BRIGHT FLAME lyric book
© Marika Che
TRACKLIST
Bonfire of Tragedy
Edge of the Storm
Please Can I Fail
Bright Flame
The High Tower
Saint Charles
Hot Moon
Been Alone
Little Cures (Come Right On Time)
Free To Go
Coach Taylor
Jasmine
BONFIRE OF TRAGEDY
You’ve had a hard time, i think you should try
The bonfire of tragedy
You’ve got a heavy load, you need to let go
At the bonfire of tragedy
I’m talking ‘bout a real heartbreak
I’m talking about your very worst day
I’m talking about the call, had you sinking to the wall
And down to the floor, til you couldn’t fall no more
You can have a whiskey, you can have a wine
You can come sober as a judge
You can stand tall, or you can come crawl-
In along through the mud
Just say that you will meet me
At the bonfire of tragedy
We’ll tell our tales, we’ll sing a song
We’ll burn it down all night long
At the bonfire of tragedy
At the bonfire of tragedy
Mmm
Now i’m not talking about everyday shit
I’m talking about the heavy stuff
I can see in your eyes, you’ve had a rough ride
Man you’ve just about had enough
Don’t worry it’ll be okay
Just remember the time and place
And come on down to the place i’ve found
If it takes all night we’ll burn it down
At the bonfire of tragedy
At the bonfire of tragedy
Mmmmm
Mmmmm
EDGE OF THE STORM
Could I reach into an endless sky?
Pull down what I’m looking for?
Turn it into a pretty song
I tried so hard to get nothing wrong
Failed anyway: so now i’m feeling calm
I could float right up into the clouds
(I could float right up into the)
But some threads keep holding me
(something keeps holdin’ me)
Incandescent with the need to explain
I’ll let it go, try to stay sane
Invent myself again, romanticize my days
Cause I know it’s all good these days
But rolling thunder’s never far away
So I left my dishes in the sink to go out walking where I can think
On the edge of a storm: I go over everything
And if my bright flame burns a bit too hard
(and if it burns too hard)
Then you’ll misunderstand me
I’ll conjure up a tangible pain: spin beauty outta endless rain
Invent myself again- i’ll do it everyday
Cause I know it’s not like old times
But rolling thunder’s so close by
So I left my dishes in the sink to go out walking where I can think
On the edge of the storm-
A rustlin’ field
Goes on so far
A wind-swept sky
A static charge
I wake up from dreaming of a sky with no end
I’ll build my house
Right here on the edge
Right here on the edge
Right here on the edge
So I left my dishes in the sink to go out walking where I can think
On the edge of a storm
And I left my dishes in the sink to go out walking where I can think
On the edge of the storm
On the edge of the storm
I go over everything
PLEASE CAN I FAIL
I had a dream last night i was shit-faced on the dance floor
And I fell down before I could get back up
And your voice came in the darkness, you said: “don’t you remember?”
And the tidal wave of shame came pouring down
So please can I break down?
Please can I break down, down, down?
Is this my way on out?
Can I please fail out somehow?
I had a dream last night I was driving through seattle
(I had a dream last night I had a dream last night)
I was breaking all the promises I been trained to keep-
So please can I break down?
Please can I break down, down, down?
Is this my way on out
Can I please fail out somehow?
I been spending all day and all night walking around with this feeling
Once again frustrated, and I over-correct myself
You know I thought I tamed that wild-child, gave her a good talking to!
Either way, oh I hate, how when I’m with you
I go back in time, yeah I slip into
Those Washington blues
So please can I break down?
Please can I break down, down, down?
Is this my way on out
Can I please fail out somehow?
BRIGHT FLAME
Bright flame guiding me everywhere I go
I touch something pure, but my spirits are low
What’s worse than pain is no pain at all
I catch a snag
I catch the blues
Let heartache in
And sweetness too
It calls me by my name: that’s my bright flame
Got tongue-tied in an empty room
Can’t call up a spirit, can’t lie to you
I’ll close the door on a season so blue
I catch a snag
I catch the blues
Let heartache in
And sweetness too
I caught my voice I
Couldn't sing
I got it back
Now I got everything
It calls me by my name: that’s my bright flame
I chase it ‘cross the page: that’s my bright flame
Wont let me lose my way: that’s my bright flame
Broke my word on an empty gesture
Bloodied my lip searching for nothing than less than
Some kind of peace that lasts forever
(Some kind of
Some kind of
Some kind of peace that lasts forever
Some kind of
Some kind of
Some kind of peace that lasts forever )
When I lost everything
When I lost everything
When i lost everything
When I lost everything
That’s my bright flame
THE HIGH TOWER
I can see
From my high tower window
All of the way to the sea
I could find you there
You said I’d only have to ask
Then I'd never be alone
If i could let go, if i could let go
I know you’d take me home I know you’d take me home
A small square of light
That’s my window burning
I know you see it at night
(I know you see it: I know you see it)
On the crowded stairs
You say “don’t I know you from somewhere?”
