The Road To Panama
The Road To Panama
I get the window on the way back
‘Cause you got the front and I got
Smack, dab, in the middle of
Someone says something nobody laughs
‘Cause it’s three am and they’re mostly half asleep
On the road to Panama
I’m on the freeway for real this time
The smell of the wind, the dust in my eyes
Leaves me delirious
Drunk on the flavour of the night
The stars are out and I know that I’m alive
On the road to Panama
Wake with the sun in my eyes
Guess I forgot to close the blinds
Or then again maybe this is not a dream this time
I’ve got it down I’m rehearsed
Even if worse comes to worse
I’ll never budge from the center of the universe
You take the window on your way back
‘Cause I got the front and I am smack, dab
On the road to Panama
Offer Up
Offer me a part I’ll play myself
You ain’t going to need nobody else
Offer up your violins
I will dance and I will sing
Won’t you raise a glass up to my health?
I might be the best thing you’ve ever had
I will turn your daydreams into fact
Offer up a conversation
I accept your invitation
Really feel a need for being bad
What you’ve got has got me going wild
You come off as some kind of mystical child
Offer up your energy
Lay your body over me
I’d really like to stay like this awhile
Offer what you’ve got in store
I taste your tongue now I want more
I’d really like to thank you for my smile
I’d really like to thank you for my smile
I’d really like to thank you for my smile
Bad For The Soul
Look at where you’re ending up
Rattling your own tin cup on the street
Crying about the sons you lost
When you never even gave a toss about keeping the peace
It’s bad for the soul
Everyone knows
Now you’re on the radio
Shouting on a late night show with an angry host
You wonder how you got caught up into something
Far from what you need the most
It’s bad for the soul
Everyone knows
Oh you act like the heroes you know that you’re not
So your hands will come clean of the bodies you bought
By giving up all the control of your thought
To the ones who want the show to go on
To the ones who want it all to go on and on and on and on…
It’s bad for the soul
Everyone knows
Everyone knows
It’s bad for the soul
Standing Up For Life
Everyday it’s the same same same
I take my place in the long parade
I put my wheels in the grooves that got made
From every year they’ve been rolling
And every hour of the day day day
I’m working for the big escape
I don’t know how far away we are from being golden
But I like it
But I like it anyway
And every mouse in this maze maze maze
Is having doubts on the deals they made
They’re desperately trying to find a way
To get back what’s been stolen
And I don’t have the remedy
I’m still working on a philosophy
But I know there will always be
Some things that are worth holding
And I like it
And I like it
And I like it anyway
And I’m standing up for life
‘Cause I know it isn’t right
To settle on sick and tired
I’m standing up for life
I know it won’t come twice
And I am not the type to mess up being inspired
‘Cause every night when I’m drained drained drained
And I get home to your arms again
It’s worth it just to hear you say
I missed you so much darling
And I like it
And I like it
And I like it
And I like it anyway.
Sooner Or Later
Sooner or later I’ll be leaving
Sooner or later I must go
And from the signs that I’ve been reading
You’ve been busy digging holes
Sooner or later comes the season
A man is forced to face his ghost
And he must fight that voice of treason
That likes to preach and shout and gloat
You failed to make your mark
You failed to make your mark
Well I’ve been here before
In the not too distant past
Well I’ve been here before
I thought I kicked your ass
Well I’ve been here before
I’ve been here before
Sooner of later you’ll be grieving
When what could have been is what was
And all your spinning and your weaving
Has twisted you away from love
You failed to make your mark
You failed to make your mark
You failed to make your mark
You failed to stop and start
You failed to notice it was all coming apart
Well I’ve been here before
In the not too distant past
Well I’ve been here before
I thought I kicked your ass
Well I’ve been here before
I’ve been here before
Sooner or later I’ll be leaving
Sooner or later I must go
A Song For Jane
Come on fellas would you try to explain
What’s the intention behind what the words mean?
And why do your stories always end the same?
Come on fellas you’re free of your chains
But your gangster glory won’t let anything change
You made your millions but your hands are stained
So how about a song for Jane?
Arms aren’t twisted, choices are made
Now you’re the singer up on the stage
And every listener is feeling your rage
So how about a song for Jane?
The day after Christmas voices are raised
Who let the killers out of the cage?
It’s gangs it’s guns it’s cops
It’s black white and grey
It’s nothing different just how the game’s played
Take a position then hand out the blame
But don’t forget that she had a name
So how about a song for Jane?
