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lyrics

I’m feeling at my worst tonight, but that’s no reason why.
And if no one gets hurt tonight, you can’t say we didn’t try.
You wonder if I’ve lost my mind. I don’t make sense to you.
Believe me, child, if I were kind, that’s just what I would do.

But love shoots up where it’s not supposed to be,
making tangles of the power lines, bringing skyscrapers to their knees.
You don’t expect apologies from invasive species.
What we called a delicacy,
turns out it’s just a common weed.

I want you to go first tonight. These wicked hours are long.
And if no one gets hurt tonight, I bet you we did something wrong.
You wonder if you're going blind; what's this creature your eyes see?
Believe me, if I weren't your kind, you would not recognize me.

But love breaks out, conquers every quarantine.
But not before we burned it all: my toys, my clothes, my sheets.
We got a vaccine from a monkey, but I still lost my best friend.
Then the paramedic said,
as ghostlike we airlifted,
“You can’t call that place home again.”

Love’s like any wild thing, it must consume to live.
But no one asks the beast itself just what its nature is.
Though I don’t suppose we’d like the answer if we did!

I see a tiny burst of light. The sun is coming up.
Remember, if it hurts to fight, there’s no shame in giving up.

‘Cause love roots down where it’s never before been found,
making a mockery of our statues, pulling poor Lincoln to the ground.
The earth swallows up my mansion. My vault crumples like a can.
My tokens spill like grains of sand.
A life’s wealth starts converting back
into glorified food for plants.
It’s just a question of when.

credits

from How To End The War, released August 26, 2011

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Amina Shareef Ali Oakland, California

Based in Oakland, California, Amina Shareef Ali performs songs of love and struggle, of pain and wonder, of loss and redemption. Lyrics by turns poignant and sardonic are set against a backdrop of American music both traditional and modern, from folk to punk to country to jazz to rock and roll. ... more

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