the matthew show

Lyrics

I have held my heart in a quiet room
Full of dreams most now forsaken
Where the hot dust blows from lands beyond
And dries the old men barren
I have carried my heart in a crowded street
With the man-made mountains looming
Hope and fear entwined on a subway line
With the distant dock cranes booming

I have held my heart in a quiet room
Where the doctors left me gasping
Made solemn promises to tiny hands
Who knew not what they were grasping
I have steadied my heart in the long slow hours
When it threatened to escape me
Fed it scraps and bones in stolen moments
And cried when it betrayed me
I have given my heart a different name
The moment that it asked me
For I am not the same man that I was
Rebirth both dooms and saves me

I have sent my heart to a far-off land
Full of dreams I scarcely fathom
Where the cold winds blow from peaks beyond
To protect it from the old men barren
I have given my heart in pieces so
Many times, so many places
Hoping one day they return to me
Bearing tales of their adventures
But in the end, the love we take
Is what we make, minus expenses
And I will die with goals unreached
Though better for the attempting

So I will hold my heart in this quiet room
With dreams most now forsaken
And be grateful for the hearts who give
Their love to old men barren
Forgive me all my blunders dire
My unintended damage
I have only ever known to love
More than my heart can manage

I have wrapped my heart in blankets rough
In the howling of this tempest
May you find it when you need it most
Even if my time has ended