Ant on a Rubber Rope

from Wives' Tales by Illustrated Manual

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lyrics

I was born into the mouth of a lion
Red and ugly and coming out early
I couldn't be sure if I'd been here before
But it was strangely familiar

Half of a man and half of the devil himself
Are living inside me and making me crazy
Going to war, knocking on the doors
Of all the questions that plague me

Got a long way to where I am going
But my eyes on that horizon
Maybe I'll see you at the other end
When I find my way out of this maze I found my way into

I am an ant walking on a rubber rope
Stretching out in front of me farther than an ant sees
All I can do is break it into
Moveable pieces

I've been working my whole life to be a good man
But it turned out to be harder than
I imagined it would ever be
But I won't give up or go along quietly
I'm gonna claw my way out of the belly of the beast that swallowed me

Immanuel was my age when he decided
To put down his hammer and walk out on the water
He didn't know where he was gonna go
Only that he was going

He wiped the dust off of his feet and let go of what he
Knew he couldn't have anymore
I wish I could say that I would do the same
But I can't or won't or both
What difference does it make

He told me that I was forgiven
But it feels like I've been living
On the tip of someone else's tongue
Tangled in the filament it spun
Visible and waiting for the end to come

credits

from Wives' Tales, released June 8, 2017

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about

Illustrated Manual Casper, Wyoming

Illustrated Manual was originally called "The Illustrated Man." Jon received an informal cease and desist for the name due to its use as the title of a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury, published in 1951.

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