SONG LYRICS — “WESTERN RESERVE”

However You Can

I don’t know if I’ve been a good man

Most days I give it my best

Sometimes I walk in God’s graces

Sometimes I fail the test

My son died in Kandahar province

My wife died in pain the next year

My daughter’s a doctor in Boston

Who sacrificed kids for career

So love me as if I’m your brother

Love me as if I’m your man

Love me as one loves another

Love me however you can

I worked the GE floor in Warren

Made lights bulbs for nine thousand days

And in ’14 they banned incandescents

And the last hundred jobs went away

Now I sit in the glare of fluorescents

Hard light on the family room floor

And I think of the good days we had here

Good times I won’t have any more

So love me as if I’m your brother

Love me as if I’m your man

Love me as one loves another

Love me however you can

This life is a trial, this life is a road

We walk the last mile alone

But I choke back the bile and shoulder the load

And think of the love I have known

I mostly spend time with myself now

My daughter, she calls once a week

And the days flow by like a river of time

Whole days when I don’t even speak

But I hope I’m at peace with my Maker

I’m making my peace with my fate

Still, sometimes I stare out the window

And wish that it wasn’t so late

So love me as if I’m your brother

Love me as if I’m your man

Love me as I loved another

Love me however you can

I don’t know if I’ve been a good man

Most days I give it my best

Sometimes I walk in God’s graces

Sometimes I fail the test

Western Reserve  

The moment I saw it, I knew it 

The Buick pulled in the drive 

I couldn’t think how we’d get through it 

Couldn’t think how we’d survive  

The soldiers could not have been kinder 

You could see they’d done this before 

Another suburban reminder 

Of an endless, horrible war  

To serve was never Ted’s calling 

But he joined the Ohio Guard 

The Iron Camels out of Piqua 

When they cut back his hours at the yard  

Ted was buried with full Army colors 

With his brothers at Western Reserve 

In a grave like ten thousand others 

A grave that no one deserves 

And I feel so sad for my Davy 

With the loneliest crosstown commute 

From Western Reserve down to Lake View 

And the stones of life’s bitter fruit 

Not long past Ted’s memorial service 

I felt a strange pain in my thumb 

At first, I thought it was nerves 

Though most of the time I felt numb  

But by April my hands were on fire 

By May I was feeling so weak 

In June I had to retire 

By July, whole days when I couldn’t speak 

And I cannot describe what it felt like 

The infusions that tore me apart 

And pain that consumed my whole body 

After pain had consumed my heart  

But the worst part was watching my husband 

So angry with the Lord 

Silently raging at heaven 

Fury on the seventh-floor ward 

And I feel so sad for my Davy 

With the loneliest crosstown commute 

From Western Reserve down to Lake View 

And the stones of life’s bitter fruit 

The moment I saw it, I knew it 

The Buick pulled in the drive 

I couldn’t think how we’d get through it 

Couldn’t think how we’d survive  

The soldiers could not have been kinder 

I could see they’d done this before 

Another suburban reminder 

Of an endless, horrible war 

Never Going Home

Mom took out a loan from her pension

Dad took extra shifts on the floor

Sacrifices too many to mention

And I’d pay them back, I swore

And I did – I made Alpha Omega

Did pediatrics at UCSF

They visited my flat on Ortega

When I left for Mali with MSF

But Dad told me the one thing he prayed for

Was I’d come to work close by

He figured that’s what they paid for

But there’s just so much tuition can buy

And I have good work at Brigham and Women’s

And I’m happy that my life is my own

And no matter how much I love them

I am never, never ever ever going home

I was working the ward the morning

I got the call that my brother was dead

An IED with no warning

Shrapnel through the back of his head

Mom at the funeral crying

Dad’s back as straight as a rod

Trying and failing and trying

To make their peace with God

And then her cancer struck like lightning

Too fast to comprehend

Relentless and endlessly frightening

Six months from beginning to end

And I do good work at Brigham and Women’s

And I’m content to be living alone

And no matter how much I love him

I am never, never ever going home

Can anybody out there show us

What we owe in exchange for our days?

When they need us but they no longer know us

Can we make peace with the parting of ways?

