"Binary" (2017)

Binary lyrics - Ani Difranco

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

Alla This lyrics - Ani Difranco

I will not stand immersed
In this ultra violent curse
I won't let you make a tool of me
I will keep my mind and body free

Bye, bye, minutiae
Of the day to day drama
I'm expanding exponentially
I am consciousness without identity

I am many things made of everything
But I will not be your bank roll
I won't idle in your drive through
I won't watch your electric sideshow
I got way better places to go

I will maintain the truth
I knew naturally as a child
I won't forfeit my creativity
To a world that's all laid out for me

I will look at everything around me
And I will vow to bear in mind
That all of this was just someone's idea
It could just as well be mine

I won't rent you my time
I won't sell you my brain
I won't pray to a male God
'Cause you know that would be insane

And you know that I can't support the troops
'Cause every last one of them is being duped here
And I will not rest a wink
Until the women have regrouped

I am many things made of everything
But I will not be your bank roll
I won't idle in your drive through
I won't watch your electric sideshow
I got way better places to go

Present/Infant lyrics - Ani Difranco

Lately I've been glaring into mirrors picking myself apart
You'd think at my age I'd thought of something better to do
Than making insecurity into a full time job
Making insecurity into an art

And I fear my life will be over
And I will have never lived in unfettered
Always glaring into mirrors
Mad, I don't look better

But now here is this tiny baby
And they say she looks just like me
And she is smiling at me with that present infant glee
Yes, and I would defend to the ends of the earth
Her perfect right to be, be, be, be

So I'm beginning to see some problems
With the ongoing work of my mind
And I've got myself a new mantra
It says don't forget to have a good time
Don't let the sellers of stuff power enough to rob you of your grace

Love is all over the place
There's nothing wrong with your face
Love is all over the place
There's nothing wrong with your face

Smiling Underneath lyrics - Ani Difranco

I don't mind waiting in line, no, no
I don't mind if the bills pile up and the work is slow
I don't mind the gas or the groceries or the grind
Long as I'm with you I'm having a good time

I don't mind the stoner waiter or the poorly cooked food
I don't mind little miss kitty or her knuckle head dude
I don't mind if every last person here is ugly and rude
Long as I'm with you I got good attitude, long as I'm with you

We could be stuck in traffic for over a week
With a car full of quintuplets who are all cutting teeth
And around my neck could be a flaming Christmas wreath
And I'd be smiling under, smiling underneath

I don't mind waking up early for a flight that's delayed
I don't mind our week's vacation was chilly and gray
I don't mind the traffic cops or the TSA
Long as I'm with you I'm having a good day, long as I'm with you

I don't mind spilling my hot sauce onto my white shirt
I don't mind the twinge when I walk in that knee that I hurt
I don't mind if my gums peeling back or my hair getting thin
Long as I'm with you I win, long as I'm with you

We could be stuck in traffic for over a week
With a car full of quintuplets who are all cutting teeth
And around my neck could be a flaming Christmas wreath
And I'd be smiling under, smiling under, smiling underneath

Way Tight lyrics - Ani Difranco

I'll tell you what there is plenty wrong with me
But I fixed up a few old buildings and I planted a few trees
And children seem to like me and animals too
Like the birds and the bees

And eating a sandwich standing over the kitchen counter
With only the sound of chewing in the room
I can see you as a challenge that I will eagerly meet
'Cause you are way, way, way, way sweet

And it's just that kind of evening that cracks open like a half shaken beer
Cool and refreshing and running down your arm
And baby there's really no other place I'd rather be than here
Pardon my periodic alarm

You are ever true, ever new in love
And I mean that in the best and worst way
And I don't really know what I was so mad about
But the full moon is about a week away

And I'll tell you what there is plenty wrong with you
Stuff you'd sooner fight for than cop to
But I think it's just more reason why we are meant to be
People say that I look like you and you look like me

We get this crazy combination of everything and nothing right
But we are way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way tight
Yeah, we are way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way tight
Yeah, we are way, way, way, way, way, way, way tight

