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The Miracle Business (2004)

Posted on March 7, 2011 by kypharness

Click here to buy the Download with artwork

1.    HERE I AM
2.    DIAMONDS IN THE AIR
3.    HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
4.    SOFT BLUE GAZE
5.    SOMEDAY SOON
6.    MAJOR OF CRAZYTOWN
7.    PASSIN’ THROUGH
8.    LITTLE JERK
9.    HORSEMAN
10.    SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’
11.    FIELDS OF PLENTY

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

HERE I AM

Honey baby, please
don’t write me off as a dead man
Because the image I’m attempting to project
is more like that of a “get ahead man”
I’m still pickin’ myself up off the floor
I’m still headin’ back in for more
(through the door)
and anytime you want me, baby
Here I am

I’ve been travellin’ down some rocky roads
And I got to say I took a little bit of a knockin’
But to lose your life and regain it again around here
Well, it really isn’t all that shockin’
It’s just a surface wound at best
Everyday I’m getting’ more and more
From less and less (yes)
And anytime you want me, baby
Here I am

They opened up the gates of paradise
Out on the old main drag where we used to cruise
They offered me a free entry but I had to refuse
Compared to the sanctuary of your sweet love
There was nothing there that I could use

Well, I’m poised and primed for action
I’m ready, I’m able, I’m willin’
Point me in the direction of the enemy
I’ll hunt him down and kill him
You got me on this mission, dear
And I want all the world to hear (in their ear)
That anytime you want me, baby,
Here I am

I’m tryin’ to tow this vessel into the harbour
But you know I can’t do it all on my one and only
I can’t lift myself up by my own bootstraps
Can’t see beyond the wave that’s crashin’ on me
But when they ring that bell
I’ll be in there fightin’, I’ll be mad as hell
(Oh well)
And anytime you want me, baby
Here I am

And that’s one thing you’ll never learn in school
If you wanna win the game you got to break all the rules
And anytime you want me, baby
Here I am

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

DIAMONDS IN THE AIR

I see you there at the bottom of a hole
beneath the soil, beneath the clover
I see you there at the bottom of a hole
thinkin’ its over, you’ve been passed over

And there are diamonds in the air, love
Diamonds everywhere love
Diamonds in the air

I know the pain that’s eatin’ you
All that you remember I remember too
I know the pain that’s eatin’ you
all that you remember I remember too

And there are diamonds in the air love
Diamonds everywhere love
Diamonds in the air

There’s just two roads leadin’ out of this town
one you got to walk down
and on the other one you’re carried
There’s just two roads leadin’ out of this town
at the end of one you get released,
at the end of one you get buried

And there are diamonds in the air love
Diamonds everywhere love
Diamonds in the air

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

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

The sun comes up at the break of the day
The sunlight comes till it’s taken away
The sunlight comes when sunlight’s allowed
But you can’t see the sunlight
if you head’s in the clouds

All the glory of heaven was in front of me
All the joy and the wonder
that there ever could be
My feet were movin’ too fast, my mouth was
talkin’ too loud
My eyes never could see it,
for my head was in the clouds

Elegance and splendour are waiting for you
Elegance and splendour,
when you finally see through

How many times has the solution
to problems ’neath which I was bowed
Waited for me in the sunlight
when my head was in the clouds?

My head’s in the clouds
when I’m not grateful to you
My head’s in the cloud
when I refuse to see through
and I won’t let you

There’s a universe of love infinite and nigh
There’s a tapestry unfolding across the sky
Miracles and scenes of beauty all around us crowd
But our eyes never see them
When our heads’ in the clouds

My head’s in the clouds
when I’m not grateful to you
My head’s in the clouds
when I refuse to see through
and I won’t let you

Miracles and scenes of beauty all around us crowd
But our eyes never see them
when our head’s in the clouds

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

SOFT BLUE GAZE

I’m lookin’ hard through all my days
Lookin’ hard for your soft blue gaze
Lookin’ hard through this microscope for ya
In the middle of this dystopia

And I don’t wanna disturb or distress ya
But may I take this time to bless ya?
I bless the letters in your name
I bless the moment that you came

The wolf is standin’ at the door
Bigger than the one they sent before
He’s quite a fearful vision
But so’s the slingshot under my seat cushion

Bakers make bread, farmers make hay
We’re makin’ love all day
We’ve come too far to turn back now
It’s not even the same track now

You’re the whole nine yards and then some beyond
You rescue me from the shipwreck
you’re what I’m shipwrecked on
You’re one hundred and twenty proof
I know one day it could all go poof

I’m keepin’ to the narrow path
Let’em all go worship the golden calf
The last supper’s postponed for now
I wasn’t hungry anyhow

The butcher stands with his long sharp sword
Passin’ judgement on the works of the Lord
Well I’m just tryin’ to do my best
To tend this little garden of flesh

I’m holdin’ on to you
And to what you are holdin’ onto
Time crawls backwards in a panic
Do I look like a mechanic?

Everyday I thank God above for your beautiful soul
Beyond that, things are pretty much out of our control
The sun is sinking, evening’s nigh
Red and gold waves spread across the sky

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

SOMEDAY SOON

Someday soon you’re gonna find
You’re gonna get no response
for your old tried and true line
You’re gonna look around,
signs of approval to see
Little old man sweepin’ up the floor
is all there’s gonna be
You’re gonna know what it’s like
to cry beneath the moon
At the other end of the harpoon, someday soon

Someday soon that beast that you’re ridin’
He’s gonna turn on you
and you’ll have to do some decidin’
Gonna have to do some fast thinkin’
might have to change your tune
To save yourself from ruin, someday soon

Someday soon you better start givin’
as well as receivin’
Or someday soon somebody’s
gonna have to be leavin’
somebody will be grievin’

Someday soon you’re gonna see
Just what kind of a friend I tried to be
Never meant to wound or hurt you,
I only wanted the best
Someday soon you’ll see what happens
when you settle for less

Someday soon you’re gonna be frownin’
instead of smilin’
Someday soon you’ll find out the hard way
that no-one’s an island
Your woes’ll be pilin’

Someday soon you’re gonna know what it’s all about
To spend half your life just tryin’ to dig out
And if you’re needin’ my help,
I’m pretty sure I got nothin’ doin’
Some afternoon, someday soon

And if I’m needin’ your help,
I’m pretty sure I got nothin doin’
Some crazy afternoon, someday soon

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

MAYOR OF CRAZYTOWN

I wanna eat when I’m hungry, I wanna sleep when I’m tired
But then along comes The Man to legislate my desire
Tellin’ me what I should know, showin’ me what I should see
Tellin’ me where I should go, tellin’ me who I should be

To live your life manipulated by whatever force that’s hangin’ around
Well you can call me crazy, but if that’s sane
you can call me the Mayor of Crazytown

A thousand new recruits are goin’ out everyday
To try to receive what they can never repay
Suckin’ the last of the blood out of the earth
Tramplin’ all of the rubies into the dirt

The only long-term investment they make is in a hole in the ground
Well you can call me crazy, but if that’s sane
you can call me the Mayor of Crazytown

I wake up every morning and I have a cup of brew
Then I stand around dumbfounded because I got nothing to do
You got the market cornered, you got it all sewed up
You got the piledrivers drivin’, I hear them comin’ over the horizon

The old men plan, the old men frown
They say for freedom the young must lay their lives down
The freedom to make peace by wagin’ a war
To show other lands how civilized they are

The freedom of the old to send the young to lay their lives down
Well you can call me crazy, but if that’s sane
you can call me the Mayor of Crazytown

Well I wake up every morning and I have a cup of brew
Then I stand around dumbfounded, ’cause what can I do?
You got the waterfront covered, you got it all sewed up
You got the piledrivers drivin’, I see them comin’ over the horizon

