The Decemberists - What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World Album Lyrics

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The Singer Addresses His Audience

We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
Would we change, we had to change some

We know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you grew your arms around us
And the hopes we wouldn't change
But we had to change some
You know, to belong to you

We're aware that you cut your hair
In a style that our drummer wore
In a video
But with fame came a mountain claimed
For the overlord
You know

So when your bridal processional
Is a televised confessional
To the benefits of Axe shampoo
And we did it for you
We did it all for you

Cause we know, we know, we belong to ya
We know you built your life around us
And would we change, we had to change some
You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you
You know, to belong to you


To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
To belong, to belong, to belong
(To belong, to belong)
(To belong to you)
(To belong to you)

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Cavalry Captain

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the carbon collected
I am the printing upon your stars

And when you sharp shine your eyes
Looking lost, looking bright
Wheel away on the light brigade

And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
(Only for a time)
And if only for a second
(Only for a time)
And if only for a time
We'll be alive
We'll be alive

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the carbon collected
I am the printing upon your stars

There is a world, there is a time
Looking calm, looking kind
Wheel away at the break of day

And if only for a second
(Only for a second)
And if only for a time
(Only for a time)
And if only for a second
(Only for a time)
And if only for a time
We'll be alive
We'll be alive

I am the cavalry captain
I am the remedy to your heart
I am the carbon collected
I am the printing upon your stars

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Philomena

Oh, Philomena, are you in a tawdry gown
Lean to your window, let slip a ribbon down
A cure to your boredom, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down

Long sunny days can lead to lazy vices
Boys all at idle, left to their own devices
Open up your linen lap and let me go
Down, down, down

All I ever wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I've quickly bored, I wanted more, I wanted more

So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
I'll be your lash and loop of leather and dark
Philomena, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down

All I ever wanted in the world was just to live to see a naked girl
But I found I've quickly bored, I wanted more, oh, so much more

So I'll be your candle and I'll be your statuette
I'll be your lash and loop of leather and dark
Philomena, if only you'll let me go
Down, down down

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Make You Better

I want you, thin fingers
I wanted you, thin fingernails
And when you bend backwards
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better

I'll love you in springtime
I lost you when summer came
And when you pulled backwards
I wanted to, I needed to
Oh-oh, to make me better
Oh-oh, to make me better

But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around to make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her
But it'd make you better
It'd make you better

I sung you your twinges
I suffered you your tattletales
And when you broke sideways
I wanted you, I needed you
Oh-oh, to make me better
Oh-oh, to make me better

But we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around and make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day that you met her
And it'd make you better
Did it make you better?

And all I wanted was a sliver to call mine
And all I wanted was a shimmer in your shine
To make me bright

Cause we're not so starry-eyed anymore
Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters
And won't it all just come around and make you
Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her
But it'd make you better
It'd make you better

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Lake Song

Down by the lake
We were overturning pebbles
And upending all the animals alight
And I took a drag
From your cigarette and pinched it
'Tween my finger and my thumb
Till it died
And the sun burned low on the radio

Say that you will
Say you will or will you won't
Or you whatever you prevaricate
Your whole life, don't you?

This much I can say:
I would've waited till the oceans
Fell Away and all the sunken cities
Would reveal themselves to you

But you won't, will you?
Because you never do
And the sun burned through
Sweet as honeydew

And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
Never gave a thought to what I paid
And you
All sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
To tell the truth I never had a clue

Now we arise
To curse those young suburban villains
And their ill-begotten children from the lawn
Come to me now
And on this station wagon window
Set the ghost of your two footprints
That they might haunt me when you're gone
And when the light broke dawn
You were forever gone

But I remember you:
You were full
You were full and sweet as honeydew

And I
Seventeen and terminally fey
I wrote it down and threw it all away
And never gave a thought to what I paid
All sibylline, reclining in your pew
You tattered me, you tethered me to you
The things you would and wouldn't do
You noticed how I never had a clue
Never had a clue
You were full and sweet as honeydew
You were full and sweet as honeydew

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Till The Water's All Long Gone

They came down from the mountain
They strayed too long from the fountain
And all the while
All the while they longed for us

But I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
I won't
Till the water's all gone

And you, my sweet flower
And how you grew more sweet by the hour
And loathe was I
Loathe was I to lose you
My tender rose
My limber rose
My slender loving daughter
My tender rose
My limber rose
My slender loving daughter

Till the water's all gone

They came down from the mountain
They strayed too long from the fountain
Oh my girl, oh my love I've lost you

But I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't betray you
I won't
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
No I won't betray you
I won't
Till the water's all gone

