Joe Henry - Reverie Sticks & Stones

Lyrics

Gather wood against the weather,
Pile the stones against the sky,
String up bulbs like pearls between us
And the heavens’ blackest eye;
Tell the hour: go take another,
Or go down, Moses, without a fuss—
Give in to the lawless water
And send a later boat for us

Sticks and stones, blood, ash, and bone,
I shake the tree, swim out alone:
Turning over the dark Missouri
Now that every new leaf I had is gone

The moon’s near empty, a swinging saber,
Keeping every prayer at bay,
At the throat of love for ransom
From the dull approaching day;
There is no lord that rides this border,
No fences stretch this far to show
How times will side against another,
As one arrives and others go

(Chorus)

Whores are dressed in fire and feathers
On the beach, sit in a row—
Climb the banks through scrub and tender,
Disappear where rabbits go.
They had nothing that I needed
But I gave them all I had,
Just to share the dirt between them
As they waited, smoked and laughed

(Chorus)