Get all 32 Avi C. Engel releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Too Many Souls, Sanguinaria, Undergrowth, Their Invisible Hands, The Cicada Session, Dressed in Borrowed Light, Ghost Bird, A New Skin, and 24 more.
1. |
Charcoal Morning
06:22
|
|
||
in the charcoal morning on the back stairs
hands on his knees
he retraces his birth
to the wick
the jump of flame
the double-hearted cry from the belly
it's the orphanage for memory
where senses melt and wail
clawing at the windows
it's the rifle next to the heart
beating in its metal
it's funny how memory runs
like rides in a midway
til the lights are so fast
that suddenly you become the midway
light ripping through your veins
hitting grand central at your heart
til you land in a heap of electricity
and tears
dressed in mourning
dressed in mourning
every colour has its dawning
every colour has its dawning
hands on your knees weeping
dressed in mourning
dressed in mourning every colour has its dawning
hands on your knees weeping
these memories wound ghostly
around the poplar trees
and the soul's liberty
what does that mean?
it's the bird that flies through your window
lands, and sings on your bedpost
when you sit up
it's flown
in the charcoal morning on the back stairs
these things wept on the ground
walked through the morning
walked through the morning
invisible
like a homing bird
drawn to the root
to the scent of your birth
feel the light falling through the poplars
looks like a beautiful day to come home
|
||||
2. |
All The Cherries
06:45
|
|
||
all the cherries bleed for you
and the baskets break
trumpets blow a desperate gold
and sing the earth awake
all the cherries bleed for you
the archers limp uphill
their feet are stained
a sweet deep red
their eyes are drunken with defeat
cause victory tastes
like cherries
and longing smells
like a dead summer fire
you wanted them both
you tore the sun up by the roots
and planted a cherry tree
all the cherries are black and spoiled
dry fine dust along along the green
the howling wind wails
if only she had hands
to murder the cherry tree
cause i wandered half the earth for you
my nerves melt into my bones
but the taste is gone
i cry to the birds, to the sun
and summer doesn't care
she just folds her arms
cause victory tastes
like cherries
and longing smells
like a dead summer fire
you wanted them both
you tore the sun up by the roots
and planted a cherry tree
all the cherries bleed for you
my mouth is full of sores
a sick sweetness hangs
on my breath
like a drunken lizard panting fire
all the cherries bleed for you
and the baskets break
all the archers are drunk with love
they hold torches to your face
|
||||
3. |
Black Licorice
05:39
|
|
||
black licorice
staining your cheeks
like the bitterest bruises
it's all on me
black licorice
staining your hands
these ropes of sour music
it's all i have
black licorice
black licorice
twist into crowns
this walk's our empire
sewer, smog and dirty ground
black licorice
staining your lips
like bruised petals
flies hover round
we don't have to toil the earth
or eat bread of sorrow
or curse our days of birth
or pine for tomorrow
dug through the trash to pluck
the sour seed of defeat
and now it's black licorice
til we're sick in the street!
black licorice
oh
gimme some
black licorice
oh
gimme more...
black licorice
staining your cheeks
like the bitterest bruises
it's all on me
black licorice
staining your hands
these ropes of sour music
it's all i have
black licorice
|
||||
4. |
Absinthe Drinking Man
08:21
|
|
||
i wish i was
the absinthe drinking man
in a lethal blue
warm throated silence
a window to the cold
wash my hands
in a blue basin in the back kitchen
just like the wind
licks the candle
plucks it soul-first like a feather
vision turns to crystal
in these late leaving hours
i wish i was
the absinthe drinking man
in a lethal blue
if you find the kingdom
where the waves are slowly heaving
and you're just another hopeless patient
dying by the sea
if you find the kingdom
stench of gasoline and lilacs
where the day-lilies grow and the nights are warm
i wish i was
the absinthe drinking man
in a lethal blue
if you ask for mercy
in these blue rooms
by the ocean
as you feel the sickness rising
in your throat
if you cry for mercy
your hands stained with tobacco
and the ditches full of rot
between the flowers
i wish i was the absinthe drinking man
i wish i was the absinthe drinking man
spread hands upon the table
mouth stained and puckered sour
in a lethal blue
|
Avi C. Engel Toronto, Ontario
they/them
I'm not writing the same song over and over so much as writing one long
continuous song that will end when I die.
receive all new music in digital form: www.patreon.com/aviengel
... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Avi C. Engel, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp