Terry

(Words and music by Todd Whisler)
Taken from the album Terry © 1998

Can I sing a little song for you?
There’s really nothing more that I can do
There’s no hope for poetry or music to reach you
But can I sing a little song for you?

Well, it’s hard to be
So young and beautiful
To be playing grownup games
When you’re only twelve years old
When every dream lies dying
In a broken, lonely home
From what I’ve seen
You’d be better off alone

To be coveted by strangers
This victim of neglect
And poised to make some choices
She later will regret
Her mother and her father
Don’t know what to expect
All their energy is
Focused on themselves

Can I sing a little song for you?
Where do go when there’s no one to turn to
I only wish this melody somehow could comfort you
Can I sing a little song for you?

It really is insane
How twisted life becomes
Finding you’re a burden
To the ones you love
Any hand will do
When you’re dying to be touched
And any man will do
When you’re starving for some love

Can I sing a little song for you?
To reach the one refusing to help you
The one who needs to keep her distance
As your life is torn in two
Can I sing a little song for you?

Can I sing a little song for you?
Of injustice and denial of truth
Emotional abandonment it seems
Is nothing new
Can I sing a little song for you?

Can I sing a little song for you?
As all hope has faded from your view
Now the time is over and all that I could do
Was to sing a little song for you

(Words and music by Todd Whisler)
Taken from the album Terry © 1998

Sometimes I run
Sometimes I stay
Sometimes I love
And sometimes I hate
This degradation I’ve
Been capable of
Trying to find
Somebody to love

The brat who deceived me
I was unaware
The sound of her voice
The scent of her hair
She played to my anger
And then to my lust
Evoking my pity
Winning her my trust

Turning me on
Kept her amused
My twin who was cunning
My twin who is cruel
Over and over
Again and again
Counting my blessings
To have such a friend

I gave her my music
I gave her the tools
I satisfied her instincts
I played by her rules
I suffered in silence
And paid for her jewels
I jockeyed for position
I was such a fool

She swam with the sharks
And took them to bed
They never could hurt her
She always said
She always could call me
I always was there
And I would come running
Anytime, anywhere
Running, running, running anywhere
Sometimes I’m smart
And sometimes I’m dumb
Sometimes I hate
And sometimes I love
The loss of my hope
And all self-respect
Saying goodbye
To Maricela
Goodbye
I’m saying goodbye to Maricela

Goodbye to the weakness
Goodbye to the years of shame
Goodbye to Teresa
Goodbye to unbreakable chains

(Words and music by Todd Whisler)
Taken from the album Terry © 1998

You’ll come running
When he calls
Through crowded streets
And darkened halls
You’ll overcomes
All obstacles
You’ll come running

You’ll perform
On the trapeze
You’ll swallow fire
On bended knees
To supply
His every need
You’ll come running

What can I say?
I’m taken by the thought of being right
I want to know what you did last night
To tell you how I think you should live your life

Well the best isn’t good enough for you
There’s nothing anyone can say or do
Do you play the game or does the game play you
It defies my comprehension
What you do to get attention
What your actions say to me
Is that the ends will always justify the means

You’ll come running

You’ll come running
Day or night
Into the arms
Of a blinding light
Where there’s no difference
Between wrong and right
You’ll come running

It’s a fairy tale that you’re clinging to
But the prince will rip your heart in two
You can try to deny how you play the fool
But the truth becomes a lie
When there is no price too high
The biggest lie of all
Is virtue is its own reward

(Words and music by Todd Whisler)
Taken from the album Terry © 1998

It’s getting closer
My terrible twin
The sole escape from
The situation
So out of control
In a feeding frenzy
Emotional wars are
So self-serving

Hunger takes you
Where it wants
Those who care
Can’t bear to watch
When you play
You play for keeps
Three hundred and
Sixty degrees

I know just how it feels
To be made of straw
But act like it’s steel
Stripped of your senses
And then of your clothes
You’re more like me
Than you could know

You’re precious in private
My child at play
A game of deception
With honor at stake
The rules amuse
As they seduce you
There’s not a damn thing
That I can do

As you sprint from
Plan to plan
Grasping anything
You can
I’ll keep your secret
Even when
You abandon
Your children

(Words and music by Todd Whisler)
Taken from the album Terry © 1998

A little fish
In a little pool
Needs to escape
Her little school
The same old dives
Are such a bore
This is a story
I’ve heard before

Blind fishermen
Along the pier
Seek to snag her
But she stays well clear
She’s seen others
Who bit the lure
They got more
Than they bargained for

Why don’t you dive in
It’s getting dark
A little bit of sin
Can do no harm
Free the fire burning
Within your heart
Follow me and we
Will swim with the sharks

There is a stirring
In the open sea
While the other fish
Are sound asleep
The plan is to tease
But not to show
When she returns
No one will know

Is it danger
That brings this thrill
Is it anger
Or a test or wills
She is smiling
This is so easy
She is thinking
And so are we

Just once more around
Before the dawn
Then you can go back to
Your little pond
You’ve taken us too far
Just to move on
Your resistance and your strength
Are almost gone

One’s name is Larry
The other’s name is Mitch
Whirling her around as they
Shovel the same shit
The beauty of her gills is like
None they’ve ever seen
Smiling with their razor sharp
Endless rows of teeth
They nuzzle and electrify her
Shortness in her breath
She eagerly anticipates
The next exciting step

To swim so fast
And be so strong
She wants it now
She wants it all

She longs to see the other fish
And laugh right in their face
Pressing her endurance
To keep the lightning pace
Random thoughts are passing
Through her clouded mind
The predators, who never sleep
Are only biding time
Hour after hour from
The nighttime to the dawn
So far underwater she
No longer sees the sun

And then it ends
Her strength is gone
The eyes roll back
It won’t be long