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1. |
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They filled Long Lake with water
To cover up my brothers
Left them suspended at the bottom of the lake
As our boat went sailing over
Think we disturbed the border
Where sky met water in our wake
She hovered o’er the water
I wish you could’ve seen her
Sailboats for color and a sky to hold her in
We couldn’t hardly stand her
Because of what we knew was underneath
But pretty soon we waded in
To whisper your name (whisper my name again)
We whispered your name (whisper my name again)
We skimmed our hands on the water and whispered your name
My brothers said a prayer for us
Laughing in the pines above us
Up in the treetops their voices mixed with mine
We did our best with banjos
And out of tune pianos
To sing them twangy elegies in kind
To whisper their names (whisper my name again)
We whispered their names (whisper my name again)
At some point a doe wandered in
she whispered your name
again
You filled Long Lake with water
And the sky with meteors
And in between was our canoe
All around us we heard voices
Singing praises
Echoing your name across the blue
So whisper my name again
whisper my name again
whisper my name again
etc
I saw your face in the water
It whispered my name
You walked across the water
Lay down with me beside her
Held me close to remind me I’m still there
I’ll miss you in the morning
When all the stars are missing
And I can’t find my brothers anywhere
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2. |
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3. |
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4. |
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Oh my son
You know I loved you
You know I called you
By name
Called you out of there
Out of a strange land
You know I love you
But the more I called you
The further you went away
And you traded my name
For your images
I taught you how to walk
And you walked away
Now you’re back
You’re back in strange land
And you’re dying under the sword
How can I give you up?
How can I let you go?
Someday the people will follow the Lord
They will come from all nations
When the lion roars
And they will come
like a flock of birds
from Egypt
trembling from the West
and I will bring them home
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5. |
Youngest Son - Wake
05:21
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Tonight, love
your face is made of shapes
I can’t recall
Tonight, love
I feel like I could break
If I’m here at all
A year ago
we saw you on the news
tonight, we’re still confused
Tonight, love
there is no good, no truth, no beauty
and tonight there never was
Tonight, love, there is nobody
and tonight there never was
Besides, love, you’re only in my mind
Besides, love, death was kind
Tonight, love
You never were alone
Tonight, love
We all answered the phone
Tonight, love
We’re with you in the dark
Feeling around for the guardrail
Or hiding in the bushes
Waiting
Tonight, love
the ground’s begun to shake
below me now
tonight, love
if you are still awake
where are you now?
All night long we searched and never found
But for God’s sake, man, you could’ve stuck around
And there’s no place now for all this love we’ve got
Tonight, love, you are gone
We are not
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6. |
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You came again
with your wheels again
and your teeth again
and your timing again
and you took another brother
into the sky
So we cried again
all alone, again
in our separate rooms
we lit a candle for you
we lit another and another
to get us through
and we’ll probably run for cover
no matter what you do
There’s hole in the sky
Where his body should go
There’s a hole in the ground
Where his body should go
There’s a hole in my arms
Where his body should go
There’s a hole in the ground
Put me in it
There’s a hole in the sky
Where your body should go
There’s a hole in the ground
Where your body should go
There’s a hole in my arms
Where your body should go
There’s a hole in the sky
Where your body should go
There’s a hole in my arms
Where your body should go
There’s a hole in the ground
And they filled it up with water
Now make it holy
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7. |
Youngest Son - Faith
03:32
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We heard the morning bell
Where’d Alex go?
The lake, it stood as still
As a mirror or a bowl
We thought we saw him walking
On the opposite shore
But then we found his clothes
Crumpled with the oars
Peter tried to walk
On the water to his Lord
But he didn’t have the faith
And he started sinking down
Jesus pulled him out
With his strong right arm
He pulled Peter out of the water
Put Peter back in the boat
Alex tried to swim
In the presence of his God
But the lake, it changed its mind
And Alex drowned
So Jesus dragged the lake
With his strong right arm
And he pulled Alex out of the water
He pulled Alex out of the water
And he didn’t stop his pulling
Where’d Alex go?
