Chapelcross Towns

Let’s retire to our knees

With our books as our gracious

And kindly machines

Of concern take our places

Grow motorized trees

Build robotic faces

Who smile on command

Who can mind their own business

We’ll hold human hands

And rest human feet

In the Chapelcross Towns

Of the battle-scarred mornings

Fake leaves rustling sounds

Lay rattlesnake warnings

From our homes underground

You can still hear them moaning

Don’t cheat on your taxes

But as for your spouses

Dark secrets come out

With comma or without

When the tired young knees

Of your father walked out

To the lord I disbelieve

But increase thou my doubt

He sat down in the leaflessness

A thousand more times

I went back on my word

But I won’t go back this time

Neither bondsman nor free

But a newspaper salesmen

Who moves about words

(e.g. “death do us part”)

If our prayers are unheard

Well, our prayers are unheard

*The following lines do not appear on the "Pale Horses (Appendix)" version of "Chapelcross Towns", but are included in the Audiotree performance version. While not included on the studio-recorded track, they have some great annotations that are worth archiving here.*

And what there shall we yield

In our own poor devotions?

That pearl from the field

Cast back home to the ocean

Would you cast out my fears

Or at least fix some tea

In our cabbage white kingdoms

Of kings of no history

You can pack up your things

I would still wear your ring