Living in Clip
disc one



WHATEVER

WHEREVER

GRAVEL
I heard the sound of your bike
as your wheels hit the gravel
and then your engine in the driveway cutting off
and i pushed the the screen door
and i stood out on the poarch
thinking fight fight fight
at all costs
but instead i let you in
just like i've always done
and I sat you down an offered you a beer
and across the kitchen table
I fired several rounds
and you were still sitting there
when the
smoke cleared
and you came crawling back to say
you want to make good in the end
and oh oh, let me count the ways, that I abhor, you
and you were
never a good lay
and you were
never a good friend
but oh oh, oh what can I say
I adore, you

oh, oh oh oh oh oh etc.

all i need is my leather
one tshirt and two socks
I'll keep my hands warm in your pockets
and you can use the engine blocks
and we'll ride off to california
with my arms around your chest
and i'll pretend that this is real
cause this is what I like best
and you've been juggeling two women, like a stupid circus clown
telling us both we are the one
and maybe you can keep me
from ever being happy
but you're not going to stop me
from, having fun

so lets go
before I change my mind
leave the luggage, of all your lies behind
cause I am better than everything that
came, before
and you were, never very kind
you let me way down every time
and oh oh what can i say
i adore, you

oh oh oh oh oh oh etc.

i heard the sound of your bike
as your wheels hit the gravel
and your engine in the driveway cutting off


WILLING TO FIGHT
the windows of my soul are made of one way glass
don't bother looking into my eyes if there's something you want
to know just ask
i got a dead bolt stroll
where i'm going is clear
i won't wait for you
to wonder
i'll just tell you why
i'm here
cause i know the
biggest crime
is just to throw
up your hands
say this has nothing
to do with me
i just want to live
as comfortably
as i can
you got to look outside
your eyes
you got to think outside
your brain
you got to walk outside
your life
to where the neighborhood
changes tell me
who's your boogie man
that's who i will be
you don't have to like me
for who i am but we'll see
what you're made of by
what you make of me
i think that it's absurd that you think i
am the derelict daughter
i fight fire with words
words are hotter than flames
words are wetter than water
i got friends all over this country
i got friends in other countries too
i got friends i haven't met yet
i got friends i never knew
i got lovers whose eyes
i've only seen at a glance
i got strangers
for great grandchildren
i got strangers for ancestors
i was a long time coming i'll be a
long time gone
you've got your whole life to do something
and that's not very long
so why don't you give me a call
when you decide you're willing to fight
for what you think is real
for what you think is right


SHY
the heat is so great
it plays tricks with the eye
turns the road into water
then from water to sky
there's a crack in the concrete floor
that starts at the sink
there's a bathroom in a gas station
and i've locked myself in it to think

back in the city
the sun bakes the trash on the curb
the men are pissing in doorways
and the rats are running in herds
i got a dream with your face in it
that scares me awake
i put too much on my table
now i got too much at stake

i might let you off easy
i might lead you on
i might wait for you to look for me
and then i might be gone
there's where i come from and
where i'm going
and i am lost in between
i might go out to that phone booth
and leave a veiled invitation
on your machine

you'll stop me won't you
if you've heard this one before
the one where i surprise you
by showing up at your front door
saying let's not ask what next
or how or why
i am leaving in the morning
so let's not be shy

the door opens
the room winces
the housekeeper comes in
without a warning
i squint at the muscular motel light
and say, hey, good morning
and she jumps her keys jingle
and she leaves as quickly
as she came in
i roll over and taste the pillow with my grin

the sheets are twisted and damp
the heat is so great
and i swear i can feel the mattress
sinking underneath your weight
sleep is like a fever
and i'm glad when it ends
the road flows like a river
it pulls me around every bend

stop me won't you
if you've heard this one before
the one where i surprise you
by showing up at your front door
saying let's not ask what's next
or how or why
i am leaving in the morning
let's not be shy


JOYFUL GIRL
i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to

everything i do is judged
and they mostly get it wrong
but oh well
'cuz the bathroom mirror has not budged
and the woman who lives there can tell
the truth from the stuff that they say
and she looks me in the eye
and says would you prefer the easy way
no, well o.k. then
don't cry

i wonder if everything i do
i do instead
of something i want to do more
the question fills my head
i know there's no grand plan here
this is just the way it goes
when everything else seems unclear
i guess at least i know

i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to


HIDE AND SEEK
Me and the other kids from the neighborhood
We played out on the street all summer long
Rule was, we had to go home at night when the street lights came on
We were oblivious to the rest of the world
And we'd hold up the cars in the street
And we'd always play boys against girls, and both sides would cheat.
Strange men would stop their cars at the curb
And say "Hey, sweetheart, come here."
I'd go up to the window and they'd have their dick out in their hand
And a sick little sneer.

I'd say, "Here we go again.
Yeah, OK, this time you win."
And I'd feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.

