| Disc 1 | ||||||
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| 1. |
| 2:45 | 
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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, she ran alongside the wasted tracks Hem pins darted in her calves Can't ignore the train One spoiled girl with the tidiest apology Somehow 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 Mantel figures mind their places And 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, thirty Thirty afternoons Molly, the boys are Starting in that rhyme again Teasing more and more the second daughter How she fell Young locked in some folks' prison Made to dwell Till they're braiding her gray hair Sitting in the wishing chair Sitting in the wishing chair Sitting in the wishing chair |
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| 2. |
| 3:14 |
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( music: John Lombardo & Robert Buck/lyric: 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 |
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| 3. |
| 2:19 |
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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 |
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| 4. |
| 3:13 |
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( music: Robert Buck/lyric: 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 |
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| 5. |
| 3:32 |
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( music: Dennis Drew/lyric: 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 |
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| 6. |
| 3:19 |
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( music: Natalie Merchant/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 |
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| 7. |
| 4:05 |
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( music: Robert Buck/lyric: 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 |
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| 8. |
| 3:08 |
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( lyrics: Natalie Merchant/music: J.C.Lombardo & Robert Buck )
there was light and atomic fission swelling wind rising ash tide of black rain cement seared shawdow traces reminiscent of their last commands instantly one thousand flames arising ill scent the 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 many wounds for closing marred by thirsting anguish fear lamenting here we stand at the door to gold atomic age don't spoil your face with worry trust in earth bound kingdom come |
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| 9. |
| 3:07 |
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( music: Robert Buck & Dennis Drew/lyric: 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. |
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| 10. |
| 3:17 |
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( music: John Lombardo/lyric: 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 |
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| 11. |
| 3:23 |
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( music: John Lombardo/lyric: 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 |
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| 12. |
| 4:30 |
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( lyrics: Natalie Merchant & J.C. Lombardo/music: J.C. Lombardo )
like a weasel in the clover you tilt toss pop turn over sit down! tremble and weave like a moth by flame deceived sit down! spill with your words caught up dance in your room slide like you're buttered up roll back the tomb sit down! bolt scuff jilt chase circle riddle shake in haste sit down! when the thunderclouds sound ants scatter to high ground |
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| 13. |
| 3:32 |
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( lyrics: Natalie Merchant & Michael Walsh/music: J.C.Lombardo )
she borders the pavement flanks avenues 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's made every effort to salvage the few bought fourteen liberty bonds my mother the war mother the war she knows every neighbor chats at their doors compare econosize electric appliances my mother the war share tea and a seat by my cradle with my mother the war mother the war caressing the globe touch on his isle she wrings hands in pensive waiting my mother the war haunts her doorway begs her postman is there word for my mother the war momentos of distant vigil three years each tour "hands of god enfold him" prayed my mother the war mother the war in bitter defiance she's spitting the corps she's wet a brood short league for combat my mother the war well acquainted with sorrow left millions in grief my mother the war fold laced carrion blood soaked robes mother the war |
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| 14. |
| 3:33 |
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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 |
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| 15. |
| 2:18 |
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( music: Natalie Merchant/lyric: 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 |
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