1. |
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There are golden houses
We couldn't hold them with our horses
I am slowing
Letting go of the bones
Leave them all in empty homes with hidden angles
Fire the guns into the sun
Melt the snow, save everyone, is this fiction?
Or just another way to say you haven't slowed down
Record last words that aren't your own
Release it all as "The Letting Go" or "Don't Look Back"
Fire the lamps and call the boys
Head off and out without remorse, is this fiction?
Or just another way to say you haven't slowed down
Fire the guns into the sun
When you leave don't tell anyone
Are you leaving?
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2. |
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How long were the whales in sight
Were the men in boats, were you able to breathe?
I stood out there through the night
And the newspapers asked me, "Why won't you leave?"
I brought the ponies just like I wrote
I'd meet you at dawn and we'd ride them both home
Now I'm leading one by the reins
I threw a line between the rocks
And the currents pulled it away from shore
The girl at the store lent me a book
On how to fish and a glass of beer
I've been staying not far from here
In a room at the inn with a view of the coast
Now I'm leading one by the reins
I'll stay here one year and then I'll go
These ponies are tired of carrying loads
They say the whales have not returned
And the store closed down and the newspapers left
I'm still thinking I'll bring something back
And we could start again and stay afloat
I brought the ponies just like I wrote
I'll meet you at dawn and we'd ride them both home.
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3. |
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A haunted typewriter keeps on wording
Ghost marking ribbons when you're away
Dust on the keys you've deserted
Does it hurt you to write this way?
Long half-hearted endings
Ignoring the hands that are shaking
I reckon I'll show up in the morning
As you're reading the first page
I reckon I'll show up in the evening
As you're reading the final page
I thought once of writing
Books based only on letters never sent
Long past reading anything
I think we lost the plot and the words I forgot.
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4. |
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You go outside and it's summer
You come back home and it's over
You wonder if it ever really changed
You remember well the first time
You can't remember the last time
I'm thinking it was probably the same
And folks around here never know
We're traveling light and slow
Forgetting that we're sometimes alone
I'm still thinking you left in an airplane
I'm drinking because you left, either way
How long will these ships keep on sinking?
I'm still thinking of leaving
I'm still thinking I'll stay
And folks around here never knew
I'm traveling only for you
The folks around here never knew.
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5. |
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Can you see the lights on the western side of town?
Are you letting go, are you already on the road?
I hope we're not in trouble, are you still ready to travel?
Who are you working for, is it memory or leaving?
We're underneath the weather and far down the range
The western heart of darkness slowly turns away
Farewell to the old friends, one last look upon them
I was always catching phantoms of warm evenings without ends
We're coming off the record and using words that only mattered
When we were slightly turning away
The western heart of darkness turns away
Leaving us with stillness, silence, photographs and documents
And records that speak of letting go.
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6. |
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I'm thinking we were ghosts in your town
You said, "I never thought we'd be so brave"
They never saw us leaving
Our phantom hearts beating
We've been creeping like difficult lanterns
I'm thinking our flames have stopped burning
I'm dim as the moth I've been leading
No heat in the evenings
I've been riding horses with blinders
I'm trying to treat them much kinder
Than this road we're on
You murmur like a slow night in summer
My ghost echoes, "I'm not alone now"
That's what I'm believing
But your murmur is leaving
Foreign to those we've forgotten
We're haunting rooms now abandoned
And nobody is listening to voices left drifting
I've been riding low in the saddle
I'm trying to calm the death rustle
Of paper thin hopes
The phantoms murmur, "It's been ages"
The lanterns burn all the pages.
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7. |
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The messenger horse is wounded
The letter never sent
We've been in this for far too long
"Push on," they wrote. "Get old"
I'd like to get myself back
The wagon broke a spoke
We cannot take you in
We won't see each other again
It's snow, it's dark, get out.
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8. |
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Laser and I would surely die
Should you ever see us like this
Out in the west, we were the hosts
Of another hard cast glow
That's all I know
Radar and I, should we fly
Would deliver the news of your life
And of last night, the places we crashed
Were not prepared for the actions
We'd make
The zebracreatures of gold
We let them escape
For I know there are brighter ways to unfold
Than all the ways I was told.
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9. |
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Out beyond the range
We've been moving towns again
Would you tell Holly that it's time to sleep
I brought some books but tonight
I prefer to just look
Out beyond the range
I'm counting miles and I'm counting stars
The dark blue hills don't seem as dark
I think it's almost dawn
Are we closely watched trains
Or does anyone even know that we're here?
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10. |
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A last race for the dark horse
And holding hands to see him off
There's little hope in leaving, and often times I remember
These tender folk have hardened
Like phantoms in heavy houses
Hanging bones at weddings
These timeless folk are breaking
And we will all lose our breath
As the waves of this town break
A last race almost frozen
Hand me the rope and I'll tie it off
Write this down, "Are you spoken for?"
