1. The Crane Wife 3
2. The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Feel Not the Drowning
3. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
4. O Valencia!
5. The Perfect Crime #2
6. When the War Came
7.Shankill Butchers
8.Summersong
9. The Crane Wife 1&2
10. Sons & Daughters
BONUS TRACKS
11. After the Bombs
12. Culling of the Fold
13. The Perfect Crime #1
14. The Day I Knew You Wouldn't Ever Come Back
15. Hurdles Even Here
1. The Crane Wife 3
Tabbed originally by: Unregistered
( )x2
And under the boughs unbound
All clothed in a snowy shroud
She had no heart so hardened
All under the boughs unbound
( )x2
Each feather it fell from skin
Till threadbare she grew thin
How where my eyes so blinded
Each feather it fell from skin
And I will hang my head hang my head low
And I will hang my head hang my head low
( )x2
The gray sky looked bitter stained
A rain cloud and crane on wing
All out beyond horizons oh
A gray sky a bitter stain
(And I will hang my head hang my head low)x7
( )x4
2. The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Feel Not the Drowning
There's an island hidden in the sound
Lapping currents lay your boat aground
Affix your barb and bayonet
The curlews carve their arabesques
And sorrow fills the silence all around
Come and see
There's a harbor lost within the reeds
A jetty caught in over-hanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants
No boot-mark here nor fingerprint
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
Come and see
Come and see
The tides all come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
In the lowlands, nestled in the heath
briar-cradle rocks its babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax
And Patagon in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
Come and see
Come and see
The tides all come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
*The Landlords Daughter*
As I was a-ramble down by the water
I spied in sable the landlord's daughter
I produced my pistol, then my saber
Said, "Make no whistle or thou will be murdered!"
La-Ha-Ha La-Ha
She cursed, she shivered, she cried for mercy
"My gold and silver if thou will release me!"
I'll take no gold, miss. I'll take no silver.
But I'll take those sweet lips and thou will deliver!
La-Ha-Ha La-Ha
*You'll Feel Not the Drowning*
I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green your grave will rise
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
+
You'll not feel the drowning
Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
+
You'll not feel the drowning
Hear you now the captain
Heave his sorrowed cry
The weight upon your eyelids
Is dimes laid on your eyes
3. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
Originally tabbed by: Warpstarkirby
Heart-carved tree trunk, Yankee bayonet
A sweetheart left behind
Far from the hills of the sea-swelled Carolinas
That's where my true love lies
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah
Look for me when the sun-bright swallow
Sings upon the birch bough high
But you are in the ground with the voles and the weevils
All a'chew upon your bones so dry
(Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah)x2
But when the sun breaks
To no more bullets in Battle Creek
Then will you make a grave
For I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then, then
When I was a girl how the hills of Oconee
Made a seam to hem me in
There at the fair when our eyes caught, careless
Got my heart right pierced by a pin
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah
But oh, did you see all the dead of Manassas
All the bellies and the bones and the bile
No, I lingered here with the blankets barren
And my own belly big with child
(Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah) x2
But when the sun breaks
To no more bullets in Battle Creek
Then will you make a grave
For I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
I will be home then
BRIDGE
Stems and bones and stone walls too
Could keep me from you
Skein of skin is all too few
To keep me from you
But oh my love, though our bodies may be parted
Though our skin may not touch skin
Look for me with the sun-bright sparrow
I will come on the breath of the wind
(Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah) x2
4. O Valencia!
Originally tabbed by: jebeebus
( )x2
You belong to the gang
And you say you can't break away
But I'm here with my hands on my heart
Our families can't agree
I'm your brother's sworn enemy
But I'll shout out my love to the stars
So wait for the stone on your window, your window
Wait by the car and we'll go, we'll go
( )x2
When first we laid eyes
I swore to no compromise
'Til I felt my caress on your skin
Well, how soon we were betrayed
Your sister gave us away
And your father came all unhinged
So wait for the stone on your window, your window
Wait by the car and we'll go, we'll go
But Oh, Valencia-ah-ah!
With your blood still warm on the ground
Valencia-ah-ah!
And I swear to the stars
I'll burn this whole city down, oh oh oh
( )x4
All I heard was a shout
Of your brother calling me out
And you ran like a fool to my side
Well the shot, it hit hard
And your frame went limp in my arms
And the lull of love was your dying cry
So wait for the stone on your window, your window
Wait by the car and we'll, go we'll go
But Oh, Valencia-ah-ah!
With your blood still warm on the ground
Valencia-ah-ah!
And I'll burn this whole city down
Valencia-ah-ah!
With your blood gettin' cold on the ground
Valencia-ah-ah!
