Leave the sad guitar in its hard-shell case
Leave the worried look on your lover's face
Let the orange embers in the fireplace remain

'Cause everything, it must belong somewhere
A train, off in the distance, bicycle chained to the stairs
Everything, it must belong somewhere
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

Leave the ocean's roar in that turquoise shell
Leave the widower in his private hell
Leave the liberty in that broken bell today

Just leave the epic poem on its yellowed page
Leave the gray macaw in his covered cage
Let the traveling band on the interstate remain

'Cause everything, it must belong somewhere
Sound-stage in California, televisions in Times Square, yeah
Everything, it must belong somewhere
I know that now, that's why I'm staying here
Oh, I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

Leave the secret talks on the trundle bed
Leave the garden tools in the rusted shed
Leave those bad ideas in your troubled head today

Just leave the restless ghost in his old hotel
Leave the homeless man, out in that cardboard cell
Let the painted horse on the carousel remain

'Cause everything, it must belong somewhere
Just like the gold around your finger or the silver in his hair
Yeah, everything must belong somewhere
And I know that now, that's why I'm staying here
Oh, I know that now, that's why I'm staying here

In truth, the forest hears each sound
Each blade of grass as it lies down
The world requires no audience
No witnesses, no witnesses

Leave the old town drunk on his wooden stool
Leave the autumn leaves in that swimming pool
Leave the poor, black child in his crumbling school today

Leave the novelist in his daydream tune
Leave the scientist in her Rubik's cube
Let the true genius in the padded room remain

Leave the horse's hair on the slanted bow
Leave the slot machines on the riverboat
Leave the cauliflower in the casserole today

Just leave the hot white-trash in their shopping malls
Leave the hawks of war in their capitals
Let the organs moan in the cathedral remain

'Cause everything, it must belong somewhere
They lock the devil in the basement, threw God up into the air
Yeah, everything must belong somewhere
You know it's true, I wish you'd leave me here
Now you know it's true, why don't you leave me here?