You and your family never talk to no one”
And nothin’ cool ever seems to happen round here
And I think you’re the one, think you might be the one
I can see so very far from here
you’re a complication that I hold so dear
The voice in my head, I don’t listen
The guards at the gate, I don’t listen
Rumors in the hall: i ain’t worrying what they’re whispering oh
They’ll me put in an epic poem
I keep watching from great heights, i’m a creature civilized
I memorize the color of the blackest sky
Tried to hard, passed the test: feral creature, so well-dressed
I memorize the feeling of the wildest west
(In the night i fall so bright i can’t let go i can’t destroy: ah me, ah me!
In the night i fall so bright i can’t let go i can’t destroy: ah me! Ah me!)
If I could let go, if I could let go
if i could love you, if I could love you
SAINT CHARLES
I was down, I was dreamin’
I was not the kind
To burn it all out on freedom
No I always held so tight
And I found a sweet spot
In a hard place
I’m always up in flight
Chasing that soft light
I can’t fight a heart that’s turning into
A renegade that I don’t know
We walked down St. Charles avenue
I realized I’m better off alone
I was there, always dreamin’
Lying in the yard
If i ever gave those thoughts freedom
I could howl down the stars
Cause I’m just a marionette
Dancing out all your pain
And when you drop the strings
My limbs tangle so strange
I can’t fight a heart that’s turning into
A renegade I can’t control
We walked down St. Charles Avenue
I realize I'm better off alone
Oh inconsistent earth: you are all that’s holding me
The ground below is vanishing: but I”ll keep on walking
I can’t fight a heart that’s turning into
A renegade that I don’t know
We walked down St. Charles avenue
I realized I’m better off alone
But it’s a lonely road
It’s not easy
HOT MOON
What can I do?
All of the flowers I got from you
They’re blowing down the avenue
I’m walking
Walking to the cornerstore
Spirit bruised and a little worn
Yet i’m still here after all the storms
All right
I’m fine
Glance at my phone-
Wondering where did all my friends go?
Chasing dreams down their own roads
So am I
Walking to the boulevard
Lacing tight strings ‘round a tender heart
Confidence came in fits and starts
I felt graceless
Fell from high places
Sun is bright white all the time
That moon is hot but I don’t mind
Under a hot moon
Under a hot moon
Under a hot moon
I wait for a sign
California’s old
She’s dusty and wise she’s a myth we told
When we were kids living in the cold
North Country
Driving down Beverly
Wondering where is the place for me?
A road warrior with no place to be
And no deadlines
it don’t satisfy
Traffic lights all change in time
So that must mean that i’ll be fine
Under a hot moon
Under a hot moon
Under that hot moon
I wait for a…
Keep waitin’ for a sign
I, I keep waitin’ for a sign
What kinda love will I get today?
From a person from a plant, outer space
What kind of love am I giving back?
And california is old and wise
She’s myth-made folklore pack-of-lies
So how did she get me so blue?