Emancipated Minor lyrics - Ani Difranco

Emancipated minor
Well directed, brilliantly casted
Riding a Greyhound down to the city
With her fake I.D. and a hell of a little hand basket

Little game of seesaw, then he came to claim her
And then a sordid line formed behind him
Reproductive system newly activated
She participated in nature's plan, she participated

And I can't say I envy her, I don't think I miss it
Wrought iron cobwebbing over thin windowpanes
The city seducing you on tiptoe to kiss it
Don't think twice, just roll the dice, roll the dice

So she attended the dance classes and she learned the little dance
And she tried the high heels but she couldn't bring herself to prance
All the while a faint ticking in the silence between the songs
Just south of her gut two tiny time bombs

And love comes in many forms and for each she would yearn
Hungry as a student, hunger to learn
Every flavor of person, every species of intent
With the body pulsing at the center detent

But all the good graffiti got painted over in time
She watched the last faceless chain replace the last five and dime
And she wondered if the only noble thing
Ain't to just to get a big garden and plant it in the spring

Kiss the city goodbye in some big graceful gesture
And focus on the moon's groove, groove with the moon
Focus on the moon's groove and groove with the moon
Focus on the moon's groove, groove with the moon

And I can't say I envy her, I don't think I miss it
Wrought iron cobwebbing over thin windowpanes
The city seducing you on tiptoe to kiss it
Don't think twice, just roll the dice, roll the dice
Roll the dice, roll the dice

Good Luck lyrics - Ani Difranco

A throat with a heart in it stuck in traffic
A ticket and a mind to fly, an alarm clock still drunk and high
Sanity painted her mask on all the way across town
A compact frown projected on a retina upside down

You're an avalanche of detour signs falling off a truck
Swooning like a boxer that is too dizzy to duck
Your decisions turn around and make you back and then you're stuck
And then good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck

A lock with a key in it that ain't turning
Smoke filling up behind a door, a fire with the purpose of being ignored
A body slipping into disease, quietly making that choice
While the joy drains out of a voice

You're an avalanche of detour signs falling off a truck
Swooning like a boxer that is too dizzy to duck
Your decisions turn around and make you back and then you're stuck
And then good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck

The Atom lyrics - Ani Difranco

The glory of the atom begs a reverent word
The primary design of the whole universe
Yeah, let us sing its praises, let us bow our heads in prayer
At the magnificent consciousness incarnate there

The smallest unit of matter with its orbiting electrons
Echoing off the solar system like a hawk in the hills at dawn
The smallest unit of matter
Uniting bird and rock and tree and you and me

Oh, holy is the atom, the truly intelligent design
To which all of evolution is graciously aligned
The one single structure to which everything distills
The air, the wood smoke there and the hills

Oh, leave me here surrounded by everything that's real
Far outside the boundaries of the digitized ordeal, yeah
Leave me here awake, leave me here to heal

Human beings are a cross between monkeys and ants
You can see us from your spaceship
Melting the polar ice caps with our arrogance
Summon a congress of angels dressed in riot gear
We've got ourselves a serious situation down here

I have this great, great uncle who worked on the atomic bomb
He got a Nobel Prize in physics and a place in this song
And I bet there were no windows and no women in the room
When they applied themselves to the pure science of boom

Yeah, messin' with the atom is the highest form of blasphemy
Whether you are making weapons or simple electricity
Someone fashion me a pulpit, I have been called to engage
With the maniacal heretics of the nuclear age

Let the religious get religion, let consumers get a clue
Let scientists get perspective, let activists get their due
Let industry get a conscience, let the earth inherit the meek
Let the divinity of nature speak

Oh, the glory of the atom begs a reverent word
The primary design of the whole universe
Yes, let us sing its praises, let us bow our heads in prayer
At the magnificent consciousness incarnate there

Round A Pole lyrics - Ani Difranco

I could sing you 'round a pole
I could talk you up a tree
But when it comes to what really matters
You are way more clever than me

I know I wanted to be challenged
But I was unclear about how
So I'll be the guy with the toolbox
And you be the fun-lovin' gal

