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Salvation Rose (Josephine)

from Salvation Rose by Forrest VanTuyl

/

about

Put me in your letters-
I’m an envelope sleeper, a papercut dreamer, kensington, peter, we’ll leave our shadows warm/
hold me like a highway, your lines left me waiting my face was south-facing my
feet are stained
filterless
gone.

come back whenever you want.

These days, I’m all death and mystery,
thimbles and cross-stitching,
windmills and history,
pouring out rolling leaves
sold stories, bold poetries,
sit at my feet & bleed
sit at my keys & bleed
“this is worth saving,” she said.

lyrics

I will burn my back til my red hands crack, I will wake up before dawn
let the angels moan, and I’ll make my home, where your rusted bones belong
burn the midwest nights, burn the lost lake eyes, burn the Madison Mornin’ songs
where the road don’t move I can wait for you I can send your blues back home

Highway 101 we can save your sons we can break your guns and graves
it’s the high tide reach, it’s your turquoise teeth, how the pearls you sleep with taste
I gave all my love to your brother's drugs and your mother’s worthless faith
you’re my blood stained kin, you’re my half-dead hymn, you’re my sin that I can’t save

Let my prayers swing low like a Salvation Rose let my wanderin’ toes find thee
Let the lithium doses and the red Ponderosas sing like a cedar scream
you’re the nightmare caught you’re the colt unlocked, you’re the last thought before I sleep
we’ll be callused and cold we’ll be salvaged and sold we’ll be there when God learns to bleed

and the orchard’s full of fireblight and my back’s been sore since spring
and I worked from dawn to midnight and I still ain’t worth a thing
and your stone soul’s my religion I was baptized in your eyes
and I cursed all our divisions, tore this mountain and ripped this tide

I wake up and RoseMarie’s dead and you shaved my head and you’ve stolen all my songs
my home’s burned down I didn’t make it out, I just screamed your name til dawn
when the flames took me, I felt your cancer creep and my ghost will have no haunt,
I’ll be locked and barred, I’ll be locked and barred, I’ll be locked and barred
so break these land-locked arms and tattoo your scars on me, Josephine

credits

from Salvation Rose, released September 2, 2013
Forrest & Fawn & Shaun & Tiffany & Bart - Vocals
Forrest - Guitar
Fawn - Piano
Jonny - Upright Bass
Heather Thomas - Drums
Heather Hagen - Violin
Chuck - Hammond E-100
El Barto - Trumpet

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Forrest VanTuyl image

Forrest VanTuyl Goldendale, Washington

Forrest VanTuyl is a Western songwriter, poet, and working cowboy based in the Inland Northwest. His work has been featured in the New York Times, at The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and he has written music for the US Forest Service.

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