1. |
In From the Wilderness
07:41
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Wounds heal, scars fade away
Don’t lose yourself, don’t throw yourself away
You’ve wandered through the desert
Beneath the daggers of the sun
Meandered through the mangroves
‘Till you don’t know which way that you have come
Under cloudy beards of mountains
You’ve held a dying candle to your breast
Now it’s time
To come in from the wilderness
Wounds heal, scars fade away
Don’t lose yourself, don’t throw yourself away
Got a hammer in your hand
Still breaking rocks with your head
Trying to walk on water
With your shoes full of lead
Wounds heal, scars fade away
Don’t lose yourself, don’t throw yourself away
When I found you in the wilderness, naked and alone
How I tried to comfort you, tried to take you home
Now that I am older, now that I am grown
I know that you’ll have to find your way back on your own
So come in from the wilderness, come in from the wilderness
When I found you in the tall grass, naked and alone
I wanted to comfort you; I wanted to take you home
But now that I am older, now that I am grown
I know that you’ll have to find your way back on your own
So come in from the wilderness, come in from the wilderness
And you are you, and that is all
You are not Eve in the garden before the Fall
You are you, and no one else,
You are not a robot sent from the future to destroy yourself
You are no one’s nightmare, and you are no one’s dream
You are nothing and exactly like you seem
So come in from the wilderness
Come in from the wilderness
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2. |
City of 1000 Escalators
05:00
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I know things that no one should know
Sometimes they stick inside my head
I’ve tended gardens that will never grow
Rode shotgun into the sunset with the living dead
And I will find you on a coat rack in a thrift store
And you will see me on the hospital ward
Looking for the same thing, always searching
All the feelings, but none of the words
Oh my confidence! Oh my shield!
Starts to fade, starts to rust
And the bread that I thought would sustain me
Is still a crust
And we just need something that we can trust
Something to hold onto when everything else is dust
In the City of 1000 Escalators going down in a swirl
Gonna to ride every one, gonna get to the bottom of this world.
I’ve seen the sun rise too many times
From the wrong side, from the wrong place
All those years spent looking for answers,
For validation . . . from the wrong face
And I will find you jousting windmills
And you will see me rolling stones on a hill
Are we letting our battles define us?
Is that the reason we can’t be still?
Oh my confidence! Oh my shield!
Starts to rust
And the bread that I thought would sustain me
Is still a crust
And we just need something that we can trust
Something to hold onto when everything else is dust
In the City of 1000 Escalators going down in a swirl
Going to ride every one, going to get to the bottom of this world.
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3. |
Wolves in the Forest
04:08
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It’s been 1014 days since he broke your heart
Since panic overtook you and left you in the dark
Your books and education didn’t help you to fight
When dread crept in your bedroom and turned out the light
And there’s wolves in the forest and Serpents in the Deep
Noises in the attic, it’s getting hard to sleep
The grass it grows deep up to the wheels of your car
You look outside your window and don’t know who you are
Worry’s held you hostage, you’ve met with its demands
I’m standing on your front porch, with flowers in my hands
You’re peering through the curtains, will you let me in?
There’s a tiger in your lifeboat, baby, and you’re afraid to swim
And there’s wolves in the forest and Serpents in the Deep
Noises in the attic, it’s getting hard to sleep
The grass it grows deep up to the wheels of your car
You look outside your window and don’t know where you are
Did you sweep away all those years only to discover
That all those childhood fears never went away?
Does it break your heart to know
You’re not so clever, that you’ll never
Have the need to pray, have the need to pray?
So bar the windows and the doors as from an emerald ghost*
Sweep away the darkness like the burnt edge of your toast
Hide under the covers, we can be just friends
But doom’s electric moccasin* will find you in the end
And there’s wolves in the forest and Serpents in the Deep
Noises in the attic, it’s getting hard to sleep
The grass it grows deep up to the wheels of your car
You look outside your window and don’t know where you are
*Referenced from Emily Dickinson’s “There Came a Wind Like a Bugle”
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4. |
In the Tall Grass
05:36
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They’re out there, they’re coming for you
In the tall grass they’ll run you down
They’re gonna tear you to pieces
They’re gonna make you behave
But don’t let them, you’re too smart for that
I lose sleep for you
But I do not weep for you
I ache for you
But I will not wait for you
You’re running now, you’ll never see
All the things you meant to me
There’s nothing you could say or do
To make me think less of you
But Hey, don’t let that stop you.
