Ritter, Josh - The Curse Lyrics






He opens his eyes falls in love at first sight
With the girl in the doorway
What beautiful lines and 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 'til now he's been sleeping
And 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
And 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 bulrushes

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 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 dried 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 asked, “Are you cursed?” He said, “I think that I'm cured”
Then he kissed her and hoped that she'd forget that question





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Ritter, Josh The Curse Comments
  1. K.... H....

    And apparently he is cursed and is feeding off of her life until one day she dies and is laid down in a sarcophagus and it is her!😱

    K.... H....

    It’s cillian

    K.... H....

    Fire Phoenix811CGZ hi😂

  2. K.... H....

    My teacher showed us this song today

  3. C.... T....

    Let's not forget to mention the incredible piano work of Sam Kassirer on this one!

  4. W.... ....

    Don't think of it as a sad song- Think of it as a song of a love of history and history loving you in return. You can run from circumstances, run from problems; but everywhere you turn, the history of the world loves and ensures that you and everyone you know isn't a mistake: you are a product of love that has lasted since time immemorial, but here you are, however you are.

  5. T.... B....

    If you listen to this song without the video it can mean so many different things

  6. p.... w....

    Still brings tears to my eyes, and what an extraordinary job done with the video and puppetry and sets. Absolutely in love with it all.

  7. A.... B....

    beautiful, just beautiful

  8. H.... 8....

    I love the song but ADORE the video. To me it defines the art of making a film to already existing music.

  9. D.... C....

    One of the most Beautiful songs that not everyone knows.It makes me cry too

  10. F.... ....

    Not sure what I heard or saw. Not sure I like it. But it gave me goosebumps. And it made my palms sweat a bit. Good or bad. It is art.

  11. R.... B....

    This is an amazingly beautiful song, haunting. The lyrics, the music, the video...brilliant !!! I hope he plays it in Northampton on 5/10, I will be there SOOOOO happily...Josh is THE best singer/songwriter on the planet right now, imo.

  12. M.... J....

    Damn, why do I do this to myself, I’m crying now.

  13. P.... J....

    why didshe have to die uwu

  14. J.... S....

    Interesting song and video. Twisted upon many many levels

  15. C.... I....

    My buddy drew the mummy for me years ago and I got him tattooed

  16. D.... J....

    Not sure how I missed this the hundred times I watched this amazing video and song but at 4:34 when she lays in the coffin you can see how she looks just like the outside of the coffins painting.

  17. D.... J....

    I randomly ran across this over internet radio based on other music I listen to. This song grabbed a hold of me in the first few cords...what a hauntingly beautiful creation...then I was looking for a lyric video and found literally the most perfect artistry of this song that could of ever been done. I have listened to this and read everyone’s take on the meaning. Obsessed and can’t seem to stop yet. Just beautiful and tragic at the same time. Art at its best.

  18. D.... M....

    The true nature of love is parasitic. We idealize it as symbiotic. That's what it should be, but very rarely is. Heartbreaking but very relevant to human nature. The piano is haunting. Just bloody brilliant.

  19. B.... o....

    Why am I crying at the bar rn 😭

  20. R.... H....

    Amazing ❤️❤️

  21. D.... C....

    Thank you for showing me this Trevor Smith.

  22. T.... N....

    God i love this guy's music

  23. N.... L....

    This song will forever haunt my soul.

  24. A.... A....

    I love how he looks to the left before placing the horn in

    A.... A....

    Aut Agere Aut Mori what is he looking at or what does that represent? Or u just like it :-)

  25. R.... C....

    For my money one of the greatest songs ever written

  26. R.... M....

    I shared this vid to an ex of mine Valentine's Day 2013. She's Egyptian and I Dominican. I told her I saw her as the mummy and myself the archaeologist. She melted and cried and healed and felt she was understood, as an archaeologist understands, for the love of reading. I still hold this video in my heart. I <3 it so! Oh, and I make glyphs too, kinda like hieroglyphics. The echos of the world reverberate passing through you all the time only if you open your ears to it.

