I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died.
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me.
And the silence; it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared.
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind.
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go.
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way.
And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep.
And you wonder if you missed your dream.
You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream.
You just can't see a dream.
And then it started getting dark.
I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you.
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs Album Lyrics
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs Lyrics
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
No Sunlight
When I was young, lying in the grass
I felt so safe in a warming bath
Of sunlight
Of sunlight
Fast open sky could do no harm
Like an embrace of a mothers arms
In sunlight [4x]
With every year that came to pass
More clouds appear until the sky went black
And now there's
No sunlight,
No sunlight.
And now there's
No sunlight,
No sunlight anymore.
You disappeared with the same speed
The idealistic things i believed
The optimist died inside of me
No sunlight [4x]
You disappeared with the same speed
The idealistic thing i believed
The optimist died inside of me
No sunlight [7x]
No sunlight anymore.
I felt so safe in a warming bath
Of sunlight
Of sunlight
Fast open sky could do no harm
Like an embrace of a mothers arms
In sunlight [4x]
With every year that came to pass
More clouds appear until the sky went black
And now there's
No sunlight,
No sunlight.
And now there's
No sunlight,
No sunlight anymore.
You disappeared with the same speed
The idealistic things i believed
The optimist died inside of me
No sunlight [4x]
You disappeared with the same speed
The idealistic thing i believed
The optimist died inside of me
No sunlight [7x]
No sunlight anymore.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Cath...
Cath, she stands with a well-intentioned man
But she can't relax with his hands on the small of her back
And as the flash bulbs burst
She holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child
And soon everybody will ask what became of you
And your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do
Cath, it seems that you live in someone else's dream
In a hand-me-down wedding dress
Where the things that could have been are oppressed
You said your vows, and you closed the door
On so many men who would have loved you more
And soon everybody will ask what became of you
And your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do
The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews
But if their hearts were dying that fast,
They'd have done the same as you
And I'd have done the same as you.
But she can't relax with his hands on the small of her back
And as the flash bulbs burst
She holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child
And soon everybody will ask what became of you
And your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do
Cath, it seems that you live in someone else's dream
In a hand-me-down wedding dress
Where the things that could have been are oppressed
You said your vows, and you closed the door
On so many men who would have loved you more
And soon everybody will ask what became of you
And your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do
The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews
But if their hearts were dying that fast,
They'd have done the same as you
And I'd have done the same as you.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Talking Bird
Oh, my talking bird
Though you know so few words
They're on infinite repeat
Like your brain can't keep up with your beak.
And you're kept in an open cage
So you're free to leave or stay.
Sometimes you get confused
Like there's a hint I am trying to give you.
The longer you think, the less you know what to do.
It's hard to see your way out
When you live in a house in a house
Cause you don't realize
That the windows were open the whole time.
Oh, my talking bird
Though your feathers are tattered and furled
I'll love you all your days
Till the breath leaves your delicate face.
It's all here for you as long as your choose to stay.
It's all here for you as long as you don't fly away.
Though you know so few words
They're on infinite repeat
Like your brain can't keep up with your beak.
And you're kept in an open cage
So you're free to leave or stay.
Sometimes you get confused
Like there's a hint I am trying to give you.
The longer you think, the less you know what to do.
It's hard to see your way out
When you live in a house in a house
Cause you don't realize
That the windows were open the whole time.
Oh, my talking bird
Though your feathers are tattered and furled
I'll love you all your days
Till the breath leaves your delicate face.
It's all here for you as long as your choose to stay.
It's all here for you as long as you don't fly away.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
You Can Do Better Than Me
I'm starting to feel
We stayed together out of fear
Of dying alone
I've been slipping through the years
My old clothes don't fit like they once did
So they hang like ghosts
Of the people I've been
It's like my heart can't be tamed
And I fall in love every day
And I feel like a fool
I have to face the truth
That no one could ever look at me like you do
Like I'm something worth holding on to
It's times I think of leaving
But it's something I'll never do
'Cause you can do better than me
But I can't do better than you
[repeat]
We stayed together out of fear
Of dying alone
I've been slipping through the years
My old clothes don't fit like they once did
So they hang like ghosts
Of the people I've been
It's like my heart can't be tamed
And I fall in love every day
And I feel like a fool
I have to face the truth
That no one could ever look at me like you do
Like I'm something worth holding on to
It's times I think of leaving
But it's something I'll never do
'Cause you can do better than me
But I can't do better than you
[repeat]
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Grapevine Fires
When the wind picked up
And the fire spread
And the people, strangers left for dead.
And the northern sky, like the end of day,
The end of days.
A wake up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.
Before we all burn [4x]
We bought some wine and some papercups
Near your daughter's school when we picked her up
And drove to a cemetery on a hill
On a hill.
And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray
And she laughed and danced through the field of graves
There I knew it would be alright
That everything would be alright,
Would be alright
Would be alright
Would be alright.
And the news reports on the radio
Said it was getting worse
As the ocean air fanned the flame.
But I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been
To watch it all burn away.
To burn away.
The firemen worked in double shifts,
With prayers for rain on their lips
And they knew it was only a matter of time.
And the fire spread
And the people, strangers left for dead.
And the northern sky, like the end of day,
The end of days.
A wake up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom.
To warn us it's only a matter of time.
Before we all burn [4x]
We bought some wine and some papercups
Near your daughter's school when we picked her up
And drove to a cemetery on a hill
On a hill.
And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray
And she laughed and danced through the field of graves
There I knew it would be alright
That everything would be alright,
Would be alright
Would be alright
Would be alright.
And the news reports on the radio
Said it was getting worse
As the ocean air fanned the flame.
