The Devil in My Bloodstream

[Spoken word]

We wiped out all the Buffalo

Around the turn of the last century

And so it's factories and sawgrass

And wheat fields and asphalt laid in front of me

The Midwest is a hollow place

That we filled with love and industry

We stared at the frozen ground in Goodwill suits

Silent as the pastor reads the eulogy

I wanted to see just a little bit of everything

Let me be two blackbirds on a highway sign

Are laughing at me at four in the morning

They played the war drum out of time

So I'm not sure where I've been marching

I wanna be strong, but it's not easy anymore

I'm hoping I'm wrong

It's just five hours straight to home

From the town west of Sioux city

And so I searched through my great-grandpa's memoirs

For the devil in my bloodstream

Depression grabbed his throat

And choked the life out of him slowly

I've got the same blood coursing through my veins

It'll come for me eventually

I bet I'd be a fucking coward

I bet I'd never have the guts for war

Cause I can't spend another month away from here

These frantic rest stop phone calls don't get answered anymore

But I, I wanted to know if I could please come home

Just let me know

[Chorus, sung]

Two blackbirds on a highway sign

Are laughing at me at four in the morning

They played the war drum out of time

So I'm not sure where I've been marching

I wanna be strong, but it's not easy anymore

I'm hoping I'm wrong

I'm hoping I'm wrong