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Routine Lyrics
What do I do with all the children's clothes?
Such tiny things that still smell of them
And the footprints in the hallway
On to my knees, scrub them away
And how to be of use?
Make the tea and the soup
All of their favourites, throw them away
And all their school books and their
Running shoes
Washing them clean in the dirty steel sink
Routine keeps me in line
Helps me pass the time
Concentrates my mind
Helps me to sleep
Keep making beds, keep the cat Fed
Open the windows, let the air in
Keep the house clean, keep the routine
Paintings they made still stuck to the fridge
Keep cleaning, keep ironing
Cooking their meals on the stainless steel hob
Keep washing, keep scrubbing
Long until the dark comes to bruise the sky
Deep in debt to night
The most beautiful morning forever
Like the ones from far off, far off away
With the hum of the bees in the jasmine sway
Don't ever let go
Try to let go
Don't ever let go
Try to let go
Don't ever.
Such tiny things that still smell of them
And the footprints in the hallway
On to my knees, scrub them away
Make the tea and the soup
All of their favourites, throw them away
And all their school books and their
Running shoes
Washing them clean in the dirty steel sink
Helps me pass the time
Concentrates my mind
Helps me to sleep
Open the windows, let the air in
Keep the house clean, keep the routine
Paintings they made still stuck to the fridge
Cooking their meals on the stainless steel hob
Keep washing, keep scrubbing
Long until the dark comes to bruise the sky
Deep in debt to night
Like the ones from far off, far off away
With the hum of the bees in the jasmine sway
Don't ever let go
Try to let go
Don't ever let go
Try to let go
Don't ever.
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I didn't really get this one until I received and looked through the deluxe book edition of the album, but it's a "story within the story" song, depicting a mother struggling to keep it together after her family is mass murdered in a school shooting (the album's character is obsessed with collecting newspaper clippings of stories about people who just went missing unexplainably, this mother later becomes one of the "disappeared"). Such a sad but powerfully beautiful song . . .
@BigRed97 really?! Oh wow, I didn’t realise, that’s just so sad. One Stevens most crushing songs.
@BigRed97 really?! Oh wow, I didn’t realise, that’s just so sad. One Stevens most crushing songs.