Songs for Bertie

Verse 1

Paper cups along the wall Damp concrete under our boots Nobody cares it's cold tonight We came out here for you

Pre-chorus

Somebody's tuning up a fiddle Somebody's lighting up the dark The whole canal is holding still Waiting on the spark

Chorus

Bertie, pour another round Bertie, don't you go home yet You make this scrappy party shine You're the best one that we've met

Verse 2

The water's black but we don't mind Somebody's clapping out of time You laugh so loud the ducks all scatter Best sound down this line

Chorus

Bertie, pour another round Bertie, don't you go home yet You make this scrappy party shine You're the best one that we've met

Bridge

Every year we find this wall Every year you make it good Stomp your boots and raise your cup We'd stand here if we could

Chorus

Bertie, pour another round Bertie, don't you go home yet You make this scrappy party shine You're the best one that we've met

Outro

Leave the cups along the wall We'll come back next year for you

Verse 1

Boxes stacked against the wall Oily rags and tools and all Neon buzzing bright above the bench You made this cluttered corner feel like home

Pre-chorus

Every year you keep on fixing Patching up what life keeps breaking Tonight we raise a glass to you

Chorus

Happy birthday, Bertie, light the spark We found you tinkering after dark You've got a heart that's never thirty Bertie, you're the best part of this party

Verse 2

You never brag about the hours Spent among the grease and the flowers Someone left you on the windowsill Still you'd rather fix a thing for us

Chorus

Happy birthday, Bertie, light the spark We found you tinkering after dark You've got a heart that's never thirty Bertie, you're the best part of this party

Bridge

Raise your voices, stamp your feet Nobody here is half as sweet We came to sing, we came to shout Bertie, that's what tonight's about

Chorus

Happy birthday, Bertie, light the spark We found you tinkering after dark You've got a heart that's never thirty Bertie, you're the best part of this party

Outro

Turn the neon down real low Bertie, home is wherever you go

Verse 1

Frost was climbing up the window Headlights swimming down the lane We were driving straight toward you Nothing else could feel the same

Chorus

Bertie, come and light the night Grab a glass and make it party Every road we take feels right When we're rolling home to Bertie

Verse 2

You were humming with the engine Fogging up the frozen glass Every mile we counted closer Knowing this year wouldn't pass

Pre-chorus

Now the candles won't stop burning Now the fiddle's tuning sharp Something in this room is turning

Chorus

Bertie, come and light the night Grab a glass and make it party Every road we take feels right When we're rolling home to Bertie

Bridge

You warm up a frozen room Just by walking through the door We could drive through any winter Long as you're the one we're for

Chorus

Bertie, come and light the night Grab a glass and make it party Every road we take feels right When we're rolling home to Bertie

Outro

Frost is melting off the window Headlights fading, we're home free

Verse 1

Grass is bending over both of us Wool blanket keeping out the chill You go quiet when the light gets low And somehow that quiet says you will

Pre-chorus

I could name a hundred small things Ways you hold a room so easy But it comes down to one plain fact

Chorus

Bertie, you're the one I'm certain of No performance, nothing showy or flirty Just this field and the weight of your hand Bertie, thirty years could never be too many

Verse 2

You laugh at something in the wind Pull the blanket further round my knee Nobody else gets this version of you And I know that's just for me

Bridge

Some loves shout across a party Some loves burn out fast and hot Ours just settles like the evening Steady, easy, asking not

Chorus

Bertie, you're the one I'm certain of No performance, nothing showy or flirty Just this field and the weight of your hand Bertie, thirty years could never be too many

Outro

Grass will straighten when we're gone But I'll still feel you holding on

Verse 1

Yellow paper, twisted tight holding all that salt and bite you're the warmth I carry home never once wanting to be alone

Pre-chorus

I could name a hundred small things every one of them still sings but it's you that makes them true

Chorus

Bertie, you're the warm I hold better than a story told nothing fancy, nothing flirty just my heart, and it says Bertie

Verse 2

Some folk dress their love up smart mine's a simple, steady heart you don't need the party lights you're the best of all my nights

Pre-chorus

I could name a hundred small things every one of them still sings but it's you that makes them true

Chorus

Bertie, you're the warm I hold better than a story told nothing fancy, nothing flirty just my heart, and it says Bertie

Bridge

No need to be sporty or thirty-proof strong just be here beside me, that's never wrong let the wind outside turn the whole world dirty I'm staying in close, I'm staying with Bertie

Chorus

Bertie, you're the warm I hold better than a story told nothing fancy, nothing flirty just my heart, and it says Bertie

Outro

Still that paper's holding tight still you're warm at end of night

Verse 1

Two mugs going cold out here Steam has given up and gone You still haven't touched your tea Too busy watching the light come on

