SHADOW DAYS
By
John Mayer
***************
Did you know that you could be wrong
And swear you’re right
Some people been known to do it
All their lives
But you find yourself alone
Just like you found yourself before
Like I found myself in pieces
On the hotel floor
Hard times help me see
I’m a good man with a good heart
Had a tough time, got a rough start
But I finally learned to let it go
Now I’m right here, and I’m right now
And I’m hoping, knowing somehow
That my shadow days are over
My shadow days are over now
Well I ain’t no trouble maker
And I never meant her harm
But it doesn’t mean I didn’t make it
Hard to carry on
Well it sucks to be honest (honest)
And it hurts to be real
But it starts to make some love
That I can finally feel
Hard times let me be
I’m a good man with a good heart
Had a tough time, got a rough start
But I finally learned to let it go
Now I’m right here, and I’m right now
And I’m hoping, knowing somehow
That my shadow days are over
My shadow days are over now
A FACE TO CALL HOME
***************
I’m an architect
Of days that haven’t happened yet
I can’t believe a month is all it’s been
You know my paper heart
The one I filled with pencil marks
I think I might’ve gone and inked you in
Little by little, inch by inch
We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it
It ain’t much but it’s a start
You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart
And a face to call home
A face to call home
You got a face to call home
So good you didn’t see
The nervous wreck I used to be
You’d never know a man could feel so small
And you never look at me
Like I’m a liability
I bet you think I’ve never been at all
Little by little, inch by inch
We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it
And it ain’t much, but it’s a start
You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart
And a face to call home
A face to call home
You got a face to call home
A face to call home
A face to call home
You got a face to call home
Maybe I could stay a while,
Maybe I could stay a while,
Maybe I could stay a while,
I’m talkin’ like all of the time
(Maybe I could stay a while)
Little by little, inch by inch,
(Maybe I could stay a while)
We built a yard with a garden in the middle of it,
(Maybe I could stay a while)
And it ain’t much, but it’s a start,
(I’m talkin’ like all of the time)
You got me swaying right along to the song in your heart
And a face to call home
A face to call home
You got a face to call home
FOOL TO LOVE YOU
***************
Oh, it takes a fool to love you
It takes a fool to love you
It takes a fool to love you
Oh, and I’m just the fool for you
I really did it to myself I guess
I saw you standing in that cocktail dress
Oh, call the press and say my life is a mess
Because I must confess to you
That it takes a fool to love you
It takes a fool to love you
It takes a fool to love you
Oh, and I’m just the fool for you
Fool me once, it’s shame on you
But twice, it’s shame on me
But fool me baby for the rest of my life
And I’ll be happy, happy as a broken man can be
Cause it takes a fool
It takes a fool
It takes a fool to love you
Oh, and I’m just the fool for you
Oh now I’m just the fool for you
I’m just the fool for you
I’m just the fool for you
I’m just the fool for you
I’m just the fool for you
I’m just the fool for you
WALT GRACE’S SUBMARINE TEST, JANUARY 1967
***************
Walt Grace, desperately hating this whole place
Dreamed to discover a new space and buried himself alive
Inside his basement
Tongue on the side of his face meant
He’s working away on displacement
And what it would take to survive
Cause when you’re done with this world
You know the next is up to you
And his wife told his kids he was crazy
And his friends said he’d fail if he tried
But with the will to work hard and a library card
He took a homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride
That morning the sea was mad and I mean it
Waves as big as he’d seen it deep in his dreams at home
From dry land, he rolled it over to wet sand
Closed the hatch up with one hand
And pedaled off alone
Cause when you’re done with this world
You know the next is up to you
And for once in his life, it was quiet
As he learned how to turn in the tide
And the sky was aflare when he came up for air
In his homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride
One evening, when weeks had passed since his leaving
The call she planned on receiving finally made it home
She accepted the news she never expected
The operator connected the call from Tokyo
Cause when you’re done with this world
You know the next is up to you
Now his friends bring him up when they’re drinking
At the bar with his name on the side
And they smile when they kid, as they speak of the man
Who took a homemade, fan blade, one-man submarine ride
WHISKY, WHISKY, WHISKY
***************
We pick up in New York City
Tryin’ to find the man I never got to be
When I push down on the pavement
I found the whole thing so much harder than it seems
The only deal I ever signed
No devil drew a dotted line
The stage was set, the words were mine
I’m not complaining
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Water, water, water
Sleep
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Wake up, shake it off
And repeat
It’s just a phase
It’s not forever
It’s just a phase
But I still might have a ways to go
Every night around this time
My friends and I, we treat it like a race
When I really start to break it down
I wouldn’t trust a girl who knew about this place
Walking home with no one left
Speak softly underneath my breath
Hey world, you ain’t seen nothing yet
Great, now it’s raining
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Water, water, water
Sleep
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Wake up, shake it off
And repeat
It’s just a phase
It’s not forever
It’s just a phase
But I still might have a ways
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Water, water, water
Sleep
Dreamed somebody missed me
Wake up, shake it off
And repeat it, repeat it, repeat after me
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Water, water, water
Sleep
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Cut me off and pour me in the street
Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Water, water, water
Sleep
BORN AND RAISED (REPRISE)
***************
Born and raised
Locks of brown and streaks of gray
I was brought up in brighter days
It’s good to say
Now I’m born and raised
Born and raised
And after time I’ll be twice my age
Then I’ll learn how to turn the page
Cause time is strange
When you’re born and raised
Born and raised
Locks of brown and streaks of gray
I was brought up in brighter days
It’s nice to say
Now I’m born and raised
Now I’m born and raised
Now I’m born and raised