Tom Papa visits Milwaukee for Oktoberfest, samples some spicy breakfast chili, chats with a waitress named Denise, and serves as a wingman in a bratwurst eating contest (originally from October 12, 2019). Find info about Tom’s books, his Netflix special, and his new YouTube baking show at tompapa.com.

Download Chris Thile’s Song of the Week for March 28, 2020, “CQ” (originally from October 12, 2019). The band: Chris Thile, Sarah Jarosz, Mike Elizondo, Kush Abadey, Chris Eldridge, Brittany Haas, Brett Williams.

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Lyrics:

[BALLADEERS]

He believes (belies (belabors))

Himself into the wee hours of the morning

‘Til even he finds it boring

So he leaves it to long (and then look) for

Someone else with some midnight oil that wants burning

And seeing as he’s made up so much of this story

(We will too)

Behold dear listener some 50 years early

(The first CQ):

[MORSE]

Mark what goes on under the sun

Bonds are broken feuds are begun

Behind veils of pride that no pastor’s son

Can peek through

Peek through

But these treacherous partners with their envy and lies

Have drifted off and left me to my

Own beloved darkness where I

Seek you

Seek you

CQ

[BALLADEERS]

And who should hear our hero

But a sleepless God of Wire in Waiting

Who jumps up from the cot where he ought to be sleeping

Having implored (empowered (imperiled))

The free world into the wee hours of the morning

And because that world keeps adding more to his story

(So will we)

Behold the rail-splitter of Illinois

(At the straight key:)

[LINCOLN]

Mark what goes on under the sun

Bonds are broken wars are begun

Behind veils of pride that no farmer’s son

Can peek through

Peek through

But these treacherous generals asking “how, sir, and why?”

Have drifted off and left me to my

Own beloved darkness where I

Seek you

Seek you

Seek you

[MORSE AND LINCOLN]

Mark what goes on under the sun

The dream is over the nightmare’s begun

Behind veils of pride no daughter or son

Can peek through

Peek through

Let these embattled children with children and wives

Drift off to sleep and leave me to my

Own beloved darkness where I

Seek you

Seek you

Seek you

CQ

CQ

CQ...

Chris Thile’s Song of the Week for March 21, 2020, “Vail Monograph, Version 2” (originally from October 19, 2019).

The band: Chris Thile, Aoife O’Donovan, Mike Elizondo, Jeff Babko, Matt Chamberlain, Chris Eldridge, Alex Hargreaves, Noam Pikelny.

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Lyrics:

“Canst thou send lightnings

So that they may go

And say unto thee here we are?”

A rhetorical question

From our Father In Heaven

To Job in his suffering

Here below

To Job in his suffering—

As we sent the first lightnings

All those years ago

I quoted that question by heart

Then delivered the answer

Full of magnets and wire

On behalf of a dreamer

Here below

On behalf of a dreamer—

“Sounds like you did this”

I did but—

It was the least that I could do

—than I would do to serve his genius

To serve his—

`“Sounds like it’s time to set the record straight

Nothing’s wrong with calling a good man great, but a bad man...”

No, he’s not a bad man

Though it’s true before we met

The God of Wire was struggling to connect

What he had with what he dreamt

Then I applied a method to the madness

And the thing began to click

We were like a couple little kids

‘Cause it was clear this was it

I’d take him by the hand and lead him to whatever future he had seen

And pan whatever gold was in his stream

Of consciousness that flowed between his heart and anything like love for the doer of his dreams

“Sounds like he used you”

He did but—

Oh how I burned to be of use

—to be of use and not be slave to

A mind as—

As cold and dry and barren as this one is

At least when in comparison to one like his

“You have a great mind”

No, his is the great mind

And it will never be at rest

Will ever trade this moment for the next

And what it has for what it’s dreamt

So even if the present is exactly what he wanted it to be

He’ll miss his un-manifested destiny

And find a better man than me

To take him by the hand and lead him to whatever future he’s been seeing

And pan whatever gold’s still in his stream

Of consciousness that flows between his heart and anything like love for me

I send him a lightning

Every now and then

Saying unto him “here we are

I don’t expect you to answer

But I miss you dear dreamer

And what we did together

Here below

O what we did together here”

Our Out In America correspondent Tom Papa spends a rare day off at home in Los Angeles stretching out his morning rituals as far as they’ll go, pondering the dawn of a new decade, and rejecting diet advice from his friends and family. (originally from our January 25, 2020 episode)

Find Tom’s tour dates and more information about his forthcoming Netflix special You’re Doing Great! at tompapa.com.

Tom Papa reads an essay from his book Your Dad Stole My Rake on the beginnings of relationships, and why it’s important to eat meals with someone as you get to know them. Find more information about the book and Tom’s tour dates at tompapa.com. (originally from our September 28, 2019 episode)

Our Out In America correspondent Tom Papa puts on his blue suede shoes and heads to Las Vegas, where he gets a ride from a soon-to-be fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, extols the virtues of the city’s buffets, and chats with an old married couple who aren’t married at a $10 blackjack table. (originally from our September 28, 2019 episode)

Find Tom’s tour dates at tompapa.com.

Download Chris Thile’s Song of the Week from our February 29, 2020 show, “The Sully” (originally from September 14, 2019). The band: Chris Thile, Sarah Jarosz, Mike Elizondo, Eric Doob, Armand Hirsch, Gabriel Kahane, Jeremy Kittel.

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Lyrics:

This is the Sully—

—As fine a ship as you

can sail from Le Havre France to New

York of a mild October

in the year of our lord

1832

Blessed be the quiet mind—

—such as wielded by a Sully

passenger named Samuel F.B

Morse the nearly famous artist

coming up for air post

years of work and study

Quiet be the weary mind

That hovers o’er the water—

—grateful to be homeward borne by true and perfect boredom

Hallowed be its name

‘Cause—

—weary be the troubled mind

That hovers o’er the water

With its lonely sons and daughter

On the shore ahead

And on the shore behind

So much unfinished business

But there ain’t a cure for distance

Save a long long time

Tick tick ticking several decks

below in steerage next to less-

considered travelers nothing

but their fevers running

wild from bed to bed

To bed

Quiet be their weary minds

Between the old and new world

No more to seek approval

From the loved ones wedded to the shore behind

Calling “y’all are gonna miss us,

Unless you find the cure for distance”

—and in that instant

There it is

A ceaseless current

A boundless grid

A prayer a potion

With form and function

To deliver us

To each other

From each other

Racing be the blessed mind

To a future long imagined

Bright with glory, fame and fortune

It had left for dead

On the shore behind

Jedidiah are you listening

Your son has found a cure for distance

And blessed be his quiet mind

That hears the roaring of an instant

God hath wrought the cure for distance

And that cure is mine

Download Chris Thile's Song of the Week for February 22, 2020, "Escape from the Tuileries." The band: Chris Thile, Mike Elizondo, Jon Cowherd, Armand Hirsch, Jeremy Kittel, Nate Smith.

Tom Papa explains why you should never let anyone tell you that you don’t work hard enough and offers a few more life lessons, in an excerpt from his forthcoming book, You’re Doing Great! Find Tom’s tour dates and more about his new Netflix special at tompapa.com.

Our Out. In. America. correspondent Tom Papa stays warm in Cleveland by eating his way across the city — sampling the corned-beef-hash-centric menu at Slyman’s, accompanying a group of police officers to a pierogi restaurant, and celebrating a friend’s birthday with dim sum. Find Tom’s tour dates at tompapa.com.