We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Comprehensible They Are

by Richard Haxton

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
2.
A new movie costs about ten bucks An old movie cost a dime So for an old movie to be worth as much You’d have to see it one hundred times And for a Shakespeare play to be worth as much You’d have to spend every day of your whole life there And if you go back as far as the “Epic of Gilgamesh” There’s a wormhole where you come out a billionaire You say, “No. It sounds like a scam.” You must not know the economics of Olam
3.
I went walking in the rain And it served no particular purpose at all Except to generate some images that were way too trite for this song They were trite, y'all. Extremely trite I went walking in the rain. He went walking in the rain, y'all I went walking in the rain. It was such a waste of time I went walking in the rain. Give us something commercial Life is more than numbers and dollar signs. Rent is due on Monday What about the value of the song? We’ll give you ten more seconds I will not be your sonic prostitute. Take a walk
4.
Death is necessary but only if you get to live Your return can go on ad infinitum but only if it’s all you give You can have anything you want. All you got to do is let it go And you can fulfill your wildest dreams if you keep your expectations low Bravery is impossible for the one who has no fear And you can find out what it’s all about, but you got to wait til you ain’t here You’re a hedgehog, you’re a fox You’re a Chinese box With invisible locks You’re a paradox Of all the hens and cocks In the range of God’s vox Almost everybody groks That reality rocks And God saw what Adam and Eve had wrought And God was like, dude!
5.
Ain’t no need to worry ‘bout the seventh seal Jesus coming back. He got a three picture deal First we do a comedy a wacky little heist Something to bring out the lighter side of the Christ Then maybe a musical some Hollywood fiction With singing and dancing inspired by the crucifixion Then a dramatic turn that defies description Like the story of the Jews as told by Mel Gibson And if JC tests high and makes the connect Maybe the studio will let the Son of God direct
6.
Jesus was a mighty fine man Ain’t no doubt in my mind He gave the world a model That has stood the test of time He helped some folks along the way Always kind and never mean It’s amazing what one man can do When God runs their PR machine
7.
Everybody needs an architect to help them understand the world Instead of staring at the train wreck, now you can watch the mysteries unfurl Now everything is in focus, all of your questions gone Just so you can understand it all, we put it all in this song No is zero and one is yes To be a hero keep it simple so you never will get depressed To find what’s sleazy, you need a diagnostic tool Now it’s easy since you can worship in the church of George Boole One, 0, yes, no Wrong, right, black, white On, off, hard, soft Take, give, die, live, Humanism, Darwinism, Genesis creationism providentialism Novelty creationism, supernaturalism Anti-selectionism, spiritual religionism One more time
8.
Team Jesus and Mohamed decide to fight it out Team Moses says not without me Team Buddha and Confucius run out on the field They’re looking for a referee Team Zoroaster, Black Elk and Bahá'u'lláh Team shaman, Reverent Moon and Lao Tse Are all saying they’ve got the toughest god Now I guess they’re gonna see My god can whup your god So the whistle blows and heavens open wide And the guy with the white beard says Why go looking for a reason for breaking heads When you can break some bread instead So they sweep all their differences under the rug And then they have a big group hug And then they all get together to kick Karl Marx’s butt I guess they’re still working out the bugs My god can whup your god (or gods)
9.
Shootout 00:56
There’s gonna be a shootout Between the scientist and the preacher Down at the ‘We’re All OK Corral’ They’re gonna decide once and for all What is fair and what is foul They’re gonna do it right in front of the billboard Where old Tombstone used to be So all the citizens can see the light What is wrong and what is right And I’m gonna get it all in film I’m gonna sell it to Spike Cuz I know that they’d like Documentation of our final plight Then I’m gonna ride my film career Off into the night There’s gonna be a shootout
10.
Mitochondria 01:13
Mitochondria They live inside your cells But are they part of you? They have their own agenda Making energy from food You might call them terrorists, insurgents or worse But without them you would die immediately Just like the US economy With no illegal aliens They are its Mitochondria
11.
Hey, baby. You’re lookin’ fine as Schrödinger’s cat this evening Well, no, baby, you ain’t lookin’ quite that fine Yeah, baby, you lookin’ that fine You lookin’ fine, baby, but not quite fine as Schrödinger’s cat Oh, yeah, baby, you lookin’ that fine Well, baby, to be perfectly frank, I’d say there’s about a fifty percent chance That you lookin’ fine as Schrödinger’s cat Oh yeah, baby, you lookin’ that fine Well, maybe….