I call Dad every Sunday

And we dance our weekly dance:

“Looking forward to seeing you someday”

“I’ll come and visit when I have the chance”

I think he’s proud of my achievements

And proud that I share his name

But in that house built of stone and bereavements

I think he hates me just the same

And I do good work at Brigham and Women’s

And I’ve earned everything that I own

But no matter how much I love him

I am never, never ever ever going home

Lost and Found  

Johnny went down to the lost and found with a look of half surprise 

Janie’d been gone a day too long, he hadn’t seen it in her eyes 

He looked around at the lost and found, time began to unwind

He could see for himself on every shelf the things he’d left behind  

Janie went down to the lost and found with something that felt like fear 

She dropped in the slot ninety-seven bad thoughts picked up from year to year 

She walked around at the lost and found, put Johnny right out of her mind 

And every rack said, “Don’t go back to the things you left behind”  

The things she left behind 

The things she left behind 

The things she left behind  

Davy went down to the lost and found, a folded flag in his hand 

Looking for Ted who was two years’ dead in the dust of Afghanistan 

He looked around at the lost and found but the rage just made him blind 

Ted was gone, and Davy couldn’t move on from the things he left behind  

The things he left behind 

The things he left behind 

The things he left behind  

Sometimes you lose a treasure 

Sometimes you find a stone 

Sometimes it’s tough to measure 

And you’re better off living alone  

My mama went down to the lost and found after my daddy had died 

She said she didn’t know why she wanted to go but you know, I think she lied 

She walked around at the lost and found, all polished, perfumed and refined 

And cut off his life with a carving knife and the things he’d left behind 

If you go down to the lost and found, you better not go alone 

You might waste the day, you might walk away with something that you don’t even own 

I’ll meet you down at the lost and found, we’ll keep tomorrow in mind 

But we better move fast or we won’t get past the things we leave behind  

The things we leave behind 

The things we leave behind 

The things we leave behind  

The things we leave behind 

The things we lose and find

The things we keep in mind 

The things we leave behind 

Tend the Fire  

Before we go, I just want to say 

You made my life a wonder in a hundred different ways 

But time moves on and the years roll by 

You laugh, you lose, you learn to love, you live your life, you die 

But who I am isn’t who I was 

I love you and I always will, just because 

And who I am isn’t who I’ll be 

And you are in my heart and in my heart you’ll always be 

My one  

If I knew what went wrong 

I’d write it in a sad and lonesome country song 

And if I knew how to make it right 

I’d love you through the long and lazy summer nights 

But who I am isn’t who I was 

And time defeats the purpose, as it often does 

And who I am isn’t who I’ll be 

I’ll find a place where I can keep my own company 

As one  

While you tend the fire 

You tend the fire 

You tend the fire 

This time  

I can’t deny, we’re getting old 

The places that we’ve touched have started turning cold 

I’d hold your hand if the myths were true 

But I believe this is the last song that I’ll write for you 

But who I am isn’t who I was 

The night descends in silence, as it always does 

And who I am isn’t who I’ll be 

I wish you well, I wish you love, I wish you were with me 

As one  

While you tend the fire 

You tend the fire 

You tend the fire 

This time 

You tend the fire 

While I’ll walk the wire 

You tend the fire 

This time  

And now it’s time to end this song 

Go with God, go with grace, but please don’t go too long 

I’ll be here if you chance to call 

I’ll look for you, I’ll look for love, I’ll try to see it all 

As one  

And I’ll tend the fire 

I’ll tend the fire 

I’ll tend the fire 

While you’re gone  

And I’ll tend the fire 

While you walk the wire 

I’ll tend the fire 

From now on  

Tuesday Girl 

I was singing in a practice room 

In a high school overcrowded by the baby boom 

A pretty brown-haired girl walked right in 

With a book bag and a violin 

She didn’t say a thing 

Just started working on “The Rite of Spring” 

After just one phrase I went crazy for that Tuesday girl 

One week later it was just the same 

She walked in and started playing, didn’t ask my name 

I couldn’t sing so I took out my books 

Faking reading, throwing sidelong looks 

I was just sixteen 

She was the greatest thing I’d ever seen 

But I didn’t have a prayer of getting near that Tuesday girl 

Other days I hardly saw her at all 

No glance in a classroom, no nod in the hall 

But I built a little world 

Around that pretty, pretty Tuesday girl 

As the weeks went by the ice began to crack 

I’d slip out a smile; she’d slip one back 

Then one Spring day all my patience paid 

She looked straight at me as she played 

And in that sweet, small moment of grace 

There was a shy smile on her face 

And I finally had a chance to dance with my Tuesday girl 

Other days I hardly saw her at all 

No glance in a classroom, no nod in the hall 

But I built a little world 

Around my pretty, pretty Tuesday girl 

If you please 

You could sail all the seven seas 

And never find a pearl 

That shines like my Tuesday girl 

After that we had a lot of fun 

A different kind of practice out in the sun 

Taking walks in the forest preserve 

Couple of kisses when I got up the nerve 

And then her family moved away 

I was so sad she couldn’t stay 

To help me learn a little more about caring for a Tuesday girl  

If you please 

You could sail all the seven seas 

And never find a pearl 

That shines like my Tuesday girl  

Don’t Keep Me Waiting ((c) 1971 Francis McKendree)

I am a simple man 

I find myself in you 

I do not shut the door 

I won’t ask you for more  

Why won’t you open up? 

