We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Poppy Seeds

by The Corner Laughers

/
1.
Ants in the sugar bowl are something to behold 
Shining in the silverware like little specks of gold
 Milling through the sweetness like bees in honeycomb 
You'll put it in your tea when we can bring some money home
 Pendulum swings, energy's unlocked Counting down the seconds like a grasshopper clock 
Down by the river where the water meets the dock 
We're rowing in the rhythm of the grasshopper clock 
When I see a lovely flower I can't help but pick it 
When you look to me for answers all you get is crickets

 Stone on stone, brick upon the block 
Munching up the minutes like the grasshopper clock Wings take flight, people take a walk
 And end up all together at the grasshopper clock
 I saw the sky today, the colors made me feel so lowly I saw the world outside my window below, turning slowly

 When I see a perfect surface then I'll want to nick it 
When you ask me for solutions all I'll give is crickets 

Heartbeats start like small electric shocks Going through the motions like a grasshopper clock 
Round I go and on your door I'll knock
 Saying meet me in an hour at the grasshopper clock

 The world passeth away and lust thereof will vanish with it 
They'll say it's for the best but I will miss it, oh, I'll miss it 
When I find a puddle then I'll always want to kick it When I try out new ideas all I get it is ...crickets
2.
They say there's gold in orange flowers, gold in the streams
 But it's cold in the shower of a California dream The San Andreas motion shakes a person out of sleep
 And the vast Pacific Ocean makes a promise it can't keep
 
Follow the bells of El Camino
 Follow the royal highway through
 Mission to mission, my intuition says they will lead me home to you There's smoke choking the valley and the surf is poison-tossed
 But when the condors somehow rally then hope is not all lost
 The peak of Tamalpais meets the bottom of the sky
 And though the author's view is biased it's perfect in her eye