Let’s sing a song for Jane
Woman
Woman it’s never gonna be enough
And I wonder why I can’t stop
Trying to get you to see the stuff
You’d think by now I’d know you’re not
Woman it’s starting to get too rough
And I can’t afford this kind of love
It’s not like time is something there’s plenty of
And woman I ain’t exactly young
You made your mind to get love
You know you need enough of
What’s going to get you to happy
You see the path that lights up
And every notch that makes up
What’s going to happen to me
But it’s not what I see
Woman they’re flying flags at half mast
For the vanished and broken
And I wonder if you’d be proud at that
If it was me who was one of them
You said in life you trade up
You flash you crash you work up
To the sound and the fury
All your dreams are made dust
And every lash is what must
Be what happens to me
But it’s not what I see
Woman it’s never going to be enough
Volunteer
I’ve been eight months in-country
Can’t believe that I am still here
Missed home for my birthday
Oh well maybe I’ll make it next year
And it’s not just the sand in my eyes that makes them dry
But I can’t show any fear
I’m a volunteer
They had so many reasons
Now they don’t seem to be very clear
And high-minded opinions from civilians
Who’ll never get near
But it’s not just their tricks and lies and money ties
That make a soldier appear
I’m a volunteer
Now I’m finding out what this thing is all about
Not for freedom, god or changing things
Not for heroes, girls or earning wings
Not for bugles, duty, flags or kings
Not for right at all
Not for right at all
I’m Always Dreaming
Maybe some other reason
Maybe some other sign
Could make me believe in
Giving up on this life
But the same situation won’t change my mind
Maybe some other feeling
Maybe some new design
Could get me to weaken
Let the whole thing unwind
But even in tattered
And crumpled up pride
There’s more than a glimmer left in these eyes
‘Cause I’m always dreaming about reaching the line
The worries are leaving
Those blessings arrive
I’m always dreaming of that sweet special time
When the tires stop squealing on this crazy ride
And I’ve got the power to stay in the light
Kick back at the darkness
Keep dawn in my sight
‘Cause I’m always dreaming about reaching the line
The worries are leaving
Those blessings arrive
I’m always dreaming of that sweet special time
When the tires stop squealing on this crazy ride
The tires stop squealing on this crazy ride
On this crazy ride
On this crazy ride
The tires stop squealing on this crazy ride
Credits
All songs by Ken Dirschl
Mixed by Michael Phillip Wojewoda
Photography Steve Moretti
Design by Antoine Moonen
Mastered by Jeff Elliot (aka Fedge)
Recorded in Toronto at: Box Office Poison, Lincoln County Social Club & Burlington Street
Ken Dirschl: vocals, guitars, bass, piano
Michael Wojewoda: drums, tambourine, bass on ‘Sooner or Later’, synth on ‘Panama’ & ‘Woman’
Chris Stringer: bass on ‘Panama’ & ‘Offer Up’
Braxton Hicks: Saxophone on ‘Sooner or Later’
Plan For Conquest
Sister Love
Oh the burden that she carries walking to the store
With those blessings in her pocket worth their weight in gold
All the beggars on the corner watch her as she comes
They know that they’re the chosen few who get her love
Oh I wish that I was one.
Sometimes it’s so confusing living with all this noise
And it gets so hard to see the path that brings you joy
Crazy things crazy people
Falling down from the stars
And I just try to be the best I’m capable of
Oh I wish she’d say I was.
I will beg for thee lay prostrate for thee
Come on Sister Love
Hold me pray for me make it safe for me
Come on Sister Love
Oh heart breaking slowly all the way down the block
I’m standing in her shadow
And walking in her walk
If she turned I’d be frozen I couldn’t even talk
But I’d find a way to make her smile
I’d give it my best shot
Oh I wish, I wish she’d stop.
I won’t stray from thee I will wait for thee
So long Sister Love
Hold me pray for me make it safe for me
So long Sister Love
Garden Of Earthly Delight
Every time I open my eyes I’m struck deaf, dumb and blind
Every time I climb up that mountain I come crawling down again
But every time I see your eyes I know I’ll be alright
‘Cause you’re paradise, a garden of earthly delight.
Every time I trade in my soul I get lead for gold
Every time I let love come first I get burned and burned
But every time I see your eyes I know I’ll be alright
‘Cause you’re paradise, a garden of earthly delight.
Someday maybe we’ll be facing off
‘Til then baby you’re all I have got
Now the stage is set for the world, my battle flag’s unfurled
When you’re standing in my wings I can take on anything
And every time I see your eyes I know I’ll be alright
‘Cause you’re paradise, a garden of earthly delight.
Every time I see your face I know I’ll be okay
‘Cause you’re a desert beach and I’m a castaway
Every time I get those blues she fixes up my attitude
And breaks my mood and blows those fears away
Every time I see your eyes I know I’ll be alright
‘Cause you’re paradise, a garden of earthly delight.
You Don’t Have A Clue
They told me you had called
The note was on the wall
Left me with a choice.
Yeah I’m doing okay
Getting through the days
It’s nice to hear your voice.
No I wasn’t sleeping
I just lie awake
Staring into space.
If I’m not too busy
I could find the time
Yes that would be fine.
