Your Spirit Is a Work of Art
WHISPER
Please forgive me for my eager ways,
I am learning to be patient.
The ocean heeds to the pull of the moon;
I never was the type to be complacent.
Please forgive me for my beating heart,
You are free to go or stay.
Like the drum of the waves on the beach
I'll learn to dance with the cadence.
For you...
Only for you will I sing this song,
Only for you will the sandpiper pipe along,
And the orchestra will play on.
So keep playing on.
Please handle with care my fragile bones;
I am small and prone to breaking.
It takes gentle hands to love a woman
Who's faced the fight I'm facing.
Please be true to yourself above all else
Should your song for me grow cold.
I'm under no illusion,
I know I'm not easy to hold.
But for you...
Only for you will I sing this song,
Only for you will the sandpiper pipe along,
And the orchestra will play on.
So keep playing on.
Should we come to part,
by choice or circumstance.
You'll be in my melody,
In my song and in my dance.
Don't matter how far you run,
You will never be lost to me.
I've already won.
It is for you that I sing this song,
It is for you that the sandpiper pipes along,
And the orchestra will play on,
So keep playing on.
Only for you will the sun light the moon,
Only for you will the goldenrod bloom.
Tiny dancers will keep dancing on,
So keep dancing on.
Please don't worry for my breaking heart
When the time for your going comes;
Like the wind whispers through the willows,
You will be the whisper in my song.
ELIJAH
Oh Elijah, he's a man on the run.
Though lord knows what he's been running from.
Said he had a ticket to Redemption City;
He was just a little late to the gate at the train station.
Now I see him racing to the end of the tracks,
with the wind in his hair and the monsters at his back.
What he's looking for, I hope he finds it.
Oh Elijah…
You're a heart of gold.
They just don't realize.
They say he's wild as the rising sun,
shooting over horizon after horizon.
They say he's a straight shot burn, no chaser,
and I'm a whiskey shooting gambler for his love.
So if you see him racing to the end of the tracks
with a fire in his eye and the storm at his back,
would you tell him he's still on my mind?
Oh Elijah…
You're a heart of gold
in my eyes.
Oh Elijah, Elijah.
Oh Elijah, Elijah.
He's only loved a woman by the light of the moon;
When his scent is still fresh upon her skin,
that's when he's gonna get running.
So I'm gonna take me on a run for my money;
If love is a marathon, I don't wanna quit to soon.
I got my ticket to the sky,
and I'm calling shotgun when Elijah comes flying by.
One day I'm gonna meet him at the end of the tracks,
with the mud in my hair and all hell at my back.
He's gonna wonder, "How'd you find me?"
Oh Elijah…
Takes one to know one.
That's how I always knew
I'd find you down the line.
DAVID
David sat across from me, one cold November afternoon
The look in his eyes carried me to a place he once knew
Daddy left when he was four months old
Hasn't seen him since then, maybe when he's older
Lived in a shelter, mama worked a 15 hour day
So they wouldn't take her only baby away
Everywhere they moved, he was the new kid at school
The bullies and the brutes, they made sure that he knew
When mama tried to help, it only made the matter worse
When the bruises showed up darker the next day
So David learned to smile and say, “Mama, I'm okay”
David was a smart kid, he knew he had to do something
One day he rallied up the other bullied ones
Said, “there's strength in numbers, together we can fight this”
And they did, nobody's bothered those kids since
Thats how David learned to fight for justice
David joined to army out of high school
They taught him duty, honor, service, sacrifice
He painted crimson x's on the houses
As he counted up the casualties
Now there's things he saw that he just can't unsee
I know it hurts when he closes his eyes
Remembering the time he had to fight for his life
I wish theres something I could say to take the nightmares away
But I'll be here when he comes to
To prove there's life beyond these old bruises
And crimson x's on the doors
David sat across from me one cold November afternoon
Opened up his eyes, and he came to
And he says
“Sometimes it's gonna hurt when you close your eyes
Reliving the times you had to fight for your life
If there's nothing we can do but see each other through
I'll be here on the other side
To prove there's life beyond these old bruises
There's life beyond these old bruises
So open up you're eyes, 'cause you are home.”
DIGGIN’ FOR GOLD
Bet your bottom dollar
You're gonna pay an arm and a leg
Cashing in those chips
On that poker-faced man.
He plays a mean game.
You got the means to make it on your own.
Girl, don't you sell yourself so short.
You're a million bucks all on your own,
So why you diggin' for gold?
Why you diggin' for gold?
The ball is in your court.
When you gonna get back to the drawing board?
