Mark Linkous

I am
the only one
can ride that horse
th'yonder
I'm full of bees
who died at sea
it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life
I wore
a rooster's blood
when it flew
like doves
I'm a bog
of poisoned frogs
it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life
I'm

why don't you sing me that
pretty lullaby
then when you're singing great
pack it all up

I wanna new face right now
and I want it bad
I wanna new body that's strong
I'm a butchered cow

I wanna try and fly
I wanna try and die
I wanna be a pig
I wanna fuck a car

I wanna new face right now
and I want it bad
I wanna new body that's strong
I'm a butchered cow

I wanna be a stupid and shallow mutherfucker now
I wanna be a tough skinned bitch but I don't know how
I wanna be a shiny new baby with a spongy brain
I wanna be a horse fill of fire what will never reign

goddamn it's so very hot
supposed to come a rain but it's not

oh yeah
here come the painbirds
oh yeah
here come the painbirds

spiral down those hateful dears
between our skins and burning spheres

oh yeah
here come the painbirds
oh yeah
here come the painbirds

goddamn it's so very hot
spiral down those hateful dears
supposed to come a rain but it's not
between our skins and burning spheres

oh yeah
here come the painbirds
oh yeah
here come the painbirds
oh yeah
here come the painbirds
oh yeah

blanket me sweet nurse
and keep me from burnin'
I must get back
to the woods dear girls
I must get back to the woods

in the bloody elevator rising for their first cup of tea
of the day
when does sky turn into space
and air into wind?

the only things
I really need
is water, a gun, and rabbits

let me rest
my fevered cheek
upon your warm sweet bellies

in the bloody elevator going to the bright theater now
come on boys
please let me taste the clean dirt in my lungs
and moss on my back

if I could just keep my stupid mind together
then my thoughts would cross the land for you to see
no one sees you on a vampire planet
no one sees you like I do

seconds click in which I'm changed to dust
whithered roots of knots and hairy rust
no one sees you on a vampire planet
no one sees you like I do

I'm so sick
of goodbyes, goodbyes
I'm so sick
of goodbyes, goodbyes
goodbyes

the night comes crawling in
on all fours
sucking up my dreams
through the floor

I'm so sick
I'm so sick
of goodbyes

I'm so sick
of goodbyes, goodbyes
I'm so sick
of goodbyes, goodbyes
I'm so sick, so sick, so sick
of goodbyes, goodbyes
I'm so, I'm so sick

my bones wish to escape
and run along an alien expanse
to collapse from the heat
in a cartoonish heap
to sleep oh to sleep

I opened my eyes
and watched the sunshine
it had been out all night
to relax and unwind

there will come a time gigantic
waves will crush the junk that I have saved
when the moon explodes or floats away
I'll lose the souvenirs I made
la la la

I lay down on the grass
and let the insects do their thing
she covered me with wings and
held my head and said 'poor thing'

there will come a time gigantic
waves will crush the junk that I have saved
when the moon explodes or floats away
I'll lose the souvenirs I saved
la la la

if I had
if I had more
more would be laid at your feet

if you give me
just a little smile
the dogs on my trail wouldn't drag me back to jail

I woke up in a horse's stomach upon a foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

and all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man

I've seen teeth
across the horizon
fangs spanning yellow against the earth

and if...

I woke up in a horse's stomach upon a foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

and all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man

I woke up in a horse's stomach upon a foggy morning
his eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

and all I want is to be a happy man
and all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man
all I want is to be a happy man
all I want
all I want
all I want
all I want

hey Joe
c'mon Joe
don't make that sad song
any sadder than it already is

hey Jack
get back
get yourself together
c'mon c'mon

I know you're thinking about your nervous laugh
I know exactly what you're thinking of

hey Sid
no matter what you did
it can work out
work out

no matter how you feel
right now

hey George
do your chores
don't feel sore

I know it's a lot more
than just being poor

there's a heaven and there's a star for you
there's a heaven and there's a star for you
there's a heaven and there's a star for you
there's a star for you
there's a star for you
there's a star for you

now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my soul to keep
if I die before I wake
I pray my soul to take

come on in
come on in
take me home tonight

now in perfect peace I rest/now I lay me down to sleep
in full salvation blest/I pray my soul to keep
for thy grace that keeps me still/if I die before I wake
safe from every ill/I pray my soul to take

come on in
come on in
take me home tonight

come on in
come on in
take me home tonight

now in perfect peace I rest/now I lay me down to sleep
in full salvation blest/I pray my soul to keep
for thy grace that keeps me still/if I die before I wake
safe from every ill/I pray my soul to take

well I'll bet my Maria's got an elbow full of lonely
now here's a little prayer so that she might get some sleep
don't let her face be skinned by the sun today
don't let it in when it comes knocking at your door

loneliness
loneliness
loneliness
oh oh

sometimes you feel you've got the emptiest arms in the whole world
try to make sense but it always comes out absurd
sleeping horses keep eating up your flowers
don't let 'em in when it comes kicking at your door

loneliness
loneliness
loneliness
oh
came kicking at my door

she said 'I've really come to hate my body
and all the things that it requires in this world'
I bet you're out there getting drunk with all your friends
and it'll get you in the bathroom of a Texaco

