Death Cab For Cutie

Bixby Canyon Bridge





I descended a dusty gravel ridge
beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
at the place where your soul had died.

Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
and waited for you to speak to me.

And the silence; it becamse so very clear
that you had long ago dissapeared.
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind.

All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go.

And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way.

And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep.
And you wonder if you missed your dream.

You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream.
You just can't see a dream.

And then it started getting dark.
I truged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
as I assume was the case with you.

I Will Possess Your Heart



How I wish you could see the potential.
The potential of you and me.
It's like a book elegantly bound,
But in a language that you can't read just yet.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

There are days when outside your window,
I see my reflection as I slowly pass.
And I long for this mirrored perspective,
When we'll be lovers, lovers at last.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.

You reject my advances and desperate pleas.
I won't let you, let me down so easily, so easily.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.

You gotta spend some time, love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find love.
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.

No Sunlight



When I was young, lying in the grass
I felt so safe in a warming bath
of sunlight
of sunlight

fast open sky could do no harm
like an embrace of a mothers arms
in sunlight
in sunlight
in sunlight
in sunlight.

With every year that came to pass
more clouds appear until the sky went black
and now there's
no sunlight,
no sunlight.
and now there's
no sunlight,
no sunlight anymore.

you dissapeared with the same speed
the idealistic things i believed
the optimist died inside of me
no sunlight,
no sunlight.
no sunlight,
no sunlight.

you dissapeared with the same speed
the idealistic thing i believed
the optimist died inside of me
no sunlight,
no sunlight.
no sunlight,
no sunlight.
no sunlight,
no sunlight,
no sunlight,
no sunlight anymore.

Cath



Cath, she stands with a well-intentioned man,
But she can't relax with his hand on the small of her back.
And as the flash bulbs burst,
She holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child.

And soon everybody will ask what became of you,
'Cause your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do.

Cath, it seems that you live in someone else's dream,
In a hand-me-down wedding dress,
Where the things that could have been are oppressed.
But you said your vows, and you closed the door,
On so many men who would have loved you more.

Soon everybody will ask what became of you,
'Cause your heart was dying fast, and you didn't know what to do.

The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews.
But if their hearts were dying that fast,
They'd have done the same as you.
And I'd have done the same as you.

Talking Bird



Oh, my talking bird
though you know so few words
they're on infinite repeat
like your brain can't keep up with your beat.

and you're kept in an open cage
so you're free to leave or stay.
sometimes you get confused
like there's a hint i am trying to give you.

the longer you think, the less you know what to do.

it's hard to see your way out
when you live in a house in a house
cause you don't realize
that the windows were open the whole time.

Oh, my talking bird
Though your feathers are tattered and furled
I'll love you all your days
till the breath leaves your delicate face.

It's all here for you as long as your choose to stay.
It's all here for you as long as you don't fly away.

You Can Do Better Than Me



I’m starting to feel
We stay together out of fear of dying alone
I’ve been slipping through the years
My old clothes don’t fit like they once did
So they hang like ghosts of the people I’ve been
And it’s like my heart cant contain
I fall in love every day
And I feel like a fool
But I have to face the truth that
no one could ever look at me like you do
Like I’m something worth holding on to
There’s times I think of leaving
But it’s something I’ll never do
Cause you can do better than me,
But I can’t do better than you.
You can do better than me,
But I can’t do better than you.

Grapevine Fires



When the wind picked up the fire spread,
And the grapevines seemed left for dead.
And the northern sky looked like the end of days,
The end of days.

The wake up call to a rented room,
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom,
To warn us it's only a matter of time,
Before we all burn.
Before we all burn.
Before we all burn.
Before we all burn.

We bought some wine and some paper cups,
Near your daughter's school when we picked her up,
And drove to a cemetery on a hill.
On a hill.

And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray,
And she laughed and danced through the field of graves.
There I knew it would be alright.
That everything would be alright.
Would be alright.
Would be alright.
Would be alright.

And the news reports on the radio said it was getting worse,
As the ocean air fanned the flames.
But I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been,
To watch it all burn away.
To burn away.

