Mary Chapin Carpenter

[fox69]

"Beautiful Racket"

"Beautiful Racket"



So your day begins like this
Wondering what might have been
Old regrets and chances missed
Borne away on some lambent wind
The job's ok, so it doesn't inspire
Thoughts of leaving it all behind
You used to have dreams of settin the world on fire
All you want now is peace of mind

And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

You do your dreaming in traffic jams
You do your running in shopping malls
You do your breathing the best you can
Between car pools and cell phone calls
Who cares, you'll never live in Paris
So what, you'll never travel by Lear
How do some of us learn what matters
While others never get to hear

And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Hold on, hold on

So your day will end like this
Turning slowly down your street
Silent worlds of kitchens lit
Front yards full of fallen leaves
Trees are bare, the garden's done
Another season gone to earth
Before you blink a new one comes
To remind you what the old one's worth

And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Such a beautiful racket...such a beautiful racket...
Hold on...such a beautiful racket...hold on...

 

[fox69]

"Bells Are Ringing"

"Bells Are Ringing"



No presents, no candy, no treat
No stockings hung by the fire
No parties, no family to greet
No angel's heavenly choirs

Bells are ringing all over the world
Bells are ringing calling the light
Bells are ringing all over the world
All over the world tonight

No doorways, no windows, no walls
No shelter here on the ground
No standing and no safe place to fall
Just the promise of this distant sound

Bells are ringing all over the world
Bells are ringing calling the light
Bells are ringing all over the world
All over the world tonight

Wherever you're walking tonight
Whoever you're waiting for
Somehow by the stable's faint light
Peace in your heart is restored

Bells are ringing all over the world
Bells are ringing calling the light
Bells are ringing all over the world
All over the world

Bells are ringing all over the world
Bells are ringing calling the light
Bells are ringing all over the world
All over the world tonight

 

[fox69]

"Between Here And Gone"

"Between Here And Gone"



Tonight, the moon came out, it was nearly full.
Way down here on earth, I could feel it's pull.
The weight of gravity or just the lure of life,
Made me want to leave my only home tonight.
Now I'm just wonderin' how we know where we belong.
Is it in a photograph, or a dashboard poet's song?
Will I have missed my chance to right some ancient wrong,
Should I find myself between here and gone?

Now I could grab my keys, clear out in my truck,
With every cent on board bringing me their luck.
An' I could drive too fast, like a midnight sleeve,
As if there was a way to outrun the grief.
Now I'm just wonderin' how we know where we belong.
In a song that's left behind in the dream I couldn't wake from.
Could I have felt the brush of a soul that's passing on,
Somewhere in between here and gone?

Up above me,
Wayward angels,
A blur of wings and grace.
One for courage,
One for safety,
One for "just in case".

I thought a light went out, but now the candle shines.
I thought my tears wouldn't stop, then I dried my eyes.
And after all of this, the truth that holds me here,
Is that this emptiness is something not to fear.
Yeah, I'll keep wondering how we know where we belong,
After all the journeys made, and the journeys yet to come.
When I feel like giving up instead of going on,
Somewhere in between.

Yeah, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong.
Is it in the arc of the moon, leaving shadows on the lawn?
In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn,
Singing in between here and gone.

 

[fox69]

"Bright Morning Star"

"Bright Morning Star"



Last night I dreamed my head was in a fever
Last night I dreamed it never was so far
To reach a shore of safety and redemption
And to gaze upon a bright morning star

I dreamed I was by friends all but abandoned
I dreamed I was alone but for my scars
And blinded by the tears that fell like water
No more to see my bright morning star

The streets of dreams never looked this lonely
The streets of dreams never felt this hard
I heard my voice barely of a whisper
As the clouds denied a bright morning star

Sometimes this life is no more than a moment
And sometimes the light is lost unto the dark
But courage hears the sound of dawn approaching
And each our own bright morning star

I woke to find every window open
I woke to find the heavy door ajar
And I walked outside and stood upon the hilltop
And gazed once more on a bright morning star

I walked outside and every bird was singing
As I found again my bright morning star

 

[fox69]

"Can't Take Love For Granted"

"Can't Take Love For Granted"



When I spoke what was on my mind
I wasn't thinking of your heart
I wasn't thinking bout the things I said
That landed us so far apart
And now my world is ending baby
With a chance remark
No, you can't take love for granted

You look at me with your wounded eyes
And I look back with fear
There used to be such faith between us, now, darlin'
Now it's just not here
And the door was slammed hours ago
But it's still ringing in my ears
No, you can't take love for granted

It was a funny way to show I love you
A funny way to care
It's a funny thing to be without you
As empty as your stare

You can't take love for granted
It's got its own free will
It's got a mind of its own when it wants one, baby
And looks that can kill
One day you're in heaven darling
The next you feel like hell
No, you can't take love for granted

You can speak what's on your mind
If you've got a gambler's heart
You can be the truth incarnate
You can shoot straight in the dark
You can pull the moon down baby
With a lasso made of stars
But no, you can't take love for granted
No, you can't take love for granted no
Baby, don't take love for granted

 

[fox69]

"Candlelight Carol"

"Candlelight Carol"



How do you capture
The wind on the water?
How do you count all the stars in the sky?
How can you measure
The love of a mother
Or how can you write down
A baby's first cry?

