Category Archives: Songs

How Could I Swallow My Pride?

It was Saturday night…

 

And it was love at first sight on the fourth of December

That is the night that I’ll always remember, but did I look at you or did you look at me?

I don’t know

 

But how could I swallow my pride?

I would not be denied

I would stand up and fight for the right to lie by your side

For a while

 

And how could I swallow my pride?

I could tell by the look in your eyes

I told you you loved me, but you didn’t believe me

I was right

 

But how could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

 

But I swallowed my pride

When I found out you’d lied with your eyes

With your lips open wide

But you came back to me like a child

 

And I swallowed my pride

When you knew that I cried at the thought of living without you

In the dark, in the cold

In the city of Seoul

When I cried out your name in the night

 

But how could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

Don’t follow the guide

How could I swallow my pride?

But don’t fight the tide

How could I swallow my pride?

Bide your time

How could I swallow my pride?

Ride your line

 

It was Saturday night…

And all of my life

I was waiting for love

I was waiting for one

And then you came along

And you dared

To show you cared

You know that I’m still waiting

 

I crossed the world to

Draw my last breath

With the girl who

Taught me the lessons

Of loss and obsession

But how could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

 

When those feelings had died

I felt hollow inside

So I swallowed my pride

And complied

When you cast me aside

 

But I should come to you

And say “Hang it all, Baby! You know

I love you so.”

But instead I write to you

And say “Hi. How are you? I am fine.”

 

But how could I swallow my pride?

And not be satisfied

Hide my feelings inside

All the anger and love in my heart

 

So I should run to you

And say “Hang it all, Baby! I feel

I love you still.

Like I did before

But having learnt what I’ve learnt maybe more!”

 

But how could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

How could I swallow my pride?

Five Days

On the twentieth of March

Nineteen ninety three

Lionel’s older sister said

I fall in love too easily

 

At my nineteenth summer’s end

Watching purple lights

All night long it proved me wrong

My one French kiss with Emily

 

In the new millenium

Somehow I survived

One procession of the sun

When twice I was cast aside

 

Rosie saved my life but now

Despite how I changed

What I’d give to relive

The day I nearly died

 

Looking back on girls I’ve loved

And what might have been

The day I came to understand

Was Ellie’s wedding day

Counting Past Fountains

Counting past fountains
The steps on the long walk home
Where friends once lived
And others once loved

Stealing the feelings
Of summers with others before
The games we played
And the places we stayed

Laughing through gardens
With shadows and echoes of friends
The look in your eyes
Said “These are the days of our lives”

Standing on sandspits
We both watched the sun set in turn
And like the tide
It was only a matter of time

A Truth Beyond Words

Drawn down by age
And weight of what they’ve seen,
Our eyes will someday close
To sleep but not to dream

And this is how
The story goes:
Awake for just one day
And then we will be gone forever
But in our time we’ll see
A glimpse of what we are together

I’ve seen her in her
Several seasons
Which soon shall pass
And be no more
I’ve wrestled with her
Restless reason
And sought my solace
From her skin

I step into the hole
The man I was left yesterday
Her memory remains
Cause I feel the shape it made

I lie
Awake and listen
To you
Breathing

Our lips only tell
The truth when we are kissing
Our bodies only lie when we are sleeping

And when we are alone
I tell you how I feel
But even though I mean it
It doesn’t make it real

We both believe
The things I say
Even though sometimes I fear
It’s only what we long to hear

But in the light of day
My actions speak a truth beyond words:

If all our love
Should disappear
Should vanish I’m the dust
The time we spent
Would still be pure
For love was born of lust