Ani DiFranco

[fox69]

"Oh My My"

"Oh My My"



your body
forshortened below your shoulders
your face so close it's out of focus
way down the hallway
comes the sound of your shoes
this is when I think about when I think about you

if we let our love off of it's leash
do you fear like I fear how fierce it would be?

your headlights sweepin'
across my ceiling
the breath of my smile
the depth of my feeling
way down in my dark light of shadows
your life with sharp things that glow
this is what I think about when I think about you

if we let our love off of its leash
do you fear like I fear how fierce it would be?

oh my my
oh my my
oh my my
oh my my
oh my my
oh my my
oh my my
oh my my

 

[fox69]

"Old Old Song"

"Old Old Song"




i'll sing you a song that starts out descriptive
and locates a time and a place
like a dinner table where a whole family
is just sitting down to say grace
an old old song that moves into action
taking its sweet sweet time
and waits until we all say amen
again and again in rhyme

it's the story of a father and a mother
who battle each other over nothin'
with a couple of kids trying to figure
which way the plot's spinning
who's winning and who is bluffing

it's a story as common as a penny, son
it ain't really worth anything to anyone

poor little sore little song
that aches like a muscle each time that it moves
sad little song that you play
and you play and you play
and you play 'til you lose
while history is outside writing a recipe book
for every earthly pain
this song is inside finger painting dark swirls
again and again and they all look the same

cuz what if you come home from school one day
and you find your whole family's at war
and there's this ominous silence just waiting to be broken
and there's secret places for hiding underneath the floorboards
and everyone seems to be bracing
for the subharmonic thunder of the next bomb
and everyone seems to be waiting for the cops to bust in
with their guns drawn
at the bleak light of dawn

it's a story as common as a penny, son
i don't think it's worth anything to anyone

 

[fox69]

"On Every Corner"

"On Every Corner"



death
has been your lover
he has brought you
the edges of your life
and now you are looking over
and all we can say is
it's gonna be all right
and I am looking forward
to looking back on these days
when on every corner
someone holds a sign
that says I'm homeless
I'm hungry and
I have AIDS

how will they define our generation
in the coming decades
who will tell the story
and what will they say?
will they say the victims
were thought of as criminals
while the guilty sat on high
deciding their fate
ticking off statistics in their spare time
tell me,
which is the crime?

may you never test positive
pregnancy
HIV
may you never be the receptacle of blame
may you never be the scapegoat
for a whole
world full of shame
may you never be fighting for your life
and at the same time
have to fight for your name

there are too few who open both eyes
we sit back in our easy chairs
and we try to sympathize
whether from the point of a needle or
the edge of our beds
we too, like too many others,
could be dead
our actions
will define us
before a single definition can be said
yeah, so what if god is testing us
what if that's true
what are you going to do
what is the answer
to you

 

[fox69]

"Origami"

"Origami"




I am an all powerful amazon warrior
Not just some sniveling girl
So no matter what I think I need
You know I can't possibly
Have a need in this world

Come and come for that sweet sweetness
I'll be your never ending vending machine
I could never need to be alone
Never need to be my own
As much as you need your queen

I know men are delicate
Origami creatures
Who need women to unfold them
Hold them when they cry
But I am tired of being your savior
And I am tired of telling you why

And since when did this me me me
Become the be all and end all of me
Oh listen to you talk to me
Long time love has got to breathe, babe
You got to let it ebb and flow
If you want a ball to bounce
You gotta let it go
Just let it go

I know men are delicate
Origami creatures
Who need women to unfold them
Hold them when they cry
But I am tired of being your savior
And I am tired of telling you why

 

[fox69]

"Out Of Habit"

"Out Of Habit"



the butter melts out of habit
the toast isn't even warm
the waitress and the man in the plaid shirt
play out a scene they've played
so many times before
I am watching the sun stumble home in the morning
from a bar on the east side of town
and the coffee is just water dressed in brown
beautiful but boring
he visited me yesterday
he noticed my fingers
and asked me if I would play
I didn't really care a lot
but I couldn't think of a reason why not
I said if you don't come any closer I don't mind if you stay
my thighs have been involved in many accidents
and now I can't get insured
and I don't need to be lured by you
my cunt is built like a wound that won't heal
and now you don't have to ask
because you know how I feel
you know how I feel

art is why I get up in the morning
but my definition ends there
and it doesn't seem fair
that I'm living for something I can't even define
there you are right there
in the meantime

I don't want to play for you anymore
show me what you can do
tell me what are you here for
I want my old friends
I want my old face
I want my old mind
fuck this time and place

the butter melts out of habit
you know, the toast isn't even warm

 

[fox69]

"Out Of Range"

"Out Of Range"



just the thought
of our bed
makes me crumble like the plaster
where you punched the wall beside my bed
and I try
to draw the line
but it ends up running down the middle of me
most of the time

boys get locked up in some prison
girls get locked up in some house
and it don't matter if it's a warden
or a lover
or a spouse
you just can't talk to 'em
you just can't reason
you just can't leave
and you just can't please 'em

I was locked
into being my mother's daughter
I was just eating bread and water
thinking
nothing ever changes
and I was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive out of range

If you're not angry
you're just stupid
or you don't care
how else can you react
when you know
something's so unfair
the men of the hour
can kill half the world in war
make them slaves to a super power
and let them die poor

