Better Broken

Maybe if I catch my breath

Maybe if I wait a little

I’d remember how it hurts and stop before I fall

I’d forget to come apart

I’d catch myself and hold on tightly

Let memory wash over me, forgive but don’t forget

 

So you come back to me begging

“Why’d you leave? Tell me why, how you could you let this go?”

Let it be all it is

Small and still a memory like a stone

A jagged edge made smooth by time

Let it be all it is

Small and still and better left alone

 

Some things are better broken

Some things are better broken

 

Illusions come the venom stings

Swirling visions, soft and perfect

They blur all the edges ‘til everything looks fine

So I’ll pretend I didn’t cry and you pretend that you’re my savior

We both remember what we want – to get us through the night

 

So don’t come back to me begging

“Why’d you leave? Tell me why, how could you let this go?”

Let it be all it is

Small and still a memory like a stone

A jagged edge made smooth by time

Let it be all it is

Small and still and better left alone

 

Some things are better broken

Some things are better broken

 

Let it be all it is

Small and still a memory like a stone

A jagged edge made smooth by time

Let it be all it is

Small and still and better left alone

 

Some things are better broken

Some things are better broken

 

Gravity

Yours is an island of wild weeds and lush, tangled ground

Unbridled energy, all possibility

You pull yourself up on two feet that have not stood alone

Slowly and gingerly, reaching with toes

It’s hard the way you look at me with a rage I cannot place

But I’m not the enemy, I’ll carry you through your pain

 

You can hide away, hold your heart at bay

I know you wanna be loved

Though life will come apart, break and unbreak your heart

I will be like gravity, always true

I won’t give up on you

 

For every two steps that go forward, there’s one that crawls back

These are the highs and lows, those who have been here know

But that doesn’t stop us from marching back into the mire

Insult to injury and we breathe fire

It’s hard the way you look at me with a rage I cannot place

But I’m not the enemy, I’ll carry you through your pain

 

You can hide away, hold your heart at bay

I know you wanna be loved

Though life will come apart, break and unbreak your heart

I will be like gravity, always true

I won’t give up

 

Our loves not a race, only one of us wins

I pushed you so hard not to quit or give in

I look back now past the anger and fear

You were suffering and you were all alone in it

 

So you can hide away, hold your heart at bay

I know you wanna be loved

Though life will come apart, break and unbreak your heart

I will be like gravity, always true

I won’t give up on you

I’ll never give up on you

 

The Last to Go 

I found out the soul’s the last to go

All the colours draining from the world I know

And all my careful calculations scattered on the wind

Cause you told me I was special, I wanted to believe

 

I took your words, I felt the weight of gold

Surrendered to my faith in love so bold

You built for me a pedestal, a cage I could not see

Relinquished my ambitions so you could still feel free

 

Now who am I these bones and skin

This old façade is paper thin

My armory depleted, my soldiers have deserted

I’ve given all I have to give

I’ve carved myself into the mold I thought that I could fit in

But I’m never gonna fit in

So take it or leave it

I’m out, I’m done bleeding for you

 

I’m so done with trying to concede

Smoothing over ruptures, lies, and greed

Searching for my part in it, my place to take the blame

It’s exhausting and demeaning, swallowing this shame

 

Now who am I these bones and skin

This old facade is paper thin

My armoury depleted, my soldiers have deserted

I’ve given all I have to give

I’ve carved myself into the mold I thought that I could fit i

I’m never gonna fit in,

So take it or leave it

I’m out, I’m done bleeding for you

 

Only Way Out Is Through

I took my soul out to the trees and asked for comfort

Asked they hold me softly underneath their boughs

But the forest whispered time will only ever answer

Once you’ve learned the things you need to carry on and let it go

 

So I sat there in the storm of my confusion

Tried to will away the pain I felt inside

But the walls I built to hold the flood were crumbling

And my world was coming down

 

Only way out of this is though

There’s no going back, no going ‘round it

We try to run and hide, that’s what we do

 

Oh but the pain will keep on coming till we face it, ‘til we feel it

Give into it, forgive me, forgive you

So many walls between us, so much bending and conceding

Forgotten what it’s like to be in love

 

So I walk on with this rage and with this hunger

With this insatiable desire to take you down

But it’s leading me into my darkest corners

Where there’s no peace to be found

 

Only way out of this is through

There’s no going back, no going ‘round it

We try to run and hide, it’s what we do

 

But the pain will keep on coming till you face it, ‘til we feel it

Give into it, forgive me, forgive you

So many walls between us, so much bending and conceding

We’ve forgotten what it’s like to be in love

 

Oh I wanna live without this rage

I wanna tear apart everything I ever knew and start again

Wash my soul clean to find the one I used to know

 

So I took my soul out to the trees and asked for comfort

Ask they hold me softly underneath their boughs

But the forest whispered time will only ever answer

Once you’ve learned the thing you need

 

