celebrate me

**A Table Set for One** [Intro] Dim the room to amber Let the record turn There are names the night remembers There are letters left to burn [Verse 1] I wore the blue silk slowly Like a secret on my skin Watched the city fold its windows And the midnight wander in There was smoke above the piano There was rain along the glass Every shadow knew the answer But was kind enough not to ask I had saved a chair beside me For a ghost who missed the train So I placed a rose upon it And I never spoke his name [Pre-Chorus] The moon leaned through the curtains Silver resting on the floor And something in the silence Did not hurt me anymore [Chorus] So pour the wine a little higher Let the candle lose its flame Let the trumpet spill its sorrow Softly, sweetly, without blame I have danced with disappearing I have slept beneath the blue Now the night has dressed the table And the only guest is true No, I do not need an answer No, the dawn need not explain There is beauty in the leaving There is music in the rain [Verse 2] I kept old words in crystal Like perfume gone too pale Little promises and ribbons From a long-forgotten tale I was careful with my laughter I was graceful with regret I could make a room believe me While my heart was soaking wet But the mirror changed its language When I met it eye to eye It no longer asked for pardon It no longer asked me why [Pre-Chorus] Outside, the taxis shimmered Like fireflies in gold And the hands upon the clock face Forgot that I grew old [Chorus] So pour the wine a little higher Let the candle lose its flame Let the trumpet spill its sorrow Softly, sweetly, without blame I have danced with disappearing I have slept beneath the blue Now the night has dressed the table And the only guest is true No, I do not need an answer No, the dawn need not explain There is beauty in the leaving There is music in the rain [Post-Chorus] Here’s to all the quiet rooms That taught my eyes the dark Here’s to every winter window That kept a little spark Here’s to footsteps down the hallway Growing softer as they go Some doors close like final pages Some like curtains after shows [Verse 3] I once mistook the thunder For a voice that called me home Mistook a borrowed heartbeat For a place to call my own But morning has its mercy And the years are patient thieves They take the thorns from memory And leave the shape of leaves Now I wear the same blue silk dress But it falls a different way Like the sky before a sunrise Like a word I chose to say [Bridge] Play it slow, dear piano Leave some space between the notes There are things too light for language There are truths that barely float Let the bass move like a river Let the brushes kiss the snare Let the saxophone remember What I no longer need to bear And somewhere in the old refrain A younger version of my face Turns toward the sound of morning And finally leaves her place [Breakdown] The ice has melted in the glass The street is turning grey The rose beside the empty chair Has opened anyway No footsteps in the doorway No hand upon my sleeve Only dawn across the table And nothing left to grieve [Final Chorus] Pour the wine a little higher Though the bottle’s nearly through Let the trumpet bloom like velvet Let the room return to blue I have danced with disappearing Till the shadows lost their names Now the night has cleared the table But the silver still remains No, I do not need an answer No, the past need not return Some stars are meant for wishing Some are only meant to burn And when the final note is fading When the curtains meet the light I will leave one candle glowing For the woman of the night [Outro] Dim the room to amber Let the old record spin There are endings made of silence There are lives that start within On the table, one blue ribbon One glass catching morning sun No applause and no arrival Just a table Set for one