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LYRICS & CHORDS

Halfway To Colorado

Smoke and Whiskey

Trying to Get Home

Bury Me Please in the Puget Sound

Bury me please in the Puget Sound
There'll be waves as shackles a'holdin' me down
There'll be no struggle nor shameful whisper of doubt
Just bury me please in the Sound

Let me down peacefully on the rocks
Let the tide roll over and carry my thoughts
Hundreds of miles between me and any other dock
So let me down please on the rocks

I never learned how to write you the way that I wanted
Your ending was one I had not foreseen
Feeding the hope when you know it's what you don't need
So I'll sit alone and wait for the sea
To bury me

Follow me please to where summers lay
Where the waves stay steady and crash through the day
Life with no clock is a life that keeps you at bay
So follow me where summers lay

I never learned how to paint you the way that I wanted
Your colors seeped into the trees
My canvas, blank, conveniently left you in August
So I'll sit alone and wait for the sea
To bury me

Bury Me

Coming Home to Someone New

What to say when the orange smoke blows away your face
What to write when I'm tired
Who to go to when I'm fine in my own space
What to do when I'm alive

How strange I can decide how I live and when I die
If it's time to disappear
And I'm thinking about

Coming home to someone new
Letting all the light come through
Writing real and writing true
And leaving the low
Breaking through my windowpane
Being set with all the blame
Feeling my bones caress my frame
And making it home

The way my shoes sink into the ground when I walk
Makes me feel the way I used to feel when I'd hear you talk
Like I'm walking ten times higher than I am
Like I'm selfishly finally feeling like myself again

How strange I can decide where to go when to arrive
Or if I even want to stay
And I'm thinking about

Coming home to someone new
Letting all the light come through
Writing real and writing true
And leaving the low
Falling over myself more
Putting locks on broken doors
Being fine with the settled score
And letting it go

And I wonder if you'll ever come back
Or if you'll listen to this track because the title might intrigue you
I wonder if you think of me
I wonder if you feel free because I know that you want to
I know that you want to
Coming home to someone new

Coming Home

White-Capped Glee

Fall came o'er the water as the night bled into day
I followed close behind her as she led my world astray
Who could have ever known the dangerous secrets kept onboard?
And jealousy with white-capped glee struck down the final chord

The portraits in the galley overflowed a deep, red wine
The clocks that had once ticked had since run out of all their time
The captain and his anchor held on tight to see the day
And yet her duty called and she was lost beneath the waves

Emergency evacuation sounded through the crowd
But she who was not listening devoted all her doubt
The ever-aching groan that overcame her as she fell
Was something never heard before as all old stories tell

And so the story goes that she went down and she went low
But I have always fought to find out what I did not know
The drinking and the rivalry that flooded down those halls
Was stronger than the waves that overcame and let her fall

Screaming at the ocean when you lose the one you love
Felt as though the sun upon my skin had come undone
Like winter waves and tall cascades could take me with one swipe
And following you down below would only make this right

White-capped Glee

Write Me In One Of Your Songs

I'll make a promise you know I can't keep
But if the words themselves will put your mind at ease
I'll make it twice, I'll write down my vices
I'll tell you you're right about what my life is
I won't remember you when I've grown old
I won't remember a single story you've told
Washed out and drained, you know my name
Nothing beats fame, except for the game

Don't you dare ever come back
Don't you dare leave me alone
I forgot about you, and I'm sorry
I know I did something wrong
I'll write you in one of my songs

I've held you down and I've kept you as mine
Close to my heart and my body and home and self and time
In and out of pages you write down your hatred
We're not related, but we feel the same

Don't you dare ever come back
I'll never leave you alone
I won't forget about you, don't be sorry
You'll never do nothing wrong
Write me in one of your songs

Don't you dare ever come back (Don't you dare ever come back)
Don't you dare leave me alone (I'll never leave you alone)
I forgot about you (I won't forget about you),  and I'm sorry
I know I did something wrong
I wrote you in all of my songs

Write Me In

Headed Up North

This winter's been too long and cold
I've been stuck in the snow
No more fires to stoke

These town lines just don't get me going
The cascades cut to the bone
So I'm leaving alone

There ain't much I need from you
Just a fond farewell, bid me adieu

Standing on the side of the railroad tracks
Headed up north and I won't come back
Honey, just don't follow the tracks I leave
And this is how I cope with
Hating bad where I grew up
Letting myself live on luck
Being close to giving up that's why
I'm headed up north again

I've got all I need with me
And where I long to be
Goes from Sound to sea
I hop on right beneath the trees
My cigarette with ease
Lights up all the leaves

