Sufjan Stevens

Everything you are is everything we have
You're the only good thing
A sun came burned our faces brown
Burned our faces red

You are still the rage
A rock from the enemy
There is still a house
A cage for the enemy

When my friends turned out
I found out there is still a Lord
But I never felt so lonely
A sun came

Like it's killing me
It's kidding me around

This bite, You bit on me
You put on me a gown

That fits me like a quarter door
That hits me like a sound
It's like You shut on me
Or shouldn't be around

Like the fennel seed
The funny gene You found

I like the man-o-weeds
The man-o-wars abound

That fits me like a quarter door
That hits me like a sound
I might just win a war
A matador around

There's still nothing I can say to change
My news for You
There's still nothing You can do to exchange
My dues to You

Like You fit on me
To bit on me a bound

This life that's shut on me
That shouldn't be the grounds

To emulate an epicene
To elevate a sound
This life, a winner needs
A winner needs a wand

Never want to blame You
Bound You, blame me
Never want the blame You bound

Never want to blame You
Bound me, blame You
Never want the fame You found

And where's the same
And where's the strong
And where's the guard
And where's the one who tries to make You?

One time, this kid ate too much food, and the food started coming out of his stomach, out of his belly button, there was maggots coming out of his belly button.

Reach for the archer
He chose an offer

You are only a redeemer
You are holy, like Demetrius

Change the hoodoo caper
Strange impersonator
Make a multi-tracker
Take your book and back her

You are like that, a redeemer
You are like that, like Demetrius

Something suddenly unclear
Someone suddenly my fear
My eyes demand like broken eaves
The laddle over spills on eaves

If you once knew
How I loved you

And my bruise-colored eyes peeled
Every image to your face and heel
And if you're happy I am, too
And if you're sleeping I'm with you

But you love someone else
But you want to be with someone else
And I can't believe how dumb I sound
And I put my face over the ground
(Repeat)

"Oh, who is that? She looks good. What's your name?"

"My name is Lauramechbaidumeinchbib Beautiful Lovely Lady. Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah, sure I did."

"I am, uh, Chriskpalpidon."

"Ah, you wanna know what my name is?"

"What, big fella?"

"Oh, my name is, um, Godzuki."

"Ya big fella! Godzuki reminds me of a booger. Goodbye!"

Like the lantern on a tree Your burden bright as weary be Periwig on parakeet You're God's great paramour and sweet I'm happy, I'm happy Your birthday brings a pardoning I'm happy, I'm happy You're like a bird that will not be Yours will number, yours will be A paragon, a Paraclete Keep your bed warm, keep your humor Keep your proverbs short and sweet I'm sorry, I'm sorry That life is anxious, life is mean I'm sorry, I'm sorry A pair of shoes is what you need I'm happy, I'm happy Your birthday brings a pardoning I'm happy, I'm happy You're like a bird that will not be

Jason, you're the only one
Jason, like a steady son
Like that, you're the only one
Take that, when the runner's come

When the right dragon comes around
When the knight horses burn the ground

Jason, you're the only one
Jason, like a steady son

(You're the only one)

Jason, you're the circle sun
Jason, run the rabbit run
Like that, you're the steady gun
Like that, what the Argon won

When the right dragon comes around
When the knight horses burn the ground
When the right you gave me
To make it through the night
When the right dragon comes around

(You're the only one)

We were young and noble
Riding on a plane for freedom run
A plane for freedom run

He took the stable
Bred me to be a mare
Made the brethren able
Gave me a room

I never asked him
I never meant meant to stay
He dressed the table
Wore a dress to be my mare

There's no pertinence
When you never leave the stall
He ran to other wars
Won't write me at all

I want to kill him
I want to cut his brain
And when it's over
I know I'll feel okay

He was a champion
We were riding side by side
Into the frontier
He left me without a ride

Where did the hour go
When the champions intercede?
He stole the cargo
Took every chance to leave

There's no pertinence
When you never leave the stall
He ran to other wars
Won't write me at all

I want to kill him
I want to cut his brain
And when it's over
I know I'll feel okay

