1. |
All Heart and Sandstone
06:44
|
|||
|
the world ceases to exist
just beyond the reaches of my headlights
and tonight i am the only one
once we were invincible
driving around with our eyes closed
all heart and sandstone
at night the shadows come alive
and they are vandals stealing all that we have
as the sun goes down the ruins crack and crumble
houses heave their final breath
time takes from the young and old
maybe i’m wasting mine
spending my nights foggy eyed crying
with the room spinning dark around
i need to slow down
last night i dreamt that i had died
and everything faded to black
as my body sank into the earth
i could feel you pulling me
from above
you are always saving me
no one saves me like you
|
||||
2. |
Leave Your Light On
04:43
|
|||
|
turtle in the pond robin in the tree
i dance all day to the songs she sings
the sun shines bright on our milky skin
and the sea is calm despite the wind
you told it to me once and i didn’t believe
so you told me again and i still didn’t see
but you stayed all night through the wind and rain
and still you stayed when the morning came
leave your light on leave it bright
i need you more and more each night
i don’t deserve the love i’ve received
i take and take and never give
lightning bug in the palm of your hand
feet dug deep in the salty sand
you know he won’t light inside a jar
so you let him go with a wave of your arm
there at the top we saw the whole world
with its white cap waves and black sand shores
maybe we took things we shouldn’t take
but everything will return to its place
praise the father praise the crook
everything i ever took
i swear i will give it back
one day
turtle in the pond robin in the tree
there’s not much left for that bird to sing
she sang as the tide came in on the sea
she sang for you and then she sang for me
you told it to me once and i didn’t believe
so you told me again and i still didn’t see
but you stayed all night through the wind and rain
and still you stayed when the morning came
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
we don’t sleep at night we just drive like maniacs
but we sleep all day and rot away in our bed sheets
and shameful childhoods we all live with the worst of regrets
we’re not asking for forgiveness
just that everyone would forget
everything we’ve ever done
we’ve all cloven hooves and we live like animals
and rightly so for the world is full of creatures much worse than ourselves
so i will stay indoors til i’m sure that it’s safe out there
this home’s so full of all my
thoughts someday they’re sure to scare me out
but i’m holding out til then
we’ve got stars for eyes we don’t see where we’re going to or coming from
so we hurt the ones we love the most and we’re never
quite sure why we do the things we do
i’ve always tried to make it right
but it always seems to make it worse
|
||||
4. |
To the Sea
03:22
|
|||
|
across the bay i spotted lights
and the chilling sound of silence
filled the night we huddle in
and you begin to play
a melody i do believe
that this isn’t what i dreamed
but it’s better than i hoped
i have learned to hope
and we’ll all make our way
to the sea where the waves
will swallow our fears someday
and when first light stretches on
all the water and the sand
we will see oh we will see
that it wasn’t you or me
who caused the night
who made the light
and we’ll all make our way
to the sea
|
||||
5. |
Letters
04:55
|
|||
|
fifty plain white envelopes
i’m sorry i never wrote
fifty plain white envelopes
i’m sorry i never wrote to you
we all think that our time
is the only time that matters
fifty plain white envelopes
i tried to write but always choked
never could put pen to paper
always thought it better left unsaid
we were driving in your car
you told me not to go so far away
you knew i wouldn’t listen
always knew that i could never stay
we all think that our lives
are the only lives that matter
fifty plain white envelopes
yesterday i threw them out
couldn’t bring myself to bear
the weight of their
condemning stares any longer
we all think that our lies
are the only lies that matter
|
||||
6. |
Raven
03:54
|
|||
|
raven watching from the tree
bring your weathered song to me
i haven’t any time to sleep
i haven’t any time to
call upon the name in vain
and wish that i was home again
summer’s months how they do weep
summer’s months are warm and weak
oh i once was young and sweet
kissing you between the sheets
listening to the rain that beat
each stone in the cemetery
now we stand out on the water
now we are the son and daughter
of a long awaited storm
