[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
Steep is the water tower
painted off blue to match the sky
can’t ignore the train
night walks in the valley silent
you could swear the earth just moved
can’t ignore the train
dust to be kicked up
in the crack faced
idle sinister town
screen door to the rail station
devil in her shoe
ran along side the wasted tracks
hem pins darted her calves
can’t ignore the train
one spoiled girl with the tidiest apology
some how wedged inside her throat
can’t ignore the train
patience their virtue
but I never could abide by that
dungeon life with electric light
a clean towel and a basin
mantle figures mind their place
laughs where they belong
through adventure we are not adventuresome
rage to share with a wardrobe mirror
in a room so beige and cold
can’t ignore the train
window days saw the children pick their
street games on thirty afternoons
Molly the boys are
starting in the rhymic again
teasing more and more….
the second daughter
how she fell
young locked in Some Folk’s Prison
made to dwell
til they’re braiding
her grey hair
sitting in the wishing chair
sitting in the wishing chair
sitting in the wishing chair
[ music: John Lombardo - Robert Buck / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
power
dizzy with it stumble
detail
a chance for us to quarrel
anger
my head is shaken violent
if i could calm or restrain you
for the sake of pity
save the pistol
save the cynics tongue
save the cool white stare
and treat me to an honest face sometime
amaze me now
trust is
the greatest human error
empty
used me as a vessel
ruthless
you’re not known for subtlety
if i could calm or restrain you
for the sake of pity
save the pistol
save the cynic’s tongue
save the cool white stare
and treat me to an honest face sometime
amaze me now
artful
well there’s quite a skill to torture
half smile
was it all you could deliver
token
so hard to be pleasant
if you could calm or restrain it
for the sake of pity
save the pistol
save the cynic’s tongue
save the cool white stare
and treat me to an honest face sometime
amaze me now
[ music: Traditional / lyrics : arranged by 10,000 Maniacs ]
on one morning
in the month of May
when all the birds
were singing
I saw a lovely maiden stray
across the fields at break of day
she softly sung her roundelay
the tide flows in
the tide flows out
twice every day returning
her cheeks were red
her eyes were brown
her hair in ringlets hanging down
upon her face to hide the frown
just as the tide was a flowing
the tide flows in
the tide flows out
twice everyday returning
a sailor’s wife at home must bide
she halted heavily she sighed
“he parted from poor me , a bride
I’m widowed by the sea” she cried
just as the tide was a flowing
the tide flows in
the tide flows out
twice every day returning
[ music: Robert Buck / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
come as we go far away
from the noise of the street
walk a path so narrow
to a place where we feel at ease
some think it is haunting
to be drawn to the cemetery ground
as we
there’s a stillness here
thankful found
child’s pose angelic
a stone lamb at her feet
part the matted overgrowth
to read the carven elegy
some think it so haunting
to be drawn to the cemetery ground
as we
there’s a stillness here
thankful found
born in New Albion
of Rice family elite
wed to Myron Bilowe
thrice with sons
blessed was she
some think it so haunting
to be drawn to the cemetery ground
as we
God’s acre is a fenced in
hollow ground
here soon to rise up
Amelia tender and sweet
her last words spoke
all is well
all is peace
some think it so haunting
to be drawn to the cemetery ground
as we
God’s acre is a fenced in
hollow ground
[ music: Dennis Drew / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
Jenny
Jenny you don’t know the nights I hide
below a second story room
to whistle you down
the man who’s let to divvy up
time is a miser
he’s got a silver coin
only lets it shine for hours
while you sleep it away
there’s one rare and odd style of living
part only known to the everybody Jenny
a comical where’s the end parade
of the sort people here would think unusual
Jenny
tonight upon the mock brine of a Luna Sea
far off we sail on to Back O’ The Moon
Jenny
Jenny you don’t know the days I’ve tried
telling backyard tales
so to maybe amuse
o your mood is never giddy
if you smile I’m delighted
but you’d rather pout
such a lazy child
you dare fold your arms
tisk and say that I lie
there’s one rare and odd style of thinking
part only known to the everybody Jenny
the small step and giant leap takers
got the head start in the race toward it
Jenny
tonight upon the mock brine of a Luna Sea
far off we sail on to the Back O’ The Moon
that was a sigh
but not meant to envy you
when your age was mine
some things were sworn true
morning would come
and calendar pages had
new printed seasons on
their opposite sides