You know she got me so blue oh
Sun is bright white all the time
That moon is hot but I don’t mind
Under a hot moon
Under a hot moon
Under a hot moon
I wait for a sign
BEEN ALONE
Been searching for a routine
coffee journal sunscreen
in the morning when i rise
in the morning when i rise
and lately i
i been alone but I ain’t been feeling lonely
there’s nothing left for me prove
in the emptiness i conjure all i need
and baby i throw away my time piece
oh baby that’s me
I’ve been wanting for nothing
this bouquet i keep tucking full of
flowers weeds and vines
flowers weeds and vines
and lately i
i been alone but I ain’t been feeling lonely
there’s nothing left for me prove
in the emptiness i conjure all i need
and baby i throw away my time piece
oh baby that’s me
that’s me
that’s me
that’s me
i seen my share of moonlight
met lovely strangers in the dark night
that used to suit me fine
that used to suit me fine
but these days i…
in the emptiness i conjure all i need
and baby i throw away my time piece
oh baby that’s me
that’s me
LITTLE CURES (COME RIGHT ON TIME)
What I got my eye on
What’s calling me
We’re locked in an embrace
More like a dead heat
This endless struggle starts to
Take its toll on me
They say that half-broke horses
Are never tame
But they’re never truly wild
I’m so ill-tempered
I never learned how to take it all
In stride
Stealin’ kisses, out runnin’ fields
Lookin’ for joy on a broken wheel
Every little moment has to be endured
So I get by with these little cures
Like cursing out the sky
Drinking coke in the bathtub while I
Lose my mind
When I get home I’ll
Cook dinner then
I’ll re-arrange the flowers
Then I’ll fall apart
When the jagged edges
Show their teeth through the passing hours
(and I wanted to say that)
When I was a kid I saw a slice of light
Down a darkened hallway I been chasin’ it my whole life
Stealing kisses, out runnin’ fields
Looking for joy on a broken wheel
Every little moment has to be endured
So I get by with these little cures
Like calling down the rain
In my hand it looks so tame
I pour the liquor down the drain
I seen a tidal wave come pouring out of a sunny day
I seen a howling rage come out of a windless day
I get down and out I find
These little cures come right on time
And every morning, I turn a page and
I keep it moving, i don’t know what’s right
In tidal waves and howling rages
I don’t care I don’t even mind
These little cures come right on time
FREE TO GO
Many nights i’ve waited for clouds to break on through
Rain over down: onto my bedroom
I didn’t clock the moment: I held it in my hands
I see it different now, and I think it’s strange you can’t
And I know
You don’t let nothing go
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When i say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When i say Im leaving God I pray it’s over
I’m free to go
Now all the same old places, where all the scenes went down
They’re going up for sale, they’re turning all the people out
And I know I should feel something: guess I cried all my tears
I sold the minivan I been getting free for years
Cause I know
You don’t let no one go…
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
I’m free to go
A long time coming
Can I say something?
I came in from the winter
I could add it up on the wall….
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
When I say I’m leaving God I pray it’s over
I’m free to go
COACH TAYLOR
I’m not who i was way back when you met me
We’re standing at the edge: of a Grand Canyon
And I gotta go
I gotta go
Cause you know I race in all directions
Except the ones I need to go
If I'm diving down too deep won’t you let me know?
I was always spoiling for a good fight
You couldn’t tell me I was wrong
Driving down Lake City roads, with the radio on
And every time I try to break through
I go back and forth with you
Caught up in a certain calling, my stubborn pride
If you can’t break through then you’ll never know
Living in cities in your head unknown
Saying I, I just know
That I gotta go
I know that I’m gonna wanna chase it
I can’t trust the smoke screen of a happy ending
I’ll shake my shake my shaky my faithless heartbreak
And force you to live with my, all my, indecision
Cause you know I race in all directions
Except the ones I need to go
If I'm diving down too deep won’t you let me know?
Cause you know I’m spoiling for a good fight
An everlasting wound
You can save all the pain for tomorrow- it waits for you
And every time I try to break through
I go back and forth with you
Caught up in a certain calling my stubborn pride
Now then I ask myself
Could I become somebody else?
Pack it up and start again, or stay and love what’s mine?
If you can’t break through then you’ll never know
Living in cities in your head unknown
Saying I, I just know that I gotta…
Straight line, walk in a straight line
Walking ain’t easy
You got me saying a long time it’s been a long time
It’s been since easy times we’re here
Oh…
JASMINE
On my way home
Languish in the soft light
Windows open on the freeway
I drive this way every night
Cut through Griffith
There’s no stopping wildfires
I’m thinking about the mail in the hallway
I’m thinking about a TV show
My dogs are waiting at the window
There’s jasmine growing ‘round my door
No cure for a broken heart it seems
Only the passing time that gives you what you need
A 70 millimeter light covers everything
Broken tail light
Guide me home
I’m not from here, these aren’t my memories
Rest in peace old video store
Cut through Griffith
All my thoughts are wild horses
I’m thinking about the mail in the hallway
I’m thinking about a TV show
My dogs are waiting at the window
There’s jasmine growing ‘round my door
No cure for a broken heart it seems
only the passing time that gives you what you need
A 70 mm light covers everything
My dogs are waiting at the window
There’s jasmine growing ‘round my door
No cure for a broken heart it seems
only the passing time that gives you what you need
A 70 mm light covers everything