From the recording Grenades
Kaia Kater, banjo, lead vocals; Christine Bougie, electric guitar, lap steel; Brad Kilpatrick, drums; Anna Ruddick, electric bass; Lydia Persaud, Meg Contini, Jill Harris, backing vocals
Lyrics
Away to the east of the isle where the
median swells and they gut the fish
The wharfmen sing, and beat the water beat the water so
We watch them shift from the timeworn
dance to the heated clash
Our sisters pray to raise us for better men
Chorus
On meridian ground
The half-breeds and the kids in bloom
Drain the water from the room
Fill it up again
On meridian ground
The half-breeds and the kids in bloom
My auntie died in a one-room house on the top road
With the candles cold, and a smile upon her face
We run inside and place our kites by her bedframe
She surges higher, the hills and the gullies fall
We swim out under the ships and flirt with pain like a mistress
Like the hemlock blade that bathes in the boiling tea
What a fool, what a fool can I be
Chorus
Midway through the hour
We send our blighted tongues to rest
Twin babies sick and dispossessed
Chorus
On meridian ground
The half-breeds and the kids in bloom
Drain the water from the room
Fill it up again
On meridian ground
The half-breeds and the kids in bloom
Drain the water from the room