Track 6 of the album Tin Kettle Hours · 2017

Stopped at Ten Past Three

“My grandad's watch stopped at ten past three and nobody ever wound it again. I wanted to write about the time that stays still in a drawer.”

singer-songwriter · bedroom folk · hushed ballad · 3:20

Lyrics

Grandad's old watch in the kitchen drawer
Face a little cloudy, hands that don't move anymore
Stopped at ten past three on some forgotten day
I wind it just to hear the crown give way

I took it to a man who mends such things
He turned it in the light and tapped the springs
He said it's tired, love, not really broken
Some things just need to rest

So I'll keep it stopped at ten past three
A small and quiet hour that belongs to me
Not every clock must tell me where I'm going
Some just remember where I've been

I wear it on my wrist on lazy days
It's heavy, and it fits in the oddest ways
I never know the time but I know the feeling
Of a hand once holding mine

So I'll keep it stopped at ten past three
A small and quiet hour that belongs to me
Not every clock must tell me where I'm going
Some just remember where I've been

The world goes ticking by
Fast as it likes
Out in the garden the shadows keep their own slow time
And so do I

So I'll keep it stopped at ten past three
A small and quiet hour that belongs to me
Not every clock must tell me where I'm going
Some just remember where I've been

Some just remember where I've been