Wilco

Jul.22.2023

Beaver Creek CO - Vilar Performing Arts Center

Remember the Mountain Bed

Do you still sing of the mountain bed we made of
limbs and leaves: Do you still sigh there near the
sky where the holly berry bleeds: You laughed as I
covered you over with leaves, face, breast, hips
and thighs, You smiled when I said the leaves
were just the color of your eyes.

Rosin smells and turpentine smells from
eucalyptus and pine Bitter tastes of twigs we
chewed where tangled woodvines twine Trees held
us in on all four sides so thick we could not see I
could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none
in me.

Your arm was brown against the ground, your
cheeks part of the sky, As your fingers played with
grassy moss, and limber you did lie: Your stomach
moved beneath your shirt and your knees were in
the air Your feet played games with mountain
roots as you lay thinking there.

Below us the trees grew clumps of trees, raised
families of trees, and they As proud as we tossed
their heads in the wind and flung good seeds
away: The sun was hot and the sun was bright
down in the valley below Where people starved
and hungry for life so empty come and go.

There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed
our minds and learned Our greatest reason for
being here, our bodies moved and burned There
on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's
reason why The People laugh and love and dream,
they fight, they hate to die.

The smell of your hair I know is still there, if most
of our leaves are blown, Our words still ring in the
brush and the trees where singing seeds are sown
Your shape and form is dim, but plain, there on
our mountain bed I see my life was brightest
where you laughed and laid you head...

I learned the reason why man must work and how
to dream big dreams, To conquer time and space
and fight the rivers and the seas I stand here filled
with my emptiness now and look at city and land
And I know why farms and cities are built by hot,
warm, nervous hands.

I crossed many states just to stand here now, my
face all hot with tears, I crossed city, and valley,
desert, and stream, to bring my body here: My
history and future blaze bright in me and all my joy
and pain Go through my head on our mountain
bed where I smell your hair again.

All this day long I linger here and on in through
the night My greeds, desires, my cravings, hopes,
my dreams inside me fight: My loneliness healed,
my emptiness filled, I walk above all pain Back to
the breast of my woman and child to scatter my
seeds again.

Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. (BMI)/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
Corp./Words-Ampersand Music (BMI)/You Want A Piece Of This Music (ASCAP),
administered by Bug Music

Words: Woody Guthrie 1944
Music: Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett 1999
Leroy Bach: piano
Jay Bennett: organ, nylon-string guitar, backing vocal
Ken Coomer: drums
John Stirratt: bass, backing vocal
Jeff Tweedy: vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar

Story to Tell

I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell

Once I cut off my arm
I sewed it back on all wrong
Now I don’t have to bend
To reach the bottom shelf
When I need a story to tell

The world is always on the brink
And love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you

Once I started a war
But I don’t fight anymore
I held the line until the old oak fell
I was left behind
With a story to tell

The world is always on the brink
Hearts are smarter than you think
Writing songs of death and doom
For all the voices inside of you

Once I looked you in the eye
And I told you lies
How I wish I could have treated you well
I wish I had more than
A story to tell

The world is always on the brink
Love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you

I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell

written by Jeff Tweedy

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)
   

Drawing from Memory (Charlie)

I know I'm doomed Sitting in the drive-thru Forgotten on the phone Abandoned in the waiting room With all the old magazines I can't bring myself to read Oh I know I'm doomed In the afternoon The driveway grass has grown Where I used to park with you The one I don't ever see I'm drawing from memory Why sing in tune When it ends so soon? The wind blows it all away But the moon is never moved Like the one I can't see I'm drawing from memory Like the one I can't see I'm drawing from memory

Gwendolyn

I don’t think I can take another day

Oh I don’t know how I could ever say

I’m OK being so far away

Oh I don’t think that I can take another day

When Gwendolyn, when she starts to speak

To a county police with a plastic cup between her teeth

The sun beating down like a big trombone

That’s right when I start missing home

She holds my hand between her knees

It’s like a dream, I never know what it means

I only know I’m feeling alone

That’s right when I start missing home

Honestly Gwen I’m not ashamed to say

Between you and me I’m relieved they put you away

Sun coming up like a piece of toast

That’s right when I started heading home

That’s right when I started heading home

Well that’s right when I started heading home

Box Full of Letters

I've got a box full of letters
I think you might like to read
Some things that you might like to see
But they're all addressed to me

I wish I had a lotta answers
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions
Being directed at me

