Lyrics This Is Not the House That Pain Built - Dar Williams

This Is Not the House That Pain Built

My house is hard to find, but I’ll give you directions
You can visit sometime, down where all that I built surrounds me
Just make sure your car’s got good shocks
There’s steep hills, there’s potholes, there’s rocks
I work in the garden, my son plays around me
Close the gate behind you, there’s a horse that can’t get out
I will see you first, is that all right
And can you remember, can you remember
This is not the house that pain built
This is not the house that pain built
I was drowning in something, I jumped in the rift
And you knew me back then, when I spat on my gift, but no
It’s tough and it’s tiring when you go it alone
I learned about wiring, I learned about stone
The building is done but the work’s never through
And I won’t give up, no how, it reminds me of who I am and where I am now
I remember myself, that’s the work that I do
On a spring night when the snow is melting
You’ll see two sets of footprints walking
Look at all the stars, and turn around, and walk home
Slowly walk home
This is not the house that pain built
That is not a house that pain ubilt
My friends all think that I holed up and hid
But I tell them I didn’t, you know I don’t think I did, no
And this is where I let my pain go
This is where I let my pain go
This is where the footprints dance in the snow