Regina Spektor . net

20 Years of Snow

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
He's a wounded animal
He lives in a matchbox
He's a wounded animal
And he's been coming around here
He's a dying breed
His daughter is twenty years of snow falling
She is twenty years of strangers looking into each other's eyes
She is twenty years of clean
And she never truly hated anyone or anything
She's a dying breed
She says, I'd prefer the moss
I'd prefer the mouth
A baby of the swamps
A baby of the south
I'm twenty years of clean
I never truly hated anyone or anything
Twenty years of clean
But I've got to get me out of here
This place is full of dirty old men
And the navigators with their mappy maps
And moldy heads and pissin' on sugarcubes
While you stare at your books
And the words float out like holograms
They say, feel the waltz, feel the waltz
Come on, baby, baby, now feel the waltz...


Labels: , ,

2.99 ¢ Blues

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):

Somewhere far away where I roam
there live my buffalo twin in our twin buffalo home
he calls me by my native name
and takes good care of my native son
he even lets us drink spring water on Sundays 2.99 a gallon

And somewhere further down the road where I also roam
there lives my caterpillar cousin beneath a fancy engraved tomb head stone
in the middle of his southern town
beneath a cemetery burial plot
he don't pay rent no more
but he sure likes the spot

but in the furthest place I've ever known
where even I so rarely roam
there lives a boy who just come back from war
his flesh was wounded but he made it back home
his mother calls him by his given name
and the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone
and he gets nightmares about boys dripping blood sold for 2.99 a gallon

but when I get me all real tired
and I got no more strength to roam
I catch me a horse driven carriage ride
from a local man named Ethan Frome
he don't say much as he tips his hat
and he carries his body as heavy as lead
and he could have been flying through the snow on his sled
but he wife was in bed and the horses had to be fed
besides it's 2.99 a story
pay up it's just 2.99 a story...
2.99 a gallon




Labels: , ,

8th Floor

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

no one waits for her inside the house
she spots a stranger in the mirror
and the record spins her nearer
to the outcome of her day
you live inside the city
you forget how tall the trees can get
a bird sits on a branch across
from my eighth floor window

and you can't really say
that it's an eight floor branch
cause trees don't have floors
and buildings do
[ummm...lots of not English words]

I came in from the rain which
wasn't really rain it was just
january snow in denial
and something must have gotten lost
in the translation, russian to english
and winter wasn't wintery today

she comes into the house and no one
waits for her inside the house
she spots a stranger in the mirror
and the record spins her nearer
to the outcome of her day
you live inside the city
you forget how tall the trees can get
a bird sits on a branch of my eighth floor window


Labels: , ,

AB

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I don't know how to fall down the stairs
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without hurting myself
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without skinning my knees and bruising my elbows
twisting my ankles and bending my wrists back

and I don't know how to fall down the stairs
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
even if I don't want
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
but something inside me lets go of the banister
tumbling I tumble down towards the corridor
people rush in clasping their mouths real tight
in case of emergency contact my blood type is
AB...

My blood type's AB and AB it'll be for a while...

but I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without breaking the wall
I don't know how to fall down the stairs
without breaking the wall with my fall
I don't know without breaking the wall
cause my head rolls so quickly and with such precision
I can't help but making a big round incision
left near the bookshelf by that book on division
in case of emergency contact my parents, my blood type is
AB...

My blood type's AB and AB it'll be for a while...

My blood type's AB and AB it has been
and AB it'll stay for a while...

My blood type's AB and in case of emergency, smile

Labels: , ,

Aching to Pupate

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
Pu-pupate, pu pate,
Pu-pate, pu-pupate, pu pa-ate...

I should peddle butterflies
There's a shortage in the city,
I'll stand on the street corner
All mysterious and giddy,
When the passers by pass by
I will open up my trench coat,
They will see the butterflies
Dangling like fake rolexes...

Every morning I wake up
With a purpose and a smirk
I'll put on my fake mustache,
I'll drink Heineken, eat cornflakes...

Then I'll call my mum and dad
Tell them that I'm doing fine,
Or I'll write a tipsy letter
To a real good friend of mine,
Or I'll jump upon the bed
Waltzing madly with the broomstick
But before I leave the house
I will fill my lips with lipstick...

But peddling is a dirty sport
There's competition in the city,
Everyone is on a street corner
All mysterious and giddy.
Some are selling bags and shoes,
Some are selling books and gold,
I've been standing here for days
Not one butterfly's been sold...

And how I'm
Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate

Aching to pupate
Aching to pup-p-p-pate
Pu-pu-pate, pupate,
Pupate, pu-pu-pate, pu pa-ate.


Labels: , ,

Ain't No Cover

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

it ain't no cover
it ain't no style
I shouldn't bother
he's eight miles high
but I adore him
and I implore him
saying I love none other [?]
but this ain't no style

he sits there smoking
his breath away
he sits there choking
on what they say
but I adore him
and I implore him
saying one of these mornings
I'm going away

the sun is setting
the day is done
good night, my lover
good night, my son
I shouldn't bother
he's eight miles high
but I love none other
til the day that I die...


Labels: , ,

"all the rowboats" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

all the rowboats in the paintings
they keep trying to row away
and the captains' worried faces
stay contorted and staring at the waves
they'll keep hanging in their gold frames
for forever, forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away

hear them whispering french and german
dutch, italian, and latin
when no one's looking I touch a sculpture
marble, gold, and soft as satin
but the most special are the most lonely
god, I pity the violins
in glass coffins they keep coughing
they've forgotten, forgotten how to sing

first there's lights out, then there's lock up
masterpieces serving maximum sentences
it's their own fault for being timeless
there's a price you pay and a consequence
all the galleries, the museums
here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs
they're just public mausoleums
the living dead fill every room
but the most special are the most lonely
god, I pity the violins
in glass coffins they keep coughing
they've forgotten, forgotten how to sing

they will hang there in their gold frames
for forever, forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away

first there's lights out, then there's lock up
masterpieces serving maximum sentences
it's their own fault for being timeless
there's a price you pay and a consequence
all the galleries, the museums
they will stay there forever and a day
all the rowboats in the oil paintings
they keep trying to row away, row away...


Labels: , ,

Another Town

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
In another town
Don’t let me forget
In another town
Mouth full of regrets
In another town
Please place final bets
In another town
But I know I know I know...
In another town
My fingers so cold
In another town
My soul feels so old
In another town
I’ve sold all my gold
In another town
But I know I know I know
I love you...
In another town
They’ve given me the key
In another town
I’m drinking for free
In another town
A girl just like me
In another town
But I know I know I know...
In another town
The light fills my room
In another town
They’re painting my moon
In another town
I won’t see it soon
But I know I know I know
I love you...


Labels: , ,

Aprés Moi

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):

I must go on standing
You can't break that which isn't yours
I must go on standing
I'm not my own, it's not my choice
Be afraid of the lame
They'll inherit your legs
Be afraid of the old
They'll inherit your souls
Be afraid of the cold
They'll inherit your blood
Après Moi le déluge
After me comes the flood
Fevral'. Dostat' chernil i plakat'!
Pisat' o fevrale navzryd,
Poka grohochuschaya slyakot'
Vesnoyu chernoyu gorit.