But I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been
To watch it all burn away.
To burn away.
The firemen worked in double shifts,
With prayers for rain on their lips
And they knew it was only a matter of time.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, JASON McGERR, NICHOLAS HARMER
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Your New Twin Sized Bed
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
With a single pillow underneath your single head.
I guess you decided that that old queen was more space than you would need.
Now it's in the alley behind your apartment with a sign that says 'Free'.
And I hope you have more luck with this than me.
You used to think that someone would come along.
And lay beside you in a space that they belong.
But the other side of the mattress and box springs stayed like new.
What's the point of holding onto what never gets used?
Other than a sick desire for self-abuse.
And I try not to worry, but you've got me terrified.
It's like you're in some kind of hurry to say goodbye,
To say goodbye,
To say goodbye.
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
With a single pillow underneath your single head.
I guess you decided that that old queen was more space than you would need.
Now it's in the alley behind your apartment with a sign that says 'Free'.
And I hope you have more luck with this than me.
You used to think that someone would come along.
And lay beside you in a space that they belong.
But the other side of the mattress and box springs stayed like new.
What's the point of holding onto what never gets used?
Other than a sick desire for self-abuse.
And I try not to worry, but you've got me terrified.
It's like you're in some kind of hurry to say goodbye,
To say goodbye,
To say goodbye.
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, NICHOLAS HARMER
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Long Division
His head was a city of paper buildings
and the echoes that remained.
Of old friends and lovers,
their features bleeding together in his brain.
Once it starts, it's harder to tell them apart.
He was always distracted
by the very mention of an open door.
'Cause he has sworn not to be what he'd been before...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
The television was snowing softly
as she hunted for her key.
She said she never envisioned
him a type of person capable of such deceit.
And they carried on like long division
'cause it was clear with every page.
Oh, that they were further away
from the solution that would play
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
He has sworn not to be what he'd been before.
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
and the echoes that remained.
Of old friends and lovers,
their features bleeding together in his brain.
Once it starts, it's harder to tell them apart.
He was always distracted
by the very mention of an open door.
'Cause he has sworn not to be what he'd been before...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
The television was snowing softly
as she hunted for her key.
She said she never envisioned
him a type of person capable of such deceit.
And they carried on like long division
'cause it was clear with every page.
Oh, that they were further away
from the solution that would play
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
Out the remain, remain, remain remainder...
He has sworn not to be what he'd been before.
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
To be a remain, remain, remain, remainder...
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA, NICHOLAS HARMER
Copyright: Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Pity And Fear
I have such a envy for this stranger lying next to me
Who awakes in the night and slips out into the pre-dawn light
With no words, a clean escape, no promises or messes made
And chops it all up to mistake, mistake, mistake
And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between
A storm at sea the bow cracked and I was capsizing
And I sunk below where I swore I would never go
If you can't stand in place you can't tell there's walking away
From who remains, who stays, who stays, who stays
And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between
Spare no tears
Just pity and fear
And I recall
The push more than the fall
The push more than the fall
Who awakes in the night and slips out into the pre-dawn light
With no words, a clean escape, no promises or messes made
And chops it all up to mistake, mistake, mistake
And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between
A storm at sea the bow cracked and I was capsizing
And I sunk below where I swore I would never go
If you can't stand in place you can't tell there's walking away
From who remains, who stays, who stays, who stays
And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between
Spare no tears
Just pity and fear
And I recall
The push more than the fall
The push more than the fall
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
The Ice Is Getting Thinner
We're not the same, dear, as we used to be.
The seasons have changed and so have we.
There was little we could say, and even less that we could do
To stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you.
We bury our love in a wintery grave
A lump in the snow, was all that remained.
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks
As the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.
And when spring arrived
We were taken by surprise when the floes under our feet
Bled into the sea
And nothing was left for you and me.
We're not the same, dear,
And it seems to me
There's nowhere we can go
With nothing underneath.
And it saddens me to say
What we both knew was true:
That the ice was getting thinner
Under me and you.
That the ice was getting thinner
Under me and you.
The seasons have changed and so have we.
There was little we could say, and even less that we could do
To stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you.
We bury our love in a wintery grave
A lump in the snow, was all that remained.
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks
As the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.
And when spring arrived
We were taken by surprise when the floes under our feet
Bled into the sea
And nothing was left for you and me.
We're not the same, dear,
And it seems to me
There's nowhere we can go
With nothing underneath.
And it saddens me to say
What we both knew was true:
That the ice was getting thinner
Under me and you.
That the ice was getting thinner
Under me and you.
Writer: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Narrow Stairs is the sixth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 12, 2008, in the United Kingdom and on May 13, 2008, in the United States, on Atlantic and Barsuk Records.
Four singles were released for the album: "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath...", "No Sunlight", and "Grapevine Fires". "I Will Possess Your Heart" reached number six on the US Alternative Songs chart, was named iTunes UK song of the year 2008, and was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires", also reached number ten and number twenty-one on the US Alternative Songs chart, respectively.
Narrow Stairs reached number one on the Billboard 200, making it Death Cab for Cutie's highest charting album to-date.
Performed By:
Death Cab for CutieFour singles were released for the album: "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath...", "No Sunlight", and "Grapevine Fires". "I Will Possess Your Heart" reached number six on the US Alternative Songs chart, was named iTunes UK song of the year 2008, and was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires", also reached number ten and number twenty-one on the US Alternative Songs chart, respectively.
Narrow Stairs reached number one on the Billboard 200, making it Death Cab for Cutie's highest charting album to-date.
Genre(s): Alternative rock, indie rock
Producer(s): Chris Walla
Length: 44:50
Released: May 12th, 2008
Year: 2008