I just can't find the time

To write my mind
The way I want it to read

You'll come back again
And I'll still be your friend

I got a lot of your records
In a separate stack
Some things that I might like to hear, but I
Guess I'll give 'em back

I wish I had a lotta answers
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions
Being directed at me

Just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

You'll come back again
And I'll still be your friend

I can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

Just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, guitar
John Stirratt – bass, vocals
Max Johnston – dobro
Ken Coomer – drums
Brian Henneman – guitars

New Madrid [Uncle Tupelo]

All my daydreams are disasters
She's the one I think I love
Rivers burn and then run backwards
For her, that's enough

They all come from New York City
And they woke me up at dawn
She walked with me to the fountain
And she held onto my arm

Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back

There's a man of conviction
And although he's getting old
Mr. Browning has a prediction
And we've all been told

So come on back from New York City
Roll your trucks in at dawn
Walk with me to the fountain
And hold onto my arm

Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back

originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo written by Jeff Tweedy

From Far Away

From outer space

I am you

At distances

You’re me too

From far away

I assume

Everything

Needs less room

My ribs are turned

Like parentheses

And my lips have learned

What I don’t believe

Could I

Find a world just right

Or will I

Always look too high

If I die

Don’t bury me

Rattle me down

Like an old machine

Take my books

And my magazines

My photographs

Of you and me

Everything

I won’t need

Having Been Is No Way To Be

Oh I was naive
My shoes were untied
In heaven everything is just fine
But the phones are dead
And so is the light
And so are you
And honey so am I
But the earth still turns
For the unconcerned
Days pass below like train windows
I was a sapling tree
The birds looked like me
So I begged my nerves to kick me something new
From time to time
I’d watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we can dream
And I’m sorry when you wake up to me
I just got tired
Shining steady like a spider web
Is an empty stage
Now people say
“What drugs did you take?”
And “Why don’t you start taking them again?”
What difference would it ever make to them
But they’re not my friends
And if I was dead
What difference would it ever make to them
If I got high
From time to time
I wonder how much freedom you would need
And I’d be sorry when you wake to me
I’m reaching out to you
I’m writing all the time
I don’t see deep but I see far and wide
I see dead trees
But the roots have leaves
Just because I can’t describe it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try
To untwist the knife
To unmake my mind
Having been is no way to be alive
And I’m alive
When I watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we need
And I’m here
When you wake up to me
I’m still here
When you wake up to me
 

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

Evergreen

If I get back from wherever I travel
I'll tell you what I've seen
The good and the bad
The hearts and the hassle
In the cities under siege
I'll tell you all about where I have been
And I won't ever leave again
Now you might think it's a lie
When I say I'm going to write
But if I break my pen filling you in
Wouldn't that change your mind
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Whenever I get back from
Wherever I go
I'll look for you in the shade
A marker in the grass
I'll tell you at last
You're not the reason I went away
Sometimes I wish you were the one
Who had left and I had stayed
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen

One By One

One by one the teardrops fall as I write you
One by one my words come falling on the page
One by one my dreams are fading in the twilight
One by one my schemes are fading fast away

One by one the flowers fade here in my garden
One by one the leaves are falling from the trees
One by one my hopes are vanished in the clouds clear
One by one like snowflakes melting in the breeze

One by one my hair is turning gray
One by one my dreams are fading fast away
One by one I read your letters over
One by one I lay them all away

One by one the days are slipping up behind you
One by one the sweetest days of life go by
One by one the moments stealing up behind you
One by one she'll come and find not you or I

One by one I hear the soft words that you whispered
One by one I feel your kisses soft and sweet
One by one I hope you'll say the words to marry
One by one to one by one forever be

Words: Woody Guthrie 1939
Music: Jeff Tweedy 1997
Jay Bennett: piano, organ
Ken Coomer: drums
Bog Egan: pedal steel
John Stirratt: electric bass
Jeff Tweedy: acoustic guitar, vocal

Impossible Germany

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

Wherever you go
Wherever you land
I’ll say what this means to me
I’ll do what I can

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

(The) fundamental problem
We all need to face
This is important
But I know you’re not listening
Oh I know you’re not listening

If this was still new to me
I wouldn’t understand

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

But this is what love is for
To be out of place
Gorgeous and alone
Face to face

With no larger problems
That need to be erased
Nothing more important than to know
Someone’s listening
Now I know

You’ll be listening

Written by Jeff Tweedy and Wilco

Lou Reed Was My Babysitter

I want to sweat
Sweat next to you
With a sticky carpet
Sucking on my shoes
Rock n roll
Ain’t never gonna lose
No

