MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER
STONES IN THE ROAD
(Columbia CK-64327)
October 4/1994
Produced by John Jennings & Mary Chapin Carpenter
John Jennings - guitar/percussion/bass guitar/organ/vocals
Steuart Smith, Lee Roy Parnell - guitar
J.T. Brown, Don Dixon - bass
Kenny Aronoff, Robbie Magruder - drums/percussion
Stuart Duncan - fiddle/mandolin
Benmont Tench, Matt Rollings - piano/organ
Jon Carroll - piano/accordion
Branford Marsalis - sax
Vocals:
Trisha Yearwood, Paul Brady, Shawn Colvin, Alan O'Bryant, Lucinda Williams, Robin Williams
1.
WHY WALK WHEN YOU CAN FLY
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
In this world there's a whole lot of trouble baby
In this world there's a whole lot of pain
In this world there's a whole lot of trouble
But a whole lot of ground to gain
Why take when you could be givin' why watch as the world goes by
It's a hard enough life to be livin' why walk when you can fly
[ fiddle ]
In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
In this world there's a whole lot of shame
In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
And a whole lot of ground to gain
When you spend you whole life wishin' wantin' and wondering why
It's a long enough life to be livin' why walk when you can fly
[ piano ]
And in this world there's a whole lot of golden
In this world there's a whole lot of plain
In this world you've a soul for a compass
And a heart for a pair of wings
There's a star on the far horizon rising bright in an azure sky
For the rest of the time that you're given why walk when you can fly
**********
2.
HOUSE OF CARDS
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
I grew up in a house like this you knew the groan of every stair
All the walls seemed to listen in all the years seemed to take up air
And when you dreamed it was of the wind blowing cold and hard
And in those dreams you thought you lived in a house of cards
And I grew up in a town like this you knew the names of every street
On the surface it looked so safe but it was perilous underneath
That's the place where you shoved your doubts and hid your ugly scars
God forbid if word got out about your house of cards
And now I feel the wind about to blow baby I'm so scared
We're repeatin' the past instead of letting it go
And I don't want to go back there
[ guitar ]
Now we're standing here face to face afraid to move or else
I want to prop up this fragile place but I can't do it all by myself
Cause when we dream it's of the wind blowing cold and hard
And when we wake up we still live in a house of cards
When we dream it's of the wind blowing cold and hard
And when we wake up we still live in a house of cards
**********
3.
STONES IN THE ROAD
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '93 April Music, ASCAP / Get A Real Job Music, ASCAP »
When we were young we pledged allegiance every morning of our lives
The classroom rang with children's voices under teacher's watchful eye
We learned about the world around us at our desks and at dinner time
Reminded of the starvin' children we cleaned our plates with guilty minds
And the stones in the road they shone like diamonds in the dust
Until a voice called for us to make our way back home
When I was ten my father held me on his shoulders above the crowd
To see a train draped in mourning pass slowly through our town
His widow kneeled with all her children at the sacred burial ground
And TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down
And the stones in the road flew out from our bicycle tires
Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced each other home
[ piano ]
Now we drink our coffee on the run we climb that ladder rung by rung
We are the daughters and the sons and here's the line that's missin'
The starving children have been replaced by souls out on the street
We give a dollar when we pass and hope our eyes don't meet
We pencil in we cancel out we crave the corner suite
We kiss our ass we make you hold we doctor the receipt
And the stones in the road fly out from beneath our wheels
Another day another deal before we get back home
The stones in the road leave a mark from whence they came
A thousand points of light or shame baby I don't know
**********
4.
KEEPER FOR EVERY FLAME
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 April Music, ASCAP / Get A Real Job Music, ASCAP »
She says it's been so long she can't remember when
The mention of his name didn't make her feel again
That everything is possible and every day a brand new start
Yeah love's something powerful when it finds a willing heart
Sometimes it's a fire burning out of control
Sometimes it's a candle burning long and low
All these years she never let it go there's a keeper for every flame
[ guitar ]
There was someone in his past that he hasn't gotten over yet
Each day's like the last he just misses what he can't forget
It's just an empty space where something used to be
Now he guards the gate but he's lost the key
So no one enters but no one leaves there's a keeper for every flame
[ guitar ]
Thought my heart had broken but it was just a little bruised
I thought love had spoken guess I was just confused
Sometimes we were a fire burning out of control
Sometimes we were nothing but a candle glow
But it never died baby and how I know there's a keeper for every flame
**********
5.
