so I call god up, and I'm kinda nervous but I call god up, I get his answering service, so I take a breath, make my voice all steady take another breath, and I think I'm ready, and I say on the line, could you tell the divine, that I'm here down below and I really wanna know: have we turned the corner? have we gone right 'round the bend? is it the end of the beginning? or the beginning of the end? are we getting warmer? are we on a downward trend? is it the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end? and I don't hear back, but I'm in no hurry. but I don't hear back, and I start to worry, 'cause the days fly by, with no confirmation and then years fly by, and a desperation settles into my soul. I feel out of control so I hit redial and I wait and wait a while, and I wait and wait a while, and I wait and wait a while, and I wait and wait a while, just when I'm thinking that I oughta let it go now somebody picks up on the line and says, "yeah what?" I say "hello, sir, there's some things i'd like to know now, I open doors, I walk on through, and then they shut. I wonder if I shoulda tried another door, now did I choose right? and what's the future gonna bring?" he says "you little people always wanna know the score, now. you want a hint? well I will tell you just one thing:" he says: "you don't get to know. you don't get to know. you don't get to know. you don't get to know." then he drops the phone and he's disconnected and I'm all alone and I'm all dejected yet it gives me hope not the way he said it but it gives me hope yeah, I think I get it: choose a door and you're done. if your door was the right one, you won't know. and that's wise. it would ruin the surprise. have we turned the corner? have we gone right 'round the bend? is it the end of the beginning? or the beginning of the end? are we getting warmer? are we on a downward trend? is it the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end? you don't get to know.

Say goodbye to all that came before Lead your old assumptions to the door Goodbye to all that reaching, grasping stuff Hello to what you’ve got and that’s enough A fond farewell to who you used to be Bid adieu to them, and set them free And as they fly down history's garden path Bid welcome to the ever-aftermath.

you can follow all the rules you can color within the lines you can keep in your place behind the velvet rope or you can break down every wall and ignore the warning signs and give over to a heedless kind of hope you can get traded to the major leagues and still get kicked right off the team before you have a chance to play the game. --- there's no justice there's no rights there's no darkness there's no lights there's just me and you and the good deeds that in spite of ourselves we sometimes manage to do. there's no truth there's no lies there's no way to game the system and ensure you win the prize there's just me and you and the threadbare dreams we strive each day to try to make come true.

Sing us a song for the end of the world The end of the world is nigh Everyone knows it’s the end of the world, So there’s no need to break down and cry Raise up a glass to the end of the world Hey world, here’s mud in your eye Belly up to the bar at the end of the world We’re all here to bid this world goodbye. Sing us a song for the end of the world to bring us a bit of good cheer. All of the parties are cancelled and all the restaurants are closed for the rest of the year. Everyone's hiding out, wondering how they'll make it through, but hey, don't shed a tear. Don't be afraid of the end of the world, for the end of the world is here. Sing us a song for the end of the world, though this world was a bit hit-or-miss. Ratings are down for this little old world, we'll remember last season and we'll reminisce. So let's say goodbye to this latest contestant and stop staring at the abyss. Sing us a song for the end of the world, may the next world be better than this.

See all the movies in your queue. Do all the things you always said you wanna do. Play all those games you want to play. Get around to all those things you said you’d get around to one fine day. And there’s no need to go outside. Staycation in your hidey-hole, you oughta stay and hide. It’s like a weekend That goes on and on and on. We keep it light and fun and bright and breezy. It’s like a weekend That goes on and on and on. But just. A bit. More. Uneasy. Don’t read the headlines on your phone. Keep scrolling through your feed so you don’t feel alone. Lock all the windows and the doors. Yeah who needs neighbors, they’re all rude or crashing bores. The cupboard still looks pretty full. We got a case of wine, let's order in some vodka and red bull, yeah. It’s like a weekend That goes on and on and on. We keep it light and fun and bright and breezy. It’s like a weekend That goes on and on and on. But just. A bit. More. Uneasy.

