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1. |
The Fact of the Matter
04:15
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I thought you were going to be perfect
'Cause your hands, they were warm, and your smile was bright
You'd enter the room and my world would stop turning
My heart ceased to beat with one look in your eyes
Can't identify what you do, but it's working
I'm a tough nut to crack, but I've been hypnotized
I'm the candle you lit at both ends, and I'm burning
I'm all wax, flames and ash and I've fallen behind
You packed your bags and walked away
But I still burn for you each day
CHORUS
You didn't care enough to repair what you'd broken
You never tried to take back all the words that you'd spoken
You just keep letting go, and I'm the one holding on
I thought we were going to be something
'Cause you found me in darkness and you held me close
There was something about me that you found comforting
I was always around when you needed to cope
You said you loved me for my strength
But I've got nothing left for you to take
CHORUS
You didn't care enough to repair what you'd broken
You never tried to take back all the words that you'd spoken
You just keep letting go, and I'm the one holding on
I've never seen myself as optimistic
But you made me believe for a little while
I've never put much stock in altruistic
But I had so much faith in your smile
You said you loved me for my strength
Well, I'm finally strong enough to break
CHORUS
You didn't care enough to repair what you'd broken
You never tried to take back all the words that you'd spoken
You just keep letting go, and I'm the one holding on
You never tried to take back all the words that you'd spoken
And you never said you were sorry for making me hope and
You just keep letting go, and I'm the one holding on
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2. |
Not That Girl
07:31
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The candlesticks are burning low now
The walls are weighted down with flowers
I watch her shake the hands of three hundred happy people
And her dress gets whiter by the hour
You stand beside her like a shadow
And you echo her smile when her teeth start showing through
Your hand rests gently on the small of her back
But you, you hold my gaze across the room
And something is wrong with this picture
Yeah, something has been wrong for awhile
But then you reach your hand out towards me
And you smile
Yeah, you smile
Well, I could take this one step further
Tug your lip between my teeth
Tongue the soft spot on your neck
Behind your ear as you suck me
Into all your empty spaces
Where I fit so well before
I could take her place in an instant
But I'm not that girl
You've been married for awhile now
Ten years, eight months, three weeks, two days
And each morning, she tucks two kids into her suburban
She's got another on the way
You wait until she rounds the corner
Before your fingers find a phone
You ask me what I've got planned for the weekend
You ask if we could get some time alone
Well, I could make good on your offer
Meet you in a posh hotel
Rake my teeth along your shoulder blades
And send us straight to hell
I could fill your empty spaces
'Cause I've filled them all before
I could take her place in an instant
But I'm not that girl
I've never been a graceful human being
I walk into walls and trip through doors
But this is one tumble I won't be taking
We Christians, we all have our cross to bear
And she's yours
Yeah, she's yours
I guess I could relieve your burden
For a night or two each week
Make you scream out for redemption
As you struggle for release
Commandeer your empty spaces
With my pretty, sweat-soaked curls
I could take her place in an instant
But I'm not that girl
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3. |
Can't Take Me Home
05:05
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I don't want to hear what you're not saying
I won't supply the words that you can't speak
You fired seven rounds while I was aiming
And all I know now is I can't breathe
Each shot's still echoing without a sound
And I can't see anything, but I can feel the ground
CHORUS
Where did you go?
Whose arms have I been running to?
And when it got cold
Whose jacket kept me warm?
Now the rain's pouring down
And I am soaked right through
I might be shivering alone
But this I know
You can't take me home
I've been driving 'round searching for answers
Just going by the places that we've been
And everything looks colder in December
But this chill is buried deep beneath my skin
The lights are brighter now; the wind bites back
The grin that lit the town just fades to black
CHORUS
Where did you go?
Whose arms have I been running to?
And when it got cold
Whose jacket kept me warm?
Now the rain's pouring down
And I am soaked right through
I might be shivering alone
But this I know
You can't take me home
And when we see the tree we carved our names in
I realize the scars outlast the fight
So I'll open the door to let the rain in
And you can shake your fists up at the sky
CHORUS
Where did you go?
Whose arms have I been running to?
And when it got cold
Whose jacket kept me warm?
Now the rain's pouring down
And I am soaked right through
I might be shivering alone
But this I know
You can't take me home
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4. |
About A Boy
05:42
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It's a little after two a.m.
