Calexico

It rained the whole day he spent at his lover's grave
Said his goodbyes to her family and friends
Packed his things in a rusted car
And rode off in the rain
Came upon a church in ruin
With an old man dwelling within
Who said, "watch where you stray my friend"
Old man spoke of meanings lost and without name
Never shifting from their worn and weathered place
What was found in the endless serach
For truth behind the tale
Beneath the ash and ember lies only one story to tell
Watch where you stray my friend
There's a flower that grows in a cave
So lovely to see but need to be saved
Its' beautiful blossom will wither and die
If ever this flower leave the darkness for daylight

Is there anyway i can fix it
Take out my tools maybe smash with it
Let me destroy the parts that annoy

Swallow the words i'm saving
Fumble the chords i'm playing
Better just break it apart
Then where should they go

But you know i'm just following suit
It's something i aim not to do
Can't mock up a model me and you

Is someone out there
I can trust
With the words that never seem to fit
We'll let them hang suspended in the air

No sense looking backwards
Shattered every mirror in my eye
Scattering the scrapbook
Blueprints on the floor

Always thought things would snap into place
With a little more ease and grace
Still a ship sealed in a bottle
Never reaches the sea

And i stash all of the reasons
Dash them against the wall
And i smash your heart into tiny little pieces

And every time this happens
It gets harder and harder to build back again

Found a dime in the metro line
Funny to see a familiar face
Since you left us long ago
There's never been a trace of luck to guide me

Hoping to see a sign
Or a lucky dime

Searching as i go
Hoping to see a sign
Or a lucky'

Someone told you long ago
All you ever needed to know
No matter how far you drift alone
I'll always be here around'

Hoping to see a sign
Or a lucky dime

Everyday on my way home
The clouds would break and the angels
Would sing their refrain

This world's an ungodly place
Strangled by vines unchaste
So with my shining blade of steel
I would cut a path wide

Dipped in the ink of the fight
Written clean through the night
Mark my words upon the front page
To set my world straight

It's too late, it's too late
It's too late, it's too late
Just like i found it, my world is split
Right down the spine

Years bled dry now ripe for a reckoning
My blade's back slash beckoning
Slice my wounds and i make the sign one more time

Come on. Come on. Come home. Come home
Yeah it's too late, it's too late
It's too late, to refrain...refrain...refrain...

Did those angels ever sing?
Sliced my world in two

Panic open string, power grids blackout
Birds all fly in numbers down to the ground
Reassure the blades of green, green grass

Season's still asleep more or less
Wind is gearing up for a reckless ride
Leaning accidental on nature's side

Propeller power fields, solar panel sides
Lightning bolts connect, it's with you i will go
I close my eyes and the seasons pass

Above the cityscape, the city out of reach
Way beyond our lives, up into the sky, far below the green

My dreams are all blue, so is my heart
Light up screens of you, if you could only see
Time's dreams escape, late into the night

When the stars align reminds me of you
Words will lose their fear
And i will find their truth
Church bells in the hills they will ring and ring

Ocean's to the coast will cling to their host
The sun will split in two , sink thru an empty sky

It's where we'll go when we
Leave this place and die

When you can't find the hours
Days keep on slipping thru
Avenues under construction
Blocking out your sky blues

Burried beneath the letters
Bills and the junk in the mail
Finding the strain to your heart
From the troubles down the trail

No sign of your old haunts here

Gone with the copper crews
Veins mined in vein remind you
Choices we choose to lose

New cities keep on sprawling
Old towns falling too
Raining a river of color

And it's flowing bisbee blue

Straight to you bisbee blue

Some say this way's the only one that's true

Bring me back bisbee blue
Bring me back

Oh these days, seem dark

Darkest i've seen

Darling you send me thru the hours

Days keep on sifting thru
Chipping away to remember

Days with you bisbee blue
Shining like bisbee blue
Bring me back bisbee blue

Getting late for decision
What's that waiting about
Horses are chomping at the bit
The gate is nearly busted down
Moment before the calm of the storm
And everyone's blood goes wild
Except yours and mine

