By: The Crane Wives
You won’t find me where you left me,
No, I’m lone gone.
You can’t bind me in the state you kept me
For so long.
Hearts don’t wither, hearts don’t break,
But mine is tired, mine still aches and
All my love you tried to take
But you can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
I think I might learn to linger,
But not now.
I think you’ll have a ring on your finger
But not now.
I won’t bargain, I won’t break--
My mind’s made up, though my head still aches and
All my love you tried to take
But you can’t have it all
You can’t have it all
You won’t find me where you left me
(You can’t have it all)
No, I’m long gone.
You won’t find me where you left me
(You can’t have it all)
No, I’m long gone.
By: The Crane Wives
I will drown for you
Sink to black from blue
And let the water win
Wear you ‘round my waist
Hold your heart like a weight
Open my lungs to let you in
I descend so well
In an open diving bell
The beauty of the deep
Far into abyss
In your silent bliss
Calmly, will I sleep
Swallow my heart whole
Sink me like a stone
I am not afraid
Of anything
The roar against my ear
Echo heartbeats here
Crashing inside my head
Far too soon for this
But I am all in
No matter how it ends
Water rushes in
But I will welcome it
I am not afraid
To give you everything
I am not afraid
To give you everything
By: The Crane Wives
Orange, yellow, green
It’s all the same to me
I’ve seen them all a million times before
And I have half a mind
To climb up to the sky
And steal new colors away from the sun
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this so damn bad
The folks ‘round here are mean
Spit fire and gasoline
But all I want is solitude
And I have half a mind
To climb up to the sky
And hide myself inside the moon
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this so damn bad
I’d give up my sight to see
I’d give up my air to breathe
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this
Don’t tell me that I can’t
Don’t tell me that I can’t
I need this so damn bad
I’d give up my sight to see
I’d give up my air to breathe
By: The Crane Wives
So you got bad in your blood
Brother, you're one of us
So you got bad in your blood
How long you gonna wait for those azaleas to bud?
“When the azaleas bloom,” he said
“When the flower blossoms spread,
That's the day, that's the day,
That's the day I'll love you
That's the day, that's the day I'll love you"
So you got bad in your blood
Brother, you're one of us
So you got bad in your blood
How long you gonna wait for those azaleas to bud?
If you might, then you may
There's no reason to live bound in chains
'Cause you're not alone
We're the daughters of sinners
We're the sons of saints
When it's love turns you sour
Only love can turn you back
Stop waiting on the flowers
Blood don't mean nothing
In the end
If you might, then you may
There's no reason to live bound in chains
'Cause you're not alone,
We're the daughters of sinners
We're the sons of saints
By: The Crane Wives
Sigh into your cup of coffee
As you watch the morning news
There goes your good day
There’s the knot on the noose
Pop a pill and thus a smile
Feign contentment for a while
That’s all you know how to do
When the wool is off your eyes
You’ll stop counting sheep at night
‘Cause you’ll get your fill of them
During the day time.
Medicine to make you thin
But puts an end to your dreamin
Bleeding together--
The nights seem to stretch on forever
Morning comes a day too soon
You’re back inside your tiny room
Waiting for something
So good at doing nothing
When the wool is off your eyes
You’ll stop counting sheep at night
‘Cause you’ll get your fill of them
During the day time.
As the sunlight filters in
There your daily dread sets in
The cycle’s beginning
And in your head, alarms are ringing
Something in you’s fast asleep
Afraid to be who you will be
It’s a losing battle,
So why are you still fighting?
When the wool is off your eyes
You’ll stop counting sheep at night
'Cause you’ll get your fill of them
During the day time.
Are you sleeping,
Are you sleeping,
Brother John?
Bells are ringing
Bells are ringing
Ding, ding, dong
By: The Crane Wives
If there's a hole in the silver lining,
I'll be the one, the one to find it
I take it upon myself to make sure I do
I might find nothing when I start looking
But I'll turn it over in my hands until
My fingers wear it through
Leave your doubt at the door,
Or don't you take another step.
