Brendan Flynn’s Sermon on Doubt

What do you do when you’re not sure? That’s the topic of my sermon today.

Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated, who among us did not experience the most profound disorientation? Despair? Which way? What now? What do I say to my kids? What do I tell myself? It was a time of people sitting together, bound together by a common feeling of hopelessness. But think of that! Your BOND with your fellow being was your Despair. It was a public experience. It was awful, but we were in it together. How much worse is it then for the lone man, the lone woman, stricken by a private calamity?

‘No one knows I’m sick.’

‘No one knows I’ve lost my last real friend.’

‘No one knows I’ve done something wrong.’

Imagine the isolation. Now you see the world as through a window. On one side of the glass: happy, untroubled people, and on the other side: you.

I want to tell you a story. A cargo ship sank one night. It caught fire and went down. And only this one sailor survived. He found a lifeboat, rigged a sail…and being of a nautical discipline…turned his eyes to the Heavens and read the stars. He set a course for his home, and exhausted, fell asleep. Clouds rolled in. And for the next twenty nights, he could no longer see the stars. He thought he was on course, but there was no way to be certain. And as the days rolled on, and the sailor wasted away, he began to have doubts. Had he set his course right? Was he still going on towards his home? Or was he horribly lost… and doomed to a terrible death? No way to know. The message of the constellations – had he imagined it because of his desperate circumstance? Or had he seen truth once… and now had to hold on to it without further reassurance? There are those of you in church today who know exactly the crisis of faith I describe. And I want to say to you: DOUBT can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.

Found Poem in an Article on Surviving Hypothermia

But those who understand cold
know that even as it deadens,
it offers perverse salvation.

Heat is a presence: the rapid vibrating of molecules.
Cold is an absence:
the damping of the vibrations.

At absolute zero, minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit,
molecular motion ceases altogether. It is this slowing
that converts gases to liquids, liquids
to solids, and renders solids harder.
It slows bacterial growth
and chemical reactions.

In the human body, cold shuts
down metabolism. The lung
take in less oxygen,
the heart pumps less blood.

Under normal temperatures,
this would produce brain damage. But the chilled brain,
having slowed its own metabolism, needs far less oxygen-rich blood
and can,under the right circumstances,
survive intact.

Full article found here:
http://outside.away.com/outside/magazine/0197/9701fefreez.html

Elvis: American David – Bono

The following tribute to Elvis Presley was written by Bono in 1995.

elvis son of tupelo.

elvis mama’s boy.

elvis the twin brother of Jesse who died at birth and was buried in a shoe box.

elvis drove a truck.

elvis was recorded at sun studios by the musical diviner sam phillips.

elvis was managed by colonel tom parker, an ex-carnie barker whose last act was a singing canary.

elvis was the most famous singer in the world since king david.

elvis lived on his own street.

elvis liked to play speed cop.

elvis had a monkey named scatter before anyone.

elvis wore a cape at the white house when he was presenting nixon with two silver pistols.

elvis was a member of the drug squad.

elvis wore eye make up, just hangin’ out.

elvis wore a gold nudie suit and trained his lip to curl.

elvis was macho, but could sing like a girl.

elvis was not a big talker.

elvis was articulate in every other way.

elvis dyed his hair black to look like valentino.

elvis held a microphone the way valentino held nitanaldi in blood and sand.

elvis dressed black long before he dressed in black.

elvis sang black except in lower registers where he was a student of dean martin.

elvis admired mario lanza.

elvis delivered the world from crooning.

elvis was a great crooner.

elvis had a voice that could explain the sexuality of america.

elvis was influenced by jim morrison in his choice of black leather for the ’68 comeback special.

elvis invented the beatles.

elvis achieved world domination from a small town.

elvis was conscious of myth.

elvis had pharoah-like potential.

elvis was made by america, so america could remake itself.

elvis had good manners.

elvis was a bass, a baritone, and a tenor.