Pre-chorus

I could sit here half the morning Just to hear you breathe beside me Something's building up in me now

Chorus

Bertie, you're the reason I sit still Even when the kettle's long run dry I've counted every kind of comfort Bertie, you're the best of what's nearby

Verse 2

You blow across the top of yours Like it's still too hot to touch Nothing that we say this morning Needs to carry very much

Chorus

Bertie, you're the reason I sit still Even when the kettle's long run dry I've counted every kind of comfort Bertie, you're the best of what's nearby

Bridge

No need to fill the quiet up One more minute, then we'll rise Whatever else the day is bringing Right now I've got you and this sky

Chorus

Bertie, you're the reason I sit still Even when the kettle's long run dry I've counted every kind of comfort Bertie, you're the best of what's nearby

Outro

Two mugs left out on the step Long gone cold, and I don't mind

Verse 1

Little bubbles rise and settle soft upon the water Popping slow like whispers as the evening grows a little quieter Warm and round and gentle, just the way you like your bathtime Nothing here to hurry you, no reason to be shorter

Chorus

Bertie, Bertie, close your eyes and let the day go quiet Bertie, drifting softer than the bubbles in the water You are held and warm and loved beyond what words can carry Rest now, little Bertie, nothing here can harm you

Verse 2

Every bubble holds the light before it fades away so gently Just like every worry of the day it melts and softens Nothing left to chase you now, no reason to be busy You are wrapped in warmth tonight, you are the one we treasure often

Pre-chorus

The water's calm and so are you, your breathing slow and steady Every little sigh you take is softer than the one before it Sleep is coming gently now, so let it come and find you

Chorus

Bertie, Bertie, close your eyes and let the day go quiet Bertie, drifting softer than the bubbles in the water You are held and warm and loved beyond what words can carry Rest now, little Bertie, nothing here can harm you

Bridge

Somewhere in the quiet house the night is settling slowly Nothing you must do but rest, nothing you must carry

Chorus

Bertie, Bertie, close your eyes and let the day go quiet Bertie, drifting softer than the bubbles in the water You are held and warm and loved beyond what words can carry Rest now, little Bertie, nothing here can harm you

Outro

The last small bubble fades away upon the quiet water Sleep now, little Bertie, you are loved and you are ours

Verse 1

The drops are sliding slowly down the pane beside your bed Each one is finding its own quiet way to fall Nothing out there can reach you now or touch your sleepy head Wrapped up so safe and warm, you are the best of all

Chorus

Bertie, the night is only water on the glass Nothing to fear in the hush of dark and blue Close your eyes now, let the whole wide world go past Bertie, there is nothing in this room but love for you

Verse 2

The curtain barely moves against the cool and steady rain Your breathing slows to match its gentle even beat Every drop that falls is only tracing out again How safe you are, how deep you get to sleep

Pre-chorus

Somewhere far beyond the glass the wind is settling down The whole wide dark is folding soft around this town And nothing in it matters half as much as you

Chorus

Bertie, the night is only water on the glass Nothing to fear in the hush of dark and blue Close your eyes now, let the whole wide world go past Bertie, there is nothing in this room but love for you

Bridge

Let the rain keep its own time, you don't have to stay awake Every drop that falls is falling just for you to rest

Chorus

Bertie, the night is only water on the glass Nothing to fear in the hush of dark and blue Close your eyes now, let the whole wide world go past Bertie, there is nothing in this room but love for you

Outro

The glass will hold its raindrops long after you're asleep And you'll be warm inside this house that loves you deep

Verse 1

The grey ash slides down the red log behind the iron guard Soft as a breath that has nowhere to be but here Nothing tonight is asking you to try quite so hard You are the warmest thing in this whole quiet sphere

Chorus

Bertie, the fire is folding itself into rest Close your eyes now, let the whole room grow still Nobody sleeping tonight is as loved or as blessed Bertie, I'll stay here as long as you will

Verse 2

The last of the flame goes soft and gives up its shape Curling to embers the colour of low winter sun Nothing you carry tonight needs a single escape You can just rest now, the day's work is done

Pre-chorus

Outside the window the whole dark world settles too Every small sound is folding itself into sleep And all of my watching is only for you

Chorus

Bertie, the fire is folding itself into rest Close your eyes now, let the whole room grow still Nobody sleeping tonight is as loved or as blessed Bertie, I'll stay here as long as you will

Bridge

Hush now, the iron guard holds back the glow So nothing can reach you, so nothing need show

Chorus

Bertie, the fire is folding itself into rest Close your eyes now, let the whole room grow still Nobody sleeping tonight is as loved or as blessed Bertie, I'll stay here as long as you will

Outro

The grey ash is settling soft where the last light has been Sleep now, my darling, held safe and unseen