The Floating World (2002) |

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DISC I
1.    THE ROCK
2.    GROUNDHOG BLUES
3.    (AIN’T NO) GETTIN’ OVER YOU
4.    WHEN I GET THROUGH
5.    THE VOICE
6.    TRUE AND BEAUTIFUL
7.    HANGIN’ ON
8.    EPISTLE TO THE DEMOLITION CREW
9.    HYMN
10.    SPECIAL PLACE
11.    GOOD TIME JOE
12.    TAKE CARE OUT THERE
13.    MAN ENOUGH
14.    HER SONG
15.    ALWAYS SOMETHING MORE TO BEHOLD IN YOUR LOVE
16.    BORDERLINE TOWN

DISC II
1.    PRIME OF LIFE
2.    OUTSIDER
3.    DRIFT AWAY
4.    DREAMS OF A RIDICULOUS MAN
5.    LONG LONESOME NIGHT
6.    TWO HEARTS
7.    OH MY LOVE
8.    WHY
9.    REALLY LOVE
10.    YOU MAKE IT EASY

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DISC I

THE ROCK

Got my head on straight and nothin’s gonna shake me
You’re welcome to try if you think you’re gonna break me
’Cause I’ve been through the mill and I’m here to say
Nothin’in the world’s gonna make me fade away
I’m bolted to the rock, a hundred and ten percent dedicated to love

Been up to the mountain, been out to the coast
Followin’ the faith of the promises of ghosts
But I had the scum cleaned from my eyes to see
Your pricetags and your labels don’t mean nothin’ to me
I’m bolted to the rock, a hundred and ten percent dedicated to love

I talk to the president, he says “We gotta write another law”
I talk to the policeman, he says “Won’t you stand up against the wall?”
I talk to the reverend, he says “Don’t tell anyone what you saw,
This could start another war!”

I don’t live for your approval or to be a millionaire
I ain’t livin’ for the weekend or brand new frigidaire
I’m livin’ by faith, you know the kind I mean
The kind that moves a mountain and can separate a sea
I’m bolted to the rock, a hundred and ten percent dedicated to love

I talk to the president, he says “We gotta write another law”
I talk to the businessman, he says “We can make off with quite a haul”
I talk to the policeman, he says “Don’t tell anyone what you saw,
This could start another war!”

You got people’s approval if you keep’em entertained
Talk about what’s real and they act like you’re insane
Hit you with their shame, fill you with their fear
I don’t wanna be aloof, so I try and persevere
But I’m bolted to the rock, a hundred and ten percent dedicated to love

Tryin’ to move a mountain one pebble at a time
Goin’ around in circles, tryin’ to walk the line
Livin’ fifty lifetimes in a single day
Talkin’ Japanese in the heart of Paraguay
I’m bolted to the rock, a hundred and ten percent dedicated to love

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

GROUNDHOG BLUES

Some people get lost in the darkness
Some people get lost in daylight
Me I got lost in a glimpse of your love
And I hope to remain out of sight

I hope no-one comes lookin’ for me
I don’t trust myself to be polite
I’m out here tryin’ to build wings
I don’t have time for these things
Honey, tell’em I’m gone for the night

I’m tired of all this nothin’ for somethin’
Sick of the ol’ runaround
Tryin’ to earn the respect
Or collect a paycheque
From some crook on the wrong side of town
I’ve seen all the city can offer
And I know all the tricks it can play
I’ve seen all the ploys
Of the girls and the boys
Makin’ life harder to live each day

Sometimes you wake up and find you been dreamin’
Sometimes in a dream you are oddly aware
Sometimes you find yourself caught
In places you never thought you’d be
And can’t recall how you got there

I once knew a man who died quickly
I knew another who died bit by bit
I know many who stayed till they faded away
And never even realized it

But hope sometimes comes from strange places
It appears when you expect it least
It’s somewhere off the stage
Past the cramped sticky cage
We erect in the midst of this feast

I held out my hand for the rain
That no-one believed would come down
I waited four days or more
By the fifth day it poured
By the sixth I swear I nearly drowned

Still I’m not gonna argue with strangers
I never did get this world anyhow
Where forces unknown
Are attempting to clone
More of what no-one looks after now

I’m just tryin’ to reach up to Heaven
Stayin’ one step ahead of my need
Stayin’ clear of our pals
And their calm rationales
For murder and torture and greed

No I don’t get too shocked or excited
’Bout any new deals that get handed down
Got so little invested,
Why should I get arrested
By the latest “Sieg heil!” shoutin’ clown?

