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Produced by Warren Zevon / Duncan Aldrich / Andrew Slater
Recorded at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles / A&M Studios, Los Angeles / Red Zone Studios, Burbank / Broken Arrow Ranch, California / Abbey Road Studios, London / Paisley Park Studios, Minnesota
USA release: 12 October 1989
Virgin LP 91068-1
Virgin CD 2-91068
| Side One 1. Transverse City
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Transverse CityWritten by Stefan Arngrim & Warren Zevon
Told my little Pollyanna There's a place for you and me We'll go down to Transverse City Life is cheap and Death is free Past the condensation silos Past the all-night trauma stand We'll be there before tomorrow Pollyanna, take my hand Show us endless neon vistas Castles made of laser light Take us to the shopping sector In the vortex of the night Past the shiny mylar towers Past the ravaged tenements To a place we can't remember For a time we won't forget Here's the hum of desperation Here's the test tube mating call Here's the latest carbon cycle Here's the clergy of the mall Here's the song of shear and torsion Here's the bloodbath magazine Here's the harvest of contusions Here's the narcoleptic dream Told my little Pollyanna Here's a place where we can stay We have come to see tomorrow We have given up today Down among the dancing quanta Everything exists at once Up above in Transverse City Every weekend lasts for months Here's the hum of desperation Here's the test tube mating call Here's the latest carbon cycle Here's the clergy of the mall Here's the witness and the victim Here's the relatives' remains Here's the well-known double helix Here's the poisoned waves of grain Here's the song of shear and torsion Here's the bloodbath magazine Here's the harvest of contusions Here's the narcoleptic dream Here's the hum of desperation Jerry Garcia guitar Warren Zevon keyboard John Patitucci bass Richie Hayward drums 2. Run Straight Down
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Run Straight DownWritten by Warren Zevon
4-Aminobiphenyl, hexachlorobenzene Dimethyl sulfate, chloromethyl methylether 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- para-dioxin, carbon disulfide Dibromochloropane, chlorinated benzenes, 2-Nitropropane, pentachlorophenol, Benzotrichloride, strontium chromate 1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane I went walking in the wasted city Started thinking about entropy Smelled the wind from the ruined river Went home to watch T.V. And it's worse when I try to remember When I think about then and now I'd rather see it on the news at eleven Sit back and watch it run straight down Run straight down Run straight down I can see it with my eyes closed Run straight down We've been living in the shadows all our lives Where it's stand in line and don't look back and don't look left and don't look right So we hide our eyes and wonder who'll survive Waiting for the night... Fluorocarbons in the ozone layer First the water and the wildlife go Pretty soon there's not a creature stirring 'Cept the robots at the dynamo And it's worse when I try to remember When I think about then and now I'd rather see it on the news at eleven Sit back, and watch it run straight down Run straight down Run straight down I can see it with my eyes closed Run straight down David Gilmour guitar Waddy Wachtel acoustic guitar Warren Zevon keyboard Bob Glaub bass Richie Hayward drums J.D. Souther harmony Warren: Woozy from reading the Thomas Pynchon canon at a sitting, so to speak, I conceived of Transverse City as a multi-layered cyberpunk album. This track, with several simultaneous vocal lines including a list of carcinogens in the environment I got from the Sierra Club, suggests the dense texture I was striving to create when I ran out of Virgin's money. We sent the 24-track tape to David Gilmour in London, and he recorded his leads and sent it back. 3. The Long Arm Of The Law
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The Long Arm Of The LawWritten by Warren Zevon
When I was young, times were hard When I got older it was worse First words I ever heard: "Nobody move, nobody get hurt" It's the long arm, it's the strong arm It's the long arm of the law It's the long arm, it's the strong arm It's the long arm of the law After the war in Paraguay Back in 1999 I was laying low in Lima Working both sides of the borderline It's the long arm, it's the strong arm It's the long arm of the law You can run, but you can't hide... Well, I have to live like a fugitive Oh yeah, oh yeah Someone's coming after me And I'm running, running, yeah Now, don't protest your innocence Only the dead get off scot free And when the judge says, "Whodunit?" You'll be crying, "Not me! Not me!" Warren Zevon guitar, keyboard Chick Corea piano Bob Glaub bass Richie Hayward drums Warren Zevon & Jordan Zevon harmony Warren: I wrote this song and "Splendid Isolation" in the back of a bus one tour. My engineer/coproducer Duncan Aldrich had introduced me to Chick Corea, his former employer, and we got him to play. 4. Turbulence
