1. |
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Come raising Cain, break the polestar gaze
the host takes his praise in stride
kick up smoke into the cloud
hold my hand against the flame
our red rover gates heave like sighs
against a reaper tide
we can hope it's not too forgone
if I throw my key into the lake
I keep running out of chances
but there's one more I can take
the next life is black & dark
pray there is a different one
bring strong your Friday anthem
I will dance like a crocus in the wind
stand atop the hill where I will be buried deep
call my name as a funeral bell
we can hope it's not too forgone
I got a trick up my sleeve
But instead I am a golden oriole
when I thought I was a fox
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2. |
Foxgloves
02:36
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Sometimes I stand hunched with my back to the wind
with my collar high
and on my right breast, an embroidered crest
a forlorn deer
blessed is the age of the bell and thread
a knot for the cut line
Huddled against the wind
foxgloves steel the day
long drawn shadow
where it bends the other way
Sometimes I stand with my feet in the riverbed
where the flowers root in
I don't love the rolling hills there
but the colorful rows
Huddled against the wind
foxgloves steel the day
long drawn shadow
til it turns the other way
that I'll face the day
Not that dusk is magic light
but the light will do
not a full cup, not for lack of want
that I still thirst
Then comes summer, one high holy day
then comes summer
for a little while, we’ll take a break from all this shame
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3. |
Shortcut
03:24
|
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loosening the ties of mine
running off another time
to find myself
the river bends a new direction
running off to another
reckless course
I took a shortcut through the field
through a broken path of grass and dust
where there are houses, once were hills
and I can't take that shortcut anymore
following the endless rows
of the sub-divided homes
it holds me down
tinfoil over every window
in the grow-up that was once my friend’s old house
I took a shortcut through the field
brought me to another place
brought me to a brand new place
There is a town full up with ghosts
if you go back again
you can’t go home again
No matter the town you run away from
you're still your father's son
you're always your father's son
I took a shortcut through the field
and I can’t take that shortcut anymore
and with every chance he gets,
wants to take me to the track
to see the horses run
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4. |
Wide-Eyed
04:23
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We become wide-eyed
til the sun kicks open the sky
let it grow, let it grow
til the joy overflows
and we become wide-eyed
We become heart broke
cut me raw, and shake me to my roots
I'm not hurt, I'm not hurt
cover me over with earth
and become old growth
Let it in, let it in
We become outside dogs
the yard is big, the leash is long
hold me close, hold me close
or else just let me roam
so above as it is below
We become wild grass
spreading far, distanced from the past
but I don't know, I don't know
how to hold back all the ghosts
But I know how to open my eyes
Take it in, take it in
We become old guard
fresh paint to cover up old scars
but I confess, I confess
that I still get depressed
but I've learned to open the blinds
Let it in, friend. Let it in.
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5. |
Cosmic Offering
09:57
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Born under the sign of the fall
standing under the break in the sky
every direction comes a snowblind glare
so I shield my eyes
Tossed off like a wish-song prayer,
like a coin to the well spring
I throw my guitar
to the rocky shore
Wear old pins like a talisman
the heart beats to the hum of the earth
pick up the old collection of song
from what came before
Sailor's rites for the prairie boy
I'm a constant from way back
despite the heavy fear
found inside the well of the earth
to bathe my worry clean
I am blessed when it’s cold outside
I am blessed when I close my eyes
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6. |
Two Concentrics
03:11
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That was then and this is then
I wept on my guitar again
it's not perfect but what is
for the life it is
They all bid me to seed the cloud
But I want to let them be
Sing a song to the rafters
Against your cruel laughter
If I were a runner
I'd sprint right through summer
to the hibernation hue
That was then and this is then
I lost my voice again
it's not perfect but what is
for the voice it is
vote for disorder
and we fight no quarter
hanging from a rail
and we fight tooth and tack
I rely on your strong back
to carry me home
Work around the dead keys
and sing a duet with me
If we total all our winnings
we just might have enough
if you try to be strong
then I’ll try to be strong
if you try to be strong
I'll try to be strong
revolving with each other
two concentrics here
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7. |
