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1. |
I Met My Love
05:06
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I met my love on a cobblestone street
near the corner where Scottholm Terrace and Sunnyside meet
but only one of us fit on my bicycle seat
I met my maker, she's not as they say
It was not on God's acre, but instead on my first waking day
I'd forsaken my savior when he showed me her face
And I met my match in a house on a hill
the damn near collapsed and perhaps I should have been killed
The damn thing near collapsed and it's haunting me still
And I'll meet my fate, yes, I'll meet my end
with no heavenly gates or winding staircase to ascend
and on that fateful day without prayer or pretend
I'll be able to say that I knew you back when; back when I met my love.
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2. |
Scarlet
04:55
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One shot, a photo, a dimeshop camera; one shot I've mistakenly taken
And now my love, so tall and dark, unphotographed he leaves the station
Photographed, unphotographed, the train rolls out of central station
One shot of liquor, one shot to drink; one shot across the barroom table
And now my love, so tall and dark, would stand up straight but is not able
"Stand up straight, my dear lightweight." With scarlet drinks he is not able
One shot (gun shot), one shot rings out; one shot across the courtyard sounds
And now my love, so tall and dark, is dark and still upon the ground
And darker still, darker still, and scarlet spilled upon the ground
"Why so grim, love? Hold your chin up,
my dead mourning dove, my red flowerbud
My dear, did it hurt? Are you dressed in your best shirt?
You're not quite so tall when you're down in the dirt."
I will hang now (hang in the gallows)
T'was my shot that rang out (silence follows)
Yes, I will hang for what I have done
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3. |
Raging Glory
04:16
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I have not seen the girl you're looking for
She left my home some eight years or more
to see, on her own, a more forgiving shore
though we soon may go out
to meet her blessed heart to see that she has found a body clean;
a trace of threaded golden dream; a place to wash her hands feet
"Born," she cried, "I am not made for thee"
Torn was I, but now I hold free
For my, my raging glory
For my, my naked and breathing son
For my son, for my son
I have seen the light on the hill,
it is green and it floods all the valley
It highlights the shoreline, unwilling but tame,
for my ship's steer to parry
In lieu of flowers for the lovely lorelei
Bound aground and found with no captain alive
no helmsman or no hand to be
to this young woman, send all your, your charity
send all your, your charity
for some day she may be the bearer of all these great worlds yet unseen
"Born," she cried, "I am not made for thee"
Torn was I, but now I hold free
For my, my raging glory
For my, my naked and breathing son
For my son, for my son
I will tread on to the end of my will when I am battered and wary
Even if by land, on knees and on hands, for you I will carry
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4. |
Winter Warming
04:15
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I close my eyes to make out her voice
Her breathing is heavy, cold and steady,
but she stays asleep all through the noise
Soon she will heed my warning
that love kept cold does not keep from longing
So I sing a song of winter warming
And I sing, oh
And I sing, oh
Like a splitting dove tail that is cut from its lock
left alone is made frail and compares in pale
like an old man's country talk
to his sold son's city walk
You make a fleeting remark
that my love is for sale
Soon she will heed my warning
that love kept cold does not keep from longing
So I sing a song of winter warming
And I sing, oh
And I sing, oh
I close my eyes to find my voice
Her breathing is heavy, cold and steady,
but she stays asleep
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5. |
Gold in the Hills
05:11
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I was born on a South Dakota farm
Fields of corn and golden grain below the barn
A nickel from, my poor old mum
Said "Go, my son, to the old man’s country store"
Whom there I found in a rocking chair beside the door
He reeked of rum, asked why I’d come
But I was young, I held my tongue
He grabbed me by my shirt,
the smell of alcohol and dirt
He spoke of diamonds and riches yet untold
In his eyes I saw it shining like the nickel in my coat
Though he seemed ill, I came closer still
There is gold in these hills, there is gold in these hills
And by boy if we don’t find it then somebody surely will
There is gold in these hills, there is gold in these hills
The man, his words, they came to haunt me in my sleep
And so I saved my nickels up for weeks
I gave to him, my savings
He stroked his chin, he walked right in
He returned with his arms filled,
a pair of shovels and of pails
Said "We’re headed for the hills
There’s no time for farewells"
There is gold in these hills, there is gold in these hills
And boy if we don’t find it then somebody surely will
There is gold in these hills, there is gold in these hills
There is gold in these hills, there is gold in these hills
And by god, if we should find them then, boy, we shoot to kill
I never was the spineless sort,
But the hours are long and the handle short
Well, the man passed on some years ago
Buried with his name and some prayer I know
Digging ditches in the dirt, I have found hell on earth
And all the riches aren’t worth, the devil's curse
No matter how you count
No, they don’t amount
to the devil’s work
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6. |
Cold Flood
03:53
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Sleep now worries away, dreaming pasture
Grey eyes come unmade from missing laughter
and nothing matters today and will not after
so sleep now, worries away
let the rain follow you
you were born and rebuked
you can only refuse this once
and you have
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
Can't you feel it creeping before your time like a cold flood?
Like Elysian fields of green and gold
calls out to a man, in your youth behold
you crave for your beginnings and ends to unfold
and now as you wait you feel i's too late
though there is no mistake so great that it takes you away
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
Can't you feel it creeping before your time like a cold flood?
Covered up and safe by sheets white and clean
You rise ready to return in respite but it's not the right scene
Disarray.
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
Can't you feel it creeping before your time?
I can feel it, I can feel it
creeping before your time like a cold flood
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7. |
Sumac
05:03
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Don’t go near the sumac tree
There’s something hiding in the weeds
There’s something hiding in the weeds, underneath the fallen leaves
Don’t go near the sumac tree, please
In the growing dark
Through the leaves, he sees carved into the bark
Someone wrote it down
So that he could read, but he can’t make it out
So he steps closer
Come back toward my silhouette
Don’t you take another step
Don’t you take another step, you're close, as close as close can get
Come back toward my silhouette, instead
In the growing dark
Through the leaves, he sees carved into the bark
Someone wrote it down
So that he could read, but he can’t make it out
So he steps closer
He could hardly stand to wait
But as he reads he seems afraid
He realizes the choice he made must have been a big mistake
On the tree is carved the phrase "too late"
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8. |
Honey Bees & Lilac Trees
03:36
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When I lay me to bed
So I might rest my head
And all of the world goes on spinning
Do I stay up all night
Or go down with the light
Dreams of honey bees and lilac trees are winning
Should I wake before morn’
Troubled and torn
With my eyes and my lungs all a blazing
Do I fold up the sheets
Or do I sing me to sleep
While the moon she goes waxing and waning
Should I open my eyes
And be none the wiser
Day by day, change my ways, and keep breathing
Do I watch from my bed
Or do I dream it instead
Oh, the answer is ever misleading
There’s a difference I’m told
It’s cruel and it’s cold
Why treat life like a race, and why win it
Just to realize I’ve spent
Every breath, every cent
Now content with the worth to have been in it
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Rabbit in the Rye Hamilton, New York
rab·bit·in·the·rye [ˈræbɪt ɪn thuh rahy] n. a poetic and ominous, progressive folk rock trio; a collection of bittersweet fables and genuine storytelling; allegory and honesty; stark movement and all-enveloping romanticism; rapturous walls of sound, yet sweet and somber waltzes; the creation and breaking of tension; Joseph Mettler, guitar; Alexander Lavon, bass; Brendan O'Connor, percussion ... more
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