Story: The Small Celebration
Verse 1
No trumpet in the morning
no halo by the bed
just a kettle softly boiling
and a thought inside the head
saying, “Maybe this is special”
saying, “Maybe you have changed”
then the spoon falls in the sink again
and everything gets strange
There’s a chipped cup on the table
there’s a dog out in the rain
there’s a body getting older
there’s an ache behind the name
and the world does not grow golden
in some grand cinematic light
but the ordinary morning
is no longer held so tight
Pre-Chorus
No crown upon the silence
no prize for letting go
just a laugh from nowhere rising
through the life we cannot know
Chorus
Ordinary is enough
let the teapot overflow
ordinary is enough
let the old self come and go
nothing here to worship
nothing here to prove
just the rain upon the window
and the way the moments move
Ordinary is enough
no achievement to defend
ordinary is enough
no beginning and no end
thoughts may still come knocking
feelings still get rough
but the burden has grown lighter
ordinary is enough
Verse 2
He tried to make it holy
but the biscuit broke in two
he tried to sound enlightened
but forgot what he once knew
then someone started laughing
and the whole room laughed along
and the truth was in the laughing
not the meaning of the song
There was sadness in the corner
there was tea that was too hot
there were emails left unanswered
there were plans that he forgot
but none of it was evidence
in the courtroom of the self
just a life that keeps on living
without needing something else
Pre-Chorus
No one made the laughter
no one made the rain
no one owns the passing
of pleasure, fear, or pain
Chorus
Ordinary is enough
let the small day be complete
ordinary is enough
hands and cup and tired feet
nothing here to polish
nothing here to claim
just the world before the story
just the fire before the flame
Ordinary is enough
no achievement to defend
ordinary is enough
no superior awakened friend
let the mind keep talking
let the weather turn rough
there is wonder in the human
ordinary is enough
Bridge
A wave cannot take credit
for returning to the sea
a bird cannot be proud
of being carried by the breeze
and who would wear a medal
for the falling of a wall
when the one who wanted glory
was the dream behind it all
So celebrate softly
with a cup and a chair
with a joke that breaks the solemn
with a yawn in the air
with a heart that does not need
to be open all the time
with a life that needs no title
with a bell that need not chime
Verse 3
There are people still defending
there are people still afraid
there are people building shelters
out of stories they have made
and no one stands above them
no one gets to be apart
for the same life moves through everyone
with its frightened tender heart
So raise a chipped cup gently
to the day that simply came
to the thoughts that lost their kingdom
to the self that lost its name
to the grief that may still visit
to the laughter and the rain
to the freedom of not making
every feeling into “me” again
Final Chorus
Ordinary is enough
let the teapot overflow
ordinary is enough
let the old self come and go
nothing here to worship
nothing here to prove
just the rain upon the window
and the way the moments move
Ordinary is enough
no arrival to announce
ordinary is enough
no sacred thing to count
life is not perfected
life is not made tough
it is simply less defended
ordinary is enough
Outro
No crown
no claim
no one to blame
no higher place
no special name
Tea cools
rain falls
someone laughs
someone calls
And here it is
so close, so rough
this humble celebration
ordinary
ordinary
ordinary
is enough
