B i o g r a p h y (by James Christopher Monger)
A Baltimore duo built around the autumnal songwriting of Jenn Wasner and the dynamic arrangements of multi-instrumentalist Andy Stack, Wye Oak fuse introspective songwriting with vivid polyrhythmic indie rock and pop. Emerging in 2007, the duo has issued a string of acclaimed efforts, including Civilian (2011), Shriek (2014), and The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs (2018) that meld psychedelic and shoegaze influences around a classically indie rock songwriting core. Every Day Like the Last, a compilation of previously released singles featuring three new tracks, appeared in 2023. The duo of singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner and drummer/keyboardist Andy Stack took their name from a symbolic 460-year-old tree in their home state of Maryland. Formed in 2006 under the moniker Monarch, Wasner and Stack recorded their first album in different spots, bouncing around various Baltimore basements and apartments, eventually landing a record deal with indie heavyweight Merge. The label would go on to release the act's 2008 debut, If Children, as well as the 2009 follow-up Knot and the 2010 EP My Neighbor/My Creator. By the time of their 2011 self-produced album, Civilian, which was also released by Merge, Wasner and Stack had distilled their sound to a fine point and had gained a devoted following. After the record's release, the duo embarked on a lengthy tour that left them completely spent and in need of a break. Once finished with their obligations, Stack relocated to Texas and Wasner launched two new projects, the more experimental Flock of Dimes and the electronic R&B duo Dungeonesse with songwriter/producer Jon Ehrens. When the time came to get back to Wye Oak, Wasner switched from guitar to bass, feeling that they had exhausted their previous guitar-based approach. Relying more on synths and drum machines and adding in some R&B influences in place of folk, their fourth album, Shriek, was recorded at the Rare Book Room with Nicolas Vernhes and released by Merge in April of 2014. After the album's release, Wasner stayed busy providing guest vocals on albums by Mac McCaughan, Soft Pink Truth, and Shearwater, while also readying the first Flock of Dimes album, which was issued by Partisan Records in late 2016. A few months before that, the band and Merge dug into the archives and uncovered some songs that were written and recorded between the releases of Civilian and Shriek. Titled Tween, the eight-song collection showed some behind-the-scenes footage of the band's creative shift between the two albums. A proper studio entry arrived in the spring of 2018 with The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs, a bright and electrifying set that continued Wye Oak's evolution into stranger sonic territories. 2023's Every Day Like the Last saw the duo add three new songs, including the warmly lit title cut, to a set of previously issued standalone singles.
IF CHILDREN Please Concrete I can please concrete by walking But you're not hearing What I'm saying, when I'm talking I always think I'm right I'm all right I can teach the street by guessing When the hosts are not exactly where I'm stepping Go in and knowing where, not over there And I can touch TV by looking But you're spading at three colors system failing We see red, yellow, blue, not maroon We see red, yellow, blue I can please concrete by walking But you're not hearing What I'm saying, when I'm talking I always think I'm right I'm all right I only said goodnight Warning If the end will come, it will be night All the life we have is from the daylight And of all the planets god is one Hidden in the burning of the sun And I am counting down the years The warnings have begun to appear I wait and live as though I will not die I am alive, how can I The only world I've ever known Has been overrun and overgrown And the saddest ending to describe Is to never bring this world a new life And I am counting down the days The people stop their fighting to pray I wait and live as though I will not die I am alive, how can I I sit and wonder asking why I have seen the world lay down to die So the only hell I'll ever know Is where you may go and I may not go And I am counting down the hours And on my knees amazed at the power I have to live as though I will not die I am alive, how can I Regret The floor will all cave in at ten o'clock My tired body to absorb the shock Years of decay will make a mess of me These rotted floor boards arch below my feet The flood will take us when we're in our sleep This city swallowed by the oceans deep The ice will melt and then the seas will swell But this is not a thing on which to dwell There is nothing to regret Archaic Smile Sculptor, never leave my side And expose this empty smile Could the truth be falsified And hold it off a little while Never look quite right Ponderous and idle Still I'm gonna try And show you my My archaic smile Two thousand years below the sea Moves like a blinking eye Sixty days in front of me It is an ocean running dry Temper all these hidden moves Behind uneasy stares Pass me to the centuries They will never know what's there What's there Never look quite right Ponderous and idle Still I'm gonna try And show you my Archaic smile Family Glue I am family glue Leaving a legacy of tell-me-to Behavior made of lead I eat and I'm fed And I'll use your hands Our blood has given into it Save the holidays for me Dress as love for halloween I press my hand in the dirt And ruin your hard work But new clothes are for me alone I always recognise your clothes So I am family glue Leaving a legacy of tell-me-to Behavior made of care This is not my somewhere So hang on though you are small You are more than cats and dogs You are more than they can do You've got years, new Orchard Fair When all the leaves Are turning brown I know I'll see Them hit the ground And apricots The apple trees The peaches fruit For me and you When shorter days Pull light on me I hope to feel A certain way Lightness Lightness We'll see you there At the orchard fair The October skies The open eyes Will you hold my hand As we walk from here For the wind is cold And winter's near When shorter days Pull the light away I'll always feel A certain way Lightness Lightness Lightness Lightness I Don't Feel Young I don't feel young I don't feel scared I'm in control I am prepared I'll never cry I'll sit and stare I don't feel young I don't feel old I don't feel proud I speak too fast I laugh too loud I am the smallest in the crowd I don't feel old I can't see you But I can ? You gave a speech They're all ? But still your room Is on at night I can't see you And so we fight Can't have you now I'll learn to walk And learn to count The word you gave me in my mouth And spit it out If you feel young And feel ready Or if you feel old And just need sleep You know your secret's safe with me If you feel young If you feel young If you feel young Keeping Company Are you deserving Sweet simple being I look for learning You are the teaching I was a body Captured and proud When you were thirteen It wasn't ? How you said nothing But you understood To cross your boundary What do you look at I am your body Your only ? You look in corners But now I understand The danger Danger isn't over Danger Five years Two months and a day Danger But danger Danger isn't over Danger Way to danger I got away Danger I run myself through To your favorite groove The page is on six Through all that I took I seem to measure With every inch I'd do it over I'd do it again You never noticed Or else you ignored So let me show you What bodies are for Your look is skinny As your face is white I'm spending money You're spending the light But danger Danger isn't over Danger Five years Danger and a day Danger Well, danger Danger isn't over Danger Way to danger All the way A Lawn To Mow Grew up in the smoggiest of towns A dirty haze where the sun goes down But we know it's better to conceal Than to reveal In the time it takes the grass to grow There are weeds to pull and a lawn to mow The city looks so nice The median, asphalt paradise If you are like me At least to some degree Go to sleep Go Friends say I've the foggiest of minds Always asleep in half the time But I thought it better to wait Than to propagate 'Cause there's something underneath those sheets It's a morning sun and it burns for me So you better get a lot of rest If you want them to be impressed If you are like me At least to some degree Go to sleep Go Go Go Go If Children Were Wishes If children were wishes My mother spent hers on impossible things My brother was money My sister was love And I was world peace My brother, he spent it My sister got pregnant And all that I'm worth Will only come true When there are no more of us left on this earth If hearts were machines that kept Running forever automatically Then you wouldn't be in that hospital bed On that saline I-V And if it's your diet You stubbornly swear that it wasn't your fault You rather be dead in that hospital