Songs for Cleo

Verse 1

Boxes stacked up in the shed Gathering dust, forgotten years But you were never meant to hide You turn up bright and cheer disappears

Pre-chorus

Something in you won't stay buried Something in you won't stay small Tonight we open up the door

Chorus

Cleo, Cleo, light the room Every candle bends your way You make the whole crowd feel like family Cleo, this one's your day

Verse 2

We nearly left you on the shelf Behind old junk, out of sight But look how far your shine still reaches You were built to hold the light

Chorus

Cleo, Cleo, light the room Every candle bends your way You make the whole crowd feel like family Cleo, this one's your day

Bridge

Raise a glass and raise your voice Nobody here would choose another You're the one we all keep coming back to Cleo, none can smother

Chorus

Cleo, Cleo, light the room Every candle bends your way You make the whole crowd feel like family Cleo, this one's your day

Outro

No more boxes, no more shadow Just you, shining, out in the open

Verse 1

Boots lined up outside a gate Locked tight but you don't quit You'll find a way, you always wait Then push right through and win it

Pre-chorus

You never stayed behind that fence You climbed it grinning, made no sense Tonight we're done just waiting on

Chorus

Cleo, light the whole street up Another year and still the spark We're raising every single cup For someone brave who owns the dark

Verse 2

You leave mud tracks on every floor Chasing something no one else can see Every closed and rusted door Just means more where you should be

Bridge

Happy birthday, loud and clear We're glad you're trouble, glad you're here No gate can hold what you begin Every year we're glad you're in

Chorus

Cleo, light the whole street up Another year and still the spark We're raising every single cup For someone brave who owns the dark

Outro

Leave your boots beside the door We're keeping the gate open evermore

Verse 1

Sun comes through the window low Catches all the dust that glows Slow and gold it turns and drifts Just like you, you steal the show

Chorus

Cleo, raise your glass up high Every year you light the sky We've got cake and we've got noise Cleo, dance before you fly

Verse 2

Feet upon the wooden stair Bring you running, always there Every room gets brighter when You walk in without a care

Pre-chorus

Here's to all the years gone by Here's to all the ones you'll try So lift your voice and don't be shy

Chorus

Cleo, raise your glass up high Every year you light the sky We've got cake and we've got noise Cleo, dance before you fly

Bridge

Clap your hands and stamp your feet Nobody sings this song so sweet We came here just for you tonight Cleo, you're the reason we meet

Chorus

Cleo, raise your glass up high Every year you light the sky We've got cake and we've got noise Cleo, dance before you fly

Outro

Dust still turns where sunlight fell Cleo, we're so glad you're here to tell

Verse 1

Two ants cross the plaid blanket Damp grass pressing up beneath You watch them like they matter I am watching you, Cleo

Pre-chorus

Nothing here is big or loud Just this field, just this hour But I feel it building slow

Chorus

Cleo, you make the small things count There's no love I'd rate above Every quiet hour turns golden When you're near, Cleo, I'm home

Verse 2

The sun moves slow across the cloth You laugh at something only small I don't need the grand or perfect Just this, just you, that's all

Chorus

Cleo, you make the small things count There's no love I'd rate above Every quiet hour turns golden When you're near, Cleo, I'm home

Bridge

I could list a hundred moments None as loud as they should be But stacked up they are everything Stacked up they are you and me

Chorus

Cleo, you make the small things count There's no love I'd rate above Every quiet hour turns golden When you're near, Cleo, I'm home

Outro

Two ants still cross that blanket I'm still here, still loving you

Verse 1

Just a paperclip, holding its place Between two stacks that lean and sway Nothing there to make a fuss That's how you love me, day to day

Pre-chorus

You never needed to be loud I found you steady in the crowd Now every quiet thing you do

Chorus

Cleo, you're the calm I keep Small and sure and never cheap Cleo, when the noise gets high You're the reason I don't spin, don't fly

Verse 2

Papers slide and lose their place But you stay bent the way you're bent Holding on when things get loose You were never meant to bend

Bridge

I don't need the grand romantic scene Just you here, holding steady between Two stacks of everything that shifts You're the smallest, surest gift

Chorus

Cleo, you're the calm I keep Small and sure and never cheap Cleo, when the noise gets high You're the reason I don't spin, don't fly

Outro

Still that paperclip stays true Still I stay right here with you

Verse 1

Rain came fast and caught us out You just laughed and turned about Pulled me close beneath the ribs Water running down in ribs

Chorus

Cleo, you're the one I hold Through the wet and through the cold Cleo, steady as the rain You still choose me, again and again

