Original Song Lyrics
BMI - Savage Kitten Publishing
VESSEL
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VESSEL
We’re in the middle, it stretches on
Empty spaces all day long
We’ll shatter silence when we’re done
Cause I’m your vessel and you’re my song
I’ve been breathing so deeply
Letting life come naturally
It’s a struggle to see clearly
With every fiber I build a bridge to where I wanna be
It’s like parking past a moving car
You lose all sense of your perspective
Am I falling back or standing still
I guess it’s all subjective
Tell me something, is this wrong
Every care we thought was there is gone
It’s not a race but we won’t be outrun
Cause I’m your vessel and you’re my song
We’ll get to where we wanna be…
GO GETTER
Grief’s a sheet of tin foil that I crush inside of me
A story to be told in every fold and every crease
I’m smoothing out the edges, cutting corners piece by piece
But I can barely breathe
Anger is a sickness and it’s boiling in my blood
So I seethe into the void that’s left behind with every thud
Of the door that leads to healing, when I come close, it swings shut
Well I’ve had enough
Try to give it time, life will teach you how to live
You just have to live it for a while
Oh, pull it together; oh, shake off the pressure
Oh, sometimes you gotta burn it down to build it better
Love it or hate it, it’s now or never, you gotta be a go getter
Sorrow took you over like a cloud above your house
Though you built it for your burdens, more were coming unannounced
I brought flowers for your garden but the weeds still choked them out
Like a seed of doubt
Hope was sending signals, but you couldn’t see the signs
You had spent your whole life driving all those thoughts out of your mind
With your foot pressed to the pedal, you decided it was time
What did you leave behind
Try to give it time, life will teach you how to live
You just have to live it for a while
Oh, pull it together; oh, shake off the pressure
Oh, sometimes you gotta burn it down to build it better
Love it or hate it, it’s now or never, you gotta be a go getter
And if I leave it all to hindsight, is there anyone to blame
And if I tell you that I’m sorry, can I leave behind the shame
You should’ve pushed through the lie, you should’ve given it time
But who am I to preach when I can’t even say goodbye
Oh, pull it together; oh, shake off the pressure
Oh, sometimes you gotta burn it down to build it better
Love it or hate it, it’s now or never, you gotta be a go getter
WILDFIRE
Ivy climbs the walls and nestles in the brick
Sparrow builds a nest above the front door
The newest heartache’s on the radio again
No one’s listening anymore
On Independence day we were driving through the hills
We were on our way to Bozeman
The reds and blues of fireworks in backyards lit the sky
We were so much greener then
Who knew we were drunk on borrowed time?
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire?
In late September we had just moved into town
We were on a mission, lost and broke
Just as all the pieces started falling into place
All our plans went up in smoke
Who knew we were drunk on borrowed time?
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire?
Ivy climbs the walls and nestles in the brick
Sparrow builds a nest above the front door
And over time the wildflowers find a way to bloom
Where only ashes were before
Who knew we were drunk on borrowed time?
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire, who knew we were
Waiting on a wildfire?
ROLLERCOASTER
I woke up on a rollercoaster
Heart inside my head, chest was full of dread
In a moment, thought my world was over
Did I make it up, or was I really at the pinnacle?
So I slept right through it, hit the pavement, kept on running
Eyes are heavy, thoughts are heavy
Now the wave is crashing down, down, down, down
Now the wave is crashing down
When I woke up, I was in the air
Suspended in a daze, with creases on my face
In my pocket, felt around for crumbs
To feed the gnawing hunger, I started sucking on my thumbs
So I slept right through it, hit the pavement, kept on running
Eyes are heavy, thoughts are heavy
Now the wave is crashing down, down, down, down
Now the wave is crashing down
I notice patterns more than ever
In every truckstop subway sandwich, every midnight motel lobby
Every time I wash my face off, every time I text “I’m sorry”
In every prepossessing person, in every grinding repetition
In every time I put my face on
In every hand I put my heart in
Now the wave is crashing down, down, down, down
Now the wave is crashing down
Now the wave is crashing down, down, down, down
Down…
MARROW
There’s a thin crack in my coffee cup, a scuff received by time
It fans in all directions like a scar from lightning’s bite
I can’t shake off the shadows, but I cling hard to the light
I was looking for a reason why my heart itches to fight
It eats at all my marrow, it carves away my mind
My bravery is compromised, my fear has made me blind
It says easy tiger, you’ll get it next time around
Your silver bones, you’ll give em back to the ground
Those easy winters never get written down
It’s decimation, it breaks us inside and out
Breaks us inside and out
I was born in fever, little-fisted, little rage
I fought through a thunderhead to reach a fragile age
Coughed up all my memories til they crumpled up like shame
They begged to be a part of me and begged to have a name
They ate at all my marrow, they carved away my mind
My bravery was compromised, my fear had made me blind
They said easy tiger, you’ll get it next time around
Your silver bones, you’ll give em back to the ground
Those easy winters never get written down
It’s decimation, it breaks us inside and out
Breaks us inside and out…
I follow Ariadne’s Thread until I fall apart
Paper bags for lungs, a broken kickdrum for a heart
I seem full of life, but Mother Nature takes her toll
She’ll take what she wants, and in a way she’ll leave you whole
She ate at all my marrow, she carved away my mind
And all my fears were compromised, I left em all behind
She said easy tiger, you’ll get it next time around
Your silver bones, you’ll give em back to the ground
Those easy winters never get written down
