Lyrics Bucket - Greg Brown

Bucket

Put it in the bucket if the bucket’s there
Throw it in the alley, honey, I don’t care
Stay beneath the covers in your underwear and throw down
Put it in the mail, sail it on the sea
Dress it up and send it to the jubilee —
I got a woman down in Missouri, I’m gonna go down
Take it to the forest and give it a toss
Down in the gully, honey, over in the moss
Without you, babe, I’m a total loss and a loser
Send me an E, call me on the phone
Please don’t leave me here all alone
Morning comes like the twilight zone, I can’t use her
Ain’t it a big one, ain’t it tall
Looks about as high as a prison wall
Up we climb and down we fall together
Over and over and into the blue
We say we are but we’re never through
I’ve got a big bad thing for you forever
Call it impossible, call it a crime
Not kissing you is a waste of time
It doesn’t scan and it doesn’t rhyme without you
Call it a picnic, take it to the park
Meet me at the willow along about dark
The only song I sing like a meadowlark is about you
Fry it up, choke it down, save me some
I’m so happy I must be dumb
A sparrow at your shoes pecking at the crumbs you’re leaving
How do we end what we should begin
I don’t even know what town we’re in
Please, God, say that it isn’t a sin I’m grieving
Yes, it’s a big one, yes, it’s wide
Out to the world from deep inside
With me, love, oh please abide a while
Once again I am on my knees
Singing to you in Portuguese
It feels like the sky and the wind and the trees are on trial
Put it in your laughter, put it in your drink
Put all the pretty lies under the sink
You always hid me, didn’t you think I was trying?
Write it in your journal or prop it in a nook
It oughta be illegal when you give me that look
Write another chapter at the close of the book I’m dying
Mix it with the ashes, throw it on the rocks
Hide it in your bra, stuff it in your socks
Only you and I could take those walks, oh my dear
Wash it all out, throw it in the dryer
Put it on the back burner with a low fire
Write another song for the lonely choir, just get it out of here
Yes, it’s a big one, yes, it’s tall
Two little children and one big wall
Up we climb and down we fall together
You say a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do
Well, just you remember how I love you
And that I’ve got a big bad thing for you forever