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1. |
What Large Letters
03:03
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See with what large letters
I am writing to you
Words are fragile vessels
But they'll have to do
Heard your Jesus theories
Got you feelin' blue
But it's not so dreary
When I hear good news from you
It's not as bad
As you make it out to be
We could work it out
In the morning over tea
If I had your face here next to me
See with what long letters
I am writing again
Glad you're feeling etter
Wish I could see my friends
It's not as bad
As you make it out to be
We could work it out
In the morning over tea
If I had your bearded face here next to me
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2. |
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When Captain Martin tipped his hat
The blooms fell out and tumbled down
Onto the shore, and you looked north
They tumbled out onto the shore
Close your eyes, give me a reason
For my living and your troth
My love, my love, blooms out of season
Is this the Eden that you saw?
When Captain Martin tipped his hat
The Ashley River swallowed up
The rare camellia from the north
The beauty and the labor's worth
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3. |
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Oh, oh, on that day
When the daughters of song are brought low
I am going to die
Fog burns away
And the grasshopper drags himself along --
I am going to die
I choke away
On the dust that I'm made of when I realize
I'm going to die
Pinch myself when I sleep
Get no rest when I want to be asleep
I'm gonna sleep with my fathers in the ground
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4. |
Grubby Claw
01:55
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A part of me still loves to watch things burn
To hear about a family torn apart
And though I swear I'll make good with my art
I'm told a gossip-monger's wage I'll earn
I said once truth is beauty; beauty, truth
Insisted Lady Justice dressed in white
But I've known ugly dogs to win a fight
This pen's a grubby claw, a sharpened tooth
If these, my words, have opened wounds
And poured out blood anew
If, telling truth, I've postponed grace
And traded balm for pain
Balm for pain
Balm for pain
Review the facts, my gentle reader
Tell me what I'm due
But truth will streak the sky and it
Will come down sure as rain
Sure as the rain
Sure as the rain
Collect on every window
Every morning like the dew
And wash me clean and prove that all
My words were not in vain
Not in vain
Not in vain
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5. |
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Cold wind saps all my strength
Three months of darkness, three of light
I'd go to any length
To be with you, to press all your shirts
You keep me quiet, I stay indoors
This is the end of the earth
Here we are home
Here we are home
Home at the end of the earth
Cold nights, don't want to be alone
You keep me comp'ny, you keep me sane
You are now bone of my bone
Long days I spend working in the field
Collecting samples, escaping death
I'm still a spoke to your wheel
Here we are home
Here we are home
Home at the end of the earth
I'll come back, I promise
I'll come back home to you
Out on the ice, my eyes start to fail me
And all I see is white
My love, turn around, I will pray you home
Won't let you walk out again
My compass points, my heart's never failed me
I will be back at your side
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6. |
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Who can know another man's heart?
Who can know where to start?
Man knows not his time
It comes at an evil hour
Like a fish on a line
We're pulled beyond our power
To the surface
To the surface where we cannot breathe
To the surface
Will it matter then what we believe?
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7. |
Fire and Fury
02:40
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How will I know
That you know that you mean it
When you put on a show
Just to show that you mean it?
Are we all gonna die?
How will I know
That you mean what you say
When you say what you say
Just to make a little hay?
Are we all gonna die?
It's a river of boiling blood
Pours out from your mouth
It's a mountain of bleached bones
Piled high at your feet
Your fire and your fury
What man can withstand?
You hold a million souls
In the palm of your hand
Are we all gonna die?
Frankly all that power
Is too much for one king
Lately all that power
Spells the end of everything
Are we all gonna die?
