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Taming the Dragon
Brad Mehldau
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Lyrics
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I had this trippy dream where this cat was driving me
Around in an old convertible the whole time around L.A.
Later on it turned into a VW van and near the end it was more like
This spaceship kind of thing, and were high up looking over the road
But the front console was shaped like a van, and it still had the convertible top
The guy who was driving me around was an older dude, an old hipster
With a scratchy voice kind of like Joe Walsh sings
But he kind of had some of that vibe and energy of Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider
Yeah, like if you can imagine a cross between Joe Walsh and Dennis Hopper
That's the dude who was driving me
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We were heading due north on the PCH
Coming up to the big stoplight where Sunset Boulevard ends
And were gonna head out past there toward Malibu
Maybe circle up through Topanga Canyon and come back through the valley
The light was beautiful in the dream with all that nice washed-out orange from the pollution
So I had this happy feeling in my stomach but also like this
Scared feeling like something gonna happen, but I didn't know what
Anyhow, as we approaching the light at Sunset
All of a sudden this cat in a sports car came out of nowhere and just cut us off
My man slammed on the brakes and narrowly averted a mash-up
It got my blood boiling, but you know, I wasn't the one driving
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Yeah, so wouldn't you know it
We pulled right up behind that motherfucker at the light and
There he was glaring at us through his rearview, he was all like
"Yeah, that's right, I cut you off, what are you going to do about it?"
So I said to Joe Walsh-slash-Dennis Hopper
I'll just call him Joe now-so I said to Joe
"Man, aren't you gonna say some shit to that douchebag?"
I was all puffed up and pissed off, but I was sitting in the passenger seat
So Joe was quiet and looked straight ahead and said
"You know, man, the only way I'm gonna put some shit out
There like that is if I'm ready to dance with that cat, you know what I mean?
All you've got are your actions, man, and don't forget
Your words are your actions too
You put something out there, there's consequences, you know?
You wanna dance with that dude?"
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You know, now I realize that Joe was driving me
Around everywhere and it's like I wasn't even thanking him
I realize that at first I thought he was kind of wild and a bad
Influence on me, like from my party days
But actually, the whole time he kind of like driving me around and
Taking care of me, watching my back, like the crazy dude in the small car
Like how he actually handled that whole thing real noble and didn't get all ruffled
He was talking me down from something, I only realized that when I woke up
It's funny how sometimes with dreams you don't
Realize who's your friend until after you wake up
Then when you wake up you get this clarity, and you see that maybe all
These different people were you in the dream and
That they're there to lead you to either good or trouble
And the person who's actually acting as you in the dream is kind of
Like this blind idiot who's just barreling through the whole dream
Like I was, trying to be all tough and shit
Telling old Joe to go start something with that punk in the sports car
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Yeah, but maybe like that crazy dude in the other car was me as well
All those people are just composite of my own shit
All the different parts of me, like you've got this one part of you
That watches out for you and keeps you steady
You've got this other part that's raging and full of anger
And those two are vying for your attention
Like old Joe and the crazy dude in the dream
And then there's just you, and you're listening to both of those voices
But they're all a part of you
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You know, I think of it like taming a dragon
The dragon is the crazy dude
And if you don't watch out he'll bite your ass hard
So you need old Joe there to set you straight
But Joe knows about the dragon
Because Joe and the dragon are a part of you
So don't try to kill the dragon, you know
The dragon's where you get all that voodoo shit from
That's where you get your power from
You don't want to snuff him out, you wanna tame him
You wanna actually make friends with him
And harness his power so you can use it
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