Mr. Precarious

Push me out to sea, baby
It's the best thing for us both
I'll be happy out there, baby
Fish below and stars above
And you'll be happier without me

Push me out to sea, baby
There's nothing left for you to do
We did our best with our love, baby
but it brought us down so low
And you'll be happier without me

I'll wash up on your beach one morning
a strange shell lying on the shore
You'll put me to your ear and I'll whisper
what today I just can't say
Then you'll throw me back into the water
and forget you ever found me
and forget you ever lost me

Push me out to sea, baby
It's the best thing for us both
I'll be happy out there, baby
Fish below and stars above
And you'll be happier without me

Am I a man or a mouse?
I'm a man I'm sorry to say
That's what makes me weak
That’s what makes me doubt what I speak
It makes me doubt who I am
Am I a man?

The mouse he beats me with ease
at being just what he is
Though tiny and meek
He does not doubt what he squeaks
He doesn't doubt what he is
He is a mouse

And he's far more a mouse than I am a man

So, to all you manly men I say
You may ham it up all you can
But you'll never be as much of a man
as a mouse is a mouse

No, you'll never be as much of a man
as a mouse is a mouse
as a mouse is a mouse
as a mouse is a mouse
as a mouse is a mouse

The sun-strong face is a lion's face
and roaring like the sun
Is the only way to have fun
And life is a gazelle
when all is well

It takes to flight, bounds out of sight
so you give it chase
to see its perfect face
though it won't let you see
what could it be?

And you know that it is beautiful
You love it as you pursue
But you are beautiful too
and a lion's got to do
what a lion's got to
Roaring like the sun
Have a little fun

I’m a nanny goat on the surface of Mars
A goldfish wriggling on the seat of a car
I’m an elephant, dancing on ice
A wedding cake guarded by mice

Don’t know how I ended up here
or where I can go
But I’m not gonna last long here
that much I know

I’m a pacifist at an NRA rally
I took a wrong turn down a dark alley
My head swims, my heart’s in a flurry
I try to run but it comes out a scurry

Don’t know how I ended up here
or where I can go
But I’m not gonna last long here
that much I know

My position is precarious
My position is precarious
My position is precarious
And there ain’t nothing hilarious about that

I feel strange, I feel uncertain
like I’m facing the final curtain
It’s been a while since I lost my faith
I’ve got to get the hell out of this place

Don’t know how I ended up here
or where I can go
But I’m not gonna last long here
that much I know

My position is precarious
My position is precarious
My position is precarious
And there ain’t nothing hilarious about that

I love the way you dance
I love the way you sing
I love the way you drool in your sleep
when upon my chest
your tired head you do rest

And my shirt may end up drenched
When your thirst for slumber is quenched
But I like it that way
And I'll wear it all day

You dance like a drunken cowboy
You sing like an out-of-tune angel
And the smile on your face
Saves the whole human race
And your slobber on my shirt
Is my saving grace

It’s hard to know where to go
What to do with what we’ve been given
Is it enough? Are we here to love?
Or are we just pretending?

Well, I can’t say it’s any clearer today
Than when I was a child
The questions I had then are still in my head
Though now I don’t ask them so often

I’m not so brave as the child who gave
All his love to the world around him
Who would ask every day, ‘Please, show me the way’
And who longed for a greater understanding

If I no longer ask the question, it’s not because
I am afraid of the answer
If I no longer ask the question, it’s because
I am afraid there’s no answer

I’m afraid that there’s no answer

Wooden fingers tapping on my bones
Wooden fingers sending me a code

Old voice coming from the earth
Up my spine and in my mind

Telling me to come back home
Telling me to come back where I belong now

Lights are bright and so hard to give up
City sleeps but it holds me close and tight now

Old voice calls
Old roots break through reluctant walls

Wooden fingers tapping on my bones
Feel the rhythm and break the code

Old voice coming from the earth
Leaves a doubt budding in my mind

Could this place keep the devils at bay?
Could this earth help my love grow straight and strong?

Yet clamour is beauty to me
The city’s spent but there’s still a spell in its song

Old voice calls
Old roots break through reluctant walls
Old voice calls
Old roots break through these stubborn streets of mine

Those aren't real wings, you know
They won't help you to fly
They took you years to grow
So by all means try
But I'm afraid for you
Yes, I fear you'll fall

Those aren't real wings, you know
And they won't take you where you need to go

Those wings were grown to self-preserve
And they won't serve
To take you away from all your ills
They'll trouble you still

Those wings were grown from fear and fret
And they won't get
You far above the ground
Before you fall back down

For wings to work you know
If you want to be a flyer
They really must be grown
From a hope that's higher
For the peaks that you could reach
In wisdom and in love

Then those real wings will grow
And they might take you where you need to go

I’m growing this beard and belly for you, baby
Don’t have much else to offer you
I’m not strong or brave or fighting fit
Just quick off the mark the night that we met

I’m growing this beard and belly for you, baby
For you to do with as you please
I’m laying roots, girl, I’m settling down
I’m cutting back on those nights on the town

And I know you like to nestle
Into this beard of mine
And when you are feeling restful
On my sad belly, your gentle head recline

But you know I need your body
As much as you need mine

Don’t you change a thing for me, baby
I like you fine the way you are
Just let me do some nestling too
And when feeling is true, some sweet wrestling with you

The beaten horse, the buried crow
Look how low we kings can go
How low we kings can go

When he delights in play so cruel
His majesty’s proved unfit for rule
Proved unfit for rule

Until we learn
The gentle way
We can’t claim
Our reign is sane