Regina Spektor . net

Ne Me Quitte Pas

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
down in bowery they lose their [?? and their lipped mouths?] in the night
and stumbling through the street they say, sir do you got a light
and if you do then you're my friend and if you don't then you're my foe
and if you are a deity of any sort then please don't go
ne me quitte pas, mon chere

down on lexington they walk in new shoes stuck to aging feet
and close their eyes and open and not recognize the aging street
and think about how things were right when they were young and veins were tight
and if you are the ghost of christmas past, then won't you stay the night?
ne me quitte pas, mon chere

down in bronxy bronx the kids go sledding down snow-covered slopes
and frozen noses, frozen toes, the frozen city starts to glow
and yes, they know that it will pass and, yes, they know new york will thaw
but if you are a friend of any sort then play along and catch a cold
ne me quitte pas, mon chere

I love paris in the rain...

down in paris they walk fast, that is, unless they're walking slow
and in cafes they look away, that is, unless they look right in
and in the gardens I get lost, that is, unless I'm getting found
and if you are the ghost of new york city, won't you stick around?
ne me quitte pas, mon chere


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Blogger Weasel said...

I think its supposed to be 'Paris', but pronounced like "Pa-ree' in the first line, not bowery.

June 16, 2010 6:02 AM  

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The Noise

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
all the power of my voice can't compare
with the power of a quiet whisper
still, it's a choice, and I choose to rage
instead of ever quietly listening

i can't hear you...i can't hear you anymore
i can't hear you...i can't hear you through this noise
i can't hear you through the noise

all the power of my words can't compare
with the power of a silent answer
still, it's a choice, and I choose to rage
ignoring all those silent answers

i can't hear you...i can't hear you anymore
i can't hear you...i can't hear you through this noise
i can't hear you through the noise

all the noise


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Ode to Divorce

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
The food that 'm eating is suddenly tasteless
I know i'm alone now
I know what it tastes like
So break me to small parts
let go in small doses
But spare some for spare parts
there might be some good ones!
Like you might make a dollar
I'm inside your mouth now
Behind your tonsils
Peaking over your molars
You're talking to her now
you've eaten something minty and you're making that face that I like and you're going in in for the kill kill
for the killer kiss kiss for the kiss kiss

I need your money, it will help me
I need your car and I need your love
So won't you help a brother out
Won't you help a brother out?
won't you help a brother out, out, out, out, out

Just break me to small parts
let go in small doses
but spare some for spare parts
you might make a dollar

you might make a $
So won't you help a brother out
Won't you help a brother out?
Won't you help a brother out, out, out, out, out

Just break me to small parts
let go in small doeses
but spare some for spare parts
there might be some good ones
you might make a $


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Oedipus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I'm the king's thirty-second son
born to him a thirty-second time
born to him with my hair still on
born to him with two eyebrows on
and that's all I was wearing
when I woke up staring at the world

my mom had been a rather crazy queen
but not at all like sex machine
she liked to keep her body clean clean
thought the world to be quite obscene
but she'd retire to her chambers
and we'd remain quite strangers
and to see me made her awful sad
and to touch me made her awful sad
and to see me made her awful
and to touch me made her awful

I'm the king's thirty-second son
man, all it took was thirty seconds' time
but a spoiled little prince I was not
had a chamber maid and a chamber pot
and there's thirty-one others just like me
there's thirty-one others I can be

sometimes I'd stand by the royal walls
the sky'd be so big that it broke my soul
and I'd stand on my toes to catch a glimpse
of my mother's eyes and my mother's skin
but she'd retire to her chambers
and we'd remain quite strangers
and to see me made her awful sad
and to touch me made her awful sad
and to see me made her awful
and to touch me made her awful

and then one morning I woke up
and I thought, Oedipus...Oedipus...Oedipus...Oedipus...
then one morning and I woke up
and I thought, Rex...Rex...Rex...
cause thirty-two's still a goddamn number
thirty-two still counts
gonna make it count...

long live the king

I'm the king's thirty-second son
there's thirty-one others just like me
there's thirty-one others on the way
there's thirty-one others after that

sometimes I stand by the royal gate
people screaming love and hate
and they scream and they scream and they scream and they scream
long live the king! long live the queen!


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Oh, Marcello!

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
Oh, Marcello, how I wonder
the madonna, she tell the truth, no?
she been saying, I’ll have a baby
when he grow up he become a killer

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood…

Oh, Marcello, never thought I’d
really love you, but I do so
my head waiter’s head on your platter
just say the word and [???] make him kiss my gutters

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood…

Oh, Marcello! Oh, Marcello!