The firemen worked in double shifts,
With prayers for rain on their lips.
And they knew it was only a matter of time.

Your New Twin Size Bed



You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed,
With a single pillow underneath your single head.
I guess you decided that that old queen was more space than you would need.
Now it's in the alley behind your apartment with a sign that says it's free.

And I hope you have more luck with this than me.

You used to think that someone would come along,
And lay beside you in a space that they belong.
But the other side of the mattress and box springs stayed like new.
What's the point of holding onto what never gets used?

Other than a sick desire for self abuse.

And I try not to worry, but you've got me terrified.
It's like we're in some kind of hurry to say goodbye, say goodbye, say goodbye.

You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.
You look so defeated lying there in your new twin size bed.

Pity and Fear



I have such a envy for this stranger lying next to me
Who awakes in the night and slips out into the pre-dawn light
With no words, a clean escape, no promises or messes made
And chops it all up to mistake, mistake, mistake

And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between

A storm at sea the bow cracked and I was capsizing
And I sunk below where I swore I would never go
If you can't stand in place you can't tell there's walking away
From who remains, who stays, who stays, who stays

And there are no tears
Just pity and fear
No vast ravine
Right in between

Spare no tears
Just pity and fear
And I recall
The push more than the fall
The push more than the fall

The Ice Is Getting Thinner




We're not the same, dear, as we used to be.
The seasons have changed and so have we.
There was little we could say, and even less we could do,
To stop the ice from getting thinner under me and you.

We bury our love in the windsory grave.
Along came the snow, that was all that remained,
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks,
And the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.

And when spring arrived,
We were taken by surprise when the flows under our feet,
Led into the sea.
Nothing was left for you and me.

We're not the same, dear.
And it seems to me,
There's more where we can go,
With nothing underneath.
And it saddens me to say,
But we both know, well, it's true.
That the ice was getting thinner,
Under me and you.
The ice was getting thinner,
Under me and you.

Title Track



Left uninspired by the crust of railroad earth that touched
the lead to the pages of your manuscript.
I took my thumb off the concrete and saved up all my
strength to hammer pillars for a picket fence.
It wasn't quite what is seemed: a lack of pleasantries
(my able body isn't what it used to be)
I must admit I was charmed by your advances:
your advantage left me helplessly into you.

Talking how the group had begun to splinter and I could
taste your lipstick on the filter...

I tried my best to keep my distance form your dress
but call-response overturns convictions every time.
My memory cannot recall: a wave of alcohol we shared
a cigarette and shaved the hours off.

Lushing with hallway congregation, my best judgment
signed its resignation

I rushed this. We moved too fast, trips into
the guestroom.

The Employment Pages




We spread out and occupy the cracks in the
urban streets. Idle now: I rearrange the
furniture as you sleep.

It's so appropriate: the way we amplify the
sound, and then the neighbors drop by and
they ask (us) to turn it down again...

We spread out and everyone is frightfully
more aware. So impressed: The cocktail politics
and obscure details.

And it was true that I was truly failing.
But you were gone and I was home calling
around but nothing was found worthwhile.

For What Reason



This won't be the last you'll hear from me: it's just the start.
I hope that he keeps you up for weeks like you did to me.
I will hold a candle up to you to singe your skin.
Brace yourself: I'm bent with bitterness.

When your apologies fail to ring true, (you're)
so slick with that sarcastic slew of phrases
like I thought you knew, while keeping me in
hot pursuit.

Tracing the plot finds skin touching skin
(absence follows).

In the end, I win every time as ink remains.
Sour tastes prevail as you play back the tape machine.

When your apologies fail to ring true
So slick with that sarcastic slew of phrases
Like, 'I thought you knew,' while keeping me in such
hot pursuit.

Tracing the plot finds skin touching skin
Absence follows

Lowell, Ma



You've been forewarned of the shake, shakedown.
Opinions stamped on the pulp of the tabloid
newsstand gossip that's stacked at your door.
You swallowed the last of free MA,
Car starts four windows lowered away:
last views of cityscape crumbling.

