Longing Deep in the Bones

[Intro]

[Verse 1]

A foot of deep-red new clothing

Outshining all the old clothes in the wardrobe

Everyone says people love the new and tire of the old

How could an old love please as well as a new one

I split open the paired peach stone of union

Inside the kernel lies another world

[Pre-Chorus]

It turns out however close two hearts lie

An unseen gap can still lie between them

[Chorus]

Lighting a lamp deep in the well, I earnestly remind you

On your long journey away, do not miss the time to return

A red bean is set inside the die

Do you know this longing that reaches to the bone

At night you touch it and ask yourself

Whether there is something just the same

[Verse 2]

Tomorrow you leave on a distant journey

I pack your things neatly through the night

Light a lamp at the bottom of the well

The lamp's flame lights up the words of counsel

Do not let amusements along the way delay your business

I worry about everything along your journey

[Pre-Chorus]

I put the dice in your travel bag

That tiny spot of red is the secret I have hidden

[Chorus]

Lighting a lamp deep in the well, I earnestly remind you

On your long journey away, do not miss the time to return

A red bean is set inside the die

Do you know this longing that reaches to the bone

At night you touch it and ask yourself

Whether there is something just the same

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3]

In the days since you left

I am always caught between belief and doubt

That person hidden inside the kernel

I dare not even ask who it is

I fear asking will make it true

Yet without asking I cannot swallow it down

[Bridge]

The dice are made of bone

Red beans are embedded in the seams of the bone

Each time the dice are cast

I hear the red beans give a sigh

It turns out this thing called longing

Is a branch that grows out of the bones

It cannot be pulled out or thrown away

Tell me how I can possibly turn away from this

[Verse 4]

Waiting for the day you return

I will ask face to face and get every detail

I will not ask about the person within the kernel

I ask only about those words, “deep in the bones”

If you too have red beans of longing

Hurled out, aimed straight into my eyes

[Final Chorus]

Lighting a lamp deep in the well, I earnestly remind you

On your long journey away, do not miss the time to return

A red bean is set inside the die

Do you know this longing that reaches to the bone

At night you touch it and ask yourself

Whether there is something just the same

[Outro]

The lamp at the bottom of the well still shines

Do you know this longing that reaches to the bone