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International House

by Big Green

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1.
Welcome To It 03:19
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Welcome to the international house Welcome to it Be a rogue state or friendly satellite Bring your delegation here Welcome to the international house Welcome to it Be you king, chairman, or president for life Step up to the podium If you play our market game Then for now you’ll be our friend There’ll be no talk of democracy or basic human rights Drag off your dissidents at night We won’t turn on the light It’s all fair and you’ll all get a share If you fly the Jolly Roger How ’bout an oil pipeline Or a military base? A contract with Bechtel? Look who’s grandstanding Give the man a chair It’s his integrity he’s spending Keep the racket alive on four continents Be the one supreme If you can play our market game Then for now you can remain The losers pay the costs, corporations profit We’ll all be in debt Dear leader makes his nest There’ll be no talk of democracy or basic human rights Drag off your dissidents at night We won’t shine on the light Who’s the rogue now when again you gear for war With the enemy of the week Security is the item that’s for sale And they’ll make sure you need it All you NATO aspirees We can make a deal We’ll coerce you and oblige you Bully you and bribe you There’ll be no talk of reforms If you will climb on board There’ll be no talk of democracy or basic human rights Drag off your dissidents at night We won’t shine on the light
2.
For Your Majesty's Amusement 03:38
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Look down and smile on your son lying in the alley for your majesty’s amusement Look down and grin at your child frozen in the river for your majesty’s amusement Frame me in your all-seeing eye One shall live and one die Look down and sneer at your daughter up on the gallows for your majesty’s amusement Look down and jeer at your son chained inside a prison for your majesty’s amusement Hold me in your all-knowing mind Nine shall lose and one find I hear you laughing your love You’ve had your luck a long while But what goes for us comes your way, too One day the joke will be on you Our turn to smile Look down below you and see distant torches burning for your majesty’s amusement Look down below you and see millions climbing closer for your majesty’s amusement I’m sure that you will be amused I’m sure that you will be amused
3.
Enter The Mind 02:51
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Enter the night, you say goodbye Enter the mind when out goes the light You could be so easy to tap out I’ll be upstairs, moving things about Go find your priest, I’ll hear your words The attorney general, yes, his ears will burn All the evil plots you’re hatching out Summary justice, you’ll be handed All the symbols written in your scrawl Will be deciphered in the justice hall Enter the mind, we take control We narrate the images, we dictate your role You put foreign currency in the wishing well You were biding your time in your sleeper cell Twice I heard you evoke his evil name Summary justice will slap you from that game Enter the cage, your home sweet home No one’s going to rescue you, no, no one will know If these dogs won’t bite then we’ll find some that will One of many client countries – they’ll make you spill Twice I heard you call his evil name Summary justice will slap you from your game And it won’t mean anything to me If they haul you off to a prison or a tomb I won’t waste my sympathy on a sleeper cell Just imagine what you’d do to we the people
4.
Disruptive 04:03
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Distracted, disloyal Feign like it’s hard to hear Disruptive, distorted Walks with the worst of our fears Neglected, negated All of the world erased Disgusted, discouraged Lost in a vacuum and rage Don’t think for a moment I have served you well in heaven Say something I can’t say Mean something I can’t mean Misshapen, miasma Curses the motherland Disjointed, distemper Reigns over ruin and stands Never for a moment Will I stand in for your stead I’m not likely to Say something I can’t say Mean something I can’t mean Use something I don’t have Free something I can’t free Never for a moment
5.
In Your Dreams 02:04
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In your dreams Earth mother goddess, come take me carry me to your garden I see her smile – Boy, only in your dreams Father Anacondia, rescue us from these headlines and take the bad away – Only in your dreams And you can have peace and plenty forever but the gods are all busy helping other callers Lord, can you build a mountain so tall even you cannot raise it? God can do anything – Only in your dreams And you can have peace and plenty forever but the gods are all busy helping other callers Just hold the line, we will get to you Institute of forgiveness here’s your act of contrition See me apologize – Only in your dreams Earth mother goddess, come take me carry me to your garden I see her smile – Boy, only in your dreams I see her smile – Boy, only in your dreams Just hold the line, we will get to you Operators standing by – Only in your dreams
6.
Volcano Man 03:03
