Tall Tales & Nightingales

By Chris Devine

Phoenix, 2005. Sometimes, you just have to reevaluate your life, and it's always an uncomfortable process. Need vs. want? Always subjective. Oh, yeah, the tall tales? I get lied to a lot. I'm never sure how upset to get about it. Nightingales? Well, birds sing, right? There's always music in my brain. Sometimes it hurts.

I have all I wanted,
I have nothing I need.
I took it for granted,
Thought it was guaranteed.

Walking in the country,
Walking on the tracks,
I felt the sun reproach me,
Heard it call me back.

Tall tales and nightingales ring around my head.
Brutal dreams left me for dead
As the sky was turning, sky was turning pale.

I left home this morning,
For a cup of tea,
Walked on past the cafe,
As the day was warming.

Headed toward the seashore,
With nothing but my clothes,
Rested in a forest,
Saw this with my eyes closed.

Tall tales and nightingales ring around my head.
Brutal dreams left me for dead
As the sky was turning, sky was turning pale.

I couldn't turn me 'round, couldn't ask me who I am,
I couldn't answer truthfully, I couldn't tell how I began.
Couldn't give a second thought, couldn't be the also-ran,
I couldn't face the truth, I couldn't tell myself
I can.

I have nothing I wanted,
But everything I need,
I don't know where I am,
Nothing's guaranteed.

I have all that I need,
But nothing that I want.
Lost myself in maybes ...

Tall tales and nightingales ring around my head.
Brutal dreams left me for dead
As the sky was turning, sky was turning pale.