And you don’t even know who I am no more
You don’t have a clue.
You don’t even see what you are to me
And what I would do for you.
I meet you in a bar
Ask you how you are
Say how good you look.
We go to a film
The plot was kind of thin
Nothing like the book.
I guess I should be going
It’s getting kind of late
Tomorrow’s a big day.
I walk you to the street
You kiss me on the cheek
Get in a cab and wave.
And you don’t even know who I am no more
You don’t have a clue.
You don’t even see what you are to me
And what I would do for you.
Some Men
Some men like to haggle
Some men like to crawl
Some men like to feel the weight of their back against the wall.
Some men like the battle
Some men like the win
Some men like to roll with the punches and take it on the chin.
Some men get you laughing
Some men keep you on your toes
But I don’t give it nothing ’cause there’s one thing that I know
I will still be standing when you’re done with all of those.
Some men read the Bible
Some men watch the News
Some men get their kicks out of the Saturday cartoons.
Some men bring you diamonds
Some men drive fast cars
Some men wish you were a supermodel or a porno movie star.
Some men make a fortune
Some men don’t know where it goes
But that is not important ’cause there’s one thing that I know
I will still be standing when you’re done with all of those.
As a matter of fact I’m fine
I’d kind of like to take my time.
Some men want good service
Some men do as they’re told
But that don’t make me nervous ’cause there’s one thing that I know.
I will still be standing when you’re done with all of those.
I will still be standing when you’re done with all of those.
I will still be standing when you’re done with all of those.
Plan For Conquest
Was it totally dark the night you went over
Or could you see stars?
Would you call it a nudge or did it bite harder
More of a shove?
Did you hear something crack
Like ice in the river
Or the kinks in your back?
Are you totally bored of questions who’s answers
You can’t afford?
I want to see with my eyes where
the killing was
My mind what the killer does inside
Before I give up my life for the killer’s love
I’ll fight for a glimmer of the design
When he makes a plan
Makes a plan for conquest
There’s a shock in the ground travelling faster
Than the speed of sound
So when you hear the roar there’ll be nothing but chasms
Where once there were floors
I want to see with my eyes where the killing was
My mind what the killer does inside
Before I give up my life for the killer’s love
I’ll fight for a glimmer of the design / When he makes a plan
Makes a plan for conquest
And with such a strong start it’s hard to believe it could all fall apart.
I want to see with my eyes where the killing was
My mind what the killer does inside
Before I give up my life for the killer’s love
I’ll fight for a glimmer of the design
When he makes a plan
Makes a plan for conquest
The One And Only Girl
I didn’t know she’d act like that
Took all my love and handed it back
Felt like my world was getting too cold
And this is the story that she told:
“I am the fruit that grows on a vine
Drops in your hand when it’s time
I am the lost labour of love
I am a god in my kingdom of one”
I guess you could say I was confused
I tried to make all the right moves
Everything felt like it was in vain
I’d ask her what’s wrong she’d smile and say:
“I am a cloud that drifts in the sky
Carries the seed of a brand new life
I am the star that anchors your world
I am the one and only girl”
It’s always the same in the end
It’s not what you did, it’s what you said
But an empty house on a dead-end street
Still ain’t a home to me.
We took some shots in a photo booth
It’s funny it never looks like you
Guess that’s the face everyone sees
But she never looked that way to me
“I am the fruit that grows on a vine
Drops in your hand when it’s time
I am the lost labour of love
I am a god in my kingdom of one
I am a cloud that drifts in the sky
Carries the seed of a brand new life
I am the star that anchors your world
I am the one and only girl”
One Night With The Irish
She was born in the city to die in a slum
Of bathtub Madonnas and porcelain guns
Left behind land of whom you are a daughter
But you wear their disease like a
badge of honour.
God in heaven what have I done?
Drank halfway to Jesus and I started to run
Mother Mercy where have I been?
One night with the Irish and I’m in love again.
I danced to your corner, we talked about art
You had that distracted, bored kind of want
We drank all their liquor, the best that they had
Necked all the way home in the back of the cab.
God in heaven what have I done?
Drank halfway to Jesus and I started to run.
Mother Mercy where have I been?
One night with the Irish and I’m in love again.
Those old insurrections, the body of lies
The wickedest words for the thorn in your side
And I am caught under the spell of your eyes.
I drank from your bottle, shared your last smoke
We talked revolution, justice and hope.
I laid my soul bare on the floor of your kitchen
And I swear by the morning I’ll kick the addiction.
God in heaven what have I done?
Drank halfway to Jesus and I started to run.
Mother mercy where have I been?
One night with the Irish and I’m in love again.
One night with the Irish and I’m in trouble again.
Fade Into Black
I hear the warning “don’t look back”
But all your rules are such a drag
I see my love in a photograph
How did it all end up so bad?
I’m going to make up all I lack
So why are you always on my back?
