Mary Chapin Carpenter Album

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Well that's a real nice jacket son
It looks like it cost you too
And that car you're driving
Hey does that belong to you
Well you don't look familiar
Are you new in town
Here's a local girl
Who wants to show you around
How do

Where'd you get that accent son
It matches your cowboy boots
Tonight those lone star ladies
Must be lonesome and oh so blue
'Cause we're a thousand miles
From the Texas line
And if you've no objection son
Tonight you're mine
How do

Well I've been to Paris baby
I've been to Dallas too
But I didn't see no one there
Who looked half as good as you
So if you ain't in a hurry baby
Just sit tight
I'm sort of in the mood
To speak some French tonight
Et vous?
How do

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

She used to watch him from afar
She used to dream about him
And she'd wish upon a star
That one day he'd want her for his own
Throw caution to the wind
And with a grin
He'd take her home

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

And she used to hear his voice at night
A sweet whisper from the shadows
Dancing with the backporch light
And she used to feel him in the wind
His warm breath upon her neck
And goosebumps up and down her skin

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

Well she should have known by now
But that's the foolish part of her
She should have seen somehow
But a dreamer's never cured
When heartbreak fast approaches
When a love ain't truly love
He promised wine and roses
And she thought that was enough

She's something of a dreamer
Something of a fool
Something of a heartbreak
When she gives her heart to you

(Mary Chapin Carpenter/John Jennings)

No one's got to tell me it's over
I could see it from miles away
No one's got to tell me
What I don't already know today
No one's got to tell me they've seen you
On the town with an old girlfriend
No one's got to tell me
You look like you've fallen in love again

'Cause you're out of my life now
With a wave of her hand
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad
Now you can do what you want to
And never feel sad
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad

No one's got to tell me the difference
Between me and the one who's returned
No one's got to tell me
You never really got over her
No one's got to tell me they've seen you
Looking like a brand new man
No one's got to tell me
You look like you've fallen in love again

'Cause you're out of my life now
With a wave of her hand
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad
Now you can do what you want to
And never feel sad
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad

So you just go where you go
And do what you do
And be who you want to be
But when she burns you again
And your phone doesn't ring
Baby it's me

'Cause you're out of my life now
With a wave of her hand
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad
Now you can do what you want to
And never feel sad
You never had it so good babe
I never had it so bad

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

A few more cigarettes now honey
One more jolt of joe
A couple hours past New York City
A few more turnpike tolls
One more minute away from you
Is a minute that lasts too long
When I get back we're gonna lock the door baby
And disconnect the phone
We could use a week to get reacquainted
Some time to feel it out
But leave your small talk back at home baby
This ain't what that's about

Just read my lips
Yes I think you can
Just read my lips
And you'll understand

Well I can see it in your eyes now honey
'Cause I've seen it in myself
You've got a few old scars that's ancient history baby
That was someone else
Well I could tell you that you're only human
That you're right to be afraid
But how can you pull back on me now
Don't you make that big mistake
Well you could give it up
Or you could just give in
Now it's a choice between the two
But I weren't born no yesterday baby
I wasn't born a fool

Just read my lips
Yes I think you can
Just read my lips
And you'll understand

Just read my lips
And you can read my mind
Just read my lips
Just one more time

This ain't no game of cat and mouse
It ain't no truth or dare
I ain't got 20 questions for you
Just one thing to declare

Just read my lips
Yes I think you can
Just read my lips
And you'll understand

Just read my lips
And you can read my mind
Just read my lips
Just one more 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

(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)

Fields of green by the side of the road
Going down in Mary's land
Roll down the window feel the cool of a grove
Hit the palm of your outstretched hand
Radio's playing a tune from the country
Fiddle and an old time band
Race with the moon to the edge of the water
Down in Mary's land
Down in Mary's land

East of Virginia where the bay meets a river
Down in Mary's land
The wind pulls your sleeve like a long lost lover
Whose heart can't understand
How you ever could leave
The view you behold
Ain't it fine and ain't life grand
When you don't need nothing
But some beer and a bushel
Down in Mary's land

Gonna sleep with the stars
And a slice of the moon
Hanging right above my bed
Gonna dream not of things
That I've left behind
But those I've found instead
Down in Mary's land

Radio's playing a tune from the country
Fiddle and an old time band
Race with the moon to the edge of the water
Down in Mary's land