And I'll learn to fix stuff
If you will teach me to love
And God'll radiate out from within us
Instead of this bullshit from above

And we could dance 'round like monkeys
After the paparazzi have gone home
Having let go forever
The fallacy of ever being alone

I could sing you 'round a pole
Like a ball at the end of a rope
Have you ducking and sluggin' protecting your head
But I decided just to love you back instead

'Cause I have studied my own pain
Like an ambitious scientist
And I've discovered it's all the same
And has nothing to do with this

So I'll learn to fix stuff
If you will teach me to love
And God'll radiate out from within us
Instead of this bullshit from above

We can dance 'round like monkeys
After the paparazzi have gone home
Having let go forever
The fallacy of ever being alone

Landing Gear lyrics - Ani Difranco

Hey little bag of sugar floating in your biosphere
Summon the courage to put down your landing gear
And come out here

'Cause I am as exhausted as a drowning polar bear
Swimming around, looking for a ride
And it's so god awful hot outside

Quiet kicking me in the rib every time Adam tells what he did
Man creates woman, he says
Sweeping his hand through the air like mister show biz

And you're gonna love this world if it's the last thing I do
The whole extravagant joke topped in bitter sweet chocolate goo
For someone who ain't even here yet look how much the world loves you
Look how much the world loves you

The candles are burning down, the music is fading
Your piñata is torn, it's time to be born
And death is at the door peddling that old fashioned blood and gore
Here at the house of creation, cue the sobering moment of revelation

You're gonna love this world if it's the last thing I do
The whole extravagant joke topped in bitter sweet chocolate goo
For someone who ain't even here yet look how much the world loves you
Look how much the world loves you

Star Matter lyrics - Ani Difranco

Love gets started and next thing you know
It leaves everything else behind
Love sets fire to your schedule
And then calls an end to time

And love ain't far behind you
Love ain't far behind

And when we're parted it's always too long
And every time you come back you come back so strong
And as soon as we can we gotta go lie down
In that place where our breath is one sound

And love ain't far behind you
Love ain't far behind
No, love ain't far behind you
Love ain't far behind

And I was there to hear your bell
The first time it rang
And the beauty was the beauty of everything
Yeah, we are star matter from the big bang

And that love ain't far behind you
Love ain't far behind
That love ain't far behind you
Love ain't far behind
No, love ain't far behind you

"Reprieve" (2006)

Hypnotized lyrics - Ani Difranco

So that's how you found me
Rain falling around me
Lookin down at a worm
With a long way to go
And the traffic was hissing by
And i was homesick
And i was high

I was surrounded by a language
In which i could say only hello
And thank you very much
But you spoke so i could understand
And i drew a treasure map on your hand

And you were no picnic
You were no prize
But you had just enough pathos
To keep me hypnotized
Hypnotized

The map led to an island
In a sea of store-bought dreams
Where soulless singers sang
Over beats built by machines

And lovely girls were hovering
Above my head like gulls
With their long slender necks
And their delicate skulls

And i was no picnic
I was no prize
But i had just enough sweetness
To keep you hypnotized
Hypnotized

So that's how you found me
Rain falling around me
Lookin down at a worm
With a long way to go

Subconscious lyrics - Ani Difranco

On one hand, I'm walking
The way that I do
Looking like I'm lost in thought
But I'm looking for you

It's so subconscious
The way that I feel
Too bad my subconscious life
Is the more real

And I ain't in the best shape
That I've ever been in
But I know where I'm going
It ain't where I've been
I know where I'm going
And it ain't where I've been

Some kind of anxiety
Has gotten hold of my heart
And I just wanna run home
When I feel it start

Plastic bottles of water
Sealed windows, forced air
And gazillions of cell phones
Beaming through my hair

And I ain't in the best shape
That I've ever been in
But I know where I'm going
And it ain't where I've been
I know where I'm going
And it ain't where I've been

Tossing and turning
Between sleepless dreams
And I'm poised on the edge of
What it all means

So I turn my back
And I spread my arms wide
And I let myself fall in
Way deep inside

