The Recipe Card in Her Hand

Lyrics

I found it in a biscuit tin
Behind the string and spoons
A card gone soft as cotton
With a smudge of flour and prunes
Your handwriting leans a little left
And stops where you'd just guess
A pinch of this, a drop of that
And a bake until it's done, no less

Oh, the recipe card in her hand
Is a map I can almost read
Half the measures lost to time
And a stain where she'd once bleed
I'll stand here in my kitchen
With the oven warming through
And cook the way she showed me
In the guesses that I knew

I remember standing on a stool
With my sleeves rolled to the knee
You let me crack the eggs
And you never minded me
The shells fell in the batter
You fished them out with a laugh
And we licked the spoon in the window light
Like we'd won the better half

Oh, the recipe card in her hand
Is a map I can almost read
Half the measures lost to time
And a stain where she'd once bleed
I'll stand here in my kitchen
With the oven warming through
And cook the way she showed me
In the guesses that I knew

The first one came out flat, I'll say
The second one too sweet
The third one had a smell I knew
And it brought me to my feet
Because there in the steam and the sugar
In the gold that filled the room
Was you, with your apron and your humming
Like a song inside the gloom

So I'll copy out the card again
In my own and steadier hand
And I'll add a line in pencil
For the ones who'll understand
A pinch of love, a little patience
And a cup of time to spare
And a bake until it's golden
With a someone in the chair

Oh, the recipe card in her hand
Is a map I can almost read
Half the measures lost to time
And a stain where she'd once bleed
I'll stand here in my kitchen
With the oven warming through
And cook the way she showed me
In the guesses that I knew

In the guesses that I knew
In the guesses that I knew