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1. |
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O, the weapon you bear
The armor you wear
Is hardly required
Just take as your shield
The letter I sealed
Those words you inspired
Go, be bold, be unmoored
Push off from the shore
And untie your knots
And I'll help you see
It's not quite as deep
As you might have thought
CHORUS
You be my door, I'll be your lock
You be my dove, I'll be your hawk
You be my soul, I'll be the body that you sought
You be my heart, I'll be your rock
Let the stars be your guide
The sun in the sky
Canopus and more
But if those lights dim
Remember this hymn
And let these lines soar
Yes go as far as you please
O'er mountains and seas
For days upon days
But know that I'll be
The light that you see
That's leading your way
REPEAT CHORUS
You be the one that I wanted to be
And I'll be the one that you are
You be the promise I said I would keep
Through it all and no matter how hard
You be the fire that burns through the night
And me, I won't sound the alarm
You be the vision I needed to see
Incandescent and bright in the dark
You draw your map, I'll mark the spot
You cast a line, I'll keep it taut
You spread your wings, I'll be the air that keeps you aloft
You be my heart, I'll be your rock
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2. |
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I've got it together, so I was believing
But all of that changed when I saw you leaving
Now I'm not the type just to sit around grieving
I set my sights on what you'd want me achieving
CHORUS
There's one thing I've got to do
I've got to prove myself to you
So stack up the odds against me, I'll beat them
Show me your list of demands and I'll meet them
Stumble when speaking your thoughts I'll complete them
Show me the hurt in your heart and I'll heal it
REPEAT CHORUS
You say that we all pick our own road, I'm listening
Well maybe you're whole and there's nothing you're missing
But now that we've met I can't honestly say the same
I'll make it my mission if someone comes near you
Kindly inquiring who is your hero
The first sound out of your mouth will be my name
REPEAT CHORUS
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3. |
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I've seen seven wonders but two were your eyes
I've been torn asunder by all your goodbyes
Cause you went and plundered the sun and the skies for your song
Then you played my heartstrings like they were a lyre
And you spread apart wings that fueled my desire
Yes you always start things you knew would catch fire all along
I wanna love your esotericism forever
Your velvet glove, your funny voice, your stormy weather
I'll spin above you on a silky flaxen tether
Each orbit drawing me deep inside
Cause you filled my sails
With all your tales
And dextrous feats of phrasing
Come sleet or hail
Monsoon or gale
Infernos and lightning blazing
Cut to the quick now my wounds I will lick
I'll be tasting my blood as I ride out this flood
The tides are ineffably drawing you near
The curtains have cleft all the others from here
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4. |
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You bent yourself down to adjust a crimson heel
But when you grabbed my arm I knew it was for real
So I asked you 'bout your dreams and you made a list for me
Then I set my sails and the rest is history
Now take this my letterman
It's not much but it's better than
Those frilly things that never kept you quite warm
CHORUS
Christen my ship
Swing your bottle, don't miss
I'll return bearing gifts by and by
Blow me a kiss
Wave your white handkerchief
In a year I will sit by your side
Soon I will sail for Greece but hide from you my fears
And every day that passes by will seem like years
But I will warm myself with knowledge that you're mine
And likewise I am yours and thus we are entwined
So keep lit a flame for me
And I'll do the same for thee
They're symbols but see how they shine
REPEAT CHORUS
One, two, three, four dozen moons worth of time
I will still hear the lilt in your voice
Five, six, eight, nine magic mountains I'll climb
There will be just one flag I will hoist
REPEAT CHORUS
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5. |
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You caught my glance and you quickly construed
Given half a chance that I'd always be true
If you gave me a rope then for you I would lasso the moon
But for all my acts of valor and daring
It's just no use in even comparing
To feelings I get at the moment you come into view
CHORUS:
You don't need me half as much as I need you
Lord knows, you don't need me half as much as I need you
Well I brought some notes and you gave me a tune
And I planted seeds but they never did bloom
Til the day that you came and you bathed them in light that you shoot
It's a mystery how you do what you do
Making two from one and a handful from two
You're a Christmas morning, a stocking that's forever full
REPEAT CHORUS
Well you passed my way and you left me tossing in your wake
Now I got this thirst, but that don't mean I want it slaked
Cause my heart may hurt, but I like the way you make it ache
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6. |
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Put on those fancy shades, the pair you bought for two ninety-nine
