NEAR THE PEOPLE

folk-soul about showing up

A blue house keeps its porch swept while the lift across the road has been out since May. A song about the distance between standing for people and standing near them.

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NEAR THE PEOPLE lyrics

Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.

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Intro

On the left side of town, a blue house keeps its porch swept. Across the road, the lift has been out since May.

Verse 1

Come as you are is cut over the door Cars wait out back by a clean marble floor The woman on five knows the lift by its groan She knows which bus quits before she gets home Inside the blue house, they know her by chart Her rent is a line in a speech learned by heart They wave from the porch when the news crews appear Close to her street, but they do not live here

Chorus

You can live near the people Never bear what they bear Say you stand for the people Then leave when the rent comes due If your feet miss the hallway If your hands miss the heat You may stand near the people You don't stand where they sleep

Verse 2

Then came the bright ones with cards in their hands One voice was small, but the choir had plans Each knew the door and the hour to arrive Each pulled one thread; then the house changed sides No one heard a key turn, no window was broke The room just spoke with one well-practiced throat You may doubt one note when it walks in alone You cannot doubt the chord when it carries the room Near ain't here A porch ain't a home

Verse 3

A coat from the ward speaks soft of the street Then sleeps past a gate where the lawns stay neat Good hearts can mean each fine word that they say And miss the last bus at the end of the day What if the line isn't left against right? What if it's down here against those up high? The cook and the clerk know the weight of one week Let poor mean the people each promise should mean

Bridge

Take down the colors. Count what is left: A mother works late; a child holds her breath The ones at the table, the ones on the menu The word people bends by the room that is in you Blue is a roof till that roof starts to leak Then it has no flag when it lands on the weak

Chorus

Outro

Paint no new color. Bring a key. If it is for the people, let the people lead. Near is a map. Here is a deed.

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01 / The opening