1. |
Armed With Joy
03:53
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For a year, I held my breath
What edifice would the bastards tear down next?
Can’t hold your breath forever
Not when the fight depends on every one of us
We are fists raised and loud voices
Street-marching feet
We are arms locked, bodies braced
For the war machines
And we are open hands toward angry faces
We are swirling dancers claiming spaces
We wear steadfast smiles of subversive grace
And we celebrate because we own this place
These hateful thieves breathe our fear
They’ll choke if we transform the atmosphere
Look: the danger is persistent
So we arm our hearts with joy to resist it
We are fists raised and loud voices
Street-marching feet
We are arms locked, bodies braced
For the war machines
And we are open hands toward angry faces
We are swirling dancers claiming spaces
We wear steadfast smiles of subversive grace
And we celebrate because we own this place
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Like we’ve already won
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
We’ve already won
We are open hands toward angry faces
We are swirling dancers claiming spaces
We wear steadfast smiles of subversive grace
And we celebrate
We celebrate
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
Come, come with me let’s dance
We've already won
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2. |
Flowers and the Flood
03:44
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This is how we grieve
This is how we love
You mix water with the dirt, you grow shoots, you make mud
This is where we grieve
This is where we love
From the same patch of earth springs flowers and the flood
Flowers and the flood
My heart’s a field, come walk it, you’re invited
Your boots will sink, but feel the grass is high
The soil is rich because for you I’ve cried
The levees broke when you spoke like a stranger
The sadness flowed and covered every acre
And still I know I want you in my life
This is how we grieve
This is how we love
You mix water with the dirt, you grow shoots, you make mud
This is where we grieve
This is where we love
From the same patch of earth springs flowers and the flood
Flowers and the flood
My heart’s a field, come walk it, you’re invited
Your boots will sink, but feel the grass is high
The soil is rich because for you I’ve cried
(This is how we grieve)
My heart’s a field, come walk it, you’re invited
Your boots will sink, but feel the grass is high
The soil is rich because for you I’ve cried
This is how we grieve
This is how we love
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3. |
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Hey baby, I see your path is rough
You’re clearing out some brush
What have you found?
Unsteady feet question the earth
Your eyes light up like sunbursts
The world, the world is hard
And the world is ours
I see you’ve found yourself a place to stand
Where the angle of the light makes things make more sense
And it’s not a phrase that I really use, but
All I can say is something like hallelujah
This mystery, a love I did not know
When I wore someone else’s clothes
I lost, I found
We’re dancing, me and the unknown
My eyes alight with wonder
The world, the world is hard
And the world is ours
My feet have found themselves a place to stand
Where the angle of the light makes things make more sense
And it’s not a phrase that I really use, but
All I can say is something like hallelujah
This vicious trail is lined with
Layers I’ve shed as I’ve climbed it
I see you over on your own mountain peak
Looking down at the same beauty as me
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
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4. |
Perpetually Unopened Box
03:12
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See this box on my kitchen table
I see it there every morning, there every night
It never opens, just sits there holding
All that could go wrong and all that could go right
All that could go right
What else can I do but just walk on by?
I’ll always never know what’s inside
What else can I do but live my life?
There’s always only this moment in time
Every now and then I hear a voice saying
“Stop what you’re doing and come over here
Aren’t you curious, worried that in here sits
Your greatest hope and your greatest fear?
It’s all inside here.”
What else can I do but just walk on by?
I’ll always never know what’s inside
What else can I do but live my life?
There’s always only this moment in time
There’s only ever this moment in time
There’s always only this moment in time
Just walk on by
There’s always only this moment in time
Just walk on by
There’s only ever this moment in time
Just walk on by
There’s always only this moment in time
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5. |
The Sun Rose Today
04:40
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I awoke in golden light
Folded into my lover’s side
And in the waking, I heard a voice say your name
Like stone my heart sank
The fields out my window are impossibly green
And my eyes in deep blue rapture of this eternal canopy
Tell me: how is it possible that you’re not here to see?
How is it possible that you’re gone?
These are the things taking my breath away:
The sun rose today, and you did not
Here we drive at highway speeds
Chasing beauty, claiming dreams
And in my throat, a brick of curses and tears
For your stolen years
The fields out my window are impossibly green
And my eyes in deep blue rapture of this eternal canopy
Tell me: how is it possible that you’re not here to see?
How is it possible that you’re gone?
These are the things taking my breath away:
The sun rose today, and you did not
Can I just sit here for a while, and let the silence take my mind
Holding both at the same time
The beauty and the pain
The emptiness, the everything
The beauty and the pain
The emptiness, the everything
The emptiness, the everything
The beauty and the pain
The beauty and the pain
The beauty and the pain
The beauty and the pain ...
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6. |
Coming Home
04:38
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The truck pulls away from the life we made
And with it all the roots out from the ground
But how could we have stayed?