We got our feet on the same planet, we’re breathin’ the same air
But when the whip comes down, all similarities end there
There’s a gunman at the border, there’s a line drawn in the sand
Which entirely determines if you got a givin’ or a takin’ hand

Depending on the colour of your skin, the god you worship
and from what country you’re bound
And you can call me crazy, but if that’s sane
you can call me the Mayor of Crazytown

Depending on the colour of your skin, the god you worship
and what’s in your account
And you can call me crazy, but if that’s sane
you can call me the Mayor of Crazytown

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

PASSIN’ THROUGH

How can I be whole
until you return?
Some things we never recover from
some things we never learn
And I was the one who only focused on
where I was goin’to
Until I realized
I was only passin’ through

If the sun comes up
then it’s a good day
If not for me
well I’ll just wait until it turns the other way
And the briars and brambles that clutch out
with their thorny crown lasso
No they can’t catch me
I’m only passin’ through

Floating along on the breeze
in between the trees
Singin’ whatever song I please
from the gatepost where I’m located

Goin’ along for the ride out
keepin’ my eye out
For where Lady Luck’s hide out
might be situated

There seems to be a limit
on how long we can park here
We’re here for a minute
then we disappear
But time won’t have the final say
on flowers I picked for you
In swaying fields beneath the sun
that I was passin’ through

Driftin’ downstream
dreamin’ my dream
While all the sunlight’s golden beams
were shinin’ ‘round me

When twilight shadows fill the skies
there’s always one or two I recognize
They’re always so pleasantly surprised
they’ve found me

There’s no way to measure
the love I have for you
No way to measure
where that love is goin’ to
From our hearts to our fingertips
and through the sky of blue
Our love like ourselves
keeps on passin’ through

Amblin’ down any kind of street
through the eyes of anyone that you might meet
Or anyone you might casually greet
through a window

On the hill where the widows
and widowers are cryin’
in the bedclothes of the perpetually sighin’
With the lovers fallin’ and arisin’
as the warm and lonesome evening wind blows

I’m on my way
I’ve got a job to do
Got a feeling that I won’t know what it is
till after it’s all through
I’m lookin’ at all the different coloured houses
along the avenue
I’m paintin’ pictures of the view
as I’m passin’ through

I’m savin’ it all up for you
as I’m passin’ through

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

LITTLE JERK

If heaven is forever,
then what are we waitin’ around here for?
It’s like when you walk into a room
and you can’t remember what you went there for
I’m quite willing to turn my hand
to any kind of useful work
I know that I’m no big fish pullin’ on the line
I’m just a little jerk

Mama always told me
Be careful where you walk
What will cause the evil man to rejoice
will cause the righteous one to balk
I was walkin’ down the street one day
one day the street went berserk
Behind every monumental disaster
there stands a little jerk

Oh how lucky I am history’s been good to me
I could be lyin’ in a ditch,
I could be swingin’ from a tree
But I’m free – as I can afford to be
He said with a rueful smirk

Oh you little jerk

I picked up my pointer
to teach a lesson to the crowd
But my pointer got entangled in my teacher’s robe
I fell down in a chalk dust cloud
Now I’m just hangin’ around the kitchen
waitin’ for the coffee to perk
Don’t take a locomotive to raise the windowblind,
honey baby
all it takes is a little jerk

Don’t need a locomotive to raise the windowblind,
honey baby
all you need is a little jerk

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

HORSEMAN

Just as water over a thousand years
may wear away a stone
So do the years over the span of a life
tear the flesh off of the bone
While all around
the merry buzzards fly
Pass by, horseman, pass by

I heard a man named Joseph
arguing with the innkeep
All about the sleep
of reason so deep
Someone’ll always have another reason
for you to lay down and die
Pass by, horseman, pass by

You were born beneath the cypress tree
with angels singin’ so divine
You were born in a combat zone
you just didn’t know it at the time
They talk of the pursuit of happiness
every move they make gives that line the lie
Pass by, horseman, pass by

Can’t walk the road anymore
of the ones that must always resist
It’s not that it’s goin’ nowhere
it’s just that it doesn’t exist
Puttin’ all their faith and hopes for security
on that which they can least rely
Pass by, horseman, pass by

I see you on the patio
I see you in the shattered glass
In the vacant lot behind the strip mall
and underneath the overpass
In the tormented grappling of need
in the sunset bleeding with the feeling I deny
Pass by, horseman, pass by

The masters of concealment
the emperors of the unreal
Are in the business of destruction
wholesale and piecemeal
With heartbreak and devastation
they swallow you up, then mourn you with a sigh
Pass by, horseman, pass by

They’re buildin’ a highway through the forest
it should be finished anyday
It’ll take us anywhere we wanna go
as long as we all want to go the same way
While somewhere beyond the courtyard
the lonesome whippoorwills cry
Pass by, horseman, pass by

You know I’m feelin’ for ya, honey
but it’s getting’ me withdrawn
The more things slip away
the more you’re tryin’ to hold on
It’s too dangerous to carry
you can’t sell it on the sly
Pass by, horseman, pass by

Too many livin’ life unconscious
too many eatin’ sorrow’s bread
Too many trapped in the collapsin’
empires of the dead
Swept away by the avalanche
undone by an evil eye
Pass by, horseman, pass by

My experience was not unusual
though some will say it odd
It was nothing more and nothing less
than fallin’ into the arms of God
Teachin’ me to look and look again
as I roam beneath the stormy sky
Pass by, horseman, pass by

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

SOMEBODY’S KNOCKIN’

Somebody’s knockin, who in the world could it be
to catch us unaware while we were all just talkin’?
Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to be so freely after midnight stalkin’?

Look out the window, honey, tell me what it is you see
is it somethin’ that warms or chills your blood?
Look out the window, honey, tell me what it is you see
is it a live connection you got or is it a dud?

Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to catch us unaware when we were all sleepwalkin’?
Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to be so freely after midnight stalkin’?

Lift up your shade, honey, tell me who it is you see
is it friend or foe or anybody else you know?
Lift up the shade, honey, tell me who it is you see
can we keep a lid on this thing for awhile or is it all gonna blow?

Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to be so freely after midnight stalkin’?
Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to catch us unaware while we were all just talkin’?

There’s people hangin’ around from here to Watertown
all standin’ ‘round like little children with their wagons
There’s people hangin’ around from here to Watertown
at the slightest signal they’re gonna rise up like a dragon

Don’t you move a muscle, honey, sit back and enjoy the show
for there’s nothing here that time will not disclose
There’s nothing hidden now that won’t be later revealed
nothing whispered now that won’t be shouted from the top of the house

Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to catch us unaware while we were all just talkin’?
Somebody’s knockin’, who in the world could it be
to be so freely after midnight stalkin’?

No need to fear him, honey, he ain’t no interloper
no doctor nor no soldier of war
He’s just gonna give you a joy so big it’s gonna flow back into you past
and wipe out the memory of every pain you ever suffered before

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

FIELDS OF PLENTY

Fields of plenty
are right outside your door
Just when you think there is no more
when you’re down to your last penny

Fields of plenty
can be seen in the eyes
Of the ones who cause the sun to rise
Gazin’ on the world so old, knowin’ they behold
the fields of plenty

Fields of plenty
may seem beyond your touch
But you can reach them even with your crutch
if you start out late or early

Fields of plenty
they ain’t no ordinary field
You just step forward and you’re healed
In a blaze of light, day or night
in fields of plenty

Honey don’t wait up for me tonight
I’m goin’ down, I’m goin’ down
I’m goin’ down

To the fields of plenty
just on the other side of that wall
Where so many strive to have it all
and others don’t have any

Fields of plenty
brighter than the lights that shine on high
Appearin’ in the twinkling of an eye
On yonder hill, we’re dreamin’ still
of fields of plenty

On yonder hill, we’re headin’ still
for fields of plenty

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Posted in Albums, Lyrics, The Miracle Business | Leave a comment

The Floating World (2002)

Posted on March 6, 2011 by kypharness

Click Here to Buy the CD

Click Here to Buy the Download
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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted in Albums, Lyrics, The Floating World | Leave a comment

All Her Love (2001)

Posted on March 5, 2011 by kypharness

Click Here to Buy the CD!

