1. |
Battle Lake
05:10
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We left the graveside and he didn’t turn back
But his hands would not let go
They clutch the burden of a paddle and pack
He left a hundred miles ago
He said please hold me, but not too near
Some brittle piece of me might crack
Sit a while and sing alone, my dear
It hurts to want to hold you back
When you lie awake tonight
Sit awhile and sing alone, my dear
Waiting, watching for that endless light
That leads us onward in the face of fear
We climbed a ladder for his father’s view
We saw his shadow on the land
White dreams and treasures were his prison too
Although they gave him back his hands
I fought his battles with nothing to earn
These broken arms won’t hold my weight
I whispered comfort but his horror burned
So much more cruel than the pain
When you lie awake tonight
Sit awhile and sing alone my dear
Waiting, watching for that endless light
That makes us courage in the face of fear
Back on that island, the wolf stares him down
I saw a warning in his eyes
“You have no paths here and lost men drown--
What are you doing here?” he cries...
“It’s not enough to preach of serving love
Food on your overflowing shelf
It’s not enough to give what’s left away
Somehow you have to give yourself…”
Deep in redlines and war-hungry tombs
Feel your still white suburbs roll
Where is the courage to hear freedom songs?
Where is the grace to save your soul?
When you lie awake tonight
I’ll sit awhile and sing alone my dear
Waiting, watching for that searing light
That makes me truthful in the face of fear
He chose forgetting, and I chose the road
It was the best love I could give
I left him drinking those Battle Lake blues
To find a way my soul could live
When you lie awake tonight
Sit awhile and sing alone my dear
Waiting watching for that endless light
That leads to freedom in the face of fear
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2. |
Castle Walls
03:56
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I was raised on tales of castles
Rampart walls, of magic kingdoms
Taught to love these ivied pillars and latticed windows hgih
This was grace, this was beauty built by money, power, duty
By the rich with priests and armies and the poor who paid to die
In the sacred soaring arches I've met God in queens and beggars
In the irony of windows graced by goldenrod and blue
To the honor of a maker who became a poor brown body
One young human killed by scaffolds like the ones that built this wall
In this place of desolation, is there hope or consolation?
In this shrine to Lady Wisdom hoarded like a cup of gold
In the music floating softly I hear crying out for mercy
I am haunted by a blackbird outside singing in the cold
She sings, Ah...
Oh, my love's in chains, my love's in prison
She is dying at the border, drowning in a poisoned river
Crucified in court appeals
In the gospel that resounds here she is censored from the story
Jesus in his mother's kitchen watching soldiers take their fields
Oh say their names, hear their voices
Count the dollars, name the choices
From the bombs dropped from the pulpit
To the hate behind closed doors
In your silent churches' shadow trucks are shutting off our water
Once again the banks are saying, "You can't live here anymore"
Oh for love, oh for mercy
Let these stones cry out for justice
Let these tales of castles crumble
Let us wake up from their spell
As the big bells ring in time for my love that's bleeding, dying
At the foot of polished crosses on the church lawn down the hill
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3. |
Bloodroot
03:20
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Comes the greening fresh as grief
Tinder twigs will spring to leaf
In your woods as May grows wetter
My heart longs to know you better
Show me where the bloodroot grow
How to find and not to touch
Moss to bind and leaves to know
One more spring, you left too much
Mysteries of seed and blood
Where he planted, how you stood
Roofs of pine against the weather
Porcupine and eagle feathers
Show me where the bloodroot grow
How to find and not to touch
Moss to bind and leaves to know
One more spring, you left too much
Cross the Flambeau porch lights burn
Farm names I have yet to learn
Buckthorn creeps in tangles near
Fences dropped by passing deer
Show me where the bloodroot grow
How to find and not to touch
Moss to bind and leaves to know
One more spring, you left too much
The geese returned a week ago
I dreamed your garden told me so
Come, leave your bitter love a while
And walk among the living, child
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4. |
Mats Mats Bay
03:21
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Tall boy adrift in your old rowboat,
drop your feet on the gunwale and sigh
For your sisters and summer and the blue-eyed girl
Another year’s August goodbyes
Your keel glides low in the evening tide
on its long journey in from the sea
Somewhere far on another shore
the waves bring the same music to me
I go downshore when I’m missing you,
little brother an ocean away
And feel the bell buoy in my heart
making time
swinging day by day
A message in a bottle at the end of your line is trailing its own wake of foam
Grown friends with jobs and their too-far dreams
Oh, why won’t they all come home?
