The Art and Music of Phil Poirier

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  • Home
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    • clear air >
      • clear air lyrics
    • Counting Blessings >
      • Counting Blessings Lyrics
    • in the morning >
      • in the morning lyrics
    • House, with Fire, Burning >
      • House, with Fire, Burning lyrics
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      • Fall 2015
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​COUNTING BLESSINGS, lyrics (2012)

​SUDDENLY I KNEW 

Everyone is giving me a piece of the plan
All the signs and direction to go
To see what the marks of
Attitude and longing say
On the chart you wrote

Up, down
Is it core, is it crust
When you drill in my brain 
Just to write in the dust
Suddenly I knew 
Suddenly I knew 

CHORUS
When I get over this I think I’m gonna get me one of those
Fake hearts to wear when I am thinking of you
Thinking about you, trying not to care

You might find that I am one who knows he’s lost but can’t be
Blamed if all the maps have changed or they’ve been confiscated
And when trying to encompass this it can’t be overstated
That I had fallen
Fallen in the moonlight
I was sitting in the sun
You came on
Like the twilight

Now it seems everything is off into space
I had just got my bearings back to fall on my face
Next you and suddenly I knew
Suddenly I knew 
Suddenly I knew 

CHORUS

________________________​

 November the first
(Last Call for the Fear Train) 

November the First
I step out side of fear 
To hear the wind blow
I think I hear you say 
You’ve got lots of nothing left to live for

CHORUS
Lay down your head, go out in the dark 
Put out the light just like you did before

When dark December comes
You fall into a trance beside the window
Gazing to the night
Frost and shadows calling in the moon glow

CHORUS

In the waters of March
I’m swimming in a world of my invention
Well I may die of thirst
But that won’t be the worst of your intentions

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Lift up your eyes 
Come up to me now

I don’t know
How did will end
I don’t know
But you know
I won’t look back when I go 

________________________

Counting Blessings

The world seemed to stop
When I first saw you
You glided your way down the street
I froze in my shoes
Turned into rubble

You know there’s more much more
We should’ve had
But I can’t take back what I’ve done 
Caught in the blues
Tangled in trouble 

CHORUS (I)

I look to a time
When instead of moaning
I’m counting blessings
When I don’t have to
Look back to see you
Barricade my heart from your door.

It’s more than I can say I ever loved
More than I can say for sure.
Hard on the truth
Right on the money 

Why must I say
This for you
Your words all sound so sweet
Woven in silk
swollen with honey

CHORUS (I)

And now it’s time
For me to go
Acting the scene in your part
You take your bow
Call for the curtain

CHORUS (II)
I only stopped by
So you would know
I know it’s over
And if you haven’t thought a minute about it since you left
I’ll be on my way

CHORUS (I)

________________________

KNEW THAT I WAS LOST

By the time you got to sleep I knew that 
You were more than deep in love but hopin 
Somehow you might keep me to ignore 
Saw my heart was open
Hope’s a thing that barges in the door

So I poured myself a drink
Cause I knew that I was lost 

Coming to the truth there’s a not a thing
I’d want from you that I wouldn’t savor
Don’t be surprised if I don’t pay the bill
Maybe in the end you did a favor
Taking all my money from the till 

CHORUS
Knew that I was lost
I was forsaken
You knew you had my heart
Left it cold and shaken

Now my head turns to the day
When I’ll remember what to say in tellin’ stories
When I’m done with countin’ up the loss 
On my way to being sorry 
The damage of your love
Was what it cost 

BRIDGE/CHORUS
I knew that I was lost
And left to ponder
Like Magellan at the Straight
Like a fool that
Scans the papers
For a one eyed 
Sign of faith 
Both making choices they could die for
For the rocks or pearly gates 

________________________

Starry Bones

Distant light
Diamond eye
Weave your way
Through silent sky
Lift the veil of
Subtle lies 
So I know
If all my wishes burn the same
Will I go back the way we came?
Do you still want know my name?
Why are you laughing?

You saw me standing there 
As though I was strong and able
You turned the tables when I wanted to say
The very words you spoke

CHORUS
If you look back we’ll turn to stone
I’ll have no reason to atone
Alone we’ll go into the night
Starry bones

Repeat 1st verse

Waiting for the water
To subside
Thinking of the sound 
Of love and tide
Hovering impatient
To decide
Where we’ll go
You saw me standing there 
As though I was strong and able
You turned the tables when I wanted to say
The very words you spoke

CHORUS

Repeat 1st verse

You know the passion of a feeling taking over
When every try at an excuse you make you make
Turns to a wisp of smoke 

________________________

Love Like This

There’s a problem
I’ve seen it all before
You wrote a love song
Thinking it was yours

One thought should serve you
Pretend it wasn’t mine
Soft and falling
Manna from the sky
I often fought it
As you began to fly
Scared and uncertain
You look me in the eye

CHORUS
Well a love like this
You know it’s hard to follow
And if I betrayed your kiss
Then see me out the door
Wrought in your passion
Always needing more

So now you’re angry
I’m staring at the floor
Your bright new colors
I’m trying to ignore
One thought should serve you
Pretend it wasn’t mine
Soft and falling
Manna from the sky
I often fought it
As you began to fly
This song is over
We knew it had to die 

CHORUS

Coda

We’ve said enough 
You’re tired and cold
You say it’s time we 
Let it go
Let it go 

________________________

Flood the Room 

You think you’re goin in circles
Losing control
Marked by the devil
Come for your soul

Out on a limb
Or in the shade of a tree
Signs they are callin
Go where you wanted be

