Songs for Ali

Verse 1

Rain comes down on the market roof Lemons stacked up gold and true Something in that ordinary sight Reminds this whole room of you

Chorus

Ali, Ali, light up the room Every year you make it worth the tally Nobody shines quite the way you do Not down any other alley

Verse 2

You turn the plainest day around Make the grey outside feel fine Even lemons look like sunshine When you're standing in the line

Pre-chorus

So let the candles catch and glow Let the whole table lean in closer Because tonight is yours to hold

Chorus

Ali, Ali, light up the room Every year you make it worth the tally Nobody shines quite the way you do Not down any other alley

Bridge

However far this year has pulled you We're glad you're here right now Happy and loud and completely you That's all we came to allow

Chorus

Ali, Ali, light up the room Every year you make it worth the tally Nobody shines quite the way you do Not down any other alley

Outro

Let it rain on every crate of lemons We'll still be glad we know you

Verse 1

Doorbell ringing, glass jars shake Sardines rattling for your sake Something's coming up the walk Whole house lights up wide awake

Pre-chorus

Grab the fiddle, grab your hands Word is out across the land Get up close, don't sit and stall

Chorus

Ali, Ali, ring that bell Everybody knows you well Down the alley, through the hall Ali, you're the one we tell

Verse 2

Shelves of jars line up in rows Nothing shines like you, heaven knows Every year you come around Something in this old house grows

Chorus

Ali, Ali, ring that bell Everybody knows you well Down the alley, through the hall Ali, you're the one we tell

Bridge

We'd wait all year behind that door Just to hear your feet once more You're the reason we all rally Worth more than gold in any valley

Chorus

Ali, Ali, ring that bell Everybody knows you well Down the alley, through the hall Ali, you're the one we tell

Outro

Glass jars shine behind the door We're glad you're here, we want much more

Verse 1

Bare feet climbing through the dust Wallpaper peeling off the wall Even then we knew we must Follow wherever you would call

Chorus

Ali, light the horns and rally Every voice will find the tune Ali, dancing down the alley Born to fill an empty room

Verse 2

Every crack we ever climbed Led us straight back here to you Nothing broken, nothing timed Just a love that always grew

Pre-chorus

So raise the brass and let it swell Bring the noise from every hall Something in you rings so well

Chorus

Ali, light the horns and rally Every voice will find the tune Ali, dancing down the alley Born to fill an empty room

Bridge

However far the years have gone You still shine like something new We are glad you carried on Glad the world holds onto you

Chorus

Ali, light the horns and rally Every voice will find the tune Ali, dancing down the alley Born to fill an empty room

Outro

Dust still rises where you go We would follow, this you know

Verse 1

Two socks pinned along the line Swing together, side by side Simple thing, but it says enough You're the reason I don't hide

Pre-chorus

I don't need the noise or show Just the pull of you nearby Something steady, starting to grow

Chorus

Ali, you are steady ground Ali, close as breath to me Wind can turn the whole sky round Still I'd choose you, plain to see

Verse 2

Some days the wind blows hard and wild Some days it barely stirs at all Either way you're pinned to me Steady even when I fall

Bridge

Not every love needs to shout Some just settle, calm and slow You're the proof that quietly stays Long after the wind lets go

Chorus

Ali, you are steady ground Ali, close as breath to me Wind can turn the whole sky round Still I'd choose you, plain to see

Outro

Two socks still swinging on the line Still holding on, still yours, still mine

Verse 1

One lamp lights the frozen street I walk it slow on tired feet Somehow it always brings you close You make the coldest nights feel sweet

Pre-chorus

My heart keeps circling round your name Nothing about this feels the same I don't know how to hold it in

Chorus

Ali, you're the warmth in the cold You steady me when I feel old I never planned on falling deep Ali, you're the best I hold

Verse 2

We don't need to fill the air Silence sits like it belongs there I still reach for you in the dark And find you always there to share

Chorus

Ali, you're the warmth in the cold You steady me when I feel old I never planned on falling deep Ali, you're the best I hold

Bridge

Seasons change, but this stays true Every part of me still chooses you Not because it's easy, only because it's you There's no version of my life without you

Chorus

Ali, you're the warmth in the cold You steady me when I feel old I never planned on falling deep Ali, you're the best I hold

Outro

One more street, one more autumn leaf Every step still leads to you, Ali

Verse 1

Grey clouds settle on the stone You never needed to hide at all nothing about you stands alone I love what stays when the water falls

