They were the hostages of a common language
Victims of the continental divide
She said ‘yes,’ and he heard ‘no’
He said ‘stay,’ and she heard ‘go.’
It seemed their love was destined to be denied
Shipwrecked on the continental divide
He was born where everything you do has been done before
And history hangs ancient on the vine
The cold Atlantic watched him beating on the future’s door
And knew one day he’d leave the past behind
He was heading for the setting sun
Son of England, on the run
Hoping that he might be satisfied —
Searching for the continental divide
She was born where everything you do is something new
And destiny is easy to forget
She ran through life so fast it seemed as though she fairly flew
And never took a moment to regret
She was waiting, restless, by the wood
Hoping life would do her good
Looking for a door she hadn’t tried —
Daughter of the continental divide
How they met doesn’t matter; all that matters is they met
Every moment changes lifetimes, even the moments we’d rather forget
She said her name was Alice. He said that he was charmed
But their words kept changing meanings, left them frozen and alarmed…
No one ever told them languages lied
When you’re standing on the continental divide
Sometimes words get tangled, signals fade and lines get crossed —
Sometimes what we mean just can’t get through
They both knew what they wanted, but the meanings all got lost;
Sometimes there’s no way to know what’s true
They both felt that they were speaking clear
And somehow, neither one could hear
The feelings they weren’t bothering to hide…
Scrambled by the continental divide
They fell in love the way some people get in accidents;
Sometimes luck decides the way things go
He said ‘I love you’, but she never realized what he meant
And you can’t act on what you never know
They were hiding, hoping to be found
Fumbling for common ground
Praying that their meanings would collide…
Reaching for the continental divide
She said ‘yes,’ and he heard ‘no’
He said ‘stay,’ and she heard ‘go.’
It seemed their love was destined to be denied
Shipwrecked on the continental divide
She said that she was leaving; what she meant was ‘make me stay.’
It’s hard to tell the truth when you’re afraid
He said that he would miss her, when the things he meant to say
Were ‘please’ and ‘I’d be happy if you stayed.’
Well, the story could have ended there
But he wrapped his fingers through her hair
And said, “there’s just one thing we haven’t tried” —
And he kissed her on the continental divide
They found a common language —
He put his hand on hers
They found a common language
That wasn’t based on words
That night he/she told her/him everything
And neither of them lied
For they were finally standing on
The same side of the continental divide
Now she says ‘yes,’ and they both know;
He says ‘stay’ — where would they go?
Sometimes a happy ending can be supplied
To the ones who spend their lifetimes upon
The continental divide — she says ‘yes,’
And they both know…
They’re the children of the continental divide
Find more lyrics at westlyrics.com
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Seanan McGuire Lyrics – Continental Divide