Loss Of Life Album Lyrics by MGMT

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Loss of Life, Pt. 2

Taliesin, I sing perfect metre
Which will last to the end of the world
I know why there is an echo in a hollow
Why silver gleams, why breath is black, why liver is bloody
Why a cow has horns, why a woman is affectionate
Why milk is white, why holly is green
Why a kid is bearded, why the cow-parsnip is hollow
Why brine is salt, why ale is bitter
Why the linnet is green, berries red
Why a cuckoo complains, why it sings
I know where the cuckoos of summer are in winter
I know what beasts there are at the bottom of the sea
How many spears in battle, how may drops in a shower
Why a river drowned Pharaoh's people
Why fishes have scales
Why a white swan has black feet
I have been a blue salmon
I have been a dog, a stag, a roebuck on the mountain
A stock, a spade, an axe in the hand
A stallion, a bull, a buck
I was reaped and placed in an oven
I fell to the ground when I was being roasted
And a hen swallowed me
For nine nights was I in her crop
I have been dead, I have been alive
I am Taliesin

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Mother Nature

I put the groceries down on the front lawn
And think maybe the children just want recognition
I wrote the fairytale on a midnight drive
Wanting to know if I'm more than alive
I torched the fields again
And killed an honest man
Now I understand mother nature
Watch me running head-first into the thorns
It's like the lights are off but somebody's home

Unwrap that tourniquet 'round the sun
Turn those subtle reds into neon
You'll see the difference when it's done
But I understand your hesitation

Come take a walk with me down billionaire's row
Trying to keep our balance over zero
We'll write the fairytale for the rest of our lives
Throwing the trash away one more time

Holding on to love like a stone
Melting down today for tomorrow's
Covenant of the heart
You know it's turbulent from the start
And I understand it's not your nature

But you need a friend
To take you home
You've got to begin again

To open castle gates and let me go inside
And taste the bitter tea that won't let you hide
Then we can take away as much as we can steal
Break all the precious bones before the guards appear
Before the fantasy is cast into the fire
And strike the temple bell to resonate
The covenant of the heart
You know what comes right after the dark
But I understand your hesitation

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Dancing in Babylon

Out on the street
The real heads
Trying to keep it low
Saw you move to the beat
And I was blown away
That's all you need to know
Maybe I mistook
Pure distraction for a flash of love

I wanna clear the air by Monday
If all the tanks are gone
And when it settles down I wonder
If I'll like what we've done
You know we just started
We're proud-hearted
Like fish in the lobby
Dead and gone
Dancing in Babylon

Two ships in the night
Quietly signaling from the bow
Don't you miss feeling like
You could run away
And nobody had to know?
When your time is up
Call the captain
tell him to let me off

Don't rush me (don't rush me)
I don't wanna be
Thinking about this stuff
You hurt me and I run to you
Is that the big idea?
You know we just started
we're proud-hearted
like fish in the lobby
Dead and gone
Dancing in Babylon

I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you
I wanna touch the scars
And break the chains that hold you
But I won't start
'Til the sun dips down

I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you (dancing in Babylon)
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you (dancing in Babylon)
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you (dancing in Babylon)
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you (dancing in Babylon)
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you (I do)
I wanna tell everyone I know
I love you
I love you
I love you (I wanna tell everyone I know)
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you

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People in the Streets

Life keeps on going
Showing you things that you can't unsee
In the sense of unknowing why
Anything happens to be
And just as the sun comes out again
Something is blocking the light
But it's all right

The inside's still glowing
Telling the heart what it wants to hear
But what if it's only lies
Twisted apart by fear?

Well, that's when the brain waves goodbye
From the front of the train
Where the coal is burned
And you know the refrain
Without hearing a sound
So you sing it again
'Cause you won't
Learn from the people in the streets

Wheels left the ground
Hoping to fly past the road ahead
Components start breaking down
And sooner or later you're dead
And just when the wool goes over the eyes
Somebody moves you along
But it's all wrong

And someone complained that the fire was out
So they shut off the rain and let the flames return
Now they had to rename all the tricks in the book
And I'm starting to doubt
Where I once stood
And there's people in the streets
There's people in the streets
People in the streets
There's people in the streets

End of the line
In real time
I stopped clinging to what's mine

They're marching to the beat of a different drum
Going over receipts with a magnifier
The people in the streets aren't singing along
'Cause they're probably sick and they're probably tired
I listen for the sound of the starting gun
But when you're living the dream
And your ears are bad
The people in the streets aren't part of the fun
And I'd go and join them but I'm so scared
Of the people in the streets
The people in the streets
People in the streets
The people in the streets

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Bubblegum Dog

Bubblegum dog
Tell me what the truth is
Isn't this bed a log?
Doesn't that confuse things?
Shouldn't I run?
Isn't that the white man?
None of this seems like fun
But maybe that's the point man?