Jenny
Jenny you don’t know the nights I hide
below a second story room
to whistle you down
o the man who’s let to divvy up
time is a miser
he’s got a silver coin
lets it shine for hours
while you sleep it away
there’s one rare and odd style of living
part only known to the everybody Jenny
out of tin ships jump the bubble head boys
to push their flags into powdered soils and cry
no second placers
no smart looking geese in bonnets
dance with pigs in high button trousers
no milk pail for the farmer’s daughter
no merry towns of sweet walled houses
here I’ve found
Back O’ the Moon
not here
I’ve found
Back O’ the Moon
[ music & lyric: Natalie Merchant ]
the legs of Maddox kitchen tables
my whole life twisted on a lathe
in a foreman’s torrent
my first English was
“faster boy if you want your pay”
barking commands
loud and simple
we could all obey
then I was forever pulling silvers
rubbed the sawdust always
deeper in my eye
varnish vapor that could linger
on my skin
it held tight
the whine of spinning blades
still echoes to bother my sleep at night
see that ox
stamped dead center
on the letter head of the company mail
four decades a spitting image
of the animal I portrayed
at Maddox Table a yoke was carved
for my neck
sun through the window oil spattered
and in mason jars
tricked plenty seeds thrive
the standing joke
around the shop was
with my green thumb
anything’d grow
my part was to laugh
show and ornery jig had
cut it at the knuckle bone
see that ox
trade mark burned
into every stick of furniture
from horn to tail
four decades a spitting image
of the animal I portrayed
at Maddox Table a yoke was carved
for my neck
was tailor made
o my Dolly was a weak
not a burdened girl
treat her to a piece of vaudville
a Wintergarden moving picture show
Bemus Point on July Sundays
by trolley we’d go
to your benefit we’s strike or bargain
with the waving fist a union man
not just for
smokes spirits candy and cologne
but for
automobile keys
cash in the bank
and the deed
on a place called home
[ music : Robert Buck / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
here is the store house of Her Majesty
well guarded by sentry
but looks are free
call this the rayless and benighted age
witches by tallow candles shifted
shifted their shapes
here is the pestle and mortar
that ground the poison seed
a lute, a suit for jousting
and the poems of a balladeer
when all the Latin books were copied off
in golden script
well hoarded away in
a monastery crypt
superstition
superstition beyond belief
over mountain, over dune and over sea
crude map and compass lead the caravan
and lead the fleet
here’s the loot and plunder
they bore home
ivory tusk inlaid with precious stone
raw silk and spices by the barrel load
a soft skin drum with mallets
of human bone
a world wide rampage
rampage of greed
so here the tour concludes
The Colonial Wing
the rooms of the most refined
museum property
an early pair of spectacles
a claw footed divan
ornate clocks with birds that strut
on the half hours and quarter hours
hear them chime
[ music: John Lombardo - Robert Grey / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
there was light
and atomic fission
swelling wind and
rising ash
tide of black rain
cement seared shadow traces
reminiscent of their
last commands
instantly one thousand
flames arising
ill scent of
burning hides surrounding
a settlement
debased entirely
Enola Gay had made a casual delivery
please build a future darling
with our bomb
cherish and love it
for the sake of
earth bound kingdom come
the undersides of
fallen metal trusses
evil debris of
human bodies
each window’s glass
shards pelted
secure confines
brittle collapse
neighbors lay beside
each other unknowing
faces scorched
of all familiar bearing
too few hands
wounds for closing
marred by thirsting
anguish
fear
lamenting
here we stand
at the door to
Gold Atomic Age
don’t spoil your faces with worry
trust in earth bound kingdom come
[ music: Robert Buck - Dennis Drew / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
dance to the sun
a kiss to the earth
embrace a stone
come the small black book
come the brandy cask
one strange disease
the well worded paper
signed by the drunken
hands of thieves
and suddenly
they were told to leave
as the snake uncoiled on a road
the length was eighty miles
wagons’ weary horses
lead the feverish exiles
barefoot in the early snow
on a ridge
where they beheld their home
coarse and barren
not the haven
promised by the Father
Jaksa Chula Harjo
Jaksa Chula Harjo
Jaksa Chula Harjo **
the Red Sticks first and
the Dancing Ghosts were
pierced with arms of fire
and the weeping widows
left could not avenge
so the Western Star manifest its will
drove them clear into the Pacific O
gone the way of flesh
turned pale and died
by your god’s decree
for he hated me
** Cherokee name for Andrew Jackson
the 7th president of the U.S.A.