You been beating round the bush,
And sitting on the fence,
At his beck and call
At the drop of a hat.
You got the means to make it on your own.
Girl, don't you sell yourself so short.
You're a million bucks all on your own,
So why you diggin' for gold?
Why you diggin' for gold?
I'll give a penny for your thoughts,
A penny for your thoughts.
Just think about it.
He's gonna give you a run for your money, honey.
You bet on the wrong horse this time.
You got the means to make it on your own.
Girl, don't you sell yourself so short.
You're a million bucks all on your own,
So why you diggin' for gold?
Why you diggin' for gold?
A LITTLE GHOST STORY
(adaptation of “An Exchange of Feelings” by Paul Verlaine)
In an old park, deserted in the frost,
A ghost was reminiscing with a ghost.
In an old park, deserted in the frost,
I saw two shapes come drifting past.
He said, “Do you recall our ecstasy of long ago?”
She said, “Why stir the memory, why do you want to know?”
He said, “Oh lovely days of speechless happiness, when our eyes met.”
“Speechless,” she said, “Perhaps.”
He said, “How blue the skies, and oh, what hopes we had.”
She said, “Hope ran away defeated to the black sky.
Don't you remember? Don't you remember?”
In an old park, deserted in the frost,
A ghost was reminiscing with a ghost.
And their eyes have died, their lips become so weak
That you can hardly hear a word they speak.
I heard everything.
He said, “Do you recall our ecstasy of long ago?”
She said, “Why stir the memory, why do you want to know?”
He said, “Does you heart still beat at my name?
Do you still see my spirit in your dreams?”
She said, “No, never.”
So they walk on in the self-seeding grass
With only night to hear them as they pass,
And their eyes have died, their lips become so weak
That you can hardly hear a word they speak.
I heard everything.
BLACK MOUNTAIN
Black Mountain, North Carolina;
It's a long way from home.
Keep your melody in my pocket;
It's kind of like a good luck charm.
While I was driving down the freeway,
I saw lightening tear across the mountain peak.
It reminded me this world is wild;
It's as wild as you are free.
Traveling alone I always make myself at home;
This time I've been wishing you were next to me.
If I am a river always running on,
You're the skipping stone that ripples through my song.
In Virginia, I was far from lonely;
I shot the breeze with a local at the bar.
She said horses are really angels,
And the marrow in our bones is made of stars.
Up out on the stage my new friend Mitchell sang a song
For all the lonely hearts that have been lonely for so long.
It reminded me this world is broken;
It's as broken as our song.
Traveling alone I always make myself at home;
This time I've been wishing you were next to me.
If I am a swallow sailing on a hurricane,
You're the gentle breeze that brings me back home.
THE WISE OLD OWL
Black sheep, be my friend
All the animal kingdom is stuck in their heads
They line up for their fortunes and butter their bread
Oh what about me? Who gives a hoot?
When is it my turn to cry on a shoulder?
When is it my turn?
Black sheep, spare me your wool
Sew me a cardigan black as the night
So I'll blend with the darkness and hide from the light
Oh woe is me, but who gives a hoot!
When is it my turn to cry on a shoulder?
When is it my turn?
So he sings,
la da da de da, la da da da da
To empty skies
And he sings, la da da da da da dum
To cluttered ears
And he sings, he sings, he sings,
La da da da da, la da da da da dum
The wise old owl
Perches alone in the tree
And he's seen dark and he's seen light
And he watched you fall and he heard your plight
And he consoled the small and he humbled the mighty
But who here knows the owl's plight?
So he sings,
la da da de da, la da da da da
To empty skies
And he sings, la da da da da da dum
To cluttered ears
And he sings, he sings, he sings,
La da da da da, la da da da da dum
DON’T HARP ON IT
I walk across the Atlantic Sea,
Every time you sing your song to me.
I am a golden bird
Set loose from the ash and dust;
I rise for thee.
And I cannot unpaint your grace
From the canvas of my heart.
I see you in the banyan trees,
Rooted and risen through the fields and flora
Indigenous to me;
In the milkweed, in the wild orchid
You sing your song to me.
And I cannot unsee your face.
Don't harp on it, it is what it is.
You light my way by the strawberry moon,
You sing to me through the owl's croon.
You gave me electric life, like the power lines
Crawling over the old hillside
By the Quinebog.
And I cannot unpaint your grace
From the canvas of my heart.
And I cannot unsee your face.
Don't harp on it, it is what it is.
FICKLE BIRD
Oh fickle bird,
You have my heart wrapped round your tree.
Each day you're floating, never knowing
When you'll come back home to me.
My fickle bird,
he says he is my very own.