We would play Hide and Go Seek
And territory would be the whole block.
Sometimes the older boys, when they'd find you
They wouldn't want to tag you, they'd just wanna "talk."
They'd say "What would you do for a quarter?
Come on, we don't have much time."
Then I'd think for a minute and say, "OK, give me the quarter first...fine."

This time you win
Here we go again
And I would feel dirty and I'd feel ashamed
But I wouldn't let it stop my game.

I remember my first trip alone on the Greyhound bus
A man put his hands on me as soon as night fell
I remember when I was leaving, how excited I was
I remember when I arrived, I didn't feel so well.
I remember a teacher in school that got me so sick, so scared
That I went into the bathroom and threw up in my hair
And I could go on and on, it just gets worse
And I should probably stop.

Girl, next time he wants to know what your problem is
Girl, next time he wants to know where the anger comes from
Just tell him the problem's his
Tell him the anger just comes
It just comes.


NAPOLEON
they told you your music
could reach millions
that the choice was up to you
and you told me they always
pay for lunch
and they believe in what i do
and i wonder
will you miss your old friends
once you've proven what you're worth
yeah i wonder
when you're a big star
will you miss the earth

i knew you would always want more
i knew you would never be done
'cuz everyone is a fucking napoleon
yeah everyone is a fucking napoleon

and the next time
that i saw you
you were larger than life
you came and you conquered
you were doing alright
you had an army
of suits behind you
all you had to be was willing
and i said i still
make a pretty good living
but you must make a killing
a killing

i hope that you are happy
i hope at least you are having fun
'cuz everyone is a fucking napoleon
yeah everyone is a fucking napoleon

now you think, so that is
the way it's gonna be
that's what this is all about
and i think that is
the way it always was
you chose not to notice until now
yeah now that there's a problem
you call me up to confide
and you go on for over an hour
'bout each one that took you for a ride

and i guess that you dialed my number
'cuz you thought for sure that i'd agree
i said baby, you know i still love you
but how dare you complain to me

everyone is a fucking napoleon
yeah everyone is a fucking napoleon


I'M NO HEROINE
you think i wouldn't have him
unless i could have him by the balls
you think i just dish it out
you don't think i take it at all
you think i am stronger
you think i walk taller than the rest
you think i'm usually wearing the pants
just cause i rarely wear a dress
well...

when you look at me
you see my purpose you see my pride
you think i just saddle up my anger
and ride and ride and ride
you think i stand so firm
you think i sit so high on my trusty steed
let me tell you
i'm usually face down on the ground
when there's a stampede

i'm no heroine
least not last time i checked
i'm too easy to roll over
i'm too easy to wreck
i just write about what i
should have done
i sing what i wish i could say
and i hope somewhere
some woman hears my music
and it helps her through her day

some guy designed
these shoes i use to walk around
some big man's business
turns a profit everytime
i lay my money down
some guy designed the room
i'm standing in
another one built it
with his own tools
who says i like right angles
these are not my laws
there are not my rules

i'm no heroine
i still answer to the other half
of the race
i don't fool myself like i fooled you
i don't have the power
we just don't run this place


AMAZING GRACE
amazing grace
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
i once was lost
but now i'm found
was blind but now i see

'twas grace that taught
my heart to fear
and grace that fear relieved
how precious did
that grace appear
the hour i first believed

through many dangers
toils and snares
i have already come
'twas grace that brought me
safely thus far
and grace will lead me home

and when this heart
and flesh shall fail
and mortal life shall cease
i shall possess
within the vale
a life of joy and peace


ANTICIPATE
you are subtle as a window pane
standing in my view
but I will wait for it to rain
so that I can see you
you call me up at night
when there's no light passing through
and you think that I don't understand
but I do

we don't say everything that we could
so that we can say later
oh, you misunderstood
I hold my cards up
close to my chest
I say what I have to
and I hold back the rest

'cause someone you don't know
is someone you don't know
get a firm grip, girl
before you let go
for every hand extended
another lies in wait
keep your eye on that one
anticipate

dress down get out there
pick a fight with the police
we will get it all on film
for the new release
seems like everyone's an actor
or they're an actor's best friend
I wonder what was wrong to begin with
that they should all have to pretend
we lost sight of everything
when we have to keep checking our backs
I think we should all just smile
come clean
and relax

if there's anything I've learned
all these years on my own
it's how to find my own way there
and how to find my own way back home


TIPTOE
tiptoeing through the used condoms
strewn on the piers
off the west side highway
sunset behind
the skyline of jersey
walking towards the water
with a fetus holding court in my gut
my body highjacked
my tits swollen and sore
the river has more colors at sunset
than my sock drawer ever dreamed of
i could wake up screaming sometimes
but i don't i could step off the end of this pier but i got
shit to do
and an appointment on tuesday
to shed uninvited blood and tissue
i'll miss you i say
to the river to the water
to the son or daughter
i thought better of
i could fall in love
with jersey at sunset
but i leave the view to the rats
and tiptoe back


