Unsteady Things

By Alix Olson

On Independence Meal

Released on 2002

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We sailed past fancy people in their black pants and fancy bars

And we pointed out the gravestones and the flags on the cars

We were rebels released from this world for a time

We had our own way of watching

And in a one way window, you beamed right back at me

You said,"that's exactly what i don't want to be"

Your eyes were two hitchhikers, right then

Thumbing a cheap ride

And i'm a sucker for road travellers

Yeah, weary gets me every time

You are half a good idea

And i am half a good trip

We're a pyramid of unsteady things

And the trick is not to tip

The trick is not to tip

And i been told that i push it too much

Like how i never switch into fifth gear fast enough

I must just enjoy the strain

The groaning of the engine

As it moans, as it's grasping

And i guess i could just guess at what would make you mutter my name

But, i prefer to give to those who commit to the asking

Yeah, i prefer to give to those who commit to the asking

So ask me with your hands up

See, if one thing leads to another

Then another is way past due

Cause i would say that we have done a thing or two

Yes, i would say that we have done a little thing, or two

But nothing ever comes in quite the right dose

We are way too little, we could be way too much

No, nothing ever comes in quite the right dose

You are way too right, we could be way too close

So, now we're a couple of awkward stranges on the street

Doing that 'which way are you moving two-step dance"

But my coaches always taught me to ignore the shifty feet

It's the hips that will lead you where the ball is gonna land

So i'm watching your hips

I'm watching your hips

And i'm woozy, i'm getting woozy

My stomach's gone for a little spin around the block

And you tilt towards me and my pendulum swings

We are a glass pyramid of unsteady things

Unsteady things, unsteady

Like high school chearleaders mounting each other

And the bottom level is cringing

That's how you and i layer our words

With the subtext trembling

And i'm jumping on the shoulders of phrases

Our words are never lazy

But the base layer of gazes

Is just too much to hold up

These unsteady things, these unsteady things

And i've never claimed balance as a credential

I've never pretended to know how to climb

We're winding our way up this precarious hill

Let's make like jill and jill

And tumble down the waterslide

Of these unsteady things

So now we're slipping from the top

Drenched in the sweat of our attempts

And i am feeling stupid now

And you are feeling sheepish

But since that is what we do best

Let's just lie back and stare

I've never felt stars in my eyes like this

I feel like half of a cartoon pair

I've never been so pick-up line

Never been so bare

And you're unfurling your flag of breath, now

Into the bent crook of my arm

And i'm thinking "maybe i could love you

But i'm not sure we'd get along"

And then you unfold your tongue to show me your best

And i think "yes, okay,..........go on"

Because your best is impossibly beautiful

Your charm transcends unbearable

And i've got all this desire clutched behind my back

I will lay down my resistance

I will wait for you to crack

Like your smile splitting like my windshield

Stretching crooked and slow

Bearing the scar of an unseen roadside stone

I should beware, by now, of falling rocks

From the shifting cliffs of unsaid things

You know, earthquakes are measured

By the unsteady signs they bring

You're like water in the glass

And i'm shaking, i'm shaking

I'm shaking from these unsteady things

These unsteady things

You tickle me so pink now that i'm in the red

My blood shooting up like mercury

Heading up until it stings

And i know, you can't handcuff heat

Degrees rise when they please

All you can do is guess at the effects

And put your head between your knees

All you can do is hide from the ride of these

Unsteady things

All i can do is hide from the ride of these

Unsteady things, unsteady