( Natalie Merchant )

(Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Mary Ramsey (viola); Morgan Fichter (violin))

To think of my task is chilling
To know I was carefully building the mask I was wearing
For two years swearing I'd tear it off
I've sat in the dark explaining
To myself that I'm straining too hard for feelings I ought to find easily
Call myself Jezebel
I don't believe

Before I say that the vows we made
Weigh like a stone in my heart
Family is family
Don't let this tear us apart

You lie there, an innocent baby
I feel like the thief who is raiding your home
Entering and breaking and taking in every room
I know your feelings are tender
I know inside you the embers still glow
But I'm a shadow
I'm only a bed of blackened coal
And call myself Jezebel
Wanting to leave
I'm not saying I'm replacing love for some other word
To describe the sacred tie that bound me to you
I'm just saying we've mistaken one for thousands of words
And for that mistake, I've caused you such pain that I damn that word
I've no more ways to hide
That I'm a desolate and empty
Hollow place inside

I'm not saying I'm replacing love for some other word
To describe the sacred tie that bound me to you
I'm not saying love's a plaything
No, it's a powerful word
Inspired by strong desire to bind myself to you
Oh how I wish that we never had tried
To be man and his wife
To weave our lives into a blindfold over both our eyes