BAD HABIT  I may be drenched in good intentions / My feet are firmly on the ground / But once my thoughts have veered off down that dark direction / I’ve worn the path too well to turn myself around / It’s like when you start tap tap tapping your pack pack packet of cigarettes / Or how you just can’t can’t manage to quit scratch scratching that itch / Although you know it’s setting you back, further off track, you’re gonna go for that familiar fix / I’m guessing we’ve all got bad habits to kick / Bad habit / I’m not moving but I’m still spinning / If you’ve stopped scoring you can’t keep winning / The joke’s not over yet I’m grinning anyhow / You try to keep yourself productive / Making the most of day to days / We want to do this lifetime justice / Nobody’s got the time to waste / But you're gonna keep tap tap tapping your pack pack packet of cigarettes / And I know you just can’t can’t manage to quit scratch scratching that itch / Although you know it’s setting you back, further off track, you’re gonna go for that familiar fix / I’m guessing we’ve all got bad habits to kick / Bad habit / Not moving but I’m still spinning / If you’ve stopped scoring you can’t keep winning / The joke’s not over yet I’m grinning anyhow / At the way you keep tap tap tapping your pack pack packet of cigarettes / And I know you just can’t can’t manage to quit scratch scratching that itch / Although you know it’s setting you back, further off track, you’re gonna go for that familiar fix / I’m guessing we’ve all got bad habits to kick / Bad habit

SKYSCRAPER QUEEN OF THE MIDWEST  Yes, she’s responsible / But still susceptible to recklessness / She keeps her bases covered with little slips under her dress / Never failing to impress / Skyscraper queen of the midwest / And she says / Baby, save the baby talk / Honey, don’t be so sweet / Look me in the eye and tell me what you’re gonna do with me / Next, she’s unstoppable / Though it’s quite possible she’s helpless / She’s bitten through her lip to keep from crying out under duress / Never getting any rest / Hearts breaking clean across the chest / But she says / Baby, save the baby talk / Honey, don’t be so sweet / Whisper in my ear and tell me what you wanna do to me / Was it something she ate / A little potion she drank / Got her greeting the dawning day after day? / Baby, save the baby talk / Sugar, stop being sweet / Take me by the hand and tell me what to do / Never giving it a rest / Never failing to impress / Call in a citizen’s arrest / Skyscraper queen of / Yes, she’s responsible / But still susceptible to recklessness

MID DAY DREAM  The afternoons are taking over / And by the time I’m hitting my stride / Inside I’m hoping for a little break in the day / When I could get to know your style / Get to know your style / So maybe soon I’ll take a lover / Cuz in my head I’m hitting the bed / Instead of contemplating I could be wasting my days / On something more worthwhile / Than this mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / I guess it’s true; we’re getting older / It’s in your eyes—they’re watching me / Side by side as we compete in a race through the days / Coming faster the harder we ride / Coming fast / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / Don’t have to fall asleep to dream / Don’t have to fall asleep to dream / Don’t have to fall asleep to dream / Dream / And once we’re through this sweet October / We’re keeping warm in spite of the storm / The more we try, the more we can make of the days / Why don’t you follow me inside? / Come on in / To my mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream / Mid day dream

WHEN I WAS LITTLE  When I was little, we’d drive for a lesson at Mrs. McKenna’s house / I learned to play the piano at the foot of her carpeted stairs / The light would shine down on my hands and she’d hold up the books and my mother would watch from behind in a chair / Now that I’m older, I like to remember when I was little / When I was little we’d walk round the corner for lunch at my grandma’s house / I’d play her my songs and then flip through the channels to find shows for kids / The strange taste of buttered peanut butter and jelly, and milk from the Donald Duck cup with the plastic yellow lid / Now that I’m older, I like to remember when I was little / Cousins and big wheels and My Little Ponies / Brewers on the radio next to the grill / Watching the ceiling while listening to stories / Sounding out lyrics that I couldn’t spell / When I was little, I’d run with a ribbon, and Fradycat chased me round the house / I had a Fisher Price tape player I’d bring to sing on my swings / Primary memories in primary colors through Snoopy sunglasses and my baby brother asleep / Now that I’m older, I like to remember when I was little / The flood in the basement that ruined my playhouse / Waiting so long to play one April fool / Laughing and bouncing the springs of the mattress / The ridges of rubber on top of my stool / Drawing a heart on the leg of the table / The hand of the nurse in the hospital hall / My very first taste of garden tomato / Such a big world for a person so small / Now that I’m older, I like to remember when I was little / Now that I’m older, I watch you, and I wonder what you’ll remember from when you were little

