Little Earthquakes (1992)
1. Crucify
2. Girl
3. Silent All These Years
4. Precious Things
5. Winter
6. Happy
Phantom
7. China
8.
Leather
9. Mother
10. Tear In Your Hand
11. Me And A Gun
12. Little Earthquakes
Every finger in the room is
pointing at me
I wanna spit in their faces
Then I get afraid of what that could
bring
I got a bowling ball in my stomach
I got a desert in my mouth
Figures that my courage would choose
to sell out now
I've been looking for a saviour
in these dirty streets
Looking for a saviour beneath these
dirty sheets
I've been raising up my hand, drive
another nail in
Just what God needs, one more victim
Chorus:
Why do we crucify ourselves
Everyday, I crucify myself
Nothing I do is good enough for you
Crucify myself every day
And my heart is sick of being in
chains
Got a kick for a dog beggin' for
love
I gotta have my suffering so that I
can have my cross
I know a cat named Easter, he says,
"will you ever learn?"
"You're just an empty cage girl
if you kill the bird"
I've been looking for a saviour
in these dirty streets
Looking for a saviour beneath these
dirty sheets
I've been raising up my hands, drive
another nail in
Got enough guilt to start my own
religion
Chorus
Please save me
I cry...
From in the shadow she calls
And in the shadow she finds a way,
finds a way
And in the shadow she crawls,
clutching her faded photograph
My image under her thumb
Yes with a message from my heart,
yes with a message for my heart
Chorus:
She's been everybody else's girl
Maybe one day she'll be her own
Everybody else's girl
Maybe one day she'll be her own
And in the doorway they stay
And laugh as violins filled with
water
Screams from the bluebells can't
Make them go away
Well I'm not seventeen, but I've
cuts on my knees
Falling down, as the winter takes
one more cherry tree
Chorus
Rushin' rivers thread so thin
Limitation
Dreams with the flying pigs
Turbid blue and the drugstores too
Safe in their coats and in their
do's
Yeah, smother in our lives, a pillow
to my dots
One day
One day she'll be her own
And in the mist there she rides
And castles are burning in my heart
And as I twist I hold tight
And I ride to work every morning
Wondering why "sit on a chair
and be good now"
And become all they told you
The white coats enter her room
And I'm calling my baby, callin' my
baby
Callin' my baby, callin'
Everybody else's girl
Maybe one day she'll be her own...
3. Silent
All These Years (4:11)
Excuse me but can I be you for a
while
My dog won't bite if you sit real
still
I got the anti-Christ in the kitchen
yellin' at me again
Yeah, I can hear that
Been saved again from the garbage
truck
I got something to say, you know,
but nothing comes
Yes, I know what you think of me,
you never shut-up
Yeah, I can hear that
But what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name
still on it
Hey, but I don't care, 'cause
sometimes
I said sometimes, I hear my voice
And it's been here,
Silent all these years
So you found a girl who thinks
really deep thoughts
What's so amazing about really deep
thoughts
Boy, you best pray that I bleed real
soon
How's that thought for you
My scream got lost in a paper cup
You think there's a heaven
Where some screams have gone
I got 25 bucks and a cracker
Do you think it's enough
To get us there
'Cause what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name
still on it
Hey, but I don't care, 'cause
sometimes
I said sometimes, I hear my voice
And it's been here,
Silent all these years
Years go by, will I still be
waiting
For somebody else to understand
Years go by, if i'm stripped of my
beauty
And the orange clouds raining in my
head
Years go by, will I choke in my
tears 'till
Finally there is nothing left
One more casualty, you know
We're too easy, easy, easy
Well I love the way we
communicate
Your eyes focus on my funny lip
shape
Let's hear what you think of me now
But baby don't look up, the sky is
falling
Your mother shows up in a nasty
dress
It's your turn now to stand where I
stand
Everybody lookin' at you
Here take a hold of my hand
Yeah, I can hear them...
So I ran faster, but it caught me
here
Yes, my loyalties turned like my
ankle
In the seventh grade
Running after a Billy
Running after the rain
Chorus:
These precious things
Let them bleed, let them wash away
These precious things
Let them break, they hold over me
He said you're really an ugly
girl
But I like the way you play and I
died
But I thanked him
Can you believe that sick
Holding on to his picture
Dressing up every day
I wanna smash the faces
Of those beautiful boys, those
christian boys
So, you can make me cum, that
doesn't make you Jesus
Chorus
I remember
Yes, in my peach party dress
No one dared, no one cared to tell
me
Where the pretty girls are
Those demigods
With their nine-inch nails
And their little fascist panties
Tucked inside the heart of very nice
girl
Chorus
Snow can wait, I forgot my
mittens
Wipe my nose, get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when
I think of winter
I put my hand in my fathers glove
I run off where the drifts get
deeper
Sleeping beauty, trips me with a
frown
I hear a voice "you must learn
to stand up
for yourself, 'cause I can't always
be around"
Chorus:
He says, when you gonna make up
your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I
do
When you gonna make up your mind
'Cause things are gonna change so
fast
All the white horses are still in
bed
I tell that I'll always want you
near
You say that things change my dear
Boys get discovered as winter
melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and i'm here still
waiting
Withering where some snowman was
Mirror mirror, where's the crystal
palace
But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know dad, the ice getting thin
Hair is gray and the fires are
burning
So many dreams on the shelf
You say I wanted to you to be proud
of me
I always wanted that myself
He says, when you gonna make up
your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I
do
When you gonna make up your mind
'Cause things are gonna change so
fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell that I'll always want you
near
You say that things change my dear
And if I die today I'll be the
happy phantom
And I'll go chasin' the nuns out in
the yard
And I'll run naked through the
streets without my mask on
And I will never need umbrellas in
the rain
I'll wake up in strawberry fields
