Released 14 May 1996
Label DGC
Producers Nick Launay, Steve Fisk (“Ontario”)
Engineers Nick Launay, John Goodmanson; additional engineering by Jon Auer & Keith Cleversley
Assistant Engineers John Burton, Steve Culp, Mark Rosnick, Aaron Warner.
Mixers: Nick Launay (“Daily Mutilation,” “Everybody Is A Fucking Liar,” “Precious Moments,” “Song #1,” “Will You Ever Ease Your Mind?”), Keith Cleversley (“Fight It (If You Want),” “Hate Song,” “Throwaway”), Brett Eliason (“Ontario,” “Please Return It”), Jon Auer (“Grant Hart,” “The Certainty”), Steve Fisk (“Broken Record”), Adam Kaspar (“World”)
Recorded At Robert Lang Studios, Bad Animals, Stepping Stone, Avast, Egg Studios
Mastering Greg Calbi at Masterdisk, New York, NY
Jon Auer: guitars & singing, etc.
Joe Skyward: found around 110hx, etc.
Ken Stringfellow: guitars & singing, etc.
Brian Young: drums, etc
Steve Fisk: clavioline on “Broken Record”
Gavin Guss: trumpet on “Broken Record”
Roderick Romero: undertaker mumbling on “Broken Record”
Robin Zander: screams on “Hate Song”
Rick Nielsen: guitar freakout on “Hate Song”
Jessica Lurie: tenor sax on “Please Return It”
Barbara Marino: baritone sax on “Please Return It”
The Mitch in the Mid-Day Show appears courtesy of Mitch Levy, Sports Radio 950 KJR and News Century Media.
Art direction & design Tim Gabor
Cover photograph UPI/Bettmann
Photographs Joe Bass, Lance Mercer, Duncan Price and Nordic Joe.
01. Daily Mutilation
02. Ontario
03. Throwaway
04. Please Return It
05. Hate Song
06. Precious Moments
07. Fight It (If You Want)
08. Everybody Is a Fucking Liar
09. World
10. Grant Hart
11. Broken Record
12. The Certainity
13. Song #1
13. ¿Will You Ever Ease Your Mind?
Daily Mutilation
We were just a pair of dice when I let you in
And the numbers were aligned as the wheel grinned
And the center of your eyes was a lucid lake
And the little trust you gave was a big mistake
It’s a daily mutilation as I walk along with you
A daily mutilation and a bludgeoning review
A daily mutilation and I’d like to see it through
But a daily mutilation
A daily mutilation just won’t do
And the water doesn’t work and the pipes are iced
And the bread is full of holes and it’s never sliced
And your kindly downward stares live in a weather vane
And the wind would like to know who’s going to cut the vein
It’s a daily mutilation as I walk along with you
A daily mutilation and a bludgeoning review
Extra, extra, bleed all about it
Bleed all about it
Ontario
When I told you what you wanted to know
You said, “Take me to Ontario”
When I showed you what you wanted to see
You said, “The flower that you planted in me has gone dry,” yeah
Big birds flying overhead, who gives a shit?
Big birds flying overhead, who gives a shit?
When I showed you what I wanted to build
And all the enemies would never be killed
There’ll be a saint living under the stairs
So we’ll be free of material cares
Black paint on the walls in summer, it’s cool, yeah, it’s cool
Black paint on the walls in summer, it’s cool, yeah, it’s cool
I wanna go, I wanna go — to Ontario
I wanna go, I wanna go — to Ontario
When I told you what I wanted to know
You said “Take me to Ontario”
When I asked you, “Why Ontario?”
You said, “It sounds good on the radio” — go!
