the family myth

in the family myth

we escape winter

we escape water 

we escape the amnesia of the sea

and somehow there's me

in the family myth

we escape desert 

we escape searchers 

we escape the arbitrary decree 

and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

in the family myth

we escape cages

we escape rages

we escape the rogues of history 

and somehow there's me

in the family myth

we escape post-war

we escape closed door

we escape the Land of the Free

and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

in the family myth

we know their order to shoot on sight

we cross the border and move by night

and go on

in the family myth

we cross the water of a rolling sea

and all of us, some of us, one of us

must slip free

and go on

in the family myth

we escape exposure 

we escape erasure

we escape the men who hack the family tree
and somehow there's me

all of this must be true

because somehow there's me

and somehow there's you

ring of stones

at the... 

end of the 

actual 

day

when the... 

moon pushes 

through the 

sky

we fold 

our bones

round a ring 

of stones

and talk 

across 

a fire

we talk 

across 

a fire

we wonder how - we will get through the snow

we wonder how - we will carry this load

we wonder how - we will build a new home

we wonder how - we will follow this road

oh, go on

we go on

we can do 

nothing else 

but go on

oh, go on

we go on

and we sing

while we walk

a walking song 

till the... 

end of the 

actual 

day

when the... 

moon pushes 

through the 

sky

we fold 

our bones

round a ring 

of stones

and talk 

across 

a fire

remember how - we would lie in the grass

remember how - we would play by the shore

remember how - we would watch the day pass

remember how - we wanted nothing more


[[ nomads, refugees, wanderers  ]]

boy on the beach

[[ from a picture we have all seen -- Alan Kurdi ]]

A boy on the beach
in the waves on the beach
in the sand on the beach
unafraid of the sea

You're not afraid of the open sea
You're not afraid of the rolling boat
You're not afraid of the open sea
You're not afraid of the rolling boat
You're not afraid of the deep deep water
You're not afraid of afraid anymore

You're Mama's brave boy
You're Baba's brave boy
You're not afraid of
anything anymore

Whisky, whores, and gold (fuck this town)

[[ is it a Broadway song or a country song or a folk song? ]] 

Why should a man 

dig potatoes 

all day 

in these fields,

when there's gold 

to be dug 

from the ground? 

Why should a man 

hitch his wagon 

to the neighbor's 

pale girl,

when he could swing

a new dancer 

each night?

Why should a man 

grind out his life

in these 

four square walls,

when he could ride 

a straight line

till he's gone?

Why should a man

spend his days

signing checks

in this town,

when he could go

give a mountain

his name?

[[ first the noble-sounding stuff... ]] 

Ride 

with the morning behind you

Ride 

with the night in your eyes

Die 

with the stars rolling over your bones, but

Live

under infinite skies

[[ ...but then cut to the truth ]]

Course there's gold and whores and whisky,

Whores and whisky and gold.
Wouldn't want a girl to miss me

Wouldn't be a man to be told

All I want is whores and whisky

Give me whisky and whores
And gold.

I'm going out west, 

Cause fuck this town.

I will strike a match

I will burn it down

Fuck the thirteen colonies

Right from Maine on down

Fuck every city 
to the Mississippi

But, most of all, 
fuck this town.

I can't say I'm not going to miss you

I can't say I won't look around

But I can't stay another damned minute

Or I swear I will burn this place down

invasive species

[[ my genetics -- roots in the ground, then spread to another continent like my parents before me ]]

I pulled my father's 

self-consuming heart,

as he once got his,

up from the ground.

I pulled my mother's 

enfolding, collapsing mind,

as she once got hers,

up from the ground.

They never told us,

never warned us 

who we were,

where we came from

We reconstructed 

everything ourselves 

in perfect replica 

from plans they made 

and hid in our bones

long before the fall,

before the burst.

An invasive species, we 

fall from the sky, we

land and hold, we 

bring next to nothing and we 

learn to live with it, we
sink a tap root down, we
drive a spike through the earth, we
hold on tight, we

send a tap root down, we 

come up through the ground, we 

burst from earth, we 

turn towards the sun, we 

watch our flower flower, we 

green and flower and fade 

and dry and fly on this wind

somewhere on this wind 

that comes to pull us from ourselves

on this wind.

there is nothing 

I can't pull

from down in the dirt

migrant blues

the country we grew up in

does not exist anymore

the country we grew up in

does not exist anymore

the home that we were born in - 

had strange men kicking at the door

we have seen the people vanish

we have seen the people die

we have seen the people vanish

we have seen the people die

we have nothing left to stay for

and the tide is rolling high  

one more for the boat, sir

one more for the sea,

one more for the boat, sir

one more for the sea,

one more for the wind, sir

one more 

for life 

in a new country

is there room for my child, sir?

is there room enough for me?

is there room for my child, sir?

is there room enough for me?

one more for the wind, sir

one more 

for life 

in a new country

Hold on to your children

Hold on to your skin

Hold on to your children

Hold on to your skin

For a fistful of money

Somebody will always take you in

We may die on the water

We may die in the dark

We may die on the water

We may die in the dark

Our graves may be the open sea

Or a truck in an empty car park