Sun Kil Moon - Cloudless Innocence lyrics

My dad turned 87 yesterday
His sister would have turned 83 on Monday
I gave him a call, gave him my condolences
And told him Happy Birthday
And I could hear it in his
Voice that he had the blues

Damn if I was the only one
Left standing of nine siblings
I'd have the blues too
But we talked awhile and as
Always through his blues
I could hear his positive spirit

Don't know how he manages to shine so bright
But he made it to 87 so
He must be doin' something right
I talked to cousin yesterday from
About one to two
We talked about the old days and
Of course we talked about

Her mom passing away too
We talked about the new days
And how far we've come
From bein' little kids playing out
Navarre on a lawn

Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Oh my god what a year's it's been
I lost three friends and one of
Those friends was a relative
To a bug that I was
Skeptical of back in March

But when you lose loved ones to that bug
You know it ain't no farce
Then I spent all day in
Bed tryin' to decompress
To give the high-pitched tinnitus ringin'
In my ears a rest

And to not look at a computer glowin'
Or a phone all day
And to bask in the digital less-ness
I read three chapters of John
Connolly's The Dirty South
Takes place in small town Arkansas

Black women are bein' found dead and
Charlie Parker's at the local jail
Tryin' to figure it out
And Thanksgiving is approaching
On the cement sidewalks small traces
Of fallen leaves are encroaching

And it gives me comfort to know
I'll be spending Thanksgiving with you
And your family in Telegraph Hill
I’ll be around for the holidays this
Year just like Jimmy Stewart

Last Thanksgiving we spent together
Was years ago Reykjavík
It was so cold and dark in the
Hotel we stayed and never left
Looking back that time was like a dream

I was playing to a full house
Playin’ my guitar and singing
I miss my mom and my dad but word has it
It ain't time to travel
Numbers spiking in Ohio
Best to stick around San Francisco

We can get on the phone and
We can laugh and cry
We laugh about Panera Bread adventures
And cry about Aunt Mimi who less
Than a week ago died
I got a flu shot today and had
A nice talk with a bank teller

About her year and how it’s turned
Out for her family and her
And we talked about gratitude
She said "Mark
For things being so grim you seem
To have a good attitude"

I said "You never heard that song
PMA by the Bad Brains?"
She said "Who, what are the Bad Brains?"
I said "Ah they were a punk band
With a song called PMA it means

Positive Mental Attitude there’s
A documentary on them it’s called"
Then she interrupted me said "Have
A nice day Mark"
I'm grateful to my friends who've gotten
On the phone with me and talked to me

And to those of them who took the time
Out to tell me that they love me
We all agree it's been a bad
Year but I've gotten to know
Some people better this year than I have
In the last 20 years or so

People start opening up when the world
Is full of chaos and fear
Us songbirds are scared because we don’t
Fall under what constitutes necessity
WWE will be back in full swing before
Live music and that’s a pity

And yeah somehow I got gratitude
For my health, for the roof over my head
And you and my mom and dad are still livin'
And I got music
So therapeutic and soul nurturing

And each day I can hear my higher powers
Foghorns blowing, birds chirping
Kids playing, the wind blowin’ the tree
With pink flowers
I look outside and see other higher powers
My succulents thriving

The wet parking lot from
Last nights' rain showers
The seagulls flyin' from my fire
Escape toward the Wharf
The blue sky that fades into creamy blue
Gold as the sun sets

I feel like a speck of dust
In light of all of it
I feel invisible and at peace and I embrace
All the small things
The soggy wet leaves contrasting
The cold crispy Northern California breeze

And I remember bein’ a kid and
The first songs I ever sung
"Comes a Time" and "Sugar
Mountain" by Neil Young

Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young
Cloudless innocence is wasted on the young