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A Hand To Take Hold Of The Scene Lyrics
I'm the band in a show
'Bout a man holding hands with his wife
On a therapist couch with his face to the ground
After fucking around countless nights
And there's this one episode
Close-up cameras were showing him crying
His red head and his red eyes
I'm the band in a show
'Bout a boy being buried alive
From his head to his toes by a criminal
But with a sensitive soul, with a set of raccoon eyes
And there's this scene in the show
When a hustler knows he's gonna die
The ground opens and he climbs inside
And as he speaks his last line
A thought falls from his mind
And I pick it up and write it through the TV
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I'm a man in a dream
And they're dancing in front of my eyes
Is the queen formed out of flaws
With her eyes all gone odd and a rod bolted into her spine
She rises up like a yawn, grips my heart like a claw,
Splits apart like a jaw, like an eye
And she asks me with a sigh
When we're so far from right
When we're losing the fight
When we're letting the light weaken it's beam
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I want a smile like a glistening shard
I want a kiss that's as sharp as a knife
The day expires
And the dry,
Cracked, trembling lips god felt fit to put this kiss inside
I lift them up to you, I'd like to bear witness to
A light that is fine
And is filling the cryingest eyes
Grace in each face that is making the waste dust, broke nest ones fairly fly
Love that is innocent
Of that old cynical covetous, cancerous vibe
And a beauty that annihilates all life
Like it's lived in these nights, holding your hatred tight
Like a sign that you're right or you're strong
When your doors are shut tight, I will dream you tonight
And my dream will just sweep you along
When all fires are fanned
When we're shucking our plans
When we're too weak to stand on our two feet
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
'Bout a man holding hands with his wife
On a therapist couch with his face to the ground
After fucking around countless nights
Close-up cameras were showing him crying
His red head and his red eyes
'Bout a boy being buried alive
From his head to his toes by a criminal
But with a sensitive soul, with a set of raccoon eyes
When a hustler knows he's gonna die
The ground opens and he climbs inside
A thought falls from his mind
And I pick it up and write it through the TV
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
And they're dancing in front of my eyes
Is the queen formed out of flaws
With her eyes all gone odd and a rod bolted into her spine
Splits apart like a jaw, like an eye
And she asks me with a sigh
When we're losing the fight
When we're letting the light weaken it's beam
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I want a kiss that's as sharp as a knife
The day expires
And the dry,
Cracked, trembling lips god felt fit to put this kiss inside
I lift them up to you, I'd like to bear witness to
And is filling the cryingest eyes
Grace in each face that is making the waste dust, broke nest ones fairly fly
Of that old cynical covetous, cancerous vibe
And a beauty that annihilates all life
Like a sign that you're right or you're strong
When your doors are shut tight, I will dream you tonight
And my dream will just sweep you along
When we're shucking our plans
When we're too weak to stand on our two feet
Oh, oh, is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
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A few corrections: "She rises up like a YAWN, GRIPS MY HEART like a claw, splits apart like a jaw, like an eye"
"We were losing the fight"
"When all the fires are fanned, and WE'RE SHUCKING our plans"
@proposals This is a super old comment, and I have tried to submit your corrections (and a couple additional, these lyrics have several errors.
@proposals This is a super old comment, and I have tried to submit your corrections (and a couple additional, these lyrics have several errors.
ALL CORRECTIONS CAPITALIZED FOR CLARITY: "Is the queen FORMED OUT OF FLAWS WITH HER EYES ALL GONE ODD AND A ROD BOLTED INTO HER SPINE"
ALL CORRECTIONS CAPITALIZED FOR CLARITY: "Is the queen FORMED OUT OF FLAWS WITH HER EYES ALL GONE ODD AND A ROD BOLTED INTO HER SPINE"
Quoting above: "She rises up like a YAWN, GRIPS MY HEART like a claw, splits apart like a jaw, like an eye"
Quoting above: "She rises up like a YAWN, GRIPS MY HEART like a claw, splits apart like a jaw, like an eye"
"WHEN we're so far from right WHEN we're losing the fight WHEN we're letting the light weaken its beam"
"WHEN we're so far from right WHEN we're losing the fight WHEN we're letting the light weaken its beam"
"I want A SMILE...
