The Piano Wire Lullaby

Lyrics

My mother hummed me down to sleep
With a tune she never named
She'd sing it low, half to herself
Like a secret she was saving
I never knew the words she meant
Just the way the notes would lean
And I have carried that soft sound
Through every room I've been

Hush now, hush now, little light
Let the day go slowly down
I will sing the tune she gave me
When the whole wide world is round
Hush now, hush now, little one
There's a hand that holds you near
And the melody goes on and on
Long after we're not here

Tonight a child is in my arms
Wide awake and small and warm
I find the tune up in my throat
Like a bird before the storm
The same old turns, the same soft fall
That my mother used to hum
And I swear I hear her somewhere
Where the quiet lullabies come

Hush now, hush now, little light
Let the day go slowly down
I will sing the tune she gave me
When the whole wide world is round
Hush now, hush now, little one
There's a hand that holds you near
And the melody goes on and on
Long after we're not here

A song is just a thread of breath
Passed hand to hand to hand
From the ones who sang before us
To the ones who'll understand

The small eyes close, the room goes still
The lamp is turned down low
I hum the last of what she gave
And I let the whole song go

Hush now, hush now, little light
Let the day go slowly down
I will sing the tune she gave me
When the whole wide world is round
Hush now, hush now, little one
There's a hand that holds you near
And the melody goes on and on
Long after we're not here

Hush now, hush now
Hush now