Birdland Lyrics

His father died and left him a little farm in New England All the long black funeral cars left the scene And the boy was just standin' there alone Lookin' at the shiny red tractor Him and his daddy used to sit inside And circle the blue fields and grease the night
It was as if someone had spread butter On all the fine points of the stars 'Cause when he looked up, they started to slip Then he put his head in the crux of his arms
And he started to drift, drift to the belly of a ship Let the ship slide open and he went inside of it And saw his daddy 'hind the control boards Streamin' beads of light He saw his daddy 'hind the control board And he was very different tonight 'Cause he was not human, he was not human
The little boy's face lit up with such a naked joy That the sun burned around his lids And his eyes were like two suns White lids, white opals, seein' everything Just a little bit too clearly
And he looked around and There was no black ship in sight No black funeral cars, nothin' Except for him, the raven And fell on his knees and Looked up and cried out
"No, Daddy, don't leave me here alone Take me up, Daddy, to the belly of your ship Let the ship slide open and I'll go inside of it Where you are not human, you are not human"
But nobody heard the boy's cry of alarm Nobody there 'cept for the birds Around the New England farm And they gathered in all directions Like roses they scattered
And they were like compass grass Coming together into the head of a shaman bouquet Slit in his nose and all the others went shootin' And he saw the lights of traffic beckonin' him Like the hands of blake Grabbin' at his cheeks, takin' out his neck All his limbs, everything was twisted and he said
“I won't give up, won't give up, don't let me give up I won't give up, come here, let me go up fast Take me up quick, take me up, up to the belly of a ship" And the ship slides open and I go inside of it Where I am not human
I am helium raven and this movie is mine So he cried out as he stretched the sky Pushin' it all out like latex cartoon Am I all alone in this generation? We'll just be dreamin' of animation night and day And won't let up, won't let up and I see them comin' in Oh, I couldn't hear them before, but I hear 'em now
It's a radar scope in all silver and all platinum lights Movin' in like black ships, they were movin' in, streams of them And he put up his hands and he said, “It's me, it's me I'll give you my eyes, take me up, oh Lord, please take me up I'm helium, raven waitin' for you, please take me up Don't leave me here"
The son, the sign, the cross Like the shape of a tortured woman The true shape of a tortured woman The mother standing in the doorway, lettin' her sons No longer presidents but prophets They're all dreamin', they're gonna bear the prophet
He's gonna run through the fields dreamin' in animation It's all gonna split his skull It's gonna come out like a black bouquet shinin' Like a fist that's gonna shoot them up Like light, like Mohammed boxer
Take them up up up up up up Oh, let's go up, up, don't hold me back Take me up, I'll go up, I'm goin' up, I'm goin' up Take me up, I'm goin' up, I'll go up, tell Go up go up go up go up up up up up up up Up, up, to the belly of a ship Let the ship slide open and we'll go inside of it Well, we are not human, we're not human
Well, there was sand, there were tiles The sun had melted the sand And it coagulated like a river of glass When it hardened, he looked at the surface He saw his face and where there were eyes Were just two white opals, two white opals
Where there were eyes, there were just two white opals He looked up and the rays shot And he saw raven comin' in And he crawled on his back and he went up Up up up up up up
Sha da do wop, da sha da do way Sha da do wop, da sha da do way Sha da do wop, da sha da do way Sha da do wop, da sha da do way Shaman do wop, da shaman do way We like birdland