1. |
Almond Blossom
03:57
|
|||
there’s an almond blossoming in Jerusalem
the buds on a fig tree becoming tender again
and the mountains are clapping their hands
oh and every tree, every last one
is reaching up
up towards the heavens
and yet—Egyptian chariots, we place our trust in them
there are bombs dropping from planes unmanned
and it burns like an arrow of fire
yes it burns like a branding iron
but it only burns for the motherless child
and every family, every last one
I saw standing there that day
they were taking a picture
in front of the covenant with death
it is a covenant with hell
Air and Space Museum, you must have lost your mind
oh you prideful nation, did you ever have a mind?
I believe that Jesus he will decide
I proclaim that Jesus he will decide
if it is that Rome is on I-95
oh and every citizen with ears to hear the call
the smoke is rising up so tall
has signed their name
on a perishing line
why waste so much, why waste so much precious time?
when you can float downstream in the living water, be grafted to the vine?
*from the halls of the power to the fortress tower
not a stone will be left upon a stone
let the king beware for your justice tears
every tyrant from his throne*
There’s an almond blossoming in Jerusalem
The buds on a fig tree becoming tender again
|
||||
2. |
||||
I said don’t hold your breath
don’t curl into a ball just yet
because there’s nothing gonna kill you ‘til the moment that you die
cause it’s easy to crawl in a dark place and hide
but it’s a easier to live a long, happy, healthy Spirit-filled life
the easiest thing my mama told me is “do not complicate your life”
so you can sit and enjoy sharing food, sharing wine
better than just another rich man can
and it’s easy, easy to be justified
when into great mercies you fall on your face every night
meet your maker again
my mama taught me one thing
beside all the lessons
and beyond all the mistakes
and the love she gave me every day
for a while she had a rough life
she passed through some dark nights
but I never forget one thing
that she lived and taught me every day
she said don’t push anyone aside
when somebody curses you, that won’t hide
because a killing is killing no matter how white it clean the palms of its hands
or how far removed
cause it’s easy to be born on a train so you ride
but we’re called to live along with all the people on the side
for the world is a people garden
oh and it’s easy, easy to be satisfied
when you can go down to the river of life, drink your fill, yes you will
leave those boxes on their shelves
leave those silly things in their boxes
cause we don’t need no thing just to be ourselves
don’t want nothing of that ticky tacky you always tryin’ to sell
like little boxes on the hillside
this is my recession don’t bother me song
|
||||
3. |
Prison Cells
04:27
|
|||
there’s prison cells outside on Central Square
I never really noticed that they were there
I wonder what our society thinks about mercy
oh Lord have mercy! I can see...
I see the brick and mortar holding strong
and it’s what we spend our money on
I hear little children singing songs
they’re singin’ that, “don’t let them forget what they done wrong”
read it in the news any day
I see probation officers, bail & bonds
and some people basing their salaries on
up to that man with the button that’s dropping the bomb
then the peace-prize president drop another bomb
then the peace-prize president break the record on the bomb
an eighteen-wheeler can speed on sand
I may not reach the promised land
but I feel untouchable unto that invisible hand
it’s at least a step along the path
turning away to find the way
may I ever find the way
there’s a wedding that we all attend
hearing the words we’ve heard from beginning to end:
that love keeps not a record of wrongs!
yet from the bottom to the top we sing the same songs
find our grudges and we holding em on
we sing, don’t let them let forget what they done wrong
we wag our fingers at kids that don’t forgive their friends
we teach them how to live in ways they’ve never seen examples of before
it’s only us and to our own || keeping the love within the home
love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself
but who is our neighbor, we ask?
it’s the Samaritan, the foreigner, the exile, the unclean, the outcast, your enemy
the illegals, the homeless, those who trespass against us
it’s the enslaved minorities, it’s the stranger in your land
the one whose ways you think you’re never gonna understand
|
||||
4. |
||||
Traditional
As interpreted by Ears to the Ground Family
sheep, sheep, don’t you know the road? || yes, my Lord, I know the road
sheep, sheep, don’t you know the road? || yes, my Lord, I know the road
don’t you know the road cause there’s no price tag?
yes my Lord, I know the road
don’t you know the road cause the stories are told?
the stories are told of forgotten souls
don’t you know the road cause the sword’s beat down?
the sword’s beat down into a plow
don’t you know the road cause we feel the pain?
we hear the pain, we don’t just put it away
don’t you know the road cause there’s life to give?
when we find a chasm, we build a bridge
|
||||
5. |
Painter
05:14
|
|||
there was a painter who lost his hand
I tell you that the angels cried on that day
there was a painter who lost his hand
there was a dark sign in the heavens that day
they remembered the day
that the grievous act took place
feeling temptation, tasting the weakness
and saying one more time, I’ll be okay
and they remembered the consequence
from all those times before
he let it happen, so slow
they remembered the days
back when he was a child, he would paint
the open-eyed joy
the worlds he would unfurl
and in his mind there was a galaxy
oh there was a creature with a breath
In his hand, a brush
it was all dressed up in flesh
I tell you that Gabriel used to watch and wait
just to see what that boy would reveal
just like flowers that dance
in their fresh, springtime dress
to reveal the Lord’s colorful scheme
we are just like those flowers that dance
in their fresh, springtime dress
to reveal the Lord’s colorful scheme
your body is... the temple of the Lord
your body is a gift you can’t afford
so glorify the Lord
we sing Elohim, Elohim, Elohim (God)
Kadosh (Holy)
|
||||
6. |
Moneditas
02:35
|
|||
moneditas de metal || moneditas de cobre
pedacitos de oxido || ni dejarán una mancha en
el polvo a que volverán || y por ella van matando
acumulando, juntando, robando
gastando la preciosa vida
cuanto más van ganando y ganando || y poniéndose primero, primera
cuanto más van perdiendo y perdiendo || y poniéndose ultimo
es un tesoro temporal || para bichos comida
falsa, externa, olvidada || la ambición que se entierra
buscando vida real || buscando vida eterna
pero cuando empiezara || digo yo que hoy día
TRANSLATION:
little metal coins || little copper coins
little pieces of rust || that won’t even leave a stain on
the dust to which they will return || and for this they go on killing
accumulating, gathering, stealing || wasting their precious life
the more they go on winning and earning || and making themselves first,
the more they go losing and losing || and making themselves last
it’s a temporal treasure || food for the crawling things
false, external, forgotten || the ambition that gets buried
in search of real life || searching for eternal life
but when will it begin? || I say it is today
|
||||
7. |
Time, Time, Time
03:02
|
|||
time, time, time, time
passes as fast as some waitings in line
bristlecone pines and feathers come to life
but only in time, all in their own time
the cardinal’s trying to find his mate within the leaves
I’m sitting watching and waiting for the day my ship is gonna leave
let’s play dead bug
orange, black, and brown and drying in the sun
let’s listen to the loose leaf dance
or stare into the heavens as if we ever had a chance
and get ready for the leap
because soon it will be time
and then we’ll sit down and recite these old rhymes
of when and of time, time, time, time
I used to think that that there were two people living inside of everyone you see
one busy with the task at hand and the other one trying to see
the relevance of every thought or action as they breathe
and they put them in the pantry and make a life that they can lead
as I got to working sometimes I cried sometimes I did sing
and I held what I had afterward with where I did begin
but these days, I’ve had a wholeness beyond time
|
||||
8. |
Walnut Textures
03:18
|
|||
I woke up and I was mourning
to be working in this fighting world
oh and how I wished our ambitions
could’ve been less than the missions to the moon
I thought only then I could sit
and enjoy walnut textures and paint the walls of my room
but now I know that we’re already free
now I know that we’re already free
highways are like rivers
rivers running dry
rivers are polluted
by a generation that drives
and we drive over the rivers
instead of travel by
all this too is meaningless
one day it will die
all this too is vanity
one day it will die
oh and you’re gonna find these distances were made for your walking feet
every seed bearing fruit is a green plant for every creature to eat
open your eyes to all the colors on your way
it’s all around, healing you, it’s for free, oh it’s for free!
trumpet sounds from all creation
we shout, oh how we shout
how we’re free, how we’re free, oh, how we’re free, oh, how we’re free!
faith and hope in an invisible Father
we shout oh how we shout
free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty!*
*Line from the African American spiritual “Free at Last”, quoted famously by Martin Luther King, Jr. as the last line of his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
*Thanks to Lightning Lucas for this melody here!
|
||||
9. |
Shade of the Most High
06:43
|
|||
the knees give out and I give in
the eyes fill up and I fill in
I’m not that strong, I’m not that far
we take our breaths, we take our fall
but with a hope like this, we are fearless
and with a love like this, I will not despair
I did not deserve this
but there is always more than meets the eye
I will find my shelter
and I will find my joy and my desire
in the shade of the Most High
my knees on floors, my heaving heart
I am a seed, in damp and dark
with death in me, I come apart
to find new life, to find new eyes
never has such a burden been so light for the one who bore it
so I lay down my rights to wisdom
so I might be more like the wide eyes of a child
|
Ears to the Ground Family Harrisonburg, Virginia
Ears to the Ground Family is a minimal, totally acoustic group with guitar, hand percussion, and banjo. They have a serious focus on lyrical content and sometimes achieve a body-shivering vocal harmony. They make music of resistance to oppression and empire, of communities of hope, and of a faith that sustains us. Our tunes draw from R&B, spiritual, soul, folk/americana, chant, hip-hop, and jazz. ... more
Contact Ears to the Ground Family
Streaming and Download help
If you like Ears to the Ground Family, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp