Setlist + Lyrics – June 14, 2023 | rushmore beekeepers - indie folk music

spent ten years thinking
caught up searching for the right words
dictionaries keep changing
i’m writing all my letters again

learning your language
hear you talking ‘bout your day
while the earth keeps tumbling
we’re taking our sweet time

i get lost between the seasons
like i’m breathing in thin air
never saw you leaving
know i’ll see you somewhere

all this time spent being sure
i know nothing is close to answered
though my ink is running dry
i’m writing all my letters again

i get lost between the seasons
like i’m breathing in thin air
never saw you leaving
know i’ll see you somewhere

i may stay this way for years
almost knowing, never quite sure
i’ve held this in my hands
can’t count the times
the harder i try, the harder i try

you may see me someday when
you’re done imagining you’ll see me again
i’ll hold you in my arms
like i did in my mind
the harder i try, the harder i try

it may seem so obvious
mapping this route that found us
i’ll hold truth in my hands
like it was always mine
the harder i try, the harder i try

i can see it when i close my eyes
the bridge that leads from here to that side
i’ll take each step
like each step was mine
the harder i try, the harder i try

these storms come without warning
in the middle of the day or night
sometimes you see them brewing
sometimes you’re ready to put up a fight

i can hear an engine roaring
somewhere, i can’t see
i’m looking everywhere
trying hard not to drag my feet

i’ll wonder these endless pages
find what i’m looking for
these words, they say, weren’t meant for me
but i don’t listen to them anymore, anymore, anymore

dress up and get out of town
hold your hands tightly wringing
carry yourself with a new voice
listen to that
listen to that
listen to that distant mournful singing

early morning, big ol’ trucks roll by
shake the house, hear the windows
rattle in the frames

early morning, before the dawn meets the sky
i’m not looking, i keep waiting
for the slightest change

i need to sleep in, don’t like thinking
in the morning
give me late nights, my mind is kinder
to me then

early evening, finding our way home
engines turn, hands are ready
honking horns and brakes

early evening, caught up in all this
keep repeating, what am i thinking
i’ll take the time it takes

i need to stay in, i’ll be back
after the end
give me late nights, my mind is kinder
to me then

my heavy hands, pulling shapes from the air
some survive
that broken skyline, i walked for miles
and i’ll never be there again

from glassy water to waves pulled by the moon
i can see you through the cloudy darkness

branches bend, reaching low with
heavy hands, summer rain
creatures swim in the sky above
they’ve lived through more than i’ll see

we kissed under a broken streetlight
you smiled in the strange electric haze

i’ll take you back, under the moon
in the lookout in the rain
there’s nothing left, there’s no purpose
but we’ll find what we need

we wandered recklessly on these old roads
i carelessly held you so closely

i’ll take the messiness of this
over the certainty i longed for
by the light of a day barely starting
this isn’t everything but something more

always worried about the future, present, past
worried now and that’s all right
by the grace of the road you’re traveling
i’ll meet you between yours and mine

some days sway
with the heaviness of it all
even though we tread so lightly

if i don’t see you, tell me if you got this
it’s a long way to your eyes
by the light of a city in distress
i hope you make it out, make it out in time

never close to silent here
i’d be afraid if it was
you speak to me so faintly
i could never hear your voice enough

when they come for us in the night
as if there’s a war to be won
do they sleep soundly till the morning
with belief in the good they’ve done?

wash the earth from my face
the freshest rain of the spring
i can hear you calling
i only wish you could hear me sing

you walk so lonely in the cold
looking down you almost miss me
on that starry quiet night
how could they take you so quickly?

sometimes all i can feel are my fingers
reaching down like raindrops
splashing with the tiniest sound
when they get to where they’ve got

sometimes all i can feel are my toes
pulling me, deciding every step
digging in, they root themselves
and make a path to everyone i’ve met

i’ll start walking in whatever direction
i’ll only stop if i see you

sometimes all i can feel are these thoughts
crowding out all of the good
they push and pull and leave no space
i’m taking it back and maybe you should

i’ll start walking in whatever direction
i’ll only stop if i see you

i’ll start walking in whatever direction
i’ll only stop if i see you
i’ll only stop if i see you
i’ll only stop when i see you

if i were a boat i’d sail the open sea
and i’d always be sure to take you with me
if i were an animal, i’d want to be a bear
and i’d scare away anyone who wanted to do you harm

da da, da da, da da, da da da da

if i were a dog i’d probably be a mutt
and i’d look really funny but i’d give you all my love
and if i were a house i’d be this house,
here for you no matter how bad your day was

da da, da da, da da, da da da da

i’m just me but i want to be all these things
all these things, and everything you need
i’m just me but i want to be all these things
all these things, and everything you need

every time i want to talk to you i just talk to myself
and every time i want to be with you i’m just by myself
but i know you’re a safe bet, i’m as sure as can be
and i know, though sometimes i forget that you don’t hate me

and i hope, i hope you are here to stay

time goes by so slow when i’m waiting for it to go by
writing these words but no
there’s so much you don’t know
these thoughts sound so funny in songs
so much to get wrong
only days since you’ve been gone
but it’s only taken this long to know there’s nothing wrong

and i hope you are here to stay
here to stay
here to stay

waiting for it all to get to the point
or wherever it’s going
will there be anything
when the smoke clears
when the fires burn out

will anyone remember those
they marked and left on the road
will you find your love
when the smoke clears
when the fires burn out

keep some demons to yourself
keep some demons for yourself
and let the rest out

when you face the enemy
and all the stories you’ve been told
will you find your peace
when the smoke clears
when the fires burn out

keep some demons to yourself
keep some demons for yourself
and let the rest out

keep some demons to yourself
keep some demons for yourself
and let the rest out

to get to where i’m going
i’m gonna need a thick pair of boots
because i don’t know if it’ll be cold
it might rain or even snow

to get to where i’m going
i guess i’d better read the news
because i don’t know what happened today
and i know i’ll need something to say

to tell you how i feel
i’m gonna need some christmas lights
wrapped around a hundred trees
the lightest rain and the softest breeze

to tell you how i feel
i’m gonna need a few more songs
wrapped around this old guitar and
sung kinda poorly to wherever you are

to get to where i’m going
i may need a map or two
i’ll follow the trail wherever it goes
till i find myself on the right road

to get to where i’m going
i may need to get some rest
when i fall asleep will i dream and
find in my mind some deeper meaning
when i fall asleep will i dream and
find in my mind some deeper meaning

made up my mind to be on time for you
i want to give more of what you need
taking chances, i’m saving my dances, you know
i’ve never been one to lead

in the longest night, i’ll get it right again
these tests weren’t made for people like me
feel it in the wind, your body spins in time
like the whole world is dancing free

saw you leave, the way you held back
saw the way the light hit your eyes

i walk your street and every tree it reaches
with its long and lonely arms
at your doorstep, with all that’s left i’m holding
we’ll keep each other from all harm