  27. A.... L....

    Amazing

  28. Z.... ....

    This might be dumb but what if the mummy was actually taking the curse from the woman and the reason why he says he's cured is because he found love

  29. W.... K....

    What a haunting song! Makes me wanna cry!

  30. v.... ....

    i have only Just heard this for the first time on a local radio station.so sad and so beautiful and completely unforgettable!!

  31. S.... M....

    Hi Mrs.Griset👍

  32. c.... l....

    My art teacher just showed this to me and I am thankful for that.

  33. S.... J....

    I remember going to see this live when I was little and I thought this song was just so beautiful. I'm glad I re discovered your music

  34. B.... Q....

    THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS EVER WRITTEN

  35. H.... F....

    Fractal Beauty. Where no matter what scale you look at it, its just as beautiful. Every piece of this song is so beautiful it hurts. Every note.

  36. J.... R....

    Tfw no gf

  37. J.... B....

    Every time I watch this video my eyes tear up. A beautiful tune, with sad, and poignant lyrics, it's probably my favorite Josh Ritter song.

  38. S.... S....

    He was using her for the whole story. Josh Ritter said in an interview that, though the Mummy did feel love in his life, he was ultimately using her to pass on the curse that the song’s title is referring to. Near the end of the song, these lines go by:

    “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”

    When they kiss, the curse passes on. The reference to pyramids being an invitation as well as the coffin at the end shows that this was destined for her. The two most important parts of this are one, when he says he’s cured after they kiss, curing him of the curse but cursing/ passing on the curse to the woman in the process. The second part is when he hopes she will forget question about him being cursed. She doesn’t want her to know or suspect that she’s being cursed so that her destiny can be fulfilled.

    S.... S....

    Shade Sketch I feel the curse is the fact that she will die and he will go on without her eternally

  39. A.... A....

    This is way to creepy did u not notice the the tomb look like her and that he was using her to get more powerful and he knew that she was coming it okay if u don't believe me but I learned it in school okay and we read the interview I am scared for life😓

  40. E.... L....

    this song always make me cry and it makes me thank god so much for my amazing wife.

  41. R.... U....

    This song reminds me of The professor & La Fille Danse by Damien Rice. Give it a listen if you haven't heard it before!

  42. T.... I....

    i woke up to this playing on soundcloud BEST MORNING EVER

  43. A.... T....

    it just ended so sad

  44. A.... T....

    oh at the start it scared me

  45. D.... M....

    Ritter is a poet with an enormous imagination - brilliant

  46. K.... C....

    its his love that goes away. thats the curse.

    K.... C....

    interesting take

  47. H.... P....

    clever and very pretty

  48. S.... A....

    The first time I heard this was at my school everyone was shedding a tear,I may be a tough guy but this song is touching

    S.... A....

    PlagueDoctorYolo same

  49. T.... G....

    I've listened to this multiple times trying to understand the lyrics never dawned one to watch YouTube to see if I could understand

  50. a.... m....

    No thanks negro

  51. Y.... Z....

    Such a romance. I won't get chilled anymore next time am in Louvre or archeological museum of Florence.

  52. D.... G....

    Bless YouTube, I'm not sure how I got here, but I'm sure glad I did

  53. M.... D....

    He opens his eyes falls in love at first sight
    With the girl in the doorway
    What beautiful lines and 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 'til now he's been sleeping
    And 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
    And 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 bulrushes

    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 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 dried 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 asked, “Are you cursed?” He said, “I think that I'm cured”
    Then he kissed her and hoped that she'd forget that question

    M.... D....

    BRUH SON
    I just did. Now what?

    M.... D....

    The lyrics relate to my current relationship so much

  54. I.... A....

    One of my favourite videography work, this is.
    My favourite part is the short sequence starting at 03:04; portraying the dynamics of a couple going through such a phase.

  55. j.... u....

    the most beautiful song ever written, well close

  56. s.... ....

