Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain Album Lyrics

---

Time Forgot

Polished my shoes I bought a brand new hat
Moved to a town that time forgot
Where I don't have to shave or be approachable
No I can do just what I want

I want to walk in that howling wind
'til it scatters all my thoughts
Sit alone on that riverbank 'til I
Forget that I can talk
Just listen

They say everyone has a choice to make
To be loved or to be free
I told you once I felt invisible
And I'm sure by now you see

What I meant is I'm not all there
Until I finally leave
Some loneliness is acceptable
And some's just outright mean
It gets even

Ivy crawls up the garden wall
Builds a ladder towards the sky
Can't be climbed but whose gonna mind
If I claim it can be done
Illusion

And the sun goes down
And the stars come out
In the distance that I felt I can see it for myself now

Boarding a train to take my memories back
Make up for time that I have lost
I'll never know if I'm delusional
I just believe that I am not
I'm going to work for my sanity
Give it everything I got
Though so far I have cheated death
I know someday I'll get caught
Just living

So here we go man it's beautiful
Get your trumpet get your drum
Keep in time in a second line
It can make you feel so young

I know you say you'll go all the way
But that's not quite far enough
Someone told me that same thing
Some told me that same thing
Someone told me that exact same thing once

---

Zigzagging Toward The Light

I'm blessed with a heart that doesn't stop
My minds a weathervane it spins around just like a top
Knows what the winds of fortune bring
In the season of the witch
Home is a perjury, a parlor trick, an urban myth

Oh how the circumstances change (ooooohhhhhh)
This world is smoke and steam
Compromise and metermaids
I'm going to leave here before to long
Zigzagging toward the light
I'm off to sing my boundless song

True love it hides like city stars
Nothing to gaze upon or contemplate
How near or far
If it comes, it comes quite unannounced
A momentary glance
Lit up by sun or moon
Or bonfire or ambulance

Oh how the circumstances change (ooooohhhhhh)
Feels unmistakable with no idea from where it came
But you will know it when it's gone
Zigzagging through the night
I've heard you sing your boundless song

How did you sing the boundless song?
How did you sing? How did you sing?
Sing for the founders his word is never kept
A bindle of flowers to state his mind
And bloom when he forgets

It's true that shadows tell the time
On sunny afternoons, on crowded sidewalks, passersby
I'm in a queue that stretches out
Far as the eye can see
It forms a figure eight and goes on for eternity

Oh how the circumstances change (ooooohhhhhh)
I fly by interstate across a purple mountain range
I find a place to come undone
Zigzagging toward you now
I sing out loud our boundless song

---

Hundreds Of Ways

What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ashen remnants of our love
It came before and I'm still looking for that now

It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was
"Take your pictures folks it's late, try your best please to remember what was done."

Don't look so forlorn
Don't you look so scared
Don't get so upset
This world was never fair

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one

I used to think that time was of the essence
Now I just wish I could get some sleep
All this strange parade of sounds the city makes when I lay down
Little explosions that set fire to my dreams

Sometimes I get mistaken for this actor
And I guess that I can see it from the side
Maybe no one really seems to be the person that they mean to be
I hope I am forgotten when I die

Don't contradict me
Don't make me cross the line
If you feel threatened
It's only 'cause I might

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Yes, there are hundreds of ways
So you best find one

All my hero's they're all talk
Running in circles
Some stop watch some cast
Love was the message. Full stop

We ramble on and on
We ramble on and on

I stole all the rhinestones out of Carolina
Sold them out in Bakersfield for cash
The bandshell got a band sounds like an arcade in Japan
Blew all my quarters trying to get that feeling back

Now any sucker can turn boredom into violence
A sociopath riding on a bus
His irises are black from his novelty contacts
He looks around but he can't see the rest of us

In my sunglasses don't mind the blinding light
It's getting dark but I've always loved the night

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Just find one

---

Artifact #1

What would it take to gain acceptance
To the grounds behind your eyes
You know I'm open to suggestion
The one you made we never tried

Let it slip right out from under
Your breath and it rolled around my head
It was nothing I'd consider
I knew it had to happen then

Stood on the banks of the Potomac
We watched the water rushing by
You said we should live in the moment
Then I'd miss you all the time

And I know no one will believe me
But I don't want a second chance
To be an object of desire
If that means slipping through your hands
If I had tried to make you mine
You would have walked away
I can't compete with memories
They never have to change

This world is full of missing persons
All of these unsolved mysteries
If someone says they know for certain
They're selling something certainly

So when I set myself to wonder
All the questions that remain
The only one that even matters
Is when I'll see you're face again

I keep looking back for artifacts
To prove that you were here
The sound that's been keeps echoing
It never disappears

---

Lonely At The Top

It's lonely at the top of the upside mountain
Watch the sunrise from a windowless room
If the Paramedics stall the soul goes on
Without them in a wicker basket tied to a balloon

There are no boundaries to love
The heart can't comprehend the panorama
I took it on the chin from some second hand feeling
Sorrow handed down to me it felt brand new

Tiny violins or some summer insects listening
Another season leaving us too soon
Freedom's the opposite of love
You'll never keep it through the paranoia