Pardon me if I’m not fascinated
About the outcome of your race
It’s all fixed anyhow,
I’m in a different world now
That hangs suspended from a child’s shoelace

My veins keep rejecting this pipeline
Of poisonous gossip and buzz
Hey there, good neighbour
Won’t you do me the favour
Of forgettin’ that I ever was?

Some people get lost in the darkness
Some people get lost in daylight
Me I got lost in a glimpse of your love
And I hope to remain out of sight

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(AIN’T NO) GETTIN’ OVER YOU

Well there ain’t no gettin’ over you
Because there ain’t no-one who can do the things you do
You got no real competitors, it’s true
You’re gonna conquer me because I want you to

There ain’t no way to live this down
Got to live up to this thing that’s pullin’ me around
I can’t escape it, might as well make friends with it, I’ve found
It only wants what’s best for me, that’s why I’m always trouble-bound

I’ve been a puppet and a poet
And by now you’d think I’d know it
You got me dead to rights
I’ve been a painter and a pirate
You’re the one that did inspire it
You keep turnin’ on the lights

There ain’t no way I’ll ever let you out
Got you tattooed upon my soul without a doubt
Anytime I sit down and try and think of what it’s all about
Your name comes up sometime before the lights go out

There ain’t no gettin’ ’round the fact
I’m a believer and you caught me in the act
I’m a deserter, and I’m never goin’ back
I’m gonna follow you all the way down the track

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

WHEN I GET THROUGH

When I get through all of this trouble
And it disappears like it’s a bubble
See the city of sadness fall into rubble
When I get through, when I get through

When I get through all this agonizin’
About what is or isn’t on the horizon
There’s gonna be a fire, the flames’ll be risin’
When I get through, when I get through

When I get through all these hidden detours
I’m gonna have a new heart and it’s gonna be yours
You’re gonna see a few things that you never seen before
When I get through, when I get through

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

THE VOICE

I went lookin’ for my voice in a strange and haunted place
Far beyond the common courtroom where so many plead their case
Where football players never venture and the few know all-too-well
Where the flower of truth is growin’ surrounded by the fires of hell

Or so I believed it did, and so it did for me
Next time I’ll have to look into these things more carefully
Where the only faithful heart is resting in intensive care
Where the only love you can lean upon is nowhere and everywhere

Where the only words to live by have been uttered by the mouth
Of the head upon the chopping block before the axeman snuffs it out
By the toxic waste dump some refer to as society
Excreted by the corporate bowels on shores of accepted insanity

When in amongst the tumult, like a cricket in the wind
I heard a sound besmirch the air, I heard it once again
And though I knew not where it came from,
nor the words that had been said
I heard the voice around me, and I was comforted

Far beyond the starlit meadows, far beyond the moonswept field
Behind the beauty of the wild where more beauty is concealed
In the blood red womb of the rose where the universe is born
I stumbled to the armpit of the city, all fractured and forlorn

Where the father’s chair is empty, where the hero’s crown’s unworn
Where the only useful savior’s crucified or drowned in scorn
By the unprotected orphans, by abuse forever linked
Whose justice is delayed, then rendered finally extinct

By the billboard execution, by the soundbite masquerade
In the economy of suffering where progress is always bein’ made
By the sacred paycheque martyrs bled and fed into the mouth
Of the machinery of drudgery, then hastily spat out

On bleak commercial shores where children raised up by neglect
Get sold out at shopping malls where prejudice and power intersect
When in amongst the tumult I heard it once again
As big and wide as the tidal wave we all were swimmin’ in

Something like the sound of love behind the trembling of the sky
That seemed to see exactly where we were hangin’ and knew why
And though I knew not where it came form nor the words that had been said
I heard the voice around me, and I was comforted

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

TRUE AND BEAUTIFUL

True and beautiful
That’s what you are to me
True and beautiful,
Like an old oak tree
On a hilltop, with the sun shinin’ through
The branches blowin’ wild and free
True and beautiful
That’s what you are to me

Rare and magical
You took me by surprise
Like a shooting star on a pitch black night,
Like lightning in the summer skies
Or an unexpected garden
That suddenly appears before your eyes
Rare and magical
You took me by surprise

