Ruined Man (Brown)
I could have been a happy man,
but I was ruined by genius
I could have been a fisherman
or a double-nought spy
I could have set my chimney
in a green and pleasant land
and raised two-point-three children
with my hands
Understand that I've bound by genius
ever since the world began
I once was quite a baby, friend
Now I'm a ruined man
One time I ate my daily bread
and took one breath at a time oh
Oh then what chimera of dream
should make me punch at the sky?
Genius inventing fire
for the kindling of the world
and the dull and dead
just burn at its command
Understand that I have doused for fire
ever since the world began
I once dreamed like a baby, friend
Now I'm a ruined man
Once I beheld stairs to an ivory tower
My heart could not make the ascent
Not bestride an amplifier
like a pillow of cement
Understand my heart is still my pillow, friend,
now I'm a ruined man
Somewhere there is a shadow world
where my double builds rainbows
His every word pours out in streams
and women run to his side
He blows smoke from his fingers
and children point up to the stars
And grown men dream the sun's become their friend
Comprehend the stars have said I don't know
ever since the world began
My double pulls down moons for you,
but I'm a ruined man
Here they resell mystery in burial mounds
With lots marked Resigned or Content
But all my signs and wonder I made up as I went
Understand I howl in mortal wonder, friend,
now I'm a ruined man
I howl in mortal wonder, friend,
now I'm a ruined man
All songs © 2009 SHANGHAI LOVE MOTEL