Track 3 of the album Houseplants for Company · 2024
The Guitar the Last Tenant Left
by Wren Hallett
“The last tenant left a guitar behind, dust on every sill, and I couldn't leave it there. It's tuned a little flat, and so is the song.”
indie folk · heirloom folk · wistful folk · 4:13
Lyrics
Boxes stacked against the wall Dust on every sill A guitar in the cupboard Where the last tenant left it still One string gone, the case is cracked A sticker peeling at the seam I sit down on the bare floor And I play it like a dream Somebody sang here before me Somebody tuned this wood Now the room is mine to fill And I'll play it the best I could Old guitar, left behind Show me what you kept I'll learn the songs inside your grain And sing them while I'm unpacked and unswept Rain is on the window glass The kettle's not yet found I tune it to a lonely note And hear its quiet sound There's a pencilled word inside the hole A name I cannot read Maybe it was written for A love, or just a need Somebody sang here before me Somebody tuned this wood Now the room is mine to fill And I'll play it the best I could Old guitar, left behind Show me what you kept I'll learn the songs inside your grain And sing them while I'm unpacked and unswept Maybe I'll find the string tomorrow Maybe I'll find the shop Maybe the strangers who came before Wanted this tune never to stop Evening settles in the hall The streetlamp turns to gold I put the blanket round my knees Against the autumn cold Four strings sing it plenty well The fifth I'll fix in time Whoever left this here for me Thank you for the rhyme Somebody sang here before me Somebody tuned this wood Now the room is mine to fill And I'll play it the best I could Old guitar, left behind Show me what you kept I'll learn the songs inside your grain And sing them while I'm unpacked and unswept Somebody sang here before me Now it's me Now it's me