Lyrics, “Hound Song”

The original lineation of the lyrics to the Hounds song, “Hound Song.”

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Hound Song

Better this than starlets crouched on the sill
singing the bravery of you.
The bravery of all things is a lie,
and it will—now or tomorrow—run you through.

Better you know this than leave yourself again.

Nobody wins in an amplified life.
Nobody wins when no dreams
are balanced by strife.

And better you know this than leave yourself again.

Your ills commence into a bucket, and they're blue.
And if you think you've had enough,
well—that's probably true.

Hey you, oh you, leave off.
Hey you, dearest you, stand down.
If only you'd grown before you'd known
the witless courage of a hound.

Nobody wins in an amplified life.
Nobody wins when no dreams
are balanced by strife.

And better you know this than leave yourself again.

Seeds strain into junipers
of the wallpaper in your hut.
And from the witchwork of the chimney
first soot falls, then a foot.

A face like burning shingles
and a nose like needlepoint.

Hands that reach toward you,
extinguishing all your fight.

Hey you, oh you, leave off.
Hey you, dearest you, stand down.
If only you'd grown before you'd known
the witless courage of a hound.

The oldest hurt
is the one the darkness made.

The bravest boy
takes his bravery to his grave.

Stop making lines
and you might see how you've done—
but watch it too hard,
and you might end before you've begun.

So be well.

Just be well.

Be well.

Be well.

In the most of you
that depends on you,
be well.

Oh, be well.

In the places you go,
where the starlets never show,
be well.

Better you know this than leave yourself again.

Nobody wins in an amplified life.
Nobody wins when no dreams
are balanced by strife.

And better you know this than leave yourself again.

Hey you, oh you, leave off.
Hey you, dearest you, stand down.
If only you'd grown before you'd known
the witless courage of a hound.

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