of a chance to be reborn
raven watching from the tree
bring your weathered song to me
i haven’t any time to sleep
i haven’t any time to
talk that old man winter down
steal his thick and thorny crown
make your home inside my hands
you know he spares no creature from his wrath
oh take me home i’ve been out here so very long
and i’ve been doubting you and i feel ashamed
oh take the wind remove this thin and fearful skin
and make me whole holy and unafraid
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
oh how the trees gather snow
how they bend and break when the cold winds blow
in this town perched beside the bay
where chimneys billow smoke
like some sad crude offering to the moon
oh how my lungs fill with cold
how it stings my eyes and burns my throat
sending my love across the lake
but how can i keep on
shouting louder still against the crashing waves
oh how the sun rises slow
and aura is in flames colored red and gold
and the bishop looks on across the bay
arms outstretched
and feet firmly planted in their place
oh how i feel far from home
how i bend and break when the cold winds blow
i drive on around the lake
calling to my love
all i want to do is make it home to you
|
||||
8. |
Car Crash
07:08
|
|||
|
chimneys smoke when winter comes
they say each year they’ll quit
but everyone knows how hard it is
when the sun’s all hid behind those clouds
birds all flying south
and that first snow covers up the ground
i startled you down by the water
did you know i was startled too
streetlights change when nighttime comes
they turn themselves to light
because everyone knows how dark it gets
but who will be a light to them
and how can they shine as bright
when the darkness seems so heavy now
i may never live to forget some of these memories
dear caught in headlights thrown in the air on the roadside
alive then suddenly so dead
|
||||
9. |
All That We Borrowed
05:22
|
|||
|
if you were to leave this earth
without me i would not survive
and all the labor of my hands
would turn to ash and rust
all my days would be the same
without you and all my words be sighs
until my bones began to break
and my flesh returned to dust
all that we borrowed will remain here
our bodies our bones our homes and all that they contain
our love and our laughter our wine and our whiskey
our poems and our letters our mouths filled with honey
gaping wide to catch the falling rain
|
||||
10. |
We Will Sea
01:30
|
|||
11. |
Dirty Hollow Homes
05:17
|
|||
|
west virginia heading north from the coast
fleeing all that hallowed ground and holy ghosts
something in you told you this is all you’d need
all your fears packed away and hiding in the backseat
oh ohio
you saw it coming all those battles lost and won
but you never were the one to take the blame
silly sinner did you think that you’re forgiven
that your burdens never were for you to bear
oh ohio
west virginia while those storms rage on outside
we’ll stay warm and dry and terrified
nothing’s perfect but our dirty hollow homes
are what we cling to all the more when we’re alone
|
||||
12. |
322 6th Street
03:07
|
|||
|
where do you go at night
when the bars close down
when the lights go out
whose footsteps do you hope to hear
on this cold street in this quiet town
everybody needs someone to hold you when
the night starts closing in
and you feel forgotten
i am a splintering oak
when the cold winds come
when my heart goes numb
when all your letters and notes
couldn’t give me hope couldn’t keep me warm
everybody needs someone to hold you through
those nights when your ghosts get to you
and nobody knows you
|
||||
Gratiot Lake Road Newport News, Virginia
Gratiot Lake Road is the music of Emaleigh and Ben Jensen. (pronounced GRASH-it)
Gratiot Lake Road recommends:
Great album by one of our all-time favorites. Exceptionally creative, exceedingly sad. Favorite track: House Show, Late December
go to album
Melodic instrumental post-rock from upper Michigan. Favorite track: Black Water
go to albumIf you like Gratiot Lake Road, you may also like:
Lovely, delicate acoustic music with rich, narrative lyrics that play out more like short stories than songs.
go to album
Phototherapy EP
by Fahim Rahman
A collection of twinkling bedroom folk-pop demos from Fahim Rahman that arcs from hushed intimacy to sweeping cinematic emotionality.
go to album
This husband-and-wife duo from North Carolina spin personal yarns while crafting a warm, nostalgic brand of folk.
go to album
The latest from the UK’s Chris Brain is a gorgeously wrought album of tender acoustic folk music.
go to album
