Lyrics

Lyrics

    Here are lyrics to some songs I've written. Later this year, I will put together a complete CD of them (I recorded Eleanor EP last year). I also like to play covers. But I won't print any of those lyrics here, just cuz. I do have a list of my recordings. Also some poetry lying around.
    These songs all belong to me.


Oh Lord, what do you mean?
Peace Corps
The ballad of Larry Mahoney #2
Drag
Campus Partners
(I'll slice off your fingers) if you keep holding me
Ay parece maja








Oh Lord, what do you mean? (2000)

my babaw was a mean old woman
oh lord, what do you mean?
hated everone, 'specially chilren
oh lord, what do you mean?
but god didn't stop her from havin three
kids to share her misery
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

see, she married a man b'neath her statio'
oh lord, what do you mean?
so her family cut her off, no communicatio'
oh lord, what do you mean?
he was a schoolteacher, not a gentleman
but when he proposed she took his hand
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

she ran her house in a hateful way
oh lord, what do you mean?
abuse and vengeance every day
oh lord, what do you mean?
lived a life of sin and misery
in louisian', she had greed a-plenty
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

ever minute of the day she complained
oh lord, what do you mean?
her kids would sass, her house wu'n't cleaned
oh lord, what do you mean?
but grandad did the cleanin' anyway
babaw complained to have somethin to say
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

she hated my daddy since he was born
oh lord, what do you mean?
fi'teen years old, he moved away from home
oh lord, what do you mean?
he raised hisself, paid his own fee
at engineering school wi' football money
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

god said 'judge not lest ye be judged'
oh lord, what do you mean?
but god never felt her hold a grudge
oh lord, what do you mean?
see, i wou'n't let her kiss me when i was five
since then she never looked me in the eye
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

every conversation had to be about her
oh lord, what do you mean?
but if she weren't around, don't ya say a word
oh lord, what do you mean?
she was paranoid and she loved herself
so much there weren't none left for no-one else
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

whenever you'd visit it weren't no good
oh lord, what do you mean?
she'd jist say ya never come as much as ya should
oh lord, what do you mean?
call ya a burden each and every day
ask why ya bothered her anyway
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

my grandad said 'she ain't that bad'
oh lord, what do you mean?
'she jist needs the love she never had'
oh lord, what do you mean?
well, he tried to love her for sixty years
till he went crazy wid alzheimer's
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

so they put my grandad in a home
oh lord, what do you mean?
and that left my babaw all alone
oh lord, what do you mean?
see she never took care of herself before
so she followed him through the nursing home door
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

in her nursing home my brother would visit
oh lord, what do you mean?
she called nurses 'niggers,' called my brother an idiot
oh lord, what do you mean?
she said 'before civil rights the servants were great'
now they don't take her shit and they make her wait
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

babaw beat my grandad in his bed
oh lord, what do you mean?
bruises on his arms cuts on his head
oh lord, what do you mean?
the nurses would come so she'd fight them too
they had to put her in a different room
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

in the new room she beat her roommate up
oh lord, what do you mean?
uncle dickie said 'jist tie her up'
oh lord, what do you mean?
yelled and cursed as she thrashed about
said 'why don't they jist let me out'
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

she yelled and cursed at everybody there
oh lord, what do you mean?
wanted them to put her in her wheelchair
oh lord, what do you mean?
wanted to leave that nursing home
skate back to her childhood throne
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

babaw died, was suspicious they say
oh lord, what do you mean?
in her wheelchair went down the hallway
oh lord, what do you mean?
an emergency exit she somehow opened
down a hill she fell, her pelvis broken
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

uncle dickie said he don't give a hoot
oh lord, what do you mean?
bout filin' no negligence lawsuit
oh lord, what do you mean?
it's over with, jist put her in the ground
she was dead, an didn't make no sound
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

my grandad, well he never knew nothin'
oh lord, what do you mean?
bout babaw bein' put in a coffin
oh lord, what do you mean?
he couldn't even recall what his name is
i skipped her funeral but i went to his
oh lord, oh lord what do you mean?