bed Than cut back on sugar and salt Oh weren't you afraid of Living in a major American city So you marry a stupid Unreachable girl who's impossibly pretty And I've seen you drive everyday of your life And it's always a rush And I have to wonder How I ever let you do something so dangerous And so I suppose This is just how it goes No matter how I try I just have to watch you get Weaker and weaker till you finally die But I have to remember The wish of my mother and all that I'm worth Which will only come true When there are no more of us left on this earth Obituary One, two, one, two Writing your obituary long before your life has ended Remembering you while you're alive instead of waiting till you're dead And your life can only take you where these roads will let you go You traveled up north to find that everything was not so right There is nothing wrong with finding home ? someone with the fire And your friends will always love you But you have to teach yourself to stay alive We could see the world unfurl if we could learn to walk on water We could hold hands under bridges, you would be the star Because the cars can only take you where the roads will let you go Open up your eyes while we're in bed to see that I'm still breathing I could never bear to feel your eyes on me at night let in the air If you're here then I am breathing If you're here then I am breathing
THE KNOT Milk And Honey Save some blue chips for me I hope that I'm alive to see Let the honey flow And watch the ? grow, you know It's harder than it looks For Prayer All this dirt is my disease Please, please Wanted hand, but I got knees You drop by to help me out Out, out Baby, what's all this about Your thoughts are better than your words I wanted bees, but I got bird There's no room and there's no time So you scratch yours and I'll scratch mine Sinned to winter, but it's hot I guess I do believe in God But I'll forgive and make it right If it freezes up tonight So cross your fingers, say a prayer You don't believe, but I don't care You either win it or you don't It happens now or else it won't Cross your fingers, say a prayer You don't believe, but I don't care You either win it or you don't It happens now or else it won't Take It In Half the day awake Half again asleep I am left alone With dreams I wouldn't care if I I wouldn't care if you Is it still a lie If it's true Do you never ask Because I'll never tell We are both the same Unwell But how much would you ask And what did you expect Of what it is that we Have left Oh baby, you're a child You fall asleep and I get wild I turn to smoke when you need air I'm sorry, baby, I don't care Do you never ask Because you know I'll say You're the only one Please stay But you're not the only one And you know it's only fair When you close your eyes Who's there You're a baby, you're a child You fall asleep and I get wild I turn to smoke when you need air I'm sorry, baby, I don't care You're not only, you're my blood ? I take it back, I'll take it in Till I never need air again I take it back, I'll take it in Till I never need air again I take it back, I'll take it in Till I never need air again Siamese I know my place It's a place I've never been though Flat like rain In a picture of a window It's OK, it's alright I walk on late at night I keep my key Out my clothes between my fingers Don't look back Hit him right between the eyes You couldn't scare me if you tried 'Cause I'm ready to die tonight His life and mine Keep together like babies Siamese Like you've got me on a line 'Cause if you leave or if I leave you I lose my life and lose you too So you couldn't scare me if you tried 'Cause I'm ready to die tonight Turn it in You're not sure what you're taking You're not prepared For what you're taking on And if it works like every night You'll turn away without a fight So you couldn't scare me if you tried 'Cause I'm ready to die tonight Talking About Money Right side headache Maybe I'm dying Oh but a child then You told me anything Now you've got me Dreaming a tragedy When I'm holding his hand I'm talking about money Oh scare me Can't you see I am ghostly And what I owe you Is more than how I know you So the worthless intangible Is instantly valuable And if you still ? Don't ? Mary Is Mary We left a maybe for the cold heart And they found a body in the backyard I leave for the country just like you did But he's not in the country, just look how you live And all high and mighty, what do you know And there is no great eye on the sparrow And Mary is Mary and I'm not But what, what good does she have that I haven't got And one head is lesser than the two heads But we know the thoughts that go unsaid And I'm left alone in my own home Where all that I own is not my own And all sleeping giants, why do you lie Behind the eyes of who I love the best And is there another where you do keep The pain of another where my arms sleep And all high and mighty, what is your game Can we learn to live with so much lies And you say that we end where we all go But all high and mighty, what do you know Tattoo Sing out at me See right through me Send those dangerous things to me All together I am melting I see stars that never come down All their fingers Underneath me All the myths, they could've raised me I am able I am ready Almost I can take them with me In the future I'm forgiving Hoping they fall only living And the faces Strangers only Those who see me, will they know me Find me at the Tattoo ? Close my eyes and know my body I am not a child ? Pour my song, it's not ? When I go I close my eyes Leave me unidentified It was wrong But I was right I am saved, I am light When I go Close my eyes Leave me unidentified It was wrong But I was right I am saved, I am light I Want For Nothing Say no to me And I will love you more Play me for keeps Under garage door I pressed his side Be sad, grow over, float All for a dream More than the time we took They think it's right But they don't think like me When I concede It is a victory It's not ideal Ideals never last I see my face I wanna break in half Since we fell I am an empty well I want for nothing You want And still you say There is another way I want for nothing I want for nothing I want for nothing It's not a bruise It is a spider bite I wasn't forced To stay awake at night And he was tough He knows not what he needs I care for you But not as you for me Since we fell I am an empty well I want for nothing You want And still you say There is another way I want for nothing I want for nothing I want for nothing That I Do I wish you didn't need it anymore I understand exactly what you use it for And better isn't always doing well I know because I'm better now myself And it's true, I need it too But not the way that you do I wish I didn't love you quite as much The reason that we never talk and never touch Is the same reason that I never have done enough To show you that you never needed to earn my love And it's true, you love me too But not the way that I do I wish I didn't hold you to your word Ignited and decided, they are undeserved I've never discovered when to stop That giant made of stone came down off the mountain top See, it's true, I lie to you But not as well as you do And it's true, I need it too But not the way that you do Sight, Flight So I lick your head on this bed And discover it's my dinner Still I'm sure if it's just the before That you're after, then why take my picture And if we fly, it's in the public eye So make sure everyone knows you're the winner In righting In righting In righting Yourself So dance around it Pretend that you found it Still everyone knows not to answer If you're with me, you're with weed and TV And the rest of our three guilty pleasures And if we fly, kiss half your family goodbye And split everything right down the center In righting In righting In righting Yourself In righting In righting In righting Yourself
