Songs for Atlas

Verse 1

Three paper cups out on a bench You laughed so loud the pigeons fled One flame still fighting the damp We wouldn't want you any other way

Pre-chorus

You never asked for much at all Just cheap cups and a candle stub But look how many came for you

Chorus

Atlas, this whole bench is yours tonight Nobody else could hold the light Rain on the wax but it still glows Atlas, we're glad you came at last

Verse 2

You blow it out on the second try The wick gives up in a thread of smoke Somebody claps like you'd won a race We wouldn't want you any other way

Bridge

Doesn't matter the cups don't match Doesn't matter the bench is damp You're the reason we're stood out here Freezing, grinning, glad we came

Chorus

Atlas, this whole bench is yours tonight Nobody else could hold the light Rain on the wax but it still glows Atlas, we're glad you came at last

Outro

Pour the last drops from the paper cups Here's to you, Atlas, every year

Verse 1

We stacked the chairs up high waiting on the day to fly by folded up against the wall but you were never small at all

Chorus

Atlas, Atlas, up you rise warm as sunshine, no disguise light the room the way you do Atlas, we're all here for you

Verse 2

The village hall was cold and grey till someone shouted, it's your day chairs against the radiator nothing's ever felt much greater

Pre-chorus

Somebody find the music now get the candles, take a bow cause the feeling's building loud and true

Chorus

Atlas, Atlas, up you rise warm as sunshine, no disguise light the room the way you do Atlas, we're all here for you

Bridge

No matter where the years have gone this is the one you're standing on loved right here, right now, at last holding steady, holding fast

Chorus

Atlas, Atlas, up you rise warm as sunshine, no disguise light the room the way you do Atlas, we're all here for you

Outro

Fold the chairs back by the wall you're the warmest thing of all

Verse 1

Steam on the glass, the whole cafe glowing Six paper hats fell down askew Nobody moved to fix a single one Because the laughing all was over you

Chorus

Atlas, the candles are lit for you now Everybody here came just for this Atlas, we're raising our cups to your name This is the day we never miss

Verse 2

You walked in shaking off the weather Grinning like you'd won some race Every table turned to watch you land You bring the warmth into any place

Pre-chorus

So let the crooked hats stay crooked Let the whole cafe sing along We've been saving up this breath for you

Chorus

Atlas, the candles are lit for you now Everybody here came just for this Atlas, we're raising our cups to your name This is the day we never miss

Bridge

Another year has found you, at last And still you light up every room Nobody here would rather be elsewhere We came because of you

Chorus

Atlas, the candles are lit for you now Everybody here came just for this Atlas, we're raising our cups to your name This is the day we never miss

Outro

Six paper hats behind the window Still tipped over, still for you

Verse 1

Trolley wheels rattle through the grey Rain comes down at the end of day Nothing here is soft or new But I would push it home for you

Pre-chorus

I have watched you in small light Ordinary, plain, and right Something's rising, I can't hold it back

Chorus

Atlas, you carry more than most Steady where I need you most Atlas, hear me say at last You are the one that I hold fast

Verse 2

Puddles catching neon light You laugh soft into the night No one else would stay this late But you never seemed to mind the wait

Pre-chorus

I have watched you in small light Ordinary, plain, and right Something's rising, I can't hold it back

Chorus

Atlas, you carry more than most Steady where I need you most Atlas, hear me say at last You are the one that I hold fast

Bridge

No grand stage, no perfect scene Just you, quiet, in between This is where the real love grows In the dark, where no one goes

Chorus

Atlas, you carry more than most Steady where I need you most Atlas, hear me say at last You are the one that I hold fast

Outro

Somewhere wheels still turn through rain I would walk that lot again

Verse 1

The kettle clicks and you're already up Two mugs waiting where they always stand Some mornings say more than words could say I know your step before you're near

Pre-chorus

No grand plans, no promises made loud Just how you turn and pass me mine This is the part I never say enough

Chorus

Atlas, you're the warmth I lean toward Steady hands I never have to ask for Some folks chase what shines and passes Atlas, you're the one that lasts

Verse 2

You laugh at something only you find funny Steam rising while the grey light comes through I watch you like it's still the first time Small things you do that I hold onto

Bridge

I've had loud loves and fast ones too None of them stayed like this stays You don't have to try, you just arrive And somehow that undoes me every day

Chorus

Atlas, you're the warmth I lean toward Steady hands I never have to ask for Some folks chase what shines and passes Atlas, you're the one that lasts

Outro

Two mugs cooling on the sink Still your hand finding mine

Verse 1

I stand beneath the flicking signs waiting on a platform, cold and bare every name that clatters by means nothing until I picture you standing there

Pre-chorus

My heart keeps ticking like those boards spinning through the names it cannot place still it lands on only one for certain

Chorus

Atlas, you're the one I'm waiting for every station empty till you come Atlas, nothing here feels right before you arrive and everything's undone

