Demographix Vol. 4: Follow Me Up

(click on the song to play)
1. borrowed wings (the cliché song)
2. musical chairs
3. la di da
4. the road to love
5. the last laugh
6. it's been a long time
7. oliver wendell holmes, jr.
8. perfect day
9. the light

Demographix Vol. 4: Follow Me Up (2006)
Recorded in New York City, 2006
All songs written and produced by Michael Novick
MKN: vocals, acoustic guitars, programming, keyboards

borrowed wings (the cliché song)

if you don’t like it you can lump it / you can stick it in your pipe and smoke it / you can take a flying leap in traffic / take a long walk off a short pier / there’s a thin line between love and hate / the enemy is at the gate / it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings / you flew too far on borrowed wings / i’m just trying to make ends meet / money doesn’t grow on trees / to the victor go the spoils / every dog has his day / there’s a thin line between love and hate / the enemy is at the gate / it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings / you flew too far on borrowed wings / and it’s neither here nor there… / stick to me like glue / it takes two to tango / no good deed goes unpunished / and the writing’s on the wall / there’s a thin line between love and hate / the enemy is at the gate / it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings / you flew too far on borrowed wings / and it’s neither here nor there…

musical chairs

i don’t sleep, i don’t even try / you got a big head but you used to be shy / i feel so bad, but i try to be good / you’ve always been a little misunderstood / it feels like love / or a lack thereof / it’s a sad state of affairs / we’re still playing musical chairs / i play a few tunes, take out the trash / you watch tv and count my cash / i don’t mind the quiet but I miss the noise / you make up with brains what you lack in poise / and it feels like loveor a lack thereof / it’s a sad state of affairs / we’re still playing musical chairs / and it feels like love… / watch tv, take out the trash... / but it feels like love / or a lack thereof / it’s a sad state of affairs / we’re still playing musical chairs / and it feels like love…

la di da

la di da, it’s an earthquake / la di da, it’s a landslide / la di da, it’s a heartbreak / la di da, it’s an inside job / while you blow your horn and start up the band / the second world war was just slight of hand / i didn’t want to have to say it! / if you’re in, get a clue / la di da, it’s an insult / la di da , it’s a breakdown / la di da , it’s a deadbolt / la di da , it’s a hometown call / while you blow your horn and start up the band / the man on the moon was just slight of hand / i didn’t want to have to say it! / if you’re in, get a clue / so you blow your horn and strike up the band / the four-minute mile was just slight of hand / i didn’t want to have to say it! / if you’re in, get a clue

the road to love

something always gets in the way on the road to love... / sweet sensation like a deep conversation but it never moves like a crimp in the groove it sticks it’s the wrong mix for this crowd / i leapt into action just for the satisfaction of a steady fix and i was hip to her tricks even though she wouldn’t say if it was going either way or at all / something always gets in the way on the road to love... / the long story short she called to report she was doing fine / it was all by design and as long as she was there would i really care if she saw her ex-guy? / when I asked her why she did it she told me to forget it i should swallow my pride and enjoy the view though i never replied it’s all about the ride you betcha / she said something always gets in the way on the road to love... / something always gets lost and i cross my fingers into fists it’s all drifts and gists and my mind is built for straight up / so i bid you farewell it was just swell being part of your fucked up heck i’ll take a rain check and catch you on the flip side because / something always gets in the way on the road to love...

the last laugh

you passed on the ride / and she did, too / so you both slipped the noose / called a temporary truce / i'll have the last laugh / i'll be the one with no regrets / so laugh all you want now / i'll have the last one / you buried the past / and me as well / when you came with your heart on your sleeve / you were just so hard to believe / i'll have the last laugh / i'll be the one with no regrets / so laugh all you want now / i'll have the last one / you'll be happier now / with your heads in the sand / you can laugh all want...

it's been a long time

she brushes the lint from his shoulder / remembers a happier day / they sit in the back seat in silence / she wishes for something to say / she tells him to pick up the laundry / he smokes on his way into work / it’s been a long time / it’s been a long time / it’s been a long time / maybe it’s time enough / she tells him to settle specifics / he gives her the house and the kid / it’s been a long time / it’s been a long time / it’s been a long time / baby, it’s time enough

oliver wendell holmes, jr.

the parking lot is full of freaks / i lost the will to fit in there / the political dissenter speaks / in the language of despair / i have to play a different tune / it's not the one you adore / i'd still follow you to certain doom / but i can't glorify it anymore / it's a long story / about a guy named william james / yes, the famous writer's brother / he wrote the taming of the shrew / or was it the turning of the screw / i know for sure he wrote persuation / or maybe that was emily bronte / the point is he was a writer / who knew oliver wendell holmes / yes, he knew oliver wendell holmes / i'd make the rules up as i go / if i thought that there were rules / but i know a lot more than i know / it's the blissfulness of fools / i have to play another tune / not the one i wrote for you / about howling at a vacant moon / nothing i knew then is still true / and it's a longish story / about one charles sanders peirce / whose father taught at harvard / and they all believed in god / and they listened to the beatles / smoked opium and hash / they read way too much for comfort / and they all had nervous breakdowns / except for oliver wendell holmes / no, not oliver wendell holmes / a thrice-wounded union soldier / who became a supreme court justice / named oliver wendell holmes

perfect day

he watched the dice in the MGM / but he never played a hand / he couldn’t see the irony in being / a betting man / he chose to be alone / he chose to be a martyr / he couldn’t find the strength / to try any harder / salvation’s on / if you follow me to the yellow brick road / it’s such a perfect day / he tossed around the neighborhood / ‘til he found the address / the time had come to bear his soul / and confess / but when he laid his eyes on her / he lost all his resolve / he ran to the station for to catch the train / he was too self-centered to accept the blame / for the lies that he told just to deaden the pain / he couldn’t stop drinking ‘cause he needed the proof / and he dialed up a number for a version of the truth / that he found on a sticker in a telephone booth / salvation’s on / if you follow me to the yellow brick road / it’s such a perfect day / salvation’s on / just follow me to the yellow brick road / it’s such a perfect day / he ran to the station for to catch the train / and he was too self-centered to accept the blame / for the lies that he told just to deaden the pain / he couldn’t stop drinking ‘cause he needed the proof / and he dialed up a number for a version of the truth / that he found on a sticker in a telephone booth…

the light

the light was on when he got home / from the war in ‘45 / and he kept thinking he was so lucky to be alive / he let her sleep through the night / his heart was pounding in his chest / he put his faith in god and let fortune do the rest / he knew that life could be unfair / but he couldn’t bring himself to touch her hair just yet / the years flew by and it was hard / for them to keep things in the black / but the future was still an aphrodisiac / they moved out west to start anew / they made the most of what they had / and they thanked the good lord when none of it went bad / he knew his life had been redeemed / but it was never quite as charmed as it first seemed to them / on a sea of red he’d learned to hide himself behind his bloodshot eyes / and faithfully she made his coffee black the way he learned to like it / the light was on when got home but only because he left it that way / he missed the way she made things glow / and the things she said that saved him all those many years ago / he sees his life is getting long / but he knows it isn’t time to move along just yet / on a sea of red he’d learned to hide himself behind his bloodshot eyes / and faithfully she made his coffee black the way he learned to like it