Witness

from Divest by Steve Layman

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lyrics

I wrote you something better than this
Right after we met, right after we first kissed.
I searched the world for that lost limb of words
But now it’s gone, I’ll start over.

Back up on the rooftop
Of the Wolf of West Philly’s bike shop,
We exchanged names
Along with shirt-sleeves;
Passed filters with the crashing sun.
Then Sam burned down the hospital
With the help of the Crutchfield Queens.
We were spreading sparks,
Eyes flying like larks;
With torch songs burning
In every hearth.

I thought I could find your fire
If I stayed on that rooftop
The city’s lights just cast a blight
I could barely see the moon.

You said to me your mind was dirty,
I thought sultry, coy and bright
You said to me your mind was evil,
Illegible, unkind.
I ripped the strings of my guitars.
Hoped you’d trust your hands, see how they work
I thought if you looked inside
You’d see something you’d recognize.

Two broken smiles and battered bodies
Yearning for something bigger
A pair of hands with trembling fingers
When forced in between lines
We walked together when the leaves unhinged
We built fires in hearths when days grew dark
We walked together with stiff roots sucking at the summer rolling in

Let’s see the seasons turn again
On our heads and sides for the rest of our lives
Let’s see the seasons turn again
While we’re burning with time

credits

from Divest, released March 8, 2018

license

about

Steve Layman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

loner punk written by a lonely person.

discography

Selfish

Mar 2020
Divest

Mar 2018
Keepsakes

Dec 2014
Hope Is All We Have

Sep 2013

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