Click Here to Buy the Download!

1.    ALL HER LOVE
2.    LITTLE BIRD FLYIN’
3.    WILDFLOWER
4.    ANYTIME (IN THE LAND OF MIDNITE TERRORS)
5.    LITTLE WILLOW
6.    LONELY HEART
7.    HOMETOWN
8.    BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE
9.    THAT’S WHY I MADE MY VOW TO YOU
10.    CONTAMINATED LOVE
11.    HAS ANYBODY HERE SEEN JANE?
12.    IF I DIDN’T HAVE YOU
13.    ALL ROADS (LEAD TO HAPPINESS IN THEIR WAY)
14.    BONUS TRACK

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

ALL HER LOVE

She gives me all her love
And all I gotta do I call her love
Then I know that by the stars above
She’ll chase the blues out of my day

She gives me all her time
And all I gotta do is call her mine
Then everything will fall in line
And we will find our way

So now tell me why should I worry
’Bout what will be or what has been?
When it’s all right here before me
All I gotta do is let it in –

She gives me all her heart
No need to go searchin’ for the missin’ part
It’s all been there right from the start
Never to part from me

So now tell me why should I worry
’Bout what has been or what will be?
When she stands right here before me
And she’s waitin’ just for me –

She gives me all her time
And all I gotta do is call her mine
Then everything will fall in line
And we will find our way

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

LITTLE BIRD FLYIN’

Little bird flyin’, little bird flyin’
Little bird flies through the sky all alone
She’s lookin’ for a home, she’s lookin’ for a home
She’s lookin’ for a home

Little baby cryin’, little baby cryin’
Little baby cries in the night, wakes his mother and she wonders why
He’s cryin’ in the night, he’s cryin’ in the night again
He’s cryin’ in the night again, yeah

Long train ridin’, long train ridin’
Long train rides through the night, she sits by the window underneath a light
Waitin’ for her call to come, waitin’ for her call to come
Waitin’ for her call to come, yeah

Big lights shinin’, flashlights shinin’
Flashlights shine on the face of the man with a gun in his hand standin’
Up against the wall again, he’s up against the wall again
Up against the wall again, yeah

Little bird flyin’, little bird flyin’
Little bird flies through the sky all alone
He’s lookin’ for a home, he’s lookin’ for a home
He’s lookin’ for a home

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

WILDFLOWER

The wildflower’s bloomin’ in the forest
The wildflower blooms amongst the weeds
Some sing of the violets and the roses
But wildflower you’re beautiful to me

Up atop of the highest snow-capped mountain
Or deep within the valleys down below
The wildflower won’t be found in the garden
Where all the other flowers grow,
From the seeds which have been sown
By the ones who never see the wildflower

Would you try to pluck her
And hold her in your hand?
The wildflower fades
But then she blooms again

Though through the years the forces have conspired
To tear her from the earth which is her home
Her beauty rages like a deathless fire
And when all the rest have gone,
She will greet the new day’s sun
Which smiles down upon the wildflower

Would you try to pluck her
And hold her in your hand?
The wildflower fades
But then she blooms again

The wildflower’s bloomin’ in the forest
The wildflower blooms amongst the weeds
I’ve seen violets and I’ve seen roses
But wildflower you’re beautiful to me

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

ANYTIME (IN THE LAND OF MIDNITE TERRORS)

Anytime we’re under the covers
Anytime we’re talkin’ at night
You’re like a new land I’ve never discovered
You’re like a song I can never get right

Well you got a love as deep as the ocean
If the ocean never had a floor
Though sometimes it might get kinda stormy
I never want to stay that close to the shore

’Cause I’m holdin’ onto you like a Bible
And I’m readin’ you one line at a time
I’m drinkin’ you down to the very last drop
Like the kinda blood that’s so much sweeter than wine

Look out, I’m fallin’ down all around you
But I know that you’ll be there when I land
’Cause anytime I’m above or below you
You always know how to hold on tight with both hands

Sometimes I get that icy bone-chill feelin’
But I never want to stray that far
’Cause anytime there’s smoke on the water
It always gets traced to someplace near where you are

It’s like tryin’ to clean house in a hurricane
With an earthquake blowin’ in from the West
’Bout the only mystery that you got to figure out
Is what’s gonna get uprooted next

Sometimes in the night I hear a creepin’
Then I know that you’ll be comin’ on hot
Nailin’ me down where I start to come loose
And pullin’ me free where I’m not

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

LITTLE WILLOW

Little willow on the pillow where you’re lyin
Little willow on the pillow where you sleep
While far above the songs of night are flyin
And far below the midnight shadows creep.

Where the calliope man is in his red suit
And he’s preparing all his horses for the ride
In an hour’s time he’ll pass beside your bedroom
And if you’re leaning out, he’ll let you jump inside.

Through a doorway in the moon someone left open
To the Big Top where the circus never ends.
Where the lion tamer’s whips have all been broken
And monkey man is dancin’ with his friends.

Where the ostriches all laugh with wild wonder
And the clowns and wearing smiles not pretend
As in their ship they take you gently down to slumber
Little willow on your pillow in your bed.

Little willow let me fill your night with dreamin
Little willow with your willow silhouette.
Until the morning sunrise finds them streamin
Down your windowpane just so you don’t forget.

That the calliope man is in his red suit
And he’s preparing all his horses for the ride
In an hour’s time he’ll pass beside your bedroom
And if you’re leaning out he’ll let you jump inside.

Through a doorway in the moon someone left open
To the Big Top where the circus never ends.
Where the lion tamer’s whips have all been broken
And monkey man is dancin’ with his friends.

Where the ostriches all laugh with wild wonder
And the clowns are wearing smiles not pretend
As in their ship they take you gently down to slumber
Little willow on your pillow in your bed.

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

LONELY HEART

There was a man I used to know,
I used to see him on the street
He was the kind of a guy
who never looked surprised
anytime you happened to meet
He just turned like he expected you,
and he accepted you with grace
To me he was like a brother,
but to others he was like a man from outer space

He stood alone at the crossroads
where the traffic came and went
He was either just gettin’ out of jail
or on his way back in
Drinkin’ whiskey from a paper bag,
he’d greet the people there
Some were amazed as they went on their way,
But to most it was like he wasn’t even there

He was a lonely heart, a fallen angel in a world of stone
Without a thing to call his own
He was a falling star, and he tried to fight the battle all alone
He was a long, long way from home

In the rat race of the rush hour
he stood amongst the stream
Of working people running
like an old ship lost at sea
And he’d stop me and he’d talk to me
about the angels that he’d seen
On the shoulders of the businessmen
and in the wheels of the machine

The cops would come and hassle him
for standing there so long
But he’d just smile and close his eyes
like was listening to a song
The merchants they would come with brooms
to chase the man away
He’d run in fear and disappear
but they knew he’d be back again the very next day

He was a lonely heart, a fallen angel in a world of stone
Without a thing to call his own
He was a falling star, and he tried to fight the battle all alone
He was a long, long way from home

I’d ask him questions of his life
but none of them he heard
He’d just reach into his pockets
and he’d start to feed the birds
Except for one time when I asked him
why he lived this way
He just pointed to the rags he wore and said
“One day this all shall pass away”