loneliness
loneliness
loneliness
oh
came kicking at my door

it's crawling
still all in
befallen
cruel sun

in summer
oh slumber
my number
is up

there's peaches
in reaches
with leeches
at heart

i'm thinkin'
and blinkin'
it's stingin'
mine eyes

abhorring
he's gorging
still boring
on me

it's lighter
it's brighter
no fighter
is I

it's dried up
and tied up
and fried up
mine eyes

it's crawling
still all in
befallen
cruel sun

shining motorcycle
through the trees we rifle

we're gonna drive
all night home
we're gonna drive
all night home

down to West Virginia
like the blood within ya

we're gonna drive
all night home
we're gonna drive
all night home

shining motorcycle
all her worries stifled

we're gonna drive
all night home
we're gonna drive
all night home

this ought to hold her now
this ought to hold her now
this ought to hold her now
this ought to hold her now

he don't get out much
these days
but I wouldn't call him
lazy

he sees the dawn sneak
into the room
and knows the dogs will
be up soon

and we thought that he was doing alright
as the sun chased down another night

and days carreen
like the waters
of a river rushing
to the sea

here she comes again
down the staircase
she never passes without
saying hello

and we thought that he was doing alright
and she says hello

I can't forget the ghost
I can't forget the ghost
I can't forget the ghost
of his smile

dogs will wag their tails
and birds will sing
hell it's hard world
for little things

and we thought that he was doing alright

I can't forget the ghost
I can't forget the ghost
I can't forget the ghost
of his smile

every hair on your head is counted
you are worth hundreds of sparrows
the tree you planted has become fecund
with kamikaze hummingbirds

wings of hundreds of beats per second
of people whose wings are just a blur
afraid our eyes might become impaled
by their sharp and tiny beaks

I'm so sorry
my spirit's rarely in my body
it wanders through the dry country
looking for a good place to rest
your head upon my chest
and I can feel the pillow of your breast

you are worth hundreds of sparrows

my bones wish to escape
and run along an alien expanse
to collapse from the heat
in a cartoonish heap
to sleep oh to sleep

a beautiful woman she rose
from the smokin' waters of the lake
with a candle that burned in each palm
my teeth each sank gently to the floor

bring me some luck little junebug
your cousins they're gods to the seas
the march afternoons
the sun and the moon

before I fall asleep
a white blood of wolves must be drained
and that sorry captain howdy
scatters my bones for the lambs

bring me some luck little junebug
your cousins they're gods to the seas
the march afternoons
the sun and the moon

It's A Wonderful Life

I am
the only one
can ride that horse
th'yonder

I'm full of bees
who died at sea

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

I wore
a rooster's blood
when it flew
like doves
I'm a bog
of poisoned frogs

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

I'm the dog that ate
your birthday cake

it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life
it's a wonderful life

good morning my child
stay with me a while
you not got any place to be
won't you sit a spell with me

you've got diamonds for eyes
it's time for you to rise
and evaporate
in the sun
sometimes it can weigh
a ton

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child

a necklace of leaves
spirits in the trees
and drown all the clocks 'til there's none
little ambient in the sun

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child

ha-ah, ha-ah, ha-ah, hah-ahh

good morning my child
stay with me a while
and evaporate in the sun
sometimes it can weigh a ton

keep all your crows away
hold skinny wolves at bay
in silver piles of smiles
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child
may all your days be gold my child

I got sunburnt waiting for the jets to land
circus people with hairy little hands
come on boys strike up the army band
I got sunburnt waiting for the jets

how do you feel?
how do you feel?
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes

fiery pianos wash up on a foggy coast
squeaky old organs have given up the ghost
fire them up and kill the pianos
there's creaky old organs burning on the coast

how do you feel?
how do you feel?
I can't seem to breath with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes

can you feel the wind of venus on your skin?
can you taste the crush of a sunset's dying blush?
stars will always hand in summer's bleeding veils

can you feel the rings of saturn on your finger?
can you taste the ghosts who shed their creaking hosts?
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil

stars will always hand in summer's bleeding veils
but seas forever boil, trees will turn to soil

of horses wet
with melted ice
they would not heed
my advice
and burdened limbs
of its weight
to break and rot
a whispered fate

please
doctor, please

around me
in a bloody sea
to breach the hive
and smoke the bees
you can be my friend
you can be my dog
you can be my life
you can be my fog

please
doctor, please

the witches will return to their sticky tree knots
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun
I will feel the sun coming down

I wish I had
a horse's head
a tiger's heart
an apple bed

the toothless kiss of skeletons
and the summer hail
I'm the king of nails

I drink my liquor from the palm
of a child who spoke in tongues
and smelled like sun

give all your leaves
to the ghosts in the trees
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

and blood was rushing up the stairs
I shut my eyes and killed the cock
when the sun came knocking
oh to taste the salty oil
of your chest and on your eyes
when the sting is on the rise

sleep in the fire
with snakes I have sired
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