elvis sang his heart out at the end.

elvis the opera singer.

elvis the soap opera.

elvis loved america, God, the bible, firearms, the movies, the office of presidency, junk food, drugs, cars, family,television, jewellery, straight talkin’, dirty talkin’ gameshows, uniforms, and self-help books.

elvis like america, wanted to improve himself.

elvis like america, started out loving but later turned on himself.

elvis body could not stop moving.

elvis is alive, we’re dead.

elvis the charismatic.

elvis the ecstatic.

elvis the plastic, elvis the elastic with a spastic dance that might explain the energy of america.

elvis fusion and confusion.

elvis earth rod in a southern dorm.

elvis shaking up an electrical storm.

elvis in hollywood his voice gone to ground.

elvis in las vegas with a big brassy sound.

elvis the first rock’n’roll star with scotty moore, bill black, and dj fontana.

elvis with james burton and ronny tutt.

elvis the movie star made three good films: viva las vegas, flaming star, and jailhouse rock.

elvis the hillbilly brought rhythm to the white race, blues to pop, and rock’n’roll to where ever rock’n’roll is.

elvis the pelvis, swung from africa to europe, which is the idea of america.

elvis liberation.

elvis the kung fu would come later.

elvis hibernation.

elvis built a theme park he later called Graceland.

elvis woke up to whispers.

elvis thought of himself as a backslider.

elvis knew guilt like a twin brother.

elvis called God every morning then left the phone off the hook.

elvis turned las vegas into a church when he sang “love me tender”.

elvis turned america into a church when he sang “the trilogy”.

elvis was harangued by choice; flesh vs spirit, God vs rock’n’roll mother vs lover, father vs the colonel.

elvis grew sideburns as a protest against tom jones’ hairy chest.

elvis would have a president named after him.

elvis was one of the boys.

elvis was not one of the boys.

elvis had an acute intelligence disguised as talent.

elvis broke pirscilla’s heart.

elvis broke lisa marie’s heart.

elvis woke up my heart.

elvis white trash.

elvis the memphis flash.

elvis didn’t smoke hash and woulda been a sissy without johnny cash.

elvis didn’t dodge the draft.

elvis had his own aircraft.

elvis having a laugh on the lisa marie in a colour photograph.

elvis under the hood.

elvis cadillac blood.

elvis darling bud flowered and returned to the mississippi mud.

elvis ain’t gonna rot.

elvis in a memphis plot.

elvis didn’t hear the shot but the king died just across the lot from.

elvis vanilla ice cream.

elvis girls of 14.

elvis memphis spleen shooting at the tv reading corinthians 13.

elvis with God on his knees.

elvis on three tvs.

elvis here come the killer bees head full of honey, potato chips and cheese.

elvis the bumper stickers.

elvis the white knickers.

elvis the white nigger ate at burger king and just kept getting bigger.

elvis sang to win.

elvis the battle to be slim.

elvis ate america before america ate him.

elvis stamps, elvis necromance.

elvis fans, elvis sychophants.

elvis the public enemy.

elvis don’t mean shit to chuck d.

elvis changed the centre of gravity.

elvis made it slippy.

elvis hitler, elvis nixon, elvis christ, elvis mishima.

elvis marcus, elvis jackson, elvis the pelvis.

elvis the psalmist, elvis the genius, elvis the generous.

elvis forgive us.

elvis pray for us

elvis aaron presley (1935-1977)

Copyright: Bono 1995

When It Don’t Come Easy – Patty Griffin

Red lights are flashing down the highway
I wonder if we’re gonna ever get home
I wonder if we’re gonna ever get home tonight
Everywhere the water’s getting rough
Your best intentions may not be enough
I wonder if we’re gonna ever get home tonight

But if you break down, I’ll drive out and find you
If you forget my love, I’ll try to remind you
And stay by you when it don’t come easy