TENDER WHEN I WANT TO BE
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
I have a heart that's proud you bet
I have a mind that won't forget
And I have arms that are strong and yet
Tender when they wanna to be
Well you can be the will that finds the way
And you can be the one who saves the day
But show me tender when it's time to say
Exactly how it ought to be
And I never would've known it darlin' if I hadn't known about you
You said everyone can be a rock and roll like a river too
Well something happens when you find someone
Who makes you feel like you can do no wrong
No you don't have to take the whole world on
Just be tender when you want be
Sha la la la la la
[ guitar ]
And I never would have known it babe if I hadn't known about you
You said everyone can be a rock and roll like a river too
So let the waters carry us away
Wave goodbye to the old parade
Baby when we're unafraid to be tender when we wanna be
All the waters wash our cares away
All that we can see are better days
Don't ever let me hesitate to be tender when I wanna be
Sha la la la la la sha la la la la la sha la la la la
**********
6.
SHUT UP AND KISS ME
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
Don't mean to get a little forward with you
Don't mean to get ahead of where we are
Don't mean to act a little nervous around you
I'm just a little nervous about my heart
Cause it's been awhile since I felt this feeling
That everything that you do gives me
It's been so long since somebody whispered ooh shut up and kiss me
Didn't expect to be in this position
Didn't expect to have to rise above
My reputation for cynicism
I've been a jaded lady when it comes to love
Oh baby just to feel this feeling that everything that you do gives me
It's been too long since somebody whispered ooh shut up and kiss me
There's somethin' bout the silent type attracting me to you
All business baby none of the hype that no talker can live up to
[ guitar - piano ]
Come closer baby I can't hear you
Just another whisper if you please
Don't worry bout the details darling
You've got the kind of mind I love to read
Talk is cheap and baby time's expensive
so why waste another minute more
Life's too short to be so apprehensive
love's as much the symptom darling as the cure
Oh baby when I feel this feeling it's like genuine voodoo hits me
It's been too long since somebody whispered ooh
Oh baby I can feel this feeling that everything that you do gives me
It's been so long since somebody whispered ooh shut up and kiss me
Shut up and kiss me
**********
7.
LAST WORD
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
You can have it I don't want it and when you've got it I'll be gone
It won't matter what you're saying when the damage has all been done
Can't seem to keep the faith as if that's all I need to do
I'd rather walk away than take what belongs to you
You can have it I don't want it...
Some words will cut you down like you were only in the way
Why should I stand this ground it won't hurt as much to say
You can have it I don't want it...
Sometimes we're blinded by the very thing we need to see
I finally realized that you need it more than you need me
You can have it I don't want it...
The damage has all been done
**********
8.
END OF MY PIRATE DAYS
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 April Music, ASCAP / Get A Real Job Music, ASCAP »
The night is soft and silent new moon at my door
There's nothing near as quiet as the light I'm looking for
Last time that it appeared he way lying next to me
Last time I felt his near to whispered ecstasy
And those who need adventure they can sail the seven seas
And those who search for treasure they must live on grander dream
We rose and fell just like the tides he filled my heart and soul and I
Buried all my dreams for someone else to find in my pirate days
[ piano ]
This would is kinder to the kind that won't look back
They are the chosen few among us now unbowed somehow
And one day he turned to me and before I took one breath
I knew I would only see his shadow in what light was left
And those who need adventure they can sail the seven seas
And those who search for treasure they must live on grander dreams
And if I've seen his face since then it's only been in dreams my friend
Since I came to the end of my pirate days
And if I've called his name since then it's only been in dreams my friend
And so I came to the end of my pirate days
**********
9.
JOHN DOE NO. 24
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
I was standing on this sidewalk in 1945 in Jacksonville Illinois
When asked what my name was there came no reply
They said I was a deaf and sightless half-wit boy
But Lewis was my name though I could not say it
I was born and raised in New Orleans
My spirit was wild so I let the river take it
On a barge and a prayer upstream
They searched for a mother and they searched for a father
And they searched till they searched no more
The doctors put to rest their scientific test
And they named me John Doe No 24
And they all shook their heads in pity
For a world so silent and dark
Well there's no doubt that life's a myst'ry
But so too is the human heart
It was my heart's own perfume
When the crape jasmine bloomed on St Charles Avenue
Though I couldn't hear the bells of the streetcars coming
By toeing the track I knew
And if I were an old man returning with my satchel and pork pie hat
I'd hit every jazz joint on Bourbon and I'd hit every one on Basin after that
[ sax ]
The years kept passing as they passed me around
From one state ward to another
Like I was an orphaned shoe from the lost and found
Always missing the other
They gave me a harp last Christmas and all the nurses took a dance
Lately I've been growing listless I been dreaming again of the past
I'm wandering down to the banks of the Great Big Muddy
Where the shotgun houses stand
I am seven years old and I feel my daddy reach out for my hand
While I drew breath no one missed me so they won't on the day that I cease
Put a sprig of crape jasmine with me to remind me of New Orleans
I was standing on this sidewalk in 1945 in Jacksonville Illinois
**********
10.
