Cover of "Charlie Darwin" from The Low Anthem's album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

Charlie Darwin Cover

You said you were content, while hiding the truth. And you want to escape this, I know, for I do too.
And you will be missed
And there was no bright light dividing the black, So you made the big leap, And couldn’t look back.
And you will be missed
Your face is still vivid, Etched in our minds, And so it remains there, Till the end of our time.
And you will be missed
And I remember the night we tried to catch a goose at giant springs, but settled for a mallard instead.
And I remember watching you blow smoke rings around the campfire in between games of monkey ball.
And I remember you playing my piano bareassed and sending me a picture because you thought it’d be funny.
It was…

And I remember lots and lots of other things, and i'll never forget them.

Etched

We will walk where sand has turned to stone
Where rock to sand to dust the wind has blown
And waterslides are carved from waterfalls
And rain cascades from all the canyon walls

The sunset kisses pink the mountaintops
The cactus needles cradle fresh dewdrops
And hummingbirds dart from tree to tree
Drinking nectar with a frantic need

The primrose blooms drink in the lunar light
The serpents hunt while cloaked in shaded night
And shooting stars leave tails that split the sky
And owls make their rounds in silent flight

The dirt beneath our feet is as red as blood
The water quick and warm as a flashing flood
Arches standing proud of every size
The mountains silhouette a fresh moonrise

High Desert

Humming bird flitting through the trees,
Putting on a show just for me,
I try to count the flap of your wings,
It’s just one of those hummingbird things,

I don’t know where you’re goin
And I don’t know where you been,
All I know is you’re right here,
And I hope to see you again.

Your feathers are a sight to see,
As you hover and hum around me,
A slighted move and you’re gone in a flash,
That’s what I get for being hummingbird brash.

And I don’t know where you’re goin,
And I don’t know where you been,
All I know is you’re right here,
And I hope to see you again.

I hope that you will survive the night,
Never knowing the end’s in sight,
It must be hard to catch your breath,
Every beat of your wings evades your death.

I don’t know where you’re goin,
And I don’t know where you’ve been,
All I know is you’re right here,
 And I hope to see you again.

Hummingbird Things

Two weary travelers from a long ago time
One had a nickel, the other a dime,
Adding their riches, they were poor as could be,
And that would not solve their problems

So they pushed on together, bitter and cold,
Each day grow shorter, each sun grow old
And when the sun came it only warmed them skin deep,
And that would not solve their problems

Or priorities

One day they crossed a shallow creek bed,
The short one was thinking, to the tall one he said
Someday I’d like to be rich as can be
Cause that would solve all our problems

Then from the river, a gleam caught his eye,
He ran to the culprit, tall man behind,
Their head danced with the thoughts of a fortune of gold,
For that would solve all their problems

And priorities

But while they were mining, a bad storm did blow 
Such greed of the travelers, they could not let go
And so they passed up on their window of hope,
And the was the end of their problems

The snow erased any sign of them there
Sadly, each man had no one to care,
But each passed on with a smile on his face,
For they were free of their problems.

And priorities

Brian Knutson