Jersey City boy On the rooftop cool in the city Hot headed in the night Got a burning for a good way forward Got a fire in his eye Jesuit school and daddy is a doctor Nanny in the attic and Johnny’s got cancer Mama’s got five kids You’ve got asthma Take it to the shore Just a benny on the beach with a hard cut style Another restless kid on the Avon mile Hail Marys and Rock and Roll Springsteen is gonna save your soul You’ve got the spark that’ll start this fire And everywhere I go there you are I can feel it in my blood - there you are What a restless soul - what a heart on fire I wanna take it there - I wanna find you here - - - - - Ten years a requiem Can I let it go now? And all the things lost Can I let them go now? Can I let them go now? Can I let them go? I held your suffering I didn’t want it! I got a tough skin I didn’t want it! I didn’t want it I didn’t want it The salt is thickest at the bottom of the sea I know it - see my tongue I have licked it! I followed you down to the bottom of the sea I grew gills, my blood thickened I gotta tough skin I gotta tough skin Ten years a reckoning Are we in the clear now? And every word spent Are we in the clear now? Are we in the clear now? Are we in the clear? I gotta tough skin I gotta tough skin From the moment that I heard Like a blueprint in my blood It was comin’ like Biblical flood I know it’s not the way we wanted it to be But still the waters rose in that imminent sea! I gotta tough skin I gotta tough skin

Just your standard Homecoming Queen Just a loony bin hero She goes hot for the artists and sweet for her mama You love her when she’s manic You hate it when she’s sad Were you looking for a gilded saint? Some kind of poet? A prophet? To lead you to the water in the night? She’ll show you the way though it won’t be the only way You’ll follow her there though it won’t be easy And then when she’s gone you’ll cast her in porcelain Then you’ll put her portrait down in chalk pastel She was busy tripping on cracks in the pavement You took her photo in the candlelight so you’d remember her smooth It ain’t what we thought it would be It ain’t what was promised The walls and the ceiling were solid but the ground was hollow Yeah we wanted a father We got a revolution You can blame it on the medication You can blame it on the institution He was aching for more than was given We could see it in his eyes He showed us the way though it wasn’t the only way We followed him there though it wasn’t easy And then when he was gone we cast him in porcelain Then we put his portrait down in chalk pastel He was busy tripping on cracks in the pavement We took his photo in the candlelight so we’d remember him smooth Tell again that American dream The storybook version The one with the early risers in the cul de sac All it needed was a songbird What a pretty tune Sweet cantata in the morning light A little love song for your delight Yet you find yourself straining to hear the hallelujah in the night In the night...

Lupins on the road and sorrow in the north You’ve been hanging on a dream for so long Got an aching heart in Montreal Didn’t think it’d be so hard to let him love you I see you there I can feel you I have arms to hold you but I haven’t words Come on to me now Let me hold you There’s a softness here I’ve taken down my walls Blood is in the south and fire in the west High fever in the eyes of the beholder Calloused is the skin and weathered is the heart There are things you didn’t want to get used to I see you there I can feel you I have arms to hold you but I haven’t words Come on to me now Let me hold you There’s a softness here I’ve taken down my walls Take it to a mountain - take it to the sea Take it to the one who knew you in your darkness Put it down on paper - put it in a song Distill the desperation from your anger Can you see me now? Can you feel me? I have tried to take it on but I am tired Come on to me now Will you hold me? There’s a softness here I’ve taken down my walls There’s a softness here I’ve taken down my walls There’s a softness here I haven’t any walls

When I think about the weeks Leading up to the hospital How I stole your roommate’s rings Left you waiting on the island And all those cryptic notes I wrote on your facebook wall I feel Sick Boy did they write the book on me Thoughts of grandiosity Talking fast, moving quick Honestly I was so relieved Just to be happy Chemicals can take the blame Still I can’t help but feel the shame Wondering what could’ve been If it had been normal If I hadn’t gone crazy And on your part to be fair I was right across the street And you only came to see me once in five week But on your part to be fair I know it caught you unaware How were you supposed to know how to help me? The thing about the hospital was that I was hoping I wouldn’t need it The thing about the hospital was that I was hoping I’d be fine I’d always been a little bit wild I’d always been a little bit sad - yeah The thing about the hospital was it ate up all my precious time What a shock to find my brain Back in the fog this summer All consuming, suffocating the same old story I could feel you pulling back Shutting down - who could blame you? So close to it, black hole spinning, a sinking ship And I know you’ll stick it out You’re here for good You’re not bailing Still I’m not blind: i could see it How it scared you So on my part now I swear I will do everything I can Not to ever get that low again Cause I hate it And on my part now I swear I will do everything I can Not to ever get that high again Cause it broke me See me now - I’m being so careful See me not - I’m been so good Still I’ve got my reservations Just like any sane person would And The thing about the lithium is that I was hoping I wouldn’t need it The thing about the lithium is that I was hoping I’d be fine I’ve always been a little bit wild I’ve always been a little bit sad - yeah The thing about the lithium is I guess I’ll miss my edges a tad

I’ve been thinking ‘bout the eagle you painted for your grandfather I’ve been thinking ‘bout your new room with the white walls at the shelter I’ve been thinking ‘bout the bullies that’ll keep you from going back to highschool And I’ve been thinking ‘bout your red hair - you never looked us in the eyes I want to tell you that it’s all gonna get better I want to tell you that it’s all gonna get easier I want to tell you that it’s all gonna get better I want to tell you that it’s all gonna get easier You took the car and the two kids and you left him in the mountains I know you’re tired of the same shit and the money keeps disappearing I really didn’t realize how hard you’ve been struggling I really didn’t realize how alone you’ve been - how lonely Do you think it’s gonna be alright? Do you think it’s gonna be alright? God I hope it’s gonna be alright God I hope it’s gonna be alright I’ve got a list it’s been growing since I was thirteen years old And you told me what your brother did I’ve got a list it’s got strangers and fathers And guys from around our town And every single name still hits me in the gut - like a bullet in the gut Yeah every single name still hits me in the gut - like a bullet in the gut Yeah every single name still hits me in the gut - like a bullet in the gut Yeah every single name still hits me in the gut - like a bullet in the gut