Allergic to Water.

dithering

so many things to name
so many things to know the name of
so many ways to classify into different and the same of
so many stories to read
just to be considered up to speed
you got to start when you’re a baby
around everything goes the frame of

mama look at this headline
they say we’re getting dumber
they keep doing them tests on stuff
and coming out with new bummers
remind me to quit my job
say farewell to it all
remind me to plant those sunflowers
along the south wall

ah ha...

i got a database
behind my face
of dithering information
ask me anything
about anything
i got a lotta shit in rotation
i got a lotta shit in rotation

i got clutter in my closet
clutter on my bed
clutter in the office
and clutter in the shed
and i can’t find a thing
in all of this confusion
i can’t think a thought
all the way to its conclusion

ah ha...

i got a database
behind my face
of dithering information
ask me anything
about anything
i got a lotta shit in rotation
i got a lotta shit in rotation

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass, piano, bilhorn organ, synthesizer
terence higgins – drums
ivan neville – wurli, clavinet

see see see see

baby if you like
what you see see see see
then make me feel nice
and baby tell me, tell me
tell me with your eyes
tell me in the glance of a hand
let me know i still can
make you feel like a man
wipe away my worries
my list of things to do
there’s flies in the kitchen
and i’m still in love with you
yes i’m still in love with you

tell me some more
of who you were before we met
tell me a dream
that you may or may have not had yet
for understanding i will wait patiently
and if i can’t unchain you
i’ll hold you till you’re free
cuz i’m still in love with you

baby if you like
what you see see see see
then make me feel nice
and baby tell me, tell me
tell me with your eyes
tell me in a glance of a hand
let me know i still can
make you feel like a man
wipe away my worries
my list of things to do
there’s flies in the kitchen
and i’m still in love with you
yes i’m still in love with you

ani – guitars, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass, piano
terence higgins – percussion
mike dillon – triangle

woe be gone

woe be gone
the madness and the suffering of the human race
the history of the world is such a losing place
the alphabet took us on a wild goose chase

and still

still there’s swiftly shifting sands
beneath our feet
and an unexplored hemisphere
lying underneath
enter the goddesses
fresh from their long sleep

we get so off track sometimes
we get so off track sometimes

i mean what the hell?
raise your hand if you’re at peace right now
in fact just stand up and take a bow
everywhere you look just see damaged goods

and still

still there’s swiftly shifting sands
beneath our feet
and an unexplored hemisphere
lying underneath
enter the goddesses
fresh from their long sleep

we get so off track sometimes
we get so off track sometimes…

woe be gone
madness and suffering i am just like you
the bottoms of my crutches look like old worn shoes
me and my addictions got a lot to lose

and still

still there’s swiftly shifting sands
beneath our feet
and an unexplored hemisphere
lying underneath
enter the goddesses
fresh from their long sleep

we get so off track sometimes
we get so off track sometimes…

woe be gone
the madness and the suffering of the human race
the history of the world is such a losing place
the alphabet took us on a wild goose chase

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass, synthesizer, wurli
terence higgins – drums
jenny scheinman – violins, backing vocals

careless words

you really gave me hell, big talker
polluted the well
you really spoke your mind, big talker
at least your mind at the time
now i'm wearing your words, big talker
like necklaces and rings
just glad it wasn't me, big talker
that said all those things

never before could i picture
even one foot out the door
careless words, careless words
say no more
but now that that door has been opened
it can never be closed
careless words, careless words
i can never unknow
i can never unknow

tried to keep my heart pure, big talker
but it came out stained
tried to stay in love, big talker
but instead i'm in pain
i learned as a child, big talker
just shut the whole thing down
that polluted well, big talker
that whole polluted town

and never before could i picture
even one foot out the door
careless words, careless words
say no more
but now that that door has been opened
it can never be closed
careless words, careless words
i can never unknow
i can never unknow

no sleep for me, big talker
just one long migraine
one that sparks and flares, big talker
when i say your name
where went your love? big talker
cuz that's where i go
i'm no longer here, big talker
i'm searching high and low

and never before could i picture
even one foot out the door
careless words, careless words
say no more
but now that that door has been opened
it can never be closed
careless words, careless words
i can never unknow
you can never unknow

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins – drums
ivan neville – wurli

allergic to water

you can't even imagine
the tortuous state i've been existing in
i am allergic to water
it itches my throat and it blisters my skin
still, i drink cuz i have to, i bathe cuz i have to
but boy it's a pain
but i don't cry
cuz it hurts to cry
and i don't go outside in the rain

and you may wonder what would possess
someone like me to go on
you may wonder how it's possible
something so basic could go wrong
and all i can say is
if you stretch your mind all the way as far as it goes
there's someone out there who lives further than that
in a place you can never know

so right now if you’re looking at me
you can assume that i am thirsty
and a good day is one when that ache in my brain
can remain at a doable three
and i don't really want your sympathy
i'm just telling you so you'll understand
this is me, sincerely
doin the best that i can

