The Worse Things Get, The Harder I

Neko Case The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Lyrics
1.Wild Creatures

When you catch the light you look like your mother
It crushes me some, just right from the side
When you catch the light, there's a flash of wild creatures
For the stone age of the preachers
And the husbands and the wives

When you catch the light the flood changes direction
And darkens the lens that projects by the skies
As you fly alongside you'll discover my weakness
I'm not fighting for your freedom
I am fighting to be wise

Hey little girl, would you like to be the king's pet or the
king?
I'd choose odorless and invisible, but otherwise, I would choose
the king
Even though it sounds the loneliest
And my brother's hands would poison me

Hey little girl, would you like to be the king's pet or the
king?
I'd choose odorless and invisible, but otherwise, I'd choose the
king
Even though it sounds the loneliest
There's no mother's hands to quiet me


2.Night Still Comes

My brain makes drugs to keep me slow,
A hilarious joke for some dead pharaoh.
But now, not even the masons know
What drug will keep night from coming.

There are so many tools that are made for my hands.
But the tide smashes all my best-laid plans to sand.
And there's always someone to say it's easy for me,
But I revenge myself all over myself.
There's nothing you can say to me.

You never held it at the right angle,
You never held it at the right angle,
Catch a, catch a, catch a, catch a falling star,
But wash your hands of it
Catch a, catch a, catch a, catch a falling star
Because you can't hold it.

Did they poison my food? Is it cause I'm a girl?
If I puked up some sonnets, would you call me a miracle?
I'm gonna go where my urge leads no more.
Swallowed, waist-deep, in the gore of the forest
A boreal feast, let it finish me, please.
Cause I revenge myself all over myself.
There's nothing you can do to me.

You never held it at the right angle,
You never held it at the right angle,
Catch a, catch a, catch a, catch a falling star,
But wash your hands of it
Catch a, catch a, catch a, catch a falling star
Because you can't own it.
You never held it at the right angle,
You never held it at the right angle.

You never held it,
You never held it,
You never held it, oh...
You never held it,
You never held it,
You never held it, oh...
You never held it,
You never held it,
You never held it, oh...


3.Man

I'm a man
That's what you raised me to be
I'm not an identity crisis
This was planned

I'm a man
There's innocence in all mankind
It's what kind of animal I am
It's that simple, oh

I'm a man
And not just casually
I pull the sparks fulltime
The tree house cannot support me

I'm not the runt of the litter
The fat finger bullies were no match for me
So taste them in my teeth
I'm a man

I'm a man's man
Always been
Make no mistake
I've invested in
A woman's heart
It's the watermark
Of which I measure
Everything

I'm a man
That's what you raised me to be
I'm not your identity crisis
This was planned

I'm a man
You'll have to deal with me
My proxy is mine
You'll deal with me directly

And if I'm dipshit drunk on the pink perfume
I am the man in the fucking moon
'Cause you didn't know what a man was
Until I showed you


4.I'm From Nowhere

Night sunshine
The ghetto bird chimes 4am
Welcome to the west
A mosquito to kiss your hands and feet
Welcome to this dirty business
I was surprised
When you called me a lady
'Cause I'm still not so sure that that's what I wanna be
'Cause I remember the 80s
And I remember its puffy sleeves
You say I'm lucky to be here
Then maybe you can take this over
And I'll gladly wear the pants into the next century
Past the scanners with ease

Past armies of them who once played in a band
And wasted it complaining like a trust fund kid
Paying you to play here while they hate you because of it
You say I'm lucky to be here
But I've been driving for 21 days

Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh

What's that nasty sound
The e brake drags the ground
God if you only knew
What my candied fist could do
The curtains closing in from all directions
Just answer my question

Perhaps it's best if I continue
Starring me as you
Me as you
Starring me as you
Me as you

There you are
At the edge of the world
Dangling with my heart a pounding
Above a gulf of hamstrung promises
You sang like Auld Lang Syne
You wanted it so badly that you believed them at the time
Every fashions flame, every jet plane lie
Every second helping of that offramp fame we die a little

You're right, I'm from nowhere
You're right, I'm from nowhere
You're right, I'm from nowhere
You're right


5.Bracing For Sunday

Drop my gloves into the stove
it's echoed out the grave
I fell in love with those electric lights that drug me into town
so late
clever, cunning lights
I reel behind them deputized
scrape the lens off Christian eyes
Friday night girl, bracing for Sunday to call

I only ever held one love
Her name was Mary Anne
She died her being a child by her brother
He died because I murdered him
Shot him though his jelly eye
I won myself his wicked life
Now I thread the needle once through mine
Friday night girl, bracing for Sunday to call

Emptied onto shifting sheets
Staring rosary holes in my ceiling
waiting for my purpose to deliver and reveal itself to me
But all I hear are subway trains bang again the bed right clang

I'm a Friday night girl, bracing for Sunday to call
Bracing for Sunday to call


6.Nearly Midnight, Honolulu

Hey, little kid that I saw at the bus stop one day
It was nearly midnight in Honolulu (Lulu)
We were waiting for the shuttle to take us to the aeroplane
When your mother said, your mother said
Like I couldn't hear her, she said,
'Get the fuck away from me!
Why don't you ever shut up?
Get the fuck away from me!'
Oh, oh

Well, I just want to say that it happened
'Cause one day when you ask yourself,
'Did it really happen?'
You won't believe it, but yes, it did
And I'm sorry
And I'm sorry
'Cause it happens everyday

They won't believe you
When you tell them
They won't believe you
When you say, 'My mother, she did not love me.
My mother, she did not love me'


