Mary Chapin Carpenter

[fox69]

"New Year's Day"

"New Year's Day"



We are sitting at a table in a bar in Baltimore
It’s the last night of December
And the room is nearly full
And the front door pulls a draft in every time it opens wide
And you are telling me a story
From another time and life

And the waitress brings our order
And we’re tucked in mighty close
And I feel like we belong among
The living and these ghosts
And I know that I am dreaming
As I memorize each part
In the telling lies a reverie
In the details lie the heart

Like the folds of summer dresses
Like the scent upon my wrist
Like the way you played guitar
Like a boxer punches with his fist
And taken or just lost to me
It’s better now to say
I dwell in possibility
On New Year’s Day

There’s a jukebox or a bandstand
And we’re on another round
And the night’s just getting started
Or the night’s just winding down
And your stories are not clouded yet by the ale
Or by the gin
They just make me feel as if I’ve known you
All my life again

Like the folds of summer dresses
Like the scent upon my wrist
Like the way you played guitar
Like a boxer punches with his fist
And taken or just lost to me
It’s better now to say
I dwell in possibility
On New Year’s Day

And this is what it looked like
When we started walking home
The night sky bleached to silver
Against the city’s bones
In dreams or in our waking
It’s just enough to say
Love and grace and endless flowers
Be ours on New Year’s Day

And the folds of summer dresses
And the bangles on my wrist
And the way you played guitar
Like a boxer punches with his fist
And taken or just lost to us
It’s better now to say
We dwell in possibility
On New Year’s Day

 

[fox69]

"Not Too Much To Ask"

"Not Too Much To Ask"



To hear you say my name, to see you search my eyes
To feel you touch my hand, it more than satisfies.
If I was not the first, just say I'll be the last
It's too much to expect, but it's not too much to ask.

Now I can only dream of being all you need
And I can only try to be the reason why
You think about today and forget about the past
It's too much to expect, but it's not too much to ask.

Now I can only dream of being all you need
And I can only try to be the reason why
You think about today 'cause the past is just the past
It's too much to expect, but it doesn't hurt to ask
It's too much to expect, but it's not too much to ask.

 

[fox69]

"Old Love"

"Old Love"



I want old love, the kind that takes years
To turn to gold, love, burnished and seared
On the high wire, by rain, wind and sun
With the hard times forgiven and done

I want old love, the kind that seeps in
It isn’t cold, love, it’s never brittle or thin
It’s the long kiss, it’s the curl of a sigh
Down a hallway, in the middle of the night

I want old love, the kind that can see
Through the holes, love, that live underneath
All our false cheer, bravado and pride
Through the old fears we carry inside

I want old love, the kind that can say
What it knows, love, and what it learned on the way
In that one voice, familiar and strange
Only old love remembers your name

I want old love, the kind that holds on
When it’s told, love, that all hope is gone
Against all odds, wagers and prayers
To the wall love, to the furthest somewhere

I want old love, the kind that takes years
To turn to gold, love, burnished and seared
On the high wire, by rain, wind and sun
With the hard times forgiven and done

 

[fox69]

"On A Quiet Christmas Morn"

"On A Quiet Christmas Morn"



There's not a soul out on the street,
No footprints in the falling snow
The only moving thing I see is the curl of chimney smoke
Frost elts on the window panes and the house is getting warm
From the fare's carckling flames on a quiet Christmas morn.

Now I walked out in the silent world,
No engines roared, no sirens whined
No one raced off to work through the din of honking horns
There was truly peace on earth on a quiet Christmas morn

And on a quiet Christmas morn, a child was in a stable born
Shepherds heard the baby cry, saw a new star in the sky
On a quiet Christmas morn

The hustle stops and the bustle stills,
On this day all is calm
Forgiving kindness and goodwill soothes like a healing balm
The hardest heart is softened by the blessing that was born
When the gift of grace was offered on a quiet Christmas morn

And on a quiet Christmas morn, a child was in a stable born
Shepherds heard the baby cry, saw a new star in the sky
On a quiet Christmas morn

Shepherds heard the baby cry, saw a new star in the sky
On a quiet Christmas morn

 

[fox69]

"On And On It Goes"

"On And On It Goes"



River starts with a drop of rain
Somewhere in this world
Light years shape this arc of sky
And sand a precious pearl
And you will light a stranger's life
By letting yours unfurl
And on and on it goes
Sparks upon the wind
Like a July 4th, a crown of stars
And a good time grin
On and on it flies, on a new bird's wing
In a beating heart, the moon that rose
And the gift of spring

You can say that you'll never matter
Lose or win
The world won't care and it's hard to bear
Such a lonely wind
But you can change a stranger's life
By letting yours begin
And on and on it goes
Chance is everywhere
Like the train you took
The rain that fell on the summer air
On and on it flies, like the time we've lost
It's either running out
Or covering all our dreams in trust

Every night the TV shows
One more bad day's news
A world away from what I know
And what I do
But I could save a stranger's life
If I had a clue
And on and on it goes
Attention must be paid
Before it seems we're one soul short
And a second late
On and on it flies across the stratosphere
At the speed of love, if you stop
And feel it you will hear
On and on it goes
Sparks upon the wind
Like a July 4th, a crown of stars
And a good time grin
And on and on it flies, on a new bird's wing
In a beating heart, the moon that rose
And the gift of spring

 

[fox69]

"On With The Song"

"On With The Song"