He sings of wedding rings
Although I've known him to make a vow.
My fickle bird
Flies at the whim of his beating wings.
Each day flying so far, so high
So as never to skim the ground.
Oh fickle bird,
Why so afraid to catch the fall?
Each day I'm waiting, patiently breaking
While you follow your fickle heart.
Oh fickle bird,
Look here: I will loosen my childish grip
Each day assuring you're free and soaring
As an untethered run away kite.
Fly high, fly free
Be who you want to be.
I'll be weeping with the willow tree.
NICE THINGS
I run in circles chasing fairytales and made-up
destinations that I never really cared for
That all the books and know-it-alls told me I was made for
Paying tuitions I was never really there for
Spent all your time expending paycheck after paycheck
And when its up you know you never really made love
To all the symphonies you'd meant to orchestrate, and
Now they're dulling all your pain with medications
This is why we can't have nice things
This is why, cuz we're fighting our feelings
This is why we're running against torrid winds
This is why we can't
Cuz you're so nice
Don't waste your life
Listening to those lies
You're too nice
Let's keep tracing dreams outside the boxes that they gave us
though they cut the take after our every deviation
& The drummer quit our band cuz he hates syncopation
I say ce la vie, I dig your weird, you're amazing
Maybe one day we'll have nice things
Maybe one day we'll stop fighting our feelings
Maybe one day we'll run wild with the torrid winds
Maybe one day they won't stop us
Cuz you're too nice
To waste your life
Listening to those lies
You're so nice
LITTLE SWALLOW
Breathe slow,
Belly deep.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Follow your own flow,
Take the leap.
Don't be discreet because your heart was made to beat, beat, beat.
Feel the life
Flooding through your veins.
That little swallow in your throat,
You've got to let it sing,
And all the brittle butterflies inside are fluttering;
So set it free.
See the diamond
In every stone.
See it shine, see it shine.
No matter the mountain you're climbing,
Whether you're dis-enthroned,
You're still divine, still divine.
Feel the life
Flooding through your veins.
That little swallow in your throat,
You've got to let it sing,
And all the brittle butterflies inside are fluttering;
So set it free.
But if you're gonna sing,
You gotta sing it out through the Milky Way,
And if you're gonna pray,
You gotta feel your faith like a new day,
If you gotta scream, then scream
And feel the life
Flooding through your veins.
That little swallow in your throat,
You've got to let it sing,
And all the brittle butterflies inside are fluttering;
So set it free.
Set it free.
Set it free.
Set it free.
FIREFLY
So long, sweet friend of mine.
Maybe we'll meet again sometime
Or maybe this is the end of the road.
We said hello and then goodbye.
We are born, one day we die.
I just didn't know when it would be your time to go.
I'm gonna catch your spirit in the jar of my heart
Least I can do is try.
Maybe you'll light my way long after we part
Just like a firefly.
Though now you're so far gone
The memory sings on:
We will always be king and queen of a junkyard heap.
From a billboard we look down
Over a sleeping town
Count our blessings as the clouds roll past like sheep.
I'm gonna catch your spirit in the jar of my heart
Least I can do is try.
Maybe you'll light my way long after we part
Just like a firefly.
Did the old oak keep secrets of our future foretold?
Whispering, "all you have is now.”
I see us walk down train tracks receding,
Counting down to the last day you looked in my eyes.
Did you know your spirit is a work of art
Painted on my canvas sky?
Maybe I'll see in color long after we part,
Maybe I can't say goodbye.
I'm gonna catch your spirit in the jar of my heart,
Least I can do is try.
Maybe you'll light my way long after we part
Just like a firefly.
Just like a firefly.
Just like a firefly.
