Ys
x Emily
x Monkey & Bear
x Sawdust And Diamonds
x Only Skin
x CosmiaThe Milk-Eyed Mender
x Bridges And Balloons
x Sprout And The Bean
x The Book Of Right-On
x Sadie
x Inflammatory Writ
x This Side Of The Blue
x "En Gallop"
x Cassiopeia
x Peach, Plum, Pear
x Swansea
x Three Little Babes
x Clam, Crab, Cockle, CowrieYarn And Glue
x Sprout and the Bean
x This Side Of The Blue
x Yarn And Glue
x What We Have Known
x Bridges And BalloonsWalnut Whales
x Erin
x Cassiopeia
x Peach, Plum, Pear
x Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie
x Flying A Kite
x The Fray
x En Gallop!
x The Book Of Right-OnOther
x Prepared Harp Improv.
x Man's Road
x Ring The Living Bell
x Angel
x Little Wing
x Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes
x Colleen
x Untitled ("Sweet Esame")
note: i've gone over and changed the lyrics to fit the sung versions
rather than the lyrics from the booklet, for closest accuracy to the albums.
note that some words can be clicked for an external explanation of the word.
Ys
x Emily {top}
the meadowlark and the chim-choo-ree and the sparrow
set to the sky in a flying spree, for the sport over the pharaoh
a little while later the Pharisees dragged comb through the meadow
do you remember what they called up to you and me, in our window?
there is a rusty light on the pines tonight
sun pouring wine, lord, or marrow
down into the bones of the birches
and the spires of the churches
jutting out from the shadows
the yoke, and the axe, and the old smokestacks and the bale and the barrow
and everything sloped like it was dragged from a rope
in the mouth of the south below
we've seen those mountains kneeling, felten and grey
we thought our very hearts would up and melt away
from that snow in the nighttime
just going
and going
and the stirring of wind chimes
in the morning
in the morning
helps me find my way back in
from the place where I have been
and, Emily - I saw you last night by the river
I dreamed you were skipping little stones across the surface of the water
frowning at the angle where they were lost, and slipped under forever,
in a mud-cloud, mica-spangled, like the sky'd been breathing on a mirror
anyhow - I sat by your side, by the water
you taught me the names of the stars overhead that I wrote down in my ledger
tho all I knew of the rote universe were those pleiades loosed in december
I promised you I‘d set them to verse so I'd always remember
that the meteorite is a source of the light
and the meteor's just what we see
and the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee
and the meteorite's just what causes the light
and the meteor's how it's perceived
and the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee
you came and lay a cold compress upon the mess I'm in
threw the window wide and cried; Amen! Amen! Amen!
the whole world - stopped - to hear you hollering
you looked down and saw now what was happening
the lines are fadin' in my kingdom
(tho I have never known the way to border 'em in)
so the muddy mouths of baboons and sows and the grouse and the horse and the hen
grope at the gate of the looming lake that was once a tidy pen
and the mail is late and the great estates are not lit from within
the talk in town's becoming downright sickening
in due time we will see the far butte lit by a flare
I've seen your bravery, and I will follow you there
and row through the nighttime
gone healthy
gone healthy all of a sudden
in search of the midwife
who could help me
who could help me
help me find my way back in
there are worries where I've been
say, say, say in the lee of the bay; don't be bothered
leave your troubles here where the tugboats shear the water from the water
(flanked by furrows, curling back, like a match held up to a newspaper)
Emily, they'll follow your lead by the letter
and I make this claim, and I'm not ashamed to say I know you better
what they've seen is just a beam of your sun that banishes winter
let us go! though we know it's a hopeless endeavor
the ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever
though there is nothing would help me come to grips with a sky that is gaping and yawning
there is a song I woke with on my lips as you sailed your great ship towards the morning
come on home, the poppies are all grown knee-deep by now
blossoms all have fallen, and the pollen ruins the plow
peonies nod in the breeze and while they wetly bow, with
hydrocephalitic listlessness ants mop up-a their brow
and everything with wings is restless, aimless, drunk and dour
the butterflies and birds collide at hot, ungodly hours
and my clay-colored motherlessness rangily reclines
- come on home, now! all my bones are dolorous with vines
Pa pointed out to me, for the hundredth time tonight
the way the ladle leads to a dirt-red bullet of light
squint skyward and listen -
loving him, we move within his borders:
just asterisms in the stars' set order
we could stand for a century
starin'
with our heads cocked
in the broad daylight at this thing
joy
landlocked
in bodies that don't keep
dumbstruck with the sweetness of being
till we don't be
told; take this
eat this
told; the meteorite is the source of the light
and the meteor's just what we see
and the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee
and the meteorite's just what causes the light
and the meteor's how it's perceived
and the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee
x Monkey & Bear {top}
down in the green hay
where monkey and bear usually lay
they woke from a stable-boy's cry
he said; someone come quick!
the horses got loose, got grass-sick!
they'll founder! fain, they'll die
what is now known by the sorrel and the roan?
by the chestnut, and the bay, and the gelding grey?
it is: stay by the gate you are given
and remain in your place, for your season
and had the overfed dead but listened
to that high-fence, horse-sense, wisdom...
did you hear that, Bear? said monkey
we'll get out of here, fair and square
they've left the gate open wide!
so;
my bride
here is my hand, where is your paw?
try and understand my plan, Ursala
my heart is a furnace
full of love that's just, and earnest
now; you know that we must unlearn this
allegiance to a life of service
and no longer answer to that heartless
hay-monger, nor be his accomplice
(that charlatan, with artless hustling!)
but; Ursala, we've got to eat something
and earn our keep, while still within
the borders of the land that man has girded
(all double-bolted and tightfisted!)
until we reach the open country
a-steeped in milk and honey
will you keep your fancy clothes on, for me?
can you bear a little longer to wear that leash?
my love, I swear by the air I breathe:
sooner or later, you'll bare your teeth
but for now, just dance, darling
c'mon, will you dance, my darling?
darling, there's a place for us
can we go, before I turn to dust?
oh my darling, there's a place for us
oh darling
c'mon will you dance, my darling?
oh, the hills are groaning with excess
like a table ceaselessly being set
oh my darling, we will get there yet
they trooped past the guards,
past the coops, and the fields, and the farmyards
all night, till finally:
the space they gained grew
much farther than the stone that bear threw
to mark where they'd stop for tea
but walk a little faster
and don't look backwards
your feast is to the East, which lies a little past the pasture
when the blackbirds hear tea whistling, they rise and clap
and their applause caws the kettle black
and we can't have none of that!
