1. |
Liegende Frau mit Frucht
04:06
|
|||
Lying woman with fruit
Sun's strange angled, I feel strange, too
Trees grow out of the stone
Roots below
Spread like so many hands
Train tracks, fingers all across the land
If it all went amiss
If a fist...
Well there's beauty all around
But to what purpose, for what goal?
Oh I look, I feel, I think but still
I don't do all that I told you
I don't do all that I told you
All I told you that I'd do
Lying woman with fruit
Tall small figure, short legs, big boots
I feel good when it snows
I feel older
The outdoors just like a room
Speak and your voice will stick close to you
As if keeping you warm
As if yours
And for an hour you're fine
Your feet swell up, then you're back inside
Wondering if the light goes
With the snow
If the razor's stroke erased the lower portion of your jaw
If you looked up after washing up
And you weren't quite sure what you saw
If the mirror or the bare wall
Waiting for a call
As the darkness slowly slips down
In a couple of years
I might be far away from here
In the warm summer haze
That I've prayed for
Might be watching TV
Feet up, mind off, might be happy
And the women I meet
They're so sweet
Even dogs speak a language that I know
And there's music in the air
And the clouds are purple, too
Lying woman with fruit
Don't look at me and I won't you
|
||||
2. |
Turn the Page
02:37
|
|||
The farmers came
To sell us things
Their baskets filled with fruit
They asked our names
Their kids made change
We shuffled in our shoes
They acted well
So we tried to
Though we were still unsure
If they'd been made anew or if
We'd seen them once before
A group of friends
Went to the fair
They walked from stall to stall
They talked among themselves
But would not heed
The barker's call
And I was there
And you were too
You'd later write it down
You'd say you felt
There at the fair
That you were part of town
Inside a house
Where music's played
The talk is filled with charm
Women and men
Gesticulate
A mess of skinny arms
The windows light
The street outside
It bounces off the cars
Whose drivers hear
No music but
Who just might see the stars
Out on my porch
Most afternoons
I read a borrowed book
And on the street
When cars go past
Their drivers slow to look
I raise my head
And raise my hand
Do both our faces change?
And when they've passed
Their heads turned back
I smile and turn the page
|
||||
3. |
Ohio
05:19
|
|||
Ohio, my clothes are old
Tattered, torn and thin
Body sticking out through all the holes
And people stare
Please don't let them in
Ohio, my hands are cold
Their blue fingers thin
Ragged fingernails that catch and tear
At my old clothes
Blue veins through dry skin
Ohio, the air gets stale
In my little room
Steam clings to the windowpane
I watch the falling snow
Hope that it stops soon
And on the street are silhouettes
Some start cars, some fights
Someone walks his dog
And sees his landlord jogging by
Someone hugs his wife
As for me, I'm bundled up
Raw as an onion
Big old gloves on both my hands
My arms look strangely long
There's too much of us
And early morning
I must have dreamt it
A finger on my face
The sheets were soaking
The heater going
Steam on the windowpanes
And snow outside
Ohio, you know, I don't
I'll stay in my room
Moisture dripping down the walls
My hands shake and the snow
It's not stopping soon
|
||||
4. |
Get Off of My Lawn
03:07
|
|||
Get off of my lawn
You're killing my grass
It rained last night, man
And tires leave tracks
Get off of my lawn
Get your buddy off, too
You might think you're clever
I've got news for you
I'll close the blinds
And stay indoors
The stove'll keep my warm
Get off of my lawn
I'll wipe off that smirk
I know you've no business here
I know you don't work
Get off of my lawn
Got a gun in this drawer
The bullets are somewhere
I don't shoot it anymore
I close the blinds
And stay indoors
The stove will keep me warm
Everyday I read the newspaper
And people I don't know are dead
Part of my is shaken, part is numb
But I fear it's all in my head
How could I not search for an answer?
Younger, I'd have sought it in books
Every night I put on a record
All good songs have hooks
Get off of my lawn
It's the last time I'll say it
I'm calling the cops, man
I've written down your plates
Get off of my lawn
I was in a good mood
The morning's gone sour now
I can't taste my food
I close the blinds
And stay indoors
The stove will keep me warm
|
||||
5. |
Scaffold
03:29
|
|||
Scaffold outside my room
The sound of chisels on stone
Here they'll show you the bones
They're poking out of the gloom
There's always clothes for the cold
There's always something to do
And we will never be through
But we will always look old
Cross the bridge
The river's wide
It always flows
It never slows
Is it mine?