AS YOU ARE
I don't care if you got a degree
I don't care if you work or live for free
What you weigh or what you wear
I am glad you are here at all
I don't care if your life's a mess or neat
I don't care what people say about you on the street
Or where you're coming from
I am glad you got to me at all
I do cherish you
As you are
I like the way that you sing in the rain
I like the way you can sit with the pain
Without trying to hide it, fade or fix it
The way you're glad that you feel anything at all
I like the way you go dancing with the trees
I like the way that you let the ecstasy
Fill the tips of your toes through your fingers through you bones
That way you're glad that you are anything at all
I do cherish you
As you are
Promise me that you'll dare to dream
Promise me that you'll risk everything
Lose it all to gain it back ten fold
You'll be glad that you had the chance at all
Promise me you'll see the beauty in the fall
Promise me you'll always stand back up real tall
That when you're feeling bruised, you won't let it make you cruel
You'll be glad that you made it at all
Promise me
You will cherish you
As you are
As you are, as you are, as you are
I do cherish you
As you are
Samadhi: Home Is Where You Are
WILDFIRE
(Poem by April D'Amato, set to music by Kala Farnham)
Awaken, I sigh
To love's warm, unexpected high
For you know as I do
On this day, there is nothing more to say
Your love is like a wildfire
Your passion takes me higher and higher
To a place I have never know
Could not achieve alone
Your love is like a wildfire
Keep burning on and on and on
Take me, I shout from the mountain
Never shut me out
If we fuel this fire, make it come alive
I believe we can survive
Your love is like a wildfire
Your passion takes me higher and higher
To a place I have never know
Could not achieve alone
Your love is like a wildfire
Keep burning on and on and on
Your love is like a wildfire
Spreading over me with passion's life
Taking me higher and higher
Your love is like a wildfire
Your passion takes me higher and higher
To a place I have never know
Could not achieve alone
Your love is like a wildfire
Your love is like a wildfire
Your passion takes me higher and higher
To a place I have never know
Could not achieve alone
Your love is like a wildfire
Keep burning on and on and on
QUAKER HILL
You moved into an apartment in the city
Where the rent is pretty cheap,
I hear the streets are pretty mean
You are surrounded by conspiracies and dreams
And I just don't know if I fit into that scene.
So sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
I'll come as far as Quaker Hill
The rest is on your end
Sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
Bend a little, won't you bend?
I've heard things about this place
The trouble runs amuck
I wouldn't count my blessings
Just knowing my luck
Losing you would be a knife to my heart
But I just don't feel at home in this town
So sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
I'll come as far as Quaker Hill
The rest is on your end
Sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
Bend a little, won't you bend?
All these years you've been here
Make it clear you're irreplaceable
All these roads we call our own
Make it known we can't stay here
So sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
I'll come as far as Quaker Hill
The rest is on your end
Sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
Bend a little, won't you bend?
So sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
I'll come as far as Quaker Hill
The rest is on your end
Sweet thing, won't you meet me half in?
Bend a little, won't you bend?
OLIVER JORDAN
Oliver Jordan lived on a small country farm
Oliver daydreamed of far away places
And wrote it all down in a song
He dreams of the day
When his name will be hanging in city lights
He dreams of the day
He can pack up his things and be gone
Oliver Jordan moved to New Orleans
Oliver Jordan was certain he'd find himself there
He sings “who am I?
I must wander the earth 'til I know.
I will sing my song 'til
The city sings back 'welcome home.'”
Oliver's lost in the city, he can't find his way
His songs don't belong
Anymore than the man from whom they came
He says “I'm a country man
Who had to move to the city to know.
I'm a folksinger at heart
And this road is gonna take me home.”
Oliver Jordan is back in the countryside now
He's poor and he's modest
He's quite sure he belongs here anyhow
His heart is full, and he sings for the people he knows
His heart is full.
LYRICAL LETTERS
Don't hush, don't you hush my darling
When the world leaves you worn and pained
Sing to me your heart's refrain
Just wrap it in a melody bouquet
And tuck it into the vase of my soul
My home is yours now
Write it out in lyrical letters
Sing to me cathartic melodies
My ears are peeled and ready
Flutes are singing
Euterpe's playing a symphony
Beating through my eardrum
Wherever we found ourselves
On tattered napkins, with leaky pen
We inscribed as she bid us
We wrapped it in a melody bouquet
And tucked it into the vase of our blossoming hearts
We wrote it out in lyrical letters
Singing out a cathartic melody
Flutes were singing
Euterpe played a symphony
Beating through our eardrums
Snatching letters from the sky
Let them land wherever they like
Letters, letters, lyrical letters
Dancing all around me
What a sight to see
Flutes are playing
The muses are singing their poetry
Whenever you're around me
So write it out in lyrical letters
Sing to me cathartic melodies
My ears are peeled and ready
Flutes are singing
Euterpe is playing your symphony
Beating through my eardrum
Don't hush, don't you hush my darling
Sing to me your heart's refrain
Just wrap it in a melody bouquet
And tuck it into the vase of my soul
My home is yours now
HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE
Through and through
I promise to honor you as you are
Through the turn of the tide
And the change of the season
And in your darkest night
I will point out the bright inside of you
And I will follow you to the ends of the earth
Because home, home is where you are
Because home, home is where you are
Through and through
I will not let you down
Through the wildfire
And every rebirth of our love
I will plant new seeds in soil of our hearts
And I will follow you to the ends of the earth
Because home, home is where you are
Because home, home is where you are
I'll look after me for you, I'll look after me
I'll look out for you through and through
Our love is a freedom from the chains of this earth
And I will follow you to the ends of the earth
Because home, home is where you are
Because home, home is where you are
Because home, home is where you are
WISHING CUP
I ordered a glass of your love on the rocks
But I drank up too slow, I was not fast enough
Watered down lover, sobering up
Leaves me craving a taste from our wishing cup
I laid in the grass at the bottom of the hill
Where I fell too fast and you had your fill
I was weighed down by baggage
You had enough of your own
Gravity is taunting me
Maybe I'm meant to be alone
Now you're painting impressions of my broken record heart
The song that I sing keeps skipping back to the start
What kind of muse were you looking for?
