Vampire Weekend - Ice Cream Piano

"Fuck the world"
You said it quiet
No one could hear you
No one but me
Cynical, you can't deny it

You don't want to win this war
'Cause you don't want the peace

Armistice, we never tried it
You're a soldier
I'm police
Listen, baby
We can't deny it

You don't want to win this war
'Cause you don't want the peace

The word was weaponized
As soon as it had passed your lips
I am a gentle man
I refuse to show my gentleness

"Fuck around and find out"
The angry child recites this every day
The universe will pry out
The truth, which is you've got nothing to say

In dreams, I scream, "Piano"
I softly reach the high note
The world don't recognize
A singer who won't sing

You talk of Serbians
Whisper, "Kosovar Albanians"
The boy's Romanian
Third-generation Transylvanian

I see the vampires walking
Don't be gripped by fear, you aren't next
We're all the sons and daughters
Of vampires who drained the old world's necks

In dreams, I scream, "Piano"
I softly reach the high note
The world don't recognize
A singer who won't sing

In dreams, I scream, "Piano"
I softly reach the high note
The world don't recognize
A singer who won't sing

Vampire Weekend - Hope

The bull has gored the matador
The U.S. Army won the war
The meaning died in metaphor
I hope you let it go

The phoenix burned but did not rise
Now half the body's paralyzed
There's no one left to criticize
I hope you let it go

I hope you let it go
Hope you let it go
The enemy's invincible
I hope you let it go

The prophet said we'd disappear
The prophet's gone but we're still here
His prophecy was insincere
I hope you let it go

The righteous rage was foolish pride
The conquerors did not divide
The call keeps coming from inside
I hope you let it go

The embassy's abandoned now
The flag that flew is on the ground
The painting burned, the statue drowned
I hope you let it go

The moving train accelerates
It's always fast and always late
It never leaves the Empire
State
I hope you let it go

I hope you let it go
I hope you let it go
Our enemy's invincible
I hope you let it go

The sentencing was overturned
The killer freed, the court adjourned

Vampire Weekend - Prep-School Gangsters

It's just something people say
They don't really feel that way
Prep-school gangsters make the call
As the summer turns to fall

I was tired but waking up
I was dying to test my luck
Prep-school gangsters barred the way
There was nothing I could say

Call me jealous, call me mad
Now I've got the thing you had
Somewhere in your family tree
There was someone just like me

I was only walking by
Didn't mean to catch your eye
It's just something people say
You could lose some teeth that way

Call it business, call it war
Cutting class through revolving doors
Yours was better, mine was worse
'Til I took on the fifth-gen curse

Call me jealous, call me mad
Now I've got the thing you had
Somewhere in your family tree
There was someone just like me

It's just something people say
It's just something people say
It's just something people say
It's just something people say
It's just something people say

Vampire Weekend - Walcott

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, Mystic Seaport is that way

Don't you know that your life could be lost

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, the bottleneck is a shit show

Hyannisport is a ghetto

Out of Cape Cod tonight

The lobster's claw is sharp as knives

Evil feasts on human lives

The Holy Roman Empire roots for you

Walcott, all the way to New Jersey

All the way to the Garden State

Out of Cape Cod tonight

Walcott, fuck the women from Wellfleet

Fuck the bears out in Provincetown

Heed my words and take flight

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Walcott, don't you know that it's insane?

Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod

Out of Cape Cod tonight?

Vampire Weekend - Holiday

Holiday, oh, a holiday

And the best one of the year

Dozing off underneath my sheets

While I cover both my ears

But if I wait for a holiday

Could it stop my fear?

To go away on a summer's day

Never seemed so clear

Holiday, still so far away

Our republic on the beach

I can't forget just how bad it gets

When I'm counting on my teeth

But if I wait for a holiday

Could it stop my fear?

To go away on a summer's day

Never seemed so clear

A vegetarian since the invasion

She'd never seen the word 'bombs'

She'd never seen the word 'bombs'

Blown up to 96-point Futura

She'd never seen an AK

In a yellowy Day-Glo display

A T-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books grey

I got wheels, I got Cutter spray

And a healthy sense of worth

Half of me is the gasoline

But the other half's the surf

So if I wait for a holiday

Could it stop my fear?