Don’t keep me waiting here  

It’s been a long, long time 

My feet have come to rest 

The empty midnight sky 

Has seen you asking why 

Why won’t you open up? 

Don’t keep me waiting here  

I gave the best years to you 

Now it don’t even show 

If we’re not going to last 

I wish you’d let me know  

I am a simple man 

I find myself in you 

I do not shut the door 

I won’t ask you for more  

Why won’t you open up? 

Don’t keep me waiting here 

I gave the best years to you 

Now it don’t even show 

If we’re not going to last 

I wish you’d let me know 

Photography 

There’s a photo we keep on a bookshelf 

Our daughter at the shore 

She’s halfway through a cartwheel 

Who could ever ask for more? 

There’s a photo I saw in the paper 

A toddler face down in the sand 

The waves threw him out of a life raft 

That no country allowed to land 

I can’t meet my glance in the mirror 

I can’t look myself in the eye 

In my safety, my warmth and my comfort 

As children continue to die 

There’s a photo I keep in my office 

My daughter at the park 

Between the slide and the swing set 

She’s happy as a lark 

There’s a photo I saw in the paper 

A child in a cage 

And of course I found it horrific 

Then I turned to the local news page

I can’t meet my glance in the mirror 

I can’t look myself in the eye 

With the freedom to go where I want to 

As children continue to die  

Who have we become? Who are we? 

Complaining about the rain 

Blind to the world around us 

Ignoring the terror and pain  

There’s a photo I keep in my mind’s eye 

My daughter on the lawn 

Camellias in bloom all around her 

It’s a beautiful summer’s dawn 

There’s a photo I saw in the paper 

A young girl with fear in her face 

As the tear gas swirled around her 

For the crime of seeking a safe place  

Can you meet your glance in the mirror? 

Can you look yourself in the eye 

With the peace you take for granted 

As children continue to die? 

Good Book Blues 

Come on pretty baby, meet me way downtown 

Come on pretty mama, won’t you meet me way downtown? 

If you want to have a good time, you gotta put the Good Book down 

Come on pretty mama, meet me by the railroad gate 

Come on pretty baby, won’t you meet me by the railroad gate? 

If you want to go ridin’, heaven gonna have to wait  

The Lord says love your brother, the Lord says put your neighbor first 

The Lord says love your brother, Lord says put your neighbor first 

Gonna do the good Lord’s bidding, but first I gotta quench my thirst  

Saw the preacher at the station, he asked me where I’d been  

Preacher at the station, asked me where I’d been 

I said the church ain’t no place for a man who’s born to sin  

My baby says she loves me, gonna love her ‘til I’m dead  

Baby says she loves me, gonna love her ‘til the day I’m dead 

But the Good Book is her pillow and it won’t let me in her bed  

Got no cream in my coffee, got no sugar in my tea 

Got no cream in my coffee, no sugar in my tea 

But I got a Gospel woman, and she’s a fool for me  

Come on pretty baby, meet me way downtown 

Come on pretty mama, won’t you meet me way downtown? 

If you want to have a good time, you gotta put the Good Book down 

The Final Word 

So you’ve finally come to see Me 

You bastard in a suit 

I’ve kept up with your letters 

And a few were quite astute  

You’re right, you’re no Hank Williams 

But then, you didn’t want to be 

Climbing up a tower of song 

You wanted to be Me  

Or at least to do My bidding 

Or at most to do My will 

In songs and quiet questions 

From a cell atop a hill  

You said you wanted darkness 

So I brought you through the night 

Then to that crack in everything 

That lets in the light  

Your old ideas were new once 

And now you understand 

The permanence of parting 

So long, Marianne  

Now the suits are on the hangers 

The hats are on the shelf 

The Master has now mastered 

The silence of the self  

So we’ll sing My hallelujah 

Then we’ll sing about your bird 

And laugh at how it pleases you 

To have the final word  

You came so far for beauty 

You cast your eyes above 

But still you did your duty 

In the field command of love 

There’s a way to say goodbye now 

To Heather and to Pearl 

To a hotel room in Chelsea 

To the waning of the world  

Now the suits are in the closet 

The hats are on the shelf 

The Master has now mastered 

The silence of the self  

So let us all sing hallelujah 

For the sacred and absurd 

And wing a prayer to Leonard 

Who had the final word  

So you’ve finally come to see Me 

You bastard in a suit 

I’ve kept up with your letters 

And a few were quite astute 

SONG LYRICS -- "VISITORS"

Albion

 “You climb from the east side, I’ll climb from the west.