    “For a song like this, the goal was to try and tell a full story. You try to leave something to the imagination but you can only leave so much. It was really important to get the character just right. The narrative was simple but I really wanted the character to have a serious interaction. The fact that he was a mummy was the funniest part.” - Josh Ritter

    “The Curse” can be found on the album So Runs The World Away, which takes its title from a Hamlet quote. That’s telling, because the song flows like iambic pentameter as Ritter sings over a lilting piano waltz. Some dreamy keyboards add atmosphere and a mournful trumpet makes an appearance late in the track.

    What could have been a fanciful story about a mummy falling for the archaeologist who digs him up after eons of slumber turns into an examination of the way some people use love as a springboard to a happier self, even if that means leaving behind the person who gave them the loving boost in the first place. As the song progresses, the mummy slowly returns to humanity through the beneficence of her affection and attracts hordes of outsiders who are amazed at his transformation. By contrast, the archaeologist seems to age prematurely as he drifts apart from her, until she essentially becomes mummified at the end in a tragic turnabout.

    Hiding between the lines yet evident in Ritter’s wistful vocal is a sad commentary on how the best intentions of love are often undercut by the fickleness of human nature. The mummy’s “dried fig” of a heart is reanimated by the girl’s attention, and the romance in the beginning is undeniably pure: “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.’”

    When she asks that question a second time in the song, he has already started to move beyond the cocoon of their initial bond to bask in the attention of the wider world. As a result, she can’t even hear his answer. The transformation is complete soon after: “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.” Her heart is now the “dried fig.”

    The final verse returns us to the couple’s happier times in the museum, when he explained to her, in a bit of foreshadowing that she overlooked in the bloom of new love, that his pyramid was in essence the bait to lure her. Josh Ritter’s inventive, enchanting song makes it clear that “The Curse” of the mummy actually did exist, and that the archaeologist discovered too late that it was always meant to be visited upon her.

    s.... ....

    Amazing :)

    s.... ....

    This song reminds me so much bof a relationship I had 💔💔

  57. S.... G....

    This song makes me sob whenever I hear it, no matter where I am- absolutely beautiful

  58. J.... S....

    pronounced just the same.

  59. J.... S....

    It's about my uncle Wayne, my Mamaw Dorothy and my mom's husband Moses Alvarado... Joyce's husband, but with an L instead of a J.

  60. T.... N....

    I heard this in Starbucks and then my sister and I asked Siri "What song is this?" and that's why I'm here.

    T.... N....

    That is one great Starbucks!

  61. V.... G....

    Amazing ... heartbreaking... beautiful song and video

  62. C.... T....

    My friend showed me this song in the car on a recent road trip and it's so beautiful I love it so much

  63. L.... O....

    This is the saddest and most beautiful song I think I have ever heard. It made me cry.

    L.... O....

    He is like a young BOB DYLAN , superior story teller. Wow. :)

    L.... O....

    I feel the same way, reminds me of a love had to say goodbye to

  64. J.... S....

    Depressing song

  65. s.... r....

    NY loves you Josh. Fucking garbage trucks. lol

  66. S.... H....

    ah heck

  67. R.... H....

    I remember I saw this video two years ago back in seventh grade in my English class and at the time I didn't understand the lyrics nor did I appreciate the art of the song/video, but now that I look back at, I find it more beautiful than before. This reminds me of seventh grade (which was a really good year) so it also makes me sad. Lovely video and song though.

    R.... H....

    Xxx Xxx Every school works at a different pace. :)

    R.... H....

    I learned it in eight

    R.... H....

    Rigo Hernandez We had to find out what it was about and I guessed it was a mummy! HA
    I guessed it was a mummy who cursed her on accident, and ended up turning her into a mummy.

    R.... H....

    I heard this in 7th grade at Myers middle School

  68. b.... ....

    class , this is music

  69. t.... ....

    yeah im back for another taste of this trip

  70. t.... ....

    wierd song wierd video, loved it

  71. J.... J....

    This is one of the few songs ever that I can listen to no matter what mood I'm in, and will never skip past. It is just so... perfect.

  72. S.... T....

    we watched this in our English class

    S.... T....

    Goodman?

    S.... T....

    Al Goodman?

  73. �.... F....

