LYRICS

1. Tear Me Down
2. The Origin of Love
3. Angry Inch
4. Wicked Little Town (Tommy Gnosis Version)
5. Wig in a Box
6. The Long Grift
7. Hedwig's Lament
8. Exquisite Corpse
9. Midnight Radio
10. Nailed
11. Sugar Daddy
12. Freaks (With Girls Against Boys)
13. In Your Arms Tonight
14. Wicked Little Town (Hedwig Version)














Tear Me Down

whether you like or not
HEDWIG!

I was born on the other side
of a town ripped in two
I made it over the great divide
now I'm coming for you

Enemies and adversaries
they try and tear me down
You want me, baby, I dare you
Try and tear me down

I rose from off of the doctor's slab
like Lazarus from the pit
Now everyone wants to take a stab
and decorate me
with blood graffiti and spit

Enemies and adversaries
they try and tear me down
You want me, baby, I dare you
Try and tear me down

On August 12, 1961,
a wall was erected
down the middle of the city of Berlin.
The world was divided by a cold war
and the Berlin Wall
was the most hated symbol of that divide
Reviled. Graffitied. Spit upon.
We thought the wall would stand forever,
and now that it's gone,
we don't know who we are anymore.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Hedwig is like that wall,
standing before you in the divide
between East and West,
Slavery and Freedom,
Man and Woman,
Top and Bottom.
And you can try to tear her down,
but before you do,
remember one thing.

Listen
There ain't much of a difference
between a bridge and a wall
Without me right in the middle, babe
you would be nothing at all

Enemies and adversaries
they try and tear me down
You want me, baby, I dare you
try and tear me down.


top













The Origin of Love

When the earth was still flat
And the clouds made of fire
And mountains stretched up to the sky
Sometimes higher
Folks roamed the earth
Like big rolling kegs
They had two sets of arms
They had two sets of legs
They had two faces peering
Out of one giant head
So they could watch all around them
As they talked while they read
And they never knew nothing of love
It was before...
The origin of love
The origin of love

And there were three sexes then
One that looked like two men
Glued up back to back
Called the children of the sun
And similar in shape and girth
Were the children of the earth
They looked like
Two girls rolled up in one
And the children of the moon
Was like a fork shoved on a spoon
They were part sun, part earth
Part daughter, part son

The origin of love

Now the gods grew quite scared
Of our strength and defiance
And Thor said,
"I'm gonna kill them all with my hammer,
Like I killed the giants"
But Zeus said, "No-
You better let me
Use my lightning like scissors
Like I cut the legs off the whales
Dinosaurs into lizards"
Then he grabbed up some bolts
He let out a laugh
Said, "I'll split them right down the middle
Gonna cut them right up in half"
And then storm clouds gathered above
Into great balls of fire

And then fire shot down
From the sky in bolts
Like shining blades of a knife
And it ripped right through the flesh
Of the children of the sun and the moon and the earth
And some Indian god
Sewed the up into a hole
Pulled it round to our belly
To remind us of the price we pay
And Osiris and the gods of the Nile
Gathered up a big storm
To blow a hurricane
To scatter us away
In a flood of wind and rain
A sea of tidal waves
To wash us all away
And if we don't behave
They'll cut us down again
And we'll be hopping 'round on one foot
And looking through one eye

Last time I saw you
We had just split in two
You were looking at me
I was looking at you
You had a way so familiar
But I could not recognize
'Cause you had blood on your face
I had blood in my eyes
But I could swear by your expression
That the pain down in your soul
Was the same as the one down in mine
That's the pain
That cuts a straight line down through the heart
We call it love
We wrapped our arms around each other
Tried to shove ourselves back together
We were making love
Making love
It was a cold, dark evening
Such a long time ago
When by the mighty hand of Jove
It was the sad story how we became
Lonely two-legged creatures
It's the story of the origin of love
That's the origin of love