Crow blocks the sunlight
Eclipsing the view
Sharing his secret
Part of fortune in food 

Chorus 
When the sun has settled
Gonna flood the room
Float through the water
Borne by the light of the moon

Think you’re swimming in darkness
That breathing is through
Crawl from the bottom
Take back the life that you’re due

Run through the stoplight 
Ease off the brake
Move from the shadows
Cast by the light that you make

CHORUS

________________________

Momma Told Me

My momma told me
When I was young
That I would grow up
To be the one
I'd part the waters
I'd move the mountains
I'd run the show

But you know she gave me
Some good advice
Don’t spend your life
Thinkin’ twice
Act like you want it 
Talk like you mean it
Walk through the door

CHORUS
She said as long 
As I've known
It's always those 
Who make the waves 
That find the shore
And it's the seed that's sown 
That raises grain to store

I always thought 
I knew
Just what was what and
Where I was going to
But now I see 
That nothin’ I've come to be
Is what I could call my own

My momma told me
It was understood
That I would grow up
To do some good
I'd seek the truth
I'd fight injustice
I'd feed the poor

But now I'm older
I ain’t so wise
I'd be the first one 
To refuse the Nobel Prize
My momma loved me
She pushed and shoved me
Picked me up off the floor

CHORUS

My momma told me
When I was young
That I would grow up
To be the one
My momma loved me
She pushed and shoved me
But she ain't here now 

________________________

Listen Up

Well I woke up with the thought
That I would contemplate my mind’s devotions
These fuzzy little things 
My brain’s picked 
Up along the way

No matter how I tried 
I could not avoid the notion
You do the things you love 
There’ll always be a price to pay

So I got myself a cup
And sat and wrote 
This song of mourning
Looking through a dark and empty glass 
To find the words to say

Then it occurred to me the rain don’t ask 
How clouds are forming
I wondered how that thought 
Could get me through a melancholy day

CHORUS
Had a dream last night 
I was flying down to swim in the ocean
Riding the clouds 
Happy just being alive
I was soaking up the sun
When the devil came 
To sit on my shoulder
Whispering lies
On my shoulder
He whispered lies

Take this in, put it down
How much time
You think you got in store?
Listen up, straighten out
It’s high time 
You started 
Keeping score

I know it’s getting late 
And lots of things I gotta do before me 
The longer that I wait 
The more I must excuse the life I’ve led

I’m scanning the sky for a
Forecast looking kinda stormy
Guess I’ll make another cup
And go back to bed

CHORUS

________________________

DIRTY WATER

There’s not a lot of pumpin’ today 
The bottom line is severed
Something I been dying to say
I told her

Smoke is lying down on the road
Storm on the horizon
Gotta find a shelter to go
Till it’s over

CHORUS
Honey listen to the sound of this car
Why won’t the thing turn over?
We drive it fast
But never get very far
Runnin’ on the rims

I guess I can live with that
I can make it on my own
And if it that’s the choice we’re at
Cut to the bone

A bird calls 
Lost at sea
Cyclone churning
Dirty water

Cats and dogs are coming down hard
And we’re the new arrivals
Sorting out what’s left in the dark
This is survival

CHORUS

________________________

TOOK A TUMBLE

Well you never think of fighting toe to toe
When you’re reminded
Of not mistaking work for fun 

And you never see it coming from below
Cause you been blinded
Always looking at the sun

Pre-chorus
I know, it’s true
You stumbled, took a tumble
Get on up,
Take this ride and go
Yeah I know it’s you 
Built an empire, but it backfired
Put it down
See what might 
Now grow 

CHORUS
Always bidding on a hand folded up in illusion
Never thought the rules 
Were something 
That you had to obey

You’re indulging in a sentimental show 
It’s an old hat
Just like you wore when you were young

Say the time is right so now you’re gonna go
And you can face that
You can taste it on your tongue 


CHORUS

Before you break your promise I must say
There’s a strong fact
A rule of thumb that’s on your plate

You can’t always be the star and get your way 
But you can come back
I know it’s not too late

CHORUS

________________________

Ungrateful Sky 

Oncoming tide; morning
Tattered and worn like the night
Fog grows tired of performing
Sun chases gray to white

We walked to the back of daylight
Searching places past
I thought there were words I would say 
I failed the task

CHORUS
What an ungrateful sky
Sending me back to my doorway
Wringing a sorry eye
When it heard the news

So this isn’t scorn that I’m holding
Do what’s right for you
Oceans of warning unfolding
One to decide the truth

CHORUS
________________________

No judgment

No judgment
Have patience
Show mercy

Most of what I say 
The sum of what is true
About the coming of the day
Or the turning of the screw
Or wishin’ the sun 
Would shine on my 
Tomorrow
When the cows are jumping 
And the moon ain’t stayin’ 
Yet the little boy peep he just keeps playing 
He knows there aint no silver spoon at all

CHORUS
No judgment
No judgment calling

Half of what I do
And all of what it takes
To find the other shoe
A humble pie to bake
To hear a word 
The sound of fire
To Call

And you don’t even know
The half of what you got
The part you oughta keep
The place you got a shot
Come to find 
It’s powerful stuff 
To show

CHORUS

No judgment
Have patience
Show mercy

Now I been bumping into shape 
Lookin at the clock
Learnin what it takes
I’m leaning in the blocks
And all this time you thought I 
Was gonna fall

And though you never see
The way to catch a star
The one to set you free
To guide you from afar
It brings to mind the mantra
To this song

CHORUS
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