J Lind

In a distant land lived a mighty king
And he asked his men for a magic ring
That could serve him in both his misery and joy
And so his servants searched, they searched far and wide
But no such ring did the servants find
They had given up, they were out of time and hope

‘Til seeking solace in a wise man,
They were delivered from their terrible task
How the servants’ hearts did swoon and sing
As the wise man carved into a ring
This too, this too shall pass

So the mighty king was quite satisfied
With the wise man’s ring, though his foolish pride
Wouldn’t let the words sink into his mind just yet
And as his kingdom grew, so the people cheered
And the ring’s whisper became hard to hear
While the wealth and health and fame kept fear at bay

‘Til one bright morning in the courtyard
The king was standing to address the mass
When the light did fall upon his ring
And the king recalled the prophecy
This too, this too shall pass

For not a stone would be left standing
And every mountain’d be laid low at last
But the king would bow as he greeted death
And he’d sing out loud with his fleeting breath
This too this too shall pas

Behold the astronaut, the high command
The pinnacle of modern man
Above the sea and sky he stands, unfeeling and unphased
‘Til all the chaos of the universe
The strength of the insane absurd
It throws him back down to the earth, disheveled and disgraced

So you build your crystal palace high up in the sky
And though you won’t triumph, you will try

Behold the astronaut, alone at sea
He crashed into the ocean deep
He’d strap sea turtles to his feet if they weren’t scared of him
Now there’s a whirlpool that’s ripening
The gyre quickly widening
Where falcons cannot hear a thing and astronauts can’t swim

So you build your crystal palace high up in the sky
The rivers of Babylon will never leave you dry
And though you won’t triumph, you will try

Oh, you will try

Behold the astronaut, so far from home
He washed up on a shore unknown
He’d build a tower out of stone, but all he sees is sand
Mistaking confidence for competence
He calls himself an optimist
And builds until the sand is wet and running through his hands

So you build your crystal palace high up in the sky
The rivers of Babylon will never leave you dry
And what would it take to teach the man that he can’t fly?
And though you won’t triumph, you will try

Oh, you will try

Turn it up
This is my favorite part
Watch how the tiger catches the deer in the dark
It’s teeth were sharpened by the Darwinian arc
Of a million years

And hyenas laugh from their secret hiding place
As the tiger’s teeth find a purpose in it’s prey
And the helpless deer sings the song of life on Earth
But it’s still grateful to the band for what it’s worth

Light it up
The jungle set aflame
Once a month, we keep it thin to keep it tame
Cleaning up after our ancestors' mistakes
For a hundred years

And the hunter sets his sights and takes his aim
As the tiger flees from the fire man has made
And a shot rings out as the great cat hits the Earth
But it’s still praise the blood-stained land for what it’s worth

Look it up
Or look across the street
Flies on their faces and nothing on their feet
These little ones will be lucky if they breathe
For a couple years

And the women laugh from their cages in Bombay
As the children clap from Calcutta-bound freight trains
And their song is lost to the chaos of the Earth
But they still lift up holy hands for what it’s worth

And the people sing for the day their gods have made
As the bishop bows in a foreign land to pray
“Let the Lord rain down His judgment on the Earth
But I still love the heart of man—for what it’s worth”

Ships pass in the night
A sleeping sea beneath a low-hanging moon
And a blanket of stars
Prying heroes from an ill-fated coup
But it’s nothing personal

Ships pass in the night
A shadow flickers against the ominous glow
Of a confident light
Risking silence to invite another soul
And the call is returned
Oh sweet communion, two flames upon the sea
And a voice is obscured
None make the effort to decipher what it sings
But it’s nothing personal

Nothing personal

I wait for you there
Where your ship passed, once in a dream
To retrieve what was lost
A shallow word, a pearl button in the sea
But it’s nothing personal

Nothing personal

Don’t hold back, just how do you feel
Could you find the sound that would make it real
To your animal flesh, to your animal bones
And remind us both what the animals know

So tell me your secrets
Your prayers at night
Show me your shadow
And I’ll show mine

But the Earth still turns, and the sun still shines
On the animal world, on the birds in flight
Can you hear them sing, How they sing for you
And we sing for them, as animals do

We are not alone
Just listen to them sing
A song so absurd
It could mean anything
But it means everything

You might catch her riding high upon the waves
Down in Newport, California
You might catch her in Manhattan taking names
Talking tough like a New Yorker
You might catch her out in London drinking late
Running a tab she can’t afford
And the people say she’s living life the way
That she should before she’s older

For it is strange the way the river bends
And she can’t know where it will lead
I know she’d like to think it never ends
But she would like to think a lot of things

