My Nose Knows the Way

[Intro]

My little boy...

Where did you go...

[Verse 1]

They brought me to him — just a bundle of fur,

With clumsy soft paws and a wondering stare.

He held me so tight as I started to purr,

And light filled the room and the quiet cold air.

We chased an old ball across rugs on the floor,

He whispered: “Come here, little friend, you’re so small.”

And whenever he cried by his bedroom door,

I’d nudge at his cheek till the tears didn’t fall.

I slept by his bedside all curled in a ring,

Guarding his dreams till the morning would shine.

My sun and my leash and my everything,

The only true boy in this whole world of mine.

[Pre-Chorus]

Then doctors in white came and said: “He can’t stay,

The fur makes him cough and it’s hard for his breath.

We’re sorry, but take the young puppy away...”

And autumn crept in with its cold, freezing breath.

They drove me away as I fought for the door,

Back to his blanket, the steps that I knew.

His mother kept whispering down to the floor:

“Forgive us, sweet dog, it’s not because of you...”

[Chorus]

Where are you, my boy? I am sniffing each gate,

Tracing your scent in the cold and the gray.

I’m running through alleys and days as I wait,

I’ll find you, I know that my nose knows the way!

[Post-Chorus]

I’ll find the way...

My nose knows the way...

[Verse 2]

[Stripped back, intimate guitar and close-mic voice]

A stranger’s kind house took me into their care,

With bowls made of steel and a bed soft and wide.

Yet all through the days I would wait by the stair,

Unable to welcome the comfort inside.

They stroked on my neck saying: “Hush now, good boy,”

And rolled by my muzzle a red rubber toy.

No laughter in toys and no warmth in the grain,

And every long night dragged me back to the rain.

I chewed through the fence and I tore at the lead,

Not wicked or wild, just broken and lost.

A puppy in desperate, solitary need,

Retracing your scent whatever the cost.

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Through alleys and subways, through gasoline haze,

Cold glass and puddles and shadows unseen.

I searched the whole city for nights and for days:

Where are you, my boy, where on earth have you been?

I slept under benches, I shivered in doorways,

They shouted: “Get out, go away from our street!”

Yet colder the wind on the wandering pathways,

The brighter the hope that we soon were to meet.

[Chorus 2]

Where are you, my boy? Through the darkness and glare,

I search for the one scent no winter could fray.

I stumble and freeze, but I run through the air,

I’ll find you, I know that my nose knows the way!

[Bridge]

I remember the swings and the sandbox of old,

The stick that you threw in the yard full of grace.

The warmth of your palms and the morning time cold,

And how you would whisper: “It’s going to be safe.”

They yell: “Dirty stray!” and I lower my tail,

Yet onward I go through the sorrow and pain.

As long as your trace still endures on the gale,

As long as I breathe, I will seek you again.

I ask for no roof, no sweet bowl on the floor,

No fireside warmth in the middle of storm.

Just stay alive, boy, and be well evermore,

And I’ll catch your scent on the wind and stay warm.

[Final Chorus]

Where are you, my boy? I check every backyard,

I search for your scent that will never decay.

Through seasons and concrete and fences so hard,

I’ll find you, as long as my nose knows the way!

[Repeat Final Chorus]

Where are you, my boy? I am sniffing each home,

I carry your scent through the darkness and gray.

Though night is behind and cold rain starts to roam,

I know I will find you... my nose knows the way!

[Outro]

Maybe you’ve grown and you’re far from my reach,

Maybe you lost that small collar we wore.

I still feel your palm and your gentle soft speech,

I’m still your young puppy, your dog evermore.

[Whispered, very close to mic]

Where are you, my boy...

I’ll find you...

My nose knows the way.

[End]