Five Fifty-Five

[Intro] Five hundred fifty-five. That sounds worse out loud. [Verse] No candles on the table No names upon the door I stopped inviting people A few lifetimes ago I've had birthdays by the ocean I've had birthdays under siege Once in a house that isn't there now Somewhere underneath the trees Tonight the city keeps on moving Like cities always do And somewhere down there someone thinks Forever can't be true [Refrain] Five fifty-five And I'm still here Another year Another century drawing near Five fifty-five I've learned this much: Forever isn't endless When you're living every day of it [Progressive Passage] I had a mother once A father too A room A name A life I thought I knew I laughed too loud I fell in love I made the kind of promises You make when one life is enough And then— I died. [Heavy Rise] I remember the silence I remember the cold I remember opening my eyes When I should have stayed gone No voice from heaven No hand from below No explanation waiting Just a heart that started beating When it had no right to go [Refrain] Five fifty-five And I'm still here I've buried names I've watched whole worlds disappear Five fifty-five And this much is true: I'm not the only one There are others who came through [Free-Form Section] Some I like. Some I haven't liked for three hundred years. We don't have meetings. We don't have rules. At least none we all agree on. We have stories. Contradictions. Warnings passed from century to century. Who chose us? Why? Ask ten of us and you'll hear eleven answers. [Build] But there is one thing we all know. When another one is near— you feel it. [Electric Harp Break] [Quiet] No. Not tonight. [Final Rise] One note in the silence One tremor through the room A feeling I remember Before I know from whom Five hundred fifty-five years And I still know that sound Someone like me is somewhere in this town [Outro] Happy birthday, Janice. ... Whoever you are— you have terrible timing.