And I ain't in the best shape
That I've ever been in
But I know where I'm going
And it ain't where I've been
I know where I'm going
And it ain't where I've been

In The Margins lyrics - Ani Difranco

Such an intent stare
One eye at a time
Your talons like fish hooks

You are a rare bird
The kind I wouldn't even mind
Writing in the margins of my books

Sometimes I see myself
Through the eyes of a stray dog
From an alley across the street
And my whole mission just seems so finite
My whole saga just seems so cheap

I mean I know that now is all there is
And love'll just makes you cry
So I live for the sight of a rare bird
Suddenly flying by

And I meet your stare
One eye at a time
Writing in the margins
Of my mind

Sometimes I see myself
Through the eyes of a stray dog
From an alley across the street
And my whole mission just seems so fine
My whole saga just seems so cheap

And that's when your song calls to me
From way up in a tree
And I look up
And the whole world
Is as it should be

Nicotine lyrics - Ani Difranco

I hate you sometimes
But I love to be your queen
You are my muse
Got me smoking nicotine

I watch you sometimes
From oh so far away
But I can't forget you
Or anything you said

You sang that song in my ear
And it tickled those tiny hairs

Love is a puzzle
Some pieces they adjoin
It's not like that with us
But I keep flipping that coin

I watch you sometimes
From oh so far away
But I can't forget you
Or anything you say

You sang that song in my ear
And it tickled those tiny hairs

Decree lyrics - Ani Difranco

Step up and forfeit your frontal lobe
To the sexed up stroll of celebrity
Never mind that the nanoseconds in between
Are some of the darkest darkness that you've ever seen
Keep your eye on my finger
And listen to the sound of my voice

Get your subliminal decree
And your false security
Be all that you can be
Be all that you can be

In hospitals and schools
Airports and banks and bars
Big ones on street corners
Little ones driving by in cars
And glowing through countless
Bedroom curtains at night
That 30k tone
And that pale blue light saying

Daddy knows best
Yes, this is the news
In 90 second segments officially produced
And aired again and again and again
By the little black and white pawns
Of the network yes men
While the stars are going out
And the stripes are getting bent

And cancer, the great teacher
Has been opening schools
Downstream from every factory
Still, everywhere fools are
Squinting into microscopes
Researching cells
Trying to figure out a way
That we can all live in hell

Well, step back, look up
You'll see I'm dimming the sun
But you won't, will you?
Oh, that's a good little one

'cause daddy knows best
Yes, this is the news
In 90 second segments officially produced
And aired again and again and again
By the little black and white pawns
Of the network yes men
While the stars are going out
And the stripes are getting bent

The stars are going out
And the stripes are getting bent

78% H2O lyrics - Ani Difranco

When the joy had left your body
And you were locked into your own pulse
You used to love to sit by the water
And watch it lapping on the rocks
And every time you put your feet in
You cry out and you pray
But its all downhill from here, baby
So naturally, I can't stay

First you roll your eyes to heaven
Say you've never had love so divine
But it will go from more than ever
To not enough in no time

You will push and
You will push until
You push me away
I hear you cry out for your water
I know you'll curse it someday

I guess for me there's been few
Who've walked up smiling and drawn a line
Between so far and from now on
Yes a big glowing life time

And I've been disappointed
I've been heart-broken
I too have loved from afar
But we are 78% water
Even our pumping hearts

Millennium Theater lyrics - Ani Difranco

Millennium theater
Get out there and buy that water and gas
Ramadan orange alert
Everybody put on your gas mask

First leak it out about the president
Then stand up and shout "impeachment"
Pulling coat tails out from under that little V.P.
Before he has a chance to get in the driver's seat

Millennium spectacle
Everybody put on a show
Slip a little prince in the back door
21st century here we go

Digital whiplash
So many formats so little time
While out in TV nation
Under darkening skies
The resistance is just waiting
To be organized

Millennium theater
Chief justice is for sale
Yucca mountain goddesses
Their tears they form a trail

Trickle down Israel
Patriarchies realign
The ice caps melt
And New Orleans bides her time
New Orleans bides her time

