{"id":4540,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:49","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T06:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4062"},"modified":"2025-03-08T01:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T09:48:07","slug":"pools-of-mercury-lyrics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-lyrics\/pools-of-mercury-lyrics\/","title":{"rendered":"Pools of Mercury Lyrics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"335\" height=\"332\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg\" alt=\"Cover Art - Pools of Mercury (1998) - by Jim Carroll\" class=\"wp-image-478\" style=\"width:335px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom-192x190.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Pools of Mercury<\/em><br>By Jim Carroll<\/strong><br><strong>Mercury Records, 1998<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>See also:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/pools-of-mercury\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"4057\">album details<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/photos-video-audio\/audio-library\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"199\">audio clips<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LYRICS INDEX<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#falling\">Falling Down Laughing<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#desert\">Desert Town<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#pools\">Pools of Mercury<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#hairshirt\">Hairshirt Fracture<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#beast\">The Beast Within<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"falling\"><br>Falling Down Laughing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/falldown.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lyrics by Jim Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was feeling invulnerable<br>That was foolish but wonderful<br>But of course the first one was always free<br>He&#8217;s got one wrist in heaven, one ankle in hell<br>Somebody pushed or he just fell<br>He&#8217;s riding the subway watching the lights play<br>red yellow green he&#8217;s always somewhere in between<br>the station he wants, the station he needs,<br>and the station where the chickenhawks come to feed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Refrain:<br>Since the worm turned he&#8217;s learned<br>This apple&#8217;s a blood-filled tear<br>And he falls down laughing, he falls down laughing<br>He falls down and he disappears<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First he tried to be pure now he just wants a cure<br>He&#8217;s wasted, his skin&#8217;s sore, he&#8217;s flat-out poor<br>When you live in doubt that&#8217;s when your luck runs out<br>He&#8217;s on the roof alone, outside the zone<br>Now he&#8217;s on the street again when he calls him then<br>Billy just cannot resist<br>Now he&#8217;s an orphan sleeping with the coffins<br>Just like Oliver Twist<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well since the worm turned . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Billy&#8217;s tired of the lies, he&#8217;s turning every fire<br>Looking for his own past<br>He&#8217;s limping in the water searching for the quarter<br>Inch of clarity<br>His future is raining blood like stars<br>He&#8217;s fallen so far behind<br>He might as well be blind<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watching late-night film noir inside of stolen cars<br>His tongue stuck frozen to the monkey bars<br>His ladder lost its rungs, Billy speaks in tongues<br>Every time he&#8217;s in the clear his past looks back and sneers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But since the worm turned . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"desert\"><br>Desert Town<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/desert.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lyrics by Jim Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hitched a ride to a desert town<br>(I never planned this trip)<br>I saw my past in the sun like a tongue<br>(that slowly dripped)<br>People faced me with Lazarus eyes<br>They were red and dazed like fat horse flies<br>I was lost in twelve directions<br>I was searching for my own reflection<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a desert town I found<br>a future old and broke like Roman ruins<br>I been turned around it&#8217;s true<br>The postage past is due<br>This heat is twisted like a knife<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I got the picture but I lost the frame<br>(Where did it begin)<br>Thought I was holy but that&#8217;s not the case<br>I&#8217;m just too tired to sin<br>Sun glistening like a frightened fist<br>This latitude doesn&#8217;t exist<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a desert town I found<br>Nothing is going to be the way it should<br>What I thought I lost I could get back<br>Take the blade and hack my way back to another day<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instant that, instant this, instant that, instant this . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a desert town I found<br>a future old and broke like Roman ruins<br>I been turned around it&#8217;s true<br>The postage past is due<br>This heat is twisting like a knife<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a desert town the sound<br>Whispers like like the women at the well<br>In this dry high wind I bend<br>like a cactus in the sand<br>I&#8217;m waiting, waiting for your hand<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"pools\"><br>Pools of Mercury<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pools.