Keep On Living
[Verse 1]
Every journey starts one step
Boots on stone, then on again
Heading home for a little rest
Then the road comes calling in the end
A life lived long
Longer than most
And I’ve carried more
Than I ever let you know
[Pre-Chorus]
But I’m here
Still breathing in
Still standing where
The next day begins
Even when it aches
Even when it bends
I feel that spark
In my ribs again
[Chorus]
Keep on living
Keep on living
Don’t let the burden take your name
Keep on living
Keep on living
There’s more to do than bear the pain
(keep on living)
(keep on living)
[Verse 2]
There were nights that hit too hard
Days that dragged like broken chain
Hands full of old sorrow
And a heart that learned the shape of rain
But I found one small reason
Then another, then a few
A cup on the table
And a voice that pulled me through
[Pre-Chorus]
So I’m here
Still breathing in
Still standing where
The next day begins
Even when it aches
Even when it bends
I feel that spark
In my ribs again
[Chorus]
Keep on living
Keep on living
Don’t let the burden take your name
Keep on living
Keep on living
There’s more to do than bear the pain
(keep on living)
(keep on living)
[Bridge]
Not over yet
Not by a mile
I’ve worn my miles
With a tired smile
If I fall, I rise
If I bend, I stay
I’m heading home
Then I’m on my way
[Final Chorus]
Keep on living
Keep on living
Don’t let the burden take your name
Keep on living
Keep on living
There’s more to do than bear the pain
Keep on living
Keep on living
A life lived long
Still wants its flame
(keep on living)
(keep on living)
You Know Me First
[Verse 1]
I turn the corner slow
And there you are again
Same cracked blue mailbox
Same thorn vine on the fence
My shoes know the boards
Before my eyes catch up
Like the house kept my name
In the back of its cup
[Pre-Chorus]
And I swear
The air leans in
Like it’s been waiting
For me to begin
[Chorus]
You know me first
You know me first
Before I say a word
You know me first
That old front step
That worn-out gate
I get there shaking
And you recognize my face
[Verse 2]
The screen door sighs
Like it remembers spring
That copper key in my palm
Feels borrowed from a dream
The rug by the sink
Has my old sad shoes
How does this place
Keep my small truths?
[Pre-Chorus]
And I swear
The light looks back
Like it’s been keeping
What I lost on track
[Chorus]
You know me first
You know me first
Before I say a word
You know me first
That old front step
That worn-out gate
I get there shaking
And you recognize my face
[Bridge]
Maybe I was here
Before I had a name
Maybe every door
Was learning my shape
So I come in quiet
Let the silence hear
What I couldn’t say
Till I got back here
[Chorus]
You know me first
You know me first
Before I say a word
You know me first
That old front step
That worn-out gate
I get there shaking
And you recognize my face
[Outro]
Yeah, you recognize my face
(you recognize my face)
And I finally do the same
Some Lights Are Remembered
[Verse 1]
Hard rain on the road, boots full of mud
coat collar up, breath coming short
the trees shook loose, the leaves came down
and the whole world smelled like wet dirt
She kept on walking, hands in her sleeves
past the stones, past the bend
through the kind of dark that makes a small thing glow
like it’s got more to say than it says
[Pre-Chorus]
Then she saw it cut through the branches
a square of gold in the bruise-blue dark
not loud, not far, just steady
like it knew its job by heart
[Chorus]
Some lights are remembered
before they’re seen
some lights find you
and stay in between
Not the brightest thing
just the one that lasts
some lights are remembered
long after you’ve gone past
[Verse 2]
Not the biggest light she’d ever known
not a show, not a sign
just a kitchen window holding its ground
soft gold in the glass that night
And it landed somewhere deep
before she had the words
some lights stay with you
long after the dark gets blurred
[Pre-Chorus]
Then she reached the gate and stood there
with the mud still on her shoes
that little square kept burning
like it had picked her too
[Chorus]
Some lights are remembered
before they’re seen
some lights find you
and stay in between
Not the brightest thing
just the one that lasts
some lights are remembered
long after you’ve gone past
She opened the gate.
