Marissa Nadler Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs

B i o g r a p h y
(by Official Press)

Marissa Nadler grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, where perhaps the brutal winters bred into her a chilly disposition and an early propensity for the darker and more melancholy side of things. After spending her childhood painting, she began to play guitar and write songs around the age of 14. Entirely self taught, after home recording two full length records, Marissa Nadler released a cover of a Pearls Before Swine song on a compilation put out by a friend of hers, Jeffrey Alexander (The Iditarod, Black Forest/Black Sea). He was and still is a major figure in the Providence, Rhode Island music scene, which also birthed one of the loudest bands in history, Lightening Bolt. The compilation was Marissa's first release, put out while Marissa was attending the Rhode Island School of Design for painting. Thurston Moore, among other notable Tom Rapp fans, graced the compilation CD with their experimental interpretations. (For the Dead in Space, vol II) Nadler's cover of Ballad to An Amber Lady, was the first of many atmospheric and melancholy songs Marissa would record in the years to follow. It was then that she decided to pursue music full time. After quitting a job teaching painting to children in Harlem, Marissa left New York and has been touring various countries and recording ever since.

Marissa's music is very dreamy and atmospheric: an amalgam of traditional folk, paisley underground, shoe gaze, and dream pop. Almost all of the songs are very sad, about broken hearts, death, or simple burdens. Her voice is what most people immediately respond to, often described as spectral and beautiful. She plays many stringed instruments (including banjo, ukulele, autoharp, guitar, 12 string guitar, and dobro) but is often noted as an excellent, often experimental, guitar player, and is now working on explorations into the twelve string guitar.

She sings songs of the sea, the haunting chansons of maidens, the cowboy ditties of ranchers, and the funerary processions of mourners. The eerie quality of her atmospheric music gives her songs a timelessness and sadness that is often described as other worldly.

Marissa's first LP Ballads of Living and Dying in 2004, was a release that Pitchfork called "a landscape you may want to get lost in for a century or two," and that The Wire called "a beauty." Ballads of Living and Dying was released in the UK in early February of 2005 by Beautiful Happiness Records, meeting the same response overseas as it did in the States, with the Guardian calling it "uncommonly lovely...hard to get out of your head."

The Saga of Mayflower May was released the following year, and has garnered the same acclaim as did Ballads of Living and Dying, with Pitchfork calling it, among other things, simply an "enthralling album".

Marissa Nadler has currently just finished her third official full length record, Songs III: Bird on the Water, which will be released worldwide February 12th, 2007. She will be touring extensively throughout the spring and summer of 2007 in support of her new record.

Fifty Five Falls

And I say to the day
Why'd you drop down to die
With fifty five falls
And seventy skies?
And I say to the day
Why this ballad of brine?
With Mayflower May and here monocle'd eye

Where she lies
Gently close her eyes
Where she lies
Gently close her eyes
Oh, Damn July!

Oh, I had a friend
I remember her well
With sad little hands
A sad sickle cell..
Oh, I had a friend
Her ship sailed away
T'was fifty five falls
ago to this day

Where she lies
Gently close her eyes
Where she lies
Gently close her eyes
Oh, Damn July!

And I say to the day
Why'd you drop down to die
With fifty five falls
And seventy skies
And I say to the day
Why this Ballad of Brine?
With Mayflower May and her monocle'd eye

When she dies
Slowly close her eyes
Where she lies
Gently close her eyes
Oh, Damn July

Hay Tantos Muertos

(words by Pablo Neruda)

Hay tantos muertos
Y tantos malecones que el sol rojo partia
Hay tantos muertos
Y tantas cabezas que golpean los buques
Hay tantos muertos
Y tantas manos que han encerrado besos
Hay tantos muertos
Y tantas cosas que quiero olvidar

Stallions

Mother, the stallions are running wild
Save me your evil thoughts of mind
Lord, I tried my best to save you from your mind
Lord, I tried my best to save you from your mind

Mother, the table's dressed in white
Save me your evil thoughts of mind
I tried my best to save you from your mind
Lord, I tried my best to save you from your mind

Mother, the stallions are running wild
Save me your evil thoughts of time
Lord, I tried my best to save you from your mind
Lord, I tried my best to save you from your mind

Undertaker

I was your undertaker
And I was your highway girl
I was your bitter taste
Of every other world

