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Be Merry

by The Crux

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1.
She leans against a rabbit hutch How long since you’ve felt a woman’s touch? She’s made of spice and silver, you know you’ll miss her Going two directions on the stairs… Eyes that widen when she talks Doorways framed with golden locks The moon upon you, looking on you Shows you the way to her gate They say that all of Charlie Chaplin’s girls Find their way into her curls The songs are hers, and the windmill whirls And all the flowers in all the world Where could she be tonight? She lights the lamp and snatches up Night crawlers, potato bugs And human muscle, y’hear that rustle? Just lean back and relax… Everybody grits their teeth And passes time in social sleep But she giggles ‘neath the covers, and pulls you under Funny things on the radio… Past the falls that bear her name, The bonfire fires, and the wind and the rain And give praise there, for you were raised there Up in the trees of the garden… Cleopatra holds a glass And lowers into a saffron bath Her tongue may manage many the language Spoken in the valley of your dreams… She don’t make the papers shout She ain’t the one you heard tell about Away from the mission, she sees her visions Watch them spinning around and around and around and around and around and around and around
2.
3.
They've tempted me too many times with their rules They've forced me to take up with madmen and fools Now we do work with the Devil's own tools Twixt the sun and the moon we are singing Cast my memories back to my bride As we went out walking down by the seaside We had no warning of the cavalry's ride Nor the war they had planned for the morning Stab the sad bastards, to hell with them all A mortar shell burst through our chamber wall “Civilian casualties,” was what they were called My brother, my mother, my darling Now we study the stars, we run a tight ship We light all the candles and sideways we slip Into the ocean, the stars, and the myth that we drift into leaves our eyes gleaming Corporal Vamp, with the face of a child Sends young men to war with a gun and a smile Left his recruiters for dead in a pile And went off to enjoy the evening Fire for blood, water for skin, Air for the wind that's without and within And the earth is a dream from where we begin We may return when treasures we're carrying God is a beggar and Coalsack His face The stars of His brow gaze off into space The darkness is iron, and leather, and lace And it be to this beggar we're riding The armies, the navies, the airforces too Desire me ship and me pirating crew But we are too sensitive for that abuse For we're always so fond of refusing “Good morrow! Good Morrow!” cries good Sgt. Napper Our glasses he fills and our beards he does flatter His head and his war drum we shoved in the crapper And told him his offers were charming
4.
Bert's Blues 04:11
Give me a good show, give me parades Slap your hands at the foot of the stage I’m going to sing you… Bert’s Blues Toast the rye and slop the whey While all my friends are slipping away Just for singing… Bert’s Blues Baby, we should be in the pictures You got the look you can play the part all right I swear that everything’s just gonna be peachy Just so long you don’t mind traveling by night I got dreams and I got thrills I’m making up stories to pay the bills It’s a living… Bert’s Blues The bad man drops what the good man steals From Shakespeare down to the banana peel That’s the way it goes… Bert’s Blues Honey, I wouldn’t take it so personal After all, you know, a man is but a man And though the shark will show his pearly teeth, dear Most men will stab you as they shake your hand Good folks running, what you gonna do? A wise man’s gonna cut a baby in two What you gonna do? …Bert’s Blues Everybody wants me on their side Whether it’s neckties or tie-dye I might have lied a little… Bert’s Blues Ain’t that cruel and ain’t that California? Or is this Berlin, 1939? Everybody’s got their way of hiding Everybody’s got their favorite wine Jingle-jangle in a circus tent Juggling verfremdungsteffect That’s the way we do it… Bert’s Blues I don’t know what it is these days Everybody’s getting taken away Just for singing… Bert’s Blues I’m thinking what Benji always told me, “If they’re after you, you must be doing it right” Now Benji’s dead and I’m all sad and broken I’m screwing in a brand new stage light
5.
