Songs From This Year

The Sewanee Mountain Goat 2015

Unsure of how I’ve lived here
I always see what’s wrong
I leave the dance too early
And stumble back alone
Regretful, scorned, and pissy
I fire off the qualms
And hold a safer distance
From all the friends that might call me

And all the drowned, nothing bones of the sea
That fate could never call on me
It could never be

I’ve held an empty feeling 
Of how it could’ve been
Now I’ll leave my sorrows wanting
And move towards better things
How could I have sat there
Steeping in my grief
How could I have not seen
Bound in disbelief of change

All the drowned, nothing bones of the sea
That fate could never call on me
It could never be

All the drowned nothing bones of the sea
That fate could never have a hold on me
It could never be

Leave the Dance Too Early

try 
to see through my flaws
great big concrete walls 
i hide myself behind

like the backs 
of each and every bar
this side of town or farther
that i’ll run to

cause they’re mine
like a second home
but empty, thick with smoke
and i play what i wanna

lost
for what could seem like days
but i don’t wanna wake 
when i know i’ve hurt you

still you love me
why would you love me
i know you’re divine and i’ll be alright
with you driving tonight

drunk
poor and born in sin
i can’t form the words
to say i’m sorry

but you know i am
you’ve seen many times
the trials and the bouts 
where i lose my senses

and i’m right here
i’m just pocket lint
who’d have ever meant
to have me with them

but you still love me
why would you love me
i know you're divine and i’ll be alright
with you driving tonight

You Driving Tonight

i try to fake some charm
try to smile and be real warm
at parties i say i’m fine
but you know i’m already done

i’m drawn to some higher calling
some dream told to romantic hearts
even when it’s there without burden
i turn around and fuck it all up

i can’t feign an effortless love
i can’t feign an effortless love
still i smile with teeth shown wide
i can’t feign an effortless love

hold back all that you’ve thrown out here
i’d say love would earn it’s own rite
you think that we’ve got something special
but i’ll tell you girl it ain't night

just another drink of bourbon
and another pull of wine
they say that we’re supposed to get to it
but i know that you’re not really mine

I can’t feign an effortless love
i can’t feign an effortless love
still i drink just to act all right
but i can’t feign an effortless love
I can't feign an effortless

You know I can’t act right
You’ll thank me tomorrow
You think we could take it all back
I’d say that you don’t really know

I can’t feign an effortless love
I can’t feign an effortless love
You’re pretty, but i’ve had enough
And I can’t feign an effortless love
I can’t feign an effortless love
I can't feign an effortless love
I can't feign an effortless love

Effortless Love (Done)

counting out leaves as they come
uttering prayers no illusion could ever see done
i wash my hands with a full, seasoned cord
and burn it up despite all the dew

can’t set my mind on a shelf
never quite figured the wrongs in myself

isn't that true

it’s hard to leave a memory untouched
i’ve burrowed down into my time like a permanent crutch
i sift through the soil and crack through the rock
to find a mine already used

i can’t leave a damned thing alone
it’s hard to convince me life starts anew 

but isn’t that true

i’ve held onto my dreams like a rope
white-knuckled and 
hanging my hand like it’s guilty of hope
twisted and knotted like worn out veins
of some looking-back 80 year-old

i’ll learn to let somethings stay blue
grow to find solace in that fading bruise

isn’t that true

i’m hard- pressed and hungry and heaving my past
looking for something that might still could last
oh lord won’t you send me a sign to sustain
grab hold and harbor that i'm lost in my name

i can’t leave a damned thing alone
it’s hard to convince me life starts anew 

isn’t that true

Isn't That True

I can’t get outside my own stupid head
Lost to the thoughts that I’ll carry all my life
Gripping me way too tight; hateful notions choke my spine
Inward pull, imponderables and silly teenage thoughts

Introspection all the time really leads to nothing right
How am I supposed to find answers on my own
What am I supposed to find alone

Buried in a box I keep deep in my guts
Sealed with masking tape lightly pressed, hardly shut
Hardly ever thought of, but seeping in my blood
Oxidized and sorry for all I think i’ve done

Introspection all the time really leads to nothing right
How am I supposed to find answers on my own
What am I supposed to find alone

Introspection All the Time

Saints

We will never forget your face,
In this moment we find comfort, just a trace.
For what you gave us, only you could pay the price
And your words are a gift you left behind.

Fly little red bird, fly little red bird
"You are gold dust" little red bird, fly.
Fly little red bird, "be fearless as you move forward"
You rescued us with your words, fly

We worked our fingers to the bone
While we were so far away from home.
And the words flowed all too easy from our mouths
But now all we have is memories,
Only old bittersweet stories
Tasting sour on our tongues and in our mouths

Fly little red bird, fly little red bird
"You are gold dust" little red bird, fly.
Fly little red bird, shed your demons so we can move forward
You rescued us with your words, fly

Did the angels whisper sweetly in your ear?
Did they hold you close so no one else could hear?
We're they jealous of our love? Did they see it from above?
From the mountaintop a we shouted loud and clear...

Fly little red bird, fly little red bird
"You are gold dust" little red bird, fly.
Fly little red bird, remember our love little red bird
You rescued us with your words, fly.

For D'ags

Now I'm giving you back what's yours,
For the mountains are calling my name
And the bluebirds are flying so high
While the trees dance with bend and with sway

For these mountains weren't built for us
These ancient rivers don't flow for us

Now I'm taking back all my love
For this road will carry me home
To the years of songs gone by
And the love that you never showed

For these mountains weren't built for us
These ancient rivers don't flow for us

Now I've found a place where I can grow
For it takes one to know one, I'm through
For these mountains beckon to go
So I'm leading this lie without you

For these Mountains weren't built for us
These ancient rivers don't flow for us.


Mountain Goat Hymn (done)

Why It Has to End

Delta

Joseph writes all the time, seldom records, and never plays live. 

His recent songs are about disappearing in Europe, bottle rockets, shootings, smiling, the plummeting bird population, maps, laughter, and arguing.

When he’s not songwriting, he keeps busy in Nashville, TN making kombucha; working on his house; and watching movies, standup specials, and hours of sitcoms.

Leave the Dance Too Early

Joseph Mooradian