Standard (EADGBE)

Intro

starting at :31 with the piano):

So we start with my father as a boy barely spoke a word of english fell in

love from a distance he watched her working from the back fence

He learned some words and some clever turns of phrase from his father's

book of poets, she wasn't taken in that instant, but grew impressed with

his persistence.

They met each other out by moonlight, made love in the nearby woods, then

her folks became suspicious when her cycle broke and (?). They stole

away without their goodbyes, got married in a foreign town, made their way

as best as they could. Found jobs and settled down. And then time moved on.

Interlude

I was born in a river of blood on sheets from the wedding day. The room was dark and the

stench was thick my father couldn't stand the smell of it.

Mama died in the night cause the nearest doctor couldn't stem the blood

loss. Father cried out on the back porch. My sister held me at the

neighbor's house. Oh my there was a storm then, there was a flood of a

different kind. Father's eyes were often vacant, but his hands were rarely

quiet. Sister learned to take her hits well, both from life and the

physical kind, but I was never one to lie down, despite who picked the

fight. So we designed our hells.

Interlude

Father turned into a drinker, a dark bastard with a wooden heart. Sister

learned to be a mother, before she ever played another part. And I became a

little terror, I lashed out at whatever's around. Took some time before I

settled, to find a mind that was somewhat sound. And like it always does,

time rushed on.

Six years later father died in the very same bedroom. Many said it was the

grief that did it, I have to say it's cause he hung himself. To be honest

neither sister nor myself ever much regret his passing. But I admit it was

a nice thing, to always know that we could feed ourselves.

-Ben Malley