"I am not afraid," ze said
"Of the non-believer within me
"No delight at the pain of my enemies
"No tears for any friends I have lost."
"You are not alone," I said
"It is a trial to keep my belief suspended
"I leave my violin unattended
"In a cab or a restaurant."
And then when ze started to sing
Nobody could've called them crazy
An open chord forever unchanging
A holy eternal drone
"I'll never have any children
"I would bear them, and eat them, my children
"I'm gonna change my body
"In the light and the shadow of suspicion
"I am no longer afraid, the truth doesn't terrify us
"Ooh, my salvation is found in discipline, in discipline."
I haven't had a smoke in years
But I will catch a drag if you are smoking
They told me to chew on a toothpick
They told me to take a deep breath
But what is better is to punch a wall
To bin the boxes of your old love letters
To be impassive to the words that would save you
To need to see the world as ash
And I'll never have any children
I would bear them, and confuse them, my children
And I'm not at all afraid of changing
But I don't know what good it would do me
I am no longer afraid, the truth doesn't terrify us
Ooh, my salvation is found in discipline, in discipline
Strung out on the highway
The car inverted
What are you but a drum and a tube and wire?
Black heart?
A fire in the dark?
I have no statement for your benefit, young man
Except this: we all will live again
In the eyes of an actor
And the light on the glass
So let me see that ass
Hey, hey, hey!
Sorceress, valkyrie
You let, you let yourself believe
Sorceress, come clean
You let, you let yourself believe
That there is nothing to lose
There is nothing to lose
There is nothing to lose
Remember when you told me all about the father-ghost?
He whispers at you when you try to pull,
"You're an imbecile, and your limbs carry lumber
"Your limbs carry lumber."
The shadow of violence is the shepherd of sense
The shadow of violence is the shepherd of sense
And when I hit the fence I had a hand on the wheel
And a hand on the dial
Man on trial
Man on trial
Dig, dig for silver in the name of keeping the order
Silver is nothing more than the displacement of water
It's a trick of the light on the face of your daughters
And/or your sons
The rising tide of intellect, your room a holy mess
A copy of "The Disposessed", your room a holy mess
You say you'll never go home, but the truth is you never left it
From the top of the canyon we look down on what can be created
By vote, created by bill, created by vote
You stand in a city that you don't know anymore
Spending every year bent over by the weight of the year before
You stand in a city that you don't know anymore
You tried to rule the world but you couldn't get beyond the front door
I was a kid without a heart, my chest an empty cavity
A hole to be filled by the multitudes around me
So why didn't you say, why didn't you say so, when you could see?
We gotta call the whole thing off, get out before the drop
We gotta call the whole thing off, get out before the drop
I stand in a city that I don't know anymore, no I don't know anymore
I stand in a city that I don't know anymore, no I don't know anymore
I stand in a city that I don't know anymore
Spending every year bent over by the weight of the year before
Clap hands for a city that we don't know any more
See the sun coming out as we walk the last mile of the lake shore
At five and six
Even as a child you felt
The terror of the infinite
Stencilling your diagrams
Of trilogies and pyramids on the face of the infinite
And sing about a poetess
Hyacinth around her feet
"That it will never come again
"Is what makes our life so sweet."
Do you agree? or disagree?
There's a gap between what a man wants and what a man will receive
The sun has set on me
There's a gap between what a man wants and what a man will receive
You saved the game
And Escobar came from the grave
To warn you with a bloody hand
To never try to make the band
Said, "Like a blister under sole
"The body will heal any hole
"The body gradually transform
"And lose its features one by one
"Until it is as beautiful
"As the wind before the storm."
Do you agree? or disagree?
There's a gap between what a man wants and what a man will receive
The sun has set on me
There's a gap between what a man wants and what a man will receive
The sticks smash on the flatbed
Boys tour the town, victorious in war
The sticks smash on the flatbed
Boys on the ball
Moon it rises to break across the river and a moon-faced boy
Would you write a speaking part for me?
A part that puts me somewhere between the
Elevated road and the water?