You wake in the maddening morning
You wake in the firelight world
You wait for your find a dancer
From every other world

I was your undertaker
And I was your ivory girl
And I was your bitter taste
Of every other world

I wait for the trains
To ride me back
To some highway world
I wait for the trains
To ride me back
To some other world

Box Of Cedar

Seven winters past and gone
I once was young and I once was strong
Shannadee- ah dee ah dee

Six fine times I felt my knees
Buckle to your sweet release
Shannadee- ah dee ah dee

Five times tried to conjure you
Another letter or a note or clue
Shannadee ah dee ah dee

And I'm going to tell everybody
I'm know that I'm glad to see you
And I'm going to tell everybody
I'm know that I'm glad to see you
Even though you're coming home
In a box of cedar

For four years you courted I
Your raven hair, your brittle bride
Shannadee ah dee ah dee

Three more times I tried to find it
A lover to match your sweet kind
Shannadee ah dee a dee

And I'm going to tell everybody
I'm know that I'm glad to see you
And I'm going to tell everybody
I'm know that I'm glad to see you
Even though you're coming home
In a box of cedar

[sing-song]

One am I to fill these rooms
And wake each morn to the drone of doom
Shannadee ah dee a dee

Seven winters past and gone
I once was young and I once was strong
Shannadee ah dee a dee

Bird Song

If I call your name at midnight
You would not be there
If I call your name at midnight
Oh, you would not be there

You said my name so sweetly
Oh, the one time that you called
Oh, you said my name so sweetly
That I took my clothes all off

Oh, the birds are calling
And I do not believe for me
Oh, the birds are calling
And I do not believe for me
Yes, I do not believe for me

I thought I saw you walking
With your trenchcoat in the rain
Yes, I thought I saw you driving
Down those streets past me again
Yes, I drank the table under
And I drank your bitter wine
Yes, I drank the table under
And I drank your bitter wine

Oh, the bells are ringing
And I do not believe for me
Oh, the bells are ringing
And I do not believe for me
Yes, I do not believe for me

I walk on every Monday
With your memories so clear
Yes, I walk on vagrant runways
I think of how you're near

Mayflower May

Without a lover
Without a friend
Without a saviour
Without a friend
Without a lover
Without a friend
Mayflower walked away
Away towards the air
And if you see her
Call out her name
And if you hear her
Out in the rain
Mayflower Maybelle
May was her name

Without a lover
Without a friend
Without a saviour
Without a friend
Without a lover
Without a care
Mayflower walked away
Away towards the air
And if you see her
Call out her name
And if you hear her
Out in the rain
Mayflower Maybelle
May was her name

Days Of Rum

You knew her in the time
She was young
and yearned to die
She'd gaze at the light
In the corner in the night

And the men would come to her
In the dead of old winter
In the doldrums it was fine
To touch her body and her mind

Singing: Dum-diddy dum
Days of fun, days of rum!
Singing, Dum-diddy-dum
Days of fun, days of rum!

Scarlet in the wine
Raise the bloody vine
Oh, she knew you in the time
She was young
And yearned to die
But the roses never came
She was just some winters dame
And in her bed she lay
As she dreamt oof a dying day

Singing, Dum-diddy-dum
Days of fun, days of rum
Singing, Dum-diddy-dum
Days of fun, days of rum

Virginia

The waves rush against the folds of my face
As I start to drown
The waves rush against the folds of my face
As I start to drown

Oh, Virginia
Virgina, Virginia
Die

In winter the water
will wash up above the waterside
In winter the water
will wash up above the waterside

Oh, Virginia
Virgina, Virginia
Die

With the rocks in your pockets
You walk up above the waterside
With the rocks in your pockets
You walk up above the waterside

Oh, Virginia
Virgina, Virginia
Die

The waves rush against the full of my face
As I start to fall
The waves rush against the folds of my face
As I start to fall

Oh, Virginia
Virgina, Virginia
Falls

Annabelle Lee

(words by Edgar Allan Poe)

It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabelle Lee
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me

I was a child and she was a child
In this kingdom by the sea
But we loved with a love that was more than love
I and my Annabelle Lee
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me
And this was the reason that, long ago
In this kingdom by the sea
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabelle Lee
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea

It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabelle Lee

Under An Old Umbrella

Say hello to the sea
Or to the holy water
Say hello to the sea
Under the skies of azure

