Today I put my ear up to the grapevine
I ain’t heard no good news here for a long time
Just silent fields of things that grow in straight lines
And crooked me

So tonight I’ll put a barricade around me
Cause I don’t trust nobody in this county
But if this paranoia’s gonna drown me
It might as well
Before someone else does

All the filthy little stars above the central valley know
It’s not a bluff, it’s not a show
All my bitterness below
And all the filthy little things I only say when I’m alone
They float right up through the windshield
Let them ring out ‘cross the dome tonight

I have seen the writing on the foam core
These days every yard sale is a class war
See ‘em lined up all the way around the corner
For a slice of life

If I give up all the clothes that don’t quite fit me
Just in case there’s some else here here in this city
Who would rather be invisible than pretty
Or bullet-proof
Make me bulletproof

If all the filthy little stars above the central valley see
That there are people less than free
The threats are carved into the trees
It’s just a filthy little secret for the universe to keep
God, I know you saw it happen
Don’t tell me to get some sleep, tonight, tonight

And maybe I will make it to tomorrow
See my neighbor with his 9:00am Modelo
And a SuperLotto scratcher
Desperate times and desperate measures
Desperate times and desperate measures

Tomorrow I’ll wake up in consternation
And try to find a little strength and patience
As the sky full of exhaust and constellations
Fades to blue
There’s work to do