Sarah Brightman -- The Songs That Got Away: all lyrics

Contents:
  1. Meadowlark
  2. I am going to like it here
  3. I remember
  4. Mr. Monotony
  5. Dreamers
  6. Silent heart
  7. Lud's wedding
  8. Three-cornered tune
  9. If I ever fall in love again
  10. What makes me love him?
  11. Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
  12. Away from you
  13. If love were all
  14. Half a moment


1. Meadowlark

When I was a girl, I had a favourite story
Of the meadowlark who lived where the rivers wind
Her voice could match the angels' in its glory,
But she was blind,
The lark was blind.

An old king came and took her to his palace,
Where the walls were burnished bronze and golden braid,
And he fed her fruit and nuts from an ivory chalice and he prayed

"Sing for me, my meadowlark
Sing for me of the silver morning.
Set me free, my meadowlark
And I'll buy you a priceless jewel,
And cloth of brocade and crewel,
And I'll love you for life if you will
Sing for me."

Then one day as the lark sang by the water
The god of the sun heard her in his flight
And her singing moved him so, he came and brought her
The gift of sight,
He gave her sight.
And she opened her eyes to the shimmer and the splendour
Of this beautiful young god, so proud and strong
And he called to the lark in a voice both rough and tender,
"Come along,

Fly with me, my meadowlark,
Fly with me on the silver morning.
Past the sea where the dolphins bark,
We will dance on the coral beaches,
Make a feast of the plums and peaches,
Just as far as your vision reaches,
Fly with me."

But the meadowlark said no,
For the old king loved her so,
She couldn't bear to wound his pride.
So the sun god flew away and when the king came down that day,
He found his meadowlark had died.
Every time I heard that part I cried.

And now I stand here, starry-eyed and stormy.
Oh, just when I thought my heart was finally numb,
A beautiful young man appears before me
Singing "Come
Oh, won't you come?"
And what can I do if finally for the first time
The one I'm burning for returns the glow?
If love has come at last it's picked the worst time
Still I know
I've got to go.

Fly away, meadowlark.
Fly away in the silver morning.
If I stay, I'll grow to curse the dark,
So it's off where the days won't bind me.
I know I leave wounds behind me,
But I won't let tomorrow find me
Back this way.

Before my past once again can blind me,
Fly away.

And we won't wait to say goodbye,
My beautiful young man and I.


2. I am going to like it here

I am going to like it here.
There is something about the place,
An encouraging atmosphere,
Like the smile on a friendly face.

There is something about the place,
So caressing and warm it is,
Like the smile on a friendly face,
Like a port in the storm it is.
So caressing and warm it is,
All the people are so sincere,
Like a port in the storm it is,
I am going to like it here.

All the people are so sincere,
There's especially one I like.
I am going to like it here,
It's the father's first son I like.
There's especially one I like,
There is something about his face.
It's the father's first son I like,
He's the reason I love the place.

There is something about his face,
I would follow him anywhere.
If he goes to another place ...
I am going to like it there.

There is something about his face,
I would follow him anywhere.
If he goes to another place ...
I am going to like it there.


3. I remember

I remember sky
It was blue as ink
Or at least I think
I remember sky.

I remember snow
Soft as feathers
Sharp as thumb tacks
Coming down like lint
And it made you squint
When the wind would blow.

And ice like vinyl
On the streets
Cold as silver
White as sheets
Rain like strings
And changing things
Like leaves.

I remember leaves
Green as spearmint
Crisp as paper.
I remember trees
Bare as coat racks
Spread like broken umbrellas.

And parks and bridges,
Ponds and zoos,
Ruddy faces,
Muddy shoes,
Light and noise and
Bees and boys
And days.

I remember days,
Or at least I try.
But as years go by
They're sort of haze,
And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky
And at times I think
I would gladly die
For a day of sky.


4. Mr. Monotony

Playin' on his slide-trombone
In a certain monotone
He was known as Mr. Monotony.
Any pleasant interlude
That would mean a change of mood
Didn't go with Mr. Monotony.
Sometimes he would change the key,
But the same dull melody
Would emerge from Mr. Monotony.

Folks for miles would run away,
Only one preferred to stay.
She would come around and say:
"Have you got any monotony today?"

They got married as they should
And around the neighbourhood
She was known as Mrs. Monotony.
They were happy as could be
And they raised a family,
Six or seven little Monotonies.

From another village came a snappy clarinetter.
She heard him play and strange to say she liked him better.
That was the end of Mr. Monotony.

Oh, she refused him when he tried,
Bringing her back to his side.
She just answered when he cried:
"Have you got any monotony today?"
"Have you got any monotony today?"
"Have you got any monotony today?"

Bye, bye, Mr. Monotony.

