Track 4 of the album Evening, Gently · 2023
The Swallows Have Left the Wire
“The wire was bare this morning where the swallows sat in rows. I watched it for ten minutes before I wrote a word.”
singer-songwriter · autumn folk · dreamy singer-songwriter · 3:47
Lyrics
The telephone wire is bare this morning Where the swallows sat in rows I counted them all through the August evenings Now the quiet is how it goes The kitchen smells of the last warm apples And the light comes in low and thin I leave the window open a little longer Just in case they come back in The swallows have left the wire But the sky still holds their shape A little bit of summer in the way the evening drapes I'll wear my woollen jumper and I'll hum their tune The swallows have left the wire They'll be back in June There's a feather on the garden step Small as a folded note I tuck it in the spine of a book I love Between the lines I wrote The days grow short and the tea grows strong And the hedges turn to rust I don't mind the leaving when I know the reason It's the coming back I trust The swallows have left the wire But the sky still holds their shape A little bit of summer in the way the evening drapes I'll wear my woollen jumper and I'll hum their tune The swallows have left the wire They'll be back in June Somewhere over water, somewhere warm and wide They are learning other rooftops With the same old patient pride And I will keep the porch light And the crumbs along the sill For anything that's wandered And is wandering back still The swallows have left the wire But the sky still holds their shape A little bit of summer in the way the evening drapes I'll wear my woollen jumper and I'll hum their tune The swallows have left the wire They'll be back in June They'll be back in June They'll be back in June