Read it aloud as we reach the shore
At last we've found an ending
A slow design or a loss of time
A last race for the dark horse
Silent and soft and half asleep
Like knowing that it's drowning
Off the coast and broken.
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11. |
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Once it began to snow a story I was told
Recording the highs and lows
Once it began to snow, lighting lanterns when it turned cold
Drifting smoke out of our mouths
Recording the highs and lows
Once it began to snow
And only woods and stars
And only beating hearts
There's nothing out there
I'm sending you into the sky, golden hands to write it down
Recording the highs and lows
You came back alone
You told me there's another view but nothing that's really true
Recording the highs and lows
You came back alone.
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12. |
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Did the river slow before I left?
The heavy drag of shorter days
My sister raises quarter horses, they pull the sleighs
The days fall off the long trees, the boys fall off the bridge
Hunting down in the valley, following the tracks
When the low lights faded softly, the horses led us back
And I thought I saw them waving, frozen hands against the trees
The days fall off long memories, the boys fall off the bridge
In the morning we found them near the bridge
Dragged them back into town
My sister raises quarter horses, they pull the sleighs.
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13. |
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|
I am not the bird in the photograph
Caught in the flash, shot in the heart.
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14. |
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Fuel the jet and wait for comfort
I forgot to aim off target
And the camera shoots you dead, where's your armour?
Race for the only thing that will suit your needs
Leaving for far too long again
Record a message for me again
Talk into the mic with your wisest words
Release this for free, one sound at a time
And hang around the airport until morning
Race for the only thing and have a drink for me
Leaving for far too long again
An empty home is mine again
A heart falls out of line
Leaving for far too long again
A suitcase locked and filled with friends
Leaving for far too long again.
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15. |
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The dark ships on the airstrip
Did you want to be the pilot?
The dark ships never let go
Working up from the ground
Where do you go when you're this low?
The dark ships in the long grass
Don't forget that I'm up here
You can't reach anything after
There is nothing even out there
And where would you want to fly to
If you could find the time?
The time is never leaving
You only came back alone
The dark ships often remember
The sound of the heavy air
It's time we should be leaving
There is nothing even out there.
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16. |
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Were you born like this, did it burn your hand
Did the hope of leaving never land
Where was the heart, was it a broken house
Was it a thought of missing someone else?
And the surgery never left
Are you bored with this, does it still attack
Does the thought of me still take you back
Where was the heart, was it a city dark
Was it falling bricks and forgotten parts?
And the surgery never left
And the films we played never left
And the hands we held never left
And the hearts we burned never left
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17. |
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It sounds like it's torn away
The latest line that falls between
I've noticed it's happening to our golden reel
The sounds that you've thrown away
The fading hands, the royal skin
Another long break in where we've been
I've heard the words I know, I'm laying low
Laying long, long ago
I've heard the sounds of a soft winterkill
While the softer bones are softer still
No sounds at the opening
The softer bones grow dim and break
It's gold and low and always away
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18. |
Twin Library - Range
03:29
|
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Smashing range, days on the sun
We were fucked before we had even begun
Red fingers scratching madly
The gates are open and the wires are set
And straight in four, mosquitoes laying low
Under the floor I'm leaving
And even towers full of stars
Sweet smile you are mine when you're bleeding
Breaking days, range on the sun
They were marked as targets when they were young
Last of the trails and forgotten plans
Information is gone
Landing torch code, scope my scene
When the land splits you'll be with me hanging
Burning cities, points of light
Sweet smile you are mine when you're bleeding
In the range
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19. |
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And hanging one last time
There's nothing in the air
The smoke that you see is not hope
It's too far away
They electrified the island
To burn out all the ghosts
The ones that you see are the ones
Who never believed
In a road without end
There's always an end
And always another
There's always a story
And always much farther
But there's nothing out there
Nothing at all
Until we write it
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20. |
Twin Library - Swallows
01:53
|
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|
All the history tumbles
Falling from towers
Falling like swallows near the banks
And when it floods
Will it ever flood?
You slept in the old home
A hotel of whale bones
Breaking like swallows near the shore
And when they dive
Do they really dive
Do they leave the air
Are you open to leaving
Or too old to care?
I fought towards you thought no more
Will we leave this home is warm like I am worn out doors is fine
Over and out under weather
I'm starting to wander
Watching swallows near the end
And when it ends does it ever end
It never begins
Are we open to leaving
Or just following?
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21. |
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|
Drop the golden horse and draw
Right around the lines with southpaw
Decades in the dead museum
Historical tumblers have years left to hang
Release the second moon and hide
We continue to float, they continue to dive
When the past becomes a hope you're left behind
They continue to float, we continue to dive
Decades in the dead museum
Historical tumblers aren't even real
No systems, no systems here.
