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lyrics

The fire marshall, on vacation / called his boys for information
But they weren’t at the station / They were nowhere to be found
And the papers didn’t mention / the gasoline the place was drenched in
between the garage and the engine / burning slowly to the ground
And here I am again to say Here I am, which way’s the way
Here I am—just yesterday I was thinking bout tomorrow
Here I am—nearly spent Just wondering where it all went
Here I am—a child, and reticent to grow into my sorrow

The prophesy was written / Abraham bore many children
then he went ahead and killed them / At the instruction of the Lord
and so Isaac wrote to Ishmael / who thought the letter was just junkmail
Live by the pen to die, still / at the destruction of the sword
Here I am, still getting by here I am, and afraid to die
Here I am—to make another try at this impossibility
Here I am—barely awake Hopin I won’t make the same mistake
Here I am, reluctant to ever take responsibility

the criminal outfoxes the mandatory little boxes
as he gives a brief synopsis of his life up until now
Telling who and when and wherefore, and other things he’s been prepared for
implicating others, therefore, without ever saying how
here I am, on the run here I am, under the gun
here I am—t’bring what I’ve begun to some kind of final end
here I am, alone at last at least enough to think to ask
here I am—but will the past still know me as a friend?

Now I’m sitting at the keyboard / trying to guess at my own password
The keystroke of the four-chord / sounding nothing like your name
While the bells in the cathedral / so archaic and medieval
Announce at evening that the weasel’s / brought the monkey to the game
And here I am, still hanging on here I am, a little overdrawn
Here I am—waitin for the dawn to be the answer that I prayed for
And here I am—not getting through not knowing what the hell to do
Here I am—like superglue stuck without the thing I stayed for

And there’s nothing left to wonder / to take or steal or plunder
You’ve succumbed, and now you’re under / neath the sorceress’s spell
meanwhile somewhere music’s playing / and some listener’s obeying
A recorded voice that’s saying: “please return now to your cell”
And here I am, still on the ground here I am, to give another round
Here I am—tho try, by leap or bound I just can’t seem to make liftoff
And here I am—the solitaire the debilitated debonair
Here I am—it’s not been fun or fair and in fact, it’s been ripoff

credits

from Unravelled Tales - Volume 2, released July 24, 2021

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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