1. |
Cherry Trees
04:42
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Before you go runnin’ away, don’t forget to pay the plastic man
For all of your loans and attachments
Remember to happily wave to the grim cavalcades
Who long predicted your exit
And don’t you mind me, this smile that you see
Is just one of bemused detachment
As you go on your way, I’ll clasp my hands and pray
That when someone speaks, you might listen
Not just attack it
The cherry trees rain down their petals in the city’s middle of May
And it’s just as well
‘Cause they gave your departure a romance that sealed the deal
And now you’re gone for real or so you tell
But I hesitate to take you at your word,
It’s never done a lick of good before
So if you come crawlin’ back, smoking cloves and dressed in black,
Don’t expect me to let you in
right in through my door.
Every time you talk at me
In condescending elegies
As if i was the one out of control
Your reproach falls empty by
The piles of lies stacked 12 feet high
Don’t act like i’m the one who let the bad times roll
‘Cause everyone’s got their problems
And god knows you’ve become one of mine
But one thing before you go
It’s selfish to say but won’t you go
Go far, far away
There’s one thing for sure i know
Being so far from home, you’ll feel so all alone
No one to beat up, no one to touch you
And maybe, just maybe then
The wasted love of all your friends
Will rise up, bittersweet memories clutchin at you
To hug you
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2. |
Crushed
04:58
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your wrinkles do a pile on every time you smile
i want to pull them over me and lay together for a while
every time i close my eyes, you walk me down the aisle
to the wetness of your lips, the taste of booze and cigarettes
i still feel pressure from last night’s rendezvous
the heaviness of your moving crushes me the whole day through
you don’t seem to remember that i fell in love with you
with the wetness of your lips, the taste of booze and cigarettes
i won’t forget, drenched in your sweat as i pull my dreams apart
ghostly lips leave none to kiss, rise with a broken heart
my body’s aching all the time now, from my palms right to my heart
enrobed in only your cologne, apparitions, pray you start
folded in your red hot mouth, you will never tell us apart
i’m the wetness of your lips, the taste of booze and cigarettes
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3. |
Empty Road
05:10
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Slow fallin’ sundown o’er the Western plains
Headed for my hometown, my resources drained
Caffeine-cocked eyes just won’t stay trained
On the empty road
Don’t quite know what I have left behind
No clue what the future holds, what truth I’ll find
I’m just lookin’ for some peace of mind
Tryin’ to ease my load
And the sky goes red to black
As I stair down the window crack
But it’s the first day of the rest of my life
And I’m tired now, so goodnight
Slowed-down snowfall o’er the mountain range
Just the sound of my breathin’ and the crunch of the chains
No one listenin’ no need to explain
Just the empty road
White summits beckon, heady sleep I lack
20 paces out the snow erases my tracks
If I go further, I might not come back
Layin’ down the load
I let the sky go white to black
As I stair down the window crack
Feelin’ like the last dog in this wretched fight
So tired, so goodnight
Lookin’ back, it was no great surprise
I walked around that town with cast-down eyes
I held no wonder for these changin’ times
Just thoughts of the empty road
Quick risin’ sunup, so much work to be done
Deep in my heart I fear the starter’s gun
But it’s time to get back up on my feet and kick ‘em in to a run
Time to shoulder the load
And the sky shows a cautious blue
And I pray my instincts guide me true
No more shyin’ from big city lights ------ no more tired goodnights.
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4. |
Cold Brother
03:48
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Mama loved him best
You know, Papa favored him too
Well who am I to criticize, brother?
I would have too
Alex was a gentle boy
He did what our mama said
‘Til he felt a chill and wrapped his scarf up tight
‘Round the tree that hung him dead
Climbed that tree as a child
Brother, you and I were wild
See it from my cell instead
Where you were strung up high
I can feel your ghost nearby
Soon to join you in the dead
Oh, once I read the good book
I saw why they’d lay blame
That you were my Abel
But I could never be your Cain
Not your keeper, not my shame
Fault your own hands you were slain
Mama loved him best
You know, Papa favored him too
Well who am I to criticize, brother?
I would have too
Oh, once I read the good book
I saw why they’d lay blame
That you were my Abel
But I could never be your Cain
Not your keeper, not my shame
Fault your own hands you were slain
Mama loved him best
You know, Papa favored him too
By how much I never knew ‘til they testified for you
By how much I never knew ‘til they convicted me for you
By how much, now I know, while I rot here on death row
Forgive me, brother
Tell Jesus hello
Lend me your scarf, brother
I am cold
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5. |
Haunts
05:22
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There are things much better left unsaid
There are things much better left unsaid
They’re rattling clattering ‘round my head
And I’m boiling over with regret
I can’t keep nothing to myself
I can’t keep nothing for myself
I’m faking and breaking my failing health
Yeah I’m too tired to even try
I’m livin’ lies
So I’m packin’ up, I’m goin’ down
Skippin’ town to starve the shadows that I’ve
Left all around
They all feed the seeds of doubt and sorrow
Taking root inside my brain
It’s time to hop the midnight train
As it stands, nothing’s what it seems
I’m in a land of endless in-betweens
Though I’ve done what I have done, my soul
So badly wants to be redeemed
I can’t find havens left untouched
Nor peace of mind though I swear I don’t need much
As long as I am stuck here I’m a
Cripple without a crutch.
