1. |
Parthian Shot
05:24
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How early on should I fire my parthian shot?
County line and railway sign won't hit the same spot.
It isn't 'til I'm poured-out in Oklahoma;
I lean against my car in the pharmacy's lot,
The southern horizon is crowded with gridlock;
I waited too long.
Towns, along the chart, are stricken down the further I plot.
Population counts, bouts for the crown: The Land of the Heart.
The bow is in my front seat without an arrow.
I won't make it far as the 70 cross.
I'll still land among derelict industrial parks,
Though how could you not?
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2. |
Mann Gulch
04:02
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Out of the sea and into the sun, we knew hollow cows long ago
Fall back down when my hooves touch the ground. Minos, push me out of the plane
Trace the lines to reclaim my mind, diamond-backed in the center until
I won’t hear
Already burned at the stake
Aphra Behn and these old decrepit men
In the gates of the mountains when the brush was burning
Lukewarm tea bring the haze of my brain tree
Like it did in the forties when the brush was burning
The sun has been on my back too long because I can still feel it burn
One too many revolutions won so I can barely see straight anymore
Half bull without the sense, who are you again?
In the air
Snowflakes cover me whole
Aphra Behn and these old decrepit men
In the gates of the mountains when the brush was burning
Lukewarm tea bring the haze of my brain tree
Like it did in the forties when the brush was burning
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3. |
Vandalia Tower
04:23
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Caught in a squall
And the silver dollar moon
Isn't worth the minting.
Vandalia sky
Paints the waters' interlacing
'Neath a steamboat rudder shifting.
Vandalia Tower on a hill
Overlooks all of this still.
Lamps lit onboard,
That this misty curtain soon
Will have painted as the river,
Throw their small bodies around.
The barge is empty now
And I can't make out the windows.
Vandalia Tower on a hill
Overlooks all of this still.
She looks out over the highways,
Can take the world's biggest sip,
Her Western horizon's getting lousy with road signs,
But she chose to focus on this
Empty steamboat paddling back in.
She chose to focus on this.
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4. |
Crux
01:16
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Ah, where did everyone go?
Don’t leave until you turn out the lights
Well, there is no blame in this
But, you see, that’s the crux of it
And when the wild sprawl consumes us,
It’s okay to leave it that way
Though the line has been drawn fairly small
Look up and drive right through
There’s a mutual understanding
Alexander cuts the Gordian knot
Caught in a page
In a book that's meant to fade
So long, farewell, good luck!
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5. |
Poison the Well
03:43
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Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
The brackish water in Lake Texoma
Is flavored over my shoulder
Every time I pass that border on the way
To pick up wood and concrete from a cheaper place.
I'm needing a jacket more these days
And I'm through living on airs.
South Jefferson isn't kind, it's the truth,
When there's no one to keep the wind off of you.
Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
Last week I got a text from Austin
That had me doubled-over laughing:
"What plan do you have for when people move?"
I guess I'll get to learn what embroidered birds do.
Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
Every three years I build a town,
Then in one I poison the well.
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6. |
Saint Augustine
04:53
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In an eggshell cave, the crest broke in
Slept through winter just to watch it turn again
Covered all with linen, might slip away
Circle back to the line its retreading
Augustine and limousines how I might try
To keep it close with the pines folding
Just like rain in the back of your eye creeping in
You could feel it coursing through like original sin
Bunker in the ice, did something move?
I guess it’ll recollect itself when there is something to do
Way down low, the frosted air
Isn’t half as bad as the martyrs out there
Augustine and limousines how I might try
To keep it close with the pines folding
Just like rain in the back of your eye creeping in
You could feel it coursing through like original sin
Tear it down and I’ll see you again
To say nothing of the state we’re in
With the warbler staring straight ahead
Hands covering time stuck in lead
I will see you again
I can see no end in sight
Of the changing lights
I will see you again
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7. |
Lodestar
02:03
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Give me something with a name,
Road trips are a thin dime a dozen.
Athena's clique and a V.P. ball
Won't stick on my clothes like the town that we were both stuck in.
Where's the rooster I recall fondly?
I can't well use that to trace back to...
Give me something with a name,
This picture only takes it so far.
"Where clocks disappear right off the walls,"
Puts me somewhere, but isn't enough to go off of.
Where's the rooster I recall fondly?
I can't well use that to trace back to...
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8. |
Forefathers
04:12
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On the Main Street of Kansas we crossed the Wabash without even thinking.
The time zone already happened, we took back the hour we'd resigned.
It's still up for debate if the gulf ports were worth the rest of this.
Absent landlords fill the space, and I'm told that's their right.
Step in my car and see a moon hanging there,
State bird on my hat is closer than a real one's ever been.
There's a big horseshoe gate and I've been asked if the road runs through it
But I'll give it to you straight: they don't make it easy in the West.
But the beauty pageants are the best that have ever run and they're lit even better here;
They're even better when they're done. Don't expect me at the contest.
Step in my car and see a moon hanging there,
State bird on my hat is closer than a real one's ever been.
Where the streets are filled with marble slabs and iron
I'm in line for a coffee beneath the world's largest tourist sign.
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9. |
Father of Waters
04:15
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I saw a bird on my ridge
and walked the line to see where it had hid
Vandalian sky sounding deep
Where our flights would end and meet
No hearing in the engine of a plane
Drop dead, while I try to translate
Long black veil rolling in
Long black veil rolling in
Sliding down the vein of the country’s back
And when I get spit out
Dry my hands and salve the
cracks
Sliding down the vein of the country’s back
And when we get freaked out
The words will drip from our cavernous mouths
Sliding down the vein of the country’s back
Then I get ripped out
Wrap a songbird and tie it down
Sliding down America’s back
When I get washed out
I’ll grab the tide and float right back
Vandalian sky stay true
Into the gray and sing anew
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North Lark Capital St. Louis, Missouri
Alt-country/indie rock band out of St. Louis.
North Lark Capital recommends:
Live At Cat's Cradle, September 25th, 2007
by Magnolia Electric Co.
A fantastic live album, I'd say even better than Trials & Errors.
go to album
The Wild Hunt
by The Tallest Man On Earth
Barebones folk-rock with killer lyricism.
go to album
In All Their Splendor
by Li'l Cap'n Travis
Underappreciated TX country-rock group, "Bar Full of Fans" is a real barn-burner.
go to albumIf you like North Lark Capital, you may also like:
Notes From The Wonderground
by The Reflection Box
Irish singer-songwriter Sarah E. Cullen bares her heart over pastoral folk arrangements enshrouded in a dream-pop haze.
go to album
Written as she was coping with an auto-immune disease, the new EP from Rachel Angel offers hushed, silvery ’50s-style Americana.
go to album
The new EP from denitia specializes in big, hooky pop songs that put her smoky voice front and center.
go to album
