fortunate ones

we have all that we could need
and some more that we don't even need
so when we see something new
why do we now think we need it too?

let me tell you a secret:
we're the fortunate ones
let me tell you a secret:
we're the ones with it all

why do we choose not to see
those who have much less than we do?
they don't have the things they need
nor do they have the things they wish for

let me tell you a secret:
we're the fortunate ones
let me tell you a secret:
we're the ones with it all

--

i'll be waiting

you’re a long long way from home my love
and a long long way from me
won’t you try to find a road that brings you home
a road that leads to me

you’ve travelled on this path before
with a thousand lonely souls
oh please try to find a road that bring you home
a road that leads to me

oh i wish that you didn’t have to leave all the time
but at least when you come home
i’ll be waiting
where you never left me

oh you know that i’ll soon leave again
it’s the way it’s always been
but i promise you before i’m gone too long
i’ll find the road that leads to you

oh i wish that i didn’t have to leave all the time
but at least when i come home
you’ll be waiting
where i never left you
i’ll be waiting
where you never left me

--

we're alive

oh if you had been there to see
the scare you gave me
when the news about you reached me that day
and after the call
how time seemed stall
as sorrow and grief came to weigh
on my heart
ooh on my heart

oh you can't imagine the fuss
the panic you caused us
when it seemed that our luck was all done
so we tried to take heart
as our world fell apart
and all this time you were the one
who was strong
you were strong

did our grandmothers know
when they played as little girls
of the strange sad way we would be bound?
did our grandmothers know
when they prayed about the world
that their faith and their love would be the ground
for us?

oh you'll never know just how proud
we were when you vowed
to act bravely and never to lose
and how you commit
to win and not quit
and the beautiful way that you choose to survive
and the way that you don't just mend but you thrive
and the way that you bind us and always remind us
to be grateful because in the end we're alive
we're alive

did our grandmothers know
when they played as little girls
of the strange sad way we would be bound?
did our grandmothers know
when they prayed about the world
that their faith and their love would be the ground
for us?

we're alive
we're alive
we're alive
we're alive

my friend we're alive
my friend we're alive
my friend we're alive
my friend we're alive

--

what you mean

write me a letter
seal it forever
say what you mean
mean to me

if only our souls weighed
less than they used to
we, oh we
we’d be free

and my battle cry is a call for you
and my song tonight is a call for you

tell me a story
the first time you saw me
say what i mean
mean to you

if i never saw you
and you never loved me
oh how i’d still
still miss you

and my battle cry is a call for you
and my song tonight is a call for you

--

nothing good

two steps ahead
though we’re still so far behind
how am i supposed to fall into you
fall into me

nothing good gets away
nothing good gets away

time to move on
though we never really tried
how am i supposed to catch up to you
catch up to me

nothing good gets away
nothing good ever stays
nothing good gets away
nothing good ever stays

the vows we say
the bonds we make
are the words we hide behind
the vows we say
the bonds we make
are the words we hide behind

nothing good gets away
nothing good ever stays
nothing good gets away
nothing good ever stays

--

come back

the summer’s passing so are you
and i’ll come if you want me to
but if you leave without me dear
i’ll understand

come back to me my dear
all has been forgiven
for life without you here
is barely even living

my sparrow heart will soon depart
with news that you are leaving
my spider hands will make demands
on you

so the days grow shorter now
and life picks up again somehow
but if you find another me
i’ll understand

come back to me my dear
all has been forgiven
for life without you here
is barely even living

my sparrow heart will soon depart
with news that you are leaving
my spider hands will make demands
on you

come back to me my dear
all has been forgiven
for life without you here
is barely even living

--

one thing

here's one thing i have learned:
that everyone knows what to say
but when it's my turn
i can't speak up

so i sit here and observe
i follow your moves, your looks
still i don't have the nerve
i can't speak up

light's withdrawing
shadows calling
chains of stars dance far away
i would like to talk to you
i would like to talk to you
i would like to talk to you

if things stay as they are
and nothing ever changes
i'll watch you from afar
but i won't speak up

light's withdrawing
shadows calling
chains of stars dance far away
i would like to talk to you
i would like to talk to you
i would like to talk to you