I lose sleep for you
But I do not weep for you
I ache for you
But I will not wait for you
Everything you wanted, everything you need
Everything you tell yourself to fall asleep
Everything you wanted, everything you need
Everything you tell yourself to fall asleep
I wanted more for you
I wanted more from you
We’re out here, we’re waiting for you
In the tall grass we’ll cut you down
We’re gonna sand off your edges
We’re gonna fit you in our mold
We won’t see you . . . if you don’t show us
I lose sleep for you
But I do not weep for you
I ache for you
But I will not wait for you
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5. |
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What it must be to love you
Feel that love reflected back at me
To be the mirror for all the best about you
To know you saw the same in me
I’ve walked wounded through the shadows
Had to tie a tourniquet around my heart
I’ve cut myself off from things I wanted most
But a word from you could take away my pain
I can’t adjust the dose, can’t slow the bleed
Love will be the life within my veins
The ringing in my ears
Is the sound of washing hands
There are some things I can never say
The sweetness of the moment
The sweetness of your mind
The summer sky, gravid with lightning,
Reflecting the sparks in your eyes
I’ve walked alone down many winter roads
There were times I felt I’d never be warm again
The cold wind rifles through my clothes like a beggar looks for change
But your smile has all the warmth I’ll ever need
The ringing in my ears
Is the sound of washing hands
There are some things I can never say
I can’t cut the dose, can’t slow the bleed
Love will be the life within my veins
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6. |
Howl Ye
07:50
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Howl ye to the gods and turn your eyes away
Dare not to look upon the guilt on my face
This night may be over, but another’s on its way
You cannot be rid of love, without something to put in its place
Cheated by death, cheated by time
I need a spell to bring you back, a spell to make you mine
And my boat glides slowly now, leaving no wake
For I go to see the turtle king, asleep beneath the lake
Instruction and warning, with a sweep of his tail
And only through purity can love prevail
Spider’s silk to catch your heart as it flies away
Three drops of an Autumn rain, too little, too late
Baby’s teeth for memory, the wings of a dove
A covetous heart cannot resurrect love
Howl ye to the gods and turn your eyes away
Dare not to look upon the ash on my face
This night may be over, but another’s on its way
You cannot be rid of love, without something to put in its place
You were to marry him in his house upon the hill
And I’m knee deep in the darkening mud, where the crickets call you still
But you were trapped in the fire when the roof caved in
Now stands a cage of ashes where your new life should have been
But I didn’t know you’d be there, you were supposed to be away
It wasn’t ‘till I heard you scream that I realized my mistake
Spider’s silk to catch your heart as it flies away
Three drops of an Autumn rain, too little, too late
Baby’s teeth for memory, the wings of a dove
A covetous heart cannot resurrect love
Howl ye to the gods and turn your eyes away
Dare not to look upon the blood on my face
This night may be over, but another’s on its way
You cannot be rid of love, without something to put in its place
Stained with guilt, with blood and with ash
By the arts of the Chelonian, I call you back!
But something went wrong, your spirit floats through the trees
There are secrets tangled in these roots that sunlight never sees
Howl ye to the gods and turn your eyes away
Dare not to look upon the blood on my face
Tonight may be over, but another’s on its way
You cannot be rid of love, without something to put in its place
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7. |
Love Me With Open Eyes
02:32
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There’s a little part of you that gets to a little part of me
And makes me want to cry
One day our little parts are all gonna break
And one of us will die
You’re gonna leave me here
Or I’m gonna leave you here
But one of us will be left alone
So love me with open eyes
Shake your skinny arms and weep, but don’t you waste our time
It’s a little cliché to say
It’s better to love and lose
But I never had strength to choose
I’m a bee stuck in honey and it’s too late
None of us is will make it out alive
Time to decide what part of you survives
And you’re gonna leave me here
Or I’m gonna leave you here
But one of us will be left alone
So love me with open eyes
Shake your skinny arms and weep, but don’t you waste our time
So love me with open eyes
Shake your skinny arms and weep, but don’t you waste our time
Love me with open eyes
Shake your skinny arms and weep, but don’t you waste our time
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8. |
Ghosts in Picture Frames
04:29
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If a tree dies in summer, would its leaves ever fall?
