Mary Chapin Carpenter has loads of enjoyable songs but it's always been her most introspective creations that have grabbed me. Below are some of those offerings:
Nothing shatters nothing breaks
Nothing hurts and nothing aches
We've got ourselves one helluva place in my heaven
Looking down at the world below
A bunch of whining, fighting schmo's
Up here we've got none of those, in my heaven
There's pools and lakes and hills and mountains
Music, art, and lighted fountains
Who needs bucks here, no one's counting
In my heaven
No one works, we all just play
We pick the weather everyday
If you change your mind, that's ok, in my heaven
Grandma's up here, Grandpa too
In a condo with to-die-for views
There's presidents and movie stars
You just come as you are
No one's lost and no one's missing
No more parting just hugs and kissing
And all these stars are just for wishing
In my heaven
There's little white lights everywhere
Your childhood dog in Dad's old chair
And more memories than my heart can hold
When Eva's singing "Fields of Gold"
There's neighbors, thieves and long lost lovers
Villains, poets, kings and mothers
Up here we forgive each other, in my heaven
For every soul that's down there waiting,
Holding on, still hesitating
We say a prayer of levitating, in my heaven
You can look back at your life and lot
But it can't matter what you're not
By the time you're here, we're all we've got
In my heaven
In my heaven
In my heaven
+++++
When I was young I spoke like a child, and I saw with a child's eyes
And an open door was to a girl like the stars are to the sky
It's funny how the world lives up to all your expectations
With adventures for the stout of heart, and the lure of the open spaces
There's two lanes running down this road, whichever side you're on
Accounts for where you want to go, or what you're running from
Back when darkness overtook me on a blind man's curve
I relied upon the moon, I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon and Saint Christopher
Now I've paid my dues cuz I have owed them, but I've paid a price sometimes
For being such a stubborn woman in such stubborn times
Now I have run from the arms of lovers, I've run from the eyes of friends
I have run from the hands of kindness, I've run just because I can
But now I'm grown and I speak like a woman and I see with a woman's eyes
And an open door is to me now like the saddest of goodbyes
It's too late for turning back, I pray for the heart and the nerve
And I rely upon the moon, I rely upon the moon
I rely upon the moon and Saint Christopher
I rely upon the moon, I rely upon the moon
I rely upon the moon and Saint Christopher
to be my guide
+++++
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
+++++
Tonight the moon came up, it was nearly full
Way down here on earth, I could feel its pull
The weight of gravity, or just the lure of light
Made me want to leave my only home tonight
Now I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
Is it in a photograph or a dashboard poet's song?
Will I have missed my chance to right some ancient wrong?
Should I find myself between here and gone ...
Now I could grab my keys and peel out in my truck
With every saint on board bringing me their luck
I could drive too fast, like a midnight thief
As if there was a way to outrun the grief
Now I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
In the song that's left behind, in the dream I couldn't wake from
Could I have felt the brush of a soul that's passing on?
Somewhere in between here and gone ...
Up above me, wayward angels
A blur of wings and grace
One for courage, one for safety
One for just in case ...
I thought a light went out, but now a candle shines
I thought my tears wouldn't stop, but then I dried my eyes
And after all of this, the truth that holds me here
is that this emptiness is something not to fear
Yeah, I'll keep wondering how we know where we belong
After all the journeys made and the journeys yet to come
When I feel like giving up instead of going on
Somewhere in between .....
Yeah, I'm just wondering how we know where we belong
Is it in the arc of the moon leaving shadows on the lawn?
In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn?
Singing in between here and gone
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