I drink my liquor from the palm
of a child who spoke in tongues
and smelled like sun

the toothless kiss of skeletons
and the summer hail
I'm the king of nails

give all your leaves
to the ghosts in the trees
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

sleep in the fire
with snakes I have sired
to sink or to shine
the nails are all mine

I will return here one day
and dig up my bones from the clay
I buried nails and strings and hair
and that old tooth I believe was a bear's

I held my hand in the fire
it burned me down to the wires

blood suckers hide beneath my bed
And black fumes of skin so gently bled
I slept with a cat on my breast
slowing my heart stealing my breath

at sunrise the monkeys will fly
and leave me with pennies in my eyes

I will return here one day
and dig up my bones from the clay
I buried nails and string and hair
and that old tooth I believe was a bear's

at sunrise the monkeys will fly
and leave me with pennies in my eyes

oh mother I want a dog
I want a little dog
I saw a little dog
his name is happy

well this is me ...
... old ...
I could be a shopkeeper
we'll call 'em ...

she got a six foot pitchfork
I see the wrecking-ball
back over here together
she got me here with or without

she got me coming through the dog door
she got me coming through the dog door

I said pitchfork
oh step-ladders

you oughta walk away
but you can't ...
... stairs
she got me gone back here
but don't sit there
she let me keep the deck-chair

she got me coming through the dog door
she got me coming through the dog door

pitchfork (pitchfork)
crowbar (crowbar)
clawhammer (clawhammer)
hot tar (hot tar)

she got me through her middle name
but she can make it rain
she got a small-town chill
and she's starving in the belly wheel

she got me coming through the dog door
she got me coming through the dog door

pitchfork (pitchfork)
crowbar (crowbar)
clawhammer (clawhammer)
hot tar (hot tar)

is your jewellery still lost in the sand
out on the coast, or rushed into the brine?
you left your rings on the shoreline
so you wouldn't lose them swimming in the shallows

a plastic shovel, soft sweaty children far from home
on vacation not unlike your very own

and the Captain Howdy lit upon my shoulder
and he left me with sulphur and rooms full of headaches
I fell in with snakes in the poisoned ranks of strangers
please send me more yellow birds for the dim interior

will my pony recognise my voice in hell?
will he still be blind, or do they go by smell?
will you promise not to rest me out at sea
but on a fiery river boat that's rickety?

I'll never find my pony along the rolling swell
a muddy river or a lake would do me well
with hints of amber sundowns and moody thunderstorms
a sunken barge's horns, with the cold rusty bells

did you save your wisdom teeth?
did you burn your christmas tree?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the dust and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

did you lose your [fatty?] in the bath?
did you make the city slickers laugh?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the glass and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

did you burn your wisdom teeth?
did you save your christmas tree?

he got dragged by a donkey
through the switches and the myrtle
but he was once a little fat baby

with rocks in my dress
and smoke in my hair
I walked into a lake
to get some sleep down in there

won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?

With minnows in my belly
and deep in my veins
the breath-robbin' lightning
was making diamonds of rain

won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?

dreamed I was born on a mountain on the moon
Where nothing grows or ever rots
I dreamed that I had me a daughter
who was magnificent as a horse

won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come to comfort me?
won't you come?

the sound of your voice
rose graves of cats
the pounding of your steps
woke caves of bats

babies on the sun
babies on the sun

your first burning breath
was a symphony
and a ship full of horses
was going down at sea

babies on the sun
babies on the sun

babies on the sun
babies on the sun
on the sun

Your face is like the sun
Sinking in to the the ocean
Your face is like watching flowers
Growing in fast motion

All your kisses are swallowed
Brightened mornings and hollows
My vines and tree knots will come unwound
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

The grounded fireflies are little stars that are dying
Returning to the earth I can hear the crying
Like Christmas bulbs that I swallowed
Slept in a tree that's gone hollow
And never a brittle winter time
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Set your woods on fire
Hide up in the spires
The flames kept dancing higher

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're getting it wrong

Ophelia in the creek
Caught up in the sticks
Some things can't be fixed

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're playing our song

I could look in your face
For a thousand years
It's like a civil war
Of pain and of cheer

But if you was a horse
I could help you with your chains
I could ride you through the fields
By your fiery mane

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

I'll cry diamonds while you burn
'Cause no one here can save you
She's returning to the earth
But one day she'll be silver

Stars are dying in my chest
Until I see you again
She was born with the wings of a hawk
Now she combs her hair with blood

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Another sun could be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
May your shade be sweet

Away with golden crows
I know their souls are old
The waves and the thunder's prose
Within her belly glows

Where the sleeping old bears breathe
I can't see the light for the trees

I stayed in a lake of fire
My bed was an ancient pyre
The stars a fell into the sea
I can't see the light for the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees

arise oh brother mountain
our hooves hammering your coils
the rivers carve out your hollows
with tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
oh my love

be still oh rusting river
unlock her name from your grass
unburden the pressures of fathoms
of tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
o my love
o my love

return to the clouds
return in the caves
return over valleys
o my love
o my love
o my love

You are you are my daisy
you’re my lullaby
come sun up my dogs will fade to
honeysuckle and clear moonshine
she was she was my black earth
and the fire in my spine
her magnetic waves gave birth
I was the one who loved you most
but you can’t put your arms around a ghost

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

we can we can go home soon
o’er the cold old sea
her lover is in the old moon
o to kiss her knobbly knees
know she’s laughing underwater
her pain’s gone away
we drank whiskey like our fathers
born to return back to the clay
my love for you girl will never decay

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

where did you go, up to the sun?
where are you now, part of the sea in every drop
or did you simply stop?

