Mary Chapin Carpenter

[fox69]

"Here I Am"

"Here I Am"



I've waited longer for lesser things
But here I am
Who really knows what tomorrow brings
But here I am
Just in case you were wondering
Just in case you lost again
Just in case you run out of friends, here I am

It's so easy to rip and to tear, se here I am
What you need the most
Disappears into thin air, so here I am
Maps and compasses may stay true
It doesn't really matter what you do
I have never forgotten you
Here I am

Some days our reach
Is bound to far exceed our grasp
I gave up hoping long ago
I could fix the past, here I am

Today I called you
For the very first time in a million years
You would never know if I told you so
About these million tears
Life doesn't wave as it's speeding by
Better grab on fast and hold on tight
And don't ever forget to fight this good fight
And here I am
Here I am
Here I am
Here I am

 

[fox69]

"Hero In Your Own Hometown"

"Hero In Your Own Hometown"



We were born during the boom times, played house down in the bomb shelter
Suffered through the wonder years, and silence at the dinner hour
But once upon a summertime, out behind the old garage
We were buzzing on midnight, Luckys and Rolling Rock
Thinking we were heroes in our own hometown
Nothing less than heroes in that old hometown

Some married on a day in June, some disappeared without a trace
And some of us are still at large, still searching for a better place
But once upon another time, it didn't matter what they said
Didn't matter if we fell behind, we'd still come out ahead
Cause we believed in heroes in that old hometown
Hey, you could be a hero in your own hometown

Now I'm long away and very far, from gazing at an evening sky
From wishing on a shooting star, from thinking that a heart can't lie
This world is gonna wear you thin, knot you up and spin you round
This world will take it's aim, call you every name, trying to bring you down

Everything seems so clear when you're looking back from such a distance
When the road not taken disappears into the path of least resistance
But once upon a time oh so long ago
Underneath this same old sky every brand new road

Would know that we were heroes in our own hometown
Nothing less than heroes in that old hometown
We still loved a hero in our own hometown
Baby you could be a hero in your own hometown

 

[fox69]

"Heroes And Heroines"

"Heroes And Heroines"



Heros and heroines are scarcer than they've ever been
So much more to lose than win the distance never greater
Way back when you made history by flying planes across the sea
Embarking on your odyssey
You put away the danger
Heaven bless the one who flys
A pioneer on frontier skies
The world was dark and your only mark
Was the light of the northern star
I imagine what was in your eyes
The seeds of rust and days gone by
Your wings hang in a gallery sky I wonder how you're flying

Way out on the western plains
The snow drifts high and the dust wind burns
The chinooks blow their winds
Across the mountains
A life that's never safe and dry rodeos and riding high
Ladies and their men get by on six guns and white lightening.
Heaven bless them on the road those drifters and their dreams of gold
The world was wide and a cowboy's song could span the whole horizon
I imagine what was in your eyes
The dust and the dirt under out law skies
A piece of land and a stubborn mind were the only things worth having

Now they say the moon is dust and ash and California's made of cash
We're waiting for those hills to crash into sparkling waters
Rain and snow and sun and wind
You roamed the earth and you spread your wings
Long ago my hero's dreams belonged to all God's creatures
Heaven bless the ones who sleep
The ones who laugh and the ones who weep
Heaven bless the one who keep their bearings strong and certain
And Lord help the fool who said
You'd better quit while you're ahead
A dreamer born is a hero bred on earth and up in heaven
And Lord help the fool who said
You'd better quit while you're ahead
A dreamer born is a hero bred on earth and up in heaven

 

[fox69]

"Holding Up The Sky"

"Holding Up The Sky"



I found myself between two places
Neither of them home
I could not recognize the faces
I've never felt so alone
So Alone

I found myself between two choices
To settle or to run
All my life I've heard the voices
This time mine's the only one
The only one

I want to feel what the wind feels like
I want to go that high
And feel no fear instead of being down here
Holding up the sky
Holding up the sky

Life astounds us in an instant
Changing all we know
Blink just once and then you've missed it
All that you can do is watch it go
Watch it go

You want to feel what the wind feels like
You want to go that high
And feel no fear instead of being down here
Holding up the sky
Holding up the sky

I found myself between two lifetimes
A sunset and a dawn
I reached out and took the lifeline
Offered up between here and gone
Here and gone

We want to feel what the wind feels like
We want to go that high
And feel no fear instead of being down here
Holding up the sky

I want to know what the wind feels like
I want to go that high
And feel no fear instead of being down here
Holding up the sky
Holding up the sky
Holding up the sky

 

[fox69]

"Hometown Girl"

"Hometown Girl"



Years ago in my hometown I was a headstrong girl and a heartstrong one
We'd ride all summer with the top rolled down through the sleepy streets of that Jersey town
Now I knew girls when I was sixteen
Could make a smart boy stutter, turn a nice boy mean
And the boys made the girls into homecoming queens
Married each other instead of their dreams

These days I'm mostly out on my own
Looking for someplace that I can call home
Late at night, or just before dawn
I pretend you're with me now
It never seemed that hard before
What happened to that hometown girl?

