1. |
Leaving
03:07
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Somewhere east of here is a place to call our own
Somewhere far from the light of Sacramento
It will be a place of joy and safety
A place where love is less costly
And in the night we will steal my parent’s car
We’ll reach the border by the morning star
We will finally be free and happy
And I will love you, and you will love me
And my reflection
In the rearview mirror
Is the only image
That is clear
So hold on
Hold on, cuz I am sure
I don’t wanna live here anymore
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2. |
Dawn at Joshua Tree
03:25
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Sure as a surgeon before he commits the act
We cling to the forests, headlights cut through the black
Pale light reflecting off the traffic signs
Contracting the pupils in your bloodshot eyes
We sing for the winter, we sing for the spring
We cry for the glory that our future will bring
We breathe in adrenaline and the cool air
Windows rolled down, your laughter cascading everywhere
We stop for breakfast at 7 am
Nobody questions us, and we don’t question them
We pass through quickly as the night expires
And dawn comes over the universe and sets it
All on fire
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3. |
September Rain
02:29
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I watched you drive through Arizona
Filled with purpose far from home
But the car sputtered out
And we stopped in a moment of silence
Your delicate fingers gripped the wheel
You tore your throat from all the screaming
But your glistening eyes
They shone like blue diamonds
And you were as sweet
As September rain
We spent that spring in a trailer park
Slept with the seats down in the car
Kept awake by the barking
Of dogs going hungry
And we would ache in the mornings
And we would work for gasoline
Held alive by the fear
We would fade into nothing
And I remember the waking pain
Of not being anyone
Of not being anywhere
But you were as sweet
As September rain
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4. |
Flagstaff
02:20
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Turn out of Flagstaff
Take I40 east
We can make it to the border
By nightfall at least
The shadows of the mountains
Watch us as we pass
Our prayers whistle in the wind:
May we find peace at last
You turn west towards home
Or towards nothing at all
When your cell phone rings
You don’t answer the call
I ask you who it was
You don’t say anything
You just give me that stupid look
As the sky turns pint
I pry you for answers
There’s a stiff crease in your brow
And you slam your hands on the glove compartment
There’s no stopping you now
You spit searing shrapnel
Like a bursting grenade
And there’s nothing of my heart
Left to save
Summer fills our lungs
As Arizona fades from view
I mean it when I say
There’s something wrong with you
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5. |
Texas and New Mexico
03:08
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Sometimes you look so gently at me
Sometimes we sing
Sometimes we scream so violently
That the whole care rings
Some days you show me who I am
And the beauty of forgiveness
Those days I love you more
Than the world could ever witness
So cover me with guilt
Til I am good and buried
Oh weigh me down with hatred
More than I could ever carry
Spit at me your platitudes
And leave me behind
And I hope you never make it to
The Texas-New Mexico line
And you ran from all your fears
With nowhere to return to
I followed you to nowhere
Without a second thought
And we need each other dearly
Like the dead are gonna rot
And you cannot grow without me
I cannot grow without you
You cannot grow without me
I cannot grow without you
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6. |
One Long Minute
03:16
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The stars
Are pure and plentiful tonight
So I pull the car over
And turn off the headlights
Doc Watson
Coming in on the radio
And you
You fell asleep
Several hours ago
I step
Into the grass
a hundred miles from Abilene
In one small moment
The vastness of the sky
Is overwhelming
I think to wake you
But something selfish
Tries to stop me
I take one
Long minute
To breathe
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7. |
Flowers from Waco
03:29
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The Texas heat passes through you
As the sweat pours down your nose
And you stand breathing heavily on the levees
As you wonder where the Trinity goes
Cicadas are playing their music
The mosquitoes are eating me alive
And the bridge that crosses over the river
Is beautiful, tangled, and wide
And you think For a moment
About a kiss on my forehead
But the flowers you picked in Waco
Are already dead
We sit on a quilt that your sister made
For you when you were born
And you trace the familiar stitches with your fingers
In the places where it is torn