Labels: , ,

Aquarius

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

dear someone listening in the shadows
I only talk to you sometimes
and though I ask for help in riddles
it is clearer in my mind
clearer in my mind

born of a sign that carries vessels
but in a month that's cold as ice
I know I question things too quickly
but I have never questioned if I've loved

dear someone watching from the shadows
I'm clenching water in my fists
the drops, they slip right through my fingers
but there's water on my lips
water on my lips

born of a sign that carries vessels
but in a month that brings just ice
I know I question things too quickly
but I've never wondered if I've loved

dear someone watching from the shadows
you've seen me lose all the water from my hands
I'm not a skillful water carrier
but the raindrops keep falling on my head
falling on my head

born of a sign that carries water
but in a month that brings just ice
I'm not a skillful water carrier
but I've learned to carry love
learned to carry love...


Labels: , ,

Ave Maria

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
a boy on a train with a birthmark on his forehead
listening to language tapes and all he hear is birds
everyone laughs cause he brings his own chair to the office
convinced that the cushions will give him steadier thoughts

the muscles of the intellectuals are atrophying
nobody’s running, nobody’s hiding
they’re lit by a light that isn’t even the sun
lit by a light that isn’t even the moon
ave maria…

now how many times have I told you not to go there?
how many times have I begged you not to go?
and how many times have you snuck down to that cellar
just to watch how the roots begin to grow straight up through our floor?


Labels: , ,

Baby Jesus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
last night I saw the owner kiss it
and whisper in its ear
I was walking home from walgreen's
and he did not hear me see him
and on the
very very next morning
all the subway cars were hallelu-leluing
welcome back the baby king, the baby king
all the believers they were smiling
and winking at each other
I could honestly say I was scared for my life

they said, all the non-believers they get to eat dirt
and the believers get to spit on their graves...

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
they've been showing it on the news
it was thirty times its size
with a megaphone and a heart-shaped bruise
it was hovering in the skies
and all the
subway cars were hallelu-lelu-leluing, hallejuah
welcome back the baby king, the baby king
all the believers they were smiling
and winking at each other
I could honestly say I was scared for my life

they said, all the non-believers they get to eat dirt
and the believers get to spit on their graves...
believe!...

you know that statue
that statue of baby jesus
in the window
in the window of the 99 cent store
when I woke up I ran and bought it
and locked it in my closet
with a little bread and water
and a flashlight and a first aid kit til he grows


Labels: , ,

Back of a Truck

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
She lifted the monument in her monumental arms
She was the mother superior with carry-on luggage charms
She was this androgynous powder nosed girl next door
She had eaten her dog and he was back for more back for more

Her gym teacher thought himself a sweat sock demi god
Her geraniums thought themselves an alien pod
Her front porch gave way beneath classified weight
And when the ambulance came they said it's much too late oh it's much too late

Now the people of New Guinea and the people of LA
Have been pen pals for years cause they both hate ballet
Only the pandas and bears have made a clean getaway
But the news bulletin claims it's gonna be ok
Now Miss Lucy had a sweatshop where the immigrants worked
Problem was they all turned to pumpkins at the twelve o'clock stroke
Promptly confiscated by police precinct number X
That was when the alien geraniums demanded the facts
No violence off course no violence off course hey no violence off course. Off course? Why yes, of course

Here the story gets hazy and the hair gets too long
The TV gets quiet as we hear a real bad song
The mothers get whiskey and the girlfriends get tongue
And there's a back of a truck selling smoke free lungs
There's a back of a truck selling alien pods
There's a back of a truck selling game show hosts
There's a back of a truck selling the souls of the dead
There's a back of a truck selling crumb free bread
There's a back of a truck selling the back of a car
There's a back of a car selling roadway maps
There are roadway maps selling the back of a head
Hey how much for that back of a head, man?
Hey wait a minute that's my back of a head
Hey you can't sell that man.
That's mine.
Hey sell it back to me man.
Hey sell it back to me It's mine!'

She lifted the monument in her monumental arms
She was the mother superior with carry-on luggage charms She was this androgynous powder nosed girl next door
She had eaten her dog and he was back for more...


Labels: , ,

Baobabs

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
You have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns now
and I feel them sprouting
they'll grow right through
if I don't watch it
and they'll grow right through
even if I watch it
and a sunset couldn't save me now
these baobabs and baobabs and baobabs some more
but you can't outwait fate

and you have tamed me
now you must take me...

and I wouldn't raise my child inside the city anyway
they grow up too savvy and they grow up too fast
and they know about buying shit and they know about sex
and they know about investment banking and also about brokerage firms
and they know about the numbers and they know about the words
and they know about the bottom lines and also about stones
and they know about careers and about the real deals
and they all grow up and become people's people with people skills

but you have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns now
you have tamed me
now you must take me
how am I supposed to be?
I don't have my thorns


Labels: , ,

Bartender

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

come on, bartender
won't you be more tender?
give me two shots of whiskey
and a beer chaser
love will be the death of me
love is so fickle
it starts with a flood
and it ends with a trickle

come on, bartender
just a little more tender
I ate all your peanuts
return me to sender
I've been too candid
now I'm barely standing
just call me a taxi
and prepare me for landing

ooh, you have got to kick me back out into the
cold and nasty weather
and maybe if I sober up I will stop pretending that
love is forever...


Labels: , ,

"begin to hope" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
begin to hope and all the colors start to change
beneath the light you might forget that the world's so sad
you might forget that things are awful bad
and it's alright if you eat all the apples from the knowlege tree bowl
the fact that they're plastic shouldn't deter you at all
just grab your sharpie and write your message on the wall
yeah, i was here, i was here

we know that our whole world is all around us all the time
and still we might forget to stand up straight
we might forget that we should never wait
and it's alright if we don't let the others make the last call
that fact that they own us shouldn't deter us at all
just grab your sharpie and write your message on the wall
yeah, i was here, i was here
uh huh, i was here, i was here

yeah i was here but now i've gone to take a walk
and i won't be back until you know my name
cause none of us are the same name

begin to hope...

and it's alright if we eat all the apples from the knowlege tree bowl
the fact that they're plastic shouldn't deter us at all
i grabbed my sharpie and wrote my message on the wall
regina was here, regina was here
uh huh, regina was here, regina was here

yeah i was here but now i've gone to take a walk
and i won't be back cause it's a lovely day
and none of us know how long we've got to stay




Labels: , ,

"be like a cloud" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

who said I was original?
who said I was allowed
to sing as if I really sing
to write as if I really write?
who said that I could suddenly
get up from underneath
and walk away completely stumbling
between each breath I breathe
and walk away sublimely stumbling
between each breath I breathe?

who said I was allowed?

I once flew by a real tall wall
with ivy all around
and saw two eyes I really liked
and saw two ears I really liked
and saw two lips I liked as well
and saw a face that I could love
but it was far, so far and cold above
inside the big above
but it was light and dark and cold
inside that big above

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

and so I walked to everywhere
and stopped in every town
the big ones with a little pond
the small ones with no pond at all
and though I've eaten dirt before
I've never grown to like the taste
and I prefer on any day
a big green apple in its place...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

and so I closed my eyes and watched
and when I opened them again
I knew the clouds had snowed on me
and then they poured on me some rain
and there stood this cold icicle
the very shape and form of me
I tried to cry but couldn't, so instead
I made myself a cup of tea...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...

so who said I was original?
who said I was a cloud
to rain as if I really rained
to snow as if I really snowed?
you know the fastest thing in this world is
the speed of snow into your eyes
as you walk off sublimely stumbling
sublimely slipping on the ice...

don't ask for their permission
they'll never say that you're allowed
be like a cloud
cause you're no worse than a cloud...


