Ani Difranco Lyrics

Spinning Room lyrics - Ani Difranco

You can give me

A pill to sleep

You can give me

Ten different kinds

But I lay down

Under sheets of concrete

And I can't get the weight of it

Off my mind

Feeling depleted

Feeling drained

Much like the blood

Was sucked out of my veins

I lay down

In a spinning room

So, go ahead, diagnose me

Give me a name for my pain

Watch me very, very closely

Find the thing to blame

Virus lyrics - Ani Difranco

I was so deeply pleased to pause this life

I think I jinxed the world and caused this strife

Yes, I longed so long for fewer nouns

I longed so well, the world shut down

And now the kettle is calling the pot black

I call you virus but you don't call me back

So I just keep listening to my own voice

In the echo chamber of my choice

Touché, I say, and mazeltov

To the kind of ride you can't get off

Can't, that is, until you must

You win, I give in

In less I trust

And now the kettle is calling the pot black

Yes, I call you virus but you don't call me back

So, I just keep listening to my own voice

In the echo chamber of my choice

I was so deeply pleased to pause this life

More Or Less Free lyrics - Ani Difranco

I swear, I don't think that I'm special

Just trying to do a good thing to do

I swear my heart is in the right place

In relationship to you

But this is all more than I imagined

More devastating, more surreal

I see these people round with badges

And I just don't know how I feel

Cause you seem like a nice person

A nice person to me

And it seems obvious we're just humans

Born more or less free

I never thought that I was special

Been that way since we were kids

There's a million people that are like me

In this world, stuck doin' bids

But you come right into our nightmare

No fear or hate that can be seen

Through the fog, food for thought

Through the fog, fuel for dreams

Cause you seem like a nice person

A nice person to me

And it seems obvious we're just humans

Born more or less free

Baby Roe lyrics - Ani Difranco

I think we might be wrong about all of it

In fact, it's been proven

Keeps coming down to this shitty little interface

That we're using

The very edges of our knowing

Is just the tiny tip that's showing

But we're so wigged out

Yeah, we're so devout

To this waking dream

What's playing on the screen

And you just never know

Do you, baby roe?

It's all absurd

But even you maintain

Timing is everything

When you're stepping

Off a curb

And if you think this life

Is your only life

You're a fool

No, spirit can't be stopped

No matter who gives birth to who

No, spirit won't be stopped

No matter who gives birth to who

The path of least suffering

Leaves the best trail

The path of least suffering

It don't matter which side of the veil

I think we might be wrong about all of it

Unprecedented Sh!t lyrics - Ani Difranco

I got a lot of heart

(The bigger the heart, the more it bleeds)

I got a lot of will

(To survive, to prevail, to succeed)

I got a lot of balls

And I hit them all over their heads

But I don't know if I'll ever have what it takes

To get out of bed

(Again)

No, I don't know if I'll ever have what it takes

To get out of bed

(Again)

Cause I know, this is about to be some unprecedented sh!t

And I don't know if I have whatever this is

Whatever this is

I got a lot of heart

But I can't afford to let it bleed

I can't afford to empathize, compromise, or concede

And I don't wanna hear about it when the coldness reach your bones

I'm just thinking about that drink I'm gonna crack when I get back home

Yes, I'm just thinking about that drink I'm gonna crack when I get back home

Cause, in this job, I have seen some unprecedented sh!t

And I don't know if I have whatever this is

Whatever this is

New Bible lyrics - Ani Difranco

If that nurse don't get you, then her sister will

With her Monday through Sunday dispenser of pills

Don't know which of my habits will be my demise

But there's more ways, everyday, to betray what is wise

It troubles a body

All this hidden pollution

Making some kinda cancer

A foregone conclusion

And deep in my saddlebags

I carry a rage

For the greedy top feeders

And their invisible cage

Oh, rise the proletariat

Red banners unfurled

Let's mend the failures of history

And the manmade world

Let's mend the failures of the profit system

Let's rewrite the law books

Quit following the path of least resistance

Cuz that's what makes the river crooked

Let's evolve into our true nature

So little flowers can bloom

In a world where relationship is sacred

And sacrifice is assumed

All for one and one for all

Boom chicka boom boom boom

There's just too many distractions

Too many coming attractions

Too many screens fiercely flashing

Their subliminal frame

It's no wonder we all just go along

Hungry as we are, just to belong

It's no wonder we're all crazy

It's amazing we're not all the same

You're gonna die way too early

Or you're gonna live way too long

It's kinda like it always was

Except the quiet is gone

Proving technology gets you nowhere

If your intentions are all wrong

And for clarity of vision

We need a pulsing polarity of vision

It is our singularity of vision

That got us to this place

Without equal and opposite forces

We will only ever know a distortion

We will never hit our resonant frequency

We will never find grace

Our roots are meant to be interwoven

Not churned up and turned upside down

Turn off your combustion engine

And listen to the sound

Get down off your tractor, mister

And put your nose to the ground

Out where the topsoil welcomes a heavy rain

Out where the shoreline can handle a hurricane

Out where god and nature are the same

A mind can think clear

As far as engines of evolution

Cooperation trumps competition

And if I were Darwin's girlfriend

I woulda whispered that in his ear

I think we should have a new bible

One that only has two words

I think we should have a new bible

That just says: mother earth

And I think men should stand down

When women give birth

But if that nurse don't get you, then her sister will

With her Monday through Sunday dispenser of pills

Don't know which of my habits will be my demise

But there's more ways, everyday, to betray what is wise

Boots Of A Soldier lyrics - Ani Difranco

I wear the boots of a soldier

Who's name was Slidell

And my foot fits inside them

Really quite well

And I wonder about the stories

These boots could tell

Did Slidell live or die?

Did their mama cry

And go through hell?

Ten years my senior

And a hundred or so

This guitar that I'm strumming

Neath this weeping willow

And it boggles the mind

All the passing of time

And the mysteries that abound

Elude and confound you

All the stories you'll never know

In your tiny little umwelt

Just livin' the dream

Learnin' that how you see things

Is just how they seem

And you could think of some ways

That happy could get hard to do

But there's never not more

So, I would say, if you're bored

That's on you

You Forgot To Speak lyrics - Ani Difranco

Between first sleep and second sleep

I stare into the dark

And I can feel there are two of me

So I put um both on the ark

And we'll find out what we're made of

When we're tossing at sea

And no one knows what their fate is

And there are no guarantees

You know the flood is coming

So you watch the sky for weeks

And you see a bird pass overhead

With something in its beak

And nobody will listen

But then, you forgot to speak

How the hell can anyone listen when you forget to speak?

(It will never be)

You forgot to speak

(It will never be)

You forgot to speak

(It will never be)

Hey!

(Fair)

Between first sleep and second sleep

I stare into the dark

And I can feel there are two of me

So I put um both on the ark

And we'll find out what we're made of

When we're tossing at sea

And no one knows what their fate is

And there are no guarantees

A big picture is just clutter

With no space to hang it in

And there's only so much justice

In a world of broken men

You gotta wonder, why begin?

Let alone, begin again

And tell me

How the hell can anybody listen when you forget to speak?

(It will never be)

You forgot to speak

(It will never be)

You forgot to speak

(It will never be)

Hey!