True and beautiful
That’s what you are to me
Like an icy stream in the wintertime,
Like an old oak tree
On a hilltop, with the sun shinin’ through
The branches blowin’ wild and free
True and beautiful
That’s what you are to me

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HANGIN’ ON

I’m hangin’ on by the kin of my teeth
Hangin’ on while alligators snap beneath
In the middle of the night, when everybody’s gone
I’m at the very end of my rope but I’m hangin’ on

I’m hangin’ on by the dust on my fingers
Hangin’ on like an ol’ blues singer
When the party’s over and the shutters are drawn
I’m at the very end of my rope but I’m hangin’ on

Everybody says “Who’s that guy up there?”
I said “Don’t worry baby, I’ll be back when I got something to share”
’Cause this old world can thin you out
Capsize your little boat upon the waters of doubt

I’m hangin’ on to a vision of Heaven
Hangin’ on, twenty-four seven
For a glimpse of the spring and a hint of the dawn
I’m at the very end of my rope but I’m hangin’ on

Sittin’ in the basement, starin’ at the wall
“I’m sorry did someone say something?” “No, nobody at all”
Waitin’ for some kinda special bell to ring
Hopin’ that when it comes you’ll be able to tell if it’s the real thing

I’m hangin’ on in a blizzard of hatred
Hangin’ on, but I think I’m gonna make it
Like a wind-up doll or an automoton
I’m at the very end of my rope but I’m hangin’ on

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EPISTLE TO THE DEMOLITION CREW

The honourable minister got caught sellin’
Secrets in a canister, slidin’ down the banister
Cultivatin’ blisters with somebody ’s sister
But the news ain’t new, it’s just sad and sinister

I don’t care, I just wanna spend my time with you
Love to see the things you do

The multicorporation got caught
Dumpin’ contamination in a conservation area
Characters from the Book of Revelation
Tryin’ to chew a hole through somebody’s basement

I don’t care, I just wanna spend my time with you
Love to see the things you do

Well I never ever know what you’re gonna do next
Never get a chance, never get a chance to take a rest
Could be sittin’ in a multilane car wreck,
I’d still feel blessed

Nike’s, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s
All got together to solve the world’s problems
A new theme park with a simulated rain forest
Free life jackets for the comin’ global warmin’

But I don’t care, I just wanna spend my time with you
Love to see the things you do

Well I never ever know what you’re gonna do next
Never get a chance, never get a chance to take a rest
Could be sittin’ in a multilane car wreck,
I’d still feel blessed

The honourable minister got caught sellin’
Secrets in a canister, slidin’ down the banister
Cultivatin’ blisters with somebody’s sister
But the news ain’t new, it’s just sad and sinister

I don’t care, I just wanna spend my time with you
Love to see the things you do

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HYMN

You’re always in our minds, your always in our hearts
No ocean, sea, or mountain could ever keep apart
The soul from its creator where the two are gathered here
Led on by their desire form the broken homes of fear

Your gentleness more mighty than
Any force or fortress devised by man
The rifles fire, the cannons blow
But all for naught where your tiger lilies grow

You’re in the smoky haze of the burning stakes
You’re with the angels that hover ’round till the babe awakes
You’re in the desolated cities, on the bruised and beaten streets
Where the underdog and the scapegoats meet

Your slightest touch undoes the binds
On these souls in torment, these medicated minds
Let the meek heart dance, let the grass grow o’er
These blood drenched fields, let the caged bird soar

From the isolated mansion to hovels where all hope’s run out
Where the silver spoon’s exchanged for a revolver in the mouth
Let one moment of your grace undo the centuries of scorn
Here where the children still are waiting, where the foal’s still newly born

I can’t see the wind, but I can feel it blow
Let me read the sign, let my spirit know
In the slipstream of events let me never lose the trail
Let the kindness of the dewdrops on green spring leaves never fail

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

SPECIAL PLACE

Come along with me, my mademoiselle
Though your face is hidden I know you well
I remember you since you were born
In a one horse town with no blinders on

You’ve seen how ugly things can get
Worst part of is, you know it’s not over yet
But I know your sign and I know your name
Last thing that you’re lookin’ for is more of the same

(Chorus:) I want to take you into that special place
And we’ll disappear without a single trace
We’ll soar above this world and never leave the ground
Then lightly touch back without makin’ a sound
In that special place, that special place

You know who I am; I’m just like you
And I love and I hate all the same things as you do
I’ve had enough of plans, without any about
That look so good on paper but never work out