How many years has it taken
Your restless heart growing old
Horses running off on their own
And the stable's burnt to the ground
The longer you wait
Your decision will fade
And wind up wasting this time
Yours and mine

Cruel, cruel grounds
Leak truths never found
Torturous ways
Whisper from the grave
A slow spun song of distortion

Bitter, bitter mouth
Spitin' out seeds of doubt
Rituals seek root
Razed before they're told
Stories break like branches in the cold

Seasons trial finds man's mistakes fair game

Careless hand
Lay and law of the land
Falls by the side
Silenced sentient cries
All within the lines of divine right

Better bury the tracks in an unclosed case
Weeds of discontent choke a broken ghost landscape

Cruel, heartless reign
Chasing short term gains
Right down to the warning signs

Birds refuse to fly
No longer trust the sky
Drifting out beyond the signals

Even the horizon is gone
Weather flees underground
Future's left to wallow in fortune's waste

Her eyes are closed now that final breath is near
She lets go of my hand and i fall into a see of tears

Search for the trail that we were both riding
Lost sometime ago
Now i'm stranded on the mountain's edge
And there's only one way back down...
And down i go
Into the ground where the bad seeds are sown
Take root and pull me further in
Long and long and longer it takes
Good luck's gone and there's no more breaks
Just the ground beneath that shakes and gives way
Swallowed up whole, there ain't much now i can pull
No stunt man surprises
Or houdini-like disguises
For death defying escape
Avoid the tap on the shoulder
From that one in the long black cape
...

Just to see those eyes of hers shine
Is worth any sum or length of time
That would fill up that space
Where her love once flowed
But the more i resist
The further and further out i drift
Get swept out in the rip tide
Where part of me wants to lie
'Neath the waves of sorrow and tears
Sink to the bottom and linger there
The rest of my tears
Walk amongst the mossy bones
Of my fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers
Feel their blood flow away
Send the soul on its way

When numbers matter more than the heart
Your eyes are hollow and stiffness starts to take control
Capsize the soul, deep down you know it's evil
You've always known

Be a good example show your new tricks
And while you're out there they'll make the pitch
To rally the troops and make a huge contribution
To help push this through
Deep down you know it's evil
You've always known it's evil

The days here are numbered but your record is clean
Outstretched and waiting on banks that seem
To flow and flow, a rich reward to show
Duty carried out in the field
Deep down you know it's evil
You've always known it's evil
You've always known

Walking south along the river
Never had he found that twist of pleasure
Remembering times when they were younger
Setting the town on fire

And watching as his fellow friends
Fell apart in the wake
Claiming it was all just a mistake
When his finger pulled the trigger

And he shot everyone
It was all just a mistake
When he shot everyone

Nothing will stand in the way
When hunger hasn't eaten for days
Scrounges around where ends meet
And disappears into the fray

He hopes for awhile he'll reconcile
The pain that never dies
The ghosts of his family constantly
Gnawing at his insides

He pulls out a worn photo
And an old handmade gun
Wishes it was he who was frying
When he set the whole town on fire

He walks off crying
He shot everyone

Wake up now little sleepyhead
From your nightmarish day with the dead trip
You'd be better off not to know
Of the wild seeds you let go
From your thorny fingertips

Try to clean bloodstained hands
That ran away and left the scene
Of a crime last night
Always thought you stood on the other side
Never thought the roof would cave in
Where you were hiding
There's a wave of fear that creeps right in
A vacant stare that can't say where it's been
Or what's been laced
The trail leads all over the place
There's an angel at your side
Who rescued you in a nick of time
Explains how you almost fell
And vanished into a fatal spell
She looks into your eyes and sees
There's something still missing
She notices a chunk bleeding from your chest
Tries to stop the bloodflow with her best compress
But the wreckage is in a mess
There's an emotional tax, figured in after the fact
And stories unfold
The world grows dark and bones get cold
You look into your heart and you know
There's something still missing