The Things She Carried
We bring more home
than we know
Later comes
and later goes
She carried things
and memory
Of who she was
when she was there
People she loved
in folded time
Days she passed by
without a name
Things she noticed
small and plain
Till time turned gold
in the rain
[Pre-Chorus]
She thought it was
a bag of keepsakes
Something light
to set down
But every pocket
held a heartbeat
Every thread
pulled her around
[Chorus]
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
Not just the weight
but the whole life
Pieces of a life
she brought home
[Verse 2]
A chipped-up cup
a train-ticket stub
A laugh she heard
in another room
A page half-read
a borrowed coat
A hand on hers
she still could feel
Ordinary days
turned sharp and bright
When time moved on
and left them kind
She kept the moments
for no reason
Until they rose
and filled her hands
[Pre-Chorus]
She thought it was
a bag of keepsakes
Something light
to set down
But every pocket
held a heartbeat
Every thread
pulled her around
[Chorus]
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
Not just the weight
but the whole life
Pieces of a life
she brought home
[Bridge]
And even after
later has come
Even after
it’s gone and gone
She opens it slow
and there they are
The ones she loved
still shining on
[Final Chorus]
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
Not just the weight
but the whole life
Pieces of a life
she brought home
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
The things she carried
(the things she carried)
Memories, love
and ordinary days
All of it home
in her arms
One of the Lights
[Verse 1]
From the cottage above the valley
I watched the houses breathe
Windows burned in little squares
Like secrets kept for me
Every path I’d worn by heart
Every door I’d knocked in rain
I thought I was looking down
At the place that held my name
[Pre-Chorus]
Then the whole sky turned
Soft and wide
And I saw it plain
I wasn’t just passing through
I was part of the flame
[Chorus]
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
One of the lights in the dark
Keeping the cold away
Every kind hand I gave
Every step I laid
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
[Verse 2]
There was soup on winter tables
There were bandages and tea
There were children at the doorway
Learning how to trust me
There were nights I never counted
There were names I still recall
Little acts, so ordinary
Now they rose up like a wall
[Pre-Chorus]
And the valley held
What I could not see
All those quiet things
Were building up through me
[Chorus]
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
One of the lights in the dark
Keeping the cold away
Every kind hand I gave
Every step I laid
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
[Bridge]
Not the brightest in the window
Not the one that called the way
Just the lamp above the sink
In the house at end of day
Still, the frost gave back my glow
Still, the road knew where I’d been
And the lives I held together
Held me gently back again
[Final Chorus]
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
One of the lights in the dark
Keeping the cold away
Every kind hand I gave
Every step I laid
I was one of the lights
One of the lights that stayed
[Outro]
From the cottage above the valley
I saw my home at last
I wasn’t looking down on it
I was shining back at last
Lamp Above the Sink
[Verse 1]
The lamp above the sink
keeps watch on the white enamel
gold in a little circle
over the soap and the kettle
It doesn't call attention
it just stays where it belongs
over soup on a winter table
over the hands that carry on
[Pre-Chorus]
It sees the bandage wrapped
around a thumb gone sore
the cup of tea gone quiet
by the half-open door
[Chorus]
Lamp above the sink
hold that little glow
Lamp above the sink
shine on what we know
Kindness in disguise
in the plate and in the steam
Lamp above the sink
you light a life unseen
[Verse 2]
It glows for a knock at midnight
for shoes by the hallway line
for the light left on in a window
when somebody's running behind
For the coat hung up on a chairback
for the ache that can’t be named
for the small, familiar tending
that keeps a house from breaking
[Pre-Chorus]
It sees the bandage wrapped
around a thumb gone sore
the cup of tea gone quiet
by the half-open door
[Chorus]
Lamp above the sink
hold that little glow
Lamp above the sink
shine on what we know
Kindness in disguise
in the plate and in the steam
Lamp above the sink
you light a life unseen
[Bridge]
From far away
it’s only gold
a little dot
against the old
But up close
it knows our names
the quiet work
that warms the frame
[Final Chorus]
Lamp above the sink
hold that little glow
Lamp above the sink
shine on what we know
Kindness in disguise
in the plate and in the steam
Lamp above the sink
you light a life unseen
The Open Gate
[Verse 1]
Morning found her slowly
birds first, then the light
rain still on the roses
everything washed bright