SORRY I AM
i'm sorry i didn't sound more excited on the phone
i'm sorry that after all these years
i've left you feeling unrequited and alone
brought you to tears

i guess i never loved you quite as well
as the way you loved me
i guess i'll never really be able to tell you
how sorry i am

i don't know what it is about you
i just know it's not what it was
i don't know why red fades before blue
it just does

and i don't know what it is about me
that i just can't keep still
i keep thinking some day
i will make this all up to you
and maybe someday i will

i guess i never loved you quite as well
as the way you loved me
i guess i'll never really be able to tell you
how sorry i am


THE SLANT
the slant
a building settling around me
my figure female framed crookedly
in the threshold
of the room
door scraping floorboards
with every opening
carving a rough history
of bedroom scenes
the plot hard to follow
the text obscured
in the fields of sheets
slowly gathering the stains
of seasons spent lying there
red and brown
like leaves fallen
the colors of an eternal cycle
fading with the
wash cycle
and the rinse cycle
again an un familiar smell
like my name misspelled
or misspoken
a cycle broken
the sound of them strong
stalking talking about their prey
like the way hammer meets nail
pounding, they say
pounding out the rhythms of attraction
like a woman was a drum like a body was a weapon
like there was something more they wanted
than the journey
like it was owed to them
steel toed they walk
and I'm wondering why this fear of men
maybe it's because I'm hungry
and like a baby I'm dependent on them
to feed me
I am a work in progress
dressed in the fabric of a world unfolding
offering me intricte patterns of questions
rhythms that never come clean
and strengths that you still haven't seen


THE DINER
i'm calling from the diner
the diner on the corner
i ordered two coffees
one is for you
i was hoping you'd join me
'cause i ain't go no money
and i really miss you
i should mention that too

yes i know what time it is
in fact i just checked
i even know the date
and the month and the year
i know i haven't been sleeping
and when i do
i just dream of you dear

i miss watching you drool on your pillow
i miss watching you pull on your clothes
i miss listening to you in the bathroom
flushing the toilet blowing your nose

i'm calling from the diner
the diner on the corner
i ordered two coffees
one is for you
the cups are so close
the steam is rising
in one stream
how are you

i think you're the least fucked up
person i've ever met
and that may be as close to the real thing
as i'm ever gonna get
but my quarter's gonna run out now
or so i'm told i
guess i'd better go sit down
and wait for you
'til my coffee gets cold


32 FLAVORS
squint your eyes and look closer
i'm not between you and your ambition
i am a poster girl with no poster
i am thirty-two flavors and then some
and i'm beyond your peripheral vision
so you might wanna turn your head
cuz some day you're going to get hungry
and eat most of the words you just said

both my parents taught me about good will
and i have done well by their names
just the kindness i've lavished on strangers
is more than i can explain
still there's many
who've turned out their porch lights
just so i would think they were not home
and hid in the dark of their windows
till i passed and left them alone

god help you if you are an ugly girl
course too pretty is also your doom
cuz everyone harbors a secret hatred
for the prettiest girl in the room
and god help you if you are a phoenix
and you dare to rise up from the ash
a thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy
while you are just flying back

i never tried to give my life meaning
by demeaning you
and i would like to state for the record
i did everything that i could do
i'm not saying that i'm a saint
i just don't wanna live that way
i will never be a saint
but i will always say

squint your eyes and look closer
i'm not between you and your ambition
i am a poster girl with no poster
i am thirty-two flavors and then some
and i'm beyond your peripheral vision
so you might want to turn your head
cuz some day you might find you're starving
and eating all of the words that you said


OUT OF RANGE
just the thought of our bed
makes me crumble like the plaster
where you punched the wall
beside my head
and i try to draw the line
but it ends up running
down the middle of me
most of the time
boys get locked up
in some prison
girls get locked up
in some house
and it don't matter
if it's a warden
or a lover or a spouse
you just can't talk to 'em
you just can't reason
you just can't leave
and you just can't please 'em
i was locked
into being my mother's daughter
i was just eating bread and water
thinking nothing ever changes
then i was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive out of range

if you're not angry
then you're just stupid
or you don't care
how else can you react
when you know
something's so unfair
when the men of the hour
can kill half the world in war
or make them
slaves to a super power
and let them die poor

i was locked
into being my mother's daughter
i was just eating bread and water
thinking nothing ever changes
then i was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive out of range

just the thought of our bed
makes me crumble like the plaster
where you punched the wall
beside my head
and i try to draw the line
but it ends up running
down the middle of me
most of the time

baby i love you
that's why i'm leaving
there's just no talking to you
and there's just no pleasing you
and i care enough
that i'm mad
that half the world don't even know
what they could'a had

i was locked
into being my mother's daughter
i was just eating bread and water
thinking nothing ever changes
then i was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive
you just gotta drive
out of range



Album List | Ani Difranco | Not So Soft | Imperfectly | Puddle Dive | Like I Said | Out of Range | Not a Pretty Girl | Dilate | Living in Clip (Disc One) | Living in Clip (Disc Two) | Little Plastic Castle | Up Up Up Up Up Up