regal dream and primmadonna[1]
angel queen of tijuana [2]
mother earth and virgin saint
succor, nurse, and suffrir gate
[3]
to gaudy beauty's hocus-pocus
guadeloupe's theotokos
for heathens, scribes, enraptured daughters
a neon bride on dashboard alters [altars] [4]
chorus:
sweet mother of God
(what's got into you, boy?)
oh for the love of God
(what's got into you boy?)
sweet mother of God
you ponder, you wander,
you cling and you lean
while she's bruising you, using you
seldom refusing you [5]
monumental apparition [6]
ornamental grave beautition [7]
satirized and patronized, [8]
undersized and glamorized
matriarchal wisdom seat [9]
sentimental paraclete
statuesque forlorn pieta,
esqued, suppressed, and scorned contessa
(chorus)
casa nostra placebo
glorisa domino
mediatrix [10] bella
donna
dominicus della strada
limbo low e' la cañada
tuck'n'roll lobla limbada
coredemptrix mediation
genuflexix obligation
latria at fatima
[11]
oblida basilica
gratia plena benedicta
adolescentia byzantina
(chorus)
isn't it wild? mother and child
meek and the mild, never defiled
fruit of the womb, out of the tomb
bride and the groom, sun and the moon
altar queen wonder, suffering lover
covering buffer [12], hovering mother
blessing and testing, confessing and pressing
inerrant, transparent, domestic, majestic
idyllic, angelic, filling, dispelling
foretelling, compelling, instilling, indwelling
favoring, laboring, savoring, flavoring
healing us, sealing us, stealing us, leading us
ponder her, honor her, magistrate, venerate,
bond to her, long for her, sing to her, cling to her
and i'm not so sure there's anything wrong with her
[1] a play on the term prima
donna.
Perhaps also a "prim" version of the singer Madonna, also
idolized.
hang on, believe
there's nothing up my sleeve
i've got no magic tricks to save the day
put down the gun
you're not helping anyone
and i'm not about to run or back away
don't walk the fence
then come to my defense
i don't need fair weather kinds of friends around
so watch and pray
as a traitor's kiss betrays
and rest your feet of clay on shaky ground
chorus
and look me in the face, at least what's left of it
tell me you still love me just a little bit
or nail me down, break the skin
hard enough to do me in
but don't leave me hanging
dying and dangling
twisting in the wind
here, touch my side
let doubt be crucified
nailed with your wounded pride
to love's grim altar
here, taste my flesh
my bloody humanness
i am no phantom guest
no skinless martyr
so taste and feel
there's nothing to conceal
you always knew the deal
as sacrifice
stand up, be strong
when all you've got is gone
i left the light turned on in paradise
chorus
and when the walls cave in
and the curtain's torn asunder
you'll know we're near the end
you'll hear me in the thunder
and when the sun grows dim
this will be your sign and wonder
that soon we'll meet again
just like we did last summer [1]
[1] From a line in Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again":
Let's twist again like we did last summer
Yeah let's twist again like we did last year
i never meant to trip the minefield hidden here in paradise
(put stink weed in the bouquet)
i never meant to fire a lethal weapon or to terrorize
(put poison in the buffet)
chorus
(if) i played my role as diplomat
you knew it wasn't just an act
i couldn't stand to stand in back
a faded little wallflower
i've maybe taken too much on
naivete and youth is gone
but at least the juice is still turned on
i'm dancing on a live wire
i've summoned up a thunder cloud
but i always meant to do you proud
still certain things are not allowed
like setting off a wildfire
wildfire
yeah yeah yeah yeah... uh huh...
i never meant to cut my tender fingers on your angel hair
(put the sawdust in the gas tank)
i never meant to hide tacks in the cushion of your mercy chair
(make a brother walk the gangplank)
chorus
i never meant to do you wrong
i never meant to cause anybody's harm
i never meant to cause you any pain
i never meant to bring you any shame