Lyrics Conor Oberst – Desert Island Questionnaire
Text:
Say that you were stranded on a desert island
What books you gonna bring what friends would tag along?
Say you had a month and you knew you were dying
How’d you spend your time
You don’t like this game and you take exception
Who wants all this trouble even hypothetical?
With the charging sky above
And the ground below that could swallow everyone
Staring at your phone at another party
Spend a lot on clothes got a lot of skin to show
People in the pool like the drowning army
The smoke alarm emotes and the hotel lobby glows
Wish that you can dance but you got no partner
Keep tapping on your glass cause you want to make a toast
To the ennui of our times
To the selfishness in everyone you know
Made a lot of friends but they can’t be trusted
Don’t know what their angle is
Post up at the bar and I’m double fisting talking to a mannequin
Don’t know what he means when he takes my pulse
And says that I’m a lot like him
I say «That’s fair enough, that’s why I’m trying to loosen up»
Every lunatic must be well intentioned
Sets himself apart he’s an instrument of God
Took her from the playground to the farmhouse cellar
Kissed her while he killed her like a good Samaritan
Finally found her body many autumns after
Interviewed her mother said she’d now be 21
And although we lost her young
Mormons at the door they look clean and handsome always have a good sales pitch
Your little sister swears she can paint my aura but I can’t take her serious
Need something to blame for this human nature is that what this condition is?
I’m so bored with my life but I’m still afraid to die
Everyone’s asleep in this burning building
And I can’t wake them up in time
You go on ahead I’ll be right behind you
We’re headed to the finish line
I can’t get closer until this is over
Pretend that you were stranded on a desert island
What would be the message that you’d spell out for the plane?
Say the engine failed when that plane was flying
If you were the pilot would you curse or would you pray
No one’s going to cry at this John Doe funeral
Not a lot to say didn’t even have a name
Light a candle just in case he was someone’s friend
Throw some flowers on the grave