It’s decimation, it breaks us inside and out
Breaks us inside and out, breaks us inside and out
COUNT THE RINGS
I’m packing the car and then I’m leaving
I’m giving myself some time for grieving
Gonna take a drive to Tennessee to heal the broken parts of me
Gonna try to find out what I want and what I need
Shadows tend to grow when I’m all alone
Every ringing phone, I let it hang like smoke
Truth is like a little pill, deep down I know
It’s hard to swallow, sometimes I’d rather choke
If what I want is always out of reach, it’s cause I let it waste away in me
Cut me down and count the rings
I haven’t forgotten what’s behind me
A mountain of things that need forgiving
But every time I try to turn around, I know I’m letting myself down
So I’m following the signs that guide me to the next town
Shadows tend to grow when I’m all alone
Every ringing phone, I let it hang like smoke
Truth is like a little pill, deep down I know
It’s hard to swallow, sometimes I’d rather choke
If what I want is always out of reach, it’s cause I let it waste away in me
Cut me down and count the rings
I’m tired of waiting for a reason (chance to be)
I’m ready for something to believe in (a different dream)
Cause even in my sleep I feel the change coming
I know I can’t erase it, I know I’ve gotta chase it
Shadows tend to grow when I’m all alone
Every ringing phone, I let it hang like smoke
Truth is like a little pill, deep down I know
It’s hard to swallow, sometimes I’d rather choke
If what I want is always out of reach, it’s cause I let it waste away in me
Cut me down and count the rings
Cut me down and count the rings
Cut me down and count the rings
THE LINE
When I sing these words into an empty room
I’m not sure if they will even make a sound
If I burn my paper courage, if I sew it in the ground
Will the ashes yield a seed to work around
There’s a hollow that once held a sense of youth
A little patch of light I learned to cut in two
To cash it in for something wiser, I just want a little truth
For every fire and flood that feeds a deeper wound
It used to be like a creek, flowing from a summit I could never see
Now it’s frozen dry, carving lines around my eyes
Tracing knots along my spine
It’s so hard to find the time to let it breathe
To find the line between the truth and the belief
War is young in terms of time but it’s got teeth
Tearing families and futures at the seams
Be it oil or gold or water, we will always treasure greed
We won’t bite the dying hand of history
To my friends who think you’ll save yourself some time
Because your confidence has withered up and died
You are more than what you carry, you are more than what you hide
You will never know how much you leave behind
It used to be like a creek, flowing from a summit I could never see
Now it’s frozen dry, carving lines around my eyes
Tracing knots along my spine
It’s so hard to find the time to let it breathe
To find the line between the truth and the belief
Every day dies in convulsion, I gotta smile away my pride
But my nerves are buzzing rhythms like defective power lines
Burning holes into my memory, streaming smoke into the sky
One day we’ll talk about what stars used to be like
It used to be like a creek, flowing from a summit I could never see
Now it’s frozen dry, carving lines around my eyes
Tracing knots along my spine
It’s so hard to find the time to let it breathe
To find the line between the truth and the belief
DAMASCUS BLADES
Take the poem out of everything
Rusted out radio towers, skeleton swings
Chew on every wise thought
If you don’t taste the truth then there’s a lie that you forgot
Just to feel alive, you set the bar so high
The past will fade, or fold up like damascus blades
Your callused hands, read them like you haven’t got a plan
Just thriving with the day
Take your tea and drink it down
We know about it all, this whispering willow of a town
Nothing wrong with the pouring rain
No flaw in a wildfire if you know what you’ve gained
Just to feel alive, you set the bar so high
The past will fade, or fold up like damascus blades
Your callused hands, read them like you haven’t got a plan
Just thriving with the day
Just to feel alive, you set the bar so high
To swing above the rest, with failure in your chest
Nevermind the broken dreams
You’ll stitch together new ones from the wreckage of defeat
And when they ask why you made the change
You’ll just smile and point out all that still remains
Just to feel alive, you set the bar so high
The past will fade, or fold up like damascus blades
Your callused hands, read them like you haven’t got a plan
Just thriving with the day
SLOW AND STEADY
The sun has broke across the sky
Soft like egg yolk, burning my eye
Foot on the gas, am I too late
She’s still at home, I’m still halfway
In three hours I’ll be by her side
To say hello before she says goodbye
Slow and steady, you still have time, you still have time
Hold on for me, you still have time, you still have time
Hands on the wheel, the minutes creep
Knuckles like steel, I’m in too deep
I can’t admit, I’m not that strong
I’ll process it after she’s gone
In two hours I’ll be by her side
To say hello before she says goodbye
Slow and steady, you still have time, you still have time
Hold on for me, you still have time, you still have time
The clock will spite me, but I’ll never quit
Even if the wheels fall flat, even if I have to sprint
I said I’d be there, and I meant it
Slow and steady, you still have time, you still have time
Hold on for me, you still have time, you still have time
You still have time, you still have time
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CITYVIEW
There’s something unnerving about the way nobody laughs when you peel back the past
Looking straight out in your hospital gown at the skyline that’s staring right back
Birds on a wire, bloody sun, burning tires, all the baggage you haven’t unpacked
People check watches, their movements so cautious, the beauty just falls through the cracks
Beyond the eyes and the trains and the angels
The arrows and the marigold, the junk you never sold
All the laughter, the breath that comes after,
A silvery voice in the wind, sayin “Keep going, you’ll find it again.”