And I met him yesterday
Under my old umbrella
And I met him yesterday
Under the skies of azure
And turquoise was the colour of his eyes
And bitter wine the colour of my high

He was tall, gracefully
he held my empty fingers
He was tall, gracefully
He filled my cold hard body

And I met him yesterday
Under the skies of azure
And I met him yesterday
Under my old umbrella
And turquoise was the colour of his eyes
And bitter wine the colour of my high

The Little Famous Song

Will you play your famous song
Your little song
Your lovely song
Will you play your famous song
For me

I loved all the things he saw
The little war birds in the dark
I loved all the things he saw
The ways in which the water fall

Will you play your famous song
Your little song
Your lovely song
Will you play your famous song
For me

I loved all the things you saw
Your little war birds in the dark
I loved all the things you saw
The ways in which your water fall

Mr. John Lee (The Velveteen Rose)

Mr. John Lee I knew about your family
But you came when I was lonesome
In the fairest of the spring
And I did not care for your wedding ring
But I did care for Marie

Farewell, my sweet
Oh you often told me
How my hair was a raven
And my eyes were shining bright
But I did not love you quite as well
As your darling loving wife

But every time that you see
A Velveteen Rose
you think of how you once called me
Your Velveteen Rose

Mr. John Lee
'Twas the nite that you told me
The burning thoughts you harboured me
That sheriff found your sweet Marie
Floating by the river weeds
In the fields of green

But every time that you see
A Velveteen Rose
I think of how you once called me
Your Velveteen Rose

Damsels In The Dark

Photographs of your face
Against the wind
Against the rain
I'm gonna burn them all
And bury your name

All your damsels in the dark
And sea-shell branches in the park
I'm gonna burn them all
And bury your name

Photographs of your face
Against the wind
Against the rain
I'm gonna burn them all
And bury your name

Lily, Henry, And The Willow Trees

Lily was a maiden in the castle sea
They found her in the forest
Where the wild willows be
Lily was a maiden in the castle sea
They found her in the forest
Where the wild willows be

RAPE scene:

Singing, Don't Plead me no!!
For I will seize you in the snow
Singing, Don't plead me no!!
For I will seize you in the snow

Henry first saw Liliane
Girl of coloured hair
Sitting by the river
With the willows in her hair
Lily hummed a tune she knew
A shanty from the sea
He seized her by her little waist
Against the willow tree

Singing fair thee Oh well
Where you gone, no one can tell
Singing fair thee oh well
Where you gone, no one can tell

Oh, you are worth a million silver pennies
Henry said to Liliane
Oh, you are worth a million silver pennies
Henry said to Liliane

Yellow Lights

Yellow lights are free and climbing
up the sad old grey behind me
Can you help her walk away again
Blue the colour of the water
Mary and her devil-daughter
Drinking rubies in the rain again

Oh Mary
Don't you die
Oh Mary
Don't you die
Cause of the colour of her eye

Green the colour of the grasses
Mary and her new blue lassies
Come a-riding in the fall with me
Grey the shades of all nights past me
Red the blood inside the old tree
Come a-riding in the fall with me

Oh Mary
Don't you die
Oh Mary
Don't you die
Cause of the colour of her eye

Old Love Haunts Me In The Morning

Old love haunts me in the morning
La da da da da da da da di
Old love haunts in the evening
And the remnants of pictures come alive

I told you that I loved you
By the lake with the summer done
Come all your careless wanderers
By the lake with the days of rum

When I first saw you in the sunshine
With the speckles and flaxen in your eyes
When I first saw you in the moonlight
It is true that I thought that I might die

I told you that I loved you
By the lake with the summer done
Come all your careless wanderers
By the lake with the days of rum

La da da da da da da da di

My Little Lark

Sooner or later
I will see you or something
we talked in the night
To the sound of the broken swing
In the beginning
Stars I would fancy
And we'd rock in the night
To the sound of the surf crashing

Further and further
Are you growing now
Further and further
Is the spark
Further and further
Are you growing now
futher and further
My little lark

Ode, to my sweet one
In the days of the long run
In the fall looking among
The fields of green and blue
Where did you fly to
Little blue

Sooner or later
I'll be seeing you
In all the markings on the wall
Sooner or later
Will you come to me
Incarnate in the body of a willow tree

In the Time Of The Lorry Low

Gladly to your home again
Forgive me to the rain
It's true that I willed
And wished for you
Each night upon my bed
Driving down your road again
A winding road of green
Your face a distant memory
An autumn leaf in spring