move along, Bear; there, there; that’s that
(though cast in plaster
our Ursala's heart beat faster
than monkey's ever will)
but still;
they have got to pay the bills
hadn't they?
that is what the monkey'd say
so, with the courage of a clown, or a cur
or a kite, jerking tight at its tether
in her dun-brown gown of fur
and her jerkin' of swansdown and leather
Bear would sway on her hind legs;
the organ would grind dregs of song, for the pleasure
of the children, who'd shriek
throwing coins at her feet
then recoiling in terror
sing, dance, darling
c'mon, will you dance, my darling?
oh darling, there's a place for us
can we go, before I turn to dust?
oh my darling, there’s a place for us
oh darling
c'mon, will you dance, my darling?
you keep your eyes fixed on the highest hill
where you'll ever-after eat your fill
oh my darling, dear, mine
if you dance
dance, darling, and i love you still
deep in the night
shone a weak and miserly light
where the monkey shouldered his lamp
someone had told him
the bear had been wandering
a fair piece away from where they were camped
someone had told him
the bear'd been sneaking away
to the seaside caverns, to bathe
and the thought troubled the monkey
for he was afraid of spelunking down in those caves
also afraid what the village people would say
if they saw the bear in that state;
lolling and splashing obscenely
well, it seemed irrational, really; washing that face
washing that matted and flea-bit pelt
in some sea-spit-shine, old kelp dripping with brine
but monkey just laughed, and he muttered;
when she comes back, Ursala will be bursting with pride
till I jump up!
saying: you've been rolling in muck!
saying: you smell of garbage and grime!
but far out
far out
by now
by now
far out, by now, Bear ploughed
'cause she would not drown:
first the outside-legs of the bear
up and fell down, in the water, like knobby garters
then the outside-arms of the bear
fell off, as easy as if sloughed from boiled tomatoes
low'red in a genteel curtsy
bear shed the mantle of her diluvian shoulders;
and, with a sigh,
she allowed the burden of belly to drop like an apronfull of boulders
if you could hold up her threadbare
coat to the light where it's worn translucent in places
you'd see spots where
almost every night of the year Bear had been mending suspending that baseness
now her coat drags through the water
bagging, with a life's-worth of hunger, limitless minnows;
in the magnetic embrace
balletic and glacial of Bear's insatiable shadow;
left there!
left there!
when Bear left Bear
left there!
left there!
when Bear stepped clear of Bear
(sooner or later you'll bury your teeth)
x Sawdust And Diamonds {top}
from the top of the flight
of the wide, white stairs
through the rest of my life
do you wait for me there?
there's a bell in my ears
there's a wide white roar
drop a bell down the stairs
hear it fall forevermore
drop a bell off of the dock
blot it out in the sea
drowning mute as a rock;
sounding mutiny
there's a light in the wings, hits this system of strings
from the side while they swing;
see the wires, the wires, the wires
and the articulation
in our elbows and knees
makes us buckle as we couple in endless increase
as the audience admires milkymoon
and the little white dove
made with love, made with love:
made with glue, and a glove, and some pliers
swings a low sickle arc
from its perch in the dark:
settle down
settle down my desire
and the moment I slept I was swept up in a terrible tremor
though no longer bereft, how I shook! and I couldn't remember
then the furthermost shake drove a murdering stake in
and cleft me right down through my center
and I shouldn't say so, but I know that it was then, or never
push me back into a tree
bind my buttons with salt
fill my long ears with bees
praying: please, please, please,
love, you ought not!
no you ought not!
then the system of strings tugs on the tip of my wings
(cut from cardboard and old magazines)
makes me warble and rise like a sparrow
and in the place where I stood, there is a circle of wood
a cord or two, which you chop and you stack in your barrow
it is terribly good to carry water and chop wood
streaked with soot, heavy booted and wild-eyed;
as I crash through the rafters
and the ropes and pulleys trail after
and the holiest belfry burns sky-high
then the slow lip of fire moves across the prairie with precision
while, somewhere, with your pliers and glue you make your first incision
and in a moment of almost-unbearable vision
doubled over with the hunger of lions
'hold me close', cooed the dove
who was stuffed, now, with sawdust and diamonds
I wanted to say: why the long face?
sparrow, perch and play songs of long face
burro, buck and bray songs of long face!
sing: I will swallow your sadness and eat your cold clay
just to lift your long face
and though it may be madness, I will take to the grave
your precious longface
and though our bones they may break, and our souls separate
- why the long face? milkymoon
and though our bodies recoil from the grip of the soil
- why the long face?
in the trough of the waves
which are pawing like dogs
pitch we, pale-faced and grave,
as I write in my log
then I hear a noise from the hull
seven days out to sea
and it is the damnable bell!
and it tolls - well, I believe, that it tolls - for me!
it tolls for me!
though my wrists and my waist seemed so easy to break
still, my dear, I would have walked you to the very edge of the water
and they will recognise all the lines of your face
in the face of the daughter of the daughter of my daughter
darling, we will be fine, but what was yours and mine
appears to be a sandcastle that the gibbering wave takes
but if it's all just the same, then will you say my name:
say my name in the morning, so I know when the wave breaks?
I wasn't born of a whistle or milked from a thistle at twilight
no, I was all horns and thorns, sprung out fully formed, knock-kneed and upright
so: enough of this terror
we deserve to know light
and grow evermore lighter and lighter
you would have seen me through
but I could not undo that desire
oh-oh, oh-oh-oh desire
oh-oh, oh-oh-oh desire
oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh desire milkymoon
from the top of the flight
of the wide, white stairs
through the rest of my life
do you wait for me there?
x Only Skin {top}
and there was a booming above you
that night, black airplanes flew over the sea
and they were lowing and shifting like
beached whales
shelled snails
as you strained and you squinted to see
the retreat of their hairless and blind cavalry
you froze in your sand shoal
prayed for your poor soul
sky was a bread roll, soaking in a milk-bowl
and when the bread broke, fell in bricks of wet smoke
my sleeping heart woke, and my waking heart spoke
then there was a silence you took to mean something:
mean, run, sing
for alive you will evermore be
and the plague of the greasy black engines a-skulkin'
has gone east
while you're left to explain them to me
released from their hairless and blind cavalry
with your hands in your pockets, stubbily running
to where I'm unfresh, undressed and yawning
well, what is this craziness? this crazy talking?