I’m riding out on the right track
And I won’t be the one who fades into black.
I hold my life in a paper cup
And I want the world to fill it up
But all these gains are not enough
If I don’t get my dose of love.
I’m going to make up all I lack
So why are you always on my back?
I’m riding out on the right track
And I won’t be the one who fades into black.
Siamese Twins
I marched up to Boston my brother he stayed South
Heard “state before the Union” come out of his mouth
Not ’till after Appomattox before we found out
It was Siamese twins after all.
Brother I am lonely dying in the sun
Shot down in a cornfield no help from anyone
There ain’t no kind of love that can fix what’s come undone
It was Siamese twins after all.
All for nothing
All for wrong
All the flags and all the songs
Pulled the farm boy from the farm
Made him strong / Gave him arms.
And the priests sang ‘Hallelujah’
With the rogues and fools that screwed ya
Into giving the better part Of your heart.
Brother bury me with my gun against my breast
Let me hear the bugles before I take my rest
They need us to do the dying
We need them to not forget
That we’re Siamese twins after all.
Glory
Now gather ’round lads I’ve got something to say
I’ll tell you an old fashioned story
Of how we were cut off on three sides that day
When they broke through the West without warning
They were ten thousand strong to our hundred and three
Not a man thought he’d live to see morning
But we straightened our lines
We planted our feet
And we sent all them bastards to glory
You believe in your numbers
You believe in your steel
You believe in the armour you’re forming
Make God of your science
Make God of your fear
And make devils of the people you’re storming
Then a challenge is issued in the form of a word
That leaves all of your reasoning blurry
A man made a whisper, a man made a scourge
And he sent all them bastards to glory
Save prayer for when all the ammo is done
There’s no need ’till then for your worry
Think of the places you’ve already been
Did you know then that here’s where you’d be?
I know it looks hopeless
I know it looks grim
And you have the right to ignore me
But I’ve had my fair share of battles and lived
To tell you that it’s more than just lucky
And there is a whisper and there is a word
That gives one man the strength of an army
So we’ll straighten our lines
We’ll cough up our courage
And we’ll send all them bastards to glory
Farther And Faster
Like the way she always got me to move the couch
She couldn’t make the leap she couldn’t think it out
It wasn’t gonna fit there wasn’t any doubt.
Now we’re settled up like strangers on a dead-end street
I turned my back on her she took a shot at me
I guess she’s happiest living in that misery
I didn’t mean to mess with the good things I got
Sometimes the pedal sticks and the gears get locked
And I go farther and faster than I ever thought I could.
So I swore them off but the telephone rings
She’s got a pretty smile
She’s got everything
She says the water’s fine but I can’t jump in
I didn’t mean to piss on the roses I got
Sometimes the body sticks and the brain gets locked
And I go farther and faster than I ever thought I could.
It’s not a question of an act I’m playing at
It’s not some convoluted risk-aversion tact
You got the means you’ve got to break the chains
Between all their fictions and all your dreams
All their systems and all you need
There going to creep into your..
There going to tell you what your life has got to mean
So I turn my back on that world of doubt
And I get my strength from the inside out
Sometimes a whisper is louder than a shout
I didn’t mean to sniff at the poses I got
Can’t stand that Hollywood shit and that DJ talkSometimes them hinges stick and those doors get locked
And I go farther and faster than I ever thought I could.
Yeah I go farther and faster than I ever thought I could.
For Reasons Unexplained
Rushing in and taking sides only makes it harder
When its time to end and say goodbye
With all that pride and honour.
One man broken one man down
All eyes are on her
And it’s hard to win when you play that game
But I feel like I’ve been pushed aside for reasons unexplained.
Russian winter’s cold embrace only makes you stronger
Like the faded steps of the Grand Armee
Or the bones of German soldiers.
One man’s fortune is one man’s pain
All eyes are on her
And it’s hard to live when you play that game
But I feel like I’ve been swept aside for reasons unexplained.
A god that gives and then takes away only makes it harder
And when her five day heart couldn’t take the strain
Well I feel like I’ve been kept aside for reasons unexplained
Credits
Ken Dirschl: vocals, guitar, bass (except ‘Clue’), piano, harmonica, mandolin, percussion, cello synth in ‘Girl’.
Michael Phillip Wojewoda: drums, backup vocals in ‘Plan’, bass and glass guitar in ‘Clue’, keys in ‘Garden’, ‘Some Men’ and ‘Fade’, violin synth in ‘Girl’, tambourine.
Natasha Kinne: backup vocals in ‘Girl’ and ‘Unexplained’.
Dwayne Lau: bass bridge in ‘Glory’.
Produced by Ken Dirschl
Mixed by Michael Phillip Wojewoda
Mastered by Fedge at Reaction Studios, Toronto
Design and Photography by Antoine Moonen
