Thank you for this safe warm bed A privilege enjoyed By far too few in this wide world More’s the pity Thank you for the clear safe water I didn’t have to haul I turned a tap and it appeared Unlike for many More’s the pity Thank you for my ears and eyes And hands both deft and strong Not everyone enjoys such gifts How does that happen Why does that happen More’s the pity Thank you for sufficient food Enough to make me plump So many have the opposite Can we change that? We should change that Seems we never change that More’s the pity Is this the best that we can do As clever as we are We stand a chance of making change So let’s make it Making difference No more pity

The unexpected way to regard a seashell is from the inside out.  You’re at the very center, in the tiniest, darkest space. You can only go in one direction. And as you move outwards, the tightness begins to ease. Relief! You still feel the hard, smooth walls close against you, but diverging, telling you which direction to go.  Moving farther, feeling freer, you begin to notice an easing of the profound darkness of the center. Spiraling outwards, levelling up to more expansive levels, until you emerge and finally see the whole...an organic, fibernachi shape. You hold it in your hand, marvelling at where you’ve been. Disbelieving it. How could you have been so deep inside. So small, so confined? But confined by beauty, strength, essence of the life-giving sea. A seashell out of water. Mysteriously retaining its entire essence. Deep within Deep within So dark Seek the space Seek the light Moving outwards Cramped, confining Here inside a seashell Seek the deep within Level up Level up It’s lighter Spiral out Spiral out It’s freer Light and air Feel the breath of ocean…you’re outside Regard the deep within

I flipped on the light, adjusted my chair Not fully awake, I'm afraid Logged onto my browser, but something was wrong My usual homepage...delayed With mounting frustration I watched in alarm As that icon rotated in vain It dawned on me, gradually Something was wrong I had no access to any domain Don't tell me the internet's down again That really screws up my day I count on my connectivity I'm lost when it's taken away I'm a knowledge worker, and I need my tools And big bandwidth's my favorite perk When the network goes down, just don't know what to do What the hell, guess I might as well work I can't check the news, I can't check the scores I can't check the weather on Maui I can't even tweet, or write on some wall Or search for my long lost friend Howie I can't download freeware or MP3 files Because of some technical quirk When the network goes down, just don't know what to do What the hell, guess I might as well work Don't tell me the internet's down again That really screws up my day I count on my connectivity I'm lost when it's taken away I'm a knowledge worker, and I need my tools And big bandwidth's my favorite perk When the network goes down, just don't know what to do What the hell, guess I might as well work Well it's pretty near quittin' time...the network's still down And I shudder to count the true cost Of these technical glitches...the price is profound And it's all opportunity lost there were so many things that I wanted to do I was thwarted before I'd begun Though it's small compensation, at the end of the day At least I got some work done

Once I built a website, made it sell Made it sell all the time Suddenly our startup’s not doin’ so well Brother can you spare a dime? Once we had some partners, names you’d know Traffic startin’ to climb I’m shakin’ my head wondrin’ where’d they go Brother can you spare a dime? Workin’ in our cubes, gee we looked swell Coding sixteen hours a day Pissed away our lives makin’ HTML For options instead of good pay! Once we had investors, a full time staff And a damn good website Now it’s disappeared without a trace Brother can you spare a dime? Workin’ on the site, checkin’ those links Laboring deep in some basement Never to emerge into the light ‘Till we’ve improved our search engine placement Once I had some options, I was gonna retire In a couple years time Now they’re worth about three cents a share Brother can you spare a dime?

Three weeks of heat and no rain Three weeks of grasshoppers hopping insects chanting bluebottles buzzing Sparse breezes sigh, then sink back to the dust Because they must Because they must Three weeks of towering clouds Rolling across the distant horizon Gathering hopefully Rumbling fitfully Random raindrops spatter here and there Then disappear Without a trace Then suddenly A bigger storm An actual breeze This one’s headed this way Then suddenly It’s dark as night Torrents of rain Almost a flood today Behold the grateful land Storm’s rumbled off and left in its wake A fresh-blooming prairie Jewel-strewn grasslands Air alive, a certain scent persists The world exists Nature exists

Mountains of hope Valleys of fear Why search for love when it's always been here Or is the grass really so green as it seems Do it all once, try everything Wrap it all up, tie it with string Call it your life But does it include someone else When you grow old Looking back, will your life seem quite cold? Turn back the clock if you can But you can't When you'll want the love you once had Run all your life Run from the clouds But won't you dry up if there's no rain allowed Think of the air after the storm Fresh and warm Fresh and warm When you grow old Looking back, will your life seem quite cold? Turn back the clock if you can But you can't When you'll want the love you once had

In the flames of the fire dance the memories of days I have loved And days I’ve endured And days that I can only think about when I am very strong Life is full In the tears of the crier wash the vestiges of pain I have sought And pain which sought me And pain that must have been there at the moment of my birth Life is full In the heart of the lover beats the fullness of the days I have loved The pain I’ve endured And memories so ripe like fruit they fall Unbidden At a touch Life is full

