Dm The night sets softly F Dm With the hush of falling le-e-eaves, Casting shivering shadows C On the houses through the trees, Dm And the light from a street lamp F Dm Paints a pattern on my wa-a-all, C Like the pieces of a puzzle Bb C Dm Or a child's uneven scrawl Dm Up a narrow flight of stairs F Dm In a narrow little ro-o-oom, As I lie upon my bed C In the early evening gloom. Dm Impaled on my wall F Dm My eyes can dimly se-e-e C The pattern of my life Bb C Dm And the puzzle that is me. Dm From the moment of my birth F Dm To the instant of my de-e-eath, There are Patterns I must follow C Just as I must breathe each breath. Dm Like a rat in a maze F Dm The path before me li-i-ies, C And the pattern never alters Bb C Dm Until the rat dies. Dm And the pattern still remains F Dm On the wall where darkness fe-e-ell, And it's fitting that it should, C For in darknesss I must dwell. Dm Like the color of my skin, F Dm Or the day that I grow o-o-o-old, C My life is made of Patterns Bb C Dm That can scarcely be controlled.