Fire At Night, 1997

cast:

Rich Mattson: vocals and guitar
Greg McAloon: bass
Glen Mattson: drums
Graham Gregorich: guitar

with:

Robbie Gilboe: drums on Make You Look, Tumbellina, Make A Wish, Clingy, Desolation Underground, Fire at Night
Jim Kennedy: guitar on Make You Look, Tumbellina, Make A Wish, Clingy. background vocal on Tumbellina

Special Guest: Leo Kuelbs Jr.: drums on Figured Out, Sleepers

Produced by Rich Mattson
Recorded at Flowerpot, Minneapolis, MN
Mastered by Doug Wild at Wild Audio, Minneapolis, MN

Paintings by John Reipas
Photos from the Film "Fire At Night" by Reggie Pype
Band Photo by Jason Deming
Layout and Design by Matt Lee http://www.blasted.com

  1. Summer
  2. More You Look
  3. Last Hurrah
  4. Vacate
  5. Figured Out
  6. Whole Lotta Nothing
  7. Tumbellina
  8. Make A Wish
  9. Real Friends
  10. Clingy
  11. Invincible Man
  12. Sleepers
  13. Desolation Underground
  14. Fire At Night

Summer

I guess it must have been the morning
The way the news got through to you.
Somebody finally had an answer
To what your life might do for you.

Yeah, some kinda answer,
And a good one too.

I guess there had to be a last time
Before the ticker tape guilt parade
In three more weeks it would have been summer
I just had a wonderful time today

Yeah, with my summer lover,
She's a good one too.

I guess it must have been the morning
The way the news got through to you.
In three more weeks it would have been summer
And there was nothing better to do.

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More You Look

You are not an animal
You're not dominated by instincts
The more you sense any harm from me
The more you look like a dog

There's no justice for broken hearts
Life goes by with many stops and starts
Treat the past like it's just not there
Keep it inside and it don't seem fair.

I have found love again
Makes a livin' worthwhile
Not someone lookin' over my shoulder
Wanting to break my arm

(chorus)

There's pain in broken hearts
There's work in anger control
And I know I've got help out there if I need it
And there are animal instincts
And a humane society
Oh, oh and there's broken hearts.

So you can seperate yourself
And isolate your dream world
Move to another state
But you will always have the time we spent

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Last Hurrah

The last hurrah and it's gonna be a big one
You'll see me walkin' down memory lane.
Got nothin' to show for all this time
I leave the story to somebody else

And it goes down easier than ever
And the full moon bigins to rise
In five seconds I'm hittin' the pavement
And I watch the sun come up.

Been too much time to tell me where it's all gone
The last hurrah is what's happened today
I saw it all with my own two eyes
It wasn't quicksand it was only mud.

But still it went way down deep
Goin' home with stinkin' feet
The last hurrah and isn't it sweet
Taste it twice when you're on your knees

Your last hurrah
Last hurrah

Last hurrah
Last hurrah
Last hurrah

The big difference between first and last
Is after one you gotta put it in the past
The last hurrah and it's gonna be a big one
Let's hope it leaves you with the strength to carry on.

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Vacate

Sometimes I really can amaze myself
Funny though, I'm not amazing everyone else
Thing is I think I"m still just learning things
Nothing special in what tomorrow brings
Unless it jumps out at me
Unless it really grabs me

Trees fallin' down in the midst of the woods
Blown from the breeze it'd make a noise if it could
My own four walls have seen the greatest things
But they're not tellin' me anything
They don't inspire me
The color tires me

Like being in the city
Over a matter of time, everybody knows each other
So well they don't even say hi.

So I'm taking a little vacation out west
Gonna kick over a rattlesnake nest
Gonna meet some new people there
Gonna find out that they're the same everywhere
Surroundings differ
Drinks are stiffer
Bars are open later
Gonna beat Darth Vader

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Figured Out

Just cuz you look at him twice
Don't mean he's more special than me
I really know what I like
And I know what I like to see
Just cuz I got a hundred bucks
Don't mean I gotta buy something big
Just cuz you got a lotta love
Don't mean you gotta give it to me

I got you figured out
I got you figured out
I surely can taste your doubt
I got you figured out
I got you figured out

Out from the great divide
There came something special for me
Because I know what I like
And I sure know what I like to see
What started out as just a crush
Became something greater for me
And sure I'll show you how much
I love you by actin' so free

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Whole Lotta Nothing

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
A whole lotta nothing took place
We sat on our asses
Made drinks in tall glasses
And waited for the girls to show up
Oh, just nothing would happen
We'd be kicked back and slackin'
We couldn't have had any cares
Ooh yeah what would become of
Those teenage rebellions that never ever even came close

They go to my school
And they pay dearly
You ain't done nothing
And no one can hear ye

The planet blew up it was the best of their luck
They had no more worries at all
There was energy there and now
It's runnin' 'round spare
And it multiplies unto itself
Oh, a little pain here and a little ache there
And I can't do nothing at all
Ooh yeah, stop all your sobbing
Get on with all your jobbing
The fucker at least could have called

They would have paid
To see their faces
Nobody felt nothing
In the warmest embraces

