Modest Mouse - Strangers To Ourselves Album Lyrics

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Strangers To Ourselves

We're lucky that, we're lucky that we slept
Didn't seem like we realized we'd be stuck in traffic
We're that lucky we slept
Not to be confused the points from the purpose

We're lucky that,
We're lucky that we're so capable to forget.
How lucky we are, that we are, so easy, so easy to forget
How often we become susceptible to regret, I do regret.
How often we are confused. How honestly we have tried but we'll forget

We have designed, have designed, have designed more unusual things as yet
How often we are confused
How honestly we have tried but will forget, we'll forget.

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Lampshades On Fire

Mmm… Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh-duh-dah
Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh-duh-dah

We're all goin', we're all goin'

Well, the lampshade's on fire when the lights go out
The room lit up and we ran about
Well, this is what I really call a party now
Packed up our cars, moved to the next town

Well, the lampshade's on fire when the lights go out
This is what I really call a party now
Well, fear makes us really, really run around
This one's done so where to now?

Our eyes light up, we have no shame at all
Well you all know what I'm talking' about
Shaved off my eyebrows when I fall to the ground
So I can't look surprised right now

Pack up again, head to the next place
Where we'll make the same mistakes
Burn it up, or just chop it down
Ah, this one's done so where to now?

Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh-duh-dah
Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh-duh-dah

We're all goin', we're all goin'

Well, the lampshade's on fire when the lights go out
This is what I really call a party now
Well, fear makes us really, really run around
Ah, this one's done so where to now?

Our eyes light up, we have no shame at all
Well, you all know what I'm talkin' about
The room lights up, well, we're still dancing around
We're havin' fun, havin' some for now

Pack up again, head to the next place
Where we'll make the same mistakes
Open one up and let it fall to the ground
Pile out the door when it all runs out

Buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh, buh-duh-dah
Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh-duh-dah

We're all goin', we're all goin'

We have spines in our bones
We'll eat your food, we'll throw stones
Oh, this is how it's always gone
And this is how it's goin' to go

Well, we're the human race
We're goin' to party out of this place
And then move on

Tough love

We'll kill you off and then make a clone
Yeah, we got spines, yeah, we have bones
This is how it's always gone
And this is how it's goin' to go

As our feelings are getting hurt
Ah, we want you to do the work
Our ass looks great inside these jeans
Well, we all just don't wanna' clean

Oh, this is how it's always been
And this is how it's goin' to be
So, you just move on

The air's on fire so we're movin' on
Better find another one ‘cause this one's done
Waitin' for the magic when the scientists glow
To push, push, push, push, pull us up

Spend some time to float in outer space
Find another planet, make the same mistakes
Our mind's all shattered when we climb aboard
Hopin' for the scientists to find another door

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Shit In Your Cut

I'd hate to be shit in your cut
But the package is gonna be late
I buried it in an abandoned lot
When I was young, this was where I played

I'll go and have fits with my claws
Milk and corn dirt on my face
I'll wait until the hands fall off the clock
Spending dollars at the nickel arcade

I think I'll ride this winter out
I guess we'll ride this winter out
Alone

I ebb from side to side
Pace around the clothes I have laid
Based on the books and clothes on your floor
I don't think that this is even your place

When the doctor finally showed up, oh boy
His front was soaking wet
He said that this should do the trick
We hadn't told him what the problem was yet

It was easier said to spend our stuff
In the windows once again
Open your pockets up and I'll set 'em on the table

Line 'em up and shoo 'em off
Just Hell like a cobweb
And our windows practice folds if they are able

The signs all flicker and buzz all night
Passing by you could hear them say:
"Hey, please won't you just come on in"
Won't you please just go away

This time we'll ride this winter out
I guess we'll ride this winter out
I think we'll ride this winter out
This time we'll ride this winter out

And the strain ain't
In confidence and oh
Everyone needs to go

Don't everyone go
Don't everyone go at once

It's bullshit from the necks of hell
And our mothers sweet around
Soft sticky coal and the ravenous starve the ground

And the strain ain't
In confidence and
Everyone needs to go

Don't everyone go
Don't everyone go at once

Well the strain ain't in confidence
Well the strain ain't in confidence

Don't everyone go
Don't everyone go at once

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Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996)

I've got my pistol in the car, uh huh
I've got my stereo in the car, uh huh
I've got my room key in the car, uh huh

