Track 1 of the EP Forgive Me in the April Light · 2020
The House Gets Smaller from the Water
“An island falling away from a ferry stern. The house gets smaller and I get braver.”
art song · art song · celtic ballad · 4:24
Lyrics
I stand upon the ferry's stern And watch the island fall away The house where I was small and sure Grows smaller in the spray The yellow door, the garden wall The window where I dreamed Are shrinking into one small light That is all it seems How can a house that held a world Fit inside my hand The house gets smaller from the water But it grows inside my chest Every room I ever wandered Follows me to the west Though the harbour takes the roofline And the hills fold into grey The house gets smaller from the water But it never goes away My mother stood upon the quay And waved until the wake was wide She held her apron in the wind And I could not tell if she cried The gulls were circling overhead The engine hummed along And all the rooms I'd left behind Were folded into song How can a house that held a world Fit inside my hand The house gets smaller from the water But it grows inside my chest Every room I ever wandered Follows me to the west Though the harbour takes the roofline And the hills fold into grey The house gets smaller from the water But it never goes away One last light along the shore One last wave I'll give Whatever lies upon the far side That house is where I live The house gets smaller from the water But it glows inside my chest Every room I ever wandered Is the place I'll rest Though the harbour takes the roofline And the dusk has turned to grey The house gets smaller from the water But it never goes away It never goes away