We’ll cover much more ground that way, I think it would be best.

The storm is coming quickly now, there’s no time left to lose,

So shoulder up your packs, my friends, and lace your climbin’ shoes.”

So said Charles to Angel, and to Rockefeller too

With three lost on the mountain, and them the rescue crew

Up in the Sangre de Christos, the aspen trees were bare

As the light was falling faster in the cold November air

Three friends, two trails, one mountainside

To find the lives they seek

They should make it back to Albion

With grace, by the end of the week

“No man should take that path alone,” Angel said right back.

“There’s too much ash, there’s too much stone – a fragile soul could crack.

We all should search as one,” he said, “Or is it just your pride

That makes you want to walk alone on the other side?”

“It’s neither pride nor wisdom,” said Charles with a grin,

“It’s just what we’re obliged to do when the night comes closing in.

You go your way and I’ll go mine.  I’ll see you in a while.”

And Rockefeller said nothing, but his eyes betrayed a smile.

Three friends, two trails, one mountainside

The sky was wild and grey

They should make it back to Albion

With grace, by the end of the day

The storm hit hard and Charles was lost, buried in the mud

And Rockefeller cut his hands, and died from losing blood

When Angel reached the three lost souls, he found them too far gone

So he kept on climbing through the night until the day did dawn

Three friends, two trails, one mountainside

I cannot tell you how

They should make it back to Albion

With grace, right about now

Three friends, two trails, one mountainside

I cannot tell you how

But they made it back to Albion

Should be getting there right about now

In Her Name

She delivers the desperate from danger, she’s the one who reverses the spell

The crier announcing the stranger, the spring that refreshes the well

She will rise to release you from capture, she’s a tern flying far from the shore

The days between birth and the Rapture, a poppy in bloom on the moor

But none of these words that proclaim her mean much when you ask her to sing

By the sound of her voice you will name her with all that good fortune can bring

She is sixty-four subjects of study, she’s the collar adorning a blouse

Roots in the earth wet and muddy, the gables enhancing your house

Her dark hair falls softly around her, the raspberry blush of the bride

The scent of the ocean surrounds her, the kelp washed ashore by the tide

Chorus

If you look straight ahead you won’t see her

She is always and never the same

But you’ll find everything

That good fortune can bring

In her name, in her name, in her name

She is always absolved and unburdened, you will watch as she swims to the south

She’s a fish, she’s an engine, a surgeon; the opposite sides of your mouth

Her sea eyes reflect what she’s feeling, she‘s been known as the goddess of death

But if you should find yourself kneeling, you’ll be raised by a wisp of her breath

But none of these words that proclaim her mean much when you ask her to sing

By the sound of her voice you will name her, with all that good fortune can bring

And as much as you might wish to claim her, she’ll be gone with the coming of spring

The Devil Every Day

On the one side you got the water

On the other side you got the road

The wrong choice leads the lamb to the slaughter

The right choice gonna lighten your load

There are kids gettin’ high on the lakefront

Me, I’m just gettin’ by on the street

But you’ll know when the wave’s gonna break

When you listen to the heart of its beat

No I did not leave you gladly

In that season of the wind

You may say I acted badly

But you may not say I sinned

And the hangman’s in his black hood

With the devil every day

While you’re down south in the backwoods

And I’m out west by the bay

Now we’re both left to wonder what happened

We’re both left to wonder who won

But I’ll never again be caught nappin’

And you’ll always be ready to run

Now the summer sun is sinking

Though it isn’t raining yet

If you tell me what you’re thinking

I’ll tell you what I’m trying to forget

Now the garden’s gone to desert

And all I want to do is get wet

But the summer sun is sinking

And it isn’t raining yet

Now we’re both left to wonder what happened

We’re both left to wonder who won

But I’ll never again be caught nappin’

And you’ll always be ready to run

In this new life that I’m living

You’re almost never there

But I’m feeling quite forgiving

‘Cuz I’m coming up for air

And I’m used to flying solo

I’m a stone cold one-man band

And no one finds his Yoko

When he’s a real nowhere man

On the one hand you got the water

On the other hand you’ve had your say

Every hour gets a little bit shorter

With the devil every day

With the devil every day

With the devil every day

Tomorrow is a Long Time

If today was not a crooked highway

If tonight was not a crooked trail

If tomorrow wasn’t such a long time

Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all

Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin’