Labels: , ,

Belt

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I know I say I'll go away
but then I don't, I come right back
and walk right smack into your lips
and turn all black and blue
and though I've seen the light so many times before
I've also figured out the light is just a switch
that I can turn on, I can turn off
please, oh please
when it's off, you cannot see, you cannot hear
even in your ear, saying
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...

upside down a frown becomes a smile
and so he thinks I take it with a smile
double upside down a frown remains a frown
too bad he never checks the double upside down
when I'm doubled up on the floor
and I see a double him
giving me a double wham bam
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...

chicken soup, mashed potatoes, gravy
orange juice, milk shakes, pudding
oatmeal, soft served ice cream
ain't it good that there's soft food
cause I couldn't eat very much else right now
they ask me how
well, hahaha, I fell down some stairs
yeah, hahaha, I bumped into a door
oh, I'm such a clutz
I say that very same thing to myself
all the time, I say
yo girl, can't you watch where you are?
you don't watch where the hell you're going, you're going to get yourself killed
you know, hey girl, can't you watch where you are?
you're going to get yourself killed...

I know I say I'll go away
but then I don't, I come right back
and walk right smack into your lips
and turn all black and blue
and though I've seen the light so many times before
I've also figured out the light is just a switch
that I can turn on, I can turn off
please, oh please
when it's off, you cannot see shit, you cannot hear shit
even in your ear, saying
yo girl, don't make me take off my belt
don't make me take off my belt and smack you upside the head...


Labels: , ,

Better

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
If I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

Born like sisters to this world
In a town where blood ties are only blood
If you never say your name out loud to anyone
They can never ever call you by it

If I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

You’re getting sad, you're getting sad
You're getting sad, you're getting sadder
And I don’t understand and I don’t understand

But if I kiss you where it’s sore
If I kiss you where it’s sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

Labels: , ,

Blue Lips

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
he stumbled into faith and thought,
god, this is all there is
the pictures in his mind arose
and began to breathe
and all the gods in all the worlds
began colliding on a backdrop of blue

blue lips, blue veins

he took a step but then felt tired
he said, I'll rest a little while
but when he tried to walk again
he wasn't a child
and all the people hurried past, real fast
and no one ever smiled

blue lips, blue veins,
blue, the color of our planet from far, far away

he stumbled into faith and thought,
god, this is all there is
the pictures in his mind arose
and began to breathe
and no one saw and no one heard
they just followed the lead
the pictures in his mind awoke
and began to breed

they started off beneath the knowledge tree
then they chopped it down to make white picket fences
and marching along the railroad tracks
they smiled real wide for the camera lenses
they made it past the enemy lines
just to become enslaved in the assembly lines

blue lips, blue veins,
blue, the color of our planet from far, far away...

blue, the most human color...



Labels: , ,

Bobbing for Apples

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
bobbing for apples in somalia
the man with the iron curtain is following you
no one’s coming for tea time
except my own holy ghost
you’re somewhere far probably drinking a whiskey
I dating jack daniel’s and caleb - swiss miss, nicky - tea,
nacho's with cocoa -- hey, to each his own
lovely people, lovely places
I can’t remember names and I can’t remember faces
someone next door’s fucking to one of my songs

hey light fixture, you are much too bright
oh, won’t you stay with me through the night
just grab a pillow tight
and wait for the dizziness to pass
rock and roll, you ate my soul
you sucked dry my bones but you spit out my mole
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end
lovely people, lovely places
drunken faces, slurring their phrases
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end

you so jealous, I’m so lonely
you’ll never forgive me but I love you only
I’ll always opt to fall down these stairs in the end…

someone next door’s fucking to one of my songs…


Labels: , ,

Bon Idée

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love

Don't tell your secrets to anyone
Because ideas are vulnerable
As soon as you say your idea out loud
Then it can go and live on its own
And you will miss it oh so much
And you will wait for it's return
And you will wish it were your own
But ideas that left never come back home

Don't tell your mother that you are afraid
Don't tell your lover that your heart might break
Don't tell your gods that you no longer believe
Because as soon as you say it out loud they will leave you
And you will miss them oh so bad
And you will wait for their return
And you will wish they were your own
But gods that have left you will never grace your home

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love

Don't tell your secrets to anyone
Because ideas are vulnerable
As soon as you say your ideas out loud
Then they can go and live on their own without you
And you will miss them oh so bad
And you will wait for their return
And you will wish they were your own
But ideas that left will never come back home


Labels: , ,

Braille

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
She was lying on the floor and counting stretch marks
she hadn't been a virgin and he hadn't been a god
so she names the baby Elvis
to make up for the royalty he lacked

And from then on it was turpentine and patches
from then on it was cold Campbell's from the can
They were just two jerks playing with matches
Cause that's all they knew how to play

And it was raining cats and dogs out side of her window
And she knew they were destined to become sacred road kill on the way
And she was listening to the sound of heavens shaking
thinking about puddles, puddles and mistakes

And from then on it was turpentine and patches
from then on it was cold Campbell's from the can
They were just two jerks playing with matches
Cause that's all they knew how to play

Elvis never could carry a tune
she thought about this irony as she stared back at the moon
she was tracing the years with her fingers on her skin
saying why don't I begin again
with turpentine and patches
with cold Campbell's from the can
after all I'm still a jerk playing with matches
it's just that he's not around to play along
I'm still an ass hole playing with matches
Blowing out my wishes blowing out my dreams
Just sitting here and trying to decypher what's written in Braille upon my skin...


Labels: , ,

The Bronx

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
Come downstairs, I’m buzzing you
Come downstairs, I got nothing to do
Come downstairs now
Come downstairs now
Come downstairs now

You know there’s a legend and it goes like this
if you kiss the lamppost between 224th street and 225th
in the bronx
when it’s a full moon
you’ll be granted three wishes

but nobody does it
they don’t believe in magical realism in the bronx
they don’t even believe it exists in other places
but especially not in the bronx
come downstairs now
I’m buzzing you
it’s a full moon
our wishes will come true soon

Do you know what I’d wish for? Do you know what I’d wish for?
Do you know what I’d wish for? Do you know what I’d wish for?

a 24-hour baskin robbins in my neighborhood
an elevator in my building so that I wouldn’t have to walk up to the eighth floor
and also a dog


Labels: , ,

Buildings

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
he was a husband who drove his wife home drunk from the parties
he was a husband who drove his wife home
and in the car he would gently lean her head on the side door window
and in the bathroom he would hold her hair back and hope, saying;

they build buildings oh they build buildings oh they build buildings
so tall these days

and in the morning she'd wake up and crouch recollections all day
but she would always always wake up the next morning
and he'd take one look at her a say baby that's ok
and her conscience would issue yet another last warning, saying;

they build buildings oh they build buildings oh they build buildings
so tall these days

and she would ask for time and she'd ask for time and she would ask for time and she would beg for time, and she would beg for time and beg for time and call it a gift
and he would give her time and he'd give her time and he would give her time and he'd give her time-
but time is not given and time is not taken
it just sifts through its sift

and it was coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee and coffee some more
he'd go to work and she'd take a sick day and rot at the core
and by the time he came back she'd scrub the bathroom and make it smell like pine
it would be almost as if nothing had happened and he'd give her time, saying;

they build buildings, oh they build buildings, oh they build buildings, oh don't they build buildings, oh they build buildings, they build buildings so tall these days
and she would ask for time and shed ask for time and she would ask for time and she would beg for time, and she would beg for time and beg for time and call it a gift
and he would give her time and he'd give her time and he would give her time and he'd give her time-
but time is not given and time is not taken
it just sifts through its sift

he was a husband drove time home pine scrub bathroom window don't they build buildings so tall these days...