It don't get better
The hunger
Even back in his arms
No, the water will get higher
As fast as you run
Charity think no evil
Charity never faileth
Let me feed you with a song
I'm out on the street with an open case and a mandolin
And with every coin, I am born again
Faith will return to you, my friend
Some days I feel like the end of mankind
And some days, the beginning
Watching kids turn into lovers, believers
And it don't get better
The hunger
Even back in his arms
No, the water will get higher
As fast as you run
Sun it rises to shine upon the wreckage
Of our broken, bloody union
Does it fill your gaps like it fills in mine?
The sunlight creeping cross the line
To rest upon the site of our ruin?
And if your mother doesn't answer
Then give me a call
Here's my number:
854-4784
Out from the heavens
One of the seven
Comes to collect me
While I am sleeping
Holy enemy
Leave me, leave me be
I'd be leaving too much behind me
Unfinished and unripened
He is a creature of song
In his voice, a model of the Kingdom of Heaven
But he comes from another world
A world I could not, could never believe in
Lead me to the ocean
Clasp my hand
Shade me from the sunlight
We lay down in the sand
Oh, surrender!
I cannot surrender
I can see it but I cannot feel it
I can say it but I won't believe it
He is a creature of song
In his voice, a model of the Kingdom of Heaven
But he comes from another world
A world I could not, could never believe in
We talked about the drugs and we
Decided to abstain, but still we
Locked ourselves inside, and then
Your fingers locked behind my head
You hook your pinkies on my jeans
I'm twenty-eight and you're nineteen
Compassion, compassion
The innocent fun soon-to-be
Will start to feel like currency
As we try to get it on in bed
You've given me your home and head
You put on "The Queen Is Dead"
I just wanna talk instead
Compassion, compassion
The only girl I ever fell in love with
Taught me how to drink as if it needed to be taught
I'd always give the girl another shot
We drank away the difficult times
A sheet of noise to wash away our grievance
And I left in the fading light at the end of the season
She said I was the guy behind the counter
Who would offer to give to you comfort when there was none
I said I was the sky behind the flag
Don't need a miracle
We need to lose control
Men only need to lose control
The drive goes on as our conversation
Turns to something something on the radio
Then to the drone
The engine is our anniversary song
And I think as I look over, "Lucky you,
"Lucky me, and lucky, lucky you."
We will be together in our strangeness and safety
Don't need a miracle
We need to lose control
Owen, why must you always be
First to wake and first to fight
First to wound and first to fly?
I need to lose control
Why can't I lose control?
First to wake and first to fight
First to wound and first to fly
Heart, heart in your mouth
Hand on the paper with the new work that you've found
The gift of your depression bears you down, down, down
And when you wake for the sixth straight day with the Tanqueray
You will rise, rise again, and drink again
Hurtle, hurtle into the breach
Let the body fall out of reach
On the day that you find your 30s have left you childless
Remember when you meet your coupled friends with unease
The world will forget all the good they have done
And the world'll forget any good you have done
Hurtle, hurtle into the breach
Let the body fall out of reach
Out of work, out of house, out of your mind
Lay your head, lay your heart next to mine
And try to admit that you might have it wrong
Can you admit that you might have it wrong?
Thunderhead, oh thunderhead
I will be your riverbed
Across the overpass it starts to rain
We leave your father's house enveloped in flames
Owen, where were you to stop the fire?
I know no satisfaction, only know desire
My arms are tender from the summer sun
Hallucinating as we try to make each other come
Your silhouette a stuttering of tracers
The rising flame reflects across our faces
The mind is merciful in its ignorance
For if we correlated all its contents
We'd give our bodies over to a fire
That knows no satisfaction, only knows desire
Wait for sunlight, wait for another time
Wait for sunlight, wait for another life
Sun shine through you, sun shine over you, over you
Sun shine through you, sun shine over you, over you
Out on a bicycle, a reflection left behind
The desires of your daughters will never be defined
Wild, pedal wild, energized by the stolen vodka and triple sec
Wheels spurting up the flecks of mud on your blue jeans and your turtleneck
I'm out on a bicycle feeling God is on my side
My mother didn't believe in discipline or the Unconscious Mind
You finally realize our love is found between the waking and the dreaming
We fight one another in the afternoon, we bathe each other in the evening
Pick up, pick up your tiny arm
Put it round, put it round the shoulder of your mother
Somewhere between the road and the ever-darkening sky
The greediness of our hearts will not be satisfied
As it is said by the occupants who rally round the outer steps of Parliament
So it is said confidentially by the men and women working in the government:
Pick up, pick up the bayonette
Run it through, run it through the stomach of your brother
Pick up, pick up your bloody arm
Put it round, put it round the shoulder of your lover
Owen Pallett - violin, viola, ARP 2600, Roland Jupiter-8, Roland Juno-60, Nord G2X, organ, voice; Robbie Gordon - drums, Matt Smith - electric bass, singing; Brian Eno - synths, guitar, voice; Leon Taheny - Arturia Minibrute, voice; Daniela Gesundheit - voice.