It was a long time ago
In the time of the lorry low
It was a long time ago
Twas a claw in the days of old

Following these signs of you
As sparrows flock around
I will always drink to you
When entering this town
Grievous angels laugh at you
For leaving me to be
I see your face in every blueish
Sky and road and sea

It was a long time ago
In the time of the lorry low
It was a long time ago
With a claw in the days of old

Calico

Take her to the river
Call her a river-child
Take her to the forest
Call her a little wild
Sell her to the gypsy
For a jar of metal coins
Take her to the mountain
And thrust yourself
Into her loins

Calico
Calico
Calico
Her lips are white as snow

She moved to the mountains
With a box all chisels sharp
She moved to the highlands
With a box of books so dark
I knew her in the city
She and I would dance the night
Drink the wine of dripping berries
Toast the moon and count the lights

Calico
Calico
Calico
Her skin is soft as snow

Take her to the river
Call her a river-child
Take her to the forest
Call her a little wild

Horses And Their Kin

Every night without the light
Or brightly shining love
Silver trees and darkened leaves
Blot the sky above
As the yellow moon to the darkest night
Turns to raging fire
The road it bends and the darkness spins
To voices in the choir

I dream of horses and their kin
Against the lovely night
I dream of sand and sky and sin
Against the pale blue light
And everyone that feels at all
Has got something to say
About the way of southern ways
Of every wild day

Diamond heart

So do you know I�m a dancer now
With red painted lips, and a jezebel crown
So have you heard, I�m a singer now
With reliquary eyes, and a diadem frown

But I look for you
In the diamond trees
And the highway divine
Deliver me
Your father died
A month ago
And he scattered his ashes
In the snow

But oh my lonely diamond heart
It misses you so well
Oh my lonely diamond heart
It misses you oh well

I had a man in every town
And I thought of you each time
I tore off my gown
Changes have come
And I cannot recall
The shape of your face
Through the winters and falls

But I look for you
In the traffic seas
And the bars I�m always frequenting
Your father died
Some months ago
And we scattered his ashes
In the snow

Holidays are the hardest hours of the year
Holidays are the hardest hours of the year
Holidays are the hardest hours of the year

And oh my lonely diamond heart
It misses you my dear

She gave me a bird
Made out of clay
So I never will forget her
And he gave me a book
Made out of wood
To fasten all
The emblems
She gave me a bird
Made out of clay
So I never will forget her

But oh my lonely diamond heart
It misses you so well
And oh my lonely diamond heart
It misses you oh well

Dying breed

Red is the color of memory
Blue is the way to green
And darling you did gamble
�cause you were a dying breed
Yes you were a dying breed

Yellow the color of your skin
Black was the color of your hair
Your earthly days have passed you by
Where oh where oh where did you go
When they took your bones
Did you go when they took your bones and ran

Red is the color of memory
Blue is a way to green
And darling you did gamble
�Cause you were a dying breed
Yes you were a dying breed

Frank this song is for you love
And for your curly hair
Your earthly days have passed you by
Where oh where oh where did you go
When they took your bones
Did you go when they took your bones and ran

Mexican summer

Oh to find
Another lover
Oh to lie
In the bed of another
Breaking the bread
And raising the silver there
With you

And I dreamed your face
In the Mexican summer
With Texas above
To die with my brother
Breaking the bread
And raising the silver there
With you

And I dreamed your face a million times
And I vowed to get you out
And I dreamed your face a million times
And I vowed to get you out
And I dreamed your face a million times
And I vowed to get you out
Of here

Oh to find
Another lover
Oh to lie in the
Bed of another
Breaking the bread
And raising the silver there
With you

Thinking of you

Thinking of you
All through the morning
I�m thinking of you
All through the evening
I�m thinking of you
And the way that your holy water grew

I met a girl under the water
It made me recall how I wanted a daughter
But you never gave me nothing that I could hold on to

But I wrote you letters by the phone
And I wrote you every night alone
But who are you walking around with
Buttercup

He was my lord
And I was his lady
But I soon grew tired of the lazy days
When I moved away and I thought of him often
He came to me nights in my rose colored dreams

Thinking of you
All through the morning
I�m thinking of you
All through the evening
I�m thinking of you
And the way that your holy water grew

