Walking Home the Long Way

Lyrics

I could take the bus that stops outside the door
But I've got a little time and a little more
So I turn left at the baker's, past the chapel wall
Where the ivy's going copper, and the light is long and small

There's a cat who guards the postbox like it's hers
A man who waters geraniums and never once demurs
A child's chalk drawing of a sun, half washed away
And I tip my hat to all of it, the ordinary day

I'm walking home the long way, taking in the town
Letting all the busy thoughts come quietly down
Nobody is waiting, nobody's keeping score
I'm walking home the long way, and I'm happy to be slow

The bridge across the river hums beneath my feet
There's woodsmoke from a chimney and the smell of something sweet
I stop to watch the swallows, or the place where they have been
And the worries of the morning seem like someone else's scene

I'm walking home the long way, taking in the town
Letting all the busy thoughts come quietly down
Nobody is waiting, nobody's keeping score
I'm walking home the long way, and I'm happy to be slow

We hurry through the best of it
The corners and the quiet bits
But the world is made of small things
Found when you let the minutes sing

I'm walking home the long way, taking in the town
Letting all the busy thoughts come quietly down
Nobody is waiting, nobody's keeping score
I'm walking home the long way, and I'm happy to be slow

Turn left at the baker's, past the chapel wall
The long way home is the best way of all