Mr. Monotony,
Is that you?
Hey, Mr. Monotony ...?

Oh, this playing is wonderful!
Oh, Mr. Monotony, I come back to you any time.

Mr. Monotony, don't go away,
Surely I didn't really mean it.
Oh, Mr. Monotony, I need you back ....


5. Dreamers

Dreamers have mountains they will climb
There are dreamers who don't believe in time
Only dreamers have worlds where they can fly far away.

Certain dreamers have kingdoms they will build,
Filled with treasures and dragons to be killed
Only dreamers have wings with which to fly far away.

Some people dream of being rich,
While others dream of being tall
And there are people who don't dream at all.

Dreamers have shooting stars they chase,
There are others with nightmares they must face.
Sometimes dreamers are forced to leave their dreams far away.

And there are people who don't dream at all.

Sometimes you need to take the time
To find treasures and mountains we can climb.
And maybe we dream to change the way that we feel,
'Cause to dreamers the real world can be unreal.


6. Silent heart

I sometimes wish my heart could speak and say
What my poor lips can never tell
Of all the beauty God has sent my way
And some that man has made as well.

I wish my heart could whisper my delight
When I behold what I love best;
A rose, a ship, a book, a bird in flight,
Orion riding in the West.

But when I look upon the best of men,
Or hear his voice far up the hill,
Such noisy thoughts sing in my bosom then
I'm glad my heart is silent still.

My heart is silent still.

And all lines are repeated once more


7. Lud's wedding

Lud:
I love my wife and I love her more
Than the way I used to love her before
She became my wife, but today she is
So don't call me early 'cause I'll be busy,
Beside her waiting for her to wake
And her eyes to open like dawn is breaking
The whole world over for me today,
'Cause I can't believe that I heard her say
She would honour, love and obey 'til death do us
Pardon me if I catch my breath.

When I knew my wife was the wife for me
We went out and sat by the willow tree,
And I begged and pleaded, uh huh,
Marry me, honey, and that is what she did.

Chorus:
Begged and pleaded, uh huh
Marry me, honey,
And that is what she did.
Seena (=S.B.):
Oh, how you pleaded
If you thought you needed to
You sure were wrong!
You took too long.
But I kept on praying
One day I'd be saying
I love my husband, I love him more
Than the way I used to love him before
He became my husband but now he is,
So don't call me early 'cause I'll be busy
Beside him waiting for him to wake
And his loving arms to reach up and take me
For one more trip to the Milky Way,
Like he did before, when I heard him say
He would honour, love and obey 'til death do us
Pardon me if I catch my breath.

Oh, I never thought he'd propose to me
'Til he took me out by the willow tree,
And he begged and pleaded, uh huh,
Marry me, honey, and that is what he did.

Chorus:
Begged and pleaded, uh huh
Marry me, honey,
And that is what she did.
Seena (=S.B.):
I love my husband, I love him more
Than the way I used to love him before
He became my husband but now he is,
So don't call me early 'cause I'll be busy
Beside him waiting for him to wake
And his loving arms to reach up and take me
For one more trip to the Milky Way,
Like he did before, when I heard him say
He would honour, love and obey 'til death do us
Pardon me if I catch my breath.

Oh, I never thought he'd propose to me
'Til he took me out by the willow tree,
And he begged and pleaded, uh huh,
Marry me, honey, and that is what we did.

Chorus:
Begged and pleaded, uh huh
Marry me, honey,
And that is what we did.


8. Three-cornered tune

It has a tender sound
This little tune I found
I don't know why
It's following me around

It has a ... etc.

I heard it all begin
Above a Broadway din
And it was so appealing
I joined right in

I heard it ... etc.

And now I walk along
Among the Broadway throng
Inviting everybody
To sing my song

And now I ... etc.


9. If I ever fall in love again

If I ever fall in love again,
It'll be with someone just like you.
I don't say that I'm in love again
But on the day you came my way, I knew.

If I ever fall in love again,
This is just the way it ought to be,
But if it's really love again,
I'll leave to fate, I'd rather wait and see.

How can I know
When my head is saying no
And my heart's telling me that it's real?
Can it be wrong
If I burst into song
At the wonder of feeling the way
That I suddenly feel?

If I ever fall in love again
I shall know exactly what to do.
And when I fall in love again
I know it must be someone just like you.

The way that I suddenly feel!

If I ever fall in love again
I shall know exactly what to do.
And when I fall in love again
I know it must be someone just like you.


10. What makes me love him?

What makes me love him?
It's not his singing,
I've heard his singing,
It sours the milk
And yet, it's gotten to the point
Where I prefer that kind of milk.

What makes me love him?
It's not his learning.
He's learned so slowly,
His whole life long
And though he really knows
A multitude of things
They're mostly wrong.