I go downshore when I’m missing you,
little brother an ocean away
And feel the bell buoy in my heart
making time
swinging day by day
So wave to the moon we’ll all see tonight
Row back up the darkening bay
Dreaming of school and the salmon run
And next summer an ocean away
I go downshore when I’m missing you,
little brother an ocean away
And feel the bell buoy in my heart
making time
swinging day by day
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5. |
Not the One
02:42
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I loved someone who had my promise
Then half the time he didn’t show up and
When I complained he said I’m sorry
I’m still not sure that you are the one
You’re not the one, no you’re not the one
So I’m not sure I can stick around but
Finding the one, yeah finding the one
is no excuse for letting me down
So lots of folks think there’s this one girl
And all the rest can just go to hell
who solves all your problems, saves the whole world
And doesn’t need any love for herself
but she’s not the one, there isn’t anyone
who doesn’t need that love and care and
I’m not the one, I’m sure I’m not the one;
the work of love is something you’ve gotta share
So I wake up in this empty bed
I’m still running back, I’m still coming home
I pray for wisdom in this aching head
I raise up my hands in the lightning storm and
I am the one yeah I’m the only one
Who can sing my own healing song…
I have these trees, I have these hands
I wake up each morning with love to share and
I’ll put down roots, I’ll share my plans
Only with an equal who choose to care
And you’re not the one, you’re not the only one
Who can heal my heart or set me free but
We are the ones, yeah we might be the ones
who can choose to love and to agree
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6. |
Tender Things
03:05
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There was a time I was ahead
One step out of sight
I had clever words and in your eyes
I saw fire and respect
Then you came back from a book
Said I was not enough
Not a chess queen, just a pawn
A little short-term fun…
Did I miss a conversation?
Was it something that I said?
Did your guys give you some pointers?
Was it in a blog you read?
Tender things are on my mind but you’ve
Got me scrambling for my life and I
Didn’t think I’d have to fight this fight with you…
Cuz you said you wanted a leader
A woman you could follow through
But each time I started leading
You told me I misunderstood…
Tender things are on my mind but you’ve
Got me scrambling for my life and I’m
Not gonna fight this fight with you…
Cuz I don’t wanna be your Goddess
Don’t need another Guiding Star
I’m not your Rock with all the Answers
We look ahead but not that far
And tender things are on my mind but you’ve
Got me scrambling for my life and I
Think we’ve got enough shit to fight to be
Fighting each other too…
But if you want to fight by my side
Come on! Come on, come on
You do your own work, I’ll do mine
We can keep each other strong
You talk of starting revolution
“Equal rights and equal power!”
Like it’s way beyond my level
Well, we can start right here and now…
Tender things are on my mind but I
Won’t go scrambling for my life and I’m
Not gonna fight this fight with you…
No, not with you.
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7. |
Wait for Green
03:20
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You’ll be with me until April comes around
We can’t plant this love in winter’s frozen ground
Only keep warm miles above the wait for green
In a dusty jar of envelopes and seeds…
There’s no certainty to how the seasons turn
What will gather roots and flourish, what will burn
But we gather clouds and patterns as they fly
Count the changes, guess the next move by and by
And when you come, you tell a story
And when you go, I’ll write a song
to live
to live and wait for green
Breathe with me to make a little warmer space
A nest for hope we hum together face to face
Blood to body, shoulder, tender bone to bone
We’re each storing summer’s sweetness on our own
And when you come, you tell a story
And when we go, I’ll write a song
To live
To live and wait for green
Side by side but not the same our winter hearts
Leave the work of learning to survive the dark
In this quiet space of resting out of time
Share this mystery, a little glass of wine
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8. |
Sea Green
04:28
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I had intentions to be good
Tried so hard feeling what I should
But one day the great grey sea got in
One long sway, saw green and I fell in
Oh, she took me in her arms
We were floating, drifting through the stars
Waves moving out and on and in...