This isn't for the ones who blindly follow
Jingoistic bumper stickers tellin' you
To love it or leave it and you'd better love Jesus
And get out of the way of the Red, White, and Blue

This isn't for the ones who buy their six-packs
At the 7-Eleven where the clerk makes change
Whose accent makes clear (he) sure ain't from here
They call him a camel jockey instead of his name

[Chorus:]
No, this is for the ones who stand their ground
When the lines in the sand get deeper
When the whole world seems to be upside down
And (the) shots bein' taken get cheaper, cheaper

This isn't for the ones who would gladly swallow
Everything their leader would have them know
Bowing and kissin' while the truth goes missin'
"Bring it on," he crows, puttin' on his big show

This isn't for the man who can't count the bodies
Can't comfort the families, can't say when he's wrong
Playin' "I'm the decider," like some sort of Messiah
While another day passes and a hundred souls gone

[Chorus]

This is for the ones that I see above me
Three little stars in a great big sky
Light for the world and hope for the weary
They try

This isn't for the ones with their radio signal
Callin' for bonfires and boycotts, they rave
Exhorting their listeners to spit on the sinners
While countin' the bucks of advertising, they'll say

[Tag Chorus:]
This isn't for you and you know who you are
Just do what you want 'cause I know that you can
But I gotta be true to myself and to you
So on with the song, I don't give a damn

 

[fox69]

"Once In Royal David's City"

"Once In Royal David's City"



Once in royal David's city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor and meek and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

And through all
His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother,
In whose gentle arms He lay.
Christian children all should be,
Mild, obedient, good as He.

For He is our child-hood's pattern,
Day by day like us He grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew,
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above,
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
When like stars
His children crowned,
All in white shall be around.

 

[fox69]

"One Small Heart"

"One Small Heart"



Call the folks, leave a note, lock the
Doors and windows
Pack the truck, here's to luck
Here's to how the wind blows
Now lose the map and compass
Now read the signs obey the lines
Follow all your hunches
'Cause now it's just the open road
One small heart and a great big soul that's driving

Radio singing low just like a true companion
L.A.'s lights wavy bright, they follow like a lantern
Then morning comes and desert sun
Rises like redemption
Another day to make your way from answer
Back to question
Out here on the open road
One small heart and a great big soul that's driving

No set of directions, no shortcuts
Just some empty soda cans,
Some cigarette butts
The key to traveling light is to
Not need very much

Late tonight you'll see the lights of a
Thousand stars above you
And at a roadside stop you'll
Call to talk to a voice
Back home that swears to love you
But at the sound of the tone you'll
Hang up the phone
And peel out of that joint
You might try again God knows when;
At least they got the point
They lost you to the open road, one small heart
And a great big soul
That's driving, driving
Out here on the open road
One small heart and a great big soul that's driving

 

[fox69]

"Only A Dream"

"Only A Dream"



I can recall the sound of the wind
As it blew throught the trees and the trees would bend
I can recall the smell of the rain
On a hot summer night
Coming through the screen

I'd crawl in your bed when the lightning flashed
And I'd still be there when the storm had passed
Dead to the world, to the morning cast
Its light all around your room

We lived on a street where the tall elm shade
Was as green as the grass and as cool as a blade
That you held in your teeth as we lay on our backs
Staring up at the blue and the blue stared back

I used to believe we were just like those trees
We'd grown just as tall and as proud as we pleased
With our feet on the ground and our arms in the breeze
Under a sheltering sky

Twirl me about, and twirl me around
Let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground
And when I look up at you looking down,
Say it was only a dream

A big truck was parked in the drive one day
They wrapped us in paper and moved us away
Your room was no longer next door to mine
And this kid sister thing was old by that time

But oh how our dreams went bump in the night
And the voices downstairs getting into a fight
And the next day a silence you could cut with a knife
And feel like a blade at your throat

Twirl me about and twirl me around
Let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground
When I look up at you looking down
Say it as only a dream

The day you left home you got an early start
I watched your car back out in the dark
I opened the door to your room down the hall
I turned on the light
And all that I saw
Was a bed and a desk and couple of tacks
No sign of someone who expects to be back
It must have been one hell of a suitcase you packed

Twirl me about, twirl me around
Let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground
When I look up at you looking down
Say it was only a dream

 

[fox69]

"Other Streets And Other Towns"

"Other Streets And Other Towns"



The whippoorwills were crying in the falling rain
Far away a whistle hailed a passing train
Out in the country summer was almost gone
The fields were turning rusty and the hills were turning brown

Now I think of you when summer stars are on the rise
I think of you with a bottle of wine and lazy eyes
Playing rock and roll songs on an old guitar
Getting drunk and sleeping out in my backyard

Now sometimes I just lie awake and I hear the wind
Blowing through the seasons of my heart again
My dreams are mostly lost and found on other streets, in other towns
But babe, you know, I still look out for you

The cars were all abandoned on the city streets
When snow had left us stranded then we used our feet
And wound up drinking whiskey in a crowded bar
And now when it starts storming I wonder where you are

'Cause you said that I was crazy to believe in you
You said to never trust a man who sings the blues
Well trust and that old guitar was all you'd ever need
If you found a way to love the girl in me

Other boys I knew were just like shiny dimes
Tossed and spent, they came and went a hundred times
Nothing was as rough on me as giving up on you
Now it seems like every bar in town's got boys who sing the blues