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The Crossing

by Nic Arp

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1.
I track the radar, I study the stars I look for symbols on fenceposts and meaning in my scars I listen for whispers, some hazy shred of a dream I see all these crazy patterns, it’s too dark to make out what they mean in these times when i can’t see i find that i am gently led it’s just me and the moon and the tune in my head in my head I stumble in shadows, I cower in light I wallow through hollows, I tumble from heights This quest is one of danger, I’m afraid to go alone I’m looking for a stranger who can help to my home in these times when i can’t find the trail on which i am to tread it’s just me and the moon and the tune in my head in my head I slither through alleyways, I creep along tracks I don’t recognize this city, I don’t know my way back I hear screams like gasoline, buildings quiver and moan I need someone to help me but everybody here is so damn alone in these times when there is no one on whom i can depend it’s just me and the moon and the tune in my head in my head it’s just me and the moon and the tune in my head in my head
2.
The Crossing 04:25
Look there, do you see those distant lights? We’re drawing near now in the hollow of the night Soon we will be given a new name And everything will never be the same This is the crossing, there is the shore We will not be who we were anymore We may remember who we might have been But we will not pass back that way again We’re only lost if we got someplace to be We can only start from where we are Places in the rearview mirror are Closer than they appear How have we ever come so far? We may not find a place to stake our claim We will always wonder why we came They will always wonder where we gone We will always be returning home We’re only lost if we got someplace to be We can only start from where we are Faces in the rearview mirror are Closer than they appear How have we ever come so far? How have we ever come so far?
3.
Language 04:16
I don’t understand your language But sing to me anyway, sing to me anyway I want to feel your words I don’t know what you’re saying But I’ll listen to you anyway, I will listen to you anyway So I can be sure I’ve heard It’s the shape of your lips It’s the movement of your tongue Its the touch of your fingertips It’s how your heart is hung I don’t understand your stories But tell ‘em to me anyway, tell ‘em to me anyway I want to feel where you’re from I don’t understand your question, man But I’ll answer you anyway, I will answer you anyway So you can know how far I’ve come It’s the shape of my lips It’s the movement of my tongue Its the touch of my fingertips It’s how my soul is hung These noises that I make mean nothing to you These songs that I sing seem so absurd I will always be a stranger So you must always be my savior But how can I ever speak your words How can I ever speak your words? It’s the shape of our lips It’s the movement of our tongues Its the touch of our fingertips It’s how our souls are sung It’s the shape of my lips It’s the movement of our tongue Its the touch of our fingertips It’s how our hearts are hung It’s how this bell is rung It’s how this song gets sung
4.
Brace Yourself against the wind Cover your ears against the noise When the hurricane comes pounding in Tall buildings fall like Tinker Toys All these golden cities are washed away like sand Rusty idols and dusty books, that’s all A striving after wind Brace yourself against the quake Whimper and wail like a frightened dog When the canyons shudder and the mountains shake Skyscrapers fall like Lincoln Logs All these golden temples are brushed away like sand Rusty idols and dusty books, that’s all A striving after wind Brace Yourself against the fire Cover your skin against the flame When the fever spreads across the great empire All our big ideas are just children’s games All these golden nations become seas of burning sand Rusty idols and dusty books, that’s all A striving after wind
5.
This is my body, this is my blood This is everything that I have ever thought of This is my ashes, this is my spark I’ll lay it all before you Like a shadow in the dark, like a shadow in the dark This is my rags, this is my bones This is everyone whom I have ever known This is my pounding head, it is my tell-tale heart I’ll leave it here to whisper to you Like a shadow in the dark, like a shadow in the dark It’s a true story, it’s just pretend It’s undisputed facts and circumstantial evidence A crumb along the trail, a pile of stones A cautionary tale, an accidental manifesto It’s a painstaking confession It’s a random, fleeting thought This is my offering, this is all I got, this is all I got This is my wonder, this is my dread This is everything that anyone has ever said This is my undoing, it is my start I’ll leave it here for you to stumble over Like a shadow in the dark, like a shadow in the dark
6.
One 04:16
7.
Hello? Hey, how are you? Me? I’m doing all right I guess. Man, it sure is nice after all these years for you to call me up like this Yeah, I been going through some changes—you know— But somehow it all feels the same Sometimes it gets so heavy, at other times it’s like a game I been better and I been worse Sometimes a promise feels like a curse Sometimes my tomorrows look like just a bunch of yesterdays Sometimes I get to wondering why I been giving my life away Lately I been thinking about that fire we used to feel And them hounds of mediocrity are nipping at my heels I got a bigger house when I got a brand-new job Then I got me a big promotion, I just keep climbing to the top I got rid of my old beater, I traded in for a new car But it’s been so goddamn long since I picked up my guitar I keep thinking back to when we didn’t have to make these deals And them hounds of mediocrity are nipping at my heels Lately I been thinking about that fire we used to feel And them hounds of mediocrity are nipping at my heels

about

A pandemic album...

credits

released April 20, 2020

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Nic Arp.
Inspired and supported by Leah Meinel.
Dedicated to John Prine.

All instruments and noises by Nic Arp, except for background and lead vocals by Leah Meinel.

Words and music by Nic Arp, except One (U2) and Brace Yourself (Arp/Falk).
Cover drawing by Leah Meinel.

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about

Nic Arp Iowa City, Iowa

Nic Arp writes songs, and then he sings them. Other people write songs, and he sings those, too. He lives in Iowa City, where he plays with kind and talented musicians.

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