the lyrics of the song "Moving, Shaking" by Great Lake Swimmers are incredibly pertinent to the past few months on the gulf coast, and to anyone who is faced with a devastating obstacle to overcome, whether it be physical, social, or mental. The song lingers its way through lines describing the sudden inability of a once capable being, wooing his will in hopes to resurrect its broken pieces. the words highlight that idea of how everything can be seen from two sides. What results is a core existential truth - man is alone and only has himself to determine his identity and his worth. The chorus, calling out to the hands and fingers that end them, admits to this truth. The body is the limit of certainty in all of us. Everyone is subordinate to this boundary. In times of desperation (typically in the wake of either creation or destruction) our selves are the only things left.
the lyrics:

Moving, shaking
I can't write
I can't sing
I can't play
My insides have been broken
My inspiration has flown away
It's hard to see all the little things

There's a universe
In a crack in the wall
Or an ant crawling across
A broken tile
And it's hard to see all the little things
When the big things get in the way

I can't eat
I can't sleep
I can't think straight
I did not know it could be like this
Some things are better off being left alone
There are things that are better left unknown


Oh hands,
Don't fail me now
They're the only things I have left
Oh fingers,
Don't let me down, now
They're the only things that aren't gone

Oh world, come
Come crashing down, now
Oh hands, don't fail me now
Oh let me become if I'm new to this
Oh hands, don't fail me, now


I'm carrying my life in a cardboard box
Carrier bag on my back
I'm carrying my life in a cardboard box
Carrier bag on my back

Oh hands,
Don't fail me now
They're the only things I have got
Oh fingers,
Don't let me down, now
Oh hands, don't fail me now

All Hell falls
All down around me
Oh hands, don't fail me now
Oh fingers,
Don't let me down, now
Oh hands, don't fail me now