R.E.M. - Document No. 5



FINEST WORKSONG

The time to rise has been engaged
You're better best to rearrange
I'm talking here to me alone
I listen to the finest worksong

Your finest hour
Another chance has been engaged
To throw Thoreau and rearrange

You are following this time
I beg you not beg to rhyme (blow your horn)
Your finest hour (blow your horn)

Take your instinct by the reins
Your better best to rearrange

What we want and what we need
Has been confused been confused (blow your horn)

Your finest hour (blow your horn)

(repeat 3rd verse)


WELCOME TO THE OCCUPATION

 

Hang your collar up inside

Hang your dollar on me

Listen to the water still

Listen to the cause where you are

Fed and educated,

primitive and wild

Welcome to the occupation

Here we stand and here we fight

All your fallen heroes

Held and dyed and skinned alive

Listen to the Congress fire

Offering the educated

primitive and loyal

Welcome to the occupation

Hang your collar up inside

Hang your freedom higher

Listen to the buyer still

Listen to the Congress

Where we propagate confusion

Primitive and wild

Fire on the hemisphere below

Sugar cane and coffee cup

Copper, steel and cattle

An annotated history

the forest for the fire

Where we open up the floodgates

Freedom reigns supreme

Fire on the hemisphere below

Listen to me

Listen to me

Listen to me

Listen to me


EXHUMING MCCARTHY

You're beautiful more beautiful than me
You're honorable more honorable than me

Loyal to the Bank of America

It's a sign of the times
It's a sign of the times

You're sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.

Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.

Vested interest united ties, landed gentry rationalize
Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy America

It's a sign of the times
it's a sign of the times

You're sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.
Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.

Enemy sighted, enemy met, I'm addressing the realpolitik
Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy America

"Let us not assassinate this man further Senator,
you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir?
At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

You're sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.
Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.

Enemy sighted, enemy met, I'm addressing the realpolitik
You've seen start and you've seen quit

(I'm addressing the table of content)

I always thought of you as quick
Exhuming McCarthy (Meet me at the book burning)
exhuming McCarthy (Meet me at the book burning)


DISTURBANCE AT THE HERON HOUSE

"They're going wild," the call came in
At early morning pre-dawn, then
"The followers of chaos out of control
They're numbering the monkeys
The monkeys and the monkeys,"

The followers of chaos out of control
"They're meeting at the monument,"
The call came in to Party Central
"Meeting of the green and simple,"
Try to tell us something we don't know

The call came in the monument
To liberty and honor under the honor roll
"They've gathered up the cages the cages and courageous,"

The followers of chaos out of control
The call came in to Party Central
"Meeting of the green and simple,"
Try to tell us something we don't know

"Disturbance at the Heron House"
A stampede at the monument
To liberty and honor under the honor roll
The gathering of grunts and greens
Cogs and grunts and hirelings

A meeting of a mean idea to hold
"When feeding time has come and gone
They'll lose the heart and head for home
Try to tell us something we don't know"

Everyone allowed, Everyone allowed


STRANGE (Wire)

 

(lyrics taken from the lyric sheet of Wire's _Pink Flag_)

There's something strange going on tonight

There's something going on that's not quite right

Michael's nervous and the lights are bright

There's something going on that's not quite right

There's something going on that wasn't here before

Keep your eyes glued to the floor

There's something strange going on tonight

There's something going on that's not quite right

There's something going on that wasn't here before

Keep your eyes glued to the floor

No one's going to say goodnight

There's something going on that's not quite right


IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (AND I FEEL FINE)

 

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane -

Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn -

world serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs. Feed it up a knock,

speed, grunt no, strength no. Ladder structure clatter with fear of height,

down height. Wire in a fire, represent the seven games in a government for

hire and a combat site. Left her, wasn't coming in a hurry with the furies

breathing down your neck. Team by team reporters baffled, trump, tethered

crop. Look at that low plane! Fine then. Uh oh, overflow, population,

common group, but it'll do. Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its

own needs, listen to your heart bleed. Tell me with the rapture and the

reverent in the right - right. You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright

light, feeling pretty psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign tower. Slash and burn,

return, listen to yourself churn. Lock him in uniform and book burning,

blood letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate. Light a candle,

light a motive. Step down, step down. Watch a heel crush, crush. Uh oh,

this means no fear - cavalier. Renegade and steer clear! A tournament,

a tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives

and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

The other night I tripped a nice continental drift divide. Mount St. Edelite.

Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Breshnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs.

Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic,

slam, but neck, right? Right.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine...fine...

(It's time I had some time alone)


THE ONE I LOVE

 

This one goes out to the one I love

This one goes out to the one I've left behind

A simple prop to occupy my time

This one goes out to the one I love

Fire (she's comin' down on her own, now)

This one goes out to the one I love

This one goes out to the one I've left behind

Another prop has occupied my time

This one goes out to the one I love


FIREPLACE

 

Crazy crazy world crazy crazy times

Crazy crazy world crazy crazy times

Hang up your chairs to better sweep

Clear the floor to dance

Shake the rug into the fireplace

Crazy crazy world crazy crazy times

Crazy crazy world crazy crazy times

Hang up your chairs to better sweep

Clear the floor to dance

Sweep the floor into the fireplace

Hang up your chairs to better sweep

Clear the floor to dance

Throw the chairs into the fireplace

Hang up your chairs to better sweep

Clear the floor to dance

Throw the walls into the fireplace


LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS

 

When I lay myself to sleep pray that I don't go too deep

Lightnin' won Lightnin' won

Because it's cold down gold down there, crow!

Flat lands low lands on the track

Shows the water pan the track

Lightnin' won lightnin' won

Close up hands to silhouette, crow!

Lightnin' won, lightnin' won

Hound bark on the track

Hound crow hold onto your hat

Lightnin' won lightnin' won

Low lands timberlands bad lands bird lands


KING OF BIRDS

 

A thumbnail sketch, a jeweler's stone

A mean idea to call my own

Old man don't lay so still you're not yet young

There's time to teach, point to point,

Point observation, children carry reservations

Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold, leaves me cold.

A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly

Singer sing me a given, singer sing me a song

Standing on the shoulders of giants everybody's looking on

(Old don't lay so still you're not yet young,

there's time to teach, point to point,

point observation, children carry reservations).

Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold

A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly away, away.

I am king of all I see, my kingdom for a voice

Old man don't lay so still, you're not yet young

There's time to teach, point to point

Point observation, children carry reservations

Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold

A mean idea to call my own, a hundred million birds fly away

Everybody hit the ground. Everybody hit the ground.


ODDFELLOWS LOCAL 151

 

Oddfellows local 151 behind the firehouse

Where Peewee sits to prove a sage to teach

Peewee gathered up his proof

Reached up and scratched his head

Fell down and hit the ground again

Firehouse. Firehouse.

Why do the heathens rage behind the firehouse

Where Peewee sits upon the wall to preach?

This boy and girl that gather pearls

Of wisdom falling from his mouth

Wash off the blood, wash off the rum

Firehouse. Firehouse.

Oddfellows local 151 behind the firehouse

Where Peewee sits upon the wall to preach.

This boy and girl that gather pearls

Of wisdom falling from his mouth

Wash off the blood, wash off the 151.

Firehouse. Firehouse.

Firehouse. Firehouse.