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lyrics by Jim Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sirens begin, the red light spins<br>Hungry go the thieves<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Betty&#8217;s in the sandbox trying to detox<br>She always wears long sleeves<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Desdemona in a red kimona can&#8217;t get off the bench<br>Her bolts are fused, her limbs can&#8217;t move<br>Someone better find a wrench<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, they can&#8217;t last<br>Future&#8217;s like a curse<br>What&#8217;s best for them is always bought<br>at the price of something worse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wren&#8217;s heart of ashes, the glue-on lashes<br>Her baby&#8217;s in a Brillo box<br>She&#8217;s on one knee with key after key<br>Trying to find the right lock<br>By the pulp of her fears<br>and the shape of her tears<br>you can tell tomorrow&#8217;s weather<br>She bends her skin in the shape of her sins<br>To keep herself together<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, they can&#8217;t last<br>The future&#8217;s like a hearse<br>What&#8217;s best for them is always bought<br>at the price of something worse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, I can&#8217;t last<br>The future&#8217;s like a curse<br>I&#8217;m swimming in pools of mercury<br>Making sense of the end of the century<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They want to &#8212; outside<br>They want to &#8212; outside<br>They want to scream outside<br>They want to search outside<br>They want to lose outside<br>They want to beg outside<br>They want to have sex outside<br>They want to &#8212; outside<br>They want to pray outside<br>They want to buy outside<br>They want to dream outside<br>They want to pine outside<br>They want to &#8212; outside<br>They want to sleep<br>They only want to be alone outside<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carl&#8217;s been burned<br>Better return him back to central casting<br>Jen grows weaker her soul sneakers<br>Are useless without laces<br>So she rides the snake till she grows wings<br>And flies to better places<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, they can&#8217;t last<br>The future&#8217;s like a hearse<br>What&#8217;s best for them is always bought<br>at the price of something worse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, I can&#8217;t last<br>The future&#8217;s like a curse<br>I&#8217;m swimming in pools of mercury<br>Making sense of the end of the century<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s dawn, their faces worn<br>Rain like a female feathers<br>I&#8217;m swimming in pools of mercury<br>Making sense of the end of the century<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got no past, they can&#8217;t last<br>The future&#8217;s like a hearse<br>What&#8217;s best for them is always bought<br>at the price of something worse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hairshirt\"><br>Hairshirt Fracture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hairshirt.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lyrics by Jim Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m feeling like I&#8217;m waiting on a train<br>By the sounds from my bed I think somebody&#8217;s bled<br>All over something someone&#8217;s keeping clean<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don&#8217;t need anything, just make it bright<br>then turn it low<br>You don&#8217;t need more than me<br>You could live right there beneath the stairs<br>I&#8217;ve done it, I&#8217;ve said all I can, I&#8217;ve reached the end<br>Now you must learn to bend<br>Bend to the floor, taste the core<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re not going nowhere<br>leave the money right there<br>I feel the arrow sticking in my ear<br>We owe so much we pawned<br>Now watch the power come undone<br>I&#8217;m standing on my head to watch the day just drift away<br>This city always makes the same mistakes, asleep or awake<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m sick of waking up inside white balloons<br>Inside of blue balloons<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New York air is sweet tonight<br>there&#8217;s no stars but that&#8217;s all right<br>I&#8217;m breathing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I feel you through your fear<br>Pull the arrow from my ear<br>Tonight we&#8217;ll take a different way home<br>They say the fire burns but won&#8217;t consume<br>But it does consume<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re slick, you shoplift<br>What&#8217;s left of my brain<br>You haven&#8217;t changed<br>This city always makes the same mistakes,<br>it&#8217;s just like me<br>It always breaks in two<br>I&#8217;m sick of me for being sick of you<br>We&#8217;ll take a gypsy cab to heaven or hell<br>Time will tell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"beast\"><br>The Beast Within<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignright\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/beast.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lyrics by Jim Carroll and Lenny Kaye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If give me your ear<br>I&#8217;ll whisper you wind that could soothe your burnt blood<br>The door is right here<br>breathing the air filled with powders and porn<br>now comes the dawn<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I release the dove<br>Would it betray the sky and return to your cage<br>In the river above<br>Can I fold back the pages and just take one look<br>into your jungle book<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Refrain: Some say it&#8217;s a lie, some say it&#8217;s a sin<br>Do you know how it ends if you won&#8217;t let it begin?