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Cactus

by Peter Bruce Wilder

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1.
The Grind 05:16
the grind 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI drag to a.m. four lanes full / inches made the steel snake still crawls / everyone looking forward to brakelights / file in sequence, ramp by ramp by ramp / rough into spaces in underground lots / ignoring the stench of urine and exhaust / everyone cuts off nobody that they know / mechanical birds chirp, there's safety in remotes // is this the forever that we all dreamed of / when Henry's idea put us up on the line faster and faster, with lots more combustion faster and farther / it becomes the grind / connected by endless gray ribbons of asphalt / urbanity now becomes the state of mind / reduced to a world of drive through experience / faster and farther it becomes the grind // air conditioned cubicles / within a cubefarm acres wide / noise reduced and still anti-neighbor / challenged as we walk down the aisle / leave the cube and then go find the car keys / drive the car up to your house / leave the car and still you look at no one / home becomes another cube // is this the forever that we all dreamed of when nasdaq and dowagers put us on line / faster and faster, with lots more congestion / faster and farther it becomes the grind / connected by tight packs of optical fibers / anonymous chat is the new state of mind / reduced to a world of virtual experience / faster and farther it becomes the grind // technical progress is made and embraced / social progress is challenged in courts / down primrose path the false happiness chased / there's cash in our pockets the quiet consort // is this the forever that we all dreamed of / our nose to the books and our eyes on the prize / faster and faster, with no comprehension / faster and farther it looks like the grind / the choice of time spent in relentless pursuit / keeping up with the Joneses, ohhh that would be fine / reduced to a world where the sensitive perish / faster and farther, we become the grind / faster and farther, we become the grind / ya
2.
Denude 04:28
denude 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI the forest was standing at least it was once / her clothing stood tall and green to the sky / but someone decided they needed her limbs and so she was sacrificed and turned into ply // a sad turn that's passing when a future is viewed in shortsighted glimpses - solution? denude // the river was flowing from springs to the sea / nourishing all that her curves wrapped around but someone decided they needed her waters and so she was dammed and turned into light // a sad turn that's passing when a future is viewed in shortsighted glimpses - solution? denude // the field was well cared for hosting the flocks / she replenished yearly / in summers she fed / but someone decided / her worth wasn't realized / and now she has houses / entrenched in her earth // a sad turn that's passing when a future is viewed in shortsighted glimpses - solution? denude // the children were plopped into comfortable chairs and grazed on food processed and watched TV shows / and someone neglected to remember these children would soon make decisions that affect all we know // a sad turn that's passing when a future is viewed in shortsighted glimpses - solution? denude, denude, denude
3.
Cactus 04:26
cactus 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI the air is too damn dry / I can hardly keep on breathing / you're crowding up my space / don't you have some place to go? I really want to fly / and find an island just to seethe in / to not be in a place where there are people that I know // my tolerance is ebbing - my patience has worn thin / this normal effervescence - will soon die within the din / just one more vapid comment had to waft into the joint / so now I am the cactus - welcome to my point // the woman blabbed incessant to her husband and her friend / a vacuous discussion of a sitcom without end / it really is amazing / how surroundings will kill a meal / kill a meal and then an evening / it's so prickly that I feel // my tolerance is ebbing - my patience has worn thin / this normal effervescence - will soon die within the din / just one more vapid comment had to waft into the joint / so now I am the cactus - welcome to my point // the president was bragging about all that he had done / the progress so amazing / the battles he had won / it really is astounding / how an idiot can be / put into highest office / in this pure democracy // my tolerance is ebbing - my patience has worn thin / this normal effervescence - will soon die within the din / just one more vapid comment had to waft into the joint / so now I am the cactus - welcome to my point! // welcome to my point
4.
plain & selfish 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI if I told you what I wanted would you hold it against me / if I told you the whole truth would you turn and run / if I told you the secrets would you hold them in question / if I told you what I wanted would you turn and run what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish / when distorted by the lens of society in fear / what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish until you look beyond the words and know what's truly here // the artist paints a picture and presents it as honest / it's her interpretation / the moment that she feels / subjective quotes arrive from the critical q. public / if she told me what she wanted would I turn and run what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish / when distorted by the lens of a society in fear / what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish until you look beyond the words and know what's truly here // the message came in clear / you didn't hear me certain and mistook what I said / and began to draw the shade / if I told you what I wanted would you hold it against me / when I told you the whole truth I saw you turn and run // but what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish / when distorted by the lens of society in fear // but what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish / until you look beyond the words and know what's really here // what I truly feel could be seen as plain and selfish / when distorted by the lens of society in fear / what I really feel could be seen as plain and selfish until you look beyond the words and know what's truly here / what's truly here
5.
sarah inverted 6-29-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI what it comes down to - the making of choice / challenge - objection and raising the voice / defining the boundaries - establishing needs / selfless or selfish? planting the seeds / oh the argument started with the text on the screen / the words of affection confusingly spent / oh funneling focus and steeled confrontation / what did the vows mean - were they love or intent? // oh the world is reversed and the sky's on the ground / the dirt's in the air and it doesn't come down / it comes - it comes and goes and what goes comes around / leaving sarah inverted; she's lost but not found oh! // climbing the hill with the chain and the rock / closing the doors on the heart bolt and lock / parting the company - shorting the talk / absence and misery - it's a long lonely walk / losses in process are harder than death / facing the prospect of now - but not yet / oh trust becomes sand and it falls through the sieve / the colors go bland and there's nothing to give // the world is reversed and the sky's on the ground / the dirt's in the air and it doesn't come down / it comes it comes and goes and what goes comes around / leaving sarah inverted; she is lost and not found // time heals all wounds - such a popular line / everyone knows it's a lie by design / when trust is destroyed - it rarely returns - the scars they may heal, but they still show the burns // oh the world is reversed and the sky's on the ground / the dirt's in the air and it doesn't come down / it comes and goes and what goes comes around / leaving sarah inverted; she is lost and not found // it comes and it goes / and what goes comes around...