Oh, Marcello, how I wonder
the madonna, when she speak she tell the truth, no?
she been saying, I’ll have a baby
when he grow up he become a killer and kill everybody

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood…


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One More Time with Feeling

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
your stitches are all out
but your scars are healing wrong
and the helium balloon
inside your room has come undone
and it's pushing up at the ceiling
and the flickering lights it cannot get beyond

oh, everyone takes turns
now it's yours to play the part
and they're sitting all around you
holding copies of your chart
and misery inside their eyes is
synchronized and reflecting into yours

hold on, one more time with feeling
try it again, breathing's just a rhythm
say it in your mind
until you know that the words are right
this is why we fight

you thought by now you'd be
so much better than you are
you thought by now they'd see
that you had come so far
and the pride inside their eyes would
synchronize into a love you've never known
so much more than you've been shown

hold on, one more time with feeling
try it again, breathing's just a rhythm
say it in your mind
until you know that the words are right
this is why we fight

this is why we fight



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One-String Blues

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

got me a pair of dreary eyes
pale color blue upon pale color white
sometimes they cry
sometimes they dry
pale color blue upon pale color white
got me a pair of dreary eyes
and they tell no lies

I got me some lips but they taste no sweet
I got me some lips but they taste no sweet
they're as dry as the old concrete
beaten up new york street
and they taste no sweet...

if only my baby would come back home to me
if only my baby would come back home to me
I would go to sleep with
sugar on my tongue
I would go to sleep with
sweetness in my lungs
I would go to sleep
wrapped inside his skin
and I don't care what they say
but it ain't no sin...

so, me and poseidon we been hanging around the water hole and he says to me, he says
regina, regina I got no authority no more
no one waits to hear the sound of my flip-flops by the door
and all my little fish have gone to war
so I says to him, I says
poseidon dear, you're better off than me, I hear
cause I been taking all the wrong busses everywhere
wrong busses, they lead me to wrong stops
wrong stops, they lead me to wrong people
wrong people, they take me nowhere fast
so he says to me, he says
going nowhere fast
just cause he didn't want me speaking fast
and I didn't think that was real polite
and he whips out his cigarettes and asks me for a light
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and then he just doesn't speak
so we just sit there and stare
finally he says, he says, oh hell
and I try not to wince at his fishy smell
cause i didn't think that that was real polite
and he whips out his cigarettes and asks me for a light
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and I say no and he says, oh baby
and then he just, he just doesn't speak

got me a pair of dreary eyes
pale color blue upon pale color white
sometimes they cry
sometimes they dry
pale color blue like the dingy sky
pale color blue, pale color blue
pale color blue upon pale color white


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On the Radio

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
This is how it works
It feels a little worse
Than when we drove our hearse
Right through that screaming crowd
While laughing up a storm
Until we were just bone
Until it got so warm
That none of us could sleep
Then all the Styrofoam
Began to melt away
We tried to find some worms
To aid in the decay
But none of them were home
Inside their catacomb
A million ancient bees
Began to sting our knees
While we were on our knees
Praying that disease
Would leave the ones we love
And never come again
And on the radio
We heard November Rain
The solo's real long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Cause the DJ was asleep
This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath
No this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
Then try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some --
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again
And on the radio
You'll hear November Rain
That solo's awful long
But it's a nice refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep
On the radio uh-oh
On the radio uh-oh


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"open" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

I am down the road and up the hill
I wait for you still
wires around my fingers

potentially lovely
perpetually human
suspended and open
open...

I am through the woods and past the trains
I wait here in vain
scrubbing out the stains again

potentially lovely
perpetually human
suspended and open
open...

open up and up your eyes and then...

in a night the snow starts falling
and everybody stares
through their windows at the streetlights
too beautiful to see

I am in a room I've built myself
four stray walls
one floor, one ceiling
and day after day I wake up feeling...

potentially lovely
perpetually human
suspended and open
open...

open up and up your heart and then...


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Paris

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I could’ve settled down in Paris
but the man who came for me
took me by the hand
and said it was time to leave
margaret atwood, she could not stop him
virginia woolf, she could not stop him
the truth is I wanted to go
he is all I know, he is all I know…

I got back home from Paris
and he told me what I’d done was wrong
and though his speech was rather long
I listened like an obedient child
the light was coming in through the windows
it was a most familiar type of night
how I loved every streetlight
and I wanted him to kiss me

margaret atwood, she could not stop me
virginia woolf, she could not stop me
the truth is I wanted to go
he is all I know, he is all I know…

sweet, sweet forever
I’ll comfort myself in my next life…

he told me that he couldn’t live without me
and I told him the same thing too
and though we knew it wasn’t true
we both knew it wasn’t a lie
the light was coming in through the window
it was a most familiar type of night
how I loved every streetlight
and I wanted him to kiss me

margaret atwood, she could not stop me
virginia woolf, she could not stop me
the truth is I wanted to go
he is all I know, he is all I know…

sweet, sweet forever
I’ll comfort myself in my next life…


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Patron Saint

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
She's the kind of girl who'll smash herself down in the night
She's the kind of girl who'll fracture her mind till it's light
She'll break her own heart and you know she'll break your heart too
So darling, let go of her hand