And if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin’

And only if she was lyin’ by me

Then I’d lie in my bed once again

I can’t see my reflection in the water

I can’t speak the sounds that show no pain

I can’t hear the echo of my footsteps

Or remember the sound of my own name

Chorus

There’s beauty in that silver, singin’ river

There’s beauty in the sunrise in the sky

But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty

That I remember in my true love’s eyes

Chorus

Where You Are

The hillside’s shinin’ all the way to the trees

If you listen closely you can hear it

And restless heroes test their love by the trees

Only one time left to share it      

But here I am in the flatlands again

Heroes move, but I just listen

Solo motion with the paper and pen

Always you and I keep missin’

And you can keep your hill-shining moon

And you can keep your star

And you can keep your west and your east

Just keep me where you are

Days of darkness ‘til I first saw your face

Night by night we set the rhythm

‘Til motion sickness took us to a different place

But the walls were strong while we lived in them

And if I cry out for the distance to break

For waves of silence to find an island

We’ll come up quickly and we’ll give and we’ll take

And we’ll walk that trail up to the highland

Chorus

The hill’s still shinin’ just as far as I can see

It sounds so sweet, so still and lonely

And heroes gone home where they’ll dream so desperately

Of nights with time to share, if only

And in the flatlands it’s all quiet tonight

The pen and paper just scratch the stillness

And you’re above it all, you fill all sense and sight

I’m close behind, but if I still miss

Chorus

Visitors

In the cool of the evening, watching you grieve

Wiping your face with the side of your sleeve

When the vigil was over all that remained

Was a white linen shroud that you could not unweave

When something is lost, they say something is gained

When one soul departs, another’s unchained

But these aren’t the chords of comfort you crave

Or words that make clear what cannot be explained

The lives that we lose, the lives we can’t save

The voices that whisper and sing from the grave

They visit us often in daylight and dreams

With memory and love, the gifts that they gave

The river that flows through the crags and the seams

Gathers its strength from a thousand small streams

And we are no more than the sum of our past

Each life is a life that renews and redeems

And we will be more than the sum of our past

Each life is a life that will not be the last

Let it Rise

Thinking about the good times while I’m talking about the bad

Feeling what it feels to lose the best friend I ever had

But life always gives you something when something else gets lost

So you’re never really empty-handed once you learn to ignore the cost

Looking out at times ahead while my heart beats at time gone by

Longing to touch your fingers, since I can no longer touch the sky

But day always leads to evening, and the night’s never far away

And love leads to someone leaving even when another someone wants to stay

And it all comes down to you

Every step, every inch, every mile

It all comes down, my friend, when you smile

So free, when you smile at me, when you smile

Well you spend your days in confidence in the light of the sun

But you spend your nights in darkness wondering what it is you’ve done

When you gonna find out you’re the only one who knows

Just what you’ve been doing and just what you let go?

Well, you let the wind blow back your hair, thinking how good it feels

Then you turn and blow through someone’s life with a love you just reveal

When you gonna find out that the tiny taste you give

Just makes us all so thirsty to try and drink in the life you live?

Let it rise, let it rise, like the morning sun

Let it rise, let it rise, through the things you’ve done

Let it rise, let it rise, won’t you pick up everyone

And let it rise?

Well, you ask the open questions like you breathe the open air

While you’re searching for the phrases to show yourself you care

When you gonna find out that the answer’s in your eyes

If you’d listen to the sunlight as you look up toward the skies?

And you ask me to forgive you for the love you took away

And you feel a small injustice that it took so long to say

When you gonna find out that forgiveness isn’t much

‘Til you feel yourself forgiving and you find someone to touch?

Chorus

Let it rise, let it rise, like the morning sun

(And it all comes down to you, every step, every inch, every mile)

Let it rise, let it rise, through the things you’ve done

(It all comes down to you, every step, every inch, every mile)

Let it rise, let it rise, won’t you pick up everyone

(It all comes down to you, every step, every inch, every mile)

And let it rise

Christmas Day

With her friends there to stay for Christmas day, she couldn’t talk too long

But that was okay, he had nothing to say, they both knew what went wrong

She lost her faith when he lost his nerve and couldn’t pull the switch

The road was straight but he took a curve and wound up in a ditch

And it all went away on Christmas day

The snow from the north wouldn’t lift

What can you say on Christmas day

When you give back the very best gift?

He saw her through the days that grew too long, too sad, too grim

And they both knew when his time came too, she’d do the same for him

The sea was clear and the autumn air smelled sweet from their hillside bed

In a hundred ways in the nights and days there was nothing left unsaid

But it all went away on Christmas day

He stood in the snowfall, adrift

What can you say on Christmas day

When you give back the very best gift?

