Lay Down Your Weary Tune - Tim O'Brien

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

Struck by the sounds before the sun,

I knew the night had gone.

The morning breeze like a bugle blew

Against the drums of dawn.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

The ocean wild like an organ played,

The seaweed’s wove its strands.

The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed

Against the rocks and sands.

I stood unwound beneath the skies

And clouds unbound by laws.

The crying rain like a trumpet sang

And asked for no applause.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.

The last of leaves fell from the trees

And clung to a new love’s breast.

The branches bare like a banjo played

To the winds that listened best.

I gazed down in the river’s mirror

And watched its winding strum.

The water smooth ran like a hymn

And like a harp did hum.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,

Lay down the song you strum,

And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings

No voice can hope to hum.