Lay It Down

My mother sang the sweetest melody
although she never sang in a musical key
I'd hear her through the house
My name called out loud
My mother sang the sweetest melody

My mother's hands were always cool and soft
And like her eyes they would caress with every touch
She would listen to my chatter
as if every word I spoke mattered
She'd hold me close and whisper in my ear

She'd say, 'girl you are a part of me
I have made you strong
when you grow up and are on your own
remember to win them with your song'

My father sang in perfect harmony
And though he never sang in a musical key
You could hear him when he'd enter the house
the kiss he'd give my Ma
My father sang in perfect harmony

My father's words were always sure and clear
and like his presence they would rid me of my fears
When I crawled up on his knees
I was safe as I could be
He'd hold me tight and whisper in my ear

He'd say, 'girl you are a part of me
I have made you strong
when you grow up and are on your own
remember to win them with your song'

My mother sang in perfect harmony
although she never sang in a musical key

Speaking confidentially
the fire that burnt inside of me
has turned to ash the tortured tree
that grows beside the anguished sea
Speaking confidentially

Speaking metaphorically
the earth I trust beneath my feet
is moving now ever so slightly
I shift my feet but feel no relief
Speaking metaphorically

Speaking hypothetically
if the air you breathed was so unique
would you use it up to idly speak
or horde it for a rainy week
Speaking hypothetically

Speaking kind of cryptically
the sea that raged beside the tree
burning bright for all to see
it just might mean the most to me
Speaking kind of cryptically

Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken
Now I know, now I know what it means to be bared
You in the chair perceptibly sinking
I'm on my knees once again made aware
of the world out there
Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling
Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken

Now I know, now I know,
now I know what it means to be broken
Now I know, now I know,
now I know what it means to be bared
You in the chair systematically sinking
I'm on my knees once again made aware
of the world out there
Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling
Now I know, now I know,
Now I know what it means to be broken

The stillness here,
Like what he sometimes finds inside her,
Hits so hard it can steal your breath forever
He sometimes wonders
Is the sum of their lives together
Him on the floor and her lost to a mind in tatters

These days he's drinking for the pleasure of falling
And he's falling for the pleasure of pretending
That she's sitting by the window waiting
For him to come calling

If i could fix me up a week of twilight hours
We'd sit on the point
And watch the sun continually flounder
Bathed in gold we'd plug into some kind of power
And connect with those days
Back before all of this went sour

'cause i'm drinking for the pleasure of falling
And i'm falling for the pleasure of pretending
That you're sitting by the window waiting
For me to come calling

Odd how the darkness always makes us whisper
And with the last of the sun
You can feel the approach of the winter
Now is the time of each day
That i desperately miss her
I suppose i will learn how to live my life without her

So you're drinking for the pleasure of falling
And you're falling for the pleasure of pretending
That i'm sitting by the window waiting
For you to come calling

I don't want to be no patch on no quilt
(I just want to see...)
Tear-stained stitching linking memories to guilt
(I just want to see...)
I don't want to be no hair on no wall
(I just want to see...)
Blood-stained note saying fuck you all
(I just want to see what kills me)

Tommy, are you ready we better head to town
J.D.'s box is waiting to be lowered down
and you know how he hates to be kept waiting 'round

I don't want to be no chalk line drawing
(I just want to see...)
Toe-tagged question mark, until identifying
(I just want to see...)
I don't want to fuse with no economy seat
(I just want to see...)
fuel some fireball at 30,000 feet
(I just want to see what kills me)

Tommy, did you catch his face
before they closed the lid?
I swear I saw him wink once and flash me that old grin
Oh, you know, that would be just like him

I don't want to face no hollow-eyed ending
(I just want to see...)
Loved ones buried, empty days of waiting
(I just want to see what kills me)

Tommy, darling, come to bed
we'll try and sleep away this sadness
These memories, too, are bound to die
so our dreams will have to serve us
Tomorrow may be the day that our love betrays us

If you offered me a shade of blue
would I return it saying that it was too
dark or light?
Or would I see it for the precious thing
that it might one day be?
Hold on to me

If you offered me a point of view
would I dismiss it saying that it was too
black and white?
Or would I see it as the special thing
That it would no doubt be?
Hold on to me

I'll hold on to this gift we share
it is as slippery as it is rare
I'll hold on to that feeling
of waking and finding you there
I'll hold on to you and you hold on to me

If I asked you for a simple thing

Would you do it without too much thinking or fuss?
Would you see it for the precious thing
that it would surely be?
Hold on to me

Hold on to me
Hold on to me

A candle burning for everything I've ever wanted
A tattoo burned for everything I've ever wanted and lost
I had a long list of names that I kept in my back pocket,
but I've cut it down to one and your name's at the top

Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
A common disaster

I found myself a friend,
but he's crooked as a stick in water
So now I'm writing fairy tales
to catch the spirit of revenge
He's got a plan to steal my little sister,
but I'm not too concerned
'cause I will get him in the end

Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
A common disaster

Going to find me someone to share
A common disaster
Run away with me from a life so cramped and dull
Not worry too much about the happily-ever-after
Just keep the Caddy moving
'til we're well beyond that hill

Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
A common disaster

The stillness here,
like what he sometimes finds inside her,
hits so hard it can steal your breath forever
He sometimes wonders
is the sum of their lives together
him on the floor and her lost to a mind in tatters

These days he's drinking for the pleasure of falling
and he's falling for the pleasure of pretending
that she's sitting by the window waiting
for him to come calling

If I could fix me up a week of twilight hours
we'd sit on the point
and watch the sun continually flounder
Bathed in gold we'd plug into some kind of power
and connect with those days
back before all of this went sour

'Cause I'm drinking for the pleasure of falling
and I'm falling for the pleasure of pretending
that you're sitting by the window waiting
for me to come calling

Odd how the darkness always makes us whisper
and with the last of the sun
you can feel the approach of the winter
Now is the time of each day
that I Desperately miss her
I suppose I will learn how to live my life without her

So you're drinking for the pleasure of falling
and you're falling for the pleasure of pretending
that I'm sitting by the window waiting
for you to come calling