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

Abide with me from the morning 'til the evening
Abide with me when the night is high
Be my last sight and sweet to rest
Forever on your warm decaying breast

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Grace has purified my blindness
It could be fresh and new and glorious
Will my bleeding ears be rung with joy
Or are they just plain spent and well destroyed

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky

Once I was a big old bear
Reigning blows on sparkly snares
In the woods after the snow
The white noise witch her hammer's cold
Rest beneath the pine and rose
In our suits and Sunday clothes

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Hang there little winter star
Tell me who you really are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Born with honey in my hair
Once I was a big old bear

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Wore my dress up to my knees
There's ghosts of babies in the streams

In the silver morning hollow
Trembling and getting old
Smelling burnt oil of heaven
About ten years too big to hold

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

Built a fire in the kitchen
Made her bed by the stove
Took a walk to the graveyard
But she didn't want to go

She don't worry all them murders of crows
Even though they was always out of reach

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

To wake
Not swallowed by willows
Half eaten by widows
A new day's begun

Smile
'Cause nothing here matters
The spiders get fatter
Explode in the sun

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

To trap
The dead dogs of summer
Assaulting your slumber
Stay drunk ever more

Rise
Your jewelry will scatter
On deserts and saturns
The rings are on fire

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard

It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

A flock of knives cut the sky
And buried in my black eyes
And the clouds they bled in my head
And autumn rains soaked the dry beds
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

And I did swallow stained glass tears
Absorbed by the sun for many light years
And the fireflies in her hair
My red concertina's coming down the stairs
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

Your face is like the sun
Sinking in to the the ocean
Your face is like watching flowers
Growing in fast motion

All your kisses are swallowed
Brightened mornings and hollows
My vines and tree knots will come unwound
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

The grounded fireflies are little stars that are dying
Returning to the earth I can hear the crying
Like Christmas bulbs that I swallowed
Slept in a tree that's gone hollow
And never a brittle winter time
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Set your woods on fire
Hide up in the spires
The flames kept dancing higher

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're getting it wrong

Ophelia in the creek
Caught up in the sticks
Some things can't be fixed

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're playing our song

I could look in your face
For a thousand years
It's like a civil war
Of pain and of cheer

But if you was a horse
I could help you with your chains
I could ride you through the fields
By your fiery mane

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

I'll cry diamonds while you burn
'Cause no one here can save you
She's returning to the earth
But one day she'll be silver

Stars are dying in my chest
Until I see you again
She was born with the wings of a hawk
Now she combs her hair with blood

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Another sun could be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
May your shade be sweet

Away with golden crows
I know their souls are old
The waves and the thunder's prose
Within her belly glows

Where the sleeping old bears breathe
I can't see the light for the trees

I stayed in a lake of fire
My bed was an ancient pyre
The stars a fell into the sea
I can't see the light for the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees

arise oh brother mountain
our hooves hammering your coils
the rivers carve out your hollows
with tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
oh my love

be still oh rusting river
unlock her name from your grass
unburden the pressures of fathoms
of tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
o my love
o my love

return to the clouds
return in the caves
return over valleys
o my love
o my love
o my love

You are you are my daisy
you’re my lullaby
come sun up my dogs will fade to
honeysuckle and clear moonshine
she was she was my black earth
and the fire in my spine
her magnetic waves gave birth
I was the one who loved you most
but you can’t put your arms around a ghost

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

we can we can go home soon
o’er the cold old sea
her lover is in the old moon
o to kiss her knobbly knees
know she’s laughing underwater
her pain’s gone away
we drank whiskey like our fathers
born to return back to the clay
my love for you girl will never decay

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

where did you go, up to the sun?
where are you now, part of the sea in every drop
or did you simply stop?

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

Abide with me from the morning 'til the evening
Abide with me when the night is high
Be my last sight and sweet to rest
Forever on your warm decaying breast

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Grace has purified my blindness
It could be fresh and new and glorious
Will my bleeding ears be rung with joy
Or are they just plain spent and well destroyed

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky

Once I was a big old bear
Reigning blows on sparkly snares
In the woods after the snow
The white noise witch her hammer's cold
Rest beneath the pine and rose
In our suits and Sunday clothes

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Hang there little winter star
Tell me who you really are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Born with honey in my hair
Once I was a big old bear

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Wore my dress up to my knees
There's ghosts of babies in the streams

In the silver morning hollow
Trembling and getting old
Smelling burnt oil of heaven
About ten years too big to hold

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

Built a fire in the kitchen
Made her bed by the stove
Took a walk to the graveyard
But she didn't want to go

She don't worry all them murders of crows
Even though they was always out of reach

