Mary Chapin Carpenter Album

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Gary Burr)

Whenever you're ready
I've got the car and the engine running
It's such a bore when you know what's coming all the time
Whenever you're ready
To slam the door 'til the hinges fly
Trace an arc cross the big blue sky
It's always gonna be hard
To take things a little to far

Na na na na, c'mon baby
Na na na na, yeah it's crazy
Na na na na, I'll be waiting whenever you're ready
Whenever you're ready

Whenever you're ready
To light a match and to burn some bridges
Try to dance on a narrow ledge that's way too high
Whenever you're ready
To give it up or to just give in
The more you lose hell the more you win
In spite of all of your plans
It's always been out of your hands

Na na na na, c'mon baby
Na na na na, yeah it's crazy
Na na na na, I'll be waiting whenever you're ready
Whenever you're ready

It's always gonna be hard to take things a little too far

Na na na na, c'mon baby
Na na na na, yeah it's crazy
Na na na na, I'll be waiting whenever you're ready
Whenever you're ready

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

You're making lists today of all the things you haven't done yet
You're driving everyone crazy, are you having any fun yet
Mother says you oughta get married
Shrink says here's a little blue pill
Too young for your mid-life crisis
Mirror says you're over the hill

There's nothing wrong with you
The simple life gets complicated
There's nothing you can do, just enjoy the view be glad you made it

You're making resolutions and it isn't even New Year's
You could try a new religion, you could wait until the dust clears
Friends say you're way too choosy
Shrink says see you next week
Guru says control your breathing
You're afraid you might have peaked

There's nothing wrong with you
The simple life gets complicated
There's nothing you can do, just enjoy the view be glad you made it

Cuz things could be better, cuz things could be worse
Cuz life can be charmed and cursed
There's fast, slow and stall, no reverse

There's nothing wrong with you
The simple life gets complicated
There's nothing you can do, just enjoy the view be glad you made it

There's nothing wrong with you
The simple life gets complicated
There's nothing you can do, just enjoy the view be glad you made it

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Kim Richey)

I am waiting with a ticket with a carry-on
People everywhere on their way, at a run
Then I see you from a distance
Light years later at fate's insistence

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

You are standing by the pay phones, by the stairs
I walk straight into your arms and you hold me there
I am falling slowly backwards
Right into your famous last words

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

All this ancient history, every unsolved mystery
Years I've carried with me, vanish when you kiss me

Old wounds, sad scenes, love lost, bad dreams
Heartache, old scars, old walls, these are
Swept away, swept away, swept away

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Don't want to need the way I need you
Don't want to feel like this
Holding back all the words but not the kiss
For the moment my heart begins to murmur
The moment of truth arrives
And I know you'll shake your head and say goodbye

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

Don't want to fear the way I fear you'll
Hurt me because you can
I never believed I'd crave that kind of man
I've seen the trail of hearts you've broken
I've seen the traps you lay
And if I had the strength I'd run without delay

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

It's dark and getting colder and I'm the beholder
And you're all I long to see

Don't want to love the way I love you...

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

I know the price of this to me
I'll light the candle that shines on you
I'll be a slave to the beauty but not the truth

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Gary Burr)

It's all I hate but oh so tempting
Fills me up but leaves me empty
It's all regrets and second chances
What's the point of backward glances
That lead me nowhere
I can't go back there

Everything is so uncertain
All happening to you in a whirl
That's the beauty and the hurting
Of living in a maybe world

Who can stand all those should haves
They wake us up and make us feel bad
The famous road will stay untaken
All mistakes are worth making
Go back to sleep now
It all works out somehow

Everything is so uncertain
All happening to you in a whirl
That's the beauty and the hurting
Of living in a maybe world

I'm sorry for the rain that broke the dam that caused the flood
I'm sorry for the pain but that's the way it is because

Everything is so uncertain
All happening to you in a whirl
That's the beauty and the hurting
Of living in a maybe world

Everything is so uncertain
All the garbage baby and the pearls
That's the beauty and the hurting
Of living in a maybe world

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/Gary Burr)

What was it like
How did it feel
It's so hard to tell if it was real
I know I was there but with every day
It slips away
And I feel like a passing glance that you never gave a chance
Baby that's not right
What was it like

What did you say
What did I hear
When did it start to disappear
I know you were there
You know that too
What did we do
'Cause I feel like a big mistake that you managed to not quite make
And just walk away
What did you say

