YOUNG RHETORIC
songwriting by taylor young
As She Came and Went | Download
My River Belle was a failing ship
The ocean currents were rising swift
I lost the sail and I lost the oars
I told the ocean baby I’m all yours
I tied an anchor around my waist
Sunk to my cradle in the waves
I let the ocean under my skin
I let her in like a bathtub gin
She filled my mind with wonder
With pretty things and some words
As she came and went
The ocean told me it’s easy to fail
You traipse around in your fairy tales
You’re unaware of who you are
You’re unaware of the world so far
She would not offer comfort
She only passed on one verse
As she came and went
Comment [5]
Little Lion | Download
I was out hunting
When I found something
Quite unexpected for this land
A little lion
This close to dying
Had left a trail across the sand
I asked her how she was inside
Just emptiness was her reply
Oh little lion
When you’ve been crying
You know you lay down like a lamb
She crossed the ocean
Chased down some ghosts and
Their struggle ended on my shore
She wasn’t frightened
Here on my island
Her presence carried by allure
Her blood the color of Bordeaux
Runs through my body head to toe
Oh little lion
If you stop trying
You’ll never get back what they stole
I couldn’t stand to hear her cry
I tried to brighten up her eyes
Oh little lion
Since you’ve been smiling
Your coat has turned to calico
Comment [1]
For My Love of Poison | Download
I’ll dine on nightshade
Sick as it may seem
Just to have your warm breath cover me
I’ll face the gallows
Swinging to-and-fro
Just to see you once before I go
All for my love of poison things
Don’t care how much your poison stings
I’ll give you my heart
Should yours fail to start
Just to know that we would never part
I’ll live out my days
Rotting in a jail
Just to send you letters in the mail
All for my love of poison things
Don’t care how much your poison
Let me know when it’s time to go
I won’t miss a beat
Let me know when it’s time to go
I won’t miss a beat
I’ll plot my revenge
Bitter and obscene
Just to know that you’ve seen what I’ve seen
I’ll share a secret
Only a few words
Just to know that you know what I’m worth
Comment [1]
Gathering My Intentions | Download
I spilled a jar full of intensions
Blacked out attempting to collect them
If I don’t wrangle in a few
I’ll have nothing left to do
My hand will crush them like they’re flowers
My steps will slaughter them for hours
My nets will let them pass on through
My plans will seem to fail me too
When I get a hold on a good one
See it out see what it becomes
When I get a hold on a good one
See it out see what it becomes
Won’t change it around
Won’t make it what it’s not
Even if it isn’t
Everything that I want
I’ve been gathering my intentions
Obsessed with catching some perfections
Some are yellow some are blue
Some are difficult to view
When I get a hold on a good one
See it out see what it becomes
When I get a hold on a good one
See it out see what it becomes
Won’t change it around
Won’t make it what it’s not
Even if it isn’t
Everything that I want
Comment [3]
Stranger in the Wood | Download
I wandered off
Got myself lost
Near where the river’s hard to cross
Deep in the trees
Covered in leaves
I Kept my body still as could be
Yet I’m a stranger in these here woods
I can’t say I’d leave if I could
Well the arrangement is holding back the wolves
And everything is sounding as it should
Wind in my sleeves
Head on my knees
I hope the trees will get used to me
They sing alone
No other notes
Fall on my ears in such soft tones
Everything is sounding as it should
Everything is sounding as it should
I feel at home
Fair skin and bones
I build my tree trunk stone by stone
In my late years
We’re almost peers
Held to the ground by similar fears
Still I’m a stranger in these here woods
I can’t say I’d leave if I could
Well the arrangement is holding back the wolves
And everything is sounding as it should
Everything is sounding as it should
Everything is sounding as it should
Comment
Hold Me Down | Download
You might say they were my friends
You might say I let them in
You might say I wanted all
They had to give
You might say they had me scared
You might say they were not there
You might say they had some things
They had to share
Who’s gonna hold me down
For another round
They showed me their little shows
Some pictures I’d never know
In daylight I’ve got control
And can’t let go
Who’s gonna hold me down
For another round
They gave me what I asked for
Something that I missed before
Something that I could not guess
To be in store
Who’s gonna hold me down
For another round
Comment
Steady In Motion | Download
Note: Demo has slightly different lyrics
Might as well be an ocean
Or sorrow filled tea
Stay steady in motion
Or steeped in grief
So my friend what do you want from me
I could be anything
I could be everything
So my friend what do you want from me
Come and sea the sea with me
How lovely
See how she begs for us
Endlessly
So my friend be what you want to be
You could be anything
You could be everything
So my friend be what you want to be
Oh I am sure
she’ll have our return
So my friend none of it matters to me
You could be anything
You could be everything
But my friend none of it matters to me
Comment
Reservoir | Download
We jumped the reservoir
Summertime when we were bored
Wondering how deep it gets
Fleeting attempts at death
Caught in another sunken world
Been looking for a better cure
Caught in another sunken world
Still haven’t found that cure
Knee deep in the roaring brook
I caught her eye with another look
Wonder if she gets it yet
Storm brewin’ in my head
Caught in another lover’s whirl
Been looking for a better cure
Caught in another lover’s whirl
Still haven’t found that cure
Halfway down Morgan road
My gears stripped and my breaks were blown
Wondering how far I’ll get
Stop sign in the road ahead
Caught in another reckless turn
Been looking for a better cure
Caught in another reckless turn
Still haven’t found that cure
Comment [1]
Old William Wright | Download
He pulls against the roots
Clearing the place she will stay
He seems to be confused
Loosing the light of the day
He sings a hymn from deep within
Some place that I’ve never been
Old William Wright
Digging away the night
I watch him from a sill
Eerily kept from my sleep
My body spreads a chill
Seeing her under that sheet
His late wife dressed in white
Lain with her arms by her sides
Old William Wright
Digging away the night
Poor man been run off his land
Taking it back with his hands
Old William Wright
Digging away the night
Digging away the night
Comment
More than the Last | Download
Step into a different life
With a sober view of the city lights
Swallowing you critic’s pride
These people must be after something
Long lost in our lives
On those winter days
With their whiskey nights
I survived a harpoon wound
But a pitchfork beating is another goose
That will chase you right back too
Your spot at the bar
Ride along the riveside
With the empty threat of an open mind
Leave behind your hunter’s eyes
These people aren’t worth much to hustlers
They lack the broad scars
Of the summer days
On the burning tar
I could sing a sweeter tune
But a good old hanging is a better noose
If you let go of the rope
You’ll never fall far
All of those dreary day dreams
Come around like a scandalous scheme
I think I love this one
More than the last
Sit back I think I’ll have another
Come around and keep it under cover
I think I love this one
More than the last