The Curse cover Shannon King

LYRICS

He opens his eyes, falls in love at first sight

With the girl in the doorway

What beautiful lines, how full of life

After thousands of years what a face to wake up to

He holds back a sigh as she touches his arm

She dusts off the bed where till now he's been sleeping

Under miles of stone, the dried fig of his heart

Under scarab and bone starts back to its beating

She carries him home in a beautiful boat

He watches the sea from a porthole in stowage

He can hear all she says as she sits by his bed

Then one day his lips answer her in her own language

The days quickly pass, he loves making her laugh

The first time he moves it's her hair that he touches

She asks "Are you cursed?" He says "I think that I'm cured"

Then he talks of the Nile and the girls in bull rushes

In New York he is laid in a glass-covered case

He pretends he is dead, people crowd round to see him

But each night she comes round, and the two wander down

The halls of the tomb that she calls a museum

Often he stops to rest, but then less and less

Then it's her that looks tired, staying up asking questions

He learns how to read from the papers that she

Is writing about him and he makes corrections

It's his face on her book and more and more come to look

Families from Iowa, upper West-siders

Then one day it's too much, he decides to get up

And as chaos ensues, he walks outside to find her

She's using a cane, and her face looks too pale

But she's happy to see him, as they walk he supports her

She asks "Are you cursed?" but his answer's obscured

In a sandstorm of flashbulbs and rowdy reporters

Such reanimation, the two tour the nation

He gets out of limos, he meets other women

He speaks of her fondly, their nights in the museum

But she's just one more rag now he's dragging behind him

She stops going out, she just lies there in bed

In hotels in whatever towns they are speaking

Then her face starts to set and her hands start to fold

And one day the dry fig of her heart stops its beating

Long ago on the ship, she asked "Why pyramids?"

He said "Think of them as an immense invitation"

She asks "Are you cursed?" He says "I think that I'm cured"

Then he kissed her and hoped that she'd forget that question

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Josh Ritter

The Curse lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Duchamp, Inc

ABOUT JOSH RITTER: "Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics.[1][2][3] In 2006, he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.[4]

Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics.[1][2][3] In 2006, he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.[4]

A year and a half after recording Josh Ritter, Ritter recorded his second album, Golden Age of Radio, for $1000 and self-released it. The album was recorded in three different studios: Soundgun in Philadelphia, Electric Cave in New Hampshire, and a friend's basement studio.[9] While promoting Golden Age of Radio, he met Jim Olsen, head of independent record label Signature Sounds, who offered to remaster and re-release the album after hearing Ritter play. The song "Me & Jiggs" was subsequently released as a single in Ireland, where Ritter was quickly becoming a word-of-mouth success, first opening for the Frames, then headlining his own shows. Ritter's third record, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at No. 2 on the Irish charts.[10]

In 2003, Ritter shared top billing with the French Kicks at Sepomana, the annual music festival produced by WRMC 91.1 FM. Ritter and Ron Sexsmith headlined the Friday night singer-songwriter event at the Hotel Viking at the 2004 Newport Folk Festival. He also appeared at Oxegen 2005, and has headlined with artists such as Joan Baez, who later released her own version of Ritter's song "Wings" on her album Dark Chords on a Big Guitar. He was signed by a British label, V2 Records, in 2005 and Hello Starling was subsequently re-released. He began performing and touring in a crossover duo with the classical violinist Hilary Hahn in 2005.

In 2006 Ritter released his fourth album The Animal Years. 2006 also saw the release of Ritter's first full-length live album and DVD In the Dark – Live at Vicar Street which was recorded over two nights in May 2006. Ritter released his fifth album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, in 2007. Both The Animal Years and Historical Conquests received a warm critical reception[11][12] with Stephen King calling The Animal Years the best album of 2006 in his column for Entertainment Weekly.[13] In support of Historical Conquests, Ritter appeared as a musical guest on such high-profile television shows as Late Show with David Letterman in America and Later... with Jools Holland in Britain.[14][15]

Ritter re-issued his second and third albums, Golden Age of Radio and Hello Starling, on April 7, 2009 and January 17, 2010, respectively. Each re-issued album was packaged as a two-disc deluxe edition. The deluxe editions contain both the original studio album as well as solo acoustic versions of all the original tracks, live and remixed bonus songs, and never-before-seen photos and artwork. The deluxe editions also feature liner notes written by Ritter fans, including Dennis Lehane and Cameron Crowe.[16][17]

In Autumn 2009 Ritter toured with Love Canon String Band, where he reinterpreted his songs with a band composed of banjo, double bass, mandolin and guitar. This tour included three nights in Whelans Dublin, where he performed his albums Golden Age of Radio, Hello Starling, and The Animal Years in full.[18] In 2009, Ritter also provided the soundtrack for the documentary film Typeface, by Kartemquin Films.

Ritter's sixth album, So Runs the World Away, was released April 23, 2010 in Ireland and May 4, 2010 worldwide.[19] The vinyl version of the album had an earlier release on April 17, 2010 as a part of Record Store Day celebrations. The vinyl record came packaged with a CD version of the album as well.[20] To promote the album before its release, Ritter made one of the songs, "Change of Time", freely available online.[21] The song also appeared in the March 23, 2010 episode of the television series Parenthood and the trailer for the 2011 Natalie Portman film The Other Woman.[22] In support of the new album Ritter toured with his newly named Royal City Band – starting with six dates in Ireland – including a sellout performance at the newly opened, 2100-capacity Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin,[23] and continuing with an extensive tour of the United States.[24] So Runs the World Away largely garnered positive reviews.[25][26]

On February 15, 2011, Ritter reissued The Animal Years on vinyl and as a two-disc deluxe edition on CD. The deluxe edition contains both the original studio album as well as a solo acoustic version of the album. The bonus disc includes four b-side recordings, two videos, new artwork, and liner notes by author Tom Ricks.[27]

During his early 2011 tour, Josh Ritter released an EP album of previously unreleased material from the So Runs the World Away recording sessions, titled To the Yet Unknowing World. Ritter began streaming the EP for free on his website as well as made it available for digital purchase on February 8, 2011.[28] To the Yet Unknowing World hit Apple's iTunes and record stores February 15, 2011.[29] In February 2011, Ritter and his band continued their extensive tour in support of So Runs The World Away, touring America and Europe.[30] During his European tour in April 2011 Ritter released his third live album, Live at The Iveagh Gardens. The limited edition two CD and one DVD set is a live recording of Ritter's performance of 21 songs at the Dublin venue on July 18, 2010.[31]

Ritter’s seventh studio album, The Beast In Its Tracks, was released on March 5, 2013. The album was preceded by singles "Joy To You Baby" and "Hopeful."

On July 27, 2015, Ritter announced his eighth studio album, Sermon on the Rocks. The first single "Getting Ready To Get Down" was premiered the same day. Ritter commented that the inspiration behind the album came from his desire to "play messianic oracular honky-tonk."[32] Sermon on the Rocks was released later that year on October 16, 2015. In 2017, the album’s second single, "Homecoming", received notable attention after being featured in the season 2 finale of Showtime’s Billions.

Ritter’s ninth studio album, Gathering, was announced on July 19, 2017. The first single, "Showboat," was released the same day as the album announcement. "[Gathering] is a record of joy and sadness and laughter and lightning," commented Ritter. Along with the announcement of Gathering, Ritter also revealed he was going on an international tour with the Royal City Band. "Thunderbolt’s Goodnight" and "When Will I Be Changed" premiered before Gathering was officially released on September 22, 2017" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Ritter).