The origin of love
The origin of love
The origin of love


top













Angry Inch

"To be free one must give up a little part of oneself"

My sex change operation got botched
My guardian angel fell asleep on the watch
Now all I've got is a barbie doll crotch
I've got an angry inch

Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch
Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch

I'm from the land where you still hear the cries
I had to get out, had to sever all ties
I changed my name and assumed a disguise
I got an angry inch

Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch
Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch
Six inches forward and five inches back
The train is coming and I'm tied to the track
I try to get up but I can't get no slack
I've got an angry inch
Angry inch

My mother made my tits outta clay
(tits of clay)
My boyfriend told me that he'd take me away
(tits of clay)
He dragged me to the doctor one day
I've got an angry inch

Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch
Six inches forward and five inches back
I got a
I got an angry inch

(Long story short!)
Yeah, long story short
When I woke up from the operation I was bleeding down there
I was bleeding from the gash between my legs
It was my first day as a woman, already that time of the month
Two days later the hole closed up
You know... the wound healed and I was left
With a one inch mound of flesh
Where my penis used to be
Where my vagina never was
It was a one inch mound of flesh
With a scar running down it like a sidways grimace on an eyeless face
It was just a little bulge
It was an angry inch!!

Six inches forward and five inches back
The train is coming but I'm tied to the track
I try to get up but I can't get no slack
I got an angry inch
angry inch

Six inches forward and five inches back
Stay under cover till the night turns to black
I got my inch, I'm set to attack
I got an angry inch
angry inch



top













Wicked Little Town (Tommy Gnosis Version)

Forgive me for I did not know
'Cause I was just a boy,
& you were so much more

Than any god could ever plan,
More than a woman or a man
And now I understand
How much I took from you
And when everything starts breaking down
You take the pieces off the ground
And show this wicked town
Something beautiful and new

You think that luck has left you there
Well maybe there's nothing up in the sky but air

And there's no mystical design
No cosmic lover, preassigned
There's nothing you can find that cannot be found
'Cause with all the changes you've been through
It seems the stranger's always you
Alone again in some new wicked little town

And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town

It's a wicked little town

Goodbye wicked little town


top













Wig in a Box

On nights like this
When the world's a bit amiss
And the lights go down
Across the trailer park
I get down, I feel had
Feel on the verge of going mad
And then it's time to punch the clock

I put on some make-up
Turn on the tape deck
And put the wig back on my head
Suddenly I'm Miss Midwest Midnight Checkout Queen
Until I head home
And I put myself to bed

I look back on where I'm from
Look at the woman I've become
And the strangest things seem suddenly routine
I look up from my Vermouth on the rocks
The gift wrapped wig's still in the box
Of towering velveteen

I put on some make-up
Some LaVern Baker
And pull the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Beehive 1963
Until I wake up
And I turn back to myself

Some girls, they got natural ease
They wear it any way they please
With their French flip curls
From perfumed magazines
Wear it up, let it down
This is the best way that I've found
To be the best you've ever seen

I put on some make-up
Turn on the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Farrah Fawcett
From TV
Until I wake up
And I turn back to myself

Shag, bi-level, bob
Dorothy Hamill do,
Sausage curl, chicken wings
It's all because of you
With your blow dried, feather backed
Toni home wave, too
Flip, fro , frizz, flop
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you

(okay...everybody...)

I put on some make-up
Turn on the eight track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm this Punk Rock Star
Of stage and screen
And I ain't ever
I'm never turning back


top













The Long Grift

Look what you've done
You gigolo
You know that I
Loved ya hon
And I didn't wanta know
That your cool, seductive serenade
Was a tool of your trade
You gigolo

Of all the riches
You've surveyed
And all that you can lift
I'm just another dollar
That youve made in your long long grift

Look what you've done you gigolo
Another hustle has been run
But now you oughta know
That this fool can no longer be swayed
By the tools of your trade
You gigolo

I'm just another John you gypped
Another sucker stiffed
A walk-on role in the script
Of your long long grift