Some days you feel like a cartoon
And people will rush to make excuses for you
You'll hear yourself complain
But don't you ever shut up please
Kid, have your say
'Cause I still love you
Even if I don't see you again


7.Calling Cards

Used a calling card at the pay phone from the other coast
Just to tell you how good it was to hear you in those songs you
wrote
Made me think there was something coming
Really something worth waiting for
'Blah blah blah blah blah blah'
They talk about, oh

Every doubt, on every truck stop, every heartbreak
I love you more
Looking like you just woke up from making songs
Shooting satellites that blew up the pay phones
Singing we'll all be together
Even when we're not together
With our arms around each other
With our faith still in each other
I've got calling cards from twenty years ago


8.City Swan

Baby, come out
I need you in the street!
At the place by the old far station
We'll get something to eat
Like we talked about!
Baby, come down,
It's been a while now!
Have so many things I can tell you
If my stubborn mouth doesn't let me down!

And I can't look at you straight on
You're made from something different and I know
Try to set the marching car
But the invade my thought
Without feeling
I need and I know!
You step onto that middle claim
Where it meets the dazzling sound of dreams
And I fade those dreams to run

Cause I can't look at you straight on
You're made from something different and I know!
You're made from something different and I know!
My eyes come home
I swear I never breathe because I'm startling the gravity
You're made from something different and I know!

When a little long
I see your gun is drawn
With the safety on,
You can't walk me back to my home town
Lucky it was home!
And I smell those you make
And petty dreams that leave me sleep in here in your arms
City swan!...
City swan!

I can't look at you straight on
You're made from something different and I know
And it breaks my heart
I look down and I realize
I've been sailing so long
I become the swan! Hmmm
City swans Hmmm
city swans!


9.Afraid

Cease to know or to tell or to see
Or to be your own
Cease to know or to tell or to see
Or to be your own
Have someone else's will as your own
Have someone else's will as your own
You are beautiful and you are alone
You are beautiful and you are alone

Often the adolescence plan reward your grace
Often the adolescence plan reward your grace
Confuse your hunger, capture the fade
Confuse your hunger, capture the fade
Banish the faceless rewatch your grace
Banish the faceless rewatch your grace


10.Local Girl

I pass the light that the young people make
How joyfully it's wasted
I feel the weight of the needle's repeat and sigh
Sang my weight in metric trash
Trip the light in Saturn's embrace
You'll give up some local girl while our lights
Our lights blot out her face

All of you lie about something
(You know you do, all of you, shame on you, all of you lie)
You're on a first-name basis
All of you lie about something
(You know you do, all of you, shame on you, all of you lie)
You're on a first-name basis

God damn the time
God damn the miles
And take me away from you
And change your face

And change the way I love you
And change the way I love you
And change the way I loved you
And change the way I loved you


11.Where Did I Leave That Fire

A chill ran through me
And I grabbed on tight
That was when I left my body for good
And I shook off all the strength I'd earned
I wanted so badly not to be me
I wanted so badly not to be me
I saw my shadow looking lost
Checking its pockets for some lost receipt
Where did I leave that fire
Where did I leave that fire

Will a stranger find it on a curb idling
Cold cough and the time zone just short of outer space
Six o'clock tomorrow a strange voice says to me
I do believe we have a fire lady
You can pick it up if you come down with ID
You can pick it up if you come down with ID


12.Ragtime

Last night late I was watching it snow
Always the sideways in the city
Comes right out form the streets light you know
Up...sideways in the city
Cover the shades and erase the day
This could be any evening any place
Visit blows from left to right
Which is funny cause the pianos play in summer time
Form 1925
It's actually ragtime

After the ways of its residue
It's laughter from the marbled room
White crown sounds impossible
Sound like it was me
It says don't you worry
Don't you worry kid we'll be seeing you
See you when you're ready

I'm turning up the sun and move
Gravity is soothing
Wines me I a sleep cocoon
Feel myself when I'm ready
I'll reveal myself invincible to

I love you so I miss my strength
I love you so I miss my strength
I love you so I miss my strength
I love you so I miss my strength


13.Madonna Of The Wasps


14.Magpie To The Morning

Magpie comes a-calling, drops a marble from the sky,
Tin roof sounds alarming, wake up child,
Let this be a warning, says the magpie to the morning,
Don't let this fading summer pass you by,
Don't let this fading summer pass you by,

Black hands held so high,
The vulture wheels and dives,
Something on the thermals yanked his chain,
He smelled your boring apex,
Rotting on the train tracks,
He laughed under his breath because you thought that you could
outrun sorrow,

Take your own advice,
This thundering and lightning gets you rain,
You run an airtight mission, a Cousteau expedition,
to find a diamond at the bottom of the drain,
A diamond at the bottom of the drain,

(Here I go)
Mockingbird sings in the middle of the night,
All his songs are stolen so he hides,
He stole them out from whiporwills,
And screaming car alarms,
He sings them for you special,
He knows you're afraid of the dark,

Come on, sorrow, take your own advice,
Hide under the bed, turn out the light,
Stars this night in the sky are ringing out,
You can almost hear them saying,
Close your eyes now kid,
Close your eyes now kid,
Morning's teeth are lit,
They are waiting,
Waiting,
They are waiting.


15.Yon Ferrets Return

Enjoy your time on the list, let us know that you'll be missed
(Now's your time)
'Cause people have a way of forgetting
'Cause people have a way of forgetting

Welcome home black feet
Come up from underneath (Now's your time)
Put some Al Green on the stereo (And now's your time)
(Your waiting's done)
The air smells clear, you are the new pioneers
Of the Kansas territory-o

Now's your time, and now's your time
(Your waiting's done)
Now's your time, and now's your time
(Your waiting's done)