I want to kill him
I want to cut his face
And when it's over
I know I'll feel okay

I want
I want
I want
I want

I never felt so safe
A line I once told her
Warm resting place
Her arm on my shoulder

you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself
you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself

we ran into a cave
when the wars came closer
she turned into a cave
where it turned colder

you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself
you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself

you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself
you are the rock
you are the rake
you are the one when I watch myself

I'm taking you down
to the place in the field
and when I find you underneath the grass
I know you feel this way
You feel this way because I know you
and I feel you
and I feed you rice pudding at the benefit concert
Yeah baby, I feed you rice pudding at the concert

My sister had two babies at one time, they were Siamese twins, no they were actually, they were connected at the head, at the head, and the doctor cut them apart, and my sister said, "I have two kids now, look at me."

Cave the Cadmus country soon
Europa's sake he drew
Till the oracle said wander

Safe libation water slew
A serpent near him knew
The dragon's teeth he threw
Till the oracle said wander

We are a servant, we have a song
The side of a beehive, a tabernacle choir
We are the sound working in wars
The bishop is gone to the acolyte shores

We save our Bibles, we pull our sleeves
The word is a guard and the guard is a cleave
We are the right, we are the stay
The accolade's gone, we are what you say

We have no language, we have no chore
The side of a beehive, the bride is a whore
We are a spite, we are at bay
The spirit is life, we are what you say

We have a sermon, we have a song
The bishop is easy, the bishop is wrong
The spirit is right, the spirit will say
We are a light, we are what you say

A summer night
I find a boat
Tied to a tree
A normal home

She lost her string
I'm stepping in
I push the shore there
An act of stealth

A troubled glad without a voice
A mountain song, the boat moves on
The water runs on either side
The circle swell, a sudden light

Takes me

I fix my view
Upon the ridge
Horizon's eye
Above the gray sky

I tip my oar to raise the stroke
The wading swan, the image broke
A looming peak, a pirate size
Uprears its head, a sudden guise

Takes me

All good thoughts in spite of righteousness
Is not the kind of thoughts in spite of greatness
Often not the state is advocation
If we form a power of recognition

Forget loss and perfect advocation
If it drops or stays in convocation
All we praise is all we want in commerce
All we praise is parties, foreign commerce
Entertain ideas of great communion
Shelter not materials in union
(All we praise is not the kind of commerce
That's the right solution!)

All good thoughts is not the act of doing
What we want but what we should improving
Properties, ideas, a woman's pleasure
Is empowered by love, a perfect measure!

All the time we spent in bed
Counting miles before we set
Fall in love and fall apart
Things will end before they start

Sleeping on Lake Michigan
Factories and marching bands
Lose our clothes in summer time
Lose ourselves to lose our minds
In the summer heat, I might

Once when our mother called
She had a voice of last year's cough
We passed around the phone
Sharing a word about Oregon

When my turn came
I was ashamed
When my turn came
I was ashamed

Once when we moved away
She came to Romulus for a day
Her Chevrolet broke down
We prayed it never be fixed or be found

We touched her hair
We touched her hair
We touched her hair
We touched her hair

When she had her last child
Once when she had some boyfriend somewhile
She moved away quite far
Our Grampa bought us a new VCR

We watched it all night
We grew up in spite of it
We watched it all night
We grew up in spite of it

We saw her once last fall
Our Grampa died in a hospital gown
She didn't seem to care
She smoked in her room and coloured her hair

I was ashamed
I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed
I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed
I was ashamed of her
I was ashamed
I was ashamed
Of her

Demonstrate I was
raised from the start
By a priest and
the maid on the part.
Still know what
to wear on my back:
Michigan!
Ponshewaing!
Cadillac!

If I ever meant to go away
I was raised, I was reaised
In the place, in the place.
Still I often think of going back
To the farms, to the farms
Golden arms, golden arms
start to remind me.

If the lakes took
the place of the sea.
If the cars drove
themselves, way to be!
Opposite the trains moving in
Rivers run interstate, Michigan!