Some people say that Christmas day is the day of the world’s rebirth

If I had my way on Christmas day love would reign on heaven and earth

He looks at the sky, wondering why it’s so hard to take that leap

And he hates his ways and the length of days and the nights that bring no sleep

She gets up each day a little further away, moving on, moving on

She gave him the chance to dance that dance, but when it’s gone, it’s gone

And it all went away on Christmas day

The snow from the north wouldn’t lift

What can you say on Christmas day

When you give back the very best gift?

Some people say that Christmas day is the day when love comes true

If I had my way on Christmas day I would spend a little time with you

But it all went away on Christmas day

With the snow from the north in his heart

What can you say on Christmas day

When you tear your own world apart?

When you tear your own world apart?

When you tear your own world apart?

Normal Life

Do you hear George Winston through the ceiling tiles?

Do you think of all the lovers with their secret silly smiles?

Do you wonder at the changes sharp as steel like a knife?

Do you worry that you’ll never really have a normal life?

He can sit and dream ‘til midnight, he can sit and dream ‘til dawn

He can think about the woman who responded with a yawn

He can wonder at his friend who’s got a husband, got a wife

He can worry that he’ll never really have a normal life

A normal life with easy days

A normal job that really pays

A normal love who’s always there

A normal life without a care

She might think about the baby that she’d one day like to bear

She might think about the man she’d like to hold if he were there

She might wonder at the years and how she’s managed to survive

She might worry that she’ll never really have a normal life

I should tell you that it really doesn’t matter much to me

I should think about that passion – is it all it’s meant to be?

I should wonder how the peace of men collapses into strife

While I worry that I’ll never really have a normal life

A normal life with endless days

A normal job that weighs and weighs and weighs

A normal love, complacent pair

A normal life, I just don’t care

A normal life, who’d ever dare?

Sweet Words and History

“Play it again, that song that you wrote

For your friend getting married, like a personal note

That song made me love you,” she said, shy, and smiled

So he played it and it made him feel safe as a child

While orange hills of Judah sat softly below

They built on their histories, words measured and slow

And the walls fell to sand on the brown sacred earth

As they stood there together to celebrate a birth

Sweet words and history, another sad song

A specter of loneliness, you might sing along

While another day’s failings are falling away

With sweet words and history to give you today

The demon within him ran fast and ran strong

And it sat down beside him to help his day along

With words that burned like acid – give a nickel, take a dime

While quietly he poisoned her, crime after crime

How do you sing a compassionate tune?

For the way that she suffered, for the loss of the moon

That set before dawn on nativity down

As they watched, falling desperately down (doobie-do-down-down)

Chorus

But hadn’t he cautioned her right from the start

That to love half a woman would tear him apart?

But to find that he’d scar her while opening her heart

Makes me think he’s the one who got it wrong from the start

Makes me think he’s the one who ought to bow and depart

Chorus

Antonia

Antonia slid ‘cross the floor and she sat down by my side

I didn’t have a path to the door and there wasn’t anywhere to hide

We talked about last summer and that guy she’d tried to kill

I said, “You haven’t changed at all.”  She said, “You know I never will.”

Antonia put her makeup on and pulled on a little black dress

Stiletto heels six inches long, but she left her hair a mess

I said, “Antonia, won’t you please tell me why?”

She said, “When I put it all together, you little boys just break down and cry.”

Oh, Antonia, you scare the living hell outta me

Oh, Antonia, why can’t you let me be?

Oh, Antonia, you scare the living hell outta me

Oh, Antonia, let me be

Antonia said, “Let’s go for a walk,” and she took me by the hand

I could see my body outlined in chalk on the dock out on Bristol Strand

I said, “Antonia – how about I take you on out for a drink?”

Thinking if I kept her in my sights, I might get a minute to think . . .

