SIX EMPTY CHAMBERS

Lyrics

Verse 1 I wanted one to hold me when the whole world went cold One to keep me young while I was growing old One to burn like fire, one steady as a stone Wanted her to need me, but still leave me alone I wanted her wild, but faithful to the bone Wanted all her secrets, still wanted my own Every time she gave me everything she had I found another reason everything was bad Pre-Chorus So I counted what was missing Like a man counts what he’s owed Six empty little chambers And a heart too damn heavy to hold Chorus One for the hunger Two for the touch Three for the woman Who could never be enough Four for forgiveness Five for desire Six for somebody Who could put out every fire I kept spinning that cylinder Thinking love had done me wrong Never asking why the emptiness Was mine all along Verse 2 So I dreamed about another who could give me what she couldn’t Then another for the places where I swore the others wouldn’t Different eyes, different hands, different names inside my head Building me a kingdom out of promises instead Maybe one could make me wanted Maybe one could make me whole Maybe one could feed the body While another fed the soul I could scatter all my wanting Across a half a dozen lives And never have to wonder Why none of them survived Pre-Chorus Then I laid them out before me Every reason, every wound Six answers to a question I’d been too afraid to use Chorus One for the hunger Two for the touch Three for the woman Who could never be enough Four for forgiveness Five for desire Six for somebody Who could put out every fire I kept spinning that cylinder Blaming every love I’d known Never asking why the emptiness Was mine all along Bridge Then the room got still enough I finally heard myself It wasn’t six women that I needed Wasn’t one who’d somehow failed Wasn’t love that came up empty Every time the hammer fell I’d been asking flesh and blood To fill a bottomless demand Making women carry pieces I refused to understand And there ain’t enough devotion There ain’t enough desire To make another human being Responsible for every fire Breakdown So I counted every chamber Every want I’d called a need Every woman I’d expected To become a part of me One was validation Two was being seen Three was my salvation Four—whatever that might mean Five was endless wanting Six finally made it clear: The man I’d been trying to escape from Was the only man still here Final Chorus One for the hunger Two for the touch Three for believing Someone else could be enough Four for forgiveness Five for desire Six for the truth I’d been hiding from my whole damn life I stopped spinning that cylinder Stopped blaming love I’d known ’Cause no woman owes a man the job Of making him feel whole Outro Six empty chambers Lying quiet in my hand Six women couldn’t save me From what I wouldn’t understand I thought I needed more of them To quiet something in my head Turns out what I needed Was to face myself instead.