Parade was recorded in the San Fernando Valley at John's apartment and at a rehearsal studio near Varna in 2003 & released January 2004. It features Andy Featherston on drums and percussion & Eli Bolin on bass on some songs (groovy bass line = Eli). All songs by John Elliott (BMI) 2004. It is not streaming on the internet, but it is available at the store on the digital box set and/or as a free download right here.

she shoots to kill
more of the same, how many days
we all waste away, why not?
it’s not like we’re the first ones
but we may be the last ones
so we may as well relax

and the cars outside my place sound like the ocean
america’s in motion
she shows her teeth and i can’t breathe
she’s my magic potion

my girl exhales and turns onto her side
someone is born and someone dies
nobody even knows we’re here
i wake her up and take requests

when it’s my turn i’ll take what i can get
i’ll run away when i’m scared of it
we’ll find a place where winter’s cold
we’ll sit on lawn chairs in the snow

from coast to coast and sea to shining sea
she doesn’t wait for me
but i see that promise in her eyes
i can’t resist it when i rise
i’ll let her take me where she will
she rumbles on and shoots to kill
she shoots to kill

caveman
you’ve got the funniest face in the whole human race ‘cause the point of a face is to put on display what you’re thinkin’
you’ve got a head that’s a mess and an unimpressive chest, but i’d wager a guess if i lost all my clothes and i saw it exposed you would know
right away what i’m thinkin’
and if i were a brave man i think i could live with myself, i wish i were a caveman ‘cause cavemen did what they felt
we’d go fishin’ at dawn with nothin’ much on and though we wouldn’t have words i would point at a bird and then i’d point at you and you’d know
we’d cook out under the stars, away from these bars where you can’t even hear when i scream in your ear that sharing this beer is already a sad memory
and if i were a brave man i think i could live with myself, i wish i were a caveman ‘cause cavemen did what they felt
tonight all these cars have ruined the stars and they make so much noise that i can’t even dream of a million bc with you sleepin’ with me on a rock on a hill where the night is so still that i think that i’m dead and if it weren’t for your head restin’ on me i might be

it must be nice
welcome back from the night, dear
you love playin’ out there, you always have
i’ve been in here, dear
i’m not that content
i don’t belong here
they’re all throwing themselves out the window
i need a view, dear
where i can hear myself think
but you know you believe in the way they take you in
you’re listenin’ to their whispers
they’re whipsperin’
doesn’t it sound nice to hear your voice on their wind?

i’ve got other plans, dear
yes, i believe
that there are other ways, dear
and yes, i still believe
you’re throwin’ it away
you’re watchin’ on the way
the people on the roadside wavin’ you by
isn’t it nice?
it must be nice
it must be nice
it must be nice

oh canada
i wish all of my friends would come knock upon my door and say they it’s not worth it anymore so i can just crawl off and die and no one will try to stop me. i’ve got nothin’ new to share except that i no longer care, maybe i should move to canada. oh canada! maybe i should move to canada. i need a miracle now, we need a miracle now.

the girl next door
she’s the girl next door
you know the girl next door
she doesn’t live next door
but you’d drive all night to see her
she looks like a magazine
she plays like a slot machine
i’m starin’ at the screen, watchin’ myself losing
and the words upon her shirt are so strategically placed
it’s a good excuse to gaze upon her face

oh god, send a thunderstorm
fix the scene up right tonight
oh god, you’re the one i blame
for even knowing her name tonight

you all her all too well
i know her all too well
she’s like the liberty bell
she’s been messed up for ages
we’ve memorized this scene
the stick shift in between
and then she leans and leans and leans and leans
and she holds me like a brother
but she doesn’t know i know
she means it like a lover and it shows

oh god, send a thunderstorm
fix the scene up right tonight
oh god, you’re the one i blame
for even knowin’ her name tonight

you know how the ending goes
i know how the ending goes
we’ll either lose our clothes or i’ll be left to wonder
if i can love anymore after the girl next door
i gotta tell her before she meets the other neighbors
but not tonight, you see, ‘cause it’s a bit too late
she’s walkin’ through the gate
i don’t know why i wait

oh god, send a thunderstorm
fix the scene up right tomorrow night
oh god, you’re the one i blame
for even knowin’ her name
oh god, you know these city lights
are this poor kid’s stars tonight
so god, leave ‘em blinkin’ on
for me to wish upon tonight

before we fall asleep
these cityscape dreams
and these maddening machines
are all that’s between you and me
my mama’s boy dress, your virgin caress
all right, i’ll confess, i’m terrified
the dawn through the dust is sighing
it reminds me of us, still trying
still trying
before we fall asleep

alone on the roof
avoiding the truth
imaging you shuddering
it’s dizzy downhill
we’ve both had our fill
i’m jack and you’re jill and we’re tumbling
and the way that you hold my body is frightening
i’m seven years old, watching the lightning
before i fall asleep

i hope i don’t die today

if i’ve been absurd, it’s only this season let’s leave out the words, abandoning reason before we fall asleep

i hope i don’t die today

the sunset king
here we go, ready and able
gather up your courage, let it go
it’s a brand new world, a presidential order
i’ll shrug and hug her shoulders, i suppose
‘cause she is close enough
as for me, as for me

