Pulled over at midday The joker's still wet behind the ears He hands off a novel of novice citations Outside the service station The glue sets beneath our heels My baby's in Massachusetts And all this booze is useless Sunset, sing my scratched-out sighing soul to sleep And the cashier here is ruthless Jeanette, I wrote your name down But I'd hate that job as much as you do If I was stuck between Barton and Binghamton too Days like this, I miss listening to records Making coffee together, snow globes and jersey sheets I tried sleeping in our bed without you last night That didn't work at all, 'cause I couldn't sleep Sometimes I wish it was still last summer And you still lived in South Philly And I wasn't playing a show in Nebraska, or Austin, Texas Asking the kids what they ate for breakfast But here I am, Valero bathroom Who's paid to keep these things cliché? Bury me beneath New York State It's the only place where I feel dead My baby's in Massachusetts And all this booze is useless Sunset, sing my scratched-out sighing soul to sleep And the cashier here is ruthless Jeanette, I wrote your name down But I'd hate that job as much as you do If I was stuck between Barton and Binghamton too

Take the train to Frankford I won't answer when they call I guess that's just my gift to myself Drank a lot and danced to The Cure Holding on for dear life To the frayed edge of a feeling we misplaced years ago And knowing we should really get back home Made mistakes The plants died young, like all good things But I wish my small self had known How much water to use Still some nights I find The ideas that bring me rest Are the ones that used to prod and pester and keep me up Swinging open doors I swore I'd shut Pouring pewter Amassing coins to displace debt to you My straight-line shooter Let me learn here I am in pursuit of all I can undo Entertain the cancer We all answer upwards either way The waiting game is tied again Backs of hands and phrases Misplaced gazes Things we still deny to selves and hesitate to talk about A call from high school two drinks in I smiled but you could not see Your tin can cell receiver Hummed its New York static song The lever pulled and all at once The floor was false The center seam divided Lace and well-pressed cotton Found the flood we'd since forgotten We still leave our shoes at the door Before we wring out our wet clothes Across your floor and future Stitch the gaps that destiny assumed With floral sutures Are you hiding or have I abandoned you? Let me learn here I am in pursuit Of all I can undo Of all I can undo

Oh, smack, there goes my baseball cap I'm on the floor, I think I took a bruise to my jaw, Jumped me from behind at least three, maybe four, I never see my hat no more. Oh, smash. There goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. 14 years old and hard to the core, I'm walking home making plans for war, My hands was cut, my uncle say 'what's up?' Let me guess, your clothes are in a mess, you're in distress, Sit down, take five and let me look at your knees, Your still alive son, please take it easy Sometimes you have to let the world know you're not bluffing, But enough is enough, don't lose your life over nothing, Scuffling in the street is no way to die, And I don't want to have to meet your mama's eye, So try and listen hard before you fall into the trap Of making war over a baseball cap. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. I sat back, had a think My uncle poured a drink I had a little cry, my eye started to blink 'Cause what occured from his word to me Sounds absurd, but I Heard the love in his voice for me I made a choice, It was like Snap, What's a cap when I got something real like that I can measure it, treasure it, and at my leisure Sit down with those who mean the most to me The baseball cap was a ghost, this is real to me "You got steel, son" My uncle's talkin' "Takes a champion to walk and keep walking" "Drink your drink, and let the words sink in, Say goodnight to your mom and think again" So I took my 14 years up to bed Everything he said taking root in my head I shed all my tears, and let my 14 years Relax. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back. Oh, smash, there goes my baseball cap, It's gone, gone, gone, gone, I can't get it back.

I saw a cigarette contend It was the smell of death that kept strolling in Maybe that henna'd back of yours That held me back, back from keeping score There goes that moonboy Looking jungly With all his leaves a-growing Split down that long back He would've thought that If you got to know him True blue with your fists up You little kiss up Wishin' things were heavy That's fine in the end though Where'd all our friends go We can dip if you're ready I bet you take me for a fool Nothing like, like rules the cool sensation of Pollock and Jules Some weird abandon in the sheets Though the tongue tastes good My grammar's falling from the cheeks There goes that moonboy Looking jungly With all his leaves a-growing Split down that long back He would've thought that If you got to know him True blue with your fists up You little kiss up Wishin' things were heavy That's fine in the end though Where'd all our friends go We can dip if you're ready I was wrong You were a friendly kid I was wrong You were a friendly kid Fill the rafters Right field dances Baseball diamonds Take our chances out There's somethin' fiction 'bout the way that reality's going Seems like the chakra's playing hopscotch Anxiety growing Some cordial framework of the sunset A yellow made out of gray My bones are tired of the body That woke me up today There goes that moonboy Looking jungly With all his leaves a-growing Split down that long back He would've thought that If you got to know him True blue with your fists up You little kiss up Wishin' things were heavy That's fine in the end though Where'd all our friends go We can dip if you're ready I was wrong You were a friendly kid I was wrong You were a friendly kid I was wrong I was wrong I was wrong

Ev'ryone sings, "Home of the brave And land of the free" You've had twenty wins and one save, Now you're up against me How can I keep control of my nerves? The way you wind-up When you throw me those curves? I hear him yell, "strike", And it's a good call It's so hard to keep my eyes on the ball On the baseball Love is just like baseball All it is is baseball Love is just like baseball You have played with me like a pawn For most of the night How'd you get your uniform on So perfectly tight? You strike me out twice I singled but died Then you made me pop up By sneakin' inside I'm gonna change that sneer to respect Make your eyes open wide When you feel connect to the baseball On the baseball Love is just like baseball All it is is baseball Love is just like baseball Here i am behind in the night The count 's 3 and 2 End the game like Beethoven's NINTH Is what I must do So now that we're here Alone in the dark I'm gonna send this Right out of the park If I was you i'd leave it alone 'Cause I'm tearin' round third Slidin' towards home Tearin' round third Slidin' towards home On the baseball Love is just like baseball All it is is baseball Love is just like baseball