Ladies and gentlemen
Welcome to tonight's show
The millennium theater
Asks that you not smoke
Please turn off your cell phones
And forget what you think you know

Half-Assed lyrics - Ani Difranco

You start trippin
And i start slippin away
I was taught to zip it
If i got nothin nice to say
And down in the texas of my heart
Driving a really big truck
Headed down a dirt road
My love is scrunchin up its features
The really big eyes
Big lips, big nose

Just show me a moment that is mine
Its beauty blinding and unsurpassed
Make me forget every moment that went by
And left me so half-hearted
Cuz i felt it so half-assed

You are an unruly translucent
A dirty windshield with a shifting view
So many cunning running landscapes
For my dented door to open into
I just wanna tune out all the billboards
Weld myself a mental shield
I just wanna put down all the pressures
And feel how i really feel

Just show me a moment that is mine
Its beauty blinding and unsurpassed
Make me forget every moment that went by
And left me so half-hearted
Cuz i felt it so half-assed

Spring is super in the supermarkets
And the strawberries prance and glow
Nevermind that they're all kinda tart and tasteless
As strawberries go
Meanwhile wild things are not for sale
Anymore than they are for show
So i'll be outside, in love with the kind of beauty
It takes more than eyes to know

Just show me a moment that is mine
Its beauty blinding and unsurpassed
And i'll forget every moment that went by
And left me so half-hearted
Cuz i felt it so half-assed

Reprieve lyrics - Ani Difranco

Manhattan is an island
Like the women who are
Surrounded by children in the car
Surrounded by cars

Or manhattan was a project
That projected the worst of mankind
First one and then the other
Has made its mark on my mind

It's sixty years later near the hypo-center of the a-bomb
I'm standing in the middle of hiroshima
Watching a twisted old eucalyptus tree wave
One of the very few lives that survived and lives on
Remembering the day it was suddenly thousands of degrees
In the shade

And what all of nature gave birth to
Terror took in a blinding raid
With the kind of pain
It would take cancer so many years just to say

Oh to grow up gagged and blindfolded
A great big mans world in your little girls head
The voice of the great mother drowned out
In the constant honking haunting the accident scene up ahead
Oh to grow up hypnotized and then try to shake yourself awake
Cause you can sense what has been lost
Cause you can sense what is at stake

Yeah it took me a few years to catch on that those days I catch everyone's eye
Correspond with those nights of the month when the moon gleans like an egg in the sky
And men are using a sense they don't even know they have just to watch me walk by
And me, I'm supposed to be sensible, leave my animal outside to cry
But when all of nature conspires to make me her glorious whore
It's cause in my body I hold the secret recipe of precisely what life is for

And the patriarchy that looks to shame me for it is the same one making war
And I've said too much already but I'll tell you something more
To split yourself in two is just the most radical thing you can do
So girl if that shit ain't up to you, then you simply are not free
Cause from the sunlight on my hair to which eggs I grow to term
To the expression that I wear, all I really own is me

I mean to split yourself in two is just the most radical thing you can do
Goddess forbid that little adam should grow so jealous of eve
And in the face of the great farce of the nuclear age
Feminism ain't about equality, it's about reprieve

A Spade lyrics - Ani Difranco

I will not lie down
On the wrongful ground or play
While it's still a radical sound
Just to call a spade a spade
Dear friends, women and men
Please check my math once more
In the totality of all war's history
There's but one common denominator
The answer is in the intention
That lies behind the question
Put that on your standardized multiple choice
I mean, how's this supposed to look to me
But half of divinity
Out there trying to make harmony
With only one voice

You know I've got experience
Looking right past the obvious
So I know what is so big and so close
Is always the hardest stuff
For us to reckon with
The hardest stuff to know

Dear friends, especially the women,
Tell me are you up to the task?
Of turning the wheel on human history
At long last

The answer is in the intention
That lies behind the question
Put that on your standardized multiple choice
I mean, how's this supposed to look to me
But half of divinity
Out there trying to make harmony
With only one voice

I will not lie down
On the wrongful ground or play
While it's still a radical sound
Just call a spade a spade

Dear friends, women and men
What better time to face
That we've been looking for
The answer to war
In the wrong place

Unrequited lyrics - Ani Difranco

He had all kind of reasons
Why she was unable to love him
She was just too young
She was too high strung
She was afraid of commitment

But all of the theories
That he recited
Played like the song
Of the unrequited

And baby, how long's it been now
Since you held me to your chest
And told me that you love me
More than all the rest?

