Wilco

Summer Noon

Summer noon I can always stay
To radiate what the cello can’t play
She spoke to me and provoked my band
And I broke in two in the heat of her hand
Like a lioness or a coyote
At a pink beating heart in the balcony
I followed the finger to the creature’s gate
In the hubbub where the pitiful congregate
I thought there was a note that I couldn’t hear
So I floated to the whisper up against my ear
Afterwards I found my face in the trash
Really at the core of it it wasn’t so bad
Never leave your mother's womb
Unless you want to see how hard a broken heart can swoon

World Away

I only want to feel
this morning
Catch the avenue
I intend to steal
this moment
As we’re moving through
Make my rendezvous
As if it’s all I do
I’m about to feel it lift
sorrow floats away
Over miles of old world
Darling
Honey I can’t complain
Only a world away
Only a world away
I’m about to freeze the sun
So let me fall away
How it comes to be so really
Nothings left to say
Only a world away
Only a world away
Out of bounds of maps crawl
Over the mounds of bones
Is how I came to call you lonesome
Over the telephone
Over the telephone
Only a world away
I only want to feel
this morning
Catch the avenue
I intend to steal
this moment
As we’re moving through
Make my rendezvous
As if it’s all I do
I’m about to feel it lift
sorrow floats away
Over miles of old world
Darling
Honey I can’t complain
Love me a world away
Only a world away
I’m about to freeze the sun
So let me please explain
How it comes to be so really
Nothings left to say
Only a world away
Only a world away
Out of bounds of maps crawl
Over the mounds of bones
Is how I came to call you lonesome
Over the telephone
Over the microphone
It’s only a world away

New Moon

Well, I’ve always been certain nearly all of my life
One day I’d be your burden and you would be my wife
Let me hang like a new moon and let me be your twin
Let me hang like a new moon
Don’t treat me like a stranger again
You keep me as your thief, please let me be a little more
When you fall asleep let me be what you’re dreaming for
Let me hang like a new moon
Don’t treat me like a stranger any more
Well, I’ve always been certain nearly all of my life
One day I’d be your burden and you would be my wife
Let me hang like a new moon high in the wind
Let me hang like a new moon
Don’t treat me like a stranger again
You keep me as a thief, please let me be a little more
When you fall asleep let me be what you’re dreaming for
I’ve always been certain nearly all of my life

 

Flowering

Hold me stranger
Don’t deceive
Angel master
Can’t retrieve
Northern knots
Hung high in the trees
Spilling oceans
Existing to believe
Flowering
I told you danger
Carbon crown
March through the salt slush
Howling at the ground
Whistle my answer
Dance a blank face
Torment my sugar
And leap at any trace of
Flowering
Hold me stranger
Don’t deceive
Angel master
Can’t retrieve
Northern knots
Hung high in the trees
Spilling oceans
Existing to believe
Flowering

 

Slow Love

Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
Slow love is the only love
And so it was on one cold night
In the middle of a lonely life
And so it was you found my door
And though it wasn’t open
O, I had never seen it before
So it was we fell in love
What would you call when it rises up
Or what to call it but falling in love
I never needed to know what it was
You never needed to know what it was
We never needed to know
Oh
So it was that it was there
A part of us as real as the air
I never needed to know what it was
So it was that it was there
A part of us as real as the air
I never needed to know what it was
No love is the only love

 

Nobody Dies Anymore

Sitting in a combed out room
Watching the world to end
I won’t say golden
Until you let me back in
Nobody says goodbye
But everybody goes home
We end the day sober
To a depth we don’t own
I stand where I grew
Oh, I hated that too
When hell’s about to blow in
I saddle up new
And it won’t be long
To find a broken back bone
Or another ocean
Are there any unknown
So I dance my shoe
Beneath the black balloon
Flip it at you for your trouble
So long, so soon
I’m going to
Nobody dies anymore
but don’t you think it’s never over
Nobody dies anymore
No badge knock on a dark front door
Some things still change
But
Nobody dies
Nobody dies
Nobody dies
Don’t I look over my sister
Sister don’t you know me no more
She calls me once every summer
Before the leafs turn gold
When she was the daughter
Of a world without end
They told her I was stolen
She couldn’t comprehend
Poured out in the street
By the blood in the grass
Poured out at the feet
By the broken glass
Nobody dies anymore
No badge knock on a dark front door
Some things still change
But
Nobody dies
Nobody dies
Nobody dies
Love every song that I know
You ask me well how so
Strange I can’t defend
I love how every song ends