12.
If you were to rate yourself on a scale of one to ten One end being ignorance and evil the other end On one end you’re ruled by science, the other you’re ruled by sin Where do you think you’d fit in, my friend? Around the castle of your life do you confidently stride? Or when you move from room to room do you like to hire a guide? When you’re dancing with yourself do you follow? Do you lead? Do you heal cuz you’ve forgotten how to bleed? Will we live by the words of robots built only to detect The mathematical contradictions of the politically correct? Is it about a billion years ago and some genetic flaw? Is it about what’s right or is it about the law? Will we learn to live the moment and set our spirits free? Or will we find out that the moment ain’t what it’s cracked up to be? Do you believe science can fix us before our moment’s gone? Or that maybe heaven’s angels can sing us a unifying song? Halleluiah. We bow our heads in prayer Halleluiah = mc²
13.
He travels all over the land Dressed in a simple robe He has a simple plan That came all the way from Job He has one thing to teach To some it may sound rash Your grasp can exceed your reach If you don’t worry about the cash To keep a transaction clean Not covered up with junk Call John Destry – sales monk
14.
Some say there’s a hole in the middle of the world Where the juice flows in and out Some don’t believe it’s there To some it’s everywhere And that’s what it’s all about A hole
15.
We are walking through the Great Canyon, the very Canyon where the ancients once walked. All around us we experience the majesty that they experienced all those eons ago. Our faint hope is that we will find buried in this beauty some artifact that will unlock the mystery of the disappearance of that long did culture. Wait! There! In the rocks! A fleeting glint! We walked towards it, our hearts pounding, hoping against all hope. Can this be? Can this really be happening to us? We reached down between the large rocks and find a shiny metallic object. We can barely contain our excitement as we turn it over and examine the glyphs inscribed so long ago by the ancient ones. M...I...L...millennium, or may be 1049. And then we find D..R... the Druids, or a drachma possibly. We hold our breath as we uncover the third and all important group of symbols. G...E...N...U... our simultaneous cries echo off the canyon walls as we realize we've unlocked the mystery! This artifact is indeed genuine! This is the real thing! What we are holding is Miller Genuine Draft.
16.
Shit and fuck are our old friends They’ve been with us all along One tells us how we come to sing The other the price of the song Maybe they’re a little too close To the animal core of what we really are Like a telegram from a cavern wall Like the history of a scar So the next time somebody says one If you look past the outer shell Into the heart of shit and fuck What a story they will tell
17.
Tell me why does your flock of birds, why does your school of fish Why do your reels on the slot machine turn at the same time? Is the hand of God? Is it a twist of fate? Or is it a salable skill that can be yours, but now is mine? You all know you’re gonna lose, that you’re just living to be dying So why do so many of you choose to hang in there and keep on trying? Is it the big reward in the sky? Or is it just one more chance to get laid? Is it for a bigger piece of the pie? Or is it just to get your mortgage paid? I can answer your questions soon. I can get you out of your fix Everybody take your hymnal and turn to page 666 You can have it now You can have it all If you just sign on the dotted line I can put some spring in your fall You need some spring in your fall
18.
Will you follow me into the darkness? Where anything could happen Danger lurks round every corner With all your fears I will be your guide into the darkness And you’ll just have to trust me I know that’s so hard when you rational mind says, no, no, no I make no promises Can you trust?
19.
I have to live behind the mask There’re questions that no one should ask And questions I don’t ask myself If only for my mental health I locked myself out in the rain But that is better than the pain When I could not pass the exam That proves I can tell who I am I know I don’t stop at my skin But I don’t know where I begin I know I have done some bad things And used to feel conscience’s stings But now all I feel is the wind From this limbo I’m living in Once active now I am inert But better that than feel the hurt I, like an egg, protect my yoke With a quick jab or with a joke But is the problem worse than that When I take off this coat and hat And at my essence try to stare There will be nothing there
20.
My all time favorite argument Is the one about the existence of God Where one yells out the negative And the other gives God a screaming nod The thing I love about this argument Is no matter how smart the why not or why There’s only one way to know you won the argument You have to die And if you don’t win You probably won’t care What anybody said Cuz you’ll be dead See you there