In the summer’s rain and the winter’s snow
he stood alone there listening
To the bells which rang from the tower
with clock with both hands missing
Little children they would come
and throw tomatoes in his face
And scream with glee, and so would he
With a look in his eyes like he was in some other place

He was a lonely heart, a fallen angel in a world of stone
Without a thing to call his own
He was a falling star, and he tried to fight the battle all alone
He was a long, long way from home Me, I had a steady job in a shoelace factory
Each year I took a vacation, went up north where the air was clean
Till one time I was comin’ back,
I noticed that the streets had changed
I looked around, but he was gone,
and the spot where he once stood had been re-paved

I later heard a truck had come and taken him away
To cure him of the illness that made him act so strange
They said that he was crazy, they said he was an outlaw
But to me he was the closest thing to bein’ true I think I ever saw

He was a lonely heart, a fallen angel in a world of stone
Without a thing to call his own
He was a falling star and he tried to fight the battle all alone
He was a long, long way from home

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

HOMETOWN

Far back in the memory of your evergreen past
There’s a sleepy little village by the railroad tracks
Each night the whistle blows as the train passes through
But it’ll stop there if you ask it to
You step off onto the platform, take a look around
There’s a gas pump, a bank, and an old fairground

Down in my hometown

There’s a barbershop, a hockey rink, a fire hall station
A playground and a church of both denominations
You can shoot your .22 down Main Street any night
And never hit a soul because there ain’t no-one in sight

Down in my hometown

That big house on the corner is the home of Mrs. Jones
Ever since her son went away she lives there all alone
She sits upon her porch and she watches people pass
Mrs. Jones and her memories and twenty-seven cats

You plant in the spring and you can harvest in the autumn
You can make it through the winter of the rain keeps fallin’
You can take your whole family to the country fair
You can show your cows and pigs, you can meet your friends there

Down in my hometown

“Did ya see that Mr. Haskett got himself a new car?”
“Yes, I saw it in his yard”
“Had to come pretty dear, so I hear”
“He must’ve had a very good year”

Sunday morning after church down the street the families wander
Neighbours lean upon their fences and talk to one another
“Hello, Mrs. Smith, how’s your husband been?”
“He’s been doing very well – thanks for asking, Mrs. Green”

Wintertime and everything is boarded up tight
As the wind cuts like a knife through the black cathedral night
Nothin’ but the silence of the snow fallin’ down
And a little red mitten left layin’ on the ground

Down in my hometown

Friday night the 4-H club has got a dance on
There’s a couple fellas with a bottle in a field behind a barn
Country western music and a square dancin’ crowd
But from the town cemetery you never hear a sound

Down in my hometown

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

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE

The night came down like a deck of cards
As she was lockin’ up the store
She headed home, feelin’ most unknown
Just like so many times before
She didn’t expect much and she never did get much
Oh, you could see it in her eyes
But was this solitude just a passing mood
Or a blessing in disguise?

She’d been loved by many, she’d loved a few
And many times she’d been deceived
When the cold dawn broke, though not a word was spoken
Still, she knew she had to leave
It wasn’t that she didn’t hunger for a lover
But she wanted true love,
And she wouldn’t compromise
Although sometimes she’d pray
These blues would fade away
Into a blessing in disguise

Everybody said that she was crazy,
Wasn’t she afraid of
Growin’ old alone?
She loved her freedom, but
Didn’t she know it was dangerous
In this world for a woman on her own?

Tea kettle whistle blew, as she took her cup over to
A table set for one
And leanin’ on the windowsill, she looked out to the hill
Turned red by the setting sun
At times like this she didn’t miss the kiss or the promises
Of anyone, and she realized
That all the pain she felt might fade away and melt
Into a blessing in disguise

Everybody said that she was crazy,
And wasn’t she afraid of
Growin’ old alone?
She loved her freedom, but
Didn’t she know it was dangerous
In this world for a woman on her own?

And though they knew a lot
She knew something they did not
As she counted her blessings in disguise

She spent her nights
Counting blessings in disguise

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

THAT’S WHY I MADE MY VOW TO YOU

Darling, I won’t let you down
Although this world may come and turn my head around
You’re the brightest joy I’ve ever found
That’s why I made my vow to you

Sweetheart, this love won’t rest
Though outside pressures may grow stronger, I confess
One thing you’ll never be to me is second best
That’s why I made my vow to you

And you know that I wouldn’t be honest
You know that it wouldn’t be right
If I could not make good on this promise
Or at least try with all my might

Baby, you know that it’s true
The only game in this town for me is you
In spite of whatever troubles might ensue
That’s why I made my vow to you

And you know that I wouldn’t be honest
And you know that it wouldn’t be right
If I could not make good on this promise
Or at least try with all my might

Darling, I won’t let you down
The days roll by, seasons spin around
But you’re the brightest joy I’ve ever found
That’s why I made my vow to you

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

CONTAMINATED LOVE

Once thought love was a safe and sure thing,
Clean and pure thing, but I found out
That no love lives that hasn’t been troubled,
That hasn’t had to struggle
Through a firestorm of doubt
To an operating table, for last minute surgery
There is no human heart that hasn’t been bent into
A pleasant deformity

It all starts out with the first desire
You’re dragged through the mire and left for dead
You lie there so disgraced till one fine morning
You find yourself reborn with a crown on your head
Oh, the river of love flows sweetly
But there’s a sewer pipe upstream
So help yourself to a heaping helping of my contaminated love.

It’s all been written down by the wisemen and the sages
In the sacred scattered pages
Of pink and purple prose.
It comes in jerks and it comes in flashes
But when your last chance passes,
That’s where true love grows
In the most unlikely places, it may take you by surprise
When the most deserted, barren wasteland
Becomes another Graceland before your eyes.

Tell me what does it mean?
Tell me what makes it stay?
Mostly love won’t be seen
Till everything else gets torn away

It’s a long highway of descriptions and disguises
Equipment and devices, detours and false starts
And it never really ends till you’re stretched out on the pavement,
Stripped so naked you don’t know who you are.
That’s when it starts to move you
Into some other place
Far from the road paved with all your best intentions,
Through the infinite dimensions of a human face.

You run out with your arms wide open
Then you fall down a manhole
Some say every heart must be broken
Before they ever can be whole.

It’s not locked in the refuge of the most devoted brethren
Or in some old decrepit reverend’s virgin kiss
It’s out on the streets where it’s battered and it’s beaten,
Rained, snowed, and sleeted on, yet still persists.
It’s not that it’s diluted,
It just gets polluted some.
It’s that little speck of extra dirt
That never did hurt a pearl,
It’s our contaminated love.

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

HAS ANYBODY HERE SEEN JANE?

Has anybody here seen Jane?
Has anybody here seen Jane?
Never took much notice of her
But now she’s gone we’re thinkin’ of her
Has anybody here seen Jane?

Seems like it was only just last week
She was pickin’ flowers by the creek
As she sat upon the shore
But now she’s not there anymore
Has anybody here seen Jane?

Standin’ by the churchyard in the sun
With a smile for everyone
And though she never made a sound
She was so nice to have around
Has anybody here seen Jane?

She had a brightness in her face
And something else no-one could trace
Just a girl of seventeen
Now that’s all she’ll ever be
Has anybody here seen Jane?

Has anybody here seen Jane?
Has anybody here seen Jane?
Never took much notice of her
But now she’s gone we’re thinkin’ of her
Has anybody here seen Jane?

