BETWEEN YOU AND ME

Apple Tree

I’d see her at the station at the end of the day
And let my imagination carry me away
Her eyes were an ocean
Dangerous and dark
If only I could sail inside them
If only I could rule her heart

The apple tree growing in the yard
Is older than the stars
Gold and silver
Hide and seek
You were never mine to keep
Holding back
Holding back the tears

She was clearing the table
I was hanging sheets to dry
The children were asleep
Dreaming they could fly
She said I know this won’t be easy
But it’s something you must hear
I have built myself a prison
Where I have disappeared

The apple tree…

She was tending to the garden
Collecting fallen leaves
Passing time between the morning sun and the afternoon breeze
And she marveled how the seeds that she had sown the year before
Had blossomed into flowers
Beside the apple tree that I adored

The apple tree growing in the yard
Older than the stars
Gold and silver
Hide and seek
You were never mine to keep
Holding back
Just holding back the tears

Real Love

I broke it down to the last detail
I drew a list why we should fail
But if it’s one thing I’ve learnt in all my time
If it’s real love
You don’t need to ask why

Back when I was greener
I thought love was black and white
I somehow had it in my head
That if it’s right
It won’t need a fight
I didn’t know that I should never break you down
That you can’t split someone into what’s right or wrong

But if it’s one thing I’ve learnt in all my time
If it’s real love
Don’t let it die
If it’s real love
You don’t need to ask why
And if it’s one thing that I could never deny
Real love

And you were always there for me
But I couldn’t see what you could see
I change my colours easily
You’re strong and steady
It’s how you’ll always be
Now I know that I will always be in flight
Forever drawn into your light 

And if it’s one thing I’ve learnt in all my time
If it’s real love
Don’t let it die
If it’s real love
You don’t need to ask why
Yeah if it’s one thing I know I could never deny
Real love

Machismo

Here come the bull dressed in gold
Oh no please say it ain’t so
The limelight draws a new leader of the pack
Who thinks the way forward lies through looking back
But the shimmer of nostalgia is a powerful trap
The woes of yesteryear just slip through the crack
This is not a time to get emotional
I don’t want to get too political

I don’t want to be a part of it
I don’t want no part of it
Every season has a new scapegoat
Because it’s easier for someone else to carry the load
But it’s a known fact it ain’t good for the soul
To live in a bubble and think one is the whole
Disparity continues to grow
Even though it’s wide than it’s ever been before
Sometimes it’s hard not to be cynical
I don’t want get too political

I don’t want to be a part of it
I don’t want no part of it
I don’t want to be a part of it
I don’t want to know
I don’t care for your machismo

Paper Skin

Underneath your paper skin
Tiny rivers flow
Scarlet blood rages endlessly
Finding ways to your heart
In between our woven words
Hang the threads of a child
Things are never quite what they seem
All our guesses are wild

As we lay down our flags
To remind us we’ve not gone astray
How we long to surrender
To simply give ourselves away
So our love outplays us time and time again
For it lets us believe
That all that lies between you and I
Is paper skin

If There’s Such a Thing

Could never fool you
Never school you
Never shape you with a twist of my tongue
That’s why I love you
And how I want you
If there’s such a thing
Then you are the one
I held the notion
From the moment
That we looked deep in each other’s eyes

And just the thought of losing you
A tear in the sky
Even the loneliest hour
Is just a trick of the tide
When it’s all said and done
For you I would die

Deep down there’s a river
It holds the struggle and the bitter tears
In our laughter we remember
That we are children of the darkest years
We know devotion
Will see us through lows and highs
When we look deep in each other’s eyes

And just the thought of losing you
A tear in the sky
Even the loneliest hour
Is just a trick of the tide
And when it’s all said and done
For you I would die

Most Perfect Work of Art

If it was up to me
I’d never let you fly away
I’d keep you just like this forever
Until my dying day 

But I know that you’ve got to be your own man
And that I’ve got to let you rise and fall
So that you can feel
So that you can feel it all

I watch you while you’re sleeping
You are the most perfect work of art
I leave the room with a pain in my chest
Yes love can break your heart

Yes if it was up to me
I’d never let you fly away

Don’t Kill a Broken Man

By the time you read this
We’ll be well on our way
Don’t try and track us down
I don’t think I loved you anyway  
You and I should not be tied together
And it hurts me to have to take your boy away
But your temper is wild
And we won’t survive if we stay

Four in the morning
Kieran’s eyes so heavy
She cradles him close and tight
Sneaking out in silence
Creaking of the door
Sends a cold shiver up her spine
Snowcapped rooftops rush on by
She whispers him his favourate lullaby
Just before the highway comes alive
And then she’s gone 

Driving day and night
Through the fog and the rain
Until she is back in her childhood bed
Telephone breaks the silence
A shattered voice says
“How could you take him away
The car rolled over
I was coming to make things right
They say I’ll never walk again
You’ve got to bring him back
You’ve  got to bring him back

I’ve got nothing without him
Nothing to live for
Nothing to die for
I’m begging you
My life is in your hands
I know you don’t want me
But don’t kill a broken man” 

Kieran by her side
Heading back to the altar
Tied and bound
Sometimes against our desire
Life is built on shaky ground

Where Will We Be

I awake
Wishing I were alone in our bed
Your breath warm upon my shoulder
I hoped the morning would clear my head
Yesterday has followed me instead

How many cracks must appear
How deep must they run
Before we know that we are broken
These days I’m afraid I hear my words
Only after they are spoken

Darling who will save us
What will steer us
Through twists and turns so blinding
Mirror to my sorrow
Come tomorrow
Where will we be

Our lives intertwined
Our branches crossed
Wrapped around and tangled in each other
And the deeper we go
The less we can unravel
A jungle only love can build or harbour

I take your hand
And fumble for the words
To draw the poison out
In this most fragile moment
I see you unadorned
And I recall the fall

Darling who will save us
What will steer us
Through twists and turns so blinding
Mirror to my sorrow
Come tomorrow
Where will we be

Maybe We Could Just Forget About It

Went a few too many rounds last night
Earned myself a loose tongue
Said a few words I should not have said
Now I’m not sure that I can live it down
If only I could press rewind
Wish that I could leave it behind

Now I’m a man who’s usually in control
Know when to keep my cards face down
But when the joker gets his way
The gatekeeper ain’t around
If only I could press rewind
Then maybe I could change your mind

If only I could stop myself
Too much
Not so cool
If only I could stop myself
I wouldn’t feel like such a fool

Oh no now I’ve got to face the music
Think I’ve used up all my get out of jail free
I know it’s gonna take some working
Or maybe we could just forget about it

Went a few too many rounds last night
Now everything’s so gloomy
You’re only ever a flicker away
From seeing it all burning
If only I could press rewind
I wish that I could leave it behind

Between You and Me

Don’t you think we’re just like each other
Both on the brink of blowing our cover
Looking out through windows hoping not a soul will see
Who we harbour secretly

We start building bridges and end up digging bunkers
Afraid to show our faces
Ashamed of our true colours
And while we stride
We are quietly dying to reveal
What truly lies beneath the steel 

I know there are times
That we need to protect ourselves
From all the things that we could feel
But as the walls just fell away
There was so much more to say
And all the words were real

So now you say you feel exposed
You kinda want to forget
Well I share the feeling but not the regret
Because when we talk we lose one voice
And find one that is free
Just between you and me