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22. |
The Sport
02:48
|
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|
The ghosts of moments and lost stars
The last waves of the surf
An early morning drive
A way to see you without time
A still life framed in motion
Stay in the dark
Watch the film unfold
And talk about reasons when there are none
And talk about airports and your travel is no different than mine
The parallel lines, the speed and the sport
They change every time
There are towns here lower than last year
Stay in the light
Watch the day unfold
And think of the distances that we have seen
Think about motion and your travel is no different than mine
A station inside, the darkening sport
They change every time
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23. |
Model Train Makers
02:48
|
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|
He was still on the shore
With a face shattered in glass
All the time we were wasting
All the times we were wild
They were burning out lights
While the engineers were asleep
All the model train makers
And all the wilderness that we need
All the crimes we were facing
All the times we were wild
She was hanging her hands
High off the workers home
All the hope we've been building
All the hope that's been thrown
All the minds we were been losing
All the times we were wild
And now it's been decided
And we're all going away
And we'd rather just be still now
We'd all rather be still now
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24. |
The Medical Flyers
02:40
|
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|
The medical flyers are down
A city sick
Of time to write a line which only ever breaks
Why can't you raise the flag?
The local birds are leaving
The lower ground
Rounds are positioning themselves to only ever break
Why can't the tiny arrows wait?
The medical flyers are down
Point the arrows, point the arrows away
Sinking the hospital ships
Fuck your captain
It's time for redesigning all of the shit
Why can't you ever see past it?
The medical flyers are down
Point your arrows, point your arrows at me
The horrible silence of sound
Drop the heartbeat, soften the murmurings
It's time for that death defying look
Why can't you ever see past it?
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25. |
Mosquitoes
02:55
|
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I tried to be hi-fi
I traveled through gold sounds
Came out from the lowland
Buzzed down like mosquitoes
I'm not the one I'm thinking about
I know to myself it's okay
I'd settle for something
That could take me away
I've tried all the stations
They fuzzed out like an old train
This evening silhouettes campfires
I'm miles from there so it's okay
I'm miles over sharpening airplanes
I'm coasting on frozen dials
The land I was charting slowly
Ended up drawing its own lines
I waited for something
The shuttle sped over mountains
I'd only slept for two hours
A shallow hand like a fade out
Sometimes I'd like to feel alright
And I know that you would say it's okay
And it felt like mosquitoes
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26. |
Hum
01:54
|
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I'm cut
The bloodlines now breathe
The wavering history
The sunken houses and the drunken teams
Hang 10
The broken bones of the sea
The whispering of the dream
The darkest glass and the slightest touch
And we will hum
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27. |
I'm Passing Through
03:06
|
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|
It will never change
We don't care if it changes
I've got no remains
Leave me rotting and drag this
Open ended movement to an end
They try so hard all the time
It doesn't even make sense
The perimeter aligns
And the thoughts of decline only steepen
The microphones will decide
If you're alone when you die
Will you be alone when you die?
When you're alone you will die
I'm passing through
I'm passing over
I'm passing away
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28. |
Stationing Out
02:14
|
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|
The hardest core inside
The brutal head of design
The modern lines, the movement, and the miles
I'm stationing out and out
Like rifles through dark windows
Hoping to make it last
Not yet to leave the room but soon you will know
I'm stationing out and out
They never really left a mark
The bruises weren't really that dark
I'm nothing but the slightest touch
I'm stationing out and out
And the time will slow
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29. |
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|
No more trains remain
Does your blood still stain?
I left my mark upon the heart
On the very last beat
To the path
To the park
Does your head still fall apart?
Like a shattered sound?
I was born of gold
I was born of stone
Another burning home
Another frozen bone
Those fuckers in the snow
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30. |
The Hospital
02:43
|
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|
The softest skull falls into the hive
I'm landing and loading with all of my weight
I tried breaking into the hospital
With a sparrow and my teeth
They lost the pilot, lost the ship
They were marked as targets but never hit
I tried breaking into the hospital
With an arrow and a leaf
I'm drawing maps and sparrow traps
The ghosts in your room won't be the last
I tried breaking into the hospital
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31. |
Films That I've Seen
03:17
|
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|
The drift of the knives into the head
I'm drawing a line on a film
And moving them back into a fade
The red ribbons track the stain
The films that I've seen in the dark
They still mean a lot
Though I can't bleed a lot
The ghosts that i've seen in your room
They still feel a lot
Though I can't breathe a lot
The station here is never warm
The motion keeps dragging me out
The traps are tight and low
The red ribbons track the snow
The films that I've seen in the dark
They still mean a lot
Though I don't bleed a lot
The books that I wrote in your room
They still feel a lot
Though I don't read a lot
|
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No Museums Edmonton, Alberta
No Museums: A homemade hybrid of creaking pop and basement rock, using an array of textural devices and hummed
noise.
Echo boxes, delay pedals, soft distortion dynamics and guitars with buzzing strings. There is drift and there is direction. Enjoys the sounds of The Fall, Guided By Voices, Velvet Underground, Wedding Present, Television Personalities.
... more
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