Polyhymnia

THE CURVE OF THE EARTH written by Eddie Berman

Once there was a time when I would wile away
The hours of my youth on an empty page
I’ve since then forgotten what I meant to say
It probably was full of shit anyway
To myself on the salt flats of Galilee
I said “this desert, it aint big enough for both you and me”
Neither of us stirred, for whatever that’s worth
We just stood and stared together at the curve of the earth
I have hit the end
I have hit the end
Far off a beast was howling as the salt blew in
The howling, it got louder as my eyes got dim
In those seconds I repented for whoever might have heard
Until my mouth filled with so much salt I couldn’t say a word
I have hit the end
I have hit the end
It suddenly went silent, and the sky grew dark
I knew right then I was back at the start
The moon lit the salt flats in a crisp white haze
And each step I took left ink on its once empty page

AVALON written by Eddie Berman

So we march along
Beneath the trees of Avalon
The cursed troop we keep
Falls like apples around our feet
We feel them
With every fiber that we’ve got
We are cut from the same vines
Where we’re eaten or we rot
And so we stumble on
The Hunter’s veiled companions
Comparing two handed blades
Gambling on past harvests made
“But you see our girl here
She’s circling the drain
And we just need something
To ease her on her way”
Then she speaks of where she came
Abandoned in the cane so tall
And she speaks of where she’ll go
And how she doesn’t really know at all
We laid her on the straw
In his room shaped like a mackinaw
The wounded captain woke
And from his perch he plainly spoke
You must yield now
To all that is new
And like a fountain
We’ll raise our voices for you
And then she speaks of where she came
How she’s got her mother’s name and her charm
She speaks of where she’ll go
And how she doesn’t really know at all

POLYHYMNIA written by Eddie Berman

There was never a doubt
All my thoughts had all run out
But that’s expected to happen
When it all goes to hell
I took your advice
Hell, I’ve taken it twice
And I moved to the Wasatch
Without a word of farewell
At night the windows in here
They all turn into mirrors
I spin in my armchair
Silently
I hold my guitar
And like some binary star
I watch my reflection
Circling me
Right at that instant
It’s all clear to me
Like a crack in the blinds
Showing the dust that you breathe
Oh where are ya
Polyhymnia
I’ve spent the winter
Waiting for you
You must be
Up on the next peak
And it’s all been a problem
Of altitude
Cause all that I’ve gotten
Since I disappeared
Is a freeze in my bones
And ice in my beard

THERE, BETWEEN written by Eddie Berman

He brought the summer and with it rain
In the garden where we lay
I can’t make sense of what came next
But I’ll try to do my best
From the cliffs where first we spoke
There, between the stars and the smoke
I sat with you and watched the flood
Turn our garden to mud
I was Adam and you were Cain
We split the atom deep in space
In the garden in the rain
From the vents of the sea where we came
It got so hot and twisted then
All by some freak accident
Earth and fire, water and wind
All became the same thing
I was Adam and you were Cain
We split the atom deep in space
In the garden in the rain
From the vents of the sea where we came
I was Adam and you were Cain
We split the atom deep in space
In the garden in the rain
From the vents of the sea where we came
It condensed to a ball of smoke
And that’s where I first awoke
It’s the best time I’ve ever known
When he left us on our own

HAMLET, ACCIDENTALLY written by Eddie Berman

I stepped into the morning
To breathe the air leant to me
And found my family there performing
Hamlet accidentally
And so I played the martyr
In our war of attrition
All that we have harbored
One day will be given
And I sang:
All that I have is gone
All that I have
All that I have is gone
All that I have
The Prophet’s brother begged me
Back when I was younger
Take all my things and burn them
Free me from my hunger
So that night I went out drinking
In the abandoned church upon his farm
And woke to find these 20 words
Tattooed bold upon my arm
All that I have is gone
All that I have
All that I have is gone
All that I have

