I broke free on a Saturday morning I put the pedal to the floor Headed north on Mills Avenue And listened to the engine roar My broken house behind me and good things ahead A girl named Cathy wants a little of my time Six cylinders underneath the hood crashing and kicking Aha! Listen to the engine wine I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me I played video games in a drunken haze I was 17 years young Hurt my knuckles punching the machines The taste of Scotch rich on my tongue And then Cathy showed up and we hung out Trading swigs from a bottle all bitter and clean Locking eyes, holding hands Twin high maintenance machines I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me I drove home in the California dusk I could feel the alcohol inside of me hum Pictured the look on my stepfather's face Ready for the bad things to come I downshifted as I pulled into the driveway The motor screaming out stuck in second gear The scene ends badly as you might imagine In a cavalcade of anger and fear There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me

Water dripping from the pipes down in the basement Bare feet on a concrete floor Notches on the wall of my solitary cell Sweat dripping out of every pore It feels like it takes forever It's maybe five minutes on a screen But the horns will swell and the strings will sound When that flipped quarter hits the ground I'm doing this for revenge I'm doing this to try to stay true I'm doing this for the ones they had to leave behind I'm doing this for you Keep cool down in the quiet of the morning Sweaty blood when the sun comes through Thick mist on the pond before the temple Headed down for the final rendezvous Everybody's ready for justice Just another mile to go But the strings will keen and the horns will cry When it's just me against the sky I'm doing this for revenge I'm doing this to try to stay true I'm doing this for the ones they left to twist in the wind I'm doing this for you I'm doing this for you I'm doing this for revenge I am doing this to try and stay true I'm doing this for the ones we had to leave behind I'm doing this for you I'm doing this for you I'm doing this for you

I hope that our few remaining friends Give up on trying to save us I hope we come up with a fail-safe plot To piss off the dumb few that forgave us I hope the fences we mended Fall down beneath their own weight And I hope we hang on past the last exit I hope it's already too late And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here Someday burns down And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away And I never come back to this town again In my life, I hope I lie And tell everyone you were a good wife And I hope you die I hope we both die I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow I hope it bleeds all day long Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises We're pretty sure they're all wrong I hope it stays dark forever I hope the worst isn't over And I hope you blink before I do I hope I never get sober And I hope when you think of me years down the line You can't find one good thing to say And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out You'd stay the hell out of my way I am drowning There is no sign of land You are coming down with me Hand in unlovable hand And I hope you die I hope we both die

This song is for the rats Who hurled themselves into the ocean When they saw that the explosives in the cargo hold Were just about to blow This song is for the soil That's toxic clear down to the bedrock Where no thing of consequence can grow Drop your seeds there, let them go Let them all go Let 'em all go This song is for the people Who tell their families that they're sorry For things they can't And won't feel sorry for And once there was a desk And now it's in a storage locker somewhere And this song is for the stick pins and the cottons I left in the top drawer Let 'em all go Let 'em all go I wanna sing one for the cars That are right now headed silent down the highway And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give I saw you waiting by the roadside You didn't know that I was watching Now you know Let it all go Let 'em all go Let it all go

Jonah went down to the docks to flee from the wrath of the Lord But the mark on his forehead was visible to everybody on board They threw him down into the water, but he did not drown I'm on a balcony in Mobile, Alabama, waiting for the wind to throw me down Now the Lord told the great fish, be free of your burden And Jonah emerged from his darkness like a dancer crashing through the curtain And the plant grew, but it withered, and it shriveled up and turned brown I'm on a balcony in Mobile, Alabama, waiting for the wind to throw me down Lord, if you won't keep me safe and warm Then send down the storm Send down the storm Jonah was sure he heard voices, maybe just one voice but real clear And where he went, the voice followed, sometimes hardly loud enough to hear "Shall I not spare the wise with the wicked? Hold back my wrath from this town?" I am on a balcony in Mobile, Alabama, waiting for the wind to throw me down May I address the foreman of the jury? Why do you hold back your fury? Don't hold back your fury

I was having visions of sugar pastry Cooked up in clarified butter I tried to turn my visions into prayers But I built my castle way high up in the air Yeah, I came to the gates of the fabled pink city Hungry and tired and cold Swing low, sweet chariot Chrome tailpipe shining bright as spun gold My brothers picked me up out of the rushes Handed me into the company of evil men But I've inched my way down the eastern seaboard I am coming to Atlanta again Yeah, I came to the gates of the fabled pink city Hungry and tired and mad as all hell Swing low, sweet jewel-encrusted chariot Make me young again, make me well I am the killer dressed in pilgrim's clothing I'm the hard-to-find stations on the AM band I am the white sky high over Tripoli I am the land mine hidden in the sand Yeah, I came to the gates of the fabled pink city Hungry and tired and alone Swing low, sweet, sweet chariot Coming forth to carry me home