Pre-chorus

I've seen what waits beneath the calm the way the water learns to leave and every time, it's you I find

Chorus

Ali, I find you in the grey You steady me when the tide moves through Ali, you stay when the clouds won't stray Everything I feel is true

Verse 2

You wear your quiet like the shore not empty, just laid open wide I've learned to love what waits for more the steady kind that doesn't hide

Bridge

If the water comes back rough I already know your shape that's enough to call it love

Chorus

Ali, I find you in the grey You steady me when the tide moves through Ali, you stay when the clouds won't stray Everything I feel is true

Outro

Long after the water's gone I'll still find you in the stones

Verse 1

A single blue flame clicks awake beneath the kettle's weight it hums the house to warmth before it's ever late the steam will rise so slow and settle soft and low and you are held here, Ali, wrapped in all its glow

Chorus

Ali, Ali, close your eyes and let the night grow still Outside, the world can wait while dreams begin to fill you are the warmest light this house will ever know sleep now, little one, and let your breathing slow

Verse 2

The kettle's whisper fades but warmth stays curled around your head it lingers soft and slow like colours turning red you do not need to keep the whole wide world in view for every gentle thing tonight is turning toward you

Pre-chorus

The flame has settled low, its whisper drifting straight to you it wraps around the dark and makes it soft and true and now your heavy eyes are ready to let go

Chorus

Ali, Ali, close your eyes and let the night grow still Outside, the world can wait while dreams begin to fill you are the warmest light this house will ever know sleep now, little one, and let your breathing slow

Bridge

One day you'll wander far past every door and gate but tonight you're small enough to simply lie and wait the whole world holds its breath to keep this moment true and everything that's soft tonight belongs to you

Chorus

Ali, Ali, close your eyes and let the night grow still Outside, the world can wait while dreams begin to fill you are the warmest light this house will ever know sleep now, little one, and let your breathing slow

Outro

The blue flame settles into embers, soft and low and Ali sleeps inside the warmth it left to glow

Verse 1

Orange light comes sweeping soft across the sleeping valley and the engine hums a tune too low to rally you are held here safe while the whole wide world goes still nothing in the dark tonight will make you dally

Pre-chorus

Close your eyes now, let the humming carry every worry every mile ahead is leading somewhere warm and unhurried and all that you need to know is spoken soft, so softly

Chorus

Ali, Ali, rest inside this warm and gentle valley let the engine's hum be all the lullaby, don't dally sleep is close and holding you as gently as a hand you are safe from every corner, every darkened alley

Verse 2

Yellow poles glow soft like lanterns strung along a valley you don't need to count the stops or keep a tally each turn tonight is carrying you closer to your rest and every worry folds away like shadows in an alley

Bridge

No matter how far this journey takes you tonight you are held in more love than the dark can hide

Chorus

Ali, Ali, rest inside this warm and gentle valley let the engine's hum be all the lullaby, don't dally sleep is close and holding you as gently as a hand you are safe from every corner, every darkened alley

Outro

So let the orange light go on sweeping soft and slow and sleep now, Ali, safe inside this valley's glow

Verse 1

Branches drift like slow hands over the white plaster wall telling you it's safe to let your eyes grow deep nothing in this room can ever make you fall for I am here to hold you while you sleep

Pre-chorus

The branches sway like fingers keeping watch through the night soft against the ceiling, turning dark into light and here beneath the quiet, my heart says your name

Chorus

Ali, hush now, sleep deep in this warm and quiet valley where nothing can reach you, no shadow, no harm Ali, you're held while the night holds its tally safe in the hush of my steady arm

Verse 2

Somewhere past the window the world has gone to rest but here inside these walls the light is soft and low you are the quiet centre of every love confessed and I will stay beside you wherever dreams may go

Pre-chorus

The branches sway like fingers keeping watch through the night soft against the ceiling, turning dark into light and here beneath the quiet, my heart says your name

Chorus

Ali, hush now, sleep deep in this warm and quiet valley where nothing can reach you, no shadow, no harm Ali, you're held while the night holds its tally safe in the hush of my steady arm

Bridge

However far the night stretches, however long it feels this small room will hold you until the morning heals

Chorus

Ali, hush now, sleep deep in this warm and quiet valley where nothing can reach you, no shadow, no harm Ali, you're held while the night holds its tally safe in the hush of my steady arm

Outro

The branches keep moving slow shadows across the same white wall and long after you drift off, I'll still be watching over you