As cool as you look, there's nothing cooler than you being mine
And put on that song you like, with all the "hey"s and "sha-la-la"s
It not really 'bout anything, but that never seemed to give you pause
Singing do-be-do
Singing oo-we-oo
Singing just for me
For me
For me and me for you
Put on your Pavement shirt, wowee zowee it fits so fine
It never did take much more when you wanted to catch my eye
Put on your worn out jeans with patches and stains of grass
You never got the green out from that crazy day we missed class
Singing do-be-do
Singing oo-we-oo
Singing just for me
For me
For me and me for -
You never needed the lyrics - you just made up your own
I said, "I'm not quite so free" - you told me that it really showed
I asked you, "Well what's your secret?" - You replied, "Go with the flow"
So put on your sneakers, love, and I'll grab the guitar
We're going where the roads don't go, you know a car only goes so far
And put on that hat of yours, so the sun don't hurt your eyes
As I lay you down and whisper all of my made-up lines
Singing do-be-do
Singing oo-we-oo
Singing just for you
For you
For you
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7. |
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I think I'll while away an hour
Picking you the perfect flower
And set it sweetly in your hair
And then I'll while away the day
Thinking of words that I will say
And all the feelings I'll declare
And then I'll while away the week
Studying songs of the cacique
And at your window call their tune
But after June has passed on by
I think I'll while away July
Just howling your name at the moon
Some call me aimless, some they say I'm slow
Some wonder if I've anywhere to go
Some tell me time is money
Well they can count their pay
I'll take my day
And while it all away on you
And after summer's taken flight
I'll while away those winter nights
Building fires to keep you warm
And then when January's here
With you I'll while away the year
One resolution I have sworn
Some say I'm wandering, some they say I'm lost
Some say I'm free but wonder at what cost
Some trade their days for coinage
Well they can stack their dimes
I'll take my time
And while it all away on you
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8. |
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I've got a sixty-four Chevrolet
With no warmth of which to speak
The damn thing, well it's still under loan
I've got house that looks real nice
But it's lacking central heat
But that ain't what chilled me to the bone
CHORUS
Nine fifths of zero still is nil
Some nights it seems the cold could kill
You've got a fire and it's been on my mind
So please, just melt this heart of mine
I've been telling the tallest tales
Of how life it done me wrong
I've been setting all of my spite to song
But I've lately come around
And said my silent thanks
For having this old heart that still can break
REPEAT CHORUS
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9. |
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There's so many things I've yet to do
There's so many words unsaid
There's so many plans I've yet to put to bed
And I do not know who put these visions
Deep inside my head
Though I tried to lead them now I find I'm led
But I'm nothing if not patient
Yes I faced each test I met
And I take it on the chin if not the head
And through all my toil and trouble
There's a single prayer I send
Just take me somewhere feet have never tread
Now I'm grateful for the souls I've met
I know how to treat a friend
Though it's such a busy world to which we're wed
And I'm sure that there are more like me
So my hand I will extend
To the dreamers and the dreams they left for dead
'Cause we're hungry for some mission
We can't live alone on bread
So on struggle shall we sate ourselves instead
You can tell us from the others
We're the ones who daily pled
Just take us somewhere feet have never tread
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10. |
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I found a blue in your eyes
A shade so crystal the skies
Turned into green when they knew
That they were bested by you
I found a light in your heart
The sun could not even start
To shine with rays so intense
Your love is too tall a fence
I found a home in your arms
To keep me safe from all harm
I'm lost inside your embrace
I see my life in your face
I found a dream in your mind
And it was one of a kind
You deal your castles of sand
With every move of your hand
CHORUS
Sing with me
Or am I moving too fast love?
Dance with me
O but that came out so crass love
Breathe with me
I need this moment to last love
Feel with me
I need a touch of your class love
I know you don't mean to flaunt it
But your beauty's a gauntlet
And I'm dodging the whips
With every swing of your hips
And building on the analogy
I'm up on the gallows, see
From the nape of your neck
The way your cape swept the deck
I'm sure I'll be on the rack
Just from the small of your back
And then my bones'll be creaking
From the one tiny peek
So Mrs. Marquis de Sade
Grant me a wink or a nod
Some morsels I can accrue
Until you tighten the screw
REPEAT CHORUS
But O this bittersweet Midas touch
When everything glitters it ain't worth much
And all my rocks and gems and jewels
Summon up flocks of freaks and ghouls
I tried to turn them with my cross
But why should I spurn the lame and lost?
Because this undead zombie sea
They're just like me! They're just like me!
