1. |
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Got decked for the
first time, nineteen ninety-three.
Got too drunk to sort
it out between my friends
and me. Ringing in the
New Year cashed out
in the street; always knew it'd come
down to them being
the ones to beat,
so put the poison in my body.
Put the poison in me.
Hüskers on the tape deck, out to
get some more (Tuesday's fifth
of Jameson is already remorse).
The pleasures of the blackout are
their own reward, brought about by
virtue of always being bored,
so put the poison in my body.
Put the poison in me.
When you're drinking highballs,
any dram'll do, but when
you're drinking Sazeracs,
accept no substitutes. And
don't let any asshole tell you
what to do, cause when you're
getting plastered, son, "to
thine own self, be true,"
and put the poison in my body.
Put the poison in me.
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2. |
Song for Johnnie Tillmon
03:47
|
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Able-bodied and kind, on a
government line you'll find it
in numbers. Marginalize my
this. S'pose that you're doing fine,
s'pose you don't really
mind it, cause you know that
you have someplace lower than this.
Take good care of the poor girl.
She never meant nothin' to me, but
it's alright. I know she means
something somewhere to somebody.
Trade a man for The Man, trade
on up if you can, even if
he confines you. Rings for
those alive. Character
and contempt. Don't you even attempt
to not become the example for
the pigs and the parasites.
Take good care of the poor girl.
She never meant nothin' to me, but
it's alright. I know she means
something somewhere to somebody.
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3. |
Gen. 4:16
04:18
|
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Stuck behind the wall, 1:15, waiting
for the sound of sirens or
the sharp report of guns. Waiting for
the sun, or the sound
of the all-clear, but
all I hear are muffled
voices and footfalls
drawing near.
When I struck the blow upon
my brother's virgin head, it was
not a hateful action, just our
inheritance. Wandered all around,
marked but of this earth, sons
and daughters covered in
the same fluids at birth.
I'm the only one they found alive.
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4. |
Stolen Blues
03:39
|
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As the river runs to the ocean, it brings
Tina Fontaine's bagged body
to the shore, and the renegade cops
who used starlights as tour guides said,
"We don't really do that kind of
thing anymore." Development of some
kind of complex is never really just
about land – the thing about an
empire's greeting is, there's always a
back to the front of the hand.
Who's gonna waste
their time rebuilding
downed power lines?
In between the Missouri state lines, down
in August's sweltering heat, before backlighting
tear gas with klieg lights, they just let
Michael Brown's blood congeal
in the street. Black bodies
prone on the pavement. Black blood
splattered over the news. Comes a time
when wringing your hands is just
flexing your fingers to play
somebody's stolen blues.
Who's gonna waste
their time rebuilding
downed power lines?
Down in Tel Aviv, they have a
running joke where the
setup is rockets, but the
punchline's just smoke. Down
in Tel Aviv, it's just a
fucking joke.
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5. |
Engine, Absent
03:41
|
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(...)
|
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6. |
Notice
05:49
|
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We weren't lovers, just friends who had
apartments inside of each other,
and you could come over any time
to inspect it. Do the same by you
and just make sure we respected that
a closed jamb draws a line.
To be present.
To be noticed.
To be heard from.
To be asked to be heard from more.
To just know that
you were always waited for.
I can't say it, or, to be more specific,
I just can't articulate it –
I can just embody the meaning.
I'm a sentence. You're a
clause of some kind but
you were never dependent
on the reading.
To be present.
To be noticed.
To be heard from.
To be asked to be heard from more.
To just know that
you were always waited for.
To be held close.
To be awkward.
To be conscious
of how you lean into the door.
To be speaking.
To learn how to be spoken for.
To be honest
I am learning to wait some more
just to tell you: you were always
waited for – always waited,
always waiting for.
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7. |
Arrears
03:22
|
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Forgot to turn off the lights.
Forgot to shut off the taps.
But I am a sucker for
burning up energy
chasing down a "perhaps."
I had a lapse in attention,
and there was a gap
between your thoughts.
But I still like you a lot.
I'm in arrears.
I know I've fallen behind.
But every second I spend with you
helps keep it off of my mind.
Time after time it was clear:
my timing isn't always the best.
But I was just following
the growing season of the thing
blooming inside of my chest.
You had the best
soft directions, and I've got
the worst kind of crush.
You turn my fine words to mush.
I'm in arrears.
Know I gotta pay.
Fruitlessly holding out for a loophole
that'll buy us just another day,
Lord, I'm in arrears.
There's no easy way out.
Somebody's gonna collect my
still-beating heart from my idiot mouth.
I'm in arrears.
I'm in arrears.
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8. |
Lariat
03:11
|
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You wrung me out, slow
degrees, absent engine
was it not supposed to
be a passing mention
come around playing thief,
never draw attention, smoke
alarm tugging sleeves
to ease the tension
I’ve been waiting for
you, decidedly bruised
(what a notion)
you crack me open as
you knot the lariat
[We] fool around feeling brave
a worthless action to measure
up, full of grace or satisfaction
I know my thoughts/place,
let me write retractions
it matters not how long
it takes—tell me what
the facts is
(a dreadful notion)
I swear to you nothing’s
gonna work out right
The birds
are all aloft, just like
the day before; avoided
long enough; what do
you take me for.
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9. |
Consider It All
09:18
|
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watched a fire once
it got out of control burned down
the western mountain range
of a dry heart choked
the blood with ash
and smoke
caused damage
to every home
i am a belvedere i
command a view
look out from my peak
upon a panoramic you yr
volcanic parts flecks of
granite and gneiss that
weathered and formed through time
the contours of your face
sending it up
a clarion call
i'll consider it all
i'll consider it all
got a line on the wind voice of
foxes and pines soft languages
quietly loaning words to
mine the syllables of
joy or the inflection
of hope forming a thought
in the yawning mouth of a tongue-
tied dope who cannot
capture the sky who can't
will rivers to flow but who
remembers it's helpful to
write the kinds of things
you know who catches fire
at yr touch and who won't
be contained visible for
miles through thunderstorms and rain––––
sending it up
a clarion call
i'll consider it all
i'll consider it all
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10. |
It's So Rad!
03:45
|
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There's three kinds of people who
make it to the top: there's the
good; there's the bad; and there's
the never-grow-up. I don't see
what's so wrong with it, don't see a
reason to stop. The singer
sings his song long into
the night. I don't know if
he's wrong, I don't care
if he's right. I don't care anymore,
I don't see any reason
to fight. Just wanna sing along!
The songs we sing are
so intertextual. Just don't go
calling us intellectuals; I still might
giggle if you say something sexual.
Maybe I just won't give a fuck. Maybe I
could shift some units and
make a quick buck. Maybe this could be
a shot in the arm. Maybe I'll
have some good luck. Maybe not.
No way. No way! "Rather
burn out than fade away."
Don't wanna hear 'em say,
"I missed their glory days!"
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11. |
Death Rattle
04:24
|
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Far back as my dumb brain
can recall, saw 'em everywhere, small
and yet hopeful. RIPs in bars
& bathroom stalls. Never paid 'em much –
never paid 'em any thought at all.
Ask a buff guy what
makes him so brave. Is it his
massive calves, powerful
and strange? "When his time comes,
he will not be saved." Says right here:
"Commended into light; body
called to ash or to the grave."
Put it in the ground.
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These Estates regina
Prairie three-piece. It's always safe to set your drink on your amp.
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