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On the Outskirts

from Chains I Kept by The Orchards

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lyrics

on the night i first spent without her
i slept like a fox being chased
darling annie, i'm telling you sadly
i think home is a time not a place
and oh israel, my hands are stronger now
i'm working much harder now
to cast off the chains i kept around her and myself
and just let the story unfold
trust something i cannot know
cut off my hands to let go

in the dark of this morning i've been mistaking
all of these soldiers for trees
and it's such a fresh feeling, the idea of transforming
our old weapons of war into peace
because when i raise my voice to sing this song or anything
i feel like a devoted man
who prays every evening to st. jude or augustine
and offers his fate to their hands
not foolish enough to make plans

and on the outskirts my body felt hers
and it was like coming home
because we're just flesh and bone
but are we just flesh and bone?
there's only one way to know
press your mouth to my throat
lift your ghost from soul

strike a match, strike anything else
send it all to the sea
strike a match, let the fire below
burn this uncertainty
because when i can just be
i know that's where we'll meet
across the unknowable deep
i know that's where we'll meet

and on the outskirts my body felt hers
and it was like coming home
because we're just flesh and bone
but are we just flesh and bone?

credits

from Chains I Kept, released March 1, 2013

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The Orchards Portland, Maine

The Orchards were the songwriting project of Pennsylvania native Eric Schwan, based in Portland, ME and featuring a revolving cast of musicians adding orchestral and ambient textures and harmonies to his simple, folk-based songs. They released their LP, "Sing Birds, In Your Shrinking Woods" on Apohadion/Burst & Bloom Records with a final show on September 15, 2019. ... more

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