Songs for Gladys

Verse 1

Rake against the door again Boots stayed out in mud and rain We tracked it all across the floor Just to hear you laugh once more

Chorus

Gladys, light the candles now We been waiting, don't know how Twenty voices, one loud shout This whole street knows what you're about

Verse 2

You kick your shoes off at the gate Never once show up too late Whatever storm was chasing you You bring it in and start anew

Pre-chorus

Something's building in this room Balloons are tied, we cleared out space We're holding breath before the boom

Chorus

Gladys, light the candles now We been waiting, don't know how Twenty voices, one loud shout This whole street knows what you're about

Bridge

No clean floors when you come round Just noise and love and gladys sound We'll mop it up another day

Chorus

Gladys, light the candles now We been waiting, don't know how Twenty voices, one loud shout This whole street knows what you're about

Outro

Leave the rake there, leave it be Boots can wait, come in and see

Verse 1

Dust hangs gold on the wooden stair Three old coats still on their pegs You left the door open, always there You're the reason this whole house begs

Pre-chorus

Bring out the horns and let them swell Light every candle, ring the bell Something in this room is building well

Chorus

Gladys, the light comes down like this Falling soft where the stairway pads Nobody gives a warmer kiss You're the best of all the glads

Verse 2

You hung your coat beside the rest Never minded whose was whose Every year you pass the test Loving loud, the way you choose

Bridge

Let the trumpets carry your name Let the drums come marching in Every year that you're not the same You're still the one we're cheering for, again

Chorus

Gladys, the light comes down like this Falling soft where the stairway pads Nobody gives a warmer kiss You're the best of all the glads

Outro

Dust still falls on the wooden stair And you're still the warmest thing in there

Verse

There's a bucket by the stove Yellow, bright, the kindest glow Kept right there for years and years Just like you, it never sags

Verse 1

The kitchen light is soft and low Water's settling round the rim I set the sponge down nice and slow And think of how you steady him

Pre-chorus

There's nothing loud about this love No grand parade, no flashing sign Just quiet building up in me

Chorus

Gladys, you're the calm I chose Some hearts shout it, mine just adds Every little thing you do, and how it grows You're the reason peace feels good, Gladys

Verse 2

You hum while drying off your hands Like nothing's wrong and nothing's rushed I watch you move through small demands And feel the noise in me get hushed

Chorus

Gladys, you're the calm I chose Some hearts shout it, mine just adds Every little thing you do, and how it grows You're the reason peace feels good, Gladys

Bridge

I don't need the world to prove it I just need you standing there Some love shouts, but yours just moves in Settles soft in ordinary air

Chorus

Gladys, you're the calm I chose Some hearts shout it, mine just adds Every little thing you do, and how it grows You're the reason peace feels good, Gladys

Outro

The bowl still holds the light of day You made it easy, come what may

Verse 1

Two mittens dropped on the frozen grass Left there where they fell, close and small Nobody came back to claim them But I would know that red anywhere, Gladys

Pre-chorus

I keep finding pieces of you Small and left behind and warm still Something in me won't let them go

Chorus

Gladys, you're the warm in a cold field However far, you're never far, Gladys Some things get left, some things get kept I kept you, and I'm glad it's this

Verse 2

The grass was hard, the morning bright You'd laughed and run ahead too fast I picked them up without thinking twice Some things you just don't leave, Gladys

Chorus

Gladys, you're the warm in a cold field However far, you're never far, Gladys Some things get left, some things get kept I kept you, and I'm glad it's this

Bridge

Not every love needs shouting out A dropped glove says enough, said plain I don't need the whole big picture Just you, still here, still mine to claim

Chorus

Gladys, you're the warm in a cold field However far, you're never far, Gladys Some things get left, some things get kept I kept you, and I'm glad it's this

Outro

Somewhere that red is still on the grass Somewhere I'm still glad I kept it

Verse 1

You stepped out before the light came left one print upon the stone by the time I noticed you'd gone but I knew you'd not gone far from home

Pre-chorus

I stood there watching it fade not wanting the day to start some part of you always stays

Chorus

Gladys, you're the mark that lingers long after the moment's passed two syllables, steady as breathing Gladys, I knew this love would last

