Mary Chapin Carpenter Album

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

When I spoke what was on my mind
I wasn't thinking of your heart
I wasn't thinking bout the things I said
That landed us so far apart
And now my world is ending baby
With a chance remark
No, you can't take love for granted

You look at me with your wounded eyes
And I look back with fear
There used to be such faith between us, now, darlin'
Now it's just not here
And the door was slammed hours ago
But it's still ringing in my ears
No, you can't take love for granted

It was a funny way to show I love you
A funny way to care
It's a funny thing to be without you
As empty as your stare

You can't take love for granted
It's got its own free will
It's got a mind of its own when it wants one, baby
And looks that can kill
One day you're in heaven darling
The next you feel like hell
No, you can't take love for granted

You can speak what's on your mind
If you've got a gambler's heart
You can be the truth incarnate
You can shoot straight in the dark
You can pull the moon down baby
With a lasso made of stars
But no, you can't take love for granted
No, you can't take love for granted no
Baby, don't take love for granted

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

I'm looking for a strong and steady heart
For a love that won't fall apart
At the first sign of trouble, near or far
I'm looking through eyes that have shed some tears
And I'm looking for that one who's gonna face my fears
Without thinking he must erase each scar

I'm gonna find you baby, wherever you are
Wherever you are love won't leave you stranded
Wherever you are love won't let you hide
Wherever you are, one of these days
We'll be walking side by side
All it takes is some time and destiny
A little courage for those days when all we see
Is a cold lonely rain coming down hard

I'm gonna find you baby, wherever you are
Wherever you are love won't leave you stranded
Wherever you are love won't let you hide
Wherever you are, one of these days
We'll be walking side by side
I'm looking for a love that's meant for me
I can't be bothered with some wannabe
Just like the light from heaven's stars
I'm gonna find you
I'm gonna find you
I'm gonna find you
I'm gonna find you baby, wherever you are

(Mary-Chapin Carpenter)

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Gonna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Well I never have wandered down to New Orleans
Never have drifted down a bayou stream
But I heard that music on the radio
And I swore some day I was gonna go
Down Highway 10 past Lafayette
To Baton Rouge and I won't forget
To send you a card with my regrets
'Cause I'm never gonna come back home

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Gonna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

They got a alligator stew and a crawfish pie
A golf storm blowin' into town tonight
Livin on the delta's quite a show
They got hurricane parties every time it blows
And here up north it's a cold cold rain
And there ain't no cure for my blues today
Except when the paper says: Beausoleil is coming into town
Baby let's go down

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Gonna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Bring your mama, bring your papa, bring your sister too
They got lots of music and lots of room
When they play you a waltz from 1910
You gonna feel a little bit young again
Well you learned to dance with your rock'n'roll
You learned to swing with a do-si-do
But you learn to love at the fais-so-do
When you hear a little Jolie Blon

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Gonna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

(Mary-Chapin Carpenter/Don Schlitz)

Well I woke up this morning stumbled out of my rack
I opened up the paper to the page in the back
It only took a minute for my finger to find
My daily dose of destiny, under my sign
My eyes just about popped out of my head
It said "the stars are stacked against you girl, get back in bed"

I feel lucky, I feel lucky, yeah
No Professor Doom gonna stand in my way
Mmmmm, I feel lucky today

Well I strolled down to the corner, gave my numbers to the clerk
The pot's eleven million so I called in sick to work
I bought a pack of Camels, a burrito and a Barq's
Crossed against the light, made a beeline for the park
The sky began to thunder, wind began to moan
I heard a voice above me saying, "girl, you better get back home"

But I feel lucky, oh oh oh, I feel lucky, yeah
No tropical depression gonna steal my sun away
Mmmmm, I feel lucky today

Now eleven million later, I was sitting at the bar
I'd bought the house a double, and the waitress a new car
Dwight Yoakam's in the corner, trying to catch my eye
Lyle Lovett's right beside me with his hand upon my thigh
The moral of this story, it's simple but it's true
Hey the stars might lie, but the numbers never do

I feel lucky, oh oh oh, I feel lucky, yeah
Hey Dwight, hey Lyle, boys, you don't have to fight
Hot dog, I'm feeling lucky tonight

I feel lucky, brrrrr, I feel lucky, yeah
Think I'll flip a coin, I'm a winner either way
Mmmmmm, I feel lucky today

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Sun goes down and says goodnight
Pull your covers up real tight
By your bed we'll leave a light
To guide you off to dreamland
Your pillows soft your bed is warm
Your eyes are tired when day is done
One more kiss and you'll be gone
On your way to dreamland
Every sleepy boy and girl
In every bed around the world
Can hear the stars up in the sky
Whispering a lullaby
Who knows where you'll fly away
Winging passed the light of day
The man in the moon and the milky way
Welcome you to dreamland
Every sleepy boy and girl
In every bed around the world
Can hear the stars up in the sky
Whispering a lullaby
Who knows where you'll fly away
Winging passed the light of day
The man in the moon and the milky way
Welcome you to dreamland

