Tuesday, December 21, 2004
"The Awful Sweetness of Escaping Sweat" - Poem/Song Lyrics
Written by Conor Oberst, A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997
We escape from the house as the day disappears from the sky into night
We became what we wanted to be,
Like a dream
Or a ghost
I collapsed out of turn near a house
Lying still in the grass and felt the heat from the ground
Rising up to contract
And expand
Like a breath
We leave from that place soaked with sweat and the poison we drank
Fill the bathtub with ice and hope this fever will break
Like a heart,
Easily
But I do not recall all the words that were formed
On those wire lips as they greeted me
A promise was made without thought as the temperature climbed
And I started to sink like the moon tends to do if you stare at it so long
Then you blink
And it's gone,
And we crawl
To our sleep with the dawn
And isn't it the same mistake? And isn't it the same mistake?
There's not much you can escape
And isn't it the same?
We awake in the light feeling hollow and selfishly warm
Close the blinds and retreat until what's burning is gone
And its light
Is away
Then we're back in the dark chasing nothing through backyards and trees
You ripped your shirt on a fence, but it didn't get me
Yeah, it's fear,
It makes you slow
And these creatures look crooked, their shadows cut lines through my face
And the concrete is fire where my bare feet are placed
In a line
Next to yours
And I guess I'm not sure if it's fear that was born
As those awful eyes laid their claim on us
I put my hands on the fence, said your name, and I started to climb
And it must have been sweat but I drank it like wine
It was sweet, my mouth was dry
I heard your scream but I made no reply
I can still taste it now if I try
We escape from the house as the day disappears from the sky into night
We became what we wanted to be,
Like a dream
Or a ghost
I collapsed out of turn near a house
Lying still in the grass and felt the heat from the ground
Rising up to contract
And expand
Like a breath
We leave from that place soaked with sweat and the poison we drank
Fill the bathtub with ice and hope this fever will break
Like a heart,
Easily
But I do not recall all the words that were formed
On those wire lips as they greeted me
A promise was made without thought as the temperature climbed
And I started to sink like the moon tends to do if you stare at it so long
Then you blink
And it's gone,
And we crawl
To our sleep with the dawn
And isn't it the same mistake? And isn't it the same mistake?
There's not much you can escape
And isn't it the same?
We awake in the light feeling hollow and selfishly warm
Close the blinds and retreat until what's burning is gone
And its light
Is away
Then we're back in the dark chasing nothing through backyards and trees
You ripped your shirt on a fence, but it didn't get me
Yeah, it's fear,
It makes you slow
And these creatures look crooked, their shadows cut lines through my face
And the concrete is fire where my bare feet are placed
In a line
Next to yours
And I guess I'm not sure if it's fear that was born
As those awful eyes laid their claim on us
I put my hands on the fence, said your name, and I started to climb
And it must have been sweat but I drank it like wine
It was sweet, my mouth was dry
I heard your scream but I made no reply
I can still taste it now if I try
# posted by Alyssa @ 7:27 PM 