But I wrote you letters by the phone
And I wrote you every night alone
But who are you walking around with
Buttercup

Silvia

Silvia, Silvia, Silvia,
I met you in the belly of a whale
Silvia, Silvia, Silvia
Oh where did you fail

Time passes slowly in the daylight
But I do not want to die
I met you in the belly of a wicked rhyme
And I read all your letters I could find

And the water is your friend
The water is your friend
And down and down and down you go
Gonna buy you a red dress,
And put feathers in your hair
And resurrect the finer things
I lost when you disappeared

Breaking on the daylight
They put flowers round your grave
And I sang a silly song for you
Hey hey hey hey hey
Silvia, Silvia

Silvia, Silvia, Silvia
I met you in the belly of a whale
Silvia, Silvia, Silvia,
Oh where did you fail

And the water is your friend
The water is your friend
And down and down and down you go
Gonna buy you a red dress
And put feathers in your hair
And resurrect the finer things
I lost when you disappeared

Breaking on the daylight
They put flowers round your grave
And I sang a silly song for you
Hey hey hey hey hey
Silvia, Silvia

Bird on your grave

Tomorrow I�m gonna leave a bird on your grave
And say a little prayer for you

Kyle says you�ve been dead for a couple of months
And I�ve been thinking your still here my friend
And I still have your songs in my head
And your face engraved into the glass of me

Tomorrow I�m gonna leave a bird on your grave
And say a little prayer for thee

Tomorrow I�m gonna leave a bird on your grave
With a note and I�m hoping it will last for days
Faded from flesh they put flowers on your grave
With a great box of cedar where they buried you

Rachel

Oh what a day to dance with you
Oh what a day to die
I held you once in the palm of my hand
And a fine old time it was
Rachel I fear your death will come
And leave me alone to die
Rachel I fear your death will come
And gone to the dogs and the dimes
The men would come to you and me
We�d freeze them like a light
The men would come to you and me
We�d freeze them like a light
Say farewell Maria dear
Your bones and teeth and skin
Say farewell Maria dear
My you�ve grown so thin
Oh what a day to dance with you
Oh what a day to die
I had you once in the palm of my hand
And a fine old time it was
The men would come to you and me
We�d freeze them like a light
The men would come to you and me
We�d freeze them like a light
Say farewell Maria dear
Your bones and teeth and skin
Say farewell Maria dear
My you�ve grown so thin!

Feathers

Feathered failures on my knees
I broke my back from missing thee
I turned to brittle barren worlds
I hear you�re living with the girl
Sara Sara eyes of blue
Sara Sara in love you
She knows you had a woman fine
With eyes as deep as brandy wine
Flora flora, flora flora , flora flora,
Flora flora, flora flora, flora
Flora, flora, la da dum
Flora flora you knew her then
You plucked her from her fields of men
And all at once it came to me
Under my favorite lonesome tree
Sara Sara eyes of blue
Sara Sara in love with you
She knows you had a woman fine
With eyes as deep as brandy wine
Flora flora, flora flora , flora flora,
Flora flora, flora flora, flora
Flora, flora, la da dum
Feathered failures on my knees
I broke my back from missing thee
I turned to brittle barren worlds
I hear you�re living with girl
Sara Sara eyes so blue
Sara Sara in love with you
She knows I was your woman fine
With eyes as deep as brandy wine

It's four in the morning, the end of December
I'm writing you now just to see if you're better
New York is cold, but I like where I'm living
There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening
I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert
You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record

Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Did you ever go clear

Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
You'd been to the station to meet every train
And you came home without Lili Marlene

And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
And when she came back she was nobody's wife

Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
One more thin gypsy thief
Well I see Jane's awake

She sends her regards.

And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
What can I possibly say
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
I'm glad you stood in my way

If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me
Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free

Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried

And Jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear

My love and I

My love and I
Were walking down the road
In a dream that I had not so many years ago
And if my red blood will cease to flow
Your ghost may come where I will go
See you�re as good as dead to me
My holy ghost my savior tree
And if my red blood will cease to flow
Your ghost may come where I will go
Your dreary days
Your damsel days
Your water days
Are dying
Your dreary days
Your damsel day
Your desperate days are dead
Oh where will you go
When I , I loved you ever since
The day we slept in fields of poppies
Oh where will you go,
When I , I loved you ever since
The day, we dreamt in fields of poppies
Your dreary days
Your damsel days
Your water days are dying
Your dreary days
Your damsel days
Your water days are dead

