Sting : Mercury Falling

Rock / United-Kingdom
(1996 - A and M Records)
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Lyrics

1. THE HOUNDS OF WINTER

Mercury falling
I rise from my bed
Collect my thoughts together
I have to hold my head
It seems that she's gone
And somehow I am pinned by
The hounds of winter
Howling in the wind
I walk through the day
My coat around my ears
I look for my companion
I have to dry my tears
It seems that she's gone
Leaving me too soon
I'm as dark as december
I'm as cold as the man in the moon

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The hounds of winter
They follow me down

I can't make up the fire
The way that she could
I spend all my days
In the search for dry wood
Board all the windows and close the front door
I can't believe she won't be here anymore

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The hounds of winter
They follow me down

A season for joy
A season for sorrow
Where she's gone
I will surely, surely follow
She brightened my day
She warmed the coldest night
The hounds of winter
They got me in their sights

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The hounds of winter
They harry me down


2. I HUNG MY HEAD

Early one morning with time to kill
I borrowed Jeb's rifle and sat on the hill
I saw a lone rider crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him to practice my aim
My brother's rifle went off in my hand
A shot rang out across the land
The horse he kept running, the rider was dead
I hung my head, I hung my head

I set off running to wake from the dream
And my brother's rifle went into the stream
I kept on running into the salt lands
And that's where they found me, my head in my hands
The sheriff he asked me "Why had I run"
Then it came to me just what I had done
And all for no reason, just one piece of lead
I hung my head, I hung my head

Here in the courthouse, the whole town is there
I see the judge high up in his chair
"Explain to the courtroom what went through your mind
And we'll ask the jury what verdict they find"
I said "I felt the power of death over life
I orphaned his children, I widowed his wife
I beg their forgiveness, I wish I was dead"
I hung my head, I hung my head

Early one morning with time to kill
I see the gallows up on the hill
And out in the distance a trick of the brain
I see a lone rider crossing the plain
He's come to fetch me to see what they done
We'll ride together til Kingdom come
I pray for God's mercy for soon I'll be dead
I hung my head, I hung my head


3. LET YOUR SOUL BE YOUR PILOT

Let your soul be your pilot
Let your soul guide you
He'll guide you well

When you're down and they're counting
When your secrets all found out
When your troubles take to mounting
When the map you have leads you to doubt
When there's no information
And the compass turns to nowhere that you know well

Let your soul be your pilot
Let your soul guide you
He'll guide you well

When the doctors failed to heal you
When no medicine chest can make you well
When no counsel leads to comfort
When there are no more lies they can tell
No more useless information
And the compass spins
The compass spins between heaven and hell

Let your soul be your pilot
Let your soul guide you
He'll guide you well

And your eyes turn towards the window pane
To the lights upon the hill
The distance seems so strange to you now
And the dark room seems so still

Let your pain be my sorrow
Let your tears be my tears too
Let your courage be my model
That the north you find will be true
When there's no information
And the compass turns to nowhere that you know well

Let your soul be your pilot
Let your soul guide you
Let your soul guide you
Let your soul guide you upon your way...


4. I WAS BROUGHT TO MY SENSES

Alone with my thoughts this evening
I walked on the banks of Tyne
I wondered how I could win you
Or if I could make you mine
Or if I could make you mine

The wind it was so insistent
With tales of a stormy south
But when I spied two birds in a sycamore tree
There came a dryness in my mouth
Came a dryness in my mouth

For then without rhyme or reason
The two birds did rise up to fly
And where the two birds were flying
I swear I saw you and I
I swear I saw you and I

I walked out this morning
It was like a veil had been removed from before my eyes
For the first time I saw the work of heaven
In the line where the hills had been married to the sky
And all around me
Every blade of singing grass
Was calling out your name
And that our love would always last
And inside every turning leaf
Is the pattern of an older tree
The shape of our future
The shape of all our history
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Came things I'd never seen
Things I'd never seen

I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me

I know it's true
It's written in a sky as blue
As blue as your eyes
As blue as your eyes
If nature's red in tooth and claw
Like winter's freeze and summer's thaw
The wounds she gave me
Were the wounds that would heal me
And we'd be like the moon and sun
And when our courtly dance had run
Its course across the sky
Then together we would lie
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Something new would arrive
Something better would arrive

I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me
I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me...


5. TOU STILL TOUCH ME

Another night finds me alone
In my dreams
You still touch me
Your picture by my telephone
In that smile
You still thrill me

Now if I sleep
I sleep here alone
In my bed tonight
You still haunt me
And if I'm falling
I'm falling like a stone
In my nightmares
You still hold me

And after all that we've been through
Now I'm wondering
If you still blame me
If only half of this was true
That you believe of me
You still shame me

Dark rain will fall until I see your face
I close my eyes
I seem to hear the raindrops saying
You won't come back
You still touch me

And when I'm sick at heart and low
In my prayers
You still heal me
When I'm so sure, so sure this isn't so
In my complacency
You still shake me

I wonder if you feel the same way as I do
And you'd come back
You still touch me

Another night finds me alone
In my bed tonight
You still haunt me
You still hold me
You still touch me
You still touch me
You still touch me
Another night
Another night
Another night
Another finds me alone


6. I'M SO HAPPY I CAN'T STOP CRYING

Seven weeks have passed now since she left me
She shows her face to ask me how I am
She says the kids are fine and that they miss me
Maybe I could come and baby-sit sometime
She says, "Are you O.K.? I was worried about you
Can you forgive me? I hope that you'll be happy."
I'm so happy that I can't stop crying
I'm so happy I'm laughing through my tears

I saw a friend of mine
He said, "I was worried about you
I heard she had another man
I wondered how you felt about it?"
I'm so happy that I can't stop crying
I'm so happy I'm laughing though my tears

Saw my lawyer, Mr Good News
He got me joint custody and legal separation
I'm so happy that I can't stop crying
I'm laughing through my tears
I'm laughing through my tears

I took a walk alone last night
I looked up at the stars
To try and find an answer in my life
I chose a star for me
I chose a star for him
I chose two stars for my kids and one star for my wife
Something made me smile
Something seemed to ease the pain
Something about the universe and how it's all connected

The park is full of Sunday fathers and melted ice cream
We try to do the best within the given time
A kid should be with his mother
Everybody knows that
What can a father do but baby-sit sometimes?

