"The Night Before Your Birthday" lyrics - ANDREW BIRD

On the night before your birthday
I set down to write this song
But I was, I wasn't sure what to say
Afraid these words'll come out wrong
That you will always be my darlin'
'Til the end, end of measured time
Like that pair of nestin' starlings
We're growin' more and more entwined

How the hell did you know
When all you know is what you don't know?

Stumble in the wilderness
Burrs hopelessly stuck
Instinct finally worked for once
Or was it just, or was it just dumb luck?

And it's not like strikin' lightnin' (Not like strikin' lightnin')
That keeps breakin' Heaven's vows (Breakin' Heaven's vows)
Or that slow and vicious tightenin' (Slow and vicious tightenin')
That what the heart allows (What the heart allows)
I could count the ways I love you
But I was never one for maths
While the heavens up above you
Keep gettin' filled with sociopaths

Oh, siestas in June
Catlike repose

Lightnin' in the afternoon
Lizards on the tile
Music from another room
Let's just linger, let's just linger for a while

On the night before your birthday
I set down to write this song
But I wasn't sure what to say
Afraid these words'll come out wrong