Vic Chesnutt - Silver Lake

 

 

I’m Through

Forget everything i ever told you
I'm sure i lied way more than twice
But understand i am not emily post
You know i'm nowhere near that precise

And i struggle with these etiquettes
Like you wouldn't believe
I'm puzzled by the policies
'cause after everything else you draw out of me
You still expect cute curtsies

But i'm through, through, through
Carrying you on my shoulders
And i'm through, through, through
Hiding
And i'm through, through, through
Living my life for you
Yes i hope for both our sakes
I'm through, through, through

I hope you are happy
With your hold on me
It sure stuck me awful strong
And don't you dare call this disloyalty
There's no way you could be more wrong

I'm just dragging my devotion
In a last ditch retreat
Seeking some safety
I'm tired of bleeding
For no good reason
Is that so hard to see?

And i'm through, through, through
Carrying you on my shoulders
And i'm through, through, through
Hiding
And i'm through, through, through
Living my life for you
Yes i hope for both our sakes
I'm through, through, through

 

Stay Inside

Well, i guess i'm through stewing
How 'bout lets roll the rock away?
My bedclothes have gone all funky
I've got to get out of this cave

Stay inside!

Well the times they are a-changin'
Look at all the idlers
Soon there will be no one to shear the sheep
And i am cold natured

Stay inside!

Suddenly everything's different and
Everyone's on edge
I just wanted to bring folks together
But it seems that i am the biggest wedge

Stay inside!

 

Band Camp

Well the first time i ever laid eyes on you
Was my first year at marching band camp
You never played the part as it was written
You would always vamp

You was always cracking me up
Messing with the band director
Mocking the tuba parts
In your upper register

If i knew then what i know now

You shouldn't've even been talking to me
Just a lowly freshman
And you the undisputed queen of the senior class
Without question

Yet at the band hangout ruth's restaurant
We sat together in a corner booth
We got our burgers for free
Because you was kin to ruth

If i knew then what i know now

You always had a little something
Hidden in your instrument case
We would be practically making out
On the bus home from the way games

Once you soaked a tampon in some serious vodka
Wore it to school
Second period science lab
You fell right off your stool

If i knew then what i know now

I didn't go to your graduation
I just couldn't find the strength
And i had to throw my yearbook in the dumpster
Because it was haunting me

The very next time i ever laid eyes on you
It was practically christmas
You already looked like a whole different person
Just like much older sister

If i knew then what i know now

I still never, never, never would've
Seen that coming

 

Girls Say

Girls say "why do you want to do that?"
And boys say, "well i gotta leave".
And girls say "watch out for your head"
And boys say, "why you wanna be a bitch?"

Girls say "can i get you anything?"
And boys say "who you trying to kid?"
And girls say "ooo i've got a headache".
Boys say, "why you wanna be a bitch?"

Physiology is no mystery
A jigsaw puzzle is only a trial and error game

Yes and girls say "you look great today".
And boys say "hey, show me all your boobs".
Girls say, "i could use a backrub".
And boys say "why you wanna be a bitch?"

Girls say "hey, careful with that".
And boys say, "hey look what i can do!"
Girls say, "please don't yell at me."
And boys say "why you wanna be a bitch?"

 

Second Floor

If you want to see two circling swans
On the surface of the sewer pond
Don't crane your neck where you are
You've got to climb to the second floor

And i wouldn't've even mentioned it
If you didn't seem so tuned into it

You've got to climb the second floor
Short chore great reward

I'm in the east but i'm looking west
When i'm facing north
The big huge valley's to my left
Horizon holds three great slag heaps
Piercing the sky like the pyramids at giza

I wouldn't make so much of it
If i didn't know you truly loved it

You've got to climb the second floor
Short chore great reward

 

Styrofoam

Emotion drains
Like the contents of a cooler
My thorax is styrofoam

I'm a cheap spent shell
And a biohazard
Grind me up then mail me away

Maybe transmogrified
I'll be satisfied
That finally at long last i'm harmless

It is simply so
It's my chemical makeup
I slough it off every 28 days

So raise your hand
And ask yourself a question
But make it the powerful one

And if you answer by rote
And pap comes from your throat
Just tidy up and think of me in pieces

Yeah, the lousy poet in me can't lie no more
And the warrior in me
Has gone and died before
And that hard, handsome olympian
Was forced to retire

So dig out the films
And all those yellowed clippings
Do them up then stash them for good

Then raise your hand
And ask yourself a question
But make it the powerful one

 