 

High As Hello

So long I will wait for
Howl at the moon
So low all the way home
Sit at the spoon
I should take you too
O’ I’m as high as
I’m as high as
Hello on the waveform
The wicked will die
So alone I know I’m shade-grown
Now why would I?
I’ll take you too
I’m as high as
I’m as high as
Oh I’ll take you too
I’m as high as
I’m as high as
Hello
Solo all the waveforms
The wicked will die
I’m alone all overtone
The rivers awake
I should take you too
O’ I’m as high as
I’m as high as
Hello
Hello
I’ll take you too
I’m as high as
I’m as high as
I should take you too
O’ I’m as high as
I’m as high as

 

Low Key

I want to let it be known
Ever since I was young
I’ve always been a refugee
Of the very high strung
I’ve always been low key
Let’s let the record show
No I won’t jump for joy
I don’t
If I get excited
Nobody knows
But I’m going love you the same
I’ll always be your fool
If it looks like I don’t care
I’m just playing it cool
No I won’t jump for joy
I don’t
If I get excited
No no one will know
I’ve always been low key
You know me
I’ve always been low key
You know me
No I won’t jump for joy
I don’t
If I get excited
Nobody knows
I’m gonna love you the same
I’ll always be your fool
When it looks like I don’t care
I’m just playing it cool
No I won’t jump for joy
I don’t
When I get excited
Nobody knows

 

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Spiders are singing in the salty breeze
Spiders are filling out tax returns
Spinning out webs of deductions and melodies
On a private beach in Michigan

Why can’t we wish their kisses good
Why do they miss when their kisses should
Fly like winging birds fighting for the keys
On a private beach in Michigan

This recent rash of kidsmoke
All these telescopic poems
It’s good to be alone

Why can’t they say what they want
Why can’t they just say what they need
Come clean, listen and talk
Hello private caller
ID blocked

The sun will rise, we’ll climb into cars
The future has a valley and a shortcut around
Who will wear the crown of drowning award
Hold a private light
On the Michigan shore

Fool me with a kiss of kidsmoke
From a microscopic home
It’s good to be alone

I’ll be in my bed
You can be the stone
That raises from the dead
And carries us all home

There’s no blood on my hands
I just do as I’m told

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

I am an American aquarium drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I'm hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you

Let's forget about the tongue-tied lightning
Let's undress just like cross-eyed strangers
This is not a joke so please stop smiling
What was I thinking when I said it didn't hurt

I want to glide through those brown eyes dreaming
Take you from the inside (baby) hold on tight
You were so right when you said I've been drinking
What was I thinking when we said good night

I want to hold you in the bible black predawn
You're quite a quiet domino bury me now
Take off your band aid cuz I don't believe in touchdowns
What was I thinking when we said hello

I always thought that if I held you tightly
You would always love me like you did back then
Then I fell asleep in the city kept blinking
What was I thinking when I let you back in

I am trying to break your heart
I am trying to break your heart
But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy
I am trying to break your heart

Disposable Dixie cup drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I've been hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you

(I'm the man who loves you)
   

California Stars

I'd like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars

I'd love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes I'd give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I'd like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed and make another day
Underneath my California stars

They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers' glass like friendly wine
So, I'd give this world
just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc./Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Words-Ampersand Music [BMI]/Titanic Majesties Music [ASCAP] Words: Woody Guthrie [no date] Music: Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy 1997 Jay Bennett: piano, backing vocal Billy Bragg: acoustic guitar Ken Coomer: drums and percussion Corey Harris: lap steel guitar Eliza Carthy: violin John Stirratt: electric bass, backing vocal Jeff Tweedy: acoustic guitar, lead vocal

Kamera

I need a camera to my eye
To my eye reminding
Which lies have I been hiding
Which echoes belong

I've counted out days
To see how far
I've driven in the dark
With echoes in my heart
Phone my family tell them I'm lost on the
Sidewalk

No it's not O.K.