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TurbulenceWritten by Warren Zevon
Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Well, you can talk about your perestroika And that's all right for you But, Comrade Schevardnadze, tell me What's a poor boy like me to do? Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Well, we've been fightin' with the mujahaddin Down in Afghanistan Comrade Gorbachev, can I Go back to Vladivostok, man? Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me [translated from Russian start] Lost city on the red desert I hear voices of enemies from everywhere I miss my mother very much "Village is lost in the red desert. On all sides, silence of an enemy. And we want to see our mothers." [translated from Russian end] Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Turmoil back in Moscow brought this Turbulence down on me Warren Zevon guitar, keyboard Bob Glaub bass Richie Hayward drums J.D. Souther harmony 5. They Moved The Moon
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They Moved The MoonWritten by Warren Zevon
I was counting on you To stand by me To see me through I was counting on you They moved the moon While I looked down When I looked away They changed the stars around I'm so confused Don't know what to do Don't know which way to turn I was counting on you They moved the moon While I looked down When I looked away They changed the stars around Can't you see me? Can't you hear me now? Don't you want a love that's true? Don't you know my heart belongs to you? I was counting on you To stand by me To see me through I was counting on you They moved the moon While I looked down When I looked away They changed the stars around They moved the moon I feel so strange While I looked down Everything I depended on... When I looked away Has been rearranged They changed the stars around Jerry Garcia guitars Warren Zevon keyboard Jack Casady bass |
Side Two 1. Splendid Isolation
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Splendid IsolationWritten by Warren Zevon
I want to live alone in the desert I want to be like Georgia O'Keefe I want to live on the Upper East Side And never go down in the street Splendid Isolation I don't need no one Splendid Isolation Michael Jackson in Disneyland Don't have to share it with nobody else Lock the gates, Goofy, take my hand And lead me through the World of Self Splendid Isolation I don't need no one Splendid Isolation Don't want to wake up with no one beside me Don't want to take up with nobody new Don't want nobody coming by without calling first Don't want nothing to do with you I'm putting tinfoil up on the windows Lying down in the dark to dream I don't want to see their faces I don't want to hear them scream Splendid Isolation I don't need no one Splendid Isolation Splendid Isolation I don't need no one Splendid Isolation Warren Zevon guitar, piano, harmonica Mike Campbell guitar Bob Glaub bass Richie Hayward drums Neil Young harmony Warren: Neil Young sang harmony on this one. We recorded his parts for this album at his ranch in Northern California, where he has a lot of animals that run up and stare at people "from the city." Neil and I have played this tune at a couple of festivals; it has a nice chord progression for jamming, and I use it at every opportunity. 2. Networking
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NetworkingWritten by Stefan Arngrim & Warren Zevon
There's a way to live that's right for us Like Mayans in Manhattan and Los Angeles I'm scaling up, I'm breaking down And I'm doing lunch all over town Networking, I'm user friendly Networking, I install with ease Data processed, truly Basic I will upload you, you can download me There's a long, hard road and a full, hard drive And a sector there where I feel alive Every bit and every byte Is written down once on the night Networking, I'm user friendly Networking, I install with ease Data processed, truly Basic I will upload you, you can download me There's a prayer each night that I always pray: Let the data guide me through every day And every pulse and every code- Deliver me from the bypass mode Networking, I'm user friendly Networking, I install with ease Data processed, truly Basic I will upload you, you can download me Waddy Wachtel guitar Benmont Tench organ Warren Zevon keyboard Howie Epstein banjo, mandolin Jorge Calderón bass, harmony Richie Hayward drums 3. Gridlock
