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Well she told me that she was tired of travelin’ as our plane lifted off into the sky
For a ten month tour of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas
I said “Sweetheart, this is not the time to remind me that recently we’re colder.
There’s just smoke now where once there was a fire.”
She said “You know I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”
I said “What?”
She said “Sweetheart.”
I said “I’m sorry pumpkin, I will surely try.”
And it seems like the days are getting longer now
And they tell me that it’s just that time of year
They must think that I’m some guy who just got off the bus from rubestown
Dumb just ‘cause I don’t speak what’s spoken here.
And this train moves so smoothly I can’t feel it
I hear shots outside from native war
And I said “Where the hell’s my goddamn trusty sidekick when I need her?
Guess I won’t call her Trusty anymore.”
‘Cause she got off the bus at a rest stop
And by the time we pulled away she was gone
And I wonder why I always called her “pumpkin” when she was pissed off
Guess I’ll have to wonder on
And it seems like the days are getting longer now
And they tell me that it’s just that time of year
But the nights are longer too and I wake up every hour
But still that goddamn sunrise won’t appear
And now it seems like the days are getting shorter
Night falls and there’s a stranger at my tent
I said “Hey Trusty, where you been? I got my ass kicked by the natives.”
And she said “I thought you weren’t going to call me that again.”
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I’ve been having dreams lit up by lightning
They came to me the same night that you left
Call when you finally get to Warsaw and tell me not to worry
‘Cause I’ve been having dreams cloaked by Enigma
I pack my things up and start driving west
Call me when you finally get to Paris and tell me not to worry
Tell me one day you’ll be back
‘Til I hear from you I’ll drive across the country planning for the next attack
You’re visiting the sites of Barbarossa
On restless maps that stole you from my arms
The Wehrmacht’s in the Badlands, South Dakota
And I drive on
I’ve been having dreams of half-heard broadcasts
And fragments of your voice come to my ears
Call me when you finally get to Dunkirk and tell me not to worry
Tell me one day this will break
‘Til I hear from you I’ll study every signal looking for the small mistakes
And I could drive ‘til all hope is abandoned
But I’d still get your postcards from Berlin
The Luftwaffe lands inside of the Grand Canyon
So it’s 70 east towards Omaha
The Utah night is bright
And I drive on
I’ve been having dreams ‘bout Winston Churchill
He’s telling me I have no time to rest
I’ll call you when I hit the beach at Normandy and tell you not to worry
Don’t worry
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3. |
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Heaven help me if I tell you lies
And heaven help you if they’re true
And heaven help us both as we rush on by
And disappear from view
Without a glance backwards
Without a “God speed”
We let go of our handshakes to grab the things we need
But I will not waste much of your precious time
You’ve got deadlines to meet
But I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day on a Roman Road
The fastest century we’ve ever run
Off two thousand years of gaining speed
Majestic highways stretching ever on
But Rome isn’t where they lead
And the boom from momentum will shatter our hearts
And cut off our memories from where the feeling starts
And tear us all apart
But I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day on a Roman Road
Well there are cracks in the plaster in times of national disaster
But the future is waiting so we just walk a little faster
No time to catch up with the ever churning change
So instead of passion we got fashion, cool and vague
And it spreads just like the plague
But I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day
I’ll meet you again some day on a Roman Road
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4. |
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There are things that we change ‘cause we know that they’re strange
There are moments we quell just because they won’t go over so well
There are people we kiss ‘cause we know that we’re missed
By someone else who did not know
Just to lay our body down
Layers of wood
Layers of steel
How do feel about it rushing through your skin?
Layers of rock
Layers of ice
Don’t you think twice about it
Let it right on in
No reason. Just because
There are things that we say though we know that they’re strange
There are stories we tell just because they won’t go over so well
There are people we kiss ‘cause we know that our lives will surely melt into the ground unless we lay our body down
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5. |
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Thirty-five years
You said you prayed for me each day
That’s a long time to wait
For me
Perhaps you need a hobby
I’m sure you need a better job
The last time that I saw you you looked sad and tired
And better off than me
But who am I to tell you what you want to hear
So let’s invade a country
I hear that Portugal is nice this time of year
We’ll plan a siege on Lisbon just like the Christians did
And if we take the city we’ll have a cappuccino there
But who am I to tell you what you want to hear
And baby’s head is getting big
And now his collar’s growing tight
He blossoms downwards
One day he’ll fit the shoes he wears
And he’ll invade a country
With Cook’s tickets and a travel guide
And maps of grand tours that were taken once upon a time
But who am I to tell you what you want to hear
Thirty-five years
That’s a long time to wait
For me
And if you wait because there’s nothing else to do
Then I will wait with you
But who am I to tell you what you want to hear
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6. |
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So things end the way they started
Though you thought you’d moved along
And time doesn’t heal you. You just forget why something hurts
So sit back in the salt of the earth
And remember why you came here
Something ‘bout righting a wrong
A child who doesn’t know better
An adult who knows much worse
They both kick you in the salt of the earth
The salt of the earth and the light of the sky
The asteroids in space are watching us die
But they don’t feel like I do
Hold you close the whole night through
And the salt of the earth of me is…
You were never in my future
You were just a dream come true
Like an angel from heaven on a mission of doom
You poured the salt of the earth into my wound
The salt of the earth is something too dear
Like the salt of the sweat that I tasted each night for years
Each morning I wake up to lose you no matter what I do
But the salt of the earth of me is…
Calmly watching every day go by
Sitting backwards on a train
Someday soon I will be back on my feet
But today I’ve got something to blame
The salt of the earth and the light of the sky
The asteroids in space are watching us die
But they don’t feel like I do
Hold you close the whole night through