ANNABELLE written by Eddie Berman

Oh my Annabelle cast in stone
Pick the juniper and bring it home
The door is shut and the stems are cut
Away, away, away
We watched the fog crawl up the hill
From my backstreet Dalston window sill
As the chimneys choked and the ravens broke
Away, away, away
My Annabelle, the blame’s on me
I can’t take anything seriously
Every time I try honestly
It always seems to slip away from me
The morning you left for Adelaide
I think about it almost everyday
You said just hold my wrists before I’m whisked
Away, away, away
My Annabelle, the blame’s on me
I can’t take anything seriously
Every time I try honestly
It always seems to slip away from me
My words will hang here like gossamer
In our bedroom that still smells of juniper
So fare thee well, my Annabelle
Away, away, away

YOUR FRIEND written by Eddie Berman

I still can see you in that bonnie gown
A hand me down
In your family
We held the rings so young and
terrified
But you could always hide
It better than me
So tell me what you think
You wanna drab a drink
Reminisce
It’s not right but we’d agree
That it’s got to be
Better than this
But I don’t wanna be your friend
I don’t wanna be your friend
I see you fixed the kitchen door
As I wander past the hardwood floor
But something else about this place has changed
And I wonder why the hell I came
I stole away at the dawn’s early light
Stole back the wine
I’d brought last night
And I drank as I walked the dim lit blocks
God bless screw tops
On communion wine
Then I passed that church that once
was yours and mine
Finished the wine
What’s one more sin?
And I threw the bottle over that gate
But it’s not to late
For one more spin
But I don’t wanna be your friend
I don’t wanna be your friend
I see you fixed the kitchen door
As I wander past the hardwood floor
But something else about this place has changed
And I wonder why the hell I came

CRICK & WATSON written by Eddie Berman

I think you still could recognize me
Though my hair has grown
You don’t need to call Zacharias
For his ancient microscope
I’ll be where the Elbe river
Drags along the Dresden sands
In the wake of your chain reactions
Not even Max could understand
I tried to love you long ago
But failed experiments are all I know
And In the shadows of much wiser men
I’ll start again, again
I’ll start again
I know my failures are just beginnings
But still old Mendel mapped the traits
All he said was batten down the hatches
Kill the lights and lock the gates
I tried to love you long ago
But failed experiments are all I know
And In the shadows of much wiser men
I’ll start again, again
I’ll start again
So come on Crick come on Watson
Take yourselves another hit
Sing that song about the double helix
And how it came unLsplit
I tried to love you long ago
But failed experiments are all I know
And In the shadows of much wiser men
I’ll start again, again
I’ll start again

WHEREVER WE GO written by Eddie Berman & Polly Hall

I was Ishmael
Alone in time
I didn’t know a soul
Not even mine
You all found me frozen
In the seaport wind
When you picked me up
And you took me in
I was barely hanging on
You said: Kid, it ain’t you
This town’s gone wrong
So take what you got we’re leaving here at dawn
How you gonna sail safely through the storm
Hand in hand we’ll keep each other warm
How you gonna sail on seas you’ve never known
Hand in hand we’ll always be home
Our ancient ship shook on the tide
As we boarded the boat and untangled the ties
That laughing halfFwit
harbormaster cried
How you gonna sail safely through the storm
Hand in hand we’ll keep each other warm
How you gonna sail on seas you’ve never known
Hand in hand we’ll always be home
In a couple days the headwindscame
With its wicked waves and itsviolent rain
But we stared right in its eye and loudly sang
How you gonna sail safely through the storm
Hand in hand we’ll keep each other warm
How you gonna sail on seas you’ve never known
Hand in hand we’ll always be home
But it’s been ages
And I’m all that’s left
With my callused hands
And ears half deaf
Still I hear it beating
Like the drums of war
Every time I stand
On any shore
How you gonna sail safely through the storm
Hand in hand we’ll keep each other warm
How you gonna sail on seas you’ve never known
Hand in hand we’ll always be home
…wherever we go