For years I've strung you along
Afraid of the bubblegum dog
And it's finally catching up with me
I hope it's a false alarm
But the pain of the bubblegum dog
It's finally catching up with me
Who would have believe I saw?

Tenement homes
Built upon a fault line
Juvenile quetzal birds
Living in the coal mine
Manicured lawns
Tibetan straw men
Igneous basketballs
Drifting through the heavens

I found hate told the earthly world
But hate is a very strong word
And it's finally catching up with me
The years of plodding on
In fear of the bubblegum dog
It's finally catching up with me

So I'll pray it won't be long
I'll wake up and it's all gone
You and me
We'll keep it calm
My bubblegum dog

The shame of vitriol
Aimed at the bubblegum dog
It's finally catching up with me
And I hate this bubblegum world
But hate is a very strong word
And it's finally catching up with me

So we'll hide until it's gone
Boil the ones that don't belong
Pay the man to keep it on
Days are short and nights are long
Bang our heads against the gong
Maybe tinkle on the lawn
One for all and all for one
My bubblegum dog

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Nothing to Declare

Nothing to declare
Not in the bags under my eyes
I can see you standing there
But still, there's nothing to reply
The world's my Fine de Claire
My Spanish castle in the sky
I can see it floating there
But still, there's nothing to define

If I'm worlds away
I'm holding mountains in my hands
Starlight ain't never gonna let me down
Until I stumble like a drunkard back to town
Then I end up where you are
Keeping the sanctuary warm
Don't ask me who I am
Don't ask me where I was

Nothing to declare
Not in the valise of my mind
All the documents are there
But still, there's something to decide
The world's my Fine de Claire
The waters beckon me to dive
I can tell the pearl's in there
And still, there's nothing I can find

If you let me go
I'll fall as far I can fall
Starlight ain't never gonna bring me home
Until I wake up like a baby in the womb
Then I'll wonder who you are
Keeping the conversation light
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know
Don't ask me how I know

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Nothing Changes

This is what the gods must have been talking about
When they told me, "Nothing changes"
Falling through the Pleiades straight into a cloud
Wishing all the stars could save me
And I feel strange
Like I shouldn't be here
Let me know if you receive me
If I could change then I wouldn't be here
Oh, nothing's gonna change, believe me
So don't lead me on

This is what the birds must have been squawking about
Right before the dream was ending
And maybe you'd have heard if you'd stopped f*cking around
When it was time to stop pretending
That I could change and I wouldn't be here
Oh, when did all the gods deceive me?
I should change
I shouldn't be here
But nothing's gonna change, believe me
Believe me

Thrust the dagger into the night, valiant flailing
Sisyphean daily life, it's endless straining
Fortify the curtain walls, but nothing's storming
Push the boulder off to the side

La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la

This is what the gods must have been talking about
When they told me, "Nothing changes"

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Phradie's Song

Did I dream before?
It felt like I couldn't love anymore
Entire symphonies
A holy light was gifted to me
Any time the music plays (Any time)
And morning comes to wash it away
Then I can sing for you (Sing for you)
Every day, if you want me to

[?]

Oh, a needle in the reeds
Staying right ahead of me
All the little drops of dew
I want to go collect them for you
And every time the tears begin
The morning sun is there in your hands
And I will sing for you
Every night, if you want me to

And I will sing to you
Every night, if you want me to
Yes, I can sing to you
Every night, if you want mе to

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I Wish I Was Joking

Half of love is still love
You beg the dawn to ease you in
Pass the time a thousand ways
In the dump, you'll find love

Half the time I feel sad
And any kind of love will do
But it's a job
Don't know if that's the dream
In a style that's insincere

For a six-dollar coffee
And municipal parking
And Disney on ice
I wish I was joking
I wish I was joking

I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)

Here's the thing about drugs
They'll sink your mind
And steal your friends
You kiss the sky below the bed
You get in the car but don't go

I'm kind of in to being home
It's the time for love affairs
'Cause now and then
I can't tell right from wrong
You talk me down
You raise the dead

Nobody calls me
The gangster of love (gangster of love)
At six in the morning
A new day is dawning
I wish I was joking

I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
I wish I was joking (I wish I was joking)
Half of love (is joking)
Half of love is still love

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Loss of Life

You can sail off the edges of the earth
Greet the workers of the universe
Still nothing prepares you for loss of life

Mmh

At the table
Undressing cosmic knots
What remains of disconnected dots
Who knows how the painting will look in the morning?
When the day is born and life is ending

Ahh

But it's neither created nor destroyed
There's a way to quiet all the noise
'Cause it's only a different kind of gain
Even if your color fades away

When the world is born and life is ending
Then you learn to love your loss of life
When that moment comes and life is over
Anyone can love
Anyone can love