1. |
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I think someone's poisoned everything
a drop of arsenic into the wine
but damn it tastes like Eden grapes
Where I can meet myself
without fighting with the mirror
Do you think you'd like yourself?
Maybe only in the smallest of doses
Just like the arsenic we drink
and the toxic way I think
I drank the wine
do you think I'll be all right?
Do you think I'm gonna die?
It tasted fine
and it made me feel like I was floating, just a little bit
I'm still a narcissist, bottomless
I've slept these 23 years away
And now the poison's pulling me away
three feet into the air
And maybe I haven't even left the ground
but, shit, will I ever?
So if pretending is as close as I'll get
then I'll take it
I drank the wine
do you think I'll be all right?
Do you think I'm gonna die?
It tasted fine
and it made me feel like I was floating, just a little bit
|
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2. |
Shipwreck
03:28
|
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I dreamt I was in my old house,
filled with milk and honey, and holy water
Silver spoon still in my mouth,
four hands resting on my shoulders
and laying me to rest
I know how to fall on my own
but I can't wish away this shipwreck that I've made
And I wish I could call on the phone
but you don't want me now, and I don't want to fade
away
Money burned for me,
but where do I scatter the ashes?
Across the hills of a minor key?
Or in the grip of a book of matches?
I'm laying them to rest
I know how to fall on my own
but I can't wish away this shipwreck that I've made
And I wish I could call on the phone
but you don't want me now, and I don't want to fade
away
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3. |
Prodigal Son
03:56
|
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The prodigal son never came back home
and his brother locked himself inside his room
Every night, his mother waits by the phone
for his father to call with news
“Someone saw him in Glasgow,
drinking single-malt scotch and writing
that was three weeks ago now,
but at least they said he was smiling”
His brother won't go outside where the rain still falls
for fear of losing what he's already lost
Every night, he sits with his back against the wall
and looks for paths his brother has crossed
“Someone saw him in Dublin,
drinking Irish stout draughts and half-singing
that was four weeks ago now,
but at least they said he was laughing”
His father's been gone for just as long
out looking for his son among ancient stone
but out in the rain of north Brae Tongue
He left his boy, his wife, his home
“Someone saw him in London,
drinking English strong ales and dreaming
that was five weeks ago now,
but at least he said he was leaving”
|
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4. |
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Consciousness is a magic trick
That everyone forgot was happening
I spent the whole night on the surface of sleep
Forgetting just how deep it goes
And everybody knows; they're just hiding it
Questions from your five-year-old, pulling on your fingers
With answers that you'll never know
and no one ever will
The unexamined life is still a waste
But worse is a mind too dulled by fear
We're pushing it down day to day
But it's just beneath the surface
And everybody knows; they're just hiding it
Questions from your five-year-old, pulling on your fingers
With answers that you'll never know
and no one ever will
Galaxies and dying stars
The impossibly large
And everybody knows; they're just hiding it
Questions from your five-year-old, pulling on your fingers
With answers that you'll never know
and no one ever will
|
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5. |
A Creak in the Floor
03:44
|
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I woke up in an empty house
where the morning light was holding dust in the air
and whispering to me
In its warmth, I stole a glance
at the ever-changing path it cut across the floor
from one side to my own
A bird, a wasp, an empty nest
the hummingbird nectar in the canopy
will last all through the month
This shallow cove, where monsters sleep
is full of life in summertime, days and nights,
and dead when trees shed leaves
But I still think I like it more
when it's only me and the wolves at the door
Sometimes I hear an echo of the ones who came before
but it's almost silent, like a creak in the floor
Brindle fur against the pine
don't ever tell a man who his best friend is
but this dog here is mine
Cold enough in the restless night
but crickets and cicadas still hum their songs
and wait for love to arrive
And I still think I like it more
when it's only me and the wolves at the door
Sometimes I hear an echo of the ones who came before
but it's almost silent, like a creak in the floor
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6. |
I Would Have
04:08
|
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Remember when we were sleeping in silk?
A boy and a man nestled in Montreal
I gave you a ring that didn't fit
and you kept it on your bedside table
but I would have married you
Remember how your words tripped and tiptoed?
They climbed inside and found a home in my heart
Memories spilling out from your eyes
they almost knocked you down to your knees
but I would have carried you
Remember sitting at the foot of your bed?
The last conversation we had as lovers
You said you wouldn't love again until you died
and the thought of it just shatters me
but I would have buried you
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7. |
Lullaby, for P.K.
03:37
|
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Go to sleep
Now's the time for quiet
and counting sheep,
golden in the sunset
Night has come
A blanket full of moonlight
to keep you warm
stars will shine brightly
Oh, tomorrow there will be sun
Oh, tomorrow there will be sun
But what would the day be
without the night?
Go to sleep
just whispers and vespers
in the deep
of a peaceful ocean
Hear the calm
whales in the Atlantic
are singing songs,
hoping that you'll join them
Oh, tomorrow there will be sun
Oh, tomorrow there will be sun
But what would the day be
without the night?
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