Be merry, my friends, be merry! The treasure we seek is buried! Don’t you weep! Dig that shovel deep! See the things she carry! The worms crawl in and then-then The worms crawl out again-gain Fat and juicy ones, long and skinny ones too! I remember lying in bed While the soil was sprinkled over my head And the blackbird danced around me! The blackbird danced around me! She feed me pomegranate wine She run her fingers down my spine And then my love surround me! And then my love surround me! And I lay my weary head upon her breast Roaming the city through the bells and calls We were dancing free ‘neath the white stone walls! Singing, “Rum bum badda oompa! "Rum bum badda oompa!” Papa’s in the tower, nodding his head Mama’s in the kitchen bakin’ the bread Going, “Rum bum badda oompa! And, “Lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai lai…” My love is a dove, she’s my bride of the mountains She goes out tonight to bathe in the fountain Hold my baby tighter! Hold my baby tighter! The hiss and the steam of the cold and the heat From the top of your skull to the toes of you feet Oh, lift that baby higher! Lift that baby higher! Until the crown of stars is pressed beside her brow
6.
S.O.B. 03:27
Out in the vacant open ocean Miles from hint of land A sign out of the water Reading “Bite the Hand” Waves breaking all against My proud ship’s ancient hull Whom she carries ye may bury But ye can’t control Heave,-ho! Heave-ho! Bring the sails in tight and low Row! Row! Row! Row! Drag it like an undertow! Fight against the whirlpool And fight against the rocks! And in the night-time, mind the stars With moonshine and a dog And my ship… eight sails shining Hang out from the starboard side And shout a healthy tune Darling tanker, for an anchor We’ve an iron spoon Fever dreams and Mr. Garlick’s Homemade remedies Your meal’s a peel of lemon And a wedge of cheese The moon was full the night we stormed The crooked factory I stole the blue stone whilst my shipmates Set the chain gang free And as we set the place ablaze Whatever did we say? Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh And my ship… the black freighter Climb the mast! (Press the ink!) Sew the flag! (Brew da drink!) Wash the dish! (Forge the steel!) Catch the fish! (Turn the wheel!) Knead the dough! (Mix the paste!) Feed the crow! (Save the waste!) Dig the sand! (Share the wealth!) Bite the hand! (Feed yourself!) Raising hell on saffron trails To cities of the plague Now’s the time to use that beak And smash out of the egg, ‘cause This boat don’t carry no rats of weasels! This boat don’t give no ride for free! And my ship… that mean sumbitch
7.
Dragline 03:46
Well, you wake up in the morning To the ding-dong-dang Marchin’ to the table To the same damn thing There’s a knife on the table A cup, and a pan Say anything about it You’re in trouble with the man That’s right, baby boy’s Got boxed in the balls Playin’ cards with barbed wire Wrapping the walls Cat calls hollered At a full grown man Your head held high But you don’t understand There’s a stench in the silent day Hearing that blade swish Chopping the weeds down Like every wish Like cleaning the mind Like cleaning the dish And loosing that kiss That sticks to your ribs So you climb of the bunk And you grab that cold drink You won playing poker With sissies and finks “Dragline, Dragline "Show us your teeth… “Dragline, Dragline…” The lion beneath Pounces at tumbleweeds And slate gray bad days And slinks to the chapel While the good hound dog bays And kneels at the crucifix Ready to pray Not a word to say Not a word to say Baby, you sitting On a suicide train You got a thousand dollar heart But a ten-cent brain The midnight special In the bayou blood Boy, blood’s gonna run From this Alabama stud And you walk across the yard Like the slyest thing Wearing that chain Like a diamond ring With a mind wiped clean With spit shining But remember… Remember… Remember nights on the bank? Pig on spit? A town full of honeys Who all wanted it? Remember cuffs on your wrist? Your name on a list? The pitch and the swing And the cheer and the miss? Yeah, dreams that stink Like drunken piss And Saturday, baby You wrap it up in your fist And you lay down right And you lay down wrong And these sweaty bitches All follow along Yeah, these jailbirds Sing the Dragline Song Singing, “Blah blah blah blah "Bing bang bong, "I’m out in five and, honey "That ain’t long” But when the good dog dies Hallelujah bye and bye When the good dog dies When the good dog dies Buckets of water Rice and beans The whistle blow You know what that means It’s a chilling wind A sick sort of draft You just a bum to good folks Just a pain in the ass And when you peek from the chain gang To the rat race You’re looking through the fence At a woman’s face and BANG! BANG! And your face gets so hot BANG! Ha, that’s a warning shot With guns and muscles They’re digging for dopes And you’re the dented bucket They throw out on a rope Just to bring all the small stones Under control Come on, don’t you see, they’re making walls Out of you men? How can you sleep Inside the jackal’s den? And don’t you get mad When they’re condescending? Now, I can only think of one way Out of this yard It don’t take no hot hand It don’t take no wild card No, this place don’t want Nothing but blood Golgotha gold And the Reaper’s cud One of these day’s You’ll find me dead on the floor Because I’m going up To see my lord Every time you’ve seen These blue eyes smiling Baby, you’ve been seeing These blue eyes crying