It's a river of boiling blood
Pours out from your mouth
It's a mountain of bleached bones
Piled high 'neath your throne
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8. |
Black Square
05:09
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9. |
Hartsville
01:57
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Valentine's Day
And the fire broke out in the fertilizer plant
Built on the water
100 years of jobs right here in Hartsville
Don't know why I looked
Staring into the heart of that wicked flame
You could see it from Alphabet Hill
You could see it from the college
You could see it from space
Staring at the gates of hell
Burning for a week
Over Prestwood Lake
Sometimes you gotta watch a thing burn to say
That's the end of that
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10. |
Trucker Mama's Lament
02:51
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Ain't got a lot of money, honey
But I'll spend what I got on you
And when we start to raising these girls
I'mma spend it on 'em too
And I know I don't look like I used to look
And I know this doesn't get me off the hook
But when I'm home, whoa-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh,
I am yours, whoa-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh,
I'm tweezin' my eyebrows in a truck stop bathroom
Gotta get back to my baby tonight
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11. |
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In the year 2001 I was a boy
In the year 2001 I was a boy
In the year 2012 I can finally be myself
In the year 2001 I was a boy
In the year 2002 I met you
In the year 2002 I met you
In the year 2012 I've got more joy than I'm due
In the year 2002 I met you
In the year 2003 you set me free
In the year 2003 you set me free
In the year 2012 I've found my dignity
In the year 2003 you set me free
In the year 2004 I met the Lord
In the year 2004 I met the Lord
In the year 2012 I know what grace can afford
In the year 2004 I met the Lord
In the year 2005 I came alive
In the year 2005 I came alive
In the year 2012 I'm more than getting by
In the year 2005 I came alive
In the year 2009 on down the line
In the year 2009 on down the line
In the year 2009 new wineskin for new wine
In the year 2009 on down the line
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12. |
False Hope (early take)
00:58
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If you're gonna give me false hope
Don't give me hope at all
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13. |
False Hope
01:19
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If you're gonna give me false hope
Don't give me hope at all
You come in waving your new plan
In the morning when I wake up
And you were always such a bright man
But I wasn't looking for a shake up
If you're gonna give me false hope
Don't give me hope at all
Your heart will lead you down a dark road
While you try to come up with the right words
So let your yes be yes, your no, no
Let your mouth say all the wrong words
If you're gonna give me false hope
Don't give me hope at all
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14. |
Hydrilla
02:50
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From Silver Springs to Wekiwa
It is not what it once was
We are not what we once were
It is not what it once was
Blur the young pines through the swamp
It is not for us to take
Part the waters in between
Two clear blue skies
Two clear blue skies
Zip-up mermaids, shut-up malls
Found the fountain and we drank it deep
We drank it all
We drank it all
Antlions and switchblades
And sawgrass and teeth
With wanting eyes
With wanting eyes
With wanting eyes
It is not what it once was
We are not what we oncewere
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15. |
Addicted to Meaning
03:27
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Wanna tell you a story
I want this all to end well
Wanna start from conclusions
And see my enemies in hell
And when the details get gory
I search for someone to tell
But all my private delusions
Ring my ears like a bell
See, I'm addicted to meaning
I've a sickness, it's true
I'm my own private hero
I am yellow and blue
There's no rock in the valley
There's no mountain to climb
And it won't fix its-own-self
And the truth will not rhyme
So when I'm losing the tally
Losing track of the time
I put that book on my own shelf
I reject the sublime
See, I'm addicted to meaning
I've a sickness, it's true
I'm my own private hero
I am yellow and blue
Shoot me down in my winged flight
Only fools chase the sun
I'll be a caution to no one
I'll keep my pride on the run
So when I scream from the high height
About a race to be won
Tell me nothing and no one
Beats the grave or the sun
See, I'm addicted to meaning
I've a sickness, it's true
I'm my own private hero
I am yellow and blue
What if nothing happens for a reason
And nothing dead can come back?
Let them bury their own dead
Earth will not love them back
This is my losing season
This is the nighttime attack
But it will not leave me wounded
If I never look back
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16. |
Day to Day (Psalm 19)
02:12
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Day to day to day pours out speech
Night to night to night to night reveals
There is no speech, nor are there words
Whose voice is not, whose voice is not heard
I pile up my words and set them on the fire
'Cause all the words I write, they cheapen my desire
Their voice goes out through all the earth
Their voice goes out to the end of the world
Day to day to day, I chase the meaning down
Night to night to night, I wear a paper crown
I'll lay it down up on this trash fire
And watch the sun run its course with joy
Day to day to day to day to day
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17. |
Crooked Cross
03:09
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It's a crooked cross
It's a crooked cross
It's a crooked cross
Twist it into place
Twist it into place
Twist it into place
It's right there in the Bible
So why can't you believe?
Listen to the Word
It's written in the law
It's written in the law
It's written in the law
Take the father's sons
(In the law)
Take the father's sons
(In the law)
Take the father's sons
(In the law)
Take the mother's sons away
In the midst of our revival
Why can't you believe?
Listen to the Word
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18. |
Delilah
02:09
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She smokes cloves when she's got the money
And Pall Malls when she has none
She says "I am not the ember, I'm the puff of smoke--
Would you pour me another one?"
Delilah thinks about her future
She forgets about her past
And when the sirens sound in the alley
She says "I've been tied to the mast all along"
Now she's sitting on her porch swing thinking
About changing her last name
She's got the spider bite blues and the cocaine chills
And her daddy takes the blame
Now she's climbing the train track trestles
For to howl in the face of the moon
She says "God, you and I are gonna wrestle--
I have my doubts, but I'll find out soon enough"
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19. |
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Who's gonna make my honey?
