Sacramento Gold
September 2002
By the time A Bunch Of Songs was signed, sealed and delivered, Alex had a bona fide pop hangover. He exercised such intense anal retentiveness during the recording process that he wanted to let his golden locks hang down and record something raw, and with a slight stench of body odor. The result was an album of singer/songwritery songs recorded live on an acoustic guitar with just one microphone. It is indeed very raw, complete with bum notes and all. And like Honey, I Shrunk The Meat Grinder, it was recorded in two days; however, the two albums could not be more different.
Track Listing
(click titles for lyrics)
1. Cold
2. Sacramento Gold
3. She Wants To Kiss Me
4. November
5. The River Why
6. Just Like That
7. Thinking Of Ewe
8. The Storm Pt. 5
9. Walk It Off
10. Scenes From An American Restaurant
11. All Things
12. Beam Me Up Chad Beam
Cold
Icicles and cubicles
Dangerous and reckless
Time to time I could feel warm
Time to time I could feel dead
Icicles and cubicles
Tree to tree in frozen webs
Time this time I'm feeling wet
Time this time I'm feeling cold
And now the flood comes in
Flows from north to south
And it's never cold
Angry men and lonely kind
Trumpets from the water
Here and here I've stood my ground
Here and here I stood around
Angry men and lonely kind
Calling from the oceans
At parallel 45
It's always cold but safe from frost
And now the flood comes in
Flooding the valley floor
And it's never cold
Look away from the poles
Took away from ozone holes
Echoes off the hills
Frozen, the echo kills
And it's never cold
Sacramento Gold
They'll walk inside your footsteps
They'll walk into a mountain
They walk the gold country
They walk through the ditches
Sacramento holds
Sacramento holds
Sacramento gold
So why do they walk when everyone talks?
They saw something long ago
They'll walk inside your footsteps
And make up a mountain
Sacramento holds
Sacramento holds
Sacramento gold
Since then they looked for Sacramento gold
Sacramento gold
Since then they looked for Sacramento gold
In hopes they'll behold
Since then...
Oh Sacramento pulls
(Sacramento pulls)
Sacramento jokes
She Wants To Kiss Me
Before I hold your hand
I'm in a band
There's just one man in this band
Didn't fight in 'Nam
But I like to jam
Until there's one man in this band
They make you keep both eyes open
Thanks to you my kazoo is broken
Thank you very much!
She wants to kiss me and play Parcheesi
Don't touch my back
Don't touch my back
Don't touch the small of my back
But touch my six pack
I'm just kidding, don't touch my six pack
I'm not blowing you off
I promise I'm not blowing you off
Okay yeah, I really am blowing you off
Hey check it out, wheat thins!
November
In my time I could not find a simple mind
Just to leave this hanging world in search of stars
Stars to justify the way we die
There is a place to go where nothing blows
As I grow old the field grays and fades
I have no fear of places I should not go
The life falls out of magic lands this year
But this happens in November
And if I could sing a song to turn you on
I could see a thousand skies, a million suns
My heart could break for you, but I'd be real
Hang this sign for me, I'd rather be
Nightly winds can't find me anywhere
Sunrise only happens in the north
The life falls out of magic lands this year
But this happens in November
And if I could sing a song to turn you on
I could see a thousand skies, a million suns
And this happens in November
The River Why
Sometimes we can love too much
Sometimes our fear is getting caught
Sometimes we hear from miles away
Sometimes a song is all we need
To remember our oldest dreams
We never knew about the Garden World
Which side to take, which way to think who dies
And we will never die
We will never die
Even with the end at hand
Oh my, I hope I can make them laugh
Oh my, a song takes on this life
Oh my, it's the same with all my love
Oh my, I fear I've gone to sleep
Dreams don't come to me this way anymore
There's a new character in an old play
She's going on and on and growing old...
I recall this story I've known before
I recall years ago on the lake
I recall a girl over on a rock
I recall but she was dreaming too
Ages have gone before I turned a page
And we will never die
We will never die
Even with the end at hand
And we will never die
We will never die
Even with the end at hand
Caught up in the River Why
It's just a story...