And I swear to the stars
I'll burn this whole city down, oh oh oh
5. The Perfect Crime #2
Sing muse of the passion of the pistol
Sing muse of the warning by the whistle
A night so dark in the waning
A dawn obscured by a slate sky raining
Five and twenty burglars by the reservoir
A teenage lookout on the signal tower
The mogul's daughter in hogties
The mogul fingers the wrong guy
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
It was the perfect crime
The bagman's quaking in the fingers
The hand off lends a little lingers
A well dressed man in the cross hairs
A shot rings out from somewhere upstairs
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
It was the perfect crime
BRIDGE
It was like a ticker-tape parade
When the plastique on the safe was blown away
We all gazed from eye to eye
As we mouthed our silent good-byes
The valley sleeping with the bastard
It stinks of slumber and disaster
Two words I spoke on the tap-wire
The agent's ploy was a surefire backfire
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
It was a perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect A perfect A perfect A perfect
A perfect a perfect a perfect a perfect crime
6. When The War Came
With all the grain of Babylon
To cultivate, To make us strong
And hidden here behind the walls
Are shoulders wide and timber on
Till the war came
Till the war came
A terrible autonomy
Is grafted onto you and me
A trust put in the governments
Who told their lies as heaven sent
Till the war came
Till the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by cold and candlelight
When the war came
The war came hard
We made our oaths to Avalon
We'd not betray the soul lain on
The acres of hysteracy
To our own pangs of starvation
When the war came
When the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by cold and candlelight
When the war came
Bssu2
The war came hard
With all the grain of Babylon
With all the grain of Babylon
7. Shankill Butchers
Originally tabbed by: hojoseph99
CAPO 4
( ) x2
The shankill butchers run tonight
You better shut your windows tight
They're sharpening their cleavers and their knives
And taking all their whiskey by the pint
And everybody knows if you don't
Mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan, everybody shake
( ) x2
The Shankill butchers wanna catch you awake
They used to be just like me and you
They used to be sweet little boys
But something went horribly askew
Now killing is their only source of joy
And everybody knows if you don't
Mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan, everybody shake
( ) x2
The Shankill butchers wanna catch you awake
BRIDGE
( )x2
The shankill butchers on the rise
They're waiting until the dead of the night
They're picking at their fingers with their knives
And wiping off their cleavers on their thighs
And everybody knows if you don't
Mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan, everybody shake
The shankill butchers wanna catch you
The shankill butchers wanna cut you
The shankill butchers wanna catch you
Awake
Awake
Awake
Awake
8. Summersong
Originally tabbed by: tAKEAWAy
CAPO 4
Ramblin' where to begin
I taste the summer on your peppery skin
Been saved the warmer the waves
I felt a slip into a watery grave
Oh ahhh Ah ha haaaa
A la di da di da Ahhhhhhh
PRE-CHORUS
My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag all unfurled
She's grand the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand
Oh ahhh Ah ha haaaa
A la di da di da Ahhhhhhh
Summer arrives with a length of lights
Summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
Waylay the din of the day
Boats bobbing in the blue of the bay
In deep far beneath
All the dead sailors slowly slipping to sleep
Oh ahhh Ah ha haaaa
A la di da di da Ahhhhhhh
PRE-CHORUS
My girl, linen and curls
Lips parting like a flag all unfurled
She's grand the bend of her hand
Digging deep into the sweep of the sand
Oh ahhh Ah ha haaaa
A la di da di da Ahhhhhhh
Summer arrives with a length of lights
Summer blows away
And quietly gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
It gets swallowed by a wave
9. The Crane Wife 1&2
Crane Wife 1 tabbed by: Stormx
Crane Wife 2 tabbed by: heymrrain
It was a cold night
And the snow lay low
I pulled my coat tight
Against the falling down
And the sun was all
And the sun was all down
And the sun was all
And the sun was all down
I am a poor man
I haven't wealth nor fame
I have my two hands
And a house to my name
And the winter's so
And the winter's so long
And the winter's so
And the winter's so long
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
It was a white crane
It was a helpless thing
Upon a red stain
With an arrow its wing
And it called and cried
And it called and cried so
And it called and cried
And it called and cried so
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
My crane wife, my crane wife
My crane wife, my crane wife
Now I helped her
And I dressed her wounds
And how I held her
Beneath the rising moon
And she stood to fly
And she stood to fly away
And she stood to fly
She stood to fly away
And all the stars were crashing 'round
As I laid eyes on what I'd found
My crane wife, my crane wife
My crane wife, my crane wife
Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da
Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da
*Crane Wife 2*
My crane wife arrived at my door in the moonlight
All star-bright and tongue tied I took her in
We were married and bells rang sweet for our wedding
And our bedding was ready when we fell in
Sound the keening bell and see it's painted red
Soft as fontanel, the feathers in the thread
When all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife, my crane wife, my crane wife
We were poorly, our fortunes fading hourly
And how she vowed me she could bring it back
But I was greedy I was vain and I forced her to weaving
On cold loom in closed room with down wove
Sound the keening bell and see it's painted red
Soft as fontanel, the feathers in the thread
When all I ever meant to do was to keep you
My crane wife, my crane wife, my crane wife
There's a bend in the wind and it rakes at my heart
There is blood in the thread and it rakes at my heart
Rakes at my heart, heart, heart, heart, heart
Heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart
My crane wife
10. Sons And Daughters
When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now
These currents pull us 'cross the border
Steady your boats, arms to shoulder
'till tides are pulled, hold our grounds
Making this cold harbor now home
Take up your arms, sons and daughters
We will arise from the bunkers
By land, by sea, by dirigible
We'll leave our tracks untraceable now
BRIDGE
When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now
When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now
When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now
When we arrive, sons and daughters
We'll make our homes on the water
We'll build our walls aluminum
We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now
(Here all the bombs fade away) X 20
BONUS TRACKS
11. After the Bombs
Originally tabbed by: Unregistered
After the bombs subside
And this long, low campaign
Calls it good for the night
We meet in the streets
Will we meet in a bar's cold light?
