The Long Winters

Sun through the curtains
i gave you a sign
the birds all were quiet
you were so quiet
some hear a call
some are the messengers
i thumb through the pictures
and know them all

they said, do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon

i have too many stories
keeping it serious
some are collectors
keeping it straight
it was a hospital
i was delirious
i clung to the stretcher
i drew them a heart

they said, do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon

two gondolas to carry us
grand view was hilarious
st. paul was there to marry us
we lied, we're already married
cos, here's proof, we have suntans
and i spoke up with my new hands
listen to my car
what's it telling us
start... please start... please start

do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon

is it spring where you are
i waited all winter
chasing the lampcords back to the wall
it's a plausible scenario
i clung to the stretcher
i drew them a heart

they said, do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
do you remember where you saw her last
i said, her skin is cinnamon, her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon
her skin is cinnamon

Fight, we can try
I'd love an answer that isn't sly
Or so, so you say
Don't toast the day for the twilight

For you I'm a pushover
I would if I could, I would
I just want you to say come on
Wish me luck wish me love

Unkind girlish walk
Like a deed to the world without the talk
As you wade through the crowd
I sit next to you, the seat still warm

For you I'm a pushover
I would if I could, I would
I just want you to say come on
Wish me luck wish me love

Here's how I found out
a man called my house
he asked me what I knew
they found my letter

And I don't have to wonder
no I don't have to wonder
so I don't have to wonder
did it reach you? Did it reach you?

Good morning Fire Island
I'm not sure who to ask
they said wait until tomorrow
they found my letter

And I don't have to wonder
so I don't have to wonder
no I don't have to wonder
did it reach you? Did it reach you?

Cinders in the garden
from the cars parked on the lawn
they're tracking up the carpet
they found my letter

and I don't have to wonder
no I don't have to wonder
so I don't have to wonder
did it reach you? Did it reach you?

You've got to start the car the ice has come

I know I wasn't made to play on a team
you weighed your suitcase down but it still wouldn't sink
I know that crime doesn't pay
but I don't know any other way

the way that she smiles me down
she claims to be clowning
I finally long for someone
teaspoon

two can just bleed into one
but only one does the bleeding
she calls me the alphabet gun
teaspoon

I know I wasn't made to play on a team
you weighed your suitcase down but it still wouldn't sink
I know that crime doesn't pay
but I don't know any other way

She orders the pilot to land
she just wants to hold the man
well I am her pilot today
teaspoon

Did you say what you wanted said?
And now you're just putting the days to bed
young actors want to play and play
and you'll play, but you're working

call applicants and stole cornering them
we're all waiting for the big day
if you feel crazy that you're still crazy
it hasn't happened for a few days
well just wait

in hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
you keep scratching at the old paint
but the wood is still there
and the room is still there

if you're trying to feel the wind
well that's a window you're pressed against

you never told me your secrets
so I guess they stayed safe with me
tall orders from such small shoulders
and invitations on blue paper

but I'm bailing water and bailing water
'cause I like the shape of the boat
you asked me and I told you
and you asked me and I told you and I told you

in hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
you keep scratching at the old paint
but the wood is still there
and the room is still there

if you're my anchor then I'm throwing you over the side
before I have the time to say
I never wanted anyone this way
but I'm smoking cigarettes when no one else does
and if I hold you now will I be holding a snowball
when the season changes and I'm craving the sun?

Are you still training for the big race
by hoping the runners will die?
Churning the words of your disgrace
but it's how you are when you're down that counts

and you know we're a good thing
it's been a long time since you said
put down your camera and let me ask you
is this new move just to keep moving?

in hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
you keep scratching at the old paint
but the wood is still there
and the room is still there

if I kiss you now like sun streaming in a tavern's door
would you wonder what I'm kissing you for?

Little airports keep in mind
they got file folders and dry-erase boards
I retired from the air force
long enough ago to know

the sky is open

I call the tower and draw the line
I'm flying, yes I'm climbing
a better pilot couldn't find
even so, even I can only fly so high

the sky is open

in the war I flew the islands
I knew the quiet, it's pilot science
my propeller tries to find the air
I'm finally the highest bird

the sky is open

She loves the singer, every song can bring her close to tears
but when she talks about his band it just confirms her mother's fears
a little crush on the singer but in her heart she knows it's true
everything is different when he's singing right to you

her mother says honest, it's alright to be a singer
but don't you love a singer whatever you do

let the crowd press on the stage
and let the lights wash out their eyes
sixteen years ago I was completely mesmerized
and then the night was done and the singer disappeared behind the stage
and the roadies came and picked me out from on the barricade

Honest, it's alright to be a singer
but don't you love a singer whatever you do, whatever you do

I wouldn't change for a moment my life or my ideals
but once I loved a singer and I know just how you feel
for him to say so plainly what your heart can vouch is true
means something is connecting you, something is connecting you

Honest, it's alright to be a singer
but don't you love a singer whatever you do, whatever you do
don't you love a singer
don't you love a singer

Tower likes to fall and cream likes to spoil
everything living tries to get back to the soil
and what seems right and what's made for you
false prophecy doesn't mean prophecies are true

the ground is so proud just to hold us up
we're a kiss away from being dangerous
kiss me and show me that it's true
you're depressed about a thing you don't really want to do

don't try to write your name in the clouds from the ground
don't try to write your name in the clouds from the ground

AutoCAD architects with GPS
staple-gun carpenters building a 3D mess
we protest, but it doesn't work again
your magic beans mean at least you'll have one giant friend

the ground is so proud just to hold us up
we're a kiss away from being dangerous
kiss me and show me that it's true
you're depressed about a thing you don't really want to do

don't try to write your name in the clouds from the ground
don't try to write your name in the clouds from the ground

I don't know why I bring you around
When you, you start out so dry
And then decide to be quiet
Like an angry shout

When you consider yourself
And you do consider yourself
Well, give me something that you like
If there's something you're so proud about

You're in love with someone
You're gonna love till it's done
You're in love with someone you don't like

You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife

Now tell me, is your high horse
Getting a little hard to ride?
And your little bit on the side
Gettin' harder to find?

When you get restless at night
But it's too late to start
And there's nothing left to eat in this house but your heart

You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife

I don't know why I bring you around
Just to dis the art and look the part
But there's a bit you're leaving out
And you keep it all to yourself

But it's not the wine that brings a crowd
And the crowd is not much help
But you see the clouds and put your signal out
And then count the notches on your belt

You're in love with someone
You're gonna love till it's done
You're in love with someone you don't like

You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife
(Should have been a rich wife)
You should have been a rich wife

Student, why do you dream of me
When you dream of your acre of trees?
It was agreed I came to burn leaves
It's all I ever claimed to do
A ploughman I'll never grow into

My arms miss you
My hands miss you
The stars sing, I've got their song in my head

Blue in the broad light of day
Your claws are snagged on my face
Say it, I wish we would make it
And I wish that I could take it
When you turn on me

My arms miss you
My hands miss you
The stars sing, I've got their song in my head
Oh, I don't want my words twisted
I don't want you to listen too closely
Or wait for me impatiently
And I hope I can keep seeing you
As long as you don't say you're falling in love

Crave translates into slave
No one can harness the rain
And I can make myself into rain
You feel me on your cheek
And on your sleeve

My arms miss you
My hands miss you
The stars sing, I've got their song in my head
Oh, I don't want my words twisted
I don't want you to listen too closely
Or wait for me impatiently
And I hope I can keep seeing you
As long as you don't say you're falling in love

And I can feel you're about to forget
Yes, I can feel you're about to forget

Your new haircut is so unfamiliar
but they only know you that way
your new teases are so hilarious
well I never thought I'd hear you say

that I did the driving and the falling knives
seemed anything was worth a try
you never said it but I think I get it
and maybe you were right

that I miss you Seven
I miss you Seven

did you see me the way I imagined
every eyelash a picket or a wire
did you tease me when I went out of fashion
and your interest in me had expired

well I stopped
but how can I really stop
and stay stopped?

I miss you Seven
(the distance helps me only so much)

is it asking too much
would you say that I
am the last thing you want
to remember me by

I miss you Seven
(the distance helps me only so much)