my babaw was a mean old woman



Peace Corps (2000)

there's different things a man can do
when he don't like who he's become
when he ain't happy 'bout the things he did
he ain't satisfied with what he's done
he could kill himself, or hate himself
or did i mention suicide
drinkin's always an option, too
but there's better places to hide

i'm off to join the peace corps
i can't live with myself anymore
money don't make me happy, i'll try bein' poor
help myself and someone else up offa the floor
if it don't fix my head don't worry
at least i'll have a good story
and i can say that i tried
doin' somethin' besides
just drinkin' until i die

in cambodia the khmer rouge
will drink soup from your skull
and the latest reports from west timor
make my problems seem pretty dull
somalia is ruled by gangs
everyone in rwanda feels hunger pangs
nothin' puts malaise in its place
like a death squad sponsored by the CIA

so i'm off to join the peace corps
i can't live with myself anymore
money don't make me happy, i'll try bein' poor
help myself and someone else up offa the floor
if it don't fix my head don't worry
at least i'll have a good story
and i can say that i tried
doin' somethin' besides
just drinkin' until i die
just drinkin' until i die
just drink until someone else dies



The ballad of Larry Mahoney #2 (1999)

snuck past the supervisor when he came in
he already been late 3 times this month
made a livin, or at least he kept on breathin
knew some people, but he sat alone at lunch
there's a bar he went to every friday night
in carrollton, six miles up 71
it ain't his fault they made owen county dry
and made him drive to drink until he's done

if you ask 'how much does he deserve'
i'm afeared you already missed the bus
he wrecked his own spirit
cuz he couldn't stand bein near it
he's the product, he's the prophet, he's the pus

inside the bar, the tv let him know
john madden thinks miller lite 'tastes great'
knew some people, but he took his seat alone
was thirsty, or at least he drank that way
they had to cut him off at 1 am
knew they really shoulda took his keys
he stumbled out alone, just like he came
took a wrong turn toward his destiny

if you ask 'how much does he deserve'
i'm afeared you already missed the bus
comin home from king's island
he had 23 kids dyin
he's the product, he's the prophet, he's the pus

his vision blurred, he couldn't hardly see
though turnin on his headlights couldn't hurt
blinked his eyes and rubbed em on his sleeve
tried to watch the road and stay alert
tomorrow was his weekend wid the kid
no way he would oversleep this time
a horn was honking, calling him ahead
so he speeded up to meet his crime

if you ask 'how much does he deserve'
i'm afeared you already missed the bus
now they make buses safer
since he made the mornin paper
he's the product, he's the prophet, he's the pus

he ran from the explosion
crost the gasoline blood ocean
away from the fire
and the teenager under his tire
he hid from the inferno
with a church bus for the sterno
wonder what his kid'll
think of this

if you ask 'how much does he deserve'
i'm afeared you don't see he's just like us
he got out on parole
good behavior, evil soul
he's the product, he's the prophet, he's the pus



Drag (1998)

ah drag it out another mile
ya mus' admit, ah got plenny o' style
but if yer lookin' fer closure
closeness or composure
you'll be lookin' fer a little while

ah'm curled up watchin' you in the doorway
what ah'm thinkin' i truly cain't say
but ah'm callin' ya here
connection's vague and unclear
ah'm jist askin' it don't end today

no ah cain't put mah finger on the source
it don' hit wid so much force
ah know somethin's thar
feels importan', i swear
we ain't jis' killin' a dead horse

ah push mah lips into a smile
lonesomeness is more mah style
still an'm tryin' tuh learn
a bit from each wrong turn
paid mah quarter but the phone don' dial

if'n ya hang on jis' another day
ah'll ring some truth tuh this piece of clay
a shape that'll fit
girl, when ah'm done wid it
they'll be true, all the things ah say

no ah cain't put mah finger on the source
cuz' it don' hit wid so much force
but ah know somethin's thar
feels importan', an' i swear
we ain't jis' killin' a dead horse
we ain't jis' killin' a dead horse