I don’t know nothing except change will come
Year after year what we do is undone
Time keeps moving from a crawl to a run
I wonder if we’re gonna ever get home
You’re out there walking down a highway
And all of the signs got blown away
Sometimes you wonder if you’re walking in the wrong direction

So many things that I had before
That don’t matter to me now
Tonight I cry for the love that I’ve lost
And the love I’ve never found
When the last bird falls
And the last siren sounds
Someone will say what’s been said before
Some love we were looking for

Vivir Sin Aire – Mana

Click here for video of MANA – Vivir Sin Aire

Vivir Sin Aire

Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin aire
Cómo quisiera vivir sin agua
Me encantaría
Querete un poco menos
Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin ti

Pero no puedo siento que muero
Me estoy ahogando sin tu amor

Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin aire
Cómo quisiera calmar mi aflicción
Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin agua
Me encantaría robar tu corazón

Cómo pudiera un pez nadar sin agua
Cómo puidera un ave volar sin alas
Cómo puidera la flor crecer sin tierra
Cómo quisiera porder vivir sin ti

Pero no puedo siento que muero
Me estoy ahogando sin tu amor

Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin aire
Cómo quisiera calmar mi aflicción
Cómo quisiera poder vivir sin agua
Me encantaría robar tu corazón

Cómo quisiera lanzarte al olvido
Cómo quisiera guardarte en un cajón
Cómo quisiera borrarte de un soplido
Me encantaría matar esta canción

To Live Without Air

How much I’d like to be able to live without air
how much I’d like to live without water
I’d love
to love you a bit less
how much I’d love to be able to live without you

But I can’t, I feel I’m dying
I’m drowning without your love

How much I’d like to be able to live without air
How much I’d like to calm my affliction
How much I’d like to be able to live without water
I’d love to steal your heart

How could a fish swim without water?
How could a bird fly without wings?
How could a flower blossom without soil?
How much I’d like to be able to live without you

But I can’t, I feel I’m dying
I’m drowning without your love

How much I’d like to be able to live without air
How much I’d like to calm my affliction
How much I’d like to be able to live without water
I’d love to steal your heart

How much I’d like to throw you into oblivion
How much I’d like to put you away in a drawer
How much I’d like to erase you by blowing
I’d love to kill off this song

Real Good Looking Boy -The Who

When I think back to the
first time in my childhood
When I saw that face
I thought right then,
‘That’s a real good looking boy’

I saw myself in the mirror
in profile
for the first time
I thought,
‘Hey! That’s a real good looking boy’

And I felt then
that I moved
With all those lucky fucks and angels
High in the theatre
In the sky

So I ran to my mother
I said,
‘Mom – take a look at me
Have you ever seen a teen
Fly so high?’

That’s a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy

She said,
‘Son, well, you know,
you’re an ugly boy.
You don’t really look like him

In this long line
There’s been some
real strange genes
You’ve got ’em all
You’ve got ’em all
With some extras thrown in’

That’s a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy

Wise men say
Only fools, only fools rush in
But I – I can’t help
Falling in love, in love with you

Now I’m here with you little darling
And you say, ‘You’re beautiful as you are’
And I’ve managed somehow to survive

You arrived in my life like a fragrance and
you help me find a way to laugh
Now I Know how so-called beauty lies

God gave him a face
Then he gave me something above
God gave me a grace
Man, he gave me your sweet, sweet, sweet love

You make me feel like I’m a real good looking boy
I feel I’m a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy
That’s a real good looking boy

Sonnet XVII – Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Instants – Jorge Luis Borges

If I could live again my life,
in the next, I’ll try
to make more mistakes.
I won’t try to be so perfect.
I’ll be more relaxed.
I’ll be more full than I am now.
In fact, I’ll take fewer things seriously.
I’ll be less hygenic.
I’ll take more risks.
I’ll take more trips.
I’ll watch more sunsets.
I’ll climb more mountains.
I’ll swim more rivers.
I’ll go to more places I’ve never been.
I’ll eat more ice creams and less lima beans.
I’ll have more real problems and less imaginary ones.
I was one of those people who lead
prudent and prolific lives each minute their alive.
Of couse, I had moments of joy but,
if I could go back, I’ll try to have only good moments.

