Programmed Cell Death

Programmed Cell Death
Album	Undercard
Released	2010
Artist	The Extra Lens
Length	3:52
Previous Track	"Communicating Doors"
Next Track	"How I Left the Ministry"

Programmed Cell Death is the fifth song on the album Undercard.

Lyrics

Up and down the shining aisles
The all-night grocery store on Melrose
Dozens of us exiles from the mothership
The whole wide western world is at our fingertips

But while the moon hangs high above the city
And while the night begins to flex its jaws
We meet up like a loose-knit congregation
Or like spies who need to pass on information 

How much longer are we supposed to stay alive
Gathering by the Portuguese sardines in aisle five 

Mounds of California avocados
Like offerings to an unresponsive god
I wore my suit from Hong Kong to the store tonight
'Cause it fits me just right 

And suddenly the lights out in the parking lot
Begin to burst like sodas under pressure
One by one they throw themselves against the night sky
And almost unremarked upon the moment passes by 

The one or two of us
Point our fingers outside
Eyes glazed, mouths wide 

Listening to that still small voice within us
Doesn't seem to do us any good
Try to take that in stride
And try to let the moment slide 

And we fiddle with our cellphones
Until our thumbs are sore
And the music on the speakers overhead
Is fainter than the voices of the dead

How much longer are we supposed to stay alive
Gathering by the Portuguese sardines in aisle five

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2007-05-11 - Sound Fix - Brooklyn, NY
• 2007-07-22 - Rhino Records - Claremont, CA
• 2010-10-19 - Tin Angel - Philadelphia, PA
• 2010-10-21 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
• 2010-10-22 - KEXP Session - Ace Hotel - New York, NY
• 2010-10-23 - Iron Horse Music Hall - Northampton, MA