Ah...
My lacy soul was flying loose
I was a circle and the moon
Sea fingers pulling my own tide
I opened, closed, I came in time
Oh love...
As soon as I hit solid ground
Closed windows shuttered me around
And my spirit said, "Speak!" so clear and strong
But all that I knew was it was wrong...
Oh, the swell of sea
And surge of foam
It wasn't pleasure I should know
I was afraid
I fell and prayed
Oh Lord
And I waited for a long, long time
I know, I know
I know, I know--
I have waited for a long, long time
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9. |
Snowglobe
04:54
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Little family in a snowglobe
Mom, dad, kids, how sweet the sound
Bound up smooth in one horizon
Keep it safe and spinning round...
In a crystal blinking minute
They could hear it in his voice
In the way he's sitting, breathing
Calling her like there's no choice
And feel the world turn inside out
Like a cyclone in a jar
Step outside and feel his thunder
See his message in the stars
There were warnings in the windows
Pass the word along the line
Keep your distance, keep your heads down
Seek storm shelter in your mind
And feel the world turn inside out...
This will be an all-night session
Time to cry and let him shout
Pull the blinds down, lock the deadbolts
Feel your heart blink in and out
And don't let anybody in if they contradict the story
Don't let anybody in if they won't play by the rules
If you let anybody in, they'll blow it up, they'll blow the roof off!
Ah...
Don't let anybody in
If you anybody in
You'd better let somebody in
You're gonna let somebody
Then the world's not inside out
Not a storm behind closed doors
Step outside, that's not his thunder
Not his message in the stars...
No the world's not inside out
One day you'll walk through these doors
Step outside, you'll steal his thunder
Can you navigate by stars?
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10. |
From the Youth
05:20
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Kringsatt av fiender, gå inn i din tid
Under en blodig storm, vi deg til strid
Kanskje du spør i angst, udekket, åpen
Hva skal jeg kjempe med? Hva er mitt våpen?
You see us so young and yet surrounded by enemies
Coming of age in this age of atrocities
Your eyes full of questions resisting floodlights
Our heads bowed, bare but were ready to fight
Under the bloody sky trembling between
Barbed wire and water, the wall and the machine
We look to the hills as they come marching in
Arms linked, steadying our power within
Praying, how can we fight back?
Praying, how can we win?
And the only way that love can stop the wars
Is if we fight for each other
And the only power that we’ve got to win
We’ve got to build it together
Here are our weapons to fight hate and silence
Our true deep hope of ending this violence
Believe no human being belongs in a prison
Believe that they may cage us, but we’re more than these systems
That earth has abundance sufficient for everyone
That poverty’s decided by board rooms with hired guns
Repression by the state, oppression fueled by hate
Black prophets in the streets, they want her head on a plate!
And it’s up to us to stop this--remind those who forgot this:
That they’re ignoring our demands, supplying the greed
Slave labor still grows the food that we eat
Big oil trumping water that we need to survive
Modern-day plantations want to eat our kids alive
For all our futures sake, seek hope and tend it
Die if you have to, but strengthen and mend it
Put your hands together and shout to the steeples
“Sunshine and bread and breath belong to the people!”