Mixed by Leon Taheny & Johannes Berglund (1, 2, 6, 7, 13), Rusty Santos (3, 4, 5, 12) and David Wrench (8, 9, 10, 11).
Music by Owen Pallett; except 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, music by Owen Pallett, Robbie Gordon and Matt Smith. All songs published by Open Wallett.
Produced by Owen Pallett.
Recorded to tape by Mark Lawson at Hotel2Tango and Sonovox Studios (both Montreal). Piano was recorded by Pascal Shefteshy at Studio PM (Montreal). Additional production by Leon Taheny and Johannes Berglund. Synth assistance on "Song For Five & Six" by Will Butler and Mark Lawson.
Vocals were recorded by Damian Taylor at Golden Ratio (Montreal) and Leon Taheny and Rusty Santos at Boombox (Toronto).
We are indebted to Roger Leavens, Umber Hamid and Marcel Ramangano for their generous assistance in the mixing and tracking process.
Featuring the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, directed by Adam Klemes, arranged by Owen Pallett, recorded by Jan Holzner at Smecky Sound (Prague) and contracted by Petr Pycha.
Mastered by Mike Marsh at The Exchange (London). Professional sequencing assistance by Kristian Galberg.
Design by Colin Bergh and Alexander Shoukas.
Patrick Borjal, Steven Himmelfarb and Susanne Herrndorf attended to management, booking and administration, with special thanks to Kris Gillespie, Peter Berard, Laurence Bell, Bart McDonagh, Justin West, Andrew Rose, Boche, Dounia Mikou, Scott Rodger, Shaun Bronstein, Judy Miller Silverman, Magali Ould, Kim Juneja, Jacqui Rice, Plug, Alec Bemis, Colleen Maloney, Bernie Divilly, Francesa Skirvin, Jodie Banaszkiewicz, Harry Martin, Justin Gressley, Cyrus Lubin, Matthieu Bourrit, Elena Nehrmann, everyone at Domino, Secret City, Boyfriend Management, Show Group, Quest, Billions, Puschen, Hostess, as well as our other label, booking, promotion, publishing and publicity affiliates.
Thanks to Sturla Mio Þórisson, Paul Evans, Valgeir Sigurðsson and the staff of The Greenhouse (Reykjavik), for assisting in the development of this record. Thanks to Craig Silvey, Alan Douches, to Jeremy Gara and to Ryan Brouwer, Jessie Stein, Maggie MacDonald, John Darnielle, Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, Lex Vaughn, André de Ridder, Michael Cobb, Kevin Hegge, Greg Bird and Steven Kado for creative input. Justin Stayshyn, Jim Guthrie, Basia Bulat, Lisa Moran and Reg Vermue for their emotional and logistical support. Thanks to Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett, Jamie McVinnie, David Lang, Shara Worden, Grizzly Bear, The National, Dirty Projectors, Xiu Xiu and Arcade Fire. Thanks to Sharifa and Pascal. Thank you Dave and Jennifer. Thanks to our families, both living and departed, you are always in our thoughts.
Brian Eno appears courtesy of Opal Ltd.
2014, 2014 Owen Pallett under exclusive license to Secret City Records Inc.
Phew, this seems to be the last album, up to now, and it took me 9 years to notice it! What the hell went wrong there? After listening only halfway through it, I'm wondering if this might also be her best one...
She's always been quite idiosyncratic, but comparisons with Kate Bush, Tori Amos aren't too far fetched, I think. Stylistically broader than previous albums, I guess, and probably more song--centered ..? Carsten Pieper
A live record from the legendary Diamanda Galás finds the artist exploring the outer fringes of pop with only her voice and a piano. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2024