Kevin Carlson: Lyrics / Music

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A recent review called this a song about "being in love for all the wrong reasons". The idea for this song began on a trip to Boston, where I saw a young lady making gravestone rubbings in the old Granary Burial Ground, just next to Boston Common, where many famous people like John Hancock and Samuel Adams were laid to rest. It seemed fascinating to be able to take away a remembrance of someone who, when all was said and done, had really proven their worth. I had always wondered about how to work that visual into a song. Sometime later, a friend mentioned that he felt he was always trying to "prove his worth" in his relationship, and that led to this song.

She walked a fine line between us
Tempting fate with her smile
Devil was she, laughing at me

Life is like a museum
With every soul on display
Mine was too bare
And left unguarded that day

I met her outside of a graveyard
With charcoal and paper made rubbings of history’s dead
She had no respect for the living
Man’s worth can’t be fully measured ‘til he’s laid to rest
That’s what she said.

Her heart was kept at a distance
Safe outside an embrace
Couldn’t say love, not face to face

I couldn’t seem to remember
If she’d meant something to me
I wanted to go
But I couldn’t seem to say no.

It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve done
To try and love someone I fear
I don’t understand a single thing
That woman’s heart holds dear
It’d be easier to leave her
Than let her break my heart in two
But that’s something I can’t bring myself
Can’t bring myself to do.

She left me in Richmond, Virginia
Standing alone on a corner outside in the snow
I can’t say that I’ll really miss her
Sticking around might have made me more bitter and cold
But I’ll never know.

She walked a fine line between us
Finding fate with her smile
Lonely was she, laughing at me.

Copyright © 2007 Shadow Mountain Music LLC (BMI)