Quarterlife crisis, you crumble to vices, the bottle ends up in your hand
Glass on the ground as your engine breaks down and the sirens scream out like the damned
Travel the country, your clothes are disgusting, the Greyhound is running its race
Don’t look in the window, cause you and I both know you can’t bear to see your own face
Beyond the eyes and the trains and the angels
The arrows and the marigold, the junk you never sold
All the laughter, the breath that comes after,
A silvery voice in the wind, sayin “Keep going, you’ll find it again.”
The birth of a daughter just makes you a father like a crown of thorns makes you a king
The wedding was a fever dream, you did it for your self-esteem, it melted the wax on your wings
It creeps in the corners, you keep looking forward, your daughter won’t answer the phone
And who knew that leaving would just leave you bleeding, cause no one likes being alone
End of the line and you’re seeing the signs, yellow eyes and a sense of relief
A garden of memory and half of a century, you know now that time is a thief
And all of your apologies can’t fix a tattered tapestry, the pain’s woven in like a thread
And she will do great things, and you will be watching from your cityview hospital bed
Sayin keep going, you’ll find it
FRACTALS
Spring will come when you least expect it
And with it, water wavers in thin sheets of ice
The comfort comes eventually if you make your first step precise
Don’t believe it til you see the sun that’s up before I am
Fractals fracture and proliferate with veins that feed the plants
and carve out canyons as they tessellate
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside or be eaten alive?
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside or be eaten alive?
I collect bee stings like my keyrings
And wear them on a rose gold chain
I display them like I hate them but deep down I’m proud of pain
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside or be eaten alive?
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside or be eaten alive?
Like reprise follows the freeze
See how high the hornets build their nests
Now it’s quiet while we wait to see how high the snow will rest
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside or be eaten alive?
It’s mosquito season again, would you rather stay inside?
WASTE
The dirt in the landfill, it’s pushing up daisies
I’m pushing down pedals to make my way home
Down in the valley, they’re kicking up salt
Licking the wounds of a war over mounds of asphalt
Both sides pitching lies to their kin, sheltering words with their spin
If you think that it’s broken now, well it’s just breaking in
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
I wrote a letter, it got lost in the noise
But I’ll make a new path in the aftermath of the destroyed
It’s getting cloudy, but now I love the rain
If everyone’s linked, then nobody’s weak on this chain
Both sides pitching lies to their kin, sheltering words with their spin
If you think that it’s broken now, well it’s just breaking in
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
It goes two ways, it goes two ways
It goes two ways, it goes two ways
Going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone
Going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone
Going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone
Going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone, going, going, going, gone
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
It goes to waste, it goes to waste
It goes two ways, it goes two ways
It goes two ways, it goes to waste
​
SIMPLE TERMS
I’ve got a bloodshot eye upon the night
Sunlight and fog and all the certainties of time
This Ship of Theseus with structural integrity
My pieces fall apart, I don’t know what will become of me
Digging through old journals just to find out how I feel
Like I can’t remember what determines if I’m real
A veteran multitool, the stories that I left behind
Each breath I’ve lost is just exhaust for the beating heart inside
And I don’t wanna waste my time watching my life burn up
I don’t wanna waste my time waiting for a hero to turn up
I don’t wanna waste my time pretending that I’m fine
When there’s no finish line, it’s a race against the lie
Damp cold, the road pulls winter’s coat on sleeve by sleeve
Pain carves the tracks of all the evil in my dreams
When I park at stations, all I see are stranger’s eyes on me
I wonder when my racing thoughts will ever let me sleep
Cause I don’t wanna waste my time watching my life burn up
I don’t wanna waste my time waiting for a hero to turn up
I don’t wanna waste my time pretending that I’m fine
When there’s no finish line, it’s a race against the lie
And I admit, the couch I sit in does accommodate
The feeling grates, I hate the way it hefts my weight
And you, on the other side, your eyes like knives
You carve the complex of my mind into simple terms, as if that’s what I’m worth
And I don’t wanna waste my time, watching my life burn up
I don’t wanna waste my time waiting for a hero to turn up
I don’t wanna waste my time letting the dust pile up
I don’t wanna waste my time pretending that I’m fine
When there’s no finish line, it’s a race against the lie