Who's gonna dust my flowers?
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
I know we took for granted your working hours
Gotta recognize the effort and the laborers' power
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
What's that tumbling down?
What's that in the air?
What's that tumbling down in the morning light?
Would it've killed the man to take a little care?
No, it wasn't right and it wasn't fair --
What's that tumbling down in the morning light?
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
Who's gonna make my honey when you're gone?
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20. |
One Last Everything
02:58
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So long and thanks for all the trouble
Safe to say you got your money's worth out of me
I've grown tired and I've grown some stubble
Didn't mean to let you take the youth out of me
And I know
Why I said the things I did
And you should know
That I meant every word
I'll eat the last peach of the summer
Drip the juices off the rooftop looking down
On a city with no skyline in a swamp-hot September
With smoke in my eyes and a phosphorescent frown
You can smell
The sulfur in my mud
And you can taste
The saline in my blood
I didn't love you
You didn't know me
It's fine
I'll have one last everything, OK?
I'm taking with me only what fits on my back
I'll count my blessings to keep doubtful thoughts at bay
Count the days since going from the red to black
And I know
Why you did me like you did
But you should know
I'm not your comeback kid
I didn't love you
You didn't know me
It's fine
No really it's fine
It's fine
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21. |
PHANTOM
02:39
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22. |
Keep Me Around
00:54
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You keep me around
You keep me around
You keep me around anyway
And you keep me
And you hold me
And you stay
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23. |
Joseph
03:49
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Woke up in the night
You ain't feelin' right
You said "Honey, you oughta know
We are not alone"
Not alone, not alone, we are not alone
Not alone, not alone, we are not alone
Took me by the hand,
You said "You know you are my man"
But when your belly it did show
My eyes turned to stone
Turned to stone, turned to stone, my eyes turned to stone
Turned to stone, turned to stone, my eyes turned to stone
But you had the strangest dream
You had the strangest dream
The bile in my throat
The burning in my eyes
I pushed them both aside
I had to decide
To let you go out in the night
To bear the shame alone and quiet
Peace be mine, a mourning dove
I'd spare your life for love
Then I had the strangest dream
I had the strangest dream
Do not, do not, do not, do not be afraid
To take her as your wife
Do not, do not, do not, do not be afraid
To take her as your wife
For that which is conceived in her
That which is conceived in her
Is from the Holy
For that which is conceived in her
That which is conceived in her
Is from the Holy
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24. |
Simeon and Anna
02:39
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[Simeon]
What did you make of the gifts that they brought
As she washed off the musk of the cows?
Now you smell of the tomb when they wrap you in cloth
In the temple where men make their vows
Revelation, consolation to me
Revelation, consolation to me
Wondering, waiting these last lonely days
For a sign of the life up ahead
He kept me alive through delight and malaise
Now you live, in my arms, in my stead
Revelation, consolation to me
Revelation, consolation to me
[Anna]
Creation groaned in my knees and my back
As I fasted and prayed every day
Now I forget the husband and child that I lack
As you cry in my arms and I sway
You're the answer to each of my prayers
You're the answer to each of my prayers
Bodies of doves are now broken for you
As your mother's was one month ago
They pass you to me and the Spirit is true
And your father's in tears as you go
You're the answer to each of my prayers
You're the answer to each of my prayers
[Simeon]
What did you make of the gifts that they brought
As she washed off the musk of the cows?
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25. |
All My Worship
02:34
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I just stepped in to make a purchase
Chicken sandwich and a waffle fry
Heave a sigh
And "I life your name on high"
"I will give you all my worship
I'll give you all my praise"
Muzak plays
And my mind repeats the phrase
And while I don't really miss the songs
I miss the certainty I felt when I was young
Haven't sung it from my chest in so long
May your holy praise be on my tongue?
Feels strange being here at all
A place where lesser angels trod
Singing "Oh my God"
And "I am a friend of God"
"I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading all my shame"
Say "Have a blessed day"
And my mind repeats the same
And while I don't really miss the songs
I miss the certainty I felt when I was young
Haven't sung it from my chest in so long
May your holy praise
May your holy praise
May your holy praise be on my tongue?
"I will give you all my worship
I'll give you all my praise"
Muzak plays
And my mind repeats the phrase
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The Camellias North Charleston, South Carolina
Ragged folk songs for hard modern times.
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