Mary Chapin Carpenter

[fox69]

"Slave To The Beauty"

"Slave To The Beauty"



Don't want to need the way I need you
Don't want to feel like this
Holding back all the words but not the kiss
For the moment my heart begins to murmur
The moment of truth arrives
And I know you'll shake your head and say goodbye

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

Don't want to fear the way I fear you'll
Hurt me because you can
I never believed I'd crave that kind of man
I've seen the trail of hearts you've broken
I've seen the traps you lay
And if I had the strengh I'd run without delay

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

It's dark and getting colder and I'm the beholder
And you're all I long to see

Don't want to love the way I love you...

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

 

[fox69]

"Slow Country Dance"

"Slow Country Dance"



Out on the floor the couples are swaying
To "One Faded Love" on the jukebox tonight
You slide in your coins and the music keeps playing
A slow country dance on a Saturday night

Sweethearts in love and others just lonely
Searching for someone to waltz with tonight
In a smoky old bar you know that it's only
A slow country dance on a Saturday night

And love's never easy or ever as true
When the changing of partners is no longer new
You lead with your heart, and closing your eyes
Dance just to dance in three-quarter time

Down at the bar a woman tells stories
Batting her eyes to someone not there
Her glass is half full or maybe half empty
Like the jokes told about her when they think she can't hear

Now the perfume is cheap and the makeup is careless
And the dress out of fashion for a woman her age
But she don't give a damn for those who would cherish
A much lighter step and a much younger face

And love's never easy or ever as true
When the changing of partners is no longer new
You lead with your heart, and closing your eyes
Dance just to dance in three-quarter time

Out on the floor the couples are swaying
To "One Faded Love" on the jukebox tonight

 

[fox69]

"Someone Else's Prayer"

"Someone Else's Prayer"



Tonight the brightest moon in a hundred years
Floods the streets of Rome and I am standing here
Wondering where the ghosts of antiquity
Hide on nights like this once a century
Where do shadows fall when there's only light
Why'd you follow me halfway 'round the world tonight
What I'd give right now not to even care
And then this could be someone else's prayer

And on a sleepless night by St. Stephen's Green
Oh I turned and tossed with my Irish dreams
And when the morning shone through the burned off mist
I could sense you still just as close as this
Just as close as lips brush against a cheek
It's your voice I hear and it's your name I speak
But when I look around there's no one there
How I wish you were someone else's prayer

And now the twilight comes as a silent guest
And of all its gifts I like stillness best
Except for tin roof rains that commence with spring
It's a lullaby when that tin roof sings
Now you can look for me on the streets of Rome
Or in Dublin town but I've gone back home
I would always be just a stranger there
And now you're free to be someone else's prayer

 

[fox69]

"Something Of A Dreamer"

"Something Of A Dreamer"



She used to watch him from afar
She used to dream about him
And she'd wish upon a star
That one day he'd want her for his own
Throw caution to the wind
And with a grin
He'd take her home

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

And she used to hear his voice at night
A sweet whisper from the shadows
Dancing with the backporch light
And she used to feel him in the wind
His warm breath upon her neck
And goosebumps up and down her skin

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

Well she should have known by now
But that's the foolish part of her
She should have seen somehow
But a dreamer's never cured
When heartbreak fast approaches
When a love ain't truly love
He promised wine and roses
And she thought that was enough

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

 

[fox69]

"Soul Companion"

"Soul Companion"



All of our dreams are laid out and measured
Arrows and pins and a rainbow of threads
Like hope on a string, sewn into the linings
For the courage to face the unknown ahead

My soul companion
Out in the world somewhere
My soul companion
I’ll meet you there

I’m packing my compass, trusted and tested
My dog-eared maps to study and fold
Into a pocket, I’m traveling light now
All that we have is all that we hold

My soul companion
In my heart you are
My soul companion
Just like a star

There are no borders, there are no boundaries
There are no fences up around me
But I get quiet and I get lonely
Just like everyone

These are the old roads, these are the stations
I look for my ride, you wait for your train
These are the chances, a life’s incantations
These are the places that don’t know our names

My soul companion
Love finds its own way in
My soul companion
Now let us begin
My soul companion
Out in the world somewhere
My soul companion
I’ll meet you there

 

[fox69]

"Still, Still, Still"

"Still, Still, Still"



Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
For all is hushed,
The world is sleeping,
Holy Star its vigil keeping.
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.
The night is peaceful all around you,
Close your eyes,
Let sleep surround you.
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.

Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.
While guardian angels without number,
Watch you as you sweetly slumber.
Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.

 

[fox69]

"Stones In The Road"

"Stones In The Road"



When we were young, we pledged allegiance every morning of our lives
The classroom rang with children's voices under teacher's watchful eye
We learned about the world around us at our desks and at dinnertime
Reminded of the starving children, we cleaned our plates with guilty minds
And the stones in the road shone like diamonds in the dust
And then a voice called to us to make our way back home

When I was ten, my father held me on his shoulders above the crowd
To see a train draped in mourning pass slowly through our town
His widow kneeled with all their children at the sacred burial ground
And the TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down

And the stones in the road flew out beneath our bicycle tires
Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced each other home

And now we drink our coffee on the run, we climb that ladder rung by rung
We are the daughters and the sons, and here's the line that's missing

The starving children have been replaced by souls out on the street
We give a dollar when we pass, and hope our eyes don't meet
We pencil in, we cancel out, we crave the corner suite
We kiss your ass, we make you hold, we doctor the receipt

And the stones in the road fly out from beneath our wheels
Another day, another deal, before we get back home

And the stones in the road leave a mark from whence they came
A thousand points of light or shame, baby, I don't know

 

[fox69]

"Sudden Gift Of Fate"

"Sudden Gift Of Fate"



Some people need to know what to expect
Need to keep control, need to keep one step
Ahead of every chance, as if chance decides
Who it's gonna pass, who it will reward
They don't understand, chances don't keep score
They just find us when we're there to find

And so this has to be, a sudden gift of fate
you're nothing less to me than a sudden gift of fate
It's not as if it comes down to your turn that someone somewhere feels you've earned
You just learn to wait for sudden gifts of fate

Some people have never been the lonely kind
Never called a friend in the middle of the night
Just to hear a voice say it's okay
And now I hear you speak each and every word
That I didn't think lonely people heard
You took a long night and turned it into day

And so this has to be, a sudden gift of fate
you're nothing less to me than a sudden gift of fate
Its not as if it comes down to your turn that someone somewhere feels you've earned
You just learn to wait for sudden gifts of fate

You can celebrate, gifts are never late
You just learn to wait for sudden gifts of fate

 

[fox69]

"Swept Away"

"Swept Away"



I am waiting with a ticket with a carry-on
People everywhere on their way, at a run
Then I see you from a distance
Light years later at fate's insistence

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

You are standing by the pay phones, by the stairs
I walk straight into your arms and you hold me there
I am falling slowly backwards
Right into your famous last words

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

All this ancient history, every unsolved mystery
Years I've carried with me, vanish when you kiss me

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

 

[fox69]

"Tender When I Want To Be"

"Tender When I Want To Be"



I have a heart that's proud you bet
I have a mind that won't forget
And I have arms that are strong and yet
Tender when they wanna to be
Well you can be the will that finds the way
And you can be the one who saves the day
But show me tender when it's time to say
Exactly how it ought to be

And I never would've known it darlin'
If I hadn't known about you
You said everyone can be a rock and roll like a river too

Well something happens when you find someone
Who makes you feel like you can do no wrong
No you don't have to take the whole world on
Just be tender when you want be

And I never would have known it baby
If I hadn't known about you
You said everyone can be a rock and roll like a river too

So let the waters carry us away
Wave goodbye to the old parade
Baby when we're unafraid
To be tender when we want to be
All the waters wash our cares away
All that we can see are better days
Don't ever let me hesitate
To be tender when I want to be