I searched and stared but only the river stared back

I just discovered Down the Oubliette – an archive of hundreds of Okkervil River shows – which is both a good and a bad thing.

Good because ZOMG basically infinite Okkervil River!!!!!!1111oneone

But bad because I really don’t have the time to sit down and comb through hundreds of shows for my single favorite version of every song. For now, here’s an achingly beautiful version of one of their more underrated tracks.

Okkervil River Song – recorded for VPRO Radio in the Netherlands, September 23, 2003

It’s like the anti-Springsteen – no grand gestures, no motion, just clasped hands as you stare at the dirt and the grime, huddled and happy, and a dull ache when it’s all gone.

With your hand inside my pocket, you whispered in my ear
“We have come from ugliness to find some refuge here
With this bracken for a blanket, where these limbs stick out like bones
We have found a place where we can be alone.”
Far away our parents slept in while we watched our fire burn
They dreamed of nothing and got nothing in return

And the water slipped on slowly past our bodies in the weeds
Pulling plastic wrap and razors on its current through the reeds

Then I woke up one cold morning, felt an absence at my back

And I searched and stared but only the river stared back

Update: Okay, one more song. I’ve been looking for a version of “Westfall” that could match the forcefulness of when I saw them last year. This one doesn’t quite do it, but it’s pretty devastating nonetheless.

Westfall – Jakes’ Bar and Grille in Providence, July 15, 2007

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