(Fair)

The Thing At Hand lyrics - Ani Difranco

Thanks to the bullfrogs and the crickets and the cicadas

Thanks to the loons and the songbirds too

Thanks to all my music teachers

And the beauty they exude

They remind me, I don't need to be anything

I don't need a look, I don't need a brand

They remind me, I don't need to be anything

I don't need to know what to say

I don't need to know where I stand

I just need to show up

For the thing at hand

Yes, I just need to show up

For the thing at hand

I'm not black or white or grey

I'm not he or she or they

I'm not gay or bi or straight

I'm just me and maybe

That's just another thing to say

I just wanna show up

For the thing at hand

Yeah, I'm just trying to show up

For the thing at hand

Thanks to the pine trees in the tall breeze

Thanks to the ocean

Thanks to the heartbeat and the spring leaves

Springing into motion

Thanks to the big spinning cosmos and it's do-see-do

Thanks to the emptiness and the energy

That teaches me how to flow

I just wanna show up

For the thing at hand

Yes, I'm just trying to show up

For the thing at hand

I defy

Being defined

I am not my body

I am not my mind

You can point right at me

And still, there's nothing there

And whatever you call me

I don't care

Interlude lyrics - Ani Difranco

(Instrumental)

The Knowing lyrics - Ani Difranco

(from the Ani DiFranco Children's Book: The Knowing)

I have a name

And my name has a story

I have a look

A sound

A smell

A shape

A size

I have a color to my hair my skin my eyes

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

I have a favorite blanket it's a little torn

I have a family and a place where I was born

I have a favorite song and a favorite food

I have a favorite game depending on my mood

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

I have a life

That I am here to live

I have gifts that I am here to give

I have friends and with my friends I have fun

I have a love of the wind and of the sun

Yes, I can take heart in what's showing

Knowing it's all a part of The Knowing

Yes, I can take part in what's showing

Knowing we're all a part of The Knowing

I have beliefs and someday those beliefs might change

I have blocks that I like to arrange and rearrange

There are things that I'm told and things that I learn

There are skills I've practiced and praise I've earned

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

Revolutionary Love lyrics - Ani Difranco

I will tend my anger

I will tend my grief

I will achieve safety

I will find relief

I'll show myself mercy

I'll show myself respect

Yes, and I'll decide when I'm ready

To forgive but not forget

And I will ask you, I'll ask you questions

I will try, try to understand

And if you give me your story

I will hold it in my hands

Yeah, I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love

Revolution

And even if you hurt me

I will not shut down

No, you can't make me hate you

And carry that hate around

I will see no stranger

Only parts of myself I don't yet know

Yes, and I'll see right through evil

To a wound, too scared to show

Yeah, I have the power to stay open

Oh, I have the power to be

The one that I've been waiting for

The one who sets me free

Yeah, I can bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I can bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I can bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love

Oh, well I will tend my anger

I will tend my grief

I will achieve safety

Yeah, I will find relief

Yeah, I'll show myself mercy

I will show myself respect

Yes, and I'll decide when I'm ready

To forgive but not forget

And I'll ask you, ask you questions

I will try, try to understand

And if you give me your story

I will hold it in my hands

And I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

Yes, I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love

Yes, I can bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I will bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

I can bring the love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love (the love, the love)

The revolutionary love

Bad Dream lyrics - Ani Difranco

Don't even think for a second

I had any idea

I thought you'd always want me

Like I wanted you

I just stood there motionless

While you turned on me

By the time I got my wits about me

There was nothing I could do

I was living in a bad dream

Not of my design

Caught up in the spotlight

Of your agitated mind

Minding my own business

Just rolling down the road

Trying not to take it personal

This heavy, heavy load

You can't imagine how far

What was happening

Was from

What was happening

For me

Yeah, what was happening

Floored me

Because I thought that we were perfect

Which is to say

I just knew it was all worth it

Everyday

I would listen to the birds sing

In the morning

But it didn't matter if I turned left or I turned right

It didn't matter if I tossed and turned all night

I just couldn't do nothing right

I was living in a bad dream

Not of my design

Caught up in the spotlight

Of your agitated mind

Minding my own business

Rolling down the road

Trying not to take it personal

This heavy, heavy load

Chloroform lyrics - Ani Difranco

I feel like, if you could see me here

You would have some sort of empathy

But I don't think that that can happen, dear

Now that you've lost the eyes to see

Now that your fever's pulled you down

Into a deep hallucination

Demons and monsters all around

The perfect fix for your fixation

I don't know what you want from me

I kneel by your bedside on my knee

I hold a cold compress to your brow

And still this is all my fault somehow

Somehow

I've sterilized all the instruments

I've washed my hands and uniform

I've got lots of experience

I've got lots of chloroform

C'mon sweetheart just lie down

Yes, this is going to hurt at first

But, I promise you, staying in this trance

Is going to hurt you even worse

I don't know what you want from me

I kneel by your bedside on my knee

I hold a cold compress to your brow

And still this is all my fault somehow

Somehow

Somehowi feel like, if you could see me here

You would have some sort of empathy

But I don't think that that can happen, dear

Now that you've lost the eyes to see

Now that your fever's pulled you down

Into a deep hallucination

Demons and monsters all around

The perfect fix for your fixation

I don't know what you want from me

I kneel by your bedside on my knee

I hold a cold compress to your brow

And still this is all my fault somehow

Somehow

I've sterilized all the instruments

I've washed my hands and uniform

I've got lots of experience

I've got lots of chloroform

C'mon sweetheart just lie down

Yes, this is going to hurt at first

But, I promise you, staying in this trance

Is going to hurt you even worse

I don't know what you want from me

I kneel by your bedside on my knee

I hold a cold compress to your brow

And still this is all my fault somehow

Somehow

Contagious lyrics - Ani Difranco

They go low, you go high

You bring more than your own supply

That dirty game you don't play

That shit's contagious, you stay away

They go low, you go high

Not taking polls, not doing math

Not trying to steamroll a path

Not trying to calculate, manipulate

The future or the past

That shit's contagious, just stay away

They go low, you go high

I'm not below you, I'm not above

Yeah in the center, I put love

Yes in our being, we are the same

But are we playing that dirty game?

That shit's contagious, you stay away

They go low, you go high

Do Or Die lyrics - Ani Difranco

Do you ever just wanna give up

Well, me too

Are you shocked by what people get

Get used to

Do you wake up in a cold sweat?

Well, that's sane

Least you got a little brain left

You've got a little brain

'Cause there's foxes in the hen house

And bad news every day

And right there on Pennsylvania Avenue

The sheetless KKK

And there's models wielding microphones

Chasing maniacs around

And everything's on fire

And there's twisters touching down

And I know you got to fight your adrenaline

Just to be a gentleman

And you know I got to fight my amygdala

Just to keep hearing ya

But we can do this if we try

Yeah, if we do this like it's do or die

And we can do this if we try

If we do this like it's do or die

So let's pause

Let us regroup

Let us recover

Let us recoup

Let us remember

That we are charmed

Let us look down at our hands

And remember we're armed

'Cause Yankee Doodle Dandy didn't feel free once

So he used his pen to pick the locks

And Yankee Doodle Dandy did some doozy kind of carpentry

When he fashioned that ballot box

And if you think your vote doesn't matter

Then you're not paying attention

Yeah, everything they do they do to

Keep you from their invention

Yeah, so if you think your vote doesn't matter

Then you're not paying attention

Yeah, everything they do they do to

Keep you from their invention

But we can do this if we try

Yeah, if we do this like it's do or die

And we can do this if we try

If we do this like it's do or die

Do you ever just wanna give up?

Well, me too

Are you shocked by what people get

Get used to?

Do you wake up in a cold sweat?