<br>You feel it waking now beneath your skin<br>You can&#8217;t live without the beast within<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you lift up your veil<br>Then I&#8217;ll finish the features that aren&#8217;t quite done<br>How could we fail<br>With all the miraculous masks that we wear<br>In shadows and stares<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s seal out the dare<br>Your eyes like morning, naked and wet<br>What price will we pay?<br>Now think back and tell me how we ever got here<br>Such tender years<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some say it&#8217;s a lie, some say it&#8217;s a sin . . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pools of MercuryBy Jim CarrollMercury Records, 1998 See also: album details and audio clips LYRICS INDEX Falling Down Laughing Lyrics by Jim Carroll He was feeling invulnerableThat was foolish but wonderfulBut of course the first one was always freeHe&#8217;s got one wrist in heaven, one ankle in hellSomebody pushed or he just fellHe&#8217;s riding the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-lyrics\/pools-of-mercury-lyrics\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Pools of Mercury Lyrics<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4476,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[47],"class_list":["post-4540","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-1be","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4057,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/pools-of-mercury\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":0},"title":"Pools of Mercury","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryBy Jim CarrollMercury Records, October 1998 Get this on Amazon.com LINER NOTES Produced by Anton SankoRecorded and mixed by Denny McNerney Mastered by Denny McNerneyRecorded & mastered at Easter Island Recording, NYC (212-229-2949)Assistant engineering--Jim Naisby The Poems: \"I Am Not Kurt Schwitters,\" \"Things That Fly,\" \"It Goes,\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Pools of Mercury (1998) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4519,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/spoken-word-lecture-recordings-by-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":1},"title":"Spoken-Word\/Lecture Recordings by Jim Carroll","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"See also: Spoken-Word: Collaborations Pools of MercuryReleased: 1998By: Jim CarrollLabel: MercuryGenre: Music and spoken word Get this album on Amazon Curtis's Charm: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackReleased: 1996By: Music by Mark Korven with songs by My Brilliant BeastLabel: Rabid Dog ProductionsGenre: Film soundtrack Carroll reads \"Curtis's Charm,\" from Fear of Dreaming.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/naropa-university_174.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/naropa-university_174.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/naropa-university_174.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4162,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carroll-biographies\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":2},"title":"Jim Carroll Biographies","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I use\u00a0biographies\u00a0as a plural on purpose, as metamorphosis via writing is one of the key themes of Jim Carroll's work. With biographies, as opposed to autobiographies, the metamorphosis is in the hands of others. These are just a few of the biographical essays I've managed to add to the site\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9869,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/david-duncan-review-of-pools-of-mercury-memphis-flyer-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":3},"title":"David Duncan-Review of Pools of Mercury-Memphis Flyer 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by David D. DuncanMemphis Flyer, 28 December 1998 Listening to Jim Carroll\u2019s music is a lot like reading his poetry \u2013 it\u2019s usually a harrowing journey, but one worth all the ensuing trauma. Pungent, street-smart urban poet Carroll returns to the rock arena after a 14-year absence with Pools\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3987,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":4},"title":"Audio Reviews","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some reviews of \"audio recordings.\" So far the reviews are of albums by the Jim Carroll Band and solo albums by Jim Carroll\u00a0. More to come later . . . Runaway EP Matt Ashare, \"Jim Carroll:\u00a0Runaway.\"\u00a0Boston Phoenix, 4-11 Jan. 2001.\"Carroll gives 'Runaway' his best shot, and he gets\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9871,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/jim-macnie-review-of-pools-of-mercury-boston-phoenix-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":4540,"position":5},"title":"Jim Macnie &#8211; Review of\u00a0Pools of Mercury &#8211; Boston Phoenix 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryReview by Jim MacnieBoston Phoenix, 9 November 1998 **1\/2 It starts with a promise of decapitation, as if to prove that his punkishness is still in effect almost two decades after Catholic Boy's skag stories turned heads. And it ends with an evaluation of Kurt Cobain's pre-blast psyche,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4540"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8978,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4540\/revisions\/8978"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}