Verse 2

Metal spokes above our heads Kept us dry while the storm spread Your hand found mine without a word Simplest thing I ever heard

Pre-chorus

Every drop runs its own way down Some things scatter, some things drown But you stay close when skies turn

Chorus

Cleo, you're the one I hold Through the wet and through the cold Cleo, steady as the rain You still choose me, again and again

Bridge

No grand gesture, just this shelter Just your shoulder, just this weather Small and certain, that's the love I know

Chorus

Cleo, you're the one I hold Through the wet and through the cold Cleo, steady as the rain You still choose me, again and again

Outro

Fold the umbrella, rain has stopped Still I'm holding what I've got

Verse 1

The last of the fire is settling soft and slow Grey ash is curling down where the warm light used to glow Nothing in this room is asking you to stay awake Every little sound tonight is only for your sake

Pre-chorus

Close your eyes and let the quiet start to climb Feel how gently everything is folding into time Here is where the whole wide night begins to lean

Chorus

Cleo, the dark is only a blanket pulled up high Cleo, there is nothing waiting that could make you cry You are held the way the embers hold their glow Warm and low and safe as anything I know

Verse 2

The grate breathes out its heat like a slow and steady song You can rest inside that sound the whole night long Nothing has to hurry, nothing has to end Sleep is just the dark deciding to be your friend

Chorus

Cleo, the dark is only a blanket pulled up high Cleo, there is nothing waiting that could make you cry You are held the way the embers hold their glow Warm and low and safe as anything I know

Bridge

Somewhere past the window the whole world settles too Every quiet thing tonight is dimming down like you Let your breathing slow to match the fading light

Chorus

Cleo, the dark is only a blanket pulled up high Cleo, there is nothing waiting that could make you cry You are held the way the embers hold their glow Warm and low and safe as anything I know

Outro

The ash falls soft and settles at the bottom of the grate Sleep falls soft on you now, and I will gladly wait

Verse 1

Yellow light slides past the frosted glass so softly now watching the whole wide world go quiet just for you nothing out there needs to wake you, nothing knows how rest here beneath the hush that settles soft as dew

Pre-chorus

The window holds its breath and lets the evening in hushing every corner where the shadows used to roam and somewhere underneath your breathing, warm within

Chorus

Cleo, the night is only light that means no harm close your eyes and let it carry you so slow every passing glow is here to keep you warm sleep now, little Cleo, safe in all you know

Verse 2

The empty street outside is humming its low lullaby glass and glow and quiet folding soft around this room nothing in the dark tonight will make you cry you are held here closer than the hush, than the moon

Pre-chorus

The window holds its breath and lets the evening in hushing every corner where the shadows used to roam and somewhere underneath your breathing, warm within

Chorus

Cleo, the night is only light that means no harm close your eyes and let it carry you so slow every passing glow is here to keep you warm sleep now, little Cleo, safe in all you know

Bridge

Nothing passing by will ever pass you over you are held so gently, you are never far from love

Chorus

Cleo, the night is only light that means no harm close your eyes and let it carry you so slow every passing glow is here to keep you warm sleep now, little Cleo, safe in all you know

Outro

The yellow light keeps drifting soft across the frosted pane and you sleep on inside the warmth that always stays

Verse 1

One small sock is resting alone on the top of the stair Waiting there so patiently, soft in the quiet air Nobody thought to carry it back to where it belongs But you are held and gathered in, safe from anywhere

Chorus

Cleo, the house breathes slow and the hallway light turns low Every window's settling now, easy and soft and slow You are the warmest thing in this whole sleeping home Cleo, wherever you drift, that's where I'll always go

Verse 2

The blankets are heavy and warm like a hush over you Down the hall the quiet keeps watch the whole night through Somewhere a sock waits patient for morning to find it again And I will be just as patient, waiting near you too

Pre-chorus

Close your eyes and let the ceiling turn to sky Let the day and all its noise go drifting by Something soft is holding on and humming you to

Chorus

Cleo, the house breathes slow and the hallway light turns low Every window's settling now, easy and soft and slow You are the warmest thing in this whole sleeping home Cleo, wherever you drift, that's where I'll always go

Bridge

Nothing gets left behind here, not a sock and not you Every small forgotten thing finds its way home too Sleep now, you are wanted more than you'll ever know

Chorus

Cleo, the house breathes slow and the hallway light turns low Every window's settling now, easy and soft and slow You are the warmest thing in this whole sleeping home Cleo, wherever you drift, that's where I'll always go

Outro

Morning will come soft and find that sock still on the stair And find you just as loved as you were sleeping there