Secluded road in northern Spain Off to the north, it looks like rain Take my hand friend We can find shelter here until the rain ends My friend Nothing to do, nowhere to be Just watch the rain pockmark the sea Lie with me here In the cool sand of the sea cave The sky is thick with light and clouds Sounds of the storm are echoing loud Your skin is soft Still gives off heat from the noon sun Fruit in my pack, three cigarettes One sleeping bag, just slightly wet Late afternoon Let’s just lie here until the moon comes, my friend Until the moon comes

Taxi service – how did I get to be a Taxi service? What has become of me Seems like I’m always hauling Kids around from place to place It starts with nursery school, with drop-offs every day Play dates after, and pick-ups after play That’s just at taste of what’s to come Might as well get used to your new career Soccer games – and soccer practice too Teams and clubs – before and after school Dance class – and visits to the gym To learn gymnastics and self defense Birthday parties – at least three every week Buying presents – and getting’ them not to peek Field trips And picking up lost socks And boots And even underwear Girl scouts, boy scouts, brownie scouts and cub scouts School groups, church groups Groups I never even heard of Learning To play the saxophone…trombone, or even violin “We’re so bored” -- they’re moaning down the hall Can you take us all out to the mall But could you Make sure that no one sees us Riding in a giant green gas-guzzling Minivan minivan minivan minivan All at once they all begin to drive You just pray they make it home alive – if only They’d ask you for a ride You wish they wanted you to revive your Taxi Service

Heading into the new Dark Ages I see it coming and I don’t want to go History’s written in forgotten pages I wanna say no, wanna say no...wanna say no Think of ruthlessness with modern weapons Think of helplessness to counter it all Scant forces of moderation It’s after the fall, after the fall...after the fall Our technology is strong and scary So susceptible to evil abuse What might save us is true compassion There is no excuse, is no excuse...is no excuse Why oh why are we throwing away the progress of the last five hundred years belief in science and the rule of law? Why oh why would we want to return to a time of barbarism and no personal freedom? And what insanity makes us ignore the prospect of a largely unlivable world and even worse we’re the agents of our own destruction? On the cusp of the next pandemic As we contemplate existential fear Feel free to disbelieve science It's what brought us here, what brought us here...it's what brought us here Our democracy is scarce and precious Ever threatened by persistent greed And the powerful who won’t stop grasping And we disagree, we've disagree...we disagree

Where the devil did I put that file? I've be searching for quite awhile If I don't find it soon I think that I'll Have a little meltdown Saved it only yesterday Now it's lost, or hidden away Where I put it I can't say And I'm getting frantic If only I'd paid attention when I saved If only, I hadn't been so gol durn vague Guess I'll ask Mr. Paperclip If he can't help, I'm in deep...trouble Too bad I can't remember what I called it Probly something stupid Can't believe how long it took Searching through every cranny and nook Found it in the very last place I looked It was on the frickin' desktop If only I'd paid attention when I saved If only, I hadn't been so gol durn vague A brand now name I did it endow But where the devil did I put it now? I'm totally distraught and I can't think how I managed to re-loose it!

Sunday evening's flatter than a soda that someone left the lid off overnight Like an isolated town in Minnesota, too many miles from anywhere and slightly frightning Where did the weekend go? Where did the weekend go? How did it pass so fast? I just want to know Where oh where did the weekend go? Weekdays are like visits to the dentist...there's a certain sameness to the drill The way you spend your days seems slightly senseless Monotony is sapping all your will And you wonder Where did the weekend go? Where did the weekend go? How did it pass so fast? I just want to know Where oh where did the weekend go? So why can't some scientist of scholar Investigate what factors have gone wrong? When minutes on the job each seem like hours And weekend hours seem fifteen minutes long And they fly by Life is like a wheel and you're a hamster, and even if you squeal you get no grease To much revolving, not enough evolving, and weekends are your only moment's peace But it's fleeting Where did the weekend go? Where did the weekend go? How did it pass so fast? I just want to know Where oh where did the weekend go?

Viruses don't have legs No really, they don’t have legs They hitch a ride with humans who neglect to take precautions And they especially love it when you don’t wash your hands often Even better (from their standpoint’s) when they get the somebody coughin’ ‘Cause viruses don’t have legs Viruses don’t have legs No really, they don’t have legs Consequently they can’t chase you they can’t even sneak up on you They just have to bide their time ‘til someone unmasked coughs upon you They rejoice when even sensible precautions are beyond you ‘Cause viruses don’t have legs Viruses don’t have legs No really, they don’t have legs They’re resourceful and methodical and essentially apolitical They’re contagiously transmissible and defeating them is critical If you disbelieve the danger that’s pathetically bullshittical And viruses don’t have…….legs!

Sorry...lyrics are a bit too dark to include here!