[the ashley]
[Time: 5'18"]
[Lyrics: Thom Woodley]
[First performed April 4, 1998 -- show #6]
[Appears on "Pastor of Muppets", track 3]
[Tim: double bass, Nevin: viola, Kort: cello, Jamie: vocals, Andy: accordion, vocals, Thom: guitar, vocals]


A different ditty about a being sent to us, borne in ash, from the Woodley file. 5/4.
This is probably one of our most popular songs, and certainly one of our favorites --
if we were on a m*jor l*bel, we would probably push for this to be our big single --
although A+R guys tend to get nervous over words like "paragon" and "five-four." Anyway...


God once expectorated in a North Dakota clearing
Divine saliva mixed with sylvan slit and loam
And from the spot grew a tender crimson stalk
With a fragile bud of fiery pink and chrome
The lumberjack came back at dawn the next day
And found her standing alone
A pile of ash at her feet, covering her skin
A new Phoenix, a paragon firegrown

Ashley grew from fire and clay
And God and the Oversoul
Yet she walks with us today
As if she were just another troll

There's no lepers to heal for a fifty mile radius
She doesn't have to walk over channels and tarns
My Brita's worth need not turn to Burgundy
I just want to hold her in my arms
Her shroud's made out of rayon and polyester
She wears over her ashen skin
A dazzling smile, the longest mile, but all worthwhile
To keep her cherub scarab deep within.


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