Well, that's sane

Least you got a little brain left

You've got a little brain

And I know you got to fight your adrenaline

Just to be a gentleman

And I know I got to fight my amygdala

Just to keep hearing ya

But we can do this if we try

If we do this like it's do or die

We can do this if we try

If we do this like it's do or die

Station Identification lyrics - Ani Difranco

(Instrumental)

Shrinking Violet lyrics - Ani Difranco

Mostly I'm afraid

Never again will I know

That I can trust your love

Far as I can throw it

Mostly I'm afraid

Never again will I be sure

That while you are sleepwalking you won't

Become what you endured

Mostly I'm afraid of ya

I sleep with one eye open

And I hold my breath til dawn

I'm no shrinking violet

But I got my head screwed on

You stood over me with a knife

And you tried to take my life

And it's no comfort you don't remember

It's no comfort that you've moved on

There's nothing I can say

Beyond this whispered wish

Your anger has a hunger, mister

And I'm its favorite dish

There's nothing I can say

So I don't make a sound

I just wipe the counter and I

I keep my head down

There's nothing I can say to ya

I sleep with one eye open

And I hold my breath til dawn

No, I'm no shrinking violet

But I got my head screwed on

You stood over me with a knife

And you tried to take my life

And it's no comfort you don't remember

It's no comfort that we've moved on

Metropolis lyrics - Ani Difranco

A city of a body

A metropolis of cells

If you listen to it closely

You can hear the ringing bells

You can hear the cry of seagulls

Always so much to say

Stumbling to the kitchen

Fog lifting off the bay

Just an innocent game

Of musical chairs

Easy as a ball

Rolling down stairs

Truth is, I just got lucky

Weren't really up to me

When the music stopped

And I was sittin' on your knee

I've been mapping your coastline

Now for a thousand years

My skin is made of leather

But not as tough as it appears

Always another inlet

How far do you dare to go?

Cuz there is this place called infinite

That your instruments don't show

A city of a body

A metropolis of cells

If you listen to it closely

You can hear the ringin' bells

You can hear the cry of seagulls

Always so much to say

Stumbling to the kitchen

Fog lifting off the bay

Simultaneously lyrics - Ani Difranco

I live in two different worlds

Simultaneously

The one I seem to live in

And the one that lives in me

And one is full of violence

Oppression and disrespect

And one is full of longing

To breathe and to connect

Yeah, my inner world is fragile

And the outer world is dumb

And this whole thing is such a hassle

Won't you wake me when it's done?

I live in two different worlds

Simultaneously

The one where we are fractured

And the one where we are free

Freedom requires safety

Freedom requires trust

Freedom requires balance

In the equation of us

Yes, my inner world is fragile

And the outer world is dumb

And this whole thing is such a hassle

Won't you wake me when it's done?

When it's done...

I live in two different worlds

Simultaneously

And between them is a chasm

Unfolding unfathomably

And in that chasm, a shadow

And in that shadow I stand

Facing towards the light

Nothing in my hands

My inner world is fragile

And the outer world is dumb

And this whole thing is such a hassle

Won't you wake me when it's done?

When it's done...

Confluence lyrics - Ani Difranco

(Instrumental)

Crocus lyrics - Ani Difranco

Looks like we maybe made it through

Something wild

I can hardly even let myself believe it

Inside

Yesterday I even heard you laugh

Took it like a bird bath

It has been a long long long long time

Since it felt like that

When the longest coldest winter

Finally lets go

And the first purple crocus

Pokes up through the snow

All the world can go to hell

If I'm right with you

Then all is well

When you open up the doors

And the windows too

When you open up the channel

Between me and you

All those nagging questions

Just start answering themselves

Let the spring wind blow in

And dust off all your shelves

When the longest coldest winter

Finally lets go

And the first purple crocus

Pokes up through the snow

All the world can go to hell

If I'm right with you

Then all is well

Baby Roe lyrics - Ani Difranco

I think we might be wrong about all of it

In fact, it's been proven

Keeps coming down to this shitty little interface

That we're using

The very edges of our knowing

Is just the tiny tip that's showing

But we're so wigged out

Yeah, we're so devout

To this waking dream

What's playing on the screen

And you just never know

Do you, baby roe?

It's all absurd

But even you maintain

Timing is everything

When you're stepping

Off a curb

And if you think this life

Is your only life

You're a fool

No, spirit can't be stopped

No matter who gives birth to who

No, spirit won't be stopped

No matter who gives birth to who

The path of least suffering

Leaves the best trail

The path of least suffering

It don't matter which side of the veil

I think we might be wrong about all of it

Brass In Pocket lyrics - Ani Difranco

(originally by The Pretenders)

Got brass in pocket

Got bottle, I'm gonna use it

Intention, I feel inventive

Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion, restrained emotion

Been driving, Detroit leaning

No reason, just seems so pleasing

Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms

Gonna use my legs

Gonna use my style

Gonna use my sidestep

Gonna use my fingers

Gonna use my, my, my imagination

'Cause I gonna make you see

There's nobody else here

No one like me

I'm special (special), so special (special)

I gotta have some of your attention

Give it to me

Got rhythm, I can't miss a beat

Got new skank, it's so neat

I got something, and I'm winking at you

I gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms

Gonna use my legs

Gonna use my style

Gonna use my sidestep

Gonna use my fingers

Gonna use my, my, my imagination, oh

'Cause I gonna make you see

There's nobody else here

No one like me

I'm special (special), so special (special)

I gotta have some of your attention

Give it to me

'Cause I gonna make you see

There's nobody else here

No one like me

I'm special (special), so special (special)

I gotta have some of your attention

Give it to me

Disorders lyrics - Stone Gossard & Ani DiFranco

One disorder

Or another

It's a lot to process

So much for due process

Can I take your order?

Can I take how you ignored her?

Can I even pique your interest?

Buy me time to get dressed

If you know, then you know

How your grip can just let go

How the meaning can get missed

Once you know how it feels

To not exist

I have entered into

Negotiations

With the blissful abyss

Of disassociation

And all that it implies

While you weaponize

Your ejaculations

One fire

Or another

It's a lot to process

I just need an egress

Your importance

Has reached global proportions

It's a lot to process

I guess this is my process

I have entered into

Negotiations

With the blissful abyss

Of disassociation

And all that it implies

While you weaponize...

I don't give a fuck what you think you know

Look at you, you don't know

I don't give a fuck what you think you know

Look at you, you don't know

I don't give a fuck what you think you know

Look at you

I don't give a fuck what you think you know

Look at you, you don't know

I don't give a fuck what you think you know

Look at you...

Hide And Seek lyrics - Ani Difranco

Me and the other kids from the neighborhood

We played out on the street all summer long

Rule was, we had to go home at night when the street lights came on

We were oblivious to the rest of the world

And we'd hold up the cars in the street

And we'd always play boys against girls, and both sides would cheat

Strange men would stop their cars at the curb

And say, "hey, sweetheart, come here."

I'd go up to the window and they'd have their dick out in their hand

And a sick little sneer

I'd say, "here we go again

Yeah, ok, this time you win."

And I'd feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed

But I wouldn't let it stop my game

We would play hide and go seek

And territory would be the whole block

Sometimes the older boys, when they'd find you

They wouldn't want to tag you, they'd just wanna "talk."

They'd say "what would you do for a quarter?

Come on, we don't have much time."

Then I'd think for a minute and say,"ok, give me the quarter first... fine."

