produced and engineered by kent sparling
recorded in the jicama laboratory (which is our living room), mixed at skywalker sound, nicasio, ca
mastered by myles boisen at the headless buddha, oakland, ca
executive producer: tim kerns

love, respect and gratitude to kent, toby, adrian, ron, tim, alan levin, mario desio, tina hawkinson, les and makiko and everyone at the bazaar cafe, sherb the glass-blower, rosalie howarth, beth holland, julie lerner, lisa pezzulich, bob hemmer, cara cantarella, lisa brenner, ed sitver, stephanie rubin, austin willacy, jacques rockenbach, jane sharp, howard selinger, john mardesich and abby sparlowe.

art direction: kent sparling
photography: carlo silvio, anne hamersky
graphic production: lisa ekström
hand lettering: chris rowley

mixed with oblique stratagies

words and music by vanessa lowe
© and p. 2002 the jicama salad co. (bmi)

---

My Venom Lover

still got my ways
still got my looks
still got the love
but you closed me down
you closed me down

we still had the future
that we talked about
but you closed it down
you closed it down

and you my venom lover
will never undiscover me
the teeth are trapped beneath the skin
but i no longer haunt you
i don’t even want you
slick and shiny
jagged to the touch

paid off the loan
threw out your stuff
got out of town
when you closed it down
you closed it down

but i still got the scars
to prove you fucked it up
and they belong to me
now that you’re not around

and you my venom lover...

vl: guitars, vocals
ron crotty: acoustic bass
tobias hawkins: cardboard boxes, dumbek
mario desio: melody guitar
kent sparling: melodica, paper bag, djembe, backing vocals

---

Cut Me Once

cut me once and you’re gonna be sorry
cut me twice and you’re gonna go down
show me cruel and you’re gonna fall hard
don't be fooled by the small size, cool gaze

i can take a man down
i can go downtown
you know i have my methods
and you can bet i know how to make the best of ‘em

cut me off now and you’re never gonna hear it
even if it’s the cure that’ll save your life
it’s your move whether not you wanna take it
don't be wooed by the sweet smile, pretty girl

i can take a man down...

cut the shit and let’s get down to bidness
where do i sign to make him gone
please be quick so i can end the pain
take you’re time, i changed my mind

cause i can take a man down...

yeah i can take a man down
i can go downtown
you know i have my methods
and you can bet i know how to make the best of ‘em

vl: guitars, vocal
tobias hawkins: frame and native drums, wood block
adrian west: violin
kent sparling: ukulele

---

I Am

the candle was hot where i struck it
i was to learn what it is to be fire

the lava was cool where i touched it
i was to learn what it is to be water

the branches grew stark where i held them
i was to learn what it is to be winter

the words became me as i heard them
i was to learn what it is to be spoken

i'm never gonna cry again
i'm never gonna say
i want to be more than i am

the land was ablaze where i pointed
i was to learn what it is to be color

the sky turned to red when i passed it
i was to learn what it is to be morning

i'm never gonna cry again
i'm never gonna say
i want to be more than i am
then i am, i am, i am

vl: guitars, vocals
ron crotty: acoustic bass
tobias hawkins: djembe, dumbek, hi-hats
adrian west: violin

---

Who Do You Believe

you said it once
you said it twice
you said it half a million times
i heard you then
and now again
like red hot pokers through my eyes

i don’t mean to be cruel
but you broke the first rule
and the fool i am is still asking,
who do you believe?
i’m still asking,
who do you believe?

i took a walk
along the pier
the light was fading thoughtfully
your voice said, wait
anticipate
you don't know who’s behind that tree

i know you try not to
but the fact remains true
no matter what i do
you can’t tell me
who do you believe?

and now it’s starting
catch your breath quick
cause the lights are dimming
isn’t it sick? no it just ain’t pretty
oh no oh
and look i’m falling
into the mud
and i hear you calling
watch out, well watch me cause
who do you believe?

vl: guitar, vocals
kent sparling: backing vocals

---

Back From London

when i came back from london
you would not talk to me
When you came back from london
i kept my hands where you could see

i could say my love was hanging
underneath the light
got too close and singed in smoke
i’d say that you were right

wooden floors and taxi doors
sultry summer nights
we held our own though not quite grown
the city held us tight

i could say my love was hanging...

back from london
gone from london
home to new york
i’ll see you there
but you won’t see me
like you saw me before

i could say my love was hanging...

vl: guitar, cuatro, vocals
kent sparling: melodica

---

Wait For Me

you’ve got apples in your cheeks
and berries for your lips
and i want to bake you up
save you for a rainy day

you’ve got nimble hands and feet
and words you’d want to speak
but i want to keep you quiet
sleeping silent where you lay

don’t you want to come this way with me?
wait for me
don't you want to come this way with me?

i’ve got rain to argue with
and wind to chase and catch
but i feel the fire there
like a dare to heed it’s heat

oh yes i want to feel your breath
and hear your gentle voice
but i know of songs and sights
that might delay the time we meet

don’t you want to come this way with me?
wait for me
don't you want to come this way with me?