6.
better than something 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI I can see my neighbor's yard / the grass is greener, that's for sure / His house is newer, so’s his car / they just returned - a two month tour / I am stealing subtle looks / admiring her curvature / and dancing with some lesser thoughts they're easy when I look at her // it sure is better than something / it sure is easy to compare / it sure is better than something / especially when you know what's there / it sure is better than something / it sure is easy to admire / it sure is better than something / when novelty becomes desire // I can see my lover's eyes as she sizes up the room / itemizing every thing that I have comparing - now I know I'm doomed / she's captivated by the picture / me and my friend out by the lake / she says to me that she finds him attractive / enter now the give and take // it sure is better than something / it sure is easy to compare / it sure is better than something / especially when you know what's there / it sure is better than something / it sure is easy to admire / it sure is better than something / when novelty becomes desire
7.
Would You 03:35
would you 6-29-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI would you sit down for a moment if I asked you with a smile / would you listen to a story / would you try to understand / would you ask me to sit by you and wrap my arms around / would you recognize the reasons and modify your plans / would you search in my expression and humor these feeble tries / at making a true impression and memorize my eyes / would you postpone hesitation and with me share a kiss / would you recognize the moment they're rarely made like this / would you speak to me in whispers your lips upon my ear / the falling song of vespers / dissolving all your fear / would you wrap yourself around me knowing that we won / would you revel in the present and see the dance begun / would you care to share a lifetime if part could be like this / would you postpone your projections for a stolen moment's bliss / would you wrap yourself around me knowing that we won / would you promise to the future and see this dance begun / would you?
8.
monkey boy gee 6-28-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI riddle me this one / you apathetic nation / how can this poser / be a cause for celebration / don't you ever wonder / how soon he'll be forgotten / don't you ever wonder / who's really on the buttons // how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee / how'd we make the error in the land of the free / to put an ignoramus in charge of policy / how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee // he's acting like he took the joint by landslide / he rules the roost / assuming all behind him / don't you ever wonder / about the poser shouting / don't you ever tire of the whines and pouting // how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee / how'd we make the error in the land of the free / to put an ignoramus in charge of policy / how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee // at least there's hope / that some of us are learners / and will recognize / and keep him single termer / it's easy news / that moderation matters / one sided views will never climb the ladders // how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee / how'd we make the error in the land of the free / to put an ignoramus in charge of policy / how'd we ever put up monkey boy gee // how? a monkey...
9.
Medicine Man 03:40
medicine man 6-29-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI it was a simple solution / made simpler by the purchase / escape the surly bonds / to the certain euphoria / in quiet isolation / she lay across the mattress / looking past the ceiling / a place she's been before // bless the medicine man - bless the dark deliverer / these tours in a bottle - hook a spawning soul / bless the medicine man - bless the dark deceiver / capturing the weakness - filling up the hole // it was a cliché position / slumped inside the doorway / a smell like last weeks food / still in the wrapper / the tenement alive with sounds of purgatory / she makes her way upstairs and stumbles through the door // bless the medicine man - bless the dark deliverer / offering the moment - promising the hype / bless the medicine man - bless the dark deceiver / preying on the weakness - capturing the life // it's a scene repeated often / carried to patrol cars / sentenced to possession and detox well deserved / we always treat the symptoms and mostly miss the causes / the medicine man walks / returning to the shadows // bless the medicine man - bless the dark deliverer / offering the moment - capturing the soul / bless the medicine man - bless the dark deceiver / eating up the weakness - filling up the hole
10.
promise me this 6-29-01 peter bruce wilder ©2001 Maplewood Earlines, BMI the look in your eyes was a sight to behold / were you happy to see me, or was the air cold / food on the table, the candles alight / what did I do to deserve such a night / was it something I said while applying massage / or doing up the dishes or cleaning the garage / putting kids in their bed for a week in a row / tell me, please tell me - I just gotta know / the morning arrives with a scent of light rain / I look at you sleeping and then look again / there's something about a lover asleep / like a bare soul that you're reminded to keep / and softly you wake and you stretch and you roll / are you happy to see me or is the air cold / this day soon approaching will challenge the bliss / the antidote's simple, it starts with a kiss // promise me this / as we grow old you'll never replace this thing / promise me this / as we grow old you'll never replace what we have / promise me this - as we grow old you'll never replace this thing / promise me this - as we grow old / we'll stay

about

Okay, I was in a cranky mood. Lack of immediate revenue, inane conversations of the landed gentry, relationships tanking all around, windows that needed painting and the lawn already mowed. Short of taking it out on the patient loved ones around me, I marathoned another album, bare naked and raw, mostly guitar (and vocals that would make a sick cat sound really good). Now it's out of me, and I feel much better. I even like the songs...
...hope you do, but if you don't, no sweat.

credits

released June 1, 2001

Created, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by
Peter Bruce Wilder, Spring 2001

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Tundra Records Group Artists Hyde Park, Vermont

Tundra Records Group was formed to record and support the recording and production for committed artists in their quest for artistic and professional recognition. Specializing in singer-songwriters, Tundra has been directly involved with the creation of over a dozen independent releases.

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Tundra Records Group
P.O. Box 302
Hyde Park, Vermont 05655-0302
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