My Brother Esau

My brother Esau killed a hunter
Back in nineteen sixty nine
And before the killing was done
His inheritance was mine
But his birthright was a wand to wave
Before a weary band
Esau gave me sleeplessness
And a piece of moral land

My father favored Esau
Who was eager to obey
All the bloody wild commandments
The old man shot his way
But all this favor ended when
My brother failed at war
He staggered home
And found me in the door

Esau skates on mirrors anymore
Meets his pale reflection at the door
Yet sometimes at night I dream
He's still that hairy man
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land

Esau holds a blessing
Brother Esau holds a curse
I would say that the blame is mine
But I suspected something worse
The more my brother looks like me
The less I understand
The silent war
That blooded both our hands

Sometimes at night
I think I understand
Way late at night
Oh, I feel I understand
It's brother to brother
And it's man to man
And it's face to face
And it's hand to hand
The shadow dance
The silent war within
The shadow dance
Never ends, never ends, never ends
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Yet again, yet again
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land

1. On at least one occasion, Bob sang "When at first my brother walked away" instead of "But his birthright was a wand to wave."

2. The first performance on 3/25/83 had a different second verse:

Esau tried to build a world
A marvelous disguise
Where every street is easy
And there's nothing to deny
And although he gave me all his cards
I could not play his hand
I made a choice
That soon became a stand

3. Bob sometimes sang "Esau, he's on roller-skates today, selling real estate to someone in L.A." instead of "Esau skates on mirrors anymore, meets his pale reflection at the door."

4. On at 7/14/85, Bob sang "He gets around the dark side of town, way down around L.A." instead of "Meets his pale reflection at the door."

5. Bob sometimes sang "The more I understand" instead of "The less I understand."

6. In live performances, the ending varied greatly. Here is the version from 10/28/85:

Sometimes at night
I think I understand
Well late at night
Oh feel that I understand
It's never ending, never yet began
Never begin
Fighting a war neither one could ever win
Never win
Brother to brother
And the man is
Hand to hand
Never win, never win
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Wandering
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Wandering
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land