Standing on the edge of a million landscapes
Emptying and the water from the glacier fills my shoes
Laying in your bed my dreams are sex and violence
I chase the rapist chasing after you

There is no dignity in love
Trade every scrap to get some absolution
'Til then I'm walking out the door
'Til then I'm running through the airport
'Til then i'm waiting around for no one

---

Enola Gay

He didn't give you that nickname
But you smile when he calls you the Enola Gay
Turns the lights down low for your migraines
And fetches what you've strewn
All around the room up and down the hall
Asking for your Sodium Pentathol
So you can read aloud from your big tell-all
Anecdotes in platitudes

This world's mean getting meaner too
So why'd you have to make it all about you
There's no harm in stepping to the side
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky grows dark
The wind's pissed off and the sun's at large
What you've gotta do, it's just a matter of pride
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind

Working all day in the control room
Mashing Charles Manson songs up with Showtunes
The feelings come quick but they leave as soon
Like music from a passing car
It's crowded in the club where you meet your friends
Try to save some room for the elephant
Every day's a chore and you're not done yet
You didn't think it'd be this hard

The root's begun, we're a nervous crew
So why're you trying to make it all about you
It's not so bad, it's just a flash of light
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky goes dark
The rain's upset, it just falls apart
You will get your wish, it's just a matter of time
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight

---

Double Life

It ain't perfect nothing is
There's still room to grow
Feeling different staying in
Made a little home
So when I sit back in my chair
As the evening waits
I don't remember getting here
But I'm glad I came

Don't look down just cross the bridge
And when you get there
You'll know why you did
There's a better life on the other side
It's your double life on the other side
It's your second life on the other side

It ain't simple like before
These are different times
No longer worried about getting bored
Just trying to clear my mind
From all the noise out there
All the spooks all the moving parts
Cameras everywhere I look imitating art

Don't look down just cross the bridge
And when you get there
You'll be glad did
There's a better life on the other side
There's an honest life on the other side
It's your double life
It's your second life on the other side
There's an honest life on the other side

---

Kick

Kick you know you're still a kid
And your diets too full of additives
Passed out on a couch with ashes in your mouth
Dreaming that you're hopping a fence
This world must have it out for you
From the shores of Montaca to Malibu
The trappings of a name you never could escape
Because people want to live in the past
Some goal they mentioned they never had

I thought we lost that Camelot
I thought we lost that Camelot
It's a children's story we forgot
So long ago

Kick it's hard to find a friend
In a place that's so cruel and partisan
But you should go in style to Stockholm for a while
Live outside oblivion's lent
Someday you'll have a fine divorce
And a cemetery plot in Johannesburg
It's time you close your eyes
On a helicopter ride
I hope you see it isn't your fault
I hope you know it isn't your fault

I thought they shot that Camelot
I thought they shot that Camelot
Whoever shot this movie star he grows
And the show must go on

Laying in an office on an old chaise lounge
Listening to the doctor drone
No therapeutic feeling once the shock wears off
Answer every question no
Hiding in a hammock with the shades pulled down
Wondering if the stories broke
Tragedy is prophet once the word gets out
Tablets at the country store
Searching under tables once the bars closed down
Said somebody stole your phone
Now there's no one to talk to but these trust fund drunks
Should have brought a chaperon

Kick I'd love to help you but I just don't count
Friendship makes you paranoid
I don't believe in crescents
But I just might now we never really had a choice
Like all your broken toys

Kick you know this life is rich
But pleasures not the same as happiness
If you don't collide with the traffic in your mind
I think you'll find your way out of this
I hope you find your way out of this

---

Night At Lake Unknown

It don't take much imagination
To see the picture frame
I don't need a concentration
To know when I'm in pain
When I lost myself I lost you by extension
I don't know who would stand to gain

These silly dreams aren't worth a mention
But they keep collecting in my brain
When on the hunt for fame and fortune
Picked up the trail just fine
Everywhere I go the doors fly open
But I run out once outside
When I break my heart I know that yours gets broken
I just wish that kept me in line
But I can't live outside the moment
And it just keeps leaving me behind
It just keeps leaving me behind

When I can't sleep my mind is a circle
I watched the ceiling fan
I closed my eyes and I feel the wind blow
My bed it turns into a raft
I drift away it's night at lake unknown I'm floating
I see it all for what it is
Most anything can be forgiven
With what is left we'll have to live
With what is left we'll have to live

---

You Are Your Mother's Child

I remember the day you appeared on this earth
With eyes like the ocean, got blood on my shirt
From my camera angle it looked like it hurt
But your mama had a big old smile

We drove you home, saw your yellowing skin
Packed a few things and drove you back again
Stayed up all night worrying, wondering
What was gonna make it better

Broken bones heal when you set them right
Get your fine tooth comb from the barbicide
Our love's a protective poison
Well you are your mother's child
And she'll keep you for a while
But someday you'll be grown and then you'll be on your own

Halloween costume, looking real cute
With your pillowcase full, in your astronaut suit
But your cousin the cowboy is eyeing your loot
Better watch your Snickers bar

