They Might Be Giants

[fox69]

"Can't Keep Johnny Down"

"Can't Keep Johnny Down"


Outnumbered a million to one
All of the dicks in this dick town
Can't keep Johnny down
Men piled up in a towering mound
None of them once has found a way
To keep Johnny down

Spending days by myself
Remembering slights
I'm not a monument to justice
Plus which I don't forget a face

And they can't (down, down, down)
Can't keep Johnny down (down, down, down)
They haven't yet built the man (down, down, down)
That'll keep old Johnny down (down, down, down)

Some dude
Hitting golf balls on the moon
Bathroom in his pants
And he thinks he's better than me
I'm pointing a finger at my own face
They can't know what's in here
And they can't keep Johnny down

Beneath my dignity
To flip off the guy
When he pulls up alongside
To say my gas cap is unscrewed

And they can't (down, down, down)
Can't keep Johnny down (down, down, down)
They haven't yet built the man (down, down, down)
That'll keep old Johnny down (down, down, down)

And they don't (down, down, down)
Don't know what I've seen (down, down, down)
They can't know what's in here (down, down, down)
And they can't keep Johnny down (down, down, down)

 

[fox69]

"Canajoharie"

"Canajoharie"


Through the overgrowth
Of the underbrush
Shone a fossil tooth
That I must have dropped
Very long ago
Which reminded me
How we wound up where we are now

Right through those trees
I'm not insane
That's where we came
Into this place
And if you squint
If you squint your brain
I'll get my paints
And I'll try to paint

Canajoharie
Canajoharie
Where a frog flipper first evolved on the day
When a daring mudskipper dragged itself away

Out of Canajoharie
Canajoharie
Call me sentimental
But I want to go back
And commemorate the place
With a historical plaque

It's as if a fin
Reaching from the swamp
Grabbed me by my arm
Tried to pull me in
But my arm was strong
And the fin was an
Inaccurately reconstructed fake

It was right through those trees
I'm not insane
That's where the fin
Tried to drag me in
Don't look at me
Look at where I'm pointing
Close your eyes
See what I see

Canajoharie
Canajoharie
I get the creeping feeling
All my old friends are gone
And that this baby tooth
No longer fits in my skull

If you can draw
It in the air
Or write it down
Then you weren't there
What's gone is mute
Someone changed the truth
They swapped the proof
And there's nothing left of

Canajoharie
Canajoharie
Where a frog flipper first evolved on the day
When a daring mudskipper dragged itself away

Where a rocket ship
Experiment went awry
When the prototype
Exploded on the launching site

Like in Canajoharie
Canajoharie
Call me sentimental
But I want to go back
And commemorate the place
With a historical plaque

 

[fox69]

"Careful What You Pack"

"Careful What You Pack"


The known, the unknown, and the under-known
Look at what she found
Digging all around
By the goldfish pond
She's gonna get in trouble now
Shaking up the bees, swinging from that tree
Doesn't understand
She's in trouble now

It's a new year
Careful what you pack
There's no going back
She's lost from the beginning
She's the new girl

She thinks she's smart; she's just curious
She thinks she's alone
Doesn't even know someone's watching her
She's gonna get in trouble now
Waving from the shore, never knew before
Doesn't understand
She's in trouble now

It's a new year
Careful what you pack
There's no going back
She's lost from the beginning
She's the new girl

Careful what you pack
There's no going back
She's lost from the beginning
She's the new girl

 

[fox69]

"Celebration"

"Celebration"


First, the DJ must power up the amplifiers.
To play a record, select an album and put it on the turntable.
The racer must attach five dollars to their car and drive to the DJ booth.
Signal the DJ by ringing the bell.

I see that Banksy left a Post-it note for Anonymous, for Anonymous
It seems the after-party has been moved to your house, to your house
It's a special night of anticipation
The moonbeams strong on the old Bandshell

Celebration
You're a little bit better and ready for some
Celebration
Some time to get louder and not by yourself

I see that someone left their cheat sheet by this microphone, by this microphone
I think the rock 'n roll girls in this world want apologies, want apologies

I read this stuff, but I don't believe it
I'd change it 'round, but I don't know how

Celebration
You're a little bit better and ready for some
Celebration
Some time to get louder and not by yourself

Perpetrators of invisible crimes
Our only magistrate sits in our minds
The audience cheers as some people attack
The secret smile of security guards

You hear the cataclysmic discharge of the optimist, of the optimist
And the unlikely crowd assembled here's like Hieronymus, Bosch Hieronymus

It's hard to see from this elevation
But looking up, you can set it off

Celebration
You're a little bit better and ready for some
Celebration
Some time to get louder and not by yourself

