Lyrics 88 Constellations - Mary Chapin Carpenter

88 Constellations

These days are made of leaving home
But every thought is of returning
In between is simply known
For the gasoline I’m burning
Drop the bags inside the door
Out of habit pause to listen
It’s the same as before
There’s always something that feels missing
But not the ghosts and snakes I’ve swept away
Though that seemed as good a place to start
I go forward
Or fall back
Forge ahead
Or veer off track
Flaming out
We fade to black
Stars careening in their crosses
Someone’s always
Just ahead
Heels dug in
Or being led
Nothing’s perfect
I once said
And I’ve learned to cut my losses
But I could not fix the broken part
And a tear-stained heart
I filled my passport with the miles
Dawn is breaking out the window
Climb the steps and walk the aisles
Just another moving shadow
You know it’s easier to be
All alone instead of lonely
Yet I know some part of me
Feels a part of you still always be
Way down deep where it will not be seen
But there’s no doubt that you have left your mark
You go forward
Or fall back
Forge ahead
Or veer off track
Flaming out
We fade to black
Stars careening in their crosses
Someone’s always
Just ahead
Heels dug in
Or being led
Nothing’s perfect
You once said
The king of all lost causes
But I still wait for you because I’m not
In my tear stained heart
These wondrous days we travel fast
And the clearer I am seeing
Trade the baggage of the past
For the likeness of being
I am studying the stars
All 88 constellations
I can sense you from afar
From my earthly destinations
And in the wind and every highway song
A match that strikes or in a random spark
We go forward
Or fall back
Forge ahead
Or veer off track
Flaming out
We fade to black
Stars careening as they beckon
It’s just open road ahead
The sound of twilight
Maps unread
Nothing’s perfect
It’s been said
This is pretty close I reckon
And I learned more than I’d have ever thought
From a tear-stained heart