1. |
Save A Seat For Me
04:30
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there was fury, there was sound
yeah, they got me in a gown
put my birthday on a tag around my wrist
they took my clothes, they took my shoes
locked 'em in another room
so i couldn't leave 'til i had been dismissed
sunday morning at the faulkner
blowing out my candles with the doctor
who kept making me remember my name
he said, "i just want you to be well"
well, as far as i can tell
i'll never look into a mirror quite the same
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
that goes whistling dixie and glory hallelujah
through the prairies and the plains
sparks go flying from the wheels
even when we're sitting still
sitting in the belly of the whale today
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
she said, "i never really loved you
love's not something that i do"
she said, "boy, i think you read me all wrong
you were trying to find a moral
in the story i was writing
with my ankles and my fists and my tongue"
i want to wrap my arms around her
want to spend my life beside her
lord, i've never hated anyone so hard
i want to be furiously combined
'til i can't tell her rib from mine
and it hurts to have to pull them apart
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
that goes whistling dixie and glory hallelujah
through the prairies and the plains
sparks go flying from the wheels
even when we're standing still
and when she's finally got me running away
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
a broken helmet, one right shoe
were all that was left of you
by the time the reporters figured out your name
i want to study french again
buy some summer clothes, make another friend
but i can't pretend april's ever gonna be the same
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
that goes whistling dixie and glory hallelujah
through the prairies and the plains
sparks go flying from the wheels
even when we're standing still
and we're all just standing still these days
so won't you save a seat for me
on the early morning train
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2. |
Scheherazade
04:24
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scheherazade packed up the car
made her way to new mexico
a clarinet case in her lap, and a map
with a scribbled address where to go
i first saw her in the lobby of a motel in st. louis
she was shaking a vending machine
she said, "i told that old innkeeper i'm a pretty light sleeper
still my window is facing the street
so let's get out of here
you and i could make our escape
come on, buy me a drink
before you have a chance to think it's a mistake"
and the moon was half perfect
and the bar was half asleep
her every sigh was a sirocco
sweeping the bottles on the floor like tumbleweeds
yes, she was the stuff of nightmares
she was the lady of my dreams
and the night, and the night
and the night is always older than it seems
she said, "i had a king who was gorgeous and mean
and he loved me like nobody could
he made me his wife on the edge of a knife
and i got out while the getting was good
i got his wallet, got his car
and yeah, i've made it pretty far
without ever looking behind me
i got the police on my trail
won't be the first i've seen a jail"
i said, "girl, i think you lie to your diary"
scheherazade, she said, "tell me, does it matter to you
if nothing of the story but the moral is true?"
yes, she was the stuff of nightmares
she was the lady of my dreams
and the night, and the night
and the night is always older than it seems
she said, "i'll sing you to sleep if you promise to keep
your back to me all through the night"
in the morning she was gone, probably still had my jacket on
but it ain't cold now, so i guess it's all right
it's useless to think, even more so to speak
of the part i may play in her fables
now i've my own tale to tell 'bout a girl, a motel
and the bracelets she left on the table
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3. |
Ellis Island
04:43
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she left her name on ellis island
now there's no telling who she was
he tipped his hat and paid her fare
when she didn't have enough to board the bus
the courtship was quick and the timing was right
his ship was setting sail on the fifth of july
he found a chaplain in the city and he took her for his bride
while the taxicab waited outside
and i, i've never been so graceful
and i, i've never cared for you so tastefully
he found himself a heart of darkness
a savage stillness in the noise
she wrote a letter every week
and he read each one aloud to all the boys
then just as two hands spin around on a clock
he threw his arms around her at the end of the dock
he said, "i'll never leave again, whether you like it or not"
no, he never left her side
and i, i've never been so patient
and i, i've never cared for you so blamelessly
so you don't have to call me, baby
turn off that phone
drive yourself on over here
you know that i'll be home
fold yourself in two
and place your body next to mine
it's not a poem, not a prayer
but it's not a crime
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4. |
Bridge Of Sighs
05:44