    Muy bonito el vídeo :3 :') :3

  74. R.... ....

    A friend sent me this song and I cant seem to stay away. Its so intense

  75. S.... P....

    Josh Ritter, in an interview explained it, as how when someone who hasn't had their heart broken finds someone who had just been heart broken. And so as the unbroken (woman) brings love and life back to the broken (mummy), her love (and literal heart) makes him feel good again. So as he is brought back to life, he doesn't return her love so she is instead now broken, as he heals. He then goes off to win back his lost love, while she stays behind heart broken as she gave her heart to him, and he used it selfishly. The metaphor for pyramid is explained as it attracts people to find what is beneath like a broken person attracts kind hearted people to fix them.

    S.... P....

    Thanks, really thanks.

    S.... P....

    thank you!

    S.... P....

    sometimes if I'm in need of a good cry I come back here and read this comment it gets me sobbing every time

    S.... P....

    @magicjungle yea, same for me, play it on the guitar and think of a certain someone from my past. Works everytime

    S.... P....

    So, basically, he's an asshole. My husband and I argue over this song. He's a jerk.

  76. K.... C....

    Cursed.....I'd hope you forget that question.

  77. M.... ....

    We had to watch this in class and the person who made said the mummy used her

  78. S.... N....

    good vid

  79. A.... B....

    This song is honestly one of my new favorites. It's honestly so poetic and beautiful.

  80. T.... J....

    Normally stuff on the internet gets a lot of hate, it's great to see people bonding over a love of music like this,the song captured me as well a couple of years ago,came back to hear the symphonies again, I was not at all disappointed

  81. C.... D....

    His voice is beautiful..

  82. D.... D....

    This song gives me goose bumps

    D.... D....

    @Dean Daniel Yep, it's one of those tunes, for sure.

    D.... D....

    Me too. I just happened to stumble on this song again, that I saved to my favorites a long time ago... So different and awesome.

    D.... D....

    ha! one of my favorite things is when some one replies to a comment i left on an awesome song a long time ago so i get to hear it again! :) thanks

  83. O.... I....

    Ooh, that was unexpected! Quite the twist on the whole "True Love's First Kiss," trope! Loved it.

  84. M.... S....

    I love songs that you hear for the first time and they just grab you and suck you in. This is one of them. Great song

  85. h.... ....

    This song is played and sung so beautifully that I didn't realize the lyrics were actually a lame fairy tale

    h.... ....

    Wow,.missed the point entirely.

  86. T.... B....

    This is so deep, so clever, both the song and the video. Love it. 

  87. E.... J....

    Such a lovely story, it seems like a tribute for those who give their lives to history and research ... the dream of reanimating the history by the fact of telling ...

  88. H.... V....

    Beautiful.

  89. H.... ....

    THE saddest song I've ever heard.  First one to actually get me teary-eyed and I generally cry for nothing.  Not at funerals, not when visiting hospitals, not when receiving bad news.  Josh Ritter is an exceptionally talented songwriter.

    H.... ....

    I'm glad I'm not the only one. This is the SADDEST song I've ever heard.

  90. b.... ....

    King Tut

  91. U.... o....

    whop made this video ... i dont think this is Josh Ritter's official video

    U.... o....

    The drummer from his Royal City Band actually made the video, Liam Hurley. 

  92. T.... S....

    Amazing song. Extraordinary video. Love it!

  93. A.... M....

    Great song

  94. M.... ....

    So many subtle messages in this song.  So beautiful!

  95. J.... A....

    It's not that he wanted to take her life away from her, but he loved her and accidentally did this to her. The curse is that he has to live forever while his one true love has died...

    J.... A....

    Jackie Au that's not the curse

  96. N.... H....

    Exquisite!  😯

  97. g.... ....

    Artsy-fartsy.

  98. m.... ....

    I'm on the strange part of youtube again..

    m.... ....

    If you think this is strange, you've never been to the strange part of YouTube...

    m.... ....

    Oh honey

    m.... ....

    this is the meaningful cognitive part of the internet with emotions....

  99. D.... ....

    Ahhh shit nigga the curse

  100. M.... B....

    Haunting.