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Halcyon

by Gretchen Peters

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1.
baby you just slipped right through my fingers baby took the words out of my mouth i could start all over but the thing is you were never something i could live without you were always looking for the silver lining i was always waiting for the rain every now and then i need reminding love is never really love in vain this night will end this heart will mend and i’ll smile again tomorrow morning as right as rain as pure and plain i will rise again tomorrow morning if i have a soul i’ve never seen it if i have a prayer why can’t i pray i say that i’m alright but i don’t mean it what i really mean is i’m okay chorus i dreamed i was a sailor on the ocean i dreamed that i was lost inside a storm maybe i can find a fair wind blowin somewhere in the dark before the dawn
2.
you fell out of the sky when you were 21 your bomber took a bullet from a german gun did you think about your wife your brief and tender life did you pray to anyone? how does it feel when you’re falling can you hear sweet angels calling is it empty up in space did you touch god’s holy face did you tremble, did you cry did you fall or did you fly you fell out of your life when you were 43 you saw her and you thought she was your destiny you wandered from the path and we cursed your aftermath but that’s ancient history chorus you make it so damn hard to love you i don’t know why i even try and all i ever wanted of you to take me with you when you fly you fell out of my life one last time today i held your hand and watched you as you slipped away you cast your pilot’s eye to the endless open sky and i sent you on your way chorus
3.
are you lonely - are you crying are those teardrops in your eyes is it more blues - is it bad news is it a curse, or a blessing in disguise did you leave him - do you love him have you said your last goodbyes is it over - are you sorry could it be a blessing in disguise it's the scars that make you stronger it's the hard times make you wise it's the sweet things only time brings that arrive like a blessing in disguise clouds roll by and bring the rain tears will dry, and ease the pain let me be your silver lining shining thru like a blessing in disguise shining thru like a blessing in disguise
4.
i can’t fight your dragons anymore they no longer live behind your closet door my magic’s lost its power to ease your mind but if i could i’d slay them child of mine what i wouldn’t give for just one day when holding you was all it took to wipe those tears away remember all the days we’ve left behind and hold them in your heart, sweet child of mine it fills me like a river fills the sea holds me in its sway and sets me free it reaches far beyond all tide and time this love i have for you sweet child of mine this love i have for you sweet child of mine
5.
will i see you tonight with the moon in your hair your sad little smile your poetic despair will we meet on the freeway under the sky for a cool goodbye there’s a crack in my voice there’s a crack in my heart the foundation is crumbling i’m falling apart and the cars on the freeway are whistling by like a cool goodbye i’ve learned my lesson i’ve been to school you were the teacher i was the fool well how do you do it baby what is your trick you make it look easy the kiss and the kick a shrug of the shoulder a wink of the eye and a cool goodbye
6.
Imogene 03:28
imogene she lives in Reno all alone with thirteen cats every night she passes the casino imogene don’t fool with that imogene she drives an old Camaro but she hardly ever takes it out if it’s true God’s eye is on the sparrow she’s got nothin to worry about chorus: she says that’s life - that’s my life well i get what i need and i want what i want and the bills roll in and the money don’t and i do what i do and i fake the rest and somehow it all works out for the best that’s life - that’s my life imogene she don’t take chances the girl’s got a level head evaluate the circumstances that’s what her daddy always said then one night she passes the casino puts a quarter in the slot machine drops down - comes up cherries way to go now, imogene chorus former high school football hero knocks on her door like the sweepstakes man she says i’m a former high school zero now you want to be my friend? you’re as dumb as a day old puppy you ain’t as pretty as you used to be here’s a quarter baby, go get lucky put one in the slots for me - yeah chorus: that’s life - that’s your life well you get what you need and you want what you want and the girls roll in but the right one don’t and you do what you do and you fake the rest and somehow it all works out for the best that’s life - that’s your life
7.
the altarboys are sneaking cigarettes the friends and neighbors offering their regrets the station wagons in the pouring rain and all that water goin down the drain a white lace dress for when i turn thirteen and a bright red stain that wouldn’t quite come clean walking by the football field trying out my sex appeal while all around the leaves are turning brown this used to be my town he waited by the swingset in the park he tore at my new raincoat in the dark and all that i could think about was getting through and getting out and how the night could fall without a sound this used to be my town i’m flying through the clouds as white as snow i’m looking at the people down below the whole world holds its breath for me the priest evokes eternity and everywhere the rain is pourin down this used to be my town
8.
If Heaven 03:18
if heaven was an hour it would be twilight when the fireflies start their dancin’ on the lawn and supper’s on the stove and mama’s laughin’ and everybody’s working day is done if heaven was a town it would be my town on a summer day in 1965 and everything i wanted was out there waiting and everyone i loved was still alive chorus: don’t cry a tear for me now baby comes a time we all must say good bye and if that’s what heaven’s made of you know i ain’t afraid to die if heaven was a pie it would be cherry cool and sweet and heavy on your tongue and just one bite would satisfy your hunger and there’d always be enough for everyone if heaven was a train it’d be a fast one to take this weary traveler round the bend and if heaven was a tear it’d be my last one and you’d be in my arms again chorus
9.
Germantown 05:05
it’s friday night down in germantown you’re ridin shotgun wearin black just another friday night in germantown but something tells me we ain’t goin back mary’s glowin by the dashboard light giving benediction to the lost something’s stirring in the black black night i guess every blessing has its cost chorus: do you remember graduation day i burned like fire beneath your kiss said you could see us somewhere far away oh but baby not like this i heard a siren and a shot ring out but my mind would not believe my plates expired and my taillight’s out and you’ve got something up your sleeve chorus: i’m doin 90 toward the county line and the rain is comin down said you were on to something big this time but it’s the other way around it’s friday night down in germantown the blood is pounding in my veins just another rainy night in germantown why does it always have to rain?
10.
you blow in harder than a hurricane i’m always standing in the pouring rain sometimes it’s all that i can do to keep from drowning in you you come on softer than a summer wind love me til i’m weak and then you’re gone again and i ain’t got no anchor to hold on to to keep from drowning in you bridge: you always pull me under while i’m trying to stay afloat you bring the rain and thunder i bring the boat i used to come running when you’d cry for help but this time around baby i gotta save myself gotta keep my head above the blue gotta keep from drowning in you sometimes it’s all that i can do to keep from drowning in you
11.
Museum 03:11
i am an artist i won’t crawl i’ll paint a picture of my heart and hang it on a wall it’s my sweet release it’s my masterpiece hanging on a wall in a museum you can hurt me but i’ll fight back i’ll rearrange the shadows and the light til the colors turn to black til my broken heart is a work of art hanging on a wall in a museum and i’ll paint the golden summers and i’ll paint the starry nights and i’ll paint the bloody battles and the refuse of the fight like a message in a bottle like a ghost beyond the grave you’re looking for some meaning but it’s my life i’m trying to save i am a stranger to myself not living breathing flesh and blood but dust upon a shelf it’s my joy and my strife it’s my lot in life to be hanging on a wall in a museum

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released May 31, 2004

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Gretchen Peters Nashville, Tennessee

For two decades, Gretchen Peters has been one of Nashville's most beloved and respected artists. A 2014 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Peters has accumulated accolades as both songwriter and artist. Her latest album, The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury (May 2020), is a loving tribute to another Hall of Fame songwriter. ... more

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