Verse 2

I've watched a hundred trains pull through never once did my breath catch this way you walked slow like time was only asking one more moment before you'd stay

Pre-chorus

My heart keeps ticking like those boards spinning through the names it cannot place still it lands on only one for certain

Chorus

Atlas, you're the one I'm waiting for every station empty till you come Atlas, nothing here feels right before you arrive and everything's undone

Bridge

No timetable could hold what I feel no departure ever pulls us apart you're the constant that the boards can't measure steady like the beat inside my heart

Chorus

Atlas, you're the one I'm waiting for every station empty till you come Atlas, nothing here feels right before you arrive and everything's undone

Outro

The boards keep ticking, but I don't mind you're already here, and I'm not blind

Verse 1

Far away a lighthouse turns its slow and gentle beam Sweeping soft across the dark like something out of a dream You are watching how it passes, calm and white and slow Wrapped in blankets, warm and quiet, nowhere left to go

Pre-chorus

Every corner of this room is soft and safe tonight Nothing here can reach you, held so close and held so right Close your eyes and let it carry you to something bright

Chorus

Atlas, sleep, and let the whole night pass Rest so easy, little one, at last I am here, and here is where you stay Atlas, dream, till morning finds its way

Verse 2

That beam of light will circle round and find this wall again Steady as a heartbeat, always gentle, never plain You do not need to watch it, you can let your eyelids fall Someone here is holding you through all of it, through all

Pre-chorus

Every corner of this room is soft and safe tonight Nothing here can reach you, held so close and held so right Close your eyes and let it carry you to something bright

Chorus

Atlas, sleep, and let the whole night pass Rest so easy, little one, at last I am here, and here is where you stay Atlas, dream, till morning finds its way

Bridge

Somewhere far off, someone keeps a light for sailors lost at sea But nothing out there shines as steady as the love in me You are not adrift, you never will be, never far from shore

Chorus

Atlas, sleep, and let the whole night pass Rest so easy, little one, at last I am here, and here is where you stay Atlas, dream, till morning finds its way

Outro

Somewhere still that beam goes sweeping gently over sleeping walls And you are held here safe and warm, whatever falls

Verse 1

Somewhere down the hall a heavy clock is swinging slow Its brass hands keeping time so soft you'd barely hear it pass Every quiet beat is measured out to let you go Down into the kind of sleep that always holds you fast

Chorus

Atlas, close your eyes, the whole wide night is holding still There is nowhere safer than this warm and sleepy patch Nothing in the dark tonight will ever mean you ill Atlas, you are loved beyond whatever you could catch

Verse 2

Far off in the shadows something swings and never stops Steady as a heartbeat that was made to never rest You are wrapped up warmer than the softest thing it drops Sinking low and easy into everything that's blessed

Pre-chorus

Listen how the ticking slows the tumble of your day Feel the weight of sleepiness now pulling you to stay Let the swinging carry every worry far away

Chorus

Atlas, close your eyes, the whole wide night is holding still There is nowhere safer than this warm and sleepy patch Nothing in the dark tonight will ever mean you ill Atlas, you are loved beyond whatever you could catch

Bridge

Somewhere in another room the pendulum swings on for you Marking every minute as a minute you are loved

Chorus

Atlas, close your eyes, the whole wide night is holding still There is nowhere safer than this warm and sleepy patch Nothing in the dark tonight will ever mean you ill Atlas, you are loved beyond whatever you could catch

Outro

Somewhere down the hall the brass is swinging slow and true Sleep now, little one, that steady heart is here for you

Verse 1

Somewhere past the glass a quiet wing is folding down to rest Nothing in the dark tonight will ever come to find you All the small brown feathers settle soft against the sill Sleep is only kindness wrapped in shadow laid behind you

Pre-chorus

Close your eyes and let the house grow warm and slow around you Every little sound outside is just the night saying goodnight Nothing has to happen now except the breathing

Chorus

Atlas, the whole wide world can wait until the morning Rest here where the quiet holds you close and safe at last Nobody needs you to be anything but sleepy Atlas, this small warm bed is yours, it's yours to hold you fast

Verse 2

The owl outside is watching over branches, not the window Guarding nothing but the calm that settles once you're under You are held by every soft thing gathered in this room tonight Wrapped in blankets thick enough to keep away the thunder

Chorus

Atlas, the whole wide world can wait until the morning Rest here where the quiet holds you close and safe at last Nobody needs you to be anything but sleepy Atlas, this small warm bed is yours, it's yours to hold you fast

Bridge

However far the night stretches out beyond this room You are the one thing certain, the one I'm watching over

Chorus

Atlas, the whole wide world can wait until the morning Rest here where the quiet holds you close and safe at last Nobody needs you to be anything but sleepy Atlas, this small warm bed is yours, it's yours to hold you fast

Outro

Somewhere the owl folds its wings and settles into stillness Sleep now, Atlas, you are already so loved, so safe, so still