By: The Crane Wives
Watch me give up,
Honey, watch me give up
I swore I never would
But we’ve been wishing upon ourselves
Things that I forgot
I cannot do
Where does your faith form
Where does your faith form in me?
Don’t break the bottle
Don’t waste your blessings on me
I am a safe ship, harbored,
A safe ship, harbored,
Losing all of my good years to the shallow waters
I ain’t proud
I ain’t proud
I wasn’t born a safe ship
Something wore me down
All the places,
Honey, all the places
I’ll never get to see
I’ll always wonder what’s across the tossing ocean
The world I’m at
Looks pretty flat to me
Where does your faith form
Where does your faith form in me?
Don’t break the bottle
Don’t dare waste your blessings on me
I am a safe ship, harbored,
A safe ship, harbored,
Losing all of my good years to the shallow waters
I ain't proud,
I ain't proud,
I wasn't born a safe ship
Someone wore me down
By: The Crane Wives
Softly a cold wind paints my face
Into your arms
Sell my sorry soul
Can't keep my senses from your taste
Sun on the farm
And I'm not growing old
Been enraptured and tied
Turn your ghosts into mine
All the years, all the years I'm alive
Naked, the night falls in your eyes
Slowly I burn
With the autumn leaves
Brittle as ash but when I rise
Love I will learn
Like the elder trees
Been enraptured and tied
Turn your ghosts into mine
All the years, all the years I'm alive
Softly a cold wind paints my face
Into your arms
Sell my sorry soul
By: The Crane Wives
My dreams keep digging up the bones of memories,
Discarded remnants of former times,
Now half a skeleton is slapping its knees,
Laughing at the holes it left behind.
I try, try to let it fade away,
Let it fade away,
Let it fade away
But I still hold on.
My body's aching like a knock-down drag-out,
And my poor heart is an open wound.
It's ancient history that's bleeding out of me,
So what am I supposed to do?
I try, try to let it fade away,
Let it fade away,
Let it fade away
But I still hold on.
Let it fade away.
By: The Crane Wives
Come my dear and be a part of my home
Missing stitch and flowers on a headstone
And I will crawl like a sinner to be at your feet
Should God or the devil ever ask for me.
Oh my love
Take my word but keep the upper hand
I know you-- you're the daughter of a lonely man
Let my hope grow cold and atrophy
'Cause there is no more room...
By: The Crane Wives
There's blood in the water
There's blood in the water
The quiet are restless
The silent are still
I'm nobody's daughter
I'm nobody's daughter
My enemies crow
'We're alone with the kill.'
If mercies abound,
I'll be safe, I'll be sound
And the devil won't know of the love
I just couldn't let go
I won't pretend
Our season won't end
But I pray when it's done, when it's through,
I'll have something left for you.
The noble are weary
The noble are weary
This cradle still burns
Like a hole in my chest.
Can anyone hear me?
Can anyone hear me?
The crooked are smiling--
They know me the best.
If mercies abound,
I'll be safe, I'll be sound
And the devil won't know of the love
I just couldn't let go
I won't pretend
Our season won't end
But I pray when it's done, when it's through,
I'll have something left for you.
By: The Crane Wives
I am a pretty young thing
I am consumed with selfish wanting
Carelessly broke you down
But I ain’t done.
Felt love’s searing sting
You exposed my nightly wanderings
You put me in the ground
But I ain’t done.
I have all the time I need
(She leaves her sleeping spouse)
To repent my wicked deeds
(Where in the dark she meets her lover)
Plant my guilty seeds
(A woman in love has no regrets)
By the moonlight in the cemetery
You’re the shadow cast by me
And still I never see you coming
Gambled my life for love
But I ain’t done
Violence forgiving steel
Wreckage in the wake of cruel betrayal
Paid my sins in blood
But I ain’t done.
I have all the time I need
(He follows her into the night)
To repent my wicked deeds
(And finds her sleeping with another man)
Those who lay their love to sleep
(By morning there were no survivors)
Swear they still hear me scream
<Ghostly wails!>
I have all the time I need
(When the full moon beckons)
To repent my wicked deeds
(She relives the night that took her life)
Plant my guilty seeds
(Her suffering is her eternal penance)
By the moonlight in the cemetery