Brandi Carlile - By The Way I Forgive You Album Lyrics

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Every Time I Hear That Song

A love song was playing on the radio
It made me kind of sad because it made me think of you
And I wonder how you're doing but I wish I didn't care
Because I gave you all I had and got the worst of you

By the way, I forgive you
After all, maybe I should thank you
For giving me what I've found
'Cause without you around
I've been doing just fine
Except for any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)

Didn't it break your heart when you watched my smile fading?
Did it ever cross your mind that one day the tables would be turned?
They told me the best revenge would be a life well lived
And the strongest one that holds would be the hardest one to earn

By the way, I forgive you
After all, maybe I should thank you
For giving me what I've found
'Cause without you around
I've been doing just fine
Except for any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)
Oh, any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)

When I woke up in the morning, I was choking on some words
There were things unsaid between us, there were things you never told
Now that's twice you broke my heart now, the first was way back when
And to know you're still unhappy only makes it break again

By the way, I forgive you
After all, maybe I should thank you
For giving me what I've found
'Cause without you around
I've been doing just fine

By the way, I forgive you
I never will, never will forget you
For giving me what I've found
'Cause without you around
I've been doing just fine
Except for any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)
Oh, any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)
Oh, any time I hear that song
(Ooh ooh)
Ooh, ooh, hmm

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The Joke

You're feeling nervous, aren't you, boy?
With your quiet voice and impeccable style
Don't ever let them steal your joy
And your gentle ways, to keep 'em from running wild
They can kick dirt in your face
Dress you down, and tell you that your place
Is in the middle, when they hate the way you shine
I see you tugging on your shirt
Trying to hide inside of it and hide how much it hurts

Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them

You get discouraged, don't you, girl?
It's your brother's world for a while longer
We gotta dance with the devil on a river
To beat the stream
Call it living the dream, call it kicking the ladder
They come to kick dirt in your face
To call you weak and then displace you
After carrying your baby on your back across the desert
I saw your eyes behind your hair
And you're looking tired, but you don't look scared

Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them

Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them

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Hold Out Your Hand

I run a lot of miles of life and crime
Of mountain climbs and quittin' times
Packing that load of lyin' rhymes
And tired jokes and wooden dimes
I've been everybody's friend, everybody's friend

I could lose my house, I could steal a car
I could serve two masters, living hard
Living like a dog in a cage in a yard
With a fist full of cold hard cash that I can't let go
The devil can't have my soul
The devil can't get your soul
The devil can't get your soul

Hold out your hand
Take hold of mine tonight
Round and round we go
Don't you wanna dance?
I'm a dying man
From the moment we began
Hold out your hand
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)

The hand comes around and the trumpet sounds
And his number calls and the moment he falls
And the haunted halls of man he will understand
He will comprehend
He will not pretend
He will not pretend

When the rain don't fall and the river don't run
And the wind takes orders from the blazing sun
The devil don't break with a fiery snake
And you had about as goddamn much as you can take
The devil don't take a break
That devil don't take a break
The devil don't take a break

Hold out your hand
Take hold of mine tonight
Round and round we go
Won't you wanna dance?
I'm a dying man
From the moment we began
Hold out your hand
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)

Well he came to my door to sell me the fear
With some cameras and bullets and tension and here
A license for killing your own native son
For a careless mistake and a fake plastic gun?
(Come on!)
Deliver your brother from violence and greed
For the mountains, lay down for your faith like a seed
A morning is coming of silver and light
There'll be color and language and nobody wanting to fight
What a glorious sight!
What a glorious sight!

(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)

Hold out your hand (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
Take hold of mine tonight (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
Round and round we go (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
Don't you wanna dance? (Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
I'm a dying man (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
From the moment we began (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
Hold out your hand (ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)
(Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da)

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The Mother

Welcome to the end of being alone inside your mind
You're tethered to another and you're worried all the time
You always knew the melody but you never heard it rhyme

She's fair and she is quiet, Lord, she doesn't look like me
She made me love the morning, she's a holiday at sea
The New York streets are busy as they always used to be
But I am the mother of Evangeline

The first things that she took from me were selfishness and sleep
She broke a thousand heirlooms I was never meant to keep
She filled my life with color, canceled plans, and trashed my car
But none of that was ever who we are

