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Get Ancient

by Johnny Houx

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    Includes full album artwork in one PDF booklet and calligraphic songbook in another!
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1.
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3.
We Got Dirt! 02:01
Nurtured dirt helps sprouts to spurt Fresh berries make the faeries feel like hikin' up their skirts Hit us in the wallet and we'll hit you where it hurts — Who needs a supermarket? We got dirt! Green, green, green far as eyes've ever seen See sprouts stickin' out where a parking lot had been I heard that vinegar makes a great suncreen Now here comes the chorus, all the daffodils scream! Who needs a supermarket? We don't need no supermarket! Who needs a supermarket? We got dirt!
4.
That's Why 02:36
That's why fish stay in the ocean Safe and wet within the wave That's why man shows such devotion To the shadows of his cave That's why I'm climbing for the surface— I never mattered much to me I never really knew just where i was going to But now that i am blind i see That's why the train stays on a steel rail Restrained to never run astray That's why, if even should her wheel fail, ever forward is her way That's why, tho engine goes where chosen, My word and will and world are free I would much rather make the very greatest of mistakes Than let my mind be made for me That's why salvation just sounds crazy What's the world need saving from? That's why the satisfied get lazy Forgetting what they could become That's why, when death comes i'll be drumming Humming my spirit's melody I will not really care, when or why or how or where Only who i can claim to be
5.
Little Words 04:40
Hey thou, lay down that heavy dictionary Say just what you mean Lay away your made-up play — is fiction necessary? Say what you have seen Little words got big importance to be so easy Bigger words get so uncertain Little words go free One, two, sun, moon, these are easy saying Little words we know Live and let and give and get, just as easy saying Harder words to show Little words must be important to be so easy Bigger words get so uncertain Little words speak honestly Little words got big importance Little words for honest girls and boys We need words like horses need pianos Just for making noise So i won't say a thing...
6.
Late last nite I dreamed a dream Ten thousand cars in a mountain stream Rusting shells that seem to sing "River is dead" Who's gonna be first to see River is dead? Who's gonna let your mother know River is dead? Who's gonna tell your ancient ones? Their heirloom of ten thousand suns Was shattered in some drunken fun and River is dead Who's gonna turn the watermill? Who's gonna clean the landfill? Who's gonna keep any respect for the powers of an intellect That forgets waters all connect? River is dead Who's gonna hold the heat down? Who's gonna cut your meat cow? Who's gonna make your easy life When you gotta sharpen your own knife? Who's gonna be your god's wife when River is dead? Who's gonna try to hit the road? Who's gonna keep a moral code? How far do you think you'll get before you'll need a drink so wet? You'll find no running sink i'll bet when River is dead Late last nite i dreamed a dream, River is dead Late last nite i woke and cried, for on that mountain's other side An ocean opened ever wide, its washing waves and tumbling tide Indifferent to human pride For any problem we create will be solved by the ocean great But only at the ocean's rate, and who's got that long to wait? It'll be enough but way too late when River is dead.
7.
Be As In Boy 02:14
Love comes disguised as a rose Serving a scent for the sake of my nose "O no, it's a trick" i suppose "You'd have my heart, leave my corpse to the crows" Then you reveal your luxurious curls I have insulted an innocent girl O my mistrust is the bitterest grape O she was just sh-sh-shifting her shape Then you transform like a true horse of Troy I'm only trying to be as in boy O how i cussed when you cast off your cape O she was just sh-sh-shifting her shape Now, love, i got my desserts Carnage was cruel but this karma's much worse O no, i'll pay the whole purse If i can convince you to cancel your curse O what i must do to fix my mistake! O she was just sh-sh-shifting her shape I cannot offer you much on this Earth But i'm on your side for whatever it's worth
8.
If i could be a simple lover And fall asleep beneath the sky If i could feel a little flutter Without a modern alibi When i need three or four more dollars I steal a songbird's melody To sell it for a few more dollars So i may die expensively A natural man, a simple lover A natural man without a name A natural man, no shame to cover The very same as when i came Some men have no imagination They even think that makes them men To speak of dreams makes them impatient They haven't dreamed since they were ten So i can't wait 'til i get ancient With no ambition left in me Without belief, without opinion, Without conviction, i'd be free A natural man, a simple lover A natural man without a name A natural man, no shame to cover The very same as when i came The same as i came The same as i came
9.
To the Tall-tree cathedral, to the wood, to the wood To the tall-tree cathedral, or at least to where it stood Before the call of "timber" hollowed out the halls To the tall-tree cathedral before the steeple falls May the forest be a fortress, one and one and one are we May the forest be a fortress, more and more and more will be The pouring of the raindrop, the roaring of the sea May the forest be a fortress for the growing of a tree May the garden be a guardian, up and up and up it grows May the garden be a guardian to oppose those hacking hoes The poison oak and ivy, the thistle, thorn and rose May the garden be a guardian against the big bulldoze To the tall-tree cathedral, to the wood, to the wood To the tall-tree cathedral, or at least to where it stood The temple of the toadstool, the chapel of the ferns To the tall-tree cathedral before the steeple burns

credits

released August 7, 2012

Produced by Jason Quever & Johnny Houx

Bass: Vince Gutierrez
Drums: Ben McConnell
with Cello by Emily Hope Price

Recorded by Jason Quever
Mixed by Jason Quever and Johnny Houx
Additional recording and mixing by James Frazee
Mastered by Warren Russell-Smith at The Magic Shop, NYC

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