i don't believe i went too far
i said i was willing
she said she knew what my books did not
i thought she knew what's up

past the mission
behind the prison tower
past the mission
i once knew a hot girl

past the mission
they're closing every hour
past the mission
i smell the roses

she said they all think they know him well
she knew him better
everyone wanted something from him
i did too but i shut my mouth
he just gave me a smile

hey they found a body
not sure it was his
still they're using his name
and she gave him shelter
and somewhere i know she knows
somewhere i know she knows
somethings only she knows



"With Past the Mission, there's hope. Past the mission, I smell the roses, and Trent sings on it. I wanted him to sing on it because of his energy. I love Trent's work. Past the Mission wanted him to sing on it. Past the Mission is a love story. It's kind of a strange one in that it's me again, still trying to find pieces that I've left other places. It kind of breaks my heart when I hear him sing with me, I once knew a hot girl. Where is she now? She can come back again. It's that same thing, where in Pretty Good Year and Past the Mission and Space Dog, where everything is reclaimable. ...there's also a bit of the Mary Magdalene/Jesus relationship in Past the Mission, because I was reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail at the time. It has a lot of thoughts. It's a very long book about a historical viewpoint on everything, with the Cathars and all that happened in the Pyrenees, and the Merevindian dynasty and the whole nine yards. It's an interesting read. It opened my mind up a bit. More than anything, it was the sexual relations, even if it's just with yourself, surrounding the oppression of the church, and that's where Past the Mission again -- it's really freeing to me, that song. I've always kind of -- there's no resolve, either."
-- Tori; The Baltimore Sun, '94