Just Like That
Just like that
I've gone away
Just like that
I've turned away
Just like that
And what's that
Drop of the hat
I fold my hand
'Cause I can
And I hope you know
Just like that
But that's not
Any way to act
You leave me here
Cold and warm
'Cause I loved you so
And you're gone
Just like that
Bring me home
I feel cold
Bring me home
It must be snowy outside
In or out
But that's not
Any way to act
The sun is just another star
Just like that
Thinking Of Ewe
Dear John
I was a raccoon
Nocturnal activity
Dear John
I was a cat
With my black cat tiger eye
Dear John
My eyes won't shut
It's a pupil revolution
Dear John
I'm quite the grimace
Grimacing in the dark, oh my heart
I was awake
I'm thinking of ewe
I'm thinking of sheep
I'm thinking of rams
I'm thinking of lambs
I'm thinking of fences
Long jump maneuvers
Ad nauseum
One after the other
Forever they leap
Until I sleep
The Storm Pt. 5
There hasn't been snow for seven years
There's been only rain since last November
There hasn't been snow since the last Ice Age
And we've all seen the bruises on the Sun
But the ice never gives
Never gives
The ice never gives
Never gives
I think I see a mammoth on the plateau
But there hasn't been snow for as long as I know
Nothing can drag me down
Watch the snowflakes on your crown
Can't you see me run through the blizzard?
The storm keeps trying to drag me down
Sometimes the sky is on fire
And sparks fall from violent clouds
Everything is completely done
The fires don't burn
Here I walk on the path of ice
And it never gives
Nothing can drag me down
Watch the snowflakes on your crown
Can't you see me dance through the blizzard?
The storm keeps trying to drag me down
As I fight the Ice Age
Walk It Off
Can I start all over?
University had its way with me
And now I need company
Maybe that or climb a tree
I admit I couldn't handle the change
Tried to rearrange in frustrated rage
Don't cry at Christmas dinner
Because yeah, I'm such a winner
I can walk it off
What's the prognosis?
I think I've developed a nasty psychosis
But I'm back with a vengeance
I'm back in the game with my old flame
This is a game, the most dangerous game
Do you hunt men for sport that hide in your fort?
There is never resolution
Welcome back institution
Am I allowed a bad year?
Allowed to live in fear of life?
Am I allowed a bad year?
Allowed to live in fear of change?
Well you can watch it toggle
What's wrong with me?
I keep dropping my keys
Spitting out blood from these wisdom teeth
Puts an end to an era
Like Vega kicked out of Lyra
So let's break out the CB, Tyler Shortt
Drive around and confound the average citizen
Yeah we did this last summer, remember?
The funnest thing ever
Scenes From An American Restaurant
My head is feeling like a Holy Roller
The voice of God is making me seem crazy
I'll fit into any institution
But I can't help myself from hearing voices
My head is bigger than a roller coaster
I've seen the Matterhorn and it doesn't compare
Holy Rollers and roller coasters
Everyone must have a toaster
Got to decorate with posters to cover up your paint job
Oh no, another anxiety attack
It's the fifth one I've had this week
Fear and dread, might as well be dead
You say you're just following orders
It's kind of weird if you've been hearing voices
It's not rational or substantial or usual
You don't have do to what it tells you
You wish you knew how to not follow orders
My lungs turn oxygen to helium
So my cyborg head fills up like a balloon
It affects my speech and I come off like a loon
G-men say it's just a weather balloon
I tried the drink and it solved all my problems
I played the game and I came out the winner
Because I take life by the teeth and I don't look back
Now I'm stopped dead and it's all been unaccounted for
One man told me that life is a buffet
Take what you want, you can burn the calories later
He keeps a Bow-Flex that he's never used
In his office at work so he can pay his dues
In the waiting room
In here, it's okay to do nothing
As long I read a magazine
Highlites and Highlites for teens
I may be sick, but at least I'm clean
As you can see, I've been watching too much TV
It's sitcom hell, but it's funny, dude
The man can't tell if his wife's in the mood
It's home and work and work at home
What else is there to tell?
Speaking generally, the average man is an avid fan
Of anything but C-SPAN
There are two worlds in the natural world
In one you have a family
In another you work for money
You can't tell me if there exists a third
We won't go there now anyway
You're a bum by night and a slacker by day
One man told me that life is a birthday party
Every day you're born and every day you die again
I don't have time for lessons in Zen bullshit
Because every day we die and we can't came back to tell
I'm late for work
I hate my wife
I hate God and this sitcom life
All Things
It's not an accident
We aren't random events
If you blame it on the chemicals
Then I think you miss the point
There is order in the universe
I know it doesn't make sense
See the traces and courses
I don't speak of the divine
When I say I see a sign
Why is the Moon the same size as the Sun?
Why did it have to be this point in history?
All things...
All things...
You don't have to choose
Between science or God
Because I don't believe in God
I think everyone is wrong
Beam Me Up Chad Beam
Write them yourself, genius!