Keep a Chair for you

I know a little table Where the lamps forgive the rain Where the piano drinks the silence And gives it back again

There is smoke above the glasses There is brass behind the wall There is someone tuning strings Like a prayer before the fall

You came in without a thunder No grand entrance, no disguise Just the soft Atlantic weather Resting quietly in your eyes

And all the rooms inside me That I had kept half-closed Turned their chairs toward the doorway Like the heart already knows

Lisbon keeps a chair for you By the river, by the rain Every light along the water Leans to hear me say your name

Lisbon keeps a chair for you In the blue behind the gold Where the night becomes a singer And the streets forget the cold

I do not need a kingdom I do not need a view There is a whole life waiting In a chair beside you

The bass walks through the room Like an old friend coming home The drummer brushes midnight Into silver, skin, and bone

The guitar begins to tremble With that sorrow we do not cure Not the sadness that destroys us But the one that keeps us pure

You laughed into your wine glass And the city changed its key Like the moon had moved the river Just to make a place for me

I have chased too many mornings With my coat against the wind But your hand upon the table Brought the weather back within

Lisbon keeps a chair for you By the river, by the rain Every light along the water Leans to hear me say your name

Lisbon keeps a chair for you In the blue behind the gold Where the night becomes a singer And the streets forget the cold

I do not need a kingdom I do not need a view There is a whole life waiting In a chair beside you

Some love comes dressed in lightning Some love wants a crown But ours came through the kitchen And gently sat me down

Ours came through the window With the smell of morning bread With your shoulder near my shoulder And the words we never said

There are violins rising Like birds above the roofs There is gospel in the distance There is jazz inside the truth

And the brass begins to open Like a door inside the blue And the whole night turns its body Just to make more room for you

Lisbon keeps a chair for you By the river, by the rain Every light along the water Leans to hear me say your name

Lisbon keeps a chair for you In the blue behind the gold Where the night becomes a singer And the streets forget the cold

I do not need a kingdom I do not need a view There is a whole life waiting In a chair beside you

If the years become a hallway If the mirrors lose their grace If the garden gets more quiet And time touches your face

I will still know how to find you Past the noise and past the flame At the table by the river Where the light still says your name

Let the piano run like water Let the brass break through the night Let the strings climb over Lisbon Let the choir open light

Let the old stones hear us laughing Let the river turn to gold Let the room become a harbour For the love we learned to hold

Lisbon keeps a chair for you By the river, by the rain Every light along the water Leans to hear me say your name

Lisbon keeps a chair for you In the blue behind the gold Where the night becomes a singer And the streets forget the cold

I do not need a kingdom I do not need a view There is a whole life waiting In a chair beside you

There is a whole life waiting In a chair beside you

Lisbon keeps a chair for you And I am sitting next to you