To go away on a summer's day

Never seemed so clear

Vampire Weekend - Unbearably White

Baby, I love you

But that's not enough

And pulling away has been unbearably buff

I ran up the mountain

Out of your sight

The snow on the peak was just unbearably white

The city was freezing

An elegant flow

The wind at the doorway was unbearably cold

You walked through the bedroom

And sat down to write

The page in your notebook was unbearably white

There's an avalanche coming

Don't cover your eyes

It's what you thought that you wanted

It's still a surprise

It's hard on the body

It's hard on the mind

To learn what kept us together, darling

Is what kept us alive

Sooner or later

The story gets told

To tell it myself would be unbearably bold

Presented with darkness

We turn to the light

Could've been smart, we're just unbearably bright

There's an avalanche coming

Don't cover your eyes

It's what you thought that you wanted

It's still a surprise

It's hard on the body

It's hard on the mind

To learn what kept us together, darling

Is what kept us alive

Call it a day

Call it a night

Careless and cold

And just unbearably white

Call it a day

Call it a night

Careless and cold

And just unbearably white

Call it a day

Call it a night

Careless and cold

And just unbearably white

Baby, I love you

But that's not enough

And pulling all the weight has been unbearably buff

I ran up the mountain

Out of your sight

The snow on the peak was just unbearably white

Call it a day

Call it a night

Careless and cold

And just unbearably white

Vampire Weekend - Worship You

Only in the way you want it

Only on the day you want it

Only with the understanding

Every single day you want it

Only in the way you want it

Only on the day you want it

Only with the understanding

Every single day you want it

You, you

City with the weight upon it

City in the way you want it

City with the safety of a never-ending blessing on it

City with the weight upon it

City in the way you want it

City with the safety of a never-ending blessing on it

You, you

We worshipped you,

Your red right hand

Won’t we see you once again?

In foreign soil, in foreign land,

Who will guide us through the end?

Calling on a change, we want it

Calling on the same, we want it

Calling for the misery to always be explained

Calling on a change, we want it

Calling on the same, we want it

Calling for the misery to always be explained

You, you

Energetic praise you wanted

Any kind of praise you wanted

Little bit of light to get us through the final days

Energetic praise you wanted

Any kind of praise you wanted

Little bit of light to get us through the final days

You, too

We worshipped you,

Your red right hand

Won’t we see you once again?

In foreign soil, in foreign land,

Who will guide us through the end?

We worshipped you,

Your red right hand

Won’t we see you once again?

In foreign soil, in foreign land,

Who will guide us through the end?

Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall

We took a vow in summertime

Now we find ourselves in late December

I believe that New Year's Eve

Will be the perfect time

For their great surrender

But they don't remember

Anger wants a voice

Voices wanna sing

Singers harmonize

Till they can't hear anything

Thought that I was free

From all that questioning

But every time a problem ends

Another one begins

And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness

Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight

Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

Within the halls of power lies

A nervous heart that beats

Like a young pretender's

Beneath these velvet gloves I hide

The shameful crooked hands

Of money lender

'Cause I still remember

Anger wants a voice

Voices wanna sing

Singers harmonize

Till they can't hear anything

Thought that I was free

From all that questioning

But every time a problem ends

Another one begins

And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness

Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight

Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness

Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight

Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness

Anybody with a worried mind can never forgive the sight

Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified

I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die

Vampire Weekend feat. Danielle Haim - Married in a Gold Rush

Something's happening in the country
And the government’s to blame
We got married in a gold rush
And the rush has never felt the same

Shared a moment in a café
Shared a kiss in pouring rain
We got married in a gold rush
And the sight of gold will always bring me pain

I don't wanna hear the rumors, please don't say it loud
I just wanna go out tonight and make my baby proud
Boy, who’s your baby?
Girl, if you don't know by now
There's two seats on the midnight train
The gold won't weigh us down

Hanging gardens turned to desert
All that loving turned to hate
We got married in a gold rush
And those wedding bells were ringing out our fate

I don't wanna hear the rumours, please don't say it loud
I just wanna go out tonight and make my baby proud
Boy, who's your baby?
Girl, if you don't know by now
There’s two seats on the midnight train
The gold won’t weigh us down

The rush is on to somewhere else, we're running out of time
Everything was ours, now it’s just an empty mine
Animals don't understand the words on the danger sign
For them, it's just some shade from the morning shine
I thought you might learn the language
I thought you might learn to sing
We were born before the gold rush
So why can't I remember anything?
I want to put things back together
I wanna give, don’t wanna take
Time to disavow the gold rush
And the bitterness that's flourished in its wake

I don't wanna hear the rumours, please don't say it loud
Please don't say it loud
I just wanna go out tonight and make my baby proud
Boy, who's your baby?
Girl, if you don't know by now
There's two seats on the midnight train
The gold won't weigh us down
I don't wanna hear the rumours, please don't say it loud
Please don't say it loud
I just wanna go out tonight and make my baby proud
Boy, who's your baby?
Girl, if you don't know by now
There's two seats on the midnight train
The gold won't weigh us down

