Conor Oberst
Bowl of Oranges
The rain, it started tapping
On the window near my bed
There was a loophole in my dreaming
So I got out of it
And to my surprise my eyes were wide
And already open
Just my nightstand and my dresser
Where those nightmares had just been
So I dressed myself and left then
Out into the gray streets
But everything seemed different
And completely new to me
The sky, the trees, houses, buildings
Even my own body
And each person I encountered
I couldn't wait to meet
And I came upon a doctor
Who appeared in quite poor health
I said, "There's nothing I can do for you
You can't do for yourself"
He said, "Oh yes you can, just hold my hand
I think that that would help"
So I sat with him a while
Then I asked him how he felt
He said, "I think I'm cured
In fact, I'm sure of it
Thank you, stranger
For your therapeutic smile"
So that's how I learned the lesson
That everyone's alone
And your eyes must do some raining
If you're ever going to grow
But when crying don't help, you can't compose yourself
It's best to compose a poem
An honest verse of longing
Or a simple song of hope
That is why I'm singing, baby don't worry
'Cause now I got your back
And every time you feel like crying
I'm gonna try and make you laugh
And if I can't, if it just hurts too bad
Then we'll wait for it to pass
And I will keep you company
Through those days so long and black
And we'll keep working on the problem
We know we'll never solve
Of love's uneven remainders
Our lives are fractions of a whole
But if the world could remain within a frame
Like a painting on a wall
Then I think we'd see the beauty
Then we'd stand staring in awe
At our still lives posed
Like a bowl of oranges
Like a story told
By the fault lines and the soil