EMILY HURD

Give It Time

I got your note, though it’s two years late.

Sweet as it seems, dreams will have to wait.

These words I hold that you scrolled out in blue

Would have meant much more for me were they were new.

You are used to how I used to just fall for your lines,

But now it’s been so long, and I gotta give it time.

Gonna give it time. If this is gonna begin.

Gonna give it time. To wonder where you have been.

Gonna give it time. Before I let you back in,

I got to miss what I’m missin til I love you again.

I got so worn, warmin my own heart.

And when you’re tired, fires are harder to start.

My tires been spinnin gettin out of this rut.

And my feet are just very barely free of this mud.

You’re accustomed to customs that things will be fine,

But it’s been so long and I gotta give it time.

Gonna give it time. If this is gonna begin.

Gonna give it time. To wonder where you have been.

Gonna give it time. Before I let you back in,

I got to miss what I’m missin til I love you again.

I wanna build me a memory of things I can’t remember.

Wanna build you up every day that we’re together.

Wanna kiss you 'cause I like it, not because it’s easy.

So if you wanna try it, if you wanna please me, please…….. give it time.

I got your smile, child. I see it plain.

And though it feels real, it ain’t the same.

I know you know how to say what I need,

But once you been cut, it’s just so easy to bleed.

You’re reactin to the actions that I’ve since left behind.

It’s been so long, and I gotta give it time.

Gonna give it time. If this is gonna begin.

Gonna give it time. To wonder where you have been.

Gonna give it time. Before I let you back in,

I got to miss what I’m missin til I love you again.

Written by Emily Hurd

Strings

Daddy's blue bandana wore me to Montana and back

It was a tiny little token that he picked up while roamin the tracks

All that I carry around I should be burying now, but I'm bound

By the strings on the things I keep movin, I'm movin around.

I got some shirts my mama told me were hers when she was only a kid

Livin on the river like her brother and her sisters did.

And I should let them go because the best of clothes do not last.

But there are some strings to those things that are tying my heart to her past.

I got a seashell from an island that I picked up while lying on sand.

It cut into my fingers trying to hide it from the beach diggers' hands.

And I would surely discard it were it not for the scar that it left.

Now there is a string on that thing that my body will not let me forget.

I got pictures in a shoebox too old but too new not to pitch

From a restaurant in Baltimore and views upon the Sagamore Bridge.

They are just items, I'm sure, but they conjure up more than their weight.

They are the strings to the things and the people I ain't seeing these days.

All my lover gives me will come to Mississippi one day.

These sentimental feelings are gonna put me in my grave.

Because the trinkets I own are sinking me and the boat that I row.

And the strings on the things that I own cannot keep me afloat.

Daddy's blue bandana wore me to Montana and back

It was a tiny little token that he picked up while roamin the tracks

All that I carry around I should be burying now, but I'm bound

By the strings on the things I keep movin, I'm movin around.

Written by Emily Hurd

The Likes of You

I’ve seen flowers in my hands for hours. Stood in very pretty towers all day.

I’ve seen backseats of limousines and taxis and pockets big enough to tuck me away.

I’ve been courted by the king of diamonds who liked to see his ladies shinin

And for me, he would have gone on buyin a hundred avenues.

But he ain’t nothin like. I ain’t seen nothin like the likes of you. The likes of you.

That’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s what I do.

I’ve heard shiny sonnets in a silver lining, sweet enough for him to stymie my stars.

I’ve heard fables of babies in the finest cradles: poetry to try to stable my heart.

I’ve been wooed by the lord of happy endings who invited me to my own wedding

Where he guaranteed the sun would then be setting in a hundred different hues.

But he ain’t nothin like. I ain’t seen nothin like the likes of you. The likes of you. T

hat’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s what I do.

And it’s easy. So very easy. So very easy. As long as there’s time, I’m just gonna pine and pine while I keep on Oooooo

That’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s why I keep holdin out for you. That’s what I do.

And it’s easy. So very easy. So very easy. So very easy.

Written by Emily Hurd

Make A Bed

Pretty roads and doorways make me question what I’ve done,

Fill my mind with worries about the things I made “the one.”