I wanna go, I wanna go — to Ontario
I wanna go, I wanna go — to Ontario
Black birds flying overhead, waiting for somebody to die
Black birds flying overhead, waiting for somebody to die
Throwaway
I remember giving up the gory details
And it left me tongue-tied (such an elementary sickness)
Now I don’t want to think and I don’t want to feel
I wasn’t aware that this was part of the deal
When I put my finger on a greater expectation
But just my luck, I lack the patience of a statesman
And all of my language will fail to convey
That I’m terribly twisted around what I say
And the message I threw away
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
So I keep hiding and it only grows to hurt me
But time is wasting and I’m watching it desert me
I’m digging a hole and I’m making it deep
And I’m starting to question the hours that I keep
And the answer that I put to sleep
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
And so I’m writing with the hope that someone’s reading
For all to likely runs the risk of me repeating
But I don’t have the guts to prevent the decay
And I’m terribly twisted around what I say
And the courage that I threw away
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
I don’t have it now
Please Return It
Now, now is the time
Time to reckon
Time to beckon, be surprised
Like a letter
I just sent it, please return it, just forget it
When we live the life we live
It’s never ours completely
Not completely
Like a movie, like a style, please return it, please return it
like a favor, like a glance, please return it, please return it
8, 8 is the hour
hour of our trials, ours too sickening to live
please return it
put it back, I take it back, I can burn it
When you let me live my life
You didn’t do it completely but you were discreet
Like the year I spent comparing me to you, please return it
Like a servant, like a sewer, please return it, please return it
There’s an upside — there has to be an upside
There’s an upside — there has to be an upside
There’s an upside
When you took me by surprise
That’s half the fun of everything
Do you miss the point like I do?
In the certainty of friendships you can ask
Please return it
Bring the balance back to you
In returning
There’s an upside — there has to be an upside
There’s an upside — there has to be an upside
There’s an upside — there has to be an upside
Hate Song
Don’t look around at the scenery today
‘Cuz you probably won’t understand it
Don’t settle down in a permanent way
‘Cuz you haven’t the right to demand it
I’m writing you a hate song
I don’t want to have to hold your hand
I’m writing you a hate song
And I’m hoping that you’ll understand
Let it be said that it hasn’t been said
When there wasn’t the will to unearth it
Relive the germs to awaken the worms
Just to ask them if it’s worth it
So let’s get one thing straight:
The halls have narrowed, leaving aphids in the marrow
So you say so
And I say what
And the difference ain’t worth debating
I never wanted the mud in the face
But I couldn’t have known what was waiting
Precious Moments
The bloodless toil
The endless foil
You’ll never see your home again
Everytime you dial that phone
It rings like it’s got no end
Life, what precious moments
Like a flood that you can’t reverse
Oh life of precious moments
And it’s only getting worse
The mud-filled cracks
Of rutted tracks
You’ll never see your mother again
Everytime you dig that grave
Why do you bother trying to fill it in?
Oh, life, what precious moments
Like a flood that you can’t reverse
Oh, life, what precious moments
And it’s only getting worse
I hate to see what trials can be
Expected of the ordinary
Before you can recoil in horror
You’ll discover life is life’s destroyer
Oh, life, what precious moments
Like a flood that you can’t reverse
Oh, life, what precious moments
And it’s only getting worse
I hate to see what trials can be
Expected of the ordinary
We’ve all got some blood for brothers
Why do we never share with others
Sisters pure — the vein is sure
You’ll never hear music again
That’s enough, that’s enough, that’s enough, oh that’s enough
Of life, what precious moments
Like a flood that you can’t reverse
Oh, life, what precious moments
And it’s only getting worse
Don’t waste your time — I can’t hear you
Don’t waste your time — I can’t hear you
Don’t waste your time — I can’t hear you
Don’t waste your time — I can’t hear you…
Fight It (If You Want)
There isn’t time to tell you all you need to know
But I get as scared as any and I wish it wasn’t so
And I don’t like it
Any more than you do
But you’d better hold in spite of doubt
Left swinging to the right
Never lose what you found out
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
You can fight it if you want to fight
We’re going to make a listing of all the things we don’t need
And then we will wean them slowly, all the fears we feed
And I don’t like it
Any more than you do
Not any more than you do
But you’d better hold in spite of doubt
Sense swinging out of sight
Never lose what you found out
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
But you’d better hold in spite of doubt
Left swinging to the right
Never lose what you found out
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
You can fight it if you want to fight
No, no no
No, no no
I don’t like it
Any more than you do
I don’t like it
Any more than you do
Not any more than you do
But you’d better hold in spite of doubt
Left swinging to the right
Never lose what you found out
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
But you’d better hold in spite of doubt
Sense swinging out of sight
Never lose what you found out
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
You can fight it if you want to fight…
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
You can fight it if you want to fight…
You can fight it if it doesn’t kill you
You can fight it if you want to fight…
No, no no
No, no no
Everybody is a Fucking Liar
Everyone I know is trying to get into this show
Everybody is a fucking liar
Time and time again
Whoever’s in the room is your friend
Everybody is a fucking liar
There’s no mercy here
A mercy killing of abject fear
Everybody is a fucking liar
Act brave in the press
Conventionality’s what I detest
Everybody is a fucking liar
And you who reject masculinity:
Baby, I’m with you
As soon as you forsake virility and aggression too
Back off in disgust
Must honesty jeopardize trust?