Still I never meant to go away
I was raised, I was raised
In the place, in the place.
Still I often think of going back
To the farms, to the farms
Golden arms, golden arms.
Tried to change the
Made in Michigan
I was raised, I was raised
In the place, in the place,
part to remind me

I live in America with a pair of Payless shoes
The Upper Peninsula and the television news
I've seen my wife at the K-Mart
In strange ideas we live apart

I live in a trailer home with a snowmobile, my car
The window is broken out and the interstate is far
I drove all night to find my child
In strange ideas he's been revived

In strange ideas, in stranger times
I've no idea what's right sometimes
I lost my mind, I lost my life
I lost my job, I lost my wife

If you happen to be educated
Time it marches on,
oh time it marches on.
In the end there is a sacred show
delivers every song,
delivers every song.

Mourning steps and
mourning gallivants
And mourning never shows,
no mourning never slows.
If the avatar reminds that it
will never stand at all,
will never stand as tall.

Since the water made it,
most to sail it,
made it most to song,
it made it most to song.
For the politics are not political
for what they stand,
For not what they demand.
Every senator and diplomat
combines her certain part,
A matter for the heart.
Save yourself from recognition.
selfless and quite song
To better get along.

(We love you. We Chose to.
We made to. We love you.)

If we concentrate and pull
resources to the highest poll,
To beat the highest pull, too.
Ever will we conquer grief
and find it faster to resolve
the dead, to be absolved
and fed, to restore.
If the advantageous
reprimand misgivings,
We won't grow.
We will not ever know.
We will not!
(Lift my life in healthy places!)

I always knew you
In your mothers arms
I have called your name
I've an idea
Placed in your mind
To be a better man
I've made a crown for you
Put it in your room
And when the bride groom comes
There will be noise
There will be glad
And a perfect bed

And when you write a poem
I know the words, I know the sounds
Before you write it down
When you wear your clothes
I wear them too, I wear your shoes
And the jacket too
I always knew you
In your mothers arms
I have called you son
I've made amends
Between father and son
Or if you haven't one

Rest in my arms
Sleep in my bed
There's a design
To what I did and said

Once in the backyard, she was once like me
She was once like me
Twice when I killed them, they were once at peace
They were once like me
Hold to your gun, man and put off all your peace
Put off all the beast

Paid a full of these
I wait for it, but someone's once like me
She was once like me

I once was better, I put off all my grief
I put off all my grief
And so I go to hell, I wait for it but someone's left me creased
And someone's left me creased

Abraham
Worth a righteous one
Take up on the wood
Put it on your son

Lake or lamb
There is none to harm
When the angel came
You had raised your arm

Abraham
Put off on your son
Take instead the ram
Until Jesus comes

If I am alive this time next year
will I have arrived in time to share?
And mine is about as good this far
And I'm still applied to what you are

And I am joining all my thoughts to you
And I'm preparing every part for you

And I heard from the trees a great parade
And I heard from the hills a band was made
And will I be invited to the sound?
And will I be a part of what you've made?

And I am throwing all my thoughts away
And I'm destroying every bet I've made
And I am joining all my thoughts to you
And I'm preparing every part for you

He was, he was in the churchyard
My father was in the first part
He came, he came to my bedroom
But I was asleep

And he woke me up again to say...

Halle, halle, hallelujah
Holy, holy is the sound
And I hope, I hope you are tired out
And I know, I know there is joy endowed

But I was asleep
And he woke me up again
And he woke me up again to say...

Hold on, hold on to your old ways
Or put off, put off every old face
And I know, I know you are changed out
And I hope, I hope you're arranged out

But I'm still asleep
And you woke me up again
And I'm still asleep
But you woke me up to be holy

Be still and know your sign
The beast will arrive in time
We stayed a long, long time
We stayed a long, long time

To see you
To beat you
To see you
At last

I saw the dragons drying
I saw the witches whine
We stayed a long, long time
But I'm not afraid to die

To see you
To meet you
To see you
At last

I stole my father's shoes
I pulled his pockets too
We stayed a long, long time
We stayed a long, long time

To see you
To beat you
To see you
To meet you

To see you
At last

We didn't sleep too late
There was a fire in the yard
All of the tress were in light
They had no faces to show