If it died in the winter, would anyone notice at all?
There are ghosts in picture frames
Haunted windows, forgotten names
Was your life good to you?
Did you ask the same questions?
Peace and love, oh peace and love, the fevered dreams I’ve been dreaming of
Can’t escape from our mistakes, we set the table, they crack the plates
Peace and love, peace and love, the fevered dreams I’ve been dreaming of
We can’t escape from death and hate, we’ll set the table, they crack the plates
When you went off to fight the war
Did you burn your boats upon the shore?
And when you came back
Did you ever find home again?
If you met me, would you know me?
Would you see yourself in me?
All your hopes and dreams for the future
Did they come true, are they me?
When your life was at an ending
Did you think you spent it well?
Are these questions worth confessing?
Are we learning from our mistakes or second guessing?
Wheels within wheels within
Wheels within wheels within
Wheels
If I died in the summer, would my leaves ever fall?
And if I died in the winter, would anyone notice at all?
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9. |
Magnets Float Downriver
03:51
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Magnets float downriver, there’s iron in your blood
There’s stone in your bones, and I can feel it
A chemical reaction, a life run on rust
A foe becomes a friend, and I can feel it
Oxygen and an atom, be still my beating heart
A fire that burns in darkness, be still my beating heart
The breath that lights a candle, be still my beating heart
A kite leaps into the wind and a will becomes a life
Footprint like a record, a song in your heart
Listen, it’s a good one, and I can hear it
Ghosts along the wires, echoes down a string
Telling me your story, and I can hear it
Oxygen and an atom, be still my beating heart
A fire that burns in darkness, be still my beating heart
The breath that lights a candle, be still my beating heart
A kite leaps into the wind and a will becomes a life
When the thump of your drum stops beating, and your bagpipes don’t swell
There’s nothing left to do, but wish you well
When the river runs out of water, and the oceans turn to salt
The rains will come again, it’s not your fault
Oxygen and an atom, be still my beating heart
A fire that burns in darkness, be still my beating heart
The breath that lights a candle, be still my beating heart
A kite leaps into the wind and a will becomes a life
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10. |
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Beneath the cracks in the paint, the wood shows through
Worn and grey, the memory of you
Spring has come round once again, as it always will
Stirring into motion things that lay still
The bitter ashen tones give way to timid green
Forget the blood and the heartache this place has seen
And the sun, it doesn’t care
And the trees, they do not know that they live in the bad part of town
They sing “Oh! Life is everywhere”
And the birds they sing along
The ants rebuild their homes
And the trees do not remember the leaves that they lost in the Fall
They sing “Oh! Nature Marches on!”
Season’s bitter cold, her heart’s bitter pain
Are warmed by the sun as the winter wanes
Gonna try once again, before it’s too late
Earth and heart alike are softened by the rains
The bitter ashen tones give way to timid green
Forget the blood and the heartache this place has seen
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11. |
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I know you’re fading
Seems like too much
Everything is changing
Hard to stay in touch
The warmth of memories
Starting to slip
Try to hold on
They twist from your grip
I know you’re tired, I get tired too
All the good things, the wonders, still wait for you
To sail upon the ocean
The light through the trees
The sounds of running water
And Love
There is so much left to live for
Sometimes I can’t hold it
I can’t hold
I can’t hold
Please don’t turn away
Don’t shut your eyes
Don’t turn away
Please remember that you are loved
Living is death dying
Death is life living
Living is death dying is life living is death dying is life living
I wish I could have shown you all the beauty I see
I wish I could have taken your despair with me
I wish I could have known you like you wanted to be known
I wish I could have shown you. . . you’re not alone
You’re not alone
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Taylor Herbert Durham, North Carolina
Taylor Herbert is a Co-Owner of Nightsound Studios in Carrboro, NC as well as a Fellow in Anesthesiology Critical Care with an MD/PhD from Duke University. As a long-time member of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro music scene, he has been playing with and helping record the area's established and up and coming talent for over ten years. ... more
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