I practiced Perseus
And preyed for mercy but
You petrified my bones
You turned my skin to stone
And from a stony scabbard
Though I pulled a dagger
All I found was jail
Inside your holy grail
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11. |
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Excuse me, I know that it may be bold, but there was something in the way that you just wiggled your nose
That got me, a little out of control, and I've been counting in the corner for to settle my soul
Well I know, though the time may be short, before I'm fending off another on his own approach
I'll go slow, but I don't mean to impose, so if you heard this before, just say so
CHORUS
Now I can see that you shine, sh-shine, sh-shine
I'm not just giving you a line, l-line, l-line
So if you give me some time, t-time, t-time
I'm gonna make you mine, m-mine, m-mine
Excuse me, now but you look a bit bored, and so I'm guessing what you're getting out of life could be more
So let's see, now it's a quarter to four, you hit the floor I'll get the door and we can make it for sure
To this place, I know a ways up the shore, it never closes and who knows it may be faces galore
I'll go slow, but if you need to take hold, just wrap your arms tight around my torso
REPEAT CHORUS
Excuse me, but really who is he? Draw the curtain on that person, there's not room for three.
Excuse me, but is your calendar free? Because I'm thinking that there's somewhere else you'd rather be.
Excuse me, but here's an idea, take a seat right here and you just wait and see, uh!
Excuse me, but do you feel what I feel? I know it's seeming that I'm being extreme...
REPEAT CHORUS
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12. |
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Well I built this house on silt and salt and sand
And I guessed it would pass the test and it would stand
On a window shopping spree
But it's just so hard to see
Through the fire this desire of hers has fanned
Cause that seraph burns her paraffin all night
Hear the cries of all the flies drawn to the light
See the shapeless shifting swarm
It's a buzzing bumbling form
Well suppose now that I chose to stay and fight
I could floor 'em with some lorum ipsum junk
Swing a blackjack, throw the sack smack in the trunk
Drive 'em to the edge of town
Put 'em six feet underground
At the bottom is the spot they'll hit kerplunk
Yes my thumping chest is stumping for her vote
And failing this I'll sail across her moat
Cause the raging, restless sea
Oh it just don't bother me
Though rancored I am anchored to this boat
CHORUS
Oh, she's like a hologram
A balled-up, canned-up bucket of white light
And if I took her hand
And took a stand
Then these plans I just might right
She's a gut shot but the cut clots awful slow
Ring the church bells, watch my blood cells there they go
Oh I'm fine just let me be
Pay no mind don't bother me
Down the gutter, left to shudder in the snow
Yes she sliced my skin and spiced the wound with salt
And she maimed me then she claimed it's all my fault
Drinking wine from a carafe
Down the neck of that giraffe
Does she mind or is she blind to her assault?
Yes they slaughtered then they brought her ivory tusks
And the bums, well they just hum and sing and busk
Cause the deep red frequency
Of the satin, sequined sheet
That she dons well they all fawn upon till dusk
What a silly billy thinking she'd be mine
She don't willy nilly wed men of my kind
She's an island off the map
But there's strength I've yet to tap
So don't dilly dally boy there's no more time
REPEAT CHORUS
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13. |
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I know I barely know you
We've only said hello
And this, some silent greeting
I thought I saw you throw
I know I'm rather quiet
Whenever you're around
I choke on all my words
I hardly make a sound
I know I must seem silly
Just staring at my feet
In some dim and dusty corner
Where I'm swaying to the beat
I know it's kinda crazy
The way you make me feel
Turning shades of grey to color
You make the common so surreal
Yes I know you barely know me
So there's no way that you could tell
That you were summoned from my dreams
You're a wish called down a well
And I know that you may doubt me
When I say that you're the one
I've been waiting all my life for
And now it's only just begun
But I know you might not want me
All the ways I'm wanting you
So I try to shut such thoughts out
And I pray this isn't true
Because I know that in your absence
The hole that would remain
Would swallow me completely
How could you make me feel such pain?
And I know I seem dramatic
But you've really no idea
Of how bleak it'd be without you
Of how dark the night would seem
Yes I know there's nothing colder
Than somewhere without your fire
And without the breath you bring me
I would hastily expire
And yet the hearth I thought your heart was
I mustn't on its warmth depend
And the air that I've been breathing
I shouldn't think I'll ne'er expend
Because I know this song I'm singing
Doesn't mean a goddamn thing
For if you love me then you love me
And if you don't, you don't - the end
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14. |
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Fade in on a pair of brethren hearts without a care
They were made to stay together and I'm sure you'd say the same
And the day when the game they played was in major need of repair
Arm in arm they swayed and ne'er to part they made this fateful claim
Singing, "Oh this can be our reconciliation song
We'll save it for a day when everything goes wrong
Yes this will our reconciliation song
But pray that such a day will never come along"
Now maybe it's plain to see for those of you who have shared
A life, a place, and time and space with one and became the same
That the rains never failed to fall and a haze often hung in the air
But they'd not complain of life unfair or try to place the blame
They'd sing, "Oh this now is our reconciliation song
We saved it for some day when everything goes wrong
Yes this is now our reconciliation song
We pray that such a day will never come along"
But then a storm appeared and laid their plans to waste
A bolt crashed from the sky, with blackness was it laced
They reached out for their song with hurried, hopeful haste
And soon they found the song had vanished without a trace
"The song, the song," they cried, "oh where could it be placed?"
