The Owl & The Tanager
Sufjan Stevens

And all I had hoped for
I kept inside your car
The rabbit in the barn
Most of all, I wait
I wait beside the door
I wait beside the door

And all I was wrong
Trembling in the cage
I was diamonds in the cage
In seven hours, I consider death
And your father called to yell at me
You little boy, you little boy

I found out, you cheated me
I ran behind the barn
And cut my hands somehow
Blood in the meadowlark
I punched your ears instead
I punched you in the head

You only laughed
And laughed and laughed

How I was wrong tingling from the kill
Tickle me until you devil bird, you evil still
Slept on my arms, sleeping in the sill
I was sleeping in the room with you
You little boy, you little boy

How could you run from me now?
The loneliest chime in the house
The loneliest chime in the house
You let it out, you let it out

Come to me, Calvary still
I'm weeding and raking until
I'm bleeding in spite of my love for you
It bruised and bruised my will

Counting alluvial plains
The breathing inside of the range
You touched me inside of my cage
Beneath my shirt, your hands embraced me

Come to me, feathered and frayed
For I am the ugliest prey
For I am the ugliest prey
The owl, the reckless, reckless praise

You said you'd wait for me
Down by the Tannery Creek
Far out by the roadside
Where we used to kiss behind the sheets

Wrapped in a blanket of red
The owl and the Tanager said
The owl and the Tanager said
One waits until the hour is death


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Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens

  \   A Good Man Is Hard To Find   A Loverless Bed (Without Remission)   A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, bu...   A Sun Came   A Winner Needs a Wand   Abraham   Adlai Stevenson   Age Of Adz   Ah Holy Jesus   Ah Holy Jesus (a capella)   Ah Holy Jesus (with reed organ)   Alanson, Crooked River   All Delighted People   All For Myself   All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your...   All Of Me Wants All Of You   All Of Me Wants All Of You 3:41   All The King's Horns   All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands   Alphabet   Alphabet St. (Prince cover)   Amazing Grace   Arnika   Auld Lang Syne   Ave Maria (featuring Cat Martino)   Away In A Manger   Bad Communication   Barcarola (You Must Be A Christmas Tree)   Belly Button   Blue Bucket Of Gold   Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light   Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella   Carlyle Lake   Carol of St. Benjamin The Bearded One   Carrie & Lowell   Carrie And Lowell   Casimir Pulaski Day   Chicago   Chicago (Acoustic Version)   Chicago (adult contemporary easy listening version...   Chicago (Multiple Personality Disorder version)   Chicago (To String Remix)   Christmas Face   Christmas in July   Christmas In The Room   Christmas Unicorn   Christmas Unicorn (free)   Christmas Woman   Come On Feel the Illinoise   Come On! Feel The Illinoise!   Come on! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!   Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing   Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinoi...   Coventry Carol   Dear Mr. Supercomputer   Dear MrSupercomputer   Death With Dignity   Death With Dignity 3:59   Decatur   Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!   Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother...   Demetrius   Did I Make You Cry On Christmas Day? (Well, You De...   Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling   Ding! Dong!   DJohariah   Do You Hear What I Hear?   Drawn To The Blood   Drawn to the Blood 3:18   Dress Looks Nice On You   Dumb I Sound   Enchanting Ghost   Enjoy Your Rabbit   Eugene   Eugene 2:26   Flint   Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid)   For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In ...   For The Widows In Paradise; For The Fatherless In ...   Fourth Of July   Fourth of July 4:39   Futile Devices   Get Real Get Right   Give a Little Love   Go Nightly Cares   Godzuki   Good King Wenceslas   Good Man Is Hard To Find   Happy Birthday   Happy Family Christmas   Happy Karma Christmas   Hark! The Herald Angels Sing   Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas   He Woke Me Up Again   Heirloom   Here I Am!   Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!   Holland   Holly Jolly Christmas   Holy, Holy, Holy   How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee?   I Saw Three Ships   I Walked   I Want To Be Well   I Went Dancing With My Sister   Idumea   Idumea (Sacred Harp)   Impossible Soul   In The Devil's Territory   In This Temple, as in the Hearts of Man, for Whom ...   Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigati...   Interlude III: Invisible Accidents   It Came Upon the Midnight Clear   It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad!   Jacksonville   Jason   Jingle Bells   John My Beloved   John Wayne Gacy, Jr.   Joy! Joy! Joy!   Jupiter   Justice Delivers Its Death   Kill   Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!   Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates   Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming   Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts   Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)   Marching Band   Movement I: In the Countenance of Kings   Movement IV: Traffic Shock   Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns   Mr. Frosty Man (free)   Niagara Falls   No Man's Land   No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross   No Shade in the Shadow of The Cross 2:40   No Shade In The Shadow Of The Crowss   Now That I'm Older   O Come O Come Emmanuel   Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Res...   Oh God Where Are You Now? (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeo...   Oh God, Where Are You Now?   Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pige...   Once in Royal David's City   Only At Christmas Time   Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and...   Particle Physics   Pickeral Lake   Pickerel Lake   Pittsfield   Prairie Fire That Wanders About   Prelude on the Esplanade   Put the Lights On The Tree   Rake   Redford (For Yia-Yia and Pappou)   Regret   Rice Pudding   Ring Them Bells   Romulus   Santa Claus Is Coming to Town   Saturn   Say Yes! To M!Ch!Gan!   Say Yes! To Michigan!   Seven Swans   Should Have Known Better   Should Have Known Better 5:07   Siamese Twins   Silver & Gold   Sister   Sister Winter   Size Too Small   Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie   Sleigh Ride   Soul Bellow   Star Of Wonder   SuperSexyWoman   Tahquamenon Falls   Take Me   That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!   The 50 States Song   The Avalanche   The Child With The Star On His Head   The Dress Looks Nice On You   The First Noel   The Friendly Beasts   The Henney Buggy Band   The Little Drummer Boy   The Lord God Bird   The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts   The Maple River   The Midnight Clear   The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind That...   The Only Thing   The Only Thing 4:44   The Oracle Said Wander   The Owl And The Tanager   The Perpetual Self, Or "What Would Saul Alinsky Do...   The Perpetual Self, or \   The Pick-up   The Predatory Wasp   The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get ...   The Seer's Tower   The Sleigh In The Moon   The Star Spangled Banner   The Sun   The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders   The Transfiguration   The Upper Peninsula   They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For The Hom...   They Are Night Zombies   They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They...   They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They...   To Be Alone With You   To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I ...   Too Much   Up On The Housetop   Vesuvius   Vito's Ordination Song   We Are What You Say   We Need A Little Christmas   We Three Kings   We Wish You A Merry Christmas   We Won't Need Legs To Stand   We're Goin' To The Country!   What Child Is This Anyway?   Where Were You   Wolverine   X-mas Spirit Catcher   Ya Leil   Year of Our Lord   Year of the Asthmatic Cat   Year of the Boar   Year of the Dog   Year of the Dragon   Year of the Horse   Year of the Monkey   Year of the Ox   Year of the Rat   Year of the Rooster   Year of the Sheep   Year of the Snake   Year of the Tiger   You Are the Rake

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