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Burn All the Letters Lyrics
I am sorry that I set my sights
On the things I read
Something meant for your husband
Maybe you left it under the bed
Once upon a love those words blew free and secret
The pages lay around
Drifted to the hands of the publisher
And the greedy generations on down
Burn all the letters
(Someone is always watching)
The government's on the phone
(Whether openly or secretly)
Burn all the letters
(Now breathe life)
Send them on
(Into your story)
To a safer home
(I said burn it to secrecy)
Burn all the letters
Brand them in you before you go
Soldiers are coming to plunder
But there are some things they will never know
We made our love out of dignity
Dug our nails in the dirt
(Hung our towel soaked souls out on the line)
Hung our towel soaked souls out on the line
We loved so hard that it hurt
To ease my pain I took a pen and paper
Incarnate came the bleeding
Send it back before the public eye
Perverts it in the reading
And burn all the letters
(Someone is always watching)
Ah the government's on the phone
(Whether openly or secretly)
Burn all the letters
(Now breathe life)
Send them on back
(Into your story)
To a safer home
(I said burn it to secrecy)
Burn all the letters
Brand them in you before you go
The soldiers coming to plunder
But there are some things they will never know
Burn all the letters
Ah the government's on the phone
On the phone
Burn all the letters
(All the letters)
Send them on to a safer home
(Send them on to a safer home)
Burn all the letters
To you
And you to
To me
Coming to take what they can
They cannot read
What they cannot see
Mmm
On the things I read
Something meant for your husband
Maybe you left it under the bed
The pages lay around
Drifted to the hands of the publisher
And the greedy generations on down
(Someone is always watching)
The government's on the phone
(Whether openly or secretly)
Burn all the letters
(Now breathe life)
Send them on
(Into your story)
To a safer home
(I said burn it to secrecy)
Burn all the letters
Brand them in you before you go
Soldiers are coming to plunder
But there are some things they will never know
Dug our nails in the dirt
(Hung our towel soaked souls out on the line)
Hung our towel soaked souls out on the line
We loved so hard that it hurt
Incarnate came the bleeding
Send it back before the public eye
Perverts it in the reading
(Someone is always watching)
Ah the government's on the phone
(Whether openly or secretly)
Burn all the letters
(Now breathe life)
Send them on back
(Into your story)
To a safer home
(I said burn it to secrecy)
Burn all the letters
Brand them in you before you go
The soldiers coming to plunder
But there are some things they will never know
Ah the government's on the phone
On the phone
Burn all the letters
(All the letters)
Send them on to a safer home
(Send them on to a safer home)
Burn all the letters
To you
And you to
To me
Coming to take what they can
They cannot read
What they cannot see
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I wonder if she's talking about Virginia Woolf again? I feel like part of it is that she's finding, that being an artist, what you mean in your lyrics/writing is often misinterpreted "Send it back before the public eye/perverts it in the reading". Part of it must be influenced by their time with Native American rights advocates who have been abused by the government, FBI, etc. But I wonder if the "soldiers..coming to plunder" aren't also the public misinterpreting an artist's writing? hungrily consuming it? Is she kind of apologizing to Virginia Woolf for reading her diary, something she now wishes was never published? perverted by the nature of being made public?