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

To wake
Not swallowed by willows
Half eaten by widows
A new day's begun

Smile
'Cause nothing here matters
The spiders get fatter
Explode in the sun

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

To trap
The dead dogs of summer
Assaulting your slumber
Stay drunk ever more

Rise
Your jewelry will scatter
On deserts and saturns
The rings are on fire

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard

It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

A flock of knives cut the sky
And buried in my black eyes
And the clouds they bled in my head
And autumn rains soaked the dry beds
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

And I did swallow stained glass tears
Absorbed by the sun for many light years
And the fireflies in her hair
My red concertina's coming down the stairs
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

Your face is like the sun
Sinking in to the the ocean
Your face is like watching flowers
Growing in fast motion

All your kisses are swallowed
Brightened mornings and hollows
My vines and tree knots will come unwound
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

The grounded fireflies are little stars that are dying
Returning to the earth I can hear the crying
Like Christmas bulbs that I swallowed
Slept in a tree that's gone hollow
And never a brittle winter time
Baby you are my sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Sunshine
My sunshine
Please don't take my sunshine away

Set your woods on fire
Hide up in the spires
The flames kept dancing higher

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're getting it wrong

Ophelia in the creek
Caught up in the sticks
Some things can't be fixed

They're playing our song
They're playing our song
They're playing our song

I could look in your face
For a thousand years
It's like a civil war
Of pain and of cheer

But if you was a horse
I could help you with your chains
I could ride you through the fields
By your fiery mane

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

I'll cry diamonds while you burn
'Cause no one here can save you
She's returning to the earth
But one day she'll be silver

Stars are dying in my chest
Until I see you again
She was born with the wings of a hawk
Now she combs her hair with blood

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Where the sun will be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
Another sun could be
Made of honey

May your shade be sweet
May your shade be sweet
And float upon the lakes
May your shade be sweet

Away with golden crows
I know their souls are old
The waves and the thunder's prose
Within her belly glows

Where the sleeping old bears breathe
I can't see the light for the trees

I stayed in a lake of fire
My bed was an ancient pyre
The stars a fell into the sea
I can't see the light for the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees
For the trees

You are you are my daisy
you’re my lullaby
come sun up my dogs will fade to
honeysuckle and clear moonshine
she was she was my black earth
and the fire in my spine
her magnetic waves gave birth
I was the one who loved you most
but you can’t put your arms around a ghost

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

we can we can go home soon
o’er the cold old sea
her lover is in the old moon
o to kiss her knobbly knees
know she’s laughing underwater
her pain’s gone away
we drank whiskey like our fathers
born to return back to the clay
my love for you girl will never decay

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

where did you go, up to the sun?
where are you now, part of the sea in every drop
or did you simply stop?

some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine
some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine

Abide with me from the morning 'til the evening
Abide with me when the night is high
Be my last sight and sweet to rest
Forever on your warm decaying breast

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Grace has purified my blindness
It could be fresh and new and glorious
Will my bleeding ears be rung with joy
Or are they just plain spent and well destroyed

See you blind behold your saviour's come
Dance for death you lame in the morning fires
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky
And be a ghost in the sky
A ghost in the sky

Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky
Be a ghost in the sky

Once I was a big old bear
Reigning blows on sparkly snares
In the woods after the snow
The white noise witch her hammer's cold
Rest beneath the pine and rose
In our suits and Sunday clothes

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Hang there little winter star
Tell me who you really are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Born with honey in my hair
Once I was a big old bear

Cheer up my brother
It's gonna be alright
I know your hearts are heavy as mountains
But we're gonna go back home one day

Wore my dress up to my knees
There's ghosts of babies in the streams

In the silver morning hollow
Trembling and getting old
Smelling burnt oil of heaven
About ten years too big to hold

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

Built a fire in the kitchen
Made her bed by the stove
Took a walk to the graveyard
But she didn't want to go

She don't worry all them murders of crows
Even though they was always out of reach

She don't get up when I come into the room
She don't run through the fields anymore

To wake
Not swallowed by willows
Half eaten by widows
A new day's begun

Smile
'Cause nothing here matters
The spiders get fatter
Explode in the sun

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

To trap
The dead dogs of summer
Assaulting your slumber
Stay drunk ever more

Rise
Your jewelry will scatter
On deserts and saturns
The rings are on fire

Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
Oh c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
It's not so hard

It's not so hard
It's not so hard
It's not so hard

A flock of knives cut the sky
And buried in my black eyes
And the clouds they bled in my head
And autumn rains soaked the dry beds
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

And I did swallow stained glass tears
Absorbed by the sun for many light years
And the fireflies in her hair
My red concertina's coming down the stairs
And the hurricane of her eyes
Willed away the knives
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime
Summertime
The knives of summertime

