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Stitch in Time Lyrics by Owen Sheers

Skirrid Hill

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And so he left his wife, just 15 years old, in Gujarat
and travelled back
across three seas
to Fiji and the Garden Island of Taveuni,
where he bent once more
to the cloth, spilling from the bench onto the floor
and moved about the dummy's baste
like a musician round his double bass.
Where, by the hurricane lamp's sepia,
he was the cutter, coatmaker and finisher,
checking again and again his stab and pad stitch
the depth of the gorge, the sleeve's angle and pitch -
a bespoke suit for the local chief,
who was offering (he thinks of his wife, his wife)
an acre of ground - his own piece of land
for this man of cloth, made by his hand.
And when they told him where it lay - about the 180 degrees,
the invisible meridian that came over the hill through the coconut trees,
the imaginary chalk mark where here, tomorrow starts,
and here, today is ending, he felt it in his heart.
The pin-stripe of longitude, the balance, the symmetry,
bisecting time and space, he understood it immediately.
And so ten years later when he returned for his wife
he brought her back to show her the life
he'd built he'd built around that line: the corrugated Meridian store,
the Meridian cinema, its screen lifting from the floor
to reveal a boxing ring every Saturday night.
Then later, the Meridian Garage, with his taxis' headlights
shaking into the dark, sweeping across the bay.
Even the sign was his, with its arrows pointing each way
where tourists stood to have their photo taken, a foot each side,
where the future started and the present died.
And that's why , four daughters and a son later, when
his joints were as stiff as his oldest scissors, he went to London
and on his first morning there,
walked alone through the morning air
to Greenwich, to see at last where it all started.
To stand under a blue sky where the swallows darted:
an explorer discovering the source, the still point after the strife,
the first stitch in the pattern to which he cut his life.
Credits
Owen Sheers

Owen Sheers

About “Stitch in Time” by Owen Sheers

Read the complete lyrics to "Stitch in Time" by Owen Sheers from the album "Skirrid Hill". On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"Stitch in Time" is performed by Owen Sheers. from the album "Skirrid Hill" This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Stitch in Time", explore more songs by Owen Sheers using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Stitch in Time" is credited to Owen Sheers. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Stitch in Time" appears on "Skirrid Hill".

Visit the Owen Sheers artist page at /artist/owen-sheers for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.