I smashed a camera
I wanna know why
To my eye deciding
Which lies have I been hiding
Which echoes belong
I'm counting on
A heart I know by heart
To walk me through this war
Memories distort
Phone my family tell them I'm lost on the sidewalk

No it's not o.k.

I'm counted out
And no one knows how far (tell them I'm lost)
I've driven in the dark (tell them I'm lost)
With echoes in my heart (tell them I'm lost)
Phone my family tell them I’m lost

(yeah I’m lost)

No it's not O.K.

No it's not O.K.

No it's not O.K.

Hummingbird

his goal in life was to be an echo
riding alone, town after town, toll after toll
a fixed bayonet through the great southwest
to forget her

she appears
in his dreams
but in his car, and in his arms
a dream could mean anything
a cheap sunset on a television set could upset her
but he never could

remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird

his goal in life was to be an echo
the type of sound that floats around
and then back down like a feather
but in the deep chrome canyons of the loudest Manhattans
no one could hear him
or anything

so he slept, on a mountain
in a sleeping bag underneath the stars,
he would lie awake and count them
but the great fountain spray of the great Milky Way
would never let him
die alone

remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
a hummingbird
a hummingbird

Instrumental Credits


Jeff Tweedy Vocals
John Stirratt Electric Rhythm Guitar & Background Vocals
Glenn Kotche Drums
Mikael Jorgensen Piano
Jim O'Rourke Bass & Electric Lead Guitar
Frankie Montouro Hammer Dulcimer
Karen Waltuch Viola

Heavy Metal Drummer

I sincerely miss
Those heavy metal bands
I used to go see
On the landing in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love

Shiny shiny pants
Bleached blond hair
A double kick drum
By the river in the summer
she fell in love with the drummer
another
then another
she fell in love

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Unlock my body
And move myself to dance
Into warm liquid
flowing blowing glass
classical music blasting
masks the ringing in my ears

Oh I sincerely miss
Those heavy metal bands
I used to go see
On the landing in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love with another
She fell in love

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

 

Jesus, Etc.

Jesus, don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can combine anything you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can come by any time you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Our love
Our love
Our love is all we have
Our love
Our love is all of God's money
Everyone is a burning sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

The Late Greats

The greatest lost track of all-time
The Late Greats’s “Turpentine”
You can’t hear it on the radio
Can’t hear it anywhere you go

The best band will never get signed
The Kay-Sette’s starring Butcher’s Blind
So good you won’t ever know
They never even played a show
Can’t hear ‘em on the radio

The greatest singer in Rock-n-Roll
Would have to be Romeo
His vocal chords are made of gold
He just looks a little too old

The best songs will never get sung
The best life never leaves your lungs
So good you won’t ever know
You’ll never hear it on the radio
You can’t hear it on the radio

A Shot in the Arm

The ashtray says You were up all night When you went to bed With your darkest mind Your pillow wept And covered your eyes And you finally slept While the sun caught fire You've changed We fell in love In the key of C We walked along Down by the sea You followed me down The neck to D And fell again Into the sea You changed Oh, you've changed Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood The ashtray says You were up all night When you went to bed With your darkest mind You changed Oh you've changed What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more  Instrumental credits: Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic and 12-string guitars, synthesizers Jay Bennett – lap steel, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, drums John Stirratt – bass Ken Coomer – timpani

Diamond Light Pt. 1

Why don’t we pick one script
and read it
Where the milk has dried
on the throne
Open wide
Sing gracefully beside
Rolling rivers of diamond light
Dash and heave
Each ache to the sky
Why don’t we choose one to
believe in
Where shadows die
Also alone
Coincide
Colliding points of view
Perfect mountains of diamond light
Dash and heave
Each ache to the sky
Are you scared
Are you frightened
Terrified of being alone
Are you scared
Are you frightened
Terrified of being alone