Vampire Weekend - Step

Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl

Back back way back I used to front like Angkor Wat
Mechanicsburg Anchorage and Dar es Salaam
While home in New York was champagne and disco
Tapes from L.A. slash San Francisco
But actually Oakland and not Alameda
Your girl was in Berkeley with her Communist reader
Mine was entombed within boombox and walkman
I was a hoarder but girl that was back then

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out
What you on about?
I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones
I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house
Such a modest mouse,
I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone

Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl

Ancestors told me that their girl was better
She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather
I just ignored all the tales of a past life
Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife
And punks who would laugh when they saw us together
Well, they didn't know how to dress for the weather
I can still see them there huddled on Astor
Snow falling slow to the sound of the master

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out
What you on about?
I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones
I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house
Such a modest mouse,
I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone

Wisdom's a gift, but you'd trade it for youth
Age is an honor, it's still not the truth
We saw the stars when they hid from the world
You cursed the sun when it stepped to your girl
Maybe she's gone and I can't resurrect her
The truth is she doesn't need me to protect her
We know the true death, the true way of all flesh
Everyone's dying, but girl you're not old yet

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out
What you on about?
I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones
I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house
Such a modest mouse,
I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out
What you on about?
I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones
I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house
Such a modest mouse,
I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone

Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl

Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof

I see a mansard roof through the trees
I see a salty message written in the eaves
The ground beneath my feet
The hot garbage and concrete
And now the tops of buildings, I can see them too

I see a mansard roof through the trees
I see a salty message written in the eaves
The ground beneath my feet
The hot garbage and concrete
And now the tops of buildings, I can see them too

The Argentines collapse in defeat
The admiralty surveys the remnants of the fleet
The ground beneath their feet
Is a nautically-mapped sheet
As thin as paper while it slips away from view

Vampire Weekend - Run

Every dollar counts
And every morning hurts
We mostly work to live
Until we live to work

She said,
“You know
There’s nowhere else to go”
But changing roles
It struck me that the two of us could run

Worlds away from cars
And all the stars and bars
Where a little bit of condensation means so much
And a little bit of change is all your little fingers touch

I said,
“You know
There’s nowhere else to go”
But changing roles
It struck me that the two of us could run

Honey, with you
Is the only honest way to go
And I could take two
But I really couldn’t ever know

Honey, with you
And a little battered radio

We could try

So lead my feet away
Cuz all they’ll do is stay
And I don’t think your eyes
Have ever looked surprised

She said,
“You know
There’s nowhere left to go”
But with her fund
It struck me that the two of us could run

Honey, with you
Is the only honest way to go
And I could take two
But I really couldn’t ever know

Honey, with you
And a battin radio

We could try

Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers

Got a little soul
The world is a cold, cold place to be
Want a little warmth
But who’s gonna save a little warmth for me?

We know the fire awaits unbelievers
All of the sinners the same
Girl, you and I will die unbelievers
Bound to the tracks of the train

If I’m born again I know that the world will disagree
Want a little grace but who’s gonna say a little grace for me?

We know the fire awaits unbelievers
All of the sinners the same
Girl, you and I will die unbelievers
Bound to the tracks of the train

I’m not excited, but should I be?
Is this the fate that half of the world has planned for me?

I know I love you
And you love the sea
But what holy water contains a little drop, little drop for me?

See the sun go down
It’s going on down, and the night is deep
Want a little light
But who’s gonna save a little light for me?

We know the fire awaits unbelievers
All of the sinners the same
Girl, you and I will die unbelievers
Bound to the tracks of the train

I’m not excited, but should I be?
Is this the fate that half of the world has planned for me?

I know I love you
And you love the sea
But what holy water contains a little drop, little drop for me?

I’m not excited, but should I be?
Is this the fate that half of the world has planned for me?

I know I love you
And you love the sea
But what holy water contains a little drop, little drop for me?

Vampire Weekend - Cousins

You found a sweater on the ocean floor
They're gonna find it if you didn't close the door.
You and this model sit outside the side
In a house on a street they wouldn't park on at night.

Dad was a risk taker.
His was a shoe maker.
You greatest hits 2006, Little listmaker.
Caught in the melody, You wait in the car.
You were born with ten fingers and you're gonna use them all.

Interest in girls as I discovered myself
If your odd-life was greater
You'll be toastin' my health
If an interest in culture,
You should be lining the walls.
When your birth right is interest
You could just accrue it all.