She's been skipping days, spilling her drinks in the sink
and you know, she's never coming home, never coming home again
but when when when she open her eyes eyes eyes
beyond the chipping paint through the windowpane
lies lies lies
her patron saint, broken and lame
and absolutely insane for learning that true love exists
so darling, let go of her hand...
you'll be to blame for playing this game
and learning that true love exists


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Pavlov's Daughter

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
The grave diggers getting stuck in the machine
pickings getting slim, slimmer
I hear them say my name
regin-ah, regin-ah, regin-a-ah

yes I'm putting the boulder to my ear
and I still can't hear
whadya think I was an amateur
playin' with my temperature...

If I hear another song about angels
if I see another feather on the dumb-box
I'm gonna go to Babylon and get me some whiskey
Gonna get me some whiskey now...
If I hear another song about angels
if I see another feather on the dumb-box
I'm gonna go to Babylon and get me some whiskey now

My name is Lucille and I know how you feel
I live downstairs
I hear you taking out your garbage
I hear you loving your girlfriend
I hear you loving yourself too
I hear you turning your thoughts off
I turn mine off too
The only thing I hear is you
and you don't sound good and you don't sound nice
and you don't sound good and you don't sound right

and it get's quiet...

Pavlov's daughter woke up in the morning
Heard the bell ring
And something deep inside of her made her want to salivate
So she lay there drooling on her pillow
So she lay there, the sun skimming her skin, and drooling on her pillow
Pavlov's daughter
And it was far away and hazy like a dream
not a dream, but the ocean,
not the ocean, but forever...

The grave diggers getting stuck in the machine...
...And it gets quiet...
As quiet as an ambulance checking out the neighborhood, waiting for the blade to slip and that final blow, but nothing happens, it's a cruel joke
as ironic as a ticker tape parade over the rain forest,
as ironic as a ticker tape parade over my head,
as ironic as a ticker tape parade over my head going down stream... to where...it isn't... even... real...rain... at...all...


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Poor Little Rich Boy

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
Poor little rich boy
all the couples have gone
You wish that they hadn't
you don't want to be alone
but they want to kiss
and they got homes of their own
poor little rich boy
all the couples have gone have gone have gone

and you don't love your girlfriend
you don't ♥ your girlfriend
and you think that you should but she thinks that she's fat but she isn't but you don't love her anyway
and you don't love your mother
and you know that you should
and you wish that you would
but you don't anyway...

poor little rich boy
oh the world is okay
the water runs off your skin
and down into the drain
you're reading Fitzgerald
you're reading Hemingway
they're both super smart
and drinking in the cafes

but you don't love your girlfriend
you don't ♥ your girlfriend
and you think that you should but she thinks that she's fat but she isn't but you don't love her anyway
and you don't love your mother
and you know that you should
and you wish that you would
but you don't anyway

you're so young you're so god damn young
you're so young you're so god damn young
and you don't love your girlfriend


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Pound of Flesh

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

if you're never sorry
then you can't be forgiven
if you're not forgiven
then you can't be forgotten
if you're not forgotten
then you can live forever
if you live forever
then you'll begin to dream
of death...

ezra pound sat upon my bed
asked me which books as of late I've read

ezra pound sat upon my bed
asked me which books as of late I've read
asked me if I've read his own
and whether I could spare a pound
of flesh to cover his bare bones
I says, man, take a pound, take two
what's a pound of flesh between
friends like me and you?
what's a pound of flesh among friends?

but if you're never sorry...

if you're never sorry
then you can't be forgiven
if you're not forgiven
then you can't be forgotten
if you're not forgotten
then you must live forever
if you live forever
you cannot be reborn
if you're not reborn then
you can't be a baby
if you're not a baby
you can't learn how to crawl
if you cannot crawl away
then you must stay in bed all day
if you stay in bed all day
you're sure to have some visitors

ezra pound'll sit upon your bed
ask you which books as of late you have read
ask you if you've read his own
and whether you could spare a pound
of flesh to cover his bare bones
you'll say, man, take a pound, take two
what's a pound of flesh between
friends like me and you?
what's a pound of flesh among friends?...