Homecoming Queen

a horse, a horse
my kingdom for a horse
rattling on magnetic fields

yes, I did use up
the last box of sparklers
before they went bad
got wet or decayed

homecoming queen, homecoming queen

teeth what were sharp
are ground down and done
my crooked spine becoming more brittle
what once grew straight
and tall t'wards the sun
absorbing back down
to dirt like a sponge

homecoming queen, homecoming queen

the parasites will love you when you're dead
la la la, la la
hiding all the rattles in the bed
la la la, la la
come crawling in
with bulging eyes
now I can see
there's a bad moon on the rise

raking all the gravels from the tracks
la la la, la la
forget about the daggers in the backs
la la la, la la
scream cross the lawn
with fire in her hair
millionaires come tumbling
down the stairs

a big wind spitting female
rain and teeth
la la la, la la
the dark wolves fell upon me
wools and fleece
la la la, la la
come crawling in
with bulging eyes
now I can see
there's a bad moon on the rise

"Ten to one piston
Two-ninety-two to five-o-one camshaft
The heads at two er two fourteen one-eighty-one valves bronze cast
They've been er bow ported
Eight-fifty-double-pumper-holley
Eight-fifty-double-pumper-holley
Eight-fifty-double-pumper-holley
Eight-fifty-double-pumper-holley
And a three-sixty single plane intake"

"What about your bass guitar?"

"Same"

all you've got to do is look in the sky and wish
you might see his face in the clouds or relaxing in a spirit ditch
he's been known to sleep on piles of dry leaves
abandoned on October lawns
sometimes he awakens with spiders on his eyelids

rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming to soak us with water

sometimes you feel just like a stone tossed into the deep
all you gotta do is touch a woman's face that's warm with sleep
and he can show up at your, your back door in the deep
trace him back before he was born
inquiring about an honest days work for a decent meal

rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming to soak us with water

sometimes he's hitching a ride in a freezer or appears as a mist
he's also been known to introduce himself as a scientist
he could be the retarded son of an old woman with
seven fingers on each hand
'cos I know I reckon, he will come when he's beckoned for

rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming
rainmaker's coming to soak us with water
to soak us with water

I want my records back
and that motorcycle gas tank
that I, spraypainted black
the owls have been talking to me
but I'm sworn to secrecy

I woke up in
a burnt out basement
sleeping with
metal hands
in a spirit ditch

the moon it will rise with such
horse laughter
it's dragging pianos to the ocean
if I had a home
you'd know it'd be
in a slide trombone

I woke up in
a burnt out basement
sleeping with
metal hands
in a spirit ditch

(mum on answerphone interlude)

I woke up in
a burnt out basement
sleeping with
metal hands
in a spirit ditch

just when you've found your way to
the boiler room
they come and dig you out
with picks and shovels and
acetelyne torches

I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
behind the boney walls of my skull
there was playing a lullaby

la la la la la la la la la la la, la la la la la

we're just trying to be free
of our bodies
our stomachs full of liquor
all our lungs
full of water

I couldn't do nothing but watch as her tears fell on fresh fruit
behind the boney walls of my skull
there was playing a lullaby

la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la, la

you are a car
you are a hospital
I'd walk to hell and back
to see you smile
on Saturday

you are a star
you are a sea of air
I play great keyboards
of horses' teeth
on Saturday
on Saturday

I'd like to tell you
how I feel
I'll probably keep it
'til Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday
Oh Saturday, Saturday

saint of barges
queen of nails
sparkling drumsets
and murders of crows

metal teeth of
carousels
lighting cigars on
electric chairs

buildings are rooks
nature's a vice
rattle of diesels
snakes eating their own tails

pretty girl, milkin' a cow, oh yeah
pretty girl, milkin' a cow, oh yeah
pretty girl, milkin' a cow, oh yeah
pretty girl, milkin' a cow, oh yeah

hey little dog, can you fly?
hey little dog, can you fly?

hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps

hey little car, can you fly?
hey little car, can you fly?

hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps

hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps

captain howdy's here but
we can't see him
we can't see them

hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps

hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps
hammering the cramps

oh yeah

we were both standing
in your mother's living room
sweating up a storm in that
terrible month of June
and the sweat rolled down your cheek
and into your mouth
I knew this must've been a dream
'cos you're mother would never let me in her house

you are the most beautiful widow
you are the most beautiful widow
you are the most beautiful widow in town

many years later
the glassy month of December
I stood with my hands in my pockets
trying to avoid
a shiny wedding portrait
hanging on that old woman's wall
'cos I knew you'd be wearing a smile
that'd be too painful to look upon

you are the most beautiful widow
I bet you are the most beautiful widow
I bet you are the most beautiful widow in town

She laid her head
On my chest
As the sun burned
Down the west
There's one thing we still got
This one last dance in this parking lot

Oh yeah, i, i got a heart of darkness
Oh yeah, i, i got a heart of darkness

Then she woke up



Into the fire
And the flames kept
Dancing higher
Satan would laugh at her screams
Then she woke up from her dreams

Oh yeah, i, i got a heart of darkness
Oh yeah, i, i got a heart of darkness

there's something going on around here
I could not crawl back if I tried
I couldn't wait around
I couldn't wait another second
something going on around here

I left my baby on the side of the highway
she just couldn't see things my way

someday I will treat you good
someday I will treat you fine
someday I will treat you good
you know I should

everything that's made is made to decay
well I'm shrinking bones in the sun
won't you tell me why that
the beautiful ones are always crazy
she's whispering like morticia now