Skyscrapers sink into the ground.
All static, no noise: turn the
radio down. Those bandwidth
signals can't reach this far.

Don't go holding out on me now
(If I thought that you had come to
expect more...)

405



I took the 405 and drove a stake down into
your center, and stated that it's never ever
been better than this. I hung my favorite
shirt on the floorboard, wrinkled up from
pulling pushing and tasting, tasting.

You keep twisting the truth, that keeps me
thrown askew.

Misguided by the 405 'cause it lead me to an
alcoholic summer. I missed the exit to your
parents' house hours ago. Red wine and the
cigarettes: hide you bad habits underneath
the patio, patio, patio, patio.

You keep twisting the truth, that keeps me thrown askew.
You keep twisting the truth, that keeps me thrown askew.

Company Calls



I'll take the best of your bad moods and dress them up to make a better you,
'cause all the company calls amount to one paycheck.

I'd squeeze a heart through my fingertip but I type too slow to make expressions stick.
And it's like TV with a microchip.

Set your sights to sing this party line, 'cause it's so tired.
Set your sights! Destroy this mock-shrine, 'cause it's so tired.

Let's cut our losses at both ends and aim your car away from all our friends,
leaving the dishes stacked in the sink.

Set your sights to sink the partyline, 'cause it's so tired.
Set your sights! Destroy this mock-shrine, 'cause it's so tired.

I'd keep a distance 'cause the complications cloud it all,
and mail a postcard sending greetings from the eastern bloc.

Synapse to synapse: possibilities will thin or fade.
Your wedding figurines: I'd melt so I could drink them in.

I'll take the best of your bad moods and dress them up to make a better you,
'cause all the company calls amount to one paycheck.

Set your sights to sink the partyline, 'cause it's so tired.
Set your sights! Destroy this mock-shrine, 'cause it's so tired.

Company Calls Epilogue




Synapse to synapse; the possibility's thin. I'm dressed up for free drinks
and family greetings on your wedding date. The figures in plastic on your
wedding cake that I took were so real. And I kept a distance:
the complications cloud the postcards and blips through fiber optics,
as the girls with the pigtails were running from little boys wearing bowties
their parents bought: I'll catch you this time!

Crashing through the parlor doors, what was your first reaction?
Screaming, drunk, disorderly: I'll tell you mine. You were the one
but I can't spit it out when the date's been set. The white routine
to be ingested inaccurately.

Synapse to synapse: the sneaky kids had attached beer cans to the
bumper so they could drive up and down the main drag. People would turn
to see who's making the racket. It's not the first time.
When they lay down the fish will swim upstream and I'll contest but they
won't listen when the casualty rate's near 100%, and there isn't a
pension for second best or for hardly moving...

No Joy In Mudville




Last night I dreamt that I was you.
I was dressed in all black with dark glasses and attitude.
Such a pose I could simply not hold through days in the northern town that I had once called a home.
Your studies of fringe New York streets: I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak.
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on...

Buying drinks for the poets upstate, this southern corruption towed you down the interstate,
And they all said that you were the king of a gloomy disruption that surfaced when you would sing.
This town simply cannot begin to compete so I'm packing my Bullets and Silvertones and heading east,
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on...

If I could have had my way this year would bridge '66 again.

Trust fund hipsters were casing the room chock full of amphetamines.
The overturned kick drum boom set the pace with incomparable cool.

And if the tempo was lousy it was lost on all but you...

'Cause your studies of fringe New York streets: I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak.
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on...

If I could have had my way this year would bridge '66 again.
If I could have had my way this year would bridge '66 again.

Scientist Studies




What ghosts exist behind these attic walls? There's got to be a simpler explanation,
'cause I scrimped and I saved just to find that they've been splicing my inventions.
Cold skin and bones and this latitude: we ain't payin' until the heat comes through.
So you slept in a stocking cap and wool scarf.

Promises of payments were upon your shoulders constantly,
but don't forget to entertain 'cause this is your first defense.

A four-year offense to the devoted type. I may have got an invitation but I wasn't invited.
But I thought that this meant something more than broken hearts and new addictions.
We'll leave our sins within the carpet twine.
Our bodies will dissolve the chemicals in due time.

