Intelligence is simply talking to many people

Bill Callahan Lyrics

River Guard, by Bill Callahan of Smog, from "Knock Knock" recorded in 1998.

When I take the prisoners swimming
They have the time of their lives
I love to watch them floating
On their backs
Unburden and relaxed
I sit in the tall grass and look the other way
And when I hall them in they always say
Our sencencess will not served
We are constantly on trial
It's a way to be free
Most nights I go for a drive
To to the highest place I can find
Stand there on a cliff with gooseflesh
Watching the wind rip the leaves of the trees
Death defying
Every breath
Death defying
Soon we all be back in the yard
Behind the wall
Leaving heart
Dreaming of cool rivers and tall grass
We are constantly on trial
It's a way to be free
We are constantly on trial
It's a way to be free

Red Apples, the early version, not the one that appeared later on 1997's "Red Apple Falls"

I went down to the river
To meet the widow
She gave me an apple
And it was red
I slept in her black arms
For a century
She wanted nothing in return
I gave her nothing in return
The ghost of her husband
Beautiful as a horse
Pulled up an apple cart
Full of millions of red apples for us
Full of millions of red apples for us
I went down to the river
To meet the widow
She gave me an apple
And it was red
I slept in her black arms
For a century
She wanted nothing in return
I gave her nothing in return
I went down to the river
To meet the widow

Riding for the Feeling, on 2011's "Apocalypse"

It's never easy to say goodbye
To the faces
So rarely do we see another one
So close and so long
I asked the room if I'd said enough
No one really answered
They just said, "Don't go, don't go, don't go, don't go, don't go"
Well all this leaving is never ending
I kept hoping for one more question
Or for someone to say,
"Who do you think you are?"
So I could tell them
With intensity, the drop evaporates by law
In conclusion, leaving is easy
When you've got some place you need to be
I'm giving up this gig for another season
With the TV on mute
I'm listening back to the tapes
On the hotel bed
My, my, my apocalypse
My, my, my apocalypse
I realised I had said very little about ways or wheels
Or riding for the feeling
Riding for the feeling
Is the fastest way to reach the shore
On water or land
Riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling
Riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling
What if I had stood there at the end
And said again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again
An answer to every question
Riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling
Riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling
Riding for the riding, for the riding, and for the ride
Riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling, riding for the feeling
Would that have been a suitable goodbye?

I Break Horses from 1996's "Kicking a Couple Around" by Smog

Well, I rode out to the ocean
And the water looked like tarnished gold
I rode out on a broken horse
Who told me she'd never felt so old
She asked me if I'd feed her
And ride her now and then
No no no, no no no, no no no
I break horses
I don't tend to them
I break horses
They seem to come to me
Asking to be broken
They seem to run to me
I break horses
Doesn't take me long
Just a few well-placed words
And their wandering hearts are gone
At first her warmth felt good between my legs
Living breathing heart-beating flesh
But soon that warmth turned to an itch
Turned to a scratch
Turned to a gash
I break horses
I don't tend to them
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
No, I break horses
I don't tend to them

Dress Sexy at My Funeral, from 2000's Dongs of Sevotion

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife
Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife
For the first time in your life

Wear your blouse undone to here
And your skirt split up to there

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife
For the first time in your life
Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife

Wink at the minister
Blow kisses to my grieving brothers

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife

And when it comes your turn to speak
Before the crowd
Tell them about the time we did it
On the beach with fireworks above us
On the railroad tracks
With the gravel in your back
In the back room of a crowded bar
And in the very grave yard
Where my body now rests

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife
Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife
For the first time in your life

Also tell them about how I gave to charity
And tried to love my fellow man
As best I could
But most of all don't forget about the time
On the beach
With fireworks above us

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