I left my baby on the side of the road
I left her with a heavy load

someday I will treat you good
someday I will treat you fine
someday I will treat you good
you know I should

something going on around here
I could not crawl back if I tried
I left my baby on the side of highway
she just couldn't see things my way

someday I will treat you good
someday I will treat you fine
someday I will treat you good
you know I should

Sometimes I get so sad
Sometimes you just make me mad

It's a sad and beautiful world
It's a sad and beautiful world

Sometimes I just won't go
Sometimes I can't say 'no'

It's a sad and beautiful world
It's a sad and beautiful world

Sometimes days go speeding past
Sometimes this one seems like the last

It's a sad and beautiful world
It's a sad and beautiful world

the flowers of evil
you left at my door
set 'em in a broken glass
and tasted my own blood

yes your hair looks beautiful today
gasoline horses will take us away

they charge forth
with firey manes
and bellies full of clocks
four ton
deaf and dumb
we poor old dogs of god

yes your hair smells like sunshine today
gasoline horses will take us away

If I had
If I had more
More would be laid at your feet

If you give me
Just a little smile
The dogs on my trail wouldn't drag me back to jail

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
His eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

All I want is to be a happy man
All I want is to be a happy man

I've seen teeth
Across the horizon
Fangs spanning yellow against the earth

There ain't nothing, yeah but ghosts


Fever, rabbit dreams and drunken boats

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
His eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

All I want is to be a happy man
All I want is to be a happy man

I woke up in a horse's stomach one foggy morning
His eyes were crazy and he smashed into the cemetery gates

All I want is to be a happy man
All I want is to be a happy man
All I want is to be a happy man
All I want is to be a happy man
All I want
All I want
All I want
All I want

stayed up all night
lightning bugs were bright
and the air turned cold and black
a turtle trapped on its back
and waiting for nothing
waiting for nothing
waiting for nothing
waiting for nothing
waiting for nothing
rising from the earth
measuring the worth
and the fog gets thick and wet
gonna get worse i bet
im waiting for nothing
im waiting for nothing
im waiting for nothing

everyday
held at bay
Lucy says

here's a star
here we are
in a car
far away

oh, why don't you
go on and get in your
happy place
oh, why don't you
go on and get in your
happy place

everyday
makes sense
Lucy stay

it's easier
to beg to go
and run away
far away

oh, why don't you
go on and get in your
happy place
oh, why don't you
go on and get in your
happy place

everyday
it's okay
Lucy says

(Daniel Dale Johnston)

in clusters we move through a farm
somewhere far off the thunder roaring
and the fortune teller has fixed her sweetly eyes on my child

sometimes I climb high up in a tree
and let the wind blow in my face
sometimes I leave my cares lying in piles

somewhat disturbing
is the sound of her singing
when you know you don't deserve it

you're not here today
I feel just like an empty eggshell
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

my voice is a little horse
galloping lost through the woods
calling your name

it's new to me
but just the same
the earth is an old canvas painted over many times

the poet rambles
the world it scrambles
but who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men

your shadow knows
it's right behind you all the way
your shadow knows where you've been

my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

sacred is the smile
that opened up my mind
and asked me come save me
and rid my cold cold heart
of the dark deep gloom
that took up so much room
and my many spacious memories

my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy
my yoke is heavy

the flowers of evil
you left at my door
set 'em in a broken glass
and tasted my own blood

yes your hair looks beautiful today
gasoline horses will take us away

they charge forth
with firey manes
and bellies full of clocks
four ton
deaf and dumb
we poor old dogs of god

yes your hair smells like sunshine today
gasoline horses will take us away

arise oh brother mountain
our hooves hammering your coils
the rivers carve out your hollows
with tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
oh my love

be still oh rusting river
unlock her name from your grass
unburden the pressures of fathoms
of tears from me
return to me
return to me my love
o my love
o my love

return to the clouds
return in the caves
return over valleys
o my love
o my love
o my love

Do you find your kisses gone
when she kisses everyone ?
Mmm...pretty, pretty eyes
didn't she take you by surprise ?
She will lose you sleep
under horizontal command
She will kick...
kick you, kick you down at heel
Two shoes, Toulouse you lose
Kiss-yous, miss-yous what's the use p.s?
"I loved you", and she smiled
the caustic croon of something wild
She will lose you sleep
under horizontal command
She will kick...
kick you, kick you down at heel
Pretty baby, pretty heart, pretty
pretty pretty high, pretty low,
Pretty angel, pretty pretty
pretty dumb, pretty smart.
I-I-don't know what to do,
To keep myself in love with you.
Life is made of ones and twos
I just know I'm going to lose.
She will lose you sleep
under horizontal command
She will kick...
kick you, kick you down at heel
Pretty baby, pretty heart, pretty
pretty pretty high, pretty low,
Pretty angel, pretty pretty
pretty dumb, pretty smart.
Pretty baby, pretty heart, pretty
pretty pretty sound, pretty sharp,
Pretty angel, pretty angel
pretty pretty pretty pretty
Pretty baby, pretty heart, pretty
pretty pretty high, pretty low,
..and she smiled