hey come on in, the water's fine I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine snow on the trees, snow on the ground the winter sun is going down water droplets in your fur it's you and me and him and her and bring your baby for a swim hang out with you and me and her and him nihonzaru, nihonzaru, nihonzaru, nihonzaru when all the world has lost its way when there is nothing left to say when there is nothing left to do but hunker down and see it through then take your mind to some place warm a pool of calm amid the storm go make a monkey out of me a metaphor for how to be

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Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears, While we all sup sorrow with the poor; There's a song that will linger forever in our ears; Oh! Hard times come again no more. 'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, Hard Times, hard times, come again no more. Many days you have lingered around my cabin door; Oh! Hard times come again no more. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay, There are frail forms fainting at the door; Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say Oh! Hard times come again no more. 'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, Hard Times, hard times, come again no more. Many days you have lingered around my cabin door; Oh! Hard times come again no more. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day. Lovely Day.

Here's my draft of lyrics and book, modifying what was already there and coming up with new stuff, back in 2015 and 2016: Title: draft of "The Ice Is Too Thick To Get Through" section... Author: Brendan - 7/1/16, 6:43 PM And with that, KAT and ERNEST make it back to the floor. ERNEST My love, we have made it. We have reached the whaling station. KAT This is the whaling station? ERNEST Yes, we are safe at the bottom of the world. KAT I’m exhausted, Ernest. Could you maybe hold me for a moment. ERNEST (grabbing onto her) Of course you’re exhausted, Katherine. We have been marching nonstop for -- He checks his timepiece. Thirty-six hours. KAT What? ERNEST Yes, exactly thirty-six hours. Have you ever been awake that long? KAT Yes. You? ERNEST Of course. I am an explorer. After thirty-six hours -- you pass the point of exhaustion. Your mind plays tricks on you. Is your experience real or is everything just an hallucination? KAT presses a button. ECHO 36 hours...36 hours...36 hours... ERNEST All right, I’ve left my twenty-two men on that island. And by God, I’m going back to rescue them! KAT [Don't we need to maybe have a hot meal before we head back?] ERNEST [Hot meals are for panty-waisted dilettantes with time to kill; we have a job to do. Grab some hardtack and let's commandeer that whaling ship over there.] STIRRING MUSIC as they arrange the furniture of Kat’s apartment to become a whaling ship, and set off to rescue the abandoned crewmates. The projections change to show the rest of the ship around them, and the growing ice pack... “_THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO GET THROUGH_” ERNEST WE SET OFF WITH BRAVE HEARTS ON A WHALING SHIP BORROWED FROM FRIENDS AT THE STATION Ernest is looking through his spyglass, Kat is at the prow of their "boat" playing her violin. KAT & ERNEST CHECK THE MAPS, READ THE CHARTS, WE WILL RESCUE THE MEN, WE’LL REACH OUR DESTINATION In the projections, open sea turns to fog and ice... ERNEST BUT FOG SETTLES IN AND THE FUEL’S RUNNING LOW KAT & ERNEST AND WE’RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN DO AND THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO GET THROUGH. OH, THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO GET THROUGH. They climb off, and re-jigger the furniture, constructing another ship for another try. ERNEST Right then. You sir, that's a nice fishing boat you have there. Would you mind lending it to us? Thanks ever so much - I'll send you a check when we return to England. KAT (checking her watch) Ernest, it’s been a month now. ERNEST I know. So we try again. Right? Right. More STIRRING MUSIC. KAT and ERNEST push the tip of their "boat" off in a new direction. ERNEST WE SET OFF WITH FAIR WIND ON A TRAWLER SOME GENEROUS FISHERMAN LENT US KAT & ERNEST AGAIN, WE’RE CHAGRINED FOR THE ICE PACK GROWS THICKER EACH DAY TO TORMENT US KAT RETURN TO DRY LAND ERNEST turns their "boat" back toward land as KAT climbs out. ERNEST (in rhythm) Send a cable to England! And KAT begins using a morse code transmitter that she's brought along with her, one hand pressing the key and the other pressing a headphone to her ear. KAT AND THE WEEKS TUMBLE BY ERNEST (Dictating to Kat) WE REQUIRE AN ICE-BREAKING SHIP! AND WE’VE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN DO, KAT & ERNEST AND THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO BREAK THROUGH. KAT & ERNEST [THE FUCKING] ICE IS TOO THICK TO BREAK THROUGH. KAT climbs to her desk, listening to the response from England on her headset. ERNEST paces about. KAT OH, THEY’RE TELLING US THEY CAN’T GET ANYTHING HERE ‘TIL ANOTHER FOUR MONTHS HAVE GONE BY ERNEST (WTF?) IF WE WAIT FOR FOUR MONTHS IT’S AS GOOD AS CONSIGNING ALL TWENTY-TWO MEN THERE TO DIE. (furious) OH, IF THIS WERE A PLAY OR