Zippy Morocco

Zippy morocco with a hat on his head
Set sail for the seven seas
When his mother took to dead

Barely out of teenagedom
When his mental map was unfurled
The next thing that he knew
He found himself halfway around the world

With nobody to send exotic postcards to
With nobody to send exotic postcards to

Zippy morocco as the admiral of fleet
Might've been wet behind the ears
But he certainly was fast on his feet

Put down a mutiny at the edge of the earth
He knew the value of the swirling sun
He never overestimated his own worth

It was the grief that whetted his appetite
It was the grief that whetted his appetite

And the waves they do not tell you welcome
And the sand on the shore
Does not spell out a hello
Salutations they are below the surface
Listen to zippy morocco, he says,
"that is what i know"

Zippy morocco as the perfect pragmatist
Had a hold on the astronomical odds
And he knew what to risk

Staked a million on an easterly wind
Collected the holy city
Now the horse traders come to him

With their beads and cheese and horses
With their beads and cheese and horses

 

Sultan, So Mighty

I'm here because i'm a eunuch
I am no threat
I'm here to watch the ladies
And to fan away their sweat

And the sultan, so mighty
Comes crawling to me
When he has a little problem
With the ladies

I'm here because i am a eunuch
I'm perfectly safe
I'm here to bring the ladies
Hot towels when they bathe

And the sultan, so mighty
Wants to talk to me
When he needs a little help
With the ladies

And what he don't know
Won't hurt him
What we know
Would never hurt him
But he would hurt us
If he knew what we know

I'm here because i am a eunuch
A trusted confidant
I'm here to serve the ladies
They tell me what they want

And the sultan, so mighty
Has to go through me
When he's having trouble pleasing
Certain ladies

And what he don't know
Won't hurt him
What we know
Would never hurt him
But he would hurt us
If he knew what we know

 

Wren's Nest

Like at the wren's nest
Like at rock eagle
Ironies swirl and hearts are twisted taut
Around their pivot points

The stag scrapes his felt on a scrubby dogwood tree

Like at the warm springs
Like at key club
Residuals are what get to one
Reach toxic levels with time

Even the pretty fawn is full of wolf worms in the summer

Oh, so horribly intensely I prayed
Let me evaporate

But the dying autumn leaves are beautiful, too

Like on the flint river
Like at the mica mines
Conversations escalated
Voices trembled and cracked

The barn owl's white belly is like a flash bulb
Instantly illuminated by a moonbeam
As he swoops silently before us
Toward a fateful meeting in the forest

Oh, so horribly intensely I prayed
Let me evaporate

 

Fa-La-La

Fa-la-la is running around
All over the grounds of the hospital
I was watching for her
Like some people watch birds
From the window of my hospital room

I was trapped and tired
She was as free as i'd ever found
The embodiment of life force
In a hospital gown
Yeah, i could feel my body healing

I would crank up the head
Of my hospital bed
All the way up
When they would wake me at dawn
Then i'd gaze out at the lawn
Waiting on my sad soul medicine

I was trapped and tired
She was as free as i'd ever found
The embodiment of life force
In a hospital gown
Yeah, i could feel my body healing

And a nurse would come and see me
Everyday
And my folks are on their way
To see me home
But i don't want to go
No i don't want to go

Fa-la-la is running around
All over the grounds of the hospital
As they are loading me up
Into the cab of my daddy's truck
For our long ride home

Only a fool wouldn't be happy
To leave this cold insitution
For a warm and loving home
But i feel like i'm drying up
Deep down in my bones
Yes, i don't want to go
No i don't want to go

 

In My Way, Yes

Do you think it makes a difference?
I say yes

Taking my time
Working on lines
Fingers in clay
Everyday
Head in the clouds
Moving my mouth
Spreading the grout
That's holding it down
Do you think it makes a difference?
I say yes in my life yes
Cuddling up
Declarations of love
Squeeze and a hug
A kiss and a rub
Faces opposed
Eyelids closed
Nuzzling nose
Like eskimos

Don't'cha' feel silly?
I say no with my love no

I never ever thought
I'd ever have a life like this
I never dreamed
I'd be alive
I never considered
Such as these surroundings
Effectually pulling it off
Watching the cops go by
Seeing a falcon fly
Reading a history book
Wetting a tiny hook
Driving fast all night
Bursting into song at first light
Sharing breakfast from one plate
Holding hands over loved ones graves
Do you think you deserve it
I say yes in my way yes