21.
I wrote so much this song in English to translate in order to tell you that I am what I make here certain basis thoughts withdraw, and which most current on-line language the available software uses, in order these ideas in another language and this language in a third language and into English to then translate. Then I compare at the beginning with the final result, and will prove that not only our technological possibilities far psychological, mental to ours have exceeded, and easy excitable those the pure and simple ideas within the range of the report of the basis to be but from everyone without the barriers of understandable language and culture comprehensibly they are.
22.
The next time you find yourself standing in line See how much space you need Are you standing inside your comfort zone? Where does your comfort turn into greed? You need a lot in the US. Japan needs a lot less In prison the world is one foot, an inch to a shot put Is it something about how big you live? Is it something about how much you can give? Is it something about the size your heart? When you draw your bottom line, where do you start? Do you start from the edge of your skin? Or does your line start from deep within? Does it depend on what you know about you? Does it depend on who you're standing next to? Does it depend on whether you're cold or hot? Does it depend on how much money you got? If everything's hot you might need a bit more? But the freezing cold can turn you into a whore Cuz the sky's the limit when you need to stay warm The sky's the limit to keep your baby from harm So the next time your boss gets up in your face Or your favorite corporation's gonna try to erase Your good name, your reputation and your credit base You can't keep up the pace So you lose your place You're searching the town For a trace of God's grace Maybe it all comes down To a question of space
23.
Happy Matter 01:41
The universe is mostly dark matter. That is what the scientists say Cuz when they tried to shine a light on it, dark matter just slipped away They tried to creep (Ab) up on it while it was sleeping, but dark matter was way too fast They could solve the problem if they just changed the name, then we’d see dark matter at last Tell me - How would you feel if you were real and in the majority And the minority said everything about you was dark cuz they were too blind to see? Sure you’d keep a low profile. You’d avoid them suckers like the plague If they want dark matter to reveal itself they oughta call a meeting in The Hague If they’d reframe and change the name They’d make it proud to shout out loud I’m happy matter Step into my light I’m happy matter Got a little respect and now my future’s bright
24.
I am your inner predator You pay me to enter your being and track down all them foolish fantasies that have kept you from doing what you know it is your place on this earth to do. And although there may be some discomfort when I enter your being, upon evacuation you will discover a whole new level of access to your innermost core. I do not come cheap, but then we inner predators feel that whole and complete personhood is worth almost any price.
25.
Hot Sauce 00:53
There’s a place in the sun For each and every one Why don’t you get out of the shade And get in step with the parade You can stay out all day long Wearing nothing but a thong Don’t worry nothing’s wrong Just cuz the ozone layer’s gone It’s more UV’s for you and me Erase God’s graffiti from your mind More UV’s for you and me We make our burgers by intelligent design Go get the hot sauce Cuz now you’re mine
26.
Muse is coming through Got to get our of the way Now is time to go Gotta go gotta go gotta go gotta get out of the way
27.
I feel an enormous turd Taking shape in the very inner recesses of my bowels And when I produce this masterpiece It will be the culmination of days and nights of stress and strife It may well be the best one of my life But only time will tell if it sells
28.
I can hear them outside the walls They say they want their fair share But there’s not enough to go around You don’t know my name, you never saw my face, you never heard my song But I have see seen the rain, I lived here in this place, all trace of me is gone When the prophet died, and all the people had to flee Standing right by his side, that was me Then retribution came and there was darkness on the land I was in the crowd, when the people took their stand Can’t you hear the voices? Crying out in pain From the undiscovered country History left us out in the pouring rain We have nowhere else to go No more compromise
29.