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Prisoners

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
all of the prisoners serving life sentences
wait for the earth to suddenly shake
for the walls to somehow suddenly come crumbling, tumbling and
for the bars to somehow magically break

there's nothing wrong with them
that a thousand bucks can't fix
that a thousand arms can't hold down
in the ground they're tattooing the stones with
cusses like cavemen - your mama was here

but they want to run through the air with no barriers or obstacles
gunmen or guard dogs or priests
and to rise from the mud and start over and over
with the people all dead

if hans christian andersen could've had his way with me then
none of this shit would have ever gone down
in my cell I'm tattooing myself with
mermaids and swallows and though I do swallow
my mama thinks I'm grown but I'm really just little
and someday I will remember


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Raindrops

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
you don’t know but that’s okay
you might find me anyway
don’t you know that I
belong arm in arm with you, baby
in a town that’s cold and gray
we will have a sunny day
don’t you know that I
belong arm in arm with you, baby…

I do not know
where does it go
when it goes
suddenly though
everything’s slow
and I miss you so

round each corner there’s a chance
people searching glance to glance
moving bout real fast
like insects and fish when they’re scared
and they sing the same old song
though it’s been so very long
they sing, raindrops falling on my head
but that doesn’t mean that I am dead

and I do not know
where does it go
when it goes
suddenly though
everything’s slow
and I miss you so

you don’t know but that’s okay
you might find me anyway
don’t you know that I
belong arm in arm with you, baby
in a town that’s cold and gray
we will have a sunny day
don’t you know that I
belong arm in arm with you, baby…


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Reading Time with Pickle

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
walking home from work
stop at the supermarket
the condiment aisle
a jar of pickles catches the eye
made eye contact with a solitary pickle
bought the jar, took it home

then made it up the stairs
and made it through the doorway
and waded through the floor
tried to head in the general direction of the bathroom
the truest room in the whole damn house

saying love is the answer to a question that I have forgotten
and I know I've been asked
so the answer's got to be love

so feeding time with tv
then sleeping time, not sleepy so
reading time with pickle
but where the bedside lamp had been
is now emanating soft soft green

has it always been this way?
is it possible that all this magic went unnoticed?
maybe now things will start to change
and life will turn a better page
no more rage

saying love is the answer to a question that I have forgotten
but I know I've been asked
and the answer's got to be love

tomorrow back to work again
but run to the supermarket
running hopeful through the aisles
haven't been this happy in a long time
but not a single jar was smiling
after all,
pickle jars are just
pickle jars and pickles are just pickles
ingredients: water, salt, cucumbers,
garlic, and pickling spices

love is the answer to a question that I have forgotten
and I know I've been asked
and the answer's got to be love


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Reginasaurus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

if I was a dinosaur
I'd be a reginasurus
and if I knew a million english words
I'd publish my own spektor's thesaurus
if I was born in the merry month of may
then I would be a taurus
and if I had some extra time on my hands, then I'd
surely join a chorus

if I was a philosophy
I'd be registentialism
and if people spoke using quotes of me
they'd say reginaisms
if I was a religion, then my church
would surely have a schism
there'd be regewish and registian and reguslim and reguddist and regatheist
but they'd still be friends

if I was a great big city
I'd be reginapolis
no one would be sickly or achey
in my thriving metropolis
unless of course they came down with bad case of
reginitis
a heartache and a headache and a sunburn and a little bit of
acute gastritis

but if I was a dinosaur
I'd be a reginasaurus
and if I knew a million english words
I'd have my own spektor's thesaurus
if I was born in the merry month of may
then I would be a taurus
and if I had some extra time on my hands, then I'd
surely join a chorus


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Rejazz

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
Thought I'd cry for you forever
But I couldn't so I didn't
people's children die and they don't even cry forever
Thought I'd see your face in my mind for all time
But I don't even remember what your ears looked like

And the clock still strikes midnight and noon
and the sun still rises and so does the moon
birds still migrate south and people move on
even though I'm no longer in your arms
Thought the mountain would crumble
and the rivers would bend
but I thought all wrong and the world did not end
guess the maps will just have to stay the same for a while
Didn't even need therapy to rehabilitate my smile
rehabilitate my smile

Thought I'd cry for you forever
But I couldn't so I didn't...


