BIO

Download Better Broken - Album Bio

Sarah McLachlan – Better Broken Album Bio

When Sarah McLachlan first emerged as a global phenomenon over three decades ago, the Canadian singer/songwriter introduced an unprecedented new voice into the pop canon: soulful, spellbinding, and supremely capable of transforming pain into transcendence. On her first album of new material in 11 years, the three-time Grammy-winner furthers her legacy with a selection of songs that speak an uncompromising but radically illuminating truth about the state of the human condition. The latest triumph in a career with countless milestones—including 12 JUNO Awards, over 40 million albums sold worldwide, and major cultural achievements like founding the groundbreaking Lilith Fair—Better Broken ultimately affirms McLachlan as an unparalleled artist whose nuanced perspective and unfettered empathy feel more essential than ever.

“A lot of the lyrics on this record came from thinking about the world right now and asking, ‘How do we move through this landscape? How do we keep our heads above water when it feels like so much is falling apart?’” says McLachlan. “I don’t know if I have any answers, but channeling all that angst and uncertainty into the music has been so cathartic. So even though some of the songs may seem quite dark on the surface, singing them has given me an incredible amount of joy.”

In a monumental leap for McLachlan, Better Broken finds her widening her creative circle and working with producers Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, boygenius) and Will Maclellan (Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers). “I’d worked with the same person for 30-plus years, so this really felt like stepping out on a limb and trying something new,” says McLachlan, who enlisted producer Pierre Marchand for landmark albums like her 1993 breakthrough Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and 1997’s eight-times-platinum Surfacing. Mainly recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, Better Broken instills a potent new energy into her lush and moody form of pop-rock, thanks in part to contributions from esteemed musicians like Wendy Melvoin (a former guitarist for Prince and the Revolution), drummer Matt Chamberlain (Bob Dylan, David Bowie), multi-instrumentalist Benny Bock (Lucy Dacus, beabadoobee), and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Kacey Musgraves, Florence + the Machine). “I went into the studio with a ton of trepidation, because I hadn’t made a record in so long and was unsure of about what I wanted to say and whether the songs were strong enough.” says McLachlan. “But all that fear and uncertainty dissipated so quickly once we started working. The whole process was deeply collaborative, and every musician added something so magical to the songs.”

Her tenth studio album and debut release for Concord Records, Better Broken takes its title from its opening track—a soul-searching reflection on the fortitude that comes from weathering life’s constant storms. “I’m 57 now, and nobody gets to this point unscathed,” says McLachlan. “Life is hard, and you get bashed around a bit, but I feel more wholly myself than I ever have, I think it’s true that we learn so much more about ourselves from our failures – what it takes to heal and find ways to stay open and curious is a theme for a lot of this record.” A gorgeous showcase for her inimitable voice, “Better Broken” unfolds in delicate beats and lavish textures as McLachlan once again proves her singular gift for spinning wisdom into indelibly catchy melody (from the chorus: “Let it be all it is/Small and still and better left alone/Some things are better broken”). The result: a perfect entry point into her latest body of work, instantly revealing her one-of-a-kind ability to swiftly lure the listener into a more elevated state of mind.

The first song recorded for Better Broken, “Gravity” delves deeper into her emotional life and explores the complexities of her relationship with her older daughter. With its graceful string arrangement (courtesy of Patrick Warren, who’s also worked with Fiona Apple and Stevie Nicks), the tender piano ballad channels both quiet heartache and tremendous compassion in its words of loving benediction. “For a long time my daughter and I had a very combative and fraught relationship, and what I came to realize is that so much of what I perceived as obstinance or rage was actually masking a ton of anxiety on her part,” says McLachlan. “We went to counseling together and I learned that she felt so alone and unvalidated by me—which was devastating to hear, but it led us both to change the way we communicate with each other. I wrote ‘Gravity’ as a way of saying to her, ‘I’ve always loved you and want the best for you, and you’re perfect the way you are.”