That the pain will keep on coming ‘til we face it, ‘til we feel it

It doesn’t mean I’m gonna forgive you

So many walls between us, so much bending and conceding

Forgotten what it’s like to be in love

 

To be in love

To be in love

To be in love

To be in love

To be in love

 

I’m not in love

I’m not in love

 

Reminds Me

Baby your love’s what I want

When everything’s changing

Yours is the light that I lean on

Reminds me how healing a good love can be

 

We started out as friends and then we fell into the deep

When we first kissed, I nearly drowned

But you took my hand and you led me to wonder

Like all that was lost had been found

 

Baby when I’m feeling blue

Your smile can save me

Pulls me up out of the trenches

Reminds me how easy my life is with you

 

I used to think love was heavy work, trying to lift up the broken ones

I wasted so much time

But those mistakes lead me to you

Now I know it was worth walking that crooked line

 

Cause you and me were meant to be

A sweet and simple melody

And I want to sing this song for you

Until our time has all run through

You’re all I want, all I need

If all I have is you

 

Baby you show me the way

Our love’s an adventure

And all of your roads that I wander

Remind me how lucky that I found you

 

‘Cause we don’t always have to be adult

We fall apart at each other’s stupid jokes

And we laugh until we cry

 

Your kindness comes easy

You’re wild-hearted and free

Everything that I desire

 

Cause you and me were meant to be

A sweet and simple melody

And I wanna sing this song for you

Until our time has all run through

You’re all I want, you’re all I need

If all I have is you

 

One In a Long Line 

Don’t block the sun from warming me

When it’s so cold in this forest

And heavy branches hang over me

And winds whisper in chorus

 

I have a soft side and a forgiving heart

But don’t mistake me for weak

I’ve traveled roads that you will never roam

I carry treasures you will never own

 

‘Cause I am one in a long line, sound of body, strong in mind

And I’ve worked hard to know myself, you don’t get to decide

The way I live, who I lie with, what I forgive

So why’s so hard to take me as I am

 

I try to see good in everyone

The beating heart of our frailty

But it’s getting harder to find common ground

When you wanna derail me

 

I am a livewire

I am a searing ember

Rising from the deep

The sound and fury of our mothers’ voices, all they fought for carrying me

 

‘Cause I am one in a long line, sound of body, strong in mind

I’ve worked hard to know myself, you don’t get to decide

What I believe, what I give up, how I grieve

So take your dirty hands off of my wheel

 

I’m feeling reckless, I’m feeling dire

Don’t wanna lie in compliance

Afraid to say what I really feel

Fuck your judgment, your violence

 

I am a wildfire

I am a forest burned

But I will rise you’ll see

And if you think that you can bring me down

Well go ahead and call the cavalry

 

I am one in a long line, sound of body, strong in mind

I’ve worked hard to know myself

You don’t get to decide to whom I serve

‘Cause in my world respect is earned

Cause I am one in a long line

One in a long line

One in a long line

 

Only Human

Intruder comes, it’s four AM

The witching hour’s back again and I

I’m running ragged through the maze

I know the heart’s a tricky beast

Like some cool ephemeral spirit of the nignt

Lures you in, robs you blind, and leaves you bleeding on the street

 

When all you want is arms around you

And a whisper in your ear

Saying everything’s gonna be alright

Even if it’s not

 

Because you’re only human

You can only take so much before you break

And you feel like you’re drowning alone, and the waves keep on coming and hold you down

And the circle goes round and round and round and you can’t breathe

But there’s light that you can’t see

 

I know these rooms, these prison halls

I’ve stumbled through so many times before

To find the devil lurking just behind the door

I don’t pretend to understand the roads you’ve walked, how you still stand but I

I wanna try to lift some of the burdens that you bear

 

When all you want is arms around you

And a whisper in your ear

Saying everything’s gonna be alright

Even if it’s not

 

‘Cause you’re only human

You can only take so much before you break

And it feels like you’re drowning alone, and the waves keep on coming and hold you down

And the circle goes round and round and round ‘til you can’t breathe

But there’s light that you can’t see

Yeah there’s light you cannot see

 

Long Road Home 

Light won’t you guide me on

‘Cause I want no regrets

I took the long road home

I tried to pay my debts

 

I want to feel the shiver

Your fingers writing poetry on my skin

Seeking out new paths

In the valleys and edges

 

Where do I end and where do you begin

I wanna map this world, believe in love again

But I know that most things just come down to chance

You’ve gotta throw yourself against the wind

If everything was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it

 

So take my hand and walk beside me

Through these ever-changing times

Whatever storms will come our way

I wanna face them all with you

 

So love, now you’ve lead me home

Won’t you stick around

I’ve made a lot of mistakes

But I still keep on trying

 

