[INTRO] The morning held its breath Along the edge of the road Cold water under sycamores Moving dark below Then something pale came rising From the hollow of the creek A white and smoky serpent Drifting slowly through the trees [VERSE 1] It curled above the treeline Then loosened in the air I couldn't tell where it began Or where it wasn't there The windshield caught the morning In a wash of silver gray I slowed a little for it Then the road pulled me away [PRE-CHORUS] I looked once through the glass Then looked again It changed its shape It changed again [CHORUS] I couldn't keep it I couldn't stay White smoke rising Then gone away I watched it leave I let it leave And for one moment I was still [VERSE 2] There was coffee in the console There was rain along the glass A song I'd heard a hundred times Was playing low and fast A truck came round the corner The light changed up ahead The world went on exactly As it had before I'd seen it [PRE-CHORUS] I thought about the reaching We all learn to do How quickly we put names on things Before they're even through So I kept my hands upon the wheel And let the moment pass [CHORUS] I couldn't keep it I couldn't stay White smoke rising Then gone away I watched it leave I let it leave And for one moment I was still [POST-CHORUS] White over water White through the trees Nothing to hold Nothing to keep White over water Gone before me I watched it leave I let it leave [BRIDGE] Maybe no one else Will ever know What moved above the water Before the morning broke Maybe I'll forget The shape it made But I'll remember stopping When everything else moved away [FINAL CHORUS] I couldn't keep it I couldn't stay White smoke rising Then gone away I watched it leave I let it leave And for one moment I was still [FINAL POST-CHORUS] No one saw it No one knew There was nothing I could prove But I remember How it moved And that was true [OUTRO] The creek kept running The road kept going The trees let in the light I drove on slowly I drove on slowly And carried what I couldn't keep Into the rest of my life