I saw a sign in the sky
Seven swans, seven swans, seven swans
I heard a voice in my mind
I will try, I will try, I will try

I will try, I will try, I will try

We saw the dragon move down
My father burned into coal
My mother saw it from far
She took her purse to the bed

I saw a sign in the sky
Seven horns, seven horns, seven horns
I heard a voice in my mind
I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord

He said, I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord
He said, I am Lord, I am Lord, I am Lord

He will take you
If you run, He will chase you
He will take you
If you run, He will chase you

'Cause He is the Lord
'Cause He is the Lord

Seven swans, seven swans, seven swans
Seven swans, seven swans, seven swans

What the water wants is hurricanes
And sailboats to ride on its back
What the water wants is sun kiss
And land to run into and back

I have a fish stone burning my elbow
Reminding me to know that I'm glad
That I have a bottle filled with my old teeth
They fell out like a tear in the bag

And I have a sister somewhere in Detroit
She has black hair and small hands
And I have a kettledrum
I'll hit the earth with you

And I will crochet you a hat
And I have a red kite
I'll put you right in it
I'll show you the sky

I was the best man in a size too small
You were my best friend, going at it all
And what if I put off my inheritance?
Where is the best man? All arise us all in peace

I still know you
And I still like you, the best man
And I still owe you

Everything rises, going at it all
All the surprises in a size too small
And what if I told you I was still in love with this?
Would you surprise us in a size for all of me?

I still know you
And I still like you, the best man
I still know you, the best man
I still owe you

I can see a lot of life in you
I can see a lot of bright in you
And I think the dress looks nice on you
I can see a lot of life in you

I can see a bed and make it too
I can see a fireside turn blue
And I can see the lot of life in you
Yes, I can see a lot of life in you

When the world looks back
when the face looks after that
I can see a lot of life in you
Yes, I can see a lot of life in you

I can see a lot of life in you
I can see your bed and make it too
And I think the dress looks nice on you
Yes, I can see a lot of life in you

I can see a lot of life in you
Yes, I can see a lot of life in you

When he took the three disciples to the mountainside to pray
His countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame
Two men appeared, Moses and Elijah came
They were at his side
The prophecy, the legislation spoke
Of whenever he would die

Then there came a word of what he should accomplish on the day
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade
They fell on the ground
A voice arrived, the voice of God
The face of God covered in a cloud

What he said to them, the voice of God, the most beloved son
Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come
The prophecy was put to death, was put to death
And so will the son
And keep your word, disguise the vision
Till the time has come

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Have no fear, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, turn your ear

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Lamb of God, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, son of God

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Have no fear, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, turn your ear

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Lamb of God, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, son of God

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Have no fear, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, turn your ear

Lost in the cloud, a voice
Lamb of God, we draw near
Lost in the cloud, a sign
Son of man, son of God

I'd swim across Lake Michigan
I'd sell my shoes
I'd give my body to be back again
In the rest of the room

To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you

You gave your body to the lonely
They took your clothes
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your ghost

To be alone with me
To be alone with me
To be alone with me
And went up on a tree

To be alone with me and went up on the tree
I've never known a man who loved me

So faithful, so few
So pardon and done
And when we receive
We give a change at last

And when we are dead, we all have wings
We won't need legs to stand
And when we receive
To see a change at last

2, 3, 4

Goldenrod and the 4H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car into the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning, through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading

All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning, at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared

All the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I found the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March, on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing

All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window

All the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

Part 1: World's Columbian Exposition

Oh, great intentions
I've got the best of interventions
But when the ads come
I think about it now

In my infliction
Entrepreneurial condition
Take us to glory
I think about it now

Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you've got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Cannot all creation call it celebration?
Or united nation, put it to your head

Oh, great white city
I've got the adequate committee
Where have your walls gone?
I think about it now

Chicago, in fashion
The soft drinks, expansion
Oh, Columbia
From Paris, incentive
Like Cream of Wheat invented
The Ferris wheel