CIVILIAN Two Small Deaths Two small deaths happened today While I was at work While I was at play No less light darkens my door So I cannot cry Now what is that for Is this the way my mind works Forwards, always forwards Is this the way my brain waves Backwards, sideways I've no heart strong and as lasting To miss and to mourn The world at its passing I'm saving up all of my strength For when I finally fail At keeping you safe When my last friend should leave me Slow and easy I'll be creeping around them Picking pockets The Alter Oh recourse Our nature is a force So Cut it at the source And go A life without remorse I'll obey Though I am afraid Of what it's to be alone Awake And happiest at play I'm all smiles Confident and wild Wired with every instrument Control And careless all the while Until I recall Everything and all is wrong Panic is a slow dissolve A terror quiet calm Holy Holy Holy, holy, holy There is no other story Holy, holy, holy It is madness seeking mastery Holy, holy, holy Would you like to know me A tongue without a mouth to feed And only seeking agony For the joys and secrets I have stored Here I lie awaiting my reward Attention for the blessed final count The ties that hold your mind will not give out No patience can contain this All human joy is precious And I alone should know this And everyone should notice Holy, holy, holy There is no other story It is madness seeking mastery We will be who we want to be For the joys and secrets I have stored Here I lie awaiting my reward Attention for the blessed final count The ties that hold your mind will not give out Oh they will give out Oh they will give out Oh they will give out Oh they will give out Dogs Eyes Can't see your self in evolution The history of our creation So dogs eyes smiling Scare you about dying I can't shake the superstition Jesus, give me your permission And God's eye looks in Like a ghost you don't believe in Someone had me live this way And I cannot get rid of it Soft eyes, hard hands To shovel the garden A deep whole, a secret In order to feed it The season of calling End to everyone knowing Soft eyes, hard hands To shovel the garden A deep whole, a secret In order to feed it The season of calling End to everyone knowing Civilian I am nothing without pretend I know my faults can't live with them I am nothing without a man I know my thoughts, but I can't hide them I still keep my baby teeth In the bedside table with my jewelry You still sleep in the bed with me My jewelry and my baby teeth I don't need another friend When most of them I can barely keep up with I'm perfectly able to hold my own hand But I still can't kiss my own neck I wanted to give you everything But I still stand in awe of superficial things I wanted to love you like my mother's mother's mothers did Civilian Civilian Fish They who made you They made me too Quiet like you Violent like you I see you there Wild in my dreams When you return Go to the sea Air is your permanent Struggle to breathe When you return Go to the sea Gone, gone, gone You were never alone I'll come home And raise you up to what's left Gone Gone Ghost of your voice Finally rests Open your eyes now To all that is left Don't be afraid now You won't need me You'll be at peace now At last from the sea You will forget Eventually The life that you wasted That led to the sea Gone, gone, gone You were never alone I'll come home And raise you up to what's left Gone, gone, gone You were never alone I'll come home And raise you up to what's left Gone Gone They who made you They made me too I see they can Make us again Plains Into the desert Weathered forever Desperate clouds Bellowing out Seeing the future Cautiously answer It's only the plains Sideways rain The days whispered and shouted And everything counted The signs were around We looked so we found Been seeking a pattern None of it mattered Watching the sky Cycling by Through windows of our past lives We are seeing the same thing But they are not laughing The smoke from the engine The bones of the plane I notice this vaguely But it couldn't contain me And so I've been tamed And so it remains And I am ashamed And hiding in a stranger's hallway Try to remember Pen to the paper Portion it out What's it about The pictures are empty Voices have left me It's only the plains Sideways rain And I am ashamed And I am ashamed And every day is just the same Hot As Day When the sun is its most bright Stare into its light Do not close your eyes Let it burn into your mind Then look left, look right Let it make you blind Oh isn't that a fright Birth to eternal night That someone decides is right When the days run long and late Darkness brings me pause While I lie awake Sleep is never long enough Lying in this heat I forget to breathe Oh isn't that the way Sun hides himself away Still it's hot as day We Were Wealth Though I am grown I'm living like a child now I wait, I want Giving myself everything Fearing the release Keeping the peace Say for instance I pay money for an object Sight unseen How is it that it speaks for me Borrowed, never earned In debt from birth Feel the days at any cost And spend your earnings Ease the losses We were wealth And we were money Of the world And needing nothing Needing nothing Needing nothing Needing nothing Needing nothing Doubt If you should doubt my heart Remember this That I would lie to you If I believed it was right to do If you should think instead I would forget all the lives I said Were not meant for me And meant for you That would be the test I could not forgive only that To doubt the only way That what was true before Is true today What I have learned of you Does not assure You bow before my will But I believed it then Believe it still Oh I believed it then Believe it still
SHRIEK Before This morning I woke up on the floor Thinking I have never dreamed before And in the afternoon The nagging thought That I have never lived or else forgot I tell you stories But truth be told I can't remember What came before That's how I know That's how I know And I am brand new And not so whole That's how I know On paper I'm waving with a grin Proof of places I've never been So I pull you forward towards this spot That I have never seen or else forgot I show you pictures Of this very corner But I can't remember Who pushed the shutter I have no answer You say, "No matter" My only memory Is coming home That's how I know This morning I woke up on the floor Thinking I have never dreamed before Shriek In that sea of the night I was possessed Keys though meaning goodbye If you're wondering And a key which would be nagging me Throughout the bay When I see it, will I, will I know A few known information ? how it seems In present dreams and I nibble Other words speak unspeakable So full is your affection Come and see how it means This present seems infallible Oh that spruce of the night You will outlast The illusory gaze And its wandering And a freedom of a certainty Observing your brain When I see it, will I, will I know A few known information ? how it seems In present dreams and I nibble Other words speak unspeakable So full is your affection Come and see how it means This present seems infallible When I see it, will I, will I know A few known information ? how it seems In present dreams and I nibble Other words speak unspeakable So full is your affection Come and see how it means This present seems infallible The Tower The one who sings around the sun Cannot be bothered with the dark The reason exits with the light The one, the sun The night begins Until the trouble ends I speak if only to explain And no one here has lost his mind Intentions are ? The one, a love full of trust They think the answer lies with me But I am powerless to stop The world from holding me in place The tower of it all It is the cloud that hangs for days It is a giant in the tree Holding the neck of me We live as many others live The fear of dying incomplete Feeling the fairy tale apart Unturn ? and start The one who sings around the sun Cannot be bothered with the dark He's undeserving of the light The one, the sun, the night The one, the sun, the night The one, the sun, the night Glory I see his eyes moving away from me Oh no, is this another albatross He knows he holds dominion over me But what I gain is worth the cost We share the cold embrace of cousins I wonder if I've seen him somewhere else before And as I wonder at his ancestry I miss the meeting by the door And in the telling of the story I lose my way inside a prepositional phrase I read his lips and I see glory But what I hear is "be afraid" So from the fog of every morning Until the heat of day is stingy I watch the clock as it turns backwards I see the water run uphill And in the telling of the story I lose my way inside a prepositional phrase I read his lips and I see glory But what I hear is "be afraid" And in the telling of the story I lose my way inside a prepositional phrase I read his lips and I see glory But what I hear is "be afraid" Sick Talk Spit it out I can't see if you can't say You explain Still your meaning floats away Quiet fails It is present in its space Do you doubt Other voices in your place Is this sick talk Building on your tongue until it spills off Anyone who speaks can say the same truth Even if the words that they have spared you Scared you Is this sick talk Hovering around me, taking quick stock Anyone who's afraid to talk back Anyway the answers are of no use We are lost ? What's the use in watching me Take apart One more endless happening See me now Terror at the ones and twos Look again Shameless, you are mine to lose Is this talk Building on your tongue until it spills off Anyone who speaks can't say the same truth Even if the words that they have spared you Scared you Is this sick talk Hovering around me, taking quick stock Anyone who's afraid to talk back Anyway the answers are of no use We are lost Schools Of Eyes Do I sleep The thought is keeping me awake High and free And knowing keeps me in my place An invisible tether Is somehow stronger But my hand is mine Even when you hold it When there is time Then I will answer See, we have forgot A hundred days And I'll remember See, we have forgot You hold a sign That seems forever See, we