Helplessness Blues

Album: Helplessness Blues (2011)
Play Video
  • I was raised up believing I was somehow unique
    Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see
    And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be
    A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me

    But I don't, I don't know what that will be
    I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

    What's my name, what's my station? Oh, just tell me what I should do
    I don't need to be kind to the armies of night that would do such injustice to you
    Or bow down and be grateful and say, "Sure, take all that you see"
    To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls and determine my future for me

    And I don't, I don't know who to believe
    I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

    If I know only one thing, it's that everything that I see
    Of the world outside is so inconceivable often I barely can speak
    Yeah I'm tongue-tied and dizzy and I can't keep it to myself
    What good is it to sing helplessness blues, why should I wait for anyone else?

    And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf
    I'll come back to you someday soon myself

    If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm raw
    If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm sore
    And you would wait tables and soon run the store

    Gold hair in the sunlight, my light in the dawn
    If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm sore
    If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm sore
    Someday I'll be like the man on the screen Writer/s: Robin Noel Pecknold
    Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Bill from UsBefore I found out who Fleet Foxes were (thanks to this song) I thought this WAS Graham Nash, that explains it!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Daryl Hall

Daryl HallSongwriter Interviews

Daryl Hall's TV show is a hit, and he's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - only one of these developments excites him.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.