Leather made shoes

Mayflower was a girl
Who came from my room
With a box of faded feathers
And her leather made shoes
But you know when she goes
She�ll be crying
Cause she died all alone
With her feathers and bows
I was just a lonely thing
When I met Mr. Bear
And he loved his sleeping next to me
And in his eyes I stared
But you know when he goes
He�ll be crying
Cause he died all alone
With his feather and bows
Mary Mary Mayflower
And John Lee all came
On the day that I died
Upon the spring
The day his wedding came
But you know
When I go I�ll be crying
Cause I died all alone with my feathers and bows
Don�t you know when she goes she�ll be crying
Cause a love that has died is a sad sad thing
Mayflower way a girl
Who came from my room
With a box of faded feathers and
Her leather made shoes
But you know when she goes
She�ll by crying
Cause a love that has died
Is a sad sad thing

Heart paper lover

You were gone and I was gone
And all of the flowers were dead and gone

And all of the things that I had, were songs again
Weaving the scent of the loss of your heart
From they are to meant
Life seems so empty
Without you, my friend

Heart paper lover
Are you gone again
Heart paper lover
Are you gone again
Are you mine again

Grass is green all along
Sun is filtering, yellow strong
I ripped and I burned all the papers
To the dust with them
Weaving the scent of the loss of your heart
From they are to meant

Life seems so empty
Without you, my friend

Heart paper lover
Are you mine again
Heart paper lover
Are you gone again
Heart paper lover
Are you gone again

Rosary

Every night that I spend alone
Alone
You don't know
You don't know me at all

And in my life of a girl
And their troubles in love
I'm a troubled, troubled heart

Thought I'd sing at the boats
"Trouble, away!"
But they swam back to me today
My troubles are never gonna leave me alone

April is lonely
But the rosary that I wear on my neck
And stare out to sea
Gulls overhead burn in the tree
I feel numb and cold
Rosary

Numb, cold and free
Rosary
Rosary
Rosary

Mary Come Alive

Mary, come alive
I brought water and food for your life

I don't want to come alive
Life was hard when I was your bride
And I know we had a beautiful life
But things changed like the leaves on the vine

Mary, come alive
I brought water and food for your life

And I know they had a beautiful life
But things changed like the leaves on the vine

Mary, come alive
I brought water and food for your life

I don't want to come alive
Life was hard when I was your bride
And I know we had a beautiful life
But things changed like the leaves on the vine

Little Hells

Mama I have
Nothing but cobwebs
And dust in the lock
Blood runs thick
In the veins
But I live like a fish in the water again

She says
Soft to a fault
She believes the hardest things of all
True love
Never did exist at all

She lives in a dark cloud
Of little hells
When she meant something
To somebody else

But now it's dark
And cobwebs and rose petals
Defy her
Into the web
To go back
To the days of color

Into the web
To go back
To the days of color

Ghosts and Lovers

Winter was an island, child
Some of the friends
You had been gone a while
It's a dark twisted line across
You sear into the wild

People are looking down you say
You can feel the beat of yesterday
On the street there was a big parade
And a family of four

Ghosts and lovers
They'll haunt you for a while
Ghosts and lovers
They'll haunt you for a while
Ghosts and lovers
They will haunt you for a while
From the stars and from the sheets and ground
From the ground

You drank the days away you say
Today is the same as any other day
On the street there was a big parade
And a family of four
Victorian gentlemen

They rap on the walls
When you're trying to sleep
And there's nothing you can say
To make them go away
To make them go away
To make them go
Oh-oh-oh-oh away

Ghosts and lovers
They'll haunt you for a while
Ghosts and lovers
They'll haunt you for a while
Ghosts and lovers
They will haunt you for a while
From the stars and from the sheets and ground
From the ground
From the ground
From the ground
From the ground

Brittle, Crushed and Torn

Many were the years I was brittle, crushed
And tore your name from leaf hearts
And blades of grass that were lost in the haze

And it's funny he still loves me
And it's funny he still loves me

Call her name, she dreams of you
Send her your regards
In the flesh is what I want
But no, you're a weak man now
Where did you go, fantasy
Were you lost in the haze
Were you free

Life is a rambling end
When you are gone
When you are gone
When you are gone

The hole is wide

Flowers died a long
Time ago my friend
And they're hanging on the wall
With wax and thread

