Two Strangers
from Tales from the Bad Years
Somewhere in a quiet little nook of this city,
Slipping into something that’s a little less like a disguise.
You are not alone here.
Open up your eyes.
We cannot sleep.
We’ll just hold our breath tonight.
Two strangers.
Hope don’t matter.
It don’t matter.
Time will pulse on and tomorrow will come and go.
Or at least I’ve been told so.
Two strangers,
Lost and lonely,
Only nightcap strange strangers,
Letting go of a dream,
Waking up from a dream,
Waking up from half-remembered mid-November dream.
And somewhere out in Brooklyn you’re alone and you’re drinking,
Soaking up the feeling that you never felt nothing at all.
Whiskey makes you brood,
But that’s your kind of mood.
Oh, we cannot sleep.
But we’ll hold our breath tonight.
Two strangers.
Hope don’t matter.
It don’t matter.
Time will pulse on and tomorrow will come and go.
We’ll be trudging through the snow.
Two strangers,
Lost and lonely,
Only nightcap strange strangers.
Letting go of a dream.
Waking up from a dream.
La da da de da da da.
And then it’s over.
Just another mistake done over.
There’s no evidence here,
No mark or picture frame.
Just a name in a cell phone,
Stuck in my head,
Smelling boy in my empty twin bed or maybe I’m just conjuring some romance I read.
This was not…
So magic-a-a-al.
You didn’t impress me.
Not at all.
No.
No.
Not even a little bit.
You were something I wanted to try,
And we were happy,
For a while.
Just like in a dream one late night.
Tum-a-bling t’ward winter in a perfect autumn luminescent light,
You held me tight.
That was all I ever could have asked for.
We’ll just hold our breath tonight.
Two strangers.
Two strangers.
Two strangers.
We cannot sleep.
We’ll just hold our breath tonight.
Two strangers.
Hope don’t matter.
It don’t matter.
Time will pulse on.
It don’t matter.
We come and go.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.
Lost and lonely.
Only nightcap strangers.
Lost and lonely.
Only nightcap strange stranger.
La da da de da da.
La da da de da da.
La da da de da da da da da da da da da.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:29 am
September 5th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Love the Imogen Heap feel in the middle of this. Can’t wait to see this show on stage some time soon.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Thanks! Imogen Heap is one of our favorites. This is our little homage to her electronica genius. Have you ever seen her live? It’s remarkable.
September 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I am absolutely obsessed with this song. Seriously, I must have listened to it at least twice a day since you guys put it up on youtube. I especially love “this was not… so magical”. I don’t know, that part’s eternally stuck in my head.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
caissie levy is amazing!! and so is this song! I would DEFINITELY go and see this especially if she was in it.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Caissie Levy is just, wow! How did you guys decide to work with her? she’s one of my favorite performers ever and sings with such sincerity and soul. Beautiful song with beautiful lyrics. There’s so much talent all around, thank you for this!
October 5th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Brian and Caissie have known each other since they first moved to New York City, but then Caissie quickly got hired by lots of fancy people and we hadn’t had a chance to work together in many years. We invited her to come to Vermont with us (thinking that there was no way especially since she was living in LA) and she happened to have some time off and she was going to be on the east coast. She said yes and we had an amazing week. She has an absolutely stunning voice and she’s one of the nicest people we know.
So glad you like the song!
October 16th, 2008 at 12:23 am
This song resonates with me on a level I can’t begin to express. It’s a great blend on haunting rhythms, simple and articulate lyrics and expression. It speaks perfectly to the mix of emotions a person can experience during one night with someone new.
This is an amazing song and I’m glad I’ve been able to hear it.
October 20th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Oooh, I see. I’m so glad that Caissie had the time off for The Bad Years, and I’m so relieved that her problems with her vocal cords has been for the most part cured. I hear she’s back in LA and may come back to Wicked. If that happens, I will not miss the chance to met her! Her last show had my boyfriend in tears and I’ve never seen him cry in the 8 years I’ve known him.
I can’t wait to see this musical on stage soon!You guys are the best, and best of luck to you! You’ve got a fan!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I am so completely obsessed with this song, especially with Caissie singing this!! She’s wonderful! I’ve had this song stuck in my head. For a couple of days.
I really hope this gets produced on stage! I’d honestly see it in a heartbeat.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:11 am
This song is keeping me going during a very hard and stressful time in my life. The version with Caissie, Morgan and Helene is haunting, moving, enthralling….. ugh… it’s exactly what I look for in a song. It’s just so utterly honest and pure… the raw emotion and sensibly plain lyrics really to touch the soul. I could go on… but in short: this is the kind of piece that can choke up an audience and change a person’s life.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
This is just so, true. So smart and honest. This is a really remarkable piece, the composition, the lyrics, all of it. Thanks!
January 26th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Can anyone let me know the plot of this musical? I love all the songs and I just would like to know where the songs fit into the show and the characters and who they are. Thanks for helping me out here.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Hey, there aren’t really characters per se- really just story arcs and archetypes. And songs. Lots of songs. For it is a song cycle. Check out more on the bad years page, click on shows then bad years.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 am
I completely adore this song. Two of my friends and I may attempt to do this for a variety show at school, the theme is numbers and letters so we were thinking of auditioning with this and Twenty Something, though we’re not quite twenty something…close but not quite. Thank you for writing it.
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I am in love with this song. It’s haunting in a beautiful way. I love all of your songs, but this is definitely a new favorite.
April 4th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I love this song and Caissie Levy so much! Amazing song, lyrics, and singer!
April 5th, 2010 at 1:59 am
Here’s the male version that Morgan Karr sang. SO GOOD:
April 6th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Thank you for posting the male version! That was the first version I heard, and it was completely brilliant and haunting. The lyrics are perfect and the harmonies work so well. Every bit of this song resonates, and the a capella in the middle is simply chilling. Sent goosebumps down my spine. Not to mention that Morgan Karr, Jay Armstrong Johnson, and Matt Doyle are among the most talented performers of this generation (:
April 10th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I love all three of theses guys! This was also the first version of this song I had heard. Eversince, I ve been obsesed with finding more songs from this show. Harmonies are breathtaking/
April 12th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Ahh I love Jay. A. Johnson! He’s amazing!
Thanks for writing such an amazing song 
April 21st, 2011 at 12:21 pm
[...] Two Strangers – Morgan Karr with Jay A. Johnson and Matt Doyle [...]