They cast their eyes aloft at the storm that would have to be faced
And lo, a light broke through, and gave this tempest a chase
When from within they summoned the chorus
And sang, "Now listen to our reconciliation song
We saved it for this time when everything went wrong
Yes listen to our reconciliation song
Let other days like this one never come along
Let other days like this one never come along"
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15. |
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If I had more than just one lifetime
Oh, the things I'd do
I'd spend a century as a voyager
And sail the ocean blue
I'd spend another as a scientist
There's theorems yet to prove
And when I'd proven all those theorems
Well I'd prove my love to you
If I had more than just one lifetime
I'd start each one anew
In this I'd be a wise man
In that I'd play the fool
If I had more than just one lifetime
Those hearts they may accrue
But I just wouldn't pay them any mind
'Cause I'm a fool for you
You gave me more than just one lifetime
One sunlit afternoon
In the casual way you tossed your hair
And the sideways glance you threw
You give me more than just one lifetime
If you only even knew
How each touch is worth a decade
And each kiss is worth a few
Now I may never be a rockstar
Those dreams they may be through
I may never be a rockstar
But I'll be one for this tune
And just like every other rockstar
This rockstar needs a muse
So it should come as no surprise to you
That you're the one I choose
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16. |
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We met on an evening such as this, such bliss
Leading you home past the fountain where I made my wish
Granted so soon by the step which helped align our lips
But with these words by a day I did forestall that kiss
"Please consider my chariot, the shotgun seat is free
The radio reads kilohertz, but girl that's all we'll need
The taillight's busted, the fender's rusted, the gears they number three
But though this carriage is old it's built to last just wait and see"
And you then became to my surprise, my prize
And for a while we then tried each other on for size
And then the moon, and the sun, the trees, the air, the skies
The world entire, given life anew seen through your eyes
So tell me truly now Judas, Jesus which one do I see?
Cause though we've conjured a thousand children you're still news to me
You showed me all the vicissitudes you'd hidden lock and key
But still this puzzle is missing one important corner piece
So when you pasted all our photos in a birthday card collage
Well I'm sure you had your reasons but you only broke my heart
Oh and when our palms were pressing you gave me quite a start
Could you feel my heart confessing to the way it fell apart?
And then you drew a rainbow in the frost from words we spoke
And although I couldn't say so, my heart it swiftly broke
And then you danced the can can just to bring my face a smile
But my heart it had its own damn plans and was breaking all the while
Cause you keep ringing my bell
But I just can't tell
For whom'd you aim that spell?
And you'll be blowin' my mind
But often I find
You're not even tryin'
So keep on rockin' my world
With every twirl
You maniac girl
And I'll keep saving my cents
And some season hence
I'll swing for the fence
And when you look at my librettos and declare, "Such rain, such clouds"
I'll reply, "Well I just like sad songs, but I like to play them loud"
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17. |
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That summer when we took a ferry out to see Capri
The moment when you jumped off of a cliff into the sea
The play of light upon your skin as you napped beneath a tree
Those visions really made their mark, they've stuck around with me
You gave me more than a photograph
You gave me more than a dream
You gave me more than some story that I'll share in my twilight years
You gave me more than a postcard note
Or some silly souvenir
You gave me more than a memory, love
You gave me a reason to see
That evening when my window sounded out from the pebble you threw
Your silhoetted form alighted bright by the silvery moon
I'd never had a serenader; I've never had one since
Who made me feel the way you did with each clumsy note that you picked
But you gave me more than a tone or two
And more than a melody
You gave me more than some song to whistle along a rain-soaked street
You gave me more than a forty-five
And more than an MP3
You gave me more than a memory, love
You gave me a reason to sing
A reason to leave the porch light on
And to keep the fire alive
A reason to pick myself back up
When times are getting tryin'
A reason to take this heart of mine
And lay it on the line
A reason to keep you always on my mind
But you gave me much more than all of that
Yeah more than you could believe
You gave me more than some shoulder on which in troubled times I'd lean
You gave me more than a hand to hold
Or one to take hold of me
You gave me more than a memory, love
You gave me a reason
You gave me a reason to be
You gave me a reason to be
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released December 9, 2013