Labels: , ,

BYOS

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I met Mata Hari
She was in no hurry
The firing squad had their guns in the air
My invitation said bring your own shovel
I brought my own shovel, BYOS
Bring your own shovel and shovel up the mess

Lately all my friends
clip their teeth with nail clippers
they want them much straighter, much nicer, more even
Well I thought I’d do somehting nasty as well
I brought my own shovel, dug up this here well
then I shuffled my feet and I sniffed at the smells
then I dropped in some horses and dropped in some sheep
then I cuddled up a grandma, put her in there to sleep
then I licked off the envelope, in it I sent all
the bones and the phones and the braids from my hair

Uh-huh…and darling, I’m all shook up now
Uh-huh…baby, I’m all shook up now
Uh-huh…darling I’m all shook up

Bring your own shovel…BYOS…


Labels: , ,

The Calculation

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
you went into the kitchen cupboard
got yourself another hour
and you gave half of it to me
we sat there looking at the faces
of the strangers in the pages
til we knew them mathematically
they were in our minds until forever
but we didn't mind, we didn't know better

so we made our own computer
out of macaroni pieces
and it did our thinking while we lived our lives
it counted up our feelings
and divided them up even
and it called that calculation perfect love
didn't even know that love was bigger
didn't even know that love was so...

hey, this fire, it's burning, burning us up...

so we made the hard decision
and we each made an incision
past our muscles and our bones
saw our hearts were little stones
pulled them out, they weren't beating
and we weren't even bleeding
as we lay them on a granite countertop
we beat them up against each other...
we struck them hard against each other...
we struck them so hard, so hard, until they sparked

hey, this fire, it's burning, burning us up...


Labels: , ,

A Cannon

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
a cannon was fired by the light of the moon
I’m waiting, the boat should be here very soon
and I mind less and less all the silly
pictures that hang round my room for now
I write you a letter, I hope you feel better
I hope you forgive the transgression, I’ve given
you love and I’ve given you anger as well
and I meant them both
I always knew it was coming this way…
I always knew a big boat would come and
take me away…

I stood on my bed then I slipped on my dress
then I ran through the halls like a ghost and in case
someone heard me I grabbed up a dagger
that I’d never use unless
bare feet on a cobblestone street, then a beach
then a splash in my ankles, my knees, then my thighs
and my eyes open wide, I threw myself right into the sea
and I could see it was coming my way…
I always knew a big boat would come and
take me away…

I’ve woken up once and I’ve woken up twice
and I’ve woken up millions and millions of times
somebody’s got to tell all the people to be like the water…

I would if I could but I can’t so I don’t
my heart breaks too easy, my words get all jumbled
and when I wear lipstick then no one
understands me at all
they think I’m saying hello and goodbye…
what I’m really saying is…

I’ve woken up once and I’ve woken up twice
and I’ve woken up millions and millions of times


Labels: , ,

Blogger Early said...

What Regina wispering about?
pls answer if u know it
о чем шепчет Регина?

October 31, 2010 6:05 PM  

Post a Comment

Carbon Monoxide

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
Carbon monoxide
soon I'll go to sleep
If I don't got my socks on right
they slide right off of my feet
as I walka walka walka walk...

Carbon monoxide
as I take you home
first time I get my socks on right
but I don't have a gas mask on
as I walka walka walka walk you home
yeah
I'm so cool, I'm so cool, I'm so cool
walka walka walka walk you home
yeah
I'm so cool, I'm so cool, I'm so cool

come on daddy
come on daddy...

Carbon monoxide
soon we'll go to sleep
no one will notice we're gone
cause we don't have a job to keep
they'll just say that we're being lazy
sex-crazed
sex-crazed
hazy
they'll just say we're living our whole life in bed
and we'll be in bed but we'll be oh so very much
deada, deada, deada, dead
yeah
but we're so cool, we're so cool, we're so cool
deada, deada, deada, dead
but we're still cool, we're still cool, we're still cool
come on daddy
come on daddy
come on daddy
come on daddy
carbon monoxide
carbon monoxide


Labels: , ,

Chelsea Hotel #2

Written by: leonard cohen

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I remember you well in the chelsea hotel
you were talking so brave and so sweet
giving me head on the unmade bed
while the limousines wait in the street
those were the reasons and that was new york
we were running for the money and the flesh
and that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left

but you got away, didn't you babe?
you just turned your back on the crowd
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you...
and all of that jiving around

I remember you well in the chelsea hotel
you were famous, your heart was a legend
you told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception
and clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty
you fixed yourself, you said, well never mind
we are ugly but we have the music

then you got away, didn't you babe?
you just turned your back on the crowd
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you...
and all of that jiving around

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best
I can't keep track of each fallen robin
I remember you well in the chelsea hotel
but that's all, I don't even think of you that often


Labels: , ,

Chemo Limo

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
I had a dream
Crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin came over and babysat all four of my kids
Then in my dream I told the doctor off he said "if you don't wanna do it
then you don't have to do it"
he said "the truth is you'll be ok anyway"

Then in my dream
Crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin and the doctor went and had a talk with my boss
something about insurance policies
they kept the door closed at all times
i couldn't hear or see
When they came out they said "you'll be ok anyway"
and I smiled cause I'd known it all the while

No thank you no thank you no thank you no thank you
I ain't about to pay for this shit
I can afford chemo like i can afford a limo and on any given day I'd rather ride a limousine
No thank you no thank you no thank you no thank you
I ain't about to die like this
I can afford chemo like I can afford a limo
and besides this shit is making me tired it's making me tired it's making me tired
you know I planned to retire someday
but mama's gonna go out in style
go out in style
this shit is making me tired
it's making me tired, it's making me tired
mama gonna go out in style

When I woke up the kids were being quiet
i knew it was a dream right away I called the limousine company
then I got dressed
I dressed the kids as well
the limousine pulled in and we piled in
The doctor he asked which way we were headed
I said "sir let's just go west" and he listened obediently

Sophie only wanted to listen to radio BBC
Michael sat on my knees and whispered to me all about the meanies
Jacqueline was being such a big girl with her cup of tea looking out of the window
and Barbara, she looks just like my mom
oh my Barbara she looks so much like my mom

No thank you no thank you no thank you no thank you
i ain't about to pay for this shit
I can afford chemo like I can afford a limo
and any given day I'd rather ride a limousine
No thank you no thank you no thank you no thank you
i ain't about to die like this
i can afford chemo like i can afford a limo
and besides this shit is making me tired
it's making me tired, it's making me tired
you know I plan to retire someday
but mama gonna go out in style
go out in style
this shit is making me tired
it's making me tired, it's making me tired
mama gonna go out in style
go out in style
Style

I had a dream
Crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin came over
and babysat all four of my kids
I had a dream
Crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin came over
and babysat all four of my kids

Sophie only wanted to listen to radio BBC
Michael sat on my knees and whispered to me all about the meanies
Jacqueline was being such a big girl with her cup of tea looking out of the window
and Barbara, she looks just like my mom Oh my God, Barbara she looks so much like my mom
Oh my Barbara she looks so much just like my mom...


