1. |
The Slowest Animal Alive
02:46
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spend another minute on the masquerade
of the puppet show that the master made
and pull another thread through the silken cloth
like the flapping wings of the milkweed moth
and write the first story of the miracle
of the slowest animal alive
hang another moment on the rubberneckers
who are trapped in glass on the doubledeckers
as lovers are still kissing under mistletoe
though it kills the trees and we all know, so
hold your camera steady on the perfect form
of the slowest animal alive
you said you needed time
but what if we
measured time like the symphony
like the space between the cymbal hits
or when the final ringing of the cymbal quits
you can see it all in time lapse, the measured movements
the wicked grace, our time onstage
spend another minute on the candy hearts
as the ocean waves take back the sandy parts
and hang another moment on the redwood trees
as they're all cut down at their redwood knees
hold it in your mind for the rest of time
it's the slowest animal alive
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2. |
Always on My Heart
03:18
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I had the same dream of chasing you
down gravel roads to the banks of the slough
and it's strange that I still love you
just as much as I used to do
slept next to you on the empty mattress
while in the next room he fucked that actress
sometimes I wish we could live that way
but you still felt a hundred miles away
miles away
you're always on my heart, tracing
the patterns of my replacement
you're always on my heart tracing me
songs are more than just words you love
tied together with chords and stuff
I should know cuz I still love you
I write a song and you bust right through it
bust right through it
you're always on my heart, tracing
the patterns of my replacement
you're always on my heart tracing me
and there's an alogrithm
that mirrors our actions
and tracks our attractions
if we get mad at it
I had that dream again of chasing you
It's always cold and I'm pacing you
and it's strange that I still love you
just as much as I used to do
used to do
you're always on my heart, tracing
the patterns of my replacement
you're always on my heart tracing me
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3. |
La Push
03:46
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in la push where the vampire's sleeping
in la push where the vampire's sleeping
in my heart I know I'll awake him
in my heart I know I'll awake him
we will start with chardonnay
we will never stop
in la push where the vampire's waking
in la push where the vampire's waking
every note is a song he's chasing
every step that the tide's erasing
he will fly with leather wings
he will swoop us up
in the streetlight cabaret my neck
I promised my next paycheck
over and over and over
the dogs are chewing willow sticks
I turn my pillow over to fix this
over it's over it's over
in la push where the vamprie's waiting
in la push where the vampire's waiting
in my heart I know I revealed him
in my heart I know I revealed him
we will start with winter wine
we will never wake up
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4. |
Song of the Wisherwell
03:06
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you changed the color of your hair
the night she took a lighter to her hairsprayed hand
and I thought of your name when I saw the blue blue flame
if she could have stood the pain
then it would have matched the setting sun
it would have matched your chinese gown
you turn the pages of your book
but you forgot the words that led your fingers there
and the only weakness they could find in superman
was if they could bring him a piece of home
the home he fled from
the home, the home that fell apart
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5. |
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before love
you must have hunger
before hunger
you must have wilderness
before wilderness
you must have power
before power
you must have love
I am everything I've ever thought
even though they say I'm not
before love
you must change your name
before you fall asleep
before you fan the flames
before you understand
you must lose your mind
before you lose your mind
you must have love
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6. |
Somehow
03:14
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you are like a pale persimmon flower
hoping to survive another hour
it's a mystery
we can't explain
all this wreckage
that we've seen
so destructive
so extreme
we are like the miners in the ditch
scratching at the earth's beloved itch
it's a mystery
we can't explain
how fear
fills our lives
and pays us out
in ones and fives
how have we become
all we tried to fight
all we bury
cash and carry and
still we fight
every speech we start
we learned from candy hearts
and then we trail off
Somehow we are still reducible
carry the remainder wait until
dot dot dot
did it have to take
a miracle
for us
to behave
push the stone
from the cave
how have we betrayed
all we used to be
the space we take up
the face we make up
we used to be
certainly the yield
of all our thoughts congealed
will add to something real
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7. |
Black Rainbow
03:07
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I am only in love
with the black rainbow
the black rainbow that curled its hands
over our eyes
I am no longer afraid
of the black rainbow
that made our men forget
how to die
now they don't know
I come here in praise
of the black rainbow
the black rainbow that crept into
our bed last night
and placed its body between us
in the blue moonlight
we woke up in love again
somehow
it just felt right
how could we have known?
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8. |
California Houses
03:36
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there are California houses burning
California houses
burning graduation photos
tax returns and cover letters
abandoned novels burning
walnut desks and closets burning
California houses burning
California
I returned your letter
I said boy I don't believe it
before I even opened it
something in the stamp you chose
said “I will never let you be
the way you want to be
it will always be
always be
always be about me”
I stood in the salesroom
I said "I will own this table
it will sit there in our kitchen
in our house that I will also own
we will serve our friends
we will fall into the evening
we will laugh about our houses
how they’re burning how they’re burning”
burning like the campfire
at your uncle's cabin campfire
that song you played at campfire
on your Grandpa's old guitar
you couldn't ever tune guitar
breathed it in too soon guitar
the smoke, the smoke, the smoke
of California houses burning
you took it in like Christmas
all the spices and designs of Christmas
the smoke of excess
choke of excess
Mexican divorce of Christmas
that's the trick of fire
that it can warm you, all that fire
even as it cuts you
fills you up and shuts you up
that's the trick of fire
burning California houses
California houses burning
there are California houses burning
California houses
burning graduation photos
tax returns and cover letters
abandoned novels burning
walnut desks and closets burning
California houses burning
California houses
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9. |
Give Love
04:21
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what you think of as love is just confidence
what you think of as beauty is just monuments
I can't protect you from your own mind
thoughts will infect you and divide you from your own kind
but just give love
give love
that's all you have to do
money is fear
and the more you have. . . . .
I don't expect this to be easy
I don't expect it to be me
but just give love
give love
that's all you have to do
what you think of as just is just made-up rules
what you think of as talent is just patience with tools
I'm on the corner collecting fines
all they put faith in is a palace of straight lines
but just give love
give love
that's all you have to do
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10. |
Under the Sunset
03:20
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there we go
under the sunset
there we go
past the curtain of night
there we go
past the searchlights
singing and writing the news
that I've been waiting all of my life for
you
I've been hoping the mangrove trees
will grow around my heart
and give all of my wilderness
a chance to finally start
it's a lot to remember
take your pills and pay your fines
it's a lot to hold onto
I belong to you
there we go
under the sunset
there we go
past the curtain of night
there we go
past the searchlights
singing and writing the news
that I've been waiting all of my life for
you
I've been trying to listen
to the thrushes as they stir
I am blind and unfocused
and my words are so unsure
it's a lot to remember
just to hold on to your voice
the black rainbow is calling me
I want to be
wild
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