ALL THAT EVER HAPPENS
There's another trace
running down my face
for all that ever happened to me
and unless you know me well
you may find it hard to tell
‘cause you always look but you never want to see
since you went away
we've gathered with our flags by the sea
I am signalling for you
and for all that ever mattered to me.
Be it late at night
or be my heart so light, well
I made across the fields like a bee
after you and I had lain
there's a bruise I can't explain
it's something my ex wants to see
she said, "no one needs to know
you can come and you can go as you please"
so I prayed for it to heal
but now sometimes I miss where it should be.
May your plans turn out well
may you see through this hard spell
in the midst of war may you come back home for tea
may the wind rising ere South
leave a fragrance in your mouth
when the halls wake-up may you know that you are free
I'm thinking of the way
you usher-in the day as you breathe
there'll be a sense of your affection
in all that ever happens to me.
I NEVER MEANT
I’m taking a ride home but I’m not coming back
I can travel the distance but never close the gap
the road takes a share and time took his own
so I’m finding my way back but I’m not coming home.
Maybe all that I knew was all I ever had
what brought me to you is tearing me apart
now cover your eyes and try to forget
we never meant it any less the day we met.
She said, “come over, I’ll take over, step right in
I’ve seven seas, an Indian breeze and sallow skin
you and your friend choose end-from-end, mind the sway
the tide rolls in, the ropes grow thin, and we’re away
but I never meant to take you home.”
"My love you’re so quiet,” she’d say, “and quietly in me
you rise like an ocean, I gradually recede
what silence denies me I’ll find in your arms
so be gentle, be gentle with me, be gentle when it comes.”
An older vibration - I don’t know what else to say -
but mid-conversation I found myself away
the front row is fading and the back takes a glance
two souls find a line and there's room enough to dance.
“You hear that voice,” she says, “it’s just a noise on the lee”
but I suppose I’m one of those who needs to see
so I went lower, leaned right over and started crying
‘cause all the lines were showing signs that I’d been lying
and I never meant to take you home.
EASILY
In the morning you've come knocking on my door
and I can tell you'd like to talk some more
you don't see but there's a-looking in your eyes
that says you will and you don't even realize.
You walked over past the windows and the floors
you move around, well, as if it was all yours
now they say that if you want it, it will come
but they don't tell you it's so easily undone.
I barely have to move
and I'm there where I should be
I hope whatever holds you back will vanish easily
more and more.
I remember when you said you had to leave
'cause it was not as you had intended it to be
I felt winter as you walked out on the street
you said, "please baby, will you not forget to eat."
' Cause in the morning you came knocking on my door
I could tell, you had to say no more
I could see there was a-looking in your eyes
that said you would, and that was hard to realize.
I barely have to move
I'm still there where I should be
I hope whatever holds you back will vanish easily
more and more,
more, baby, more and more.
IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING
It goes without saying,
it came without touch
it moves just a little
but a little too much
you hold-on with no future
like dew on a rose
so it goes without saying
and that's how it goes.
You see, we tumbled like boulders,
cold wind in a hall
holding together,
waiting to fall
where I was your meadow
now lavender grows
it goes without saying
and that's how it goes.
The last dance was fading
replaced by the mist
I heard they were writing
our names on the list
and it glided between us
as we lined-up in rows
my love, my love,
it comes without saying
and that's how it goes.
For the child in the field
with bramble and nettle
it could slow down
but it could not settle
well, they said it was something
but nobody knows
all she had left
she left with her clothes
and she said it was someone
but nobody knows
nobody knows for sure.
It goes without saying,
it came without touch
it moves just a little
but a little too much
you sigh for a moment
and that's how it shows
when it goes without saying
that's how it goes
yes, when it goes without saying
that's how it goes.
WHEN THE TIME COMES
71 foreign men in chains
it's got to be a crime to have those names
it's got to be a crime to be that faith
at least enough to rile and implicate
and your eyes will not see fit
to pass judgement while you spit
but there can be no spills if not without some stains
71 foreign men in chains.
75 women in a cage
it's got to be a crime to be their age
wondering how love turned into doubt
in the same room when all the lights went out
so choose a novel and bring it home
you read it twice to feel less alone
all the same it's hard to disengage
75 women in a cage.