Bad Words
03:28
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from the off
I swore I'd not become a cop
but a cop I did become
through the decades past
I picked up a school marm drone
and wave my finger like a scold
smash the windshield out
every word is a brick
and you try to stand against it
That's where bad words pour from my lips
Comes out like a sigh
smashing bottles by the trains
but it feels like a fight
On my honour
bite my fuckin lip
to not betray them
That's where bad words pour from my lips
they're begging us to settle down
but we don't settle down
that's where bad words pour from my lips
beg you to apologize,
but we don't apologize
speak bad words under my breath
begging them to settle down
but they don't settle down
that's where bad words pour from my lips
bid you to forgive,
but we don't forget
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8. |
What We Don't Know
05:22
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More than figuratively blind
staring deep into the white sun
long shadows in the snow
stretching like it were low tide
with my finger to the flame
dancing dervish like I don't care
despite my cold fear
how my gaze always extends my reach
What we don't know
could fill the annuls of halls
by the river flow
cuts a long way through
with the lights down low
we'd give voice to a bitter truth
if we ever could trust
Not on the page, but on the tongue
out of the alcolytal mouths
gutted the old house out
stripped right down to the screws
shield my eyes from the sun
as if it were a warning light
lace my boots for the drifts
keep them tight so I can run
More than figuratively blind
staring deep into the white sun
long shadows in the snow
stretching like it were low tide
can we take what we unearth
of what we might find buried here?
open canvas stretching out
but there’s something underneath
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9. |
Bronze Medallion
02:47
|
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Hanging off the angles at the Rec
My chlorinated skin like porous rock
It's no Fire Island, on the concrete steps,
waiting for a ride, as I can't drive,
thinking about
the waves painted on the walls
Hiding a blush with a locker door
stealing a glance at uncircumcised boys
wring me out ‘til there's nothing more
take what I get, dripping on the floor
but ignore
the waves painted on the walls
It's a lot for boys to worry about evil
just to follow the lines along the ceiling
give my all to earn those badges
left somewhere in some desk drawer
Test the water with my toes
do your best, just ten laps more
it's cold in the water when you lose your breath
the water's over my head, but I still tread
among
the waves painted on the walls
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10. |
Whipcrack
02:39
|
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I'd like to wash my hands over every hurt
and all the sleep I've lost over it
underneath a light of golden coils,
vow to grow my hair so I can bind it back.
give me a song that will sound louder than a whipcrack
Treat me like a book of good design
piled high in another house that I don't own
treat me like I’m not the same face
with paths of crowsfeet in fresh snow
give me a song that will sting sharper than a whipcrack
I put new seed in the earth
watch me try to dance Pavanne
listen as a try to sing to Faure
watch my old self bleed in the dust
soon can't come soon enough
watch my old self bleed in the dust
soon can't come soon enough
watch my old self bleed in the dust
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11. |
Lumber Dog
01:38
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the way is wide
asleep in a ray of light
and the cover of clouds
to fear no winter snowblind
no vows
just service acts
no bows
nor circus acts
no collar
just strong backs
the paracosm
of dogs that live forever
the daunting weight
is no burden at all
Will you carry me
when I get chopped down?
If you carry me,
I will let my guard down.
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12. |
Wild Aster
03:25
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Even if they leave me far behind
I'll find my way, I'll be just fine
And when you wish upon a bloom
a constellation, for a season, to regrow
Everytime I go out walking
I see the aster poking through
free to follow, or free to roam
fame it fleets, and life flows on
and when you wish upon a bloom
a constellation, for a season, to regrow
a little garden here
with some cats and a yard
Even if they push me aside
I can find some aster growing wild
even if they push me aside
I'm building up my strength again, slowly, in time
Even if they leave me far behind
I'll find my way, I'll be just fine
Everytime I go out walking
I see wild aster poking through but
there's no room for curses
when you're singing out the Fire Lake chorus
locked inside a spiral,
but it's an alright groove in which to be
I wanna go there too,
but is that freedom right for me?
Even if they left me far behind
everything'll be alright, I'll be just fine
alright?
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