LET IT BURN  There’s a certainty in tinder / When it’s caught the spark / You can see it spread unhindered / Eating up the dark / Reaching for its fellow fires / Raging up there in the stars / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let it burn / This is not your second or your third chance / There is nothing left to try / And we’re standing a circle in some crazy kind of dance / As we watch the flames grow high / Well it’s been so long since I’ve seen that flicker / That is glowing in your eyes / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let it burn / Keep it under control / Keep the secret inside / Keep it together / Keep the flame alive / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let that fire burn / Let it burn

PARTNER IN CRIME  Looks like we’re here / The coast is clear / Both of us know what to do / We’ve been doing it year after year / Keep your ear to the floor / I got my eye on the door / If we keep our senses / We’re gonna get away with just a little more / Partner in crime / I’m on your side / What are you cooking up for us tonight? / I dream a little dream / You scheme a little scheme / You and me, we are gonna be all right / Keep on working that friend / Tell that story again / I got a feeling / We are making out like bandits in the end / We got nothing to hide / I’m Bonnie to your Clyde / Billy the Kid wasn’t kidding / When he decided how to make a living / Partner in crime / I’m on your side / What are you cooking up for us tonight? / I dream a little dream / You scheme a little scheme / You and me, we are gonna be all right / Well now you’re crawling ‘cross the floor / I’m barricading the door / Well baby, if the cuffs come out / We’ve struggled with restraints before / Maybe we do have something to hide / But I’m still Bonnie, you are my Clyde / Billy the Kid wasn’t kidding / When he discovered just what makes life worth living / Partner in crime / I’m on your side / What are you cooking up for us tonight? / I dream a little dream / You scheme a little scheme / You and me, we are gonna be all right / Partner in crime / Partner through time 

OPEN SKIES  Open skies / Open eyes / Overnight greens grew / Bring me to the market / I’ve a taste for something new / Hazy skies / Lazy eyes / What’s the time? No clue / Reach your feet to treetop height / Toe a patch of blue / Summer skies / Lover’s eyes / Fingers tingle through / Hands at rest upon your chest / Guess we’ll get dressed soon / Lightning skies / Brightening eyes / Pass another brew / Clean your plate, it’s getting late / Let’s play one last tune / Morning skies / Lonely drive / Home, known, true / So alive / Still surprised / So much I never knew

BEFORE MY LIGHT IS GONE  Think I’ll go get caffeinated; It’s one of Chicago’s cheaper thrills / Making eyes at lanky guys and cute T-shirted girls / Keep it coming strong, I like that flavor / If it don’t last long, I can get more later / I’m gonna push my limit and keep on sipping it / The rush is worth the chills / The buzz is worth the spills / I get my kicks where I can get ‘em / The summer sun is from from setting / While the days are long, I’m gonna sing my song / Before my light is gone / But how much risk is worth it to feel breezes in my hair? / Nothing’s ever perfect, so I’m trying not to care / Let’s find out what you can show me that I don’t already know / Say the word, I’m good to go / Gotta get my inspiration wherever it is found / Seeking out each new sensation, the sights, the smells, the sounds / It’s in the evening’s glow, the gut reaction / Drive to go, or the flash of passion / Why must I be justified? / What comes will go around / What’s strummed will still resound / I get my kicks where I can get ‘em / The summer sun is from from setting / While the days are long, I’m gonna sing my song / Before my light is gone

BETTER IN THE SUMMER  In the long light of the afternoon I saw your eyes were green / But they darkened with the days and turned out brown / So I’ve learned not to rely on what I think my eyes have seen / Or what change I’ll find next time you come around / I liked you better in the summer / Don’t bother with the buttons, pull the shirt over your head / I liked you better in the summer / I’d swear your hair was a brighter shade of red / I used to know / Where your every freckle seemed to grow / And I had this dream that you and me were lovers / Back when I liked you / I liked you better in the summer / What’s shared seems so enormous / The differences so small / That you wonder if they hold any significance at all / The future’s still uncertain / With happiness this huge / You can’t fathom having anything to lose / It was on inauguration night I saw you at the bar / Your pretty face was looking bleaker than the snow / Your hair was cut and colorless, your eyes were looking tired / And that smile that used to shimmer left me cold / I liked you better in the summer / Don’t bother with the buttons, pull the shirt over your head / I liked you better in the summer / I’d swear your hair was a brighter shade of red / I used to know / Where and when that I could find you till the time you had to go / And I used to think that maybe we’d be lovers / Back when I liked you / I liked you better in the summer / Summer / Now that the wind’s warm on my shoulders / I wish it was your hands / I’m remembering your welcome invitations once again / They’re nothing now but memories / But still it feels like June / So I’ll sink into that sunny afternoon / I liked you better in the summer / I liked you better in the summer / Don’t bother with the buttons, pull the shirt over my head / I liked you better in the summer / That hair of yours, such a brilliant shade of red / I still know / How you sounded when you smiled your hello / And so I’ll happily imagine we were lovers / And that I like you / I really liked you that one summer / Summer

