Only Skin
Newsom Joanna Lyrics

And there was a booming above you
There was a loud noise coming from above where you were

That night, black airplanes flew over the sea
On that night, dark-colored airplanes flew across the sea

And they were lowing and shifting like Beached whales Shelled snails
And these airplanes were making low, shifting sounds resembling beached whales or shelled snails

As you strained and you squinted to see The retreat of their hairless and blind cavalry
You tried hard and narrowed your eyes to see the departure of their hairless and blind group of attackers

You froze in your sand shoal Prayed for your poor soul
You became immobile in the sandy area and prayed for your soul

Sky was a bread roll, soaking in a milk-bowl And when the bread broke, fell in bricks of wet smoke My sleeping heart woke, and my waking heart spoke
The sky looked like a bread roll soaked in a milk-bowl, and when the bread broke, it fell apart into bricks of wet smoke, causing my sleeping heart to awaken, and my waking heart to speak

And there was a silence you took to mean something Run, sing For alive you will evermore be
There was a silence that you interpreted as having significance, urging you to run and sing, knowing that you will remain alive forever

And the plague of the greasy black engines a-skulkin' Has gone east While you're left to explain them to me
The presence of the dirty and dark engines causing trouble has moved towards the east, leaving you to explain their existence to me

Released from their hairless and blind cavalry
Freed from their hairless and blind group of attackers

With your hands in your pockets, stubbily running To where I'm unfresh, undressed and yawning
You ran clumsily with your hands in your pockets towards where I am, still unprepared, undressed, and yawning

Well, what is this craziness? This crazy talking? You caught some small death when you were sleepwalking
What is this madness? This insane conversation? You experienced a slight death when you were sleepwalking

It was a dark dream, darlin', it's over The firebreather is beneath the clover
It was a disturbing dream, my dear, but it's over now. The firebreather is buried under the clover

Beneath his breathing there is cold clay, forever A toothless hound-dog choking on a feather
Underneath his breath, he is forever cold clay. He is like a toothless hound-dog choking on a feather

But I took my fishingpole, fearing your fever Down to the swimminghole, where there grows bitter herb That blooms but one day a year by the riverside, I'd bring it here Apply it gently To the love you've lent me
But I grabbed my fishing pole, knowing you were unwell. I went to the swimming hole where a bitter herb grows, blooming only once a year by the riverside. I brought it here and gently applied it to the love you've given me

While the river was twisting and braiding, the bait bobbed And the string sobbed, as it cut through the hustling breeze And I watched how the water was kneading so neatly Gone treacly Nearly slowed to a stop in this heat In a frenzy coiling flush along the muscles beneath
While the river twisted and intertwined, the bait floated up and down. The fishing line made a sobbing sound as it moved through the busy breeze. I observed how the water smoothly kneaded and became syrupy, almost slowing down in the heat. It coiled tightly along the muscles beneath, causing a frenzy

Press on me, we are restless things Webs of seaweed are swaddling And you call upon the dusk Of the musk of a squid Shot full of ink, until you sink into your crib
Push against me, for we are restless creatures. Seaweed wraps around us like a blanket. And you summon the evening, the scent of a squid, sprayed with ink until you sink into your bed

Rowing along, among the reeds, among the rushes I heard your song, before my heart had time to hush it! Smell of a stone fruit being cut and being opened Smell of a low and of a lazy cinder smoking
Rowing through the reeds and rushes, I heard your song before my heart could quiet down. There was a scent of a stone fruit being sliced open and a fragrance of a smoldering low and lazy cinder

And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one?
And when the fire moves away, when it disappears, my son, why would you claim that I am the last one?

