1. |
Strange Machines
03:32
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When I can't sleep
I don't count sheep
Instead I try to recall where all the things I've lost might be
But I never can
After all I'm just a man
Who's bound to forget more than he'll ever understand
Aren't we strange machines
Human beings?
Aren't we strange machines
You and me?
When you dream
It always seems
Like I've wandered off and you cannot find me
But it's in your head
All that fear and dread
And I'm right where you left me asleep in your bed
Aren't we strange machines
You and me?
Aren't we strange machines
Human beings?
Bones and blood and hair and skin
And the multitudes within
Aren't we strange machines
Human beings?
Aren't we strange machines
You and me?
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2. |
A Helluva Thing
03:40
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When you talk about star dust
And how it's in all of us
The picture in my mind
Is so pretty I could cry
And when I mention Jesus Christ
I know how you roll your eyes
And if I'm telling you the truth
Most days I do it too
And you and eye
Don't see eye to eye
On loads of things
But you and me
Can both agree
That to believe in anything
Is a helluva thing
So you play the scientist
And I'll take the alchemist
You can measure what we see
And I will read the leaves
And then when the sun is set
We'll lay our bodies into beds
Our skin covering ghosts
Knows dark matter matters most
And you and eye
Don't see eye to eye
On loads of things
But you and me
Can both agree
That to believe in anything
Is a helluva thing
Of course it's never quite as easy as I think
And we both may find ourselves awake
Asking what all of this means
And it may be the voice of God
Or it may be nothing at all
The answer is the same
We're here because we're here because we're here
We're here because we're here because we're here
We're here because we're here because we're here
We're here because we're here because we're here
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3. |
In Between
02:53
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If life's a joke
I've always hoped the laugh behind
It is divine
And we've just misread the room
And what's the point
Was not the point at all
It was too small
And the laughter was the truth
Is it a joke to be alive?
Is it so serious to die?
It seems to me
The truth is always somewhere in between
But here's the problem
What I want is to believe
With all my being
In a sure and certain path
A guarantee
That all the choices that I've made
Will lead me right
Like life is only simple math
Wouldn't it be nice?
If all the wrongs and rights
We clear to me?
Instead of always somewhere in between
When I was young
I only wanted to be old
Though I am told
The opposite is true
But when I am old
I want to say I've loved it here
All of these years
And I'm not worried that it's through
Most times they look the same
Tears of joy and tears of pain
But it might be
That they are always somewhere in between
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4. |
The Trouble with Time
02:47
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What is this ache
Threatening to break my heart in two
This tender skin
I've been living in can feel it too
Might be a change in the weather
Might be I'm losing my mind
I find myself a beggar
Bartering with time
But the trouble with time is
The line that it flies
Is straight and true
And it don't give a damn
About all the plans
I have with you
And there's nothing we can do
Heaven's sake
If I could only take this life with you
And run it back
You know that's exactly what I'd do
Might be impossible to promise
Might be a vow we'll bend
But let's swear our love's forever
And that there is no end
But the trouble with time is
The line that it flies
Is straight and true
It's part of the deal
That the love that we feel
Is tinged in blue
And there's nothing we can do
Of course a shortness of breath
Doesn't always lead to death
And though life is hard
And the earth is mostly just a boneyard
It's pretty in the sunlight
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5. |
Appear/Disappear
04:17
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I would know you
In the darkest dark
Your slope and shape
Your neck and nape
And the slow sound
Of your steady breath
The lovely scrape
As it escapes
We appear
We disappear
We appear
We disappear
But while we're here
I will know you in the darkest dark
I am trying
The best I can
To hold this life
Both loose and tight
But my mind can't
Quite keep it straight
My touch is light
My knuckles white
We appear
We disappear
We appear
We disappear
But while we're here
I am trying the best I can
Take a long look
At the things you love
Don't be afraid
Don't look away
They'll be gone on
Before you know
Nothing made
Fails to decay
We appear
We disappear
We appear
We disappear
But while we're here
Take a long look at the things you love
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6. |
Burn the Barn
03:38
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I’d like to say I’m sorry in advance
For all the mess I’ll leave you with from all my best laid plans
I always thought I’d have the time
Though counting minutes has never been a strength of mine