He's not romantic,
And yet I love him.
No one occasion
He's used me ill
And though he's handsome
I know inside me
Were he a plain man
I'd love him still.

What makes me love him?
It's quite beyond me,
It must be something
I can't define.
Unless it's merely
That he's masculine
And that he's mine.


11. Chi il bel sogno di Doretta

 
 
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
Potè indovinar?
Il suo mister come mai
Come mai fini

Ahimè! un giorno uno studente
In bocca la baciò
E fu quel bacio
Rivelazione:
Fu la passione!
Folle amore!
Folle ebbrezza!
Chi la sottil carezza
D'un bacio cosi ardente
Mai ridir potrà?

Ah! mio sogno!

Ah! mia vita!

Che importa la ricchezza
Se alfine è rifiorita
La felicità!
O sogno d'or
Poter amar così!

              Doretta's beautiful dream

Who could guess
The beautiful dream Doretta had?
Why her mystery
Came to an end

One day a student
Kissed her on the mouth
And that kiss
Was the revelation:
It was the passion!
Mad love!
Mad happiness!
Who will ever be able again
To describe the light caress
Of a kiss so burning?

Oh! My dream!

Oh! My life!

Who cares for wealth
If at last happiness flourishes!
Oh golden dream
To be able to love
In this way!


12. Away from you

Note: The lines in italics are from the original song, but are not sung by Sarah.
Away from you
There is no music,
There is no sunlight,
The world is gray.
Away from you
The clocks are frozen,
And time's a traveller
Who's lost his way.

The people I meet
Might as well be statues,
The words we exchange
Might as well be Greek.
The room that I'm in
May be bright and cheerful
But to me
It's dim and bleak.

I'm half alive
Until the moment
The door swings open
And you walk through.
      Now my world starts to glow
      Like a stained-glass window
      And what was old and cold
      Is warm and new.
And so you see
Why I can never be
Away from you.

      Away from you
      The world is lifeless
      As though creation
      Has gone awry.
      The trees are bare,
      There are no flowers,
      The fields are thirsty,
      The streams are dry.

      We live, you and I,
      For a breath of sunlight,
      So brief an escape
      From a world of gray.
      Our moments of warmth
      Have been touch and go, love,
      But tonight, we'll touch
      And stay.

The people I meet
Might as well be statues,
The words we exchange
Might as well be Greek.
The room that I'm in
May be bright and cheerful
But to me
It's dim and bleak.

I'm half alive
Until the moment
The door swings open
And you walk through.
Now my soul is afloat
On a wave of music
That I could feel such joy
I never knew.
And so you see
Why I can never be
Away from you.


13. If love were all

Fate may often treat me meanly
But I keenly pursue
A little mirage in the blue,
Determination helps me through.

Though I never really grumble,
Life's a jumble indeed
And in my efforts to succeed
I've had to formulate a creed.

I believe in doing what I can
In crying when I must
In laughing when I choose
Hey ho, if love were all
I should be lonely.

I believe the more you love a man,
The more you give your trust,
The more you're bound to lose.
Although when shadows fall
I think if only
Somebody splendid really needed me
Someone affectionate and dear
Cares would be ended if I knew that he
Wanted to have me near.

But I believe that since my life began
The most I've had is just a talent to amuse.
Hey ho, if love were all.
Hey ho, if love were all.

Although when shadows fall
I think if only
Somebody splendid really needed me
Someone affectionate and dear
Cares would be ended if I knew that he
Wanted to have me near.

But I believe that since my life began
The most I've had is just a talent to amuse.
Hey ho, if love were all.
Hey ho, if love were all.

Hey ho, if love were all.


14. Half a moment

Half a moment
We are together
I shall want no-one else
And nothing new.
Half a moment
I shall treasure,
Keep it locked away
For some future rainy day.

Should you leave me
With just this moment
In my mind
I shall capture it anew,
Like some picture
Taken in my childhood
Half a moment
Spent with you.

Half a moment
I shall treasure,
Keep it locked away
For some future rainy day.

Should you leave me
With just this moment
In my mind
I shall capture it anew,
Like some picture
Taken in my childhood
Half a moment
Spent with you.

Countless vivid memories
Spin before my view,
Like some toy kaleidoscope
Images of you.

Time looks kindly
On fleeting lovers
They can turn the briefest hour
Into a day
Turn a moment
To a lifetime
Making it to last
Blending future with the past.

We're together,
What else can matter?
Even though
Half a moment is too few
I shall save it
'Til I have another
Making one whole moment
Filled with you.


From: The songs that got away (1989); the lyrics are printed in the CD-booklet, except for song 4, which I wrote down myself.

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last modified: 18 April 2013