Me and my cousins and you and your cousins
It's a line that is always running.
Me and my cousins, You and your cousins,
I can feel it coming

You could turn your back on the bitter world
You could turn your back on the bitter world
You could turn your back on the bitter world
You could turn your back on the bitter world

Me and my cousins and you and your cousins
It's a line that is always running.
Me and my cousins, You and your cousins,
I can feel it coming

Me and my cousins and you and your cousins
It's a line that is always running.
Me and my cousins, You and your cousins,
I can feel it coming

Vampire Weekend - Finger Back

Bend my finger back (snap)
Wrap it in a paper towel
Break a twig in half and set it straight

Hit me with a wood bat
Hit me with a canister that's fired while
The soldiers drive away

Bend my finger back (snap)
On and on and on and on for days

Hit me with a wood bat
Hit me like a yankee, like a son of
Freedom never as a slave

It's etiquette, you idiot
Spend time behind the line
Show sympathy to LA where the sun don't ever shine
Everybody wants you, but baby you are mine
And baby you're not anybody's fool

Bless me with a heart attack
A real crise cardiaque
And show me where to find the surgeon's knife

Eviscerate me now (hack)
Take me to my punishment
The punishment I've needed all my life

Bend my finger (snap)
On and on and on and on with strife

Listen to my bum rap
Listen to the evidence exonerating me from being right

It's etiquette, you idiot
Spend time behind the line
Show sympathy to LA where the sun don't ever shine

Everybody wants you, but baby you are mine
And baby you're not anybody's fool

I know that I've been wicked and the road to hell is wide
Cursed by curiosity that made us go inside
Everyone was charming but they took us for a ride
But baby, you're not anybody's fool

Bend my finger back (snap)
Wrap it in a paper towel
Break a twig in half and set it straight

Hit me with a wood bat
Hit me with a canister that's fired while
The soldiers drive away

Bend my finger back (snap)
On and on and on and on for days

Hit me with a wood bat
Hit me like a yankee, like a son of
Freedom never as a slave

It's etiquette, you idiot
Spend time behind the line
Show sympathy to LA where the sun don't ever shine
Everybody wants you, but baby you are mine
And baby you're not anybody's fool

The harpsichord is broken and the television's fried
The city's getting hotter like a country in decline
Everyone's a coward when you look them in the eyes
But baby, you're not anybody's fool

Sing next year in Jerusalem
You know - the one at W. 103rd and Broadway?
Cuz this Orthodox girl fell in love with the guy at the falafel shop
And why not?
Should she have averted her eyes and
Just stared at the laminated poster of the dome of the rock?

Remembrances of holy days in Tarrytown and Rye
I don't wanna live like this but I don't wanna die

Condolences to gentle hearts who couldn't bear to try
I don't wanna live like this but I don't wanna die

Remembrances of holy days in Tarrytown and Rye
I don't wanna live like this but I don't wanna die

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

Johanna drove slowly into the city
The Hudson River all filled with snow
She spied the ring on His Honor's finger
Oh-oh-oh

A thousand years in one piece of silver
She took it from his lilywhite hand
Showed no fear - she'd seen the thing
In the Young Men's Wing at Sloan-Kettering

Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH
Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH

His Honor drove southward seeking exotica
Down to the Pueblo huts of New Mexico
Cut his teeth on turquoise harmonicas
Oh-oh-oh

I saw Johanna down in the subway
She took an apartment in Washington Heights
Half of the ring lies here with me
But the other half's at the bottom of the sea

Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH
Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH
Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH
Look outside at the raincoats coming, say OH

Vampire Weekend - Horchata

In December, drinking horchata
I'd look psychotic in a balaclava
Winter's cold is too much to handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals

In December, drinking horchata
Look down your glasses at that aranciata
With lips and teeth to ask how my day went
Boots and fists to pound on the pavement

Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on

You'd remember drinking horchata
You'd still enjoy it with your foot on masada

Winter's cold is too much to handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals

Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on
Oh you had it but oh no you lost it
Looking back you shouldn't have fought it

In December, drinking horchata
I'd look psychotic in a balaclava

But winter's cold is too much to handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals
Years go by and hearts start to harden
Those palms and firs that grew in your garden
Are falling down and nearing the rosebeds
The roots are shooting up through the tool shed
Those lips and teeth that asked how my day went
Are shouting up through cracks in the pavement

Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on
Oh you had it but oh no you lost it
You understood so you shouldn't have fought it

Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?
I've seen those english dramas too
They're cruel
So if there's any other way
To spell the word
It's fine with me, with me

Why would you speak to me that way
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain
I always tell the truth

Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?
I climbed to dharamsala too, I did
I met the highest lama
His accent sounded fine
To me, to me

Check your handbook
It's no trick
Take the chapstick
Put it on your lips
Crack a smile
Adjust my tie
Know your boyfriend, unlike other guys

Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth

Check your passport
It's no trick
Take the chapstick
Put it on your lips
Crack your smile
Adjust my tie
Know your butler, unlike other guys

Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's through the wall
Why would you tape my conversations?
Show your paintings
At the united nations
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth