Bruce Cockburn - In the falling dark

and the lights lie tumbled out like gems
the moon is nothing but a toothless grin
floating out on the evening wind
the smell of sweat and lube oil pervades the night
and the rush of life in flight at the speed of light

a million footsteps whispering
a guitar sounds -- some voices sing
smoke on the breeze -- eyes that sting
far in the east a yellow cloud bank climbs
stretching away to be part of tomorrow's time.

earthbound while everything expands
so many grains of sand
slipping from hand to hand
catching the light and falling into dark
the world fades out like an overheard remark
in the falling dark.

light pours from a million radiant lives
off of kids and dogs and the hard-shelled husbands and wives
all that glory shining around and we're all caught taking a dive
and all the beasts of the hills around shout, "such a waste!
don't you know that from the first to the last we're all one in the gift of Grace!"

(Ottawa 9/3/76)

Category:

People & Blogs

[giovannibrunoro]

this is what i call masterpiece... wonderful.

[Philadelphia90]

@giovannibrunoro thank you for watchin' it. I love this song ;) p.s I think I know you :)

[giovannibrunoro]

@Philadelphia90 really? write me and tell me :) that's surprising :) :) 

[Philadelphia90]

@giovannibrunoro stop talking in english,we're italian. ti dice niente il mio nome,giovà? immagino di no. comunque ci conosciamo o ci siamo conosciuti,dipende dalle prospettive,ma non di persona

[canadiangirlforlife]

A friend just introduced me to Bruce Cockburn last night. I am now totally in love with his music!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Philadelphia90]

@canadiangirlforlife me too *.*

[EwolDJ]

'and the world fades out like an overheard remark' - that line knocks me out too, ayavner. Sometimes I wish it would fade out, ha ha. From the same album, the masterpiece 'Gavin's Woodpile' is for me, lyrically to Cockburn as Hamlet is to Shakespeare. I savor every word on that album. One of the very very few singer-songwriters who really deserve the epithet poet. Never been surpassed, not even by Tom Waits - there' a compliment!.

[ayavner]

"the world fades out like an overheard remark...." one of the best lines ever..

thanks for posting!

[lovemaker1972]

@canadiangirlforlife i am in love with his music since 1991 when his album came out,since then i discovered his older albums and his newer releases too.just amazing this is what i call real influencial folk rock/pop music with sense

[66LifesMistress77]

This man is a genius! He paints pictures with his words, and in this era, each picture had so much positive, poignant meaning! And the music is exquisite!

Please post Gavin's Woodpile!

Thank you for this! Hope to see a lot more...

[moonlitme]

i have been priviledged to have seen this man play 4 times-one time in telluride in a lull between songs a woman in the crowd called out 'you've saved my life, bruce' into the drizzling night, 20 or 30 of us cheered in agreement. it is truer today than it was in 1995. in i own probably 90% of his catalogue...this is among my 3 or 4 favorite songs of his. thank you for posting.

[TheCrabshaw1]

lord of the starfield blew me away.......lost my best friend to a car accident......and bruce was his name......there is so much cockburn out there that i was hoping it would be on line.......at least there is this........oh dog....i love you......."be a child of the wind for the rest of my days"......will join u soon.....