Oh, great intentions
Covenant with the imitation
Have you no conscience?
I think about it now

Oh, God of Progress
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Where have your laws gone?
I think about it now

Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific
Typically terrific, busy and prolific
Classical devotion, architect promotion
Lacking in emotion, think about it now

Chicago, the New Age
But what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
Oh, Columbia
Amusement or treasure
These optimistic pleasures
Like the Ferris wheel

Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you've got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Columbia

Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream

I cried myself to sleep last night
And the ghost of Carl
He approached my window
I was hypnotized
I was asked to improvise
On the attitude, the regret
Of a thousand centuries of death

Even with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearer
I am riding all alone, I am writing all alone
Even in my best condition, counting all the superstition
I am riding all alone, I am running all alone

And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines
We were asked at the attitudes, they reminded us of death

Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?

And I cried myself to sleep last night
For the Earth, and materials, they may sound just right to me

Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart, are you writing from the heart?

I'm not afraid of the black man running
He's got it right, he's got a better life comin'
And I don't care what the Captain said
I fold it right at the top of my head
I lost my sight and the state packs in
I follow my heart and it leads me right to Jackson

(Oh Keller, oh oh oh oh)
She gave us a medal she gave us a map
(Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh)
If seeing is right, then look where you're at

I'm not afraid of Nichol's Park
I ride the train and I ride it after dark
And I'm not afraid to get it right
I turn around and I give it one more try
And I said things that I meant to say
The bandstand chairs and the Dewey Day Parade
I go out to the Golden Age
The spirit is right and the spirit doesn't change

(Oh Keller, oh oh oh oh)
She gave us a mirror, she gave us a map
(Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh)
If seeing is right, then look where you're at

Andrew Jackson! All I'm asking
Show us the wheel, and give us the wine
Raise the Banner, Jackson Hammer!
Everyone goes to the capitol line
Colored Preacher, nice to meet you!
The spirit is here, and the spirit is fine
Education! Ask the nation!
You gave us our sight and the hearing is fine
Andrew Jackson! All I'm asking
Give us the wheel, and give us the wine

His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's t-shirts
When the swing set hit his head
The neighbors, they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things
Rotting fast in their sleep of the dead
Twenty-seven people
Even more
They were boys
With their cars
Summer jobs
Oh my God...

Are you one of them?

He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed he kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth
On their lips
Quiet hands
Quiet kiss
On the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid

Thinking outrageously I write in cursive
I hide in my bed with the lights on the floor
Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers
I see my own breath on the face of the door

Oh I am not quite sleeping
Oh I am fast in bed
There on the wall in the bedroom creeping
I see a wasp with her wings outstretched

North of Savanna we swim in the palisades
I come out wearing my brother's red hat
There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times
He runs washing his face in his hands

Oh how I meant to tease him
Oh how I meant no harm
Touching his back with my hand I kiss him
I see the wasp on the length of my arm

Oh great sights upon this state, Hallelujah
Wonders bright and rivers, lake, Hallelujah
Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake, Hallelujah
Trusting things beyond mistake, Hallelujah

We were in love
We were in love
Palisades, Palisades
I can wait, I can wait

Lamb of God, we sound the horn, Hallelujah
To us your ghost is born, Hallelujah

I can't explain the state that I'm in
The state of my heart, he was my best friend
Into the car from the back seat
Oh admiration in falling asleep

All of my powers, day after day
I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed
Deep in the tower, the prairies below
I can tell you, the telling gets old

Terrible sting and terrible storm
I can tell you the day we were born
My friend is gone, he ran away
I can tell you, I love him each day

Though we have sparred, wrestled and raged
I can tell you I love him each day
Terrible sting, terrible storm
I can tell you

In the tower above the earth,
There is a view that reaches far
Where we see the universe,
I see the fire, I see the end.

Seven miles above the earth,
There is Emmanuel of mothers.
With his sword, with his robe,
He comes dividing man from brothers.

In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel.
In the powers of the earth, we wait until it rips and rips.
In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel.
Oh my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loved and bathed us.