--

tell me again

well she was a girl who had nowhere to go
and no thing she considered her own
the years had been hard and had started to show
by the cold that crept into her bones
and she thought that she might deserve better than that
but she didn't know how to begin
so she dreamed of a different face to adore
and she dreamed of a different skin

well he came along with intent in his stride
and a past he preferred to forget
he wandered around with his dreams by his side
and his thoughts often turned to regret
but he loved her with all he had left of his heart
and he wanted this feeling to stay
so he told her he never could part from her now
and he hoped that she felt the same way

and so it is and it will be
and so you can believe in me
and if you stumble you will see
that i caught you
but you saved me

she thought about all that he meant to her then
and she pondered the things that he said
he was better than ten thousand regular men
but she wanted him out of her head
so she gave no response as she turned on her heels
and retreated as fast as she could
she felt sorry for him but relieved for herself
and she wondered if he understood

he gathered himself on the pavement that day
and resolved to proceed as before
so his days carried on in a similar way
and the past was neglected once more
but he walked with less purpose and dreamed with less hope
and he never could leave her behind
then one day as he walked she appeared by his side
and he said the first thing on his mind

and so it is and it will be
and so you can believe in me
and if you stumble you will see
that i caught you
but you saved me

she considered his gentle and kindhearted way
and his generally positive view
and the truth was his smile always brightened her day
and the hours that she spent with him flew
she could see on his face all the hurt of the past
and she thought about how this might end
but she knew that she wanted to try and that's why
she said to him: tell me again

and so it is and it will be
and so you can believe in me
and if you stumble you will see
that i caught you
but you saved me

--

bark + bite

you're a figurine
you stand for all i could have been
you're a ghost 
you live the life i never chose

if i asked for all of your help
all of your help
would you give it to me?

you're a bird of prey
and you've got me in your range
you're my skin and bones
i know you won't be letting go

if i asked for all of your help
all of your help
would you give it to me?

you're the ash in my wake
from the past i can't escape
you're the stitch in my side
you're my bark and you're my bite

if i asked for all of your help
all of your help
would you give it to me?

all of your help
all of your help
all of your help
all of your help

(give me) all of your help
(i need) all of your help
(oh please) all of your help
(i need) all of your help

you're the loud amen
when i fear i've reached my end
you're the glad reprieve 
when life casts me to my knees

if i asked for all of your help
all of your help
would you give it to me?

--

one good reason

sometimes i wonder why i try
i don’t know if you are really worth the pain
then i remember how you saved me
and the way you look at me

like i am the only one you’ll ever need
and you tell me you think this is worth the pain
so you promise me you’re sorry
and you swear that it's the last time

but give me one good reason
i should be with you forever
when we only get so far
and then we just start once more

ooo, why should i?
ooo, why should i?

so i’m not without my flaws
and i wish i didn’t make the same mistakes
i hate to disappoint you
but i know that i could change

because you make me want to change
and i think i could be really good for you
so believe that i’m sorry
and i swear i mean it this time

but give me one good reason
i should be with you forever
when we only get so far
and then we just start once more

and give me one good reason
why i should endeavour
to try any harder
than i'm already trying

ooo, why should i?
because you're everything to me
ooo, why should i?
because i never meant to hurt you
ooo, why should i?
because i'm yours if you'll have me
ooo, why should i?
because i'd trade everything for you

you are my one good reason
you're the one i choose forever
and if we only get so far
well then we'll just start once more

you are my one good reason
and i will endeavour
to try so much harder
than i'm already trying

you are my one good reason
you are my one good reason
you are my one good reason
you are my one good reason

--

deliver me

this glass as it reflects me
shows mistakes that lie around me
and the armour that protects me fell apart

i have friends that do not trust me
old decisions that still haunt me
and the people that still love me let me down

when the poison overcame me
from regret that lived inside me
the fingers that would blame me were my own

from my lowest point i could see
that the wind that blew against me
was the same wind that could blow and set me free

for the waves that tried to drown me
while the darkness rose around me
are the waters that delivered me to you

--

tonight

the moon is a curving flower of gold
the sky is still and blue
the moon was made for the sky to hold
and i for you

and i was made for you
and i was made for you
the moon was made for the sky to hold
and i for you

the moon is a flower without a stem
the sky is luminous
eternity was made for them
tonight for us

tonight was made for us
tonight was made for us
eternity was made for them
tonight for us

(from the poem "tonight" by sara teasdale)