SONGS:
-- Bone In My Ear --
7 March 1993. Woodstock, NY.

Found on:

Dart to the Heart (1994)

Rumours of Glory - box set Disc 5 (2014) [compilation album]
Lyrics:

There's a bone in my ear
Keeps singing your name
Sometimes it's like pleasure
Sometimes it's like pain
It's a small voice and quiet
But I hear it plain
There's a bone in my ear
Keeps singing your name

In my heart there's a an image
Like looking through glass
Could be looking at me
Could be looking right past
I don't like it when
I can't tell which is true
But I wouldn't trade the world
For that picture of you

Moon in the water
Cold light in the streets
Warmth in your fingers
Sweat in your sheets
Laid out like an offering
Where two currents meet
The river is dark
But the water is sweet

Wailing on the mountain
Smoke on the wind
Can't drown out the whisper
Or the scent of your skin
Don't know where it came from
But I know where it came
There's a bone in my ear
Keeps singing your name


Known comments by Bruce Cockburn about this song, by date:

  • 22 November 1994: [Listeners sometimes are left guessing whether his songs of passionate yearning--including the current album's "All the Ways I Want You" and "Bone in My Ear"--are addressed to an earthly romantic partner, or a divine presence.] "When I'm writing the song, I'm entirely aware of which it is. To me [songs such as those two] are pretty carnal. But sometimes when you're expressing longing for a person, deeper things creep into it. It's fair enough if people want to read it the other way." - from "Bruce Cockburn: Interior Motive" by Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times, November 22, 1994. Submitted by Nigel Parry.


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    This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.