Track 1 of the EP Frangipani Afternoons · 2022
Second-Hand Bicycle
by Marigold Tan
“I bought my first bicycle from a stranger for almost nothing, and that rattling bell made me feel like I owned the whole neighbourhood. It's the song I wrote to open every show.”
folk-pop · bedroom folk · singalong pop · 3:55
Lyrics
Bought it from a stranger for a handful of coins Rust along the mudguard and a bell that barely joins Basket made of wicker with a loose and swinging door Somebody else's summers in the scratches that it wore I wheeled it down the hill with the wind behind my back Wobbled past the bakery and the man who fixes track Hedgerows full of blackberries, a lane I'd never found The chain was ticking quietly, a small and steady sound Oh, second-hand bicycle, take me the long way home Past the leaning fence posts and the fields of mown and stone Every hill's a little promise, every bend a little bet That the best of what is coming is the part I haven't met Second-hand bicycle, ring that crooked bell There's a whole wide afternoon and I'm riding it well Found a folded bus ticket tucked beneath the seat A bit of someone's story, now it travels at my feet I think about the rider, where they went and who they knew And I hope the road was kind to them the way it's being to me too Cows lean on the gate to watch me wobble past The sky goes wide and silver and the shadows lengthen fast I stop to eat an apple on a bridge above the stream Feet up on the handlebars, half awake and half a dream Oh, second-hand bicycle, take me the long way home Past the leaning fence posts and the fields of mown and stone Every hill's a little promise, every bend a little bet That the best of what is coming is the part I haven't met Second-hand bicycle, ring that crooked bell There's a whole wide afternoon and I'm riding it well Nothing here is new and nothing here is mine But the road keeps handing over everything it finds Borrowed wheels and borrowed light A borrowed song in the air And I'm rich as anyone has been With nothing much to spare Oh, second-hand bicycle, take me the long way home Past the leaning fence posts and the fields of mown and stone Every hill's a little promise, every bend a little bet That the best of what is coming is the part I haven't met Second-hand bicycle, ring that crooked bell There's a whole wide afternoon and I'm riding it well Ring that crooked bell I'm riding it well