This time you win

Here we go again

And I would feel dirty and I'd feel ashamed

But I wouldn't let it stop my game

I remember my first trip alone on the greyhound bus

A man put his hands on me as soon as night fell

I remember when I was leaving, how excited I was

I remember when I arrived, I didn't feel so well

I remember a teacher in school that got me so sick, so scared

That I went into the bathroom and threw up in my hair

And I could go on and on, it just gets worse

And I should probably stop

Girl, next time he wants to know what your problem is

Girl, next time he wants to know where the anger comes from

Just tell him this time the problem's his

Tell him the anger just comes

It just comes

The Knowing lyrics - Ani Difranco

(from the Ani DiFranco Children's Book: The Knowing)

I have a name

And my name has a story

I have a look

A sound

A smell

A shape

A size

I have a color to my hair my skin my eyes

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

I have a favorite blanket it's a little torn

I have a family and a place where I was born

I have a favorite song and a favorite food

I have a favorite game depending on my mood

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

I have a life

That I am here to live

I have gifts that I am here to give

I have friends and with my friends I have fun

I have a love of the wind and of the sun

Yes, I can take heart in what's showing

Knowing it's all a part of The Knowing

Yes, I can take part in what's showing

Knowing we're all a part of The Knowing

I have beliefs and someday those beliefs might change

I have blocks that I like to arrange and rearrange

There are things that I'm told and things that I learn

There are skills I've practiced and praise I've earned

But this is not all of who I am

Underneath this is something more

All of these things are just what's showing

Underneath all that I know is The Knowing

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family

Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

In the blue glow of gizmos
Lurk despots in diapers
And cyborgs with bullhorns
And crackpots and snipers
Like robots so cold
With such ease they dismiss you
Sooner fuck you then kiss you
Sooner kick you and tease you

They got networks like insects
With webs of deception
They'll trap you, will clone you
Like a department of correction
They come in all colors
With sexes increase
They got our kind of issues
They got our kind of meat

Little laboratory monkeys
Raised with no hugging
Just a wire cage mum
And lab coats muddy

I feel your anger
I feel your pain
I feel the aching hole in your soul that can't be named

Yes consciousness is binary
Consciousness is spinning
Consciousness is a circuit
When consciousness is winning

Consciousness is binary
Consciousness is spinning
Consciousness is a circuit
When consciousness is winning

You gotta complete the circuit
Alone there's just no knowing
Yeah energy is destructive unless it is flowing
In the connection lies the spark
In the connection lies the art
You gotta be up in someone's countenance
Conversing with their heart

You gotta complete the circuit
Not just with human beings
With the sky above you
With the earth beneath your feet
When you complete the circuit
With everything that lives
Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives

Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives
Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives
Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives
Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives
Borders get blurry
And the rest is adjectives

Consciousness is binary
Consciousness is spinning
Consciousness is binary
Consciousness is spinning
Consciousness is binary
Consciousness is

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Where are my sisters?
Where are my brothers?
Where is my family
Who takes care of each other?

Pacifist's Lament lyrics - Ani Difranco

There's many ways to say you're sorry
Home from work, buy some flowers
Wash, dry, put the dishes away

There's a gentle way
For a hand to touch a hand
For a cup of tea to be delivered to a nightstand
For a light to be left on, to light someone's way

But there is nothing harder than to stop....
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

But we ask it of our children to just stop...
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

Which one of us is ready to just stop?

There's many ways, to see my fears
Don't it seem hindsight is always the clearest?
When the fighters and the flighters have gone back to their primeval gaze

You can try to undo what conditioning created
You can go to India and sit cross legged
You can walk to the ocean and drown yourself in the waves

But there is nothing harder than to stop....
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

But we ask it of our children to just stop...
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

Which one of us is ready to just stop?

If I had a school, I would teach Gandhi
And Dr King, and Aung San Suu Kyi
I'd teach techniques of non-violence as part of the core

'Cause any kid can add two and two
If you show him a path to the truth
Monkey see, monkey do
That is the score

But there is nothing harder than to stop....
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

But we ask it of our children to just stop...
...in the middle of a battle and say you're sorry

Which one of us is ready to just stop?

Zizzing lyrics - Ani Difranco (feat. Justin Vernon)

Air flush with water
Skin slick with oil
Power poles zizzing in the fog like Tesla coils

Sweeping patterns, glistening crystals
What we call music in the air
Whiskey dripping down your temples, mosquitos in your hair

And in the background a riverboat is sounding its goodbye
Our magic should be more powerful as the years go by
Where did I go so wrong with you? Tell me - where did I?

Laughter spilling on laughter
Muscle pulling on bone
The sorcery of stilettos spilling on cobblestone

And all that precious cargo
Don't know where it comes from, where it goes
Just know everything else is on a mission, to decompose

And in the background a riverboat is sounding its goodbye
Our magic should be more powerful as the years go by
'Cause where did I go so wrong with you? Tell me - where did I?

Play God lyrics - Ani Difranco

I was done at 16
Showin up for class
I was out there
In the ring
Learnin how to kick some ass
I was done at 16
Using my momma's key
It was all on me
Yes it was all on me

Weren't no free rides
Weren't no IOU's
I pulled my weight
I paid my dues
And I showed up
To enlist
On the first day of recruits
How bout you?
How bout you

I'm my brother's keeper
Every chance I can
I pay my taxes
Like any working man
And I feel I've earned
My right to choose
You don't get to play God, man
I do
You don't get to play God, man
I do

You get to run the world
In your special way
You get much more
Much more than your say
Government, religion
It's all just patriarchy
I must insist
You leave this one thing to me

Just one thing that a man needs
To be truly free
This is the modern world
And that one thing is money
But there are two things
That a woman needs
Control over her own body

Yes I pay the price
On top of everything
Each month a bill
Each month a reckoning
And each seed that dies
I cry and I bleed
So you can't tell me
No you can't tell me

I am a soldier
It's my blood that flows
I'd give my life
So that this tree can grow
You don't know creation
Like I know
So you can't tell me
No you can't tell me

I'm my brother's keeper
Every chance I can
I pay my taxes
Like any workin man
And I feel I've earned
My right to choose
You don't get to play God
I do
You don't get to play God
I do
You don't get to play God
I do

Alrighty lyrics - Ani Difranco

Alrighty, let's not be dumb
The Sun is almighty as they come
His light is the God you meant to see

Pouring into your stained glass
Saying worship me

Alrighty, for what it's worth
Next time I watch a man give birth
I'll try to picture the Creator as a dude with a beard
'Cause right now I gotta say it's seemin' kind of weird

See how quickly shit gets absurd
You invent angels then you ignore birds
You forget to actually listen to the messengers
While you're writing and reciting
Your own goddamn words

Alrighty, I try to chill
Though I'm acutely aware that only ill
Can come of being cut off from all of consciousness
Save for that expressed by humans
In their big hot mess

Alrighty

Alrighty, let's not be dumb
The Sun is almighty as they come
Yes light is the God you meant to see
Pouring into your stained glass
Saying worship me

Telepathic lyrics - Ani Difranco

I'll just be going along
Lookin through my eyes
Through my eyes

Then I'll go inside of someone
And I'll look through their eyes
Through their eyes
They might be behind a counter
They might be filled with disdain
Goin' behind the eyes of the people
Is a dangerous game, it's a dangerous game
Goin' behind the eyes of the people
Is a dangerous game

We live in a world full of longing
We I've in a world full of fear
So many sheep in wolf's clothing
Hidin' behind a wall of sneer

I wish I wasn't telepathic
I wish I was lost in a dream
I gotta stop paying attention
Just keep takin' hits for the team

I'll just be going along
Lookin through my eyes
Through my eyes
Then I'll go inside of someone
And I'll look through their eyes
Through their eyes
They might be behind a counter
They might be filled with disdain
Goin' behind the eyes of the people
Is a dangerous game, it's a dangerous game
Goin' behind the eyes of the people
Is a dangerous game

Even More lyrics - Ani Difranco

Long after the seal is broken
I've seen you stumble, I've seen you choke
And I think I love you even more

After someone went sat on my rose coloured glasses
I think Iove ya even more
Ain't nothing changed about my passion
Now that we've both got tired asses
I think I love you even more

Oh boy come here, bring me back
To when we were slipping through the cracks
I think I love ya even more

Even more, Even more
Even, even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even, even more, Even more

Sails sleek bacwards, hellbent
From the baby to the placenta
(I think I love ya) Even more
Retroactive DNA, what's attractive?
Who can say
I think I love ya even more
Starlight eyes and if you
Dry your eyes, they were blue
I think I love ya even more

Oh boy come here, bring me back
To when we were slipping through the cracks
I think I love ya even more

Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even, even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even, even more, Even more

Long after the seal is broken
You see me stumble, you see me choke
And do you think you could love me even more?
After someone went sat on your rose coloured glasses
You think you could love me even more?
Can you hold on to your passion
Now that we've both got tired asses
You think you could love me even more?