When the time comes
lay down your hands
I will know what to do
so fold it in your arms
'cause when the time comes
I will know what to do.
75 children in a cage
and just as many drawings on the page
the cat, the cow, the fiddle and the moon
the dish will only feed the silver spoon
and although the king's men tried
it was way too much to hide
so rub your eyes now it's time to come of age
74 children in a cage.
SAID THE SUN TO THE NIGHT
"It would be nice to see you
I left your pages white
'cause I've spent my life believing
that someone like you cannot exist,"
said the Sun to the Night
"help me put out this light."
"You lay by the ocean
while he drowned at your feet
showing all his devotion
he peacefully sang himself asleep
and now it hurts even more
to watch him cling to the shore."
"I turn around and I hope
that when I look for you, you'll be there
I should just hold you but I get tired
and convince myself that if I let you go you'll be ok
and I ask for your permission to be free."
"They placed the Earth between us
and half of the Moon
now she rolls-by and you leave
the minute I walk into the room
did you do it for me or just for them to see?"
"And we could make them wonder
we could make them see
and I would face this hunger
till darkness comes calling back to me."
"But you're not the one,"
said the Night to the Sun.
"I turn around and I hope
that when I look for you, you'll be there
I should just hold you but I get tired
and convince myself that if I let you go you'll be ok
and I ask for your permission to be free
I have this one condition, to be free."
THEY'RE LOOKING
It's not you they're looking, they're looking for me
so show them your skin where my hands used to be
empty all of your drawers and hand them over the key
let the dogs hurry past, set your sights to the sea
'cause it's not you they're looking, they're looking for me.
She got on the bus and sat very still
the driver looked torn like a five-dollar bill
he drove straight through the night
like you might think he'd see
looked in the mirror and said meaningfully
"I know this road won't you hold onto me?"
And now there's a quiver on the ridge of her lips
while her prophet takes hold of her drawn fingertips
he said, "I've been to the temple
and I've healed those who are blind
but someone turned around and cried
'why are you so unkind, can't you see?
I'll have to close them eventually.'"
At last there's a room at the end of the hall
at last there's a window and I can wave to you all
and I've had to move slow for the first twenty years
now I want my redemption to be heard in your ears
and you'll see that all of this time
you've been waiting for me.
I loved every minute of this emotional mess
and I loved every inch of your warm summer dress
and I know that one day it may all run a-shore
but don't fix your hair while I open the door
'cause it's not you they're looking, it's me
they're looking for.
YOU'RE SO WRONG FOR ME
You're so wrong for me
and I couldn't love you more
it feels like I'm falling from a height
looking forward to the floor
you're so wrong for me
like early-morning blues
I'm cursing the collision
but longing for the bruise
I am living in two halves
and I don't know whose is whose.
You're so wrong for me
and I wouldn't love you less
why you married someone else
it's anybody's guess
you're so wrong for me
and if I had to choose
I'd place a bet on happiness
making sure I lose
if there's a life for me without you
I'd rather be excused.
Breathe again,
let your breast-bone heave
you've been loved
more than you believe
breathe again,
was it lost on me?
Breathe and then
I will watch you leave.
You're so wrong for me
and everybody knows
there's my ring beside your bed
near someone else's clothes
you're so wrong for me,
tell me is it true?
'Cause you look at me that way
and I know that it’s no use
I'm not the one you hoped for
I'm the one you can't refuse.
Breathe again,
let your breast-bone heave
you've been loved
more than you believe
breathe again,
was it lost on me?
Breathe and then
I will watch you leave.
FINALLY AWAKE
Try as he will, still
the simplest intention
will be lost in the siege of her eyes
the kind that she gives
is a kind of attention
that releases as much as it ties.
He rubs-down his knuckles
as day-reasoning buckles
in the wake of another mistake
now it's utterly clear
she's the reason he's here
he finally knows he's awake.
Gone is the chill
binding every decision
the sun’s breezing in through the door
they left hand-in-hand
with the lightest provision
needing far less and no more.
Their house is now open
with tours softly spoken
some people come just for the sake
to hear of the day
a man did what he may
and finally knows he’s awake.