you caught some small death when you were sleepwalking
it was a dark dream, darlin', it's over
the firebreather is beneath the clover
beneath his breathing there is cold clay, forever
a toothless hound-dog choking on a feather
but I took my fishingpole (fearing your fever)
down to the swimminghole, where there grows bitter herb
that blooms but one day a year by the riverside - I'd bring it here:
apply it gently
to the love you've lent me
while the river was twisting and braiding, the bait bobbed
and the string sobbed, as it cut through the hustling breeze
and I watched how the water was kneading so neatly
gone treacly
nearly slowed to a stop in this heat
- frenzy coiling flush along the muscles beneath
press on me: we are restless things
webs of seaweed are swaddling
you call upon the dusk
of the musk of a squid
shot full of ink, until you sink into your crib
rowing along, among the reeds, among the rushes
I heard your song, before my heart had time to hush it!
smell of a stone fruit being cut and being opened
smell of a low and of a lazy cinder smoking
and when the fire moves away
fire moves away, son
why would you say
I was the last one?
scrape your knee; it is only skin
makes the sound of violins
when you cut my hair, and leave the birds the trimmings
I am the happiest woman among all women
and the shallow
water
stretches as far as I can see
knee-deep, trudging along
a seagull weeps; "so long"
I'm humming a threshing song
until the night is over
hold on!
hold on!
hold your horses back from the fickle dawn
I have got some business out at the edge of town
candy weighing both of my pockets down
'til I can hardly stay afloat, from the weight of them
(and knowing how the common-folk condemn
what it is I do, to you, to keep you warm
being a woman, being a woman)
but always up the mountainside you're clambering
groping blindly, hungry for anything:
picking through your pocket linings - well, what is this?
scrap of sassafras, eh Sisyphus?
I see the blossoms broke and wet after the rain
little sister, he will be back again
I have washed a thousand spiders down the drain
spiders ghosts hang soaked and dangelin'
silently from all the blooming cherry trees
in tiny nooses, safe from everyone
- nothing but a nuisance; gone now, dead and done
be a woman, be a woman!
though we felt the spray of the waves
we decided to stay till the tide rose too far
we weren't afraid, cause we know what you are
and you know that we know what you are
awful atoll
- o, incalculable indiscreetness and sorrow!
bawl, bellow:
Sibyl sea-cow, all done up in a bow
toddle and roll;
teeth an impalpable bit of leather
while yarrow, heather and hollyhock
awkwardly molt along the shore
are you mine?
my heart?
mine anymore?
stay with me for awhile
that's an awfully real gun
I know life will lay you down
as the lightning has lately done
failing this, failing this,
follow me, my sweetest friend
to see what you anointed in pointing your gun there
lay it down! nice and slow!
there is nowhere to go, save up
up where the light, undiluted, is weaving in a drunk dream
at the sight of my baby, out back:
back on the patio watching the bats bring night in
- while, elsewhere, estuaries of wax-white
wend, endlessly, towards seashores unmapped
last week our picture window produced a half-word
heavy and hollow, hit by a brown bird
we stood and watched her gape like a rattlesnake
and pant and labour over every intake
I said a sort of prayer for some sort of rare grace
then thought I ought to take her to a higher place
said: "dog nor vulture nor cat shall toy with you
and though you die, bird, you will have a fine view"
then in my hot hand
she slumped her sick weight
we tramped through the poison oak
heartbroke and inchoate
the dogs were snapping
so you cuffed their collars
while I climbed the tree-house
then how I hollered!
cause she'd lain, as still as a stone, in my palm, for a lifetime or two
then, saw the treetops, cocked her head and up and flew
(while, back in the world that moves, often
according to the hoarding of these clues
dogs still run roughly around
little tufts of finch-down)
the cities we passed were a flickering wasteland
but his hand in my hand made them hale and harmless
while down in the lowlands the crops are all coming;
we have everything
life is thundering blissful towards death
in a stampede of his fumbling green gentleness
you stopped by, I was all alive
in my doorway, we shucked and jived
and when you wept, I was gone:
see, I got gone when I got wise
but I can't with certainty say we survived
then down, and down
and down, and down
and down, and deeper
stoke without sound
the blameless flames
you endless sleeper
through fire below, and fire above, and fire within
sleeped through the things that couldn't have been if you hadn't have been
and when the fire moves away
fire moves away, son
why would you say
I was the last one?
all my bones they are gone, gone, gone
take my bones, I don't need none
cold, cold cupboard, Lord, nothing to chew on!
suck all day on a cherry stone
dig a little hole, not three inches round
spit your pit in the hole in the ground
weep upon the spot for the starving of me!
till up grow a fine young cherry tree
well when the bough breaks, what'll you make for me?
a little willow cabin to rest on your knee
what'll I do with a trinket such as this?
think of your woman, who's gone to the west
but I'm starving and freezing in my measly old bed!
then I'll crawl across the salt flats to stroke your sweet head
come across the desert with no shoes on!
I love you truly, or I love no-one
fire
moves
away
fire moves away, son
why would you say
I was the last one?
clear the room! there's a fire, a fire, a fire
get going, and I'm going to be right behind you
and if the love of a woman or two, dear,
couldn't move you to such heights, then all I can do
is do, my darling, right by you
x Cosmia {top}
when you ate I saw your eyelashes
saw them shake like wind on rushes
in the corn field when she called me
moths surround me - thought they'd drown me
and I miss your precious heart
dried rose petal, redbrown circles
framed your eyes and stained your knuckles
and all those lonely nights down by the river
brought me bread and water (water, in)
but though I tried so hard my little darling
I couldn't keep the night from coming in
and all those lonely nights down by the river
I was brought my bread and water by the kith and the kin
now in the quiet hour when I am sleepin'
I cannot keep the night from comin' in
why've you gone away?
gone away again?