Gonna sleep with the stars
And a slice of the moon
Hanging right above my bed
Gonna dream not of things
That I've left behind
But those I've found instead
Down in Mary's land

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Every night she sleeps alone
And by her bed she puts the phone
And every morning after that
She takes the phone and puts it back

He's got a wife back home and three kids up and grown
But these are things that go unsaid
He might call her from the road just in time to say hello
And goodbye again

She keeps his picture tucked away
She thinks she'll have it framed one day
And maybe he'll come see it there
Hanging by her rocking chair

In a corner of her room on a Sunday afternoon
When all the world is dull and gray
She might close her eyes and sit, rocking gently for a bit
Till all the bad thoughts go away

Back when children played their games
London Bridge and Jesse James
She captured flags, she bounced the ball
And every time, she beat them all

And now she comes home to a cat in a three-room walk-up flat
And plays a game of solitaire
Well she made a fist last night, and she broke the hallway light
And the pieces scattered everywhere

You see, he's got a wife back home and three kids up and grown
But these are things that go unsaid
He might call her from the road just in time to say hello
And goodbye again

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Too tired to fight so I just gave in
Last night I slept in your arms again
And I felt my heart next to your skin
Beatin' like crazy

Been runnin' from something I can't explain
It ain't just anger, it ain't just pain
But it goes away when you call my name
Callin' me baby
But you ain't no good for a girl like me

I was doin' fine when I first met you
Swept me off my feet, next thing I knew
I was wonderin' where you'd gone off to
Leavin' me lonely

This town's too small for your kind of games
Pointin' fingers, namin' names
But I'm so far gone I'll take anything
That you can give me
Still you ain't no good for a girl like me

Last night I felt that I couldn't stand no more
But I found myself standin' right here by your door

Too tired to care that you're bad for me
My heart says stay, but my head says leave
But I can't get far when I'm on my knees
Begging you baby
You ain't no good for a girl like me

Last night I felt that I couldn't stand no more
But I found myself standin' right here by your door

Too tired to fight so I just gave in
Last night I slept in your arms again
And I felt my heart next to your skin
Beatin' like crazy
Beatin' like crazy
Beatin' like crazy
Hey!

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Out on the floor the couples are swaying
To "One Faded Love" on the jukebox tonight
You slide in your coins and the music keeps playing
A slow country dance on a Saturday night

Sweethearts in love and others just lonely
Searching for someone to waltz with tonight
In a smoky old bar you know that it's only
A slow country dance on a Saturday night

And love's never easy or ever as true
When the changing of partners is no longer new
You lead with your heart, and closing your eyes
Dance just to dance in three-quarter time

Down at the bar a woman tells stories
Batting her eyes to someone not there
Her glass is half full or maybe half empty
Like the jokes told about her when they think she can't hear

Now the perfume is cheap and the makeup is careless
And the dress out of fashion for a woman her age
But she don't give a damn for those who would cherish
A much lighter step and a much younger face

And love's never easy or ever as true
When the changing of partners is no longer new
You lead with your heart, and closing your eyes
Dance just to dance in three-quarter time

Out on the floor the couples are swaying
To "One Faded Love" on the jukebox tonight

(Mary Chapin Carpenter)

Well I know it ain't been roses lately, baby, it's just been thorns
And no matter what we do, nothing seems to change
Love has always been my shelter, for you it's been a storm
But for a while I thought we'd almost beat the rain

Now there's a hole here in my pocket where all my dreams have gone
Fallen out like so many nickels and dimes
And last of all you, you'd always been my good luck charm
I should've known that luck's a waste of time

'Cause it don't bring you love if you don't love
And it don't bring you time if you ain't got time
And it don't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong
And it don't bring you kindness if you ain't kind

Now there's a whole lot of life to be unsure of
But there's one thing I can safely say I know
That of all the things that finally desert us
Pride is always the last thing to go

But it won't bring you love if you don't love
And it won't bring you time if you ain't got time
And it won't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong
And it won't bring you kindness if you ain't kind

And now I wish you only roses, baby, without the thorns
And I hope your dreams are always within reach
And I wish you shelter, baby, from all your storms
They scared you, but they never seemed to teach

That I can't bring you love if you don't love
And I can't bring you time if you ain't got time
And I can't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong
And I can't bring you kindness if you ain't kind
And I can't bring you kindness if you ain't kind