Songs for Ottilie

Verse 1

I found chalk dust on the limestone Left there by nobody's plan You stood right beside the sheep gate And I felt the whole hill still

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady me Plain as chalk and stone can be I never asked for fireworks Ottilie, that's not you and me

Verse 2

You lean on the gate like always Like you've got the whole day free There's dust on your hands from the limestone And somehow that dust means home

Pre-chorus

I don't need the sky to open Don't need bells or grand design Just this hill and you beside me

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady me Plain as chalk and stone can be I never asked for fireworks Ottilie, that's not you and me

Bridge

Some loves burn and some just hold Yours is warm, not wild, not cold You are the hand I keep on finding

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady me Plain as chalk and stone can be I never asked for fireworks Ottilie, that's not you and me

Outro

The chalk will wash off in the rain But you're the one thing that will stay

Verse 1

Salt spray dries white on the rail Every crossing leaves its trail You lean into the wind with me Steady as the rolling sea

Pre-chorus

I've watched the water change its mind Never once you stayed behind This is the calm before you're mine

Chorus

Ottilie, you're the deck beneath my feet Ottilie, you're the harbour and the street Salt and spray and chilly air I'd cross again just to be there

Verse 2

The green rail's cold beneath my hand You point out where we'll finally land No map could hold what's built in me Just you, the wind, the open sea

Bridge

Some loves are loud, all noise and show Ours is quiet, easy, slow Like salt that dries and just stays put No need to prove it, no dispute

Chorus

Ottilie, you're the deck beneath my feet Ottilie, you're the harbour and the street Salt and spray and chilly air I'd cross again just to be there

Outro

The rail still wears its coat of white You're steady through the roughest night

Verse 1

Fingerprints on the old silver kettle Nobody else would think to see But I know whose hand made that pattern Ottilie, that mark belongs to thee

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady my morning Ottilie, you're first in my mind Everyone else moves past it unknowing Only I know what I'll find

Verse 2

The kitchen gets loud in the evening Voices and pans and the door But I still find your shape in the corner Same as I found it before

Pre-chorus

Nothing about you is loud or demanding Still you're the thing that I seek Every small trace that you leave behind you

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady my morning Ottilie, you're first in my mind Everyone else moves past it unknowing Only I know what I'll find

Bridge

Let the kettle stay smudged and forgotten Let the crowd never notice at all I would know you by touch in the darkness I would know you by one thing you'd call

Chorus

Ottilie, you steady my morning Ottilie, you're first in my mind Everyone else moves past it unknowing Only I know what I'll find

Outro

Someone will wipe that kettle down shining I'll still know it was your hand that stayed

Verse 1

A small blue flame is leaning low and soft against the dark its wax runs down and pools inside the silver saucer's mark you watch it drift the way your breathing settles into rest and every little sigh you make is one I love the best

Pre-chorus

Hush now, let the light burn slower than a sleepy tune let your eyes grow heavy like the shadows on the room and drift a little further toward the hush that's calling you

Chorus

Ottilie, the candle dims but you are held and warm sleep is just a gentle boat that carries you from harm Ottilie, I'll watch the wax curl soft around the rim while you go sailing off to sleep on nothing but a whim

Verse 2

The saucer holds the melted blue like water holds the moon you curl up small and certain like a bud before it's bloomed nothing in this quiet house would ever let you fall I'm here to catch you gently if the dark feels far too tall

Pre-chorus

Hush now, let the light burn slower than a sleepy tune let your eyes grow heavy like the shadows on the room and drift a little further toward the hush that's calling you

Chorus

Ottilie, the candle dims but you are held and warm sleep is just a gentle boat that carries you from harm Ottilie, I'll watch the wax curl soft around the rim while you go sailing off to sleep on nothing but a whim

Bridge

Rain is tapping soft against the glass to sing you low piano notes are falling slow like light I won't let go you are safe inside this small and steady glow

Chorus

Ottilie, the candle dims but you are held and warm sleep is just a gentle boat that carries you from harm Ottilie, I'll watch the wax curl soft around the rim while you go sailing off to sleep on nothing but a whim

Outro

The last blue drop has settled still inside its silver ring and you have found the quiet place where only dreaming sings

Verse 1

A small green light is humming low behind the cloth keeping its quiet company while the house breathes soft the static hushes down into a slow and even tide and you are held here safer than a candle in a moth

Pre-chorus

The dial glows the colour of the last calm hour nothing needs to happen now, nothing needs more just this warm and folding dark, just this drifting door

Chorus

Ottilie, the night has come to carry you along Ottilie, you're wrapped inside its low and steady song the whole wide world has quieted its worry and its roar just for you, Ottilie, so soft it can't go wrong

Verse 2

Somewhere past the static there's a voice too far to name but it hums the way the tide hums, always just the same and you don't need to answer it, you don't need to try you can rest inside the hush like rain upon a pane

Pre-chorus

The dial glows the colour of the last calm hour nothing needs to happen now, nothing needs more just this warm and folding dark, just this drifting door

Chorus

Ottilie, the night has come to carry you along Ottilie, you're wrapped inside its low and steady song the whole wide world has quieted its worry and its roar just for you, Ottilie, so soft it can't go wrong

Bridge

Let the small green light be all the light you need tonight let the hush be just a blanket, softly tucked and tight you are so completely loved you couldn't ever doubt it sleep now, nothing in the dark could ever be about it

Chorus

Ottilie, the night has come to carry you along Ottilie, you're wrapped inside its low and steady song the whole wide world has quieted its worry and its roar just for you, Ottilie, so soft it can't go wrong

Outro

The green light dims but stays, still humming soft and low and you sleep on inside it, safe wherever dreams may go

Verse 1

A train slips by far off and paints the wall in gold The light goes sweeping slow across the room and then it's gone You watch it drift like something soft that no one has to hold And still you are the calmest thing this quiet house rests on

Pre-chorus

The house breathes low, the night pulls in its edges close and warm Nothing out there in the dark can reach this little bed So let the hush come nearer, let it settle without harm

Chorus

Ottilie, the whole wide night is holding you tonight Sleep is just a small boat and you are drifting light Nothing in the shadows here will ever dim your glow Ottilie, my Ottilie, the safest place I know

Verse 2

The wallpaper goes quiet once the train has gone from sight And the room settles back into its ordinary grey But something of that gold still seems to linger in the light Like the feeling that I get when I watch you drift away

Bridge

Rest your small hands, let your breathing slow and settle deep There is nothing in this world that gets to keep you up Every worry waits outside the door of where you sleep

Chorus

Ottilie, the whole wide night is holding you tonight Sleep is just a small boat and you are drifting light Nothing in the shadows here will ever dim your glow Ottilie, my Ottilie, the safest place I know

Outro

Somewhere far a train rolls on and takes its light away But you stay golden in this room until the break of day