We grip at our hands
We hold just a little tight
After the bombs
After the bombs subside
And after the rockets come
And the glimmer of fire
Pretends an early dawn
We pinch at our skin
While we wonder how we escaped harm
We forget all our trials
All there in our baby's arms
After the rockets
After the rockets come
Then we'll go dancing
Won't we go dancing?
Yes, we'll go dancing
Until it all starts over again
Then we'll go dancing
Yes, we'll go dancing
Won't we go dancing
Until it all starts over again
12. Culling of the Fold
Originally tabbed by: Henner
Cut him up boy
You've got to cut him up boy
He's a wicked disgrace
And he said it to your face
You better cut him up boy
Take him by the teeth
Get him down on his knees
°
With your hands all shaking
That'll teach him how to take it
Gotta cut him up boy
And how
Ply her heart with gold and silver
And take your sweetheart down to the river
°
Dash her on the paving stones
It may break your heart
To break her bones
But someones got to do, the culling of the fold
Cut him up girl
Really cut him up girl
He lives by himself in a hole in a wall,
You've gotta cut him up girl
You can take him in a stitch
Dump his body in a ditch
°
Leave his limbs all naked
That'll teach him how to take it
Better cut him up girl
And how
Ply her heart with gold and silver
And take your sweetheart down to the river
Dash her on the paving stones
It may break your heart
To break her bones
But someones got to do, the culling of the fold
BRIDGE
Listen up boy
And listen up girl
It's a shallow little trench
And it's giving off a stench
It's a shallow little world
Feeling down in the face
Could you use a little space
Dim
When the radio crackles
And the in-laws cackle
You better cut him up boy
And cut him up girl
Ply her heart with gold and silver
And take your sweetheart down to the river
Dash her on the paving stones
It may break your heart
To break her bones
But someones got to do, the culling of the fold
13. The Perfect Crime #1
N..
2...3...4!
I got a gun, I got a girl
I got a bullet-proof plan to pull
A
The perfect crime
I got the perfect crime
I got a warehouse down at the docks
I got fifteen precincts of cops bought
The perfect crime
I got the perfect crime
You got to get your clock locked
Get your stopwatch synchronized
You got to get it so you can't put a pin through your alibi
To pull the perfect crime
To pull the perfect crime
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
I got a guy bought on the inside
I got a night guard gagged and hog-tied
The perfect crime
This is the perfect crime
I got a brain, I got a brawn
I got all the proper papers for the gendarmes
The perfect crime
'est ç the perfect crime
I got the mob boss bought
I got a letter from the DEA
I got a mock-up of the lockup
Where they stock up on their pocket change
To pull the perfect crime
This is the perfect crime
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
( over solo)
We hit a snag when we tripped the alarm
Because the dock side spics had been tipped off in time
To this perfect crime
Called out the dogs, called out the cops
I caught the deputy ops
In a cold cock. I will do time
For this perfect crime
So we ran around town with the cops snapping on our tails
Because we'd rather brave death then a fist-fuck in county jail
Just for the perfect crime
For the perfect crime
This is the perfect crime
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
over long outro
14. The Day I Knew You Wouldn't Ever Come Back
The day I knew you'd not come back
I built this castle out of glass
But I could never understand
Where the windows and walls began and end
No, I could never understand
Where the windows and walls began and end
and over long solo
I built this colonnade of sand
Stretched out like fingers from my hand
But with the waves coming in
In the morning I had to build again
But with the waves coming in
In the morning I had to build again
and over long outro
15. Hurdles Even Here
So it started in your ovaries
stone, A seedling
Our bones entwined
A warning from the orderlies
A bulge for bleeding
This would take its time
Oh oh oh oh
Ah ah ahhhh
So it all went down the telephone
And saw me clearly
All of nine years old
Calmly cast in Styrofoam
In my Tony Lamas
When the shock takes hold
Oh oh oh oh
Ah ah ahhhh
Mom there are hurdles here
that I cannot seem to clear
Dad there are demons round
I know I said that I
I said I'd be alright
I lied I lied I lied I liiiiiiiiied
So fix your brood and belly now
Get your fingers ringing
Get your lungs unstayed
It'll eat you from the inside out
Till it comes out screaming
Till it all falls away
Oh oh oh oh
Ah ah ahhhh
Dad there are hurdles here
that I cannot seem to clear
Mom there are demons round
I know I said that I
I said I'd be alright
I lied I lied I lied I liiiiiiiiied
https://lyrics.primanota.net/decemberists/crane-wife-album.htm