I run your brush dry and you're getting bored
I ordered a glass of your love on the rocks
But I drank up too slow and now I'm drinking alone
Watered down lover, sobering up
Leaves me craving a taste from our wishing cup
ONE WOMAN TRIBE
James was a magician
He tried to turn my flesh to gold
Said, "you're the prettiest thing I ever seen
Now won't you do as your told?"
I said "I don't take no direction
So get off your high hell horse
The only man I'm gonna follow
Is the Lord who leads me home"
I ain't no lost traveler
I know just what I do
They tried to take me from my highway
Tried to loosen my load
They tried to sell me in the city
Put a price tag on my heart
But I ain't no commodity
Ain't got no name for my worth
My darling died in mourning
From a broken heart disease
It was a fight to the death
But he could not kill the beast
He was the only man I ever loved
God rest his soul in peace
When they open up those pearly gates
Only then will I be free
I ain't no lost traveler
I know just what I do
They tried to take me from my highway
Tried to loosen my load
They tried to sell me in the city
Put a price tag on my heart
But I ain't no commodity
Ain't got no name for my worth
I am not your daughter
And I am not your wife
I don't need no captain
So leave me to my own devices
I'm as gentle as a kitten
I'm as hungry as a tiger
I have my own religion
I am a one woman tribe
I ain't no lost traveler
I know just what I do
They tried to take me from my highway
Tried to loosen my load
They tried to sell me in the city
Put a price tag on my heart
But I ain't no commodity
Ain't got no name for my worth
TINMAN
His eyes were mechanical
With a glint of reflection
His hands were tyrannical
Weld to an axe of corruption
His heart went missing
To the wicked witch of the west
So take your prescription
Of a placebo heart
Made of sawdust and velvet
A wizard's work of art
It'll serve you well
If you believe in the stuff
He set out on a mission
To recover his heart
There's no place like home
When your dreams fall apart
He set out on a mission
To recover his love
Welcome to the Emerald City
Where dreams turn to dust
Now there's rust rust rust
In his knees
Now there's rust rust rust
In his teeth
Now there's rust rust rust
Every time he cries
For Amee
Choptyf took his limbs away
Choptyf took his love to stay
Married in a flesh and blood wedding
And he cries, he cries, he cries
He set out on a mission
To recover his heart
There's no place like home
When your dreams fall apart
He set out on a mission
To recover his love
Welcome to the Emerald City
Where dreams turn to dust
SAPPHO'S LAMENT
(Poem by Sappho, set to music by Kala Farnham)
Girls, you be ardent for the fragrant-blossomed
Muses’ lovely gifts, for the clear melodious lyre:
But now old age has seized my tender body,
Now my hair is white, and no longer dark.
My heart’s heavy, my legs won’t support me,
That once were fleet as fawns, in the dance.
I grieve often for my state; what can I do?
Being human, there’s no way not to grow old.
My heart’s heavy, my legs won’t support me,
That once were fleet as fawns, in the dance.
I grieve often for my state; what can I do?
Being human, there’s no way not to grow old.
Rosy-armed Dawn, they say, love-smitten,
Once carried Tithonus off to the world’s end:
Handsome and young he was then, yet at last
Grey age caught that spouse of an immortal wife.
My heart’s heavy, my legs won’t support me,
That once were fleet as fawns, in the dance.
I grieve often for my state; what can I do?
Being human, there’s no way not to grow old.
The Moon is down,
The Pleiades. Midnight,
The hours flow on,
I lie, alone.
THE HILL
We climbed up a hill;
the trees weren't offended,
the trees didn't care.
We sat in the sun
and swallowed the silence;
the taste of the air was quite fair.
And I felt like a martyr there;
I would die for this.
The trees told me
that you had been there before,
but I knew;
you seemed so natural.
We climbed up a hill;
the breeze didn't stop us,
no, we were quite welcome.
The golden needles felt like a carpet,
and the tall tree caressed us,
and we didn't speak.
