Lyrics

All songs written by Caitlin Canty

Neon Streets (2010)

Halo
rusty halo / heavy halo fell down from his head / now it hangs like a gold chain on his chest / I don’t wear anything around my neck / heavy halo / novice angel / don’t you smile at me with that cracked farm-boy grin / but now that i think about it any guardian angel of mine has to be missing some teeth / I don’t need saving / I don’t need you to save me / I don’t need something to believe just to get me to sleep / housepainter’s daughter grew up under the ladder / but the road keeps turning in her favor / a good hand can be tough to come by / luck will follow her home like the moon on a long drive / I don’t need saving I don’t need you to save me / I don’t need something to believe just to get me to sleep / I don’t want to sleep / don’t give me peace of mind / what a boring time that would be / Rusty Nail / novice angel / drink on down that holy wine / these drunken eyes see the fake gold flaking off falling off breaking down / I don’t need something to believe just to get me to sleep / I don’t want to sleep / don’t give me peace of mind / what a boring time that would be

Neon Streets
the moon is competing with orange street lights and I can’t see the stars / I’d rather be walking home on neon streets than walking home in the dark / it’s not fire until it’s lapping at my door / it’s not hunger until it’s burning in me / I’m always competing with the firehouse across the street / trucks come out screaming and they don’t care if they’re interrupting me and my singing / it’s all about me / it’s not fire until it’s lapping at my door / it’s not hunger until it’s burning in me / a bleeding heart can bleed dry with so many sirens crying every night / birds are competing with my neighbor’s TV / I can’t hear myself think / I’d rather be singing in city cacophony than sitting here silently on my Poor Man’s Balcony with no fire to escape no fire / it’s not fire until it’s lapping at my door / it’s not hunger until it’s burning in me / a bleeding heart can bleed dry with so many sirens crying every night

Shore
you are floating off at the water’s whim / you’ve forgotten how to sail / forgotten how to swim / you’re the seagull / wind in her wings / riding updrafts but not flying / you know about stars but you don’t know how to use them / you know about ropes but you don’t know how to move them / you know about dreams but you don’t know how to prove them / you don’t know which way you want the wind to blow / you’ve read all the books / studied all the guides / sharpened every tool / practiced every line / you know about stars but you don’t know how to use them / you know about ropes but you don’t know how to move them / you know about dreams but you don’t know how to prove them / you don’t know which way you want the wind to blow / if you’re a boat without a shore I will try to be your sun / but I burn too bright or not enough / I will try to be your wind / fill your sails and bring you home again / you don’t know which way you want the wind to blow

Thin Moon
cold light from distant stars shines through each excuse you are making / stars could never fall this far / below a thin moon our love was shaking / first light bleeds through the dark injecting warmth / ink is taking so long to leave a mark / below a thin moon our love was breaking / below a thin moon our love was breaking / your voice has changed / it says what you can’t say / headlights break through the dark / pushing down a broken highway / never made it to the bar / below a thin moon our love was breaking / below a thin moon our love was breaking / your voice has changed / it says what you can’t say / don’t try to explain / don’t sing my ears to sleep / I’m not listening la la la la la la la la la la / your voice has changed / it says what you can’t say

In the Way
I work early / I work late / I come home and I complain / had a close call today / it almost all went away / I’m out of milk and beer / man on the subway looked at me weird / my days are stuck in high gear / it almost all disappeared / I know what I want but I don’t take it / I know what I want but I don’t take it / I don’t take it / I’ve got so many important things to do today / so many important things are gonna get in the way / they’re gonna get in the way / I’ve got one mouth to feed / one room to clean / one show I’ve just gotta see / had a close call today / it almost all went away

