Blue Highways
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities Lyrics

When fall has come
As the season of autumn arrives,

To the landlocked lawns
Transforming the grassy spaces without direct access to the sea,

of the city suns
Embellished by the glowing warmth of urban sunlight,

And all the lemons that we've loved
And the bright, joyful moments we cherished,

lay brown and scattered in the sun
Now lie wilted and disordered under the sun's rays.

Oh how does it happen that
What causes us to wonder how,

we stall for a while, we keep jumping them back
we pause, repeatedly trying to reclaim our lost moments.

I couldn't answer then
At that moment, I lacked the words to explain myself.

The keys were heavy in my swollen hands
I felt burdened by responsibilities that weighed down my outstretched hands.

I said, go, little sister
I urged you, dear sister,

Go where you're wanted
To seek out those places where you are truly valued.

Where the lists that you're made of won't
Where the expectations and duties that define you shall not

fall from your pocket
Slip away from your grasp.

I wanted to catch them as they
I wished to salvage those fading dreams and memories as they

flew from your wallet
escaped from your possession.

but my hands are made of holes
Yet my attempts felt futile, as my readiness felt insufficient,

when they're wanted
in moments when action is needed.

And only our future knows
Only the promise of tomorrow holds the truth,

exactly when to come
about the right timing of arrival,

and precisely where to go
and the destinations we should choose.

When all we've ever hoped to hold
As the aspirations we wished to grasp,

has vanished into song
have transformed into melodies that escape our realization,

and is held here in our lungs
and reverberate within us, lingering in our breath.

Go, little sister, crawl back to the cradle
Return, dear sister, to the childhood comforts we once knew,

we shared when we were infants
the shared experiences of our early days.

our fingers unable
When our tiny hands struggled

to master the threads of these
to control the delicate connections of these moments.

delicate instruments
The fragile aspects of our lives we attempted to navigate.

we prodded and pressed against,
We explored and experimented with,

haunted and hesitant
while filled with doubt and uncertainty.

We held them again and again
We grasped these experiences repeatedly,

until the tones they hummed were infinitely small
until they resonated softly within us, becoming subtler each time.

Crawl, little sister, crawl under the wire
Navigate cautiously, dear sister, through life's obstacles,

Where the straws that we drank from were
Where the simple pleasures we once savored,

dandelion fibers
were as light and ephemeral as dandelion threads.

and the loves that we've lost
While reflecting on the deep connections we have lost,

they all roll on like tires
which keep moving forward like wheels on a journey.

and the highway is infinite
The road of life stretches endlessly,

highway is infinitely long
and its potential feels boundless.

So come now, with nettles in your clothes
So come, embracing the discomforts you carry,

and the locket made of bone
alongside the treasured memories you hold dear,

you found so long ago
that you've discovered long in the past.

Cause all we ever hope to own
For ultimately, all our desires to possess,

will vanish into song
will transition into melodies that will echo beyond us,

and be held here in our lungs
and continue to resonate within our being.