every day
And the atrocities of school I can
forgive
The happy phantom has no right to
bitch
Chorus:
Oo who, the time is getting
closer
Oo who, time to be a ghost
Oo who, every day we're getting
closer
The sun is getting dim
Will we pay for who we been
So if I die today I'll be the
happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties
like a jewel
They'll be my ticket to the
universal opera
There's Judy Garland taking Buddha
by the hand
And then the seven little men get up
to dance
They say Confucius does his
crossword with a pen
I'm still the angel to a girl
who hates to sin
Chorus
Or will I see you dear and wish I
could come back
You found a girl that you could
truly love again
Will you still call for me when she
falls asleep
Or do we soon forget the things we
cannot see
Chorus
China, all the way to New York
I can feel the distance, getting
close
You're right next to me, but I need
an airplane
I can feel the distance, as you
breathe
Chorus:
Sometimes, I think you want me to
touch you
How can I, when you build the great
wall around you
In your eyes, I saw a future
together
You just look away, in the distance
China, decorates our table
Funny how the cracks don't seem to
show
Pour the wine, dear
You say we'll take a holiday
But we never can agree on where to
go
Chorus
China, all the way to New York
Maybe you got lost in Mexico
You're right next to me
I think that you can hear me
Funny how the distance learns to
grow
Chorus
I can feel the distance, I can
feel the distance
I can feel the distance, getting
close
Look I'm standing naked before
you
Don't you want more than my sex
I can scream as long as your last
one
But I can't claim innocence
Chorus:
Oh, God, could it be the weather
Oh, God, why am I here
If love isn't forever and it's not
the weather
Hand me my leather
I could just pretend that you
love me
The night would lose all sense of
fear
But why do I need you to love me
When you can't hold what I hold dear
Chorus
I almost ran over an angel
He had a nice big fat cigar
"In a sense" he said,
"you're alone here,
So if you jump, you best jump
far"
Chorus
Go, go, go now, out of the nest
it's time
Go, go, go now, circus girl without
a safety net
Here, here now, don't cry,
You raised your hand for the
assignment
Tuck those ribbons under your helmet
Be a good soldier
First my left foot, then my right
behind the other
Pantyhose running in the cold
Chorus:
Mother the car is here
Somebody leave the light on
Green limousine for red-head dancing
girl
And when I dance for him
Somebody leave the light on
Just in case I like the dancing
I can remember where I come from
I walked into your dream
And now I've forgotten how to dream
my own dream
You're the clever one aren't you
Brides in veils for you
We told you all of our secrets
All but one
So don't you even try
The phone has been disconnected
Dripping with blood and with time
and with your advice
Poison me against the moon
Chorus
I escape into your escape
Into our favorite fearscape
It's across the sky, and across my
heart
And I cross my legs, oh my God
First my left foot, then my right
behind the other
Breadcrumbs lost under the snow
Mother the car is here
Somebody leave the light on
Green limousine for red-head dancing
girl
And when I dance for him
Maybe she'll leave the light on
Just in case I like the dancing
I can remember where I come from
All the world just stopped now
So you say you don't wanna stay
together anymore
Let me take a deep breathe, babe
If you need me, me and Neil'll be
hanging out with the dream king
Neil says Hi, by the way
I don't think you're leaving 'cause
me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream
I think it's that girl and I think
there're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've
never seen, well
Chorus:
All the world is
All I am
The black of the blackest ocean
And that tear in your hand
All the world is
Danglin', danglin', danglin' for me
darlin'
You don't know the power that you
have
With that tear in your hand
Maybe I ain't used to
Maybes, smashing in a cold room
Cutting my hands up
Every time I touch you
Maybe,
Maybe it's time to wave goodbye now
Time to wave goodbye now
Caught a ride with the moon
I know, I know you well, well better
than I used to
Haze all clouded up in my mind in
the daze of the why
It could've never been, so you say
I say, you know you're full of wish
And your "baby, baby, baby,
babies"
I tell you there're pieces of me
you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've
never seen
Chorus
5 a.m., friday morning
Thursday night, far from sleep
I'm still up and driving
Can't go home, obviously
So I'll just change direction
'Cause they'll soon know where I
live
And I wanna live
Got a full tank and some chips
It was me and a gun
And a man on my back
And I sang "holy, holy"
As he buttoned down his pants
You can laugh, it's kind of funny
Things you think, times like this
Like I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this
Yes I wore slinky red thing
Does that mean I should spread
For you, for your friends
For your father, Mr. Ed
Chorus:
Me and a gun
And a man on my back
But I haven't seen Barbados
So I must get out of this
And I know what this means
Me and Jesus, a few years back
Used to hang, and he said
"It's your choice, babe, just
remember,
I don't think you'll be back in 3
days time, so you choose well"
Tell me what's right
Is it my right to be on my stomach
of Fred's Seville
And do you know Carolina
Where the biscuits are soft and
sweet
These things go through your head
When there's a man on your back
And your pushed flat on your stomach
It's not a classic cadillac
Chorus
Yellow bird flying
Get shot in the wing
Good year for hunters and Christmas
parties
And I hate, and I hate, and I hate
And I hate elevator music
The way we fight
The way I'm left here
Silent
Chorus:
Oh, these little earthquakes
Here we go again
These little earthquakes
Doesn't take much to rip us into
pieces
We danced in graveyards with
vampires 'till dawn
We laughed in the faces of kings
Never afraid to burn
And I hate, and I hate,
And I hate, and I hate
Disintegration watching us wither
Black winged roses that safely
changed their color,
Chorus
I can't reach you, I can't reach
you
I can't reach you, I can't reach
you,
Give me life, give me pain,
Give me myself again,
All songs written by Tori Amos.
Published by Sword and Stone.