Scrape your knee; it is only skin Makes the sound of violins And when I cut your hair, and leave the birds all of the trimmings I am the happiest woman among all women
If you scrape your knee, it is just the skin that gets injured, creating a sound like violins. When I trim your hair and give the leftover pieces to the birds, I become the happiest woman among all women

And the shallow Water Stretches as far as I can see Knee-deep, trudging along The seagull weeps "so long"
And the shallow water extends as far as my sight goes. We walk knee-deep, trudging along. The seagull cries out "so long"

Humming a threshing song Until the night is over Hold on! Hold on! Hold your horses back from the fickle dawn
Humming a song about threshing until the night is over. Hold on! Hold on! Restrain your impatience until the fickle dawn arrives

I have got some business out at the edge of town Candy weighing both of my pockets down 'Til I can hardly stay afloat, from the weight of them And knowing how the common-folk condemn What it is I do, to you, to keep you warm Being a woman, being a woman
I have some matters to attend to on the outskirts of town. My pockets are weighed down by candy, to the point where I can barely stay above the water due to their weight. I am aware of how the ordinary people criticize what I do, but I do it to keep you warm, as a woman, being a woman

But always up the mountainside you're clambering Groping blindly, hungry for anything Picking through your pocket linings, well, what is this? Scrap of sassafras, eh Sisyphus?
But you are always climbing up the mountainside, feeling around aimlessly, hungry for anything. As you search through your pocket linings, what do you find? A small piece of sassafras, reminiscent of Sisyphus?

I see the blossoms broke and wet after the rain Little sister, he will be back again I have washed a thousand spiders down the drain Spiders ghosts hang soaked and dangelin' Silently from all the blooming cherry trees In tiny nooses, safe from everyone Nothing but a nuisance gone now, dead and done Be a woman, be a woman
I observe the flowers, broken and wet after the rainfall. Little sister, he will return. I have washed away countless spiders down the drain. Their ghostly forms hang soaked and hanging silently from the cherry trees in small nooses, protected from everyone. They were nothing but a nuisance, now gone and dead. Be a woman, embody womanhood

Though we felt the spray of the waves We decided to stay till the tide rose too far We weren't afraid, 'cause we know what you are And you know that we know what you are
Despite feeling the mist from the waves, we chose to stay until the tide rose too high. We were not afraid because we know your true nature, and you are aware that we are aware of what you truly are

Awful atoll Oh, incalculable indiscreetness and sorrow Bawl, bellow Sibyl sea-cow, all done up in a bow
Dreadful island Oh, immeasurable lack of tact and sadness. Shout, yell. A prophetess sea-cow beautifully wrapped with ribbon

Toddle and roll Teeth an impalpable bit of leather While yarrow, heather and hollyhock Awkwardly molt along the shore
Slightly stumble and roll. Teeth are like a barely perceptible piece of leather. Meanwhile, yarrow, heather, and hollyhock awkwardly shed their outer layers along the shoreline

Are you mine? My heart? Mine anymore?
Are you mine? Is my heart still mine? Are you still mine?

Stay with me for awhile That's an awfully real gun I know life will lay you down As the lightning has lately done
Stay with me for a little longer. That's a very real gun you have. I know life will bring you down, just as the recent lightning strike did

Failing this, failing this Follow me, my sweetest friend To see what you anointed in pointing your gun there
If this doesn't work, if this fails, come with me, my dearest friend, and witness what you aimed at when pointing your gun there

Lay it down, nice and slow There is nowhere to go, save up Up where the light, undiluted, is weaving in a drunk dream At the sight of my baby, out back Back on the patio watching the bats bring night in While, elsewhere, estuaries of wax-white Wend, endlessly, towards seashores unmapped
Put it down gently and slowly. There is nowhere else to go, except up. Up where the pure and uninterrupted light weaves together in a dreamlike state. My beloved is out back, on the patio, observing the bats usher in the night. Meanwhile, elsewhere, rivers of wax-white gradually make their way towards uncharted seashores

Last week our picture window produced a half-word Heavy and hollow, hit by a brown bird We stood and watched her gape like a rattlesnake And paint and labour over every intake
Last week, our picture window revealed a partially spoken word. It sounded weighty and empty, as if struck by a brown bird. We observed her open her mouth wide like a rattlesnake and meticulously work on each breath she took

I said a sort of prayer for some sort of rare grace Then thought I ought to take her to a higher place Said "dog nor vulture nor cat shall toy with you And though you die, bird, you will have a fine view"
I offered somewhat of a prayer for some exceptional grace, then realized I should take her to a higher location. I declared that no dog, vulture, or cat would play with her and even in death, bird, you will have a splendid view