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Riot Gear

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
wake up, put on my riot gear
but in the study of my house
i've got a smoking jacket
passed to me from granddaddy
it's made of bow and arrow meat

come home, take off my riot gear
put on my smoke jacket
but in the library of my house
i have a book, medieval jokes
are just as a funny now if you've got a degree

heaven help the ones who know
what makes the world go slow

night comes, time to go on the town
and in my best sashimi dress
and marble arch supporting shoes
i am a vision in my horse drawn tank

stay out, drinking into the night
and they are saying those same things
and i'm like ha ha ha and hee hee hee
til half past three and then it's time for me to go

heaven help the ones who know
what makes the world go slow

come home, take off my tuna dress
put on my collard greens
and in my sleep what dreams may come
before I'm woken by alarms
put on my riot gear



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Sailor Song

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
She will kiss you til your lips bleed
but she will not take her dress off
Americana
Tropicana
All the sailor boys have demons
they sing oh kentucky why did you forsake me
if I was meant to sail the sea why did you make me
it should have been another state
oh stay...

cause Mary Anne's a bitch
Mary Anne's a bitch

Does it matter that our anger
couldn't even reach the bottom of a bath tub
and the sails reflect the moon it's such a strange job
playing blackjack on the deck
still...Atop this giant puddle
dressed in white we quietly huddle with our missiles
and we miss the girls back home
oh home sweet home...

cause Mary Anne's a bitch
Mary Anne's a bitch

She will kiss you til your lips bleed
but she will not take her dress off
Americana
Tropicana


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Samson

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first beneath
The sheets of paper lies my truth
I have to go, I have to go
Your hair was long when we first met

Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
Ate a slice of Wonder bread and
Went right back to bed
And the history books forgot about us
And the Bible didn't mention us
Not even once

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I love you first beneath
The stars came falling on our hats
But they're just old light, they're just old light
Your hair was long when we first met

Samson came to my bed
Told me that my hair was red
Told me I was beautiful and
Came into my bed
Oh I cut his hair myself one night
A pair of dull scissors in the yellow light
And he told me that I'd done alright
And kissed me till the morning light, the morning light
And he kissed me till the morning light

Samson went back to bed
Not much hair left on his head
Ate a slice of Wonder bread and
Went right back to bed
Oh we couldn't bring the columns down
Yeah we couldn't destroy a single one
And the history books forgot about us
And the Bible didn't mention us
Not even once


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Scarecrow & Fungus

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
come on inside and I’ll show you your brother
he’s got enough money to buy a new father
he’s got enough money to bother
somebody else
solder two wires together
somebody else

remember that mouthful you spat in his mouthful
he never forgave you, he’s so very spiteful
he’s so very vengeful and so very frightful
he’s got enough money to bother
solder two wires together

scarecrow and fungus, they ran through a stoplight
but it didn’t matter cause no one was hurt
scarecrow and fungus, they ran through a stoplight
but it didn’t matter cause they were on foot

got enough money to bother
somebody else
solder two wires together
somebody else

I don’t know what I’m doing still here
they must have done such a very very good job…

they say he’s adopted but quite maladapted
they say he’s corrupted but quite well-respected
he’s got lots of money, we all really like him
he’s got enough money to bother
come on inside and I’ll show you your brother
he’s got enough money to buy a new father
he’s got enough money to bother
somebody else
solder two wires together
somebody else…


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Secret Stash

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
She opened her pocket and showed me her stash
a stash of cash and flesh
for a rainy day
she said, there might come a day when you’ve just got nothing to say
nothing to think, and there’s nothing left to drink
nothing to eat, you’ll be your own piece of meat
and no one can take that away from you…
no one…

tell me what you told me again and I might
believe you next time
maybe give it another try
I’ll open my pocket and show you my stash
a small stash of cash and flesh
saved for a rainy day
saved for a rainy day I’ve got nothing to say
and no one can take that away from me…
no one…


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Silly Eye Color Generalizations

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
there are those boys with earthly eyes
their eyes are like the ground
you walk and walk, kicking up dirt
but they don't make a sound
and when they kiss you they sometimes leave them open
just to make sure you don't drop
yeah, the sweetest eyes, the truest eyes
are probably dark brown

there are those boys with golden hazel eyes
the color of weak tea
they spend the nights howling at the moon
to let go of the sea
the scope of their depth is terrifying, thrilling
you think you're finally free
when they capture you, cause golden eyes are as sticky as
honey from a bee

I'm drowning

but those with blue I shouldn't trust
cause I myself have blue
you fall for them so easy
you think you see right through
you take a leap thinking blue water is deep
when suddenly it's just gray rain
then puddles at your feet
will freeze to dirty ice
but summon them back up to clean salty blue water once again
confusing

blue eyes they change like the weather
blue sea, blue sky, blue paint
I wouldn't trust my own blue-eyed reflection
as far as I can throw that mirror

but these are just silly eye color generalizations
you shouldn't believe a word I've said
cause when you're lying in your bed
darkness round your head
your eyes might as well be polka-dotted or plaid
polka-dotted or plaid


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Small Town Moon

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
i must've lived a thousand times
but every day begins the same
cause there's a small town in my mind
how can i leave without hurting everyone that made me?...

oh, baby, baby, it's all about the moon
i wish you wouldn't have broken my camera
cause we're going to get real old real soon
today we're younger than we're ever going to be...

stop, stop, what's the hurry?
come on baby, don't you worry, worry
everybody not so nice, nice
everybody not so nice, nice...

i ought to, ought to know by now...
everybody not so nice, nice...

oh, baby, baby, baby, it's all about the moon
i must've lived a thousand times
but there's a small town in my mind
how can i leave without hurting everyone that made me?...

