His father died and left him a little farm in new england. All the long black funeral cars left the scene And the boy was just standing there alone Looking at the shiny red tractor Him and his daddy used to sit inside And circle the blue fields and grease the night. It was if someone had spread butter on all the fine points of the stars 'cause when he looked up they started to slip. Then he put his head in the crux of his arm And he started to driftdrift to the belly of a ship Let the ship slide openand he went inside of it And saw his daddy 'hind the control board streamin' beads of light He saw his daddy 'hind the control board And he was very different tonight 'cause he was not humanhe was not human. And then the little boy's face lit up with such naked joy That the sun burned around his lids and his eyes were like two suns White lidswhite opalsseeing everything just a little bit too clearly And he looked around and there was no black ship in sight No black funeral carsnothing except for him the raven And fell on his knees and looked up and cried out “nodaddydon't leave me here alone Take me updaddyto the belly of your ship Let the ship slide open and I'll go inside of it Where you're not humanyou are not human.” But nobody heard the boy's cry of alarm. Nobody there 'cept for the birds around the new england farm And they gathered in all directionslike roses they scattered And they were like compass grass coming together into the head of a shaman bouquet Slit in his nose and all the others went shooting And he saw the lights of traffic beckoning like the hands of blake Grabbing at his cheekstaking out his neck All his limbseverything was twisted and he said “i won't give upwon't give updon't let me give up I won't give upcome herelet me go up fast Take me up quicktake me upup to the belly of a ship And the ship slides open and I go inside of it where I am not human.” I am helium raven and this movie is mine So he cried out as he stretched the sky Pushing it all out like latex cartoonam I all alone in this generation ? We'll just be dreaming of animation night and day And won't let upwon't let up and I see them coming in OhI couldn't hear them beforebut I hear 'em now It's a radar scope in all silver and all platinum lights Moving in like black shipsthey were moving instreams of them And he put up his hands and he said“it's meit's me I'll give you my eyestake me upoh now please take me up I'm helium raven waitin' for youplease take me up Don't let me here” the sonthe signthe cross Like the shape of a tortured womanthe true shape of a tortured woman The mother standing in the doorway letting her sons No longer presidents but prophets They're all dreaming they're gonna bear the prophet He's gonna run through the fields dreaming in animation It's all gonna split his skull It's gonna come out like a black bouquet shining Like a fist that's gonna shoot them up Like lightlike mohammed boxer Take them up up up up up up Ohlet's go upuptake me upI'll go up I'm going upI'm going up Take me upI'm going upI'll go up there Go up go up go up go up up up up up up up Upup to the belly of a ship. Let the ship slide open and we'll go inside of it Where we are not humanwe're not human. Wellthere was sandthere were tiles The sun had melted the sand and it coagulated Like a river of glass When it hardened he looked at the surface He saw his face And where there were eyes were just two white opalstwo white opals Where there were eyes there were just two white opals And he looked up and the rays shot And he saw raven comin' in And he crawled on his back and he went up Up up up up up up Sha da do wopda shaman do waysha da do wopda shaman do way Sha da do wopda shaman do waysha da do wopda shaman do way Sha da do wopda shaman do way We like birdland.
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