Guess I've waited long enough hoping it might be something
Other than what it was

You took something that felt so good
And crushed it because you could
One summer night
What was it like
What was it like
What was it like

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

He wants to own your heart
He already owns your soul
No matter what you do
He's always in control
And when he calls your name you have to follow
Like moths into a flame, no fear or sorrow will fall upon you
You belong to the King of Love

He wants to know your thoughts
He already knows your mind
No matter where you are
You're someone he'll always find
His very mention brings the slightest shudder
Deep inside you know there is no other as skilled and tender
Just surrender to the King of Love

But when the night falls down, he will not wear a crown
No jewels upon his hands, he is just a man

He wants to rule your world
He already rules your dreams
No matter what you want
He'll never make you Queen
Still when he calls your name you have to answer
And when his music plays you are a dancer for him the only
Never lonely, King of Love
For him the only, never lonely, King of Love

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/John Jennings)

This is your voice of reason
This is your voice of calm
This is your heart that's speaking
Saying the time has come
Here is your pride and grace now
Here is your strengh and soul
Everything's at the ready, you're finally good to go
Now tell him there's one last thing that you forgot to do
This is me leaving you, this is me leaving you

He told you to try believing (don't you worry)
He asked you to keep the faith (or keep guessing)
He took all that you were giving (don't be sorry)
As if it all were his to take (you're progressing)
Now it's the truth that won't let go (don't you doubt it)
Now it's the facts that you can't shake (and don't fear it)
Now it's just time to let him know (each new step is)
You made a big mistake (one more near it)
Maybe these final words will offer up a clue
This is me leaving you, this is me leaving you
This is me baby, breaking us in two
This is me leaving you

I'm your better half
Baby that's a laugh

This is your voice of reason
This is your voice of calm
This is your heart that's speaking
Don't look back, just keep on going
This is me leaving you, this is me leaving you
This is me leaving you, this is me leaving you

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Tonight the brightest moon in a hundred years
Floods the streets of Rome and I am standing here
Wondering where the ghosts of antiquity
Hide on nights like this once a century
Where do shadows fall when there's only light
Why'd you follow me halfway 'round the world tonight
What I'd give right now not to even care
And then this could be someone else's prayer

And on a sleepless night by St. Stephen's Green
Oh I turned and tossed with my Irish dreams
And when the morning shone through the burned off mist
I could sense you still just as close as this
Just as close as lips brush against a cheek
It's your voice I hear and it's your name I speak
But when I look around there's no one there
How I wish you were someone else's prayer

And now the twilight comes as a silent guest
And of all its gifts I like stillness best
Except for tin roof rains that commence with spring
It's a lullaby when that tin roof sings
Now you can look for me on the streets of Rome
Or in Dublin town but I've gone back home
I would always be just a stranger there
And now you're free to be someone else's prayer

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

The stars are out tonight, the breeze is warm and light
As I'm walking right back to you
Along the dreaming road, the only way to go
When I'm travelling by our code that north is true
Once upon a time these same bright stars did shine
Down the center line leading here
Nearly thirty years ago, now the map is stained and old
But on the dreaming road the coast is clear
I loved you more than life and I guess that's why I died
When you would not love me back I couldn't survive
And so the girl I was turned into someone else
Keeping to myself and from the light
I wasn't odd or strange, just quietly rearranged
Sometimes the biggest change stays out of sight

So without plot or clue I ran away from you
I was twenty-two and drunk in Amsterdam
Got robbed in Paris, France, got home on one last chance
And without a backward glance I began again
And the days just kept on rolling and I just kept on going
Without a thought of ever slowing down
I made this long road mine but it was not the dreaming kind
Too many lost souls trying to get found
But beneath this ancient sky, one night we did collide
And the hole I thought was scaled opened wide
I tried so hard again not to fall back in
But you had me then by the throat
And a strange futility came washing over me
Almost peacefully I felt the rope

A million miles goes by in the blink of an eye
And so I cannot try to slow time down
And years are made of sand slipping through my hands
Even faster than the speed of sound
The stars are out tonight, the breeze is soft and light
As I'm walking right back to you
With nothing left to hide, the tears have all been cried
And the girl who died is walking too
Down the dreaming road, where the light is always gold
The air is never cold and always fine
And north is always true and you are always you
And I'm that girl you knew once upon a time