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

IF I DIDN’T HAVE YOU

When the day is slow and the night is long
I have a dream, I have a song
And these would almost see me through
But I wouldn’t have nothin’ if I didn’t have you

When I’m alone I have my mind
To take me someplace outside of time
And I could live there, it would almost do
But I wouldn’t have nothin’ if I didn’t have you

If you take a look at all the things I’ve got
From a distance it might seem like quite a lot
But it really don’t amount to very much
Without the addition of your love

When the sky is black I have the stars
When the rain is fallin’, rainbows of course
Got a good umbrella and a raincoat too
But I wouldn’t have nothin’ if I didn’t have you

If all these things were taken from me now
With your love I’d make it through somehow
But if I had all of this and so much more
And lost your love I’d have no clue
As to what it all was for

When my TV’s broken I have a radio
Or I can have a look out my window
I’ll always have myself I can talk to
But I wouldn’t have nothin’ if I didn’t have you

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

ALL ROADS (LEAD TO HAPPINESS IN THEIR WAY)

I woke up this morning
And found my house had burned to the ground
There was nothin’ left there of it but a smoking heap
The neighbours all came by and they asked me how it started
I said “How would I know?
It was already going when I went to sleep”

So I walked on down the road
And I left it all behind
I was thinkin’ that maybe with the circus I would run away
I got a job as a human cannonball and I was feelin’ most content
But I got discharged the very next day

All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Anybody that you meet could be your savior
All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Just take a step, and where you stand that’s where the road begins So I thought I’d go to the doctor
And get myself checked up
I was feelin’ kinda tired and I had a bad cough
I said “Doctor, no matter what I do, I still can’t get to sleep at night.”
He said “That’s easy son, just lay down on the very edge of the bed,
You’ll soon drop off!”

All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Anybody that you meet could be the savior
All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Just take a step, and where you stand that’s where the road begins

So I married my one true love
And we set off on a honeymoon
Went way down to the sunny shores of Spain
The man at the hotel
He asked us if we had a reservation
I said “Well, maybe one or two, but you know we really can’t complain.”

So I died and went to Heaven
And seen St. Peter at the pearly gates
He said “What took you so long, man?” I said “You know, I got detained –
I found my wife holdin’ hands with another man.”
“You bitter?” St. Peter asked
“Darn right, and I bit him too,” I explained

All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Anybody that you meet could be your savior
All roads, all roads lead to happiness in their way
Just take a step and where you stand that’s where the road begins

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

BONUS TRACK

Well I wake up every morning and I got to scratch my head
What direction should I turn to, on what side of my bed?
On one side is the world and on the other side’s the wall
The wall could use some painting – the world, an overhaul

Lookin’ out my window, I see the people walkin’ ’round
They all got someplace to go, they don’t have time to stick around
Because they’re runnin’ in a race, to hesitate they do not dare
The finish line is in the graveyard and they can’t wait to make it there

I’m feelin’ like a square peg shoved into a round hole
They’re pushin’ me out upon the stage but no-one’s written me a role
It don’t have to be Shakespeare, Harold Robbins would be fine
If I could just know how to move, or make it to the next line

Mr. Genghis Khan the Second believes in absolute control
Prayin’ to his tiny god perched up atop of his console
My apathy disgusts him – don’t I know there’s money to be made?
Forests to be turned into deserts, people to be enslaved

But you know that I love you, you know that I do
The way you sewed me back together with your magic thread and glue
All except for that one part where you left me so exposed behind
But we don’t have to talk about that, it just reminds me to be kind

I’m not the kind to give up, you know that it’s a fact
If they throw me out the front door I’ll come crawlin’ in the back
If they throw me out the back door, I ain’t gonna hang around
I’ll just come back with gasoline and burn the motherfucker down

People say to me “Get real” and I say to them “What for?”
After that there doesn’t seem to be much to talk about anymore
Reality and me, we haven’t been on speaking terms
Since I stumbled out through the gates of Paradise into this cafeteria for worms

Now there’s shooting in the schoolyards, families bein’ torn apart
You’d almost think the world had been designed without our interests at heart
Still I salute the resolutions of the governing elect
Their eyedroppers of compassion, their steam shovels of neglect

I feel like cuttin’ out of here, I’m tired of all these crazy games
They keep recycling the plot, all that changes is the names
I lay hungover in this bed, so alone and full of trepidation
Like the morning after the apocalypse, or the first day of an occupation

But if I go I’ll take ya with me, of that there is no doubt
Whenever I’m invisible you can always make me out
I’ll keep on comin’ back for seconds as long as you’re with me in line
Till we defy the laws of gravity, till we forget how to tell time

So honey if you need me, I’ll be out here swingin’ from this noose
With all these stories without endings, all these tools that have no use
All these questions without answers, all these locked doors without keys
Except for the ones we build ourselves from what’s washed up upon the beach

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

Posted in Albums, All Her Love, Lyrics | Leave a comment

Houdini in Reverse (1998)

Posted on March 4, 2011 by kypharness

Click Here to Buy on iTunes

Click Here to Buy the CD

Click Here to Buy the Download

1.    WAKE ME UP (WHEN WE GET THERE)
2.    DANCE MONKEY DANCE
3.    GOOD OLD DAYS
4.    THAT’S MY MIDDLE NAME
5.    ONE & ONLY
6.    REVENGE OF LAZARUS
7.    I BELIEVE IN YOU
8.    OLD GREY HOUSE
9.    CAT’S PAJAMAS
10.    YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER NOW
11.    HOUDINI IN REVERSE
12.    YOU’RE THE ONE

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

WAKE ME UP (WHEN WE GET THERE)

See the handsome young man speakin’ his mind
You wouldn’t think it would take all that much time
Seems like everywhere you meet someone who knows
Just exactly the way it’s gotta go
The speakers scream and the megaphones wail
Just like a snake swallowin’ its own tail
Spare no expenses in buildin’ fences
Did I happen to mention that I couldn’t be less impressed?

But don’t mind me, it’s nothing crucial
I am only desperate as usual
You take the wheel and drive awhile
I’ll ride behind –
Wake me up when we get there

I woke up from a night-time vision
Walked right into a three-way collision
People took pictures, wrote down everything I said
Before movin’ on to the baby born with three heads
Saw a whole way of life and a world that once had been
Sacrificed to satisfy somebody’s drunken whim
What some must do to pay the rent
Is beyond belief and beneath contempt

But don’t mind me, it’s nothin’ crucial
I am only desperate as usual
You take the wheel and drive awhile
I’ll ride behind –
Wake me up when we get there

I’m only waitin’ for a miracle
Just one last chance for a human to stand still
And dream and lean upon a windowsill
And see the scenery
No expectations of gettin’ out of debt
Just wanna catch a ride and catch my breath
For one last moment before I’m chewed to death
By the machinery

See the young woman dancin’ with the chemical glands
See the mind of the outcast snappin’ like a rubber band
In a crippled crevice of a city wall
Where life is cheap if it’s even there at all
Politician says “Why help the needy?”
Scientist says “It’s all a matter of breeding”
All I’m lookin’ for is a few feet of space
Without somebody’s derriere shakin’ in my face

But don’t mind me, it’s nothing crucial
I am only desperate as usual
You take the wheel and drive awhile
I’ll ride behind –
Wake me up when we get there

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

DANCE MONKEY DANCE

Dance monkey dance, with a fire in your pants
And your head lost in dreams of tomorrow
You spin ‘round the floor, down the long corridor
Of dark vacancies and of sorrow
Though the day of your doom
May be comin’ up soon
‘Neath the white frozen moon
Monkey, dance

Dance monkey dance, in a spell, in a trance
In a well-tailored velvet tuxedo
You can save the day, you make the band play
All the way from here to Toledo
With your tail up so high
So proudly you fly
Through the day, through the night
Monkey, dance

Dance monkey dance, while you still got the chance
Before somebody comes and destroys you
The whole world’s asleep, all the wolves, all the sheep
All the men, women, girls, and the boys, too
As the crows gather near
And the sky disappears
Through the smoke, through the mirror
Monkey, dance