Oh Antonia, you scare me half to death

Oh Antonia, a lot of coke, a little crystal meth

Oh Antonia, I know you shoot to maim

Oh Antonia, I like to see you just the same

Oh Antonia, she’s nobody’s fool

Oh Antonia, she won’t play by your rules

Oh, Antonia, she’s got two guns and a knife

Here she comes – you better run for your life

Antonia took me up to her flat and laid me on the bed

Sat herself down in a high-backed chair and I knew I was as good as dead

Just then the cops broke in with a warrant to take her away

I jumped from the window and broke two toes, but I lived to see another day

Sweet Little Mystery

My friends all tell me that I look so sad

They don't need to ask me why

They know the reason that I feel so bad

Since the night you said goodbye

It's not the letters that you just don't write

It's not the arms of some new friend

It's not the crying in the dead of night

That keeps me hanging on, just waiting for the end

It’s that sweet little mystery that's in your heart

Just that sweet little mystery makes me try

It’s that sweet little mystery that's in your heart

Just that sweet little mystery makes me cry

I watch the street, I watch the radio

I don't need to turn it on

Another friend comes by and tries to say hello

Another weekend's almost gone

It's not the letters that you just don't write

It's not the arms of some new friend

It's not the crying in the dead of night

That keeps me hanging on, just waiting for the end

Chorus

Time is flying fast and I don't care

To spend another night alone

I want to see you, but I don't know where

'Til then I'm walking on my own

It's not the letters that you just don't write

It's not the arms of some new friend

It's not the crying in the dead of night

That keeps me hanging on, just waiting for the end

It’s that sweet little mystery that's in your heart

Just that sweet little mystery makes me try

It’s that sweet little mystery that's in your heart

Just that sweet little mystery makes me cry

The Librarian’s Garden

In the woods outside Windale there’s a beautiful house

As quiet as a tomb

There’s nobody there except the few weeks each year

Nora sleeps in the cloud-filled room

I’ve heard it said she’ll live there with Ted

Once she signs the papers with Zack

But it’s getting’ pretty late, she hasn’t made that date

‘Cause once she goes, she knows she can’t come back

Nora kneels in the dirt in the wet southern sun

Ted’s out back by the clay

Wisteria waiting to be joined to the earth

The kiln will be fired today

In the west, William stirs; he’s been dreaming of her

Picks up an acoustic guitar

While Eve sorts her beads like she’s sowing seeds

Each one in its proper jar

The librarian’s garden, that’s what I want to see

That’s what I want to see today

Queen-Anne’s lace all over the place

Lilacs in April and May

The librarian’s garden, that’s where I want to be

That’s where I want to be today

She walked there alone on the bridges and stones

But the librarian’s gone away

At the house outside Windale there’s a gardener now

Carefully sculpting the land

The front trees are gone for an elegant lawn

The wildness slips from her hand

But Nora’s content; though she’s folded her tent

She did it for comfort and love

And Ted, feeling blessed, heads off on his quest

Like Icarus soaring above

Out in the west, with a pain in his chest

William thinks of her, languid and soft

Her hair in the light of a beautiful night

On the bed in the clouds in the loft

And Eve, she just stares with no words and no tears

She sees everything and nothing at all

And cares for her man as best she can

Waiting for darkness to fall

The librarian’s garden, that’s what I want to see

That’s what I want to see today

Queen-Anne’s lace all over the place

Lilacs in April and May

The librarian’s garden, that’s where I want to be

That’s where I want to be today

She walked there alone over bridges and stones

But the librarian’s gone away

Nora and Ted might make a go of it yet

So many years down the line

Back and forth from south to north

Magnolia to pine

And William and Eve sitting watching TV

Silently getting on

These strange sad lives of husbands and wives disappear

Look!  They’re gone . . .

Three Horses

On the road to Eastern Caledonia

On the way to God-Only-Knows-Why

Robert Johnson got sick with pneumonia

And he made himself ready to die

He looked at the desert around him

He looked at the westering light

As he felt the last darkness surround him

Three horses appeared in his sight

The first wore a saddle of leather

The second a bridle of gold

The third horse wore nothing but weather

And they all seemed a thousand years old

The first horse to Robert spoke slowly:

“Climb up on this saddle, come nigh

You are made of that which is holy

Return to your father on high”

The second to Robert spoke quickly:

“Take hold of this bridle and ride

For your soul is corrupted and sickly

And your fate is not yours to decide”

The third horse knelt gently beside him

And nudged Robert onto his back

And with Robert a shadow bestride him

They made off like the wind through a crack

Now, someone might call you a sinner

Another might call you a king

But a third one might call you to dinner

Though he knows you’ve got nothing to bring

Yes, a third one might call you to dinner

Though he knows you’ve got nothing to bring

SONG LYRICS -- "THE VIEW FROM THIS HORIZON"