See how their marking rounds target to kill
Shut down these death machines by force of will
War is contempt for life, peace is defiance
Join in resistance now, death will not triumph
And the only way that love can stop the wars
Is if we fight for each other
And the only power that we’ve got to win
We’ve got to build it together
He saw it in the air when they shot him over Germany
It’s faint but the hope and the boldness of it burn in me
I too have a vision of the guns falling powerless
Tanks standing empty, law and order meaningless
Cities sleeping quiet, the sirens all gone
Children play in gardens to resurrection songs
Men who understand that with babies in our hands
We can’t pull the empire’s trigger, we can’t kill on command
And instead we tell them stories
We share our people’s glories
That it’s the same old struggle that we’ve always fought
Following the paths that our grandmothers taught
Those who feed the fires that make our days bright
Strong birds singing in the sweetness of night
Disrupt the empire, resist this insanity
We’re struggling for love and we’re fighting for humanity
For wisdom, the light in our ancestors’ eyes
For future generations
for water
and for butterflies
And the only way that love can stop the wars
Is if we fight for each other
And the only power that we’ve got to win
We’ve got to build it together
This is our promise now, from heart to heart
We will be gentle with our mother Earth
We will take good care of wisdom and kindness
As though we held a child sleeping between us
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11. |
Wondrous Love
05:34
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What wondrous love is this, oh my soul, oh my soul?
What wondrous love is this, oh my soul.
What wondrous love is this, that crowds of witnesses
Should face the riot squads for our souls, for our souls?
Should face the riot squads for our souls?
When we were sinking deep, oh my soul, oh my soul
When we were sinking deep, oh my soul
When we were sinking deep ‘neath greed and cruelty
These prophets filled the streets for our souls, for our souls
These prophets filled the streets for our souls
[Bulgarian folk solo: Sarah Larsson]
And when we’re finally free we’ll sing on, we’ll sing on
And when we’re finally free we’ll sing on
And when we’re finally free from hate and tyranny
In solidarity we’ll sing on, we’ll sing on
In solidarity we’ll sing on
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12. |
Fight Together
03:22
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Working harder as this world is dying
Waking up to news again
Always feeling like our hands are empty
Changing channels for the pain
Cut to the bottom, baby, to the heart
Through the lies and caution tape
I trust your head but on this shaky ground
I find you looking for escape
And if we can't fight this fight together
How can we win it apart
Somehow we've got to love each other
With these different homes and hearts
God knows how much work it takes to heal
It's a struggle to share anything that's real
I can't imagine what would save our souls
But a crowd of deeper loves
And they tell us we're not good enough
To earn our hearts' desire
And they tell you you're not man enough
Unless you set the world on fire
Ah...
Take a dozen struggles in our arms and
Be the best alone
But we cry, we cry for some great love
That would make our hearts a home
And if we can't fight this fight together,
How can we win it apart
We can't fight this fight together
But we can't win it apart
Somehow we still love each other
With these different homes and hearts
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13. |
Roller Coaster
04:18
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Well, I guess you knew it could all fall apart
Like it did before, you were pretty smart
At making do, collecting odds and ends
Saving string and buttons and rubber bands
And you showed your love in pots and pans
In layer bars, in spic and span
Thirty years in that widowed room
With his walking stick by your favorite broom
On a roller coaster through the dark
you rode the curves of your secret heart
Down the tracks of the closet past
heading for the sun or for the next big crash
And you never were an open book
you had clever hands, you were a damn good cook
But every time I got close to the door
you shut up tight, said, “ let’s not talk about this…anymore…”
Cuz I’m on a roller coaster through the dark
and I ride the curves of my secret heart
Down the tracks of the closet past
heading for the sun or for the next big crash…
And I just don’t know for sure how long it’s all gonna last
But in a dream I walked through your door
to your secret side, you weren’t there anymore
So much space for joy and grief
you had cleared it all out, you had found relief
And the empty shelves were a place of rest
a holy space for your fiercest best
I rode the rails of an endless light
Through the long clear halls of your finished life
On a roller coaster through the dark
yeah I still ride the curves of your secret heart
Doubling tracks of the closet past
heading for the sun and for the next big crash—
Oh yeah we know it’s fine
we know it’s not gonna last
And I think we even get to ride it kinda fast
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Kat Parent Minneapolis, Minnesota
Katherine writes gentle and passionate songs that speak to work of healing and resistance. She sings new folk music inspired by generations of family lullabies, by lament and rage, and by vivid dreams.
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