We clearly heard our names carried on the wind over the sound
Tears tumble from my eyes and fall on cheeks turned up in a smile
It’s a hard goodbye and glad hello
It’s reaching out and letting go
Gaining a mountain in trade for the ocean
Holding all we were and all we’ll be
Looking behind and ahead to possibility
We’re always leaving and finding
And coming home
Coming home
The city recedes, along with a part of me
Roaming the streets I love, a heartbroken ghost
But there’s this open door, a dream we can’t ignore
Adventure doesn’t wait, you just have to go
Tears might dry up in the time it takes for you to drive over the state line
It’s a hard goodbye and glad hello
It’s reaching out and letting go
Gaining a mountain in trade for the ocean
Holding all we were and all we’ll be
Looking behind and ahead to possibility
We’re always leaving and finding
And coming home
We're coming home
There is no coming without leaving
And without making there’s no finding
Some might say it’s all just dreaming
What if there’s no such thing as arriving?
If there’s no coming without leaving
And without making there’s no finding
I don’t care if it’s just dreaming
With you I’m leaving and finding
And coming home
Coming home
Coming home
Coming home
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7. |
Beautiful Life
03:57
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Would you believe me if I told you
That a sunbeam tapped my shoulder?
And she told me what my life would be
She terrified me, and she set me free
I’ve never been so scared in my whole life
And I couldn’t believe my eyes
It was so beautiful, beautiful
I’ve never been so sure of what was right
And though it left me trembling inside
It was my beautiful, beautiful life
Would you go with me on a reckless journey?
Down this highway, we don’t know where it leads
The wind propels us, tears make the pavement slick
And there is always this unbelievable sunset
I’ve never been so scared in my whole life
And I can’t believe my eyes
It’s just so beautiful, beautiful
I’ve never been so sure of what is right
And though it keeps me trembling inside
This is my beautiful, beautiful life
At the end of all this, will we know why?
At the end of everything, will it matter if we got any of it right?
All I know is this road has a voice
And it’s calling me to make a choice
I want this life, and I want you by my side
I’ve never been so scared in my whole life
And I can’t believe my eyes
It’s just so beautiful, beautiful
I’ve never been so sure of what is right
And though it keeps me trembling inside
This is my beautiful, beautiful life
Beautiful, beautiful life
It’s just so beautiful, beautiful
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8. |
Misfit Stars
03:40
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I can show you all of the places I am broken
Come trace the edges here
Every crack and dangerous sliver
Whispers a story when you’re up close to hear
But take a step back, a little further
I want to show you
The bigger picture shines
Like misfit stars in the night
Look at them sparkle, all glued together
I am a shattered and shimmering whole
See this fracture?
It comes from words that shouldn’t be spoken
To any little girl
And over here there’s a jagged splinter
It’s self-inflicted
Those always cut the worst
But take a step back, a little further
The edges catch light
The bigger picture shines
Like misfit stars in the night
I have hard-earned every piece here
I’ve paid in blood and I’ve paid with my soul
I will not cover or hide in shame here
These are my diamonds, my silver and gold
All glued together, with love and glitter
All put together, the bigger picture shines
Like misfit stars in the night
Look how they sparkle, all glued together
I am a shattered and shimmering whole
Look how they sparkle, all put together
I am a shattered and shimmering whole
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9. |
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When you look in the mirror
Do you ever see me
Like I see you, all the time
When you wake from dreaming
Do you ever miss me
Like I miss you, all the time
All the time
There’s always a moment when I've picked up the phone
To dial your number, voice broken
And my breathing’s put on hold
I know how this plays out
I’ll hear a distant tone
And I’ll leave my words for you
When you watch your children
Do you ever see us
Like we were once, in another time
When you cry for what was
Do you ever miss the understanding
Borne of sharing storylines
Like I do all the time
There’s always a moment when I question the sense
In dialing your number, heart open
And braced for the worst
I call though it hurts
What else is left to lose?
And I’ll leave my words for you
I’ll leave my words for you
When you look in the mirror
Do you ever see me
Like I see you?
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10. |
Dear Little Girl
04:21
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Dear little girl
With your little hands you colored such straight lines
Attempts to hem the tangled chaos of the time we survived
Little girl
With your little voice you spoke from memory
The stories you were told to help us sleep
In a make-believe peace
There’s a picture of you
In the locket round my neck
I’m moving on
But I promise not to forget
That you were there for me
When I needed some certainty
And you believed it, oh you believed it
There’s this mystery, listen, it beckons me
I’m moving on
And I won’t forget
I’ll wear you round my neck
Dear little girl
In your little fists you clutched the fading flowers
Like our life depended on the faith they’d never go brown
There’s a picture of you
In the locket round my neck
I’m moving on
But I promise not to forget
That you were there for me
When I needed some certainty
And you believed it, oh you believed it
There’s this mystery, listen, it beckons me
I’m moving on
And I won’t forget
You brought me this far
And it’s no small miracle
But for the next mile
I need some new tools
You got me this far
And for that, I thank you
Thank you
There’s a picture of you
In the locket round my neck
I’m moving on
(There's a picture of you)
I’m moving on
(There's a picture of you)
And I won’t forget
(I'm moving on)
I’ll wear you round my neck
(I'm moving on)
I’ll wear you round my neck
(I'm moving on)
There's a picture of you
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Shannon Curtis Tacoma, Washington
Shannon Curtis is a Tacoma-based artist hailing from California.
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