THE FLOOD
Stories have bad endings in my town
So it was hard to know if we would live or drown
Water rushing through our homes like heartache
But I escaped
I escaped.

Rising up from the water like an anchor not thinking
Defying laws of science…surfacing above
The bad people suggested that I reconsider sinking
The good people encouraged me to sing about the flood

Muddy water fighting through the ancient roof
Pots and pans over-flowing
Who would pray for love and who would die for truth?
In times like these, what’s worth knowing?

Children float down streets on make-shift rafts of toys
Parents watch from tents on their roofs
“There’s dry land not far from here,” I scream with all my voice
But they won’t leave until I show proof

Something terrible happened in my town
And it was hard to know why everyone stuck around

It’s been raining now for almost half my life
Most of my loved ones have gone mad
But I find beauty and love in the darkest pools at night
The tragedy requires too much of me to be sad

Rising up from the water like an anchor not thinking
Defying laws of science…surfacing above
Bad people always tell me I should reconsider sinking
But the good people encourage me to sing about the flood

You had your own auditorium
You were my audience of one
I sang you the songs of love
But you never sat close enough

Now you’ve moved up
You stand alone in the front
And the songs I sing
They start to sting
You ask which ones are new
These are the same songs I always do

You never noticed they were all in 6/8
Never suggested a faster pace
You turned your head when the tempo changed
You finally noticed the girl on stage

And you moved up
You stand alone in the front
Hear the songs I sing
They always swing
On the 3 when I’m feeling blue
Which is every time I think of you

1…2…3
2…2…3
Counting time
You had with me

You moved up
You stood alone in the front
To see my lips
Form the words you had missed
Lights come up
Room fills up
Now the songs I sing
Have a different ring
When the crowd is singing too
They know something you never knew
These are the same songs I always do
These are the songs that I wrote for you
They are the same songs I always do

He was raised mean and strong
Working on his daddy’s farm
He was as fine as the day was long
I was born to be on his arm

We rolled through the night
We burned like a church on fire
Everything we did wrong felt right
But I was a child and he was a liar

So I told him to meet me in the bar where we met
I got him drunk and I took him to bed
Once we made love he passed-out right
I put a pillow to his face and I held down tight
I killed my love

I ain’t sayin’ he never made me cry
I ain’t sayin’ he never blacked my eye
But when a man decides to lie with another
That man decides to die

They rolled through the night
I listened at the bottom of the stair
I resolved to make it right
I asked Jesus if he would care

Then I told him to meet me in the bar where we met
I got him drunk and I took him to bed
Once we made love he passed-out right
I put a pillow to his face and I held down tight
I killed my love
I killed my love by candlelight

When it was done I called the law
Weepin’ tears of deepest loss
When they asked how he’d lost his breath
I smiled and said, “I loved that man to death.”

I just told him to meet me in the bar where we met
We both got drunk and we landed in bed
That’s when the evening darkened with fright
God took my love by candlelight
God killed my love
The romance, the flame, they died the night
That God took my love by candlelight
God killed my love
God killed my love by candlelight

Lay me down tonight
We’re all kinds of wrong, let’s make this right
Instead of you killing time and I fighting a pillow fight
I see the best of you when I see less of you…you’re right

Be my valentine
Be my pantomime
Be my sweet caress
Be my emptiness
Be the goal in my bed, be the hole in my head, be mine
All, some, or none of these are fine
It’s your time

Drive me down to the city’s edge
Dip my toes in your waterbed
You said you know what’s best for you and you put a test to time
If it gets ahead of you, let’s catch a view of the coastline

Baby its fine.
I see the best of you when I see less of you…you’re right.
Lay me down tonight.

I can’t make this go away, so I write it down.
I can’t make this go away, so I write it down.

Grampa said it won’t be long
Before the calves are skinny and the food’s all gone
After seven long years of feeling so strong
Never dreamed how things could go so wrong

I can’t make this go away, so I write it down.

Greasy greasy hands are shifting
Toward the one I love–they’re lifting
Pieces pieces of our future
Torn apart and now I’m twisting
Deep within this Kansas wind
Wonder if I’ll see home again
I close my eyes–count to ten
Still the house just spins and spins

I can’t make this go away, so I write it down.
I write it down, ‘cuz its in my head.
I write it down, so I can go to bed.

Even underneath my sutures
Taunted how I knew my features
Haunted now by ghosts and creatures
Good and evil, all are teachers
Born into this, brought up to get through this
Not a pain or pleasure useless
A perfect star, a wiseman’s compass
Shining brightly, I’m above this.

I can’t make this go away, so I write it down.
Good and evil, all are teachers.