There ain't much I need to say
Just say goodbye and get out of my way

Standing on the side of the railroad tracks
Headed up north and I won't come back
Honey, just don't follow the tracks I leave
And this is all I have to show for
Leaving you with my old guitar
Thing's worth more than my broken heart
I need some time to be apart from you
So I'm headed up north again
I'm headed up north again
I'm headed up north again

Headed Up Borth

Go Where You Go

Told the trees that I miss you
They said they do too
Told them I'd be home soon
They said follow this through

Told the trees about your hometown
And how the roads made me feel
How the tires on the dry ground
Made what we had real

So darling, come and grab your guitar
You're gonna go really far
And I'm gonna see you shine
Darling, I'm in for a while
You carry the world in your smile
And I wanna go where you go

Told Boston I need you
She said be patient, be kind
But I wanna know you
And take up your time

So darling, come and grab your guitar
You're gonna go really far
And I'm gonna see you shine
Darling, I'm in for a while
You carry the world in your smile
And I wanna go where you go

Go Where You Go

On For Sleep (Interlude)

I'll miss holding my breath when a sea plane flies over
I'll miss biting my tongue when the kids are asleep
I'll miss talking with you about how hard it is to be sober
I'll miss laying with you while our hands burn with freckles we keep

I'll miss you and your water-colored heart and the way you say good morning
I'll miss how I watched as you flew like a bird in the wind
Oh, I'll miss all the brush strokes and colors that you brought with no warning
And I'll miss how we danced in the smoke and screamed this is the end

On For Sleep

Elba

If I ask will you be honest?
Your hands and my head out the window felt like a promise
Not a bump in the road could've crashed us
And not a measure of time could feel like enough

Elba, please, keep my heart in your tower
Climb back to it after the hour has passed and the moment is gone
The sun can't stay up for too long
Put me in the back of your pocket
Write songs about me and relive it
Hold on all you want but I don't need you forever I have you right now

If I'm asked I'll say I felt breathless
The clouds reflected off your dash deserve all the credit
My ode to the Midwestern sky wrote itself out clearly
Pick a crease of the fields in the distance and bury me there

Elba, please, keep my heart in your tower
Climb back to it after the hour has passed and the moment is gone
The sun can't stay up for too long
Put me in the back of your pocket
Write songs about me and relive it
Hold on all you want but I don't need you forever I have you right now

Elba

When It Comes Time For Leaving

When it comes time for leaving
There'll be no slack in my rope
I'll be keeping my grip, I'll be holding your hand
Grasping ounces of hope

When it comes time for leaving
Where is the door?
When I'm barefoot and ragged, where are the woods
That act as my floor?

When it comes time for leaving
I'll lead the way
With you in my rearview, I'll rig the mast
As I sail away

When it comes time for leaving
You know my name
I've skipped rocks on your shores, I've dug stones from your sand
And I feel when you ache

When it comes time for leaving
Say what you'll say
There's a chill in the wind, there's a bite in the air
But I'll be okay

When you're on the run
When the tides don't change
When the ocean is vast
When you've broken the glass in your picture frames
When life isn't fair
When home is a mess
When the rock is turned over
When you wake up feelings that you've put to rest

I'll be here, I'll be okay
I can pull on my branches and keep the rain out of your way
When it comes time for leaving

When it Comes Time

Halfway to Colorado

Your suitcase has been packed for a week
I know you won’t admit it, but it’s true
The alcohol has forced me to speak
Through tears I’m tryna see your point of view

Denver could not have been any farther
I can’t make you give up what you want

Now I can’t hear the word ‘Colorado’ without thinkin’ about your hands
And I’ve smashed every empty bottle like the way you smashed all our plans
If you came back home tomorrow, you would beg for a second chance
But you won’t 
You were halfway to Colorado when we spoke

I don’t know when you got the call
But I know you had your reasons to keep it to yourself
I didn’t make it easy at all
I know you had been dreaming, I never gave you help

Denver, I’m a mess when I’m not with her
Please don’t let her fill your cup with gin 

Now I can’t hear the word ‘Colorado’ without thinkin’ about your hands
And I’ve smashed every empty bottle like the way you smashed all our plans
If you came back home tomorrow, you would beg for a second chance
But you won’t 
You were halfway to Colorado when we spoke

So I’m drivin’ to Colorado, I’m not stopping along the way
There’s a goddamn empty bottle that’s taking up your space
I know you said not to follow, you were leaving to run away
So I won’t 
I’ll go lose myself in the Colorado smoke

