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Ongiara

by Great Lake Swimmers

/
1.
I was lost in the lakes And the shapes that your body makes That your body makes, that your body makes That your body makes And the mountains said I could find you here They whispered the snow and the leaves in my ear I traced my finger along your trails Your body was the map, I was lost in it Floating over your rocky spine The glaciers made you, and now you’re mine Floating over your rocky spine The glaciers made you, and now you’re mine I was moving across your frozen veneer The sky was dark but you were clear Could you feel my footsteps And would you shatter, would you shatter, would you And with your soft fingers between my claws Like purity against resolve I could tell, then and there, that we were formed from the clay And came from the rocks for the earth to display They told me to be careful up there Where the wind blows a venomous rage through your hair They told me to be careful up there Where the wind rages through your hair
2.
Backstage with the modern dancers She was stretching her arms Configuring her body While they were breathing, they were shouting She was concentrating on her breathing And didn’t seem to mind As I sat there on the couch And tuned my guitar And played a few chords Like roses growing their thorns Getting ready to perform With bare feet and painted faces They took their places On shivering legs beneath colourful gowns And out there on the wooden floors The sweat from their pores I’m writing a list Of songs I can sing by myself Backstage with the modern dancers Who feel it, like I do Like I feel it, like I feel it Backstage with the modern dancers Getting ready to go on She showed me her spin With a beauty lit from within And all of these things I don’t think they should be released
3.
Catcher Song 04:11
Well the ropes are taut And the stories have all been caught There’s a frost-cover drawn on the shore And the catcher still seems to want more Through the reel and through the unreal It’s not what you see but what you feel And what transpires here And what I hear transpires And it falls, falls, falls And it falls, falls, falls It rises up, it rises up And it falls, falls, falls I just want to break even I just want to pass on through Like a ghost through a household tune Under light of the early dusk hues Navigating and dealing extremes Is not what at first it seems But I keep my ship tight and true For the next time that I will see you And it falls, falls, falls And it falls, falls, falls It rises up, it rises up And it falls, falls, falls
4.
You look at me with uncertainty You look at me with urgency You look at me with a fear in your eyes Like you’re about to fall away But don’t be afraid to change your colours now I’ve known you all summer, and you rose above it all I see you hesitate to fall now But it’s a pretty good view from down here, too And when the wind takes you, it takes me, too When you change colours, I change mine, too Try not to think, and I will try, to When you let go, I will let go, too I knew you when you were green and strong You were like a feather on a wing, so long You know I will miss you when you are gone But don’t be afraid if you just can’t hang on ‘Cause when the wind takes you, it takes me, too When you change colours, I change mine, too Try not to think and I will try, too And when you let go, I will let go, too The cold air is pushing hard on you I know what you’re saying; I can feel it, too You’ll go through changes, and I’ll go through them too Don’t be afraid now, don’t be afraid ‘Cause when the wind takes you, it takes me, too When you change colours, I change mine, too Try not to think and I will try, too And when you let go, I will let go, too
5.
There is a light in you I have fallen into There is a light in you I have fallen into Fallen in too Put all your weapons away I won’t fight you just to spite you Put all your weapons away And your mask, it’s falling anyway Falling away Stop, listen, feel Stop, listen, feel Stop, listen, feel Believe, believe And if love is a war I won’t have any more If this is what we call a war I won’t have it anymore Stop, listen, feel Stop, listen, feel Stop, listen, feel Believe, believe Put all your weapons away And end all your casual ties Put all your weapons away And end all your casual ties Casual ties Believe all your lives Believe in your lives Believe all your lives Believe in your lives
6.
There’s a mark on my hand put there by the land There’s a mark on my hand put there by the land Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see There’s a mark on the land put there by my hand There’s a mark on the land put there by my hand
7.
Why are we fighting, why are we fighting Kicking and screaming, scratching and biting Keeping it going, wherever we’re going Generations are generating And what am I supposed to do But take good care, good care of you We have a lot of work to do Me and you, and you, and you Brothers and sisters are in my arms Brothers and sisters are up in arms Mothers and fathers, sons and the daughters Up in the army, the men and the ladies And we have a lot of work to do Me and you, and you and you Out of the money and into the storm Brothers and sisters are in my arms I am part of a large family I am part of a large family I am part of a large family And that’s enough for me Drop the axes, and recheck the facts, I said Brothers and sisters, telling the story Out of the money, into the storm I said my peace, I said I said my piece, I said peace, I said peace, I said I am part of a large family I am part of a large family I am part of a large family And that’s enough for me
8.
I’ve been looking in churches, and looking in bars I thought that I saw you in the oncoming cars But it was your reflection cast up by the light And into the sky of this dark city night And I looked for you up in the tallest of trees That swayed back and forth in the mid-autumn breeze But when the leaves reddened, and left too I knew then that it wasn’t you Where in the world are you now Where in the world are you now Oh where in the world are you Oh where in the world are you Where in the world are you now And I looked for you then in music and song And I thought I could find there But they were only notes pulled from the air Not the kind I could read, or breathe, if I dared Where in the world are you now Where in the world are you now Oh where in the world are you Oh where in the world are you Where in the world are you now
9.
One thing I’ll say for the less-traveled way It doesn’t have subtlety, but has twice the gravity Get in and go and be one with it now It turns inconsistently, and arcs in a symphony Make your mind sharp and beware of the holes But fall through them readily And slip through them steadily Watch your watch spiral in and out of control It’s beyond all that anyway And time is dead anyway Passenger song on the dark radio The wheel’s in your other hand And home’s in your other mind The lights on the screen then shut out by the door A forest there in the frames The eyes which are all the same Follow the path until it falls away I’ve heard it is dangerous But some say it’s glamorous Charge through the past and the future and now And come to it sparingly With what you are carrying Notes on the pages and notes in the bars Which isn’t without its scars But might make you see the stars Show me it’s holy then show me to bed I’m collapsing anyway The edges starting to fray Right you are right you are right you are right You left for the interstate Because you can hardly wait One thing I’ll say for the less-traveled way It doesn’t have subtlety, but has twice the gravity
10.
I became awake From a very dark place A patchwork of fear Of poorly conceived ideas With a blister of water The mark of working hands Ready to catch, or cut The senses aligned The animal urgency And voices picked up Flowing over the static Late, quiet I became awake Fingers are open Eyes they are open The firing of images An orchestra of scribbles The guts of an engine The veins of a leaf Light onto paper, exposed A filament in a bulb Up above or in the ground Together we are magic Together we are dreaming Together we reach endlessly The centre of a seed So full of possibilities I became awake I thought I was sleeping But I was only forming A structure with no ceiling With words like a runway A cloud of a person drifting away I was heavy, but now I am light I was heavy, but now I am light

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released March 27, 2007

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Great Lake Swimmers Toronto, Ontario

Tony Dekker’s music spans two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers. Over eight albums, multiple EPs, live shows and reissues, the Toronto-based group with a revolving cast of players has established itself as a beloved indie folk act in their native Canada and beyond. Great Lake Swimmers was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and nominated twice for the Juno Awards. ... more

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