Outside of my windows are the mountains and the snow
I'll hold you while you're sleeping and I wish that I could go
All my rowdy friends are out accomplishing their dreams
But I am the mother of Evangeline

And they've still got their morning paper and their coffee and their time
And they still enjoy their evenings with the skeptics and the wine
Oh, but all the wonders I have seen, I will see a second time
From inside of the ages through your eyes

You are not an accident where no one thought it through
The world has stood against us, made us mean to fight for you
And when we chose your name we knew that you'd fight the power too

You're nothing short of magical and beautiful to me
Oh, I'll never hit the big time without you
So they can keep their treasure and their ties to the machine
'Cause I am the mother of Evangeline

They can keep their treasure and their ties to the machine
'Cause I am the mother of Evangeline
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh

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Whatever You Do

If I don't owe you a favor, you don't know me
I don't believe we've ever even met
If there's a God in heaven, you can show me
Then I guess I should admit I lost the bet
There are moments I could hold you forever
And there are moments that lasted way too long
There are days when I change with the weather
To hold you in place would be wrong

There's a road left behind me that I'd rather not speak of
And a hard one ahead of me, too
I love you, whatever you do
But I got a life to live, too

I never met a morning I could get through
With nothing on my breath to hold the night
And I never said I'm sorry, but I meant to
I never met a coward I don't like
There are reasons why a body stays in motion
But at the moment, only demons come to mind
There are days when I could walk into the ocean
With no one else but you to leave behind

There's a road left behind me that I'd rather not speak of
And a hard one ahead of me, too
I love you, whatever you do
But I got a life to live, too
There's a road left behind me that I'd rather not speak of
And a hard one ahead of me, too, oh
I love you, whatever you do
But I got a life to live, too

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Fulton County Jane Doe

One, two, three, four

Out in the middle of nowhere
With nothing much else to do
Oh, the night brought us together
And I lent my heart to you

Maybe you were running way from something
Without so much as a plan
Not a living soul to guide you
Jesus tattooed on your hand

God, the whole world's gone crazy
And there's only God to blame
Somebody called you something sweet once
It was more than Fulton County Jane

And when my heart has no rest
And a thousand things are on my mind
I'll always save some room for you
I won't let you get left behind

Oh, and I always will remember
When the lonely day is through
That somewhere fall from Fulton County
A stranger says a prayer for you

God, the whole world's gone crazy
And there's only God to blame
Your mother calls you something sweet once
It was more than Fulton County Jane
Fulton County Jane

We came into this life with nothing
And all we're taking is a name
That's why I've written you this song
This is for Fulton County Jane

God, the whole world's gone crazy
And there's only God to blame
Your mother called you something sweet once, darling
You're more than Fulton County, Fulton County Jane
Fulton County Jane

Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
(Ooh)
(Ooh)
(Ooh)
(Ooh)

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Sugartooth

He wasn't really known for breaking the rules
When he arrived in the second year of my high school
He wasn't so much of a twist of fate
As a short turn up from a Southern state
He was born with a sweet tooth he couldn't beat
Always trying to find himself something sweet
All that he found was a trouble and me
Or maybe trouble just found him

It was hard to hide that his heart had scars
He would stay up late talking to the stars
People tried to blame him for making bad choices
When he was only listening to the voices
And searching for some kind of deeper truth
Between the lines and the Bible and living proof
There's no point now to judge him in vain
If you haven't been there, you don't know the pain

He was a liar, but not a fraud
Living proof that there was no God
Just the devil, stiff as a rod
A slave to a sugartooth

His life became more than he could take
He found a bad habit he couldn't break
Nothing could tame him and nothing could hold him
He only took the pills when the doctor told him
Looking to help for the something sweet
To make his life feel less incomplete
What in the hell are you going to do
When the world has made its mind up about you?