If you don’t know, thats what life is made of.
Don’t lose the now.

I was one of those who never goes anywhere without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
and without an umberella and without a parachute.

If I could live again, I will travel light.
If I could live again, I’ll try to work bare feet at the beginning of spring till
the end of autumn.
I’ll ride more carts.
I’ll watch more sunrises and play with more children.
If I have the life to live.

Now,I am 85
and I know that I am dying.

Jorge Luis Borges

Red At Night – The Gaslight Anthem

I was born in a town where the rivers flow free
On a January night when the cold winds freeze
I got an Irish name and an injury
Blessing and a curse cast down on me
Ain’t nobody got the blues like me
Ain’t nobody got the blues like me

Was a blood red sky on the morning tide
Was a cold wind blowing when I left that night
And the morning bells rang, alright, alright
Shoulda stayed home with you that night
Ain’t nobody played the fool like I
Ain’t nobody played the fool like I

Things got bad and things got worse
Half like blessing, half like curse
It’s these blessings so hard to see sometimes
Gotta little clearer about dusk last night
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine

It’s a red sky night and I’m doing alright
It’s a red sky night and I’m doing just fine

The History of Night – Jorge Luis Borges

History of the Night

Throughout the course of their generations
men constructed the night.
At first she was blindness;
thorns raking bare feet,
fear of wolves.
We shall never know who forged the word
for the interval of shadow
dividing the two twilights;
we shall never know in what age it came to mean
the starry hours.
Others created the myth.
They made her the mother of the unruffled Fates
that spin our destiny,
thev sacrificed black ewes to her, and the cock
who crows his own death.
The Chaldeans assigned to her twelve houses;
to Zeno, infinite words.
She took shape from Latin hexameters
and the terror of Pascal.
Luis de Leon saw in her the homeland
of his stricken soul.
Now we feel her to be inexhuastible
like an ancient wine
and no one can gaze on her without vertigo
and time has charged her with eternity.

And to think that she wouldn’t exist
except for those fragile instruments, the eyes.

The Piano – D.H. Lawrence

This poem is a gift to my brothers.

PIANO

By D.H. Lawrence

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter – Li Po

While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead
I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,
You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.
And we went on living in the village of Chokan:
Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.

At fourteen I married My Lord, you.
I never laughed, being bashful.
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back.

At fifteen I stopped scowling,
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours
Forever and forever and forever.
Why should I climb the lookout?

At sixteen you departed,
You went into far Ku-to-en, by the river of swirling eddies,
And you have been gone five months.
The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.

You dragged your feet when you went out.
By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses,
Too deep to clear them away.
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind.
The paired butterflies are already yellow with August
Over the grass in the West garden;
They hurt me. I grow older.
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river Kiang,
Please let me know beforehand,
And I will come out to meet you
As far as Cho-fo-Sa.

Translated by Ezra Pound

River Walk – Victor Bravo

can you see the green
can you see the sand
i can hardly see my path
100’s of ufo’s everywhere
lean to the left
lean to the right
a heavy 4 head
will take me home
home to a cyclone
a cyclone of bliss