I used to work a job, but then I snapped
One day you’re in the book, the next you’re off the map
But that’s what happens to a life when it’s lived on the square
It’s like money in the bank, it just sits there

Now the well’s gone dry as a dead man’s dust
But it doesn’t really matter since the pump went bust
There’s a different kind of thirst I see in your eyes
Different kind of love we share beneath the disguise

I’ve read your heart like an open book
Fryin’ pan or fire, we’re gonna get cooked
The end won’t hesitate a single minute
Let’s make our bed, let’s lie in it

And you’re gonna take me into that special place…

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

GOOD TIME JOE

His loneliness covered him up like a cloud
And it followed him everywhere he went
And you were never sure just exactly what you’d find
In the very center of it –
A hand raised in hatred, a hand raised in love
And no-one was more surprised than he
In the very moment when your most trusted friend
Suddenly became your worst enemy

Let’s have another drink for Good Time Joe
He would drink to you, you know
He could always be depended on
To let you down whenever times were tough
And he could always be depended on
To drag you down into some new fresh hole he dug
Not a word of excuse, and no apology,
And no acknowledgment of pain That wouldn’t be his style – just a sheepish smile
As he does it again and again and again

Let’s have another drink for Good Time Joe
He would drink to you, you know

I can see him now, driftin’ through all the ruined lives
A trail of disappointment in his wake
Goin’ for the easy laugh, goin’ for the big finish
Goin’ for the hearty handshake
He’s everybody’s friend, he’s a real man’s man
The party doesn’t stop till he appears
Can’t you see him dancin’ now, with his lampshade on his brow
Until he starts cryin’ in his beer?

Let’s have another drink for Good Time Joe
He would drink to you, you know

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

TAKE CARE OUT THERE

You better take care out there
’Cause you got somethin’ that is so worth preservin’
You could travel anywhere
And never find another gem so deservin’
Of your care
Take care out there

You better just slow down now
Because I’ve heard these roads are precarious
I don’t like to lay the law down
But that’s my very heart you’re carryin’
Around
Better slow down now

This highway’s haunted
And I knew it from the day I got on
Half the time we can’t wait until it’s over
Then we’re wonderin’ where it’s all gone

So you better step carefully
Here where despair is growin’ like a cancer
Many go down so willingly
You can too, but if you do you’ll have to answer
To me
Step carefully

The woods are full of intruders
And invaders of the soul
What some might see as a cause for ecstasy
Becomes another chance to exercise control

So you better take care out there
’cause what you got is no mere possession
That you could replace anywhere
But it’s a miracle so precious
So rare
Take care out there

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

MAN ENOUGH

Am I man enough to do what needs to be done?
Am I man enough to fight the battle till the battle’s won?
Am I man enough to stand
With my family hand in hand?
Am I man enough not to be a man?

Am I man enough to stick it out and take a chance?
Am I man enough to retreat when they tell me to advance?
Am I man enough to do the job for which I been selected
To stand up for a woman when a woman’s disrespected?
Am I man enough to know how it’s all connected?

It’s easy enough to say that nothin’s broke
It’s easy enough to tell another joke
It’s easy enough until you start to choke
Upon the words before they even leave your mouth
Am I man enough to tell the north from the south?

It’s easy enough to go and join the herd
And follow along without a single word
It’s easy enough to be a mockingbird
And sing along with whatever tune they’re playin’
Am I man enough to hear what my heart is sayin’?

Am I man enough to be open to the pain in the night?
Am I man enough to believe when the truth is out of sight?
Am I man enough to see,
Not be blinded by the dogma of some false philosophy?
Am I man enough to be who God created me to be?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HER SONG

She’s just a little one
With a face like the morning sun
And she’s changing my world as she plays in the garden

Lookin’ up with two trusting eyes
Bright and clear as the summer skies
She takes my hand and she leads me away

And I follow behind
Scarcely believing my ears and my eyes

She takes me to that special place
Where grief and sorrow never show their face
And everything’s fresh and new as the day of creation

In a land of laughter, joy and play
Where past and future both fade away
She returns me to all I’d misplaced and forgotten

And I follow behind
Scarcely believing my ears and my eyes Lord thanks for this precious day
Lord thanks for this blessed change
Lord thanks for the way she’s uncovered my heart

She’s just a little one
With a face like the morning sun
And she’s changing my world as she plays in the garden