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Soho

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

it's surprising how little things we lose
I was walking through the streets of soho
looking for a diamond ring
but I didn't find a thing
not a necklace, not a bracelet, not a shoelace, not an old friend
not a new friend in the faces of the crowd

and the streets were paved with cigarette butts...

it's surprising how little's on the ground
considering we walk around
and lose and lose what's never found
someone has got to be the one
to find the long lost answers
banana peels and orange rinds

but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save use
as if one day they'll return the favor
as if one day they will crave us...

it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mindscape
and I didn't find a thing
it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mindstreet
red light stop and green light go
and I didn't get run over

but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save use
as if one day they'll return the favor
as if one day they will crave us...

ah ah, regina...


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Somedays

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
Somedays aren't yours at all
They come and go as if they're someone elses days
They come and leave you behind some elses face
and it's harsher than yours
and colder than yours

They come in all quiet sweep up and then they leave
and you don't hear a single floor board creak
they're so much stronger than the friends you try to keep by your side

Downtown, downtown
I'm not here, not anymore
I've gone away
don't call me don't write

I'm in love with your daughter
I want to have her baby I'm in love with your daughter
so can I please

Downtown, downtown
I'm not here
not anymore
I've gone away don't call me don't write
I've gone away don't call me don't write

Somedays aren't yours at all
They come and go as if they're someone elses days
They come and leave you behind some elses face
and it's harsher than yours


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The Soup

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
The soup..was hot and split pea and on the stove
and michael and marry and bugsy and buster were occupied
the pictures as clear as an illusion in their mind
and the plan was foolproof but there was so much to do

first they'd decide who'd drive the car, who'd wear the masks and who'd bribe the cops
then they'd decide what were the rules, when do shoot and when do you hold back
they'd synchronize their watches and their heartbeats and their ribcages
this can't be a mess, this can't be a mess...

nobody knows how it comes to be that they think that they must and they do what they can
but the cops are right there and the sirens they blare and the bystarers stare and everyone just stands
bugsy went down first, then marry, then michael drove off and buster just ran
he was running like a child running in a game of tag
until he was hit, until he was it...


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Summer in the City

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
Summer in the city means
Cleavage cleavage cleavage
And I start to miss you, baby, sometimes
I’ve been staying up and drinking in late night establishments
Telling strangers personal things

Summer in the city
I’m so lonely lonely lonely
So I went to a protest just to rub up against strangers
And I did feel like coming but I also felt like crying
And it doesn’t seem so worth it right now

And the castrated ones stand on the corner smoking
They want to feel the bulges in their pants start to rise
At the site of a beautiful woman
They feel nothing but anger
Her skin makes them sick in the night
Nauseous nauseous nauseous

Summer in the city
I’m so lonely lonely lonely
I been hallucinating you, babe, at the backs of other women
And I tap them on the shoulder and they turn around smiling
But there’s no recognition in their eyes

Summer in the city means
Cleavage cleavage cleavage
And don’t get me wrong, dear
In general I think I’m doing quite fine
It’s just when it’s summer in the city
And you’re so long gone from this city
I start to miss you, baby, sometimes

When it’s summer in the city
And you’re so long gone from the city
I start to miss you, baby, sometimes


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Sunshine

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
Mr. Sunshine in the morning
in the morning light
won't you come down from the ceiling
won't you stay the night
baby won't you stay the night

In the summer I remember days so long and hot
These past weeks it has been raining
and now my song's a flood
baby now my song is a flood

You've been driving down that same road
road rage in your eyes
so won't you come down from the ceiling
won't you hear my cries
won't you hear my cries


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That Time

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope liner notes):
Hey remember the time when I found a human tooth down on Delancey
Hey remember that time we decided to kiss anywhere except the mouth
Hey remember that time when my favorite colors was pink and green
Hey remember that month when I only ate boxes of tangerines
So cheap and juicy!
Hey remember that time when I would only read Shakespeare
Hey remember that other time when I would only read the backs of cereal boxes
Hey remember that time I tried to save a pigeon with a broken wing
A street cat got him by morning and I had to bury pieces of his body in our building’s playground
I thought I was gonna be sick
Hey remember that time when I would only smoke Parliaments
Hey remember that time when I would only smoke Marlboros
Hey remember that time when I would only smoke Camels
Hey remember that time when I was broke
I didn’t care I'd just bum from my friends
Bum ba bum ba bum bum...
Hey remember that time when you OD’ed
Hey remember that other time when you OD’ed for the second time
Well in the waiting room while waiting for news of you
I hallucinated I could read your mind
And I was on a lot of shit too but what I saw, man,
I tell you it was freaky
Freaky


