LA River

[[ A list/sequence/geography song - based on an old police photo (1955) of a man's body lying under an LA bridge, plus the route of the LA River down to the Pacific. The blood flows under the bridges and people gather under the bridges. The last part is the healing, coming together from the atoms up. ]]

on a concrete bed

between concrete walls

what's left of a river
shines in the sun

on a concrete bed

between concrete walls

what's left of a man

stares into the sun

if ever a man

ever had any blood

it has all run away

down the LA River

under the bridges of Chinatown

under the bridges of Boyle Heights

under the bridges of Vernon

under the bridges of Bell Gardens

under the bridges of South Gate

under the bridges of Compton

under the bridges of Long Beach

under the bridges and into the bay

cool water comes down from the mountains 

cool water comes down from the clouds 

filling the river - hydrogen oxygen hydrogen

clinging together - hydrogen oxygen hydrogen

northern territories (run him down)

[[ Based on the "Albert Johnson" case of 1931-1932 but not a slave to the page. ]]

That was never his real name.

He wasn't from around here.

He was a nothing from nowhere,

come north to disappear.

A minor legal infraction

put the Mounties on his case,

but he was no one for no one

and so began the chase.

When the game gets up to run,

all you can do,

all you can do

is run him down.

They tried negotiations;

He put a shot through the door.

They tried to reason man to man,

but he was no man anymore.

They chased him up the river;

he went over the divide.

They chased him through the winter

till one of them died.

 

And that was it, son. You don't kill a Mountie and run.

When the game gets up to run,

all you can do,

all you can do

is run him down.

Leave his carcass steaming on the ground.

intentional love song 17: a girl from Love Canal

she was a girl from Love Canal

she had a taste for the banal  

now she is dead - what of it?

now she is dead - what of it?

only her and me and the river, and only the only river means a thing

we would park out by the river

i would give what i could give her

now she is dead - what of it?

now she is dead - what of it?

only her and me and the river, and only the only river means a thing

she smelled of coconut and woman

i was young and barely human

now she is dead - what of it?

now she is dead - what of it?

now she's gone with her family

nothing and nothing to do with me

only her and me and the river, and only the only river means a thing

Imagined Geography 6: Limes Song

tell Olivia 

the view from this wall

it is beautiful

this river ever flowing

it is beautiful

the distant green-grey hills

all are beautiful

tell Olivia

if you get back to Rome

she is beautiful

tell Olivia

if you get back to Rome

I wish I were there

here is her picture

a lock of her hair

when you get back to Rome

say I wish I were there

Imagined Geography 4: Texas Song

Texas is its own religion

Texas is the belle of the ball

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Everything is big in Texas

Texas is a thousand miles tall

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

They cross the big river,

listening to Jesus,

but finding the devil

in a counterfeit star.

Everyone is welcome in Texas

Texas doesn't need a wall

Everyone is born in Texas

Texas can bear it all

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

They cross the big river,

listening to Jesus,

but finding the devil

in a counterfeit star.

Texas is as big as all Texas [[ x times ]]

now where were we?

[[ a song about how we try to find and describe our own consciousness ]]

now where were we?

the parts of the thing
try to trace
the shape of the thing

a beam of light
tries to see
the source of the light

the wind in the air
wants to know
the sun and the air

we are
nowhere in particular, we are
a bend in the road, we are
a draft through a door, we are
the iridescence of fly, we are
an eddy in a river running down to the end of all time

now where were we?

intentional love song 16: everything runs down, everything runs away

[[ from a photo of Appalachia in the paper ]]

everything runs away

down this valley

everything runs away

the railway follows on one side

the highway holds to the other

the river flows in between them

down to the sea

everything runs down,

everything runs away

everything runs down, runs

down to the sea

there's even a mist on the river

who put that mist in the air?

as if someone drew it that way

knew I would need to go

knew I would need to stay

I could take a photograph of you

steal a photograph of you away

I could take a photograph of you

maybe give it back another day

I know there is nothing up above us

but a sky full of chance and blame

I know there is nothing up above us

but people like to give chance a name

Don't say you're going to turn it round

and make it like it was back then

Might as well pull all those trains back up the hill

and push that river back up the valley again

everything runs down,

everything runs away

everything runs down, runs

down to the sea

Lincoln Highway Blues

[[ It started with a quote in an article about the Beatles: "At the time I happened to be driving across the country on Interstate 80; in each city where I stopped for gas or food—Laramie, Ogallala, Moline, South Bend—the melodies wafted in from some far-off transistor radio or portable hi-fi. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard." And there are fires now. And Ulysses and Leda peek in. And I took a Google maps trip down that part of the Lincoln Highway (30, not 80). And other stuff. But it's not about the Beatles or any of that other stuff. It is summer + radio + car + open spaces + America in the vaguest sense ]]


we heard you

coming through the radio

we heard you

humming down the wire

we heard your voice.

