lyrics

In the years since we scattered
So much has been shattered
And where have we all been?
And now for some reason or other we fell back together
And we huddle like goats turned out on the bright cold green
We’re scuffed and we’re battered
The winter’s been hard
But here looking up at our knees against the blue
Hold tight to each other’s words a bit more than we used to

Here’s a length of one my invisible threads for each of you
Go and wind it round trees and trainlines and don’t let go
It will stretch round the back of the moon that hangs in the garden if you need it to
I’ve stopped looking for beginnings and endings
Amidst all our messes of tangled up yarn
There’s no rolling us neat and new all back in our packets now
And how I love unravelling into your arms

And through the summer we drew patterns in the sand
Fleeting microcosms of joy in this collapsing fading land
I want to go back to the sea
Summer opens and closes like a shell
I want to go back to the sea
Did you keep a hold of the end of the line for me?
Hold it tight against the swell

If we could be
The ways we can see
Beyond what we’re defaulting to
If we could change before the changes reach us
And the wave takes all we ever want to do
You are the ones I’d choose
To hold and to build with
But here with the feel of our backs against the ground
All we can do is search for broken strands
And re-thread the loops that come unwound

credits

from Five Thousand Feathers, released October 4, 2024
Helen Bell: vocals, piano, violin, synths, bass guitar
Xenogon: drum, synth sound design
Words and music by Helen Bell; arranged by Helen Bell and Xenogon

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