Labels: , ,

"the clocks were asleep" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
The clocks were asleep and asleep’s how we found them
we found them and wound them again
but they didn’t last us till morning and warning
that you never should force mechanical things
they are not meant for hardship, they’ll snap
if you tighten and wind them and pry them and try
just stop right now, now’s the time to let go
and stop right now, now’s the time to break free

the parakeet sitting inside the gazebo
was sighing, though she shouldn’t have know how
to do anything except tweet tweet tweet
the gentleman giving the power presentation
felt the bayonet scar on his shoulder reopen
a warm trickle of blood through his fresh-pressed shirt
so stop right now, now’s the time to let go
and stop right now, now’s the time to break free

how much do you really know you?


Labels: , ,

Consequence of Sounds

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (asposted by the mod on brümstix):
My rhyme ain't good just yet
My brain and tongue just met
And they ain't friends so far
My words don't travel far
They tangle in my hair
And tend to go nowhere
They grow right back inside
Right past my brain and eyes
Into my stomach juice
Where they don't serve much use
No healthy calories
Nutrition values
And I absorb back in
The words right through my skin
They sit there festering
Inside my bowels
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds

Got a soundtrack in my mind
All the time
Kids screamin' from too much beat up
And they don't even rhyme
They just stand there, on a street corner
Skin tucked in and meat side out and shouting
I'd like to turn 'em down
But there ain't no knob
Born into picket fences
Not into picket lines
All this hippie shit's for the '60s
and a cliché in our times, but
What if one of these days your heart
Will just stop ticking
And they sort of just don't find you
Till your cubicle is reeking?

The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
Ahh ah ah ah ahh ah ahh ah ah ah, ah
Ahh ah ah ah ahh ah ahh ah ah ah, ah
Dan, t-t-dan, t-t-dan-dan-dan
Dan, t-t-dan, t-t-dan-dan-dan

Did you know that the gravedigger's still gettin' stuck in the machine
Even though it's a whole other daydream?
It's another town
It's another world
Where the kid's asleep
And the loans are paid
And the lawns are mowed
What'd ya think
All the gravediggers were gone
Just 'cause one song is done?
There's always another one
Waiting right around the bend
Till this one ends
Then it begins
Sqeaky clean
And it starts all over again

The weather report keeps on
Tossing and turning
Predicting and warning
And warning and warning of
Possible leakage from news publications, and
Possible leakage from news TV stations; that
Very same morning, right next to her coffee
She noticed some bleeding and heard hollow coughing
The National Geographic was being too graphic
When all she had wanted to know was the traffic
The world's got a nosebleed, it said
And we're flooding, but we keep on cutting the trees and the forests!
And we keep on paying those freaks on the TV
Who claim they will save us, but want to enslave us, and
Sweating like demons, they scream through our speakers
But we leave the sound on 'cause silence is harder, and
No one's the killer and no one's the martyr
The world that has made us can no longer contain us
And prophets are silent and rotting away, 'cause

The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
Ahh ah ah ah ahh ah ahh ah ah ah, ah
Ahh ah ah ah ahh ah ahh ah ah ah, ah
Dan, t-t-dan, t-t-dan-dan-dan-dan
Dan, dan, t-t-dan, t-dan-dan

My rhyme ain't good just yet
My brain and tongue just met
And they ain't friends so far
My words don't travel far
They tangle in my hair
And tend to go nowhere
They grow right back inside
Right past my brain and eyes
Into my stomach juice
Where they don't serve much use
No healthy calories
Nutrition values
And I absorb back in
The words right through my skin
They sit there festering inside my bowels
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds
The consonants and vowels
The consequence of sounds


Labels: , ,

"a cooler version" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
a cooler version of yourself
a cooler version of your dad
a crueler version in my mind
I pull away when you’re inside…
so young and drunk…
I lie down here until I die…
I’m so sorry for telling stories
I’m so young and drunk…
I didn’t know it’d be so boring
I fall asleep when you’re inside…

a cooler version of myself
a cooler version of my dad
a crueler version in my mind
I pull away when you’re inside…
I’m so young and drunk…


Labels: , ,

Dance Anthem of the 80's

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
you are so sweet
dancing to the beat
there's a meat market down the street
the boys and the girls watch each other eat

you are so sweet, so sweet
dancing and moving to that beat, that beat
there's a meat market down the street
the boys and the girls watch each other eat...
when they really just want to watch each other sleep

I went walking through the city like a drunk but not
with my slip showing a little, like a drunk but not
and I am one of your people, but the cars don't stop...

it's been a long time since before I've been touched
now I'm getting touched all the time
and it's only of matter of whom
and it's only a matter of when

an addiction to hands and feet
there's a meat market down the street
the boys and girls watch each other eat
when they really just want to watch each other sleep...

they want to watch, to watch each other...sleep...

[alt]
they want to be watched, they want to be washed
they want to be touched, to touch each other
they want to sleep, they want to be slept



Labels: , ,

Daniel Cowman

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as posted by the mod on brümstix):
On the day that Daniel Cowman stopped existing
The world should have ended right then and there
Precisely 4:15, when he stopped existing
The world should have ended
How could it go on?
How could it go on?
How could it go on?

Well, I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist

So now that we've got that straight
Does it mean that I can fly?
Does it mean I that I can go do whatever I want?
Now that we've got that clear
And you know that I'm not here
Does it mean that I can go do whatever I please?

The premature ejaculation of his death sentence
Hit Daniel in the face like a big round spitball, hwk-pfff
And everything got hazy in the courtroom
And then he stood up and then he sat back down
Another two times in a row
And everything got real slow
Like a gunshot in the movies
And he remembered
Heroin Boy walking through the door
Bouncing off the walls and the floor
Taking off his belt
Taking off his pants
Filling up the bathtub
Getting ready to go in for a swim

Singing, I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist
I don't exist

So now that we've got that straight
Does it mean that I can fly?
Does it mean that I can go do whatever I want?
Now that we've got that clear
And you know that I'm not here
Does it mean that I can go do whatever I please?
And he start remembering and remembering and remembering and remembering and remembering...

The Heroin Boy
He walked through the door
And he was screaming
And everybody was like, what's you screaming as if it's the end of the world?
And he was like, well it is.
And I was sittin' in the corner with my pants down
And I was sure someone next door was blowin' up balloons
And they was red and orange

And there was this one lady at the bar
And she was trying to buy gin
And there was this other lady at the bar
And she was trying to sell gin
And it worked out good for the boths of them

And Heroin Boy
Started takin' off his belt
Started takin' off his pants
Started takin' off his shoes
Filling up the bathtub
Gettin' ready to go in for a swim
And I says nooo
You're gonna drooown
He says nooo
I can't drown
Simply because...
Shhhh..

