Men Of Steel =========== If the telephone rings at 3am You know it's trouble Your stuff is always ready You're out the door in minutes You know someone is threatening To jump off your bridge Men of steel they're called Men of steel they're called Rivet wrestlers Cowboys in the sky... We're the only ones Dumb enough to do it, In fact we're the only ones With enough equipment, Knowledge of the bridge, And courage to go over the rail Men of steel they're called Men of steel they're called Rivet wrestlers Cowboys in the sky... (Raga) If you're an iron worker on the Golden Gate Bridge and the telephone rings at 3am, you know it's trouble. You know someone is threatening to jump off your bridge. Your stuff is always ready; you're out the door in minutes. If you aren't too late, you climb out onto the cold steel and try to talk some lost soul off the beam or wrestle him or her to safety. Many suicide attempts are impulsive; lives can be salvaged. But if you fail, if the person jumps into that bottomless fog, "there's no describing how helpless you feel," says Ken Hopper, a Golden Gate Bridge iron-worker for 17 years. "Men Of Steel" they're called. They fix and maintain the world's most amazing tinker-toy. But, what qualifies these rivet-wrestlers to perform the delicate psychological task of suicide prevention? "We're the only ones dumb enough to do it," says Hopper, a bear of a guy with a bushy mustache and a sensitive side. In fact, they're the only ones with enough equipment, knowledge of the bridge, and courage to go over the rail. Suicide rescue duty is voluntarily, but the bridge's iron-workers all take their turns. Sometimes a police psychologist will be at the scene, more often the rescuers are on their own. "Suicide prevention experts have come to give us seminars," Hopper says. "They talk to these people on the phone. We deal with them face to face." Often a would-be jumper is locked in a private mental zone and the trick is to get his or her attention. Some tricks that have worked: "Hey, if you're going to jump, at least give me your mom's phone number so i can call her to tell her."; "That's a nice watch, if you're going to jump, can i have it?" Sometimes, all it takes is the voice of a human who cares: "Look, I've been through some hard times myself. I know it's possible to get help." Hopper estimates he's rescued about 30 people, and lost three. The losses haunt him. Hopper once talked down an 18 year old college student. The next morning, while at a press conference to announce a new bridge suicide prevention program, the same teenager walked back onto the bridge and jumped. Another time, Hopper arrived at a rescue just in time to see a man fling his two year old daugher off the bridge, and then jump, himself. "Once in a great while," Hopper says, "one of the guys will get a note from someone they talked down. It's a treasure; it's like gold." Usually there's no follow-up, no closure. Hopper says that's a sore spot; "you help save a life," he says, "you become involved in that life." A few years ago, it all got to be too much for Hopper. He had his name removed from the rescue call list and underwent therapy. As soon as he felt like he had a handle on things again, he put his name back on the list. "It got to the point, it was more difficult NOT to do it." .

Buca ==== From your mouth Invisible clown lips move One and the same The restaurant and his stage name Beppo, Beppo... Beppo___ Glimpse the obsession Then hide the regression There are already plans in place In the basement Innocent eater At lunch from his job I am witness to the horror A hit from an imagined mob From his mouth Soft words Before the shouting began He never even ran Beppo, Beppo... Beppo___ Blood, wine or tomato sauce, No one can distinguish the three You'd better have another drink To look again and see If what you think you saw Was really what you thought you saw And if it was all really true ("Raow") Glimpse the aggression That led to the transgression All could see the plan taking place In the basement From their mouths Lips shape the words That cannot begin to tell Just how far This clown Fell__ .

Colorbind ======== Wastin' all the time that ain't so free Stuck on the outside surface of me I wish I could give you Good energy But you're too busy judgin' The skin you see Pick a route other than the same old way Take off the blindfold and greet the day Bound and gagged, or just won't say? You know these thoughts won't go away Illusions distract I feel the impact The first thing you see makes you react, With all the rappin' 'bout Injustice done The same song each day Still goes unsung If colors are to Be forgotten, Better eat it soon Before it's rotten, You're holding the greatest fruit in life, Issues of words beyond black and white Bound and gagged, or just won't say? You know these thoughts won't go away, Pick a route other than the same old way, Take off the blindfold and greet the day How many blanks did you fill? How many moments do you kill? There seems to be a shade that blocks you still and lack of information as to my skills / lack of skills Feel the impact Illusions distract The first thing you see Makes you react Maybe if you only Read my words Would the meaning still be a blur? What wrong things would you infer? You can't drive, but you chauffeur .

Break ===== I've known you for only seconds, But I can sense the secrets that you hide I hope you walk on by, But you make a point to tell me your lies Going on without a pause Fatigued by the awful wait Sever the bonds that keep you strong But it's you who carries the weight Empty house to Rest from the hectic pace Shot by looks If only you'd take a break Bones might shatter Muscles could tear But I won't break As if you care Empty shell with the Rocks on the shore Try to stand up And endure some more

Mudpuddle ========= You stay long after The rain has gone In the depression In the ground The collector of water You take in the world No life you sustain Only the mud underneath All it takes is a ripple To remove the illusion Of the reflection Of the living world Always the decay of filth Under the sheen of surface You are forced to tread In the space between

Hidden Drive ============ Half a day off in another week So many questions that never speak Earplugs might just ruin the taste Of the solid sculpture reduced to paste Fell to the concrete From the sky Rising from his knees With a hidden drive Half a day off in an unending week The devil in the details that no one speaks Earplugs might just ruin the taste Of the solid sculpture reduced to paste Fell to her knees From the sky Rising from the concrete With a hidden drive .

All's Well ======= The party is not over The storm is not severe The computer is not crashing The house is not burning The gun is not loaded The roadkill is not dead The line is not disconnected The lover is not infected The traffic is not jammed The package is not damaged The dog is not rabid The drug is not a habit The wait is not long The account is not overdrawn The sex is not prostitution The smoke is not pollution All's well All's well

Wish Away ========= Wish away the endless night Concentrate and all is bright Who are you but the setting sun? What remains when the day is done? Only the clear evening sky A billion stars, a billion eyes Wish away the endless day The thrashing winds, the leaves in fray Who are you in the morning's dawn? What is seen when the dark is gone? Hiding in the clear, star-filled sky A billion eyes, a billion "why"s It's only a wish away It's only a wish away