But I could waste my living days by thinking bout my life,

So I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and believe I made it right.

I’m gonna choose to make a bed and be happy there tonight.

I could commit to leaving when a good love comes my way,

Love everybody evenly to keep my old heart safe.

But I could hole away in my soul each day til the end of time.

So I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and believe I made it right.

I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and be glad he’s by my side.

I could drive through borders just to try to see it all.

But I could find the farthest corners just to wind up at a wall.

And I could chase them sunny rays and never see the light.

So I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and believe I made it right.

I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and give thanks for this ride.

I could always wonder; I could always second guess

If the stars I’m under are the ones that suit me best.

Well if my needs and my deeds never coincide,

I’m gonna choose to make a bed, and believe I made it right.

I’m gonna choose to make a bed, so I got somewhere to lie.

Written by Emily Hurd

My Good Enough

Time was a currency I thought that I should save.

Time was a currency, and I was being brave

By never spending never-ending days with you.

I bartered my fluency in romantic tongues.

I bartered my fluency for throwin you some crumbs

Of lovin words that I should have learned to say to you.  

My good enough wasn’t good enough to let you know

That your good enough was good enough not to let go.

Touch was a holiday I never thought to take.

Touch was a holiday, and I was gonna wait

Just a moment for a moment more relaxed with you.

Babe, you were underpaid for the job you took.

Babe you were underpaid, and I felt like a crook

Because when you were golden, I was holdin back on you.

My good enough wasn’t good enough to let you know

That your good enough was good enough not to let go.

Good enough to one day marry. Good enough to try.

So damn good that I chose to bury what I should have cried

Love was collateral worth its weight in pain.

Love was collateral that I meant to exchange

For a handsome sum, and that day was comin up.

Babe, I would bet it all, I’d throw it to the wind.

Babe I would bet it all, should you come again

Because I loved you, dear, more than the fear of love.

My good enough wasn’t good enough to let you know

That your good enough was good enough not to let go.

Written by Emily Hurd

Help Me To Understand

Why you wanna be known for bein alone

When you’re feelin the pain of every man?

Why you wanna be judged when I love you so much

That I’m wearin my faults on the back of my hand?

You could miss something good being misunderstood.

So help me. Help me. Help me to understand.

Why you wanna believe that your reason to grieve

Is something nobody gets, is something nobody can?

Why you wanna be shamed?  Pity isn’t a train

Anybody should catch while a body still stands.

You could miss something good being misunderstood.

So help me. Help me. Help me to understand.

Why you wanna be down, just a man in a town,

Just a town on hill, just a hill on some land?

Dontcha wanna belong? It’s the weak who are strong

Strong enough to be weak, but not enough to be damned.

You could miss something good being misunderstood

So help me. Help me. Help me to understand.

You could miss something good being misunderstood

You could miss something good being misunderstood

You could miss something good being misunderstood

So help me. Help me. Help me to understand.

Written by Emily Hurd

I See You Clearly

I see you clearly whether you hide.

I love you dearly whether you lied.

And when you’re weary, and you can’t confide,

I see you clearly. I see you shine. (All the time)

I feel you wholly within my arms.

I love you solely, just as you are.

What you don’t show me, I know by heart.

I feel you wholly. You’re shinin hard. (Yes you are.)

Ain’t callin you out. Ain’t callin you in.

There ain’t any doubt about where you have been.

I’m just givin you ground to start standin again.

'Cause I’m seein you now. Your light’s comin in.

I hear you deeply. I know every sound.

I love you sweetly when your words are so proud.

When you say you don’t need me, but you’re feelin low down.

I hear you deeply; your light shines out.

I ain't fixin to blame.  I ain't fixin to use.

We're all shining the same.  Baby, I'm shining too.

And I know that I may not shine like I move,

But there's light in me, Babe, and it's telling the truth.  It's saying

I see you clearly whether you hide.

I love you dearly whether you lied.

And when you’re weary and you can’t confide,

I see you clearly. I see you shine. (All the time)

Written by Emily Hurd

Broken Down

Your body knows when your heart is broken. When the cryin grows, then your soul has spoken.

Your body knows when your heart is broken down.

The moon could shine or the sun could blaze.