We stared up at the branches;
they seemed so superior,
tangled in their lofty haven.
And I hesitate to communicate,
but I'm aware and awake,
and I'm ready to take it:
Whatever we have to say or not say.
I'm afraid and at the same time,
I'm completely un-scared.
Here, everything winds up beautiful,
No matter the connotations they take in society.
So sing with me
and tell me you understand, my friend.
The silence says it best,
though the music says it well.
Let's take us here again.
AGAIN
Lyrics:
He said he'd leave me yesterday
if I took my music on the road.
It's a hard choice to make,
between love and the purpose that you take.
I'm a mess in my head
knowing if I let him go
my heart just might wind up dead.
WillI I love again?
Would I love someone again?
Would I have the courage?
I see it all play out in my head:
I see him send me out the door
of the house we made a home this year.
I see his new lover with a ring
She's all smiles and new romance
and all ready for the wedding
and the kids.
Would I trust again
if he goes from me?
Would I lose my inspiration
if my heart cannot beat?
I can feel it calling in the air,
my purpose is clear;
but why must I choose
between love
and the life that I pursue?
Why must I choose?
Would I love again,
if he goes from me?
Would I lose my inspiration
if my heart cannot beat?
I can feel it calling in the air,
my purpose is clear;
but why must I choose
between love
and the life that I pursue?
Why must I choose
between love
and the life that I pursue?
WILD SOUL
Back in the summertime, love was a friend of mine
But come the winter snow
I closed my tired eyes and left my love to die
We lived in Carolina; my love was warm and shining
We had the best of times, but now she's down below
And I've a frozen landscape of my soul
O darling, rest your pretty head
I never said I could attest
We wouldn't wind up with this mess
Or that I was going to keep you by my side
Walked up the hillside to ease my troubled mind
Claim back my wild side
But I am lost and alone without her by my side
I am a wild soul, I've got nowhere I plan to go
I'll take my bag of bones and saturate this soul
Take this heavy heart
And find my own peace, I'm coming home
Without her pretty smile
I'll face this cold heavy something on my own
I am a wild soul
O darling, rest your pretty head
I never said I could attest
We wouldn't wind up with this mess
Or that I was going to keep you by my side
UNLEASHED (EMMA'S LULLABY)
She waits by the door every day at four
Eyes lit up like reflections of the sun
She's inpatient, toes all twitching
Each day waiting for her master to come home
Warm heart, full belly
Laugh hard, get ready
Set, go
And run to the end of your leash
Til all love is unleashed
Ears perk up at the car door slamming
And I can see her wagging her tail through the window
Long day done, she reminds me that there's always time for fun
And there's always room for love
Warm heart, full belly
Laugh hard, get ready
Set, go
And run to the end of your leash
Til all love is unleashed
Run, run, run
Til all love is unleashed
Run, run, run
Til all love is unleashed
Run, run
Run, run
Til all love is unleashed
SIMPLE GIFTS
(traditional)
Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free
'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
The Earth is our mother and the fullness thereof,
Her streets, her slums, as well as stars above.
Salvation is here where we laugh, where we cry,
Where we seek and love, where we live and die.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.
Anahata: Wake Up Your Heart
NAKED HONEST
I think about it all the time,
and in my mind I know that
Communication is the key
for you and me, for you -
For me it's getting better all the time,
and I hope that you agree
it's getting better all the time,
after all this time we've tried.
I will lay me down for you,
Naked honest.
I will lay me down for you.
I know we've got an honest understanding.
I think of all the turns we took,
From good to bad and back again.
We always seemed a little out of touch back then.
Well I taught you how to listen,
and you taught me how to speak,
and I can see that love ain't easy,
but it's sure a whole lot clearer now.
I will lay me down for you,
Naked honest.
I will lay me down for you.
I know we've got an honest understanding.
Hold on, it's gonna be a long ride.
Talk to me, and it'll be all right.
Hold on, it's gonna be a long ride.
Talk to me, and it'll be all right.
I will lay me down for you,
naked honest.
I will lay me down for you.
I know we've got an honest understanding.
WAKE UP YOUR HEART
You wake up your heart
To another long day without her
The apple of your eye
Fell into the hands of another
What could be worse?
She doesn't see you like we do
You could be loved
You're on a runaway dream to nowhere
You always say there's no time
You pay no mind to love
You hide inside your busy life
God forbid somebody treated you right
You'd run and hide away
He hides behind his microscopes
Calculating all the answers
In the name of science
Psychoanalysis and diagnoses
And I do the same thing
So I get it
I think I could be a friend
If he let me in
You always say there's no time
You pay no mind to love
You hide inside your busy life
God forbid somebody treated you right
You'd run and hide
And I surmise
You don't know the love you're worth
I've got you pegged as a dismissive-avoidant
Your heart's been rejected
And all these excuses protect it
When will you wake up your heart
To how loved you are?
