The Vietnam Exchange - Psyk

My mother lost her mother twice Once in '54, then later in life The exchange was quick and quiet The records sealed, the names made private Her search began and ended with a judge Her papers had been claimed in a freak basement flood An entire family tree An eternal privacy Underwater Underwater I am afraid to see my heroes age I am afraid of disintegration If you're not here, I cannot be here for you If you're not here, I cannot be alone Mother, father I'm underwater And I don't think you can pull me out of this There's virgin oil painted over my door And hotel soap from every city Lined up in my window Blew my per diem on an eighth of Blue Dream So I can breathe but I still can't breathe Around my mouth, brown paper bag Founding fathers on my back I'm no martyr I'm no martyr I'm just Afraid to see my heroes age I am afraid of disintegration If you're not here, I cannot be here for you If you're not here, I cannot be alone Mother, father I'm underwater Underwater Underwater I've so much that I want to sing But there's no room for toothbrushes and poetry, I Pray to Jesus Christ incessantly, I Shine my shoes for the Fat Lady, I'm still Underwater I'm underwater Underwater Underwater I am afraid to see my heroes age I am afraid of disintegration If you're not here, I cannot be here for you If you're not here, I cannot be alone Mother, father I'm underwater And I don't think you can pull me out of this I will no longer claim to know Where we go when it's time to go But when you go, will I go too? When you go, I am going too I'm underwater I'm underwater Mother, father I'm underwater I'm underwater I'm underwater Mother, father I'm underwater

You can be me and I can be you Do all the things we never knew I would be you and you would be me Live out our lives in fantasy We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine. We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine. You can be me and I can be you Do all the things we never knew I would be you and you would be me Exchange of souls, forever to be. We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine. We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine. Your soul is bright and mine is dim A transfer of lights, deep within I would be you and you would be me To be someone else is to be free We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine. We could live our lives forever in disguise And I'll take over yours as you take over mine.

When I came back from Saigon Everyone turned their head No one put their hand out No one shared their bread I lost my wife, I lost my job, I lost my brother too Blue collar kids got nothing to do with it Nightmares of jungles and M-16's Hippies give me shit in my army greens Now I'm running the streets of Birmingham 25 years since Vietnam Some pull jobs some pull scams But I'm just doing the best I can Well it's very hard to realize that there's no love no more The day I got on the plane was the day that I left the war Arrived in Heatheron on a red eye flight Down Kellet road I scored for the night I took the tube through London town When I woke up I was on mid land ground Running the streets of Birmingham 25 years since Vietnam Some pull jobs and some pull scams But I'm just doing the best I can. Vietnam... Vietnam... Vietnam... [repeat till fades]

Shaking hands in the back of a Mercedes car, Same whiskies, colas, business, auto-bars. The wheel of high heals tears me apart Like a Hallmark number one, broken heart. Attach case changes at my burden arm Carrying the last top secret lucky charm. Sunglasses on my nose in the pouring rain Dreaming about a hot bath, cutting my veins? Stock exchange woman Ex-change Is it real this pink punk costume I wear, All the time to seduce japanese "hommes d'affaire"? I can smell their expensive after shave, When they touch my bum in the lift of the Empire State. Stock exchange woman Ex-change Madonna is into the groove, in my cell-phone Ringing like a non-stop metronome. My psy told me to go to a spa, But my jet is flying to Vienna, Austria. Stock exchange woman Ex-change Ex-change Woman Ex-change