Over the Rhine
All of It Was Music
The night was bending in a grin
As streetlight shadows tattooed skin
Whatever we were tangled in
All of it was music

The bed sheets were our whitest flag
The war became a game of tag
We surrendered all we had
And all we had was music

The humming of the window unit
The street noise often sang right through it
A drunken song somehow we knew that
Even it was music

The newness of uncovered skin
Your messy hair your goofy grin
Your shattered places deep within
All of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, please forgive me
I hope this song helps you, believe me
The holding on the letting go
It all gets buried soft and low
But even then a song might grow
All of it was music
We left the city far behind
We traveled light, we traveled blind
With no idea what we’d find
Or whether we could use it

The rolling fields were lined by trees
Wild flowers brought us to our knees
The poison ivy thick as thieves—
We swung an ax to bruise it

A place where we could rest awhile
Where hummingbirds could thrum for miles
And we could leave the edges wild
And let birds sing through us

Fires where all our sparks could scatter
Midnight stars could drop their ladders
I’m not sure any of it matters
But all of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, please forgive me
I hope this song helps you, believe me
The holding on the letting go
It all get buried soft and low
Don’t ask me how but I still know
All of it was music
To those I’ve wronged, please forgive me
I hope this song helps you, believe me
This world so full of joy and pain
Was more than one heart could contain
We let it spill and flood the plain
All of it was music