Two Hands
he said I’ll be your cowboy any day darlin / she rolled her eyes / wondered which was worse his pickup line or the fact that he even tried / she’s never had trouble getting the cap off the bottle / she don’t need a man / she’s got her own two hands / she’s been working all her life / calloused where she once was bruised / doesn’t wash her hands figures what’s the use when they’ll just get dirty again / she’s never had trouble getting the cap off the bottle / she don’t need a man / she’s got her own two hands / she doesn’t waste her time pining away / wasting away over someone worth nothing / no sob stories / no Ben & Jerry’s / she doesn’t need a man / but if she had a man / he’d make games unnecessary / she doesn’t need a man / but if she had a man / he’d still know how to play / she’s never had trouble getting the cap off the bottle / she don’t need a man / she’s got her own two hands

Carried Away
it rained and a little leaf is heading down the drain / sailing a dirty stream of water to the sidewalk grate / what could a leaf do but go with the flow of determined water and get carried away / chords ring through marrow / sound shot like an arrow into bone / I’m home / you play warm tones convince the cold to clear / like rays breaking through gray that’s been hanging on for way too long / All That Wrong disappears and I’m carried away / chords ring through marrow / sound shot like an arrow into bone / I’m home / play it again / play it again / blue plane slides safely into home like a stone skipped / I wait to go all in on a tin can jet / and fly high through white skies on heavy wings / with all of my heavy things / and somehow float in the air and get carried away  / chords ring through marrow / sound shot like an arrow into bone / I’m home

Green (2007)

Trenches
Oh my darling / oh my love / gotta do what I gotta do / will you be here when I’m done / will you be here when I’m through / we’re in the trenches / lying low in the trenches / we’re stalemated / all I do is wait and wait / I just want to be with you / you just want to be with me too / but we don’t want to give up anything / we’re in the trenches / lying low in the trenches / we’re stalemated / all I do is wait and wait / we keep on running parallel / but those lines never touch / I’m growing some roots now / and you’re having fun / I just want to be with you / you just want to be with me too / but we don’t want to give up anything / we’re in the trenches / lying low in the trenches / we’re stalemated / all I do is wait and wait / wait and wait / oh my darling / oh my love / gotta do what I gotta do / will you be here when I’m done / will you be here when I’m through

Budding
I’m just a bud / barely budding / barely stretching my head above the dirt / easily stomped on / easily hurt / I’m a stone / top of the mountain / peeking down from the highest peak / waiting to roll / just try to move me / if you think of all the places your fingers could fall / isn’t it amazing that it turns into music at all / march where I want / beat my own drum / too bad my rhythm isn’t your cup of tea / I won’t be sad just to seem deep / I’m a string / five siblings / sitting tight and patiently waiting / come on and touch us / make us sing / if you think of all the places your fingers could fall / isn’t it amazing that it turns into music at all

Forget
Under a sunburned sky / on the sandpaper sand / we could hold this life / you be the ocean I’ll be the land / I saw you trace my tan lines with your water-colored eyes / my hair won’t dry / salt water wet / did you forget all of this / Chinese lanterns above my head / clothes tumble dry / the warmer side of the bed / don’t separate our jumbled life / warm laundry on your bare skin and a cool breeze blowing in / sleeping in / no regrets / did you forget all of this / curl my toes into the beach / roots digging for stability

Going Gone
Won’t these wheels move faster / if I got out and ran I’d make it quicker than this / low-lying land, push through flooded fields abandoned sheds / dirty backyards broken toys brokedown cars / whistle and rumble through forgotten towns / bend the air bend the ground / coast through cattail marshes / green blurs into brown overgrown gardens / dead dandelions coat these rolling hills like a seeded army / they look to the sky, even weeds get to fly /they’re just waiting / anticipating one gust of wind and then they fly / everything’s waiting waiting to fly / flock of blackbirds sitting in a dying tree / hanging on like dead leaves / pickup truck kicking up dust down a dirty dirt road / spark running to gunpowder / it’s going to explode / everything’s waiting / waiting to fly / flying in the falsetto of the whistling / cutting through mountains of ragged rock / these rails curl under my weight / under my burdens / they say you can never get away / I never listen to what they say / I’m going I’m going I’m gone

