# NOWHERE TO LAY MY SWORD [Verse 1] I carried you through four cold years In things I couldn't bear to lose Your guitar, your clothes, your childhood Every little ghost of you Then the water came and took them Swept your fingerprints away And tonight I took your pillow To the curb where the dead things stay [Pre-Chorus] It was stained with the last goodbye The place they tried to bring you back I knew it couldn't stay forever But knowing doesn't make it less of that [Chorus] Where do I lay my sword and shield? Where do I go when I can't stand? I need the arms that once held me When the world was more than I could bear One would hold me through the breaking One would tell me, "Enough, you're here" But the ones I want to comfort me Are the ones I cannot reach And I am so tired of being strong When all I want is to be held I have nowhere to lay my sword Nowhere to lay my shield [Verse 2] My father would let the storm run through me Then he'd make me face the day "He's gone," he'd say, "the dead don't answer" And now he's gone, and I am left to stay The other knew the weight of silence When my tears would not relent He would hold me through the breaking Though the helpless filled his eyes [Pre-Chorus] Now I stand beneath the doorway With the floodwater at my feet Every piece I put in boxes Feels like one more part of me [Chorus] Where do I lay my sword and shield? Where do I go when I can't stand? I need the arms that once held me When the world was more than I could bear One would hold me through the breaking One would tell me, "Enough, you're here" But the ones I want to comfort me Are the ones I cannot reach And I am so tired of being strong When all I want is to be held I have nowhere to lay my sword Nowhere to lay my shield [Bridge] The pillow's gone The scent is gone The water took the things you left But it cannot take the years It cannot take the way you held me It cannot take the way he said "Enough now, child. Come back to earth." Though I still don't know how to do that [Final Chorus] Where do I lay my sword and shield? Where do I go when I can't stand? I need the arms that once held me When the world was more than I could bear One would hold me through the breaking One would tell me, "Enough, you're here" But the ones I want to comfort me Are the ones I cannot reach And I am so tired of being strong When all I want is to be held I have nowhere to lay my sword Nowhere to lay my shield [Outro] The curb is cold The house is still The night is swallowing the street I have nowhere to lay my sword But I remember how they held me And for a moment I can breathe