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Time Is All Around

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

You step on all my parts
and then you walk right out the door
and I know that your love ain't ever coming back no more
Time is all around
except inside my clock
Everybody's waiting for their lover to unlock

Leaves become most beautiful when they're about to die
when they're about to fall from trees
when they're about to dry up
Time is all around

I hallucinate a cat between my feet
I'm stepping lightly so as not to hurt it
Everybody wants to say that you have changed
Of course you've changed, you've changed, you've changed
your mind's been rearranged

What am I supposed to love if I don't want to love?
Why am I supposed to? I'm so tired
What am I supposed to love if I don't want to?
I don't want to…




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Two Birds

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
two birds on a wire
one tries to fly away
and the other
watches him close
from that wire
he says he wants to as well
but he is a liar

I'll believe it all
there's nothing I won't understand
I'll believe it all
I won't let go of your hand

two birds on a wire
one says, come on
and the other says, I'm tired
the sky is overcast
and I'm sorry
one more or one less
nobody's worried

I'll believe it all
there's nothing I won't understand
I'll believe it all
I won't let go of your hand

two birds of a feather
say that they're always
gonna stay together
but one's never going
to let go of that wire
he says that he will
but he's just a liar

two birds on a wire
one tries to fly away
and the other
watches him close
from that wire
he says he wants to as well
but he is a liar

two birds on a wire
one tries to fly away
and the other



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Uh-merica

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Begin to Hope Special Edition liner notes):
Mrs. E Roosevelt never heard me shoot my gun
Mrs. E Roosevelt didn't even knew I owned one
Somewhere betweeen the cobblestone floor and the slated wooden ceiling
Cuddling my semi-automatic, what a very fuzzy feeling
Oh...There's nothing like emptying a cartridge at the sun

Uh-merica

Oh we're born alone and then we're covered by m-m-m-mothers' kisses
The mind has already forgotten what the body still misses
Somewhere between the sticky floor and the cracks in the ceiling
Cuddling my semi-automatic, what a very fuzzy feeling
Oh...There's nothing like emptying a cartridge at the sun

Uh-merica

There's nothing like emptying a cartridge at the sun


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Uncle Bobby

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
some people's stories, they go nowhere at all
some people's songs are catchy but they don't touch the soul
but yours are like a feeding tube right through my ears
they fatten up my dreams and run through my bloodstreams

uncle bobby, uncle bobby
uncle bobby, I love you so
uncle bobby, I love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, you'll never know

I love you not like a husband to have and to hold
I love you not like a child to do as they're told
I love you not like a sculpture love her mold
I love you not like a masterpiece bought and sold

uncle bobby, I love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, I love you so
uncle bobby, I love you, love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, you'll never know

I know you're just a man of flesh
and a bit of sand and blood and cash
but I'm so glad you've been born
unto us, unto us

you leave me torn and lovelorn
you leave me crying, ready to mourn
you leave me waiting for that eternal storm
you leave me happy and reborn
you leave trying to break down doors
and waiting for more, waiting for more

uncle bobby, I love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, you'll never know
uncle bobby, I love you, love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, I love you so
uncle bobby, uncle bobby, I love you
uncle bobby, I love you so

not like a husband to have and to hold
not like a disciple who do what they're told
not like a masterpiece that's been bought and sold
not like the frontiers when love is gold
not like the icicle love the winter cold

uncle bobby, I love you, uncle
uncle bobby, I love you so
uncle bobby, I love you, love you, love you, uncle
uncle bobby, you'll never know
uncle bobby, uncle bobby, I love you
uncle bobby, I love you so
uncle bobby...you'll never know

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Us

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
They made a statue of us
and put it on a mountain top
now tourists come and stare at us
blow bubbles with their gum
take photographs have fun
have fun

they'll name a city after us
and later say it's all our fault
then they'll give us a talking to
then they'll give us a talking to
cause they've got years of experience

We're living in a den of thieves
rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
and it's contagious
and it's contagious

We wear our scarves just like a noose
but not cause we want eternal sleep
and though our parts are slightly used
new ones are slave labor you can keep

We're living in a den of thieves
rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
and it's contagious
and it's contagious
it's contagious
it's contagious

They made a statue of us
they made a statue of us
the tourists come and stare at us
the sculptor's mama sends regards
They made a statue of us
they made a statue of us
Our noses have begun to rust

