This Side Of The Blue

Album: The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
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  • Svetlana sucks lemons across from me
    And I am progressing abominably
    And I do not know my own way to the sea
    But the saltiest sea knows its own way to me

    And the city that turns, turns protracted and slow
    And I find myself toeing th'Embarcadero
    And I find myself knowing
    The things that I knew
    Which is all that you can know
    On this side of the blue

    And Jaime has eyes
    Black and shiny as boots
    And they march at you two-by-two
    (Re-loo re-loo);
    When she looks at you
    You know she's nowhere near through:
    It's the kindest heart beating
    This side of the blue

    And Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon
    See them rattle & boo
    See them shake, see them loom
    See him fashion a cap from a page of Camus;
    See him navigate deftly this side of the blue

    And the signifieds butt heads
    With the signifiers
    And we all fall down slack-jawed
    To marvel at words!
    When across the sky sheet
    The impossible birds
    In a steady illiterate movement homewards

    And the rest of our lives
    Will the moments accrue?
    When the shape of their goneness
    Will flare up anew
    Then we do what we have to do
    (Re-loo re-loo)
    Which is all that you can do
    On this side of the blue
    It's all that you can do
    On this side of the blue Writer/s: Joanna Newsom
    Publisher: Rough Trade Publishing
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Jes from Kings Lynn, United KingdomJoanna Newsom is completely underestimated as a lyricist. People can't get past her voice, which is a shame because all of her lyrics to all of her songs are incredible. Story like, her words capture the imagination. This one in particular is fantasic. Soft poetry with a beautiful meaning...
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