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Tumbellina

Slippin' on the scratchy surface
Hit the bottom, scratches the face
Twirling, swirling 'round the pylon
Ballerina who's the eyes on

Tumbellina
She can't take it
Tumbellina
She can't fake it
Falling pacing, yellow laces following her seams

Her auto's rusted floorboard sinks
And in her helpless mind she thinks of days to come, not days gone by
She's a woman and she never cries

Tumbellina's
Forced to face it
Tumbellina's
Mind can't brace it|
It rings above the sound of hate
That whispers from the streets

Oh, and tumbellina
Somewhere in there something's pretty
Oh, and how tumbellina
Helps herself without the city

Out of a helpless life she holds
A grandparent is growing old
She thinks about the days gone by
And slowly starts to cry
Starts to cry
Starts to cry

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Make a Wish

The drugs and the money seem to never run out
Not like the things to scream about
Aren't in over abundance
Aren't all redundant
Why you so serious all of the time
It don't make no sense?

Try making a wish
Try watching the moon
Try counting the stars
You are never far
From where you started

The song is the place to free my passion
Not somethin' to do with the game of fashion
From wherever it comes to whoever is dumb
Enough to agree with little ol' me
It don't make no sense?

Try walking on eggs
Try speaking your mind
Say it once again
If you're so refined and start from somewhere

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Real Friends

Real friends come out of the woodwork
When you say you're taking a bride
Real men, they know the right way
They can sense somebody's pride

Can you see her smiling?
Can you hear her breathe?
Can you taste her mouth so tender
Unfortunately
No

Twenty-four hours of bliss
Now i gotta come and listen to this
Supposing that it had to happen anyway
I'm glad the past can't get in my way

Whatever for my love
The future is here
When I taste her mouth so tender
I can never leave
No.

We'll see who laughs in twenty years
We'll see who laughs in five
We'll see who's laughin' right now anyway
That' ain't on my side

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Clingy

I get so clingy just like a kitten
Who's been taken away from it's mama
All this anxiety runnin' wild
And especially now, cuz this is as good as it gets

And my work is never done
When I'm out of your arms
How can I expect the patience of a saint
When I'm dealin' with a princess?

I'm so passionately clingy
Oh, you gotta be with me
I cry like a baby
When I don't get my honey

Take all night if you wanna
I can't believe how late it's getting
No way in hell I'm gonna be sleepin'
When I know what kind of banana bread you'll be bringing
(What the fuck?)

And my work is never done
In or out of your arms
How can you expect the patience of a saint
Hey, yer dealin' with somebody.

Who's so passionately clingy
Oh, you gotta be with me
I cry like a baby
When I don't get my honey.

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Invincible Man

I can do anything better than them
I don't need anybody for my friends
I can feel conquest in my mind
I can determine that I am right
I don't need women every night
I can play the game if you want to fight
I always win cuz I did it before
I always know cuz I keep the score
I can be happy all by myself
I don't need you or anyone else
I won't have no nightmares cuz I lie awake
I like paranoia that's why I get baked
I got a limo right in the back
I lock the doors in case I'm attacked
I think what I got ain't really that bad
I There's lots of joy to find in getting sad
I let it roll right off of my back
I know I'll win with my subtle attack
I have psychosis for the things that I love
I keep them near me and I can't get enough

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Sleepers

Drummer faces, sad embraces
Peek a boo I can see you
Lost at the market, the car where'd you park it
When everyone's leavin'
I'm gonna get even

But everybody's so damn nice
And the party that started was broken up by reality
Everybody's at home and in bed already
They're at home right now
Not dreaming, drunk, they're sleepin' hard
They're sleepin' hard

Feels on reels, victorious steals
Enjoying the heat, barbecueing meat
Can't polish a turd, ain't got any words
Can't get by on looks, is that what it took?

I just can't have no shame at night
Oh the party that started
Well it was marred by morality
Everybody finished the beer already
They're not dreaming now, no
They're drunk and they're sleeping hard
They're sleeping hard

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Desolation Undergroung

Desolation underground
Destination somewhere 'round here
I only needed you when I needed to cry on your shoulder
I'm so much older now

There's plenty more times when it's gonna happen too
You lose a friend that's been so true to you
There's plenty of fish, but I'm not a fisherman
Could take back time, but I'm not superman
It's time I deal with what has happened here
I feel like I'm wrong, but I'm being so sincere

Not enough lights in the street
Don't know what's really buggin' me
Playing it safe for so long
Feeling like that's where I'm wrong

I've got the mind to hear what I wanna hear
You can put me down, but I will never fear
I keep my toys inside so no one else can play with them
Maybe it's time I finally get rid of some
Don't hold me back unless you're aware of it
I wouldn't want to do something if I'm not prepared for it

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Fire at Night

Fire at night
Oh, such a sight
Kinda eerie in my mind
Don't know what you might find

In the dark up on the hill
There's a fire burning out of control
In the dark
What a thrill

That warmth besoakin' in through the scenes
Through my jeans into my genes onto the sunray landscape
As projected into swirlys that lie in this thought bank
Restless
So with nothing in mind, restless,
Me, don't give
Feed it with swirls
More swirls

And I truly was afraid, I was most afraid
But even so honored still more
The dark, secret earth

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