Better Liar (Some of the lyrics haven't got the chords, this should be remedied if I can stir myself to sit down and do it....)
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1. Only a Bird
(C. Robertson 2009)
This song was written after listening to Harold Von Tilzer’s wonderful song “Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage” from the nineteenth century. I really like the arc of the lyric, but felt it could be updated to reflect a more modern sensibility.
Em Am
Once on a plane ride, I glanced out the window
D C
Behind the clouds I saw the flash of her eyes
Em Am
But now I'm so weary and the clouds are so dreary
D C
Whenever I fly the unfriendly skies.
(chorus)
G Em Am D
and she’s only a bird whose wings have been clipped
G Em Am D
Whose feet are firmly set on the ground
G Em Am D
Still she looks at the sky with a wondering eye
C6
While spinning around and around.
D G Em Am D(3x)
spinning around and around.
If magic were real, as real as the wind
I would make up a conjure so strong
to give her back feathers, to give her back wings
To put her back where she belongs
Chorus
I can no longer watch, it saddens me so
The way that she looks at the sky
The way that she traces the clouds with her finger
As they go floating by.
Chorus
2. Broken’s Spoken Here
(C. Robertson 2005)
Another “bartender” song. Bars are social places where many things go on, lubricated by the spirits. I believe that the people who work in bars have to have a unique perspective on relationships they see there.
The couple at the end of the bar
Are having the big, big fight
He says “baby, you ain’t no good for me
And I gotta make it all right.”
So he puts on his hat and his overcoat
And he walks off into the night.
The girl looks around with tears in her eyes
The bartender says “it’s all lies…
This one’s on me, don’t worry ‘bout it, dear,
‘cause broken’s spoken here.
Chorus:
Yes, broken is a language that we all understand.
You pick up all the pieces and do the best you can.
And I know what you’re saying, I can hear you loud and clear,
Yes, broken’s spoken here.
Yea broken’s spoken here.
She took the drink and knocked it back
Then shook out her short blond curls.
Her mascara was runny and it made her look funny
But nobody laughed at the girl.
She looked at the door, the back to the bar
And said “he was my whole world”
The bartender leaned over, wiped the tears from her eyes,
You may think that now but its all just lies.
This one’s on me, don’t worry bout it, dear,
Cause broken’s spoken here.
Chorus
Tag:
She asked, “what’s in this drink?”
He said, “two parts gin, and two parts bitter tears”
Yeah, broken’s spoken here. (3X)
3. Dark Circles
(C. Robertson 2006)
Probably a less euphemistic look at the concept of “bedroom eyes”.
F#m
I like the dark circles under your eyes
When youre lying in your bed awake
Bm
I like to see that look of surprise
F#m
When you see the chances I take
C#7 D7 C#7 F#m
And You were so surprised by the snake
I like the crop circles in photographs
Too careful to be a mistake
I like the way that the pharmacist laughs
When he sees all the things that you take
You were so surprised by the snake
I like the dark circles under your eyes
When you tell me you don’t see what I mean
I like the way that you use that disguise
To hide from the things that you’ve seen
You were so surprised
You thought it was kinda mean
But you were so surprised by the snake.