Perfume in the Pines

[Verse 1]
Claire, oh Claire, sweet like an éclair, the smell of your perfume in the sweet summer air.
You sat on the dock in my borrowed sweatshirt,
dangling one shoe, laughing at nothing at all.
I was twenty-two, pretending I was calm,
passing you a lighter, watching your fingers shake.
We talked till the bug spray gave out,
till the lake went black and the cabins went quiet.

[Pre-Chorus]
You said, “Keep it simple.”
I said, “That sounds nice.”
You smiled like a door cracked open,
then you turned off the light.

[Chorus]
Claire, don’t make it easy
If easy means goodbye
Claire, don’t make it easy
I’m not that kind of guy
You want the summer
I want the whole ride
Claire, don’t make it easy
When you look at me like that

[Verse 2]
At breakfast you stole my grapes,
left the red plastic cup by my boots.
We skipped the canoe race, sat in the shade,
you told me about your town and your mother’s old rules.
I watched you braid your hair with a bracelet string,
sun on your knees, dirt on your heels.
You’d lean in close, then pull back fast,
like you could feel me catching on.

[Pre-Chorus]
You said, “Nothing heavy.”
I said, “Yeah, I know.”
But every small thing landed
where the softest parts grow.

[Chorus]
Claire, don’t make it easy
If easy means goodbye
Claire, don’t make it easy
I’m not that kind of guy
You want the summer
I want the whole ride
Claire, don’t make it easy
When you look at me like that

[Bridge]
Last night by the fire ring,
you traced a circle in the ash.
You said you liked me better
when I didn’t ask for much.
But I was already in it,
right there in your half-smile,
in the way you saved me a seat
and stayed a little while.

[Chorus]
Claire, don’t make it easy
If easy means goodbye
Claire, don’t make it easy
I’m not that kind of guy
You want the summer
I want the whole ride
Claire, don’t make it easy
When you look at me like that

[Outro]
Claire, oh Claire
the wind through the pines
I can still taste July
and that maybe in your eyes