Before the Building Wakes

Paroles de « Before the Building Wakes »

Intro: ambient swell

Verse

I'm the first one on the floor and the building's not awake
And the carpet is a snowfield nobody has walked on yet
All the monitors are dreaming in a sleepy silhouette
And the kettle in the kitchenette is humming a duet
With the radiator ticking out a little minuet
It's as quiet as a library a mile beneath a lake
And I know which way I'm going and I know which turn to take
Oh, the work is light as cotton in the hour before it wakes

Chorus

Before the building wakes
I can hear myself think
Every thought's a paper boat and not a single one will sink
I can write a whole tomorrow in a single line of ink
While the sunrise climbs the stairwell in a slow and silent pink
And there's no one to explain to, there's no meeting, no mistake
Just the snow that no one's walked on and the footprints I will make
Before the building wakes

Verse

I have climbed a paper mountain and the view from here is fine
All my pencils standing tall like a careful domino
And the spreadsheet is a garden and I watch the numbers grow
There's a pigeon on the ledge and he's the only one who'll know
That I sang a little chorus to the stapler, soft and low
Every word I mean arrives in one unbroken line
Oh, it's simple when it's only me, it's simple and it's mine
Till the elevator numbers count up seven, eight and nine

Chorus

Before the building wakes
I can hear myself think
Every thought's a paper boat and not a single one will sink
I can write a whole tomorrow in a single line of ink
While the sunrise climbs the stairwell in a slow and silent pink
And there's no one to explain to, there's no meeting, no mistake
Just the snow that no one's walked on and the footprints I will make
Before the building wakes

Bridge

Now I hear the lobby doors and the footsteps on the floor
And the snowfield fills with boot prints from the people of the day
Someone's laughing down the hallway, someone's phone has things to say
And I love them, yes, I love them, but the quiet slips away
Like a fawn into the forest that's too shy to want to stay
So I fold this little morning and I keep it in a drawer
With the snow that no one walked on and the hour that came before
And I smile and say "Good morning," and I open up the door

Chorus

Before the building wakes
I can hear myself think
Every thought's a paper boat and not a single one will sink
I can write a whole tomorrow in a single line of ink
While the sunrise climbs the stairwell in a slow and silent pink
And there's no one to explain to, there's no meeting, no mistake
Just the snow that no one's walked on and the footprints I will make
Before the building wakes

Outro

Before the building wakes