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I’m
tethered to you
long as I remember
But now I sense
the rope is frayed
Apart
from you
I’m not the man I want to be
Like glass all fractured
along the street
Chorus:
I’m tied to you,
Tied to you
Nothing that I can undo,
Tied to you,
Tied to you,
I’m tethered to you
Now
it’s quiet
in the house alone
every sound
tears right through me
Chorus
Bridge:
With no warning
you could cut me down
without word
without sound
Chorus
How
I regret
Sliding off my wedding ring
For some pretty picture
I’ll never see.
Chorus
back
to top 
I left
home with a dream and mom’s bible
I fairly walked on air at first
But dreams never mention survival
When things go from bad to worst
Chorus
And it feels like winter
And it looks like snow
And I’m sleeping in Central Park
I’ve got nowhere to go….
So I tried to keep
my convictions
To not settle and not to bend
Tried to steer along the straight and narrow
Careened right into a real dead end
Chorus
Bridge:
I hear my voice shake
While I’m on the phone to you
I know a friend would reach me
…if they could only reach me
And it feels like
winter…
They say the city
gets kinder
I remember I believed that then
But now I don’t want a reminder
Of just how naïve I have been
Chorus
Chorus
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to top
I dress
in the dark
sit on the porch and smoke
a cigarette
Blow the smoke toward
the fields
I know--it’s time to quit
I can’t clear
the smoke from my mind…
Chorus:
How can I have peace?
when I turn around & find--
you’ve left your lipstick behind
Ghostly light from
the moon
frost on the grass
reflects the shine
the path that you
walked
footprints fading fast
I re-trace every
step in my mind
Chorus
Bridge:
I see how little I own
you took your things and ran
footsteps echo in the empty house
shards off the ceiling fan
an endless loop
plays in my mind
Chorus
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to top
Ruined man in a high-rise room
tallied up a score too soon
Now he shreds for all he’s worth
he knows
he isn't worth much
Avoids his friends, denies his debt
thinks he can still make his mind up yet
But the rental car burns over the bridge
and out into the counties…
Chorus:
Ruined man, pulled off a throne
All is lost! Everyone says so
Disappear for a while
then we’ll see
how long in exile
How long in exile
Ruined man in a hidden town
six long weeks he’s been underground
Told his family he was alive
but not much more than that
Packed some books and hair dye
a change of pace, or a brand new lie
But the old ones are still all over the floor
knows he don’t need no more
Chorus
Bridge:
The stranger who sits in the village square
Books by his side
dye-black in his hair
He isn’t really there…
Chorus 2X
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to top
Tina
says her marriage
is not a match made in heaven
so she holds two jobs--security--
and to be out of the house ‘till eleven
but she doesn’t cry or regret
the life in the rear view mirror
It fades as the billboards read backwards
where she’s been seems less clear
Chorus:
Tina holds her hands out
a palm full of rain
Glad that after all this time
the water still feels the same
She doesn’t wear her wedding band
on her broken ring finger
But she stays…
Tina holds back
a thought
to allow her desires to wander
to feel a true lover’s hands
that might break the spell she’s under
A hundred times in her head
she’s packed her bags, prepared to leave
a barefoot run through a torn-earth field
or a love in which to believe
Chorus
Bridge:
Coffee smells the kitchen table
A marriage a dream a prayer a fable
But now she drinks alone in the morning
He’s gone again with no warning
And the coffee cannot warm her...
Chorus/Bridge
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She
likes the way
the curtains blow and sway
Can’t turn away
seems for days
All the voices
singing in her ears
an orchestra
playing her worst fears
Chorus:
It’s not a dream
A different kind of puzzle
Nothing seems to fit…
You not there to hold her.
She checks herself
on the forty minute drive
White-knuckle wheel
tries on different smiles
a perfect portrait
the best she’s got
color fading
she hits the parking lot
Chorus
Bridge:
Lies in bed
tries to remember
names and faces
she knew well
all the while
distraction
from brand new pills
bad new smells
Never dreamed she’d
forget your name…
Chorus
Chorus
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She kept her eyes on the floor
stilled her shaky hands
as he babbled on, avoiding
what she needed to know
He stammers, she waits
She swears she’ll wait another life
before she falls again
she’ll ask up front what he intends
another life before she falls
It was the summer house
when she felt it first
a friend of a friend by the railing
overlooking the lake
her cigarette, his match
She swears she’ll wait another life
before she falls again
she’ll ask up front what he intends
another life before she falls
Bridge:
So now I’m the third wheel
sleeping alone
at least there are no strangers
in my home…
She wakes alone in their bed
blankets up to her throat
Pours the coffee with silence around her
loud enough to disturb.
She locks up, she leaves
She swears she’ll wait another life
before she falls again
she’ll ask up front what he intends
another life before she falls
another life before she falls before she falls
before she falls…
before she falls…
back
to top
How
all things connect
I'm not sure what call I'm answering
day begin to blur
all except for this longing
Chorus:
I'd look in your eyes and feel all right
strong enough to drive home all night
wanting nothing more than to hurry
back to you
How food's lost
its taste
patience is found wanting
too worn to even snap
lost except for this longing
Chorus
the street lines
they swerve
bad time is what I'm making
with no company on this trip
all except for this longing
Chorus
Bridge:
Pull out a faded picture
perfect poison for the mixture...
You said I was like
home
where you said there was belonging
now left with a homeless heart
alone but for this longing
Chorus
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I left
the dust to settle
after I cleared out the room.
and the paint is still peeling
and the place filled with you
Chorus:
Gone are the days
Where I would think
When I didn't know what to do:
I could just kiss
you.
I could just kiss you.
Things drain into
silence
the cold fills the room
and the cats are still crying
and the place is filled with you
Your plant still
on the window
A white dress hangs in the hall
and I wish that you would tell me
"it's just a ghost, that's all."
Chorus
Bridge:
I look to my left and you're not there
My hand doesn't rest on your shoulders
Fingers don't stroke your hair
I look to my right
and everything's wrong
No one to laugh at just the right moment
No one to go along...
Chorus
Back and forth like
a timepiece
suspended on a chain
there's no clock to count the minutes
until I can have you again.
So
when the dust is settled
And I've cleared out the room
The paint will still be peeling
And the place filled with you
Chorus
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Pray
she's not a dream
you're actually with her
Held open the door
she walked in
Crashed down on
your couch
beckoned you over
held open her arms
as you fell in
She moves and seem
to feel
the air getting heavy
She calms you and holds you
till the fear fades away
Comes back to the
room
after getting some water
She's perfect and you
can't look away
Chorus:
Looking for a 3 AM feeling
You can't stop talking
your head's still reeling
Looking for a 3 AM feeling
You could rise right through the ceiling
Walk her to the
train
Don't want to let her
go down the dirty stairs
and ride away
Back home through
silent streets
and loose swans of paper
up the stairs to where coffee waits
Chorus
Bridge:
While she lies asleep
You watch but barely believe
The light plays upon her face
Nothing else you could need.
You wait until afternoon
To finally call her
Hoping not to wake her
From some pleasant dream
When you hear her
voice…
you’re pacing the floor
From room to room
Chorus
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