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Opposable Thumbs

by Adam Fromm

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1.
One By One 04:54
Maryanne the secretary never showed up That's not like her at all And neither did Henry, the guy with the hearing aid Who works down the hall I was even late myself, I had stuff to attend to The squirrels had gotten into the feeder again I suppose this sort of thing happens every now and then But you can't help but start to wonder when They start to happen one by one One by one They happen one by one By one by one by one It's been almost a week; there must be an epidemic Hardly anyone's here And I can't say as I mind all the overtime pay But it's still pretty weird And as for the feeder, it's not there anymore It's somebody got it with a circular saw And maybe I'm just paranoid, one never is sure But every time I take a look outside my door The squirrels are lined up one by one One by one Lined up and smiling one by one By one by one by one I was at work today for all of ten minutes I was the only one in Didn't even get my coffee, 'cause the Starbucks was closed At least traffic was thin And the people in my neighborhood have all disappeared But there's a dozen times as many squirrels as were ever here And I used to just be nervous; now it's bone-shaking fear I saw a squirrel with a hearing aid in its ear I lock the windows one by one One by one Barricade the doors one by one By one by one by one Well, it seems that I'm the last of the human race The last of my kind I've got a double-barreled shotgun, a triple-locked door Slowly losing my mind "Cause it's a matter of time; those squirrels ain't dumb And they've still got all their opposable thumbs I can't hide forever, and there's nowhere to run Take a look around the corner, here they come They're coming one by one One by one Coming one by one By one by one They're coming one by one One by one One by one By one by one by one by—
2.
I've grown quite accustomed to the back of your head I think it's time you turned around I've grown quite accustomed to the back of your head I think it's time you turned around I know that if your life were a movie I'd be Listed in the credits "Man on sidewalk #3" But I think it's time you I think it's time you turned around I've grown quite enamored with the scruff of your neck I think it's time you turned around I've grown quite enamored with the scruff of your neck I think it's time you turned around Wish I had the courage to just let it slip It's not like I've objections to the way you move your hips But I think it's time you I think it's time you turned around I'm at a loss for words,I'm lacking in charm I don't have much to offer, I'm always flat broke But see, I read the back of your shirt seven times I need to know the rest of the joke I've grown fascinated with the heels of your shoes Won't you please turn around I've grown fascinated with the heels of your shoes I think it's time you turned around I could take the crippling rejection and disgrace If it came with a view of the expression on your face I think it's time you I think it's time you turned around I've grown quite accustomed to the back of your head I think it's time you turned around I've grown quite accustomed to the back of your head I think it's time you turned around I know that if your life were a movie I'd be Somehwre in the background, but it's still me I think it's time I think it's time I think it's time I think it's time I think it's time you turned around
3.
January crawls along on its belly Like the rest of us it cannot feel its feet It's been like this since fall, and I know it drives you crazy You want to shake the daylight like the sheets But Van Morrison is playing, the cat's stretched on the floor Our dinner's on the stovetop, it'll simmer there for hours more And I've got fleece up to my neck and blankets to my chin But I won't be truly warm until I let you in chorus: So let's jump in bed Slip beneath the covers And we'll curl right up Like we're symbiotic lovers 'Cause the temperature's falling There's nothing to do Except stay right here with my sweet Exothermic you I know that you had plans, 'cause I saw your to-do list Even free days never manage to be free So you're stuck with idle hands, and that makes you gnaw the curtains But why don't you put your idle hands 'round me? 'Cause the sidewalk's been shoveled, I piled it in the yard And Turner Classic Movies is playing Sunset Boulevard And yes, my toes are freezing when they're tucked against your skin But I won't be truly warm until I let you in (chorus) So join me in the bedroom, there's no better place to be You bring the bag of Chips Ahoy, I'll bring the pot of Earl Grey tea Don't even think of going out—the air is far too thin Let me lift the corner, let me let you in (chorus)
