Baltimore
Gabriel Kahane Lyrics

I got the news on the satellite phone:
I received troubling news via satellite phone:

Jason, come home, Jason, dear,
My loved one implores me to come home:

I heard it on the forest floor.
I heard the news while in the midst of nature:

Six years of back country trails to the lake,
I spent six years on rugged paths to reach the lake:

Machete and snake, machete I learned
I learned to wield a machete to combat snakes:

To cradle in the Old State Park.
I seek refuge in Old State Park:

Roosevelt, '33, he had a plan
President Roosevelt devised a plan in 1933:

For every young man:
The plan was aimed at young men:

Give him an ax and a seed;
Equip him with an ax and a seed:

Give him a pack and a tree;
Provide him with a pack and a tree:

Teach him to care for himself;
Educate him to be self-sufficient:

Give him fresh air for his health;
Offer him fresh air for good health:

Send money back to family.
Encourage remittances to be sent to family:

Back to Baltimore,
Returning to Baltimore:

The tallboy convenience store,
The convenience store with tallboy alcoves:

The indifferent, the endless war.
Confronting apathy and ceaseless strife:

And I know what that is,
I recognize the situation:

And I don't need it anymore,
I no longer desire it:

But I have to go home.
But I must return home:

Luke was the son of some well-to-do folk;
Luke had wealthy origins:

My family was broke, but we became friends,
Despite our financial disparity, we befriended each other:

The parking lot, the chewed up field.
We hung out in the parking lot or roughed up field:

I started in the park just as he was going in,
When Luke entered the park, I began my job:

A hard eight to ten for selling to kids;
I worked tough hours for selling to children:

My momma worked the county jail.
My mother was employed at the county jail:

Roosevelt's Tree Army, under the sun,
The Tree Army assembled under the sun per Roosevelt's plan:

The work would be done while America
They worked while America:

Bled by the greed of the rich,
The country was suffering from the rich's avarice:

The boys planted trees and found God in the pitch,
The boys felt spiritual while planting trees:

They stared at the sod in each fist—
They inspected each sod-filled hand:

Why am I telling you this?
I question why I'm sharing this anecdote:

Is it that I'm nervous to be going back?
Perhaps I'm scared to go back home:

Luke, I guess, got himself into a fight,
Luke fought with someone, I presume:

Took him to the infirmary later that night,
He went to the infirmary later that night:

Nothing serious, sure, but next morning he died,
Unfortunately, he passed away the next morning:

Then the satellite phone with the crew,
The crew contacted me via satellite phone:

Which meant I didn't cry.
Therefore, I did not cry:

I'm taking the train to take time for my thoughts,
I'm riding a train and reflecting:

Pregnant with loss, preparing for all
I'm grappling with a huge loss and readying myself for:

The things that maybe make you feel.
Things that might evoke certain emotions or feelings:

I'll pay my respects and then I'll take a walk,
I'll pay my respects and then take a stroll:

The neighborhood block,
I'll wander the neighborhood:

And then I will leave.
Finally, I'll depart: