Step on the stage
the lights, the praise,
the curtain calls and the big parade
You know that life all too well

Promise the pain, the valor, the rage
Hold up your hands for the bow and the wave
You know his touch a little too well

You throw yourself into their arms
Mistresses have all the fun
But no one’s ever there to take you home

Box up your gloves and your down coats
Bound for the sun and the west coast
Where upper crust tragedy is abound

A tip for the girl at the coat check
The guy at the door and the bar back
They know your face oh so well

But movies never made you famous
All your dreams got lost or traded
And all you ever cared about got lost
You were surely still an actress older men would find attractive
And all you ever dreamed of was the cost

Where there’s gold there’s a gold digger [x6]

She smiled in a big way, the way a girl like that smiles
When the world is hers and she held your eyes
Out in the breezeway down by the shore in the lazy summer
And she pulled you in, and she bit your lip, and she made you hers
She looked deep into you as you lay together quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer

But you’ve already lost
When you only had barely enough to hang on

And she combed your hair, and she kissed your teeth
And she made you better than you’d been before
She told you bad things you wished you could change in the lazy summer
And she told you, laughing down to her core, so she would not cry as she lay in your lap
She said “nobody here can live forever, quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer”

But you’ve already lost
When you only had barely enough to hang on

She said, “no one is alone the way you are alone”
And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known
Some things tie your life together, slender threads and things to treasure
Days like that should last and last and last

The air is visible around you, rising up and off your lips in slow currents
And I watch as your face is framed in its slow currents
Drifting curls a trailing path
A long drag becomes a dress of blue and ash

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn
Burn as brightly as we can
And if it’s gotta end then let it end in flames
Let it burn all the way down

The air is visceral around us Turning in its simple steps on slow currents and I watch as it pirouettes and spins in slow motion A long drag becomes a slow dance and a halo of ember

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn
Burn as brightly as we can
And if it’s gotta end then let it end in flames
Let it burn all the way down, all the way down

And if this is ever meant to end, then I hope it ends where it began
So hot with love, we burned our hands
If this is ever meant to end, then I hope it ends where it began
So hot with love, it burns our hands

Hand out the window
Floatin’ on air
Just a flip of the wrist
And I am wavin’ you goodbye

Drive past the lifeguard stand
Where I sit around waiting for you to remember
As I drive

How the girls could turn to ghosts before your eyes
And the very dreams that led to them are keeping them from dying
And how the grace with which she walked into your life
Will stay with you in your steps,
And pace with you a while
So long, so long [x2]

The speaker in this door is blown
So nothing sounds quite right
Takin’ my time, takin’ this drive, wavin’ this town goodbye,
And I drive this ocean road and remember
The small of your back
And the nape of your neck
I remember everything as I drive, wavin’ this town goodbye

I remember

How the girls can turn to ghosts before your eyes
And the very dreams that led to them are keeping them from dying
And how the grace with which she walked into your life
Will stay with you in your steps,
Pace with you a while
So long, so long…

We watch the season pull up its own stakes
And catch the last weekend of the last week
Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced,
Another sun soaked season fades away

You have stolen my heart

Invitation only, grand farewells
Crash the best one, of the best ones
Clear liquor and cloudy eyed, too early to say goodnight

You have stolen my heart

And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
One good stretch before our hibernation
Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well

You have stolen
You have stolen my heart

I watch you spin around in your highest heels
You are the best one, of the best ones
We all look like we feel

The signal is subtle
We pass just close enough to touch
No questions, no answers
We know by now to say enough
With only simple words
With only subtle turns
The things we feel alone for one another

There is a secret that we keep
I won’t sleep if you won’t sleep
Because tonight may be the last chance we’ll be given
We are compelled to do what we must do
We are compelled to do what we have been forbidden

So I won’t sleep if you won’t sleep tonight

Our act of defiance
We keep this secret in our blood
No paper or letters
We pass just close enough to touch
We love in secret names
We hide within our veins
The things that keep us bound to one another

There is a secret that we keep
I won’t sleep if you won’t sleep
Because tonight may be the last chance we’ll be given
We are compelled to do what we must do
We are compelled to do what we have been forbidden

Until the last resilient hope
Is frozen deep inside my bones
And this broken fate has claimed me
And my memories for its own
Your name is pounding through my veins
Can’t you hear how it is sung?
And I can taste you in my mouth
Before the words escape my lungs
And I’ll whisper only once…

There is a secret that we keep
I won’t sleep if you won’t sleep
Because tonight may be the last chance we’ll be given
We are compelled to do what we have to
We are compelled to do what we have been forbidden

Oh sweet lungs don’t fail me now
Your burning has turned into fear
That trails me in my every step, I’m moving quick but you’re always on my heels

Just one more breath, I beg you please
Just one more step, my knees are weak
My heart is sturdy but it needs you to survive
My heart is sturdy but it needs you

Breathe, don’t you want to breathe?
I know that you are strong enough to handle what I need
My capillaries scream, there’s nothing left to feed on
My body needs a reason to cross that line
Will you carry me there one more time?

Steady lungs, don’t fail me now
I feel you bursting but you won’t let me die
Fill me up with every step
I’m feeling sick, but I’m leaving it behind

Just one long breath I beg you please
Just one more step you are not weak
My legs are sturdy but they need you to survive
My heart is sturdy but I need you

Breathe, don’t you want to breathe?
And know that you are strong enough to handle what I need
My capillaries scream, there’s nothing left to feed on
My body needs a reason to cross that line
Will you carry me there once more?

I have reason to believe that I have victories to taste
I can feel them on my teeth, upon my lips and in my chest
I can roll them on my tongue, they are more supple than defeat
I feel the tension in my lungs and every move is fueled by my resolve to

The sky glows
I see it shining when my eyes close
I hear your warnings but we both know
I’m gonna look at it again

Don’t wait, Don’t wait
The road is now a sudden sea
And suddenly, you’re deep enough
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down

You get one look
I’ll show you something that the knife took.
A bit to early for my own good
Now let’s not speak of it again

Don’t wait, Don’t wait
The road is now a sudden sea
And suddenly, you’re deep enough
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down
To lay your armor down