An artist who’s endlessly matched her intense sensitivity with an undeniable strength, McLachlan embodies a glorious ferocity on “One In a Long Line”— an irrepressible anthem railing against the rapid erosion of women’s rights in recent years. “At first I debated about how far to push on this song, because I’ve seen how people get eviscerated when they speak their minds about anything political,” says McLachlan. “But finally I decided that I can’t be one of those people who waits for someone else to speak up. I want my daughters to feel free, and I want all women to be able to choose how they live their lives.” In a particularly moving turn, McLachlan’s daughters India and Taja Sood lend their own vocals to the galvanizing track, which reaches a feverish urgency at the bridge: “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.”

All throughout Better Broken, McLachlan and her fellow musicians bring an ineffable beauty to her expression of longing and grief and fierce determination. On “The Last to Go,” for instance, resplendent synth and gently tumbling rhythms lend an unexpected luminosity to her defiant meditation on self-sacrifice and regret. “That song came from thinking about my mother and everything she gave up for other people, and all the anger and resentment that built up for her over the years,” says McLachlan. “It actually started out as a pretty dark piano ballad, but overnight Will went in and turned it into a weird and wonderful little symphony that completely lifted it out of that morose, heavy place.” Meanwhile, on “Long Road Home,” McLachlan flips the script and delivers a rapturous love song adorned with haunting guitar tones and darkly hypnotic vocal effects. “I wrote that about finding love again and coming into the experience with a lot of war wounds, but realizing how wonderful it feels to stay open to love,” she says.

With its tracklist encompassing everything from the pedal-steel-laced reverie of “Reminds Me” (a lovestruck duet with MUNA’s Katie Gavin) to the poetic social commentary of “Rise” (a heavy-hearted but radiant track McLachlan refers to as a “hopeful lament”), Better Broken closes out on its most majestic moment: a profoundly unsettling yet strangely thrilling epic called “If This Is the End…” “I’m an eternal optimist but I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the end of the world and what that could look like, because lately it seems like a possibility,” says McLachlan. “That song started with a few lyrics and a riff, and when I played it for Tony he told me about a movie where the atomic bomb is coming and everyone knows so they all walk out to the beach and sing ‘Waltzing Matilda.’” Inspired by that scene in the 1959 sci-fi drama On the Beach, Tony assembled a 28-person choir including many of the musicians who’d played on the album, acutely magnifying the impact of the album’s final lyrics (“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”). “It’s reminiscent of an Irish drinking song, so we decided we needed a drunken choir,” McLachlan recalls. “The last day of tracking, we got a bartender and gave everyone a lot of tequila, and we all sang this song of profound loss and waiting for the end of the world. Joyful and morose at the same time.”

As McLachlan points out, Better Broken took shape in the midst of a bustling schedule that included touring North America on her sold-out Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary Tour as well as her ongoing work as founding chair of the Sarah McLachlan School of Music (a not-for-profit founded in Vancouver in 2002). “Before we made this album I thought it might be my last, because my other responsibilities have really pulled me away from music over the last decade,” she says. “But the whole process rekindled my love for making records, and now I can’t wait to start the next one.” And with the release of Better Broken, McLachlan hopes to impart others with the pure unbridled joy she experienced in creating the album. “We all need something to lift us up out of all our challenges and the negative things we’re dealing with every day, and music has always done that for me,” she says. “I hope that this record provides people with some relief and release—but in the end I just want them to take whatever they need from it, and make the songs part of their own story.”

Credits

Produced by Tony Berg and Will Maclellan

Engineered and Mixed by Will Maclellan

Assistant Engineer: Nana Adjoa

Additional Vocal Engineering: Chris Potter

Recorded at Sound City Studios, Los Angeles and Creekside Studios, Vancouver

Mastered by Pat Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Photography: Kharen Hill | Public Pictures

Package Design: Carrie Smith

1. Better Broken (4:00)

(Sarah McLachlan-Matthew David Morris-Benjamin Bock)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN), Mass Transit Music / Hipgnosis Beats (BMI) and Benjamin Bock (BMI)

Abe Rounds – drums, percussion

Wendy Melvoin – bass, guitar

Mason Stoops – guitar

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – celeste, synths

Will Maclellan – programming

2. Gravity (5:00)

(Sarah McLachlan-Thomas Luke Doucet)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN) and Thomas Luke Doucet (SOCAN)

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Sebastian Steinberg – upright bass

Benny Bock – synths

Daphne Chen – violin

Charlie Bisharat – violin

Leah Katz – viola

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

3. The Last to Go (3:34)

(Sarah McLachlan)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN)