Why don't you come to my room
And clean my pistol no duh

I maximize my only liaisons
I'm gonna take it till the taking comes on

I've got my cocaine in my glove box now
The sun roof is down, oh wow
I've got my room key in my pocket and you know
I've got a pistol that I need to unload

I'm gonna T-T-T-T-T-T-Take you on up (You say "What?")
I'm gonna t-t-t-t-take your shirt right on off
I'm gonna zip-zip-zip-zip-zip-za-za-za-zip your pants on down
I'm gonna sip sip sip sip sip from my royal royal, royal crown

And we go Wooh

I've got a backpack with some clothes that I could wear to work tomorrow they won't know
Oh-oh-oh- uh oh
That I was up all night not ready for the meeting, oh no - oh oh
Got a wallet in my backpack and I think it's mine but I don't care, you know
Got my backpack with the money got myself a passport I should probably go

And we go Wooh

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Ansel

I took a train down through Mexico
With my father and brother Ansel
You can't know
Well, you can't ever really know
Would you really want to know
How the hell would you know

I made a mess of myself and the trip on the whole
My father's good patience with me, why I don't know
You can't know
You can't ever really know
That's the last time I had seen my brother Ansel

Troubles on the head winds
Troubles on the tail winds
Troubles on the head winds
Troubles on the tail winds

Oh, oh oh oh
Oh, oh oh
Oh, oh oh, oh

Me and my sister we hung on the phone
Watching the news
As they looked for Ansel
On top of that mountain
And underneath the snow
They had dogs that were sniffing
I guess you'll never know

You can't know
You can't ever really know
Would you really want to know
How the hell would you know

You can't know
You can't ever really know
Would you really want to know
How the hell would you know

The last time that you ever see another soul
No, you never get to know
No, you don't know

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The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box

Open up a window
All the air, all the air is falling out
Eyes vacuum up light
Sound gets trapped by the mouth
What to do with the remainder
When the dents
The dents get hammered out
Then we'll travel through time.

The world's an inventor with its work
Crawling, running, squirming 'round
Trees drop colorful fruits
Directly into our mouths
The world's an inventor
We're the dirtiest thing its thought about
And we really don't mind

We'll probably never get there
Bring your sight seers, school teachers down
There's a water color weekend
All the trees are turning colors now
We'll probably never get there
Bring your candy taster, time wasters around
And we'll f*ck with their minds

The world composes with his
Shirt tails wrinkled hanging out
Bang us together see what sort
Of sounds we make right now
The world plays music
Playing skin on teeth inside of the mouth
What sort of sounds?
What lovely sounds come about

We stole the road
We floated in the light
We're gonna break these bones
We're gonna move in time

We stole the road
We floated in the light
We're gonna break these bones
We're gonna travel time

We're gonna throw a party
All the ghosts of trees are coming out
Don't the open the directions
Wait until the light's inside of the cloud
You're gonna wanna see this
Don't bring your camera around
Watch sun and sawdust align

We stole the road
We floated in the light
We're gonna break these bones
We're gonna move in time

We stole the road
We floated in the light
We're gonna break these bones
We're gonna travel time

Close up the window
All the air all the air is falling out
Eyes vacuum up light
Sound gets trapped by the mouth
Our predecessor left this box
And something's clawing around
I think it really wants out

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Coyotes

Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark
At home with the ghosts in the national parks
Mankind's behavin' like some serial killers
Giant ol' monsters afraid of the sharks

And we're in love with all of it
And we say: "What can we say?"

Walking with ghosts in the national parks
Coyotes tiptoe in the snow after dark

And we're in love with all of it
And we say: "What can we say?"

Another branch on the tinder-bound tree
Birds flying lower, lookin' downwards to feed
Mankind's behavin' like some serial killers
Giant ol' monsters, afraid of the sharks

And we're in love with all of it
And we say: "What can we say?"

And we say: "We're in love with all of it"
And we say: "We're in love with everything."
And we say: "What can we say?"

And we say: "We're in love with all of it."
And we say: "We're in love with everything."
And we say: "What can we say?"

And we say: "We're in love, with all of it."
And we say: "We're in love, with everything."
And we lie, we love to lie.