It makes no difference you’ve been up for days.

Your sleep is calling. You can hear it scream,

But you drown it out til you care to dream.  

Your body knows when your heart is broken. When the sleeping slows, then your soul has spoken.

Your body knows when your heart is broken down.

You’re lookin through what you’re lookin at

'Cause your brain has reigns over what is fact.

You just choose your glasses and then you commit

To wear that pair til they do not fit.  

Your body knows when your heart is broken. When the vision goes, then your soul has spoken.

Your body knows when your heart is broken down.

Your thirsty begs you to take a drink,

And your hunger pleads please baby, do not think.

Still you fill your belly on what’s in your mind,

And that feeds your needs til your thoughts subside.

Your body knows when your heart is broken. When your hunger shows, then your soul has spoken.

Your body knows when your heart is broken down.

With your heart in bits, it’s just easy pickin’s.

Your spirit cracks before your skin can thicken.

You reduce yourself to your waterin eyes,

Then you stay that way til it all runs dry.

Your body knows when your heart is broken. When the cryin grows, then your soul has spoken.

Your body knows when your heart is broken down.

 Written by Emily Hurd

Now I Do

There was a space in my arms shaped like you.

A little place in my heart shaped like you.

And all this time, you know I never knew. Now I do.

There was a spot in my hands shaped like yours.

A little plot in my plans shaped like yours.

That’s not to say I was wasted before. But now I’m more. Oh, now I’m more.  

I would have gone on, could have gone on living for a thrill, believing I had all that I required

But whoever sees they ever need a love like this until they meet the one they’ve waited to desire.

There was a gap in my day shaped like you.

A little map of my way shaped like you.

I didn’t see who’d be seeing me through. Now I do. Oh, now I do.

There was a hole in my home shaped like yours.

A little soul in my own shaped like yours.

I’d never have guessed that I could have confessed this before. But now I’m sure. Oh, now I’m sure  

I would have gone on, could have gone on living for a thrill, believing I had all that I required

But whoever sees they ever need a love like this until they meet the one they’ve waited to desire.

There was a song in my dreams shaped like you.

There all along, just like me, but shaped like you.

I didn’t know who I wrote my song to, But now I do. Now I do. Now I do.

Written by Emily Hurd

Don't You Get Lonely

Hundred faces on the street,

And I give and I give and I give and I give all the paces in my feet.

Are you down that avenue?

'Cause I’m waitin and waitin and waitin and waitin for you to make a move. I’m waiting over you.

Don’t you get lonely too? Don’t you get lonely too? Won’t you get lonely too, over me?

Hundred chairs inside this joint.

And I give and I give and I give and I give all the air inside my voice.

Are you in this wine drenched room?

'Cause I’m waitin and waitin and waitin and waitin for you to make a move. I’m waiting over you.

Don’t you get lonely too? Don’t you get lonely too? Won’t you get lonely too, over me?

Hundred prayers launched to the sky. And I give and I give and I give and I give in to every urge to cry.

Lord, isn’t one getting through?

'Cause  I’m waitin and waitin and waitin and waitin for him to make a move.

Yeah, I'm just waitin and waitin and waitin and waitin for you to make a move.

Don’t you get lonely too? Don’t you get lonely too? Won’t you get lonely too?

Don’t you get lonely too? Don’t you get lonely too? Won’t you get lonely too? Over me. Over me. Over me?

Written by Emily Hurd

Only Some

Let me be in love tonight and stay here til the morning light.

And never blame the morning on the sun.

And when the lovin time must quit, let me not ask more of it.

And just be glad I had a bit of some.

When I’m barely squeaking through, paying back and paying dues,

Let me not wish life could be undone.

If I’m thirsty by the seas, or if I’m starving at the feast,

Make me grateful I’ve at least got some.

Lord, if I should lose my day, and all I hope for flies away,

Let me not resent what didn’t come.

If all of my dreaming ends, and I never dream again.

Let me be content that I saw some.

Just before they lay me down to my home inside Your ground

Let me say, “I want to be who I’ve become.”

And if by chance I get a taste of more than just a glimpse of grace.

Let me be ok with only some.

Let me be ok with only some.

Written by Emily Hurd