Three Brothers – Victor Bravo

This train doesn’t owe three brothers
and a dear friend a damn thing. It can jump

track just as easy as we can
ignite four back packs full of C4

with iPod detonators, on our way
to the city that has a chip on its shoulder,

in this under water vessel.
I wouldn’t stone a man for stealing a fish,

boulders were thrown at my face scarring
my brow. Liquor filled, feeling fantastic, taking

in wheat water and our favorite whiskeys
with my two favorite people. Purple, blue,

green, and yellow lights slice
through our eye lids, while the beautiful melodies

caress the deepest parts of our inner ears.
We spit in the face of the city, slap its cheeks

and piss in its trash cans. The over zealous
Asian woman smokes cigarettes

and does what she does

Good Souls – Starsailor

Feel,
Sick after every meal,
I’d say,
‘Cause I know,
The life from your burning wheel,
Won’t wane,
Sleep,
I sleep every day,
Wipe the cobwebs away,
I need to be loved,
Christ,
I’m out of my mind,
I need to be loved,
I need to be loved,
As I turn to you and I say,
Thank goodness for the good souls,
That make life better,
As I turn to you and I say,
If it wasn’t for the good souls,
Life would not matter,
Dive straight in on your girlfriend,
Making her feel like there’s going to be a war,
Dive straight in at the deep end,
Making you feel like there’s going to be a war,
As I turn to you and I say,
Thank goodness for the good souls,
That make life better,
As I turn to you and I say,
If it wasn’t for the good souls,
Life would not matter,
One good day of the week,
And I’ll be up again,
One good day of the week,
I’ll be higher than the government,
As I turn to you and I say,
Thank goodness for the good souls,
That make life better,
As I turn to you and I say,
If it wasn’t for the good souls,
Life would not matter,
As I turn to you and I say,
If you’re messing with a good heart,
You’ve got to take what’s due.

Wonderwall – Oasis

Today is gonna be the day
That they’re gonna throw it back to you
By now you should’ve somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don’t believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I’m sure you’ve heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don’t believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don’t know how

Because maybe
You’re gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You’re my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day?
But they’ll never throw it back to you
By now you should’ve somehow
Realized what you’re not to do
I don’t believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now

And all the roads that lead to you were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I don’t know how

I said maybe
You’re gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You’re my wonderwall

I said maybe
You’re gonna be the one who saves me ?
And after all
You’re my wonderwall

Said maybe
You’re gonna be the one that saves me
You’re gonna be the one that saves me
You’re gonna be the one that saves me

You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away – Noel Gallagher

Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she’s gone I can’t go on
Feelin’ two-foot small

Everywhere people stare
Each and every day
I can see them laugh at me
And I hear them say

Hey you’ve got to hide your love away
Hey you’ve got to hide your love away

How could I even try
I can never win
Hearing them, seeing them
In the state I’m in

How could she say to me
Love will find a way
Gather round all you clowns
Let me hear you say

Hey you’ve got to hide your love away
Hey you’ve got to hide your love away

Help – Noel Gallagher

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody’s help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured,
Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won’t you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I’ve never done before.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won’t you please, please help me.

Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah
No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
but I’m here in my mold , I am here in my mold
But I’m a million different people from one day to the next
I can’t change my mold.

Well, I’ve never prayed,
But tonight I’m on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind , I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there’s nobody singing to me now

No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
but I’m here in my mold , I am here with my mold
And I’m a million different people from one day to the next
I can’t change my mold.

Ruby’s Arms – Tom Waits

I will leave behind all of my clothes
I wore when I was with you.
All I need’s my railroad boots
and my leather jacket,
as I say goodbye to Ruby’s arms.
Although my heart is breaking,
I will steal away out through your
blinds, for soon you will be waking.

The morning light has washed your face
and everything is turning blue now.
Hold on to your pillow case.
There’s nothing I can do now,
as I say goodbye to Ruby’s arms.
You’ll find another soldier,
and I swear to God by Christmas time,
there’ll be someone else to hold you.

The only thing I’m taking is
the scarf off of your clothesline.
I’ll hurry past your chest of drawers
and your broken wind chimes,
as I say goodbye.
I’ll say goodbye.
Say goodbye to Ruby’s arms.

I will feel my way down the darkened hall,
and out into the morning.
The hobos at the freightyards
have kept their fires burning.
So, Jesus Christ! This goddamn rain,
will someone put me on a train.
I’ll never kiss your lips again
or break your heart,
as I say goodbye.
I’ll say goodbye,
say goodbye to Ruby’s arms.

