Layers of Meta

Lyrics

Well now, Moses took us to the water (uh hmm)
Moses took us to the water (uh hmm)
Yes when Moses took us to the water, it was
Like leading lambs to slaughter
Moses took us to the water, yes he did

Pharaoh sent us off to catch him (oh yeah)
Well, that Pharaoh set us to catch them (uh hmmm)
So when Pharaoh sent us off to catch him then we
All got drownded when the waves came crashing
When Pharaoh sent us off to catch him (yes sir)

(first plague)
Well, Pharaoh made Ra angry, uh-hm
Yes, Pharaoh made Ra angry, yes he did
Turned Iteru into blood, fish guts poisoning the flood
Somehow Pharaoh made Ra angry, uh-hm

(second and third plagues)
Well, the river frogs that swarmed were bad enough
Yes, the frogs that swarmed up on us were enough
Until our bodies teemed with fleas from our heads down past our knees
But the river frogs that swarmed were bad enough

(fourth and fifth plagues)
Then our goats, and pigs were dyin’, uh-hm
Cattle, goats and pigs were dyin’, oh no
When wild wolves they took their lives, or the pestilential flies
And our livestock just kept dying, uh-hmm

(sixth and seventh plagues)
There was soot that gave us boils, uh-hmm
Yes, it gave us painful boils, yes it did
Then the lightning, hail and fire only took our suff’rin’ higher
When the coal-soot gave us boils, uh-hmm

(eighth and ninth plagues)
Well, the locusts all descended from the sky
Endless locusts kept descending from the sky
When the darkness fell for three days straight we shuddered at our curséd fate
As the locusts kept descending from the sky

(tenth plague)
Then I woke up and my firstborn son was gone, uh-hmm
Yes, I woke up and I found my son was gone, that’s right
Told us Moses was to blame, Pharaoh’s boy died just the same
When I woke and my firstborn son was gone

Six hundred chariots followed him on down
Six hundred o’ the best chariots followed him down
Oh, Six hundred chariots followed him down
And none came back when we all did drownd
And the officers of Kemet all went down

Well now, Moses took us to the water (uh hmm)
Moses took us to the water (uh hmm)
Well, when Moses took us to the water, it was
Like leading lambs to slaughter
Moses took us to the water, yes he did

Yes when Moses took us to the water, it was
Like leading lambs to slaughter
When Moses took us to the water, uh-hmm

‘Cause when Moses took us to the water, it was
Like leading lambs to slaughter
When Moses took us to the water.…

© 2022 At Swim-Two-Birds Music. (BMI)
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Credits

Songwriter

Words and music by Christian Crumlish (BMI).

Personnel

• Christian Crumlish – vocals
• David Gans – guitars
• Dan Brodnitz – piano
• Myles Boisen – pedal steel, lap steel
• Joe Kyle Jr. – upright bass
• Joe Craven – mandolin, tambourine, hand brushes

Recording dates

Date	Session details
September 8, 2023	Crumlish on vocals. Brodnitz on piano. Gans on guitar (Renaissance RS-6).
March 8, 2024	Trimmed the breaks between stanzas.
June 21, 2024	Recut vocals.
July 19, 2024	Boisen added pedal steel (throughout) and lap steel (accents).
July 26, 2024	Kyle added upright bass.
August 16, 2024	Craven added mandolin, tambourine, hand brushes.
February 17, 2025	Reamped guitar with Headstrong (Princeton clone) amp.