1. |
I Come With Lilies
03:44
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Summer comes with promises golden and dear
Lessons of glory for all who can hear
Some will come with roses to lay at your feet
But I come with lilies, to sing you to sleep
Mine is a candle - a candle to brighten your way
A hand to hold onto on ol' Judgement Day
A cover above thee when clouds turn to rain
A love to live on beyond riches and pain
'Cause summer comes with promises golden and dear
Lessons of glory for all who can hear
Some will come with roses to lay at your feet
But I come with lilies, to sing you to sleep
Give me a crown made of diamonds and fit for a king
The knowledge that only experience brings
The power to cause the old blind man to see
And I would trade all for a moment with thee
'Cause summer comes with promises golden and dear
Lessons of glory for all who can hear
Some will come with roses to lay at your feet
But I comes with lilies, to sing you to sleep
Some will come with roses to lay at your feet
But I comes with lilies, to sing you to sleep.
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2. |
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I laid your body in the earth to let you get some rest
You rose up with a wicked grin - the dying art of death
I keep trying something new; doo doo dee doo
But what come out are swirling words, so I sweep 'em up
I brought you back to dress you up but the ball was an awful mess
So you waited in the anteroom while I finished what was left
The ether whispered "All's a dream", so I explained myself to my feet
And when we arrived to find the front door locked, we laid down in the street
I keep trying something new; doo doo dee doo
But what come out are swirling words, so I sweep 'em up
I laid you back into the earth to let you get some sleep
When morning came, I planted flowers to keep me company
But though I gave them names, they held their tongues, so I ripped them out like weeds
And I planted trees whose roots grew ears in case you deign to speak
I keep trying something new; doo doo dee doo
But what comes out is not enough, so I shake it off
And send it rattling around my head until I lift the lid
And if what come out are swirling words, I just sweep 'em up.
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3. |
The Road Ahead
03:30
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We kept out eyes on the road ahead
And we prayed for those who gave us supper and a bed
But we caught ourselves lying to our friends so we covered it up
We loved like wolves among the sheep
And We hated our parents for the practices they keep
But we scolded our children for being weak when the times were tough
And on the horizon, our eyes find the finest timeline
All laid out to bring us the best
Tuned to tomorrow and thus we could be nobody's fools
We kept our eyes on the road ahead
We paraded our flag at every chance we could get
But we burned every book that we had read that forgot about us
We folded cranes for those we'd lost
And we bought our rounds without a mention of the cost
But we did it all to show 'em all who's boss when the times are tough
And so we arise and arrive at our nine-to-fives
A treat for every button we press
Dressed up and ready to hit on the four and the two
We kept our eyes on the road ahead
And we preyed on those who could be suckered into bed
But we caught ourselves lying there with dread when the Sun came up.
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4. |
In That Glorious Moment
04:00
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I watched some lady cry as her husband drove
Out of a gas station where it smelled like smoke
And in the glorious moment, I finally awoke
As the fire consumed us whole
In a photograph all faded and bent
You were full of the usual bullshit and gin
And the more closely I looked, the more widely you grinned
So I leaned forward and tumbled in - I tumbled in
You had two brothers, both much older and gone
So we laid without suspicion on a blanket on the lawn
And you swore they would have killed me but still we carried on
And I thanked my lucky stars as the Sun...
Rose and burned, and burned
For how else were we to ever learn?
My lifetime in a moment can be characterized thus
It burned, it burned, it burned
In a homemade film, all shaky and blurred
I had donned a handsome bowtie meant to compliment your skirt
But our parents made us smile and be quiet in the church
So we held our tongues and breathlessly suppressed our every urge
They caught us making faces in the car, on the return
And assigned us petty chores that were insulting and absurd
So we snuck into the attic and taught each other dirty words
And cast shadows as the candle at our feet...
Rose and burned, and burned
A metaphor informal in its verse
Yet likened to a poem: ashes to ashes, dust to dust
We burn, we burn, we burn
If the late-November skyline was a sign then we skipped blindly on our way
If the turning of our orbit could rewind, we might have paid it little thought
If we listened to the swirling of the tune that filled the air, it was a warning too sweet to understand
By passers-by, on-lookers, and a man...
Who watched some lady cry as her husband drove
Out of a gas station, at our story's close
And in the moment, as I shuffled off the mortal flesh and bone
I knew the greatest of all things had been our own
And I'd like to think I smiled as they pulled me from the stone
Where we burned, we burned, we burned.
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5. |
Anyway
03:59
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If you really, truly love me
You'll make me a wreath of dead leaves
That had fallen to the ground by the middle of September
Just in time for you to find them at your feet
Then those leaves would crack and crumble as the color starts to fade
And they'd flutter like confetti in some holiday parade
And all that would be left would be the memories we made
Which is all I really wanted, anyway
If really, truly miss me
You'll write my name on your hand
Like some chore you meant to get to but you'll just forget to do
Because nothing ever goes the way you planned
Then your hands will get all dirty from playing in the street
So you'll run 'em underwater 'til the skin is nice and clean
And all that will be left will be that thought you thought of me
Which is all I really wanted, anyway
If you really, I mean really, truly love me
You'll tell our story to the wind
Like some secret so exciting that you couldn't keep it inside
You just had to run and share it with a friend
Then those little bits of air will start to summersault and flip
And be carried off forever on the most amazing trip
And all that will be left will be my name upon your lips
Which is all I really wanted, anyway
Which is all I really wanted, anyway.