When you were young
Did you think it would ever end
When you were young
Did you think it would ever end

Sylvia was a girl
That I knew best
And she wore the finest eyelid dress
And she sits in her room
Painting golden moons
And she sits in her room
Painting golden runes

Oh, what am I to do
Without a man to see me through
Oh, what am I to do
Without a man to see me through
I'm more than blue
I'm violet

Lyla met a man
That she loved best
And he died in a fiery crash

And the hole is wide
The hole is wide
The hole is wide

And the hole is wide
The hole is wide
The hole is wide

Oh, what am I to do
Without a man to see me through
Oh, what am I to do
Without a man to see me through
I'm more than blue
I'm violet

Sylvia was a girl that I knew best

River of Dirt

I was your lover, you were my plan
I told you that you were my sun and my sand
We would ride away and get a circus job
And I'd fly away, become a bird of song

El camino, take me home
El camino, take me home

You are a jester and I am an elf
And I'm sad to the bones that are stocked upon my shelf

Take me back to the river of dirt
Take me back to the river of dirt

Built of the veins
And the flesh and the bones
We're oh so painfully alone
Burdened by rivers of dirt and fire
We return to the ground when we retire
Back to the river of dirt and fire

Summer is coming, I can't believe it's true
Where are you, where is she
I'm turning into you
Take me back to the place of the golden slumbers
Where I was happy and you were my middle name

Take me back to the river of dirt
Take me back to the river of dirt

And I grew up in the houses made of lead
The walls were white, the stairs were sharp
The scent of summer land

Take me back to the river of dirt
Take me back to the river of dirt

Mistress

Sometimes you bring me flowers
A misery it seems to me
I don't want to live a day without you
Haunting my memory

Goodbye misery
Letters on the line
Goodbye misery
Letters on the line

Come in now, you know I won't desert you
It's been four years waiting for the day
That you would leave your girl and take me somewhere away

Summertime was hard
And I knew it on the spot
I would marry you some sunny day
But baby I know it�s strange
To end up this way
A mistress on a sunny day

One thousand bottles of why
And the days of rum
Turn to years of swine

I'm leaving you for good this time
Dreams and scars and letters on the line

Summertime was hard
And I knew it on the spot
I would marry you some sunny day
Baby I know it�s strange
To end up this way
A mistress on a sunny day

Chelsea Hotel #2

( Live / Leonard Cohen cover )

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
You were talking so brave and so sweet
Giving me head on the unmade bed
While the limousines wait in the street
Those were the reasons and that was New York
We were running for the money and the flesh
And that was called love for the workers in song
Probably still is for those of them left
Ah but you got away, didn't you babe
You just turned your back on the crowd
You got away, I never once heard you say
I need you, I don't need you
I need you, I don't need you
And all of that jiving around

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
You were famous, your heart was a legend
You told me again you preferred handsome men
But for me you would make an exception
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
Who are oppressed by the figures of beauty
You fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind
We are ugly but we have the music"

And then you got away, didn't you babe...

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best
I can't keep track of each fallen robin
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
That's all, I don't even think of you that often

(Xiu Xiu cover / Xiu Xiu Remixed & Covered LP)

Up and down through what you thought would be your future
Became the dark reminder of
What a rash and inconsistent faith you had
In loving your true self and your true love

Clowne towne, no shelter
Clowne towne, no anything
Clowne towne, a single angel
Clowne towne, no exit

Your true father smashed his hands through the glass
And failed out of the priviledged dreams
Your true love has drunk herself into not being able
Or keeping her own word to her own self
Your true brother has betrayed you over and over
And looked you in the eye
Your true self has become weak and alone and alone
And alone and alone

Clowne towne, revealing nothing
Clowne towne, a flock of coots
Clowne towne, a single beauty
Clowne towne, a big dumb kid

Clowne towne, no shelter
Clowne towne, no anything
Clowne towne, a single angel
Clowne towne, no exit

Clowne towne, no shelter
Clowne towne, no anything
Clowne towne, a single angel
Clowne towne, no exit

Cortez the killer

( Neil Young - Zuma LP - 1975 )

He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun

On the shore lay Montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wondered
With the secrets of the worlds

And his subjects gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones

They carried them to the flatlands
But they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still can't do today

And I know she's living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer

(Four Track Recordings, Outtakes / 2006)