Still I go to the deepest grave,
Where I go to sleep alone

Part I: "The Great Frontier"

I count the days the Great Frontier
Forgiving, faced the seventh year
I stand in awe of gratefulness
I can and call forgetfulness

And when I, and when I call
The Patient, the Patient fall
The Spirit, the Carpenter
Invites us to be with her

What have we become America?
Soldiers on the Great Frontier!
Carpenter and Soldier, one on one
It's the battle, volunteer!

Run from yourself, from your friends, from ya--
Run for your life, for your friends, for ya--
American, merica, meri--
Oh Illinois, Illinois, Illi--

The prairie, the frontier, the perfect farm, it's from here
The fortress, the faker, the cornerstone, the baker
The dancer, the fisher, audition and the disher
The boxer, the fetcher, the ghweing gum, dream catcher

I count the days the Great Frontier
Forgiving, faced the seventh year
I stand and strain to make ends meet
Five Spirits on the Grand Marquee

And when I, and when I call
The Patient, the Patient fall
The Spirit, the Carpenter
Invites us to be with her

There was a man at the wall
He was grateful for us all
I saw the Wise Woman sing
She wasn't asking anything
She wasn't asking anything
How she made the nations sing!

What have we become America?
Soldiers on the Great Frontier!

Run from yourself,
from your friends, from ya--
Run for your life,
for your friends, for ya--
American, merica, meri--
Oh Illinois, Illinois, Illi--

The mattress, the floozies, the actress at the movies
The lantern, the lotion, the wind that wakes the ocean
The Standard Edition, the architect's rendition
The fashion, the fevers, the house we got at Sears

Part II: "Come to Me Only With Playthings Now"

Oh Great Fire of Great Disaster
Oh Great Heaven, oh Great Master
Oh Great Goat, the curse you gave us
Oh Great Ghost, protect and save us
Oh Great River, green with envy
Oh Jane Addams, spirit send thee
Oh Great Trumpet and the singers
(Given what you lost are you better off?)
Oh Great Goodman, King of Swingers
(Given what you had, has it made you mad?)
Oh Great Bears and Bulls, Joe Jackson
(Celebrate the few. Celebrate the new.)
Oh Great Illinois
(It can only start with you)

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

Up in the highest of heights
O'Hara blinks and fights
This land is yours; this land is mine.
I see the Captain in red,
and Cairo at his head.
This land is yours; this land is mine.

The lightning over the park,
the waters--brash and dark
We take a swim; we take a swim.
I never meant to escape
the carpet and the trade
This land is yours; this land is mine.

And when I make up my mind
I change it all the time
I take it back; I take it back.
The numbers over the dam,
Jo Davies and the band,
I count them out; I count them out.

There was a car in the bay
by the boat that swept and swayed
Whoever you are in the light
in the water that we made
I'm counting it out
I'm counting it out
I'm working it out inside
I'm counting it out
to the floor

The ferry hatches Moline
Panola Beauty Queen
She takes a bow; she takes a bow.
In Charles, we climb the hill
and Danville window sill
I take it back; I take it back.
My sister she counts the bars,
the Macon county cars,
She takes a bow; she takes a bow.

The Mississippi amends
the Carver and the bends
This land is yours; this land is mine.
My brother punches my ear.
The injured ivory deer
I call my dad; I call my dad.
We skip inside of the store
the Mason winter door
This land is yours; this land is mine.

There was a car in the bay
by the boat that swept and swayed
Whoever you are in the light
in the water that we made
I'm holding your hand by the shore
With our collars pulled up tight
I'm counting it out
I'm counting it out
I'm working it out inside
I'm counting it out

(This land is not your land
For the right hand takes what it can,
ransacks with the mad man.
For this land is not yours or mine to have.
This land was made for the good of itself.)

Righteous men of the earth
Oh, have you been patient
I suppose our thoughts about United Nations

Adlai, Adlai
What did he say
And what is the answer?

1952, the heart was not your master
The accident you threw
Would carry through your laughter

Evidence, evidence
I've heard of it
And what is the answer?

Adlai, Adlai
Your holiday
The greatest of men, sir

Adlai, Adlai
What did he say
And what is the answer?

