1. |
Fire Song
02:56
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Let's have a fire and sing about those timeless things,
those things we can't control,
oh we know we can't fight our suffering.
But it's time to conspire how to keep warm in the cold.
So let's have a fire and sing about those timeless things.
It's long been a while since you've been calm.
There's a million crows cawing from dusk through dawn.
And you run
in your mind
is lost in a torrential climb
to get above the clouds—
and you're getting
nowhere.
So let's have a fire and sing about those timeless things.
How nobody knows where we go when heaven's bell rings.
With family, friends and lovers, we pass the time
and those who are no longer with us still live in our .
The willow tree's budding—
green branches hang down,
down to the river
that hushes so loud.
I watched how the day was here
and left us a night so clear
there's stars in our eyes.
So let's have a fire and sing about those timeless things.
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2. |
Out to Sea
04:16
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O no a ripping cold wind blows snow, and it won't slow the big gust goes and it goes, it blows out to sea. Out to sea.
Out to see me pitched so steep like a leaning tree by the side of a stream, my leaves fall beneath, they sweep out to sea. Out to sea.
O I know life will throw everything you care for away.
Let go my soul, loose all your holds.
Summer's done, the winter has come down for long,
the weight of snow makes every limb grow strong.
Board the train, take me away in a day to someplace safe,
let the tracks ca-lack to relax my brain
till the snow turns to rain
and all is washed away. Washed away.
Washed, awake, two days away from the coast and I see the scenes
of plains horses galloping through fields
where the high winds blow and all is washed away. Washed away.
O I know life will throw everything I've cared for away.
Let go my soul, loose all your holds.
Summer's done, the winter has come down for long,
the weight of snow makes every limb grow strong.
Well the rain may fall through the dawn
but the train keeps rolling on.
To the left of me, the ground drops steep
to the river far below.
It will follow out to sea.
We all follow out to sea.
I talked for a while to an older man, he said
"You just do what you can
and the rest of life is beyond your control
and you gotta let it unfold.
We are goners, you and me.
We're all goners, you and me."
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3. |
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Glenn's gonna buy a valley,
mom's gonna drop her fear,
I'm gonna find the one I love
and keep her always near.
The lake's gonna fill the mountains,
swallow us all up whole,
and we'll stomp across the past
like dying is our goal.
Like dying is our goal, my love,
like dying is our goal.
We'll stomp across the past
like dying is our goal.
When we make our home
so far away from all the pain,
we won't tell no one about it,
if they ask we won't explain.
We won't force any medicine
on our sick and dying old.
We'll let life tell us when it's time—
to die well is our goal.
To die well is our goal, my love,
to die well is our goal.
We'll let life tell us when it's time—
to die well is our goal.
If you come to visit us
we won't accept no cash.
If you wanna trade us something
you best find it on your path.
We'll kill you if you come here
hunting for some gold.
No currency is worth our lives,
to live well is our goal.
To live well is our goal, old boy,
to live well is our goal.
No currency is worth our lives,
to live well is our goal.
So Glenn's gonna buy a valley—
everyone drop your fear.
Find the thing you love the most
and keep it always near.
Keep it always near, my friend.
Keep it always near.
Find the thing that brings your love
and keep it always near.
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4. |
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A breath of air against the wind
won’t make no difference.
You fucked up bad and now you’re here.
Go ahead and kick at the air— Air,
we need you now to sing.
But air won’t turn your arms to wings.
I gotta say the obvious thing
cuz you clearly didn’t hear it the first time.
A shame for all the time you waste.
Even rats in a cage keep pace.
The jet fuel’s gone off in your face.
My child, it’s time to awake—
aches and pains will come your way.
The night will always turn to day.
I know that’s dumb and obvious to say,
but you clearly didn’t hear it the first time.
Share your gold when you’re the king,
and when you’re beggin’ burn an offering.
I always say the obvious thing
cuz you clearly didn’t hear me,
clearly didn’t hear me, no you
clearly didn’t hear me the first time.
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5. |
Snakeskin
03:53
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Those tigers in the jungle are fanging for your heart.