You always say there's no time
You pay no mind to love
You hide inside your busy life
God forbid somebody treated you right
You'd run and hide
And I surmise
You don't know the love you're worth
When you gonna wake up your heart
To the love you deserve?
When you gonna wake up your heart
To the love that you're worth?
Do you know what you're worth?
Do you know what you're worth?
NIANTIC BAY
I walked down Niantic Bay
Crossed over the boardwalk
Where I found my faith awakening
Bidding me to leap again
There I found my love awaiting
By the sea we bared our souls
Now I return to find the reason
Why the seasons come and go
First I pray for clarity
I should know, I should know, I should know
Next I pray for resiliency
To let this go, let this go
I pray for time
Of which there is no guarantee
I pray that faith return to me
I have come to hear the laughter
Of the children innocent with hope
I have come to hear the whisper
Of the ancient winds
They bring me home
First I pray for clarity
I should know, I should know, I should know
Next I pray for resiliency
To let this go, let this go
I pray for time
Of which there is no guarantee
I pray that faith return to me
I have calculated answers
But science cannot rescue me
Now I return to find my spirit
Buried by the tossing sea
First I pray for clarity
I should know, I should know, I should know
Next I pray for resiliency
To let this go, let this go
I pray for time
Of which there is no guarantee
I pray that faith return to me
SONGBIRD
He lives his life in a prison;
his feathers, emerald green.
And he tries to figure out
what his life is all about -
just as he sings himself to sleep.
He watches the people passing
in all their glamour and pride.
And he loses track of time,
and he sings when he gets tired of it all.
And they smile.
They smile.
I try to figure out how he does it,
'cause here in my prison
I am apathy and black and white.
Try to keep my passion bright,
but I'm tired.
I'm tired.
I sing my song in the city,
where the songbirds don't fly,
and I tell the tale alone.
I'm so far away from home.
I wanna sing for the songbird
'til I die.
'til I die.
SINGIN' ALONG (SPARROW'S SONG)
When you sing your tune, I pretend
I'm the girl that's on the other end
I wanna be your sweet little thing
I want you to myself my friend
Skin to bone and bone to marrow
Oh, you're sinking deeper
Permeating my soul
And I keep going back, love
Backing up in my tracks, love
Backtrack to your love for me
You poured it out in a song
You poured it out in a song
And I keep going back, love
Picking up all the slack, love
Listen up, it was you all along
And now I'm singin' along
I'm singin' along
Through my eyes, into my head
Over my heels, straight to my chest
Is beating for you take away my breath
And I keep going back, love
Backing up in my tracks, love
Backtrack to your love for me
You poured it out in a song
You poured it out in a song
And I keep going back, love
Picking up all the slack, love
Listen up, it was you all along
And now I'm singin' along
I'm singin' along
Skin to bone and bone to marrow
I'm the swallow, you're the sparrow
Through the window of my spirit
Flutter in my heart
I hear it murmur a secret song
And I keep going back, love
Backing up in my tracks, love
Backtrack to your love for me
You poured it out in a song
You poured it out in a song
And I keep going back, love
Picking up all the slack, love
Listen up, it was you all along
And now I'm singin' along
I'm singin' along
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
(Traditional)
There is a house in New Orleans
It's called the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and a trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
So mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your days in sin and misery
In the house of the rising sun
I got one foot on the platform
And the other on the train
I'm going back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
There is a house in New Orleans
It's called the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God, I know I'm one
PENCIL & INK
I sat down by the lake
Within my hands, an empty page
I traced his face in pencil and ink
My hands are shaken
The shading is off
And it seeps through the page
And it seeps into my song
I draw highlights around his eyes
I draw emphasis to his smile
I draw attention to all the details
But to this man I fear my art cannot compare
We synchronize to the rhythm of the drum
And I feel harmony, and I begin to sing along
Then I start to wonder as the melody soars
Will we sing on from here?
I implore my hope to lie composed
Contain my fervency, wherein it grows
I speak in tongues both tried and true
But though I falter my friend
This song I made for you
And come September, what will I be left with?
Will he forget me, will he forget this?
And in his wake will time reveal
That there is more to this?
Or have we reached the end?
Am I too late again?
Do I even have a chance?