It's such a shame that you won't talk to me
'Cuz I won't repeat after you
I believe that there is more to life
We could've loved each other through
But I was afraid of commitment
When it came to you

I'll tell you, if there is one instinct
I just can't get with at all
It's the urge to kill something beautiful
Just to hang it on your wall

Are you just too young?
Are you too high strung
To actually follow through
On all the love you said you had?
Baby, I never lied to you
Is all or nothing
Really the best we can do?

Shroud lyrics - Ani Difranco

I had to leave the house of fashion
And go forth naked from its doors
'cause women should be allies
And not competitors
I had to leave the house of god
Because the cross replaced the wheel
And the goddesses were all out in the garden
With the plants that nurture and heal

I had to leave the house of privilege
Spend Christmas homeless and feeling bad
To learn privilege is a headache
That you don't know that you don't have
I had to leave the house of television
To start noticing the clouds
It's amazing the stuff you see when
You finally shed that shroud

I had leave the house of conformity
In order to make art
I had to be more and less true
To learn to tell the two apart
I had to leave the house of fear
Just about as soon as I could crawl
Ignore my face on a wanted poster
Stuck to the post office wall

I had leave the house of self-importance
To doodle my first tattoo
To realize a tattoo is no more permanent
Than I am, and who
Ever said that life is suffering
I think they had their finger on the pulse of joy
Ain't the power of transcendence
the greatest one we can employ

"Knuckledown" (2005)

Knuckle Down lyrics - Ani Difranco

That's just my cowgirl alter-ego
Riding on her bar room bull
Dripping with the sweat of irony
As the cowboys whoop and drool
Shooting glances at the mirror
To see if her scar is showing
She is truly going nowhere tonight

Lecherous old lady wanna-be
Much too young and shy
Flailing her whole life
Just thinking she can teach herself to fly
Vehement romantic
Frantic for forever right now
But forever's going nowhere tonight

Sick of goading her self-loathing
She thinks, I think I'd better leave
'Course whiskey makes me smarter
And I'm happy as can be
But please excuse me darlin
It's not you
It's me

And there's a dusty old dust storm on mars, they say
So tonight you can't see it too clear
Still I stood in line to look through their telescope
Looked like a distant ship light
As seen from a foggy pier
And I know that I was warned
Still it was not what I hoped
Yes I know that I was warned
Still it was not what I hoped

I think I'm done gunnin to get closer
To some imagined bliss
I gotta knuckle down
And just be ok with this
I'm gonna knuckle down
Just be ok with this
'Course that star struck girl is already someone I miss

I swear some stuff you just see better from further away
And I think I communicate best now, the less I say
And I can't dance if the band can't play
And the vibe is going nowhere tonight

'Cuz somewhere between Hollywood and its pretty happiness
And an anguish so infinite it's anybody's guess
Is a place where people are all teachers
And this just one long class
And that ass will get you nowhere tonight

There's a dusty old dust storm on mars they say
So tonight you can't see it too clear
Still I stood in line to look through their telescope
Looked like a distant ship light
As seen from a foggy pier
And I know that I was warned
Still it was not what I hoped
Yeah I know that I was warned
Still it was not what I hoped

I think I'm done gunnin to get closer
To some imagined bliss
I gotta knuckle down
Just be ok with this
Gotta knuckle down
Just be ok with this

'Course that star struck girl
Is already someone I miss

Studying Stones lyrics - Ani Difranco

I am out here studying stones
Trying to learn to be less alive
Using all of my will
To keep very still
Still even on the inside
I've cut all of the pertinent wires
So my eyes can't make that connection
I am holding my breath
I am feigning my death
When I'm looking in your direction