Flora Barone hates to see how old she's grown
Coloured the window, shattered the glass
Covered her body with objects from the past

Her mother starred in a vaudeville show
Her hair was famous, as white as snow
Men gave her gifts, all for a curl
She passed them on to her little girl

Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet
Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet

Her wedding day to her husband, Bill
Was the happiest day, her heart was filled
He gave her a slip, the colour of the sky
The same as her majestic eyes
When she died Flora's hair was rich
With silk flowing ribbons, and diamond encrusted clips

Flora's daughter was constantly ill
Instead of toys, she has brightly colored pills
A patchwork quilt, it covered her bed
And whenever Flora washed it, the water bled red

Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet
Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet

Flora Barone hates to see how old she's grown
Coloured the window, shattered the glass
Covered her body with objects from the past

Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet
Flora walking down the street
Flora Barone, I'm with you my sweet

Goodbye Heartache

( Marissa with her band 'Ivy And The Clovers' )

When I was young
He was the king
Of my poor heart
When I was young
He was the king
Of my poor heart
Of my poor heart
Diamonds and Rain
They fell on me
When you said goodbye you see
I'm over your watery eyes
Yes, I'm over your watery eyes
And goodbye heartache, that you gave to me
When I was seventeen
And goodbye heartache, that you gave to me
When I was twenty three
When I was young
He was the king
Of everything
And I thought I would die
From crying
But farewell to the darkness
So long
Farewell to the darkness
I've loved for so long
And goodbye heartache
That you gave to me
When I was seventeen
And goodbye heartache
That you gave to me
When I was
Twenty three

Judgement Day

(a.k.a. "As I Lay In Death My Son" / Not Alone LP)

As I lay in death my son
Comfort me today
Once I made a sin so strong
Repentance true, I pray
My lady, she is strong and fair
And in her bed I lay
But lies I told, my lust was bored
And here comes judgment day

But here comes the time
But I feel my conscience cry
Forsaking her on the forest floor
And here I come to die

I told her she was beauty true
Her clothes/gloves and ???
I loved her music mournfully
But by her graceful lines
And I when I lusted after her
My woman slept at home
An infidel, a faithlessness
I let my mistress roam

But here comes the time
I hear the clock bells chime
Forsaking her on the forest floor
And here I come to die

Oh as I lay in death my son
A bed of solid stone
Do not walk the lines of lust
The vices that I've roamed
And if you see the ghost of her
Kiss her once for me
Kiss her for the moon so white
And kiss her for the sea

(The Band cover)

Lonesome Suzie never got the breaks
She's always losing so she sits and cries and shakes
It's hard just to watch her and if I touch her
Oh, poor Suzie, I'm wondering what to do

She just sits there, hoping for a friend
I don't fit here, but I may have a friend to lend
Maybe I mistook her, but I can't overlook her
Must be someone who can pull her through

Anyone who's felt that bad could tell me what to say
Even if she'd just get mad, she might be better off that way
And where is all the understanding
Her problems can't be that demanding
Why is it she looks that way
Every time she starts to cry

Lonesome Suzie, I can't watch you cry no longer
If you can use me until you feel a little stronger
I guess just watching you has made me lonesome too
Why don't we get together
What else can we do

And anyone who's felt that bad could tell me what to say
Even if she'd just get mad, she might be better off that way
And where is all the understanding
Her problems can't be that demanding
Why is it she looks that way
Every time she starts to cry

A heart that's full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won't heal
You look so tired, unhappy
Bring down the government
They don't, they don't speak for us
I'll take the quiet life
A handshake of carbon monoxide

No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises

Silent
Silent

This is my final fit
My final belly-ache with
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises, please

Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises, please

The Story Of Daisy And Violet

( Carnivale LP )

Daisy and violet work at the market
I hear they used to live on the road
Somebody told me singing in side-shows
Joined at the hips of the songs that they wrote

Daisy and violet come in a vision
Double the pleasure
Double the fun
Singing a harmony on a sister
Could sing of the times and the freedom they one

Daisy fell ill and was followed by violet
A neighbor would find them dead on the ground
Somewhere inside the mind of a child
Are harmonies only a sister could sing

Elephant man
Died in his own bed
The neck that he had had a heart of its own
They said that his mother was crushed by a monster
When he was inside her an elephant gnome

(distant vocals are excerpts from the elephant man's journals)