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Milwaukee Avenue

from Like a Thief by Will Stenberg

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lyrics

It’s not so much that you left me alone
but now I’m bereft of a hope of a home.
And I used to have marrow inside these bleak bones.
Now they’re just hollow and weak as a moan
on a wind that barely can carry
my “Hallelujahs” or “Hail Marys.”
And all that I’m saying is all there is left to be said.
I’ll sing it instead.

It’s not that they sky gives a hint of release
but I’m straining for songs that can hold my belief
and hold your attention until like a thief
they take it away and return it to me
on a wind that don’t hardly matter
and comparisons rarely will flatter
but here and now when compared with then and there?
It just don’t compare.

The sidewalks are icy. The birds cry with cold.
Winter is not for the sick or the old.
And I’m not either one but I think I’ve been sold
on the option of trading the girl for the gold.
And love is the kind of illusion
that carefully crafts our confusion.
And there’s something so silent that’s screaming here in my head:
it’s blue and it’s red.


I’m reaching for you and I’m preaching the blues.
You’re sleeping out on Milwaukee Avenue.
I’ve paid the piper his debts and his dues
but I wish we could share our distress at the news
each morning in the daily paper:
all of these crimes and these capers.
All put together by figures of fear and bad business.
But I’m learning forgiveness.

All hearts are heavy, there’s ash in the air.
War is the language of human despair.
And our fondest daydream is nature’s nightmare
and my heart since you left is a branch rendered bare
of birds or of blossoms or berries,
of apples or peaches or cherries.
And if you don’t come back then these limbs will not live to be limber.
I hear someone shouting “Timber!”

From the dunes of the desert to the straits of the sea,
no bargains, no blessings - just brutality.
And I don’t know if I’m smart, but I think I can see:
we treat life like it’s worthless ‘cause we got it for free
but I swear and what’s more I promise
from now on to live totally honest.
And from the curve of your hips all the way to the curve of your smile
I’m living in style.

That low moaning sound that you heard from the ground
is the cry of the devil now that he’s found
that there’s no salvation in turning around:
it’s forward and forward, ever forward we’re bound.
So forward I’m plowing forever
and it’s late but I know it’s not never.
But I’m hoping and praying there’s good cause to hope and to pray.
But I’m crying today.

credits

from Like a Thief, released December 17, 2023
Will Stenberg - Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar.
Colin Edward - Synths, Flute, Backing Vocals.
Jonah Thomas - Cello.

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Will Stenberg Portland, Oregon

Will Stenberg is searching for the perfect marriage of text and tune, mediated by himself with maximum honesty. He spends a lot of time writing songs and has a vague, persistent hope that there is an audience for them. He is from a small town, has lived in various parts of the US, and is full of love and unease. ... more

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