So I’m packin’ up, I’m goin’ down
Skippin’ town to starve the shadows that I’ve
Left all around
They all feed the seeds of doubt and sorrow
Taking root inside my brain
It’s time to hop a midnight train
Winter’s come, the air has dried,
The sun has gone, now so will I,
I gotta run, nowhere to hide,
So this is my goodbye... (x2)
But you should know it wasn’t all a fight
You know someday I’ll return to set this all to right
But the time has come to roost until I
Will myself to take my flight
I can’t find havens left untouched
Nor peace of mind though I swear I don’t need much
As long as I am stuck here I’m a
Cripple without a crutch.
Cripple without a crutch
So I’m packin’ up, I’m goin’ down
Skippin’ town to starve the shadows that I’ve
Left all around
They all feed the seeds of doubt and sorrow
Taking root inside my brain
It’s time to hop the midnight train
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6. |
Sanctuary
06:44
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it’s winter and it’s getting cold
the ground is white and the wind is bold
copping a feel, looking up my dress
fogging my glasses coming in from your kiss
i’m sure gonna miss
my mittens ward the chill in the air
but they don’t stop me slipping when i climb your stairs
head right on open, steaming from the walk
seeping towards fingers, you never heard me knock
temporary
february
and my angel with my wings at my side
i’m leaving no footprints for fresh snow to hide
well, you’d be proud of me ‘cause i can name all the stars
but you watch for my breath though you what we are
i know what we are
i know when we are
i know where we are
temporary
february
sanctuary
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7. |
Breaking Through
03:12
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I know there’s nothing I should fear,
As you’ve made absolutely clear
But I still wonder
Why you love bein’ on my arm,
radiating grace and charm,
Shine out my blunders
‘Cause everything I do feels wrong,
Sour notes in lover’s songs
Misshaped, belaboured
When all I really wanna do
Is touch my brokenness to you
Some favor
Oh won’t you wait, wait me out now
I’m so slowly learning out how
I built these walls so high,
Well it’s a trickle, no deluge, but I am surely breaking through
Reaching for the sunlight
Well I been drinkin’ like a fish
Against your every waking wish
Now we’re endangered
Yeah my world’s gone double dutch
And this whiskey is my crutch
Unto myself I’m a stranger
Yeah I don’t expect you to ignore
My behavior but I assure you
I’m trying
To roust myself from this slump,
Drag myself out of the dump,
No lyin’
Oh won’t you wait, wait me out now
I’m so slowly learning out how
I built these walls so high,
Well it’s a trickle, no deluge, but I am surely breaking through
Reaching for the sunlight
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8. |
Dandelion
04:08
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Came up through the cracks
Always reachin’ upward & never lookin’ back
You walk the line
My Dandelion
Face down wind and rain
Glowing like the sun itself when the clouds are drained
How bright you shine
My Dandelion
Out all over town
There’s nothing common ‘bout how you
Seek out common ground,
You’ve always got the time
My dandelion
No one ruins your day
When you’re tired you dry right up
And you blow yourself away, and
That’s just fine
Float on the wind, don’t you
Pay no mind
To boundary lines, just keep
Pushin’ through the cracks
Keep reaching upward
No point in looking back
You’re doing so right, so fine
My Dandelion, My Dandelion
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9. |
To the Vanishing Point
05:14
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all things brave and small
all things fair and tall
all things take heed
all things burrowed deep
all things deep in sleep
all things will concede
all things squandering light
all things good and right
savior, come with me
to a place i can not flee
all things you foresee
all things in mystery
apprehensively
touch the boundary
all things brave and small
all things fair and tall
all things take heed
all things will concede
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10. |
Spring Cleaning
03:23
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i made a mess of this kitchen
i made a mess of this life
and i'm trying to sweep it
and be a better wife
but these tears keep smearing dust in the floor
and i can not take this mess anymore
no, i can not take this mess anymore
i made a mess of this kitchen
i made a mess of this life
and i'm trying to sweep it
and be a better wife
but these tears keep smearing dust in the floor
and i don't know what this fighting's been for
i just can not take this mess anymore
i'm tired of being surprised
when you and i have a good time
like i was looking at a stranger, then at you
i made a mess of this kitchen
i made a mess of this life
and i'm trying to sweep it
and be a better wife
but these tears keep smearing dust in the floor
and i can not take this mess anymore
no, i can not take this mess anymore
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Phoebe Spier
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