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Testimonium Songs

by Joan of Arc

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1.
Amelia 02:44
Amelia was just fourteen and out of the orphan asylum At her first job in the bindery And Yes sir, Yes ma’am – oh, so anxious to please. She stood at the table Her blond hair hanging about her shoulders “Knocking up” for the stitchers. There were twenty stitching machines Worked by a shaft under the table. As each stitcher put work through the machine She threw it on the table. The books were piling up fast and some slid to the floor. The forelady had said Keep the work off the floor! And Amelia stooped to pick up the books – Three or four had fallen under the table She felt her hair caught gently Put her hand up and felt The shaft going round and round and round and round And her hair caught on it, wound and winding around it.
2.
I used the scythe like a corkscrew. I used the corkscrew like a wedge. I used the wedge like a hammer Because any tool is also a hammer Even if any rule is subject to its matter. I used to think I knew how to see. I used to draw out dusk and flush verb from form. I used to sing sincerity for recover me Because any tulip-framed Oedipal-skull Cultivates its own speculum. Thou Art That –
3.
After the wedding Red wine cut through Our ice cream headaches Hollowed the throb From our skulls with licked spoons. The doctor did a silly dance Circling the big chair on its back Our cake crushed under it Frosting globbed on the cuff of his pants. Conserve the right to name Liberate History Conserve History Liberate the corpse-weight Conserve the corpse-weight Liberate the scrawling gaze Conserve the scrawling gaze Liberate the icy frames Conserve the icy frames Liberate the daylight’s meaning Conserve the daylight’s meaning Liberate the sense of touch Conserve the sense of touch Liberate the vision’s grip Conserve the vision’s grip Liberate the film’s click Conserve the film’s click Liberate the right to name Your body doesn’t open. Your body, it only folds. Its seams meet in secret Cavities between mosaics of bolts. Her boots turned blue from snow-salt Point towards the door. The doctor has her wedged in. – Molecular justice – Her evil twin intuits prayer. Mirror-Mirror suture my bouquet Mirror-Mirror satiate my sweet tooth That old-fashioned representation Of God makes sense. Even we only got – what? Not even 30 frames per second.
4.
See the whole volume of the train Coming down the tracks Baffling your mind. In one minute see the volume Coming down the tracks Baffling your mind. Take one second Take one hundredth Take one thousandth Of that minute Baffling the mind And the baffling diminishes to simplicity. This is the principle which presides Over all attempts at exact observation That I have elsewhere called The law of convergence to simplicity By diminution of extent.
5.
What am I to do with all my faults? How to best invest my limitations? My understanding is evident in my actions And subject to the symmetries of my sense organs. God does exist, but only in those who believe in her. Why are my best friends so proud of their enslavements? Why fight for bondage as if it were freedom? And why is freedom not just difficult to win, but so tough to bear? Two men on the bus both separately notice the single baby shoe. One man insists this baby shoe has been unfortunately forgotten. The other man wonders aloud if this baby shoe hasn’t been abandoned. Oh the confidence of the window washer moving through his scaffolds – Up and down, his lowest point, far overhead.
6.
Jury Duty 03:03
However at home I may feel This big city is really no big deal. Its leading men of business Celebrated personalities Its mayor and it athletes They’re really all nothing to me. I hope I have adequately demonstrated my emptiness. I hope you have evidence enough to numerate your ruminations. And however uneasy I feel This reckless nation is really no big deal. Its anthems and biases Its dead stares and swindling Systematized It’s all history’s kindling. I hope I have adequately demonstrated my emptiness. I hope you have evidence enough to numerate your ruminations. And whatever wonder I may feel This whole planet is really no big deal. A giant rock spinning ‘round a ball of fire Timeless among its billions of twins None of them identical, all of them immeasurable But in the end each without consequence. But the human individual – I shudder in wonder at the other I’ve flipped the mirror upside down. It’s bolted to the wall, spins in place. I’ve flipped the mirror upside down And given it my all, but still see the same face. I’ve flipped the mirror upside down. It’s bolted to the wall, spins in place.

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released July 30, 2013

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Joan of Arc Chicago, Illinois

Chicago's Joan of Arc is never reliant on the status quo. In the course of their history, the band's recorded output has elicited not only critical praise through challenging the norms of traditional songwriting, but also significant backlash from reviewers who became increasingly confused by the band's eclectic output. ... more

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