(Lucinda Williams)

Is it too much to ask
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Is it too much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band
Pens that won't run out of ink
And cool quiet and time to think
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Do I want too much
Am I going overboard to want that touch
I shout it out to the night
"Give me what I deserve, 'cause it's my right"
Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)
Shouldn't I have this (shouldn't I)
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa oh oh
Passionate kisses from you

(Robb Royer/Roger Linn)

Hey baby tell me what we're gonna do
It's getting crazy and I need some help from you
We were so connected that you were a part of me
Now I feel an emptiness right to the heart of me

But you pretend and I pretend
That everything is fine
And though we should be at an end
It's so hard admittin'
When it's quittin' time

Hey baby I'm running out of things to say
Please don't hate me this feeling just won't go away
Now we're spending all our time caught in a fantasy
Just trying to keep in mind the way it used to be

But you pretend and I pretend
That everything is fine
And though we should be at an end
It's so hard admittin'
When it's quittin' time

But you pretend and I pretend
That everything is fine
And though we should be at an end
It's so hard admittin'
When it's quittin' time

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

This shirt is old and faded
All the color's washed away
I've had it now for more damn years
Than I can count anyway
I wear it beneath my jacket
With the collar turned up high
So old I should replace it
But I'm not about to try

This shirt's got silver buttons
And a place upon the sleeve
Where I used to set my heart up
Right there anyone could see
This shirt is the one I wore to every boring high school dance
Where the boys ignored the girls
And we all pretended to like the band

This shirt was a pillow for my head
On a train through Italy
This shirt was a blanket beneath the love
We made in Argeles
This shirt was lost for three whole days
In a town near Buffalo
'Till I found the locker key
In a downtown Trailways bus depot

This shirt was the one I lent you
And when you gave it back
There was a rip inside the sleeve
Where you rolled your cigarettes
It was the place I put my heart
Now look at where you put a tear
I forgave your thoughtlessness
But not the boy who put it there

This shirt was the place your cat
Decided to give birth to five
And we stayed up all night watching
And we wept when the last one died
This shirt is just an old faded piece of cotton
Shining like the memories
Inside those silver buttons

This shirt is a grand old relic
With a grand old history
I wear it now for Sunday chores
Cleaning house and raking leaves
I wear it beneath my jacket
With the collar turned up high
So old I should replace it
But I'm not about to try

(John Lennon)

Grow old along with me
The best is yet to be
When our time has come
We will be as one
God bless our love
God bless our love
Grow old along with me
Two branches of one tree
Face the setting sun
When the day is done
God bless our love
God bless our love
Spending our lives together
Man and wife together
World without end
World without end
Grow old along with me
Whatever fate decrees
We will see it through
For our love is true
God bless our love
God bless our love

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Don Schlitz)

She makes his coffee, she makes his bed
She does the laundry, she keeps him fed
When she was twenty-one she wore her mother's lace
She said "forever" with a smile upon her face
She does the car-pool, she PTAs
Doctors and dentists, she drives all day
When she was twenty-nine she delivered number three
And every Christmas card showed a perfect family
Everything runs right on time, years of practice and design
Spit and polish till it shines. He thinks he'll keep her
Everything is so benign, safest place you'll ever find
God forbid you change your mind. He thinks he'll keep her
She packs his suitcase, she sits and waits
With no expression upon her face
When she was thirty-six she met him at their door
She said I'm sorry, I don't love you anymore
Everything runs right on time, years of practice and design
Spit and polish till it shines. He thinks he'll keep her
Everything is so benign, safest place you'll ever find
God forbid you change your mind. He thinks he'll keep her
For fifteen years she had a job and not one raise in pay
Now she's in the typing pool at minimum wage
Everything runs right on time, years of practice and design
Spit and polish till it shines. He thinks he'll keep her
Everything is so benign, safest place you'll ever find
At least until you change your mind. He thinks he'll keep her

(Mary-Chapin Carpenter/Don Schlitz)

I took a walk in the rain one day on the wrong side of the tracks
I stood on the rails till I saw that train
Just to see how my heart would react
Now some people say that you shouldn't tempt fate
And for them I would not disagree
But I never learned nothing from playing it safe
I say fate should not tempt me

I take my chances, I don't mind working without a net
I take my chances, I take my chances every chance I get

I sat alone in the dark one night, tuning in by remote
I found a preacher who spoke of the light but there was brimstone in his throat
He'd show me the way according to him in return for my personal check
I flipped my channel back to CNN and I lit another cigarette

