The Art of Staying Half Awake

Am I awake
Or am I cold
When I’m without a fight

Am I a hollow shell
That shielded itself
Am I sound asleep
Or simply a spirit in slumber

I can’t choose to look up
And see with vibrant eyes
I miss my own quiet enlightenments

When will this dulled-out mind
Turn troubled
As it tries to solve
A seamless puzzle

Frostbitten trees
A paralysed bird
The fleeting warmth
Of a silvering sun
I will wait for the wind
I will wait for the wind

The blazing white
A circling track
The colourless vibe
Of an overlit photograph
I will wait for the wind
I will wait for the wind

I will wait for the wind
I will wait for the wind

The scientists have found
A new shade of blue
But the breaking of dawn
Brought me down with the same old blues
I’m stressed, I am swamped, all I need is air

Take a number and wait in the line
You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine
Take the seasons one season a time
Over and over
Keep your composure

Studied the ways of the hawk
To find out how the lonely
Struggle but still make their way
As they float around calmly
I’m tense, I am tied, all I need is air

Take a number and wait in the line
You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine
Take the seasons one season a time
Over and over
Keep your composure

Écoutez, mes amies
Rendez-vous dans la nuit

Go out, have a laugh
Remember to inhale
Drink up your drink now
Keep your composure
Go out, have a laugh
Remember to inhale
Drink up your drink now

Take a number and wait in the line
You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine
Take each quarter note one at a time
You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine
Take the seasons one season a time
Over and over
Keep your composure

Don’t look, but damn she looks lovely
How the window mirrors her hair
The raindrops keep falling sideways
Or maybe it’s this train that’s heading the wrong way

The countryside that seems bleaker than ever
Is caught between highways
A farmstead behind glass
Oh why would you talk so loudly
No one dares to ask

Can someone explain this?
How do I steer my thoughts?

News flash, about war and corruption
A raging fire, the blameless behind bars
Turn the page, you’ve seen enough now
Raise your head, to the station that we’re driving towards

Please don’t feel like it all should be better
‘Cause nothing is great when you’re thinking this way
Wait, did she just look back at me?
Either way, would it change anything?

Can someone explain this?
How do I steer my thoughts?
Can someone explain this?
How do I steer my thoughts?
Can someone explain this?
Someone explain this?

So how are you?
My dearest friend
I’ve been wondering where we are
And I wonder where we’ve been
Thinking back to those late-night talks
That would blend in with the sound
Of our record player

Fields have grown tall
Around Franciscus

We drank
We spilt
Our youth
We tried
To come up with the words
To soothe our spirits
Our intent to feel
Our intent to shape
The way to lead our lives
By our own standard

Fields have grown tall
Around Franciscus

We walked in schools and darkness
Trying to see straight

Fill me in on your current state
Are you still playing hide and seek
On a cold, barren platform?
Are you setting sail
Or have you found
Your way to a place unknown?

We walked in schools and darkness
To see straight
We learned from books that blind us
We spoke of sounds that stir us
My friend

Let's make sure we
Keep in touch

Fields have grown tall
Around Franciscus

When the night falls upon your town
And the birds sleep
When your skin feels chilled
And the doors are locked shut
Know then, you'll awake

When the day breaks in your town
And the birds sing
When your skin feels warm
And the doors are ajar
Know then, you're awake

When this moment flees
Know it will come back again

If you
You cannot help
But shiver
Unfold
Your arms
See if you can
Unwind

Plastic words and printed trees
Air is dull with dim beliefs
Phony smiles and painted cheeks
Dreams are foul, we howl asleep

We all bleed for nature's best
The truth is we crawl
We all dress ourselves in fur
We all turn too late

Hollow eyes and happy fears
Blissful void, we note no tears
Hungry flies and hasty lives
Love’s on hold, for gold we strive

We all feed on blueish milk
The truth is we crawl
We take pride in stolen horn
We all turn too late

I am taking this ghost out for a walk

We all bleed for nature's best
The truth is we crawl
We all dress ourselves in fur
We all turn too late

Paper shoes and posted cars
Houses creak, how bleak we are

The firelit sky
The girl that gave me a caramel kiss
Has been taking a hold
The firelit sky
The glimpse of a smile
So playfully bliss
It could swallow me whole
The firelit sky

The firelit sky
Fluid and strange
We’re floating around
In a maple syrup stream
The firelit sky
And along comes a wave
Together we gently wash ashore

You take me
Take me along with you
You take me

Uncovering lines
We’re wondering about
In this cut-off world of ours
Where pine resin clouds
Swiftly pass by
In the absence of time
The firelit sky
In amber hue light
In amber, you glow
I am shaken with love
The firelit sky
All these unknown surroundings
Are so pleasing to the eye

You take me
Take me along with you
You take me
Take me

To a space, where my senses awake
Where my heart feels in place

With charcoal-like outlines
White birches stand tall
An ivory landscape
A faint bluish haze

The glimpse of a creature
With a near-silent wingbeat
A delicate dance with
A watery sun

Father Time,
Had long forgotten about this place
But he will not falter
The moment he walks in

Grey cold fumes of machinery
Oily tears, the smell of kerosine
Asphalt appears to have cut up the scenery

All these ancient creatures
Slowly change their features
Only to shape the fate of their species

Dissolve into strange worlds
Where snow turns to mud
And colossal chimneys
Darken the skyline

Father Time
Will not feel anything
He will not falter
The moment he shows up

The quick advance of the industry
Sounds of steel from the factories
This all has passed the verge of mockery

So quickly turn the hourglass
Quickly turn the hourglass

Spiral shadows of stone forgotten
Ingrained within the sand
Our youth remains

Carefully, your little footsteps weigh down
The way that winds towards the endless ocean

These are your days
Take in all you see
This is your turn
To leave a trace

Test these young eyes!
This burning sense sighs
Quench your thirst!
And leap in

These are your days
Take in all you see
This is your turn
To leave a trace

Lie back down upon the waves my child

Tired mind, lay down your arms
It’s here
To shake up all that you have known
Sleep tight
This violent dream
It freezes time

You cannot move
You can't even cry out
This violent night
Lets out the light

Come closer
I don’t mind
Come closer
Come closer
My friendly foe, I don’t mind

Come closer
I don’t mind
Come closer
I don’t mind