A man destined to hang
Can never drown
A man destined to hang
Can never drown
A man destined to hang
Can never, ever drown
A man destined to drown
Can never burn
A man destined to drown
Can never burn
A man destined to drown
Can never, ever burn
A man destined to fry
Can never, ever, ever
A man destined to fry
Can never, ever, ever
A man destined to fry
Can never, ever, ever die
In any other way
But frying
Lucky that I'm dying
By hanging
And not drowning

So now that we've got that straight
Can't I just be left alone?
I want to take a fuckin' bath.


Labels: , ,

December

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
December starts on Sunday, next Sunday
won't you feel happier then?
turn your room upside down, turn your down upside

rumors have started that you are in love again
rumors that are completely unsubstantiated

come on and say you're sorry, real sorry
for the trouble that you've caused
can't you see all this love? can't you see all this love?

we are not evacuating this house
we don't believe in you and your wrecking crew...
we don't believe in you, we don't believe in you...


Labels: , ,

Blogger Carlos said...

i think it's "Turn your frown upside down,

January 12, 2008 12:29 AM  
Blogger Tall Jim said...

Hmm don't think it is Carlos. I think its a nutty reflection of the line before:

turn your room upside down
turn your down upside room(ors)...

Just listened to it for the first time this week and its lovely!

Tall Jim

April 03, 2008 7:04 AM  
Blogger abby j. said...

Tall Jim is right. You hear frown because that's what you're expecting when you hear the song. However, it's definitely room.

April 28, 2008 6:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

its frown

November 25, 2009 2:53 PM  

Post a Comment

"the devil come to bethlehem" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
joseph and mary are so bad
kissing in the park, kissing in the park, kissing in the park
he practices dentistry without a license
but it’s alright cause mary read the books and she’s got his back
they’re saving up for a trip to france
gonna leave the baby with one of the in-laws
just long enough to see the eiffel tower and back
wear red scarf and booze on the airplane

but the devil come to bethlehem
with a bible and an alarm clock
the devil come to bethlehem
and he ain’t afraid of the dark

joseph and mary are so sad
sitting in a park in paris, france reading the news and it sure looks bad
a pile of empty postcards on their laps
nothing bright to write and nothing good to send

but the devil come to bethlehem
with a bible and an alarm clock
the devil come to bethlehem
and he ain’t afraid of the darkness
is less frightening than
the nightness is less frightening than
the dark

joseph and mary are so dead
honest, it’s been years, it’s been years, it’s been many, many years
all their descendants are long buried and gone
their closest blood relative works in a philadelphia sears

walking on water in his own bathtub
turning that water to wine

the devil come to bethlehem
with a bible and an alarm clock
the devil come to bethlehem
he ain’t afraid of the darkness
is less frightening than
the lightness is less frightening than
the darkness is less frightening than
the lightness is less frightening than
the dark

Labels: , ,

Dog and Pony

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

dog and pony
empty our cabinet
you never forget
you never come back the same
each time you go up in flames
each time you begin to blame
you never come back the same

just a little bit more love...for me
just a little bit more love...but it's alright
don't cry, my sweet

you were born
unto me, I'm torn
unto me, I'm worn
unto me, unworn

so I danced my dance
and I kissed your hands
and I took a chance
and we fell into a trance

just a little bit more love...for me
just a little bit more love...but it's alright
don't cry...my sweet

say one, two, three...
you sitting on the rooftop
me begging here on my knees
I stayed in love with you
you're just falling in love with me
and darling you know that ain't right
so if love never lasts forever ever

little brother
little lover
twist these strings of fate
there is no clean slate
so I'm carting away
all of myself
in this metal crate

and my dog and my pony
and my empty file cabinet
you never forget
you never come back quite the same
each time you go up in flames
each time you begin to blame
you never come back quite the same

just a little bit of true love...for me
just a little bit more love...but it's alright
don't cry...my sweet


Labels: , ,

Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
after all, everything's been said and done
i feel, i feel better now
come away, lay your hands at rest and close your eyes
and say a prayer for those who've gone

it's hard...to live...
it's harder than it's ever been before
the things that used to comfort me
don't comfort me, not anymore

after all, children being born into
a time of searching for some glory
and the lie's still repeating through the years
dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

it's hard...to live...
it's harder than it's ever been before
the things that used to comfort me
don't comfort me, not anymore

but you can't spend your whole life waiting for god to kiss you...
you can't spend your whole life waiting for god to kiss you back...

come on...come on back...


Labels: , ,

Düsseldorf

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope Special Edition liner notes):
In Düsseldorf I met a clown
his nose, it was red
in Gelterkinden I forgot to frown
then remembered again
In Paris I saw a big fish
swimming slow in the Seine
it made me hopeful that someday our
water will be breathable again…
In Franfurt I heard eins zwei drei
counting cookies and no one was shot
In Berlin stopped by the Polizei
for drunk driving and everyone smiled
In Prague I knew I’d been a witch
burnt alive, a pyre of Soviet kitsch
it made me miss my Moscow muttdom
it made me miss my New York nothing…
In Montpelier I stayed in a Château
a boy climbed into my bed and he knew no boundaries
In Amsterdam I got quite crazy
it might have been all the tulips and canals
or it might have been all that hash, and in
Barcelona, buenos dias, chocolato, le Picasso
And in Brussels, clean-cut hostel
And in London, me and the French existentialists…
In Corsica I floated away all the way to Marseilles
I should have held an afterparty for all the thoughts I didn’t say
In Düsseldorf I met a dwarf
with bad breath and a really good tan
In Gelterkinden I remembered how to laugh
and I never ever forgot it again


Labels: , ,

"dust to dust" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
say goodbye
love again…
I don’t want to, want to, want to, want to
go in circles, round the bend
until we are just friends again
and then not even that
sometimes I almost can recall what it was like before we ever met
sometimes not even that

I was carved
from your rib…
dust to dust to dust to dust to to dust to
go in circles, round the bend
until we are just friends again
and then not even that
sometimes I almost can recall what it was like before we ever met
sometimes not even that…


Labels: , ,

Edit

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):

White lines on your mind
Keep it steady
You were never ready
For the lies
You don't have no Dr. Robert
You don't have no Uncle Albert
You don't even have good credit
You can write but you can't edit


Labels: , ,

Eet

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
it's like forgetting the words to your favorite song
you can't believe it, you were always singing along
it was so easy and the words so sweet
you can't remember, you try to feel the beat

eet...

you spend half of your life trying to fall behind
you're using your headphones to drown out your mind
it was so easy and the words so sweet
you can't remember, you try to move your feet

eet...

someone's deciding whether or not to steal
he opens a window just to feel the chill
he hears that outside a small boy just started to cry
cause it's his turn, but his brother won't let him try



Labels: , ,

Fidelity

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):

I never loved nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting my heart truly
I got lost in the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind
All these words
I hear in mind
All this music
And it breaks my heart
Suppose I never ever met you
Suppose we never fell in love
Suppose I never ever let you
Kiss me so sweet and so soft
Suppose I never ever saw you
Suppose you never ever called
Suppose I kept on singing love songs
Just to break my own fall
Just to break my fall
All my friends say
That of course it's
Gonna get better...



