[Intro] Careful. Careful. Don't shake the fence. [Verse 1] One foot on the bottom wire One hand gripping rusty steel You go first, I'll watch the window Tell me if you see him move Over. Down. Don't laugh. There's the orchard Three rows back Past the shed and through the grass [Pre-Chorus] Slow now Keep your head down He's probably inside Probably. [Verse 2] First tree's useless Second one's better Third has branches hanging low Shirt pulled up into a basket Take the big ones Time to go One for later Two more quickly There's another by your knee Why are these so much more exciting Than the better ones for free? [Chorus - restrained, quietly excited] Better because they weren't ours Better on the other side We had cherries, pears and apples We had everything we liked But these were worth a scraped-up elbow Worth the dirt beneath our nails Better because they weren't ours Until somebody yelled: HEY! [Break] ... Don't move. ... RUN! [Fast instrumental transition - sudden panic] [Verse 3] Down the branches Hit the ground Half the apples rolling out Shirt still full No time to fix it He's behind us Someone shouts Through the grass Around the shed One goes bouncing down the lane Leave it! Leave it! Keep on running! There goes another one again [Chorus - restrained, quietly excited] Better because they weren't ours Better when we had to run Every apple getting heavier Every second twice as fun We had better ones at Grandma's We both knew it Didn't care Better because they weren't ours And he was gaining So get out of there! [Bridge] The fence. Oh no. The fence. You first. No, YOU first! My shirt is full! So is mine! ... Give me your foot. Not there! Ow! GO! [Final Chorus - restrained, quietly excited] Better because they weren't ours Three survived and maybe four Started with our shirts completely full Lost another by the door Breathing hard behind the bushes Trying not to make a sound Holding apples like we'd stolen Something priceless from the crown Better because they weren't ours That's the only reason why [Outro] We had better apples at Grandma's. Much better. ... Same time tomorrow?