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Pups To Dust

Our hearts don't change from pups to dust
Couldn't see clearly, but I had a sense of what right and wrong was
Honest to God, I was honest as hell
I don't lie very often, but I lie very well
Give it away, take what you need
Love does not cost money, but it ain't free
We're learning slowly, equal parts of what you do, you don't
We don't remember
We don't remember just how we got here
Equal parts of what we do, we don't
We don't belong here, we were just born here
We remain the same (um, I'm not sure about that)
Or pretty much the same (now that's more like it)
From birth to grave, I couldn't see so clearly what I was or became
Oh I missed a spot (scrubba scrubba scrubba)
On my dirty thoughts
The way we feel about what we do is by who has watched us so
Awe how'd we get here, equal parts of what we do, we don't
We don't remember, we were just born here though
Oh what's the bother, equal parts of what you do, you don't
We don't remember, we were just born here
I feel so anxious, mostly all of the time
If there's some point to this, then which one is mine?
We really don't belong here, we really ought to wander
We really don't belong here, we really ought to wander away

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Sugar Boats

This rock of ours is just some big mistake
And we will never know just where we'll go
Or where we have come from

These veins of mine are like some sort of fuse
Because when they go up in my mind
Close up my heart is amused

So

This heart of mine is just some sort of map
That doesn't care about what it's about
Or where the hell you're at

Here we go!

Well, I've been meaning to dismiss you, yeah
I have meant to dismiss you

So stand by, by by by, bye bye
Wave goodbye sugar boats
Well, I ain't getting on no fast train, yeah
I ain't getting on no stuffy train

As soon as you paint every last grain of sand
As soon as you paint every last star in the skies, skies
Wave goodbye, sugar boats

I'm swatting at mosquitoes as they're orbiting me
I've grown used to so much the list goes on
It goes on and on and on, swinging

This heart of mine is just some bugged machine
And it gets a-going and it often gets a-going and
Stops going again

This rock of ours is just some big mistake
And we will never know just where we go
Or where we have come from

This heart of mine is like some sort of book
Because when I look in, and I shouldn't look in
I see when it's my time to go

Well, I ain't getting on no fast plane, yeah
I ain't getting on no stuffy train
These sugar boats swim around and around
They sugar boats they're just fine
I'm standing on the decks so you can
I'm standing on the decks so you can
Wave bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye

The Sugar Boats wave goodbye

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Wicked Campaign

Well I just found the fence where I am going to lean
Take my handkerchief out and rub my eyeglasses clean
So I just learned my face, but I forgot my name
I'm gonna wear this smile like it's some stupid toupee
And say "Oh, that's too bad"
Oh, I just learned your face, but it is bound to change
You can say what you want but try to think it my way
And say "Oh, this wicked campaign"
I said, "Oh, this was not my plan"
You know I'm a bastard and we only just met
I guess I probably shouldn't wear this big old sign around my neck
I've still got some opinions that I'm willing to claim
I'm gonna carry them around like they're some wicked campaign
I started the debate, but now I'm sure I can't win
I should, I probably should just exit the same way I came in
Well counted, calculator, you didn't calculate this
That there's a lot more nothing than you knew exists
"Oh, this wicked campaign"
I said, "Oh, this was not my plan"
"Oh, this wicked campaign"
Every day is a wicked campaign
Well I just found the fence where I am going to lean
Take my handkerchief out and rub my eyeglasses clean
And just wait, and just wait, and wait, wait, wait
I'm not dead but I misplaced the will
I'm gonna wear this smile like it's a $100 bill and just wait
I'm not a doctor, but I'll sell you an itch
I could apologize, but then a bit more nothing exists
The world's got plenty of good and bad liars
But our lies should come with chariots and choirs
Singing, "Oh, things are not so bad"
And we sing, "Oh, it's our wicked campaign"
And they sing, "Oh, things are not so bad"
We sing, "Oh, what a wicked campaign"

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Be Brave

From day to day
From day to day
To today

From day to day
From day to day
To today

We care, we care
We carry our own weight

From day to day
From day go back to today

Shocked, sitting in ship's clothing
Pumping with our hips
Filling every single corner with our soft little kids
(Copies of ourselves)

Carried til' gone
So carried away
I am not afraid

The devil is scary for me, to stain
From day to day
From day to day
To today

Be brave, be brave, be brave, be brave
Be brave

Be brave, be brave, be brave, be brave
Be brave

At the part for now
It's all coming 'round
Every hate abounds
At the part for now

Another monster hiding inside of a cave
We go from day to day in our heaven
In the most appropriate ways
Around the corner
Misty-eyed starving to get on our ship

We won't fail, we won't fail, we won't fail
We just can't fail

Well the ocean doesn't care
And we hardly even mattered
We're just a bit more pissed to push out eggs

