NO MAN'S LAND

Whether you're a brakeman, a conductor, or an engineer
There is no way to derail fate when your end is near
And, like your footprints and some good friends, you'll disappear
Into the ether
Into cold white sand
Into the ether
Into No Man's Land
Into the vacuum pull
Of a big black hole
Displacing the sky
Into the ether
When you die

Whether you're a train on track
In a balancing act
Or a ship lost out at sea
When you're wrecked and gone
All the colors of dawn
Will drain out through your teeth
And to never again
Touch bone or skin
They'll ride November's breeze
Into the ether
In a cloud of dust
Into the ether
In a shroud of rust
Into the vacuum pull
Of a big black hole
That erases your eyes
Into the ether
When you die

There is no time left
To debate what's next
Just grab a spot in line
'Cause dark or pure
You just wanna make sure
You don't get left behind
Ya know, both salvation
And damnation
Sound like western lies
But if court is held
Over Heaven or Hell
Then I guess I'll testify

I used astateofmind834's awesome instrumental and made this song. It's a little rough.

SPANISH MOSS

The foxgloves on the riverbank
Sway like gloomy chambermaids
In moon-slung gowns
Their heads hung down
In their wildest dreams
In their wildest dreams
They would never think to marry
The sun to the sea

I was hammering the final nail
As the train derailed
Into blue
Of a new-day hue
In my wildest dreams
In my wildest dreams
I'd have never thought I'd need you
To rescue me

But I called your name
As the water filled my mouth

Oh, where are you now?
I need your touch
Gave all that I had to give
It wasn't much
I took to the hills
Where lost creatures bay
I came back a ghost
So just hold me close
Yeah, hold my hand a while
Let's build a fire
In light of the fact
That the moon is a liar

I used to love the smell of wine
Now it reminds me
That the world's not mine
It curls my spine
And I eye the mossy riverbed
Lost and shivering
New blood flowing south

I'll hold your place
And I'll wait for you to make
Any kind of move
Hovering above the groove
I'll stand up straight
And I'll wait for you to make
Any move at all
Like a mirror on the wall

When you're sad, I'll sink
When you're happy, I'll light up

The love that we shared
Would color streets
Now my heart feels mechanical
When it beats
Just sit by the fire
And welcome the dawn
Now that the ghost
Of a good year has gone

WARNING: I RECORDED THIS SONG ON MY iPHONE BECAUSE MY RECORDING EQUIPMENT IS DOWN. THE QUALITY IS HORRENDOUS.

I plan on recording a proper version once I have everything up and running again.

Anyway. Here.

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Hit the lights
I'm really just a little boy inside
Who wants nothing more than to run and hide
Until the storm outside dies down
Hear the wind?
It's moving like a train; I hear it bend
Around the pines and down to Mossy End
Where our lip-locked ghosts sleep underground

And I'm sinking quick
On a ship
That wasn't going nowhere
To begin with
I'm sinking quick
On a ship
That wasn't going nowhere
To begin with

This heavenly evergreen reverie
Could never be
But a lifetime ago
We could have been somethin' special, ya know?
Oh oh oh, the ship is sinking
Oh oh oh, your hips are swinging
Oh oh oh, your lips are singing our song

Hypnotized
Can't shake my focus from your wandering eyes
Can't shake the feeling that you're in disguise
'Cause your paint is peeling, just like mine
Here we are
Two wounded wolves beneath a billion stars
Howling at some dead rock that's much too far
Away to hear our valley cries

And we're sinking quick
On a ship
That wasn't going nowhere
To begin with
We're sinking quick
On a ship
That wasn't going nowhere
To begin with

This bittersweet evergreen reverie
Could never be
But a lifetime ago
We could have been somethin' special, ya know?
Oh oh oh, death's always pending
Oh oh oh, the gears are bending
Oh oh oh, looks like our world is ending now

CALM IS THE RIVER

I fell in the bramble
Of your coy autumn eyes
Our hearts and that woolly moon
Were on the rise
But heavy is a heart
When the love of the labor dies

Dizzy, we melted
Into warm bourbon skies
My head in the clouds
And my hands on your thighs
But love like mine
Is a consolation prize

You catch a look at yourself
In those dusty old windows
Start movin' along
Before that cold wind blows

I drowned in your lows
Drank the stars on your highs
We sailed to the sun
Just to laugh at its size
We threw a clock off our rooftop
To see if time flies

I'm quiet as a dead mouse
In spite of your sighs
You ask me to choose
From a deck full of lies
Still are the walls
But loud are the neighbors' cries

I moved a mountain for you
And you kicked dirt in my eyes
You crossed an ocean for me
And I spat in your eyes

You catch a look at yourself
In those dusty old windows
Start movin' along
Before that blustery cold wind blows

DEAD PINE BURNING IN A BROWN-SNOW FIELD

Well, the sun used to shine with a purpose
But that purpose was cast like a stone
Onto a black liquid surface
That swallowed both it and its heir to the throne
And the reason for breath, now it too has left
And all I'm left with are these rusty lungs
Every word I wish I'd said to you tastes like blood
From all the times I chose to just bite my tongue

We cling to these moth-eaten habits
And we tire our sinews in rows
Like two enemies shouldering a casket
Through thistles in December snow
And though your red blooming curls are fiery swirls
And beneath them your eyes coyly burn
I'm gonna step back from the window 'cause now it's your turn
To turn your back on all the lessons you've learned

We've hummed the dirge of autumn for too long
Let's sing of winter scarecrows coated in frost
And how those pink and blue flowers that grew strong
Through spring and summer all have been sold or lost
Each fallen leaf is a blank cardboard piece
Of a puzzle I'll never complete
Well, this maze is too much so I'll follow the lead
Of my footprints to the start and retreat

I used blakefischer's wonderfully poppy instrumental "Ukelele=Happiness" and put this little song together. Here are the lyrics:

HEART-SHAPED STONE

Fall has a funny way
Of changing hearts
So on a summer day
We brewed a plot
And found a heart-shaped stone
And buried it a stone's throw
From that old oak
In your yard
And you hummed
A tune
That I strummed
Till December came

We kept it safe and sound
From autumn's amber rain

A stone's throw
From that old oak
In the earth
Now cloaked in snow
We laid
Our tracks
And made
A pact
The leaves
May change
But our hearts
Shall remain the same

We kept them safe and sound
From autumn's amber rain
We kept them safe and sound
From autumn's embers

ANDROID EYES IN A TWO-SUN TOWN

Dissect the ocean to make it pleasurable
Calibrate the sunset, get out your measuring tools
 
You move like an android tangled up in circuitry
Dark as the full moon framing a cemetery
You've cracked the lantern, burned every map at both ends
You've got your lips curled into a spiral oak grin
 
A silver frost to blight all stalks of corn and spark turmoil
Is resting sweetly in your head
I've skimmed the book: you toss the hook and look distraught; you burn oil
Till someone offers you a bed
 
Waken that old ship just to author firewood
Trip on your footprints just like a bad liar would
All painted marble dressed up to look rare as gold
With eyes like caverns twisting toward some latent soul
 
Moss and ivy are clouding up bark and brick
My trampled leaves envy how your needles stick
The dust is building, coating those old cedar stairs
And though two suns howl, the ground's as cold as your glare

The iron chains that bind your mind and blind your eyes are kindling
To keep the pyre blowing heat
The only way that you can sense the wind is in the bending
Of olive blades around your feet

(Sorry in advance
I know the ice is getting thin
And I swear I'm not trying to embarrass you
But it seems to me
When you see something that you like
Your legs open faster than a parachute)