Yeah boy come here, bring me back
To when we were slipping through the cracks
I think I love ya even more

Even more, Even more
Even, even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more
Even more, Even more

Spider lyrics - Ani Difranco

Work of art
Field of play
Slight of hand

Turn of phrase
Port of call
Dark of night
Fear of tight spaces
Fear of heights

Look out, boyscout
It's a spider
The windows, near us, and you know it's
Inside her house
In sight, flashlight
By your pillow
Only one way for this to go

Ship of fools
Tale of war
Change of heart
Day of show
Flight of stairs
Burden of proof
Murder of crows
Moment of truth

Look out, boyscout
It's a spider
The windows, near us, and you know it's
Inside her house
In sight, flashlight
By your pillow
Only one way for this to go

Back to the grind
Right away
Show of hands
Shades of gray
Twist of fate
Sins of weight
Tears of joy
Death or life

Look out, boyscout
It's a spider
The windows, near us, and you know it's
Inside her house
In sight, flashlight
By your pillow
Only one way for this to go

Look out, boyscout
It's a spider
The windows, near us, and you know it's
Inside her house
In sight, flashlight
By your pillow
Only one way for this to go

Sasquatch lyrics - Ani Difranco

Hey Sasquatch
Your footprint got nothing on mine
I exhume you, I consume you

I film you as you run by
Hey Sasquatch
You're hairy, don't scare me
I dine on chicory, on the prairie
On the slurry of our kind

Say Sasquatch quit hiding
Yes I love ya, out there up in your window
My warrior be under my care
Hey Sasquatch I love ya
You can drink from my cup
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up

Hey Sasquatch
Your footprint got nothing on mine
I exhume you, I consume you
I film you as you run by
Hey Sasquatch
You're hairy, don't scare me
I dine on chicory, on the prairie
On the slurry of our kind

Say Sasquatch quit hiding
Yes I know you're out there up in your window
My warrior be under my care
Hey Sasquatch I love ya
You can drink from my cup
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up

You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up
You big fool you know I rule you
Now come out with hands up

Terrifying Sight lyrics - Ani Difranco

Even in your darkest hour
You're luckier than anyone you know
Better not catch you complaining

Girl you know there's a lot of ways this could go
Last thing that this old world needs is more hot air
Yeah more hot air to blow
Better make a grateful sound
And back it up with a grateful soul

No more dumb am I
Seen a few people die
Seen a few people livin'
In a way that's getting off line
I look to my left, I look to my right
I have to admit, It's a terrifying
Terrifying, terrifying sight

'Cause even in your darkest hour
You're luckier than anyone you know
Better not catch you complaining
Girl you know there's a lot of ways this could go
Last thing that this old world needs is more hot air
Yeah more hot air to blow
Better make a grateful sound
And back it up with a grateful soul

To the office of the government
To whom it may concern
I'm writing to request clemency (Clemency)
From fears who has I
To me as a butterfly
And so must go outdoors
And yet there's blood on his hands
But so with mine and yours
For every child of poverty
Who never stood a chance
For each who who said go with me
And each who who took his hand
For each who had bad counsel
And still they took the stand
For every deed of woman
And every deed of man

Have mercy, mercy, mercy maybe (Have mercy)
Have mercy, mercy, mercy maybe (Have mercy)
Have mercy, mercy, mercy maybe (Have mercy)
Have mercy, mercy, mercy maybe (Have mercy)

'Cause even in your darkest hour
You're luckier than anyone you know
Better not catch you complaining
Girl you know there's a lot of ways this could go
Last thing that this old world needs is more hot air
Yeah more hot air to blow
Better make a grateful sound
And back it up with a grateful soul

No more dumb am I
Seen a few people die
Seen a few people livin'
In a way that's getting off line
I look to my left, I look to my right
I have to admit, It's a terrifying
Terrifying, terrifying sight

Deferred Gratification lyrics - Ani Difranco

Deferred gratification you are my new best friend
I got kids and so do my friends
It'll never be our world again

But look how weary the chief
It'll be a relief to someday hear her say
"Get it yourself, get it yourself"

Frozen soldier mannequin
In the back of the wax museum
Weekdays it's only five bucks to get in
See him Friday fighting a battle he'll never win
But look how weary the chief
It'll be a relief to someday hear him say
"Get it yourself, get it yourself"

Deferred gratification you are my new best friend
I vote in every election
Hope someday these kids are gonna help us win
But look how weary the chief
It'll be a relief to someday hear him say
"Get it yourself, get it yourself"

"Allergic To Water" (2014)

Dithering lyrics - Ani Difranco

So many things to name
So many things to know the name of
So many ways to classify into different and the same of
So many stories to read
Just to be considered up to speed
You got to start when you’re a baby
Around everything goes the frame of

Mama look at this headline
They say we’re getting dumber
They keep doing them tests on stuff
And coming out with new bummers
Remind me to quit my job
Say farewell to it all
Remind me to plant those sunflowers
Along the south wall

Ah ha...

I got a database
Behind my face
Of dithering information
Ask me anything
About anything
I got a lotta shit in rotation
I got a lotta shit in rotation

I got clutter in my closet
Clutter on my bed
Clutter in the office
And clutter in the shed
And I can’t find a thing
In all of this confusion
I can’t think a thought
All the way to its conclusion

Ah ha...

I got a database
Behind my face
Of dithering information
Ask me anything
About anything
I got a lotta shit in rotation
I got a lotta shit in rotation

See See See See lyrics - Ani Difranco

Baby if you like
What you see see see see
Then make me feel nice
And baby tell me, tell me
Tell me with your eyes
Tell me in the glance of a hand
Let me know I still can
Make you feel like a man
Wipe away my worries
My list of things to do
There’s flies in the kitchen
And I’m still in love with you
Yes I’m still in love with you

Tell me some more
Of who you were before we met
Tell me a dream
That you may or may have not had yet
For understanding I will wait patiently
And if I can’t unchain you
I’ll hold you till you’re free
Cuz I’m still in love with you

Baby if you like
What you see see see see
Then make me feel nice
And baby tell me, tell me
Tell me with your eyes
Tell me in a glance of a hand
Let me know I still can
Make you feel like a man
Wipe away my worries
My list of things to do
There’s flies in the kitchen
And I’m still in love with you
Yes I’m still in love with you

Woe Be Gone lyrics - Ani Difranco

Woe be gone
The madness and the suffering of the human race
The history of the world is such a losing place
The alphabet took us on a wild goose chase

And still

Still there’s swiftly shifting sands
Beneath our feet
And an unexplored hemisphere
Lying underneath
Enter the goddesses
Fresh from their long sleep