4.
Second Sight 05:48
I heard all the rumors that surrounded you You must have heard the ones that surrounded me And we both could have guessed that this would be unavoidable That it would have to be That someday I'd come slipping in through your window To taste what ran beneath your clairvoyant skin And laugh at the myths that all told you that I Would have to wait until you had invited me in So if the rumors were true, you must have known I was in Before I even made it as far as the stairs And you didn't flinch when I flashed my serpent's smile Bent to kiss your throat and drink what was there But why had you never told anyone It was the sort of thing you must have understood That your second sight, it wasn't in your eyes It wasn't in your mind, it was all in your blood chorus: It never was in my nature To make amends or apologize But I made the mistake of letting myself Take a look at me through your cold eyes And now everyone who ever called me a monster The ones I took before I melted back into the night I know that they were right Every one of them was right So how long did you know I was on my way To hunt you down there behind your own doors And did you read my mind as I broke the skin The way you made sure that I could read yours And did you know that you'd linger here in my veins The ghost of a woman too far gone to save You know, this must be how those poor bastards felt As they wept into the mud of their loved ones' graves Now I spend my nights walking these streets The ones that I've walked countless times before But everyone that I meet, it's like their eyes are mine Staring at this creature I don't know any more Well, they say we can never see our reflection That's just another myth that never was true It's just sometime we can't bear to look at ourselves Now I can see nothing else thanks to you, thanks to you (chorus) Now it's two months gone since I took your soul I thought I could steal it like change from a purse But I still bear the stain of your second sight This curse of a gift, this gift of a curse And I still the thirst and that never will change But I can no longer say that I'll do as I must So it's here I will sit and here I will stay Cursing your name 'til I tumble to the dust (chorus)
5.
Kessel Run 03:08
Well, I hope you don't mind me interrupting you miss What's a girl like you doing on a planet like this? I really wouldn't mind spending time with you My name might be Solo, but I'm built for two A little bit o' booze, a little bit o' nookie And a little joy ride with a seven-foot Wookie Gonna run See, I've got the Millennium Falcon fired up She's hotter than hell and too crazy to catch I've got a double-barreled warp drive running the engine And half a pound of ganja in the smuggling hatch Fuzzy dice hanging from the hyperspeed button Hang on to your hat, girl, 'cause here goes nuthin' Gonna run Gonna run Gonna run We're gonna run Fill up my glass, ain't gonna say when 'Cause tonight we're gonna do the Kessel Run again Gonna run Yeah, we're gonna do the Kessel Run, looking to score It's something I've only done a thousand times before I've got one hand on the throttle, the other in the stash You count up the parsecs, I'll count up the cash Stormtrooper slugs ain't gettin' any nearer 'Cause they're just a little freckle in the rearview mirror Gonna run So strap yourself in, I'll show you what she's got We're only breaking the law if we ever get caught See, I don't care much about Imperial ships 'Cause she's specially designed to give 'em the slip Ten times faster, three-quarters lighter And a hundred times a sexy as an X-wing fighter Gonna run Gonna run Gonna run We're gonna run Fill up my glass, ain't gonna say when 'Cause tonight we're gonna do the Kessel Run again Gonna run And if there's time, we can stop at a little cantina 'Cause I'm working up a powerful thirst Or a no-tell motel that we can check into 'Cause the bedroom is the only place I don't shoot first I don't wanna stay around here any more Let's meet down at docking bay 94 We'll turn the lights down low, get things rollin' Then you and me can—Hey! Where're you goin'? Don't run away, you can't do this to me…. [sigh] Looks like it's you and me again tonight, Chewie Gonna run Gonna run Gonna run Gonna run
6.