I was locked
into being my mother's daughter
I was just eating bread and water
thinking
nothing ever changes
and I was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive out of range

just the thought
of our bed
makes me crumble like the plaster
where you punched the wall beside my bed
and I try
to draw the line
but it ends up running down the middle of me
most of the time

baby I love you
that's why I'm leaving
there's no talking to you
and there's no pleasing you
and I care enough
that I'm mad
that half the world don't even know
what they could have had

I was locked
into being my mother's daughter
I was just eating bread and water
thinking
nothing ever changes
and I was shocked
to see the mistakes of each generation
will just fade like a radio station
if you drive out of range

 

[fox69]

"Outta Me, Onto You"

"Outta Me, Onto You"



no no no no no no no no no no no no
no more
no no no no no no no no no no no no
no more
no no no
no more

it's gonna be sudden
it's gonna be strange
i'm gonna turn on a dime
give you five cents change
it's gonna be long
overdue
it's all gonna come out
outta me, on to you

outta me, onto you...

one of these days
you're gonna push too hard
we'll go on like we've always done
'til you go too far
yeah one of these days
it's gonna reach the top
then it's gonna start to spill
and it's not gonna
stop

outta me, onto you...

no more...

some people wear their smile
like a disguise
those people who smile a lot
watch the eyes
i know it 'cuz i'm like that a lot
you think everything's okay
and it is
'til it's not

outta me, onto you...

no more

some people wear their heart
up on their sleeve
i wear mine underneath my right pant leg
strapped to my boot
don't think cause i'm easy, i'm naive
don't think i won't pull it out
don't think i won't shoot

outta me, onto you...

most people like to talk a lot
including you
you know there isn't much i have to say
that i wouldn't rather
just shut up and do
i'm gonna miss you
when you're gone
yeah i'm gonna be torn
just remember that i love you
just remember you were warned

outta me, onto you...

no more...
no more

 

[fox69]

"Overlap"

"Overlap"



I search your profile
for a translation
I study the conversation
like a map
'cause I know there is strength
in the differences between us
and I know there is comfort
where we overlap

come here
stand in front of the light
stand still
so I can see your sillouette
I hope
you have got all night
'cause I'm not done looking,
no, I'm not done looking yet

each one of us
wants a piece of the action
you can hear it in what we say
you can see it in what we do
we negotiate with chaos
for some sense of satisfaction
if you won't give it to me
at least give me a better view

come here
stand in front of the light
stand still
so I can see your sillouette
I hope
you have got all night
'cause I'm not done looking
no,
I'm not done looking yet

I build each one of my songs
out of glass
so you can see me inside of them
I suppose
or you could just leave the image of me
in the backround, I guess
and watch your own reflection superimposed

I build each one of my days out of hope
and I give that hope your name
and I don't know you that well
but it don't take much to tell
either you don't have the balls
or you don't feel the same

come here
stand in front of the light
stand still
so I can see your sillouette
I hope
you have got all night
'cause I'm not done looking
no, I'm not done looking yet

I seach your profile for a translation
I study the conversation like a map
'cause I know there is strength
in the differences between us
and I know there is comfort
where we overlap

 

[fox69]

"Pale Purple"

"Pale Purple"



pale purple nipples
goose pimpled
she shivers shifts from a walk to a trot
alone in the city
infested with faces
immune to new friendships
interested in places she's never seen
she says everything is grey here
and nothing is green
the girls from down the street
sixteen, seventeen years old
you can smell them getting pregnant
you can hear their rock and roll
that's america
you have to be tough
like a glad trash bag
the government's an old nag
with a good pedigree
but pedigree's don't help you and me
I see the precedent is grey here
and nothing is green
unless something unforseen happens
I'm surrounded by the haves
they say I can have some too
just because of what I do
do they think a lot
about those who have not
or does it just distract them
from what they do
most of us have grey
except for those who can pay
for green
I'm torn
I'm torn
rejecting outfits offered me
regretting things I've worn
when I was still playing roles
to fill holes
in my conception of who I am
you know, now I understand
it's not important to be defined
it's only important to use your time well
well time is something nobody can buy
and nobody can sell you
so don't let anybody tell you
they have the advantage
because all the grey people can say every day
doesn't mean anything
if your mind is green

pale purple nipples
goose pimpled
she shivers shifts from a walk to a trot
alone in the city
infested with faces
immune to new friendships
interested in places she's never seen
she says everything is grey here
otherwise I'd stay here
but I'm looking for green
just like every human being

 

[fox69]

"Paradigm"

"Paradigm"



I was born to two immigrants
Who knew why they were here
They were happy to pay taxes
For the schools and roads
Happy to be here
They took it seriously
The second job of citizenry
My mother went campaigning door to door
And holding to her hand was me

I was just a girl in a room full of women
Licking stamps and laughing
I remember the feeling of community brewing
Of democracy happening

But I suppose like anybody
I had to teach myself to see
All that stuff that got lost
On its way to church
All that stuff that got lost
On its way to school
All that stuff that got lost
On its way to the house of my family
All that stuff that was not lost on me

Teach myself to see each of us
Through the lens of forgiveness
Like we're stuck with each other (god forbid!)
Teach myself to smile and stop and talk
To a whole other color kid
Teach myself to be new in an instant
Like the truth is accessible at any time
Teach myself it's never really one or the other
There's a paradox in every paradigm

I was just a girl in a room full of women
Licking stamps and laughing
I remember the feeling of community brewing
Of democracy happening