Sadder Music - Lyrics
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1. No Finer Place to Go
Don’t trust the churches, they all look the same, Don’t trust shop windows, they always change, There are rivers and bridges that always remain, You can follow them, follow them home. Don’t look for answers in the heavens above, Don’t trust the junkies, they’re not into love, There are always the ones who will leave you alone, You can follow them, follow them home. Don’t float too high, they’ll only bring you down, Don’t look too deep, keep your feet on the ground, Always know when it’s time to go, But other than that you can just take it slow, Don’t worry, baby You’ll get it in time, Don’t worry, mama, we’re doing fine, It’s swell to be living in hell, When there’s no finer place to go. |
2. The Riverbanks
They’re buying up the river banks, They’re knocking down the squats, That’s how it goes, time always shows Money talks, and we are nothing, We are nothing but a market plan. They’re putting up so many posters, They’re putting up so many signs, Some are off-putting, some are divine, I walk around and I still can’t be found ‘Cause I am nothing but a voice in time. And I’m here in time to watch it fall, You’ve seen that once, you’ve seen it all, But to see it change before my eyes to all the things that I despise – I should get out of here today, But I will stay, ‘Cause other people thought like me, fought for me, gave up for me, It’s mine to devour, mine to enjoy, Must treat it well, time’s not a toy, ‘Cause we are nothing. |
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3. Old Woman
Old woman, what do you know? Your face, such sorrow shows When you’re pacing the sidewalk With nowhere to go, Old woman what do you know? I cannot imagine What has gone past your door, The movements and marches Of peace-time and war, The children and hungers, Phases and storms That have left you so weary, Ragged and worn. Your motions are comic, just like a child’s lost in a memory, Babbling wild, You try to tell me But I don’t understand, All I can do is hold your hand Old woman, why do you smile? You’ve been here Such and awful long while, What could possibly fill you with glee? I wish you could reveal it to me. |
4. Walls
I was twenty years old on election day, I wasn’t religious, but I think that I prayed, And I don’t have the language to tell you how, It made me the woman that I am now, But when the wall came down, A wall came down, And in the time that it took for the pieces to clear, I learned some good lessons, my dear. I know what you’re saying, they still put them up like symbols of failure that urge to give up, and being a witness doesn’t help change the fate of those on the other side of the gate, But when the wall came down, a wall came down, and in the time that it took for the pieces to clear there were some good lessons my dear I can’t give you a promise that it will be fine, The fate of your people might not be like mine, But people see reason, it’s happened before, Sometimes it takes time, and sometimes it takes war, Walls come down, Walls come down, And in the time that it takes for the pieces to clear, There are some good lessons, my dear. |
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5. Old Synagogue
There’s an old synagogue in Toronto That I visited after Berlin, A wise old fool for a rabbi, Who wore simple clothes and a grin, There was a pigeon on the window sill Not sure if asleep or dead, And a pregnant cat in the basement Who was seeking to be fed. And the rabbi kept on talking, And the good men listened well, He talked a lot of nothing, He was just an empty shell, But the words that he was quoting Still meant a lot to me, About Joseph and his brothers And what traitors we can be. I sat and watched and listened Though I didn’t know my place, If I was denial, or in a state of grace, How could it be, that I belong In a line of ‘us or them’, If that line itself is the place From where the hatred always stems? Well the golden plaques in the Berlin streets Where god’s children used to live Tell the tale of a fall so massive It’s a struggle to forgive, It’s not the people that I’m angry with No it’s with God above, I don’t know what you call that, But I don’t call it love. That old synagogue in Toronto, The building was so old, And the basement where the meal was served Was drafty and was cold, But the bread was passed and the wine was shared With a genuine reverie, How it all survived given all these trials Is a mystery to me, And the men they prayed so beautifully In that ancient melody, How it all survived given all this time, Is a mystery to me, So rock me in your bosom And my heart will speak your name, I may not know a thing – But I remember all the same. |
6. Survivors
Tommy’s been doing better, Feet on the floor, He looks like shit, But he was way worse off before, The emptiness don’t feel so good, But it’s the way it is in this neighbourhood, We walk around like some kind of survivors. Legs that bow, and ribs are always showing, Eyes that long ago stopped all their glowing, And fists that never do no good, Except to make you feel you could, We walk around like some kind of survivors, Dreams come, dreams go, I think, I know. Me and Tommy we meet by the front door, We don’t go far we just sit on the cracked for, Sit there, shrugging off the past, As if today was some real blast, But it's alright, ‘cause we are the survivors. 7. Anne- Marie (you can’t cry now)
Anne-Marie’s got a good job for the city, She wears nylons and her hair it smells so pretty, And it’s hard not to frown, To see her man face down, Sleeping off last night’s indulgences And then some. Mornings, Anne-Marie she rubs her lower belly, And tilts her head up to the sky, She could imagine easily a family, But it isn’t such a good idea now. He says, ‘you knew what you were getting, When you got with me, My Anne-Marie, You can’t cry now.” And it’s a fine line Between here and gone, Between right and wrong, Between choice and fate, And it’s too late, Cause they both know There’s no way now She’ll let him go. So Anne-Marie she thinks at all the years, When she kept her head and held back all the tears, It was him who made her see That she was perfectly free, And for this she would be his Forever more. He said, “you knew what you were getting When you got with me, My Anne-Marie, You can’t cry now.” |
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8. We Walk On
Certain days, I never know when they’ll happen, But I swear that a line forms, can you feel it? Between then and now, As if I could touch you somehow. And it’s not unpleasant, but it makes me pause, Do you freeze where you are, for the same lost cause, When it happens, When it happens to me? And it’s not like I’ve got any news for you, Whatever I’d say wouldn’t be quite true, So hands in our pockets, and night as our frame We walk on My heart leaps up when I have something to tell you, Then it sinks back down, ‘cause it’s wrong, It’s wrong to pretend, That it didn’t quite end. And it’s not that I don’t understand I can’t hold all your memory In the palm of my hand, Though I want to, If just for a while, It’s not like our story will ring through the ages, Except maybe some lines on some long lost pages, So hands in our pockets, and night as our frame, We walk on. |
9. All Thoughts and No Feet
I want to paint you pictures, I want to bring you flowers, I want to lie on my side While we talk for hours I want your lips in the places Where the words can’t reach, I want to learn from you All the things I can’t teach ... But where does it end? It’s not a movie, There’re bodies strewn in the street! And I’m all thoughts and no feet … I want you to save me, I want you to redeem me, Kiss me and tell me, That it isn’t a dream, I want you to read every word that I write, Tell me you love me, Tell me I’m right, But there is no truth, No fucking proof, No even sure if you’re out there, Not even sure if I love you ... And I’m all thoughts and no feet.. All thoughts and no feet ... |
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10. Sadder Music
Silver skies, that’s no surprise, The bombs that fell will fall again, And you can only bend, suspend, But in the end you know, New youth marches in the street, With mobile phones and sandaled feet, You can’t help grimace when you greet ‘Cause you’re not sure you’re in. Magic juices come and go, The brew is weak, the serving slow, And you’re never so high, you don’t feel low, But you wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music – So here you go. Buildings stand with some command, Fresh new paint on second hand, But an old vibe is stifling the land And it doesn’t seem to go, Ghosts are standing everywhere With glowing wounds and vacant stares, And you can’t step or stand nowhere ‘cause you are in their way. Memory is open wide, Announcing still the great divide That makes you want to cry or hide, But you wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music, You wanted sadder music – So here you go. I used to think that I was strong, Turned out I was so wrong, And there is nothing left but song – But you wanted sadder music. |