A NOVEL THEY’D SAY THAT THE CONFLICT GOES ON FOR TOO LONG. KAT & ERNEST THERE ARE TOO MANY OBSTACLES CRAMMED IN ONE STORY IT’S UNREALISTIC AND WRONG ERNEST begins reassembling furniture, this time into what will become a tugboat. KAT moves to the edge of the platform and looks out. KAT (resigned) BUT THIS IS REAL LIFE, SO WE WEAR THE BRAVE FACE THOUGH OUR HEARTS ARE NOT FEELING SO HEARTY ERNEST has completed the "tugboat," such as it is: a sorry looking pile of furniture. ERNEST (scoffing) AND ALL THAT WE’VE GOT IS A TUGBOAT THAT COULDN’T BREAK ICE AT A COCKTAIL PARTY. They look out around the theatre - and in projections and fake snow from the ceiling, all they see is snow falling and ice floes. ~AND WE WAIT FOR A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER The snow continues to fall. ~AND WE WAIT FOR A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER And continues to fall as the world gets quiet. ~AND WE WAIT FOR A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER TO COME AROUND. ERNEST (despondent) AND I ALWAYS SAID I’D NOT GO DOWN WITHOUT SOME SORT OF FIGHT BUT PERHAPS I AM DESTINED TO SIMPLY GO DOWN. He sits. She sits with him. The music continues under. KAT This is bullshit. ERNEST It's a right bloody mess, that's what it is. KAT They always tell you when you're growing up, "if you're persistent, if you keep at it, you'll reach your goals!" ERNEST And sometimes Mother Nature laughs at your petty persistence and spits on your petty goals. KAT (checking her watch) Ernest, it’s now been twelve weeks since we left them. ERNEST What must they be thinking? {With no food left, and all the seals left for the season...no more seal blubber.} They're probably starving by now. KAT Can we just set off in the tugboat? Will it make it? {Should we wait four months for an ice-breaking ship?} ERNEST Who knows. I don't know. KAT But if we don't try again, if we don't give it another shot, we'll always feel like we could have done more, done better. ERNEST (standing, getting his shit together) When you're left with two options, the first being you do nothing and wait and probably everyone dies; and the second being you go out again and probably you don't make it and everybody still dies, which do you do? They look at each other. KAT & ERNEST You pick option two. STIRRING MUSIC returns. KAT & ERNEST KAT & ERNEST WE SET OFF TOWARD THE ICE AND WE HOPE AGAINST HOPE THAT THE TUGBOAT WILL MAKE IT LAST ROLL OF THE DICE, They look to each other for a bit of mutual assurance in their folly. AND WE DON’T FEEL TOO SURE, BUT WE SURELY WILL FAKE IT. IS THIS OUR LAST CHANCE? HAVE WE RUN OUT OF TIME? HAVE WE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN DO? It's not looking good. Ice is everywhere. It's quiet. ERNEST looks around, and says what they're both thinking... ERNEST IF THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO GET THROUGH, THEN THE ICE IS TOO THICK TO GET THROUGH. Fuck that. They both start paddling like crazy, and yelling at the top of their lungs, they sing KAT & ERNEST OH WILL PROVIDENCE SMILE UPON US AGAIN? WILL THE ICE PACK BREAK OPEN A CHANNEL AND LET US BREAK THROUGH? And at that, suddenly we are in OPEN SEA, and they have broken through the ice pack. KAT AND SUDDENLY, THE CLOUDS DISSOLVE THE SKY IS CLEAR, BLUE, AND COLD! ERNEST (triumphant) THE ICE GIVES WAY, AND FORTUNE HAS FAVORED THE DOGGED, PERSISTENT, AND BOLD! KAT (pointing towards the direction they're going) MAKE A BREAK FOR THE ISLAND, THE ROCK WHERE WE LEFT THEM, AND SURELY THERE’S SOME STILL ALIVE! ERNEST I’LL PULL OUT MY SPYGLASS AND WHISPER A PRAYER THAT MAYBE A FEW DID SURVIVE... And as they count survivors, they look out into the audience. ERNEST has been treating the audience like his crew of hearty men all along, and now shafts of light coming from above pick out audience members in their seats, illuminating them for a moment, one by one: ERNEST AND THERE’S ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE MEN WHO WAVE FROM THE ROCKS, KAT I SEE SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE MEN WHO ARE NOT GOING HOME IN A BOX! ERNEST MY LOVE THERE ARE TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE, THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN MEN STILL IN THE GAME, KAT ERNEST, THERE’S FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN MEN, THEY ARE JUMPING FOR JOY, THEY ARE SHOUTING YOUR NAME! [I know we talked about making these last few last a little longer, so we can rewrite this next bit if we all still feel that way...] ERNEST EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN, TWENTY MEN, MORE THAN I HAD DREAMED I MIGHT SAVE KAT THERE’S THE TWENTY-FIRST MAN, DO WE DARE TO KEEP HOPING? BUT THERE HE IS LIMPING, BUT CLEARLY THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE: ERNEST TWENTY-TWO... KAT THEY'RE ALL THERE! IMPOSSIBLE BUT TRUE ERNEST EVERY LAST ONE OF THE MEN ON MY CREW THEY HAVE TEARS KAT & ERNEST IN THEIR EYES AS THEY'RE SHOUTING TO THE SKIES KAT THAT YOU HAVE SAVED – ERNEST THAT WE HAVE SAVED – KAT & ERNEST THEM The phone rings. She hits a button, putting the voice on speaker. BRUCE (V.O.) Hey, babe, it’s Bruce! ERNEST hits the button, shutting off the phone. KAT & ERNEST ALL! Button.

