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Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M album cover art

Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M - Album Lyrics & Tracks

R.E.M•1985 Released•Alternative Rock•United States
Tracks: 11
|
Duration: 39:42
|
Label: I.R.S. Records
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Complete Album Tracklist

1

Feeling Gravity’s Pull

04:51
2

Maps and Legends

03:10
3

Driver 8

03:24
4

Life and How to Live It

04:08
5

Old Man Kensey

04:10
6

Can’t Get There From Here

03:40
7

Green Grow the Rushes

03:45
8

Kohoutek

03:16
9

Auctioneer (Another Engine)

02:44
10

Good Advices

03:30
11

Wendell Gee

03:00

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Fables of the Reconstruction Complete Lyrics

Feeling Gravity’s Pull Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I fell asleep and read just about every paragraph
Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around
Peel back the mountains, peel back the sky
Stomp gravity into the floor
It's a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it
Time and distance are out of place here
 
[Chorus]
Step up, step up
Step up, the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine
I felt gravity pull
 
[Verse 2]
Somewhere near the end, it said
"You can't do this." I said, "I can, too."
Shift, the swaying rivers shift
Oceans fall and mountains drift
It's a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it
 
[Chorus]
Step up, step up
Step up, the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine
I felt gravity pull onto my eyes
Holding my eyes straight (Looking down)
This is the easiest task I ever had to do
 
 
[Verse 3]
I fell asleep and read just about every paragraph
Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around
Shift, the swaying rivers shift
Oceans fall and mountains drift
It's a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it
Time and distance are out of place here
 
[Chorus]
Step up, step up
Step up, the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine
I felt gravity pull onto my eyes
Holding my eyes straight (Looking down)
This is the easiest task I ever had to do
 
[Outro]
Reason had harnessed the tame
Holding the sky in their arms
Gravity pulls me down

Maps and Legends Lyrics

[Intro]
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
 
[Verse 1]
Called the fool and the company
On his own, where he'd rather be
Where he ought to be
And he sees what you can't see, can't you see that?
(He sees what you can't see)
 
[Chorus]
Maybe he's caught in the legend
Maybe he's caught in the mood
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood
 
[Verse 2]
Down the way, the road's divided
Paint me the places you've seen
Those who know what I don't know
Refer to the yellow, red, and green
(Can't you see that?)
 
[Chorus]
Maybe he's caught in the legend
Maybe he's caught in the mood
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood
 
 
[Bridge]
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
He's not to be reached, he's to be reached
 
[Verse 3]
The map that you've painted doesn't seem real
He just sings whatever he's seen
Point to the legend, point to the east
Point to the yellow, red, and green
 
[Chorus]
Maybe he's caught in the legend
Maybe he's caught in the mood
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood
Have been misunderstood
 
[Outro]
Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached
Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached
Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached anymore

Life and How to Live It Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between, the wall was raised today
Two doors with names before your others and your own
Keep these books well stocked away and take your happy home
 
[Chorus]
My carpenter's out and running about and talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there
 
[Verse 2]
Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between, the wall was raised today
Raise the walls and shine its floors, the carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side, the other serves you best
 
[Chorus]
My carpenter's out and running about and talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there
 
[Bridge]
My ears ring and hear eclipsing time
Listen to the holler
Listen to my walls within, my tongue
Turns to see you in, my ears go tin
The air quicken tension building inference and suddenly
Life and how to live it
 
 
[Verse 3]
Raise the walls and shine its floors, the carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side, the other serves you best
Read about the wisdom lost, the knock-knock-knock
A secret knock, one hammer's locked, the other wisdom lost
 
[Chorus]
My carpenter's out and running about and talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there
 
My carpenter's out and running about and barking in the
Listen to the holler
My pockets are out and running about and barking in the street
To tell what I have hidden there
 
[Outro]
Listen, listen to the holler
I'm gonna write a book, it will be called
Life and How to Live It

Can’t Get There From Here Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When the world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Kick the clay that holds the teeth in
Throw your trolls out the door
If you're needing inspiration
Philomath is where I go by dawn
Lawyer Jeff, he knows the lowdown
He's mighty bad to visit home
 
[Chorus]
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
 
[Verse 2]
When your hands are feeling empty
Stick head jumping off the ground, ground
Tris is sure to shirr the deer out
Brother Ray can sing my song
 
[Chorus]
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here, here, here
(I've been there, I know the way)
 
 
[Bridge]
Hands down, Calechee bound
Landlocked, kiss the ground
Dirt of seven continents going 'round and 'round
Go on ahead, Mr. Citywide, hypnotized, suit-and-tied
Gentlemen, testify
 
[Verse 3]
If your world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Philomath, they know the lowdown
Throw your trolls out the door
 
[Chorus]
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
Can't get there from here
(I've been there, I know the way)
 
 
[Outro]
Hmm... thank you, Ray
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Green Grow the Rushes Lyrics

[Verse 1]
The wheelbarrow's fallen
Look at my hands
They've found some surplus cheaper hands
Rubbing palms and pick and choose
Who will they choose?
Here is the news
 
[Verse 2]
Look at that building
Look at this man
Haloed and whitewashed
Gone to find a cheaper hand
He'll offer a pound
Offer a pound
 
[Chorus]
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
The compass points the workers home
 
[Verse 3]
Pay for your freedom
Or find another gate
Guilt by associate
The rushes wilted a long time ago
Guilty as you go
 
 
[Verse 4]
Stay off that highway
Word is, it's not so safe
The grasses that hide the greenback
The amber waves of gain again
The amber waves of grain
 
[Chorus]
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
The compass points the workers home
 
[Outro]
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)
 
[Outro]
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)
La-la-la la la lye (Green grow the rushes go)

Good Advices Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When you greet a stranger
Look at his shoes
Keep your money in your shoes
Put your trouble behind
When you greet a stranger
Look at her hands
Keep your money in your hands
Put your travel behind
 
[Pre-Chorus]
Who are you going to call for?
What do you have to say?
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away
 
[Chorus 1]
At the end of the day, I'll forget your name
I'd like it here if I could leave
And see you from a long way away
 
[Verse 2]
When you greet a stranger
Look at his shoes
Keep your memories in your shoes
Put your travel behind
 
 
[Pre-Chorus]
Who are you going to call for?
What do you have to say?
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away
 
[Chorus 2]
At the end of the day
When there are no friends
When there are no lovers
Who are you going to call for?
What do you have to change? (Keep your hat on your head)
(Keep your trouble behind)
A familiar face, a foreign place
I'll forget your name
I'd like it here if I could leave
And see you from a long way away
 
[Outro]
Who are you going to call for?
What do you have to say?
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away