Track 5 of the album The Long Thaw · 2018
Flour on the Page Where She Wrote
“A recipe card in a biscuit tin, softened by years. I cried a little while recording the second verse.”
art song · art song · folk-tinged · 3:27
Lyrics
I found her card in the biscuit tin The corners soft, the ink gone thin A smudge of butter, a ring of tea Her slanting hand still speaking to me She wrote, add sugar till it feels like Sunday Bake until the windows steam I never learned what Sunday weighed in grams I only knew the way it made me dream Flour on the page where she wrote Her fingerprints pressed in the sweet old dust I read every line like a letter And the kitchen remembers us Flour on the page where she wrote Her voice in the rise of the bread The measures are crossed out, written again A little more here, a little less then She changed it each year as the family grew There was always one more chair to make room for I'll copy it out in my own plain hand But I'll leave the stain where her thumb has been Some things are not for tidying Some things you keep just as they've been Flour on the page where she wrote Her fingerprints pressed in the sweet old dust I read every line like a letter And the kitchen remembers us Flour on the page where she wrote Her voice in the rise of the bread Bake until the windows steam Bake until the windows steam