She stayed beneath the covers
a little longer than she should
just because she could now
and because the quiet felt good
[Pre-Chorus]
There was nowhere she must hurry
nowhere she had to be
then she saw beyond the garden
the road beneath the trees
[Chorus]
Morning footsteps
through the open gate
the road was always waiting
it didn't mind the wait
No need to start all over
no need to race ahead
the day begins again
from wherever you have been
[Verse 2]
She watered all the flowers
put the kettle on for tea
left the old key in her satchel
where old mysteries ought to be
Then a bird sat on the gatepost
looked her up and down
flew off towards the river
without making a sound
[Pre-Chorus]
She laughed there in the doorway
at the road beyond the trees
it hadn't asked a question
it had simply let her be
[Chorus]
Morning footsteps
through the open gate
the road was always waiting
it didn't mind the wait
No need to start all over
no need to race ahead
the day begins again
from wherever you have been
[Bridge]
Home had given her a morning
not an ending, not a sign
just a place to put the weight down
and leave the clock behind
And beyond the gate the old road
curved away and carried on
there were hills she hadn't thought of
in the softness of the dawn
[Final Chorus]
Morning footsteps
through the open gate
the road was always waiting
it didn't mind the wait
No need to start all over
no need to race ahead
the day begins again
from wherever you have been
[Outro]
One step past the garden
one step past the gate
morning on the road ahead
and no need to name the day
The World Still Calls
[Verse 1]
She carried home within her
when she stepped beyond the gate
the map tucked in her satchel
and no reason to be late
The cottage fell behind her
the road climbed through the trees
and somewhere past the western hill
was somewhere she hadn't seen
[Pre-Chorus]
No promise
no grand plan
just another bend
and the wish to know
what waited there
was reason enough again
[Chorus]
The world still calls
the world still calls
and we keep on living
we keep on living
There are roads we haven't walked
there are names we haven't known
the world still calls
and we carry with us home
[Verse 2]
By noon the roof was smaller
by evening gone from sight
but she knew the lamp was waiting
to make its little light
Her buckle might fall open
she'd probably lose the track
there'd be things worth bringing with her
and things not worth bringing back
[Pre-Chorus]
No hurry
no goodbye
no need to understand
the road went round
the next green hill
and that was where she planned—
[Chorus]
The world still calls
the world still calls
and we keep on living
we keep on living
There are roads we haven't walked
there are names we haven't known
the world still calls
and we carry with us home
[Bridge]
At the top she stopped a moment
another valley lay below
a road curled down between the trees
to somewhere she could go
She smiled there at the morning
with the lantern in her hand
there was still more world ahead
than any map had planned
[Final Chorus]
The world still calls
the world still calls
and we keep on living
we keep on living
There are roads we haven't walked
there are days we haven't known
the world still calls
and wherever we may wander
we don't leave behind our home
[Outro]
The road turned round the hillside
and disappeared from view
She adjusted the old satchel.
And followed it too.
Maggie, Come On In
[Verse 1]
Maggie came in smiling
Dress like a flame
Pretty as trouble
But she hates that cage
She don’t want a promise
She don’t want a chain
She wants the floorboards
And she wants her name
[Pre-Chorus]
Spin it, Maggie
Don’t look back
Heel-to-toe now
Own that track
Everybody’s watching
Let them stare
Maggie’s moving
Like she don’t care
[Chorus]
Maggie, Maggie, twist all night
Maggie, Maggie, feel that life
Free as a spark
Right in your bones
Maggie, Maggie, take me home
(Maggie, Maggie)
[Verse 2]
Wild little laughter
Knockin’ on the door
She shook the whole room
Then she asked for more
Hair all bouncing
Shoes too slick
She turns that heartbreak
Into a kick
No tied-up future
No slow goodbye
She just wants the moon
And a reason to fly
[Pre-Chorus]
Spin it, Maggie
Don’t look back
Heel-to-toe now
Own that track
Everybody’s watching
Let them stare
Maggie’s moving
Like she don’t care
[Chorus]
Maggie, Maggie, twist all night
Maggie, Maggie, feel that life
Free as a spark
Right in your bones
Maggie, Maggie, take me home
(Maggie, Maggie)
[Bridge]
[Stop-time break]
Let the room go quiet
Let her lead the line
Maggie hit that spin
Like she stole some time
Not a bird in a cage
Not a girl in line
Maggie found the moment
And she made it shine
[Final Chorus]
Maggie, Maggie, twist all night
Maggie, Maggie, feel that life
Free as a spark
Right in your bones
Maggie, Maggie, take me home
(Maggie, Maggie)
Maggie, Maggie, twist all night
Maggie, Maggie, feel that life
Wild and pretty
All her own
Maggie, Maggie, take me home
(Maggie, Maggie)