"I want A SMILE LIKE A GLISTENING SHARD I WANT A KISS THAT'S AS SHARP AS A KNIFE"
"And the dry cracked trembling lips GOD FELT FIT TO PUT THIS KISS INSIDE"
"A LIGHT that is fine and is filling the cryingest eyes GRACE IN each face that is making THE WASTE DUST, BROKE NEST ONES fairly fly
Love that is INNOCENT of that old cynical, COVETOUS, cancerous vibe"
"Like it's lived in these nights, holding your hatred tight like a sign THAT YOU'RE RIGHT OR YOU'RE strong When YOUR doors are shut tight I will dream you tonight..."
Again quoting the correction above: "When ALL FIRES are fanned And WE'RE SHUCKING our plans"
In the dry, cracked, trembling lips [...?] but this gets inside -> In the dry, cracked trembling lips God saw fit to put this kiss inside.
"Love that is in us, of that ol' cynical covetest, cancerous vibe" should be corrected to "Love that is innocent of that old covetous, cancerous vibe."
Also, I belive "Like a sign that should [...?] you strong" is "like a sign that you're right and you're strong"
"Always fucking around countless nights" should be changed to "after fucking around countless nights."
his face to the GROUND
see their official website for the lyrics. this place is riddled with errors
http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/okkervilriver/
"A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene" describes the television shows where our music has been used on TV. I mean, there's only two. It was Breaking Bonaduce, which is a show I never saw. And then Cold Case, which I watched with my family. The show was about some kind of demented guy who buries men alive, and he goes out and picks up a male prostitute and buries him in the rocks, and then our music comes on.
Here is a great version of this song, I just love it: http://www.vimeo.com/953968
Sheff is a brilliant lyricist, and this song is a testament to that fact. It seems like he's entwining different stories he's read or seen on TV and relaying them to the band's style (or perhaps just for a given tune - maybe a hint at his muse?).
Here's the video to this tune if anyone's interested - it's probably one of their biggest budget to date and sounds like pure bliss.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hYi56xDeV8
I'm the band in a show 'bout a man holding hands with his wife on a therapist couch with his face to the ground after fucking around countless nights And there's this one episode, close-up cameras were showing him crying his red head and his red eyes
I'm the band in a show 'bout a boy being buried alive from his head to his toes by a criminal but with a sensitive soul, with a set of raccoon eyes And there's this scene in the show when a hustler knows he's gonna die the ground opens and he climbs inside
And as he speaks his last line a thought falls from his mind and I pick it up and write it through the TV Oh, oh Is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I'm a man in a dream and they're dancing in front of my eyes Is the queen informed of the flaws with the eyes all got odd and rumpled into her spine? She rises up like a yawn, grips my heart like a claw, splits apart like a jaw, like an eye and she asks me with a sigh
We were so far from right, we were losing the fight We were letting the light weaken its beam Oh, oh Is there a hand to take hold of the scene?
I wanted to smile like a glistening shot of a kiss that's as sharp as a knife The day expires in the dry, cracked trembling lips God saw fit to put this kiss inside I lift them up to you, I'd like to bear witness to our life that is fine and is filling the cryingest eyes
Gracing each face that is making the waste that is broken as one's fairly fly Love that is innocent of that old cynical, covetous, cancerous vibe and a beauty that annihilates all life
Like it's lived in these nights, holding your hatred tight like a sign that you're right and you're strong When the doors are shut tight, I will dream you tonight and my dream will just sweep you along When all the fires are fanned and we're shucking our plans we're too weak to stand on our two feet Oh, oh Is there a hand to take hold of the scene?