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The Hills and Valleys Interfere

by Jonathan Houghton

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1.
I saw a girl with your face But she was shorter and a couple years older I saw a girl and she looked like you But with brown eyes and a different hairdo I guess it’s bad to be comparing But I couldn’t keep myself from staring I saw a girl with your face And the image is so hard to erase I don’t know why I recall The way your room smelled or the color of the walls I don’t know why I remember things Like the way you’d laugh or the way you’d sing I think of you and I feel complete You know, time can make a bitter thing seem sweet I saw a girl with your face And the image is so hard to erase I wonder if she’s sad, and hurt, and fleeing love I wonder if there’s someone I remind her of Is there a choice that she regrets? A person that she can’t forget? A home that she wishes she had never left? Every time I convince myself That I’ve lost every little thing I felt I see a girl with your face And the image is so hard to erase
2.
When you carry on like this Baby, you look ridiculous When you raise your voice I know Your true colors are starting to show I guess the magic’s in the makeup The clothes and the haircut And I can’t keep my eyes shut The magic’s in the makeup You had a smile that nearly glowed And eyeglasses like Lisa Loeb All the pieces seemed to fit It’s not love, but it looked like it Whenever I can feel love near me I’m never that close My eyes have never seen too clearly What’s obvious to most You’re the kind of girl that dreams Of being in fashion magazines Hair care and beauty tips It’s not life, but it looks like it
3.
They must be hundreds of miles east Fighting with the static to be released On a small transistor radio But are the voices arriving from A glorious urban kingdom Or just a dirty basement studio? I know the houses are dark along the street I know it’s late and your parents are asleep But with every mistake, there’s some logic underneath And faraway, the signal’s clear But the hills and valleys interfere In the night, the signal’s breaking up Faraway, the world is waking up You must be hundreds of miles north The distance is long, but time is short And other stations are scattered everywhere How do you know if a voice will be One of heartfelt honesty Or just a boy with a melodramatic flair? I can hear the sighing in your breath I know the future frightens you to death I know that neither one of us have slept Don’t make me wait Don’t leave me waiting here in doubt Don’t hesitate Don’t be the one to tune me out In the dead air, thoughts are amplified On the two-lane roads and countrysides In the night, the signal’s breaking up Faraway the world…
4.
Guatemala 03:27
I am not the prettiest face in the crowd Some people say I’m rude and I talk too loud I can’t believe the way I act sometimes You could say my social graces are unrefined I am not a bull, scared and enraged But my heart’s an animal kept too long in its cage I’ve been waiting ages to meet you I’ve been in love with you since I was a kid Nothing in this world ever changes, and what if it did? I went out to a bar last night And drank till I could barely stand upright I’m not the type for these one-night flings But alcohol can make me do stupid things I am not a dog, but they treat me like one I get so ashamed when I think of what I’ve done See them as they’re walking out the door I see them smile as they go The ones that hurt you the most are the ones who never, never know I can imagine your sense of style Your favorite foods and your crooked smile At night sometimes I see you standing there But I open my eyes and you fade in the air I am not a fool, clutching at straws As if someone could ever ignore these flaws
5.
The ordinary people spend their ordinary nights Lined up underneath the marquee lights The ordinary people buy their tickets for a taste Of life with all the boring parts erased And everybody knows the home team wins Everybody knows the boy gets the girl And superheroes always save the world Dream of lives like the motion pictures Fantasize of the motion pictures Say our lines like the motion pictures do The actor and the actress have a perfect chemistry Their lines have just the right delivery And when it seems as though their broken hearts will never mend Somehow it all works out in the end But everybody knows it’s smoke and mirrors Everybody knows it’s nonsense But we’re watching in envy from the audience Everybody’s got the soundtrack Got the shirt, the pin, the baseball cap And ordinary dreams of perfect girls Somewhere across the world
6.
Love and splendor fills my eyes Still it leaves me blinded Love and splendor lifts me up And drags me on behind it And I can’t resist It controls me like a hypnotist It takes what it gives And it tempts you with its promises When all I want is Love shining on the bad days It seems that once before I’ve said Next time, I’ll reject it It seems it only comes along When you least expect it And I can’t win When I’ve broken free it pulls me in And I’m deceived I guess I’m still a little bit naive If all I want is love Shining on the bad days So let rain wash away the drought Let my hope eclipse my doubt So when I find the will to dare I’ll find love and splendor there
7.
Colleen Williams, you’ll never get to Hollywood, dear What are you running from? Could you be stopped by anyone? Radiant from afar A television star Your face is on the billboards But only in your dreams The city lights are shining But only on TV What would you do for fame? Only to be a household name? Radiant from afar A television star
8.
Days of plastic roses, we’ve all had it worse And I know I’m getting better, but every now and then it hurts Movie ticket stubs, I’ve forgotten where they’re from The letters that you wrote, I’ve kept every one But I don’t think I’m guilty of sleeping with the past I just want to hold on to it as long as my memory lasts I took your picture down, it was hard to do And everything you’ve heard, well, most of it is true
9.
The doctor was a socialite He set out to find a wife His future was stable, he was handsome and available She grew up without a want Became a small-town debutante He would be a great man, and she’d be there at his right hand He proposed and married her Over the threshold he carried her But when they came to their senses, all the pretenses fell All their love was in their heads They spent the night in separate beds He found a lover, it was somebody other than her Love out of desperation Is built on a crumbled foundation You can feel the resignation When the doctor and his wife get home The doctor and his wife went out From their car, you could hear them shout In the enclosure, they lost their composure there On and on they went until They reached the ears of rumor mills Out in the open, there was laughing and joking there The doctor and his wife came back His mind was made, his bags were packed He left her standing there without so much as a word She paused a minute, maybe less And put back on her party dress What should’ve shattered her didn’t even matter to her
10.
I'm Sure 03:19
I’m tired, I’m tired of the scenery It’s time I opened up my eyes The grass is worn away to dirt The seasons pass with clockwork If they could read my thoughts, they’d know that I’m already far away from here I’m sure, I never needed sympathy From people with beautiful lives Potpourri and scented candles Children’s pictures on the mantel If they could read my thoughts, they’d know that I’m already far away from here I wish And in God’s eyes I am sure of this I’m sure, I’m tired of the irony It’s time I grab ahold of something real Not these attitudes and crafted poses Turning up our privileged noses If they could read our thoughts, they’d know that We’re already far away from here I wish And in God’s eyes I am sure of this
11.
Happiness 02:11
What will your face look like? What will your name be then? Happiness, when can I see you again? I hope that I don’t blink I hope I am prepared Oh, happiness, just say the word and I’ll be there You could be on the bus Or passing on the street Happiness, I hope our eyes meet You could be across the world Or right behind me Happiness, I hope someday you find me

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released November 27, 2012

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Jonathan Houghton Nashville, Tennessee

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