10 Bill Callahan ( smog ) songs I love

Bill is the master, here are ten songs of his with lyrics. Enjoy.

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‘Sycamore’, from Woke on a Whaleheart

There’s sap in the trees if you tap ‘em There’s blood on the seas if you map ‘em Christian, if you see your papa, tell him I love him He taught me to love in the wild and fight in the gym He taught me the bottle gives birth to the cup And you won’t get hurt if you just keep your hands up And stand tall like sycamores

Sycamore got to grow down to grow up Young roots toil the soil like baby’s first cup And when they bend you in two And say too green for the fire When all you want to do is be a part of the fire All you want to do is be the fire part of fire Like sycamores

There’s sap in the trees if you tap ‘em There’s blood on the seas if you map ‘em Christian, when I see your papa, I’ll tell him you love him And remember to love in the wild and fight in the gym Remember the bottle gives birth to the cup And you won’t get hurt if you just keep your hands up And stand tall like sycamores

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‘Vessel in Vain’ from Supper

I cant be held responsible for the things I say For I am just a vessel in vain And I cant be held responsible for the thing I see For I am just a vessel in vain

No boat out on no ocean No name there on no hoard And its not a strain at all to remember Those that Ive left behind Theyre all standing right here beside me now And most of them with a smile

My ideals have got me on the run Towards my connection with everyone My ideals have got me on the run Towards my connection with everyone

Such free reign For a vessel in vain

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‘Our Anniversary’ from Supper

It’s our anniversary I leave it ajar And go outside To look at the driveway stars

The crickets are chirping They stop at my step I stop my step And they start up again

It’s our anniversary and the bullfrogs And everything that can sing is singing its mating song

The soil is steaming Grass is swooning Guns or fireworks are popping Down in the town A woman is running A man jumps up and down

It’s our anniversary and you’ve hidden my keys This is one anniversary you’re spending with me

I slide in the front seat The driver’s side To hot-wire and hightail crosses my mind But still in the driveway Fixed like stars I flip on the headlights And go back inside

The climate’s controlled While the battery dies Clipping the wings Of your morning flight

‘The night will end in Some form of excess Pants around ankles Too weak to fully undress

It’s our anniversary A celebration of And here’s to next year Maybe you’ll join me in my car We’ll drive together But not too far

We are far from flowers Cut and dried So let us thrive let us thrive Let us thrive Just like the weeds We curse sometimes

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‘Jim Cain’ from Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

I started out in search of ordinary things How much of a tree bends in the wind I started telling the story without knowing the end I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again Something too big to be seen was passing over and over me Well it seemed like a routine case at first With the death of the shadow came a lightness of verse But the darkest of nights, in truth, still dazzles And I work myself until I’m frazzled

I ended up in search of ordinary things Like how can a wave possibly be? I started running, and the concrete turned to sand I started running, and things didn’t pan out as planned In case things go poorly and I not return Remember the good things I’ve done In case things go poorly and I not return Remember the good things I’ve done Done me in

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‘Cold Blooded Old Times’ from Knock Knock

Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times

The type of memories that turn your bones to glass turn your bones to glass

mother came rushing in she said we didn’t see a thing we said we didn’t see a thing

and father left at eight nearly splintering the gate cold-blooded old times

Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times

the type of memories that turn your bones turn your bones to glass

and though you were just a little squirrel you understood every word

and in this way they gave you clarity a cold-blooded clarity

Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times Cold-blooded old times

though how can I stand and laugh with the man who redefined your body?

how can I stand and laugh with the man who redefined your body?

those cold-blooded old times cold-blooded old times cold-blooded old times

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‘Feather by Feather’ from Supper

You spend half of the morning Just trying to wake up Half the evening Just trying to calm down And you live for the same things We live for The same things A cloudburst seems rarer every time

And its crow vs. crow A brawl in mid-air Beak click on beak clack No reason is there But for the brawl in mid-air

If youre losing your wings Feather by feather Love the way they whip away On the wind

When they make a movie of your life Theyre going to have to ask you To do your own stunts Because nobody nobody nobody Could pull off the same shit as you And still come out alright

If youre losing your wings Feather by feather Love the way they whip away On the wind

Its Ali vs. Clay Both pummeling away A champ always fights themself

And you are a fighter You are a fighter You are a fighter

And Kids got heart Kids got heart Kids got heart

If youre losing your wings Feather by feather

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‘The Well’ from A River Ain’t Too Much To Love

I could not work So I threw a bottle into the woods And then I felt bad For the doe paw And the rabbit paw So I went looking for the pieces Of the bottle that I threw Because I couldn’t work

I went deep Further than i could throw And i came upon an old abandoned well All boarded over With a drip hanging from the bucket still

Well I watched that drip but it would not drop I watched that drip but it would not drop I knew what I had to do Had to pull those boards off the well

When I got the boards off I stared into the black black black And you know I had to yell Just to get my voice back

I guess everybody has their own thing That they yell into a well

I gave it a coupla hoots A hello And a fuck all y’all

I guess everybody has their own thing

That they yell into a well

And as I stood like that Staring into the black black black I felt a cool wet kiss On the back of my neck

Dang

I knew if I stood up The drip would roll down my back Into no man’s land

So I stayed like that Staring into the black black black

Well they say black is all colours at once So I gave it my red rage my yellow streak The greenest parts of me And my blues I knew just what I had to do

I had to turn around and go back And let that drip roll down my back And I felt so bad about that

But wouldn’t you know When I turned to go Another drip was forming On the bottom of the bucket And I felt so good about that

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‘Teenage Spaceship’ from Knock Knock

Flying around The houses at night Flying alone

A teenage spaceship I was a teenage spaceship Landing at night

I was beautiful with all my lights Loomed so large on the horizon So large, people thought my windows Were stars So large on the horizon People thought my windows Were stars

A teenage spaceship A teenage spaceship

And I swore I’d never lay like a log Bark like a dog

I was a teenage smog Sewn to the sky

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‘Dress Sexy at my Funeral’ from Dongs of Sevotion

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife For the first time in your life

Wear your blouse undone to here And your skirt split up to there

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife For the first time in your life Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife

Wink at the minister Blow kisses to my grieving brothers

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife

And when it comes your turn to speak Before the crowd Tell them about the time we did it On the beach with fireworks above us On the railroad tracks With the gravel in your back In the back room of a crowded bar And in the very grave yard Where my body now rests

Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife Dress sexy at my funeral my good wife For the first time in your life

Also tell them about how I gave to charity And tried to love my fellow man As best I could But most of all don’t forget about the time On the beach With fireworks above us

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‘Bathysphere’ from Wild Love

When I was seven I asked my mother To trip me to the bay And put me on a ship And lower me down Lower me out of here

Because when I was seven I wanted to live in a bathysphere

Between coral Silent eel Silver swordfish I can’t really feel or dream down here

And if the water should cut my line And if the water should cut my line Set me free And if the water should cut my line Set me free, I don’t mind I’ll be the lost sailor, my home is the sea

When I was seven My father said to me “But you can’t swim” And I’ve never dreamed of the sea again