3.
Sugar Skull 02:28
In the decaying days of fall, you said you wanted it all You knew the times when it got dark were when we were happy as larks To think of leaves and birthday rain, Halloween and whistling trains, And it's a wistful, pleasant pain Baseball season's over but it will return again   I brought you a marigold and then you left me in the cold You were sent to kill Orion and I've always kept an eye on all the stars in Sco-Centaurus, wishing there was something for us With my hope as bright as topaz Come to find, to my surprise, we were as close as two cat's eyes   And so I wonder, in the spring, will you still want everything? Like the flies caught by a spider we want our eyes opened wider To look for meanings, hidden signs, patterns and crisscrossing lines Someone's skin like alabaster, someone's face now cast in plaster It's a beautiful disaster   All the saints around my arms could not protect us from all harm And when I hear you play the harp all of our songs are in F sharp You said as you touched every string, "maybe it's a Scorpio thing" All the saints around my hands will not stop autumnal plans The only thing that daylight saves is thoughts of all our open graves It's never easy, never dull, but it sparkles like a sugar skull
4.
5.
I tried to pull a rabbit from a hat. He said, "now why'd you want to bother with that? If you would just leave us rabbits alone we'd do some magic for you on our own." And since we met I'm lightning struck and two black cats are twice the luck And I don't need no rabbit's feet to tell me I've got something sweet with you. The fortune teller tried to read my palm but I, I couldn't stay still or keep calm. She said, "well you don't need to understand. Just go do something useful with these hands." And since we met I'm lightning struck and two black cats are twice the luck And I don't need no tarot cards to make me thank my lucky stars for you. I saw the Virgin Mary in my toast. She said that you're the one I love the most. I asked if she was just a vision from my head. She said, "Who cares? Be glad you've got that bread." And since we met I'm lightning struck and two black cats are twice the luck And if I die before I wait I pray the Lord my soul will take me to you.
6.
It’s square at the bottom and narrow at the tip Like the slave workers built for the pharaohs of Egypt The descendants of the Mayans and the Inca(n)s Drive by in the their Lincolns that they bought with the coffee that we sipped On the back of a dollar there’s an eye that looks down on the squalor that we never knew ‘Cause the Transamerica Pyramid is where I first met you The Transamerica Pyramid is where I first met you There’s a bridge into town with tall orange spires That from all around the globe people come to admire And there's thousands of them every day who cross over the bay By car or foot on their sneakers or tires Everyone’s sons and daughters use it to cross over the water that’s sparkling blue But the Transamerica Pyramid is what brought me to you The Transamerica Pyramid is what brought me to you There's a route through the Sunset where all the Barracudas And the Mustangs having fun get going down Judah With the slant sixes purring like the dance mixes during their way out of the sticks where they're setting the mood of The feeling of the street where the boys and girls meet And no car without Mopar will do But the Transamerica Pyramid is what drove me to you The Transamerica Pyramid is where I first met you credits
7.
8.
8:18 03:16
From the windows of College Terrace To the ushers in the dark From the Hewlett Packard heiress To the donkeys of Barron Park In Peet's and in Piazza's The stars no longer shine The protesters of Lytton Plaza Have set aside their signs In 8 minutes, 18 seconds the sun will touch our skin Vitamin D, in spite of windy, rainy weather We'll still be together And poppies will bloom once again No movies at the Aquarius And the fountain ceased its spout And in the old libraries The last book has been checked out The letters on the marquee Say we'll be back in the spring As we sit here in the dark we Don't believe a thing The nights we spent in Midtown The days of deviled egg The Mormon tire breakdown The grape juice by the keg We'll walk down University With no adversity And poppies will bloom once again
9.
They asked us where we came from, we said San Francisco They asked again, we said outer space I'm telling you we're not good with risks, oh But let us see your face, it gives us sense of place Can we play a game maybe, chicken bingo You can deal the cards we wont get in the way Run around the yard with the pink flamingos Watch the palm trees sway, we want to hear you say Come play today (They're in my head somewhere, they're in my head now) Come play play play today We've got a sandbox in our room Landlocked burying the gloom Why am I so cold when the sun is shining? What am I to do in the wintertime? Why are you so bold with your silver lining? I feel the best when I'm between the lemon and the lime Can we play a game maybe chicken bingo You get the dice and I'll keep the score Following the rules it's a tricky thing, though I feel best when you're between the ceiling and the floor Come play with me (They're in my head somewhere, they're in my head now) Stick our feet in the sea I've got a sandbox in my mind In my hand, blocks of every kind
10.
You can count all of the pixels on your hi-def stream You can count all your friends doing that same old meme You can count all of the money wasted on Red Bull And you can count on me to be nothing but dreadful Count all the times that you said we're through But I'd rather count cormorants...with you Count them in or count them out Count their skins & count their scouts Count their sins & count their snouts Count their fins & count their trouts I could count the beans with my accountant creep I've counted the sheep until I was fast asleep I could count on Buster Posey to go two-for-three I could count on dracula to steal you from me Count all your blessings, either way it's true: I'd rather count cormorants...with you Count their spins & count their spouts Count their shins & count their shouts Count their wins & count their doubts Count the cormorants about
11.
Poppy Seeds 01:18
12.

about

All songs by The Corner Laughers (see track details for individual credits).

Produced by Allen Clapp / Mystery Lawn Music
Mastered by Marty Rudnick / Sandbox Records
Artwork by Anna Saccheri

Recorded by Allen Clapp at Mystery Lawn (Sunnyvale, CA). Additional recording done in Oakland, Redwood City, Novato and Los Angeles CA; and Cambridge, UK.

credits

released June 19, 2012

The Corner Laughers are:
Karla Kane (Vocals, Ukulele, Percussion, Bass, Bell Choir)
Angela Silletto (Guitar, Percussion)
Khoi Huynh (Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion, Bell Choir)
Charlie Crabtree (Drums, Percussion, Vocals, Bell Choir)
KC Bowman (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Percussion, Bell Choir)

Guests:
Allen Clapp (Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion, Glockenspiel)
Anton Barbeau (Vocals, Keyboards)
Mike Viola (Vocals)
Astrid Smith (Violin, String Arrangements)
William Cleere (Vocals, Keyboards)
Anna Saccheri (Accordion)
Jeri Sykes (Woodwinds)
Wazu (Persian Percussion)

Banner photo by Andrew Widdowson, APW Photography

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Corner Laughers Redwood City, California

"Their indie pop is sassy and smart, intelligent and intricate, twee with bite" - The Guardian

shows

contact / help

Contact The Corner Laughers

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account