Lyrics

LYRICS TO MUSCLE MEMORIES 2010

1. Buildings Like Boxes

Lost under trees lining roads that all look so alike;
We tossed out our maps of the town when the stars moved around
We roll past the winding wires of the railroad boundary
While birds fly in circles and patterns above our heads

Taking our time at the mountain top staring below
Buildings like boxes all waiting to be taken away
We start to cool down but we’re trapped by our own conversation
The longer we sit there the more I don’t want to get up

2. Lonely Heart

It’s a lonely heart that would jump at the chance
To sink so low, to sink so low.

The ocean floor was a long way down but the
Engine roar was fading fast into the background
I swam all night down a vertical line. Out of
Sight, I’m gone like you. I just had to leave this time.

It took me down, I can’t just shake it off.
It took me down, I can’t just shake it off.
And in the break you’ll see me sinking down.
And in the break you’ll see me sinking down.

My vision’s blurred, my skin soaked through.
My brain keeps playing the sad songs we’d listen to.
I pressed repeat and I moved in half time, blocking
Out all thoughts of what you’d say to me and why.

It took me down, I can’t just shake it off.
It took me down, I can’t just shake it off.
And in the break you’ll see me sinking down.
And in the break you’ll see me sinking down.

It’s a lonely heart that would jump at the chance
To sink so low, to sink so low.

4. Keeping it Quiet

They sat alone in the ever spinning room
They ran a flat line, ran out of things to do
Out in the cold they kept their voices down
Out on the streets they didn’t hear a sound

They had it right
Keeping clever was easy
Before they changed their breathing

Back at the house he cleaned up the mess they’d made
He could tell she was getting ready to fade
She turned the lights off, she turned the radio on
She turned her phone off, two minutes later they were gone.

They had it right
Keeping clever was easy
Before they changed their breathing

They ran hard underground through the dark
Keeping it quiet, keeping the noise down
But the thunder storm was right behind.
They ran hard underground through the dark
Too lost to be smart and too gone to pretend
So the thunder storm caught up in time.
They ran hard underground through the dark
Keeping it quiet, keeping the noise down
But the thunder storm was right behind.
They ran hard underground through the dark
Too lost to be smart and too gone to pretend
So the thunder storm caught up in time.

5. Carousels

An open road through your heart
You’re spread so thin, you fall apart
Time to let down your guard
It’s time to drown out the crowd

You put yourself into a hole
You wonder if you could do more
You winder if you should do more
You never finish what you start
You’ve never felt so unsure

But when the full moon settles over your head
And the reasons stop making sense
Once the epiphanies come, they start to fade
And you’re back to where you started

Caught in a sea of loose ends
Tied them into knots and then
Stuck your eggs in one basket
And dropped them over the ledge
Sunk to the bottom of a lake

But when the full moon settles over your head
And the reasons stop making sense
Once the epiphanies come, they start to fade
And you’re back to where you started
And you’re back to where you started

You thought you knew so well
So you ride this carousel
The scenery starts to blur
What once was so clear
You thought by standing still
You’d never play the fool
You take a closer look
Nothing is how it appears

You close the road through your heart
You’re packed so tight the gun goes off
Walking off a false start
Following muscle memory

But when the full moon settles over your head
And the reasons stop making sense
Once the epiphanies come, they start to fade
And you’re back to where you started
And you’re back to where you started
Oh when you’re back to where you started

6. Function Under This

You were looking out the window at the lights on the hill.
You were sorting out their purpose while the traffic stood still.
And I didn’t know where we were at the time.
No we didn’t know where we were at the time.

We crossed the border, we ignored the sign.
We crossed the border, and we crossed the line.

I was tripping down the road and you grabbed me by the side.
I was learning how to function under this and I tried
To lie to you, but I told you everything.
I tried to lie to you, but I told you everything.

We crossed the border, we ignored the sign.
We crossed the border, and we crossed the line.
We crossed the border, we ignored the sign.
We crossed the border, and we crossed the line.

You were looking out the window at the lights on the hill.
You were sorting out their purpose while the traffic stood still.
And I didn’t know where we were at the time.
No we didn’t know where we were at the time.

7. Habits

I could try to break up this stare
I could try to stop my delay
I could try to get off this chair
But I don’t know how to blink and walk away

You will try to get in my brain
You will ask me if I’m okay
You will try to drag me away
But I won’t know how to blink and walk away

It’s a habit of mine to lose my head
It’s a habit of mine to forget what you said
I will find a reason to obsess
I will find a reason to obsess
It’s a habit of mine to let you fade
It’s a habit of mine to make that trade
I will find a reason to obsess
I will find a reason to obsess

It’s a habit of mine to lose my head
It’s a habit of mine to forget what you said
I will find a reason to obsess
I will find a reason to obsess
It’s a habit of mine to let you fade
It’s a habit of mine to make that trade
I will find a reason to obsess
I will find a reason to obsess

I could try to break up this stare
I could try to stop my delay
I could try to get off this chair
But I don’t know how to blink and walk away

8. Always On Time

You grabbed my arm by mistake
Thought I was someone from your past
You apologize three times and say
How cruel for life to send me a familiar
So late in the game
Too late to make amends

I run after you, ask what you’d say to her if you could, if she were me
Pretend I’m her, and say what you will,
it might make you feel, lighter.

