High Desert Hymns

There is something deeply hidden In the tall grass where we live No oracles, no blackboxes Know what it really is And still the saints stare up into the sky With ropes around their wrists While arrows fly and fires light And the feet of kings are kissed There are beasts among the baobab trees There are exiles in our midst There are wild dogs around us Howling high desert hymns Howling high desert hymns The kind you might hum When you're lonesome Or you're lost or you're just lookin For a lover, or another Or just a crumb of bread and butter And a simple little bed That you can lie in for a while While the cup of coffee cools Buildings crumble and stars go dim You'll hear those high desert hymns When the wind begins to growl And the birds begin to shout And the night is full of broken vows And clearing throats and open mouths And the fossils in the fuel Start to flicker and go dim You'll hear 'em then Those high desert hymns This is a high desert hymn The kind you might hum When you're lonesome Or you're lost or you're just lookin For a lover, or another Or just a crumb of bread and butter And a simple little bed That you can lie in for a while While the cup of coffee cools Buildings crumble and stars go dim This is a high desert hymn This is a high desert hymn