Lyrics
[Verse 1] Cup of tea on the amp Coal fire ghost in my coat Your letter curls on the carpet Ink running thin like a joke Empty frames on the mantel Crooked nail Little white hole You said you’d write from the station You said you’d call when you got home [Chorus] Bittersweet Parliament Road Where we learned to stay and let go Every brick remembers our names But the number on the door has changed Bittersweet Parliament Road I still hear your key in the lock so slow All those songs we promised to save Now they just rattle in the gate [Verse 2] You left your shoes by the doorway Brown suede One heel worn down I swear they move in the nighttime Following dust around the house Kettle screams Then it quiets Just me This thin golden light I hum that tune from the bus stop Trying to get the last chord right [Chorus] Bittersweet Parliament Road Where we learned to stay and let go Every brick remembers our names But the number on the door has changed Bittersweet Parliament Road I still hear your key in the lock so slow All those songs we promised to save Now they just rattle in the gate [Bridge] Did you find a softer summer? Did the rain fall kinder there? Do you still fold every postcard Like a secret little prayer? I walk past the old green grocer Past the pub we used to haunt Every window shows another life Every life shows what we’re not [Suite II – psychescape] [Intro] [orchestral swell Chiming acoustic figure] [Verse 3] Sunday blooms on the ceiling Patterns drift Then they slide I chase your face in the wallpaper Till all the flowers look cross-eyed Tiny sitar in my fingers Tracing circles on the strings I hear your laugh in the overtones Hear you say the strangest things [Chorus] Bittersweet Parliament Road Keeps rewinding deep in my skull Every hallway longer each night Every door a brighter white Bittersweet Parliament Road Where the clocks lean in and don’t move at all If I turn this handle again Will you be humming in the den? [Suite III – return] [Verse 4] Now the sign’s been repainted New name on the silver plate Kids plug holes in the pavement Chalk suns all over the gate I stand across by the lamppost Breath hanging blue in the air Raise my hand like I’m still waving To a ghost that isn’t there [Chorus] Bittersweet Parliament Road I’m the last to leave the show Every light goes out in its time Every song steps over the line Bittersweet Parliament Road I walk away But I walk real slow Every step a quiet refrain Till your name fades out of the frame