I'll sleep through the rest of my days
if you've gone away again
sleep through the rest of my days
why've you gone away, away
seven suns, seven suns
away, away, away, away
can you hear me? will you listen?
don't come near me, don't go missing
in the lissome light of evening:
help me, Cosmia; I'm grieving
and all those lonely nights down by the river
brought me bread and water (water, in)
but though I tried so hard my little darling
I couldn't keep the night from coming in
and all those lonely nights down by the river
I was brought my bread and water by the kith and the kin
now in the quiet hour when I am sleepin'
I cannot keep the night from comin' in
beneath the porch light we've all been circling
beat our dust hearts, singe our flour wings
but in the corner, something is happening!
wild Cosmia, what have you seen?
water were your limbs, and the fire was her hair
and then the moonlight caught your eye, and you rose through the air
well, if you've seen true light, then this is my prayer:
will you call me when you get there?
and I miss your precious heart;
and miss, and miss, and miss,
& miss, & miss, & miss, & miss, & miss your heart
but release your precious heart
to its feast, for precious heartsmilkymoon
THE MILK-EYED MENDER
x Bridges And Balloons {top}
we sailed away on a winter's day
with fate as malleable as clay
but ships are fallible, I say
and the nautical, like all things, fades
and I can recall our caravel
a little wicker beetle-shell
with four fine masts and lateen sails
its bearings on Cair Paravel
oh my love
oh it was a funny little thing
to be the ones to've seen
the sight of bridges and balloons
makes calm canaries irritable
and they caw and claw all afternoon
catenaries and dirigibles
brace and buoy the livingroom
a loom of metal, warp - woof - wimble
and a thimble's worth of milky moon
can touch hearts larger than a thimble
oh my love
oh is was a funny little thing
to be the ones to've seen
oh my love
oh is was a funny little thing
it was a funny, funny little thing
to be the ones to've seen
x Sprout And The Bean {top}
I slept all day
I woke with distaste
and I railed
and I raved
that the difference between
the sprout and the bean
it is a golden ring
it is a twisted string
and you can ask the counsellor
you can ask the king
and they'll say the same thing
and it's a funny thing
should we go outside
should we go outside
should we break some bread
are y'interested?
and as I said
I slept as though dead
dreaming seamless dreams
of lead
when you go away
I am big-boned and fey
in the dust of the day
and in the dirt of the day
and the danger, danger drawing near them was a white coat
and the danger, danger drawing near them was a broad boat
and the water, water running clear beneath a white throat
and the hollow chatter of the talking of the tadpoles
who know th'outside
should we go outside
should we break some bread
are y'interested?
x The Book Of Right-On {top}
we should shine a light on, a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
we should shine a light on, a light-on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
I killed my dinner with karate
kick 'em in the face, taste the body
shallow work is the work that I do
do you want to sit at my table
my fighting fame is fabled
and fortune finds me fit and able
and you do say - oh oh
that you do pray - oh oh
and you say that you're okay
and do you want to run with my pack?
do you want to ride on my back?
pray that what you lack does not distract
and even when you run through my mind
something else is in front, oh, you're behind
and I don't have to remind you to stick with your kind
and you do say - oh oh
that you do pray - oh oh
and you say that you're okay
and even when you touch my face
you know your place
and even when you touch my face
you know your place
and we should shine a light on
a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on
it was right-on
and we should shine a light on, a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
x Sadie {top}
Sadie, white coat
you carry me home
and bury this bone
and take this pine cone
bury this bone
to gnaw on it later, gnawing on the telephone
and 'til then we pray and suspend
the notion that these lives do never end
and all day long we talk about mercy
lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty
down in the ditch where I nearly served you
up in the clouds where he almost heard you
and all that we built
and all that we breathed
and all that we spilt
or pulled up like weeds
is piled up in back
and it burns irrevocably
and we spoke up in turns
'til the silence crept over me
and bless you
and I deeply do
no longer resolute
oh when I call to you
but the water
got so cold
and you do lose
what you don't hold
this is an old song
these are old blues
and this is not my tune
but it's mine to use
and the seabirds
where the fear once grew
will flock with a fury
and they will bury
what'd come for you
and down where I darn with the milk-eyed mender
you and I and a love so tender
stretched on a hoop where I stitch this adage
bless our house and its heart so savage
and all that I want
and all that I need
and all that I've got
is scattered like seed
and all that I knew
is moving away from me
and all that I know
is blowing like tumbleweed
and the mealy worms
in the brine will burn
in a salty pyre
among the fauns and ferns
and the love we hold
and the love we spurn
will never grow cold
only taciturn
and I'll tell you tomorrow
oh Sadie, go on home, now
and bless those who've sickened below
and bless us who have chosen so
and all that I've got
and all that I need
I tie in a knot
and I lay at your feet
and I have not forgot
but a silence crept over me
so dig up your bone
exhume your pinecone, Sadie
x Inflammatory Writ {top}
oh, where is your inflammatory writ?
your text that would incite a light; 'be lit'
our music deserving
devotion unswerving
cried; 'do I deserve her?'
with unflagging fervor
well, no we do not, if we cannot get over it
but what's it mean when suddenly we're spent? - tell me true
ambition came and reared its head and went - far from you
even mollusks have weddings
though solemn and leaden
but you dirge for the dead
and take no jam on your bread
just a supper of salt and a waltz through your empty bed
and all at once
it came to me
and I wrote in hunch 'til four-thirty
but that vestal light
it burns out with the night
in spite of all the time that we spend on it
om one bedraggled ghost of a sonnet
while outside the wild boars root
without bending a bough underfoot
oh, it breaks my heart - I don't know how they do it
so don't ask me!
and as for my inflammatory writ?
well I wrote it and I was not inflamed one bit
advice from the master
derailed that disaster
said; 'hand that pen over to me, poetaster!'
