At that day
When buildings bend,
Heave like a chest,
And people get dressed
And everything ends
And colored stripes
Paint tv sets
On every street,
And slowly we’ll see
This time it’s no test.
But until that day how the devils play,
How they think they run the place
In their cardboard crowns, raining acid down,
wearing holes into the souls of all below.
Overnight,
When all are healed–
The eyes the weep,
The broken down feet,
The hands that must steal.
And they’re singing upstairs.
And it’s a perfect sound.
The only thing close
Is "God Only Knows"
When they sing in a round.
But until that day how the devils play,
How they think they run the place,
Shove us into thoughts maybe we are not
Something bigger than the sum of all our sins
The circus tents,
flat, billowed down.
Feet and trunks beat
Down 34th Street
To the trains homeward bound.
Oh, until that day how the devils play,
How they think they run the place.
But the bells will ring, ring out everything,
and we’ll never think to feel alone again.
Under tables, under doorframes
We’ll find what we’re looking for
At that day.
credits
from Paul Jacobsen And The Madison Arm,
released September 27, 2008
Scott Wiley: banjo, nylon string acoustic
Paul Jacobsen: vocal, acoustic guitar, piano
This is thoughtful and melancholy, but not morose -- there is hope in its sheer beauty. Her sensitivity as an arranger and producer is as impressive as her songwriting and singing; the whole album has a lovely sense of texture and space. Joe Madden