i’ve become the sunset king
falling over everything
the carnival begins and i appear
assassination, early spring
dying comes to everything
let it come, it’s lonely way up here

i wish i were eighty-three, fast asleep on a quiet street
nobody would notice i was there
yesterday she came and went, i’ve forgotten most of it
the rest was like the minnesota far
but she is close enough
as for me, as for me

i’ll become the sunset king
horrified of everything
gentlemen, i’ve had a lovely time
assassination, early spring
dying comes to everything
when it comes, i’ll wait for it outside

the carnival is shutting down
everyone is grieving now
quiet down, come on now
let’s pretend
nothing’s ever near enough, senators are talking tough
wake me up, it’s déjà vu again

and i’ve become the sunset king
terrified of everything
thank you, sir, my spaceship has arrived
and i know when i’m gone and done
i’ll be a defeated one
hang my head and wish i could survive

adding up
your wishes on a star built this house of cards
so light it up and burn, the point of no return
but this time we spend, my friend
it’s adding up again
it’s adding up again

the old neighborhood
there’s dew on the grass where you first felt
an august breeze on yourself
and all the trees are larger now
you believe you’re small somehow
still small somehow
in a humid hot with a sticky thought
of evenings spent with girls you’d met
and you’re surprised to find they’re all still in your mind
they’re all still in your mind
like the ice cream treats and the grass stained feet
and the secret place you used you meet
beneath the weeping willow tree
to read old dirty magazines
you’re haunted by these scenes
they force your ears to hear the roar
of laughter from the kids next door
who wonder why this older guy is standing
just outside an open car door
the turn and run inside to hide
you see yourself from years before
with sex and love still to explore
and so much more in store
so much more
and you stand there in your cool guy shades
and clothes that say: i’m on my way
i’ve got it made and i thought i’d pay
a visit to my old neighborhood
but you are not that good
at night you lie next to her and sigh
and resolve to try and dissolve to dream
but in your sleep you scream
how it is is not how it seems
how it is is not how it seems

cemetery song
we were born for thunderstorms
she smells like autumn gold
she grins another mystery and wins some more control
her hidden skin is oxygen, fireflies and flame
i make another joke and hope it hides the lovesick shame
she breathes for me, she teases me
she’s close enough to taste
no one wants to be alone in april
and her lonesome lover bedroom sigh could make me cry tonight
as we drink and think of better times in the cemetery light

franklin street
i’m so sick of this sun, i don’t care if i never ever see it again
and a thousand years of winter settle in
i’ve been wishin’ i was back in marcia’s kitchen, oh yeah
with the trees all on fire
with autumn’s burning desire
we’ll get dressed up in blue ‘cause we have to
we got spirit to show
and you know that you’ve got to blend in to be cool
with the hippie kids from the local high school
it’s time for trick or treat, we’re gathering to meet
Knee deep in the leaves out on franklin street

well all of these palm trees
don’t belong in october
if i could i would show her
just how the autumn should be
i need the snow on my shoulders
i need the nights to get colder
i need a reason to hold her
closer to me

indie rock talk on the dock with her socks off
and the world’s orange and yellow
and we’re keepin’ it mellow
and her hair is in pigtails all held up with bows
she says she only likes bands that nobody knows
there’s a castle on the edge of this town
with walls that surround, with vines comin’ down
“it is haunted,” said
she called it secret instead
well then, i will be the king, you can be the queen
and together we’ll rule over franklin street

all is still on the hill
all is still
the sky fulfills its reputation
she names every constellation
ten or more souls are buried
out in the old cemetery
and she was so scared that the ghosts would rise
i kissed the fear out of her eyes

tonight out here on the egde we’re takin’ it easy
it’s seventy and breezy
and it’s makin’ me queasy
she is back in the east makin’ halloween feast
ten or more pumpkin pies
and the season in her eyes
all this distance is breaking me down
i’d rather be in a quieter town
where she wakes up and starts up her day
but i’ll still be sleepin’ so far away
well then, as you pull on your jeans
i’ll be in a dream
that we’re still in the fall out on franklin street

well all of these palm trees
don’t belong in october
if i could i would show her
just how the autumn should be
i need the snow on my shoulders
i need the nights to get colder
i need a reason to hold her
closer to me

twenty million russians
twenty million russians died in world war 2
you still think it matters, don’t you?
i do too

what a lovely parade

maybe
from an orbiting station, i look down on the nation
and wonder why we’re living this way
the moon punches the clock as the sun steps in the spot
and announces another day
i love this world, crazy
sponsored by maybe
it’s ruinin’ me
maybe

you are in high heeled shoes
so i look smaller than you
it was funny the first time
later you’re at the bar
your head stuck in the stars of the new guy
i wish you well
and who can tell, baby
we should have been, maybe
and it’s ruinin’ me
maybe

now the red, white and blue is waving at you
from the porches of your neighborhood
we’re the champion team but we’re not what we seem
we don’t say what we mean, but we look good
so dream or pray, baby
the american way is maybe
and it’s ruinin’ me
maybe

All words written by John Elliott 2004.