The Once and Future Carpenter by The Avett Brothers Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I ain't from Texas, but I made my way from Dallas
And I know the lonesome sound is following
I ain't a gambler, but I can recognize a hand
And when to hold when queens are staring back at me
Once I was a carpenter and man my hands were callused
I could swing a metal mallet sure and straight
But I took to the highway, a poet young and hungry
And I left the timbers rotting where they lay
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given I won't be scared to die
[Verse 2]
I don't come from Detroit
But her diesel motors pulled me
And I followed til I finally lost my way
And now I spend my days in search
Of a woman we call Purpose
And if I ever pass back through her town I'd stay
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black dress drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given I won't be scared to die
[Verse 3]
And my life is but a coin pulled from an empty pocket
Dropped into a slot with dreams of sevens close behind
Hope and fear go with it
And the moon and the sun go spinning
Like the numbers and the fruit before our eyes
Sometimes I hit
Sometimes it robs me blind
Sometimes I hit
Sometimes it robs me blind
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember, we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die
I ain't from Texas, but I made my way from Dallas
And I know the lonesome sound is following
I ain't a gambler, but I can recognize a hand
And when to hold when queens are staring back at me
Once I was a carpenter and man my hands were callused
I could swing a metal mallet sure and straight
But I took to the highway, a poet young and hungry
And I left the timbers rotting where they lay
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given I won't be scared to die
[Verse 2]
I don't come from Detroit
But her diesel motors pulled me
And I followed til I finally lost my way
And now I spend my days in search
Of a woman we call Purpose
And if I ever pass back through her town I'd stay
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black dress drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given I won't be scared to die
[Verse 3]
And my life is but a coin pulled from an empty pocket
Dropped into a slot with dreams of sevens close behind
Hope and fear go with it
And the moon and the sun go spinning
Like the numbers and the fruit before our eyes
Sometimes I hit
Sometimes it robs me blind
Sometimes I hit
Sometimes it robs me blind
[Chorus]
Forever I will move
Like the world that turns beneath me
And when I lose my direction
I'll look up to the sky
And when the black cloak drags upon the ground
I'll be ready to surrender
And remember, we're all in this together
If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die