He was a liar, but not a fraud
Living proof that there was no God
Just the Devil, stiff as a rod
A slave to a sugartooth

He wanted to be a better man
Then life kicked him down like an old tin can
He would give you the shirt on his back
If not for a sugartooth

They found him lying on his bed
With a gun in his hand and a quiet head
His broken heart, now, is finally gone
But I know that he had to hurt for too long
To think he had fought it all on his own
Just to lose the battle and die alone
After so many years of feeling the loss
He finally made his way back home

And I heard they put what was left in a box
And took it to a place called Jesus Rock
And scattered him all over jagged mound
As a symbol to all that the peace had been found
But not for a sign is left behind
With a hand stuck reaching back in time
To a place in which you can never unwind
I hope he found something so sweet

He was a liar, but not a fraud
Living proof that there was no God
Just the Devil, stiff as a rod
A slave to a sugartooth

He wanted to be a better man
But life kicked him down like an old tin can
He would give you the shirt on his back
If not for a sugartooth

Ooh, ooh, ooh, a slave to a sugartooth
Ooh, ooh, ooh, a slave to a sugartooth
Ooh, ooh, ooh, a slave to a sugartooth
Ooh, ooh, ooh, a slave to a sugartooth

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Most Of All

I haven't seen my father in some time
But his face is always staring back at me
His heavy hands hang at the ends of my arms
And my colors change like the sea

But I don't worry much about time lost
I'm not gunning for the dreams I couldn't find
'Cause he taught me how to walk the best that I can
On the road I've left behind

But most of all
He taught me to forgive
How to keep a cool head
How to love the one you're with
And when I'm far into the distance
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love
Give away your love
When you give your love away
Give away your love

I haven't heard my mother's voice in a while
But her words are always falling out my mouth
My mind and spirit are at odds sometimes
And they fight like the north and the south

But I still care enough to bear the weight
Of the heaviness to which my heart is tethered
She taught me how to be strong and say goodbye
And that love is forever

But most of all
She taught me how to fight
How to move across the line
Between the wrong and the right
And when I'm turned out in the darkness
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love
Give away your love
When you give your love away
Give away your love

Give your love away
Oh, give your love away
And remember what comes back to you
Give your love away
Oh, give your love away
And remember what comes back to you

I haven't seen my father in some time
But his face is always staring back at me
His heavy hands swing at the ends of my arms
And my colors change like the sea

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Harder To Forgive

I love the songs I hated when I was young
Because they take me back where I come from
When every broken heart seemed like the end
When everyone was someone different then

But I can't be alone in a crowded room
Where my thoughts, they run like water down a flume
There are days when I will let the darkness rise
I don't always choose to stay on the sunny side

Sometimes I pretend we never met (ooh)
Because it's harder to forgive than to forget
Sometimes it's harder to forgive

Yes, my life has seen some wasted time
I have suffered for the peace inside my mind
And some things are better left unsaid
While some things work out different when they're in your head

But I'm not sorry for the things I say
Sometimes I let my mouth just run away
And I believe that all souls are born kind
And that all love lost comes back in time

Sometimes I pretend we never met (ooh)
Because it's harder to forgive than to forget
Sometimes it's harder to forgive

And even if the world is really round
And all the maps are painted upside down
So if you stand in one place for too long
Everything around you will be gone
Well, I'm not gonna miss you when I'm gone
Now the part of me that's left wants you to know
That I'm not gonna jump towards the light
The ones who believe choose life

Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ah, ooh
Ah

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Party Of One

Waiter send this to the table, the party of one
The only other lonely soul in this place
And so you're finishing up your coffee
But then where you gonna run?
Where'd you get that look on your face?

You should always let the sun go down on your anger
Let it burn you to sleep
And bring it closer to the danger
To surrender and retreat
Sing your sad soul to sleep

I loved you the first time I saw you
And you know I love you still
But I am tired
And I am yours

Don't even think about your freedom or taking that flight
Or going back upon your promise after fighting for the right
Because your eggshells and your "I" statements and your weaponized words
Are paper tigers now

Oh, your constant overthinking and your secretive drinking
Are making you more and more alone
And girl, you can slam the door behind you
It ain't ever gonna close
Because when you're home, you're already home

I am tired
I am tired
I don't wanna go home anymore
I don't wanna throw stones anymore
I don't wanna take part in the war

I loved you the first time I saw you
And you know I love you still
I loved you the first time I saw you
And you know I love you still

I don't wanna be right anymore
Lord, I don't wanna fight anymore
I'm not taking your side anymore
I am tired
I am not my own
And I am leaving
Oh, I am tired
But I'm coming home

'Cause I am yours, I am yours, I am yours, I am yours, I am yours
I am yours, I am yours, I am yours, I am yours, I am yours