8.
Phaedrus 06:10
Underneath the chaste tree we settled Far from the city’s walls The voice in your ear, was keeping you near me But soft, love, the sly wind calls… While a wrestler, like good Iago, wonders Writing, writing like a man possessed We chased each other in the oat A wolf pup and a billy goat Your love of truth, my tender youth Two pennies for the riverboat Well, gods bless St. James the Supplanter Bless him with a paper mask The walk in the wheat, the soles of our feet The violence of the village, so soft and discreet All those questions you had to ask… No I’m hanging from the hospital and howling From Liverpool to New Orleans “My baby’s dead today! “My baby’s dead today! “My baby’s dead, my baby’s dead! “My baby’s dead today!” You stabbed at the silence of speeches You turned my wolf-head ‘round Sharp as a saber, sweet as a fig With the smile of a child and the nose of a pig Now you’re six feet underground Yes, Two and Three went down to the graveyard But only Four came back It must have been the poison (son) It must have been the medicine The dialogue, the train we’re on They’ve gone and took my only one! Well, of the rails I was raised up And off them I was happy to stay But the inkwell twisted, we never resisted I should have known that you never existed How that madman scribbles and strays But when I die they can bury me barefoot! You can dig my grave with a pottage spoon! Because I’ll be riding on the chariot You know two horses carry it Across the pit, I’ll paint it red A-hunting in my lover’s fit!
9.
Twine Girl (free) 05:50
She lived alone in her little home Staring at the numbers on the telephone Problem was she was all alone, all alone And so she lost her mind Started making people out of twine When she was finished, she said "You're my family "And you will always be mine..." They would always be there for her They'd always come when she called They knew her name and her social security number Her friends would tell her to get a life These were the friends that weren't very nice These were the friends who sometimes made her cry, made her cry She preferred the ones she made Because they made her laugh And if they ever made her cry She could always cut them in half They would always be there for her They'd always come when she called They knew her name and her social security number But then she thought that they were thinking of leaving She found their faces mean and deceiving She said "You'd better not run away, better not run away" "And I just bring you right back here again "And anyway, where have you ever been? "To leave is to live and to live is to lie "And you know that to lie is to sin..." They would always be there for her They'd always come when she called They knew her name and her social security number Her suspicions made the Twine People mad They lost the little bit of goodness they had One by one they all went bad, they went bad And so they put a knife to her throat Made her put on her hat and her coat Made her put out a long winded, tearstained Legible suicide note They would always be there for her They'd always come when she called They knew her name and her social security number They found her body at the bottom of a well They said she hadn't even screamed when she fell They said she hadn't been mentally well, "Oh well..." There was just one thing on everyone's mind It was clear the fall had broken her spine But they couldn't figure out why her body was covered With tangled up pieces of twine They would always be there for her They'd always come when she called They knew her name and her social security number

credits

released March 17, 2012

Rachel Bean: Accordion. Banjo on tracks 5, 8. Bird call. Vocals Washboard.
Tim Dixon: Guitar on tracks 2, 6. Mandolin.
Zoe Kessler: Bells. Vocals.
Adam LaBelle: Percussion. Vocals.
Jack Sawatzky: Bass on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Vocals.
Justin Walters: Bass on track 2. Clarinet. Harmonica. Vocals.
Willow Whitcomb: Cat calls on track 7.
Joshua Windmiller: Banjo on track 2. Guitar on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8. Vocals.
Dominic Ziegler: Fiddle. Vocals. Piano.

All songs written by Josh, Tim, and The Crux except track 9, written by Dominic Ziegler

Engineering by Mr. Ross Harris

Mastering by Chris Bellman

This album is for Dominic Ziegler and his family

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