Then in my hot hand She slumped her sick weight We tramped through the poison oak Heartbroke and inchoate
Then in my warm hand, she leaned her unwell body. We walked through the poison oak, with broken hearts and a sense of uncertainty

The dogs were snapping And you cuffed their collars While I climbed the tree-house Then how I hollered Well, she'd lain, as still as a stone, in my palm, for a lifetime or two Then, saw the treetops, cocked her head and up and flew
The dogs were barking aggressively, and you disciplined them by grasping their collars. Meanwhile, I climbed up the tree-house, and how loudly I shouted. Well, she remained motionless in my hand, like a stone, for what felt like an eternity. Then, she observed the treetops, tilted her head, and flew away

While, back in the world that moves, often According to the hoarding of these clues Dogs still run roughly around Little tufts of finch-down
Meanwhile, in the constantly moving world, in line with the collection of these hints, dogs still chase after small pieces of finch feathers

And the cities we passed were a flickering wasteland But his hand in my hand made them hale and harmless While down in the lowlands the crops are all coming We have everything Life is thundering blissful towards death In a stampede of his fumbling green gentleness
The cities we traversed appeared as a flickering wasteland, but with his hand in mine, they became lively and harmless. Meanwhile, the crops in the lowlands are flourishing. We possess everything. Life is charging joyfully towards death, like a stampede propelled by his clumsy yet gentle green nature

You stopped by, I was all alive In my doorway, we shucked and jived And when you wept, I was gone See, I got gone when I got wise But I can't with certainty say we survived
You stopped by, and I felt completely alive. In my doorway, we danced and had fun. But when you cried, I disappeared. You see, I left when I became knowledgeable. However, I cannot say with certainty that we survived

Then down, and down And down, and down And down, and deeper Stoke without sound The blameless flames You endless sleeper
Then we descended, lower and lower, and even deeper. We calmly feed the flames, without making any noise. You, the eternal sleeper, are guiltless

Through fire below, and fire above, and fire within Sleeped through the things that couldn't have been if you hadn't have been
Amidst the fire below, above, and within you, you slept through the events that could never have occurred if you were not present

And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son And why would you say I was the last one?
And when the fire disappears, my son, when it moves away, why would you claim that I was the last one?

All my bones they are gone, gone, gone Take my bones, I don't need none Cold, cold cupboard, lord, nothing to chew on Suck all day on a cherry stone
All my bones have disappeared, completely gone. Take my bones, as I don't need any. The cupboard is cold, so there's nothing to eat or chew on. I spend the entire day sucking on a cherry stone

Dig a little hole, not three inches round Spit your pit in a hole in the ground Weep upon the spot for the starving of me 'Till up grow a fine young cherry tree
Dig a small hole, not even three inches in diameter. Spit your cherry pit into the hole in the ground. Shed tears in that spot for my hunger. Wait until a beautiful young cherry tree grows

Well when the bough breaks, what'll you make for me? A little willow cabin to rest on your knee What'll I do with a trinket such as this? Think of your woman, who's gone to the west
Well, when the tree branch breaks, what will you create for me? A small willow cabin for me to lean on. What will I do with a keepsake like this? I will think of you, my woman, who has gone to the west

But I'm starving and freezing in my measly old bed Then I'll crawl across the salt flats to stroke your sweet head Come across the desert with no shoes on I love you truly, or I love no-one
But I am famished and shivering in my pitiful old bed. Nonetheless, I will crawl across the salt flats just to touch your head lovingly. I will cross the desert barefoot, showing that I love you sincerely or I love no one at all

Fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say That I was the last one
The fire disappears. The fire moves away, my son. Why would you assert that I was the last one?

Clear the room! There's a fire, a fire, a fire Get going, and I'm going to be right behind you And if the love of a woman or two, dear Couldn't move you to such heights, then all I can do Is do, my darling, right by you
Evacuate the room! There's a fire, a fire, a fire. Start moving, and I'll be right there with you. And if the love of one or two women, my dear, couldn't inspire you to achieve great things, then all I can do is be there for you, my darling, and support you