On a Cliff Above the Sea

+ Show full styles

(Pre-Chorus)
A whisper first, a teasing at the hem
A cold familiar dread, a sinking in of dread
A frantic push, a palm held flat and low
Not here, not now, please no, oh please no.
The memories of playground gusts, a child's faint disgrace
Now written on my face.

(Verse 2)
A second gust, a stronger, colder hand
My fight's a joke, it doesn't understand
My books fall first, a scatter on the stone
I'm fighting for a cause I know I can't own
Two hands now, clenched, a desperate, failing prayer
The fabric whips and stings the uncaring air

(Pre-Chorus)
A final pull, a surrender in the thread
A soundless scream inside my head
A lift, a flight, a dance against the sun
My dignity, undone.

(Bridge)
And there it goes, a scrap on the abyss
A punctuation mark on this
The hottest, coldest silence I have known
I am completely and utterly alone
And then his voice, "I'll get it," soft and low
The deepest kind of blush, from head to toe
To need his help, to have him be the one
The tender mercy that undoes me more than the sun.

(Verse 3)
I still wear the skirt. I feel the phantom gust.
I don't wear safety shorts, I don't hide, I don't trust
The air to be still. I just remember the fall,
The awful, honest truth of it all.
That sometimes you're just standing there,
Raw and ridiculous and bare.

(Pre-Chorus)
A final pull, a surrender in the thread
A soundless scream inside my head
A lift, a flight, a dance against the sun
My dignity, undone.

(Chorus)
And the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride
A gust that pulled the navy tide right up against the sky
And held it at my waist for all the world to see
The silk, the beige, the childish shame displayed for me
A flag of my vulnerability
On a cliff above the sea.
Yeah, the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride
Left me standing there with nothing left to hide
Just the silk, the beige, a pattern I outgrew
A moment that was painfully and perfectly true
A flag of my vulnerability
For him, the sky, and me.

2848/7500

(Verse 1) The sea salt air, a taste so sharp and clean On the Portofino path, all emerald and serene My pleated skirt, a patch of navy blue A perfect afternoon, until the wind blew through I thought I was alone, just me and the wide sky Didn't see him standing there, I didn't see his eye (Pre-Chorus) A whisper first, a teasing at the hem A cold familiar dread, a sinking in of dread A frantic push, a palm held flat and low Not here, not now, please no, oh please no. The memories of playground gusts, a child's faint disgrace Now written on my face. (Chorus) And the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride A gust that pulled the navy tide right up against the sky And held it at my waist for all the world to see The silk, the beige, the childish shame displayed for me A flag of my vulnerability On a cliff above the sea. (Verse 2) A second gust, a stronger, colder hand My fight's a joke, it doesn't understand My books fall first, a scatter on the stone I'm fighting for a cause I know I can't own Two hands now, clenched, a desperate, failing prayer The fabric whips and stings the uncaring air (Pre-Chorus) A final pull, a surrender in the thread A soundless scream inside my head A lift, a flight, a dance against the sun My dignity, undone. (Chorus) And the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride A gust that pulled the navy tide right up against the sky And held it at my waist for all the world to see The silk, the beige, the childish shame displayed for me A flag of my vulnerability On a cliff above the sea. (Bridge) And there it goes, a scrap on the abyss A punctuation mark on this The hottest, coldest silence I have known I am completely and utterly alone And then his voice, "I'll get it," soft and low The deepest kind of blush, from head to toe To need his help, to have him be the one The tender mercy that undoes me more than the sun. (Verse 3) I still wear the skirt. I feel the phantom gust. I don't wear safety shorts, I don't hide, I don't trust The air to be still. I just remember the fall, The awful, honest truth of it all. That sometimes you're just standing there, Raw and ridiculous and bare. (Pre-Chorus) A final pull, a surrender in the thread A soundless scream inside my head A lift, a flight, a dance against the sun My dignity, undone. (Chorus) And the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride A gust that pulled the navy tide right up against the sky And held it at my waist for all the world to see The silk, the beige, the childish shame displayed for me A flag of my vulnerability On a cliff above the sea. Yeah, the wind, it won, it tore right through my pride Left me standing there with nothing left to hide Just the silk, the beige, a pattern I outgrew A moment that was painfully and perfectly true A flag of my vulnerability For him, the sky, and me.

0/500