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Before The Beating Starts

from Kill Devil Hills (2004) by Jim Clements

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lyrics

I dropped a bomb after the war was over,
I sold my stocks three days after the crash.
I fell in love, but my heart was already broken.
I got an appetite when my lunch was in the trash.

I found God deep down in the inferno.
Joined the race when my tank was out of gas.
Lord knows I should pull myself together,
But the Devil knows that time’s already passed.

And in a cruel twist of fate, I met my true love three days late.
She’d found another tender lover, so much like me could be my brother.
So I’m buckling down, trying to make her come around,
A few choice words, or perhaps a murder,
I’ll break their hearts before the beating even starts.

I split the tide but the ship was already sailing.
I raised the dead after the rot set in.
I split the loaves but they’d all packed their own lunches.
I gave my life after they set me free.

And in a cruel twist of fate, I met my true love three days late.
She’d found another tender lover, so much like me could be my brother.
So I’m buckling down, trying to make her come around,
A few choice words, or perhaps a murder,
I’ll break their hearts before the beating even starts.

Don’t they look so happy? I want to take a little for myself.
And you know I hate to spout these clichés,
But I can’t cook her breakfast without breaking some legs.

credits

from Kill Devil Hills (2004), released July 7, 2004

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Jim Clements London, UK

Every five years or so, Jim Clements emerges to drop a collection of literate, witty, surreal, gut-wrenching songs, before disappearing again into the shadows. A songwriter’s songwriter in the tradition of Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, and Nick Cave, his songs have earned him critical acclaim and a devoted following over his fifteen-year career. ... more

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