Sony Music

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#77 in Chart Magazines Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time
WINNER :: Best Alternative Album Juno 1996

What Fresh Hell Is This? (Ek 80208) ©, (p) 1995 Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc. Epic is a trademark of Sony Music Entertainment (Canada) Inc.

beatles in hollywood

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Dave Genn)

There are no absolutes to human misery Things can get worse, hm Humming in the wires No news is good news Sad children of the fates These homeless of the world Gathered here in this bar for a while To forestall going out in the world Yeah, I think of a million things As I ride through the night My dead dad above me I’m down the well If this is hell Turn up the heat If you’re the devil Turn up the god-damned heat I just wanted to be good Like the Beatles in Hollywood You’re a running, baby deer Caught in the headlights Have you ever really faced fear Like a butterfly in drying concrete Laying in the gutter facing the wrong way And the stars aren’t here anymore If I ever get off this bed I’ll believe in you I just wanted to be good Like the Beatles in Hollywood I’m so sick of cake I’m sick of health A drunken rage? Hey, I can do that straight Logically I could reason my way Right back to hell I could medicate myself Right back into a coma Religiously I cook(?) my habit Indulgently All the doctors in the town The nurses in the institution All the philosophers in the world All the priests in the suburbs Couldn’t tell me why Why the woman hurt If they only had a clue They convince you that There’s no such thing as luck You’re so fucked up You need a lawyer to become unstuck I just wanted to be good Like the Beatles in Hollywood Don’t ask me I’ve nothing to say Nobody cares about anybody else anyway I just wanted to be good Like the Beatles in Hollywood

another train song

(Bergmann)

I saw you at the station Waving and smiling bye-bye No, I’ve never seen you so happy With a ticket in your hand On a train to the east No, don’t ever let me go Don’t let them make me say I told you so baby Baby, baby, don’t get in line Now look who’s crying I saw you on the platform Waving and smiling and looking so fine Your parents are so well informed You follow suit The blind leading the blind No, don’t ever let me go Don’t let them make me say I told you so baby Baby, baby, don’t get in line Now look who’s crying That’s the whole of the law Bye-bye Your parents gave you orders Cursed with a birth certificate A passport and a stamp You’re on a train crossing borders Machine gun nest Barbed wire blessed Holiday camp No, don’t ever let me go Don’t let them make me say I told you so baby Baby, baby, don’t get in line Now look who’s crying That’s the whole of the law Bye-bye That’s the whole of the law Bye-bye

in betweens

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Colin James) album: What Fresh Hell Is This?

Hey you All dressed in black In your gravedigger clothes Are you down and dirty Superclean Do you save souls Be damned or saved I don’t like in betweens Black or white I need a girl who’s extreme My tongue goes slack I feel a strange affinity I start heavy breathing In your vicinity Are you damned or saved I don’t like in betweens Black or white I need a girl who’s extreme Are you taking me up Taking me down Dragging my name Through mud all over town Be damned or saved I don’t like in betweens Black or white I need a girl who’s extreme She’s a well-rounded girl With a happy face A renaissance girl Or a family disgrace Hey you All dressed in black In your gravedigger clothes Are you superclean Down and dirty Or do you save souls?

buried alive

(lyrics: Art Bergmann/Sherri Decembrini, music: Bergmann/Chris Wardman) Lead me down your garden path Show me my innocent past All the good things I thought were trash All the king’s horses All the queen’s men Couldn’t put me back together again Does it take a genius To understand She says don’t worry My whole life’s a crime Roll over me And I’ll bury you alive Practising students Offer up the cure All the liars talk That hang around here It was the longest day Of the year In my never-ending search For culture and bliss A cup of coffee And a morning kiss How could I ever think There was more than this She says so sorry My whole life’s a crime Roll over me And I’ll bury you alive All the king’s horses All the queen’s men Couldn’t put me back together again Does it take a genius To understand She says so sorry My whole life’s a crime Roll over me And I’ll bury you alive Don’t worry My whole life’s a crime Bury you alive Bury you alive Take me Off this earth For a while…

guns and heroin

(Bergmann)

Some people never go out I understand why Need something to read about To spice up their lives Others we just can't stay in No romance no matter how stricken Though poverty is not what it seems I can't fathom fear So if I seem close to danger What does the bible say Nothing will ever change Safe in our beds Like the rich in their tombs Guns and heroin Guns and heroin Where did the money come from Two weeks out of prison Fifty dollars for a gun Turned into fifty thousand We met two mutual friends She's a hooker I'm a musician He wants legitimate business God if he only knew it's the same as... Guns and heroin Guns and heroin Tell me what is your reason for entering our fair state What is your purpose of crossing the border here today What is your business in this beautiful country What are your reasons for entering the USA Guns and heroin Guns and heroin

some fresh hell

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Dave Genn/Chris Wardman)

You turn your friends Into your clientele Like a vampire newly-wed Now you’re needing Some fresh little hell Because you’re all nearly dead Knock, knock on my front door You need my money And you want me to score Knock, knock on my front door Give me more and more and more And more and more All your boys Are only sixteen years old You buy them all a car They deliver and collect All the gold They are your rising young stars Knock, knock on my front door You need my money And you want me to score Knock, knock on my front door Give me more and more and more And more and more My city has gone Look in my eyes It’s a bloodless coup An Easy-bake take-over Eastern flower power Penthouse apartment For the money to fill You know you love the smell Now there is just one More or less Story to tell And that is how you fell Knock, knock on my front door You need my money And you want me to score Knock, knock on my front door Give me more and more and more And more and more Like a vampire newly-wed All your brides are nearly dead Your friends Hell, yes, your clientele You take their money Because you love the smell Now you’re needing Some fresh little hell One more down One less story to tell One more down One less story to tell

contract

(Bergmann/Chris Wardman)