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

GOOD OLD DAYS

The morning sun comes down like a hammer
The ones that aren’t struck dumb just stammer
The meek ones crawl and the clever ones clamour
Up the tower where the gold still shines

Everybody’s in costume but nothin’ much is doin’
Silicon Mona Lisa and Leather Rasputin
Go divin’ in dumpsters to sift through the ruins
Of whatever is left out there to find

The good old days are gone at last
Thank God, I thought they’d never pass
The good old days are gone at last

He was the pride of his parents but nothin’ could hold him
He had stereo drugs and wall-to-wall boredom
The sissy boys fear him but the bully boys court him
For reasons of a monetary kind

His life was too soft, he needed some friction
A taste of the whip, some polite mutilation
Reborn as the savior of a new generation
Now they sell his blood like vintage wine

The good old days are gone at last
Thank God, I thought they’d never pass
The good old days are gone at last

Left me standin’ like a lamp with an empty socket in the rain
They pulled me inside out like a poor man’s pocket once again
As the howl of the misfit faded out
On the wind like the whistle of the midnight train
(in vain)

Now it’s Saturday night in the Land of Amnesia
The freaks in the Big Top pass out the anaesthesia
As Leather Rasputin and Silicon Mona Lisa
Disappear in a stretch limousine

And it’s blessed be the flag and blessed be the nation
Whatever it stands for, whoever creates it
Pull up the covers and let’s celebrate it
As our last prayer fades from the screen

‘Cause the good old days are gone at last
Thank God, I thought they’d never pass
The good old days are gone at last

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

THAT’S MY MIDDLE NAME

Darlin’, I can see
Things are not going as you planned
All the promises that were made to you
Seem to’ve been written out in sand
And you’re not sure if you want someone to stand with
Or if you want someone to blame
A steadfast soldier or a scapegoat, darlin’
That’s my middle name

We stepped out of the garden
Into an avalanche of doubt
Now no matter where you’re standin’
The spotlight always seeks you out
And you’re not sure if it’s trouble that you’re wantin’
Or if it’s trouble that you’re trying to contain
A sun-scorched desert or a cloudburst, darlin’
That’s my middle name

That’s my middle name in times of worry
That’s my middle name, and all you gotta do is say it
If you’re wondering why you came here
Even if you’re wondering
Why on earth you’re stayin’ –

Now I see you in the shadows
And I see you in the light
I love the way you roll the dice
With both your eyes shut tight
And you’re not sure if you wanna pack it in for awhile
Or if you want to make the neighbours complain
A Sunday driver or a four alarm fire, darlin’
That’s my middle name

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

ONE & ONLY

I was stranded in a city where the only known truth
Was industry and labour, hard work formed the noose
For the love of strange beauty and the fancies of youth
And the blue sky was blocked by the factory roofs

Solitude and loneliness, starin’ out the window
Lookin’ in the fields all smothered in the snow
Waitin’ for a sign to show me where to go
Countin’ every minute, not so long ago

The minds were straight and narrow and the friends were few
But there was always someone handy tellin’ me what I should do
I listened to them all then did what I wanted to
There was no choice, one voice comin’ on through

Singin’ out: Baby, don’t you know me?
I’m the one and only
Sanctified and holy
Lonely as a hounddog bayin’ in the moonlight
Check it out, baby!

I went into the city of saccharine and steel
Where the long-faced ones tried to show me what is real
Sterilized and compromised with so much to conceal
But I never could kneel nor settle for the deal

Never had a doubt I was on the right trail
Never gave a thought to what would happen if I failed
Runnin’ for my life with a dead man on my tail
By rail or sail, direct mail –

Singin’ out: Baby, don’t you know me?
I’m the one and only
Sanctified and holy
Lonely as a hounddog bayin’ in the moonlight
Check it out, baby!

As I explained to the judge and jury too, I only got one
As I explained to the judge and jury too, I only got one
As I explained to the judge and jury too, I only got one
So do you –

So don’t run and hide when you hear me call
I ain’t no Sunday driver, I’m in this for the long haul
Can’t be erased nor painted over like
Graffiti on the wall, no no no

Some like to weep and some like to sleep
You can read the news and count the sheep
There’ll always be enough to get yourself in deep
And raffle off your soul for what you cannot keep

Some speak of the future, some of what has been
Makin’ you forget that you’re a human, bein’
But life ain’t a dream and I ain’t a machine
So put the pedal to the metal, honey, don’t forget the gasoline

Baby, don’t you know me?
I’m your one and only
Sanctified and holy
Lonely as a hounddog bayin’ in the moonlight
Check it out, baby!

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

REVENGE OF LAZARUS

Too many cooks spoilin’ the broth, little darlin’
Too many saviors on the cross
I’m goin’ out for to read the writin’
On all of the coins that get tossed
Five lonely mothers in a welfare line
And an irritated cop on the beat
Skinny little hippy man puts a fine shine
On the shoes on everybody’s feet

But not mine

Slack-jawed glassy-eyed enterprising college boy
With a collection of electric power tools
Big mouth back-slappin’ dirty little hypocrite
Sittin’ on the family jewels
He got a bridge that he built in nineteen sixty-nine
And it’s still collectin’ toll
All of the money that money can buy
And a lease on everybody’s soul

But not mine

Come along with me, honey, take ya out where
All the weeds and the wild things grow
It’s just a step away from the slaughterhouse gate
Or at least it was a week ago
Where no-one hides from the rain or remembers your name
Or cares what side you’re on
Or pays much attention to the wind’s direction
‘Cause all of their hope is gone

But not mine

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

I BELIEVE IN YOU

I got a heart that takes no chances
On anything it can’t see through
It’s very trained to be aware
Of every trap and every snare
But I believe in you

I got a mind that won’t be swayed
By any passing point of view
I keep it set into its groove
Where it’s not easily moved
But I believe in you

I put my trust into so many things
And one by one I seen them fall
But like a fool who never learns
I’m willing to risk anything
Anytime I hear you call –

I got a love that strains and rages
I’m afraid of what it might get up to
I keep it under lock and key
So tell me how can it be
That I believe in you?

It’s closin’ time down in the gamblin’ house
And they’re takin’ all the tables away
It’s time for one last bet
Even though we’re deep in debt
Well, you can’t win unless you play

I got a life that rolls and plunges
Who knows where it’s gonna lead me to?
So much uncertainty and fear
And so much that’s unclear
But I believe in you

So much uncertainty and fear
Still, while I’m here
I believe in you

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

OLD GREY HOUSE

There’s an old grey house by the side of the road
Faraway from the highway where nobody ever goes
Who once lived there, nobody knows
In the old grey house by the side of the road

It’s an old grey house half-hidden by the trees
With the shutters fallin’ off, hangin’ down in the breeze
With the laneway gone, overgrown with weeds
It’s an old grey house that no-one needs

Someday someone must have built it there
For some good reason
But now it is just cluttering up the air
It’s so displeasin’

One day they say there was parties there
There was dancin’ in the front room, people sat in every chair
You could hear the music float out on the still summer air
There was revelry and laughter, people came from everywhere

But now the old grey house sits in the middle of a field
With the windows boarded up and the doorways sealed
With the roof cavin’ in and the paint all peeled
It’s an old grey house with nothin’ to steal

The old grey house just sits there takin’ up ground
And that is all
Why the hell don’t someone tear it down
Put up a shopping mall?

