swing lo magellan

Dirty Projectors

Last night all my attention
Squinting westward 'ere the sunset with a map and a compass
When a man reached up, said something
There, against the sky, a point of light
Too invisible to give itself to the naked eye

On the shore, people yellin'
In their eyes a great reflection
In the grid aware their position
Unconcerned with intuition
There can never be no sympathy
From that wilderness so let it be arrested

Swing lo, oh, Magellan
Nine-by-six or eight-by-seven
Poster sentinel at the border of what you attempt, what you ignore
I saw my friend in a pool of light
Oh, drowned in doubt and shame, and I knew that I had lost my sight