
It's keeping me awake
And Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

Her kindness bangs a gong, it's moving me along
And Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away she disappears and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing

I wanted so badly somebody other than me
Staring back at me but you were gone
I wanted to see you walking backwards
And get the sensation of you coming home
I wanted to see you walking away from me
Without the sensation of you leaving me alone

Time and time again
Time and time again
Time and time again
I can't please myself

I wanted the ocean to cover over me
I wanna sink slowly without getting wet
Maybe someday, I won't be so lonely
And I'll walk on water every chance I get

Time and time again
Time and time again
Time and time again
I can't please myself

So when are you coming home, sweet angel?
You leaving me alone? all alone?
Well if I'm drowning darling, you'll come down this way on your own

I wish I was traveling on a freeway
Beneath this graveyard western sky
I'm gonna set fire to this city
And out into the desert we're gonna ride

Time and time again
Time and time again
Time and time again
I can't please myself

I can't please myself
I can't please nobody else

When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of flying down into a sea of pens and feathers
And all other instruments of faith and sex and God
In the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to feed me
'Cause I've been here before and I deserve a little more

I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying, I've been thinking
And I am the rain king

I said mama, mama, mama
Why am I so alone?
I can't go outside, I'm scared, I might not make it home
But I'm alive, but I'm sinking in
If there's anyone home at your place
Why don't you invite me in?
Don't try to bleed me
'Cause I've been there before and I deserve a little more

I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been lying, I've been sinking
And I am the rain king

Hey, I only want the same as anyone
Henderson is waiting for the sun
Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends
After all the dreaming I come home again

When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of dying
Lay me down in a field of flame and heather
Render up my body into the burning heart of God
In the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to bleed me
'Cause I've been here before and I deserve a little more

I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been dying
And I've been drinking and I am the rain king
'Cause I say I am the rain king
'Cause I say I am the rain king, yeah

Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan St.
Cross the water and home through the town
Past the shadows that fall down wherever we meet
Pretty soon now I won't come around
I'm almost drowning in her sea
She's nearly fallen to her knees
Take the way home
Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan St.
Where all the bodies hang on the air
If she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet
Either way now, I don't really care
Cause I'm gone from there
I'm almost drowning in her seas
She's nearly crawling on her knees
She's down on her knees
Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan St.
Where I'm just another rider burned to the ground
Come tumbling down
I'm almost drowning in her sea
She's nearly crawling on her knees
It's almost everything I need
I'm down on my knees
I'm down on my knees

I took the cannon ball down to the ocean
across the desert from the sea to shining sea
I rode a ladder that climbed across the nation
50 million feet of earth between the buried and me
"How do you do?"
She said "Hey, how do you do?"
She buys a ticket cause it's cold were she comes from
she climbs aboard because she's scared of getting older in the snow
love is a ghost train through the darkness
hold on to me darling I got no place to go
"How do you do?"
She said "Hey, how do you do?"
I took the cannonball down to the ocean
watch the diesel disappear beneath the tumbling waves
love is a ghost train howling on the radio
"Remember everything" She said "When only memory Remains"
"how do you do?"
She said "Hey, how do you do?"

This circus is falling down on its knees
The big top is crumbling down
It's raining in Baltimore fifty miles east
Where you should be, no one's around
I need a phone call
I need a raincoat
I need a big love
I need a phone call
These train conversations are passing me by
And I don't have nothing to say
You get what you pay for
But I just had no intention of living this way
I need a phone call
I need a plane ride
I need a sunburn
I need a raincoat
And I get no answers
And I don't get no change
It's raining in Baltimore, baby
But everything else is the same
There's things I remember and things I forget
I miss you I guess that I should
Three thousand five hundred miles away
But what would you change if you could?
I need a phone call Maybe I should buy a new car
I can always hear a freight train If I listen real hard
And I wish it was a small world
Because I'm lonely for the big towns
I'd like to hear a little guitar
I think it's time to put the top down
I need a phone call
I need a raincoat

Blue morning, blue morning
Wrapped on strands of fist and bone
Curiousity, Kitten, doesn't have to mean your on your own
You can look outside your window
He doesn't have to know
We can talk a while Baby
We can take it nice and slow

CHORUS
All your life, is such a shame, shame, shame
All your love, is just a dream, dream, dream

Well
Are you happy when you're sleeping?
Does he keep you safe and warm?
Does he tell you when you're sorry?
Does he tell you when you're wrong?
Well, I've been watching you for hours
It's been years since we were born
We were perfect when we started
I've been wondering where we've gone

CHORUS

Well, I dreamt I saw you walkin'
Up a hillside in the snow
Casting shadows on the winter sky
As you stood there counting crows
One for sorrow, two for joy
three for girls, and four for boys
five for silver, six for gold
seven for a secret never to be told

There's a bird that nests inside you
sleeping underneath your skin
yeah, when you open up your wings to speak
I wish you'd let me in

CHORUS

open up your eyes
you can see the flames, flames, flames
of your wasted life
you should be asha-a-amed

And you don't want to waste your life, Baby
And you don't wanna waste your life. now, Darlin'
You don't wanna waste your life, Baby
You don't wanna waste your life, now, Darlin'
And, You don't wanna waste your life Baby
I said, You don't wanna waste your life now Darlin
You don't wanna waste your life now Baby
Ahh, you don't wanna waste your life now, Darlin

Change, change, change (3 times)

I walk along these hillsides in the summer 'neath the sunshine
I am feathered by the moonlight fallin' down on me
I said I will walk along these hillsides in the summer
neath the moonlight
I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me
I will walk along these hillsides in the summer neath the sunshine
I am feathered by the moonlight fallin' down on me

Change change change (repeat to end)