Halfway to Colorado

Smoke & Whiskey

I cried so hard when I finally left for Denver
I cried so hard when I loaded up the car
He threw a fit, said he’d be fine in a bit
With heavy eyes, he walked on towards the bar

I cried so hard when I told him I was leaving
I cried so hard when I said it’s ‘cause of you
Colorado tracks left me looking at my past
So my first night I got drunk and sang the blues

Ooowee! Leaving feels so wrong when the guilt drones longer
And I’ve never seen someone fail so hard at being stronger
Your words painted pictures that I couldn’t frame
In our house where you broke that bottle and lost your game

You took the back of my mind and pushed it forwards
You took the tip of my tongue and cut it off
You broke my heart, ripped off band aids in the dark
And you still dare to say that this is Denver’s loss

Ooowee! Leaving feels so good when the road is louder
Than your voice saying I fucked up and you couldn’t be prouder
My hands on your mind were all I ever wanted
But instead yours stayed stained with gin that left you haunted

Leave me on this road to nowhere I’ll keep going
Till I find another man who drinks to find his home in
These mountains and these valleys filled with smoke & whiskey
I’m not comin’ back ‘cause I’m halfway there, I don’t care if you miss me

Smoke & Whiskey

Trying to Get Home (when you're under the influence) 

I thought about you in the midst of the whirlpool
You’re good at keeping your cool
You know that I’m not
Tonight I washed whiskey down with a shiver
Your hands as the usual chase
Were absent and locked in a box

I’m twirling myself around and around out in the open
It don’t feel the same when we’re not running free dancing over the ocean
And I know there’s no beauty in trying to get home when you’re under the influence
But there’s beauty in the way that you talk about it

I thought about you even after you left me
My heart filling heavy
With dust that your tracks left behind
Tonight I washed whiskey down with some lemon
It stung and it ached like your venom
But the taste burned your lips off of mine 

I’m driving myself around and around right where you left me
It feels like the day that I tried to leave town but you wouldn’t let me
And I know there’s no beauty in driving home drunk when you’re under the influence
But there’s beauty in the way that we’d fight about it

Trying to Get Home

The Love That I Give

The Love That I Give

Where the hell can I go where they don't know your name?
Where can I catch a break from the letters that arrange themselves to spell out my pain?
Even home knows it well 'cause I just can't catch a clue
Even though I am beaten down, I'm still proud of and talk about you
I'm still proud of and talk about you

I'm no stranger to hurt, but I'm a stranger to this
Oh, this regret, and this torment, and ache, but in turn, I am proud of the love that I give
I am proud of the love that I give

And I'll let myself heal in the morning but for now I can't breathe anymore

Next time that you leave, give a warning, or at least say goodbye at the door

I just don't want you to hate me and I don't want our story to end
It doesn't have to be easy but at least never leave as a friend

I stripped all the wood from the cabinets and I broke down the glass chandelier
It left a bad scar when the glass hit but I'll keep it as a souvenier

I can't scrape myself from the memories and I won't burn this house to the ground 
'Cause even after all, after everything, I'd still bleed out to have you around
I'd still bleed out to have you around


 

The Love That I Give
With Its Lace And Its Aching

With Its Lace And Its Aching

I ran with my boots on the pavement

My white skirt draped with its lace and its aching

I ran southwest back to where you weren’t waiting for me to come home 

 

I screamed at the glass in the windows 

I broke my knees crawling out of the shadows

I didn’t know you’d be angry and hollow for having me here

 

I threw myself onto the concrete

She picked me up and we walked down the dark street

With dust in our eyes, we shook off what we could be if we just left town

 

I pushed myself into your city

You took me down you thought I took you with me

I never planned to be part of your history, but yet here I am 

 

I’m still so fed up with this anger

I’m fed up with the villain I made her

I could’ve warned her or I could’ve changed her, but I never would

One hundred dollars

$100

Landed in the airport, drank a beer at 10am 

Okay, I’ll admit it, not a beer but let’s pretend

That champagne and orange juice make me sound like half the man I’d like to be

 

$100 richer than we we re a week ago

And we spent it all on alcohol, blew it out the window

And we laughed in your bedroom about the things we would’ve done to get that money 

 

Oh, I unplugged my phone 

And I went back to Colorado, walked the dog beside the bones

Oh, my third place home

I was nothing but a child there, like a friend from long ago 

 

Bell left on  friday after 5 days in the town

We pulled over on the interstate 10 miles from Ava’s house

And I cried despite the fact we haven;t really hugged since we were 12 years old 

 

Wyatt told me I would be on tour within a year

Less than a week after the Denver show and I shed a couple tears

Oh it’s hard to lose your friends to bigger things, but it’s fun to watch them grow 

 

Oh, the room was full

Wyatt finally got a mic and our old lovers saw the show

Oh, how we outgrow 

All of the different lives behind us and we soldier on home

Oh, we played those stupid games

Bell finished college and we toasted with rosé

Oh, things are not the same 

As they were back in Boston, thank god! I’m glad they changed 

No More Than A Memory

No More Than A Memory

You say I’m no more than a memory, I say you’re no more than the sea

You say I’m no more than a sister, well how could you say that to me?