Promises of payments were upon your shoulders constantly,
but don't forget to entertain 'cause this is your first defense, this is your first defense.

Marching Bands Of Manhattan



If I could open my arms,
And span the length of the isle of Manhattan,
I'd bring it to where you are,
Making a lake of the East River and Hudson.
And if I could open my mouth,
Wide enough for a marching band to march out,
They would make your name sing,
And bend through alleys and bounce off other buildings.

I wish we could open our eyes,
To see in all directions at the same time.
Oh what a beautiful view,
If you were never aware of what was around you.
And it is true what you said,
That I live like a hermit in my own head.
But when the sun shines again,
I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole.
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound.
But while you debate half empty or half full,
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole.
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound.
But while you debate half empty or half full,
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole.
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound.
But while you debate half empty or half full,
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole.
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound.
But while you debate half empty or half full,
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown.

Your love is gonna drown.
Your love is gonna drown.
Your love is gonna drown.
Your love is gonna drown.
Your love is gonna...

Soul Meets Body



I want to live where soul meets body ,
And let the sun wrap its arms around me,
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing,
And feel, feel what it's like to be new.
Cuz in my head there's a Greyhound station,
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations;
So they may have a chance of finding a place,
Where they're far more suited than here.

Ba-da-ba-da-ba-ba,
Ba-da-ba-ba-ba-da-ba-ba,
Ba-da-ba-ba-ba-da-ba-ba-da-ba-da-ba.

I cannot guess,
What we'll discover,
When we turn the dirt,
With our palms cupped like shovels.
But I know our filthy hands,
Can wash one another's,
And not one speck will remain.

I do believe it's true,
That there are roads left in both of our shoes.
But if the silence takes you,
Then I hope it takes me too.
So brown eyes I'll hold you near,
Cuz you're the only song I want to hear;
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.
Where soul meets body.
Where soul meets body.
Where soul meets body.

And I do believe it's true,
That there are roads left in both of our shoes.
But if the silence takes you,
Then I hope it takes me too.
So brown eyes I'll hold you near.
Cuz you're the only song I want to hear;
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere.

Summer Skin




Squeaky swings and tall grass.
The longest shadows ever cast.
The water's warm and children swim,
And we frolicked about in our summer skin.

I don't recall a single care,
Just greenery and humid air.
Then Labor Day came and went,
And we shed what was left of our summer skin.

On the night you left I came over,
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders.
Our brand new coats so flushed and pale.
And I knew your heart I couldn't win,
'Cause the season's change was a conduit,
And we'd left our love in our summer skin.

Different Names For The Same Thing




Alone on a train aimless in wonder.
An outdated map crumbled in my pocket.
But I didn't care where I was going,
'Cause they're all different names for the same place.

The coast dissapeared when the sea drown the sun.
I knew no words to share it with anyone.
The boundaries of language I quietly cursed,
And all the different names for the same thing.

There are different names for the same things.
There are different names for the same things...

I Will Follow You Into The Dark




Love of mine some day you will die,
But I'll be close behind.
I'll follow you into the dark.

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white;
Just our hands clasped so tight,
Waiting for the hint of a spark.
If heaven and hell decide,
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs:

If there's no one beside you,
When your soul embarks;
Then I'll follow you into the dark.

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule,
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black,
And I held my tongue as she told me,
"Son, fear is the heart of love."
So I never went back.

If heaven and hell decide,
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs:

If there's no one beside you,
When your soul embarks;
Then I'll follow you into the dark.

You and me have seen everything to see;
From Bangkok to Calgary.
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down;
The time for sleep is now.
It's nothing to cry about,
'Cause we'll hold each other soon.
In the blackest of rooms.

If heaven and hell decide,
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs:

If there's no one beside you,
When your soul embarks;
Then I'll follow you into the dark.
Then I'll follow you into the dark.

Your Heart Is An Empty Room




Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground.
And start new when your heart is an empty room.
With walls of the deepest blue.