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You can if you believe you can, you can You can surely believe You can if you believe you can, you can You can surely believe That you can fly Over the ocean in blue sky And you can land Onto the atoll, on the black sand Oh my god, is it really you, is it you? Oh my god, is it true? You came up from a molten pool, you came You came up from the Earth And you were in flames ‘Hard to deny you were a lava flow And we all caught fire Glad to believe the man from volcano Be a king of the clones you can, you can Have a mother ship up in space Drop me off at Atlantis, man Look there, red Mars has a face And he can smile What a sense of humor, what a sense of style And when you land He’ll be there to greet you And shake your big (green) hand
7.
Asteroid 02:55
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Baby, you’re an asteroid You’ve come up from the swarm Baby, you’re an asteroid And now you’re coming up behind me Your father killed the dinosaurs Grandmother killed what came before And now you’ll be killing me Baby, you’re an asteroid And you’re not to be ignored Baby, you’re an asteroid And what have you got in store for me Your father hit the Yucatan You can do it with your hand On your least clever day I won’t stop you I’ll just go quietly extinct And I’m bound to be among the many Moved over the brink And I’ll be there shall I wait And I’ll be there shall I wait Baby, you’re an asteroid In the sky you’re getting larger Baby, you’re an asteroid Mother of all the martyrs Once you were an animal Now you’re in league with minerals And their time honored ways Baby, you’re an asteroid Riding on a wave Baby, you’re an asteroid Looking to make a crater Citizen you’re not to fear Cling tight to your atmosphere And you can learn to pray I won’t stop you I am so tired I’m asleep I’m resigned to dream a portion of your apocalyptic scheme And I’ll be there shall I wait And I’ll be there shall I wait
8.
Do It Every Time 04:05
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I don’t know why I do it But I do it every time I don’t know why I do it But I do it every time I believe someone They tell me everything I want to hear and then I’ve done it again I don’t know why I do it But I do it every time I don’t know why I do it But I do it every time I try to hold on The ring slips from my hand, you’d think that somehow I’d get it by now If I do what I’m told Be the thing you want me to be There’ll be a folding chair in heaven for me Oh, but I do it every time I resign myself Repeating every word I ever tell myself Believing every lie I ever sell myself If I do what I’m told Be the thing you want me to be There’ll be a folding chair in heaven for me
9.
All The Loons Are There 03:43
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You can ride and you can play All the loons are there It’s back to the beginning All the birds are there Revisions of the past There were heroic deeds undone There was no human zeal And all nights were mother night Now there are only broken pieces of it I can always be distracted Something in my eye They’re walking single file before me I hope that they don’t slide Then down they go You’re pulling and you’re culling On a worker’s holiday Burning and refueling Keep the jungle at bay Motors run from morning until dusk You can forsake the show Neglect the parade The redundant inventions Go give them all away You may find it’s a better course of action One can always be despondent What’s left in this time? If you’re looking for a pristine acre There’s none left to find Go back and search
10.
The Bishop 03:12
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So the bishop has replaced you with some tuber off the shelf Seems your talents are to be wasted I never thought they’d do that They threw the book right out the window and any thought of forgiveness Leave your scholarship in limbo I never thought they’d do that What is so outrageous? What is so outrageous? What is so important? What is so important? At the trial they condemned you All the hearsay loose in court Flag of justice they pretend to I never thought they’d do I never thought they were very serious Your successor is defensive And his spring is tightly wound They really think he can replace you Can you just see all the millionaires sing? I never thought they would I never thought they were very serious What is so impressive? What is so impressive? What is so important? What is so important? What is so outrageous? What is so outrageous? What is so important?
11.
Johnny's Gun 03:37
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Johnny got his gun, so he dropped the bomb He brought it home to mom And showed her how to make his day And so it goes Johnny took his friend down to the school And soon the teacher knew Johnny never liked to wait in line Still no one knows where Johnny got his gun But now they know what little John thought of everyone Right after school, down at the mall John introduced them all To the business end, the payment plan Still no one knows where Johnny got his gun But now they know what little John thought of everyone Such a quiet boy, a bright boy Such an uncomplaining son Until he got his gun Johnny and his gun went overseas Now he’s all that he can be And when he puts some peasant down Everyone knows where Johnny got his gun Only he’s a hero now Brookline’s bravest son Such a quiet boy, a bright boy Now he’s the pride of Big Red One Johnny and his gun Johnny and his gun
12.
Come Back Home 02:43
