Mary Chapin Carpenter

[fox69]

"Thanksgiving Song"

"Thanksgiving Song"



Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.
From far and near we travel home,
Blessed that we are able.

Grateful for this sheltered place
With light in every window,
Saying "welcome, welcome, share this feast
Come in away from sorrow."

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend and friendless;
All together everyone in the gift of loving-kindness.

Grateful for what's understood,
And all that is forgiven;
We try so hard to be good,
To lead a life worth living.

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend, and friendless;
All together everyone, let grateful days be endless.

Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.

 

[fox69]

"That's Real"

"That's Real"



I'm not made of stone, I'm not made of glass
I've been alone, every one has
I've learned to forgive what I'm not
I just try to live with what I've got
Maybe I've got what you need

If you need something that not only feels right
Something that's based on a real life
One thing that's worth every page of the deal
Not some old line, or rose-colored dream
Not some other time, you know what I mean
When I tell you that this is all that it seems and that's real

How far can I crawl out on this limb
There's so far to fall and here comes the wind
There's so much to lose, but love doesn't wait
So I'll be a fool who found out too late
But I've been a fool for far lesser things

And I want something that not only feels right
Something that's based on a real life
One thing that's worth every page of the deal
Not some old line, or rose-colored dream
Not some other time, you know what I mean
When I tell you that this is all that it seems, and that's real

Not some old line or rose-colored dream
Not some other time, you know what I mean
When I tell you that I'm, I'm all that I seem, and that's real
And that's real
And that's real
And that's real

 

[fox69]

"The Age Of Miracles"

"The Age Of Miracles"



The past comes upon you like smoke on the air
You can smell it and find yourself gone
To a place that you lived without worry or care
Isn't that where we all once came from

Green leaves and tall trees and stars overhead
And the sound of the world through the screen
But now you sleep with the covers pulled over your head
And you never remember to dream

You think you're just standing still
One day you'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles
Is one on the way

Greenland is melting, the west is on fire
But don't ever stop praying for rain
It's a curious place between hope and desire
Different gods, but the prayer is the same

And thousand-year storms seem to form on a breeze
Drowning all living things in their paths
And when a small southern town finds a rope in a tree
We're all once again trapped in the past

It seems we're just standing still
One day we'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles
Is one on the way

We can fly through space with the greatest of ease
We can land in the dust of the moon
We can transform our lives with the tap of the keys
Still we can't shake this feeling of doom

But I woke to find monks pouring into the streets
Marching thousands strong into the rain
Now if courage comes dressed in red robes and bare feet
I will never be fearful again

If I'm just standing still
One day I'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles, is one on the way

Seems we're just standing still
One day we'll ride up that hill
In the age of miracles
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
There's one on the way
There's one on the way

 

[fox69]

"The Better To Dream Of You"

"The Better To Dream Of You"



Every heart has got a story
About love holding out a lure
Baby, when you've been that lonely
You just want a cure

Fool you once, you are forgiven
Fool you twice, you're just a fool
You fear the futures all been written
By the past, and what didn't last

All the better to dream of you
The better to be this side of heaven
Believing again when a dream comes true
The better to dream of you

Every story's got a chapter
That chapter will be defined
By what's before and what comes after
This one is mine
Everything that came before us
Wore me out and weighed me down
You raised me up like a gospel chorus
Rock steady on solid ground

The better to dream of you
The better to be this side of heaven
Believing again when some dreams come true
The better to dream of you

Like an old time tent revival I felt my heart come back alive
No preacher baby, no bible, just this love to testify

Oh, the better to dream of you
The better to be this side of heaven
Believing again some dreams come true
The better to dream of you

The better to dream of you
Yeah, stranger things they might have happened
Believing again that dreams come true
The better to dream of you

The better to dream of you
The better to be this side of heaven
Believing again some dreams come true
The better to dream of you

 

[fox69]

"The Bug"

"The Bug"



Well it's a strange old game you learn it slow
One step forward and it's back you go
You're standing on the throttle
You're standing on the brake
In the groove 'til you make a mistake

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love
Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger
Sometimes you're the ball
Sometimes it all comes together
Sometimes you're gonna lose it all

You gotta know happy - you gotta know glad
Because you're gonna know lonely
And you're gonna know sad
When you're rippin' and you're ridin'
And you're coming on strong
You start slippin' and slidin'
And it all goes wrong because

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love
Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger
Sometimes you're the ball
Sometimes it all comes together
Sometimes you're gonna lose it all

One day you got the glory and then you got none
One day you're a diamond and then you're a stone
Everything can change in the blink of an eye
So let the good times roll before we say goodbye because

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love
Sometimes you're the Louisville Slugger
Sometimes you're the ball
Sometimes it all comes together
Sometimes you're gonna lose it all

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug
Sometimes it all comes together baby
Sometimes you're just a fool in love

 

[fox69]

"The Calling"

"The Calling"



Deep in your blood or a voice in your head
On a dark lonesome highway
It finds you instead
So certain it knows you, you can't turn away
Something or someone has found you today