have forgot We are amazed And I will answer See, we have forgot So show the spark Can we be wise Do we have the essence I see schools of eyes Where there should be faces When there is time Then I will answer See, we have forgot A hundred days And I'll remember See, we have forgot You hold a sign That seems forever See, we have forgot You are amazed And I will answer See, we have forgot When there is time Then I will answer See, we have forgot A hundred days And I'll remember See, we have forgot You hold a sign That seems forever See, we have forgot We are amazed And I'll remember See, we have forgot When there is time Then I will answer See, we have forgot A hundred days And I'll remember See, we have forgot You hold a sign That seems forever See, we have forgot We are amazed And I will answer See, we have forgot To mind the time And I'll remember See, we have forgot To spite the days We will remember See, we have forgot To hold the signs That seems forever See, we have forgot To be amazed And I will answer See, we have forgot Despicable Animal If I say no to you Will I still go to you Begging a desperate grin All eyes and mouth Will I still shut you out Will I eat all your ashes again Still in this haste Wonder what is this taste You are feeding me gentle and plain Though I am made for you I am afraid of you Violence is part of your name Thank God I'm home You're finally on to me My one, my own Despicable animal I hope we meet And still you will speak to me I shift to flee And render it obsolete But I won't see the sun for anyone My blindness is complete And there is no coin or currency To equal my belief If I can bring us to water Will you promise to drink deep You are the one who makes me golden As I shudder in my sleep You are the one Is it a flaw That I'm proud of it all At how little that we truly need I was in awe I was never in doubt Of how terrible hunger can be Thank God I'm home You're finally on to me My one, my own Despicable animal I swear I can speak But my jaw is loosening I feel the pull And oh it is frightening But I won't see the sun for anyone My blindness is complete And there is no coin or currency To equal my belief If I can bring us to water Will you promise to drink deep You are the one who makes me golden As I murder in my sleep You are the one And I won't see the sun For anyone Paradise Even as I stand Is the ever after See it as it lands Fire over water Paradise and I We will carry on now as friends We will go to sleep We will see it come down again Pulled into a coil Watch my hands unfold it Should it fall apart Shaking as I hold it Should I go to work Measuring the absence again Paradise and I We will carry on now as friends See through the daze of the winter (See through the daze of the winter) We are away of each other (We are away of each other) Facing a permanent danger (Facing a permanent danger) How many more will we weather (How many more will we weather) How, how Now, now Both of us believe Both of us pretending We should ever see Such a perfect ending We will go to sleep We will see it come down again This is our disease Helpless as we share it Even when it dies I will help you bear it Fall into the leaves Feel the season meet us again Paradise and I We will carry on now as friends I Know The Law In order To preserve the myth I will answer According to it I speak In its passages And it keeps me Safe in my skin In order To preserve the myth I will answer From inside of it And in this life See the truth that I cannot deliver But you are waiting for It is already lost In order To preserve this life I have given my life ? For love Fully aware And deserving Of no reward And even so It is still together or apart Light a little fire So you can feed it in the dark But I know, I know, I know, I know I know, I know, I know the law... Logic Of Color I am playing a part again Surrender and begin Still clinging to my skin, your skin Watch the leader depart And wait the truth within the hour The whole of it is ours to make So the logic of color is all The logic of my skin The color of my eyes, our eyes Understand it requires belief The language that I know Is written for the wise, the weak Talk to me and I'll talk back (Talk to me and I'll talk back) Let's lock eyes here in real time (Let's lock eyes here in real time) Your illogical device (Your illogical device) My impossible demand Everything that you see is free And so is what I made And so is what I claim to be When the two are apart, it lives And nothing is begun But when we are as one, it gives Give it to me and I'll give back (Give it to me and I'll give back) Let's lock eyes here in real time (Let's lock eyes here in real time) Your illogical device (Your illogical device) My illegible command So the logic of color is all The logic of my skin The color of your eyes, our eyes So the logic of color is all The logic of my skin The color of my eyes, our eyes So the logic of color is all The logic of my skin The color of your eyes, our eyes So the logic of color is all The logic of my skin And the color of your eyes, our eyes
TWEEN Out Of Nowhere Out of nowhere, nowhere and nowhere Out of nowhere, nowhere and nowhere Out of nowhere, nowhere and nowhere If You Should See He is an ordinary home Still standing statuesque he lands a lap And after we're alone It doesn't take me by the throat But it's an outcome I'll never have to run from I walked uncertain on your path Tiptoed through underbrush Ignoring all the signals as they passed Using old tricks for this new math But it's an encore I'll never have to ask for If you should see You are not where we will go on Floating unaware And if you should see Two of us there We will go on growing as my hair You came from somewhere in my head The language of our kind is written in my hands and in my bed And there is nothing left unsaid It is the ocean unwilling as it comes in I never felt the fear so bright It is invention, but I never cared so little or so light It is our life, it is alright And it's an encore I'll never have to ask for If you should see You are not where we will go on Floating unaware And if you should see Two of us there We will go on growing underway And if you should see You are not where we will go on Growing underway And if you should see Two of us there We will go on growing as my hair No Dreaming We look alright But we want too much I talk to him Like he was one of us Such a mistake And so obvious Round hole square peg Riding on the bus Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one I talk to him Like he and I were one Abbreviate communication Such a mistake And so obvious Danger appeals Afraid it's not enough Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one Why not Why not If you live a dream Why not a better one Why not Why not Too Right It rises up in the evening An invisible motorcade I behave as if eyes are on me And a force I must obey If it's truth then you want me to prove it So I'm still as a dead honeybee And I cry for love like a baby And my baby feeds it to me I live in terror of it Happens all the time Contentment is no limit Time I can wire myself to believe it Like the shock of the afterbrain And I switched my mind to receive it Since the day you knew my name The absence of light should amaze me But it's dark out every night And my energy not what it should be 'Cause you put me a bit too right I live in terror of it It is by design Inevitable it is I live in terror of it Happens all the time Inevitable it is Time Better (For Esther) Ever onward After Esther All my ancestors Names on paper Later make their Earthly layover Feed me fiction I will know you Better Better Better Better Ever after I outlast her Mastering the veil Flee the vultures I will know you Better Better Better Better Ever onward After Esther All my ancestors Now and ever I will know you Better Better Better Better On Luxury It belongs to you Having answered to the call Wanting all things or nothing at all Will you live with me Will you hide me from myself Changing, longing into something else Light in the house They will carry us out Disbelieving Oh did you see her It belongs to you Light in the house It is bearable now Did you see her Oh disbelieving Told me it is Say what you will There is space to be filled And the answer Oh is desire It belongs to you Light in the house They will carry us out Disbelieving Oh did you see her Take me for the kind Undeterred by better plans Guarding lines of great significance Truthfully you know The decision has been made Monday morning like any other day Light in the house They will carry us out Disbelieving Oh did you see her It belongs to you Light in the house It is bearable now Disbelieving Oh did you see her Told me it is Say what you will There is space to be filled And the answer Oh is desire It belongs to you Light in the house They will carry us out Disbelieving Oh did you see her Trigger Finger In the evening They are humble Heading forward They will wobble Through your glasses Let me fall on Their position Enviable Necks are bending Nosing