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8. |
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Light a candle, little brother
Everything is new today
Pull on your robe of clean, white linen
And pray
With all the saints who’ve gone before us
And all the saints we’ll leave behind
Wade into the water, little brother
And join that line
Don’t be frightened, little brother
Don’t be scared if the water’s over your head
The day of the living is coming
But today, today is the day of the dead
Father, hold my body under
Father, raise my body up
Father, hold my body under
Father, raise my body up
Sister, take care of my body
Sister, take care of my body
Brother, lean on my body
Brother, lean on my body
Mother, hold your son
Mother, hold your son
Mother, hold your son
Mother, hold your son
Father, hold my body under
Father, raise my body up
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9. |
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Brother, I miss you tonight
I remember nights in the city
We walked with Jeff
Through Boystown to iO
You read a sonnet about Kant on the mainstage
Del Close's ashes laughed the loudest
You solved the problem of evil the next morning at breakfast
And nobody noticed
Well, brother, we need you tonight!
I remember you comin' in from the fields
Covered in pigshit and glowing
Jody was pregnant, it was weird
You still looked twelve
And Jody looked maybe fifteen and a half
But her belly could've passed for 20
Dan made the joke
But you made it funny
Stephen, I need you tonight
No one else thought this place was as crazy
We lay with Jeff on the floor on your birthday
All night
Lay for hours and talked about
How things would never be
All right
Lay for hours and talked about
How we would never be the same
Then we talked about a man
Who kneeled down in front of a train
The month we were born
It made us angry
“Why would you do that?” we said
He had the same name as us, that’s weird
Birthday balloons were sinking softly all around us
It was 6AM, Jeff got up and made breakfast
Christopher
We miss you tonight
Every relative here looks just like you
Dakota does too
He's almost two
Jody still looks fifteen and a half
She's still pretty and smiling
She's smiling, I promise
In fact
Everybody here is smiling, look at us
Dan just made a joke
That wasn't very funny
Brothers, we miss you tonight
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10. |
Youngest Son - Long Year
03:29
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There was a minute
(hmm)
at the beginning of the year
When everybody
was alive
and everything was clear
I said I loved you
I think I said
That you were everything to me
I thought I meant it
But in hindsight it couldn’t be true
It’s been a long year
Let’s say he made it
Let’s just say
that this was all some crazy dream
I wouldn’t take it
and I know
that if he could, neither would he
You met me somewhere
and I know
that somewhere now he is with you
And that’s what matters
And that’s always been, always will be true
But Lord, it’s been a long year
It’s been a long, hard year without him
It’s been a long, hard year without You
For now I’m quiet
For now I’m still
I’m not too big
I’m like a child
For once I’m still
Oh, Israel
For just a minute
(hmm)
Before I’m finished with this song
When nobody else
is around
And you and me are alone
I’ll say I love you
I think I’ll say
That you are everything I see
I think I mean it
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11. |
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When I see you I see you twice or not at all
When I see you I see you twice or not at all
It’s like putting my nose
up to A Sunday
on Grand Jatte
at the Institute of Art
Was gonna go there with my brother
but we lost him
six months later
—and two more—
I never see them anymore
But when I see you
When I see you I see you twice or not at all
When I see you I see you twice or not at all
It’s like standing on my back porch
on a summer evening
with the fireflies and stars
I wonder where you are
cupped in my hands
or cupping the sky—
Either way
we won’t see you in the morning
But when I see you
(It’s like standing on my back porch
on my back porch
for a firefly
theophany
in the dark
all I ever see is dots)
(It’s like Sunday in the park
Sunday in the park
We’re pointillists
We’re pointillists
All I ever see is dots)
It’s like rowing the lake with Marty
and the Leonids
periods and commas
scattered artlessly
across an empty page
But when I see you
When I see you I see you twice or not at all
When I see you I see you twice or not at all
When I see you I see you
When I see you I see you
When I see you
When I see you
When
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Steve Slagg Chicago, Illinois
God-haunted, queer Midwest Americana singer-songwriter
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