He leaves his home where there’s no tomorrow A little bit afraid of just what he’ll find He’s alone on the trail of sorrow Leaving all he knows behind So he moves to the place where no soul goes slowly Except for the moment when it’s too late It’s a place so secure and holy It’s the middle of the interstate He stretches out and collects his thoughts On the banks of the river of rubber and steel He’s safe from the other side’s madness Protected by the angels at the wheel He has a plan. He’s gonna tell everybody And he knows in his heart that he can make them see That everyone can love one another In the land of possibility He’ll let ‘em know that anybody’s welcome But when you try to cross you tempt the hand of fate Only the brave and the true are gonna make it In the cult of the interstate And in his carbon monoxide dreams he see himself as an old oak tree In the beautiful glow of the low flying beams when the children gather round his knee He just hopes it’s not too late
30.
Let me tell you the story Of the Chinese Jefferson When he was young he would worry That the people’s will would be done Never a thought for himself The people rule, nobody else When everything is said and done The people will say we did this one And that’s just part of the story Of the Chinese Jefferson He wrote it all on a paper Out in the desert all by himself Never thinking his labor Would be seen by someone else Through all our hopes and all our fears He’s carried us 2500 years And in his words he let me see What it would feel like to be me And find out just for a moment What it would feel like to be free They’ll drive you nuts Those ten thousand things Don’t worry so much What tomorrow brings Just sing the song of birth and death The melody’s in every breath So have a big one and on your way Live every moment of every day Swim the river of time until you’re done Not holding on to what’s lost or won And you’ll be living the story Of the Chinese Jefferson
31.
Worms 00:48
OK, so we’re slimy and cold to the touch Got a bad reputation no matter how much We try to help. You can’t see us toil All day long down deep in the soil We can take one of your run of the mill watermelon rinds And break it down in an hour’s time Make the richest dirt that you’ve ever seen Next year it’ll help you grow anything green Two four seven three six five a year Crap coming in the front. Gold going out the rear And we’re giving it to you totally free Never did ask for one rupee What do we get? Disgusted looks Or we wind up on one of your fishing hooks We eat and shit our way through our lives Garbage to you is to us delect We eat and shit our way through our lives All we’re asking is a little respect We eat and shit our way through our lives We’re gonna say it. Gonna say it loud We eat and shit our way through our lives Gonna say it clear. Gonna say it proud We’re worms
32.
Linkage 01:20
The insertion The turning of the key The sudden surge of energy deep within the heart cells The slow thrust of the piston The probing friction all along cylinder walls Lubricated by the fruit of mother earth The fluid moving through tube and valve The stir of awakening union The spark Bursting into flame Propelling the parts in out in out in the crankcase life cycle Organization Production Source of power and light Promises fulfilled Ecstasy exchanged Linkage And finally The sweet lingering afterglow Of carbon monoxide dreams
33.
News Flash 00:59
At dawn a flock of crows wakes and begins to stir. They rally themselves into a frenzy of call and response. Suddenly they rise as one from their perch and fly away to the rising sun. As they cross the oldest freeway in the world, it’s just beginning to fill up with cars. As the pink glow bleeds from the eastern sky, the moon sets in the west and the gentle breeze begins to blow
34.
We are single cells in the organism called mankind Each one a tiny synapse firing in the communal human mind And if things get bad enough maybe it can see That we little ants are the foundation We’re out here working on the ant hill Oh, help protect us

about

If you want to enter the labyrinth you’re gonna have to pay
Maybe with your life, or maybe you’ll have to stay
It’s possible you cannot return however strong the urge
If you want to have a chance let your mind and body merge
Your head will take you just so far, from there your feet will think
You have to find the balance to stay there on the brink
This is the labyrinth
Since before the dawn of man
Enter if you can
The question is the tortoise. The answer is the hare
When the hare is panting in the dust, the tortoise will still be there
This is where the laughs are cries. This is where all lives or dies
This is where the secret lies if you are prepared
This is the labyrinth
There’s something in the air
Enter if you dare

credits

released October 13, 2011

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Richard Haxton Los Angeles, California

From the middle of Mississippi, served in Viet Nam in Thailand, lives 5,000 feet from the world's oldest freeway. Searches for transcendence - or something - where science meets the spirit. Never quit fighting the war for the groove!

contact / help

Contact Richard Haxton

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Richard Haxton, you may also like: