catcher in the rye

[INTRO — SOFT PIANO, MUTED TRUMPET]

Phoebe was asleep.

I woke her up.

Which wasn't very considerate.

But I had to see her.

[VERSE 1]

She looked at me like I'd come back from the moon,

Hair all tangled, little face in the room.

Said, “You’re home?” like she already knew

I was the kind of guy who'd leave before noon.

I told her, “Shh,” like we were doing a crime,

She said, “You’re bleeding,” I said, “Not this time.”

She looked at my face like she could read the whole thing—

Kids have a way of noticing everything.

[VERSE 2]

She wanted to know why I got kicked out again,

I tried to make a joke, tried to grin.

She said, “You hate everything. You don't like anything.”

I said, “That's not true,” but I couldn't name a thing.

Then she got mad, and she started to cry,

And I felt like the worst kind of guy.

I wanted to tell her, “You're wrong, I'm okay,”

But the words got stuck somewhere on the way.

[CHORUS — TENDER, SOULFUL]

I wanna be the catcher in the rye,

Out where the tall grass touches the sky.

Kids running wild, not a care in their eyes,

I'll be there when the edge comes into sight.

I wanna catch them before they fall,

Keep them from hearing that grown-up call.

I can't stop the world, I know that's true—

But I wish I could catch somebody like you.

[VERSE 3]

I had this picture, don't laugh, it was clear:

A field full of kids, nobody steering.

They'd run and they'd play, and they'd get too near

To the edge of a cliff that nobody could hear.

And I'd stand there waiting, not doing much,

Just catching them before they went over the edge.

That's the whole job. No speeches, no prize.

Just keep them from falling out of their own lives.

[VERSE 4]

I know, it sounds crazy. I know what you'll say.

You can't keep people little. They grow up anyway.

They get jobs, they get married, they learn how to lie,

They get good at pretending they're doing just fine.

And maybe I'm jealous. Maybe that's all.

Maybe I hate that there's no way to stop the fall.

Maybe I want somebody to say it's okay

To be scared of tomorrow and still stay today.

[CHORUS — FULLER, HOPEFUL BUT FRAGILE]

I wanna be the catcher in the rye,

Out where the tall grass touches the sky.

Kids running wild, not a care in their eyes,

I'll be there when the edge comes into sight.

I wanna catch them before they fall,

Keep them from hearing that grown-up call.

I can't stop the world, I know that's true—

But I wish I could catch somebody like you.

[INSTRUMENTAL — SOARING TRUMPET, LOOSE JAZZ INTERPLAY]

[VERSE 5 — QUIETER, DIRECT]

Phoebe didn't laugh.

She didn't say much.

She just looked at me

Like she knew I was making it up

And like she knew

I needed it to be true.

I wanted to save her.

I wanted to save every kid.

I wanted to be the one

Who didn't let go.

But I couldn't even tell her

Where I'd been going.

I couldn't even tell her

What I was doing.

[BRIDGE — DRUMS DROP OUT]

Maybe the cliff is just growing up.

Maybe the fall is just growing up.

Maybe I can't catch anybody.

Maybe I just don't want to watch.

[FINAL CHORUS — TENDER, THEN SWELLING]

I wanna be the catcher in the rye,

Out where the tall grass touches the sky.

Kids running wild, not a care in their eyes—

I wish I could keep them there all their lives.

I wanna catch them before they fall,

Though I can't be standing there for them all.

I can't stop the world, I know that's true—

But I wish I could catch somebody like you.

[OUTRO — BARELY ABOVE A WHISPER]

Phoebe was still there.

She was right there.

I didn't have to catch her.

Not then.