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Turns to Permanence

from Homemade Wine by Penelope Swales

/

lyrics

Turns to Permanence
© Penelope Swales 1997

I’ve seen them come from overseas with fever eyes
Chafing at the sameness of home
Amidst the joy, the squeals of welcome, there is already a restlessness
We have to promise ourselves we will go again

But before you know it
Everything you touch turns to permanence
We put down roots, entwine our limbs and minds
Thoughts of going away
Pale in the light of the everyday
The dream recedes, and you’re left beached in your own land

We come back changed
To the people who have stayed the same
But in time, our difference erodes
The bright, rough-hewn, immediate reality of the road
Becomes but dim memories
Of a time that was all but wasted

And before you know it
Everything you touch turns to permanence
We put down roots, entwine our limbs and minds
Before you know it
Big eyes are looking at you anxiously
If you even mention the thought of going

Dreams and visions fade
Pale in the light of the everyday
Along with the meaning in the photos of faces
You’ll never see again
You get sick of telling
Your traveller’s stories again and again
You just bow your head and take your place.

I’m come aware
That there’s someone curled asleep inside me
The traveller is a different girl
She lives on her wits
When her bright-lit mind’s alive inside mine
She sleeps fitfully,
She tosses and turns

Coz before she knew it
Everything she touched turned to permanence
She put down roots, and her mind became mine
Her dreams and visions faded
Pale in the light of the everyday
She’s like a little embryo suspended in my mind
Oh….

credits

from Homemade Wine, released January 7, 1997
Penelope Swales - vocals, guitar
Paul Jonas - violin
Mal Webb - bass
George Papantonio - drums

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Penelope Swales Boolarra, Australia

Penelope Swales has been articulating the human condition with passion and humour for 30+ years. She sings about politics, love, friendship, the unbreakable bond between us and dogs and the impact of the Internet on society. She won the 2019 Alistair Hulett Songs for Social Justice Award with “Cambridge Analytica”. “The Ides of March in Christchurch" was short-listed for the same award in 2020. ... more

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