In my pocket I have a note you stuck to the mirror once It's one I'm fairly sure you won't recall It said, "The interview went fine,I should be home by nine If I'm going to be much later, then I'll call" I keep trinkets and ephemera from each corner I've turned I have boxes full I can't seem to throw away Now I have hotel reservations half a block from 12 Street Station And that's all that you need to know today chorus: And the photographs are cracking in the heat And the letters that you wrote are turning brown This ticket's done me no good This ticket's done me no good Ever since they took the carnival down They took the carnival down I have boxes of magazine clipping that I've never read I have my birthday shoes and my graduation pen I have four old pairs of glasses, I have souvenirs from Kansas I have a taste for whiskey that's cropping up again And I have the paving stone we stole down in Philadelphia I have snapshots of the ocean in every room And I have soot trapped in my lashes and a half-full book of matches And a vicious streak that's wider than the moon (chorus) I have ten years beneath my belt in your company We love three years, we cared for seven more And I have boxloads of remorse and no desire to stay the course And I have dwindling time to settle up the score And I have four thousand dollars in a deposit box And here, I have a copy of the key And I'm giving this to you 'cause you know what to do If they ever bring you bad news about me (chorus)
7.
Dana thought she lived on Dune She called her crystal meth "melange" Fran was stuck in Middle Earth Built hobbit holes in her garage Wanda craved a Highlander For her, there could be only one Jane the Trekkie beamed me up And kept her cleavage set to stun Anna only loved the Doctor Four and Nine and Five and Ten Elizabeth was user-friendly Plaything of the Midwest fen Mary-Catherine wrapped me up Like Katamari Damacy Marcy needed better stats Charisma: 20, Wisdom: 3 Colleen was from a comic book Her spandex bursting at the seams Belinda dressed up all in brass Fulfilled my Princess Leia dreams Connie turned me on to Sandman Death had never looked so fine Gretchen was a vampire slay'r Showed me her stake, I showed her mine Jessie hitchhiked down from space I told her, "Thanks for all the fish" Hannah cosplayed Princess Bride All I could say was, "As you wish" Cheryl donned a schoolgirl skirt And begged me for my tentacle Kim was like Excalibur Forever swinging, never dull Ellen told me she was Batgirl Turned out she was only bats Tanya was a wonder woman Lassoed me in nothing flat Lana let me in her Stargate Sent me 'cross the galaxy Victoria was an X-Files freak The truth was out there; so was she Elaine watched too much Battlestar She had a thing for one-eyed men Peggy slipped her fishnets on We did the Time Warp once again Cindy had the cell phone number THX-1138 Gwen looked like Hermione She always made me levitate Andrea could LARP 'til dawn She played her part with verve and glee Pat had Firefly on the brain In her, I found serenity Sammi had a Warcraft habit Left when I ran out of cash Prue already had a boyfriend Put my name behind the slash Allie loved her Magic cards Red mana was her favorite drug Vera was a cyberpunk The doctor helped her get debugged Quinn read manga night and day She had me turning Japanese Joanna played a slave of Gor She had the cuffs, I had the keys Chris stood like a monolith I met her in 2001 Tricia lived for Matrix flicks We very nearly jumped the gun Laura's dates were like Sin City Always ended with a bang Lucy dug Anita Blake She wouldn't fuck without the fangs Val collected Darkover She got an MZB tattoo Kate was horny for Lestat We skipped right past the interview Susie liked Vallejo art She dressed in chain mail lingerie Morgan was a furry girl I shouted, "Fetch!" and ran away Gail read Spider Robinson Thought every bar was Callahan's Marjorie wrote filk by day At night, made me her biggest fan Paula searched for Narnia We did it on the closet floor But Jenna's saner than the rest That's why she's Fangirl 44

about

A more stripped-down, intimate album, and a chance to dip into the funnier material that I usually save for the stage.

credits

released August 20, 2012

All songs written by Adam Fromm copyright 2012

Recorded August 2012 at Sotto Voce, Gilsum NH

Cover photography and design by Jenna Adler

Thanks to Jenna Adler, Jax Goss, Shira and Adam Lipkin, Judah Sher, Peter Ellis, Heather Dale and Ben Deschamps, Catt Kingsgrave, and Rebecca Loebe, without all of whom the momentum behind this album would be approaching zero—love you guys!

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about

Adam Fromm Worcester, Massachusetts

New England transplant from Illinois via upstate New York, and a singer/songwriter who finally decided that the walls of his living room weren't a big enough audience. He is one-half of the folk band Murder Ballads, specifically the half with more facial hair. ... more

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