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ALWAYS SOMETHING MORE TO BEHOLD IN YOUR LOVE

Passin’ through this dreadful time
I’m almost grateful for the troubles we’ve known
Revealing strength we never knew we had
And sides of life that might have never been shown

And there’s always something more to behold in your love

I cast my mind back in amnesia trance
To where I wore my affliction like a crown
Behind a mask, crippled by the pain
I could not carry and I could not lay down

And there’s always something more to behold in your love

The sparrow swims in waves of mercy
That we once mistook for air
Gathering his bits of twine and twig
He never doubts that what he needs will be there

And there’s always something more to behold in your love

And if the wound did not last forever
And if we didn’t pass away as we speak
And if the fall was never neverending
I’d say you’re right, nothing matters, don’t bother to seek

But there’s always something more to behold in your love

The road’s as narrow as a tightrope
The sun’s as focused as a laser beam
Our hands are empty as an executioner’s eye
Spend all day tryin’ to figure out what’s real and what’s a dream

But there’s always something more to behold in your love

Passin’ through this dreadful time
I’m almost grateful for the trouble we’ve known
Revealing strength we never knew we had
And sides of life that might have never been shown

And there’s always something more to behold in your love

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

BORDERLINE TOWN

The hills of the countryside swam in moonlight
As the town fell to sleep in the deep of the night
The sky filled with dreams
Like a glass fills with wine
One looked like yours, one looked like mine

So I took them and hid them in an old wishing well
The mockingbird at my shoulder, he swore not to tell
For you learn to hide quickly any treasure you’ve found
When you’re born to be a dreamer in a borderline town

So many years later I met you one day
In the park by the church where the small children play
You smiled so politely but you were down, I could tell
So I went back to find that old wishing well

And the dreams that we’d hidden though so much had changed
They were just as I left them, everything was the same
For you learn to trust completely in miracles that abound
When you’re born to be a dreamer in a borderline town

So it’s goodbye to the country, farewell to our home
Farewell to the dark haunted streets we once roamed
Goodbye to each kind and familiar face
Goodbye comes easy when there’s so much to chase

We set off in the morning with no guide but the wind
With our dreams as our map and our mockingbird friend
For you learn you must travel to find where you’re bound
When you’re born to be a dreamer in a borderline town

And you know you’ve got to travel to find where you’re bound
When you’re born to be a dreamer in a borderline town

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DISC II

PRIME OF LIFE

It’s the prime of life
There is no next time
See the moment shine
Then slip away

I see you next to me
Like two fish swimmin’ upstream
Tryin’ to live the dream
Today

And you, locked inside that room
I hope you find your way out soon

When I saw you there
It was like a prayer
That I never dared
To say

In the early spring
The chapel bells did ring
And sparrows came to sing
The day away

And you, out there in the wind
I hope today’s the day your life begins

And you, underneath that stone
I hope someday your secret will be known

It’s the prime of life
We got nowhere to hide
As we leave the past behind
To try our wings

I see you next to me
Two branches of one tree
Leanin’ out to see
What the mystery brings

And you, locked inside that room
I hope you find your way out soon

And you, out there in the wind
I hope today’s the day your life begins

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

OUTSIDER

He’s an outsider, he’s an outsider
He’s an outsider and he lives in a world of his own
The world didn’t want him so he lives in a world of his own

You can see him in the night, you can see him in the night
You can see him in the night, if you wander far enough he will be there
See him standin’ on the corner ’neath a streetlight in the rain
Before you have the chance to turn around and look at him again
He’s gone

He walks apart from the crowd, he walks apart from the crowd
He walks apart from the crowd ’cause he knows he don’t belong and he don’t care
He’s got the hunger in his eyes like a wolf in the wild
But you never hear him say a word, never see him smile
He’s an outsider and he lives in a world of his own

He stays amongst the shadows, he stays amongst the shadows
He stays amongst the shadows starin’ at the world with eyes that never close
There’s something in his solitude that grabs you by the heart
But there’s no way that you can reach him, so you don’t even start
He’s an outsider and he lives in a world of his own

You better take a good look, you better take a good look
You better take a good look ’cause you don’t know where you’ll see him again
Maybe in a railway station in some foreign land
Or on the front page of the news with a rifle in his hand
He’s an outsider and he lives in a world of his own

