Paroles The prior procedure The Hold Steady

The prior procedure

All that frightened magic when the fawn strays from the forest
And the terror and the havoc when it wanders into traffic
The tragic conclusion of instincts and old habits
Up against the never-ending construction

Now there's a luxury apartment on the top floor of some high-rise building
And people go there every weekend to witness the abandoned ascension

With the scraps on the shelf
He said it's not so heroic
Yeah, he just wants to help
While w? were fleeing the for?st
She stopped and made a few calls
Got a spot at this penthouse
With the windowpane walls

Where some guy in fringed leather and a seafaring sweater
Is trying to peck at some peacock with significant feathers
And it looks like she's old enough to know a little better
But these people seem really open-minded

There were some dudes on the roof deck that were sitting with sweet view of the sunset
They said you got to meet the guy that gets the tab for this
Anything you want he can cover it

When we showed him our hand stamps
He blew smoke on our nails
Pointed out the projection
A PowerPoint presentation
Of the chum and the shark
He said it's just a reminder
Love will tear us apart
He started scratching at the itch that's been giving him fits since the prior procedure
He said large-scale displacement is such a major modern tragedy
That's why I instituted this open door policy
Been thinking about kicking off some new kind of family
I'm really glad that you're here

He said he's through with computers 'cause they can't understand
The fawn in the traffic or the failures of man
How a new billionaire in an Underdog shirt
Built a statue to honor his ways and his words
While the rest of these martyrs got marched off to work through the weekend