I take my chances, forgiveness doesn't come with a debt
I take my chances, I take my chances every chance I get

I've crossed lines of words and wire and both have cut me deep
I've been frozen out and I've been on fire and the tears are mine to weep
Now I can cry until I laugh and laugh until I cry
So cut the deck right in half, I'll play from either side

I take my chances, I pay my dollar and I place my bet
I take my chances, I take my chances every chance I get
I take my chances, I don't cling to remorse or regret
I take my chances, I take my chances every chance I get
I take my chances

I take my chances

(Mary-Chapin Carpenter)

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
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 but
Oh baby just to feel this feeling that everything that you do gives me
It's been too long since somebody whispered
Shut up and kiss me

There's something about the silent type attracting me to you
All business baby none of the hype
That no talker can live up to

Come closer baby I can't hear you, just another whisper if you please
Don't worry 'bout the details darlin', 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 darlin' 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...
Oh baby I can feel this feeling that everything that you do gives me
It's been too long since somebody whispered
Shut up and kiss me
Shut up and kiss me

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Show a little inspiration, show a little spark
And show that things that drew me to you and stole my heart
And tell me something I don't know instead of everything I do
And look at me as if I mean something to you
Our hearts are beating while we sleep, but while we're wide awake
You know the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, and what your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard way

Show a little passion, baby, show a little style
And show the knack for knowing when and the gift for knowing how
And have a little trust in us when fear obscures the path
You know we got this far, darling, not by luck, but by never turning back
Some will call on destiny, but I just call on faith
That the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, to what your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard way

Caught up in our little lives, there's not a lot left over
I see what's missing in your eyes; you're searching for that field of clover
So show a little inspiration, show a little spark
Show the world a little light when you show it your heart
We've got two lives, one we're given and the other one we make
And the world won't stop, and actions speak louder
Listen to your heart, and your heart might say
Everything we got, we got the hard (everything we got, we got the hard way)
Everything we got, we got the hard way
(Because the world won't stop) hang on, baby...

(Traditional)

Fare thee well
My own true love
Farewell for a while
I'm going away
But I'll be back
Though I go 10,000 miles

10,000 miles
My own true love
10,000 miles or more
The rocks may melt
And the seas may burn
If I should not return

Oh don't you see
That lonesome dove
Sitting on an ivy tree
She's weeping for
Her own true love
As I shall weep for mine

Oh come ye back
My own true love
And stay a while with me
If I had a friend
All on this earth
You've been a friend to me

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

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 dinnertime
Reminded of the starving children, we cleaned our plates with guilty minds
And the stones in the road shone like diamonds in the dust
And then a voice called to 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 their children at the sacred burial ground
And the TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down

And the stones in the road flew out beneath our bicycle tires
Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced each other home

And 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 missing

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 your 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

And the stones in the road leave a mark from whence they came
A thousand points of light or shame, baby, I don't know

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Beth Nielson Chapman/Annie Roboff)

I saw my life this morning
Lying at the bottom of a drawer
All this stuff I'm saving
God knows what this junk is for
And whatever I believed in
This is all I have to show
What the hell were all reasons
For holding on for such dear life
Here's where I let go

I'm not running
I'm not hiding
I'm not reaching
I'm just resting in the arms of the great wide open
Gonna pull my soul in
And I'm almost home

I saw you this morning
You were looking straight at me
From an ancient photograph
Stuck between letters and some keys
I was lost just for a moment
In the ache of old goodbyes
Sometimes all that we can know is
There's no such thing as no regrets
Baby it's all right

I'm not running
I'm not hiding
I'm not reaching
I'm just resting in the arms of the great wide open
Gonna pull my soul in
And I'm almost home
There's no such thing as no regrets
But baby it's alright
I'm not running
I'm not hiding
I'm not reaching
I'm just resting in the arms of the great wide open
Gonna pull my soul in
And I'm almost home

(Mick Jagger)

You used to be my party doll
But now you say the party's over
You used to love to honky tonk
But now the honky tonkin's over
Now my life is a bitter thing my sweet
Now life is a mystery to me
Love's pain I ain't buying
Love's strange but I'll keep trying
You used to be my party doll
But now you to live in clover
You used to be my number one
But now those salad days are over
Times change but the fascination stays
Love wins but the passion just fades
I'll drink to those dancin' days
I'll drink to your crazy ways
Through a whisky haze
Face the music, face the truth
Chases that fleet sweet bird of youth
Grow up sweetly, grow up strong
Hear the heartbeat in my song
Now my life is a bitter thing my sweet
Now life is a mystery to me
Love's pain I ain't buying
Love's strange but I'll keep trying
You used to be my party doll
But now you say the party's over
You used to love to honky tonk
But now the honky tonkin's over
You used to be my number one
But now you've vanished in the ozone