clover As I watch them Wander over If the peace breaks And is threatened Will you lift your Trigger finger If the peace breaks And is threatened Will you lift your Trigger finger If the peace breaks And is threatened Will you lift your Trigger finger Watching The Waiting When I made my plan There were some things For which I did not account I could not have seen myself here In a place I've been before Seeing everything all over As if I could really know As if I am sure And you say it's about time But you know I'm not used To having enough And there is nowhere I need to go And there is nothing left to do And I am sitting watching myself Watching you Watching the waiting When I move to stand My muscle memory Is keeping me up Real memory is also Similarly cruel To see his face in front of me Out of the blue For no reason at all And I don't suppose I'll be able to tell him How sorry I am But like the guard settles in For another long night I keep watch for a danger And I may not recognize But I keep my eyes open All I know is this There are times when to me You seem to glow from within And I wonder how this moment Could possibly be And how much was of my choosing And what chose me And I couldn't care less When it all adds up And I feel I am closest To what I really am And there is nowhere I need to go And there is nothing left to do And I am sitting watching myself Watching you Watching the waiting
The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs The Instrument Suffering I remember suffering Feeling heat and then the lack of it But not so much what the difference is I was there You were there and I was there I can't hold onto my anger Though sometimes it would do me good Oh look away Un-animate You only breathe To be seen as such You want it too much Picture me The idea of me anyway The instrument you once ignored It is moving of its own accord Back and forth Soul without a body walks It sees love and it sees witnesses But not so much what the difference is And if this is the great release I fear I am a rule abider Life unfolds immune to favor But I know the day and I know the hour Oh look away Un-animate You only breathe To be seen as such You want it too much The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs And we were jubilant Willing to pretend We were not losing time Time wasted Like any other day We will make the bed Thinking it is dead It is finally dead The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The quiet is ours, the work has begun The louder I call, the faster it runs I search for patterns Sense that isn't there You can have everything And still you have nothing So I take them all apart Then I put them back Sometimes it takes a long Long, long time The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The longer the day, the nearer the sun The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The quiet is ours, the work has begun The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The longer the day, the nearer the sun The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The louder I call, the faster it runs The quiet is ours, the work has begun The louder I call, the faster it runs Lifer You worry I have given up Have lost direction for the cause Have traded truth for confidence Went back on all my promises I am not old but I've become Afraid of things I never was And stumbling on without a pause Can only go so long Did you say that I was the lifer Did you say that life could be better It seems to those who know me best My luck is wild and in excess I don't know why some suffer so And others never fear to go I won't reduce myself to air Undo myself for your affair I've shown you everything I am You choose or not to understand There is a logic to the rule The end is kind, the mean is cruel I have to love the life I make Make up for all the space I take Mistaken for an oversight The absence of my appetite The source of all my arrogance I left it up to chance I believed that I was the lifer I believed that life could be better I want to see you rise again To see life in your eyes again To feel your pulse is beating strong To prove all of us wrong Will you say that you are the lifer Do you think that life could be better Will you say that I am the lifer Do you think that life could be better It Was Not Natural When I am tired Unbidden I go for a walk I have to walk Or else I do not recognize myself My foot uncovers What my heart wishes Is a treasure Seemingly foreign But somehow still it is familiar It could be amber It could be animal or antler They do resemble They do remember one another It was not natural All along Only human hands Could give us Something so Unforgiving It was not natural All along Only human hands Could give us Something so Unforgiving Something So unforgiving As I expected With time It hasn't gotten easier I have to work now At things That used to be Like breathing I try to focus Forgive myself For having so much I am too busy for it Or else I am not busy enough When I see clearly I know we share the same devotion But joy is hungry And you know I can't promise anything It was not natural All along Only human hands Could give us Something so Unforgiving It was not natural All along Only human hands Could give us Something so Unforgiving Something So unforgiving Symmetry The avalanche, the afterthought The passing day, the coming flood To pull the thread against the grey And see what was, before it was The morning clock to wake me up The howling room we're drinking from Relax into illusions of The infinite we started from Do you obey your horror sign Proceed together, wait in line While speaking of the helpless cause Collectible and slow And in this world we're living in I live like rain, you hide your skin I walk alone, I stay in line And risk my life for a smile Oh hard heart, do you know yourself In the season of revealing Oh hard heart, it is show and tell Symmetry is so appealing Oh hard heart, do you know yourself As your final hour is nearing Oh hard heart, it is just as well Symmetry is so appealing The accident to video We're insane in the afterglow The single ant upon his skin The ending swarm that took him in And my whole life is in that space After the cut, before the pain I might as well believe the brain Receive the word and shy away And why should I be overrun Open my door to anyone I saw you in, you figured out And moved aside just in time Oh hard heart, do you know yourself In the season of revealing Oh hard heart, it is show and tell Symmetry is so appealing Oh hard heart, do you know yourself As your final hour is nearing Oh hard heart, it is just as well Symmetry is so appealing Oh hard heart Symmetry is so appealing Oh hard heart Symmetry is so appealing My Signal My, my, my people are all over Spread out and thin We made the world large And wanted every piece of it My, my, my people, they are watching I'm watching them And we may never Breathe the same air again My, my, my signal Say Hello I had to pass through the rain clouds three times To get home Tilted left and right Bounced when it hit the ground below I heard my ragged breath catch in me I felt my hollow bones I saw how little time left in me I knew how much to know Five hundred aerial miles to go My hair and clothes still smell like smoke And there is no distance long enough But still the lengths to which we go Our achievements And our houses And our promises And hopes Five hundred aerial miles to go How else did I think I would find you But where all of this begun Squinting hard at the printed word By the failing light of the sun We want our wishes to bow to us But they have a life of their own Our world has a solitary eye But I just want to say hello, hello Five hundred aerial miles to go The earth turns relative and slow And there is no distance long enough But still the lengths to which we go Our beliefs And our distractions Our performances And codes Five hundred aerial miles to go I want to tell the girl next to me There is no such thing as true It is hard to admit you were all wrong Accept some things are not for you Over And Over Here in the glow I am immobile I let it run over and over Acts as a typical reminder There is no end to all your anger Fade white Break out Or watch as it repeats itself Even the best of us are guarded Even you are sometimes a stranger You say to build it in our image I fear we speak a broken language Fade white Break out Or watch as it repeats itself Go on How can I let go Knowing what I know Here in the glow I am immobile I let it run over and over You Of All People They will make mistakes with us Confuse the artist with their work And hold the pattern up to the light To see how much a life is worth You believe it's chemical The product of some randomness But I fear the message hidden there The truth that hangs above our heads The accident Oh You of all people Oh You of all people I get the feeling to look up At something larger than myself And reach for what is not allowed No matter how I love the ground No matter how you claw the dirt Or fight