Wye Oak – Civilian [Official Lyrics]
Wye Oak are an outstanding indie band from Baltimore and have been kind enough to provide me with the lyrics to their album via email correspondence. These are the official lyrics to Wye Oak’s Civilian. Thank you Andy and Jenn! And please support the band by finding them on tour or buying their music via wyeoakmusic.com.
Two Small Deaths
two small deaths happened today,
while i was at work, while i was at play
no less light darkens my door,
so i cannot cry, what is that for
is this the way my mind works,
forwards always forwards
is this the way my brain waves,
backwards, sideways
i’ve no heart as strong and as lasting
to miss and to mourn
the world at their passing
i’m saving up all of my strength
for when i finally fail
at keeping you safe
when my last friend should leave me,
slow and easy,
i’ll be creeping around them,
picking pockets
The Alter
oh recourse,
our nature is a force
so, cut it at the source and go,
a life without remorse
i’ll obey,
though i am afraid of what it is to be alone
awake,
and happiest at play
i’m all smiles,
confident and wild,
wired with every instrument
control
and careless all the while
until i recall,
everything and all is wrong
panic is a slow dissolve,
a terror quiet calm
Holy Holy
holy holy holy,
there is no other story
holy only holy,
it is madness seeking mastery
hold me hold me hold me,
would you like to know me,
a tongue without a mouth to feed,
and only seeking agony
for the joys and secrets i have stored,
here i lie awaiting my reward
attention for the blessed final count,
the ties that hold your mind and mouth give out
no patience can contain this,
all human joy is precious,
and i alone should know this,
and everyone should notice
holy holy holy,
there is no other story
it is madness seeking mastery,
we will be who we want to be
for the joys and secrets i have stored,
here i lie awaiting my reward,
attention for the blessed final count,
the ties that hold your mind and mouth give out
oh, they will give out
Dogs Eyes
can’t see yourself in evolution,
the history of our creation,
so dogs’ eyes smiling scare you about dying
i can’t shake this superstition,
jesus give me your permission,
and god’s eye looks in like a ghost you don’t believe in
someone hit me with this wish,
and i cannot get rid of it:
soft eyes, hard hands,
a shovel, a garden,
a deep hole, a secret,
and water to feed it
a season of growing,
and soon, everyone knowing
Civilian
i am nothing without pretend,
i know my thoughts can’t live with them
i am nothing without a man,
i know my faults but i can hide them
i still keep my baby teeth in a bedside table with my jewelry
you still sleep in the bed with me, my jewelry, and my baby teeth
i don’t need another friend when most of them i can barely keep up with
i’m perfectly able to hold my own hand but i still can’t kiss my own neck
i wanted to give you everything but i still stand in awe of superficial things
i wanted to love you like my mother’s mother’s mother did,
civilian
Fish
they who made you, they made me too
quiet like you, violent like you
i’ve seen you live wild in my dreams
when you return, go to the sea
air is your permanent struggle to breathe
when you return, go to the sea
gone, gone gone
you were never alone
i’ll come home and raise you up to what’s left
ghost of your voice, finally rests
open your eyes now to all that is next
don’t be afraid now, you won’t need me
you’ll be at peace now, at last from the sea
you will forget, eventually,
the life that you wasted that led to the sea
gone, gone gone (picking up your human pieces)
you were never alone
i’ll come home and raise you up to what’s left
they who made you, they made me too
i say they can make us again
Plains
into the desert,
weather forever
desperate clouds
bellowing out
seeing the future,
cautiously answer,
it’s only the plains,
sideways rain
the days whispered and shouted,
and everything counted
the signs were around,
we looked so we found
and seeking a pattern,
none of it mattered
watching the sky
cycling by
through the windows of a passed life
they are seeing the same things,
but they are not laughing
the smoke from the engine,
the bones of a plane
i noticed this vaguely,
but it couldn’t contain me
so i’ve been tamed,
so it remains,
and i am ashamed
hiding in a stranger’s hallway
try to remember,
pen to the paper,
portion it out,
what’s it about
the voices are empty,
the pictures have left me,
there’s only the plains,
only sideways rain,
and i am ashamed,
i am ashamed
and every day is just the same
Hot As Day
when the sun is its most bright,
stare into its light,
do not close your eyes
let it burn into your mind,
then look left, look right
let it make you blind
oh, isn’t that a fright,
burned into eternal night,
that someone decides is right.
when the days run long and late,
darkness gives me pause while i lie awake
sleep is never long enough,
lying in this heat,
i forget to breathe
oh, isn’t that the way,
sun hides itself away,
still it’s hot as day
We Were Wealth
though i am grown,
i am living like a child now.
i wish, i want:
giving myself everything
fearing the release,
keeping the peace
say, for instance,
i pay money for an object
sight unseen,
how is it that it speaks for me,
borrowed never earned,
in debt from birth
fill the days at any cost and spent your earnings,
ease the losses
we were wealth and we were money,
of the world and needing nothing
Doubt
if you should doubt my heart,
remember this:
i could lie to you if i believed it was right to do
if you should think instead i would forget all the lives i said were not meant for me,
and meant for you
that would be the test
sadly i could not forgive only that
to doubt the only way that what was true before,
is true today
what i have learned of you does not assure you bow before my will
but i believed it then,
believe it still
oh i believe it then,
believe it still