The love that had me in your grip
Was just a long long grift


top













Hedwig's Lament

I was born on the other side
Of a town ripped in two
And no matter how hard I've tried
I end up black and blue

I rose from off of the doctor's slab
I lost a piece of my heart
Now everyone gets to take a stab
They cut me up into parts

I gave a piece to my mother
I gave a piece to my man
I gave a piece to the rock star
He took the good stuff and ran


top













Exquisite Corpse

I've got it all sewn up
a hardened razor-cut
scar-map across my body
and you can trace the lines
through misery's design
that map across my body

a collage
I'm all sewn up
a montage
I'm all sewn up

A random pattern with a needle and thread
the overlapping way diseases are spread
to a tornado body
With a hand gernade head
and the legs are two lovers entwined

Inside I'm hollowed out
Outside's a paper shroud
And all the rest's illusion
That there's a will and soul
That we can wrest control
From chaos and confusion

a collage
I'm all sewn up
a montage
I'm all sewn up

The automatist's undoin'
the whole world starts unscrewin'
as time collapses and space warps
You see decay and ruin
I tell you, "no, no, no, no
you make such an exquisite corpse"

I got it all sewn up
a hardened razor cut scab up across my body
and you can trace the lines through misery's design
that map across my body
a collage
I'm all sewn up
a montage
I'm all sewn up


top













Midnight Radio

Rain falls hard
Burns dry
Dream, or a song
That hits you so hard
Filling you up
Suddenly gone
Breathe feel love give free
Know in your soul
Like your blood knows the way
From your heart to your brain
Knows that you're whole
And you're shining like the brightest star
A transmission on the midnight radio
And you're spinning like a 45 ballerina
Dancing to your rock and roll
Here's to patty and tina and yoko, aretha
And nona and nico
And me
And all the strange rock and rollers
You know you're doin alright
So hold on to each other
You gotta hold on tonight
And you're shining liek that brightest star
A transmission on the midnight radio
And you're spinning your new 45's
All the misfits and the losers
Well you know your rock and rollers
Spinning to your rock and roll
Lift up your hands
Lift up your hands
Lift up your hands
Lift up your hands...


top













Nailed

By the gold light of your halo I wanna nail ya
Give you lovin' and devotion that won't ever fail ya
Wanna run my mouth over your wounds
And fall on the ground
And the holes in your hands and your feet they help to nail
you down

Nail ya down
Nailed
Nailed
Nailed
They made you Christ to get ya nailed
When you hover in the night like a holy vision
With the crimson and the purple of your incision
Wanna run my fingers through your hair and over your pale skin
On the fringe, shit, Jesus Christ man, you sure wanna nail him

Get ya nailed
Nailed
Nailed
Nailed
They made you Christ to get ya nailed

He died for me
Died for no one else
He died for no one
And he'd see and complain
Oh the sweet and the sigh, to pain

And your heart is left out naked and exposed
I wish that you had left more to the eye
And I can't find the words to say I love you
And why and why and why and why and why ha

Nailed
Nailed
Nailed
It's just a fight to get ya nailed
They sent you Christ to get ya nailed


top













Sugar Daddy

I've got a sweet tooth
For licorice drops and jelly roll.
Hey Sugar Daddy,
Hansel needs some sugar in his bowl.
I'll lay out fine china on the linen
And polish up the chrome
If you've got some sugar for me,
Sugar Daddy bring it home.

Black strap molasses,
You're my orange blossom honey bear.
Bring me Versace blue jeans
And black designer underwear.
We'll dress up like the disco-dancing jet set
In Milan and Rome.
If you got some sugar for me,
Sugar Daddy bring it home.

Oh the thrill of control,
Like the rush of rock and roll,
It's the sweetest taste I've known,
If you've got some sugar bring it home

When honey bees go shopping
It's something to be seen.
They swarm to wild flowers
And get nectar for the queen.
And every thing you bring me
got me dripping like a honeycomb,
And if you've got some sugar for me,
Sugar Daddy, bring it home.