Verse 2

Some loves shout and some loves whisper yours has always been the quiet kind like water sinking into concrete you left your shape on my mind

Pre-chorus

I stood there watching it fade not wanting the day to start some part of you always stays

Chorus

Gladys, you're the mark that lingers long after the moment's passed two syllables, steady as breathing Gladys, I knew this love would last

Bridge

Some things dry up and disappear others soak in, stay somehow you are the second kind of thing and I am glad of you right now

Chorus

Gladys, you're the mark that lingers long after the moment's passed two syllables, steady as breathing Gladys, I knew this love would last

Outro

The step is dry now, but I remember you were here, and here you stay

Verse 1

A little light hangs soft above the warmth of the wall its frayed old cord swaying so quiet and small and here in this glow where the shadows turn kind I keep you close while the whole world winds down behind

Pre-chorus

Hush now, the room has grown heavy and slow everything gentle, however you go and sleep is a tide that is starting to rise

Chorus

Gladys, the night is a blanket pulled tight holding you soft in the warm lamplit light nothing can touch you, no need to be sad Gladys, you're loved more than words that we've had

Verse 2

Somewhere the radiator ticks low like a hum steady and warm as a heartbeat becomes and you, wrapped in quiet, are drifting so deep carried by nothing but breathing and sleep

Bridge

Every small sound in this room says you're safe every soft shadow has found its own place

Chorus

Gladys, the night is a blanket pulled tight holding you soft in the warm lamplit light nothing can touch you, no need to be sad Gladys, you're loved more than words that we've had

Outro

That small frayed cord will still sway when you're grown but tonight you are held, and you never sleep alone

Verse 1

Needles slide so softly through the wool upon my knee a heavy grey coat waiting for the cold it will not see you are warmer than any thread that I could ever spin and that warmth is a gift I give so gladly

Chorus

Gladys, close your eyes now, let the evening take its time nothing you must carry, nothing you must climb you are held here safely, wrapped in something kind Gladys, you're the softest thing that's mine

Verse 2

Somewhere a coat is folded up and waiting for the morning stitches holding steady through the hours without warning you don't need to hold on tight, there's nothing you should mind sleep can be as gentle as the wool that I am winding

Pre-chorus

Hush now, let the needles rest, the wool has had its turn quiet is the only thing this room has left to learn and you are safe inside it, waiting for the dark to turn

Chorus

Gladys, close your eyes now, let the evening take its time nothing you must carry, nothing you must climb you are held here safely, wrapped in something kind Gladys, you're the softest thing that's mine

Bridge

Row by row the night gets softer, stitch by stitch it grows around you like a coat that only kindness sews

Chorus

Gladys, close your eyes now, let the evening take its time nothing you must carry, nothing you must climb you are held here safely, wrapped in something kind Gladys, you're the softest thing that's mine

Outro

Somewhere still the needles rest, the wool has gone quite still and you are wrapped in all of it, sleeping when you will

Verse 1

A quiet board sighs beneath these slow and woollen steps careful not to wake the hush that's settled on this room I would cross a hundred floors just to reach your side every soft creak only says how gently you are loved

Pre-chorus

Nothing in this house would dare to break so calm a spell even shadows learn to move as slow as breathing does hold that stillness now, love, while I come to say your name

Chorus

Gladys, the whole house leans in close to keep you warm nothing out there in the dark can find you here at all Gladys, you're the reason every sound turns soft tonight even old wood learns to hush before it lets you fall

Verse 2

Somewhere a sock slides quiet over floorboards worn and kind and every little sound tonight is only meant to soothe you don't need to know the way the whole house holds its breath just know that it is holding it entirely for you

Chorus

Gladys, the whole house leans in close to keep you warm nothing out there in the dark can find you here at all Gladys, you're the reason every sound turns soft tonight even old wood learns to hush before it lets you fall

Bridge

Rest your small weight into mine and let the night grow still you are held by more than arms, you're held by everything

Chorus

Gladys, the whole house leans in close to keep you warm nothing out there in the dark can find you here at all Gladys, you're the reason every sound turns soft tonight even old wood learns to hush before it lets you fall

Outro

The floor has gone quiet now, its work already done sleep now, love, the whole house is only guarding you