You might catch her driving east across the plains
Passing Tulsa, Oklahoma
You might catch her flying west over the states
To her home in Arizona
You might catch her hunting treasure out in Spain
Searching castles in Segovia
And the people say she’s living life the way
That she should before she’s colder

For it is strange the way the river bends
And she has thrown away the map
And she would like to think it never ends
But she won’t know so let her row while she can

She is heading down a road she’s never known
But she will go while she is able
She has lost her phone with no direction home
But turning back’s not on the table
You know you cannot keep an eagle in it’s cage
Can’t keep a stallion in a stable
So give her space and let her run her race
And if she fails, make it a fable

For it is strange the way the river bends
We don’t know where it will lead
I know we’d like to think it never ends
But we would like to think a lot of things

For it is strange the way the river bends
I think we all could use a hand
I know we’d like to think it never ends
But we don’t know so let us row while we can

Hands full of holes and some dirt in the blood
The state took his weed and his Mexican mud
He tied his own noose so to save him from hell
The state put him under a methadone spell

The spell wore off, though it took a few years
Some spirits mixed in with the bud and the beer
But he kicked it for good when his best friend died
Jumped into a canyon when he knew he couldn't fly

My father told me what his father told him
Said don't judge a man for the man that he is,
But the man that he wants to be

It's hard to come down after touching the clouds
When the boots that they give you aren't tied to the ground
And breaking your back for a blue collared dream
Just opens the crack that the great river needs

To tear down the wall, to bring on the flood
To level the castles of sand that you love
But you'll kick it for good when the kids leave home,
'Cause if you can't work sober then you're better off stoned

My father told me what his father told him
Said don't judge a man for the man that he is,
But the man that he wants to be

I said to him
Man, I am calling your bluff
If you wanted to change, you'd have given it up
He looked at me, sad, as if he'd been beat
Then he summoned the courage to speak

You think you're so wise, well, just wait 'til you're old
You'll find that with time it gets harder to know
What a good man is, but you also will find
That it gets more important to try

Yes, it gets more important to try

It takes a couple seconds for her to shake off the medicine
A couple seconds more to know it’s me
It takes a couple minutes, but then we’re right back in it
Right where we left off the other week

Her body is a frame with the skin all stretched and stained
And a faded crown of grey caught in her hair
She should be on a throne, not in this God-forsaken home
Where they dope her up to keep her pushing air

But she says
I’m not scared to die, I’ll look my maker in the eye
And in his gaze, I hope that I find peace
But now that the ship comes in, I’ve just one prayer left on my lips
Lord, take me kindly if you please

It takes a couple hours before she’s tired of your flowers 150
Reminds her of the garden she can’t grow
For it’s freedom she’s missing just to make her own decisions
Keep living how she’s living ‘til she goes

Her body is a frame with the skin all stretched and stained
And she wears that crown of grey just like a queen
She should be on a throne, not in this God-forsaken home
Where the medicine’s becoming the disease

But she says
I’m not scared to die, I’m scared that I might lose my mind
And end up like the woman down the hall.
How she screamed when her time had come
God knows she’s not the only one
So Lord, take me kindly when you call

‘Cause I am standing in your garden, and it is easy to forget
That there is bound to be a harvest, and the season will end

But she says
Don’t be scared to die I’ll tell you now, you’ll lose the fight
Just let it be a lamp unto your feet
For the time that you have today, and when you’re old you’ll learn to pray
Lord, take me kindly if you please

Lord, take her kindly for me

Skin like leather, stretched and weathered
Can’t say whether sun or smoke
Hair to shoulders but this man is older
But still younger than I know

And I will fall asleep while he lies down
Beneath a streetlight on the edge of town
And though I try to rest, my conscience screams
I hear his mother whisper in my dreams

Just because you need a savior doesn’t mean you’re just a sinner
Just because there is a loser doesn’t mean there is a winner
And sometimes the right answer is I don’t know

Skin is snow white, as chemicals fight
To keep the white light at an arm’s length
Hair is all gone, but still it’s too strong
And she’s too young to go this way

And I will fall asleep while she falls through
Between the lab coats of a sterile room
And though I try to rest, my conscience screams
I hear her father whisper in my dreams

Just because you need a savior doesn’t mean you’re just a sinner
Just because there is a loser doesn’t mean there is a winner
And sometimes the right answer is I don’t know

And I am screaming at the dice
Why’d you roll that way?
I am pleading with the night, though it might be in vain
So I will sing the only thing that I can say

Just because you know the weather
Doesn’t mean you know the season
Just because you know a heartbreak
Doesn’t mean you know the reason
And sometimes the right answer

Just because we need a savior doesn’t mean we’re less than sinners
Just because we may be losers doesn’t mean we can’t be winners
And sometimes the right answer
Sometimes the right answer
Sometimes the right answer is we don't know