I stumbled across Joe Pug many years ago and he remains one of the most compelling lyricists that I know. When I look at his words lined up below, it’s obvious to me that this man is a poet, and it makes me hope that there remains a place for poetry within the social fabric. Anyway, enjoy and be sure to check out his whole album from Spotify below… or hell, buy his album and support a modern poet.
And I’ve come to know the wishlist of my father
I’ve come to know the shipwrecks where he wished
I’ve come to wish aloud, among the overdressed crowd
Come to witness now the sinking of the ship
Throwing pennies from the seatop next to it
And I’ve come to roam the forest past the village
With a dozen lazy horses in my cart
I’ve come here to get high, to do more than just get by
I’ve come to test the timbre of my heart
I‘ve come to test the timbre of my heart
And I have come to be untroubled in my seeking
And I have come to see that nothing is for naught
I’ve come to reach out blind, to reach forward and behind
For the more I seek, the more I’m sought
The more I seek the more I’m sought
And I’ve come to meet the sheriff and his posse
To offer him the broadside of my jaw
I have come here to get broke and then maybe bum a smoke
We’ll go drinking two towns over after all
We’ll go drinking two towns over after all
I’ve come to meet the legendary takers
I’ve only come to ask them for a lot
They say I’ve come with less than I should rightfully possess
I say the more I buy the more I’m bought
And the more I’m bought the less I cost
And I have come to take their servants and their surplus
And I have come to take their raincoats and their speed
I’ve come to get my fill, to ransack and spill
I’ve come to trade the harvest for the seed
I’ve come to trade the harvest for the seed
And I’ve come to know the manger that you sleep in
I have come to be the stranger that you keep
I’ve come from down the road and my footsteps never slowed
Before we met I knew we’d meet
Before we met I knew we’d meet
And I’ve come here to ignore your cries and heartaches
I’ve come to closely listen to you sing
I’ve come here to insist, that I leave here with a kiss
I’ve come to say exactly what I mean
And I mean so many things
And you’ve come to know me stubborn as a butcher
And you’ve come to know me thankless as a guest
But will you recognize my face when god’s awful grace
Strips me of my jacket and my vest
And reveals all the treasure in my chest