I want to feel the shiver

Your fingers writing poetry on my skin

Wanna get lost with you in the valleys and edges

 

So take my hand and walk beside me

Through these ever-changing times

Whatever storms will come our way

I wanna face them all with you

 

So take my hand and walk beside me

Through these ever-changing times

Whatever storms will come our way

I wanna face them all with you

 

Rise

This time is gonna be different

I heard it on the news

Men are gonna lay their weapons down

Women keep the right to choose

 

This time is gonna be different

People breaking out in song

Dancing in the streets

Singing, “Love will save us all”

 

But we’re gonna need each other to quiet the thunder

Who do we turn to, if we turn on each other

Yeah, we’re gonna need each other in bliss and in hunger

With chances and choices and dreams of tomorrow, will we rise?

 

This time we’re gonna do better

If we can cool things down

I know your tells, the warning bells, your thirst for higher ground

But there’s nothing gained from envy or the lust to prove me wrong

Embracing what divides us, it’ll never make us strong

 

Come on, we’re gonna need each other to quiet the thunder

Who do we turn to if we turn on each other

Yeah we’re gonna need each other in bliss and in hunger

With chances and choices and dreams of tomorrow will we rise?

 

Without you, despair

With you, I still feel alone

Until we find parallel lines, new roads to bring us home

So let’s lean into the trenches, try to reconcile the wrongs

Learn to love a better way, before all goodwill is gone

 

Yeah, we’re gonna need each other to quiet the thunder

Who do we turn to if we turn on each other

Yeah we’re gonna need each other in bliss and in hunger

With chances and choices and dreams of tomorrow will we rise?

 

Wilderness

I’ll always remember the day we first met

The fires of September still burning their best

The sky full of smoke, full of promise of anything possible

 

It felt like a dream to feel safe in your arms

Despite all the warnings, I fell for your charms

The earth opened up like desire, it was unstoppable

 

You lay down your history, your battle scars

But all I could see were the stars

 

So I don’t want to blame you but my heart is shattered

How could you leave us like none of it mattered

This kind of love comes but once, maybe twice if you’re lucky, and time is running out

So why won’t you talk to me, tell me your troubles

I’m right here beside you, the calm in your storm

But you kissed me and walked away into your wilderness

 

You came back you begged me, I bought what you sold

I gave my forgiveness, I set the bar low

‘Cause all along you had another life somewhere with somebody other than me

 

I let myself down in the name of love

Chasing illusions of you

 

So I don’t want to blame you but my heart is shattered

I should have known better, I should have run faster

But this kind of love comes but once, maybe twice if you’re lucky, and time is running out

So why won’t you talk to me, tell me your troubles

I’m right here beside you, the calm in your storm

But you kissed me and walked away into your wilderness

 

We do best we can with the tools that we’ve got

But a home can’t survive a foundation of rot

There’s no pretty words to dress up the betrayal as anything but what it is

 

So I guess I can blame you cause my heart is shattered

You took what you wanted like none of it mattered

This kind of love comes but once, maybe twice if you’re lucky, and your luck is all run out

So don’t try to tell me you’re sorry I’m so tired of all of your bullshit, your weakness and fear

You can take yourself into your wilderness and disappear

 

If This Is the End…

One by some we gather

Under the radiant sky

To soak up what’s left of the wonder

To drink ‘til the rivers run dry

 

So hush now don’t you cry, my love

What more is there left to say

Let me hold you closer

Give in to the debts we must pay

 

Shine on my dear heart, though life is derailing

Surrender is our only guide

 

So let’s drink to the sky that will carry on after, the bittersweet taste of demise

For all we are losing, for all the same answer

It comes on unstoppable tides

So here’s to the sky

 

We pour our best wine into paper cups

Taste almonds and earthy decay

We toast to the sadness of reckoning

That there will be no better days

 

Shine on my brave heart, though life is derailing

Surrender is our only guide

 

And we drink to the sky that will carry on after, the bittersweet taste of demise

For all we are losing

For all the same answer

It comes on unstoppable tides

 

So let’s drink to the Earth who will bury our apathy

Swallow us, sinew and bone

All of our treasures we savoured and suffered

And lost at the end of the road

So here’s  to the sky

 

We lay ourselves out on our blankets

And bury our toes in the sand

We’ll go out alone as we entered

Please don’t let go of my hand

 

And we drink to the sky that will carry on after, the bittersweet taste of demise

For all we are losing

For all the same answer

It comes as no real surprise

 

So we drink to the earth that will bury our apathy

Swallow us, sinew and bone

All of our colours, our joys and our sorrows

So small at the end of the road

 

So let’s drink to the Earth that will wear a new tapestry

Rainbows of sinew and bone

All of our struggles, our ego and avarice

Fall at the end of the road

Here’s to the sky