Oh, stop thinking of tomorrow
Don't stop thinking of today
You're not getting any younger
You've got nothing to explain
You've got resolutions
Fastening in your wake
Take instead the high tide
At the man-made lake
It may take a while
It may take all day
All the implications
At the man-made lake
Oh stop thinking of tomorrow...

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mindset (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

Oh my God
I can't believe it
What went wrong?
The human race, in its place
Superstition man's religion
And conditioned mysteries incomplete
And the raven with its haven
Gods-in-graven
Girls and boys Illinois
Springfield with its freak and banter
Strike the cantor
God is dead, God is dead

Oh my God I can't believe it
What went wrong?
The human race, in its place
In religion, superstition
Man's conditoined mysteries incomplete

(Superman, Old machines
Kind as that, Energenes
Good as dead, Man-Machines
Computer, effigy
Sound the horn, make the bed
Pull the cord, raise the dead
In my car, on this street
On this earth, on this feet)

Take it for a patient man I caught it
Patient is the kind that gets you paid
Even if I had, man, I got it
Seems I never had it anyway
Sometimes it may seem your best intentions
Take off with a fever anyway

1-2-3-4-5-6-7 All computers go to heaven
If you think you got the vision,
Put it in the conversation
1-2-3-4-5-6-7 All computers go to heaven
If you think you got the vision,
Put it in the conversation

I rejoice in what I carry in my heart
it overwelms what a man
Great Emancipation plans,
and public transport, clap your hands, Abraham
Oh religion, superstition,
Man's conditioned mysteries incomplete
Oh the Raven with its haven
Gods-in-graven
All is dead, all is dead

Up in the highest of heights
O'Hara blinks and fights
This land is yours; this land is mine.
I see the Captain in red,
and Cairo at his head.
This land is yours; this land is mine.

The lightning over the park,
the waters--brash and dark
We take a swim; we take a swim.
I never meant to escape
the carpet and the trade
This land is yours; this land is mine.

And when I make up my mind
I change it all the time
I take it back; I take it back.
The numbers over the dam,
Jo Davies and the band,
I count them out; I count them out.

There was a car in the bay
by the boat that swept and swayed
Whoever you are in the light
in the water that we made
I'm counting it out
I'm counting it out
I'm working it out inside
I'm counting it out
to the floor

The ferry hatches Moline
Panola Beauty Queen
She takes a bow; she takes a bow.
In Charles, we climb the hill
and Danville window sill
I take it back; I take it back.
My sister she counts the bars,
the Macon county cars,
She takes a bow; she takes a bow.

The Mississippi amends
the Carver and the bends
This land is yours; this land is mine.
My brother punches my ear.
The injured ivory deer
I call my dad; I call my dad.
We skip inside of the store
the Mason winter door
This land is yours; this land is mine.

There was a car in the bay
by the boat that swept and swayed
Whoever you are in the light
in the water that we made
I'm holding your hand by the shore
With our collars pulled up tight
I'm counting it out
I'm counting it out
I'm working it out inside
I'm counting it out

(This land is not your land
For the right hand takes what it can,
ransacks with the mad man.
For this land is not yours or mine to have.
This land was made for the good of itself.)

I'm not afraid of you now, I know
So I climbed down from the bunk beds this low

I can talk back to you now, I know
From a few things I learned from this TV show

You can work late till midnight, we don't care
We can fix our own meals, we can wash our own hair

I go to school before sunrise, in the cold
And I pulled the alarm, and I kicked up the salad bowls

Since the time we meant to say much
Unsaid things begin to take their toll
After school we shoveled through the snow
Drive upstate in silence in the cold

You can remind me of it
That I was lazy and tired
You can work all your life as
I'm not afraid of you anymore

If I loved you a long time, I don't know
If I can't recall the last time you told me so

Here in this house in Pittsfield
The ghost of our grandmother works at the sewing machine post
Hiding the bills in the kitchen on the floor
And my sister lost her best friend in the Persian Gulf War
There was a flood in the bathroom last May
And you kicked at the pipes when it rattled oh the river it made