Home's face: how it ages when you’re away.
And spring blooms and you find a love that's true,
But you don't know what now to do,
Cause the chase is all you know,
And she stopped running months ago.

And all you see is where else you could be when you’re at home.
And out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone.

The flames and smoke climbed out of every window,
And disappeared with everything that you held dear.
And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need,
Cause you knew you were finally free.

And all you see is where else you could be when you’re at home.
And out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone.

And all you see is where else you could be when you’re at home.
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone

Someday You Will Be Loved




I once knew a girl in the years of my youth,
With eyes like the summer: all beauty and truth.
But in the morning I fled; left a note and it read,
"Someday you will be loved."

I can not pretend that I felt any regret,
'Cause each broken heart will eventually mend.
As the blood runs red down the needle and thread,
Someday you will be loved.

You’ll be loved, you’ll be loved.
Like you never have known.
And the memories of me will seem more like bad dreams.
Just a series of blurs like I never occurred.
Someday you will be loved.

You may feel alone when you’re falling asleep,
And every time tears roll down your cheeks.
But I know your heart belongs to someone you’ve yet to meet.
And someday you will be loved.

You’ll be loved, you’ll be loved.
Like you never have known.
And the memories of me will seem more like bad dreams.
Just a series of blurs like I never occurred.
Someday you will be loved.

You’ll be loved, you’ll be loved.
Like you never have known.
And the memories of me will seem more like bad dreams.
Just a series of blurs like I never occurred.
Someday you will be loved.
Someday you will be loved.

Crooked Teeth




It was one hundred degrees, as we sat beneath a willow tree,
Who's tears didn’t care, they just hung in the air, and refused to fall, to fall.

And I knew I’d made horrible call,
And now the state line felt like the Berlin wall,
And there was no doubt about which side I was on.

Cause I built you a home in my heart,
With rotten wood, it decayed from the start.

Cause you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.
No you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.

I braved treacherous streets,
And kids strung out on homemade speed.
And we shared a bed in which I could not sleep,
At all, woo, hoo, woo, hooOoOo.

Cause at night the sun in the tree,
Made the skyline look like crooked teeth,
In the mouth of a man who was devouring, us both.

You’re so cute when you’re slurring your speech,
But they’re closing the bar and they want us to leave.

And you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.
No you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.

I’m a war, of head versus heart,
And it’s always this way.
My head is weak, my heart always speaks,
Before I know what it will say.

And you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.
No you can’t find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along…

There were churches, theme parks, and malls,
But there was nothing there all along.

What Sarah Said




And it came to me then that every plan,
Is a tiny prayer to father time,
As I stared at my shoes in the ICU,
That reeked of piss and 409.
And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself,
That I’d already taken too much today.
As each descending peak on the LCD,
Took you a little farther away from me.
Away from me.

Amongst the vending machines,
And year old magazines,
In a place where we only say goodbye.
It stung like a violent wind,
That our memories depend,
On a faulty camera in our minds.
And I knew that you were a truth,
I would rather lose,
Than to have never lain beside at all.

Then I looked around at all the eyes on the ground,
As the TV entertained itself.
'Cause there’s no comfort in the waiting room,
Just nervous paces bracing for bad news.
Then the nurse comes round,
And everyone lifts their heads.
And I’m thinking of what Sarah said,
That love is watching someone die.

So who’s going to watch you die?
So who's going to watch you die?
So who's going to watch you die?

Brothers On A Hotel Bed



You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I’m not who I used to be.
No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully disguise,
The youthful boy below who turned your way and saw,
Something he was not looking for; both a beginning and an end.
But now he lives inside someone he does not recognize,
When he catches his reflection on accident.

On the back of a motor bike,
With your arms outstretched trying to take flight;
Leaving everything behind.
But even at our swiftest speed we couldn't break from the concrete,
In the city where we still reside.
And I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea like navy men,
'Cause now we say goodnight from our own separate sides,
Like brothers on a hotel bed.
Like brothers on a hotel bed.
Like brothers on a hotel bed.
Like brothers on a hotel bed.

You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I’m not who I used to be.