Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)

**Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)** is the first song in the Bright Eyes album Cassadaga.

## Lyrics

**[Spoken]**

Cassadaga, oh yeah, that's where you're going to find the center of energy. And they've got those in Arizona too. You know, there's, I know that there's wonderful grounds that have vortexes that you might be interested in going to. And then go to Nevada. And then go to California. And then come south and go back through Arizona. And go through Texas. You know what I'm saying?

Getting rid of the old feelings of the old ways of thinking, and, you know, it's kind of like with people and the tarot cards. Just because you get the Death card doesn't mean death or dying. It means transformation. It means changing things around and starting something new.

Cause I was pulling in on a, on a dog or companion, somehow I get the impression that you're almost a little afraid to start the trip. It doesn't have to be a straight line happy face, but make kind of a happy face, I mean kind of a smile. Go up, up the east coast, but it's gonna be a circle, you know what I'm saying? It's gonna be a sloppy circle.

Don't be afraid. You know, years and years and years ago, you know, you might, you might have come across some river and rock and the mountains or whatever, and then when you get there maybe you'll have the answers you seek.

We have moved into a new era and life as we know it is changing. Your relationships, career, and location will all be subject with an energy. Allow me to share with you tips that will assist you during these new times:

Don't give up hope on yourself, no. Just be patient about the fact that, be patient about how things are unfolding. Because psychically, you're less... Why are you afraid to start? I think you should go. I think you should go. You know, plan ahead, pack the things that you think you're gonna need, and then just go. Cassadaga might be just a premonition of a place you're going to visit...

**[Lyrics]**

Corporate or Colonial

The movement is unstoppable

Like the body of a centerfold, it spreads

To the counter-culture copyright

Get your revolution at a lower price

Or make believe and throw the fight, play dead

It's exploding bags, aerosol cans

Southbound buses, Peter Pan

They left it up to us again

I thought you knew the drill

It's kill or be killed

Future Markets, Holy Wars

Been tried ten thousand times before

If you think that God is keeping score, hooray

For the freedom-fighting simulcast

The imminent and the aftermath

Draw another bloody bath to drain

Like the polar icecaps' centrifuge

First snowman built at the end of June

He slicks his hair for the interview, his fifteen-minute fame

Would you agree times have changed?

## Credits

* Conor Oberst - voice, guitar
* Mike Mogis - bass, pedal steel, vibraphone, glockenspiel
* Nate Walcott - organ
* M. Ward - guitar
* Janet Weiss - drums
* Clark Baechle - percussion
* Z Berg - voice
* Rachael Yamagata - voice
* Hassan Lemtouni - voice

Orchestra arranged by Nate Walcott

Conducted by Suzie Katayama

## Comments from Bright Eyes on this song

* "At this point, it’s sort of a personal joke for us: Create an annoying intro that no one will listen to for every album." (Mike Mogis, Magnet Magazine interview)
* "Yeah, it's different people talking. I did quite a few recordings with ghost hunters and we took my voice out. That was pretty exciting. I heard ghost voices in the process, too..." (Conor Oberst, translated from a Gaesteliste.de interview)
* "By 'the Movement' I mean colonial power, economic imperialism, embodied by big corporations. I think they are unstoppable, no matter what politics tries to do against them. We have an economic problem that cannot be solved. Most mild-mannered liberal people in the Western world keep talking about change, but what needs to change to get balance in the world is stopped by a small group. Who refuse to live in a way that could give everyone in the world a bearable life. Therein lies the problem." (translated from a De Groene Amsterdammer interview)
* "Clairaudients is the first song, which is like a clairvoyant except hearing instead of seeing. I like the pitch shifting orchestra in it a lot, I think that that's a nice sound, and it sort of... all our records start with a introductory piece of music or sound, sort of sound collage, so this song has that and then the song starts and it's um... I don't know, I guess you have to listen to it, but it sounds pleasing." (Track by track Cassadaga)

## Notes and references

* The song contains snippets of conversations Conor recorded by dialing psychic-hotline numbers. A few hundred dollars were spent on making the phone calls, and the recorded psychics were contacted for legal clearance to use their voices on the track.

## Sources

1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20091202170243/https://magnetmagazine.com/2007/04/15/bright-eyes-carry-that-weight/

**B-sides:** "Reinvent the Wheel" • "Smoke Without Fire" • "Stray Dog Freedom" • "Cartoon Blues" • "Tourist Trap" • "Endless Entertainment" • "Susan Miller Rag"