against your own two hands You feel the fingers down your spine Mistake the passion for the crime Every time Oh You of all people Oh You of all people Oh You of all people Oh You of all people Join How does it begin again How does it amaze Trusted in abstraction And it has ruined me Seems I am afraid of it An undesired effect It resembled weakness Mistaken for a strength It did not come Or else it never left Gently turn the frame around Let the water run I keep the light on very late Don't bother anyone Something passes over me Cutting sharp and bright Caught by my attention I lose the moment None or too much It is the same result Fall asleep in your bed Sleep until I'm up I just want a clear head Sun on my shoulder I Know It's Real If you are right This hovers over every human thing Coloring All of us Unnoticed Still, I'm alive Stronger than energies Riding on my back Anchoring Every day To the last I know it's real And it answers me Without any sound Silencing Something artificial It is my companion now As it all goes down Hovering Only at its limit And this is all I ask of it Time amplifies I'll paint the camouflage Over all my face Do you see Through the lines Through the waste All of my life I am left fingering Brittle hearts of bone Ancestry Never leaves Us alone I know it's real And it answers me Without any sound Silencing Something artificial It is my companion now As it all goes down Think of me I am not my shadow And this is all you need to know
CUT ALL THE WIRES Replacement I can no more replace The place I lay my head The city where I live Is the place where I was born Yesterday and today A half a mile away And I still draw the air From where I first drew breath I can no more replace The company you made The memory of it Has ruined me for them In all my growing up Somewhere I threw it out What happened to my home And half the things I had Is this the only way To while away my days Defiant, eccentric Or heavy with child Or heavy with child Or heavy Civilian (Demo) I am nothing without pretend I know my faults can't live with them I am nothing without a man I know my thoughts, but I can't hide them I still keep my baby teeth In the bedside table with my jewelry You still sleep in the bed with me My jewelry and my baby teeth I don't need another friend When most of them I can barely keep up with I'm perfectly able to hold my own hand But I still can't kiss my own neck I wanted to give you everything But I still stand in awe of superficial things I wanted to love you like my mother's mother's mothers did Civilian Civilian No Words Everything ancient Everything old Here for the taking Foolish and gold Curious eyesore Counting the minutes There where your eyes are Is the infinite With no words Leave with me No words It's an idea or a thought But no words It's a beginning or it's not But oh thirst Has no words I am afraid now I am not brave I am untrained in Matters of age But I can absorb this Knowledge of sin In from the outside Straight through my skin And no words Leave with me No words It's an idea or a thought But no words It's a beginning or it's not But oh thirst Has no words If you're unhappy If you're alone If you do not ask me I'll never know Electricity I live in a foundation steadfast and small Two sets of legs and I'm two times as tall When it's dark I should sleep I lie in bed think of electricity It's been too long since I knew I could say Lamplight or torchlight is lighting my way It's the sun through the trees Eyes on my back and I know you're watching me It's not made of fire, but fire's the same Hair standing on end when it's caught in a flame I'm a terrible woman To be so ashamed of my name Of my name Branches from trees that I kill keep me warm Light from a match allows shadows to form of my legs to my feet I can't see your face when you're standing over me Now I feel like my insides are carved out of wood Everything seems to have formed as it should I should know, I should see You can't build a house with just electricity There's nothing about you that I don't adore Show me these rooms and I'll show you the way to the door Walk me through I'll cut all the wires and spend my life with you Half A Double Man You never let me find it You never let me look You always hid behind it The pages in a book You never let me look Stand up and be collected Like a half a double man You're all I ever wanted But now I want again Like half a double man Is wanting enough, enough This is no obvious drug And no god demanding blood Is wanting enough I ask about my body You say it's had enough I'm living crossing fingers Nothing to back it up I say it's had enough Is wanting enough, enough This is no obvious drug And no god demanding blood Is wanting enough, enough I ask about the engine We're trusting with our lives Not as a second guessing In case we pay the price But as though we were wise Sinking Ship I wonder who can help us I sit and count the days And I keep digging a hole in the ground When I'd rather be floating away My mother always helped me But she's helped me all she can And I trusted some in a man I loved But he took it all and ran And my baby is not a baby But he never left the nest And I can't remember A day when I haven't Been worrying about the rest And you take my situation And you shape it in your hand But until your ship is sinking You will never understand That it's only temporary These are temporary gains And there will always be another Man you didn't pay And there will always be another Thing you didn't say But not another day Two Small Deaths (Daytrotter Session) Two small deaths happened today While I was at work While I was at play No less light darkens my door So I cannot cry Now what is that for Is this the way my mind works Forwards, always forwards Is this the way my brain waves Backwards, sideways I've no heart strong and as lasting To miss and to mourn The world at its passing I'm saving up all of my strength For when I finally fail At keeping you safe When my last friend should leave me Slow and easy I'll be creeping around them Picking pockets Holy Holy (Demo) Holy, holy, holy There is no other story Holy, holy, holy Madness seeking mastery Holy, holy, holy Would you like to know me A tongue without a mouth to feed And only seeking agony For the joys and secrets I have stored Here I lie awaiting my reward Attention for the blessed final count Ties that hold your mind will not give out No patience can contain this All human joy is precious And I alone should know this And everyone should notice Holy, holy, holy There is no other story Madness seeking mastery We will be who we want to be For the joys and secrets I have stored Here I lie awaiting my reward Attention for the blessed final count The ties that hold your mind will not give out Oh they will give out Oh they will give out Pardon Absolutely out of my control I hear a rising in my anchor My body to you Absolutely different, I know Because you asked, because you answered My body to go Ever, ever stronger Ever, ever wise Does he have eyes For a pardon Does he have eyes at all Absolutely overpowered by A force that I can neither answer Nor recognize I can see myself in many things But I don't understand the image Your presence should bring Ever, ever stronger Ever, ever wise Does he have eyes For a pardon Does he have eyes at all Does he have eyes For a pardon Does he have eyes at all Black Is The Color (Traditional song) Black, black, black Is the color of my true love's hair His face is something wondrous fair The purest eyes and the strongest hands I love the ground on which he stands I love my love and well he knows I follow him wherever he goes I write him a letter containing these lines I'll suffer death a thousand times Black, black, black Is the color of my true love's hair His face is something wondrous fair The purest eyes and the strongest hands I love the ground on which he stands I'll go to troublesome to mourn, to weep But satisfied I'll never keep If he on earth no more would stay My life will quickly fade away Black, black, black Is the color of my true love's hair His face is something wondrous fair The purest eyes and the strongest hands I love the ground on which he stands Black, black, black Is the color of my true love's hair Ten Fingers I made friends with all my limbs Arms and legs and all of them Oh what madness can there be When body has forgotten me The joints will bend The limbs will break The mind is different though It only aches It only gives to take I've forgotten all my friends I used to be one of them I'll abandon everything For something worth abandoning It's like my fingers God gave me ten But only two hands there To care for them A fist is not a man I'm Proud I'm proud, I'm so proud Today I ventured out And walked and spoke And said hi, said hello Hello, hello I made a plan I wonder how it's so I laughed today And spit and swallowed See me sleep, I am a monster Eyes sewn shut, I let death closer But I woke up I'm proud See me sleep, I am a monster Eyes sewn shut, I let death closer But I woke up I'm proud