Is everybody such a fucking liar?
Damsels in dismay
A man’s an Edsel in his own way
Everybody is a fucking liar
And just as God in his his infinite infancy thinks he’s in control
That’s when God in his infinite infamy
Decides to damn our souls
Let’s throw it all in
And think of places to back up & begin
To build something higher
‘Cause everybody is a fucking liar
Everybody is a fucking liar
Everybody is a fucking liar
World
It’s another detachment
Same arrangement, different placement
I’m the saddest of moments
All alone in my unspoken
I was dying to feel you
To be in you, and to heal you
I was grieving the distance
Realizing my insistence
And I see the only real I know I feel I have it all
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world
We were such an amazement
When I found you in the basement
Spent a night on the ceiling
What a feeling, what a feeling
And I see the only real I know I feel I have it all
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world You are the world, you are the world
And I see the only real I know I feel I have it all
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world
You are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world, you are the world, you are the world
You’re the only world, you are the world, you are the world
Grant Hart
I can’t cry, I can’t apply a word to sum it up
Under stress I can’t repress the moment it erupts
Hear the sound of paper drums and shredded paper voice
Got to turn up ‘Keep Hanging On’ as if I had a choice
Prairie fires and pitchfork choirs inspire as they create
Turn it up, It’s too far down, until we can relate
Minnesota New Day Rising first day in the store
Take the couch at someone’s house and wait around to score
Nervous children making millions: you owe it all to them
Power trios with big-ass deals: you opened for it then
I can see, I can see, I can see it all with my one good eye
For a start take two Grant Harts and call me when you die
Broken Record
Broken record, broken record
Sunny day at the oasis
As the roasted take their places
And the undertaker mumbles
“You’re screwing it wrong…”
“You’re screwing it wrong…”
Like a broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record
Sir Repetitious:
What a beauty to be needled
The new position’s looking fetal
So take a letter, sayonara
We’re putting you on, like a…
Broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record
Like a broken record, broken record, broken record
The Certainty
Here’s how to understand your friends
It’s been like six years of the same thing
Nothing can be believed unless you say it
Nothing but good times up ahead for you
Here’s how to occupy your mind
Take some skills and learn to build a reason
Nothing can be perceived til you betray it
Nothing but fine times up ahead for you
And if we build a car that drives on empty
And call it “laughing matter”
Nothing matters
It’s all up for you
Song #1
When I see you cry
Talking on the phone at night
You never tell me why
When it all goes down
And you know shit gets around
And rumors are true
I’ll never have a friend quite as lovely again
And I’m not responsible for the ending that I know is inevitable
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
And I understand your hand-me-down towel
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
Better to be happy than to never know
Well it pins me to
An exaggerated view
Correct me if I’m wrong
And it’s man’s best friend
And the tin’s empty again
Degrade yourself now
I never took a pill wasn’t guaranteed to thrill
And I ought to know you standing up sober
I ought to know your black & white look
I ought to know just like your dad told you
I ought to know mistakes you mistook
You can paint it black
You can use thickest shellac
And still be see-through
And with everything I say
I mean it in the best way
To have it be true
And it’s not impossible
For a friend to heed the slack behind the pull
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
And I understand your hand-me-down towel
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
Better to be happy
And I ought to know you standing up sober
I ought to know your black and white look
I ought to know just like your dad told you
I ought to know mistakes you mis…
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
Yes, I understand you’re happy now
Yes, I understand
Better to be happy
Than to never know
¿Will You Ever Ease Your Mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever wake to find your burden less?
Will you ever please your mind?
Will you ever please your mind?
Will you ever see a sign that tells you:
“This is the direction”
Now that your perception’s finally clearing up?
Will you ever show your face?
Will you ever show your face?
Will you ever speak and not feel out of place?
Will you ever brave the brine?
Will you ever brave the brine?
Will you ever find the time you’re missing
Out on what you wanted,
Frustration flaunted in your gentle face?
I’m sorry that the simplest things are hard to understand
Aurora borealis has been waiting in your hand
Waiting for a plan
Waiting for a beautiful escape
Escape
You may never ease your mind
You may never ease your mind
But you will never cease to find me still around
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?
Will you ever ease your mind?