between the mountains 

when the mountains 

were on fire

we heard you

rolling through the barrio

we heard you

moaning through the wall 

we caught you 

going down ... 

the river 

where the river 

starts to fall

your voice was everywhere all summer 

they had to tie me to the mast  

and when the fever had passed 

I slept into autumn

I slipped into nothing 

I dreamt I was gotten

by something with wings

we heard you all the way 

from Laramie to Cheyenne

we heard you all the way

from Cheyenne to Ogallala 

I believe I fell asleep in Ogallala

and had an awakening in Davenport

we heard  you 

going down ... 

the river 

where the river 

starts to fall

we heard you all the way 

we heard you all the way 

the seclusion of girls

first sign of blood
the girl must run

the girl must not touch the ground
the girl must not feel the sun
the girl must not be seen by men

first sign of blood
the girl must run

she must run (run to the river)
she must hide (hide in the long grass)
she must run (run to the river)
she must hide (hide in the long grass)
the girl must run

first sign of blood
the girl must run

she must
live in the
house of the
heartless

she must
live in the
darkened
house

first sign of sun
this curs-ed girl
become a skeleton

first sign of blood
the girl must run

[[ This one is straight out of The Golden Bough. http://www.bartleby.com/196/149.html and today's news ]]

Clear Water

I will go to the river

where the water's cold and clear

I will go to the [ only ] river

where the water's cold and clear

Push a boat out on the river

and hope to float far, far from here

I will roll to the ocean

where every river ever flowed

I will roll to the ocean

where every river ever flowed

Lose my self on the ocean

and watch the stars roll down below

[[

secular gospel -- gospel without gods, or with many

human spiritual

]]

[[

Simple blues, but it can be nudged into something better, maybe. 

- Not "I'm going down" like every other blues song, but "I will go to the river" in declaration, like Yeats' "I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree".

- Not "Lose myself" but "Lose my self" like a soul returning to the great sea of souls. Harder to hear than to see, but still possible.

- Literally, take a boat to the ocean and lie back to look up at the stars from horizon to horizon. That alone is lovely to contemplate.

- Figuratively, die. Merge with the infinite. You are above (or among) the stars. 

- No god, no soul. 

]]

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

the other side

[[ I sometimes write about boundaries, membranes, layers
I also sneak alternate readings into it. In this case, someone is walking on water and talking about life on the other side, crossing to the other side, and looking down through the ice to life on the other side.
 ]]

I remember the snow

I remember the cold

We would watch our words 

each turn to cloud 

In the middle of the winter

we would walk to the river

hold hands [[ there would be a musical pause here, a shift... and then they step off ]] 

and step off this earth

and walk across this river

step off solid earth 

and walk to the other side

we would brush clear the ice

to watch the world float under

we would clear the smooth ice

to watch a reflection of sky 

and watch the fish swim

there was life on the other side

Five-and-Dime

Verse 1:
Here comes the river,
taking a new way,
way she never took before.
Old mother river
looks in my window.
Old mother pounding at my door.

Chorus:
There's a reason
(there is a reason)
put that cemetery on a hill.
This river
(old mother river)
she will never have her fill.

Verse 2:
Here comes the next town,
tumbling down river,
one lost shoe at a time.
One empty beer can,
one bent umbrella,
then the whole whirling five-and-dime.

rain on the mountains

[[verse 1]]

I am come down from the mountains...

Mountains, rumble in my blood
I'll break the bank
in every town
along the way

I am the flood (I am the flood)
And I will wash
(And I will wash)
wash you all away

[[verse 2]]

I am come down from the heavens...

Rivers, gather in my heart
We'll break the back
of every doubt
we meet today

Before we tear this world apart
And I will wash
(And I will wash)
wash you all away


[[verse 3]]

I am the bolt from the blue...

I am the answer to no prayer
You will be struck
before your ears
can hear my thunder

I am plucked out of the air
To lift all boats
(To lift all boats)
or send them under

[[refrain]]

Do you know how far
this rain has fallen?
Do you know how far
this river has run?

Do you know this sun
will burn it all away?
Do you know this rain...
will come again?

[[fade]]

||: ||: rain on the mountains :|| x3
there's a flood coming down :|| xX

[[This one is Flood personified -- the "I" is the flood and storm and so on. It's secular gospel, with plenty of room left for a religious interpretation if that's what you wanted to do with it, though the religion in question could as easily be Zeus & Co.]]