1. |
Away from the Harbour
02:18
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Oh, Mary I couldn't make it
So many blocks to your door
I was stuck uptown on business
'Till at least four
They called it "a touch of the horrors"
Well, it's more fitting than they could know
There's more the paper's can't show
You ran to the water
Long before I could get to you
I've stayed away from the harbour
But I can't forget that it's there
No way of missing the ocean
With this salty air
You ran out of patience
Long before we could talk it through
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2. |
Stay Sharp
02:47
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Any day it could be too late to say
Anything kind to all of the people
Drifting through her
Mind the way she believes the world will stay
Just as it is as long as she needs it
To stay constant
But it's so hard to remember
How to stay awake
She should write out a letter
Stay sharp for your sake
She's aware such reminders aren't fair
They point away to the future
Not the present
Time won't care if she can't see what is there
Thinking too much yet not understanding
What should matter
And it's so hard to remember
How to stay awake
She should write out a letter
Stay sharp for your sake
And tie a string around all your fingers
Life can only end
You just don't know when
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3. |
What It's For
02:42
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You said no doctor could understand
To tell the truth, you were right
'Cause they can't explain it with all of their lights
Some childhood mishap brought to the fore
A coincidence, nothing more
But I sure hope this means something
Why else would you leave it with me
And what's a symbol for a song no one recalls?
Maybe it's nothing at all
I did some research into the code
Nothing was clear
The ending of an empire, faded through the years?
More like a memory guide destined to fail
When instructions get lost in the mail
Have I lost the mystery
You wanted to pass on to me
The slight suggestion that there could be something more
Now, I won't know what it's for
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4. |
Laundry
03:06
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Since they asked me
I'll turn all of these towels into squares
They look past me
At the men who sit solidly stuck to their chairs
But I had a purpose so honest and true
Though it seemed at the time there was too much to do
All the hours leading up to an ending
I thought I'd want
He knocks over
Stacks of linen so carefully made
White like Dover
Can't he see I was there too, and how I was paid for it
No one tells you an arm's no excuse
When you're somebody's wife, you'll have to get used to
The same routines as another
Making a home
I don't know how I expect things to be
But I wish they would recognize that this is me
Folding laundry with one arm missing
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5. |
Grown Up
02:45
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Who could guess that mirrors
Still would have this effect on you?
You fall into old habits so fast
When there's a glass review
The jingle rings out the same
Now with reverb
It could play for hours
And then leave you with the drain
When will you figure it out
You still belong here
They must think you're funny
'Cause you do so well in school
It's true you'd make a fine acquaintance
You understand the rule
There's no way of making them care
What you're up to, dear
You could wait forever
And they'd hardly see you there
Looks like one chance to prove
That you're all grown up
Professional people
Listening to you
Take a look around you
Take a look, maybe, at the year
With all your big or tiny failures
You've got a real career
Nobody can see it but you
Why be wasteful?
Look back when you're eighty:
There was never one debut
When will you figure it out
You still belong here
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6. |
Violet
03:06
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Didn't seem to make a lot of friends
Waiting in your room, combing out your hair
Then you forgot our names; you could barely see us there
And we tried not to think of it
Hey Violet,
What a shame we knew you so little
Could have held our hearts
We could have been close instead of near
You existed as something of a riddle
Flying off the charts
Less and less yourself with every year
Evidently, things were going fine
If we can believe what the pictures say
Typical afternoons sitting out on sunny days
What was really going on?
Hey Violet,
What a shame we knew you so little
Could have held our hearts
We could have been close instead of near
You existed as something of a riddle
Flying off the charts
Less and less yourself with every year
It's so strange to think of you that age
Worried about men, worried for yourself
What kind of life you'd lead, what kind of hand you'd be dealt
There were possibilities then
What a shame we knew you so little
What a wasted part
Violet sometimes I wish you were here
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7. |
If You Call
02:21
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If we were in a novel, we would know what to say
Polite and demure but still so sure
We'd always feel this way
A bedrock-solid sense we could obey
But all the flags are flying for another one's name
And we can't pretend that they might bend
To fit inside our frame
It's such a futile image to proclaim
It amounts to
Maybe this, possibly like that
If we only knew
It's the circle game in a different hat
And it's holding out its hands to you
What if you don't look back?
Look up, the door stands open to a rise or a fall
The future's a blur, we both concur
We can't see it at all
I only know I'll answer if you call
I only know I'll answer if you call
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8. |
Artifacts
02:41
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Was this house built to be inhabited by objects?
Artifacts but no one home
And we speculate what happened
Though we'll never know
The honest facts with only bones
Following the most
Inanimate ghosts
On every surface, there are marked uncertain histories
Did he touch this, did she stare?
Special occasions stuffed in closets
Touched only by air
She made this dress for her to wear
Following the most
Inanimate ghosts
I hold the documents, but nothing of their meanings
Can't explain without you here
There's no accounting for the finders
Things you once held dear
Get changed until a story's clear
Following the most
Inanimate ghosts
Inanimate ghosts
Follow me the most
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9. |
Go Slow
03:42
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When you got married
You made a plan
A steady job, a home, some kids
A whole lifespan to go
There would be problems
But that was fine
You both were wise and kind
Together you'd get by the cracks
'Cause you'd spot them all in time
We can't figure out what it is you need to do
Time must sure go slow for you
All of a sudden
You'd lost the code
Where figures marched on steady paths
Now they implode away
And we can't understand what it is you need to do
Time must sure go slow for you
When no one answers
Well, you can't plan for
A double blow
Forced to complete too early on
Then forced to slow right down
And lose the things you used to know
We can't figure out what it is you need to do
Time must sure go slow for you
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10. |
On the Shelf
02:14
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The moment I saw you I had to bring you home
No one else could adore you for beauty alone
You're too good for them, perhaps too good for me
Still I dream of the things we'll make together
You bought us to knit up an armor for your heart
Saw coils of potential in bright coloured parts
You'll always be two steps away from what you want
If you look to us to fill the hole that's showing
I can't bear to see you just sitting on the shelf
Reminder of failures I keep for myself
I'll neither use you nor give you away
I still dream of the things we'll make together
You're wasting your time and you're squandering your care
Don't matter to us if you hoard or you share
We'll either live here or we'll live somewhere else
Maybe you should think instead of where you're going
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