I saw that friend of mine, he said,
"You look different somehow"
I said, "Everybody's got to leave the darkness sometime"
I'm so happy that I can't stop crying
I'm laughing through my tears
I'm laughing through my tears
I'm so happy that I can't stop crying
I'm laughing through my tears
I'm laughing through my tears


7. ALL FOUR SEASONS

With her smile as sweet as a warm wind in summer
She's got me flying like a bird in a bright June sky
And then just when she thinks that I've got her number
Brings me down to the ground with her wintry eye
That's my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day

And when the nighttime comes with no interference
To our warm summer love with all its charms
But like a thoroughbred horse she can turn on a sixpence
And I find that I'm back in Mistress Winter's arms
That's my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day

How will I know?
How can I tell?
Which side of the bed she takes when the day begins
She can be kind
She can be cruel
She's got me guessing like a game show fool

She can change her mind like she changes her sweaters
From one minute to the next it's hard to tell
She blows hot and cold just like stormy weather
She's my gift from the Lord or a fiend from hell
That's my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day

Watching the weatherman's been no good at all
Winter, spring, summer, I'm bound for a fall
There are no long term predictions for my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day

How will I know?
How can I tell?
Which side of the bed she takes when the day begins
She can be kind
She can be cruel
She's got me guessing like a game show fool

If it's a sunny day I take my umbrella
Just in case the raindrops start to fall
You could say that I'm just a cautious fellow
I don't want to be caught in a sudden squall
That's my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day
That's my baby
She can be all four seasons in one day


8. TWENTY FIVE TO MIDNIGHT

Train I ride don't be slow
If your whistle can blow
Fifteen miles down the track
Tell them I'm coming back
Counting poles counting sheep
Don't be slow I won't weep
If your wheels on the line
Were to put me on time

Just a year to the day
Since I went upon my way
To seek my fortune and fame
Be a star, change my name
And that's it more or less
'Til this midnight express
I know I can't be late
'Cause she said she won't wait
She'll just go marry Jack
So there's no turning back
And it's 25 to midnight
And fifteen miles of track

Band I had got a break
Just one chance we had to take
Told my girl I'd be back
Left her with my friend Jack
New York City for a spell
Things didn't turn out so well
Every dive that we played
We were lucky we got paid

Mr Train driver please
If your speed you increase
Every cent I have now
Will be yours this I vow
And that's it more or less
'Til this midnight express
I know I can't be late
'Cause she said she won't wait
She'll just go marry Jack
So there's no turning back
And it's 25 to midnight
And fifteen miles of track

We called ourselves The Latino Lovers
Hawaiian shirts and top forty covers
I didn't think I could sink this low
When drugs and booze ate all my dough
This isn't how it was meant to be
There's no such thing as a meal that's free
If I was ever to get out alive
I have to get home on time

Train I ride don't be slow
If your whistle can blow
Fifteen miles down the track
Tell them I'm coming back
And that's it more or less
'Til this midnight express
I know I can't be late
'Cause she said she won't wait
She'll just go marry Jack
So there's no turning back
And it's 25 to midnight
And fifteen miles of track
And it's 25 to midnight
And fifteen miles of track


9. LA BELLE DAME SANS REGRET

Dansons tu dis
Et moi, je suis
Mes pas sont gauches
Mes pieds tu fauches
Je crains les sots
Je cherche en vain les mots
Pour m'expliquer ta vie, alors
Tu ments, ma Soeur
Tu brises mon coeur
Je pense, tu sais
Erreurs, jamais
J'écoute, tu parles
Je ne comprends pas bien
La belle dame sans regrets

Je pleure, tu ris
Je chante, tu cries
Tu sémes les graines
D'un mauvais chêne
Mon blé s'envole
Tu en a ras le bol
J'attends, toujours
Mes cris sont sourds
Tu ments, ma Soeur
Tu brises mon coeur
Je pense, tu sais
Erreurs, jamais
J'écoute, tu parles
Je ne comprends pas bien
La belle dame sans regrets...


10. VALPARAISO

Chase the dog star
Over the sea
Home where my true love is waiting for me
Rope the south wind
Canvas the stars
Harness the moonlight
So she can safely go
Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso

Red the port light
Starboard the green
How will she know of the devils I've seen
Cross in the sky, star of the sea
Under the moonlight, there she can safely go
Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso
Valparaiso

And every road I walked would take me down to the sea
With every broken promise in my sack
And every love would always send the ship of my heart
Over the rolling sea

If I should die
And water's my grave
She'll never know if I'm damned or I'm saved
See the ghost fly over the sea
Under the moonlight, there she can safely go
Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso
Valparaiso
Valparaiso
Valparaiso


11. LITHIUM SUNSET

Fill my eyes
O Lithium sunset
And take this lonesome burden
Of worry from my mind
Take this heartache
Of obsidian darkness
And fold my darkness
Into your yellow light

I've been scattered I've been shattered
I've been knocked out of the race
But I'll get better
I feel your light upon my face

Heal my soul
O Lithium sunset
And I'll ride the turning world
Into another night
Into another night
Into another night
See mercury falling...

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