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass, piano
terence higgins – drums
ivan neville – wurli

harder than it needs to be

honey please don't laugh at everything i say
in a humorless way
honey please don't roll your eyes around
just to put me down
it's exactly as hard to talk to you
as it is to talk to me
let's not make this harder
than it needs to be

i know i married your mama
and i married your papa
when i married you
and right now it's clear
who i'm talking to
we better just step back
we better take a breath
see what we can see
let's not make this harder
than it needs to be

ani – guitar, vocal
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins – drums
matt perrine – sousaphone



genie

when i can hear somethin calling
from somewhere deep and far
i'm a genie in a bikini
comin out of a jar
i float out of myself
and into the divine

but it ain't all the time
sometimes i'm stuck in my mind

but i'm sick of standing in the breadlines
with a hunger that just won’t quit
sick of mining my own hillsides
for gems to sell at market
just gonna sit here like buddha
under this here bodhi tree
say goodbye to the game
of what can i get for me

i just cried enough times
and i think i wore out my mind

you came out of the blue
like twilight's first star
and we picked up on each other
from somewhere deep and far
and we woke up married
after one drunk fuck
and i couldn't believe you'd found me
i couldn't believe my luck

cuz i did my time
before love came to find me

ani – guitar, tamburitza, wurli, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass, bells, orchestron
terence higgins – drums, percussion
jenny scheinman – violins


happy all the time

suffer did the buddha
and suffer did the christ
and suffer did isis
when mankind started to write
and through profound suffering
shines enlightenment's light
so i'm grateful for their struggle
yes i honor their plight

but me i'm just happy all the time
yeah me i'm just happy all the time

and i know pain is a teacher
to be welcomed and not feared
alas pain is your ally
so embrace it while it's here
it's here to open up your eyes
here to make the way clear
at least that's what i've observed
at least that's what i hear

but me i'm just happy all the time
yes me i'm just happy all the time

i know trial brings wisdom
and greatness has a price
just ask abraham lincoln
ask miles davis' wives
and i have great admiration
for those that raise up mankind
but i'm afraid that great gift
is not meant to be mine

cuz me i’m just happy all the time
yeah me i’m just happy all the time

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins – drums
ivan neville – wurli, clavinet

yeah yr right

yeah my neck is loose
and my head’s on right
got my sense of humor
and my appetite
got my joie de vivre
and my yeah yr right

don’t need a sleep number
to help me sleep
don’t need to rush on home
to my tv
don’t need a chocolate bar
or a new hairdo
i’m so into you
i’m into me too

yeah we could make the scene
we could spiff and primp
i could be your wife
you could be my pimp
or we could get up in the daytime
and raise a kid
i know i’d be glad if we did
i so would be glad if we did

ani – guitar, harpsichord, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins – drums, percussion
ivan neville – piano
jenny scheinman – violins

tr’w

make me say w
new paragraph o
new paragraph w
oh my lover you
you could get me in trouble you

make me ashamed
to meet your mother you
oh my lover you
you could get me in trouble you

yes as far as the eye can see
there is no other you
my lover you
you’re trouble you

closer, closer, closer, come closer
come closer, come closer, come closer

make me say w
new paragraph o
new paragraph w

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins - drums
ivan neville – wurli, clavinet

still my heart

that train just won’t stop
blowin its horn that way
but it don’t really matter
i wasn’t sleeping anyway
i got precious little time
before that rooster starts
just trying to calm my mind
just trying to still my heart

the more i get
my focus right
the more i see
how one could lose sight
the many things that don’t suck
rival the things that do
and we all live in the house
of what we pay attention to

i’m really not that bad
once you get use to me
might even make you glad
honey just wait and see
just trying to walk that line
just trying to do my part
trying to calm my mind
trying to still my heart

ani – guitar, vocals
todd sickafoose – bass
terence higgins – drums
jenny scheinman – violin


rainy parade

are you facing east or west
or north or south?
when it gets cold outside
do you get brought in
or do you get left out?
are you in the shade of something bigger
or are you right out in the sun?
are you down there in the trenches
or at the top of the mountain?

either way you better take your lemons
and make your lemonade
life’s a rainy parade

have you felt the longing in a seed?
have you felt it swimming in its need?
pushing through into the light
then you know what i’m sayin
when i’m sayin it’s gonna be alright

you just got to take your lemons
and make your lemonade
have your rainy parade

listen to the beating of the drum
look at the smiles on everyone
who says it’s better to be dry?
the mighty oak trees are so happy right now
they could cry

so you best better take your lemons
and make your lemonade
have your rainy parade

ani – guitar, xylophone, vocals
terence higgins – drums, percussion


recorded by mike napolitano and andy taub at the dugout and at esplanade studios, new orleans, la

additional recording by todd sickafoose and ani

produced and mixed by ani

mastered by brent lambert at kitchen mastering

art direction by brian grunert at white bicycle

portraits by charles waldorf