Imagined Geography 3: Oklahoma Song

Have you seen the sky 

open over the plain?

One minute, soft moonlight,

then thunder and rain.

Have you seen the sky 

come to swallow you whole?

I have seen a town vanish

soul by soul by soul.

Have you seen what God thinks
of an Oklahoma town?

I have heard God roar

and then swat one down.

Have you seen the sky 

open over the plain?

One minute of dying,

then clear sky again.

to capture our gods

to capture our gods

catch them in motion

drawing on walls

living on the threshold

waiting for rain

wishing the rain away

waiting for rain

cats in the corridor

always wanting in

and out again

always wanting in and out

to capture our gods

catch them in motion

banging out sound 

living by owl-light

waiting for sun

wishing the sun away

waiting for sun

cats in the corridor

always wanting in

and out again

always wanting in and out

to capture our gods

catch them in motion

wearing new faces

living by hoax

waiting for moonrise

wishing the moon away

waiting for moonrise

cast in the corridor

always wanting in

and out again

always wanting in and out

tigers in the garden

Tigers are golden and glow in the dark.

Tigers are hungry and feed on the heart.

Look at our garden, row upon row,

each living thing bred to feed us.

Look at our garden, freak after freak,

everything engineered by us.

I was dreaming animals 

returning to the garden

dreaming peacocks 

parading on the lawn

dreaming butterflies

hovering over long grass 

dreaming herds of animals

moving through the garden

When tigers arrived 

this was our history

When tigers arrived

tiger wrapped tiger 

tiger round me

This was our garden

tigers - run round the tree

tigers - turn into ghee

tigers - chase tigers chase

tigers - all melt away

look at our garden now

Tigers are golden and glow in the dark.
Tigers are hungry and feed on the heart.

Thousand-pound tigers

walk in the woods,

each claw as big as a knife.

Thousand-pound tigers

drop from the trees,

waiting to swallow your life.

Tigers the size of 

tigers the size of 

tigers the size of 

tigers the size of life.

Uh-oh, who invited God?

Big voice walking in the cool of day

saying get out of here, get out of here

Big voice telling us be on your way

saying get out of here, get out of here

not this fucking time of year again

[[ musically, a Christmas carol ]]

[[ this part in imitation of bells ]] 

not this 

fucking 

time of 

year a-

gain

[[ the sound of a church choir ]] 

all the skies are gray and lifeless (gray and lifeless)

all the winds are sharp and cold (sharp and cold)

all the roads are wet and icy (wet and icy)

all my bones 

two hundred six! 

the pops and clicks! 

the cracks and cricks! 

are so old

someone else's strange religion (strange religion)

someone else's hopes and fears (hopes and fears)

someone else's gongs and jangles (gongs and jangles)

someone's god 

three-headed -- weird!

one mainly beard!

all of them feared!

in my ears... [[ quiet, crescendo, and then the bang ]]

Bang! all the metal in your towers!

See if I fucking care 

Bang! all the metal in your towers!

Give all the birds a scare 

[[ a chorus imitating bells and singing in bell terms rather than Latin ]]

peal [[ repeated with combinations of the others ]]

nominal

quint

tierce

prime

hum [[ let this one be the last and lowest tone still ringing ]]