Now you’ve got a basement full of things
And a barn that’s part repaired and missing its beams
Stuff you’ll never even use
When all you ever wanted was time for me and you
So burn the barn
Set the house on fire
And we’ll retire
Earlier than planned
I know a man
Who’s got a place up in the woods
I’ll bet we could
Stay there for a while
So burn the barn
And set the house on fire
All of my best wishes come too late
I’ll hope your birthday’s happy but I won’t recall the date
My head is full of useful stuff
But most times I cannot find the thing I should be thinking of
All my resolutions seem to fail
I don’t make them to end of may and still I always bail
I have managed only one
When I promised that I’d love you until my days were done
I keep using all these words
To say I’m sorry for the things that I cannot seem to do
As if I might convince you that some future me will finally treat some future you the way I’ve always wanted to
But the truth is I’m as busted as that basement full of useless things and all I’ve really got to offer to you is all these stupid songs I sing
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7. |
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Yesterday afternoon I realized
All of my favorite friends are gadflys
Buzzing in my ear
Asking why we're here
While half of my head is philosophic
The other side's staunchly catastrophic
Running around town
Shouting the blue skies down
Saying the good old days were never good
I heard a sermon preached on Thomas
Said it wasn't the doubt that kept him honest
He was desperate to believe
In things he couldn't see
I got to thinking I'm a lot like him
An optimist caught in skeptic's skin
Hoping everything is fine
Despite the warning signs
Maybe the good old days were never good
But we saw the world the best we could
You know I love my indignation
Righteous or not, that warm sensation
Spreading across my skin
Boiling to the brim
So you let me spin like a top on fire
Cursing and squealing like an amplifier
Until I bust another fuse
And surrender to the news
That the last few years have been real bad
You wait me out ever patiently
Biding your time to remind me
Of all the things I've got
That I've conveniently forgot
Til you put your hands upon my cheeks
And I almost believe love could calm the seas
You look me in the eyes
And the panic in me dies
Maybe the last few years haven't been so bad
I just lost the line on all I had
And you say
Let yourself off the hook
Let yourself off the hook now darling
I know you want to do it all by the book
But you have to let yourself off the hook sometimes
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8. |
People Are People Too
03:22
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People are people too
Just like me and you
From the tops of our heads
To the foot of our beds
People are people too
You seem to think they're not
You seem to think they're not
You treat them like things
And now human beings
But people are people too
Of course it's the same for me
Of course it's the same for me
It's hard to admit
But I often forget
That people are people too
So then what can be done?
So then what can be done?
Just what do we need
For us to agree
That people are people too
People are people too
Just like me and you
From the tips of our tongues
To the air in our lungs
People are people too
People are really strange
People are really strange
We do what we won't
And believe what we don't
But people are people too
Sometimes they drive us nuts
Sometimes they drive us nuts
So we try to negate
With our labels and hate
But people are people too
Time here is really short
Time here is really sort
Let's make up a plan
To be as kind as we can
Because people are people too
People are people too
People are people too
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9. |
Before You Know
02:28
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I keep trying not to care about the things I cannot change
Bu it remains
My resolution every year
And though I'm tired of being angry I keep shouting myself hoarse
Which of course
Makes it difficult to hear
All the ticks and all the tocks
From all the hands on all the clocks
And the clangs of all the bells
From the time that always tells
Me that the world is fading fast
And the future will be past
Before we know
But maybe this year will be different and I'll be wise enough to know
To just let go
Of all the things I cannot change
And I'll finally find a way to just sit still and pass the time
Reminded
Of what's lovely and strange
Like the January thaw
Or that woodpecker I saw
Or the buds bursting from trees
That soon will turn to to leaves
Until the time again next fall
When the trees will drop them all
Before we know
I'll be gone before we know it, life it passes in a flash
And back to ash
Our bodies wash out to the sea
But before all of that happens I resolve to my best
To address
Just what could use some change in me
Less preaching and more prayer
More tenderness and care
Less judgment and more love
Less worry about stuff
More attention to what's dear
Because it all will disappear
Before we know
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Luke Hawley Minneapolis, Minnesota
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