When jawbone cracks the sternum drips light.
And they sell parts at the market for a dollar or two,
and no one thinks that crucifix is you.
And that rumbling, thundering laugh of hyenas in the dark says,
“You need a new heart! You need a new heart! You need a new heart!”
Here come the hard decisions to make,
and here come the facts we haven’t faced.
There’s something in the back of my mind that won’t go—
it won’t come out and it won’t leave me alone.
And that knotty, gnarling look that birch gives me in
its bark says,
“You need a new heart! You need a new heart! You need a new heart!”
So hoist up that baggage
and weight.
When flowers lose their petals, it’s okay.
It’s okay.
They’re going down the river to
drift
by your yard
and show you how the world lives with its scars.
And when every feather of grass, all the glass buildings, and stars
scream, “You need a new heart! You need a new heart! You need a new heart!”
Hear the wondering, tumbling laughs
of our children in the dark
sing, “You need a new heart!
You need a new heart!
You need a new heart!”
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6. |
Papa's Song
03:41
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Taking my breath in, my reflection in the river
in the river.
All of my memories flashing in me
makes me shiver, makes me shiver.
Things will be here, be here when I'm gone.
Things will be here, be here when I'm gone.
A face that looks like a sun-dried plum that sat too long,
sat too long.
Here for the moment, soon
I'll be going on-- on.
But will my love still be here when I'm gone?
And will your love still be here when I'm gone?
O tears fall in the stream.
O is it just a dream?
Just a dream,
just a dream.
It's always been.
From the first day till the end.
How the sun melts the snow
and each year the tulips grow,
then they go--
that's the punchline to the joke.
But don't you cry,
don't you cry.
When I'm up there in the sky,
no I won't have bones,
no aches or moans,
and you'll still feel the winter's cold.
But it won't last forever,
nothing ever does, my friend.
Just like me.
I'm out the door.
I've got a date in less than four.
And it was so nice to see you.
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7. |
Guiltiest Man Alive
03:57
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Now, the people I love I have torn apart,
kicked open their rib cages to spit on their hearts.
I’ve taken their kindness, stretched them too thin—
I am the guiltiest man alive.
And the trust I’ve taken is now a tattered old rug
rolled up in the attic, all riddled with bugs.
When I talk to a stranger, I only see myself,
and I’m the guiltiest man alive.
Well, forgiveness don’t come with a pretty pink ribbon:
there’s a mess in the sink every time that it’s given.
Time don’t heal no wounds, it just leaves everything dry…
So bring me my judge,
tease through the jury,
tell your mothers and daughters and friends not to worry:
they’ve got enough evidence to tie up the moon
that I’m the guiltiest man alive.
Ooh what have I done? What have I done?
Is it boredom or a sadistic sense of fun?
I can’t scream it out, I can’t scream me away…
There ain’t enough whiskey to drown out the voices
I hear in the dark turning over my choices:
every single one of ‘em’s a rotten old log
that I’m the guiltiest man alive.
You will see how my sins have eaten away at my bones—
even Jesus Christ is coming over to hit me with stones.
Tell whoever you like! There’s a party tonight
to kill the guiltiest man alive.
Well, forgiveness don’t come with a pretty pink ribbon:
it leaves a mess in your heart every time that it’s given.
Mercy, mercy me I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done…
I’m coming out of the closet—all my friends are gonna see
the dirty old devil been hiding in me
and I’ll be totally alone when they all realize
they love the guiltiest man alive.
Yes, they love
The Guiltiest Man Alive
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8. |
Psychosis in G Major
03:58
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I'm sorry, my friends,
I've gone round the bend.
Guess my only hope is your love
can hold this broken dam.
Hold this broken dam.
I'm sorry, my friends.
I've lost it again.
And I shouldn't have spoken from my confusion.
Confusion
will take you for a ride sometimes,
dress you up in fragmented lines,
there's only so much you can do.
But the people who love you
will pull you through.
There's a code in the song,
and when you tell me I'm wrong,
I just twist around what you say
to suit what I think.
Suit what I think.
It's worse than you fear.
I'm barely even here.