The seasons changed in my hometown
The way they changed in yours
The windows opened up to the Spring
Like every spring before
And I ran with boys who weren't like you
I was young but somehow I knew
The difference between a man and a fool
Sometimes I think that could have been you

These days I'm mostly out on my own
Looking for someplace that I can call home
Late at night, or just before dawn
I pretend you're with me now
It never seemed that hard before
What happened to that hometown girl?

Hometown girls are like hometown dreams
Some start fading, others stay keen
I won't forget you but I'll let you be
Love never was that kind to me

Late at night or just before down
I pretend you're with me now
You had your madness and you had your charm
But only when your heart allowed
And my heart just won't allow no more
What happened to that hometown girl?

 

[fox69]

"Hot Buttered Rum"

"Hot Buttered Rum"



When chimney smoke hangs still and low
Across the stubbled fields of snow
And angry skies reach down and seize
The sorry blackened bones of trees
In the dead of winter when the silent snowbirds come
You're my sweet maple sugar, honey, hot buttered rum

When dreary Christmas decorations
Line the streets and filling stations
And dime store Santas can't disguise
Their empty hands and empty eyes
In the dead of winter when the tinsel angels come
You're my sweet maple sugar, honey, hot buttered rum

When gloves and boots and woolen parkas
Bring cold comfort to the heart
And bitter memories freeze the tongue
And songs of love are left unsung
In the dead of winter when the cold feelings come
You're my sweet maple sugar, honey, hot buttered rum

 

[fox69]

"House Of Cards"

"House Of Cards"



I grew up in a house like this, we knew the groan of every stair
All the walls seemed to listen in, all the years seemed to take up air
When you dreamed it was of the wind blowing cold and hard
In those dreams you thought you lived in a house of cards

I grew up in a town like this, we knew the names of every street
On the surface it looked so safe, but it was perilous underneath
That's the place you shoved your doubts and hid your ugly scars
God forbid if word got out about your house of cards

And now I feel the wind about to blow, and baby I'm so scared
You're repeating the past instead of letting it go
And I don't wanna go back there

Now we're standing here face to face, afraid to move or else
I wanna prop up this fragile place, I can't do it all by myself
'Cause when we dream, it's of the wind, blowing cold and hard
When we wake up we still live in a house of cards

'Cause when we dream, it's of the wind, blowing cold and hard
When we wake up we still live in a house of cards

 

[fox69]

"Houston"

"Houston"



Mama's got her babies
Sleeping in a grocery cart
Daddy's eyes are hazy
Wondering where they are
Waiting for the buses
Waiting on some Providence
Once we get to Houston
Maybe it will all make sense

Praying to the Father
And calling for the cavalry
Look at all this water
And somehow not a drop to drink
Now did you ever hear of nightmares
Coming in the light of day
Once we get to Houston
Maybe they'll just wash away
Roll on Mississippi, goodbye Crescent City
Les Bon Temps New Orleans
Never coming back to stay

Never been to Texas
Hope this bus is on a tear
Never seen the President
Maybe he will meet us there
Never knew a promise
That didn't break right in two
Once we get to Houston
Maybe one will come true
Roll on Mississippi, goodbye Crescent City
Les Bon Temps New Orleans
Never coming back to you

Last night I dreamed of rain
But golden light was all I saw
I heard my old dog barking
I went to see the Mardi Gras
I stood up on the banks
And looked out over Pontchartrain
I woke up here in Houston
Didn't even know my name
Roll on Mississippi, goodbye Crescent City
Les Bon Temps New Orleans
Never coming back again
Roll on Mississippi, goodbye Crescent City

 

[fox69]

"How Do"

"How Do"



Well that's a real nice jacket son
It looks like it cost you too
And that car you're driving
Hey does that belong to you
Well you don't look familiar
Are you new in town
Here's a local girl
Who wants to show you around
How do

Where'd you get that accent son
It matches your cowboy boots
Tonight those lone star ladies
Must be lonesome and oh so blue
'Cause we're a thousand miles
From the Texas line
And if you've no objection son
Tonight you're mine
How do

Well I've been to Paris baby
I've been to Dallas too
But I didn't see no one there
Who looked half as good as you
So if you ain't in a hurry baby
Just sit tight
I'm sort of in the mood
To speak some French tonight
Et vous?
How do

 

[fox69]

"I Am A Town"

"I Am A Town"



I'm a town in Carolina, I'm a detour on a ride
For aphone call and a soda, I'm a blur from the driver's side
I'm the last gas for an hour if you're going twenty-five
I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind

I am peaches in September, and corn from a roadside stall
I'm the language of the natives, I'm a cadence and a drawl
I'm the pines behind the graveyard, and the cool beneath their shade, where the boys have left their beer cans
I am weeds between the graves.

My porches sag and lean with old black men and children
Their sleep is filled with dreams, I never can fulfill them
I am a town.

I am a church beside the highway where the ditches never drain
I'm a Baptist like my daddy, and Jesus knows my name
I am memory and stillness, I am lonely in old age; I am not your destination
I am clinging to my ways
I am a town.

I'm a town in Carolina, I am billboards in the fields
I'm an old truck up on cinder blocks, missing all my wheels
I am Pabst Blue Ribbon, American, and "Southern Serves the South"
I am tucked behind the Jaycees sign, on the rural route
I am a town
I am a town
I am a town
Southbound.