EVERY DAY LIKE THE LAST Every Day Like The Last It might be true It might be easier for me If not for you I might be free To live a life of some prolonged tranquillity Alone with my thoughts My mind can do its wandering A bed to die in Did you really want To live a life every day like the last To make a trade Of future promise for a hopeless past Forget what you know Afraid of what you want the most A living ghost Every day like the last Every day like the last Every day like the last Every day like the last I Learned It From You One, two, three, four Make me a little bed in your arms I need to be held I'm tired of holding on I know the long road is more than you can bare But if you can just get me to there Outside my window the silence is loud I circle above I can never come down There is a devil in the one I love And I can't take it if he won't give it up I'll never get out, as soon as I do I want to get back, I learned it from you I'll never get out, as soon as I do I try to get back, I learned it from you TNT If it's true that time Moves in one direction Then why is my head Still in your lane Through days That have paced Stay soft Circle back So where were you At this moment last year When the days started losing Their light Was the mark on my back In the line of your sight Spring and summer I learned from you I did what I did, what I had to do But how many seasons Till time in two I believe in a place Where time works backwards And the truth seems so clear And easy to tell I've been trying To meet you there But I have to get Outside of myself Did I know what I saw In that mountain sunrise Did I capture the light And the lay of the land I've been writing The same song Over and over And over again Spring and summer I learned from you I did what I did, what I had to do But how many seasons Till time in two Spring and summer I learned from you I did what I did, what I had to do But how many seasons Till time in two Its Way With Me I am not the other I am not afraid I am not the answer To a question You have asked My mind it enters My memory stands And the tide may rise But it still goes out again But if life Is a hand in the breeze It can have its way with me My skin it shivers My hand it holds I can laugh about it I can come in from the cold I set the table and it sets me I made my own way to it But I still say please I can write All the way off the page But I cannot answer myself What's the use of these things I have made They are cords into a well So I pull Through the dark To the warmth Of a future I can't see If my life Is a hand in the breeze It can have its way with me Fortune If it is binding If it is finding out Nothing fills the valley in my chest Only something I knew I'll regret Or so I figure And so I find myself Tugging out the linens on the bed Leaving no impression Where I slept The truth is always when it's gone It's gone but I left you a fortune And even in the full embrace of love Is it really just one We dream of binding We dream of finding out Morning comes and rider rings the hand As if we are anything but Powerless So I figure And here I find myself Born in my condition I can't tell if it's proof that I am sick or well You can't paint a picture of the sun You can't see it undone The truth is always when it's gone It's gone, but I left you a fortune And even in the full embrace of love Is it really just one Evergreen Picked you out Dropped you off Brought you in our house Dressed you up Took photographs Stood around with open mouths Starved you of your water Till the needles piled around Sweeping up The needle dust In the light of the TV The humor of the metaphor Isn't lost on me All the water in the world And I can't force myself to want a drink Tell me what is missing in my mind I feel the problem is essential Its memory Is blackening my mind I'm taking everything back Evergreen Twist the rag Spray the glass Swirl the wet around We do our best thinking While we're working in this house All the world is always staining I can't settle till it's out Tell me what is missing in my mind I feel the problem is essential Its memory Is blackening my mind I'm taking everything back Evergreen Tell me what is written in your eyes I feel the problem is essential It's memory Is keeping me alive I'm taking everything back Evergreen Evergreen Evergreen Evergreen Fear Of Heights You Want to take me up I have always been Afraid of heights My body knows When I am off the ground Whether I am looking up or looking down And you say it's worth it For the view For the view And you say it's worth it For the view For the view Later on I try to write it Giving up The meaning is too obvious My consciousness attempts to classify Like an animal cloud in a meaningless sky If I am the woman (If I am the woman) You are the staircase (you are the staircase) I am the woman (I am the woman) Fear is the window (fear is the window) I am the woman (I am the woman) Climbing is living (climbing is living) I am the woman (I am the woman) Fear is the window (fear is the window) If I am the woman (If I am the woman) You are the staircase (you are the staircase) I am the woman (I am the woman) Fear is the window (fear is the window) I am the woman (I am the woman) I am the woman You say it's worth it For the view For the view (What or who is the view) You say it's worth it For the view For the view (What or who is the view) And you say it's worth it For the view For the view (What or who is the view, is the view) Walk Soft What is the view Does it belong to you Do you see the same blue as I think I do What will it be The forest or the tree, one or many I see people come and go I keep myself close to you You say that was not what was But the memory feels true We came from home We came from the same place Circumstances made the necessary space These years of work have only gone to waste You won't find me I believe you do know me But you are still some other thing They remind me They remind to walk soft Beauty it is frightening I believe you I believe you do know me But you are still some other thing They remind me They remind to walk soft Beauty it is frightening Take it with you, take it with me Repeat (If You Remind Me) How can you see me now I can hardly perceive it So far out Running the highways Like a stitch in the eye Better in motion After all this time So that's the way the world works When you're living for the summer When the worst thing you can do Has already been done But if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it Like you're staring at the sun Now that you've seen my face I know I've been a stranger to you For most of my days But I can change it As a kinder compromise Should we diе a little Just to stay alive So that's the way thе mind turns When you're looking for a reason With the worst thing you could say On the tip of the tongue But if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it Like you're starting at one And if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it And if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it And if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it And if you remind me And repeat it, repeat it And if you remind me And if you remind me And repeat it
NON ALBUMS TRACKS AEIOU (Feat. Brooklyn Youth Chorus / No Horizon EP) A E I O U... If you speak my name Use my real name The one I gave myself A word can suggest my likeness As a painting Suggests distance But mountains are not pictures of mountains Or the letters that spell the word In the language we are speaking The foundation and its meaning Does not crumble underfoot For those who do not have the word They stand, stand Regardless They stand, stand Regardless A E I O U... Dance My Pain Away (Rod Lee cover) Dance my pain away I've got problems Dance my pain away I've got problems It's like woah, woah It's like woah, woah Now listen to my story Bill collectors on me Have to file bankruptcy Need some help from somebody Doctor's bills are stacking up I'm desperate to make a buck I played the lottery today Won't you, please, wish me luck Dance my pain away I've got problems Dance my pain away I've got problems It's like woah, woah It's like woah, woah I just got laid off today What do you think my baby said I just have to hope and pray Rain, rain, go away The repo man just hit me I can't get from A to Z Fakе friends around me Lord, won't you help mе Now I'm on my tippy toes Face down, eyes closed Face down, eyes closed Face down, eyes closed Dance my pain away I've got problems Dance my pain away I've got problems It's like woah, woah It's like woah, woah It's like woah, woah Woah, woah Woah, woah Woah, woah Woah, woah Woah, woah Woah, woah Emmylou (My Neighbor / My Creator EP) Try to live like this forever Love my mom and not upset her Even my ambition had To write itself in black Yeah, I know, it sounded right And helped my mother sleep at night But everything to everyone To you wasn't enough You could see through I could too Emmylou All the love I have in me I understand how I could be A terrible example when I