LOVING NEW  Status quo is pretty good / So much going as it should / And I know that I’ve got no right to complain / But it seems that I’m always drawn / To the things that can’t live on / Like I’m craving what could never be sustained / Another best friend moves to the coast / In the past year, we’ve gotten so close / But I don’t know why I expected her to stay / I like artists and livers of life / Play all day, dance all night / It’s exciting, but I am inviting heartbreak / I like my loving new and my T-shirts old and I’ll drink this beer if it’s halfway cold / I know I’ll probably drink too fast and come on too strong / And these clothes are gonna wear right off of me before long / I spent last week stuck in last year / Gotta get my head back here / Instead of rerunning memories / What’s done is done / I’m so nostalgic for what has passed / Although I knew all along that it could never last / You can’t reverse the rise and setting of the sun / I like my loving new and my T-shirts old and I’ll drink this beer if it’s halfway cold / I know I’ll probably drink too fast and come on too strong / And these clothes are gonna wear right off of me before / I like my loving true and try on what’s new / And set down my glass after one or two / I know I’ll probably stay resigned to these traits of mine / But I hope I’ll learn to love what’s livable / In time

THIS DANCE  Now that we’ve danced / Together / Moved in each other’s arms / Together / I didn’t see the harm / In calling out your name / And now that we’ve walked / Together / Fingers entwined / Together / I didn’t think you’d mind at all / But all the same / After we walked / Together / I took a chance / And after we danced / Together / Our talks together met an end / Now that we’ve talked / Watching each other’s lips / It’s easy enough to miss / The way we used to share / And now that we’ve dreamed / Wondering in the night / What it might have been like / Had we taken any care / After we dreamed / I stole a glance / And after we talked / I’m offering this dance

HOPING TO HEAL  The cat is in the corner and I’m laid on the bed / They said it would be warmer but we’re just about dead / I had a little ice cream that I sipped from a spoon / And I’m hoping to heal pretty soon / I’ve had it with the boredom of daytime TV / Just three or four commercials is all I want to see / What happened to the joy I used to get from cartoons? / I’m just hoping to heal pretty soon / Hazy / Lazy / Crazy / Day after dayzy / I’m chatting on the internet without any clothes / Suppose I’ll reconsider, yet nobody knows / I can’t tell if it’s morning or midnight or noon / And I’m hoping to heal pretty soon / I’m naturally impatient and I don’t like to wait / I hate to be confined inside from early to late / It’s maddening to never see the sun or the moon / And I’m hoping to heal / And to chow down a meal / And we’ll see how I feel pretty soon

WHERE WE'RE GOING  Well I walked ‘till I had blisters, and all that I could do / Was wish that you were here to sweep me off my feet / I have missed a lot of misters and I’ve kissed some misses too / To tell the truth, they’d never love me half as sweet / Come in close and I will whisper another truth to you / I’ve learned a thing or two ‘bout how to be discreet / And I’ll brush against the whiskers that I’m so glad you grew / You’re the only one who makes me feel complete / Well there’s a lot I still don’t understand / And as we solve these mysteries / I’m gonna take my baby by the hand / Let him know I love him with a squeeze / Another morning with the tiles feeling cold beneath my toes / Grab a kiss before you head on out the door / And though it always takes a while till I’m finally good to go / I’ll do everything the way I done before / So we’ll make each other smile and continue down this road / I’m not worried where we’re going anymore / So someone’s walking down an aisle while we’re watching in the rows / Hope the food’s good till we bust out on the floor / Well there’s a lot I still don’t understand / And as we solve these mysteries / I’m gonna take my baby by the hand / Let him know I love him with a squeeze / One day at a time / Well there’s a lot I still don’t understand / And as we solve these mysteries / I’m gonna take my baby by the hand / Let him know I love him with a squeeze

 

All songs by Lindsay Weinberg ©2012