As the old grey house rots and decays
Getting’ uglier and uglier with every passin’ day
Couldn’t sell it for a nickel, couldn’t give it away
‘Cause it’s all old grey house, and it’s a big disgrace

Have you ever seen anything so dumb
And don’t it make you wonder?
Waitin’ for the bulldozers to come
And plow it under

There’s an old grey house by the side of the road
Faraway from the highway where nobody ever goes
Who once lived there, nobody knows
In the old grey house by the side of the road

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

CAT’S PAJAMAS

Cat’s pajamas, angel wings
Lovin’ cups and broken strings
It ain’t enough, it ain’t enough
Without your love
To keep me standin’ here
Tellin’ lies and cryin’ tears
Without your love

Been out in the wilderness, past the past fence and beyond
Seen the seven wonders of the world, they only made me yawn
It ain’t enough, it ain’t enough
Without your love
To keep me sittin’ on this fence
Pretendin’ that it all makes sense
Without your love

God said to Jesus: “Listen to me, son
If that’s the way they’re gonna treat us, I think we’d better run”
It ain’t enough, it ain’t enough
Without your love
The truth may still be true
But what good’s it gonna do
Without love?

You fill my cup to overflowin’
You drain my head when I get plugged
But I just don’t know where I would be goin’
Without the light of your love

Monkey feather, grizzle bone
Pink umbrella, purple telephone
It ain’t enough, it ain’t enough
Without your love
To keep me hangin’ on here
Long after you’ve gone, dear
Without your love

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

YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER NOW

The moon is comin’ up over the trees
As if even it’s got someone it has to please
This room is crowded, though just the two of us are here
Waitin’ for the fever to break
And there’s still so much that I feel I’ve got to say
But nothing that hasn’t been repeated for ten thousand years
Outside a crowd is gatherin’, cryin’ out for vengeance
They’ll cry that way forever now, all along the road of good intentions
But you should know better now
You should know better now

We stepped off a cliff, but survived that fall
And now return again to confront the same old wall
And you’re thinkin’ of a doorway
But is it the same one I’m thinkin’ of?
There’s a tavern across the street where the old soldiers go
Now that the war is over, now that life is slow
Upstairs from a funeral parlour
And they call it ‘Heavens Above’
They got a brand new singer but it’s still the same old song
Where a man’s more punished for doin’ what’s right
Than for what he knows is wrong
But you should know better now
You should know better now

Outside there’s a figure
Movin’ through the shadows of the night
Could be another murderer,
Or another blackbird takin’ flight
As a blind man walks straight into the sun
Cryin’ out: “Won’t someone please turn on the light?”

Laughin’ Boy’s uneasy, sittin’ on the windowsill
He got so much space to fill
And so much time to kill
And tonight he’s desperate,
Like a ghost without a house to haunt
As you raise your eyes to me from the book you’re readin’, then
Let them drift down slowly, like the silence that descends
When somebody finally decides what it is they really want
And I’m hopin’ that you heard me
And believed me when I said
That my love for you is real, not just another accident
But you should know better now
You should know better now

And I should know better now

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

HOUDINI IN REVERSE

Never had a stroke of luck but it was all bad
Never got a decent chance, wouldn’t know it if he had
The only road he ever knew was the one that went from bad to worse
That’s why everybody called him Houdini in Reverse

Anybody could’ve seen he was doomed from the start
Never got an even break but it broke all apart
And all the parents of the town
Would cry “My God, that boy’s been cursed!
Sons and daughters, stay far away from
Houdini in Reverse!”

He had a club on his foot and a sty in his eye
And an ugly rash on his knee
Deserted by his mom and dad, the only friends he had
Was the birds that sang in the trees
He could hear their sound from the hole in the ground
Where he lived when the people threw him out of the town
Sayin’ “Please stay far, far away from us,
Houdini in Reverse!”

One day somebody came and put him on TV
Sayin’ “Here stands the most afflicted man in all of history”
Suddenly all wars did cease, heavy storm clouds did disperse
‘Cause everyone was so grateful they weren’t
Houdini in Reverse

They put his face upon a postage stamp
As a symbol of hope
And everybody came to visit him
Lowered down upon a rope
All professors, priests, and presidents,
Even the Pope

When he died everybody paused to remember him
Then went right back out to fight all the wars again
But on his gravestone marker, which was relieved upon by birds
It said: Don’t Get Too Close For Here Lies the Ghost
Of Houdini in Reverse

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

YOU’RE THE ONE

Always on the wrong side of a bloodbath or a mudslide
Or on an ocean liner when the ocean’s at an ebb tide
You’re the one, you’re the one

Always in crossfire of some maniac for hire
Or in the eighth floor window when the seventh floor’s on fire
You’re the one, you’re the one

You’re the one that makes this life worth livin’
You make this constant slaughter almost worth forgivin’
And because of you I wouldn’t miss a single minute of it
You’re the one

And even when I’m weary,
Just to know that you are near me
Is enough to keep me pumpin’ when the world outside is dreary
You’re the one, you’re the one

You ask me where the light is, I haven’t got the slightest
All I know is where you are is where the dark is brightest
You’re the one, you’re the one

You’re the one that makes this life worth livin’
You make this constant slaughter almost worth forgivin’
And because of you I wouldn’t miss a single minute of it
You’re the one

People come and offer their solutions
They’re all so certain
But I see nothin’ here much worth salutin’
Or preservin’

Except the thin blade of your smile as we walk the moonlit mile
Behind the backdrops of the world where the casualties are piled
You’re the one, you’re the one

Always on the wrong side of a bloodbath or a mudslide
Or on an ocean liner when the ocean’s at an ebb tide
You’re the one, you’re the one
You’re the one

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

Posted in Albums, Houdini in Reverse, Lyrics | Leave a comment

Welcome to the Revolution (1994)

Posted on March 3, 2011 by kypharness

Click Here to Buy the Download!

1.    WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION
2.    BALLAD OF CURTIS MERTON
3.    SONG FOR A MAN
4.    CHEMICAL VALLEY
5.    JACKSON HOMER
6.    MOON RIDER
7.    BENEATH THE SKY
8.    CAPTAIN
9.    ASHES AND SAND
10.    SOLDIER SONG
11.    WAYWARD SON
12.    REMEMBER LOVE

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

WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION

They’re turnin’ up the heat now
And they’re blowin’ on the flames
They’re tightening the nooses
And they’re callin’ out names
They’re marshalling the forces
So well-behaved and so discreet
Welcome to the revolution
Don’t forget to wipe your feet

It’s not something you can target
Nor even something you can name
It kinda infiltrates the landscape
Till everything just seems the same
It leaves ya feelin’ low and dirty,
Kinda mean and down and out
Dreamin’ dreams of bloody murder
With the taste of metal in your mouth
And you can never see it comin’
It always hits you from the rear
Welcome to the revolution
Have another beer

It’s not a matter of religion
Nor of country or of creed
It’s just a terminal condition
Of unsatisfiable greed
Well it’s strip it down and sell it
Or kill it dead and leave it there
The people cry out for protectors
But the protectors aren’t there
As all the wise and noble leaders
Are out dividing up the stash
Welcome to the revolution
Will that be credit card or cash?

In a bunker in a mountain
It’s written there for all to see:
You Can Lead Them Anywhere
If You Just Do it By Degrees
On the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Somebody’s posted up a sign
Says: Put Your Head Between Your Legs, Boys
And Kiss Your Ass Good-bye!
If you can’t remember who you are
Try to remember who you were
Welcome to the Revolution
How’s the weather down there?

