Take her downtown,
the time has come
At last I can hear her song
Water contracts–I, cold, hold fast
like the last of the iron lungs
My child and me,
through the miles and leagues,
fall as hard and sessile as hail(?)
Echoing laughter,
‘fore and after,
oh, the raft of the the violet snail

Now doesn’t that sight put the fear of God in you?
Green light sweeps like a night stick swinging?

Sonar softly pinging

I am appeased by what I have seen
Now turn around ma, you already saw
what you may and can look no further
Haunted the post where the holy ghost pulls us down through the rayless water

Holding a child
now ain’t it nice,
ain’t it wild
and sweet?
On the verge of anguish
ain’t it absurd?
I do not have words,
it is not for a lack of language

Tethered to our floating home,
we scout for your crown and it’s playground

your periscope, your parapet careening(?)

Our God and king,
thy father watches the sheep
And I swear on my soul if it is all folderol,
let us ring round the roses, honey
Garbling all our sounds of woe
into hey nonny nonny nonny

Last and at least,
when the fire has ceased,
And a failsafe–essential–
break away
Shot is released,
we rise automatically
folderol, not to die, to die today

Music sets us spinning and spinning,
inscribed the memory of the honey bee
With the silence of the ballerina

We took a little walk
across the lawn,
It was two o’clock
with my soft shoes on
I met you at the dock,
may I cross the calm(?), I called
“May I tag along?”
Hear you bawl
a little sad song
It’s a sad song,
keep singing it, honey, it ain’t long
Sing and I’ll keep you safe and warm
until the dawn

DSRV-2 Avalon
Wherever you are,
wherever you’ve gone
Leanin’ your cheek in to the apple yellow dawn
at highway one
We’ve been itchin’ to meet you,
recommission and meet you
If you listen I’ll teach you
a sad song

Sing your machinery to sleep
and shut the door
Even Janthina once was as you are;
Sworn anathema to the guns and the megatons and all
Only Janthina can defeat the men of war

If you could only hear my joy
just to know her,
tie her little shoe,
take her little hand and say “hello” to her
hello
And there really ain’t a lot I can show her

Up on the deck
are we safe from harm?
Are we ready to surface?
In every respect:
sound the alarm
Oh, we’ll fall so fast,
it will feel slow
We will arrive before you know
We’re free to go if we don’t get stuck,
we’ll be there by morning with a little luck

Lay her down, Tom(?)
we are overrun
But there is time for another story
Smoke at the door, a(?) siphonophore,
coiling blue as a morning glory

It is the hour,
see the little hand
See the lambs we have kept and guarded
Tower of steel
cartwheeling in the sand,
with the force of the waters parted

It is the hour
we are far from home
We, the lambs who will not be slaughtered
I am not afraid,
I am not alone
I’m not alone,
I have brought my daughter

I’m not alone

Notes

Played for the first time at Joanna Newsom's surprise concert on March 22nd, 2023. Lyrics are the community's best guess until an official recording comes out.