We get so off track sometimes
We get so off track sometimes

I mean what the hell?
Raise your hand if you’re at peace right now
In fact just stand up and take a bow
Everywhere you look just see damaged goods

And still

Still there’s swiftly shifting sands
Beneath our feet
And an unexplored hemisphere
Lying underneath
Enter the goddesses
Fresh from their long sleep

We get so off track sometimes
We get so off track sometimes…

Woe be gone
Madness and suffering I am just like you
The bottoms of my crutches look like old worn shoes
Me and my addictions got a lot to lose

And still

Still there’s swiftly shifting sands
Beneath our feet
And an unexplored hemisphere
Lying underneath
Enter the goddesses
Fresh from their long sleep

We get so off track sometimes
We get so off track sometimes…

Woe be gone
The madness and the suffering of the human race
The history of the world is such a losing place
The alphabet took us on a wild goose chase

Careless Words lyrics - Ani Difranco

You really gave me hell, big talker
Polluted the well
You really spoke your mind, big talker
At least your mind at the time
Now I'm wearing your words, big talker
Like necklaces and rings
Just glad it wasn't me, big talker
That said all those things

Never before could I picture
Even one foot out the door
Careless words, careless words
Say no more
But now that that door has been opened
It can never be closed
Careless words, careless words
I can never unknow
I can never unknow

Tried to keep my heart pure, big talker
But it came out stained
Tried to stay in love, big talker
But instead I'm in pain
I learned as a child, big talker
Just shut the whole thing down
That polluted well, big talker
That whole polluted town

And never before could I picture
Even one foot out the door
Careless words, careless words
Say no more
But now that that door has been opened
It can never be closed
Careless words, careless words
I can never unknow
I can never unknow

No sleep for me, big talker
Just one long migraine
One that sparks and flares, big talker
When I say your name
Where went your love? big talker
Cuz that's where I go
I'm no longer here, big talker
I'm searching high and low

And never before could I picture
Even one foot out the door
Careless words, careless words
Say no more
But now that that door has been opened
It can never be closed
Careless words, careless words
I can never unknow
You can never unknow

Allergic To Water lyrics - Ani Difranco

You can't even imagine
The tortuous state I've been existing in
I am allergic to water
It itches my throat and it blisters my skin
Still, I drink cuz I have to, I bathe cuz I have to
But boy it's a pain
But I don't cry
Cuz it hurts to cry
And I don't go outside in the rain

And you may wonder what would possess
Someone like me to go on
You may wonder how it's possible
Something so basic could go wrong
And all I can say is
If you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes
There's someone out there who lives further than that
In a place you can never know

So right now if you’re looking at me
You can assume that I am thirsty
And a good day is one when that ache in my brain
Can remain at a doable three
And I don't really want your sympathy
I'm just telling you so you'll understand
This is me, sincerely
Doin' the best that I can

Harder Than It Needs To Be lyrics - Ani Difranco

Honey please don't laugh at everything I say
In a humorless way
Honey please don't roll your eyes around
Just to put me down
It's exactly as hard to talk to you
As it is to talk to me
Let's not make this harder
Than it needs to be

I know I married your mama
And I married your papa
When I married you
And right now it's clear
Who I'm talking to
We better just step back
We better take a breath
See what we can see
Let's not make this harder
Than it needs to be

Genie lyrics - Ani Difranco

When I can hear somethin calling
From somewhere deep and far
I'm a genie in a bikini
Comin out of a jar
I float out of myself
And into the divine

But it ain't all the time
Sometimes I'm stuck in my mind

But I'm sick of standing in the breadlines
With a hunger that just won’t quit
Sick of mining my own hillsides
For gems to sell at market
Just gonna sit here like buddha
Under this here bodhi tree
Say goodbye to the game
Of what can I get for me

I just cried enough times
And I think I wore out my mind

You came out of the blue
Like twilight's first star
And we picked up on each other
From somewhere deep and far
And we woke up married
After one drunk fuck
And I couldn't believe you'd found me
I couldn't believe my luck

Cuz I did my time
Before love came to find me

Happy All The Time lyrics - Ani Difranco

Suffer did the Buddha
And suffer did the Christ
And suffer did Isis
When mankind started to write
And through profound suffering
Shines enlightenment's light
So I'm grateful for their struggle
Yes I honor their plight

But me I'm just happy all the time
Yeah me I'm just happy all the time

And I know pain is a teacher
To be welcomed and not feared
Alas pain is your ally
So embrace it while it's here
It's here to open up your eyes
Here to make the way clear
At least that's what I've observed
At least that's what I hear

But me I'm just happy all the time
Yes me I'm just happy all the time

I know trial brings wisdom
And greatness has a price
Just ask Abraham Lincoln
Ask miles davis' wives
And I have great admiration
For those that raise up mankind
But I'm afraid that great gift
Is not meant to be mine

Cuz me I'm just happy all the time
Yeah me I'm just happy all the time

Yeah Yr Right lyrics - Ani Difranco

Yeah my neck is loose
And my head’s on right
Got my sense of humor
And my appetite
Got my Joie De Vivre
And my yeah yr right

Don’t need a sleep number
To help me sleep
Don’t need to rush on home
To my TV
Don’t need a chocolate bar
Or a new hairdo
I’m so into you
I’m into me too

Yeah we could make the scene
We could spiff and primp
I could be your wife
You could be my pimp
Or we could get up in the daytime
And raise a kid
I know I’d be glad if we did
I so would be glad if we did

Tr'w lyrics - Ani Difranco

Make me say w
New paragraph o
New paragraph w
Oh my lover you
You could get me in trouble you

Make me ashamed
To meet your mother you
Oh my lover you
You could get me in trouble you

Yes as far as the eye can see
There is no other you
My lover you
You’re trouble you

Closer, closer, closer, come closer
Come closer, come closer, come closer

Make me say w
New paragraph o
New paragraph w

Still My Heart lyrics - Ani Difranco

That train just won’t stop
Blowin’ its horn that way
But it don’t really matter
I wasn’t sleeping anyway
I got precious little time
Before that rooster starts
Just trying to calm my mind
Just trying to still my heart

The more I get
My focus right
The more I see
How one could lose sight
The many things that don’t suck
Rival the things that do
And we all live in the house
Of what we pay attention to

I’m really not that bad
Once you get use to me
Might even make you glad
Honey just wait and see
Just trying to walk that line
Just trying to do my part
Trying to calm my mind
Trying to still my heart

Rainy Parade lyrics - Ani Difranco

Are you facing east or west
Or north or south?
When it gets cold outside
Do you get brought in
Or do you get left out?
Are you in the shade of something bigger
Or are you right out in the sun?
Are you down there in the trenches
Or at the top of the mountain?