I sit down by the bay
I catch my breath, and begin to play
And through my hands
The melody races
The melody races
BY YOUR SIDE
It's hard to walk away
You put me in my place beside you
But she's on your mind
I am the sunset behind you
And you're driving away
And I'm fading
There's something wrong here
I do not belong here
By your side, by your side
You closed the door four months ago
It's hard to say
But it's okay if you leave me
Never to come home
I like the way
We had a fairytale story
And left it half way
And we're fading
There's something wrong here
I do not belong here
By your side, by your side
You closed the door four months ago
It's hard to walk away
You put me in my place
But you are a dark desert island
And I can't stay
There's something wrong here
I do not belong here
There's something wrong here
I do not belong here
By your side, by your side
You closed the door four months ago
MON CHER
Mon cher, my dear...
When I saw you I knew.
Je savais.
Mon cher, my dear,
when I saw you...
quand je t'ai vu, I knew
Je chante l'amour vrai;
For you I've waited all along.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
I found you,
After all these years.
Mon cher doux ami, je t'adore.
You are so gentle
with my heart, body, and soul.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
I found you,
After all these years.
Je sais,
je vois dans tes yeux;
I see in your eyes I am home.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
Quand je t'ai vu,
j'ai trouvé mon avenir.
I found you,
I found you,
I found you,
After all these years.
RUTHLESS
I met a man from across the sea
He was a sweet-talk charmer and a stouthearted stallion
Tied at the hip to his whiskey and his gun
He knew how to love and fight like a jagged knife
He had a fistful of her lover last night
It's standard protocol for a soldier
It ain't over 'til it's over and out
Oooo
The ruthless brute
All I could do was hold my breath
And pray, pray, pray for the man
I said "Stop"
I said "Don't"
I said "Please go"
By God, he don't hear a thing, no
He's a feral beast, he is a predator
Looks like a prince 'til you let him down
Then you better get out
Oooo
The ruthless brute
All I could do was hold my breath
And pray, pray, pray for the man
I met a man from across the sea
He was a sweet-talk charmer with a gun up his sleeve
All I could do was hold my breath
And pray, pray, pray
Oooo
The ruthless brute
All I could do was hold my breath
And pray, pray, pray...
LA COUPE
La coupe e le levres
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup and a lip.
La coupe e le levres
A slip, a slip, a slip of cup and lip.
Just watch the words that come out of those lips.
Don't say that you will love me if you don't know yet.
Ooh, I am not saying that you have to know
just what the future brings.
Just know that we might slip.
So don't go making promises.
La coupe e le levres
Lip to cup, but can you take the sip?
La coupe e le levres
A slip, a slip, a slip of cup and lip.
Just watch the words that come out of those lips.
Don't say that you will love me if you don't know yet.
O-oh, I am not saying that you have to know
just what the future brings.
Just know that we might slip.
So don't go making promises.
Just watch the words
that come out of those pretty lips.
Don't say that you will love me
if you don't know yet.
Just watch the words that come out of those lips.
Don't say that you will love me if you don't know yet.
O-oh, I am not saying that you have to know
just what the future brings.
Just know that we might slip.
So don't go making promises.
ANAM CARA
I promise to keep it silent;
A heart unrequited and quiet.
I had the best of times;
He opened up my eyes
and taught me to reach higher.
Míle buíochas, anam cara.
I have a bright sky horizon;
I have a light deep inside me.
Love is by nature pure and kind
and I am inspired
and I will make the best of it.
My soul is growing lighter.
Míle buíochas, anam cara.
Míle buíochas, anam cara.
If it was my choice to make,
I'd finally break this wall of silence.
My heart is growing wider.
I'm learning to reach higher.
Míle buíochas, cara.
Míle buíochas, anam cara.
Words cannot change this;
it is what it is.
So I am just grateful
that I was a part of it.
MAITRI
It comes in all shapes and sizes,
and it is multi-dimensional.
It is the song of the faithful.
What is love, you ask?
It knows no greed, no need for consequence.
It pays no heed to all-or-nothings.
It is at peace and ever thankful,
come what comes to be.
Maitri.
Karuna.
To you I give my true love.
Maitri.
Mudita.
For you I saved my heart.
I believe you are my kin.
I believe your blood is running through my veins.
I believe all the miles between us mean nothing.
Maitri.
Karuna.
To you I give my true love.
Maitri.
Mudita.
For you I saved my heart.
Just take my love.
However far you go,
you can count on me.
Just take my love;
I don't need anything in return.
I don't need anything in return.
Just take my love.
Maitri.
Karuna.
To you I give my true love.
Maitri.
Mudita.
For you I saved my heart.
Just take my love.