Verse 1 Summer on the water Smoke above the trees You were seventeen You thought you could leave Some things stay sleeping Some things wait their turn You can build a life But you can't unlearn Pre-Chorus Then you came back To the place you knew And the past came walking Straight back to you Chorus Oh, the night birds Know your name They don't ask for much They just remember Oh, the night birds Watch the road When you finally turn around There's nowhere left to go Verse 2 You made a little kingdom Glass and stone and gold Someone came through the doorway Carrying what you sold A name from another summer A face you couldn't place Then suddenly the years were gone And you were seventeen again Chorus Oh, the night birds Know your name They don't ask for much They just remember Oh, the night birds Watch the road When you finally turn around There's nowhere left to go Bridge And maybe we were children Maybe that's the truth Maybe being young explains What being older cannot undo So leave the light on Leave the door Let the truth come in Don't hide anymore Final Chorus Oh, the night birds Know your name But they don't have to hurt you To make you change Oh, the night birds Let you go When the morning finds the trees And the fire's burning low Outro Summer fades. The woods grow still. Somewhere in the distance A bird takes flight. And for once you don't run.