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the tide is counting down to midnight
now it's all out of our control
i throw a photograph in the canal and watch
as it drifts off in a helpless barcarolle
venice really may be sinking
though it sure doesn't feel that way tonight
the boats are holding fast to a day that's long since passed
and to an evening floating further out of sight
i left you on the bridge of sighs
and i thought once more of our last dance
how you stood on my feet when you didn't know the steps
but you never really stood a chance
my brother stares out of the window
and there's no telling what he sees
the morning will be quieter in padova
where the stars have all been swept by the breeze
sitting on the steps of the station
with a book and a bottle of champagne
toasting to the end of nothing in particular
and the beginning of more of the same
i left you on the bridge of sighs
and i thought once more of our last dance
how you stood on my feet when you didn't know the steps
but you never really stood a chance
sospiri
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5. |
Catch Up To Me
06:14
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i didn't even bother sleeping
i was in the air before the sun
nobody knew that i was leaving
and nobody's gonna notice that i'm gone
nobody waiting on the other side
just a baggage carousel and an expensive taxi ride
i've never felt like i was running
just standing still while the world went by
so if you never could catch up to me
then perhaps it's because you never tried
i pulled all the punches when push came to shove
no, you never really knew what i was capable of
i think that you enjoy your power
and you never want to be outdone
it's a high that's not from taking a pill
but from knowing that you've got one
well baby, i've been high, and baby, i've been low
but lately i'm just tired and trying not to let it show
i say a prayer every night
from the foot of whatever bed i'm in
i ain't hoping for some voice from the clouds
no, i don't hope for much of anything
the planets in their courses, the continental drift
i just hope i settle soon before the plates begin to shift
i'd like to think that there's some point to this
that every ending's just another twist of fate
i'd like to think time's never wasted
and that love is never a mistake
but you weren't a lesson and you weren't a phase
just a lonely inkblot across my very barest page
a wave of whispers through the greyhound
the foggy factories of midnight delaware
i'd like to tell you about everything
though i guess you had to be there
but i've made my choices so i can't complain
when i'm standing in a crowd and hearing only your name
i've been missing someone i ain't got no business missing
i've been kissing someone hasn't been paying attention
to the damage she's done just by being anyone but you
so i climbed up to the top and i stood out on a ledge
but there ain't no pot of gold at the rainbow's edge
i've seen a lot of things and i've come a long way
and i know it's gonna catch up to me someday
so i climbed up to the top and i stood out on a ledge
but there ain't no pot of gold at the rainbow's edge
i've been a lot of things and i've come a long way
and i know it's gonna catch up to me someday
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6. |
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street names, phone numbers, days of the week
the restaurant is closed, there's nothing in the house to eat
and still you promise that savannah is pretty in the spring
but i don't want to go to georgia
and i don't really want to stay here
and i don't want to let you out of my sight for even just a second
you haven't yet unpacked the boxes in the basement
and you're chasing a cherokee rose
and i'm sending all my money in a bottle down the mississippi river
just to see how far it goes
you bought a postcard of a town you'd never heard of at a rest stop
and you left it on the restroom sink
you couldn't think of where to send it to
and you had georgia on your mind, among other things
the sunday morning girls on the avenue lined up like rows of papier-mâché
i know that look that they give you, i used to look at you that way
but there's plenty to be done around here while you're gone
the screen door needs oil, there are frames to be hung
and you call me from a pay phone and it's all i have left
just to fill up that booth with the sound of my breath
and i can never be quiet enough
so it's no use in crying
and it's no use in trying to change your mind
you're going to get whatever you want
you're going to get whatever you want
you're going to get whatever you want
you're going to get whatever you want
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Matthew Connor Boston, Massachusetts
Matthew Connor is a crooner for the 21st century, writing heart-wrenching songs that combine the windswept ideals of classic
American balladry with stark depictions of modern-day alienation. The Boston-based Connor has a haunting voice that conjures ghosts of past heartbreaks, and he pairs it with spectral guitars that recall country tearjerkers and alt-pop brooding.
—Maura Johnston
... more
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