Past Lives - Past Lives lyrics

I was standing on a beach at an ocean of broken gla** I was building castles from the cinders and the ash Civilizations come and go To the sound of a howling hound and a tank foaming at the mouth I searched the record books, the bibliographies I traced the crooked lines of strange geography Counted every speck of dust, every grain of sand And when all of my work was through I still could not find you From your mother's mother to your children's kids From the birthmark to the burning witch I was waiting, watching, turning time I stared the sight right off my eyes I've seen it all once or maybe twice I've read the scriptures, taken the advice I've asked the prophets, asked the crystal ball I've asked the silhouettes climbing up my wall From your mother's mother to your children's kids The birthmark to the burning witch I was waiting, watching, counting time I stared the sight right off my eyes All the memories you beg to forget like black coals filling up your head Throw them in a trashcan light a match Turn the corner don't look back