Juicy Fruit
Gonna go to the grocery store / gonna buy some juicy fruit / gonna bring it back home and throw it at you / oh this is a side of me you haven’t ever seen / you didn’t think of what you’d be missing when you didn’t think of me / I’m just a man is no excuse / so many others do it so much better than you / maybe we’re not perfect but that’s no reason not to try / you messed up for the last time / this is a side of me you haven’t ever seen / you didn’t think of what you’d be missing when you didn’t think of me / gonna go to your closet now / gonna find your favorite shirt / and I’ll cut it all up / just to show you how much I hurt / this is a side of me you haven’t ever seen / you didn’t think of what you’d be missing when you didn’t think of me / gonna walk to the driveway now / over to your darling truck / gonna swing this baseball bat / and I’ll smash it all up / this is a side of me you haven’t ever seen / you didn’t think of what you’d be missing when you didn’t think of me

Everyday
Everyday I wake up and the sun fades your face from my eyes / I try to keep them shut but you still go no matter how tight I keep them closed / you still go / I keep them closed but you still go / everyday I wake up with fingernail lines in my palms / I guess that’s where I hold you / tight in my fists all night long / I hold on tight but you’re still gone / hold on tight but you’re still gone / so I’m gonna dream this time away til I see you again / this world’s too heavy for my head to hold all alone / everyday I wake up moves me one more day closer to you / the last breath of your face is the first thing I see when I come to / I’ll keep dreaming til I dream you home / I’ll dream you home / so I’m gonna dream this time away til I see you again / this world’s too heavy for my head to hold all alone / I’ll keep dreaming til I dream you home / I’ll dream you home / everyday I wake up and the sun fades your face from my eyes / I try to keep them shut but you still go no matter how tight I keep them closed / you still go / I keep them closed and you won’t go

Morning Train
I’m on a morning train from your town / the roof is leaking on my head / my personal rain cloud / drop for every word I should’ve said / soaking in the same scene every stop along the way / typical goodbyes /you know the look on that one’s face / it’s all she can do to keep from ripping at the seams / holding tight to a loose string / hoping she won’t unravel before he leaves / he’ll look back and see puffy red eyes / you can cry another time / I’m on a morning train from your town / the roof is leaking on my head / my personal rain cloud / too many things left unsaid / I’ll be sitting here til sundown / why’d i have to leave / listening to the sad sound / as the train picks up speed / it’s all she can do to keep from ripping at the seams / holding tight to a loose string / hoping she won’t unravel before he leaves / he’ll look back and see puffy red eyes / you can cry another time / Mineola train / platform A / catch a face in the window pane / so many have felt this / doesn’t reduce it

80 Proof
Dancing with the bolts gone from her knees / a drunk girl in high heels / weebley wobbling but she won’t fall down / the night swirled tipsy around me like a drunk girl in high heels / twirling and giggling but I won’t fall down / I can’t tell if there’s something in the air / it’s like I painted a closet and those fumes got me laughing / or if it’s just you / your breath is 80 proof / and it’s all I can do to keep myself from drinking you in / dancing on banana peels / I’m a drunk girl in high heels / twirling and giggling but I won’t fall down / I want to wrap myself around you like a corkscrew oh I do / you traced the seams pockets of my jeans and I forgot to breathe / I can’t tell if there’s something in the air / it’s like I painted a closet and those fumes got me laughing / or if it’s just you / your breath is 80 proof / and it’s all I can do to keep myself from drinking you in / your kiss was laced with red wine / I can’t be sober around you even if I try

Sleep
Sleep hasn’t come to see me lately / I lie alone in my bed waiting / sleep you haven’t come to see me lately / please come home and lay with me / kiss my eyelids / trace my cheek / turn off the noise from the street below my window / breathe night into me / kiss my eyelids trace my nose / tell me where you go / where you’ve been all these nights / sleep hasn’t come to see me lately / I lie alone in my bed waiting / sleep you haven’t come to see me lately / please come home and lay with me / erase these black tracks you left under my eyes as you were just running by / didn’t have the time to  spend just one night / sleep hasn’t come to see me lately