Fires in Heaven
Look at the tracer lines -
Dividing the countryside
Ribbons of shooting stars,
That split the
evening skies.
Remember our wedding night,
The songs from the village choir
They watched us
make our vows,
They wrote our
names in flowers.
Now I can see the cities burn
And there's a red line on
The tip of the Earth,
And the ashes rise up like
fire flies
And they carry on the breeze
for miles,
If I look into the smoke
filled sky,
Well there’s a flickering,
repeating light,
Like a signal that is
breaking up,
From a disintegrating
satellite,
And I can see the fires
(above the pylon’s wires)
I can see fires
(above the stadium lights)
I can see fires
(no time to stop and say)
Fires in heaven
(goodbye)
Fires in heaven.
Look at the trees outside,
Tall bones in the torch's light.
People in hooded robes
Carrying hammers and ropes.
The night we built this house,
We buried poems in the ground.
They blessed our figurines,
They washed our
hands and feet
Now I can see the
cities burn
And there’s a red line on
the tip of the Earth,
And the ashes rise up
like fire flies
And they carry on the breeze
for miles,
If I look into the smoke
filled sky
Well there’s a flickering,
repeating light,
Like a signal that is
breaking up
From a disintegrating
satellite,
And I can see fires
(above the neon signs)
I can see fires
(above the checkpoint lines)
I can see fires
(no time to stop and say)
Fires in heaven
(goodbye)
Fires in heaven.
You wake beside me
in a moonlit field,
I kiss your forehead
and you go back to sleep,
There’s distant traffic
on a carriageway,
And someone’s singing
in a night cafe...
But I can see fires
(above the pylon’s wires)
I can see fires
(above the stadium lights)
I can see fires
(above the neon signs)
I can see fires
(above the checkpoint lines)
Fires in heaven
Fires in heaven
Fires in heaven
Fires in heaven.
Tread Very Carefully Here
Tread very carefully here, we've both had too much to drink -
And the music that fills the street, has got us both up on our feet.
The seams of that old summer dress
Are still hanging together by threads.
I know you’re wearing it now for my sake,
You’re wearing it now like a prayer.
But prayers won’t make a difference to this
They’re broken and battered things,
They bloom and then wither like flowers.
And me, I’m not the spiritual kind,
A brightness has gone from inside -
It burst into flames and then died.
So please, tread very carefully here,
Be careful with all my fears,
I haven’t been here for years.
And please, be kind if I make mistakes
If I shatter apart and break,
Just tread very carefully here.
Tread very carefully here, the dawn’s a few hours away
And soon the dull grey of day, will find us as lovers again.
And that dress you let fall to the floor,
Crumpled and spilt by the door
Is a voice from a lifetime away
That’s calling me back like a dream.
But dreams won’t make a difference to this,
They’re weightless and gossamer things
They melt into nothing like dust.
And me, I’m not the visionary kind,
But something is burning inside -
A strange and impossible light.
So please, tread very carefully here,
Be careful with all my fears,
I haven’t been here for years.
And please, be kind if I make mistakes,
If I shatter apart and break,
Just tread very carefully here.
True Love
Call me by name my love
Like a bird I will fly to your side
Remember the place my love
Call me by name.
Well it’s a long road
Along that South West Delta coast,
Through the blue woods
To that lonely little church.
And the forest is burning,
Animals running,
Out of the the roadside
And into my headlights.
Trees are on fire -
Giant wings in the black skies.
Alight and a flutter and
Bright in the darkness.
Well it’s a true love,
It’s a true, true love,
It’s a true love
That rages through my blood
So I’ll come…
Call me by name my love
Like a bird I will fly to your side,
Remember the place my love
Call me by name.
And as the world ignites
I drive for hours through the night,
To that hallowed ground
To that crooked tin plate spire.
And we’ll stand there together,
Alone at the altar,
As windows above us
Shatter and blacken.
In your hands will be flowers -
Ivy and lilies
And your shoes will be silver
And frayed at the edges.
It’s a true love,
It’s a true, true love,
It’s a true love
That rages through my blood
So I’ll come…
Call me by name my love
Like a bird I will fly to your side
Remember the place my love
Call me by name.
And you’ll lead me up to
The top of the bell tower
And you'll lay me down on
Your patterned bedspread.
In the morning you’ll wake me
And we’ll walk to the river
Through burnt out branches
With their blossoms of ashes,
It’s a true love,
It’s a true, true love
Well it’s a true love
That rages through my blood
So I’ll come…
The Ends of the Earth
We’ve been waiting
In this room for an hour,
The sun is setting
The streets are filling up now.
The bells are ringing
Their low level alarms,
The TV's murmuring
About the rioting crowds.
And I can hardly
Speak a word of all this,
I can hardly
Stand the touch of your lips.
Now you’re leaving
And there’s nothing to do
But make this promise,
This solemn promise to you -
I’ll be with you
When the skies fall apart
I’ll be with you
When the universe burns
I’ll be with you
At the end of the world
I’ll be with you
Til the ends of the Earth etc
You speak so softly,
Your voice gets lost in the rain,
A shortwave station
That keeps drifting out of range.
There’s people singing
Some kind of requiem mass,
And the city statues
Are all holding out flowers.
And I can hardly
Speak a word of all this
I can hardly
Stand the touch of your lips,
Now you’re leaving
And there’s nothing to do
But make this promise,
This solemn promise to you -
I’ll be with you
When the skies fall apart
I’ll be with you
When the universe burns
I’ll be with you
At the end of the world
I’ll be with you
Til the ends of the Earth etc
When the petals fall
From Cathedral walls
And the sirens sound
In the playground yards.
When the dogs howl
On suburban lawns
And the last door is shut.
I’ll remember a little house on a beach.
The middle of winter,
no light and no heat.
Wrapped up in blankets
We watched the tide start to turn,
It’s where I’ll be waiting
At the end of the world.
I'll Light a Candle
I’ll light a candle
To protect me from the dark,
I’ll watch it burning
Like a ragged little star.
It will flicker on the windows
And cast its shadows
Across the stairs
Like you’re walking
Through the bedrooms
In that pale blue party dress,
I’ll light a candle
To protect me from the dark
I’ll light a candle
And dream that you're not
gone.
I’ll light a candle
When the visitors have left,
I’ll keep it burning
By your picture
On my desk.
It will gleam into the blackness
Like you’re dancing in the hall
With your shoes
Laid out beside you
As you move about
The floor,
I’ll light a candle
To protect me from the dark
I’ll light a candle
And dream that you're not
gone.
And your body is a fragment,
A faded pattern on the wall
And your voice is now lost to me
In the falling of the snow,
That is gathering in the garden
That is gathering on the path,
That is gathering up the angels
Standing silently on the grass.
I’ll light a candle
To protect me from the dark,
I’ll light a candle
And I’ll wait for you to come…