Take a bottle of wine
Go and sit by the bank
I don't know who to thank
Or what to do with my time
Flower's starting to bloom
The ground's still wet from the snow
There's always somewhere to go
I always sleep in my room
Cross the bridge
The river's wide
It always flows
It never slows
Is it mine?
|
||||
6. |
||||
Put some coffee on the burner let your robe hang loose
Put some coffee on the burner let your robe hang loose
Tilt the blinds and let some light into the room
There's wheat bread in the toaster let the white bread rot
Wheat bread in the toaster let the white bread rot
Watch the grains get hot
The table's kinda cluttered but the armchair's clean
Table's kinda cluttered but the armchair's clean
Rest the plate up on your knee
The driver's in their cars out on the street look in
Driver's in their cars out on the street look in
Count the breadcrumbs on your skin
A little bit of noise won't wake your roommate up
A little bit of noise won't wake your roommate up
Sip some coffee from your cup
Sip some coffee from your cup
|
||||
7. |
Busted up My Shoe
03:57
|
|||
Busted up my shoe
On a bent tin scrap on Euclid Avenue
I kept going till I stopped
But now I can't get home
The street lights on, the bus won't run
Train tracks are long, a taxi's no fun
I'll just wiggle my toes
The sun's going down outside my door
And man, I'd planned to sleep the whole night through
But I could use a drink
Man, I need a minute, let me think
It's still early
It's still warm
What to do?
A hazy day in June
Everybody in this city sleeps till noon
Me, I'm up with the sun
Can barely close my eyes
The shutters closed, the streets swept up
Neon burns cold, the cars come unstuck
And the morning slips past
And come the afternoon
Well the day gets cancelled now the sun's shone through
And the mayor says, Drink up
As he throws up his hands
And from their beds they stagger out
No thoughts in their heads, their pockets turned out
Oh, but don't they eat well?
The sun's going down outside my door
And man, I'd planned to sleep the whole night through
But I could use a drink
Man, I need a minute, let me think
It's still early
It's still warm
What to do?
|
||||
8. |
On the Fence
02:45
|
|||
All of the neighbors
They're saying they thought I left
Even the postman's
Forgotten my name
So I'm getting nervous
It feels like my hair stopped growing
I sit in the kitchen
I stare at the lawn
Into this movie
They bring you to shake things up
You study the bronze age
You don't watch TV
We meet with our mouths full
We talk a lot with our hands
And I get the courage
Once you set me up
Go out to dinner
You look how you think you look
We might get excited
But never surprised
Ask me a question
I'll answer you honestly
And we'll be together
Until we're not
My clothes aren't fitting right
My mom's got her two sense
My friends aren't saying much
So I'm still on the fence
|
||||
9. |
Skoene Oke
06:33
|
|||
The body grows, the spirit too
And in my veins something like blood
There's bread and butter on the lawn
The candle's lit the stars are out
My friends all smiles and drinking wine
A pinch of salt or maybe more
The onions first and then the rest
Not just the speaker but his voice
Not just what's said but how it's heard
But if it comes from far away
No one to thank only to mourn
The wine is red, the coffee's black
My smiling teeth are falling out
I let the river guide my feet
I let my friends make all the plans
Off in the wings with time to think
When I wake up I feel I'm whole
At night the words run through my hands
The candles flicker in the wind
Clouds come and cover up the stars
But if the eye and what it sees
Then maybe seeing's pretty too
A pinch of salt or maybe more
The onions first and then the rest
The coffee's black, the wine is red
Butter and bread out on the lawn
And God bless the snow
And keep us warm
Leave us our hunger
The bus won't run again till dawn
I ride it out and I walk back
I guard the matchstick from the wind
The windows lit, the curtains drawn
Each casts a shadow for the street
I draw the smoke in through my teeth
The ashes I let fall three times
If preparation, then for what?
If wasted how then better spent?
The figures mute behind their screens
Even more dark against the light
I let the end fall from my hand
Feel my coat's collar on my neck
I know the alley's every turn
I let the dark fill all I see
So let it all be as I learned
Sometimes my steps match my heart's beat
Sometimes I have to think to breathe
The sound a rushing in my ears
The city air upon my tongue
Was there some number came before?
Some constant measure, some dead weight?
I draw the smoke in through my teeth
The ashes I let fall three times
Then let the end fall from my hand
I guard the matchstick from the wind
God bless the snow
And keep us warm
Leave us our hunger
Pray that the blood in my blue veins is red
Don't let it out
Pray for the street light and the window lamp
Don't put them out
I draw the curtains out wide, here I stand
|
Shelto Marx Brooklyn, New York
Shelto Marx is the nom de plonk used by Marshall Yarbrough (Rube, Glass Bead Band, Power Hour). Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, with a formative stint in Athens, he now lives in New York City, where he plays curly-headed piano pop music. Eat your heart out, Randy Newman. ... more
Streaming and Download help
Shelto Marx recommends:
If you like Shelto Marx, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp