I didn’t want to leave the house
But I followed you
You left our table for the dance floor
I never knew
I sat there looking at the old barkeep
Such sad eyes
For no amount of beauty would he crack a smile

You can bet I’d dance if I could do it
I would glide on by
Keep my distance from the wall

You can bet I’d dance if I could do it
I would glide on by
I would sway and they would fall

I’ve changed my mind a million times
All morning long
I picked through bracelets and bangles
They all felt wrong
Is this whole city hung over?
How the sidewalk sticks
To the rubber beneath my toes

A bearded band
Playing sad songs
Plaid and denim, head to toe

You slow dance
On bare feet
With someone you’re not sure you want to know

Now the singer’s going on about how
Everyone’s suddenly really into food

He tucks his hair
Behind his ear
You wonder what he looks like in the nude

The band takes a break
Before the second set
You step outside to smoke a cigarette

You shelter the flame
Inside your winter jacket
It’s not even eleven yet

Now your mind jumps back to the early morning
Looking out the window, half asleep

The neighbor’s cat
Coming home real proud
A sparrow trapped between his teeth

Reading the cheerful taglines
On the places you can still afford to rent
You wonder where the money went
It was just there

Scaling up the blurry pictures
Flashes bouncing off the windowpanes
Paint peeling off the wooden frames
Dust everywhere

Crooked tiles on the bathroom walls
Funny little entrance halls
It gets to be
Too much to bear

Could you ever call it home?

All you wanted was
A country house in the city
Fruit trees, luscious and pretty
Needing no care

A respectable assortment of linen
Some go-to menus for dinner
And quiet weekends

Walked by the place where I first came to be
And where my father was born thirty-four years before me
It was named
After the Holy Trinity

Third generation heathen
Born among the tireless sisters
A late addition
To a very fragile sum

And now that I’m barely younger
Than they were when they had me
I let myself stop and wonder
At the Holy Trinity

I lost track of afternoons in books
We were never allowed any pets
Except for the turtles who died
In their sad little tank

And they would argue in restaurants
Even after they finally called it quits
Their hard-won cool burning up
In a matter of seconds

I’ve never read a single page of the bible
And sleep wants nothing to do with me
I wasn’t looking for a friend or a rival
But if you’re going to force me to choose you know which one I’ll be

You’ve got nothing on me
So back the hell down
You’ve got nothing on me

You are a clever storyteller; I will give you that
Given the chance you’d make the world see red
Yet I’d much rather not engage in these antics
Don’t you get enough trouble from the voices in your head?

You’ve got nothing on me
So back the hell down
Back the hell down

I’ve seen the ink in your neck
I’ve seen the friends that you’ve made
I’ve seen you breaking all the rules

I know the words that you preach
And the excuses you make
Bad workers always blame their tools

Our heads are hurting and our eyes are heavy
And the sun is shining down too bright
Our lips are dry and our limbs are aching
And the sun is shining down too bright

Both feet in the sand
Chin up, baby

Skin pulled tight and chimes in our ears
The air is burning
It’s not quite what we had in mind
The air is burning

Never had a favorite color
Never won a single fight
I still can’t cook like a grown up
And I was late to learn how to drive

I should I could I’ll try I might
Yet there’s something I got right

I’ve got you to come home to

Mostly I stay out of trouble
On the right side of the tracks
I just kind of lost my nerve and
Didn’t work to win it back

No it doesn’t make me look like a million bucks
No, not even close, you see

That is not my color, dear, and it never was
You should know that after thirty-seven years

There are days when I regret the hour we met
But I know I’d be lost out on my own
I’m tired
Please take me home

Sometimes when I wake up I feel so light and free
Then I turn and see you lying next to me

Can’t remember when I last spent the night away
Come to think of it, I can’t think of the day

I can’t handle the summer
How I long for the slippery sidewalks
Water dripping into my neck

Riding on a crowded bus
I’d write some good advice
On the foggy glass

Along the lines of

Take it slow
Learn to let it go
Take it slow

I can’t handle the summer
I can’t handle the heat
I fall in love every two seconds
It’s kind of embarrassing

And I ignore the nagging voice
Trying to give me good advice
Along the lines of

Take it slow
Learn to let it go
Take it slow

In a rusty drawer
In the other room
Covered in rubber bands
And old day planners

There’s a photograph
Of the two of you

In love
In Spain

A couple of heartbreakers

Sunburn
Canvas shoes
Matching headaches
And matching tattoos

Where did those people go
The two who could steal the show?

In love
In Spain

A couple of heartbreakers

I’d win the award
For most amusing on board
Why don’t you want to dance with me?

I’ve been to the fjords
Spent a semester abroad
Why don’t you want to sleep with me?

I’ve been getting to know
Your father and his wife
I’d been plotting my way
My way into your life

I used to live on the fence
But now I just want to dance
Why don’t want to sway with me?

My heart is solid gold
I always do what I’m told
Why wouldn’t you want to carry me?

I’ve been getting to know
Your father and his wife

I’d win the award
I swear you’d never be bored

You’re light blue eyed
That’s from your mother’s side
Now you won’t even look at me

I’ve been getting to know

I guess it hardly qualifies
As the end of the world