Love songs to you are just flowers in my tomb but it's all right I think of this as you walk into the room and I check myself twice And your new piece of cheese looks suspiciously like me I guess my worst qualities Were the ones that you liked but I knew that Yes I knew that But I won't ask you to sympathize Everything is all right I'm finally getting some sleep at night And when I open my eyes I'm finally getting some daylight You got my sweater and a couple of CD's but it's all right Your darkest secrets sit here right in front of me I know what you smell like And if my life were a movie, you'd be buried in the credits You'd be "Woman #2 with her head up her ass" And it's too late, yes, it's too late And even anger does not last Cause everything is all right I'm finally getting some sleep at night And when I open my eyes I'm finally getting some daylight Everything is all right It's only me, and it's only life You took my ass for a ride I have to laugh, it's the only way to survive And I jump out the window of wasted time And I stand up, and I'm still alive Pull the pennies off my eyes I can feel it I can feel the daylight

every day every day every day I am just getting started every day I am standing upright and I'm looking around to see what's what every day every day every day I am just getting started every day I am putting my brave face on as I ignore the butterflies in my gut every day I am pulling a rabbit out of a hat for my dependents every day I am walking a tightrope between mud pies and transcendence every day I lean in and push that mountain another half an inch and wonder if we're all going to be okay. that's what I'm doing every day. every day every day every day I am just getting started every day that's what I tell myself, and I believe it now and then every day every day every day I am just getting started every day I roll my creaky bones all up and out of bed and I get up and at 'em once again every day I am finding that every day feels the same as the day before every day the whole world is on fire and I'm putting these wet blankets under the door every day I'm hanging on and getting by and running out of helpful thoughtful things to say that's what I'm doing every day.