You know me better that I do,
How my heart feels,
What my head knows to be true,
We submit and we surrender
to what we guard against,
Without even knowing that we do.
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Is this the way to hurt me hurt me,
Is this the way to your revenge
Is this the way to hurt me hurt me
Is this the way to your revenge
You know me better that I do,
How my heart beats,
Love like lightning going through,
Innocently playing in your glorious design,
Without even knowing that I do.
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Dictate the speed of the beat of my heart
Is this the way to hurt me hurt me,
Is this the way to your revenge
Is this the way to hurt me hurt me
Is this the way to your revenge

I brought myself to your attention,
for someone in my situation
the biggest crime against love is having none
Not a million miles from here,
not over there
there's someone here,
an obvious and eager volunteer
I'm never not going to do this
I'm never not going to feel this way
I'm never not going to do this
I'm never not going to again
Who could help but be...
Won over,
Who could help but be
Won over,
Who could help but be
Won over,
Simple things forgotten..
I celebrate with a goodwill
that could raise your shoulder high
Tine detail stowed away
with things you've said
I keep them all like nuggets
in my heart to marvel at
I'm never not going to do this
I'm never not going to feel this way
I'm never not going to do this
I'm never not going to again
Who could help but be...
Won over,
Who could help but be
Won over,
Who could help but be
Won over,
Won over,
You can't help but be
Won over,
You can't help but be
Won over,

Do your damned, devil and deep blue sea
Take my hand we'll forget who we are,
Be my strength, weakness too,
Do your damned, how could I hurt you now
I've got to be where you are
Breathing you skin, your hair
Lying awake while you sleep
Closing the distance you keep,
I'm moving closer to you
there's nothing I wouldn't do
it's gone beyond being a
drop in the ocean.
Dancing our lives away
Moving my heart this way
Secrets are safe with me and
you are, you are
Do your damned, devil and deep blue sea
Take my hand we'll forget who we are,
I dare to have, what I couldn't bare to lose,
Do your damned, how could I hurt you now
I've got to be where you are
Breathing you skin, your hair
Lying awake while you sleep
Closing the distance you keep,
I'm moving closer to you
there's nothing I wouldn't do
it's gone beyond being a
drop in the ocean.
Dancing our lives away
Moving my heart this way
Secrets are safe with me and
you are, you are

Yes.. please let it begin
I want you to smile within,
Oh, a moment on the arm of wonder.
What, what more can I ask,
than for you to look at me, whisper to me,
show me you'll be wrapped about me.
Tell me, tell me, tell me everything
you and I can share within,
Oh, the darker moments vanish into air.
Breathe me, I am air
Touch me, I am sky,
Breathe me, like the first time.
I hold you in my heart
Touch you, with my eyes,
Breathe me, like the first time.
What, what more can I ask
than for you to look at me, wondrously, and
say "I love you", say you love me.
Tell me, tell me everything
you and I can feel within
Oh, the darker moments vanish into air.
Breathe me, I am air
Touch me, I am sky,
Breathe me, like the first time.
I hold you in my heart
Touch you, with my eyes,
Breathe me, like the first time

Beneath the lights, the slease, the mayhem
handome ads, and cool seduction.
Everything is impossible and everything's so easy,
Invasion of invented needs,
between the carrot and the stick.
They fix you with their beastly eyes and smile

and if they darken your sweet soul,
and if they ever let you go.

Is your love, is it, strong enough, is it
like a feast, is it, sweet or wild, is it,
All of these things:...?
You could be forgiven

Into anchor-tattooed arms
go sad-eyed dreamers bound for elsewhere
Lovers cling like the Pieta in style
Myth and sham, believe, believe
your tears will end,
you've got to feel this love
please...

and if they darken your sweet soul,
and if they ever let you go.

Is your love, is it, strong enough, is it
like a feast, is it, sweet or wild, is it,
All of these things:...?
You could be forgiven

When I'm asleep I'm dreaming of you
When I'm awake I'm dreaming of you
Nights flicker with the stars that come down,,,
Over you
Can our hearts synchronise, my baby ?
Miles of distance come between us like years,
Covered by the same sky but so
Separately.
And I'd like to believe I'm in everything you need...
Oh oh oh...
Now that you've gone-sweet sweet thing
If I could help myself-sweet sweet thing
If I could tell myself love's sweet still...
Am I dreaming?
Even if it is a world troubled
We can fall asleep
Side by side, in the night.
Please don't let me down again,
Come on if you're waiting to be wanted,
Time takes its time in passing you slow
If at all...
And if everything you need
Is everything you share
Then I'd like to believe
I'm the one that you need.
Oh oh oh...(come back to me baby)
Oh oh oh...(come back to me baby)
Now that you've gone-sweet sweet thing
If I could help myself-sweet sweet thing
If I could tell myself love's sweet still...
And if everything you need
Is everything you share
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Now that you've gone-sweet sweet thing
If I could help myself-sweet sweet thing
If I could tell myself love's sweet still...
Living a little while-sweet sweet thing
With you a little while-sweet sweet thing
More than a little while-wanting you
Now that you've gone-sweet sweet thing
If I could help myself-sweet sweet thing
If I could stop myself wanting you