Track 4 of the EP Tea-Time Requests · 2018
Teach Me the Words You Know
“My dad hums an old song while he peels an apple, and I'm learning the words. It's tender and a bit shy.”
xinyao · family folk · gentle singalong · 2:40
Lyrics
Dad hums an old campus melody While he peels an apple at the sink I ask him where he learned it He pauses, takes a moment, and a think He sang it on the steps with friends Guitar passed round the evening air Now his memory lets some words slip But the tune is always there Teach me the words you know Before the evening light goes low I'll write them down in my own hand So the song can still be sung and stand Teach me the words you know Sing it slow, sing it slow Every line you keep and share Is a letter to the years that care We sit together on the porch With a mug of something warm He gives me one more verse today And I hold it through the storm Thank you for the songs you saved For the singing in the shade What you gave is what I keep Words are bridges we have made Teach me the words you know Before the evening light goes low I'll write them down in my own hand So the song can still be sung and stand Teach me the words you know Sing it slow, sing it slow Every line you keep and share Is a letter to the years that care Sing it slow, sing it slow Teach me the words you know