while across the great plains
keening lovely & awful
ululate the last great american novels
an unlawful lot left, to stutter and freeze floodlit
but at least they didn't run, to their undying credit
x This Side Of The Blue {top}
Svetlana sucks lemons across from me
and I am progressing abominably
and I do not know my own way to the sea
but the saltiest sea knows its own way to me
and the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
and I find myself toeing the embarcadero
and I find myself knowing the things that I knew
which is all that you can know on this side of the blue
and Jaime has eyes black and shiny as boots
and they march at you two-by-two(-re-loo-re-loo)
when she looks at you, you know that she's nowhere near through
it's the kindest heart beating this side of the blue
and the signifieds butt heads with the signifiers
and we all fall down slack-jawed to marvel at words
when across the sky sheet the impossible birds
in a steady illiterate movement homewards
and Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
see them rattle and boo, and see them shake, and see them loom
see him fashion a cap from a page of Camus
and see him navigate deftly this side of the blue
and the rest of our lives will the moments accrue
when the shape of their goneness will flare up anew
then we do what we have to do(-re-loo-re-loo)
which is all that you can do on this side of the blue
oh it's all that you can do on this side of the blue
x "En Gallop" {top}
this place is damp and ghostly, I am already gone
and the halls were lined with the disembodied
and dustly wings which fell from flesh
gasplessly
and I go where the trees go
and I walk from a higher education
for now, and for hire
it beats me but I do not know
and it beats me but I do not know
it beats me but I do not know
I do not know
palaces and stormclouds
the rought straggly sage and the smoke
and the way it will all come together
in quietness, and in time
and you laws of property
oh, you free economy
and you unending afterthoughts;
you could've told me before
never get so attached to a poem, you
forget truth that lacks lyricism, and
never draw so close to the heat, that
you will forget that you must eat, oh
x Cassiopeia {top}
feel the mattress tense beneath me
like the muscle of non-sleepy
feathers flexing will defeat me
and it vexes me complet-e-ly
and the hexes heat covertly
like a slow low-flying turkey
like a Texan drying jerky
but his meaty mitts can't hurt me
with my steely will compounded
in a mighty mound that's hounded
by the snap your steel string sounded
just before your snores unwound it
and in store are dreams so daring
that the night can't stop from staring
and I'll swim sweetly as a herring
through the ether not despairing
go to sleep
you stunning sky
gently creep
cunning by
quiet hum
is amplified
by your thumb
that you suck dry
hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
oh, you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
oh, and you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
oh
Cassiopeia
x Peach, Plum, Pear {top}
we speak in the store
I'm a sensitive bore
and you're markedly more
and I'm oozing suprise
but it's late in the day
and you're well on your way
what was golden went gray
and I'm suddenly shy
and the gathering floozies
afford to be choosy
and all sneezing darkly
in the dimming divide
and I have read the right books
to interpret your looks
you were knocking me down
with the palm of your eye
go; na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na
this was unlike the story
it was written to be
I was riding its back
when it used to ride me
and we were galloping manic
to the mouth of the source
we were swallowing panic
in the face of its force
and I was blue
I am blue
and unwell
made me bolt like a horse
[made me bold like a whore]
and; na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na
now it's done
watch it go
and you've changed so
water run from the snow
am I so dear?
do I run rare?
and you've changed so
peach, plum, pear
peach, plum
x Swansea {top}
if you wanna come on down
down with your bones so white
and watch the freight trains pound
into the wild wild night
how I would love to gnaw
gnaw on your bones so white
and watch as the freight trains paw
paw at the wild wild night
all these ghost towns
wreathed in old loam
Assateague knee-
deep in seafoam
ho, Swansea!
Buttonwillow!
Lagunitas!
ho, Calico!
and all these beastly bungalows
stare distend like endless toads
endlessly hop down the road
borne by wind we southward blow
and yonder, wild and blue
the wild blue yonder looms
'til we are wracked with rheum
by roads, by songs entombed
and all we wanna do
is chew and chew and chew
dear one
drive on
when all we wanna do
is chew and chew and chew
and if you wanna come on down
down with your bones so white
and watch the freight trains pound
into the wild wild night
how I would love to gnaw
to gnaw on your bones so-o white
and watch while the freight trains paw
paw at the wild wild night
paw at the wild wild night
paw at the wild wild night
there was a knight and a lady bright
and three little babes had she
she sent them away to a far country
to learn their grammary
they hadn't been gone but a very short time
about three months and a day
when the lark spread over this whole wide world
and taken those babes away
it was on a cold cold Christmas night
when everything was still
and she saw her three little babes come running
come running down the hill
she set them a table of bread and wine
that they might drink and eat
she spread them a bed of a winding sheet
that they might sleep so sweet
'take it off, take it off!', cried the eldest one
'take it off, take it off!', cried she
'for I shan't stay here in this wicked world
when there's a better one for me'
'cold clods, cold clods inside my bed
cold clods, down at my feet
the tears my dear mother shed for me
would wet my winding sheet'
'the tears my dear mother shed for me
would wet my winding sheet'
'would wet my winding sheet'
x Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie {top}
that means no
where I come from
I am cold, out waiting for the day to come
I chew my lips
and I scratch my nose
feels so good to be a rose
oh don't
don't you lift me up
like I'm that shy no-no-no-no-no, just give it up
see, there are bats all dissolving in a row
into the wishy-washy dark that can't let go
I cannot let go
so I thank the lord
and I thank his sword
though it be mincing up the morning, slightly bored
oh oh oh, morning
without warning
like a hole
oh, and I watch you go
there are some mornings when the sky looks like a road
there are some dragons who were built to have and hold
and some machines are dropped from great heights lovingly
and some great bellies ache with many bumblebees
and they sting so terribly
I do as I please
now I'm on my knees
your skin is something that I stir into my tea
and I am watching you
and you are starry, starry, starry
(and you will never
ever know how
very sorry you will be
... I am)
and I'm tumbling down
and I check a frown
well just look around
that's why I love this town
to see me;
serenaded hourly
celebrated sourly
dedicated dourly
waltzing with the open sea
clam, crab, cockle, cowrie
will you just look at me!
oh, oh, oh, oh
oh, oh, oh, oh
YARN AND GLUE
x Sprout And The Bean {top}
I slept all day
I woke with distaste
and I railed
and I raved
that the difference between
the sprout and the bean
it is a golden ring
it is a twisted string
and you can ask the counsellor
you can ask the king
and they'll say the same thing
and it's a funny thing
should we go outside
should we go outside
should we break some bread
are y'interested?
and as I said
I slept as though dead
dreaming seamless dreams
of lead
when you go away
I am big-boned and fey
in the dust of the day
and in the dirt of the day
and the danger, danger drawing near them was a broad boat
and the danger, danger drawing near them was a white coat
and the water, water running clear beneath a white throat
and the hollow chatter of the talking of the tadpoles who know th'outside
should we go outside?
do you know th'outside?
should we go outside?
x This Side Of The Blue {top}
Svetlana sucks lemons across from me
and I am progressing abominably
and I do not know my own way to the sea
but the saltiest sea knows its own way to me
and the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
and I find myself toeing the embarcadero
and I find myself knowing the things that I knew
which is all that you can know on this side of the blue
and Jaime has eyes black and shiny as boots
and they march at you two-by-two(-re-loo-re-loo)
when she looks at you, you know she's nowhere near through
it's the kindest heart beating this side of the blue
and Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
see them rattle and boo, see them shake, see them loom
see him fashion a cap from a page of Camus
see him navigate deftly this side of the blue
and the signifieds butt heads with the signifiers
and we all fall down slack-jawed to marvel at words
when across the sky sheet the impossible birds
in a steady illiterate movement homewards
and the rest of our lives will the moments accrue
when the shape of their gone-ness will flare up anew
then we do what we have to do(-re-loo-re-loo)
which is all that you can do on this side of the blue
it's all that you can do on this side of the blue
x Yarn And Glue {top}
do you know what this is son?