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – piano, synths

Kane Ritchotte – drums

Will Maclellan – drums programming, percussion, upright bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, ngoni

Nana Adjoa – electric bass

Mason Stoops – electric guitar

CJ Camerieri – horns

4. Only Way Out Is Through (4:01)

(Sarah McLachlan-Tony Berg)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN) and Big Deal Beats/Moose and Squirrel Music (BMI)

Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion

Will Maclellan – percussion

Wendy Melvoin – bass guitar

Mason Stoops – baritone guitar

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – organ, keyboards

5. Reminds Me (feat. Katie Gavin) (3:49)

(Sarah McLachlan)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN)

Matt Chamberlain – drums

Gabe Noel – bass

Sarah McLachlan – rubber bridge guitar, vocals

Mason Stoops – acoustic guitar (TBC)

Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

Benny Bock – organ, synthesizers

Katie Gavin – vocals

6. One In a Long Line (3:44)

(Sarah McLachlan-Anne Preven)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN) / Skolibon Music/These Are Pulse Songs (BMI)

Wendy Melvoin – drums, bass

Will Maclellan – percussion, programming

Mason Stoops – electric guitar

Tony Berg – electric guitar

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – synthesizers

Sarah McLachlan – vocals

India Sood – vocals

Taja Sood – vocals

7. Only Human (3:48)

(Sarah McLachlan)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN)

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – synthesizer (TBC)

Mason Stoops – electric guitar

Will Maclellan – vocoder

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

8. Long Road Home (4:02)

(Sarah McLachlan)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN)

Kane Kitchotte – drums

Sebastian Steinberg – upright bass

Mason Stoops – baritone guitar

Sarah McLachlan – acoustic guitars, piano, vocals

Tony Berg – acoustic guitar

Benny Bock – synths, mellotron

9. Rise (3:38)

(Sarah McLachlan-Thomas Luke Doucet-Anne Preven)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN), Thomas Luke Doucet (SOCAN) and Skolibon Music/These Are Pulse Songs (BMI)

Abe Rounds – drums

Will Maclellan – programming

Gabe Noel – bass

Dylan Day – electric guitars

Tony Berg – acoustic guitar

Benny Bock – accordion

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

10. Wilderness (4:38)

(Sarah McLachlan)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN)

Sarah McLachlan – piano, vocals

Benny Bock – piano

Sebastian Steinberg – upright bass

11. If This Is the End… (5:35)

(Sarah McLachlan-Tony Berg)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)/Tyde Music (SOCAN) / Big Deal Beats/Moose and Squirrel Music (BMI)

Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion

Tony Berg – clock

Sebastian Steinberg – upright bass

Nana Adjoa – bass guitar

Sarah McLachlan – acoustic guitar, vocals

Benny Bock – banjo, synths

Mason Stoops – electric guitar

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello

Bing Bong Berg, Cary Berg, Thomas Berg, Z Berg, Benny Bock, Shane Boose, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, Katie Gavin, Alex Greenwald, Darin Harmon, Goldie Harmon, Kharen Hill, Kelly Hughes, Joe Keefe, Briana Lee, Nicholas Nistal (The Bartender), Marieke Ochtman, Zoey Ochtman, Anne Preven, Serena Reynolds, Kane Ritchotte, Rachel Selch, Marlon Sexton, India Sood, Taja Sood, Annie Stela, Mason Stoops, Pinky Turzo – choir

12. All This Disaster (3:22)

(Sarah McLachlan – Alex Greenwald)

Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI) / Tyde Music (SOCAN) / Flying Saucer Fuel Music (ASCAP)

Kane Ritchotte – drums, percussion

Wendy Melvoin – bass, acoustic guitar

Alex Greenwald – electric guitar, background vocals

Benny Bock – synths, piano

Sarah McLachlan – electric sitar, vocals

Will Maclean – programming

13. The Kiss (4:27)

(Written by Judee Sill)

Published by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI)

Piano – Benny Bock

Keyboards – Benny Bock

Vocals – Sarah McLachlan

Produced by Tony Berg and Will Maclellan

Engineered and Mixed by Will Maclean

Mastered by Pat Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Courtesy credits: Katie Gavin appears courtesy of Saddest Factory Records

Thank you: My deepest love, gratitude and thanks to Tony and Will for helping to rekindle my love for the process of making a record; unearthing the song, allowing the path of discovery to be unattached to any outcome other than all of us together being thrilled and giddy as each song took shape. This record (and yes, I still call it a record) was a joy to make. I’ve never laughed so much in my life. Thank you, Tony, for the education, for your artistry and for pushing me out of my comfort zone – I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks (-: Will, for your quiet steadfast ways and all your fantastic musical additions and for making everything sound so damn good! To all the brilliant musicians who came around to add their magic – my awe and thanks for their talents. In particular, Benny Bock, who quickly became the 4th member of our party adding so many colours and moods and some of my favourite musical moments on the record. Wendy Melvoin – what can’t she play? Amazing guitarist, bassist, drummer and general bad ass. Vanessa Freebairn-Smith with the most glorious heartbreaking cello playing. Also bringing magic on guitars, Mason Stoops, Dylan Day and Alex Greenwald. On upright and electric bass, Gabe Noel, Sebastian Steinberg, and Nana Adjoa. On drums and percussion, Matt Chamberlain, Abe Rounds and Kane Ritchotte. On horn, CJ Camerieri; pedal steel, Greg Leisz; violin, Daphne Chen and Charlie Bisharet; viola, Leah Katz; Patrick Warren for his beautiful string arrangement on Gravity…all glorious. Love and thanks to Katie Gavin for lending her sweet voice to Reminds Me. Huge love to India and Taja Sood for singing with me on One In A Long Line. To Luke Doucet, Anne Preven, Alex Greenwald, and Tony Berg for writing with me. Thank you to Brian Greenbaum at CAA and to Margi Cheske and everyone at Concord Records. Love and thanks to my management team, Sam Feldman, Jane Muckle, and Dan Cleland. Steady on…let this music be an expression of our shared humanity…an offering like a salve, allowing a softening,..and a reminder that we are all in this together.

Management: Sam Feldman, Jane Muckle and Dan Cleland

sarahmclachlan.com

concordrecords.com

℗ & © 2025 Sarah McLachlan Entertainment Corp under exclusive license to Concord Records. Manufactured for and Distributed by Concord, 10 Lea Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37210. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Made in U.S.A. CRE03068

Lyrics

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

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

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

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

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

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

All This Disaster

I found a thrill I never thought I’d feel againComing towards your shore and I crash inNow it’s only you and me drowning in this deep to be togetherWondering if we’ll know better when we’re six feet under

Drop into me I know it’s harderTo believe that something goodMight come of all this disaster

I feel the tides turning on a dawn patrolLeaving for the blue I’m gonna let it roll‘Cause it’s only you and meAnd these victories at sea togetherWondering if we’ll know better when we’re six feet under

Drop into me I know it’s harderTo believe that something goodCould come from all this disaster

Harder to see beneath the armorIt could be that something goodMight come of all this disaster

Break awayFrom all this painHate to be afraidOf all these wavesOnly we can make And all this messMaybe we could changeBut not todayNo not todayUnless…

There’s something good from all this disasterGive me something good from all this disasterGive me something good from all this disasterAll this disasterCome find me after

The Kiss

Love rising from the mists
Promise me this and only this
Holy breath touching me, like a wind song
Sweet communion of a kiss

Sun sifting through the grey
Enter in, reach me with a ray
Silently swooping down, just to show me
How to give my heart away

Once a crystal choir appeared while I was sleeping and called my name
And when they came down nearer saying

Dying is done, then a new song was sung
Until somewhere we breathed as one

And still I hear their whisper, stars bursting in the sky
Hear the sad nova’s dying cry
Shimmering memory, come and hold me
While you show me how to fly

Sun sifting through the grey
Enter in, reach me with a ray
Silently swooping down, just to show me
How to give my heart away

Lately sparkling hosts come fill my dreams descending on fiery beams
I’ve seen ’em come clear down where our poor bodies lay
Soothe us gently and say
Gonna wipe all your tears away

And still I hear their whisper, love rising from the mists
Promise me this and only this
Holy breath touching me, like a wind song
Sweet communion of a kiss