Subject: Vic Chesnutt - About To Choke Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1999 13:48:47 +0100 From: "Gunnar Hedlund" To: Thanks Gunnar! @ARTIST: Chesnutt, Vic @ALBUM: About To Choke @SONG: Degenerate I am a rough ball of twine I have a duty to do I been tied to the table but now I am frazzled and aloof degenerate, disintegrate the tight knots degenerate, rot away the nooses degenerate, out come those tangles oh degenerate, oh degenerate acorn squash and a hearty rows of okra stand of sweet corn by the trickling creek winter dead that was buried 'neath the pole beans behold a sink-hole in the spring degenerate, washed by weather cycles degenerate, bleach the deadly night shades degenerate, prepare to take the profit oh degenerate, oh degenerate degenerate, disintegrate the tight knots degenerate, bleach the deadly night shades degenerate, out come those tangles oh degenerate, oh degenerate @SONG: Giant Sands do a little rope trick move around the mildew when you stopped to make a phonecall in the glitter of a landmark she said something about a blood clot and a bad wild peach that nappy little news flash takes the cut right out of your crease get it on demand like Tupperware shipped with sarcasm all is fair jog through giant sands till you're cleared then to leave the land unawares "at least it's not a leg-break" you laugh out loud and lonesome in your cabin cruiser on your cross-county trek your brain feels like a fiddle a brittle fragile vessel pull off onto the shoulder by the waterworks get it on demand like Tupperware shipped with sarcasm all is fair jog through giant sands till you're cleared then to leave the land unawares @SONG: Hot Seat Ventolin and Vivarin and primatene secret tequila shots and a patch of morphine in the morning and in the throes what a great day to come out of a coma I've been in the hot seat sweating it out oh, sweating it out sweating it out sweating it out I touch the telephone it falls away I think they call it empathy but not this way I put my lips on the sound hole my tongue is finally warming but my brain is charcoal I've been in the hot seat sweating it out oh, sweating it out sweating it out sweating it out not much later, fall out of favor pretty soon I know I'll do precisely what I wanted not to do maybe I slipped up and learned a lesson to work my proclivity towards second guessing I was too naive and enthusiastic to keep my trap shut and my monkey in a motherfuckin' basket I've been in the hot seat sweating it out oh, sweating it out sweating it out sweating it out @SONG: Ladle you file me with the libertines I fold in line my monthly dole of magazines beaming bistro shine in my ladle is your plum and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs of your cutesy falling crumbs I saw you at the snazzy din-din you made me sad that I watched I must say you truly packed 'em in nearly dearly debauched in my ladle is your plum and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs of your cutesy falling crumbs in my ladle is your plum and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs of your cutesy falling crumbs @SONG: Little Vacation like a little vacation like a little old song that I want to hear like a big libation like a flattering sentence whispered in my ear that's what I want every time I try what I'm trying for why don’t we have a little symposium where everybody takes the floor, yeah like a scenic vista like a long awaited chemical buzz like a far off twister like an unexpected pleasant run-in with the fuzz that's how I feel every time I feel like I want to feel so why don't we have a little council meeting and hash out something real, yeah Robert's rules of order will be, be observed I'll be the parliamentarian with an unswerving dedication like a little vacation like a little old song that I want to hear like a big libation like a flattering sentence whispered in my ear that's what I want every time I try what I'm trying for so why don't we have a little coucil meeting where everybody takes the floor Robert's rules of order will be, be observed yeah, I'll be the parliamentarian with an unswerving dedication, yeah @SONG: Myrtle a funny pilgrim on a crazy crusade a saucy chaucer, a sorry chapter mislaid whittled with an exacto knife plum right through my load bearing wall I'm horrified now that I could do such a thing but I thought I saw the singer I've heard those chimes so many other times but if I gave in, it had to of been I whupped it out, and destroyed my selfish cocoon since I gave in, it had to of been since I gave in, I hope it had to been I'm not an optimist, I'm not a realist I might be a subrealist, but I can't substantiate it was bigger than me and I felt like a sick child dragged by a donkey, through the myrtle @SONG: New Town new town reeks of lumber new town beat the crowds new town kittens discover that the birds scrape the ground and even the loneliest old ladies get social calls where they dine and talk about their savior and the grassroots effort to incorporate elects a smiling mayor new town Americana new town rookie police new town industries are wanted for the local employees and a little bitty baby draws a nice clean breath from over his beaming momma's shoulder he's staring at the worldly wonders that stretch just as far as he can see but he'll stop staring when he's older oh, new town new town new town and even the loneliest old ladies get social calls where they dine and talk about their savior and the grassroots effort to incorporate elects a smiling mayor new town new town new town ... @SONG: See You Around I'm sorry for my lack of communication but as I'm staring out this fifth floor window it seems like the least amount of communication the better oh, well what am I supposed to say "there's a bloody effigy on my wall and the complimentary carnation is falling apart" and I ain't got time for the niceties or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around I will see you around see you around see you around well I must admit I'm flattered by your consecration It's a mind-numbing spine-chilling but never-the-less heartwarming gesture but as you make your advances so clumsily I'll save us both the both the hassle and leave and hang out all night in the familiar fluorescent light of Dunkin' Donuts 'cause I ain't got time for the niceties or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around see you around see you around see you around well, how are you with issues lately you've been a half-assed activist you've been seen sashaying around the picket line wearing scarcely any sign oh, but always vocal in love and strife and the politics of your all important life well, I'm sorry but your routine is coming off a bit ragged and I ain't got time for the niceties or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around I'll see you around see you around ... I'll see you around ... @SONG: Swelters after the splice when the temperature's nice after the patch when everything's a match after the patch after the edit when it's had time to set when it's smooth then it's time to move when it is smooth go consult your elders look into the thatch any day that swelters there's still some shelter beneath the hatch go consult your elders look into the thatch any day that swelters there's still some shelter beneath the hatch after the cool when it's wound on the spool when it's spent you're rarely glad it went when it is spent @SONG: Tarragon suckin on a toothpick soaked with cinnamon the boys in the backroom played on Anonymous Adonis he's the one you want the boys in the backroom played on not beholden to know afterwards not beholden to the afterwards not beholden to the afterwards not beholden to the afterwards saw him at the market buying tarragon the boys in the backroom played on clinch for a moment then you wander home the boys in the backroom played on @SONG: Threads your personal pariah is in a wool cap the mirror flakes away take a long nap watching the threads disintegrate like the Krishna beads in a lockbox safe watching the threads disintegrate like the Krishna beads in a lockbox safe watching the threads disintegrate crumbling like the lawn art you made oh, lawn art you made oh, lawn art you made oh, lawn art you made I was crumbling like the lawn art that you made hard brown bread cut with a circular saw shallow rattling breath with a wee cough watching the threads disintegrate foisted into the middle ages watching the threads disintegrate foisted into the middle ages watching the threads disintegrate remain in the ruckus and you will get scraped oh, you will get scraped oh, you will get scraped oh, you will get scraped if you remain in the ruckus and you will get scraped