Genius or Jesus, maybe he's seen us
But who would believe us
I can't really say
Whatever the calling, the stumbling or falling
You follow it knowing
There's no other way, there's no other way

There are zealots and preachers
And readers of dreams
The righteous yell loudest
And the saved rise to sing
The lonely and lost are just waiting to hear
Any moment their purpose
Will be perfectly clear

And then life would mean more
Than their name on their door
And that far distant shore that's so near
They'd hear the calling
And stumbling and falling
They'd follow it knowing
There's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear

I don't remember a voice
On a dark, lonesome road
When I started this journey so long ago
I was only just trying to outrun the noise
There was never a question of having a choice

Jesus or genie, maybe they've seen me
But who would believe me
I can't really say
Whatever the calling, the stumbling and falling
I followed it knowing there's no other way

Jesus or genie, maybe he's seen me
But who would believe me
I can't really say
Whatever the calling, stumbling and falling
I got through it knowing there's no other way
There's no other way

 

[fox69]

"The Dreaming Road"

"The Dreaming Road"



The stars are out tonight, the breeze is warm and light
As I'm walking right back to you
Along the dreaming road, the only way to go
When I'm travelling by our code that north is true
Once upon a time these same bright stars did shine
Down the center line leading here
Nearly thirty years ago, now the map is stained and old
But on the dreaming road the coast is clear
I loved you more than life and I guess that's why I died
When you would not love me back I couldn't survive
And so the girl I was turned into someone else
Keeping to myself and from the light
I wasn't odd or strange, just quietly rearranged
Sometimes the biggest change stays out of sight

So without plot or clue I ran away from you
I was twenty-two and drunk in Amsterdam
Got robbed in Paris, France, got home on one last chance
And without a backward glance I began again
And the days just kept on rolling and I just kept on going
Without a thought of ever slowing down
I made this long road mine but it was not the dreaming kind
Too many lost souls trying to get found
But beneath this ancient sky, one night we did collide
And the hole I thought was scaled opened wide
I tried so hard again not to fall back in
But you had me then by the throat
And a strange futility came washing over me
Almost peacefully I felt the rope

A million miles goes by in the blink of an eye
And so I cannot try to slow time down
And years are made of sand slipping through my hands
Even faster than the speed of sound
The stars are out tonight, the breeze is soft and light
As I'm walking right back to you
With nothing left to hide, the tears have all been cried
And the girl who died is walking too
Down the dreaming road, where the light is always gold
The air is never cold and always fine
And north is always true and you are always you
And I'm that girl you knew once upon a time

 

[fox69]

"The End Of My Pirate Days"

"The End Of My Pirate Days"



The night is soft and silent, new moon at my door
There's nothing near as quiet as the light I'm looking for
And last time that it appeared he was lying next to me
Last time I felt this near to whispered ecstacy

And those who need adventure, they can sail the seven seas
And those who search for treasure, they must live on grander dreams

We rose and fell just like the tides, he filled my heart and soul and I
Buried all my dreams for someone else to find in my pirate days

This world is kinder to the kind that won't look back
They are the chosen few, among us now, unbowed somehow
And one day he turned to me, and before I took one breath
I knew I would only see his shadow in what light was left

And those who need adventure, they can sail the seven seas
And those who search for treasure, they must live on grander dreams

And if I've seen his face since then, it's only been in dreams my friend
Since I came to the end of my pirate days
And if I've called his name since then, it's only been in dreams my friend
So I came to the end of my pirate days

 

[fox69]

"The Hard Way"

"The Hard Way"



Show a little inspiration, show a little spark
And show that things that drew me to you and stole my heart
And tell me something I don't know instead of everything I do
And look at me as if I mean something to you
Our hearts are beating while we sleep, but while we're wide awake
You know the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, and what your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard way

Show a little passion, baby, show a little style
And show the knack for knowing when and the gift for knowing how
And have a little trust in us when fear obscures the path
You know we got this far, darling, not by luck, but by never turning back
Some will call on destiny, but I just call on faith
That the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, to what your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard way

Caught up in our little lives, there's not a lot left over
I see what's missing in your eyes; you're searching for that field of clover
So show a little inspiration, show a little spark
Show the world a little light when you show it your heart
We've got two lives, one we're given and the other one we make
And the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, and your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard (everything we got, we got the hard way)
Everything we got, we got the hard way
(Because the world won't stop) hang on, baby...

 

[fox69]

"The Last Word"

"The Last Word"



You can have it, I don't want it, and when you've got it, I'll be gone
It won't matter what you're saying when the damage has all been done

Can't seem to keep the faith, as if that's all I need to do
I'd rather walk away than take what belongs to you

You can have it, I don't want it, and when you've got it, I'll be gone
It won't matter what you're saying when the damage has all been done

Some words will cut you down like you were only in the way
Why should I stand the ground, it won't hurt as much to say

You can have it, I don't want it, and when you've got it, I'll be gone
It won't matter what you're saying when the damage has all been done

Sometimes we're blinded by the very thing we need to see
I finally realized that you need it more than you need me

You can have it, I don't want it, and when you've got it, I'll be gone
It won't matter what you're saying when the damage has all been done
The damage has all been done