Out on the diamond, now you're up to bat
Chewing your big league, adjusting your hat
Taking a swing and hearing it crack
Look at that apple fly

Tears will dry if you give them time
Life's a roller coaster, keep your arms inside
Fear that's a big emotion
Well you are your mother's child
And she'll keep you for a while
But one day you'll be grown and then you'll be on your own

Posing for pictures, cap and a gown
Summer is coming, you're driving around town
Everyone's asking what you're gonna do now
I know you're gonna make a splash

And find you a sweetheart to treat you so kind
Invite her to dinner and kiss her goodnight
What I couldn't teach you, you will realize
She's the only thing that matters

Although he's a bastard, make your papa proud
Your a fine young man and I got no doubt
That you're gonna do this better
Cause you are your mother's child
She had you for a while
But now that you're grown, may you never be on your own
Well now that you're grown, may you never be on your own

---

Governor's Ball

He came with his friends, in a caravan
To witness the governor's ball
Sat by himself on a cool patch of grass
While the rest stood like bricks in a wall
The stage it looked like a vending machine
The singer, a black barbie doll
But it was well light, and well managed
Said our property, would be damaged
Until his boredom, took full advantage
Of it all

Talk to a girl, with klonopin eyes
Who said she had jewelry to sell
First he said no thanks, then he realized
That he realized he wasn't feeling that well
And he took what she held looked like pieces of sky
And a garnet like teardrops from hell
She offered, him a necklace, and he wanted to accept it
But it would end up, too expensive, he could tell
Then she said:
"Why not, what have you got, to lose, to lose"

When he never came back, and the curve you have pathed
His friends searched the fair grounds for clues
But security guard the maniacal laugh
Said its always the leader you lose
And he finally turned up in the broad light of day
With a black eye as big as the moon
They all asked him, what had happened
Was it real or, imagined
Why on earth had, he abandon them so soon
And he said:
"Why not, I do what I've got, to do, its what you do"

---

Desert Island Questionnaire

Say that you were stranded on a desert island
What books you gonna bring what friends would tag along
Say you had a month and you knew you were dying
How would you spend your time
What goodbyes would take too long
You don't like this game and you take exception
Who wants all this trouble even hypothetical
With the charging sky above
And the ground below that could swallow everyone

Staring at your phone at another party
Spend a lot on clothes got a lot of skin to show
People in the pool like the drowning army
Smoke along the moats and the hotel lobby glows
Wish that you can dance but you've got no partner
Keep tapping on your glass because you want to make a toast
To the ennui of our times
To the selfishness in everyone you know
Made a lot of friends but they can't be trusted
Don't know what their angle is
Post up at the bar and I'm double fisted
Talking to a mannequin
I don't know what it means when he takes my pulse
And says that I'm a lot like him
I say that's fair enough that's why I'm trying to loosen up

Every lunatic must be well intentioned
Sets himself apart he's an instrument of god
Took her from the playground to the farmhouse cellar
Kissed her while he killed her like a good Samaritan
They finally found her body many Autumns after
Interviewed her mother who said she'd now be 21
And although we lost her young
I know the good lord has a plan for all of us

Mormons at the door they are clean and handsome
Always have a good sales pitch
Your little sisters swears that she can take my order
But I can't take her serious
Need something to bring
For this human nature is not what this condition is
I'm so bored with my life but I'm still afraid to die
Everyone's asleep in this burning building
And I can't wake them up in time
You go on ahead I'll be right behind you
I'm headed to the finish line
I can't ignore the sun until this is over

Pretend that you were stranded on a desert island
What would be the message that you'd spell out for the plane
Say the engine failed when that plane was flying
If you were the pilot would you curse or would you pray
No one's gonna cry at this John Doe funeral
Not a lot to say did it even have a name
Light a candle just in case he was someone's friend
Throw some flowers on the grave

---

Common Knowledge

He's my friend but he's no friend to me
Ask him why, he'll tell you casually
Washed up, bitter, broken, busted
Backstabbed everyone he trusted
Says he sees what no one else can see
And if I had half his guts I'd want it
To chase that fatalistic comet
Die young in the dark; that's poetry
But it was not to be, it was not for me

He's always sad but I've never seen him cry
When he comes to, sure he'll apologize
Find his car, assess the damage
Still drunk but he likes the challenge
Hold on to his mind just like a kite
But a good strong win can keep you honest
Fill you with some common knowledge
Things when we were young we never tried
Just figured we had time with such a long life

Money clips, alligator shoes
One more dance, he's in that champagne room
She moves like a chocolate fountain
Pouring, spilling all around him
Makes him wonder what else she can do
How bittersweet is love's illusion
Feelings that cannot be proven
Trust me, you'll see, my aim is true
I've done this all for you, I've suffered long for you

So many times he's tried to play it straight
Worked and worked until his body ached
But a brand new life can lose its lustre
Troubles tend to find each other
Call it luck or you can call it fate
But either way it's how it happens
Not the way that you imagined
So just go out with a bang like Hemingway
Some will say you're brave
Some will say you ain't