Candlelight, angel light
Firelight and star glow
Shine on his cradle till breaking of dawn
Gloria, Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing
The Christ child is born

Shepherds and wise men
Will kneel and adore him
Seraphim round him their vigil will keep
Nations proclaim him
Their Lord and their Saviour
But Mary will hold him
And sing him to sleep

Candlelight, angel light
Firelight and star glow
Shine on his cradle till breaking of dawn
Gloria, Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing
The Christ child is born

Find him at Bethlehem laid in a manger
Christ our Redeemer asleep in the hay
Godhead incarnate and hope of salvation
A child with his mother
That first Christmas Day

Candlelight, angel light
Firelight and star glow
Shine on his cradle till breaking of dawn
Gloria, Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing
The Christ child is born
Angels are singing
The Christ child is born

 

[fox69]

"Chasing What's Already Gone"

"Chasing What's Already Gone"



There's a big white house on a leafy street
On a summer's day of 1963
Station wagons parked in the drive
Dents in the fender and wood on the side
There's kids and dogs and instamatic cubes squinting hard in the sun
Not just yet, but one day too
They'll be chasing what's already gone

You grow up tall and you grow up tough
Trying to never admit not feeling good enough
Until you find your passion and you find your way
Just trying to make it unscathed through every day
And it seems to happen nearly overnight
Life shows you who you've become
And there's no more mystery in the fading light
You're just chasing what's already gone

Like the line that spells the far horizon
Moving with you as fast as you can run
Half your life you pay it no attention
The rest you can't stop wondering
What you should have done
Instead of chasing what's already gone

Saw my father in a dream last night
He was smiling and saying "You're gonna be all right"
And this morning I stared back at myself
Feeling as empty as I've ever felt
But I keep on going and I hope I've learned
More of what's right than what's wrong
It's ashes and roses and time that burns
When you're chasing what's already gone
Ashes and roses and hearts that break
I tried so hard to be strong
But maybe my worries were not my first mistake
I'm chasing what's already gone

 

[fox69]

"Children, Go Where I Send Thee"

"Children, Go Where I Send Thee"


Children, go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee one by one
One for the little bitty - baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

Children, go where I send thee,
How shall I send thee?
I'm gonna send thee two by two
Two for Paul and - Silas
One for the little bitty - baby
Born, born, born in Bethlehem.

[Repeat in decending order:]
Three for the Hebrew children...
Four for the four that stood at the door...
Five for the gospel preachers...
Six for the six that never got fixed...
Seven for the seven that never got to heaven...
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate...
Nine for the nine all dressed so fine...
Ten for the ten commandments...
Eleven for the eleven deriders...
Twelve for the twelve Apostles...

 

[fox69]

"Christmas Carol"

"Christmas Carol"



The week before Thanksgiving Day
This town puts up its old display
Streetlights hung with candy canes and bows
The earlier it gets each year
The scarcer is my Christmas cheer
I guess I just like taking these things slow

I really don't remember much
Of Christmasses growing up
Except the year the Beatles came to play
On my record player that came from Sears
That White Album filled my ears
In 1968 on Christmas Day

I haven't been to church since God knows when
I'm not someone who usually attends
Truth be told there's just two wishes
On my list every Christmas
Peace on earth and a snow storm now and then

Now I pray that peace comes in our time
It's hard enough to keep from crying
When every bit of news just breaks your heart
The same old stories, same old songs
We dust them off when Christmas comes
And for one day we just try to do our part

And around here winter seems to come
With rain and mud and bits of sun
It's not exactly Currier and Ives
I don't mind cold if it brings snow
Alberta Clippers come and go
But a dursting would make everything all right

Perhaps a Christmas eve from long ago
Delivered Christmas day with knee-high snow
It's something lost but not forgotten
Like candy hidden in a stocking
That makes me every year wish it were so

Because Christmas is for children's joy
For every single girl and boy
That's the truth we come to understand
But the memories that don't let go
Like Beatles songs and falling snow
Can make us feel innocent again

And maybe next year we won't go insane
When they rush to hang the bows and candy canes
Because peace will shine in me and you
From Bethlehem to Timbuktu
Even if the forecast is for rain

Because peace will shine in me and you
From Bethlehem to Timbuktu
Even if the forecast is for rain

 

[fox69]

"Christmas Time In The City"

"Christmas Time In The City"



Well I walked to town in the pouring rain
Paid my fare and I rode that train
To the station under the avenue
Hit the air at the stroke of noon
At the cross streets where I staked my claim
I played in tune with the winter rain
Collecting dimes and dollar bills
While the noisy traffic played the fills

And it's Christmas time in the city
When the air is filled with cheer
And the storefronts look this pretty only once a year

Well the vendors huddled and the taxis honked
As I played for change beneath the neon clock
Was dressed up looking like a Christmas tree
Blinking down on that busy street
When the crowd thinned out and the rain had quit
And my fingers felt cold and stiff
I took their money and I closed my case
And I headed back towards home again

And it's Christmas time in the city
When the air is filled with cheer
And the storefronts look this pretty only once a year

As I walked back to the subway stairs
I had twenty eight dollars in change for fare
There was an old bag lady with an outstretched hand
And a small Salvation Army band
Playing Angels We Have Heard on High
The First Noel and O Holy Night
I folded up one dollar bill
And I tucked it down into the till

And it's Christmas time in the city
When the air is filled with cheer
And the storefronts look this pretty only once a year

And it's Christmas time in the city
When the air is filled with cheer
And the storefronts look this pretty only once a year

And it's Christmas time in the city