Lyrics

Speaking a Dead Language

Am I speaking a dead language
that no-one understands?
Is my sundial in the shade?
Is my hourglass out of sand?
Am I speaking in a vacuum?
Am I speaking in a void?
Are my phrases too obscure?
Has my subtext been destroyed?

So dial my number. Drop a dime.
Tell the operator that she’s out of time.
And for the milkman leave a note
informing him that’s all she wrote.
Put a floppy in the drive
and let me know if I am still alive,
‘cause I’m speaking a dead language
and no-one understands…

Am I writing hieroglyphics?
Am I writing cuneiform?
I’m not trying to be cryptic
speaking out of uniform.
I don’t mean to be opaque.
I don’t mean to be abstruse
with the references I make.
I’ve just fallen out of use.

So send a singing telegram
instead of forwarding your spam.
Fiddle with the rabbit ears
until the picture comes in clear.
Listen to a 45
and let me know if I am still alive,
‘cause I’m speaking a dead language
and no-one understands…

Am I speaking a dead language
that no-one comprehends?
Am I confusing to my family?
Am I losing all my friends?
Is my diction so arcane?
Is my usage so archaic?
Is everything I say in vain?
Am I speaking Aramaic?

So dust off your outdated tech
and slide an 8-track in the deck.
Don that dickie turtleneck
and meet me at the discotheque.
Dig me when I talk the jive,
and let me know if I am still alive,
‘cause I’m speaking a dead language
and no-one understands…

Do I need to keep it simple?
Do I need to dumb it down?
Do I need to purge my lexicon
of each uncommon noun?
Do I have to underthink it
when I communicate,
or abbreviate my message
on a vanity license plate?
Am I speaking a dead language?
Am I speaking a dead language?
Am I speaking a dead language?
Am I speaking a dead language?