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Why don’t you come back home? Why don’t you come back to stay? ‘Never know what’s in your eyes ‘Never see the things that prey on you They’re alive inside your mind It’s such a natural thing Just put yourself on the road Hit the bell when you arrive I’ll be sure to drop my work I’ll drop everything And I’ll brew you pots of tea And if I did Oh – we’d forget what you said Why don’t you come back home? Please set your mind back three steps ‘Never heard what brought you down ‘Never glimpsed the beast that latched on tight to you And sent those signals to your brain And if I did Oh – we’d forget what I said
13.
Nothing Could Be More 03:41
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Actually they had it wrong In that play you saw And all the actors on the stage They should have never said a word Well, I never did And now it’s this It’s obvious the author was a hack Factually it’s turned around That was no cape I wore The reliance on the so-called pills They were just vitamins, I swear I never did half those things And I’ve complaints for central casting It’s obvious the author was a hack Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be more Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be further from It’s a tragedy, I grant you that And the terrain was bleak There was never any concise end And the protagonist, he fled But I never did Or I came back Swell the band if you feel you need to It’s obvious the author was a hack I’ve complaints for central casting Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be more Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be further from Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be more wrong Well, I never did And now it’s this It’s obvious the author was a hack Swell the band if you feel you need to I’ve complaints for central casting Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be more Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be further from Nothing, nothing, nothing Nothing could be more wrong
14.
Baby Be Bad 03:30
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Where is the end to this loser’s purgatory? I don’t deserve to be so happy Baby, be bad to me Give me something to bang my head on I would be glad to see you Come and lay my burden down Time to mend your faithful ways Time to give evil a try Go and make me want you ’til the day I die What’s to be gained from this kindness and understanding? Love should not be so undemanding Baby, be bad to me Give me something to bang my head on I would be glad to see you Come and lay my burden down Time to mend your faithful ways Time to give evil a try Go and make me want you ’til the day I die Baby, be bad to me Give me something to bang my head on I would be glad to see you Come and lay my burden down Put pennies on my eyes Go and lay my burden down Place flowers by my side Go and lay my burden down It’s time you realize Love matters when it dies Send me to paradise Go and lay my burden down
15.
See For Yourself 03:07
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Best regards from Horace Pilfer He plotted course five years ago The owner of all our possessions The landlord, what he says is so In this life these men of business Forge their chains, delay their sentences It’s all our risk, and it’s their pleasure It’s all for one and after all Inform you only at their leisure Consult with you when you’re on your knees They’ll sell you little bits of living Night they’ll dictate all you’re dreaming See for yourself, they have purchased the day And the land is theirs and the air Jump if you will but it won’t do any good Wall Street boys and Ivy Leaguers Oilmen and Jerry Christ It’s no surprise they’re all together They’ve the biggest stack of dynamite We are nothing to contend with We have noting to defend with See for yourself, they have purchased the day And the waves that enter your ear You can hang yourself but… See for yourself, they have purchased the day And the land is theirs and the air Jump if you will but… See for yourself, they have purchased the day And the waves that enter your ear You can hang yourself, but it won’t do any good
16.
Taxidermist Zoo 03:17
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Say can you see the main attraction of our time? Standing room only across the ’67 line Welcome to the… The taxidermist zoo That we were born into The taxidermist zoo It’s a dream come, it’s a dream come true Tin soldiers plan your reception straight ahead May be your time to join the nation of the dead Welcome to the… The taxidermist zoo The tanks come rolling through Everything you’re looking forward to It’s a dream come, it’s a dream come true Can’t you see what your world is coming to? Occupations stand like cages in a zoo Turn away and the next cage is for you Close your eyes and the next one is for you The taxidermist zoo The taxidermist zoo Everything you’re looking forward to It’s a dream come, it’s a dream come true Can’t you see what your world is coming to?

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Big Green's second album, a kind of reflection on America in the 2000s.

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released November 1, 2008

Produced by Big Green.

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Big Green Utica, New York

Big Green is a rock band from the stone age (1987). Our songs draw on a variety of influences, but mostly reside in the silly or topical realms of indie rock. Learn more about us at www.big-green.net

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