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GridlockWritten by Warren Zevon
It's 5:00 P.M. on a weekday, friend There's one of me and two million of them The whistle blows and the factories close There's a million more commuters on the access roads The brake lights flash - there's an RV crashed I'm in the passing lane going nowhere fast The traffic crawls and the engine stalls I'm stuck on the edge of the urban sprawl Gridlock Up ahead There's a line of cars as far as I can see Gridlock Goin' nowhere Roll down the window, let me scream Oh yeah, ain't it a shame We're all jammed up at the interchange The paramedics and the CHP Wait impatiently for catastrophes I'm spending half my days like this I might as well be working on the midnight shift The radio's tuned to the traffic news And everybody's choking on monoxide fumes Gridlock Up ahead There's a line of cars as far as I can see Gridlock Goin' nowhere Roll down the window, let me scream I can close my eyes and dream I can close my eyes and dream I can close my eyes and dream It's 5:00 PM on a weekday, friend I'm going home but I don't know when I hate this traffic and I hate this town Gotta honk my horn, try to get around I feel like going on a killing spree Tomorrow I'm going on the RTD The traffic crawls and the engine stalls I'm stuck on the edge of the urban sprawl Gridlock Up ahead There's a line of cars as far as I can see Gridlock Goin' nowhere Roll down the window, let me scream I can close my eyes and dream Hey! Hey! Let's get movin'! Neil Young lead guitar Warren Zevon guitar, keyboard Jorma Kaukonen acoustic guitar, harmony Jack Casady bass, harmony Richie Hayward drums Jorge Calderón harmony 4. Down In The Mall
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Down In The MallWritten by Warren Zevon
There's a brand new shopping center seven storeys high There's bound to be a sale or two-something we can buy There's four floors of parking and we're sure to find a space We'll spend all the money that the government doesn't take Down in the mall I'll be your man We'll go shopping, babe It's something we can stand Down in the mall We will abide Up on the escalator Darling, we will ride Shopping for a pair of shoes, shopping for a hat We're buying some of this and we're buying some of that We'll shop up a storm 'till we can't shop no more Then we're stopping off at the video store Down in the mall I'll be your man We'll go shopping, babe It's something we can stand Down in the mall We'll be alright Monday throught Saturday "Til nine o'clock at night We're buying CD's and we're buying lingerie We'll put it on a charge account we're never gonna pay Department store, camera store, tobacco store, appliance store Sporting goods, oriental imports, You buy everything you want and then you want more Down in the mall I'll be your man We'll go shopping, babe It's something we can stand Down in the mall We will abide Up on the escalator Darling, we will ride Down in the mall Daivd Lindley lap steel guitar, saz, oud, harmony Warren Zevon guitar, keyboard Howie Epstein bass Richie Hayward drums 5. Nobody's In Love This Year
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Nobody's In Love This YearWritten by Warren Zevon
We keep walking away for no reason at all And no one says a word We were always so busy protecting ourselves We never would have heard And the rate of attrition for lovers like us Is steadily on the rise Nobody's in love this year Not even you and I Due to lack of commitment on both of our parts We're going our separate ways This show of indifference is breaking our hearts It's making us crazy yeah You sit back and wait for your love to accrue You'll be waiting a long, long time Nobody's in love this year Not even you and I I don't want to be Mr. Vulnerable I don't want to get hurt I don't want to be Mr. Vulnerable I don't want to be the one who gets left behind We keep walking away for no reason at all For the sake of being free No one's invested enough of themselves To yield to maturity And the rate of attrition for lovers like us Is steadily on the rise Nobody's in love this year Nobody wants to try Nobody's in love this year Not even you and I I don't want to be Mr. Vulnerable I don't want to get hurt I don't want to be Mr. Vulnerable I don't want to be the one who gets left behind Waddy Wachtel guitar Mike Campbell guitar, mandolin Warren Zevon keyboard Mark Isham fluegelhorn Bob Glaub bass Richie Hayward drums J.D. Souther harmony Rob Jaczko miscellaneous percussion |
| 2003 Virgin CD Bonus Track Networking (Acoustic Demo Version) |
Singles
Run Straight Down |
Spendid Isolation (Edit) |
Transverse City |
Splendid Isolation |
Splendid Isolation / Even A Dog Can Shake Hands |
Splendid Isolation |