Christine Lavin

The Piper
Words and Music by Christine Lavin
Recorded live at the WUMB Members' Concert in Hyannis MA
on May 23 1999 by Bruce Gordon of Audio Magic with host Dave Palmater

We begin so weak
In every single way
As babies we can't speak
We don't have much to say
We lie there
We cry
We crawl
The first thing we do
When we stand
Is fall.

But we keep getting up
Each time we fall down
Now we're walking
Now we're running
Straight into town
Our pace is hectic
As we spin our wheels
We lose touch with all that matters
And everything that's real.

And we see friends come and go
And disappear around the bend
And we wonder how we lost them
Then we find them again
In our darkest telling moments
We lie awake in bed
Obsess about mistakes we made
And things we should have said.

And we think about the future
We dream about the past
We try to analyze our dreams
But they evaporate too fast
We are our harshest critics
We're never satisfied
We want to tell the truth
But so many times we've lied

uh hmm...
oh ya ya ya...
oh ya ya ya
want to tell the truth
but so many times we've lied
(repeat)

So we go to confession
We whitewash our soul
Before we vote
We check the latest public opinion polls
We get our news on TV
In appetizing bites
Convince ourselves that our side
Is the side that's right

Then we hear about a baby
Born during the prom
The father hasn't got a clue
He's dancin' with the mom
This child never speaks
This child never crawls
This child never stands up
This child only falls

And we think we got a grip
But nothing makes sense
We try to keep it all together
In the present tense
We're looking for protection
Grab the kitchen knife
Facing 10 year olds with pistols
And no respect for life

And we wonder how we got here
We know deep down
This has been percolating up
From the underground
As long as we avoid it
It can be ignored
But it's coming up the stairs
And now it's bangin at our door

[wisper, mix, improvise, rinse, lather, repeat the following:]

Let me in
I know you're inside
I can hear you breathing
You can not hide
Let me in
I am not going away
I am the Piper
PAY

Comin up the stairs
And now it's bangin at our door
And we think we got a grip
But nothing makes sense
We try to keep it all together
In the present tense
We're looking for protection
Grab the kitchen knife
Facing 10 year olds with oozies
And no respect for life
And we wonder how we got here
We know deep down
This has been percolating up
From the underground
As long as we avoided it
It could be ignored
But it's coming up the stairs
And now it's bangin at our door
And we think we got a grip
But nothing makes sense
We try to keep it all together
In the present tense
We're looking for protection
Grab the kitchen knife
Facing 10 year olds with oozies
And no respect for life
And we wonder how we got here
We know deep down
This has been percolating up
From the underground
As long as we avoided it
It can be ignored
But it's coming up the stairs
And now it's bangin at our door
Let me in
I know you're inside
I can hear you breathing
You can not hide
Let me in
I am not going away
I am the Piper
Sooner or later you will have to pay
Let me in
I know you're inside
I can hear you breathing
You can not hide
Let me in
I am not going away
I am the Piper
Sooner or later you will have to pay
Let me in
I know you're inside
I know you're inside
I can hear you breathing
I can hear you breathing
You can not hide
Let me in
I am not going away
I am the Piper
Oh oh Pay!