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The Wrong Year

Gray Jane was a riverchild
Born down by the river wild
Said, hey, what I wanna be
Nobody's gonna intervene

And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

Could be that he's into you
Could be that the obverse is true
Struck down as a summerchild
Ten steps just to run a mile

And he wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

The spirit's willin'
Flesh is getting bored
Speakers blaring out some long forgotten chord
Some misbegotten, long forgotten chord

Sing me some eidolon
And I'll sleep all the winter long
Till then I can only be
Nobody's gonna intervene

And she wants you but you won't do
And it won't leave you alone
And the rain falls on the wrong year
And it won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone
It won't leave you alone

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Carolina Low

I am a boy
From the high country
And I've got a little love
For the offering

I come down from the mountain
Bow to the sea
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

Gonna take you up
Gonna take you 'round
Well your poor little pant legs
Are dragging down

Did you crack your lip?
Did you skin your knee?
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

What is sealed with a handshake
Is spoiled with a kiss
You got an ugly little mouth, boy
It's come to this

I'm bound for the hilltop
Gonna make it bleed
And Carolina low
I will carry thee

I am a boy
From the high country
And I got a little love
For the offering
And I got a little love
For the offering
And I got a little love
For the offering

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Better Not Wake The Baby

Kick a hole in the hallway
While singing like a painted lady
Use your skull like a cannonball
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

Make your moan of your lot in life
Split your mind half crazy
Gouge your eyes with a butter knife
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

Drown yourself in crocodile tears
Curse the gods what made 'ye
Pine away for your better years
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

How long will this go on?
How long, indeed?
You can bang a drum 'till the money's all gone
But it better not wake the baby

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Anti-Summersong

Here now, long gone
Three freaks in a Vanagon
Went to the river but the river got dry
And all the good people were hanging around

Too little, too late
Everybody gotta medicate
Through the winter when the winter comes down
And all the city comes to hanging 'round

I'm not going on
Just to sing another summer song
So long, farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

I'm not (he's not) going on (going on)
Just to sing another summer song
So long (see ya later), farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

I'm not (he's not) going on (going on)
Just to sing another sing-a-long suicide song
So long (see ya later), farewell
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

So, don't everybody fall all over themselves
Don't everybody fall all over themselves

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Easy Come, Easy Go

Limber Jack, he landed on his back
Was bedding on the netting when the rigging went slack
Was a moonless night, the stars all lending light
She's leering in the mirror when the rodent rode right

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

He was a stand-up gent, but no one knew his bent
And all the little bones that he hid in his vent
She was the come-on queen, to along the scene
He found her in the shower, she'd been gone for seven weeks

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

Cause you never really know
When the whistle's gonna blow
You never really know
Easy come and easy go

Limber Jack, his name is on the plaque
His mother is another that will never get him back

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Mistral

So we already wrecked the rental car
And I've already lost my way
But feet entombed in this cursed bar
For a day, anyway
So lay me down on the cobblestone
And then furrow this aching jet
The streets are built on ancient gold
And the crib, and the will

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow

So it's me and you and the baby boy
And the fort's shed away
Breaking out a little joy
Blown away, back in stance

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away
Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Wanna blow, wanna blow, wanna blow

Woah, the mistral
Blown it all away
Woah, the mistral
Blown away

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12/17/12

What a gift, what a gift you can give me
Here with my heart so whole,
while others may be grieving
Think of their grieving

And oh my boy
Don't you know you are dear to me
You are a breath of life
and a light upon the water
A light upon the water

And, oh my love
If you only knew how I long for you
How I waste my days wishing you would come around
Just to have you around

And what a dear
What a sweet little baby
This cannonball in the bosom of your belly
It's just a kick in your belly

And oh my god,
What a world you have made here
What a terrible world, what a beautiful world
What a world you have made here

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A Beginning Song

Let's commence to coordinate our sights
And get them square to rights
(Get them square to rights)

Condescend to calm this riot in your mind
Find yourself in time
(Find yourself in time)

If I am waiting, should I be waiting?
If I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me
(All around me)

Document the world inside his skin
The tenor of your shins
The timbre of your limbs

Now commence to kick each brick apart
To center on your heart
Starting with your heart (bright heart)

If I am waiting, should I be waiting?
If I am wanting, should I be wanting?
And all around me
(All around me)

It's it sunlight, it's it shadow
It's the quiet, it's the word
It's the beating heart It's the ocean it's the boys

It's you, my sweet love (my sweet love)
Oh, my love (oh my love)

And the light, bright light
And the light, bright light
Bright light, bright light

It's all around me
It's all around me
It's all around me