Either way you better take your lemons
And make your lemonade
Life’s a rainy parade

Have you felt the longing in a seed?
Have you felt it swimming in its need?
Pushing through into the light
Then you know what I’m sayin’
When I’m sayin’ it’s gonna be alright

You just got to take your lemons
And make your lemonade
Have your rainy parade

Listen to the beating of the drum
Look at the smiles on everyone
Who says it’s better to be dry?
The mighty oak trees are so happy right now
They could cry

So you best better take your lemons
And make your lemonade
Have your rainy parade

"¿Which Side Are You On?" (2012)

Life Boat lyrics - Ani Difranco

Every time I open my mouth
I take off my clothes
I'm raw and frostbitten from
being exposed
I got red scabby hands
and purple scabby feet
And you can smell me coming from
halfway down the street

And I remember that old hotel had quite the smell
where I'd go to use the phone
Between the donut shop and the pizza parlor
where I learned to live alone
Sweet sixteen and smiling
my way out of any jam
Learning the ways of the world, oh my
Learning the ways of man

And I didn't really want a baby
and I guess I had a choice
But I just let it grow inside me
this persistent little voice
And I guess I got her off and running
and run off is what she did
And that's part of what I think about
think about that kid

So now there's nothing left to wish upon
except for passing cars
The cacophony of city lights
is drowning out the stars
This park bench is a life boat
and the rest a big dark sea
And I'm just gonna lie here until
something comes and finds me

Yeah I got this tired old face
still grinning most of the time
Just 'cause it don't have a better way
to express what's on it's mind
And I got this running monologue
entertaining in it's outrage
And I've got the air of an animal
That's been living in a cage

Every time I open my mouth
I take off my clothes
I'm raw and frostbitten from
being exposed
I got red scabby hands
and purple scabby feet
And you can smell me coming from
halfway down the street

Unworry lyrics - Ani Difranco

I know I've seen you around
You can't forget that hair
But I didn't hear you come in
How long have you been sitting there?

You know you can tell me anything
I promise I don't scare
Let's only ever be allies even if the whole background dissolves
And little pink hearts can pop over our heads but we'll keep our cool

You know I have enjoyed my life
It's been exciting
And I've become more peaceful
No more fighting

And I ain't gonna waste your time
Wronging and righting
Round and round centered by the grooves on an old oak tree
Nibbled by minnows and licked by a salty sea
And I gotta say I'm amazed not in a good way at how much I don't remember
I just gotta hope though I'm slow it's all part of what I know the facts are pretend anyway
Yeah the facts are pretend anyway

I know I've seen you around
Always in that uniform
Pirate hat just a little stained
Sword just a little worn

You know you can tell me anything
I'm not just tooting my own horn
Let's only ever be allies even if the whole background dissolves
And little pink hearts can pop over our heads but we'll keep our cool

Baby teach me to unworry
I will teach you to unhide
In the city where they don't need x-rays
To see each other's insides

Under a big old oak tree
Synchronicities gather in tide
Round and round centered by the grooves on an old oak tree
Nibbled by minnows and licked by a salty sea
And I gotta say I'm amazed not in a good way at how much I don't remember
I just gotta hope though I'm slow it's all part of what I know the facts are pretend anyway
Yeah the facts are pretend anyway
Yeah the facts are pretend

¿Which Side Are You On? lyrics - Ani Difranco

They stole a few elections,
Still we the people won
We voted out corruption and
Big corporations

We voted for an end to war
New direction
We ain't gonna stop now
Until our job is done

Come on all good workers
This year is our time
Now there some folks in washington
Who cares what's on our minds

Come one-come all voters
Lets all vote next time
Show 'em which side are you on now
Which side are you on

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

30 years of diggin'
Got us in this hole
The curse of reaganomics
Has finally taken it's toll

Lord knows the free market
Is anything but free
It costs dearly to the planet
And the likes of you and me

I don't need those money lenders
Suckin' on my tit
A little socialism
Don't scare me one bit!

We could do a whole lot worse
Than europe or canada
C'mon mr. president
C'mon congress make the law

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

They say in orleans parish
There are no neutrals there
There's just too much misery
There's too much despair

America who are we
Now our innocence is gone
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

Too many stories written
Out in black and white
C'mon people of privilege
It's time to join the fight

Are we living in the shadow of slavery
Or are we moving on
Tell me which side are you on now
Which side are you on

Which side are you on boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

My mother was a feminist
She taught me to see
That the road to ruin is paved
With patriarchy

So, let the way of the women
Guide democracy
From plunder and pollution
Let mother earth be free

Feminism ain't about women
No, that's not who it is for
It's about a shifting consciousness
That'll bring an end to war

So listen up you fathers
Listen up you sons
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on

So are we just consumers
Or are we citizens
Are we gonna make more garbage
Or are we gonna make amends

Are you part of the solution
Or are you part of the con?
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on?

Splinter lyrics - Ani Difranco

Something about this landscape just don’t feel right
Hyper air-conditioned and lit up all night

Like we just gotta see how comfortable comfortable can get
Like we can’t even bring ourselves to sweat

Sweat in the summer, shiver in the winter
Just enough to know that we’re alive
Watch out for that TV, it’s full of splinters
And remember you can always go outside
Really, really, really far outside

And some might call it conservation
And some might call it common sense
And maybe it’s because I am Libra
But I say balance balance balance balance
I say balance balance balance balance

Who put all this stuff in my apartment?
Who put all this ice in my drink?
Who put the poison in the atmosphere?
Who put the poison in the way I think?

O women, won’t you be our windows
Women who bleed and bleed and bleed
Women who swim with the tide, women who change when the wind blows
Show us we are connected to everything
Show us we are not separate from everything

So here’s to the trials of living
Here’s to feeling our share of pain
All the way from childbirth to dying
Here’s to being connected to everything
Here’s to staying connected to everything

Promiscuity lyrics - Ani Difranco

Promiscuity is nothing more than traveling
There's more than one way to see the world
And some of us like to stick close to home
And some of us are Columbus
What can I say?

Nature always gets her way
Nature always gets her way

And seeing the world through another's eyes
Is like busting a window in a house of lies
And in the end you make up your own mind

And there's wide open spaces
And little cornered off places
And check 'em out
Check 'em out
Take your time

How far is too far?
How much is enough?
You gotta test this stuff

I mean how you gonna know
What you need
What you like
Till you been around the block
A few times on that bike

I mean how you gonna know
Who you are
What you feel
Till you feel a few things
That just don't feel real

And promiscuity is research and development
Evolution begs embellishment
And baby you're a star

And you got two invisible eyes on society
And when society gets cruel
Make like you're nature's tool
Which you are

And nature always gets her way
Nature always gets her way

And monogamy is that carnival trophy you earn
When you throw that ball into that urn
It's somewhat dumb luck, somewhat learned
And you just know when it's your turn

And honesty is the hardest part
Yeah honesty is the highest art
And honestly i myself just started
And eureka I'm less broken hearted

I mean how you gonna know
What you need
What you like
Till you been around the block
A few times on that bike

I mean how you gonna know
Who you are
What you feel
Till you feel a few things
That just don't feel real

Albacore lyrics - Ani Difranco

Look here I just tattooed
A wedding band
On what looks like to me
My mother's hand
I'm no blushing girl
No innocent dove
It took me a long time to find love
But now I have no doubt
And I never will
That I am meant to be loving you
And it fairly blew my mind
To be so sure
When that little needle said I do

My love gives me hope
My love gives me pride
My love gets me past
The land mines inside
When I am next to you
I am more me
Inside me is a room to which you hold the key

Look at that honeymoon
In the albacore sky
Look with all of you
Not just your eye
Look at its dancing light
Through the whispering trees
Look how I love you and you love me
Look how I love you and you love me

J lyrics - Ani Difranco

Can’t sit on my porch and smoke a J
And remember how peaceful life can be
But all night long are a bunch of pushers
Selling drugs right there on my TV
Drugs that whether or not I buy
Are gonna end up in my water supply
Along with who knows what else, who knows when,
Just gotta take a deep breath and drink it in

And ‘round here there’s one thing people know
It’s that government ain’t there for you, it’s all for show
And I’m trying to tell them it don’t have to be so
But I can understand that their confidence is low
Cause ‘round here people’re so high they can’t see
Over the tops of the tall pine trees
Down to the mouth of the Mississippi

Oh, blood ignited in a blighted sky
Oh, blood on the water like we all could die
Blood in the reeds glistening in the sun
Blood on our hands, each and everyone,
Here in the calm before the wars
When the earth shrugs us off like dinosaurs
Here in the sunset days of yore
The first signs washing ashore