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

BALLAD OF CURTIS MERTON

Well that tiny little tyke that they called Little Boy Blue
When he walked in through the door and tracked mud across the floor
Has grown and left home, age twenty-two
Destination unknown, he hitched a ride out to
The outskirts of the city where he wandered ‘neath the stars
In the neon tangle of the freeway cars
And the allnight bars

Mom’s in the bathroom, she’s been in there all day
Before the mirror in her brassiere watching her hair turn grey
Dad’s very busy, he’s got his hands full
Watching TV at the same time as he does a crossword puzzle
Mom says to Dad: “Did you hear the back door slam?”
Dad says: “I’m gonna make a sandwich, did you buy any ham?”
When a news report interrupts Johnny’s next guest
About an all points bulletin for a man wanted for arrest
Somethin’ about a farm and fifteen people dead
But Mom’s gone to sleep
And Dad has gone to bed

Curtis Merton from Alberta called himself Billy the Kid
And always felt offended that no-one else did
He was the kind of guy who spent his life trying to fit in somewhere
And when he finally did he was so surprised that no-one seemed to care
That he left his wife and children and he bought some ammunition
And he drifted ’cross the country like a man on a mission
Afternoons in greasy spoons where he drank a dozen beers
With his red winter stocking cap pulled down over his ears
She came in through the door like a breath of spring
With her knee-high boots and her low cut blouse
Curtis Merton smiled, he heard his heart sing
If he ever had a grip on anything at all He lost it now

The snow it was a-fallin’ all the way down Highway 7
Visibility was poor, they said a blizzard was a-comin’
A man in rags in the parking lot stood underneath a light
And introduced himself as John the Baptist to all the passersby
She went up to the counter but they refused to serve her
She didn’t have no I.D., she was only seventeen
So Mighty Curtis Merton walked across the floor and stepped in
For the price of a glass of draught he bought himself a new friend
Her hair was black as night and the fire in her eyes
Made him feel alive like he never had before
It had just been thirteen days since she’d escaped the reservation
When Curtis Merton met her and they were seen walking together Out the door

In every town of every county ’cross the country in the night
The news reports of what occurred sped blindly in their flight
Across the land on newsstands and it was written in the lights
Of the neon signs and in the headlines of the times in black and white
All about the body they found lyin’ in the gully
And the broken man on the witness stand who hid his face and screamed
Commentators and speculators and assorted personalities
Questioned, all agreed it was a dreadful thing indeed

And Mom’s in the toilet with her head between her knees
Dad’s changing channels, tryin’ to change what he sees
Could have been another movie, could have been a documentary
Could have been an advertisement for a life insurance policy
Payments to a company on a mortgage for eternity
On a broken down shack in the suburbs where every bed is empty

And that tiny little tyke they called Little Boy Blue
When he walked in through the door and tracked mud across the floor
Has grown and left home, age twenty-two
Destination unknown, he hitched a ride out to
The outskirts of the city where he wandered ’neath the stars
In the neon tangle of the freeway cars And the allnight bars.

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

SONG FOR A MAN

I’d like to tell you about my old man
Who works eight hours daily in the company store
Who lives under laws he does not understand
Who fed me and clothed me since the day I was born

And he comes home from work
And he gets himself a beer
And he makes himself a sandwich
And he watches TV
And surveys all he’s worked for each day with his hands
I’d like to tell you about my old man

His mind’s a museum of small battles won
And his memory’s a book that nobody has read
His eyes are survivors which peer from their doorways
Across his dark landscape of the living and the dead

And he wakes with the dawn
And he sleeps with the dusk
On the couch in his house
Before his TV
Far from the callings
From behind the curtains
Of each day’s reminders
Through the toil of his hands
That somehow he has failed
Or somehow come short
On the path of survival
From the dreams of his youth
To the pain of his duties
’Neath the dark clouds of time
In the shadows of death
Where he walks a long mile
Just to say everyday
He does the best that he can
I’d like to tell you about my old man

The joys and the sadness of others can’t reach him
For now he knows neither as each dawning light
Is something to walk through, to silently shoulder
Blind to all extremes flashing through his own life

But he lines up his pleasures
Beside his regrets
And breaks from the clockwork
To drown his dull sorrow
In moments of madness
Culled from the reserve
Shrouding each short step backwards
Each painted grin falling
As he rambles home pissed
At four o’clock in the morning
And he sprawls out asleep
At the head of the table
And he lies there asleep
At the head of the table
And he shouts at his wife
In loud words of self-hatred
Arms thrashing the air
As he aches to know pity
Then he weeps with regret
As he begs her forgiveness
As he holds her tight
In the black of the night
In the house by the tracks
Where the trains crash on nightly
And he fears with a passion all he can’t understand
I’d like to tell you about my old man

One day he may die ’neath the dark silent sky
Alone as his last breath rises and falls
And the world walks on showing no trace of his living
Just like he’d never been born there at all

But from the stage of his follies
To the towers which shadow
The path from his workplace
To the doors of his home
He will play his last card
As the sky folds around him
He will shrug in the darkness
As he extends a hand
As he bears condescension
Unknowingly down
Through the dregs of his laughter
To a cold stony silence
When he laughs much too loudly
At all his own jokes
And he envies and hates
All those well-schooled and rich
And he respects and mistrusts
All those well-schooled and rich
And his sympathy falls
Nowhere outside his vision
As he’s never once left
The town he was born in
Misunderstanding all those
Any different from him
And his words they all rise
In a weak silent wind
As he tells all his children
To be better than him
But he comes home from work
And he gets himself a beer
And he makes himself a sandwich
And he watches TV
And surveys all he’s worked for each day with his hands
I’d like to tell you about my old man

If you cannot accept, don’t try to understand

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

CHEMICAL VALLEY

I was born inside a city where just about everyone you saw
Was workin’ in the factory just like their ma and pa
Inside multicorporations where their destinies were bought
And the profits shipped across the river to the Bank of America
The factories fed off the land and people of the place
To produce their products profitably, disposing of the waste
Without fear of any consequence, they threw it all away
Into the purity of the soil and the river and the lake

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

Everyone was so surprised to witness the results
Of twenty years of flooding the atmosphere with chemicals
Suddenly the fish are dying, the birds fall from the trees
The environment is twisted by mutation and deformity
There’s people sick and dyin’, and no-one knows what for
There’s babies dyin’ in the womb before they’re even born
The people live their lives in fear of the sickness and disease
In the water that they drink, the food they eat, the air they breathe

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

The workers in the factories, they all say
“I don’t know nothin’ about it, don’t look at me that way
I just wanna do my job and collect my pay
And I’d just as soon forget about it by the end of the day”
The owners of the factories, they tell you just the same
“We’ve been doin’ it for years, we didn’t know it’d be this way”
But they knew it all along, they just decided to ignore it
Where money is concerned, human life is unimportant

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

You can cry out to the government but the government won’t hear
You can bet your ass the government ain’t gonna interfere
When they stand so much to lose, when anyone can see
The corporations are so crucial to the state economy
They just slap some fines upon the factories for their crimes
The factories pay them off and chalk it up to expenses every time
Then they carry on doin’ damage to the universe
That a million years of nature’s healing could not begin to reverse

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

Can ya tell me ’bout your money, can you tell me what it’s worth?
Does it justify this needless death, this poisoning the earth?
How many people have to die to satisfy your greed?
How much sickness must you spread throughout this world before you see
That you’re gonna have to pay for everything you get someday
And when your day of darkness comes you’re gonna pay and pay and pay
You’re gonna pay for all this twisted fiery hell you’ve left behind
For the future children of this burned-out wasteland world to find
You took the pearls of the world and left a legacy of waste
You make me feel ashamed to be a member of the human race

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

Back in Chemical Valley life continues silently
To feed the greed of people no-one here has ever seen
The people keep on workin’ and the factories produce
When you got a mouth to feed and a family what else can you do?
One by one the stars are fading as a blackness floods the sky
Through a conspiracy of silence and a multitude of lies
As a woman stands upon the shore beneath the setting sun
And she looks across the lake and cries “My God, what have we done?”

Chemical Valley Chemical Valley Chemical Valley

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

JACKSON HOMER

Jackson Homer was a farmer
Well-known for miles around
With eighty acres sixteen miles
From the nearest town
And a little farm house left him by his father
Who was a farmer too