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

I haven't a reason, a clue or a sign
I haven't the slightest idea
Of the shape of your heart or the state of your mind
Do you ever let anyone near
Do you ever reach out with arms open wide
Do you ever jump in closing your eyes
Or are you one of the fortunate kind
Alone but not lonely

Everyday on the street I study their faces
The ones who rush on through the crowd
Towards their own quiet worlds, their separate places
Somewhere I'm never allowed
'Cause I've always been one to say what I need
And than the next thing it's done and I'm watching 'em leave
And I'm thinking, I wish I could be
Alone but not lonely

So which one are you tonight
Do you change with the morning light
Do you say more than what sounds right
Do you say what you mean?

There are moments in time that are meant to be held
Like fragile, breakable things
There are others that pass us, you can't even tell
Such is their grace and their speed
And this one is gone in the blink of an eye
You can ask me the truth but tonight I will lie
Unflinching I'll tell you that I'm alone but not lonely

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

You could be this man, he's got it all worked out
To the nth degree, no fears, no doubts
He'll retire at thirty to his big-ass house next to the putting green
Now he's got a picture in his head of the perfect wife,
Their perfect children, their perfect life
Nothing wrong with that, coming home each night to his cul-de-sac of dreams
Funny now how it all went by so fast
One day he's looking over his shoulder at the past
When everybody had to go, had to be, had to get somewhere
How did he forget about what got him there

Now you could be this woman, she's the CEO
She's got her powersuits and her IPO's
She punched a hole in the ceiling years ago and she hasn't pulled back since
Now there's a gardener for the flowers, a cook for the meals,
A maid for the laundry, an accountant for the bills
A walker for the dog and a trainer when she feels the need to lose an inch
Funny now how it all went by so fast
One day she's looking over her shoulder at the past
When everybody had to go, had to be, had to get somewhere
Somehow she forgot about what got her there

Accidents and inspiration lead you to your destination

Or you could be the one who takes the long way home
Roll down your window, turn off your phone
See your life as a gift from the great unknown
And your task is to receive it
Tell your kid a story, hold your lover tight
Make a joyful noise, swim naked at night
Read a poem a day, call in well sometimes and
Laugh when they believe it

Funny now how it all goes by so fast
One day I'm looking over my shoulder at the past
Now everybody's got to go, got to be, got to get somewhere
Baby don't forget about
You really shouldn't forget about
Baby don't forget what got you there
I think it's what got you there
Yeah it's really what got you there
You know what got you there

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

It's the spell that can't be broken
It's your breath upon my neck
It's the words I long to tell you but haven't yet
It's the need to see you constantly
And the need to be alone
Just to balance out what's left of me
And what's too far gone
What if the night complied, bringing you to my door
What if I let you in, baby, isn't that what the night is for?

In the name of love there's nothing that I would not do
In the name of love I'd lose myself to find you
In the name of love.....

It's the prayer I send up daily for some courage and some pride
When your hand brushes my shoulder and our eyes collide
It's the smallest of seductions and the quietest of lures
And I'm all at once an innocent in the big bad world
But what if the night conspired, bringing you to my door
Why should I turn you away now, I don't want to wait anymore

In the name of love there's nothing that I would not do
In the name of love I'd lose myself to find you
In the name of love.....

But when the darkness fades, giving way to morning light
You will find me gone, to carry on the lonely fight

In the name of love there's nothing that I would not do
In the name of love I'd lose myself to find you
In the name of love.....

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

You've been saying for the longest time that the time has come
You've been talking like you're of a mind to get some changing done
Maybe move out of the city, find some quiet little town
Where you can sit out on your back porch step
And watch the sun go down
No one knows where they belong
The search just goes on and on and on
For every choice that ends up wrong
Another one's right
A change of scene would sure be great
The thought is nice to contemplate
But the question begs why would you wait
And be late for your life

Now you might never find that perfect town
But the sun still sets on a rooftop where the city
Sounds like a Gershwin clarinet
And you might still be searching every face for one you can't forget
Love is out there in a stranger's clothes
You just haven't met him yet
No one knows where they belong
The search just goes on and on and on
For every day that ends up wrong
Another one's right
Call it chance or call it fate
Either one is cause to celebrate
Still the question begs why would you wait
And be late for your life

Call it chance baby, call it fate
Either one is cause to celebrate
And the question now is why would you wait
Don't be late for your life