My Familiar Unfamiliar - Michelle Gurevich

I came into this world an unmarked page But I've stained the paper with lines that I cannot erase Discarded my identity A fragment of what I used to be An iron mind in paper walls Is not a stable foundation in this ongoing storm And now these hands of stone have eroded (eroded) Collapsed again I see a stranger's face staring in the mirror Who I was, was somewhere lost along the way (lost along the way) Caught in an empty space, I never thought I'd be here Each day I feel it take a part of me (take a part of me) No retribution, no compromise Selfishly self-immolating inside Burn, burn me alive, I've seen the other side Burn me, set me alight I see a stranger's face staring in the mirror Who I was, was somewhere lost along the way (lost along the way) Caught in an empty space, I never thought I'd be here Each day I feel it take a part of me (take a part of me) Takes a part of me I can't deny this feeling, I can't ignore the pain Of knowing I am human, and we all feel the fucking same We're all born to feel this way So I ask myself Is the measure of a man, his character, his worth Contained by what his heart holds or contained within his works? My motivations have never strayed But somewhere I think they were buried along the way I see a stranger's face staring in the mirror Who I was, was somewhere lost along the way (lost along the way) Caught in an empty space, I never thought I'd be here Each day I feel it take a part of me (take a part of me) I've seen the other side

It takes ten years just to get Your stinking leg up Then five more to make it Not look like shit Soviet children form a crowd Sized and tested — who will be a star Hero of passion of whom they'll say She took her final breath in grand plié Oh, my mother russian ballerina! You were a swan, but now you're swimming in the Carribean Oh, my mother russian ballerina! Nobody knows how you can live without the love of your life Everybody's asking me: "Where is Mary"? I don't see her at the theatre or the parties That's right, because she's carving bamboo Far from the artistic millieu Never thought she'd live without Allegiance to a life of art Oh, my mother russian ballerina! You were a swan, but now you're swimming in the Carribean Oh, my mother russian ballerina! Nobody knows how you can live without the love of your life La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la Life change — one day its eggshells and bread Married to an intellect — the next you drive a corvette Things change, you live your life for the stage Till your kidney floats away, thrown in a car accident A time for art, a time for living Sometimes the two can be conflicting And Mama, I'll meet you at Caribana Together we're the highest form of art Oh, my mother russian ballerina! You were a swan but now you're swimming in the Caribbean Oh, my mother russian ballerina! Nobody knows how you can live without the love of your life Oh, my mother russian ballerina! Too bad your pirouettes now look almost as bad as mine Oh, my mother russian ballerina! Who needs that bullshit — we can drink at the casino all night (Everybody now!) La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la, la-la-la-la-la La, la-la