Blues on Sideways

A billion bored and lonely souls
Searching for something to fill the holes
Between daydreams as they shovel coal
File reports and pay their tolls
They act the part and play the role
But they're happy just to lose control
For three minutes until their next parole
From manipulations by the thought patrol
Now give back the moments that you stole
Give me something to make me whole
Because there's something I've been trying to tell you

I put my blues on sideways
I listen for the sounds
Of hound dogs on open highways
Is this the dark before the dawn

The edges smoothed, the seams are sewn
To an ideal cliché, a perfect clone
Forged from a woman that we've all known
The whore, the mother, or the Arc of Joan
God bless the child that's got her own
Even if it's out on loan
You stole from your sister
But you're not alone
There's nothing here for Ma Rainey now
No extra flesh, no crooked smile
No pain in the voice on the radio

I put my blues on sideways
I listen for the sounds
Of hound dogs on open highways
Is this the dark before the dawn

And we listen but we don't really hear
Behind the veil, the shifting gears
The unison thump of a thousand steer
They love the sound but don't have ears
The meaningless is still revered
With success comes a thousand tears
Because no one ever made it out of here
That wasn't blinding you with magic
So now you know
So let's start the show
Because there's something that they're trying to sell you

I put my blues on sideways
I listen for the sounds
Of hound dogs on open highways
Is this the dark before the dawn

I put my blues on sideways
I listen for the sounds
Of hound dogs on open highways
Is this the dark
Is this the dark before the dawn