Des de Moor: It's then you know

Des de Moor
Lyrics

It's then you know

From 9x2
A compilation of English chanson featuring two tracks from Des
More details,

Des de Moor
voice
Julia Doyle
double bass
David Harrod
piano

This song came to me while walking to work in early 2001 and became a very traditional-sounding chanson, which I finished in Edinburgh in August that year with the help of Russell Churney, who came up with some of the music. The lyrics are quite personal and tell their own story. It was originally supposed to be a part of Testing Times but when Robb Johnson asked me for two new contributions to his 9x2 compilation I realised this one could be taken out of sequence quite successfully.

It's then you know
You just can't wait to reach the phone.
It's then you know
You need not ever be alone
And though you fear
You'll seem to eager to be true,
It's then you know
They're feeling just the same as you

And as the days go by,
It's sheer delight
And then you know for once
Your feelings got it right.

It's then you know
You've always felt this way, and yet
It's then you know
It was an accident you met
And though you fear
An accident could make you part,
It's then you know
They'll live forever in your heart

And as the years go by,
To simply be
Is just to know the meaning
Of eternity.

It's then you know
Now you have hurt deceived and fought,
It's then you know
Each year was shorter than you thought
And though you fear
You cannot judge by what you feel,
It's then you know
Your "fuck off"'s meant this time for real

And as the months go by
It's hard but true
To know that breaking up
Was all that you could do.

It's then you know
You love another, as you must.
It's then you know
Your heart's got corners still unbrushed
And though you fear
It's not quite big enough for both
You can't let go,
You are still standing by your oath

And as the days go by...
And as the months go by...
And as the years go by...
That pain's still real
And it's not what you know,
It's what you feel.

Written: South Bank and Vauxhall, London, Stoke-on-Trent and Edinburgh, February, July and August 2001

Words

Des de Moor

Music

Des de Moor
Russell Churney

Originally recorded by Des de Moor on 9x2 (see left).

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More lyrics

The Sailor's Longing
It's then you know
Lyrics Index