Labels: , ,

Field Below

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
I wish I'd see a field below
I wish I'd hear a rooster crow
But there are none that live downtown
And so the day starts out so slow
Again the sun was never called [alt: again the call was never made]
And darkness spreads over the snow
Like ancient bruises
I am awake and feel the ache
But I wish I'd see a field below, I wish I'd see a field below

I wish I'd see your face below
I wish I'd hear you whisperin' low
But you don't live downtown no more
And everything must come and go

Again the sun was never called
And darkness spreads over the snow
Like ancient bruises
I am awake and feel the ache
I am awake and feel the ache
I wish I'd see a field below
I wish I'd see a field below
I am awake and feel the ache
But I wish I'd see a field below

Labels: , ,

The Flowers

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
The flowers you gave me are rotting and still I refuse to throw them away
some of the bulbs never opened quite fully
they might so I'm waiting and staying awake
Things I have loved I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep

The papers around me are piling and twisting regina the paper back mummy
what then
I'm taking the knife to the books that i own and chopping and chopping and boiling soup from stone
Things I have loved I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep
things I have loved I'm allowed to keep
I'll never know if I go to sleep


Labels: , ,

Flyin

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
I went flyin' out of my window
I went flyin' out of my window
been caught doin' it once or twice
but it feels so real nice
oh it feels so real nice

saw the earth and I saw the sky
saw the earth and I saw the sky
been caught doin' it once or twigh
but it feels so real nigh
oh it feels so real nigh
oh it feels so real nigh

went to school with them boring teachers
who thought they was all my preachers
so I went starin' out of my window
I went starin' out of my window
been caught doin' it once or twice
but it feels so real nice
oh it feels so real nice,
oh it feels so real nice, that I might even do it again

one of them took me with him to sleep
said not to make a peep
said it'll be a secret we keep
so I didn't make a peep
kissed my cheek and rubbed my feet
but his kissin' didn't taste so sweet
told him I just wanted to sleep
so he got mad
and he got madder, and he got maddest of them all

sent me flyin' out of his window
sent me flyin' out of his window
not caught once, not caught twice

and I've been flyin' ever since and I've been flyin' in the skies...


Labels: , ,

Folding Chair

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
Come and open up your folding chair next to me
my feet are buried in the sand and there’s a breeze
there’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes
and the sea is just a wetter version of the skies

let’s get a silver bullet trailer and have a baby boy
I’ll safety-pin his clothes all cool and you’ll grafitti up his toys
I’ve got a perfect body, though sometimes I forget
I’ve got a perfect body cause my eyelashes catch my sweat
Yes, they do, they do…

now I’ve been sitting on this abandoned beach for years
waiting for the salty water to cover up my ears
but every time the tide come in to take me home
I get scared, and I’m sitting here alone
dreaming of the dolphin song…

maybe one day you will understand
I don’t want nothing from you but to sweetly hold your hand
till that day just please don’t be so down
don’t make frowns, you silly clown

just come and open up your folding chair next to me
my feet are buried in the sand and there’s a breeze
there’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes
and the waves are just a frothier version of the skies

there’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes…


Labels: , ,

Genius Next Door

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
Some said the local lake had been enchanted
others said it must have been the weather
the neighbors were trying to keep it quiet
but I swear I could hear the laughter
so they jokingly nicknamed it the porridge
cause overnight that lake had turned as thick as butter
but the local kids would still go swimming, drinking
saying that to them it doesn’t matter

if you just hold in your breath til you come back up in full
hold in your breath til you thought it through, you fool

the genius next door was bussing tables
wiping clean the ketchup bottle labels
getting high and mumbling german fables
didn’t care as long as he was able
to strip his clothes off by the dumpsters
at night while everyone was sleeping
and to wade midway into that porridge
just him and the secret he was keeping

hold in your breath til you come back up in full
hold in your breath til you thought it through, you foolish child

in the morning the film crews start arriving
with coffee, donuts, and reporters
the kids were waking up hungover
the neighbors were starting up their cars
the garbagemen were emptying the dumpsters
atheists were praying full of sarcasm
and the genius next door was sleeping
dreaming that the antidote was orgasm

hold in your breath til you come back up in full
hold in your breath til you thought it through, you foolish child…


Labels: , ,

Ghost of Corporate Future

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
A man walks out of his apartment
it is raining
he's got no umbrella
he starts running beneath the awnings trying to save his suit
tryin to dryin to tryin to dry but no good

When he gets to the crowded subway platform he takes off both of his shoes
He steps right into somebody's fat loogie
and everyone who sees him says "ewwww"
everyone who sees him says "ewwww"

But he doesn't care cause last night he got a visit from the Ghost of Corporate Future
The Ghost said take off both your shoes whatever chances you get
especially when they're wet
he also said

Imagine you go away on a business trip one day
and when you come back home
your children have grown
and you never made your wife moan

And people make you nervous
You'd think the world was ending
and everybody's features
have somehow started blending
and everything is plastic
and everyone's sarcastic
and all your food is frozen
it needs to be defrosted
You'd think the world was ending
you'd think the world was ending
You'd think the world was ending right now

Well maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee
and never ever watch the 10 o'clock news
Maybe you should kiss someone nice or lick a rock or both
maybe you should cut your own hair cause that can be so funny
it doesn't cost any money and it always grows back
hair grows even after you're dead

People are just people
They shouldn't make you nervous
The world is everlasting
It's coming and it's going
if you don't toss your plastic
the streets won't be so plastic
and if you kiss somebody
then both of you'll get practice

The world is everlasting
put dirtballs in your pockets
put dirtball's in your pockets
and take off both your shoes
cause people are just people
people are just people
people are just people like you

people are just people
people are just people
people are just people like you

The world is everlasting
it's coming and it's going
the world is everlasting
it's coming and it's going
it's coming and it's going


Labels: , ,

Hallelujah

Written by: leonard cohen

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I heard there was a sacred chord
that david played and it pleased the lord
but you don't really care for music, do you?
it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing hallelujah...

your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty in the moonlight overthrough you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
she broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah...

maybe I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
but love is not a victory march
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah...

there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me, do you?
remember when I moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah...

maybe there's a god above
but all I've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
it's not a cry that you hear tonight
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah...


Labels: , ,

Happy Hooker

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I've been looking at you all night long
I've been looking at you all night long
you with your street-walking shoes and your street-walking eyes
I see nothing wrong

but don't look at me that way, baby
I can't help you, my life is just a melody and chords
don't look at me that way, baby
I can't help you, my life is just a melody and chords
I go home so broke and lonely every night, all I got in my pocket are
these rhyming words and more words and more words

besides, here comes your baby
better look away
better give her a kiss and buy her a glass of chardonnay

don't worry about me, baby
I'm just what you might call a-live entertainment
but I stopped caring a long time ago, I don't give a fuck
cause it pays the rent

I'm just a happy hooker riding bicycles and boys in the park
never was much of a looker but always knew my way around in the dark
loving's just a pastime, singing's just a pastime too
this whole life is just a pasttime and we're passing right through

but I've been looking at you all night long
I've been looking at you all night long
you with your street-walking shoes and your street-walking eyes
I see nothing wrong...
I see nothing at all


Labels: , ,

Hero (of the Story)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

He never ever saw it coming at all...
It's alright...

Hey, open wide, here comes original sin...
It's alright...

