1. |
short of pink
02:18
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sickle moons and fireflies
glow above the bed
a closet lined with candy stripes
and imaginary friends
danger games of hide and seek
when the world was three
i chased a boy around a tree
and told him he would marry me
then i kicked him in the shins
[i don’t know why
do you?]
gutters run with lemonade
and rubber swans in pairs
the fairies promised valentines
and pushed me down the stairs
kiss the carousel goodbye
i won’t be here again
like little girls on trampolines
and model rockets manned by millipedes
we’re all screaming at the sky
i don’t know why
i do
anything i do
i don’t know why
you do
do you?
you do
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2. |
lost
03:32
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standing out of sight
or wandering the back of your mind
she got lost
searching for the you she wasn’t meant to find
half a life away
beyond the reaches of your second thoughts
she was lost
like all the lines of poetry you learned and then forgot
[she says] memories are rocks
they weigh you down and sink you
memories are roots
they twist until they trip you
somewhere in the street
casting shadows on the crowd
[look behind your eyes]
she got lost
following your footprints when you didn’t turn around
[look beneath your feet]
[you say] memory’s a wave
you drift until it takes you
memory’s a thread
you pull until it breaks you
[she’s right behind your eyes]
[she’s right beneath your feet]
half a world apart
and down a path that’s gone astray
you got lost
and never found the girl who never got away
[look behind your eyes]
[look beneath your feet]
she got lost
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3. |
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[just on the horizon
my paradise lies in
a key that is shining
with stars far on high
this scrumptious confection
will change my reflection
the prize in my reach if i
simply magnify]
all my contortions to be a distortion
and fit into outlines that i never drew
the poison i’m drinking in order to shrink into
lesser proportions that look right to you
no one will touch
when the edges are rough
so i changed
and grew strange
to myself
i wanted a garden i was too big to get in
so i cut myself down to your size
this bleeding is tough but i’ll laugh it all off
if you tell me i’m almost enough
no one will touch
when the edges are rough
so i changed
and grew strange
to myself
a tilted mirror makes a taller me
a tilted mirror makes a smaller me
will i ever be myself and when
will I ever see myself again
the way i know
the way i knew
myself to be
all of the fences i raise as defenses
for too many voices yelling ‘off with her head’
you think you can blame me but no one can shame me
into trading my choices to be tamer instead
everyone stares
but i’m too big to care
so i'll change
and grow brave
for myself
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4. |
tell me twice
04:03
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you don’t have to say that it’s goodbye before you go
you don’t have to teach me what i already know
don’t say you’ll stay
because it’s what i want to hear
don’t say you care
because it’s what i need to feel
don’t say it’s real
when we both know it’s nothing but a dream
you had
one night
and you don’t have to tell me twice
[just say it once]
you don’t have to say we’ll meet again before you’re gone
you don’t have to finish what was already done
don’t say it’s more
because that’s what it needs to mean
don’t say it’s true
because that’s what it wants to be
don’t say it’s love
when we both know it’s nothing but a dream
i had
one night
and you don’t have to tell me twice
because you never said it once
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5. |
reasons not to talk
02:45
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words have edges they’ve been honed too sharp
give me silence where it’s safe
and a thousand reasons not to talk
i don’t know my own mind well enough
to do anything but lose it now
it’s quiet in the dark
trading conversations
written on our skin
we learn them all by heart
just by listening
words have edges they can cut too close
give me hands to hold some peace
and a thousand reasons not to talk
i’d rather leave my secrets underground
than rouse them from their restless sleep
it’s better just to breathe
and make that my confession
whispered in your ear
we say it all by heart
when language disappears
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6. |
trouble
02:55
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7. |
hit and run
03:31
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you were the guy who made me cry
when you said that i deserved the world
you’ve been the one in once upon a time
saying everything’s OK
reminding me
that morning wouldn’t change your mind
i was the one who said fly before fight
you were the one who killed the headlights
so we’re facing the dark together
now i’m inclined to not ask why
let’s drive
taking a ride
we’re taking a ride tonight
racing the sky
we’re racing the sky tonight
’cause everyone said it was clear that the damage was done
and no one could survive
another hit and run…
’til you
you were the guy who watched me cry
when i said it had all gone wrong
you said “girl you’ve been living alone too long
and it’ll never be OK
to fool yourself
that anyone could be that strong.”
i was all set to avoid a new wreck
you were the one saying give it a rest—
you’d be holding my hand forever
this is the moment we do or we die
so drive
racing the sky
we’re racing the sky tonight
chasing the lights
we’re chasing the lights tonight
‘cause there was a day when i swore i was gonna be done
and no one should survive
another hit and run…
’til you
i was heading for you
only for you
and dreaming of what we’d do
racing the sky
racing the sky tonight
chasing the lights
chasing the lights tonight
’cause now is the time to decide that the running is done
so let’s crash into the stars tonight
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8. |
eight bells
04:11
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who am i tonight
who are you tonight
what made you decide
you finally want me for yourself
and who are we
tonight
i wonder
if we gave ourselves a name
tomorrow would remember
and i wonder
if you ever see my face
in traces on the other side…
who was blind tonight
who can find the line
’cause who am i to try
when i can’t recognize myself
and who are we
after tonight
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9. |
tourmaline
03:54
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in the rain and in the sunshine
there wasn’t any doubt
now we’re standing at the water edge
and looking out
we said it’s never ever gonna change
it’s true, we’ll never lose it
we cast our net across the sky
and pulled the clouds down
now it’s dawning in the sunset
we’re in the time and in the high tide
the waves are crashing underfoot
we let the moon rise
how do you know that there’s nothing left
once it all falls to the ground
when did we know that
there isn’t any doubt
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nnin Chicago, Illinois
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