We're living in a den of thieves rummaging for answers in the pages
We're living in a den of thieves
and it's contagious
and it's contagious
it's contagious, it's contagious
it's contagious
it's contagious
it's contagious
it's contagious

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The Virgin Queen

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
men who would shoot their
horses are the
same men who would
like to kiss your hand
(??)
men who shoot their
horses are the
same men who will
draw and shoot your friend
(??)

the virgin queen...

headless (mother?)
heartless (?)
ghosts of yes men past and future
in the bedroom you would suture
up that hole
where babies come from
england, oh, england
never forsake me
won't you take me to have and to hold
i may be a cruel, crude woman
but in the distance i hear shakespeare mumbling

whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
or to take arms against the sea of troubles...

england, england, never forsake me
won't you take me to have and to hold
i can hear the voices rising up

the virgin queen...

(??)
you try to rule
as best as you can
but the crown gets cold
(??)
on the distant shores new voices are rising...
(??)

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Headless mother
Heartless Father

March 16, 2009 3:39 PM  

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The Wallet

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
I found a wallet
I found a wallet
inside were pictures of your small family
you were so young
your hair dark brown
you had been born in nineteen fifty-three

your winter birthday
was stamped on the plastic
of a license so recently expired
I was so tired
as I walked through my door
I laid all the contents of your wallet on the floor

and like a holy relic
or a mystery novel
I thumbed them in the dim light
searching for a clue
a blockbuster card
an old stick of juicy fruit
a crumpled receipt
for a pair of leather boots

I have no wallet
I have no wallet
I keep my cards together with a blue rubber band
and with a free hand
I search in my pockets
for pieces of, pieces of paper and change

I'll take your wallet
to my local blockbuster
they'll find your number
in their computer
you'll never know me
I'll never know you
but you'll be so happy
when they call you up

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Wasteside

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (as originally posted by Regina on brümstix):
I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow
but its better than sleeping by the wasteside of today
all the barbershops and funeral-homes were open
and the customers were coming and the business was doing great

I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow
just dreaming dreams and drooling on my bed
all the people in my town would be born
then they'd get themselves a little hair cut
and then promptly after they'd be dead

I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow
when a drunk girl awoke me on the train
but I did not see her stumbling and I did not hear her mumbling
as I dubbed myself a passenger
and kindly stepped away

I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow I was sleeping
I was sleeping I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow
I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow of tomorrow
ladies and gentlemen
I was just sleeeeee-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow
but it's better than sleeping by the wasteside of today
all the barbershops and funeral-homes were open
and the customers were coming and the business
was
doing
great...

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"woolen gloves" (title unknown)

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):

come downstairs
I'll put flowers in your hair
won't you forgive me now?

somedays are like woolen gloves
you feel warm but you can't touch things properly
can't hold on to glass
can't hold on to rocks
can't hold on to love
while wearing woolen gloves

won't you forgive me now?

if I lived here I would swim every day
my skin would turn darker and I'd have babies and they'd drink all my milk
but I live in New York
with my woolen gloves
falling in and out
of my woolen gloves

won't you forgive me now?


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You

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (fan transcription):
never give up loving
unless you have to
never give up loving
unless you must
cause it will haunt you
in the future
will try to crawl into your bed at night

never leave your lover
unless he makes you
by being cold and
awful mean
even then you'll probably
always miss him
he will visit in your dreams

Names and dates and faces
places you were happy
I'll never fall
never fall like that again...

never give up loving
unless you have to
never leave your lover
unless you must
cause it will haunt your
empty heart forever
til your body turns to dust

I want you...

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Your Honor

Written by: regina spektor

Available Recordings: Click to view

Lyrics (from the Soviet Kitsch liner notes):
I kissed your lips and I tasted blood
I asked you what happened and you said there'd been a fight
You said I've been fighting for your honor but you wouldn't understand
I said hold on your honor I'll get ice for your hand

Oh you been fighting for my honor and I don't understand
but hold on your honor I'll get ice for your hand...

You said come on baby let's just make love it's the only thing to make me better
you said come on let's just get you out of that sweater
I said I don't kiss losers and I don't kiss winners
And I don't fight for honor cause we all are born sinners

Gargle with peroxide a steak for your eye
but I'm a vegetarian so it's a frozen pizza pie
You tell me that you care and you never do lie
and you fight for my honor but I just don't know why

Mary had a little lamb with fleece as white as snow
You've got me and I'm just a common 'ho
but I know what I am and I know what I ain't
so don't get cut cause I still won't be no saint

Gargle with peroxide a steak for your eye
but I'm a pizzatarian so it's a frozen pizza pie
You tell me that you love me and you never do lie
and you fight for my honor but I just don't know why
You fight for my honor and I don't understand
but hold on your honor I'll get ice for your hand...

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