vl: guitar, vocal
kent sparling: melodica

---

30 Feet Deep

look deeper
how deep?
30 feet deep
what will i find there?

precious things
thirty feet deep
precious things
thirty feet deep
thirty feet thirty feet thirty feet
thirty feet deep
yeah

be braver
how brave?
bore straight down
into the earth
dig for it
up to your elbows
and don't stop if you hit rock

precious things...

i'll get mine and you get yours
oh

go under
go down
don't surface
for days
hold your breath
follow the silence
and don't stop 'til you bottom out at

precious things...

yeah

vl: guitars, vocals
adrian west: violin
kent sparling: ukulele

---

But Wait...

vl: guitar

---

Morsel

i’ve got two in this drawer
i’ve got three hundred more
i’ve got five in this pocket
in this pocket i’ve got four

i’ve got a filet
i’ve got the bologna
i’ve got your sweet face
but it doesn’t own me
do you know where hunger ends?

i’m sorry i play these games
storing morsels of energy
i’m sorry it’s not to your taste
you can write it in my eulogy

you glide through the room
like fat on a spoon
enter the kitchen
what you see there makes you swoon

but you’re my coffee bean
you’re my cup of steam
you’re my hunk of veal
you’re what i want to be real

i’m sorry i play these games
storing morsels of energy
ahh ahh ahh...

i’ve got two in this drawer
i’ve got three hundred more
i’ve got five in this pocket
in this pocket i’ve got four
oh my god
my hands adore you
tender morsel that you are

ahh ahh ahh...


vl: guitars, vocals
ron crotty: acoustic bass
tobias hawkins: djembe, dumbek, tabla
adrian west: violin
kent sparling: backing vocals

---

For A While

i know more than the weather
i have more than the time
i’m good for more than directions
at the end of the line

i’ll be here for a while
but i won’t be here long
i’m just singing this song
for a while

i’ve been around one or two times
but i’ve never been here
i’ll hang around and enjoy it
and then i’ll disappear

i’ll be here for a while...

it might surprise you to know
that i have been looking for you
but i’ve got a really short attention span
so if i were you i’d make your move

you know i have those alone days
and then i feel black and blue
but it’s making me stronger
i’ll be ready for you

i’ll be here for a while...

vl: guitars, vocal
ron crotty: acoustic bass
tobias hawkins: sekou-sekou, typewriter case
kent sparling: tea tin, melodica, backing vocals

---

Life is a Party

weeds are growing on the wall
but i expect to make that call
any day now
you've always let me know
that i know where the flowers grow

life is a party
you said it yourself
you said it

in the shower through the haze
i have always been amazed
that the sleep unravels from my skin
as the water travels down my chin

life is a party...

and in the morning when i wake up
and the oven is cold
all the dreams are burnt embers
with their meanings untold
and if later i'm still lying there
in the pocket of warmth
i'm not lazy, i'm untangling
all the things that were folded away for the day
i am folded away for the day

i could always lift my head
from the pillow on my bed
but the sunlight is in the perfect place
to warm the shadows of my face

life is a party...

vl: guitar, vocal

---

The Elven God

rustling in the woods
causing my heart to jump across the moon in fits and starts
i feel the weary fill me
i’ll lay my head here
something circles round dancing in a glow
i laugh because the warmth is nothing i have known
i feel your touch before i see your skin in the dark

and you take me there everywhere
everyday every time you climb through my window
and i knew you’d be how you were
when the signs came to me through the dew on the ferns

i trust you with my life and i need you
i’ll be there when you ask for any reason
call for me in silence or call me in song
the sky became a shadow and the wind died
something fell upon me and my heart cried
i knew that you were calling
but i was afraid

and down upon the mossy rocks a light began to shine
and overhead the shadows filtered out between the vines
and i was fine

and you take me there everywhere...

yes you take me there everywhere
everyday every time you climb through my window
and i knew you’d be how you were
when the signs came to me through the dew on the ferns

vl: guitar, vocals

---

The Final Word

i'm waiting for the final word
as though i could pick it up and stroke it
i'm looking for the last thing i heard
to be the thing i couldn't even hope for

so i'm waiting with baited breath
i want you to be my savior
just give me the balm i came for
don't say there is no answer
cause having no hope is murder

i'm pulling out all the guns
but i don't even know which part's the trigger
i know that's not how wars are won
but i don't want to be the loser

so i'm waiting...

and i'm asking for forgiveness
for what i must have done wrong
like shaking a stick
at a wily old snake
whose fangs are hanging on

been waiting for the final word
like there will never be another
as though once it is spoken and then heard
the waiting game's forever over

so i'm waiting...

vl: guitar, vocals
ron crotty: acoustic bass
tobias hawkins: dumbek, sekou-sekou
kent sparling: backing vocals

---

My Mama Told Me

it’s a subtle affectation
it’s a fucking lie
i lost all my inspiration
when you said don’t try
to express that emotion
in a minor key

and you said i had the smile
of an angel girl
with lips as red as rosebuds
and i wanna hurl
nasty curses at your offending head

cause my mama told me
that you’d try to screw me
if i wasn’t just what you wanted me to be

vl: guitar, vocals