'Course numb is an old hat
Old as my oldest memories
See that one's my mother
And that one's my father
And that one in the hat, that's me
It's a skill I'd hoped to abandon
When I got out on the open road
But any more pent up emotion
And I think I'm gonna explode

There's never been an endeavor so strange
As trying to slow the blood in my veins
To keep my face blank
As a stone that just sank
Until not a ripple remains
I am high above the tree line
Sitting cross legged on the ground
When all of the forbidden fruit has fallen and rotted
That's when I'm gonna come down

'Course numb is an old hat
Old as my oldest memories
See that one's my mother
And that one's my father
And that one in the hat, that's me
It's a skill I'd hoped to abandon
When I got out on the open road
But any more pent up emotion
And I think I'm gonna explode

Manhole lyrics - Ani Difranco

I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
Like love's mementos usually do
And I look up to see who's different here
The latest me or the latest you

Course, you're the kind of guy who doesn't lie
He just doctors everything
Chooses some unassuming finger
And quietly moves his wedding ring
Who rewrites his autobiography
For any pretty girl who'll sing
But you can't fool the queen, baby
Cuz I married the king

And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering

I kissed you on the street that night
On the far side of four
But I didn't like the taste
In my mouth or yours
And ignoring the persona you wore for my benefit
For once I had the balls to call it
Just call it
But a lesson must be lived
In order to be learned
And the clarity to see and stop this now
That is what I've earned

And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering

I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
And heartache not so dire
Cuz I looked up to see integrity
Finally won over desire

Sunday Morning lyrics - Ani Difranco

Sunday morning
Slow beats seething
Through the screens in
The open windows
Eggs frying
Legs shaking
After we stayed lying
So long in bed
Sunday morning
Both of us reading
And looking up occasionally
Looking up occasionally

Sunday morning
You're doing your thing
And I am doing mine
Speaking words
More a formality
Cuz we can feel we
Are of one mind
Sunday morning
Sheets still warm
Kitties swarming
Around our feet
Life comes easy
Your sweet company
Making it so complete

Of all the Monday through Fridays
We joined the crusade
Of all the Saturday nights
In which we were made
Of all the exorcisms
I've done with your ghosts
Still it's Sunday morning
I miss you the most

Modulation lyrics - Ani Difranco

In order to
Say thank you to you
I must do it intentionally
But tonight with every breath
I can feel my death
Sure as I can feel my knees

You were my modulation
So that's what you will always be
We took each other higher
We set each other free

Course, neither of us were wearing helmets
And our blood was just everywhere
And when the morphine kicked in later
The censors threw their hands up in despair
And that's when the truth came marching in
And promptly pulled the plug
But you were better than any drug
You were better than any drug

In order to
Say thank you to you
I must do it intentionally
But tonight with every breath
I can feel my death
Sure as I can feel my knees

You were my modulation
And that's what you will always be
We took each other higher
Then we set each other free
We set each other free

Seeing Eye Dog lyrics - Ani Difranco

You're my seeing eye dog and I am blind
You take me there every time
With that winning combination of loyal and kind
Your eyes like wells to the water of your mind

I want to take a long, cool drink from your bucket
To every thought I could think now, I say fuck it
I just want to go with how I feel
Like my only job here
Is to care for and covet you, dear

I love the way your stories seem to fall from your lips
With just enough slobber so it sparkles and drips
The way you hang the whole room on a word
Like a little stick in the beak of a bird

First we touched fingers and then we touched toes
Then my army surrendered
My government overthrown
I threw myself a little role reversal and followed you home
Just dying to be chewed
The dog was chosen by the bone

Be my seeing eye dog
Cuz I am blind
Just take me there
One more time
With that winning combination of loyal and kind
Your eyes like wells to the water of your mind

I want to take a long, cool drink from your bucket
To every thought I could think now, I say fuck it
I just want to go with how I feel
Like my only job here is to care for and covet you, dear

Lag Time lyrics - Ani Difranco

There's really no hope for me
And that three second rule
Somethin gets dropped
And still I'm the slowest damn fool
Slow to realize what's really going on
Slow to know in a moment
Who or what has gone wrong