[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
why are some men born
with minds that earn degrees
the loving cups
gilded plaques
grace their study walls
hide the cracks
while their genius is turned
to works of tyranny then
off to market to market
go selling these
with words so fiery and persuasive
they steal cunningly
riches no one can exceed
and why are some men born
with a fate of poverty
one firm bed
for a swollen back
year by year
the bodies wracked while
their obedience is had
with gradual defeat
by the pace by the pace
and the urgency
through a muddled thought
they phrase it
God knows we’re deceived
barter for
what they need
and where they go
disdain and jeering
for fools to call
the noble peasantry
o how it puzzles me
I pressed flat the accordion pleats
that had gathered in his cotton sleeves
while he thumbed
yes thumbed I wouldn’t say caressed
the final piece
a mountain’s crest
soon to reply assuredly
o for man aged ninety years
no words to waste on sermons
he’d be pleased to answer
short and sincere
girl there’s a nonsense
in all these heaven measures
it’s a heathen creed
so your grandma says
but better to live by…
drink it all in before it’s dry
he ended there with a rattle
cough cough
I took away the long gone cold coffee cup
as a trail of Camel ashes fell
on the floor
[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics: Natalie Merchant ]
one time
you made me cry
be proud that I
remember
my chin is sore
the bruise is gone
but the spot is tender
gave my hand a sister coy
to Cotton Alley where
you did enjoy
your wicked games
you curious boy
tied my laces up together
when I fell
you laughed
until your belly was sore
in the brick laid aisle behind
the five and dime store
that’s how
I made you blush
but doubt if you
remember
were my tears genuine
or those of a skilled
pretender
nothing precious
plain to see
don’t make a fuss over me
not loud
not soft
but somewhere in between
say sorry
let it be
the word you mean
I was a little pest who
never took a hint
could never
take a hint
you pinched my fingers
in a door
tossed my coloring book in a
rusty barrel
pulled spiders from my hair
fingers in the door
my favorite blue blouse
stained on the back
running from a berry war
can you hear me scream
in Cotton Alley
scream in Cotton Alley
in Cotton Alley
[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics: Natalie Merchant - John Lombardo ]
like a weasel in the clover
tilt, toss, pop, turn over
sit down
tremble, weave like a moth by flame deceived
sit down
like a weasel in the clover
tilt, toss, pop, turn over
sit down
tremble, weave like a moth by flame deceived
sit down
spill with your words caught
dance in your room
slide like you’re buttered up
roll back the tomb
sit down
sit down
sit down
when the thunder clouds sound
ants all scatter to high ground
sit down
bolt scuff jilt chase
circle riddle shake in haste
sit down
bolt scuff jilt chase
circle riddle shake in haste
sit down
sit down
when the thunder clouds sound
ants all scatter to high ground
sit down
like a weasel in the clover
tilt, toss, pop, turn over
sit down
tremble, weave like a moth by flame deceived
sit down
spill with your words caught
dance in your room
slide like you’re buttered up
roll back the tomb
sit down
sit down
sit down
when the thunder clouds sound
ants all scatter to high ground
bolt scuff jilt chase
circle riddle shake in haste
sit down
sit down
sit down
like a weasel and
like a weasel and
sit down
[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics : Natalie Merchant - Michael Walsh ]
she borders the pavement
flanks avenues
the parades pass
white glove attended by
my mother the war
she’ll raise a shaft
lift a banner
toss a rose
my mother the war
she knows every neighbor
chats at their doors
compare
econosize electric appliances
come share tea
and a seat by my
cradle with
my mother the war
forsaken vigil
three years each tour
hands of God enfold him
prayed mother of the war
haunt a doorway
beg a postman
is there word
for mother the war
5 black stars
in bitter defiance
she’s spitting the corps
wet a brood
short league for combat
my mother the war
well acquainted
with sorrow
with grief
my mother the war
folded lace
carrion and
blood soaked robes
folded lace
carrion
blood soaked
shroud
my mother the war
[ music: John Lombardo / lyrics : Natalie Merchant ]
as frail hinges
pivot on a case’s door
commemorative
souvenirs from places
containers change
with each occasion
a cellophane encased
display of paper
certificate
to credit years of service
a tool of central enterprises
the early hope
for permanence
the words
the rings
consistency
the social security
a miracle is high tragedy
thought mistaken
for a memory
clear the dust from
smiles in boxes
pass a patterned wall
recall their voices
a local post
will list your friends
in order of
disappearance
the lawn scattered
tins feed birds
a portion baked for
absent guests
and the mass edition icon
God sent comfort
your salvation
but who grants absolution
for sins that
never were committed
tension makes a tangle
of each thought
becomes an inconvenience
sound as it never penetrates
as servile edges
break and
feint
thought mistaken
for a memory
a dress length
assassination
a fractured family tie
another christening
christening
christening
christening
[ music: Natalie Merchant / lyrics : Natalie Merchant ]
wide open falsehood
the clan destine truths
rival till the end
in a series of duels
pardon the drapery language I choose
Waltz in Vienna has taught me to use
every tall room a fiction
leather bound treasure books
up to the ceiling
gold spine upon spine
the guile and the treason
the faith and allegiance
wide open falsehood
the clan destine truths
rival till the end
in a series of duels
pardon the drapery language I choose
the author grew fat to imagine
his lead pen careening
gave voice to the scheming
an Aryan cabale to dethrone
the guile and the treason
the faith and allegiance
to the empire unknown
the baron and his mistress
dine in fine banquet hall
as rebel insurgents plot in
the attic space crawl
wide open falsehood
the clan destine truths
rival till the end
in a series of duels
pardon the drapery language I choose
his small hand did strive
to explain all the
rants and raves of
a people enslaved
by the cant of the shrewdest
capable men
the guile and the treason
the faith and allegiance
now lie in my hand
the guile and the treason
the faith and allegiance
now lie in my hand
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday.
ares
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