this is the Panopticon
and all around us blink the brash
and shifty eyes of common cash
so do we die or do we travel?
down the path by which one dabbles
in the arts of antediluvian crafts
with yarn and glue
so gather twilight to your breast
and couch the rabble-rouser's nest
and we will take a day of rest
and we will all be heaven-blessed
and we will gather round to dine
and pass the time with wicked rhymes
and toast in dandelion wines
to hear their mellifluous chimes
we toast the fallow furrows that we sow,
we toast the monies that we owe, oh, oh
we toast the creditors we daily face
who topple down with gruesome grace
and we toast the aristocrats with blood of blue
because we know our collars are that colour too
and we toast the artisans of antediluvian crafts
with yarn and glue
we do, we do!
x What We Have Known {top}
the tadpole buoyant as basalt
the seashorse horsing in assault
the owlet in his greenery
the narwhal in his cup of sea
they all believe milkymoon
they all believe milkymoon
but collusion bleeds through back allies
from parapets that end on feet
when one is weak they discretely meet
they throw the bones into the street
and they progress
and we retreat
and all the books our fathers wrote
are in the middle of the road
little by little we implode
history brittle, brown and broke
we can't remember what was spoke
so we stare in wonder at the smoke
what it begets is born alone
we know not now what we have known
ladies; breathe deep against your whalebones
for your children come home made of stone
the terror seething sees a way
or like the wheezing of the bay
in miniature agonies
they travel westward on the breeze
bring us all to our knees
the dappled horse, the sorrowed mare
with eyes that do not see but stare
beneath boots as black as Malachi
he drives a nag into the nigh
into the nigh
and all the baby boys we've born
with eyes averted from the storm
sent off to die in perfect form
we know now what we have known
satellite photos rhetoric lkymoon
see how the euphemism stick
and when they come back broke and burned
those who return have no return
x Bridges And Balloons {top}
we sailed away on a winter's day
with fate as malleable as clay
but ships are fallible, I say
and the nautical, like all things, fades
and I can recall our caravel
a little wicker beetle-shell
with four fine masts and lateen sails
with bearings on Cair Paravel
oh my love
oh it was a funny little thing
to be
the ones
to've seen
the sight of bridges and balloons
makes calm canaries irritable
and they caw and claw all afternoon
catenaries and dirigibles
brace and buoy the livingroom
a loom of metal, warp - woof - wimble
and a thimble's worth of milky moon
can touch hearts larger than a thimble
oh my love
oh is was a funny little thing
to be
the ones
to've seen
oh my love
oh is was a funny little thing
it was a funny, funny little thing
WALNUT WHALES
x Erin {top}
Erin, Erin, Erin!
Erin across America
do now cheer me on
can't you hear the song for you?
quick, now - caramel dip
give it up to the runaway ship
hail, now - hail to the bitch
the hairy literary with the nervous, nervous twitch
shy, your light pops out
and we stand there astounded
and we pound our heads and shout
we shout halleluja
look what it did to ya
oh, a horrible mess
and we're eating by the river in the sunday dress
oh, serenade me
eatin' my biscuits and gravy
you are missing from me
as you chug with your uncle in the red red sea
I will wait, or will
knock my knees and talk to you, oh so still
oh Shanandoah
we just a-cross the wide Missouri
you are so bonny - shhhh do not worry
quick, now - caramel dip
give it up to the runaway ship
life's so sweet and so low
buried in the water, yeah, buried in the snow
so dear, deep and so dark
sleeping on the pavement in the central park
twentieth floor balcony house is what is home to me
twentieth floor balcony house is what is home to me
twenty-up floor balcony house is what is home to me
x Cassiopeia {top}
feel the mattress tense beneath me
like the muscle of non-sleepy
feathers flexing will defeat me
and it vexes me complet-e-ly
as hexes heat covertly
like a slow low-flying turkey
like a Texan drying jerky
but his meaty mitts can't hurt me
with my steely will compounded
in a mighty mound that's hounded
by the snap your steel string sounded
just before your snores unwound it
and in store are dreams so daring
that the night can't stop from sta-a-ring
and I'll swim sweetly as a herring
through the ether not despairing
go to sleep you stunning sky
gently creep cunning by
quiet hum is amplified
by your thumb that you suck dry
hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
oh
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
x Peach, Plum, Pear {top}
we speak in the store
I'm a sensitive bore
and you're markedly more
and I'm oozing suprise
but it's late in the day
and you're well on your way
and my valentine's gray
and I'm suddenly shy
and the gathering floozies
afford to be choosy
and all sneezing darkly
in the dimming divide
I have read the right books
to interpret your looks
and you're knocking me down
with the palm of your eye
oh, na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
this is unlike the story
it was written to be
I am riding its back
when it used to ride me
and we are galloping manic
to the mouth of the source
we are swallowing panic
in the face of its force
I am blue
I am blue
I am blue
and unwell
so I bolt like a horse
oh you're so gone
to chew some ice
and you've changed so
reduced to tongue, eardrum, thumb, pencil and price
I'm so dear
I run rare
I've run rare
but you've changed some
peach, plum, pear
p-peach, plum
x Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie {top}
that means no
where I come from
I am cold and waiting for the day to come
I chew my lips
and I scratch my nose
feels so good to be a rose
oh don't
don't you lift me up
like I'm so shy no-no-no-no-no, just give it up
see, there are bats all dissolving in a row
oh, into the wishy-washy dark that can't let go
I can not let go
so I thank the Lord
and I thank his sword
though it be mincing up the morning, slightly bored
woah-oh, morning
without warning
like a hole
oh, and I watch you go
there are some mornings when the sky looks like a road
there are some dragons who were built to have and hold
and some machines are dropped from great hearts lovingly
and some great bellies ache with many bumblebees
I do as I please
and I'm on my knees
your skin is something that I stir into my tea
and I am watching you
and you are starry, starry, starry
and you will never
ever know how very sorry
you will be
I am
and I'm tumbling down
and I check a frown
that's why I love this town
well just look around
to see me;
serenaded hourly
celebrated sourly
dedicated dourly
waltzing with the open sea
clam, crab, cockle, cowrie
will you just look at me!
oh, oh, oh, oh
oh, oh
oh, oh
oh, oh, oh, oh
oh
oh, oh
oh, oh
oh, oh, oh, oh
oh
oh, oh
oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, oh
x Flying A Kite {top}
dear charming kite,
do litely bite
the foggy fields, the lowing lanes
the rickety roads and the kneeling plains
oh lazy light
with massive might
you dare my dream of snowy cloth
felt snapping white as albatross
is bitten by the wind and rocks
is hushed into the clary moss
is ushered here to count his loss
my kite; pale cotton, willow cross
you take my tattered fist
it's like a catalyst
it's like a roiling writhing wall of 'has it come to this?'