And the salt of the earth of me is you
Is you
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7. |
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Well the summer stays with me though the season moves on
I can feel a warm breeze though long days are long gone
And I live in a city where nothing lasts long
But I can smell Coney Island from here
I can't get to sleep 'less I turn on a fan
But it's snowing outside and my girlfriend gets mad
She says "Open that window and I'll break both your arms"
But I can smell Coney Island from here
I can smell Coney Island from here
My mind is fogged up with that greasy hot air
I put on some shorts and walk outside in my bare feet
Now why do I obsess over everyone’s faults
And why is it that waltzes are always called "The Something Waltz"
Is the nature of waltzes so overwhelmingly strong
And is a song about Coney Island just a Coney Island song
I can smell Coney Island from here
My mind is fogged up with that greasy hot air
I'm steaming inside but I don't even care
I sun on my stoop and everyone stares at me
They stare at me
Now my father was born and grew up in New York
Then he moved to Chicago that's where I was born
And I've lived in both places though I move back and forth
I can smell Coney Island from here
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8. |
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A west Texas cold front is coming this way
A west Texas cold front
A low pressure, storm-bearing zone in the shape of
A west Texas cold front
Well she is so pretty
It’s hard to believe that the light in her eyes was once shining at me
But that west Texas cold front is more than a breeze
Now I’m changing states
But I packed up my things just a little too late
And that cold front might catch up with me
I left her in Lubbock, alone and betrayed
When I got in my car she just turned away
And the forecast for sun turned to forecast for rain
And those who left left and those who stayed stayed
And a west Texas cold front is coming this way
Now I sit here in Georgia
The sky’s turning grey
But I can’t go more east
The shore’s in the way
And I sit on it watching the west come this way
As if those who stayed left and those who left stayed
Well I told her that I would try to behave
But she told me to get the hell out of her state
And that west Texas cold front just blew me away
A west Texas cold front
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9. |
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This is the golden age of obscurity where no one remembers your name
I’d tell you that I love you, but you’d still feel the same
The waitress takes her time with me
I can’t decide what I want to eat
So I order one of everything and ask her out on a date
This is the golden age
This is the golden age of infirmity where everyone ‘round you is lame
I’d tell you that I want you though you don’t deserve the blame
But I have nothing left but you
The others have all fallen through
There’s nothing left for me to do
I need to make the most of this new golden age
Bright times are here every time that you’re near
Though I’ve lost my resolve to keep you close to me
I’d tell you that you’re my love but you’re back
Far too soon. Far too soon
And now I’m packing up my bags
Yeah I’m packing up my bags
And I’m making hasty tracks into the sunset
Into the sunset
Well the golden age is heading straight this way
But I’ll stay with you come what may
This golden age is here to stay but still I’d better run
‘Cause the golden age is coming round the bend
My days of sloth are at an end
But still it’s doubtful that I’ll send you any letters from the golden age
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And every day is getting wilder and wilder
Or maybe I'm just tired more easily than before
And when did I start drinking so much
I wake up at 2:00pm and cook myself some breakfast
Throw the window wide open to let in the sun
And why do I feel so dizzy and different
And now I'm hearing voices more clearly than my own
And they are singing to me
Coming from the eggs I beat up for the omelette
A song rises from my frying pan
And from the fence that's outside
Coming through the window with the sun
Everything's singing to me
And it fills me with joy
'Cause they sing hallelujah to me
And the toaster sings “Amen”
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It’s not so much like déjà vu
It’s more like not again
Every time I see you it’s the same
As morning turns to afternoon the day heads south again
What did I do this time yesterday
Don’t call me up ‘cause I’m on vacation
What are you thinking?
Sandy beaches, foreign names
My dog-eared travel guide
What does it take to get away
Woke up at dawn and walked ‘til dark
Got turned around and got real lost
In case you’re wondering, that’s what I did today
And now you can’t call me up ‘cause I’m on vacation
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking?
Leave me alone
Whenever I talk to you got my sunglasses on
Suitcases packed and passport drawn
‘Til I’m sure you’re gone
It’s not so much a coup d’etat, saudade or a coup de grace
Those foreign phrases never get it right
No this feeling that I get is an American form of regret
It’s more like “What’ll I do this time tomorrow?”
Why don’t you call me up ‘cause I’m on vacation
And I’ve got plenty of time now
I’ve got plenty of time now
I’ve got plenty of time now
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I’ve abandoned the details that took all my time
Had to level the landscape so I could move in stright lines
And God bless this house. God bless this house
I’m through weathering storms of insatiable need
Where everything pulls and nothing relieves
And God bless this life. God bless this life
And if I got older and wiser
It wasn’t my fault
And I’m done with the longing, the unsatisfied heart
And I pass them all on to those ‘bout to start
And God Bless this child. God bless this child
‘Cause God’s in the details
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13. |
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Well I do believe we’ve finally come home
The birds in the trees are singing hello
The lawn filled with weeds
The grass overgrown
I do believe we’ve finally come home
I do believe we’ve finally come home
And I understand the importance of writing a letter
And I understand why you worried for all of these years
But now I’m back in my house and you know where to find me
I’ll be here a while. I’ve got my work cut out for me
Well I do believe we’ve finally come home
The birds in the trees are singing hello
Broken porch swing
Cracked plaster gnome
I do believe we’ve finally come home
I do believe we’ve finally come home
It seems like everything I do, I do for you
A little work, a little paint, a little romance
It’ll take me a while but soon things will look better
I’ll be here a while. I’ve got my work cut out for me
Well I do believe we’ve finally come home
The birds in the trees are singing hello
The front porch is clean
The back yard is mown
I do believe we’ve finally come home
I do believe we’ve finally come home
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A collection of songs about traveling and coming home.
released April 7, 2007