Houdek

UNDERCOVER 

Waves of grey   
Pull me down   
Where I’ll stay   
… Undercover   
Far away   
From the crowd  

Thoughts, they race 
Through my mind   
I hide my face   
… Undercover   
There’s no trace   
Of me now  

In the riptide   
My mind’s on Novocaine 
It’s getting harder to hide 
Caught in the riptide 
Float through another day 
Sinking deeper inside  

Groomed to fear   
Avoid conflict   
I shed a tear   
… Undercover   
You won’t hear   
How I feel  

In the riptide   
My mind’s on Novocaine 
It’s getting harder to hide 
Caught in the riptide 
Float through another day 
I’m sinking deeper inside 
In the riptide   
My mind’s on Novocaine 
Getting harder to hide 
Caught in the riptide

TIME BANDIT  

The golden hope is making me promises 
A new relief, a peck on the cheek   
It comes along and robs you red-handed   
Time’s a bandit  

I’m feeling clotheslined   
By the headlines   
Earthquakes, tsunamis, clothes that don’t fit
I think I’m getting hit with an 11-year itch
I’m broken down, I’m broken down, I’m broken down  

It’s like a car crash   
I’m feeling whiplashed   
An open-mouthed kiss from your cousin
It’s like a car crash  

If you can’t find me   
I’m lying bare in the cupboard   
Behind the baked beans   
Behind my childish dreams  

Horizon’s dangling carrots in front of me
I hit the sheet - rinse and repeat   
Waiting for no one, it leaves you branded 
Time’s a bandit  

I’m feeling sideswiped   
By the words typed   
Trending, exposure, another slipped disc   
I think I’m gonna quit and become illegit 
I’m broken down, I’m broken down, I’m broken down  

It’s like a car crash   
I’m feeling whiplashed   
An open-mouthed kiss from your cousin
It’s like a car crash

BIG FISH   

It’s gonna happen   
I’ll let my hair down tonight   
Oh mirror, mirror   
Don’t tell the truth   
But it don’t lie   
Head on a swivel    
As you walk through the door   
More myths to propagate    
If left to marinate  

Predicated on a 20-proof   
Existing in the center of    
Concentric truth  

Big fish little pond  

I’ll be Pandora    
So don’t go shade those prying eyes
Finally got those emperor’s clothes
Cut exactly to my size       
At least they know you   
Thank god they know you        
But still a little saddle-sore   
Waiting for that encore  

Pollination of a stagnant seed   
Can’t see the forest    
For the flower of me   

Big fish little pond  

Bird in the hand meets dime a dozen
Bird in the hand meets dime a dozen
Orchestration of a solo show
Hallowed are the hollow halls that echo  

Big fish little pond

BUILDING A LEADER  

Who’d’ve thought that sadness would become a luxury 
I have no time to Divide my Joy or sing Morrisey 
Fondly remember those ponderous days at university 
Traded in sports for reports and charitable activities  

Do dit dit dit do doo  

Was a natural retreater and an avid reader, now I’m 

Building a leader 
Building a leader 
Building a leader  
But sometimes I’d rather be a Walmart greeter  

Who’d’ve guessed that wandering would become a rarity 
No longer opening Doors or trying to find myself in poetry 
Still can recall the reams of verse written impetuously 
Exchanged roads less traveled for professional courtesy 

Do dit dit dit do doo  

Was a reality cheater but still a non-believer, now I’m 

Building a leader  
Building a leader  
Building a leader   
Sometimes I’d rather police the parking meters  

I keep the grass cut and mind the garden every Saturday 
I’m walking the dog now and shaking hands   
Oh so neighborly   
I’m reading most nights now instead of watching the TV 
And if you took a survey I hope you’d rate me satisfactorily  

Was a natural retreater and a non-believer, now I’m 

Building a leader  
Building a leader  
Building a leader   
Sometimes I’d rather be a Walmart greeter 

B SIDE 

I was prowling the aisle  
You were hiding between the ‘K’s and the ‘I’s  
And then I saw two heads on fire  
The cover art hit, the music moved  
And I’ve been searching the rest of my life 

And did you know?
My ears are sonic gold detectors
With sonar on
audio sunken treasures 

I keep playing the B side  
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones never behave
I keep playing the B side  
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones are here to save

And I was sniffin’ ‘round you  
Stickin’ to the shadows  
Trying to cover my tracks and scent

I wanted to make sure of what the earthquake was for
When your soulful voice left me rapturously bent 

And did you know?
My heart is a heat-seeking missile With target on the cracked Venus with graveyard whistle 

I keep playing the B side  
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones never behave
I keep playing the B side  
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones are here to save 

For me there really is no choice  
I’ll always pick the least-heard voice

And did you know?
My heart is a heat-seeking missile With target on the cracked Venus with graveyard whistle 

I keep playing the B side  
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones never behave
I keep playing the B side   
Needle grooves in the contours of the mind  
Awash in the sound waves,
the best ones are here to save

TWO KIDNEY GIRL* 

What makes you so unique, makes you so sublime  
I’ve always been drawn to you, you’re a good conclusion  
Even though I love you, it’s a mystery to explain why I adore you 

Can’t put my finger on it, why you are the gin to my tonic  
Like how many verses to a sonnet  
I just don’t know, but then again 

I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl  
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world  
I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl  
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world 

Mama played some tricks though she was known as ‘the kind’
Papa weren’t no rolling stone,  
But a whirling dervish - whirling dervish  
Sis a little crazy, but only in the way that normal is boring 

Nothing there that’s too egregious   
In your kingdom, phylum, or genus  
So I guess whatever the reason  
It can’t be that, but then again 

I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl   
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world   
I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl   
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world 

Mmm bop ba dalada  

That must be it - not that you’re fun and you’re kind  
Not that you’re hot, so smart - an intelligina  
I’m out of options, yeah   
Must be that you’re an odd bean counter 

They say ‘if you can’t beat ’em then join ‘em’  
Maybe I’ll just be a renal abnormal  
Have another one on me, ‘cause I got to know -
I gotta know

I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl   
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world   
I’ve never known you as a two-kidney girl   
Even though we’re living in a two-kidney world 

Ooo wahwahwah 

*Houdek thanks Jimmy Speirs for his tasty trumpet on “Two Kidney Girl”.