if this is medicine woah-oh
it tastes like medicine
just help me get it in
flying a kite,
flying a
kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
flying a kite
oh-woah-oh
oh gnarly night
it's like a dog fight
it's like a cat fight
and if i could just hold you close to me, woah-oh
i guess i hold you close to me
it's like a bull fight
and i see i give you a piece of my mind
but i'm giving you a piece of my mouth
you blushing boy,s how could you be so blind?flying a kite,
flying a
kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
a kite, flying
flying a kite
oh-woah-oh
la, da-da, dee, di
look at my kite fly
over foggy fields
the pungent pines
the verdant veils
the vapid vines
and the thousand purple cups of wine
the tearing teeth and the four full tines
the crumpling feast and the dawdling dine
and you do
get me off the floor
stand there staring for a minute
like you never saw a girl before
there is the door
and like the streets are like an open mouth
i head south
and you stand fair and square and i stand there
until the fall blots me out
there is no more
the cat and mouse to block the door
there is no more
x The Fray {top}
bottom of the ninth inning
out which I stray through the crowd
first it was what I call quiet
then it was biblic'ly loud
you should have seen how they tumbled
you should have seen how they danced
you should have seen them all luscious and lean
as they flew by the seat of their pants
it was not the boilin' frustration
it was not they cannot care less
it was not the face of that reverend place
In the horrible state of undress
I moved in a way I call mindless
I flatter myself a move true
I carved out a "J" in the spectators fray
because that's just the thing that we do
yes, I carved out my name in the ninth of the game
because that's just a thing that we do
x "En Gallop" {top}
this place is damp and ghostly, I am already gone
and the halls were lined with the disembodied
and dustly wings
which fell from flesh
g a s p l e s s l y
and I go where the trees are
and I walk from a higher education
for now, and for hire
it beats me but I do not know
it beats me but I do not know
it beats me but I do not know
I do not know
palaces and stormclouds
the rough straggly sage and the smoke
and the way it will all come together
in quietness in time
bitch, you laws of property
bitch, you free economy
bitch, you unending afterthoughts;
you could've told me before:
never get so attached to a poem, you
forget truth that lacks lyricism,
never draw so close to the heat, that
you forget that you must eat, oh
in order to make
the music
seems i must break so many things
turn over
like bracken and sea shrapnel
graced by the tongue of the beetle-green sea
let each note be
a full-bodied song
enough fingers
enough toes
skin to cover
the wreckage
bloody beat
enough belly
enough feet
x The Book Of Right-On {top}
we should shine a light on, a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
we should shine a light on, a light-on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
I killed my dinner with karate
kick 'em in the face, taste the body
shallow work is the work that I do
do you want to sit at my table
my fighting fame is fabled
and fortune finds me fit and able
and you do say - oh oh
that you do pray - oh oh
and you say that you're okay
and do you want to run with my pack?
do you want to ride on my back?
pray that what you lack does not distract
and even when you run through my mind
something else is in front, oh, you're behind
and I don't have to remind you to stick with your kind
and you do say - oh oh
that you do pray - oh oh
and you say that you're okay
and even when you touch my face
you know your place
and even when you touch my face
you know your place
and we should shine a light on
a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on
it was right-on
and we should shine a light on, a light on
and the book of right-on's right-on, it was right-on
OTHER SONGS
note that the following songs are only guessed lyrics transcribed from
poor quality live recordings,
so if you think you hear something more
correct (very likely, as some of these are really just grasping
for
straws), you can email them to me and
i will add them here. the lighter
part in brackets is text from alternate live
performances where she has
sung slightly different lyrics.
x Prepared Harp Improv. {top}
Performed on WFMU radio, 23 June 2004 (Gender Bias Session).
Assumed title. Presumably self-composed.
(instrumental)
x Man's Road {top}
Written by Jimmy Webb 1982
Original found on The Last Unicorn Soundtrack
Performed by Joanna live in Cafe Zapata, Berlin on November 16th 2004
horizon rising up to meet the purple dawn
dust demon screaming bring an eagle to lead me home
for in my heart I carry such a heavy load
here I am on Man's roadwalking Man's road, hoo
walking Man's road
walking Man's road, hooI'm hungry, and i'm weary, but I cannot lay me down
and the rain falls, dreary, and there's no comfort that I have found
It will be such a long time till I find my abode
here I am on Man's roadwalking Man's road, hoo
walking Man's road
walking Man's road, hoohorizon disguising lonely streets in gay displays
the stars fade and the night shade closes and makes the day afraid
it waits in silence for the night to explode
here I am on Man's roadwalking Man's road, hoo
walking Man's road
walking Man's road, hoo
x Ring The Living Bell {top}
Written by Melanie Safka; originally performed by her under the name ‘Melanie’ in 1972.
Performed by Joanna Newsom with Smog and Weird War at the Bowery Ballroom Christmas
Party, New York City, USA, on 19 December 2004.
I've been celebrating way too long
And I've been drinking, I'm ashamed to say
Still feel thirsty and, God, I wanna drink the water from the well
Still feel thirsty, and God, I wanna drink and ring the living bell
Ring the bell — lah
Ring the living bell
Still feel thirsty but, God, I want to drink and ring the living bell
I'm not a magic lady but I wanna sing to help the light
Descend upon the earth today because it's gonna get dark tonight
Sing for light — oh
Sing for living light
Still feel weak but, God, I want to give and shine the living light
Still feel weak but, God, I want to give and shine the living light
Been walking … walking down the street all night
And I been feeling kind of cold
Still feel naked but, God, I want to feel warm before I get old
Feeling cold — lah
And I'm feeling cold
Still feel hungry but, God, I want to give and shine the living light
Still feel hungry but, God, I want to give and shine the living light
Been … been celebrating way too long
And I have eaten much too well
Still feel hungry, God, I want to give and ring the living bell
Still feel hungry, ring the living bell
Still feel hungry but, God, I wanna give and ring the living bell
Still feel hungry but, God, I wanna give and ring the living bell
Oh, still feel hungry but, God, I wanna give and ring the living bell
Still feel hungry but, God, I wanna give and ring the living bell
Ring the living bell. Ring the living bell
Shine the living light. Shine the living light
x Angel {top}
A Jimi Hendrix song dating from 1970, performed by Joanna Newsom on 26 June 2005
at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England, as part of Patti Smith’s Meltdown Festival
(Songs of Experience - the work of Jimi Hendrix and the music that inspired him).
