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You've Changed

from Unravelled Tales - Volume 1 by Sam Steffen

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lyrics

There was a time when what was yours was mine—and vice versa
If I’m not on cue, I’d be more’n glad to reimburse ya
I spose it’s a flaw to believe in the law of inertia
That says what is will be—I say let’s wait and see:

We been through our share of trial and error and judgment
Enduring the eyes of society wives and their husbands
We’ve paid all their dues and even a few of their “doesn’t”s
it’s come down to this—still, somethings amiss
I know it ain’t my place
to tell you where and when you seem a little off-base
But in this case I’d embrace
my own share of the blame—

For your own good, for your own health
I wish you’d hold up a mirror and look at yourself
When it’s so obvious to everyone else
That you ain’t the same—
That you’re different now, there’s something new, something I can’t name
I can’t quite put my finger on it, I can’t quite explain
you’ve changed

The thieves in the yard check to see that the guard is still dozing
the hostess distressed, accuses her guests of imposing
The butterfly sleeps while its body keeps metamorphosing
The caterpillar cocooned—I’m damned or I’m doomed

reviewing a list of items you wished to be handed
I saw at a glance that romance had been taken for granted
I’d’ve pointed it out except doubt had me thoroughly stranded
Nowhere to go—except on with the show
I feel so at a loss
Like a freewheeling boulder trying to gather its moss
Just tell me what it will cost
And what I stand to gain—

And in the meantime, I’ll concede
That in what I’ve undertaken I will never succeed
nor surrender, nor give in, nor need
long as you’re in the frame—
I’m not going to mince words, I’ll stand by my claim
There’s just something about you, doesn’t go with the grain—
you’ve changed

Down in the vault the cult meeting’s called into order
A man with no voice makes a choice by flipping a quarter
Someone disagrees and is made to eat cheese in the corner
Reciting the laws—neath the sound of applause

Prometheus spits even though he’s been gifted with forethought
He lays down his check and places his bet on the longshot
He thinks of his life, of his kids and his wife and the onslaught
Of debts he can’t drown—maybe it’ll all turn around
Look out there, on the tide
Ain’t the grass always greener on the sea’s other side?
But to get there don’t you gotta ride
Through a horizon of flames—

And as your dreams slowly break apart
And every time you look back you find you’re still at the start
you don’t see it, but you know, somehow, down in your heart
that you ain’t quite the same—
something’s different now, something new you can’t quite explain—
in spite of yourself, of your goals, and your aims
you’ve changed

Honey I’ve tried all these rules to abide, but I’m failing
I was hoping to skip getting stuck on this ship but it’s sailing
If it springs a leak I’ll be tempted to leap—oer the railing
swim for the shore—til I can’t swim anymore—

Coyotes dance while the wind in the branch is still blowing
Out in the fields the summertime yields unto snowing
Don’t know what I’ll find but I’ve made up my mind and I’m going
On up ahead—just like I said
don’t feed me that old blue line
If I have a say in the matter there won’t be a next time
I know maybe you don’t mind—
But I won’t stand for the pain

You didn’t see me see you blush
But you gotta lay down your cards when they’re callin your bluff
And God help you if you don’t have the stuff
to go on or maintain
you gotta play by the dealer’s rules or get out of the game
if you don’t know it by now, you will when you set foot on that train—
you’ve changed

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from Unravelled Tales - Volume 1, released March 5, 2021

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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