Nose Before Ear - Cowboy Junkies

I’m gonna start this song on a dark low

Out of respect for the story that it tells

It all begins with the prick of a finger

A man and his fear, with nose before ear

So many ways to love him

So little time to choose among them

I’ll stick with the ones whose hearts are torn

Broken, that’s why the blues were born

A man and his life and his race to the finish

And the moments infused with dread

All in the service of tryin' to diminish

Disappointments that lay in ambush

Upon the path ahead

I’m not tryin' to stitch this heart to that sleeve

It’s simply a case of mutual need

A grief more dance than hearts can bear

That’s the way it goes, with nose before ear

This is the story of the land-locked sailor

Who cried himself to sea

This is the tale of the sleeping princess

Who found her way back to me

What we love will kill us

That which won’t don’t thrill us

I’m gonna tell you a story about the ones that I love

And a life lived, nose before ear