you say you got a bandwidth problem you say that your connection is down you tried cutting the power and you reset your router, but you keep getting the runaround you say that your camera is busted and you say your microphone's on the fritz yeah you're texting and tweeing you can't get into the meeting, so you think you're maybe calling it quits you're breaking up you're breaking up yeah you froze in that position 30 seconds ago you keep talking real fast, then you're talking real slow and though it's hard to make out what you're saying, I know that if you're saying what I think you're saying, and I think I can tell, I can see, I think you're breaking up with me. you say you got a bandwidth problem and it's hard for you to get it all done with the kids and the grind you've been falling behind and you're sorry but there's no time for fun you say you got a bandwidth problem and you're trying hard to schedule me in, but between washing your hair ironing your underwear you're telling me my chances are thin you're breaking up you're breaking up yeah you froze in that position 30 seconds ago you keep talking real fast, then you're talking real slow and though it's hard to make out what you're saying, I know that if you're saying what I think you're saying, and I think I can tell, I can see, I think you're breaking up with me.

though it's stormy seas you're sailing, steady on though your leaky boat needs bailing, steady on though you're feeling like you're failing, and your get-up-and-go is gone, steady on, steady on, steady on. don't know how you're gonna swing it, steady on. need a map but didn't bring it, steady on, yeah you're gonna have to wing it through the dark until the dawn, but steady on, steady on, steady on. Steady on Steady on Steady on Steady on Up the creek without a paddle, steady on. On a horse without a saddle, steady on. In the middle of the battle, with your rubber chicken drawn, steady on, steady on, steady on. Are you feeling pessimistic? steady on. is your leader narcissistic?, steady on. Do you feel like a statistic, like a patsy, like a pawn? Steady on, steady on, steady on. it's a long dark night lashed to the wheel trying to hold it all together it's a long dark night and a long ordeal in a lot of nasty weather on this long dark night keep an even keel if you can't see the stars or your hands on the wheel then just listen to the rain and the wind and deal, my friend the sun will come up again.

They don’t tell you when you’re failing Your cummerbund don’t match your tie Oh they don’t tell you when you’re failing Like you forgot to zip your fly You’ll be left to do the guesswork, suppositions, yeah you’re gonna have to figure this one out on your own They don’t tell you when you’re failing They just stop picking up the phone. They don’t tell you when you’re sinking When you don’t know you’re going down They don’t tell you when you’re sinking They just let you swim or drown They don’t throw you out a life vest or an inner tube, they’ll just pretend that everything is perfectly okay No, they don’t tell you when you’re sinking They just let you drift away. No, they don’t have no human resources department They don’t have no quarterly performance review They don’t give no indication that you’re headed for the big vacation They just grin and say “hey man, we love what you do! Don’t go changing my friend Keep your high hopes up high Keep your nose to the rhinestone grindstone And don’t go asking why Just deliver your deliverables And we’ll catch you on the flip side When this whole damn thing is through...” They don’t tell you when you’re losing They let you think you still can win They don’t tell you when you’re losing They just let you push your chips all in They don’t tell you bout the trap door underneath your cozy chair, they press a button and you’re falling into space They don’t tell you when you’re losing They’d rather you leave without a trace No they don’t tell you when you’re losing They keep that saccharine grin glued to their face No they don’t tell you when you’re losing ‘Cause they don’t want you making a fuss badmouthing the whole damn organization when some fresh-faced sucker is sauntering in and sitting right down and taking your place.