Stand there, tell me that I'm of no use
Things unspoken break us if we share
There's still time to wash the kitchen floor
On your knees, at the sink once more
You can remind me that I was tired
You can work late and give yourself up
Now that I'm older, wiser, and working less
I don't regret having left the place a mess

You can remind me that I was lazy and tired
You can recall your life as
I'm not afraid of you, anymore
Anymore

I don't care to say what
I failed to recognize
Every single day from the poker to the prize
Running out of Springfield
I worked for the Capitol Air, in the bags
Found a woman there who said
she had a mind to make
me a messenger man

If my father took his life
for the national plan, I don't care
I'm not about to stick my grave with an
apron and a bucket of plans, never ever
I can take the pillow cases
off the yellow pillows,
make a property line from the bed
In the living room, the living room,
the morning papers made the most
out of nothing at all

So we took the room
with a view of the runaway
I took off my clothes,
and she took it for a holiday
I was taken for all the things
that I never had before
Running out of Springfield
she left me with a note saying:
"Bobby, don't look back."

And if my wife took a bicycle ride
with a knife in her hand
I saw it coming
All the shad-flies run at once
with a trumpet or a train,
oh I'm running from it

Wait a minute, wait a minute,
Give a minute, lady
I can explain the aftershave
Wait a minute, wait a minute,
give a minute
Bobby got a shad fly
caught in his hair

I call ye cabin neighbors
I call you once my friends
But I trust when you labor
And put my head to rest

But I was on the hatch
I was on the avalanche
And I had found my match
I was on the floor

I took a train from Virginia
To Illinois, my home
He said “I knew you had it in ya"
A mind to make its own

But I was on the hatch
Riding on the avalanche
I tried to take it back
I was on the floor

Come on, Stone!
Come on, Star!
Come on, Snow!
Come on, Car!
Come on, Hands!
Come on, Feet!
Come on, Face!
Come on, Street!
Come on, State!
Come on, Song!
Move it fast! (Take it up)
Move it along! (The Ohio River)
Come on, Life! (Take it up)
Come on, Lord! (Take it over)
Make it right! (To the Mississippi)
Make it Yours!

Oh life, with your shoulders in the mirror
From the park when Dakota ran and brought you there
In the car when your mother lost her temper
The catalog and the catastrophic smile

Let the bugles play the sermon on the raid
I kissed you on the face
I kissed you on the playground

Oh Father John, you cannot tell me
What's right and wrong
You cannot tell me
I jump before I get around you
Oh Father John

Pick it up with the band on the Ronald Reagan Tollway
(Don't give up, let's go forget about yourself)

Illinois in it ran from the Ronald Reagan Tollway
Forget about yourself and all your plans

Oh life, with your colorful surprises
Eleanor, how you put one on disguises

Oh Father John, you cannot tell me
What's right and wrong
You cannot tell me

In the mortal life
Far in the morning light
We're back from Bloomington
We let the runners win

Far in the morning light
We let the movies play
A weekend from the holiday

Pick it up with the band
On the Ronald Reagan toll way
(Don't break down, let's go: forget about yourself)

Illinois in it ran from the Ronald Reagan toll way
(If I'm wrong makes nothing right about yourself)

Snowmobile on the field where the gunners throw their weight around
Forget about yourself and all your plans

And the winter moves about Illinois
When my sister picks a fight
With the Alexander boy
And my father locks the car by the store
Still we figure out the keys
And follow him once more
Oh my God, we see it on the floor
The woman on the bed
The ankle brace she wore
Stones and sled
It could have been some other
The mind that knows itself
Has a mind to serve the other
But we run back, scratching at the door
Scratching at the door

If I'm hiding in the sleeves of my coat
When my father runs undressed
He's pointing at my throat
And my brother has fit in the snow
And the traffic stops for miles
We take him by the elbow
Oh my God, the shuffling and the floor
A mind that knows itself
Is a mind that knows much more
So we run back, scrambling for cover
The mind that knows itself
Has a mind to kill the other
(Oh my God, no one came to our side
To carry us away from danger)

Oh my God
He left us now for dead
He left us now for dead