I wanna tighten down on the lag time

Your consonants were buzzing
Around your head like flies
Your true colors were showing
And your shape and your size
You were drinking your way though it
I was shrinking right there inside of my clothes
My eventual twenty/twenty
Arms crossed
Tapping her toe

I gotta tighten down on the lag time

Survivors are part turtle
We are part potato bug
We know enough to go fetal
'Til it's still up above
And you gotta crawl through the desert
Between when you hear it
And when you can play it with your hands
Just to rendezvous with whoever you are
When you finally understand

I gotta tighten down on the lag time
I wanna tighten down on the lag time
Gotta tighten down on the lag time

Parameters lyrics - Ani Difranco

Thirty-three years go by
And not once do you come home
To find a man sitting in your bedroom
That is
A man you don't know
Who came a long way to deliver one very specific message:
Lock your back door, you idiot
However invincible you imagine yourself to be
You are wrong

Thirty-three years go by
And you loosen the momentum of teenage nightmares
Your breasts hang like a woman's
And you don't jump at shadows anymore
Instead you may simply pause to admire
Those that move with the grace of trees
Dancing past streetlights
And you walk through your house without turning on lamps
Sure of the angle from door to table
From table to staircase
Sure of the number of steps
Seven to the landing
Two to turn right
Then seven more
Sure you will stroll serenely on the moving walkway of memory
Across your bedroom
And collapse with a sigh onto your bed
Shoes falling
Thunk thunk
Onto the floor
And there will be no strange man
Suddenly all that time sitting there
Sitting there on what must be the prize chair
In your collection of uncomfortable chairs
With a wild look in his eyes
And hands that you cannot see
Holding what?
You do not know

So sure are you of the endless drumming rhythm of your isolation
That you are painfully slow to adjust
If only because
Yours is not that genre of story
Still and again, life cannot muster the stuff of movies
No bullets shattering glass
Instead fear sits patiently
Fear almost smiles when you finally see him
Though you have kept him waiting for thirty-three years
And now he has let himself in
And he has brought you fistfuls of teenage nightmares
Though you think you see, in your naivete
That he is empty handed
And this brings you great relief
At the time

New as you are, really, to the idea that
Even after you've long since gotten used to the parameters
They can all change
While you're out one night having a drink with a friend
Some big hand may be turning a big dial
Switching channels on your dreams
Until you find yourself lost in them
And watching your daily life with the sound off
And of course having cautiously turned down the flame under your eyes
There are more shadows around everything
Your vision a dim flashlight that you have to shake all the way to the outhouse
Your solitude elevating itself like the spirit of the dead
Presiding over your supposed repose
Not really sleep at all
Just a sleeping position and a series of suspicious sounds
A clanking pipe
A creaking branch
The footfalls of a cat
All of this and maybe
The swish of the soft leather of your intruder's coat
As you walk him step by step back to the door
Having talked him down off the ledge of a very bad idea
Soft leather, big feet, almond eyes
The kinds of details the police officer would ask for later
With his clipboard
And his pistol
In your hallway

Callous lyrics - Ani Difranco

You cried and you cried and you cried wolf
So it took me a minute to understand
That you really were hurt bad
That day you deeply cut your hand
And then that look that you gave me
Sent me rushing through guilt's door
I'd already started to feel callous
Like I really should care more

It was my work that kept me upright
So you called it a crutch
While I drifted off
Into dreams of such and such
And by the time we'd come full circle
We knew exactly what to do
Just keep looking at the triangle
Instead of what it's pointing to

But you can't will yourself happy
You can't will your cunt wet
You can't keep standing at the station
Pretending you're being met
You can't wear a sign that says 'yours'
When that ain't what you get

It flows and flows away from me
My love is a stream
Your love is a vaudeville show
So charming and obscene
We both had our moments
We both had our fun
And then I hated to prove 'em all right
All those who said I'd run

But you can't will yourself happy
You can't will your cunt wet
You can't keep standing at the station
Pretending you're being met
You can't keep wearing a sign that says 'yours'
When that ain't what you get

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