The sky is touching treetops
They're both black
And I'm still crying over you
I've been running from your memory since the sun went down
And now the porch lights glisten in the dark like candles
And the candles and I
We're melting down
I'm melting down, oh
'Cause I knew you, I knew you well
I knew you, I knew you well
And I guess I thought you knew me
You were a friend before you ever were a foe
We'd frequent playgrounds
Weaving insults into clever conversation
You laid your heart out on the plastic picnic table
Told me all the ways she broke you
All the while you scooted closer on the bench
And your story
About the way you loved the tall brunette Pavlova
Became the story about your knees brushing mine
'Cause I knew you, I knew you well
I knew you, I knew you well
And I guess I thought you knew me
It was midnight on a Saturday
You stumbled up the stairs and asked for privacy
You touched my hand, oh
But your lips upon mine felt like a transgression
Against us
Against the world
The sweetest sin I'd ever known
(Piano interlude)
Silence
Only silence now
Once you said I was the girl haunting your dreams
Filling the spaces in your head
Taking up time that wasn't mine
So I stopped taking
And you stopped dreaming
The words you didn't say collected like leaves
They crunched beneath your feet as you walked away
We were lovers once in mind
Then we were strangers
'Cause I knew you, I knew you well
Now I miss you so
I never said "I love you"
But I might have meant it
What do I know?
What do you know?
What do we know?
Yeah, what do we know now?
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5. |
More Pity, Less Party
05:41
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Poor little you
The girl of your dreams
She turned into a nightmare
Had you tugging on your hair
You tell her you love her
She comes back with two little gasps
And a big, blank stare
Poor little me
The man I thought was stable
Just started to cave in
More facade than foundation
I ask him to fight; he collapses
No trace of a gasp
Just one spineless skin
What did you say when they asked?
Did you tell them I ripped your heart in half?
CHORUS
You can hate me
Come on, I can take it
My heart isn't breaking
It's not even there
I'm a Pharisee courting a rapist
We're both begging blameless
And coming up bare
So why should I?
So why should I?
So why should I care?
You're not even there
And so it goes
That the prince was the one in distress
And the damsel
She already had her hands full
He calls out for help
And the balance goes all out of whack
And that fairy tale unravels
Tell me another lie
Go on and tell me you're whole and healed inside
CHORUS
You can hate me
Come on, I can take it
My heart isn't breaking
It's not even there
I'm a Pharisee courting a rapist
We're both begging blameless
And coming up bare
So why should I?
So why should I?
So why should I care?
You're not even there
You've got a lot of nerve to wield the word "forever"
When you don't even have your shit together
Who's the chooser and who's the beggar?
I just thought you should know that it hurt when you left
Like a knife in my chest
But I know I'll breathe again
And you'll be telling sob stories to another girlfriend
Well, I hope I make a fantastic villain
CHORUS
You can hate me
Come on, I can take it
My heart isn't breaking
It's not even there
I'm a Pharisee courting a rapist
We're both begging blameless
And coming up bare
So why should I?
So why should I?
So why should I care?
You're not even there
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6. |
Obvious
06:01
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"You are everything that I wanted
You're one of a kind
There will never be another
You're all I had in mind"
You said you thought we were better together
You texted it to me
You said forever and ever and ever
But I guess you meant a week
And now I'm glad I didn't entertain
Your blind notions of fate and
That redhead on your Facebook page
Can step up to the plate
And the girl in the bikini
She can give you diving lessons for free
You know what I mean?