I’ll pollute the world for you Do anything you want me to And I’ll salute your flag - as I do I do all this and enjoy it too I’ll be a real fine drag for you Create a heap of slag for you Mess up your girls – like you do I hang naked in full public view We got a contract, contract Who’s schmoozing who Yeah, I dig my own grave for you Be a total slave for you Go around the world for you Create a monster – and bring it too We got a contract, contract Who’s using who Contract, contract Who’s screwing who Contract, contract Who’s schmoozing who C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T I got my CEO salary What I got C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T I screw my home and family What you want C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Let’s get together And have some drinks and discuss it Aw, heck, here’s a piece of my neck F-R-I-C-T-I-O-N Friction, friction I be a total drag for you Create a heap of slag for you Mess up your girls – like you do I create a monster – and eat it too We got a contract, contract Who’s using who Contract, contract Who’s screwing who We got a contract, contract Who’s using who Contract, contract Who’s screwing who Contract, contract Congratulations

jones

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Dave Genn)

She gives me the jones Callin’ all the time She’s got the phone hooked Right into my main-line She gives me a loan She’s a walkin’ talkin’ Shatterin’ chatterbox Jones She’s got my number I’m goin’ under The click of her nails Tappin’ the phone It never fails It’s chills me to the bone She puts me back in jail And drags me ‘way from home She’s got my number I’m goin’ under Jones She gives me the jones It’s in her look The blink of an eye I’m in her book Makes me wanna cry My goose is cooked It makes me wanna die She’s got my number I’m goin’ under Jones She gives me the jones I don’t know why I can’t leave her On her own Maybe if I knew why I could find my way home She’s got my number I’m goin’ under She’s got my number We’ll never slumber Jones She gives me the jones Jones She gives me the jones

demolished

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Dave Genn)

You got so wired What did you think Would happen in the first place You got so wired Didn’t think That you would fall from grace You got so wired Wasn’t it all so calculating You got so wired You used to hang on Every single word I’d say You’ll never break This demolition heart You wanna know what it’s like Everything is best kept quiet And a sordid past takes a poke At the future ‘Til the stars fall from the sky It looks the same Thrill me or fill me with shame A sordid past takes a poke At the future The things that are easiest said Don’t impress her What do we have in common Stare out the window And poke fun at all the silly folks What do we have in common Chain smoke cigarettes And sometimes sex It’s something You can recognize When you look Into your lover’s eyes

nearer my god to thee

(Bergmann)

When you wake up every morning Just to face one more deadline Will you think back on me And admit you were the same kind When you stop all your denying That somewhere inside you There’s someone who’s like me too Who does the things I do When you finally make up your mind To stay for more than just one night Will we find out What you’re really like Isn’t that like me To lie, thieve, cheat, and steal For you isn’t that like you To come around and say I owe you Will you still love me When I’m nearer my god to thee Will you still love me When I’m nearer my got to thee When you’ve made All your arrangements To get out of your house And how to smash your plates and china To disavow your vows Smash your sacred cow Give me a nod of approval Show me a little sign That will make me stronger for you Knowing you’ve made up your mind Isn’t that like me To lie, thieve, cheat, and steal for you Isn’t that like you To come around and say I owe you Will you still love me When I’m nearer my god to thee Will you still love me When I’m nearer my god to thee When you finally make up your mind To stay for more than just one night We’re gonna find out What we’re really like Will you still love me When I’m nearer my god to thee Will you still love me When I’m nearer my god to thee

dive

(Bergmann)

Got a mouthful of ashes And I got some rope You got a pocketful of plastic I guess you’ve never been broke Long-distance phone call From a noisy bar Says they’ll be digging Through your trash one day I said they already are Hush now baby Don’t you cry Dry your eyes Watch me dive Got a mouthful of ashes And I got some rope You got a pocketful of plastic Guess you’ve never been broke There’s no secrets No they don’t have one Watch ‘em find some food today Before it rots in the sun I long for the night Where I can hide Maybe dream up a life Instead of living this lie Yeah, I love the night I feel safe and warm inside Instead of living this lie Got a mouthful of ashes And I got a gun You got a pocketful of tragic You always had your fun Kid says where’s the car And where are you parked Hmm…maybe in the garage Where I was a star Hush now baby Don’t you cry Dry your tears And watch me dive

stop the time

(lyrics: Bergmann, music: Bergmann/Dave Genn/Adam Drake)

Start the time Every morning In the rain My life is waiting Get on the bus Who could enjoy this Here on the bus Who will employ us I take the pains To avert my eyes There’s always a psycho With me in his sights I wish For just 5 minutes He’d be on my side I wish For just 5 minutes He’d be on my side Hide behind my paper An item in the news Some kid Got his head blown off Now he’s twenty-one forever A lucky guy Twenty-one forever He stopped the time Count the clocks Count the blocks Count the stops Until I get off I wish For just 5 minutes Stop the time