Oh the thrill of control,
Like a Blitzkrieg on the roll,
It's the sweetest taste I've known,
So if you've got some sugar
Bring it home.
Oh come on, Sugar Daddy, bring it home!

Whiskey and French cigarettes,
A motorbike with high- speed jets,
A Waterpik, a Cuisinart,
And a hypo-allergenic dog.
Oh, I want all the luxuries of the modern age,
And every item on every page
In the Lillian Vernon catalogue.

(spoken)
Luther: Oh baby, something's crossed my mind.
I was thinking you'd look so fine
In a velvet dress
With heels and an ermine stole.
Hansel: Oh, Luther darling, heaven knows
I've never put on women's clothes!
Except for once
My mother's camisole.

So you think only a woman
Can truly love a man.
Then you buy me the dress
I'll be more woman than a man like you can stand.
I'll be your Venus on a chocolate clam shell
Rising on a sea of marshmallow foam,
And if you've got some sugar for me,
Sugar Daddy, bring it home.

It's our tradition to control,
Like Erich Honecker and Helmut Khol, [remember him?]
From the Ukraine to the Rhone.
Sweet home uber alles,
Lord, I'm coming home.
So come on, Sugar Daddy, bring me home.


top













Freaks ((With Girls Against Boys)

We are freaks we follow the code of freaks
We are freaks stand back and that's that
We are freaks we fuck who we please and do what we choose
We're not bad we're not diseased or confused

We are freaks we are butch we are fem
We are freaks look at him look at them
We are freaks I know this guy who can suck his own dick
And my mother has a friend who has 3 tits
T-t-t-true story

We are freaks we follow the code of freaks
We are freaks stand back and that's that
We are freaks we fuck who we please and do what we choose
We're not bad we're not diseased or confused
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us
One of us one of us

And then I thought I was a freak when I shaved my head and pierced my dick
Walks like a lumberjack and talks like a lady
With the flannel shirt, steel toe boots, Levi's faded
All hail
She's the king, she's the queen
All hail of the freaks, all the freaks on the scene
From the Bows of the Bowery to the bustle of Bombay
She's the bearded lady of Avenue A
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That the way

All hail
She's the king, she's the queen
All hail of the freaks, all the freaks on the scene
From the Bows of the Bowery to the bustle of Bombay
She's the bearded lady of Avenue A
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That's the way
That's the way God planned it
That the way


top













In Your Arms Tonight

Runnng head on
to things that knock me down
over again
you picked me off the ground
when I wasn't strong enough to fight
any more

but in your arms tonight

hold me close and tight
in your arms tonight
in your arms tonight
in your arms tonight
oh my love

God only knows
why I don't just retreat, instead of riding the rails
back to the place of my worst defeat
cause I'm not fooling anyone
not quite convincing you

but in your arms tonight

Try not to be strong
cry 'til it's all gone
if you hold me tight
in your arms tonight
oh my love

the years you've seen in me
the one who'd be there for you
the way I need you here tonight.......

yea...............

in your arms tonight
in your arms tonight
in your arms tonight
ohh... in your arms tonight
all....my love...

all my love


top













Wicked Little Town

You know, the sun is in your eyes
And hurricanes and rains
And black and cloudy skies

You're running up and down that hill
You turn it on and off at will
There's nothing here to thrill or bring you down
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town

Oh Lady Luck has lead you here
And they're so twisted up
They'll twist you up, I fear

The pious, hateful, and devout
You're turning tricks 'til you're turned out
The wind so cold it burns
You're burning out and blowing 'round
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town

The fates are vicious and they're cruel
You learn too late you've used
Two wishes
Like a fool

And then you're someone you are not
And Junction City ain't the spot
Remember Mrs. Lot and when she turned around
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
Through the dark turns and noise
Of this wicked little town


top