Bright Eyes
Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh (Companion Version)
[Verse 1: Conor Oberst]
The phone slips from a loose grip
Words were missed then, some apology
"I didn’t wanna tell you this
No, it’s just some guy she's been hanging out with
I don’t know, the past couple weeks I guess"
Well, "Thank you", and hang up the phone
Let the funeral start, hear the casket close
Let's pin split-black ribbons to our overcoats
Well, laughter pours from under doors
In this house, I don’t understand that sound no more
It seems artificial, like a TV set
[Chorus: Conor Oberst & Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst]
Well, haligh, haligh, a lie, haligh
This weight it must be satisfied
You offer only one reply
You know not what you do
But you tear and tear your hair from roots
From that same head you twice removed
A lock of hair you said would prove
Our love would never die
Well, ha ha ha
[Verse 2: Conor Oberst]
And I remember everything
The words we spoke on freezing South Street
All those mornings watching you get ready for school
You combed your hair inside the mirror
The one you painted blue and glued with jewelry tears
Something 'bout those bright colors
Would always make you feel better
But now we speak with ruined tongues
The words we say aren't meant for anyone
Just a mumbled sentence to a passing acquaintance
But there was once you
[Bridge: Conor Oberst]
You said you hate my suffering
You understood
You’d take care of me
You'd always be there
Where are you now?
[Chorus: Conor Oberst & Phoebe Bridgers]
Haligh, haligh, a lie, haligh
The plans were never finalized
But left to hang like yarn and twine
Dangling before my eyes
As you tear and tear your hair from roots
From that same head you twice removed
A lock of hair you said would prove
Our love would never die
And I sing and sing of awful things
The pleasure that my sadness brings
As my fingers press against the strings
Another clumsy chord
Haligh, haligh, an awful lie
This weight will now be satisfied
I'm gonna give you only one reply
I know not who I am
[Outro: Conor Oberst]
But I talk in the mirror
To the stranger that appears
Our conversations are circles
Always one sided
Nothing is clear
Except we keep coming back
To this meaning that I lack
He says, "The choices were given
Now you must live them
Or just not live
But do you want that?"