When the morning sun comes, when the morning sun comes
When the morning sun comes you may look around
But you won’t know why or where he’s gone
Tomorrow they might be carryin’ him through the cemetery gates
Or he could be shakin’ hands with the President of the United States
He’s an outsider and he lives in a world of his own

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DRIFT AWAY

There’s so many things I think I’d rather do,
than have to find away to say goodbye to you
And there’s so many things I’d rather see
than the sight of you disappearing silently
But I don’t have much say
And I know you’d stay, if you had your way
And time is short on these broken shores
Where I watch you drift away

Thinkin’ ‘bout all the times we shared
It don’t seem right, it don’t seem fair
That you should have to leave this world behind
When there’s so much beauty left to find
And this catastrophe
Has left me speechless as I try helplessly
To make a stand
As I take your hand
And I watch you drift away

Into somewhere
That no one can know but you
I hope there’s comfort there
After all you’ve been put through
And as you’re goin’
I hope that you know
The love that is flowin’
From all us left down here below

The autumn comes
To destroy the leaves that cling
Still every flower returns again with spring
But there’s a treasure
That’s vanished from this place
And through each spring o come,
You won’t be replaced
I’m thinkin’ of a friend
The kind that’s lost and is not regained again
Whose will was strong
Who suffered long
And then drifted away

Who suffered long
Then had to drift away

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DREAMS OF A RIDICULOUS MAN

There’s a man livin’ under the steps of a cathedral
Trying to recover from
The vision of walking one day through the sunlight
With the world and himself overcome

Where the air sang his name like a hymn of redemption
And the crowd placed a crown on his head
And he moved with the weight of some great revelation
To his promise most faithfully wed

I am that man, I dreamed that dream
A great vision which some say may deceive
But I still believe

He waited and he prayed for the great day to come
He drew up his plans scrupulously
Half-driven by visions of vast domination
Half-weeping with humility

He laboured with his head bent down to the table
And barely noticed the gathering fog
And the creeping suspicion his life had become
A hastily written epilogue

I am that man, I dreamed that dream
A great vision which some say may deceive
But I still believe

The bridge that you walk on between all these moments
Has been constructed from the purest of gold
And the cornerstone you reject so thoughtlessly
Is worth more than all this world can hold

So don’t trust me too quickly you who know my face only
Don’t believe I’m ever all on your side
For if I said I was content just to sit in the bleachers
And observe the procession, I lied

I am that man, I dreamed that dream
A great vision which some say may deceive
But I still believe

There’s a man livin’ under the steps of a cathedral
Trying to recover from
The vision of walkin’ one day through the sunlight
With the world and himself overcome

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

LONG LONESOME NIGHT

I can tell that you’ve been livin’ under somethin’
That you can’t even foresee the end of
It started out a stone, now it’s a mountain
All you can do is feel it press down from above
And you try and smile the calm and easy smile
But sometimes it’s all you can do to stand upright
With your eyes upon the doorway all the while
On this long and lonesome night

There ain’t no easy answer to this trouble
In spite of what you might hear on TV
You can talk to anyone and they’ll act puzzled
These things aren’t discussed in polite society
And you go back down to the little town you came from
Just in time to see the last fading taillights
Wonderin’ where this sorrow got your name from
On this long and lonesome night

I’d never say I’ve been exactly where you’re standin’
But I think I’ve been in the area enough to know
That all the fancy talk, all the highwire dancin’
Just comes down to Should you stay or Should you go?
Sometimes you don’t get too much choice about what you’re left with
To hang onto, and it’s way past wrong or right
Well anyway you’re not about to get that selective
On this long and lonesome night

And it’s not like you’ve got any huge ambition
To save the world or perform miracles of note
Sometimes the hardest task, the greatest mission
Is just to somehow simply stay afloat

Now everywhere you go you think you hear the cheerin’
Of a crowd that seems so distant and so far
The future, they inform you most sincerely,
Belongs to anyone with a computer for a heart
You’re just an other unknown rider through this ruin
Tryin’ to make sense and keep the palace gates in sight
And a touch of grace is all that you’re pursuin’
On this long and lonesome night

Just a touch of grace is all that you’re pursuin’
On this long and lonesome night

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TWO HEARTS

If a foot’s got to stumble
If an eye’s got to weep
If a back has got to bend, let it have one godsend
Two Hearts, One Beat

And if a mind’s got to worry
If a body’s got to sleep
In an everlasting rest, let it be blessed
Two Hearts, One Beat

Yeah, you know it’s coming pretty soon now.
How long have we waited for this?
Beneath the high crescent moon now.
But look out, you know it’s never the way you think it is.