And what you said was, you’re the only who knew me,
who knew me.

We sit in the park on a bench,
Two strangers turned facing the lake
Replaying the best moments in your life
And how it feels like
You were never there
At the same time
At the same time

You were always on time
And I was ten minutes late
You were always on time
And I was ten minutes late
What would you have done with all those minutes
When you were always waiting on me

You offer up advice, You tell me three times
“There’s no such thing as destiny
But the one you make, make your own path, Try to see what’s in front of you,
But don’t watch the clock,
Don’t be like me
Don’t be in a hurry
Don’t be afraid
So strange to see
A familiar face
And then she walked away

9. Watch Your Tongue

Without warning the night turned around. Face up and back to the ground.
It was strange how the words echoed through that room I shared with you.
The walls won’t say a word but I know the things they heard
The air gives knowing glances while I’m staring at your absence here

Watch your tongue. It’s sharper than you had anticipated
Watch your tongue, watch your tongue.
Since when am I articulate? You should know better.
Since when am I articulate? I thought you knew me better.

All the clocks stopped and our dialogue was burning in my ears
Then it crawled down into my tiny veins and made our status so unclear.
The walls won’t say a word but I know the things they heard
The air gives knowing glances while I’m staring at your absence here

Watch your tongue. It’s sharper than you had anticipated
Watch your tongue, watch your tongue.
Since when am I articulate? You should know better.
Since when am I articulate? I thought you knew me better.

You’ve been dragged chains for so long now, for so long now
But you are not as at fault as you feel
You unlinked a chain for your sake and now, for your sake and now
You are not as at fault as you feel
You are not as at fault as you feel

10. Stacking Up Bricks

I can understand the caution you take
When people tend to bend while you break.
I can understand the walls you’ve built
When cuts that won’t heal start to kill.

You’re stacking up bricks and watching your back.
You’re stacking up bricks and watching your back.

You’ve made it clear… You’ve been hurt before.
Don’t think I don’t care that you’ve been hurt before.

You tend to hesitate and I know why
You can’t afford to fall one more time.
I’ve learned to deal with your reserve
It takes a little time, it takes more work.

You’re stacking up bricks and watching your back.
You’re stacking up bricks and watching your back.

You’ve made it clear… you’ve been hurt before.
Don’t think I don’t care that you’ve been hurt before.
You’ve made it clear… you’ve been hurt before.

I try to keep in mind that you’ve got a fragile soul.
I try to keep in mind that you’ve got a fragile soul.

11. Emma
To my immediate right there is a tepid cup
Of caffeine free tea
There are voices soaring cacophonous, orbiting around me
The smell is dryer sheets, and wafts of self awareness
The touch is nothing worth mentioning

No I did not have a lovely Christmas
As I wished for you and for myself
I spent a lot of time thinking and
That is usually my slippery-est slope
So I slide down it
So I slide down it
So I slide down it

You said amazing things to me today
That kept me from the water
You said amazing things without meaning to
That made last nights epicenter
Less vague (4x)

I’ve been thinking about you and boundaries And wild animal attacks all day
While waiting for the snow to make up its mind
I picked a place to just stay and pare away
Everything I saw made you more beautiful for me
Those lifetimes so soft
And its almost too hot to open my eyes
But I’ll be falling asleep with ease tonight.

For you Emma
And these things and what was
It is, and will be, there somewhere,
somewhere

Somewhere in the background
Singing me to sleep
Somewhere in the background
Singing me to sleep
Somewhere in the background
Singing me to sleep
I miss something I may not have met
I miss many things separated
But I miss most of all
I miss most of all
Most of all I miss,
I miss
I miss
I miss

12. Their Lips Move

You come to this every year in winter
Staring at the wings of your machine.
You over pack and yet somehow
Manage to forget something at home.

I have reason to be worried right now
For some reason I’m not worried right now

The floor shakes and folding tables fall out of place
And I saw the ground below me falling further away
I don’t care so much,
I’m coming to see you.
Their heads turn, their lips move as we start to sway
And I didn’t hear a word the pilot said to the plane
I don’t care so much
I’m coming to see you

I come to this every year in summer
Staring at the jets of my machine.
I under pack and will end up using
Everything labeled as yours.

I have reason to be worried right now
For some reason I’m not worried right now

The floor shakes and folding tables fall out of place
And I saw the ground below me falling further away
I don’t care so much,
I’m coming to see you.
Their heads turn, their lips move as we start to sway
And I didn’t hear a word the pilot said to the plane
I don’t care so much
I’m coming to see you

13.  Last Page First

Thanks for coming over, Thanks for your shoulder
Things haven’t been, going so well of late
I’m losing count of, the months they just pass on
Keeping the lights down, close to my bed
But I didn’t see, this turning into
A one time thing, to keep coming back to

Unsure and fading, my hands still trembling
Counting all the moments, that I let pass
You didn’t notice, How I kept my distance
Moving further, back in line

When you divide your heart into thirds
You’re saving one piece, but that’s not how it works

You were so right, you were so right
I couldn’t seem to get it right
You hold on so tight
You hold on so tight
But when you let go, I’ll be gone at first light

Curled up with your favorite book,
You always read, the last page first
You always know, just how this ends
You know, just how this will end.