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6. |
The Bony Flood
04:40
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I'm full enough to burst
And trying to stand up feet-first
Balanced on the edge of the Earth
I'm staring at the clock
I'm wondering what my friends talk about
When the television's off
Ages old and caked with dirt
Same old routine
I shimmy and I shake
Just for entertainment's sake
And make faces in the mirror when it gets late
Staring up at the sky
And feeling somewhat fortified
Watching it all blowing by
Ages old and caked with dirt
Same old routine
Say what you mean
Say what you mean
I watched a mountain rise in the summer Sun
It quaked and cracked and fell at my feet
I tried to run but was overcome
I stumbled and fell in step as the bony flood disappeared beneath
Ages old and caked with dirt
Same old routine
Say what you mean
Say what you mean
So now I'm standing on my head
Trying to get my fortune read
But mostly hearing things I wish I hadn't heard
The Sun rises in the East
And once again, the scene is complete
Ages old and caked with dirt.
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7. |
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Arthur Clarke of twenty-two
Left the apartment in shambles and walked to the park
There were traffic cops and bus-stop whores
And all the people one wishes to avoid on a day off
Suicide on the evening news
And the fall of a star on the rise - all rise
Sing a song of suspense and who knew, who knew
It was you all along in disguise, in disguise
How I wish it could be daylight all summer
How I wish it could be summer all day
Would my house were the ocean that I might bob in the blue
As the waves bear me upward always, always
And would my love were an island that I might lie there in silence
All a-wishing and a-hoping and a-wasting away
How I wish it could be daylight all summer
How I wish it could be summer all day
How I wish it could be daylight all summer
How I wish it could be summer all day
How I wish that I were made of the wind and the water
And un-beholden to time and space
Arthur Clarke of twenty-two
Climbed the steps to his apartment and walked through the door
Would my house were the ocean that I might drift without direction
And would my love were an island that I might wash up on shore.
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8. |
King of Thorns
05:03
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I was born in a lake of fire
My body hidden in the autumn leaves
The day they buried me alive
They gave me magazines to read
I was born with the rising Sun
The day before they sent my friends to war
I might have guessed what was in store
But I was cautioned to be sensitive to meddling with my words
And to wear my crown of thorns like a king
To suffer in the dark like a man
To hold my head aloft and be humbler than those who came before
And to do it all again and again
I was raised by a parking lot
Where people bought and sold their earthly wares
And spoke in tongues of earthly cares
As though exhibiting their burdens made them easier to bear
I came of age at the end of time
As news went out that we had won the war
And all our parents stood in line
With flags and signs that said "Hurray for us for settling the score"
So I wore my crown of thorns like a king
And I suffered in the dark like a man
And I held my head aloft and was humbler than those who came before
And I did it all again and again
When I am grown, I'll be president
And boys will whisper as they see me pass
And all the mirrors turn to glass
And every citizen shall gaze as though this moment were the last
And we'll tell stories of our bravest friends
The day that none of them return from war
And keep our tongues dutifully mounted to their berths
Where they rock softly within safety of the shore
And we will wear our crowns of thorns, for we are kings
And we will suffer in the dark, for we are men
And we'll hold our heads aloft and be prouder than the ghosts who came before
And we'll do it all again and again
And again and again and again and again
And again and again and again and again
We will hold our heads aloft and be prouder than the ghosts who haunt the past
For we may do it all again and again.
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9. |
The Calico Shanty
05:50
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The power had all gone out at the East Side Calico Grill
And at first, all the patrons sat eerily still as smoke filled up the room
"We've been wishing and hoping and we've been washing our cars
"And most of us aren't too concerned about the weather, but some of us are"
A few leapt up to phone the police while others just gathered their hats
And Jonathan Doyle, who runs the whole ship, thought quietly right where he sat
"Some days, you're the heavyweight champion; some days, you're the mat"
And he chided himself for being trite and un-witty when, in truth, it wasn't half bad
Roll, roll as the ocean flows
The whispering hills and the wintry snow
By wing or by land or by paddle-and-row
It's upward and onward we go
By six PM, he had mopped all the floors and carefully polished the taps
And at seven-eighteen, a knock on the door woke Jonathan up from his nap
He said "I dreamt that this bar was a sailboat and the stars were the map"
They told him the water had washed out the road and his car had made a terrible raft
Roll, roll as the ocean flows
The whispering hills and the wintry snow
By wing or by land or by paddle-and-row
It's upward and onward we go
When morning arrived and the first of the light peaked cautiously over the hills
The river, alive, slowly opened its eyes and shivered with curious chill
And it said "dreamt I was finally free and my wildest desires fulfilled"
So it sighed a great sigh and slipped silently by the East Side Calico Grill
Roll, roll as the ocean flows
Its whisper is sweet but it'll swallow you whole
By singing and dancing, we'll never grow old
But it one single moment be swept up at last
And we'll roll, roll as the ocean flows
And with it, the weeks and the summery glow
And with it, we weep, though we secretly know
It's upward and onward we go.
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Matt Young and His Favorite Words Andover, New Hampshire
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