Campus Partners (1997)

air raid sirens woke me up today
must be Wednesday again
paper says a rapist lives one alley away
good thing I didn’t bother meeting him—
my bike has a flat I ride it anyway
and barely miss the end of class
the next four hours starin' in a daze
wonderin’ how long till today’s the past

time to sign another lease
one more year to wait
while gettin’ educated and gettin’ suffocated
it’s one more year too late
I boarded the windows and turned off the gas
they say the end’s in view
but i had it right here all the time
on 19th avenue—

we’re heating the world through paper thin walls
we got security thinner than that
no matter how many times the burglars call
there’s a reason they gotta come back—
I bought another instrument I won’t play
another vegetable i won’t eat
I’ll probably buy myself a degree someday
and probably change my sheets
or my address
or all the rest
only the can-lady knows for sure

time to sign another lease
one more year to wait
while gettin lacerated I wanna be sedated
I’m scarlet like ohio state
I boarded the windows and turned on the gas
they say the end’s in view
but I had it right here all the time
on 19th avenue—
I had it right here all the time
on 19th avenue



(I'll slice off your fingers) if you keep holding me (1996, 1998)

"c'mon baby,"
she said as i stall
"y'know it ain't over,
no way not at all.
i got a hunch
yer feelin' this too -
even if you don't
fake feelins will do."

"just like old times,"
she lied like a dove
"cuz yer still right here,
and i'm still in love.
i'm still in love;
yes, i'm still in love;
cuz yer still right here,
and i'm still in love."

yeah, i got inertia,
but for each reaction
guess i still care -
care with no passion
"happy" ain't lyin',
"not bad" ain't content
took what you gave,
now i know what it meant.

now i'm tryin' to slice
the umbilical, y'see.
i'll slice off yer fingers
if you keep holding me.
you keep holding me;
you keep holding me;
i'll slice off your fingers
if you keep holding me.



Ay parece maja (1994, 2000)
para mi hermano (for my brother)

ay parece maja
de ensue�o, y que mas?
soy la marioneta
polvo por los dem�s
�xito, lo hicimos
nosotros mismos
perdio la raz�n
mentiroso, morimos

extender siempre
extendo y practica
mejores retirarse
vasos sim miembra
colgas las botas,
mascaras colgar.
toxica la traquea,
s� cada vez respirar

"�Entonces, donde est� mi esperanza?
�Qui�n ver� mi esperanza?
�La ir� al banco de arena en She-ol?
�Nos hundiremos hasta polvo?"*

(solo)

s�lo deseo (ay parece maja)
s�lo a mi vida (ay parece maja)
vivo en las nubes, o (ay parece maja)
hora de partida

solo deseo (ay parece maja)
solo a m� vida (ay parece maja)
vivo en las nubes, o (ay parece maja)
hora de partida

s� �ltima morada
teatro de titeres
so�� que volaba
morirse, cada vez

*de la Biblia, libro de Job (from the Bible, book of Job)





Recordings
Both CDs are out of print. I will be making a new record later this year.

Eleanor EP. CD, Dead Pripyat Records 01. Written, performed and produced by Kip Hinton. Copyright 2000. Songs: Eleanor, Stand corrected [with Kathryn Sanders], (I'll slice off your fingers) if you keep holding me, The internet causes depression and stress.

Brownish Fandango. CD, Dead Pripyat Records 02. Limited edition of 2. Performed and produced by Kip Hinton. Copyright 2001. Songs: Los cuentos del calle/Stories of the Street (L. Cohen), Guantanamera (J. Mart�), Winter lady (L. Cohen), Famous blue raincoat (L. Cohen), You get what you deserve (A. Chilton), Your cheatin’ heart (H. Williams), One of us cannot be wrong (L. Cohen), The ballad of Larry Mahoney #2 (K. Hinton), Lonesome town (B. Knight), Oh Lord, what do you mean? (K. Hinton), So long, Marianne (L. Cohen), Blue moon (A. Chilton).

Oh Lord, what do you mean? mp3, mp3.com/kiphinton. Written, performed and produced by Kip Hinton. Copyright 2001.


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� Copyright 1994-2001, Kip A. Hinton. All rights reserved. May not be copied, printed, transcribed, republished, mutilated, baked in a pie, or killed in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) without the expressed, written consent of Kip A. Hinton and A. Bartlett Giamatti.