And if a light’s got to falter
If a body’s got to feed
From the toil of its hand, through all the years on the land
Two Hearts, One Beat

I go out walking with my loved one
Through the graveyards, we hold each other close
Sometimes it’s only when I’m out walking with my loved one
The world don’t seem like a dream, and I don’t feel like a ghost.

If a vision’s got to tarry.
If a soul’s got to bleed
Born to lose its way in the night or in the day
Two Hearts, One Beat
Two Hearts, One Beat

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OH MY LOVE

Oh my love the lost you’ve had cannot be counted
It’s left a hole so wide there is no way around it
But to walk on through when every hope has foundered
And if it helps, I’m with you every single moment

Oh my love, oh my love

The winter branches bare against the sky
Could never be as bleak as the pain in your eyes
And how to start again, or even try
When the one so tightly wound around your heart has died?

Oh my love, oh my love

He was rare and true as anyone could be
And though his message to you says his soul’s at peace
Does it help you now, or calm you when you see
Where there was once four shadows, only three?

Oh my love, oh my love

It’s time for us to build our house on solid land
Far from the swamp, far from the shifting sand
We’ll construct a brand new life, a better plan
And try to live it out as best we can

But for now, my love, stand strong ’neath shattered skies
Console yourself with the memory of his eyes
Till every stitch of grief has fallen, till every tear’s been cried
Till we begin to dimly see the distant shrouded sun arise

Oh my love, oh my love

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WHY

I grow old, you stay young
Your fears fade, mine live on
You can’t talk and I can’t stop
Wondering why

Your tears end where mine begin
How I tried not face the end
But that’s just my way, you know how I hate
Sayin’ good-bye

He conceals, He conceives
He’s not much for guarantees
He prepares a mansion, some declare
Up in the sky

You are gone, I remain
Your memory fades, I sustain
Till the day I drop I know I’ll never stop
Wondering why

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REALLY LOVE

Look into my eyes
There’s something you must see
Behind these tears, a love that’s here
Waiting to flow to you from me

For if sadness must come
So must sadness go
And tears may fall but they’re not all
That does between us flow

It’s really love, and it’s really love
It’s comin’ on strong after so long
And it’s really love

Been so long since we’re together now
Sometimes I can’t recall
Who I was or what I was
Or if I was at all

Before you stepped out of a dream
Before you came into my life
Before you swept right in, more than a friend
And now more than a wife

It’s really love, it’s really love
Like a bolt from the blue, it’s comin’ on through
And it’s really love

And so why should we listen to the voice that tells us to despair
When the greatest gift that can be given
Is ours to share, ours to share

And why should we seek shelter
From whatever’s out there
When no mater where we wander
It’s everywhere, everywhere

Come and sit down beside me
For we both know so well
Where two are gathered close together
The spirit finds a place to dwell

With the faith that time makes stronger
With the hope the world can’t bend
With every moment growing longer
As they stretch towards the end

It’s really love, it’s really love
Lifting us higher, setting us afire
And it’s really love

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YOU MAKE IT EASY

When I was a runnin’ boy
I heard the hymns of heaven’s joy
In a country church in a little town
But I never knew what they meant till now

And in between all I could see
About life was how hard it could be

But you make it easy
And life is joy, your love tells me
You make it easy
And everyday your love shows me
How easy it can be

Friends have come and friends have gone
Some depart, some are outworn
But the greatest loss by far’s the friend
Who fades from life to never come again

Left behind at such a cost
And how to believe when so much has been lost?

But you make it easy
Your love tells me that life goes on
You make it easy
And everyday your love shows me
That no-one loved is ever gone

So much has been shown to me
Sayin’ that love never dies
How could I not believe?
I’d have to be blind

Starin’ out at the autumn rain
Waitin’ for you to come home again
I see you walkin’ up the street
Where have you been and who did you meet?

And though the times may bring us down again
I’m not afraid ’cause something’s changed

And you make it easy
The future’s bright, your love tells me
You make it easy
And everyday your love shows me
How easy it can be

You make it easy
And life is joy, your love tells me
You make it easy
And everyday your love shows me
How easy it can be

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The Floating World (2002)

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The Floating World (2002)

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