A Man Doesn’t Have Time In His Life – Yehuda Amichai

A man doesn’t have time in his life
to have time for everything.
He doesn’t have seasons enough to have
a season for every purpose. Ecclesiastes
Was wrong about that.

A man needs to love and to hate at the same moment,
to laugh and cry with the same eyes,
with the same hands to throw stones and to gather them,
to make love in war and war in love.
And to hate and forgive and remember and forget,
to arrange and confuse, to eat and to digest
what history
takes years and years to do.

A man doesn’t have time.
When he loses he seeks, when he finds
he forgets, when he forgets he loves, when he loves
he begins to forget.

And his soul is seasoned, his soul
is very professional.
Only his body remains forever
an amateur. It tries and it misses,
gets muddled, doesn’t learn a thing,
drunk and blind in its pleasures
and its pains.

He will die as figs die in autumn,
Shriveled and full of himself and sweet,
the leaves growing dry on the ground,
the bare branches pointing to the place
where there’s time for everything.

In The Desert – Stephen Crane

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter-bitter,” he answered;
“But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.”

Bella & Edward of Twilight – Through Radiohead’s Creep

When you were here before
couldn’t look you in the eye.
You’re just like an angel.
Your skin makes me cry.

You float like a feather
in a beautiful world.
I wish I was special.
You’re so very special.

But, I’m a creep.
I’m a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here.

I don’t care if it hurts.
I want to have control.
I want a perfect body.
I want a perfect soul.

I want you to notice
when I’m not around.
You’re so very special.
I wish I was special.

But I’m a creep.
I’m a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here.

She’s running out the door.
She’s running out, she run, run, run, run, run.

Whatever makes you happy.
Whatever you want.
You’re so very special.
I wish I was special.

But, I’m a creep.
I’m a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here.
I don’t belong here.

BELLA: “what a stupid lamb…”
EDWARD: “….what a sick masochistic lion.”

Tryin’ to Get to Heaven – Robyn Hitchcock

The air is getting hotter
There’s a rumbling in the sky
I’m drifting through that high muddy water
With a full moon shining in my eyes

Every day your memory grows dimmer
It don’t haunt me like it did before
I’m in the middle of nowhere
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

When I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see

You broke the heart that loved you
Now you can see what the book cannot write anymore
I’m just stuck in the half-light
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

People on the platform
Waiting for the train
I can feel their hearts a-beating
Like pendulums swingin’ on chains

When you think that you’ve lost everything
You find out you can always lose a little more
I’m in the dinosaurs’ waiting room
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

I’m going down the river
Down to New Orleans
They tell me everything is alright
But I don’t even know what alright means

I was riding in a buggy with Miss Mary Jane
Miss Mary Jane’s got a house in Baltimore
I’ve been to Sugartown; I shook the sugar down
Now I’m tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

I’m gonna sleep down in the parlour
And relive my dreams
I close my eyes and I wonder
If everything’s as hollow as it seems

Some trains don’t pull no gamblers
No midnight ramblers like they did before
I’m just goin’ down the road, feelin’ bad
Tryin’ to get to heaven before they close the door

Rumble Fish – Through Alice in Chain’s Nutshell

Father: Every now and then, a person comes along, has a different view of the world than does the usual person. It doesn’t make them crazy. I mean… an acute perception, man… that doesn’t, that doesn’t make you crazy.
Rusty James: Could you talk normal?
Father: However sometimes… it can drive you crazy, acute perception.
Rusty James: I wish you’d talk normal ’cause I don’t understand half the garbage you’re saying. You know? You know what I mean?
Father: Contrary to popular belief, your brother is not crazy. He’s merely miscast in a play. He was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river… with the ability to be able to do anything that he wants to do and findin’ nothin’ that he wants to do. I mean nothing.