JUBILEE
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
I can tell by the way you're walking and you don't want company
I'll let you alone and I'll let you walk on and in your own good time you'll be
Back where the sun can find you under the wise wishing tree
And with all of them made we'll lie under the shade and call it a jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're talking that the past isn't letting you go
There's only so long you can take it all on and then the wrongs gotta be on its own
And when you're ready to leave it behind you you'll look back and all that you'll see
Is the wreckage and rust that you left in the dust on your way to the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're listening that you're still expecting to hear
Your name being called like a summons to all
Who have failed to account for their doubts and their fears
they can't add up to to much without you and so if it were up to me
I'd take hold of your hand saying come hear the band play your song at the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're searching for something you can't even name
That you haven't been able to come to the table simply glad that you came
When you feel like this try to imagine that we're all like frail boats on the sea
Just scanning the night for that great guiding light announcing the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're standing with your eyes filling with tears
That it's habit alone that keeps you turning for home
Even though your home is right here
Where the people who love you are gathered under the wise wishing tree
May we all be considered then straight on delivered down to the jubilee
Cause to people who love you are waiting and they'll wait just as long as need be
When we look back and say those were halcyon days we're talking bout jubilee
**********
11.
OUTSIDE LOOKIN' IN
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
Everywhere I see the signs pointing one direction
No more twists or crooked turns leaving room for doubt
Where I used to take the time for quiet and reflection
Now I only hear the noise of what I am without
I see them walking hand in hand and my eyes just want to linger
On those golden wedding bands wrapped around their fingers
By the time I turn away I feel it once again
I'm back in this familiar place outside looking in
Baby all the tears between us couldn't fill the spaces
And all the words we grasped at they just fell away
I kept waiting on forgiveness to fix the broken places
But nothing even like it ever came my way
And tonight I drove around and the street came up before me
I took a turn and then I found this old house coming toward me
I heard the sound a heart must make when a mem'ry's caving in
Oh baby what a hungry place outside looking in
It's the hardest kind of need that never knows a reason
Are we such a lonely breed or just born in a lonely season
Baby it's all in the eyes it's where the reckoning begins
It's where we linger like a sigh it's where we long to be pulled in
It's where we learn to say goodbye without saying anything
Just standing on the borderlines outside looking in
**********
12.
WHERE TIME STANDS STILL
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
Baby where's that place where time stands still
I remember like a lover can but I forget it like a leaver will
It's no place you can get to by yourself
You've got to love someone and they love you time will stop for nothing else
And memory plays tricks on us the more we cling the less we trust
And the less we trust the more we hurt and as time goes on it just gets worse
So baby where's that place where time stood still
It is under glass inside a frame was it over when you had your fill
[ piano ]
And here we are with nothing but this emptiness inside of us
Your smile a fitting final gesture wish I could have loved you better
Baby where's that place where time stands still
I remember like a lover can but I forget it like a leaver will
It's the first time that you held my hand
It's the smell and the taste and the fear and the thrill
It's everything I understand and all the things I never will
**********
13.
THIS IS LOVE
(Mary Chapin Carpenter)
« © '94 Why Walk Music, ASCAP »
If you ever need to hear a voice in the middle of the night
When it seems so black outside that you can't remember light
Ever shone on you or the ones you love in this or another lifetime
And the voice you need to hear is the true and the trusted kind
With a soft familiar rhythm in these swirling unsure times
When the waves are lapping in and you're not sure you can swim
Well here's the lifeline
If you ever need to feel a hand take up your own
When you least expect but want it more than you've ever known
Baby here's that hand and baby here's my voice that's calling
This is love all it ever was and will be this is love
And if you ever need some proof that time can heal your wounds
Just step inside my heart and walk around these rooms
Where the shadows used to be you can feel as well as see how peace con hover
Now time's been here to fix what's broken with its power
The love that smashed us both to bits spent its last few hours
Calling out your name I thought this is the kind of pain from which we don't recover
But I'm standing here now with my heart held out to you
You would've thought a miracle was all that got us through
Well baby all I know all I know is I'm still standing
And this is love all it ever was and will be this is love
This is love standing up for you baby standing up for me
And I see you still and there's this catch in my throat
And I just swallow hard till it leaves me
There's nothing in this world that can change what we know
Still I know I am here if you ever need me and this is love
[ guitar ]
If you ever think of me let it be around twilight
When the world has settled down and the last round of sunlight
Is waning in the sky as you sit and watch the night descending
A car will pass out front with lovers at the wheel
A dog will bark out back and children's voices peal
Over and under the air you've been there lost in the remembering
And if you ever wish for things that are only in the past
Just remember that the wrong things aren't supposed to last
Babe it's over and done and the rest is gonna come when you let it
And this is love all that it ever was and will be
This is love when you let it if you let it now
This is love all it ever was and can be this is love
**********