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