LANTANA lyrics
STONE COLD WORLD
I'm a selfish girl
In a selfish world
Each town has her selfish ways
And each girl has her selfish days
Especially me
Longing to be free
From all the old complaining crew
And all the new ones moaning, too
Then there was you
Smiling when I couldn't smile
Drawing me to tears
Feeling out these aches and pains
Because nothing here comes easy
In this stone cold world
For a selfish girl
You're a pioneer
Headed for Newfoundland
Each land has his newfound joys
And pioneers must be big boys
Especially you
Longing to be true
To what your people came here to do
And who your mama said you could be
Then there was me
Crying when I wasn't sad
Slouching in my shoes
Damning expectations
Because nothing here comes easy
In this stone cold world
For a selfish girl
I saw the tip of an iceberg explode
But I'm no tourist in this deep blue sea
Off that hard rock shore
In this stone cold world
For a selfish girl
LAY MY BURDEN DOWN
When I lay my burden down
There’ll be no mourners outside my window
Put my body in the ground
Because my spirit will be free at last
And I’ll be flying in the darkness
I’ll ride the wind without a sound
When I lay my burden down
When I see that great green valley
The haunting shadows will fade behind me
A golden highway stretched out before me
And I will walk in to the sunrise
With the lion and the lamb
And the beasts of the field
When your secret is revealed
When I lay my burden down
Could be tomorrow
God has not told me
And now I will love
With all the heart, soul and strength within me
As a mother and a lover
And a sister and a daughter
And then one day
Over Jordan
I’ll see angels hear trumpets sound
When I lay my burden down
When I lay my burden down
PAPER GOWN
Small town stars shine bright for a day
The moon lights up a watery grave
Woods move in the nighttime breeze
That lifts from the lake through the trees
On the night that defined my name
Fantasy or monster, you say
Watched my boys ride the incline down
All for a paper gown
Long ago I used to be
A little girl on my daddy’s knee
Dreams lie like diamond rings
Babies and pretty things
I watched my car sink silently
My lover’s sweatshirt wrapped around me
On a black man I blamed the crime
With moans and screams and cries
Then I waited for him to call
My ready-made family gone after all
While the world mourned an alibi
My hopes began to die
Long ago I used to be
A little girl on my daddy’s knee
Dreams lie like diamond rings
Babies and pretty things
Day by day
All the promises faded away
No one but me
Controls my destiny
The sheriff sat me down to pray
At the First Baptist Church on the ninth day
“Susan, make your conscience clean”
“Sheriff, I’ve done a terrible thing”
I confessed that, for love’s sake,
I drowned my children in John D. Long Lake
They’re with Jesus, looking down
At me in this paper gown
Long ago I used to be
A little girl on my daddy’s knee
Dreams lie like diamond rings
Babies and pretty things
Long ago I used to be
A little girl with dreams I believed
Dreams lie like diamond rings
Babies and pretty things
HEARTBREAK TONIGHT
Different and good
Easy to please
A cheerleader’s skirt on the backseat
A childhood worth forgetting
Her twenties damn depressing
She eyes another age
She turns another page
You change your name
You don’t stay the same
So it’s heartbreak tonight
And tomorrow’s new beginnings
It’s supper on the stove
And a gambler’s winnings
Raised on the farm
Raised on Enjoli
Raised on je ne sais pas
And some joie de vivre
Now for the first time
The end is in sight
You give me your traditions
I’ll hand off my ambitions
‘Cause it feels so right
You change your name
You don’t stay the same
So it’s heartbreak tonight
And tomorrow’s new beginnings
It’s supper on the stove
And a gambler’s winnings
It was when you forgot
To feel like a fool
Or notice if they were watching you
Looking so good
In front of that mirror
But living in the back room
You begin to disappear
You change your name
You don’t stay the same
So it’s heartbreak tonight
And tomorrow’s new beginnings
It’s supper on the stove
And a gambler’s winnings
Her winnings
STATES OF GRACE
Shall we walk the narrow way
Crooked straight, rough places plain
Raised up in the yin and yang
Takes her around and back again
She’s got her act down
A shadow of a sound
Her show’s on the road
‘Cause she knows what she knows
Can you see her
I can see her
Can you see her now
Amidst all her states of grace
I can see her now
Tightrope across an ocean wide
Can we reach the other side
Where china dolls and worlds collide
Where we fall and are baptized
She’s got her act down
A shadow of a sound
And her show’s on the road
‘Cause she knows what she knows
That she knows
Can you see her
I can see her
Can you see her now
Amidst all her states of grace
I can see her now
She’s got a slight frame
For such a heavy burden
She’s on the highway of her Lord
Can you see her
I can see her
Can you see her now
Amidst all her states of grace
I can see her now
FAIR AND TENDER LADIES
for Natasha Trethewey, Thea Bowman and Montie Greer
You write about a place so dear
In all its good and evil
A loving cup, an aching scar
You need no thread and needle
To sew your name into your clothes
Or hem a ragged line
All muscular and luminous
Oh heroine of mine
Ladies Oh ladies
My ladies
My fair and tender ladies
You raised yourself from mud and spit
And opened up your eyes
Stretching out your graceful limbs
From heart and soul on fire
From sidewalks and handlebars
Summer sun and evening stars
And unincorporated streets
Oh heroine I long to meet
Ladies Oh ladies
My ladies
My fair and tender ladies
Ladies
You set aside your trays and flowers
Like a ball and chain
You understood a time and place
Upon which you proclaimed
Your skirt was not to hide behind
Your womanhood no alibi
You would not live so man could die
Oh white-gloved heroine of mine
Ladies Oh ladies
My ladies
My fair and tender ladies
LOVER GIRL
Looking for a hand to hold
There to pull and push against
Even now we’re dancing
Longing for a place to know
Where branches reach, lantana grow
And butterflies take their poses
Come
My lover girl
Did you grow an inch today
Once you were a tiny thing
And before that God’s dream
Goodness comes to those who wait
Give them love, and sacrifice
Because it’s your turn now
Come
My lover girl
We’re as new as scheming eyes
We’re as old as mother and child
We’re as new as scheming eyes
We’re as old as mother and child
Just a little piece of us
Marveling at all of you
Head, heart, shoulder, shoulder
Go and close the drapes I made
Put your little hands together
And pray for your mama
Come
My lover girl
SONG FOR FAY
for Larry Brown
Sun comes up in the morning
See that sunrise forming
All the pretty colors
Shining down on the water
I don’t know about heaven
But I put in my dollar
Let’s see what it buys me
Rest and a little dinner
Walking down the highway
Thirsty for some water
Men keep looking my way
Wonder what they’re wanting
I don’t know about heaven
But I put in my dollar
Mister, what you show me
Don’t think I’m not learning
Maybe it’s my brother
Always tried to save us
Maybe it’s my daddy
He ain’t good for nothing
I don’t know about heaven
But I put in my dollar
Don’t you try and stop me
Til’ I get where I’m going
Watching all the women
Making sense of living
All their little babies
Aren’t we supposed to have them
I don’t know about heaven
But I put in my dollar
Answers for the taking
Now that I’m a woman
Sun comes up in the morning
See that sunrise forming
All the pretty colors
Shining down on the water
I don’t know about heaven
But I put in my dollar
I don’t know about heaven
But my purse is on my shoulder
I don’t know about heaven
But my purse is on my shoulder