Cleanse Song

by Bright Eyes

From the album: Cassadaga

Track 9 of 13 on Cassadaga (2007).

Duration: 03:28

Cassadaga cover art

Lyrics for Cleanse Song

Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows It is older than Rome and all of this sorrow See the new pyramids down in old Manhattan From the roof of a friend's I watched an empire ending Heard it loud and long the river's Om Time marching on to a madman's drum Don't forget what you've learned all you give is returned And if life seems absurd what you need is some laughter And a season to sleep and a place to get clean Maybe Los Angeles, somewhere no one is expecting On a de-tox walk through the Glendale Park over sidewalk chalk Someone wrote in red, "start over" So I muffled my scream on an Oxnard beach Full of fever dreams that scare you sober Into saltless dinners Take the fruit from the tree, break the skin with your teeth Is it bitter or sweet? All depends on your timing Like a meeting of chance with the train station glance Many lifetimes had past in a instant reminded Of a millstone house in a seaside town When your heart gave out in a mission bed So your wife gave birth to a funeral dirge As you woke up purged as a wailing infant In Krung Thep, Thailand Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows It is older than Rome and our joy and our sorrow

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More from Cassadaga

  1. Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)
  2. Four Winds
  3. If the Brakeman Turns My Way
  4. Hot Knives
  5. Make a Plan to Love Me
  6. Soul Singer in a Session Band
  7. Classic Cars
  8. Middleman
  9. Cleanse Song
  10. No One Would Riot for Less
  11. Coat Check Dream Song
  12. I Must Belong Somewhere
  13. Lime Tree