Who'll burn as our bodies float down
Onto all their rocky little bits
Part of mountains of dirt and silt and still
The world just don't give a shit

We fight it, we fight it, we fight it, today
We fight it, we fight it, we fight it, today
We fight it, we fight it, we fight it, today

At the part for now
It's all coming 'round
Every hate abounds
At the part for now

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God Is An Indian And You're An Asshole

God is an Indian and you're an asshole
Get on your horse and ride

God is an Indian and you're an asshole
Get on your horse and ride
Get on your horse and ride

God is an Indian and you're an asshole
Get on your horse and ride

Get on your horse and ride
God is an Indian and you're some asshole

Get on your horse and ride
Get on your horse and ride
Get on your horse and ride
Get on your horse and ride

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The Tortoise And The Tourist

Wake up, get ready
Wake up, get ready
What a wonderful trip's ahead
Well, wake up, get ready
Wake up, get ready
Such a wonderful trip's ahead

We get dressed as ghosts
With sheets taken from the bed
Inside our socks we hide travelers' checks
We are tourists of the dead

So let's pack up
Let's go.
So let's pack up
Let's go
Let's pack up
Let's go

Let's go

There was this tortoise, its shell was covered with jewels
And had been since time began
It knew the world through all its histories
And the universe and its mysteries
One day it came across a man
The two were talking
The tortoise offered to tell him
About the future and how the universe ran
Oh, the man killed the tortoise, took his shell
And with a song on his lips walked off again

So let's walk off
Let's go
So let's walk off
Let's go
So let's walk off
Let's go
So let's walk off
Let's go

Pack a lunch wander 'round
Toss the map on the ground
It isn't accurate anyways
We've been getting away
We've been getting away
We are Strangers to Ourselves
We sneak out
Drip by drip
Through paper cuts on our hands
Day after day
Nothing's quite the same
We are tourists in our own heads

So let's walk on
Let's go
Let's walk on
Let's go
Let's walk on (I think I feel ready to go)
Let's go
Let's walk on
Let's go
(I think I feel ready to go)
(I think I feel ready to go)

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The Best Room

Let loose with your charms
Go reckless, unharmed
We all signed the card:
"Get well, but don't you try too hard"
The lessons unlearned
Oh, this meeting is adjourned
Oh, these Western concerns
Hold my place in line while I get your turn

To the empty balconies we serenade
All the playgrounds where them kids don't get to play
Dirty parkies went and chased them all away
To the game consoles to fatten

The best room they have
Is the last room you want
The bathroom's outside
Police tape is tied
To the doorknobs of rooms
Nine through thirty-two
These Western concerns
We beg while we chew

These Western concerns are all I ever really learned to be concerned with
But don't you, don't you know it's hard
Feeling tired every time that you try?
Ain't it hard feeling tired all the time?

The family living upstairs must have a fleet of rider lawn mowers
While the novelist to my right's convinced that every woman's a whore
But he bothers me time and again
To set him up with my very best friends and I say, "What?!"
Says he doesn't restate but he will not shut up!

Well don't you, don't you know it's hard
Feeling tired every time that you try?
Ain't it hard feeling tired all the time?
Don't you, don't you know

I ain't goin' to bed
Ring my head in the woods right now
Scan for some mycelium
And bring a little back to town

Well don't you, don't you know it's hard (I ain't goin' to bed)
Feeling tired every time that you try? (Ring my head in the woods right now)
Ain't it hard feeling tired all the time? (Scan for some mycelium and bring a little back to town)

Go reckless, unharmed
Yep, the shut-ins, they're well armed
Well, we all led the charge
'Til we ran aground in our party barge
Every little gift was just one more part of their grift
Oh, yeah, we know it
Oh, yeah, we know it

The best news that we got
Was some dumb hokum we'd all bought
Oh, though reckless, feeling great
We're the sexiest of all primates
Let loose with our charms
Shake our ass and wave our arms
All going apeshit

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Of Course We Know

The streets are just blankets and we sleep on their silky corpse
Covered up by them, why would we ever want to wake up?
Oh, no

Well, of course, of course, of course, of course
Of course we just do not know

What in hell are we here for?
We just do not know

Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul

The end is like cotton that we wear wherever we go
Covered up by this, why would we ever want to try on your clothes?

Well of course, of course, of course, of course
Of course we just do not know

Well, Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down
(Let down your guard)
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your own damn soul
Lord lay down, Lord lay down, Lord lay down your only son

Of course we know