All Over Ohio

Well the rain it has been falling
 Like it wants to drown us all
 And the trees are gently swaying
 Like they're thinkin' 'bout the fall
 I still get shivers when I hear
 You singin' down the hall
 I'm gonna kiss you all over Ohio
 And the starlings they were flying
 Earlier today
 Doing their maneuvers
 Clouds of feathers on display
 Makes me wanna kneel in prayer but
 I've forgotten what to say
 I'll just name all the birds in Ohio
 Now the reason I am writing
 Is to tell you 'bout the flood
 Ahh, the river is so beautiful
 But it leaves a load of mud
 All I have now are these dirty songs
 I guess they're in my blood
 They make me wander so far from Ohio
 (Yeah) It's a silly undertaking
 To fly halfway 'round the earth
 With an imaginary womb of songs
 Intent on giving birth
 I gave all that I had to give
 I'm not sure what it's worth
 Scatter the ashes right here in Ohio
 All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
 Bursting from a tree into the blue
 Love – let it be not just a feeling
 But the broken beauty
 Of what we choose to do
 And the halleujah
 Used to make my Daddy cry
 I still wonder 'bout the ruckus
 Angels make up there on high
 In the meanwhile there are measures
 We can take to get us by
 Lay me down next to you in Ohio
 But my expectations stand still
 Like beggars at the door
 I'm flat broke from the dues
 I've paid them all before
 Gonna let the Cuyahoga
 Wash me up on burning shores
 Shipwrecked with you in Ohio
 All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
 Bursting from a tree into the blue
 Love – let it be not just a feeling
 But the broken beauty
 Of what we choose to do
 I have seen the slow corruption
 Of the best ideas of Christ
 In the pulpits of our nation
 Gospel turned into white lies
 If you preach a subtle hatred -
 The bible as your alibi
 Goddam you right here in Ohio
 But my shameless hallucination:
 He's still knockin' at my door
 And I know how this one's gonna end
 He's gotten in before
 I've run as fast as I can run
 I've had to ask, What for?
 He haunts me all over Ohio
 All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
 Bursting from a tree into the blue
 Love – let it be not just a feeling
 But the broken beauty
 Of what we choose to do
 Well the rain it has been falling
 Like it wants to drown us all
 And the trees are gently swaying
 Like they're thinkin' 'bout the fall
 I still get shivers when I hear
 You singin' down the hall
 I'm gonna kiss you all over Ohio