We eat in a comfortable silence
For one moment there’s a chance
Watermelon on your lips and on your shirt
And you holding my hand
And you think For a moment
About a kiss on my forehead
But the flowers you picked in Waco
Are already dead
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8. |
Durant, OK
02:12
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We roll over the border
Giving Eisenhower the finger
We pull into the nearest somewhere
And park in the casino
We see signs from local churches asking
If we’ve found the light
They say: Honey if you’re worried
Know that it’ll be alright
You kiss me with your mouth open
In the parking lot
It was a clear and warm reminder
You’re the only thing I’ve got
We get out of the car
And you take me by the hand
As we settle into evening
In Durant, Oklahoma
Armed with fake IDs
And your new septum piercing
We drink wine
From California
With these sweet tattoos
Running up and down our arms
And the bright, setting sun
Will keep us from harm
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9. |
Hot in Topeka
02:47
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Its a cold day in hell
From right where I stand
Pigs are embracing their wings
As the soar far above the land
The way you said so firmly
“I wanna go home”
I know that you’re much to afraid
To do anything on your own
And its not that I think that you’re lying
Its just that I know that you are
Somewhere way out in Kansas
Is the dead dream of your shooting star
You turn and you look out the window
With nothing to say
The wind shifts wildly around us
There’s rain on the way
Static from the radio
Fills up the car
And a small voice wishes us good days
Wherever we are
And its not that I think that you’re lying
Its just that I know that you are
Somewhere way out in Kansas
Is the dead dream of your shooting star
And its not that I think that I love you
Its just that I know that I do
You may think that they miss you back home
But I know that isn’t true
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10. |
Shelter
03:56
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You’re in awful mood
I can tell from how you stand
As we wait in line for food at the shelter
The way you hold my hand
So firmly that it hurts
I tell you that I want to understand
And you summon up a demon
to give your hatred form
As if anything you say to me could hurt me
Some people start to stare at us
Your cheeks are streaked with salt
As the sky begins to cover up your anger
And the first drops are small
As they dance across your face
We make it safe inside before the worst begins to fall
But we sit there cold and hungry
Like we have a thousand times
And you lean across the table to place your lips on mine
The storm continues on
We have no choice but to leave
We face the world beneath a leaking awning
You turn to look at me
And your eyes are clear and bright
As we take our final steps into Missouri
And you press your chest right into mine
And slowly say my name
As if my feeble broken body could protect you from rain
But I pull you close
And I’m holding on
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11. |
Vultures
04:21
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I think a lot about the sun
And how one day it will explode
You think a lot about me
When your eyes are on the road
Cuz there’s only so much to talk about
When I am with you all the time
But we’re settling into the silence
With love, with love on our minds
Sleep comes over me
Like a man with a morphine cloth
Its unexpected and violent
I bite my lip, and the blood drips off
Trees are greener around us
As we pass through southern Illinois
But I think I miss the sunshine
I think I miss the California soil
And I dream of vultures
Soaring overhead
If I can’t have your in my life
I’m better off dead
I dream of vultures
Soaring violently, circling overhead
If I can’t have you in my life
I am better off
I am better off dead
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12. |
Night Falls Over
03:33
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When summer ends in California
And the wildfires have all gone out
And the days are long and meaningless
And my body’s full of drought
When the sky is changing colors
And the clouds all disappear
That’s when I choose to remember
Ever being here
I was driving us home, you were sleeping
When I hear your open your lips
Air flows through your vocal chords
And you ask me if I want kids
The sun pierces straight through my glass
And all of my instincts fail
We swerve straight into the median
And the tires hit the rail
And my reflection
In the rearview mirror
Was never as clear as I made it out to be
So I will wait
For all the sirens to go
And night falls over Sacramento
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Levees Chicago, Illinois
Levees is songs for agoraphobic vampires (they/he)
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