take my own advice I am not the victim here And I am not the enemy So why did I design for you A face to place your sympathy I'll do any fantasy But nothing that could seem to be I know this from the agony Because I don't know how I believe in common sense And maybe with coincidence But I don't believe in heaven So I have to have you now You could see through I could too Emmylou I Hope You Die (My Neighbor / My Creator EP) In the belly of the cloud I was released You were released Was it deafeningly loud Or was it peace Sweet peace All the streets All filled with sound Because it's right It's for the best Still I sense Their judgment now As we ask for rest Just rest I can't sleep until I see you sleeping Curse my mind and its all-seeing eye Watch the rise And wonder if you're breathing Against your will You are alive I don't recognize the world That you have made That we have made Still you fool yourself to ask If you had stayed If we had stayed At the ringing of a bell Or at the falling of a tree If you think of it at all Remember me Just me I can't breathe until I see you waking Watching as the scars fall from your eyes Into a world that you may not remember I hope you die I hope you die I hope you die I hope you die Mother (Danzig cover) Mother Tell your children not to walk my way Tell your children not to hear my words What they mean, what they say Mother Mother Can you keep them in the dark for life Can you hide them from the waiting world Oh mother Father Gonna take your daughter out tonight Gonna show her my world Oh father Not about to see your light But if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Till I'm bleeding Not about to see your light And if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Mother Tell your children not to walk my way Tell your children not to hear my words What they mean, what they say Mother Father Do you wanna bang heads with me Do you wanna feel everything Oh father Not about to see your light But if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Till I'm bleeding Not about to see your light But if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Not about to see your light But if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Till I'm bleeding Not about to see your light But if you want to find hell with me I can show you what it's like Mother... My Creator (My Neighbor / My Creator EP) What kind of man What could I be Afraid of everyone I meet Lie forever, afterthought Some are men And some are not And what to feel What could I stand If there's my land Was that your land Lie forever, future plans But here I stay and here I am And who but you What could I know To follow with me far below My pretense and servitude And crippling dependency What kind of woman would I be If I refuse what's asked of me Some lines can turn you, others rot Some names will never be forgot My body can, but I cannot I'm sorry, mommy, I cannot My Neighbor (My Neighbor / My Creator EP) Friend and lover Sweat and slobber Mother, daughter Cold ice water Hungry baby Hot and heavy You aren't smiling Left behind it Whosoever Never say never I can't love you I usually do Race of amber Cats in water If you need it One more reason I would take you At your word if You could follow Red sky morning My creator Doesn't make a good neighbor I can't love you I usually do My creator Doesn't make a good neighbor I can't love you I usually do No Place (Feat. Brooklyn Youth Chorus / No Horizon EP) We live in a place (We live in a place) That is no place (That is no place) We breathe our words (We breathe our words) And when we are hungry (And when we are hungry) We eat our ideas (We eat our ideas) One thought as one red apple (One thought as one red apple) One thought as one red apple (One thought as one red apple) We live in a place (We live in a place) That is no place (That is no place) Afraid of getting sick (Afraid of getting sick) We do not kiss (We do not kiss) We do not shake hands (We do not shake hands) We do not run till we're out of breath (We do not run till we're out of breath) We do not climb to the tall places (We do not climb to the tall places) And we do not lock eyes With strangers and ask them Who are you (who are you) Who am I (who am I) Where are we (where are we) What's happened to us Who are you (who are you) Who am I (who am I) Where are we (where are we) What's happened to us Who are you (who are you) Who am I (who am I) Where are we (where are we) What's happened to us Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (Kate Bush cover / Live at The AV Club, 2014) You didn't hurt me You wanna feel how I feel You wanna know, know that it didn't hurt me You wanna hear about the deal I'm making It's you It's you and me If I only could I'd make a deal with God I'd get him to swap our places Be running up that road Be running up that hill Be running up that building If I only could You didn't hurt me See how deep the bullet lies Unaware I'm tearing you asunder There is thunder in our hearts Is there so much hate for the ones we love Tell me, we both matter, don't we It's you It's you and me It's you and me We won't be unhappy And if I only could I'd make a deal with God I'd get him to swap our places Be running up that road Be running up that hill Be running up that building If I only could It's you It's you and me It's you and me Come on, angel, come on, darling Let me steal this moment from you now Come on, angel, come on, come on, darling Let's exchange the experience And if I only could I'd make a deal with God I'd get him to swap our places Be running up that road Be running up that hill Be running up that building If I only could I'd make a deal with God I'd get him to swap our places Be running up that road Be running up that hill With no problems Running up that road Running up that hill With no problems And if I only could Be running up that hill And if I only could Be running up that hill Sky Witness (Feat. Brooklyn Youth Chorus / No Horizon EP) Room Womb Cloud Moon When the world is just a concept Everything has hidden meaning Trees in the wind are tapping Morse code against my window And the sun goes down And the face of the moon Is marked with words, messages In a hidden language When the world is just a concept Everything has hidden meaning Trees in the wind are tapping Morse code against my window And the sun goes down And the face of the moon Is marked with words, messages In a hidden language In a hidden language Messages Hidden language Messages Who is speaking Who is speaking Who is speaking Hidden language Cloud appearing Someone watching I saw a cloud In the shape of a pair of eyes If I do not have a witness I will create one from the sky Sky witness... Cloud Moon See me Spitting Image (Feat. Brooklyn Youth Chorus / No Horizon EP) Spitting image Slow collision Without limit To our vision No horizon To find our balance Understanding As a weapon Spitting image Slow collision Without limit To our vision No horizon To find our balance Understanding As a weapon Spitting image (And in this room I am alone) Slow collision Without limit (With the eyes of the absent) To our vision (I can see it all) I can see it all, all now I can see it all, all now I can see it all, all now I can see it all now (No horizon) Here in this room (here alone) We are lying still (still alone) But our brains are at work (working) Waiting (waiting) Waiting (waiting) For whatever is coming (can you hear me) It will be a long night (waiting, waiting) And these hours will be passed (can you hear me) With a kind of quiet conversation (quiet) But your words are silent (But your words are silent) Spitting image Slow collision Without limit To our vision No horizon To find our balance Understanding As a weapon I can see it all, all now I can see it all, all now I can see it all, all now I can see it all, all now Strangers (The Kinks cover) Where are you going, I don't mind I've killed my world and I've killed my time So where do I go, what do I see I see many people coming after me So where are you going to, I don't mind If I live too long, I'm afraid I'll die So I will follow you wherever you go If your offered hand is still open to me Strangers on this road, we are on But we are not two, we are one So you've been where I've just come From the land that brings losers on So we will share this road we walk And mind our mouths and beware our talk Till peace we find, tell you what I'll do All the things I own I will share with you And if I feel tomorrow like I feel today We'll take what we want and give the rest away Strangers on this road, we are on We are not two, we are one Holy man and holy priest This love of life makes me weak at my knees And when we get here, make your play 'Cause soon I feel it's gonna carry us away In a promised lie, you made us believe For many men, there is so much grief And my mind is proud, but it aches with rage 'Cause if I live too long, I'm afraid I'll die Strangers on this road, we are on We are not two, we are one Strangers on this road, we are on We are not two, we are one