angel came down from heaven yesterday,
stayed with me just long enough to rescue me
and she told me a story yesterday
about the love between the moon and the deep blue sea
then she spread her wings high over me,
said she'll come back to see me tomorrow
and I said:
fly on, my sweet angel
fly on through the sky
fly on, my sweet angel
tomorrow I'm gonna be by your side
sure enough, that woman came to me
silver wings silhouetted against a child's sunrise
and my angel, she said unto me:
today is the day for you to rise
take my hand, you're gonna be my mind, you're gonna rise
then she took me high over yonder
and I said:
fly on, my sweet angel
fly on through the sky
fly on, my sweet angel
tomorrow I'm gonna be by your side
x Little Wing {top}
A Jimi Hendrix song dating from 1967, performed by Joanna Newsom on 26 June 2005
at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England, as part of Patti Smith’s Meltdown Festival
(Songs of Experience - the work of Jimi Hendrix and the music that inspired him).
well she's walkin' through the clouds
with a circus mind that's running 'round
butterflies and zebras and moonbeams and fairytales
that's all she ever really thinks about - runnin' with the wind
when I'm sad she comes to me with a thousand smiles , she gives to me free
it's alright, she said, it's alright - take anything you want from me. anything.
fly on Little Wing.
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Little Wing.
x Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes {top}
Written by Robert Burns 1789
Performed by Joanna live at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on 30th of november 2006
ca' the yowes to the knowes
ca' them where the heather grows
ca' them where the burnie rows
my bonnie dearie
when I went down the water side
to see the fishes sweetly glide
beneath the hazel spreading wide
and the moon that shines so clearly
when I went down the water side
'twas there I met my shepherd lad
he rolled me sweetly in his plaid
and called me by his dearie
if you'll but stand to what you've said
I'll come with you, my bonnie lad
and you may roll me in your plaid
and I will be your dearie
you willl get gowns and ribbons meet
and leather shoes upon your feet
and in my arms you'll lie and sleep
my bonnie dearie
as waters wimple to the sea
while day breaks in the sky so fine
till clay-cold death shall blind my eye
I shall be thy dearie
till clay-cold death shall blind my eye
I shall be thy dearie
x Colleen {top}
Found on the live EP "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band", released april 2007.
I'll tell it as I best know how
and that's the way it was told to me:
must have once been a theif or a whore
then surely was thrown overboard, where, they say
I came the way from the deep blue sea
picked me up and tossed me round
I lost my shoes and tore my gown
forgot my name and drowned, then
woke up with the surf a-pounding, it seemed
I had been run aground
well they took me in and shod my feet
and taught me prayers for chastity
and said my name would be "Colleen"
and I was blessed among all women, to have
forgotten everything
~
and as the weeks and months ensued
I tried to make myself of use
tilled and planted, but could not produce
not root, nor leaf, nor flower, nor bean; Lord!
it seemed I overwatered everything
and I hate the sight of that empty air
like stepping for a missing stair
and falling forth forever blindly
cannot grab hold of anything! no, not I
most blessed among Colleens
~
I dream some nights of a funny sea
as soft as a newly born baby
cries for me so pitifully
and I dive for my child with a wildness, in me and then
so sweetly there recieved
but last night came a different dream
a gray and sloping-shouldered thing
said 'what's cinched 'round your waist, Colleen?
is that my very own baleen? no! have you
forgotten everything?'
~
this morning, 'round the cape at dawn
some travellers sailed into town
scraps for sale and the saddest songs
and a book of pictures, leather-bound that showed a whale
with a tusk a meter long
well I asked the man who showed it me:
'what is the name of that strange beast?'
he said its name translated roughly
to "He-Who-Easily-Can-Curve-
Himself-Against-The-Sky", and I am without words
he said 'my lady looks perturbed
(the light is in your eyes, Colleen)'
I said, 'what ever can you mean?', he leaned in and said
'you ain't forgotten everything'
~
'you dare to speak a lady's name?'
he said; 'my lady is mistaken,
I would not speak your name in this place
and if I were to try, then the wind - I swear - would rise
to tear you clean from me without a trace
'have you come, then, to rescue me?'
he laughed and said, 'from what, "Colleen"?'
you dried and dressed most willingly
you corseted, and caught the dread disease
by which one comes to know such peace'
Well it's true that I came to know such things
as the laws that govern property
and the herbs to feed the babes that wean
the welting weight for every season, but still
I don't know any goddamned "Colleen"!
~
then dive down there with the lights to lead
that seem to shine from everything
down to the bottom of the deep blue sea
down where your heart beats, so slow
and you never in your life have felt so free
will you come down there with me?
down where our bodies start to seem
like artifacts of some strange dream
which afterwards you can't decipher, and so, soon
have forgotten everything
x Untitled ("Sweet Esame") {top}
Performed live autumn 2007.
I can feel a difference
today, a difference
all of us in a tense
fearing God like a mistress
we lay on the box in the sun
watching you while you moan
I sat up and blinked when you appeared
so pale you were nearly clear
later I stumbled to my bed
all alone in the branches
I laid in the dark thinking about
all of my friends and their changesand I do not know if you know just what you have done
you are the sweetest one, I have ever laid my eyes uponit's a beautiful town, with the rain coming down
blackberry, rosemary, Jimmy Crack Corn
you've got the run of the place now that you're running around
and may kindness, kindness, kindness aboundin this hour of our lives
our effortless plenty
how do we know which parts of our hearts want what
with such base generosity?
taking so many photographs, so amazed
- we've never seen a baby so newly born
and the bulbs do flash as bright as morning
the crowd keeps on gathering like an electric stormthe phantom of love moves among us at will
each phantom in us has got an angel
so confused, like the wagging ghost tail of a bulldog
kindness, kindness prevailskindness prevails!
ties and rails, ties and rails
fall into line bearing kindness
where will you go if not here?
what will you say when you write to us?
and this is a world of terrible hardship everywhere
and i search for words to set you at ease
but there in the looking glass, a kite is soaring
still in my warring heart and my trembling kneesclean as a breeze
bright as a day
all of the people gather to say;
sweet Esame, sweet Esame!
oh, oh, oh...I believe love will always surround you
brave as a bear with a heart rare and true
but if you are scared, if you are blue
I've prepared a small song for yousweet Esame, sweet Esame...