No one's got it all...

power to the people
we don't want it, we want pleasure
and the tv's try to rape us
and I guess that they're succeeding
and we're going to these meetings
but we're not doing any meeting
we're trying to be faithful but we're
cheating, cheating, cheating

Hey, open wide, here comes original sin...
It's alright...

No one's got it all...

I'm the hero of the story, don't need to be saved...
It's alright...

No one's got it all...


Labels: , ,

Hotel Song

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
Come in, come in
Come into my world
I've got to show, show, show you
Come into my bed
I've got to know, know, know you
I have dreams of Orca whales and owls
But I wake up in fear
You will never be my --
You will never be my fool
Will never be my fool
Floaters in my eyes
Wake up in the hotel room
Cigarettes and lies
I am a child, it's too soon
I have dreams of Orca whales and owls
But I wake up in fear
You will never be my --
You will never be my fool
Will never be my fool
A little bag of cocaine
A little bag of cocaine
So who's the girl wearing my dress
I figured out her number
It's on a paper napkin
But I don't know her address
I wait downstairs
The porter smiles to me
A smile I've bought
With a couple of gold coins
A sign that I've been caught
I have dreams of Orca whales and owls
But I wake up in fear
You will never be my --
You will never be my dear
Will never be my dear, dear friend
My dear, dear friend


Labels: , ,

Human of the Year

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
hello? hello?
calling a karl projektorinski
to the front of the cathedral
you have won, dear sir
may I congratulate you first?
oh, what an honor

human! human of the year! you've won!...

why are you so scared?
you stand there shaking in your pew
the icons are whispering to you
they're just old men
like on the benches in the park
except their balding spots
are glistening with gold

human! human of the year! you've won!...

you have won! hallelujah...

outside the cars are beeping
out a song just in your honor
and though they do not know it
all mankind are now your brothers
and thus the cathedral had spoken
wishing well to all us sinners
and with a sigh grew silent
til next year's big human winner

outside the cars are beeping
out a song just in your honor
and though they do not know it
all mankind are now your brothers

all mankind are now your brothers

hallelujah...

hello? hello?
calling a karl projektorinski
to the front of the cathedral
you have won



Labels: , ,

"I cut off my hair" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I cut off my hair
and went to sleep
you were there in my dreams
nursing on my glass teet
it was a party
you were sucking liquor
on your jacket a VIP sticker...

I peed in my pants
and ran down the street
towards washington square park where
you had been beat up
you were wearing rags
I was wearing [?] shoes
and trying to lay next to you
but you wanted to snooze

the definition of
a crazy person is
soemone who does the same thing over
and over again
while expecting new results
I cut off my tongue
you started to kiss me
blood trickled down
don't you ever miss me?
don't you ever miss me?
don't you ever minced meat?...

called up my momma
but I couldn't be sweet
so I escaped through the window
on a rope made of sheets
got bitten by a squirrel
then stepped on a syringe
the view of manhattan from gw bridge

you said, honey
I said, baby
you said, funny
I said, maybe
you says, hi honey
I says, hey baby
you ask, was it funny?
and I said, well maybe...


Labels: , ,

Ink Stains

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
all the holocaust deniers
to a bathhouse, warm and quiet
complimentary soap, complimentary haircut
and gas them up until they know that

all the ink stains on the wrist mean business
and god is the almighty witness
i wish they'd cure the friendly neighbors
of the disease which makes them haters

you who accuse the dying of lying
and can't tell fake from honest crying
argentina steakhouse swiss bank gold card
aren't going to help you where you're going at

so who'd be the jew to make the papers
drenched in blood up to your blue jew eyeballs
and god in his almighty wisdom
may somehow grant an open season


Labels: , ,

I Want to Sing

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
I want to sing to you my love
My only love and happiness
don't be so blue so blue my love
take off your shoes take off my dress
I want to sing to you my love
My only love and happiness
don't be so blue so blue my love
this too shall pass this too shall pass

but tell me, what have I done to deserve you?
must have done something cause that's how it works
must have been kind to kittens and birds,
in a previous life must have thought happy thoughts...

'cause there, you were there right beside me
then somehow inside me while inside myself
books on the shelf thoughts on the shelf
hands to myself, i should definitely keep my hands to myself

Love is a dangerous pastime
caught between madness and gladness of flight
nothing is wrong and nothing is right
falling asleep in your arms every night

But Love's such a strange situation
full of frustration and anger and fear
Everything's tears
nobody hears
nobody's here, and nobody hears...

I want to sing to you my love
my only love and happiness
don't be so blue so blue my love
take off your shoes take off my dress
I want to sing to you my love
my only love and happiness
don't be so blue so blue my love
This too shall pass, this too shall pass...


Labels: , ,

Just Like the Movies

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
It's just like the movies, I eat from the trees
if I do not open the curtains then I cannot see
all the people run by...

my heart eats beats...
my heart eats love...

you are mistaken cause I do not bite
over the williamsburg bridge on a bike
and if he loves me then why does he leave...?

don't say goodbye like you're burying him
cause the world is round and he might return...

but if he loves me then why does he leave...?


Labels: , ,

Lacrimosa

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
we keep on burying our dead
we keep on planting their bones in the ground
but they won't grow
the sun doesn't help
the rain doesn't help

if my garden would have a fence
then the rabbits couldn't just come in
and sit on the grass
and eat all the flowers
and shit

hi, i'm icarus, i'm falling
down, man for judgment must prepare me
spare, oh god, in mercy spare me

man, I have a terrible feeling
that something's gone awful, very wrong with the world
is it something we made?
is it something we ate?
is it something we drank?

hi, i'm icarus, i'm falling
from the dust of earth returning
man for judgment must prepare me
spare, oh god, in mercy spare me

lacrimosa...

we keep on burying our dead
we keep on planting their bones in the ground
but they won't grow
the sun doesn't help
and all we've got
is a giant crop
of names and dates

hi, i'm icarus, i'm falling
down on this day of tears and mourning
from the dust of earth returning
man for judgment must prepare me
spare, oh god, in mercy spare me

lacrimosa...
lacrimosa dies illa
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus
huic ergo parce, deus




Labels: , ,

Lady

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
Lady sing the blues so well
as if she mean it
As if it's hell down here in this smoke filled world
Where the jokes are cold
They don't laugh at jokes
They laugh at tragedies
Corner street societies
But they believe her
They never leave her while she sings
She makes them feel things
She says I can sing this song so blue that you will cry
In spite of you
Little wet tears on your baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on your baby's shoulder
And I have walked these streets so long
There ain't nothing right
There ain't nothing wrong
But the little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Lady lights a cigarette
Puffs away
No regrets
[Takes a look around, no regrets, no regrets]
Stretches out like branches of a Poplar tree
Says I am free
Sings so soft as if she'll break
Says I can sing a song so blue
That you will cry in spite of you
Little wet tears on your baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on your baby's shoulder
And I have walked these streets so long
There ain't nothing right
There ain't nothing wrong
But the little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
But on this stage
I've learned to fly
Learned to sing
And learned to cry
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
But now it's time to say goodbye
Some might laugh
But I will surely cry
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Little wet tears on my baby's shoulder
Lady lights a cigarette
Puffs away
No regrets
Then winter comes
And she forgets


Labels: , ,