Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch)

by Conor Oberst

From the album: Ruminations

Track 5 of 10 on Ruminations (2016).

Duration: 3:56

Ruminations cover art

Lyrics for Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch)

Just because you got it You don't have to flaunt it With an endless stream of famous men Pretty as a portrait Look like Mamah Borthwick On that Shining Brow of Taliesin Someone might try and burn it down So you'll have to put the fire out A fortune spent but that's irrelevant To build something that's sacred till the end It costs twenty dollars to visit Fallingwater It's a perfect house where no one lives Maybe someone once did but they got evicted by a bus Load full of greedy tourists And it would take a time machine To fulfill all of my fantasies 'Cause a hidden dream can be embarrassing And the only thing that's sacred till the end Every time I tempt fate There's a major earthquake Heard the people scream as the ceiling fell Every building damaged Only one left standing It was Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel A rumination in my mind Winding like the ramp at the Guggenheim And I'm not there yet But I'm feeling confident to build something that's sacred till the end

Listen On

More from Ruminations

  1. Tachycardia
  2. Barbary Coast (Later)
  3. Gossamer Thin
  4. Counting Sheep
  5. Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch)
  6. The Rain Follows the Plow
  7. A Little Uncanny
  8. Next of Kin
  9. You All Loved Him Once
  10. Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out