 

[fox69]

"Cells"

"Cells"


Life is made out of cells
Cells make copies of themselves (copies of themselves)
And they make copies of themselves (and they make copies of themselves)
And they make copies of themselves

Different cells have different jobs
But they all have one thing in common
Inside of every cell is a twisted ladder
A recipe for life called DNA
The directions are written out in the ladder's rungs
Where they can be found
In every cell of everything that lives

A cell knows what it has to do
To grow into some moss or a shrew
Algae or a kangaroo
Bug or a sunflower
Dwight David Eisenhower
A frog, a fish or you
Cells are small, too small to see
But together they can make a tree

Within the cell there's a tiny spiral staircase
That tells the cell just how it's going to grow
The instructions are spelled out in letters
One on every step
In a language that the cell knows how to read

Inside the cell is a tiny double helix
Another fancy word for DNA
Which could also be a spiral staircase
Which could also be a twisted ladder
Which could also be a spring

Which could also be a spiral staircase
Which could also be a twisted ladder
Or a crazy looking spring

 

[fox69]

"Certain People I Could Name"

"Certain People I Could Name"


The few surviving samurai survey the battlefield
Count the arms, the legs and heads and then divide by 5
Drenched in blood they move across the screen
Do I need to point or do you see the one I mean
The one in back, the way he acts
Is he reminding you of anyone we know
Isn't he so like certain people I could name

Halfway through the thirty minutes
Halfway round the world
Here's the story on the genocidal overlord
In the palace with her epilettes
Watch her little gestures as she lights her cigarette
Look at her, you must see it too
Is she reminding you of anyone we know
Isn't she so like certain people I could name

Disembodied and detached a voice describes the scene
As a lizard stalks a helpless creature on TV
Music underscores the tragedy
Eyes with no expression watch the unsuspecting prey
Who is it like, doesn't it strike
You as the very image of someone we know
Isn't it so like certain people--how could anybody miss
The obvious and the uncanny and the clear resemblance
Isn't it just like certain people I could name

 

[fox69]

"Charleston (The Music Farm)"

"Charleston (The Music Farm)"


[JF:] You ready, John?

[JL:] I think so, yeah. We just made this song up today, like we do.
It's about--it's called The Music Farm. That's the name of the song. This is how it goes.

Farm, farm
Music farm
Growing music straight out of the ground
Music chickens lay music eggs
You get the idea

Farm, farm
Music farm
Independent, family-owned
Threatened by
Agrimusic
You get the idea

Government paying subsidies
Music farmers take the cash
Only way they can survive
Paid to stop the song

Farm, farm
Music farm
What's that sound coming out of the ground
Music milk from music cows
You get the idea

Music farm.

 

[fox69]

"Charlottesville (Starr Hill Music Hall)"

"Charlottesville (Starr Hill Music Hall)"


Starr Hill Music Hall
Glazed with alcohol
Spun from sugar by woodland creatures
You're the pupil, they're the teachers

Gonna pack my rucksack in my backpack
And scamper down the train track
Sell the house, sell the car, sell the kids

Starr Hill Music Hall
Exploding like a basketball
Filled with devils from the depths of Hell
Hey, what's that smell?

Gonna pack my backpack in my rucksack
And scamper down that train track
Sell the dog, sell the fish, sell the birds

Woo hoo hoo
Woo hoo hoo
Woo hoo hoo

 

[fox69]

"Charlottesville (Studio) (Starr Hill Music Hall)"

"Charlottesville (Studio) (Starr Hill Music Hall)"


Yeah!

Starr Hill Music Hall
Glazed with alcohol
Spun from sugar by woodland creatures
You're the pupils, they're the teachers

Gonna pack my rucksack in my backpack
And scamper down the train track
Sell the car, sell the house, sell the keys

Yeah!

Starr Hill Music Hall
Exploded like a basketball
Filled with devils from the depths of Hell
Hey, what's that smell?

Gonna pack my backpack in my rucksack
And scamper down the train track.
Sell the dog, sell the fish, sell the birds

Hoo hoo hoo [3x]

 

[fox69]

"Chess Piece Face"

"Chess Piece Face"


What's gonna happen to Chess Piece Face
There go I but for my face
All I know could be defaced by the facts in the life of Chess Piece Face

I don't know where he lives
Or if he knows to sail
Or if little schemes like this one ever cross his trail
But I don't believe he's dreaming
Or if he cares to know
So I shudder in my lampshade

So, what's gonna happen to Chess Piece Face
There I go but for my face
All I know could be defaced by the facts in the life of Chess Piece Face
Chess Piece Face
Chess Piece Face
Chess Piece Face