Beautiful Racket

Mary Chapin Carpenter

So your day begins like this
Wondering what might have been
Old regrets and chances missed
Borne away on some lambent wind

The job's okay, so it doesn't inspire
Thoughts of leaving it all behind
You used to have dreams of settin' the world on fire
All you want now is peace of mind

And a beautiful racket an' whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Do your dreaming in traffic jams
You do your running in shopping malls
You do your breathing the best you can
Between car pools and cell phone calls

Who cares, you'll never live in Paris
So what, you'll never travel by Lear
How do some of us learn what matters
While others never get to hear

Such a beautiful racket an' whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Hold on
Hold on

So your day will end like this
Turning slowly down your street
Silent worlds of kitchens lit
Front yards full of fallen leaves

Trees are bare, the garden's done
Another season gone to earth
Before you blink a new one comes
Reminding you what the old one's worth

And a beautiful racket comes in whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet between the roses and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And [Incomprehensible] wisdom [Incomprehensible]

Such a beautiful racket
Such a beautiful racket, hold on
Such a beautiful racket, hold on