I want you
To dance into me
Spill my drink
I want to feel the kick
Kicking in my teeth
My bleeding heart
Bleeding to the beat
Uh huh

I want you
To blow smoke in my eyes
Smoke in my eyes
I want to shake shake
Shake shake shake
Until my shoes untie
Rock n roll ain’t never gonna die
Not as long as you and I are alive

’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die

I want to feel everything
I want to feel everything
I want to hear the idiot sing
Until I can’t feel anything

’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die

written by Jeff Tweedy

Passenger Side

Hey, wake up
Your eyes weren't open wide
For the last couple of miles
You've been swerving from side to side
You're gonna make me spill my beer
If you don't learn how to steer

Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side

Roll another number for the road
You're the only sober person I know
Won't you let me make you a deal
Just get behind the wheel

Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side

Should've been the driver
Could've been the one
I should've been your lover
But I hadn't seen

Can you take me to the store, and then the bank?
I've got five dollars we can put in the tank
I've got a court date coming this June
I'll be driving soon

Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side

Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic guitar
John Stirratt – bass
Max Johnston – mandolin, fiddle
Ken Coomer – drums
Brian Henneman – small stoned guitar

A Lifetime to Find

Oh death
Oh death
I was just getting dressed
The place is a mess
I was hoping you’d forget
But I can feel you in my chest
I can feel you in my chest

Oh yes
Oh yes
Death never rests
I can see you’ve done your best
The problem is just this
It’s too late for regrets
I am here to collect

It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine

Oh death
I confess
I should have known what to expect
But you’re so hard to accept
Last time I checked
I was neck and neck
As healthy as the next

Oh Yes
You were blessed
Blessed in the past tense
But it’s too late now
To make it make sense
It’s too late to pretend
This day won’t ever end

It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine

So alright
Today’s the day and
Tonight is the night
There’s no reason there’s no rhyme
It’s just time to go goodbye
But why can’t you try
To ease what’s on
my poor mind

O’ Jeff
Don’t obsess
It’s the best that I can do
To help you see the light
And help the light to see you
It’s true there was a truth
That was you and only you ever knew

It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
Now you’re mine

written by Jeff Tweedy

You And I

You and I
We might be strangers
However close we get sometimes
It’s like we never met

But you and I
I think we can take it
All the good with the bad
Make something that no one else has but

You and I
You and I

Me and you
What can we do
When the words we use sometimes
Are misconstrued

I won’t guess
What’s coming next
I can’t ever tell
You’re the deepest well I’ve ever fallen into

Oh, I don’t want to know
Oh, I don’t want to know
Oh, I don’t need to know
Everything about you

Oh, I don’t want to know
And you don’t need to know
That much about me

You and I
We might be strangers
However close we get sometimes
It’s like we never met

But you and I
I think we can take it
All the good with the bad
Make something that no one else has

You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I
You and I

I'm the Man Who Loves You

All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you

But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can be
Is a busy sea
Of spinning wheels
And hands that feel
For stones to throw
And feet that run
But come back home
It makes no difference
Ever known
Makes no difference
Ever known to me

But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

 

Ashes of American Flags

The cash machine
Is blue and green
For a hundred in twenties
And a small service fee
I could spend three dollars
And sixty-three cents
On diet coca-cola
And unlit cigarettes

I wonder why
We listen to poets
When nobody gives a fuck
How hot and sorrowful
This machine begs for luck
All my lies are always wishes

I know I would die
If I could come back new

I want a good life
With a nose for things
A fresh wind and bright sky
To enjoy my suffering
A hole without a key
If I break my tongue
Speaking of tomorrow
How will it ever come
All my lies are always wishes

I know I would die
If I could come back new

I'm down on my hands and knees
Every time the doorbell rings
I shake like a toothache
When I hear myself sing
All my lies are only wishes

I know I would die
If I could come back new

I would like to salute
The ashes of American flags
And all the falling leaves
Filling up shopping bags

 

Kingpin

I wanna be your kingpin Living in Pekin I wanna be your bigwig Living in Pekin I got the flu and away I flew N.Y.C.P.D. blue Dimetapp and spinal tap City maps and hand claps Statue of Liberty play It only works once Don't throw it away ’Cause I wanna be your kingpin Living in Pekin Living in Pekin Living in How can I How can I give my love to you when I don't know what to do

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

official show poster by @MikaelaJane

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