Beth Nielsen Chapman

Sometimes you wonder how much i care
I get so distracted running nowhere
And i take for granted our love is secure
But if i started losing you, one thing is sure

I'd be down on my knees
Ready to pray, darlin'
Down on my knees
Making you stay
I'd be begging you please
Don't take your love from me
I'd be down on my knees

I learned to be strong a long time ago
And i can face any wind no matter how hard it blows
But i'd have to be stronger than i want to be
If i had to live without you loving me

I'd be down on my knees
Ready to pray, darlin'
Down on my knees
Making you stay
I'd be begging you please
Don't take your love from me
I'd be down on my knees

No one matters more in my life
Or makes me feel like you make me feel inside
And i've come far enough to know
Love's worth never letting go of
And love is not a matter of pride

I'd be down on my knees
Ready to pray, darlin'
Down on my knees
Making you stay
I'd be begging you please
Don't take your love from me
I'd be down on my knees

I went home for christmas
To the house that i grew up in
Going back was something after all these years
I drove down monterey street
And i felt a little sadness
When i turned left laurel and the house appeared
And i snuck up to that rocking chair
Where the winter sunlight slanted on the screened-in porch
And i stared out past the shade tree
That my daddy planted on the day that i was born

Chorus
And i let time go by so slow
And i made every moment last
And i thought about years
How they take so long
And they go so fast

Across the street the randol's oldest daughter must have come home
Her two boys built a snowman by the backyard swings
I thought of old man randol
And his christmas decorations
And how he used to leave them up till early spring
And i thought of all the summers
That i paced that porch and swore i'd die of boredom there
And i thought of what i'd give to feel another summer linger
Where a day feels like a year

Chorus

Then the door flew open, and my mother's voice was laughing
As she called back to my daddy, "come and look who's here"
And i thought about years

I was swinging on the swings when i was a little girl
Trying to get a handle on the big, wide world
When i noticed all the grass in the cracks in the concrete
I said, "where there's a will, there's a way around anything"

Chorus:
Life holds on
Given the slightest chance
For the week and the strong
Life holds on

There was a third grade boy that we knew in school
He was found face down in a swimming pool
And as they worked on that kid every minute was an hour
And when his eyes fluttered open we could feel that power

Chorus

Sirens screaming down my street
Fading as they go
Whining somewhere far away
To someone i don't know
Still, i say a little prayer
There's always hope
Life holds on

Through the window in the kitchen i can see outside
My kids taking turns coming down the slide
I try not to worry as they grow a little every day
I've just got believe they're gonna find their way

Chorus

She's wheeled into the hallway
Till the sun moves down the floor
Little squares of daylight
Like a hundred times before
She's taken to the garden
For the later afternoon
Just before her dinner
They return her to her room

Chorus:
And inside her mind
She is running
She is running in the summer wind
Inside her mind
She is running in the summer wind
Like a child again

The family comes on sunday
And they hover for awhile
They fill her room with chatter
And they form a line of smiles
Children of her children
Bringing babies of their own
Sometimes she remembers
Then her mama calls her home

Chorus

Playmate, come out and play with me
(it's raining, it's poring, the old man is snoring)
And bring your dollies three
(bumped his head on the edge of the bed)
Climb up my apple tree
(never got up in the morning)
Slide down my rain barrel
(rain, rain, go away)
Into my cellar door
(come again another day)
And we'll be jolly friends
(little johnny wants to play)
Forevermore
(some more)

And inside her mind
She is running
She is running in the summer wind
Like a child again

Rita's out on the street tonight
Driving through the rain
She's got lots of new reasons not to trust any man again
And even though she'll be alright
She'll never be the same again
She'll move closer to her mama, let her daughter keep her daddy's name
Sometimes you've only got one road and it's a rocky ride
Sometimes there isn't time to think about the tears you've cried

Chorus:
You take it as it comes
When you've got no way to hide from the hurting inside
When there's nowhere you can really run
You take it as it comes

Rita's out on the street tonight
Midnight feels so strange
She's got her baby in the car seat
Her sleeping face flashing as the signals change
They roll up to the corner for the seventh time
As they circle around the square
The movie crowd is spilling out across the street
Rita sits at that light and stares
And she wonders if there's any reason in the world to try
And she glances at her little girl and she remembers why

Chorus

And one foot goes in front of the other
And one day rolls into the next
Sometimes you've got to let your heart be numb
And take it as it comes

Chorus

Seems like after all we've been through
We would have learned by now
Never to fight for gets the last word
It doesn't matter anyhow
But 'round and 'round we go in circles
Trying to work things through
And sometimes it feels like miles between us
But i keep coming back to you

Chorus:
And it's rough
And it's tough
And it's harder than anything i've ever tried to do
But i love you so much that in spite of the struggle
I keep coming back to you

Hold me now, just think about this room
That we have shared so long
We've studied that map of cracks on the ceiling
Talking till the break of dawn
There is something strong as history
Telling me this love is true
They say "follow your heart and you'll be happy"
So i keep coming back to you

Chorus