My mind is a fish tank leaking delusion.
Delusion
will take you for a ride sometimes,
plunge you in an ocean of lives,
don't give in, keep searching
for the shore.
Or the people who love you
can't help anymore.
I think I'm gonna be here a while, my friends.
I don't see it changing any time soon.
So if you could remind me again why you care,
it'll make a difference, I swear.
Cuz life will
take you for a ride sometimes,
plunge you in the cold, desert night,
there's only so much you can do.
But the people who love you—
if you let them—
will pull you through.
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9. |
Glow
02:02
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O I know I love your glow
All you know I love your glow
So won't you let me know, let me know
if you love my glow
Won't you let me know, let me know
if you love my glow
All I want is to explain
how I got this god damn pain
I goin to be insane
I got this god, gaw gaw gaw
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10. |
Apologies, Want, Thanks
04:08
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You will hurt the people you love.
Down the road we go, laughing ‘alright.’
And here comes the part when I tear you apart—
You wanna know how sharp I can be?
Fill up my heart.
Dump it out.
Fill up my heart again.
Dump it out.
Cuz it’s all
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thanks every last day of my life.
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you every day.
These needs we all have
have a habit of putting us in each other’s way.
All the grid-locked cars are also trying to get home today.
You will hurt the people you love, and that’s okay.
All the grid-locked cars are all so trying to get home today.
Fill up my heart.
Dump it out.
Fill up my heart again.
Dump it out.
Cuz it’s always
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you
Pardon me, Thanks, every last day of my life.
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you every day.
You will hurt the people you love.
Hand in hand we go, laughing ‘Alright.’
Do you remember the part when it was long after dark,
and you said, ‘Will you stay with me?
‘And fill up my heart,
And dump it out, and
Fill up my heart again
And dump it out?
Cuz it’s all
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you
Sorry & Thanks every damn day of my life.
Sorry & Thank you,
Sorry & Thank you
Sorry & Thank you
every day.’
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11. |
The Way It Goes
03:44
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This morning the river was all clear and green,
sunlight graced the pines and kissed the snow.
On the river drifted ice broken off from far upstream,
and it followed the way it had to go.
Last night it was freezing, the air was so unkind
my cigarette kept going out on me.
But the habit of a smoker is to fight against the wind,
and I didn’t move until I had my three.
All these little golden things
bind the flower to the bee.
I can’t tell you how to keep your mind—
your way is yours to find.
Two days ago a riot in the street left seven dead—
I don’t know their names.
There are holes on the hills where the families dug the graves,
still the sun sets the same.
In the morning I couldn’t believe my eyes:
mountains shining as everything alive sings,
‘The world has always held our suffering
and turned it into flowers in the Spring.’
Explosions all around the earth,
the sky is grey and orange and green.
Torches burning for rebirth—
this the way it has to be
All these little golden things
bend the flower to the bee.
I can’t tell you how to keep your mind—
your way is yours to find.
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12. |
Woodpecker
03:28
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You left me on the shore
feeling all kinds of sore.
You said,
"Breathe it in slow."
How, how will we know
when it's time to go?
The robin's call
is the horn.
All the humming buzzing in the air
if you listen will release your cares—
just breathe it in slow.
Breathe it in slow.
But all of my needs,
all of my needs
all of my needs won't leave me be.
I hear them at the door,
pounding on the windows
won't none of my needs please leave me in peace?
Bark's all broke,
bark's all broke now,
bark's all broke and the wood's on the ground.
I hear a knock,
I'm hearing a knock now
every time the woodpecker comes around.
Down by the lake,
down by the river,
down by the lake we remove our clothes.
The sun shines bright,
the sunshine is golden
and on your shoulder
a dragonfly
Blue as the sky,
blue as the water,
blue as the whirlpools in your eyes.
On your face, it looks like a flower
a pink and white one
spreading wide.
When,
when will we know
sure,
it's time to go.
The robin's call
is the horn.
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Old Sap Asheville, North Carolina
Old Sap is a poet-banjoist currently located in Western North Carolina.
Folk, Folk Rock, and Americana.
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