CHORUS
'Cause it's so obvious to me
This isn't where you wanted to be
I was much too climb and far too little view
You say it's robbery
That all your dream catchers are empty
But if you'd look inside, you'd see the truth
It's just a crisis of faith
You're finding mountains in craters
And the time that you're wasting is yours to lose
But it's so obvious to me
That I'm better without you
You were beautiful for awhile
An unexpected catch
Athletic figure with an impish smile
And blue eyes to match
You said that you'd always been independent
But you called me every day
And you'd get awfully passive aggressive
When things didn't go your way
And when you said you had a social life
You really meant your mother
And all your claims of apathy
Were really just a cover
And that hole that you'll be filling in
Next time you find a girlfriend looks like mine
CHORUS
'Cause it's so obvious to me
This isn't where you wanted to be
I was much too climb and far too little view
You say it's robbery
That all your dream catchers are empty
But if you'd look inside, you'd see the truth
It's just a crisis of faith
You're finding mountains in craters
And the time that you're wasting is yours to lose
But it's so obvious to me
That I'm better without you
You said you had the faith you'd never make me write a breakup tune
Well, I guess we were both mistaken
'Cause I put my faith in you
CHORUS
'Cause it's so obvious to me
This isn't where you wanted to be
I was much too climb and far too little view
You say it's robbery
That all your dream catchers are empty
But if you'd look inside, you'd see the truth
It's just a crisis of faith
You're finding mountains in craters
And the time that you're wasting is yours to lose
But it's so obvious to me
That I'm better without you
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7. |
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He watches as she kicks off her shoes
And takes another sip of wine
She yells pleasantries to all of the homeless
Sets her jacket down on someone else's clothesline
She offers him the bottle
As he reaches for her hand
She says, "I think I need somewhere to land"
He smiles as she strums her guitar
And sings a song into the streets
Thick, black clouds are rolling in
And he can't help but think this scene reads just like poetry
They're crying "hallelujah"
It's a bittersweet refrain
She says, "I think there's magic in the rain"
And he says, "There's nothing magic in the water
It's just the love between a woman and a man
And this right here could be the start of something beautiful
The night that hope began
There's something real in that"
She shoves her tiny fists in his side
Throws her head back and screams
He's trying hard to hear through her tears
And it sounds something just like, "Why did you do this to me?"
He threads her wrists through his fingers
As he begs her not to fight
She says, "I need to see you cry"
And he says, "There's nothing magic in the water
It's just the breaking of a woman and a man
But this right here could be the start of something beautiful
The night that hope began
There's something real in that"
He says, "You could be the one I live for
We'll build a family; this house could be a home
You'll never be alone"
And she says, "Nothing gold can stay
But there's still a bit of sunshine at the bottom of the lake
It's ours to take
It's ours to take"
And now he knows there's nothing magic in the water
Just the reflection of a woman and a man
And every wave feels like the end of something beautiful
The night that grief began
It's just too real
And he says, "Make me see what she saw in the water
'Cause now I can't erase this woman from this man
And I have lost all of my faith in something beautiful
Hope slipped right through my hands
Put something real in them"
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8. |
Give A Damn
06:44
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I was walking through the market yesterday
An old man grabbed his guitar by the neck and started to play
His tongue peeked out the corner of his mouth
He had a pencil; it was poised behind his ear
His smile was bent beneath the weight of all his years
His fingers traveled lovingly along the strings
And I remembered how yours used to stumble over me
His voice was soft as well, but his had truth to tell, and
He sang a song about the way he fought for love
But you taught me that, sometimes, fighting just isn't enough
I gave you everything
You left an imprint on my sheets
But I bet your arms don't ever ache to hold me
'Cause if there's anything I'm certain of now
It's that you don't give a damn about me
I remember the first time I saw your face
You were poking fun at everyone with such malicious aim
You clung so to your wit, and all your quips were quick, but
I thought I saw a weakness in your eyes, and I
I felt inspired to unearth your softer side
You cornered me one night just, just after dark
You let it slip that you felt like your life had fallen apart
Your lips pursed in a pout; a tiny tear slid out, and
You cried into my shoulder that night and then the next
We chatted weekly at the cafe like some old Hollywood friends
I teased you mercilessly
About your penchant for Irish Cream
But I bet you don't even know how I like my coffee
'Cause if there's anything I'm certain of now
It's that you don't give a damn about me
It was a Friday
When you first touched your lips to mine
I thought I felt the stars collide
I learned the hard way
A girl can't be a friend to guys
Most pretty promises are lies
"Too good to be true" is not just a line
I gave you everything
'Til there was nothing left of me
Then you walked away and left me barely breathing
And if there's anything I'm certain of now
It's that you don't give a damn about me
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Emmeline Dallas, Texas
Emmeline is a pint-sized singer-songwriter from Dallas, TX who writes folk-pop music for people who think and feel deeply. Crave a rainy afternoon, a good book, a long drive, or a good, cozy corner? This music is for you.
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