Lyrics Birdland - Patti Smith

Birdland

His father died and left him a little farm in New England
All the long black funeral cars left the scene
And the boy was just standin' there alone
Lookin' at the shiny red tractor
Him and his daddy used to sit inside
And circle the blue fields and grease the night
It was as if someone had spread butter
On all the fine points of the stars
'Cause when he looked up, they started to slip
Then he put his head in the crux of his arms
And he started to drift, drift to the belly of a ship
Let the ship slide open and he went inside of it
And saw his daddy 'hind the control boards
Streamin' beads of light
He saw his daddy 'hind the control board
And he was very different tonight
'Cause he was not human, he was not human
The little boy’s face lit up with such a naked joy
That the sun burned around his lids
And his eyes were like two suns
White lids, white opals, seein' everything
Just a little bit too clearly
And he looked around and
There was no black ship in sight
No black funeral cars, nothin'
Except for him, the raven
And fell on his knees and
Looked up and cried out
«No, Daddy, don’t leave me here alone
Take me up, Daddy, to the belly of your ship
Let the ship slide open and I’ll go inside of it
Where you are not human, you are not human»
But nobody heard the boy’s cry of alarm
Nobody there 'cept for the birds
Around the New England farm
And they gathered in all directions
Like roses they scattered
And they were like compass grass
Coming together into the head of a shaman bouquet
Slit in his nose and all the others went shootin'
And he saw the lights of traffic beckonin' him
Like the hands of blake
Grabbin' at his cheeks, takin' out his neck
All his limbs, everything was twisted and he said
‽I won’t give up, won’t give up, don’t let me give up
I won’t give up, come here, let me go up fast
Take me up quick, take me up, up to the belly of a ship"
And the ship slides open and I go inside of it
Where I am not human
I am helium raven and this movie is mine
So he cried out as he stretched the sky
Pushin' it all out like latex cartoon
Am I all alone in this generation?
We’ll just be dreamin' of animation night and day
And won’t let up, won’t let up and I see them comin' in
Oh, I couldn’t hear them before, but I hear 'em now
It’s a radar scope in all silver and all platinum lights
Movin' in like black ships, they were movin' in, streams of them
And he put up his hands and he said, ‽It's me, it’s me
I’ll give you my eyes, take me up, oh Lord, please take me up
I’m helium, raven waitin' for you, please take me up
Don’t leave me here"
The son, the sign, the cross
Like the shape of a tortured woman
The true shape of a tortured woman
The mother standing in the doorway, lettin' her sons
No longer presidents but prophets
They’re all dreamin', they’re gonna bear the prophet
He’s gonna run through the fields dreamin' in animation
It’s all gonna split his skull
It’s gonna come out like a black bouquet shinin'
Like a fist that’s gonna shoot them up
Like light, like Mohammed boxer
Take them up up up up up up
Oh, let’s go up, up, don’t hold me back
Take me up, I’ll go up, I’m goin' up, I’m goin' up
Take me up, I’m goin' up, I’ll go up, tell
Go up go up go up go up up up up up up up
Up, up, to the belly of a ship
Let the ship slide open and we’ll go inside of it
Well, we are not human, we’re not human
Well, there was sand, there were tiles
The sun had melted the sand
And it coagulated like a river of glass
When it hardened, he looked at the surface
He saw his face and where there were eyes
Were just two white opals, two white opals
Where there were eyes, there were just two white opals
He looked up and the rays shot
And he saw raven comin' in
And he crawled on his back and he went up
Up up up up up up
Sha da do wop, da sha da do way
Sha da do wop, da sha da do way
Sha da do wop, da sha da do way
Sha da do wop, da sha da do way
Shaman do wop, da shaman do way
We like birdland