1. |
Late Evening Harvest
06:23
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Come flying down the hill, gathered thick, gathered low,
Filling up the fold, headed home.
A mottled greeny-blue, flecked with mildew and mould.
Ripe and rotten fruit growing old.
I feel the warmth beneath, a new breath on my cheek
Waiting for the moment to speak.
To wash the dirt away at the end of the day;
A moment to be helpless and weak.
Scattered ashes, splintered branches,
Late evening harvest.
I swear to leave this world behind.
Settled embers, mid-September,
Late evening harvest
Is something of a goodbye.
We found out how to live, saw the true form of love.
Your ideals mean nothing to us.
Pulling up the roots, the dirt crumbles away;
From and soon to be in the clay.
Free from all sense and fear, suddenly drawing near,
Closer to the timeless things.
This is our language now, the whispers within.
You still don’t know what you’re doing.
Scattered ashes, splintered branches,
Late evening harvest.
I swear to leave this world behind.
Settled embers, mid-September,
Late evening harvest
Is something of a goodbye.
Truly honest / endless forest
Reject everything you’ve been told.
There is nothing at all you are owed.
Underwater / I forgot to
Reject everything you’ve been told.
There is nothing at all you are owed.
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2. |
Scum
02:28
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Mould is growing on the walls
Falls off and becomes a layer of soil
Water collects in little pools
The spiders’ legs are skinny and pale
Everyone is deeply unwell
The city is covered in a layer of filth
It collects around the doors and the railing and the walls
People puke and cough
The gutter collects a yellow froth
Dog shit and semen in plastic containers
Frozen pet food defrosts
We are scum
And the righteous walk on us
Obliterate germs in gleaming white mansions
They wash our fingerprints and blood
Off their money
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3. |
Summer Canopies
04:26
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What I remember is us underneath the trees,
The damp, the greenery,
Two rivers and one sea,
The way the granite crags stuck out towards the sky,
The reservoir, our little car,
And the sun in my eyes.
We didn't know then,
Before we had to rearrange,
Learn to accept the change.
And above you,
The stars, like spilled salt,
Spell out nothing at all.
From peak to fen, city to shore we find
A song beneath our feet,
Singing us to sleep,
Four corners and three small seats.
Beyond the downs there is a seaside town,
And on the pebble beach,
We'll go for a swim,
And watch the ferry come in.
We didn't know then,
Before we had to rearrange,
Learn to accept the change.
And above you,
The stars, like spilled salt,
Spell out nothing at all.
Before the end.
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4. |
Shapes
04:14
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Just like at home, you never know
Whether the river will be low
Or right up to the sides,
Reflecting a carriageway of morning light.
There are gaps and rests between,
A mutual familiarity.
To find a kind of meaning;
To be a better human being.
We are learning a lot about love.
Floating in the shallow river;
You are waiting on the bank.
We try a song that we don't know
And wander back through the drizzle.
I found a resting place;
I put a memory to the shapes.
The shapes all fit together
And we will sing the shapes forever.
We are learning a lot about love.
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5. |
Ice Road Trucker
03:26
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Hailstones on the roof let me know that I’m
In the right place at the right time
And when I look out from between the trees
Everything is incredibly green
And lately every incident’s been driving me home
With the ash of my ancestors gritting the road
I am an ice road trucker
I’m gonna truck these bell peppers from El Paso to Alaska
And my cargo is perishable
But when I drive, I drive the long-haul
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6. |
The Clock Has Stopped
02:25
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7. |
A Day and a Season Later
01:09
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8. |
Doorstep
03:12
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Sunlight warms the cold red brick,
Warms the beeswax on the table,
Catches my first breath in the air,
And the pictures of the ancient
Ribbons, a Morris dance,
Gold gorse and broom in bloom.
I sit on the old doorstep,
Watch the roses and potatoes,
A horseshoe above my head,
And the fountain trickling slow
Under the old fig tree,
Nasturtiums and mint leaves.
Remember in the new house,
After tea one summer evening?
We laid a blanket on the lawn
And slept under a starry ceiling.
In the rain at 2am
You carried me back in.
When the buildings are gone and the colours are faded
And the roads only lead to unfamiliar places,
A small box of heirlooms in the upstairs back bedroom...
All of the world that has gone you must let
Finally disappear.
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9. |
Farther Beyond
04:13
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Put some coffee in the pot already
Table and chair legs, shafts of light
The soft breathing of the house
The floorboards creaking and the pipes
Left me a towel to wash my face with
But I am filthier than that
Wash away my sins in daylight
On the porch out back.
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10. |
Beginnings
02:17
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11. |
Solstice
02:30
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12. |
Archipelago
03:18
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We are an archipelago, my friends and me
In a vast ocean of endless human misery
Above the surface we are separate and green
But underneath we are naked and connected
You told me a story about a dog that fought a wolf
Trying to save its master’s baby when no one else was around
When the master returned and saw the blood he blamed the dog and killed it
You cried and you told me you wished that story had never existed
My Grandmother stayed up late on our wedding
Listening to music, considering a future without her in it.
And I sincerely hope there really is a God
And that she will live forever in heaven with her husband and hunkiest boyfriends.
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13. |
Next Year
06:19
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In a moment
The flame will catch the paper and take hold.
It's quiet now;
All the other people have gone home.
It's the moment you wanted
But the moment has gone.
It traps you
Underneath the everlasting folds.
I see you down there
But I can't bring you back; you're on your own.
It's the moment you wanted
But the moment has gone.
In the middle,
Time and space slip gently from control.
I am the sea wall
Against which waves of solid sound may roll.
It's the moment you wanted
But the moment has gone.
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The Nervy Betters England, UK
The Nervy Betters are a mild-mannered experimental pop band, figuring out their place in the world.
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