And goddess, come and lift us here in deepest Louisiana
In the gut, where hunches come from
A message goes out loud as it can

And you’d have thought we’d have come more far somehow
Since the changing of the guard and all
I mean dude could be FDR right now
And instead he’s just shifting his weight
And the disappointment is the knockout blow
Filmed in torturous slow-mo
Oh hope, please come where I can see
Don’t let the poison get the best of me

And goddess, come and lift us here in deepest Louisiana
In the gut, where hunches come from
A message goes out loud as it can

Of, truth is for telling, truth is foretold
Truth is for those with the guts to behold
We got vampires down here in Louisiana
We need voodoo dolls, we need talisman
We need wooden stakes and shards of light
We need harbingers riding through the night
We need fountain pens, we need whale harpoons
To overthrow the oil tycoons

Cause there’s no fish in the water, no birds in the sky
No life in the soil, no end to the lie
No time like the present and it’s passing us by
But it’s never too late, never too late to try
Cause if we all had to change, we all just would
And we would move closer and that would be good
And we would buy local and we would buy less
And we’d realize that wasn’t our happiness
No, that wasn’t our happiness
No, that wasn’t our happiness
No, that wasn’t our happiness
No, that wasn’t…

And goddess, come and lift us here in deepest Louisiana
And goddess, come and lift us here in deepest Louisiana
And goddess, come and lift us here in deepest Louisiana
In the gut, where hunches come from
A message goes out loud as it can

If Yr Not lyrics - Ani Difranco

If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not getting happier as you get older
Then you’re fuckin’ up

If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not aware that what you put out
Is what you get back
That you make the world through the way you act
You can’t harness the awesome power of that fact

And it builds up, it builds up
It builds up, it builds up
Yeah your love builds up till it’s bigger than you
Then it just carries you through
You better ready yourself cause whatcha gonna do
If you’re not

If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not, if you’re not
If you’re not, oh if you’re not

If you’re not getting happier as you get older
Then you’re fuckin’ up

Hearse lyrics - Ani Difranco

I don't want to strive for nothing anymore,
I just want to lie here with you,
Keep the wolves outside the door,
There is nothing in this world you could ever show me that could ever matter more.

Little baby
In the next room dreaming,
Is just icing on the cake,
There is nothing like dancing,
A dance of give and take,
One step forward,
One step sideways,
A helpless feeling,
When the earth shakes.

I will always be your lover,
Even after our atoms are dispersed,
We'll be pushing up daisies,
And my crush will just be getting worse,
I will follow you into the next life,
Like a dog chasing after a hearse.

I just don't want to strive for nothing anymore,
I just want to lie here with you,
Keep the wolves outside the door,
There is nothing in this world you could ever show me that could ever matter more...

Mariachi lyrics - Ani Difranco

I’ll be the right hand
You’ll be the left hand
You and me we make
A mariachi band

Standing on the corner
Waiting for the light
When you’re around I
Always feel alright

From the Painted Desert
Over to Paris, France
I followed your pointed
Finger with my glance

And I’ve seen so much
More than I would see
If it was just me, just me
If it was just me, just me

Our first rehearsal
Was under a redwood tree
And you brought lyrics and you
Handed them to me

And you said here you are
The only one who can sing this
And I felt kissed and I wondered
If it was just me, just me
If it was just me, just me

Let’s get this party started
Let’s squeeze the lime
The mariachi life
Is really more than fine

You know I’ll meet you
You know I’ll be flyin’ blind
At the appointed corner
At the appointed time
At the appointed corner
At the appointed time

What if it was just me, just me?

Amendment lyrics - Ani Difranco

Wouldn't it be nice if
We had an amendment
To give civil rights to
Women
To once and for all just
Really lay it down from
The point of view of women

I know what you're thinking
That's just redundant
Chicks got it good now
They can almost be president
But is worker against worker
Time and time again
Cause the rich use certain issues as a tool
When I say we need the E.R.A ain't cause I'm a fool
It's cause without it nobody can get away
With anything cruel

And you don't need to go far like
Just over to Canada
To feel the heightened sense of
Live and let live
What is it about Americans
Like so many pit-bulls
Trained to attack them
To never give

We gotta put down abortion
Put it down in the books for good
As central to the civil rights
Of women
Make diversity legal
Make it finally understood
Through the civil rights of women

And if you don't like abortion
Don't have an abortion
And teach your children
How they can avoid them
But don't treat all women
Like they are your children
Compassion has many faces
Many names
And if men can kill and be decorated
Instead of blamed
Then a woman called upon to mother
Can choose to refrain

And contrary to eons
Of old time religion
Your body is your only
True dominion
Nature is not here to serve you
Or at any cause to preserve you
That's just some preacher man's
Old time opinion

Life is sacred
Life is also profane
A woman's life
It must be hers to name
Let out an amendment
Put this brutal game to rest
Trust, women will still take you
To their breast
Trust, women will always
Do their best
Trust, our differences make us stronger
Not less

In this amendment shall be
Family structure shall be free
We'll have the right to civil union
With equal rights and
Equal protection
Intolerance finally
Ruined

And then there's the kids rights
They'll naturally be on board
The funnel through which
Women's lives are poured
Our family is so big
And we're all so very small
Let a web of relationship
Be laid over it all

Over the strutter of power piled up to the sky
Over the illusion of autonomy on which it relies
Over any absolute that nature does not supply

And the birthing woman shall regain her place
In a circle of women, in a sacred space
Turn off the machines, put away the knifes
This amendment shall deliver from bondage midwives

Zoo lyrics - Ani Difranco

I can no longer watch TV
Cause that shit really melts my brain
I think I’m what they call sensitive
And easily thrown off my game

All that bloodshed and pettiness
Just makes the world seem so insane
And I just feel drained

When I go to do my food shopping
And all I can see is the packaging
One big mountain of garbage
About to be happening

And I walk past my own self-loathing
Like I walk past animals in the zoo
Trying not to really see them
And the prison they didn’t choose

If I should ever quit your spotlight
I hope you won’t think me wrong
Says the poet to the moonlight
Says the singer to the song

It’s enough just to stay upright
Upright in every single way
Pour your love into your children
Until there’s nothing left to say

Pour your love into your children
Until there’s nothing left to say

"Red Letter Year" (2008)

Red Letter Year lyrics - Ani Difranco

New Year's Eve, we dropped mushrooms and danced around the house
Making music with everything that we found
Incantation replaced resolution
And we vowed to allow each perfection that we could be

And the Goddess sent word that this would be a red letter year
They didn't mention how much shit was gonna change around here
It's just as well we weren't swollen with unfocused dread
We had visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads
Dancing in our heads

Oh, first you go under and then coming up gives you bends
And when you break the surface all you see is your friends
So you grab your purple crayon and flesh out the picture behind
And finally the whole world is made of one unbroken line
One unbroken line

When you wake up sick as a dog with dull eyes and really bad hair
Standing under a lit sign with the words on air
And the water is rising, it's coming in everywhere
Just remember you are there, you're always, always there

And representing the white race a man with a monkey for a face
Is flying over in his helicopter whistling Dixie and playing dumb
In a town that might put a gun to your throat
Or rip the roof right off your place
There's a mold crawling up the walls and falling asleep in your lungs

And you and I both know how to drink so
We will always have work in this town
And besides the police are stationed at the bridge
And they're preventing passage to higher ground
So let's pull up a barstool and get ourselves a ringside seat
For one unnerving moment they're gonna show the truth on TV

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