The Low Anthem Album

Tell me who was it told you 'bout the broken bones
The broken bones in the sky
'Cause I've been all over the whole goddamn world
And over the world am I

Now the moon it ain't nothing but an old rotten bone
Hung from the ceiling so high
It reminds kids to grow and reminds them to dream
But over the world am I

So my friends if you're worried
Don't worry about me
The grasses are green here
The winters are mild
And the hunger is passing
It's just a sensation
And over the world am I

Up in the city it's panic and toil
In every fiber and vein
All dressed up like kings in their robes of desire
The poets are going insane

But I've been to the ocean her salts they do heal
And washed me anew in her tides
And now I ride easy down her cool wide waves
And over the world am I

The color of your bones it was yellowed by the sun
Ain't no reason why the drummer keeps on drumming on his
drum
On his drum, we are only for awhile

And the truth is like an onion you can skin it layer by layer
When you come upon the center you might find there's
nothing there
And we are only for awhile

The sun is like the truth it'll burn the mortal man
If he tries to look upon it if he tries to understand
He might learn that we are only for awhile

Even my guitar listen while she gently weeps
Now I will not play forever so why would I play for keeps
Don't play for keeps we are only for awhile

Down down down down
The wicked candle burns to the ground
Down down down down
The wicked candle burns

The body is stone
but the soul is made of cloud
And it has no home but to cry out loud
We run and we run
Try to cover lots of ground
But in the end
Down down

Down down down down
Burns the cigarette to your mouth
It felt like something coming
But it never came around
And all the while
Down down

The bottles are all empty
And the moon is still
Above the folks that sell the weapons and the folks that kill
Are you a coward or a convict?
Is it hard to tell?
Both the lonesome and the restless are sleeping well

Bless your gilded tombstone heart
What's yours is mine
Bless the seams that came apart
What's yours is mine

Bless the time that made us grow
Right out the dragon's fiery door
Bless the toll the monster soars
What's yours is mine and mine is yours

Bless the drinks we younger raised
And bless the debts our hearts must weigh
Bless the toy guns in their slings
The boys have thought of everything
Bless the weary homebound horse
What's yours is mine and mine is yours

You replaced and I remained a sheltered page
No nevermind,
What's mine is yours and yours of course is mine

Bless your helpless drunken cry
What's yours is mine
Bless the fire warm and bright
What's yours is mine
Bless the words that meant farewell
The winds that finally filled your sails
Bless those tethers when they tore
What's yours is mine and mine is yours

(by Dan Lefkowitz)
She left me here with breakfast in bed
Oatmeal with sugar and a hard-boiled egg
The note on the dresser said I'll be back by three
I'm going uptown, did you need anything?

And don't forget to comb your hair
I'll be back by three, I hope you're still there

Now the kitchen is empty and the dishwater's cold
The newspaper on the table is three days old
I've read every book on the living room shelf
I'm losing my mind in this goddamn house

A dying dog can smell the rain
A weary horse can hide the pain
When the riverbeds dry just hold your tongue
Folks dig the lies they hang upon

Here in Nashville

Our best laid plans our patient dreams
Fell through our hands between the seams

When the riverbed's dry keep it all inside
Grow your hair and hide folks dig the lies

I saw a crow, feeding a crow
A small scrap of metal from a toilet hole

I've seen the birds, circling your big Southern eyes
What could they want, it's no big surprise

I've seen the birds parting your cracked country mouth
There's no wonder my love what this is about

Our nature's a monster, we pull and we pry
What will you find?
A crowbar, a hammer, a delicate word
Will open the door to the scavenger bird

Accept no presents for each is a lie
Whose depth you will know by the strength of the shine
The ring on your finger it ain't worth the change
You send down the wishing well, bring me some rain
The fields have gone dry, blackbirds are starving for love
Of any old kind
Run your long fingers through the powdered earth
It's you who brings the rain

I saw a crow with the cock of his head
He solved a great puzzle and hustled for bread
A crowbar, a hammer, a delicate word
Opens the door to the scavenger bird

1971, hung up a chicken bone
On the old chandelier at the sawdust saloon
The medical exam had cleared me to fight
My mother said stay and I thought that I might
My brother said stay that's when I left
Never know who might be called in your stead
So I showed up on time to meet my platoon
And hung up a bone in the sawdust saloon

With Jimmy Tassone, I used to play ball
Now he sits here beside me and talks like a man
He looks like a man, says he shoots like a man
But no medal of honor will make his Mom move back in
So he said my drunk father, I'll be back for you soon
But Jimmy still hangs in the sawdust saloon

And I love my country with a deep frenzied love
Her legs spread out wide her nose turned up
So I showed up on time to meet my platoon
And hung up a bone in the sawdust saloon

The candle in the window, the coin in the well
The break in your voice, the crack in the bell
All raise up a round, without saying a word
To them old dusty bones and the good men that served

(A.P. Carter)

There's a dark and a troubled side of life;
There's a bright and a sunny side, too;
Tho' we meet with the darkness and strife,
The sunny side we also may view.

[chorus]
Keep on the sunny side,
Always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life;
It will help us ev'ry day,
It will brighten all the way,
If we keep on the sunny side of life.

Tho' the storm in its fury break today,
Crushing hopes that we cherished so dear,
Storm and cloud will in time pass away,
The sun again will shine bright and clear.

Let us greet with a song of hope each day,
Tho' the moments be cloudy or fair;
Let us trust in our Saviour alway,
Who keepeth ev'ry one in his care.

Senorita, with your dust brown skin
Where you going with that thing up your sleeve
I've heard about your ways and I know I cannot win
Senorita, with your dust brown skin

There you go again with the devil in your eyes
You slide away so softly and so quiet
I know all your lies, still I think that I might try it
Senorita, you got the devil in your eye

And I'd follow you forever, through the smoky Pyrenees
Buying you cheap liquor if I can't provide a feast
I'd be lost without you, I don't know who I am
Senorita with your dust brown skin

There you go again and I forget your name
Not for time's passing but for sorrow
And now you're coming back, my lord my poise contain
Senorita, I forget your name

There you come again with the devil in your eyes
Once I swore never more to buy it
But now you're coming back and I'm afraid that I might try it
Senorita, you've got the devil in your eyes

The rip-rap will hold
Though the cold wind blows
And tomorrow we'll walk in the morning

The clouds they will clear
There's nothing to fear
And tomorrow we'll walk in the morning

And I have a promise for you
All your days you'll not go down in the ground
When you sing, I will sing
When you run, I will not judge you
And you'll never go down in the ground

One day we'll climb out
Of this coal mountain town
Pack the truck and head off to the ocean

Sleep now my child
Don't you fear the wild wind
Tomorrow we'll walk in the morning