I say you’re no more than the shoreline, no more than the gale force that blows

And you hear me no more than a whisper, like someone who you used to know

 

How will it feel to leave? To look back, to capsize, to shutter and feel all the grief

Will I finally feel clean? Grass stains and old live take up spots that I’ll never see

 

You’d swear on my shores like the bible, you’d beg with your face in my hands

All covered in dirt, with promises burnt you would light up a fire in my sands

 

How will it feel to leave? To look back, to capsize, to shutter and feel all the grief

Will I finally feel clean? Grass stains and old live take up spots that I’ll never see

Both Of My Arms

Both Of My Arms

My high of the day: my favorite song played and I got you to sing with me

You helped me make history

Do you remember the rain? The swing dance and laughter and mountains and whiskey

We snuck off in the trees

 

We stayed up to watch the stars for hours

Fell asleep and missed them by three

If I had the chance I’d buy you flowers

But all that I can give you are trees

 

I know I’m meant to be loved, but it just don’t feel that way

I’m sick of breaking my bones and becoming your home

When I cant take up my own space

And I know I’m meant to be held, but I’d always rather let go 

With both of my arms wrapped so tightly around what's inside me

I don’t have room for your ghost 

 

I cried when you left, I cried when I went back and laid where we slept that night

I could still picture your eyes

Your handprints remain on the mispronounced syllables of my last name 

I loved it the same 

 

Everything is dull and gray without you

I’ll write it down now so i don’t forget

I’ll look for you in every room I walk through

In every person I have never met

 

I know I’m meant to be loved, but it just don’t feel that way

I’m sick of breaking my bones and becoming your home

When I cant take up my own space

And I know I’m meant to be held, but I’d always rather let go 

With both of my arms wrapped so tightly around what's inside me

I don’t have room for your ghost 

Swag

Please Don't Cry, You Have Swag by Hot Mulligan

I missed you when I thought we shared some interests

Old songs and games we'd share

You're not who lived in my head

The afterglow started fading when I left

 

You said it wouldn't make a difference whether we could be together or not

But if you wanna talk about the things you did

Well, I'll be here and I can handle it

So come back strong or not at all

It's up to you to fix your faults

 

Okay, you think I matter less than politics

When all I want is fresh paint

Before we ever would've talked like this

At a loss, a bloodstain

Ruined fabric that you used to wear

A promenade, slow pace

As we realize we're going to different places

 

But if you wanna talk about the things you did

I won't be there you won't grow out of it

The cord's restrung, the feeling's gone

It's all your fault, I'm moving on

 

Hey, you said it wouldn't make a difference whether we can be together or not

Stay home, stay home

I wanted to keep you but feel it's likely you don't share my resolve (hey)

I guess it doesn't make a difference whether we can stand each other or not

Stay home, stay home

You could call it courtesy that I tried to keep you here for this long (hey)

I guess it doesn't fucking matter if we ever see each other or not

Stay home, stay home

Stay home, stay home

Boston

Boston

Boston, you lost me in the flood 

Boston, you changed the ones I loved 

I couldn't leave you even if I tried

You see the ghost of march behind my eyes

 

I’m more grown up now, I know that things always change

And the sun’s out, though I’m still a fan of the rain 

I'm not a kid anymore

I fit in well here when I’ve mean things to say

When I’m angry, when you try to get in my way  

I’m not a kid anymore

 

Boston, oh who was I before?

You took my heart and laid it on your shore 

Some days you’re warm and you are kind

But others you’re the bane of my demise

 

But I’m more grown up now, I know that things always change

And the sun’s out, though I’m still a fan of the rain 

I'm not a kid anymore

I don’t think I’m ready to get off and drive in my car

Slow and steady, I start to forget who you are

I’m not a kid anymore 

 

I’ve made bad choices but they don’t reflect where I’ve been 

I’ve fought battles just to find somewhere to live

I’m not a kid anymore

​

Oh, I'm not a kid anymore 

Oh, I'm not a kid anymore

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