Secret Waters

You water your garden on your hands and your knees

Tending the flowers, the balm for the bees

Then you lie in the field with your hands in the earth

All that you have, all that it's worth

Chorus

Once our secrets were shared, you gave me the notion

That the passion you feel is as deep as the ocean

So I'll flow to your shores on waves of emotion

With waters of love and tides of devotion

Echoes and echoes of a heart-crushing past

Secret waters come rushing too hard and too fast

There'll be calm on the coastline when I know that it's true

I'm not asking for something you're unable to do

Chorus

When the waters start rising, I will learn how to fly

And I'll hover above them 'til the past passes by

Patiently waiting for the waters to part

And for you to float home on the raft of my heart

So dress yourself in burgundy; I'll wear a black beret

We'll go down to the shoreline and celebrate the day

We gave ourselves up for water, we dove into the sea

Flowed into the wellspring we were always meant to be

Chorus

Brother

With all the seeds of history falling down to my outstretched hand

I see the fruits of bitter harvest, desperate madness on the land

But I ain't looking out today for the world, I ain't that strong

And I won't let it get in the way of a different song

I used to call him brother but it seems so long ago

A thousand years of solitude and a man I just couldn't know

After all those tosses heads came up and looked across at the mirrored face

And the past weighed so much lighter then in the light of a different place

Chorus

And sometimes when I'm feeling busted

Sometimes when the lights go dim

Sometimes when the ones I trusted run away

I can run to him

My own eyes seek redemption now and a kinder sort of art

Our worlds unfold in cadences, every moment stops and it starts

And touching bases lightly beats not touching them at all

And the view from this horizon says your far or as near as I can call

Chorus

Now all those seeds of history are buried deep 'til the coming spring

And you know the trails are fresher then than the places the ends of them bring

Your trails may take you farther then than you've ever been before

And mine may take me out again, but you've always got that key to my door

Chorus

Nothing Left to Hide

There's a warm light in the kitchen, candles light the meal

Wine and bread and blessings, and a love we know is real

And we spend the night together, wake up slowly with the dawn

Fresh berries for our breakfast, then go out and cut the lawn

Chorus

I want to be the last face you see at night, and be the last voice you hear

I want to be with you when you greet the light and hold you oh, so near

I want to love you like you've never been loved before and fill you up inside

I want the whole wide world to feel our love, when there's nothing left to hide

Standing in a small room, staring at a screen

Listen as a doctor tells you what the image means

And suddenly I'm dancin', and I sing a little song

When I hear the words she telling you: there's really nothing wrong

Chorus

And when we are much older, holding hands and moving slow

Your head soft on my shoulder in the evening's afterglow

We will love each other gently where we quietly reside

And we'll thank God for the days we have when there's nothing left to hide

So let's think about the days to come and the life we still we share

And the ordinary tasks we're do one by one and year by year

I will live inside your heart each day, always by your side

And each night I'll lift my voice and pray when there's nothing left to hide

Boston

There are times when my mind goes tumblin', stumblin' over to the east of the Bay

And those times of forgotten free-fall see all your memories comin' over my way

Flash of light, flash of promise 'til the summer comes and I'm gone

But don't think twice and it won't be long, 'cause you hold the sons, babe, you've got the dawn

And sometimes I listen for your call

Sometimes not, but that don't matter at all

'Cause I miss you

Half a year of a sudden somethin' jumpin' in to lead me out of the past

Open worlds of a new redemption temptin' me to fight my demons at last

With your strength and your comfort, and the quiet pain in your eyes

Through the sound of the silent goodbyes, in this empty room I don't even own the lies

And sometimes I listen for your call

Sometimes not, but that don't matter at all

'Cause I miss you

Chorus

And if I tell you it's not over, and you tell me of the east

All that's left are the year and the miles

And if you need your freedom, you've the right to be released

And I'll dream of you in Boston and be pleased

Must be times when your heart goes reelin', feelin' pangs of the singular days

Other times I can hear your singin' ringin' out that you've made your own way

If your crystal convictions feel sterile, and you know that they might

Ten thousand miles can't dim a pure light, and you're not alone and you can still fight off the night

And sometimes I listen for your call

Sometimes not, but that don't matter at all

'Cause I miss you

Chorus

Ain't it Funny

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Man meets a woman and takes her for his wife

Things happen and they find themselves sliding down the edge of a knife

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Ain't it funny how things happen these days?

Love lasts or it doesn't even when one lover's heart stays ablaze

There's only so much you can do with a longing gaze

Ain't it funny how things happen these days?

Ain't it funny how things happen in the night?

Crimes of conscience, dreams of passion and delight

And when the morning comes it all fades away out of sight

Ain't it funny how things happen in the night?

Ain't it funny how things happen for a reason?

Truths that burn like fire but somehow leave you freezin'

To everything there is a season

Ain't it funny how things happen for a reason

Ain't it funny how things happen to you and me?

I'm trying to talk myself into being less than I used to be

And tho' my love may not be worth much, you get it for free

Ain't it funny how things happen to you and me?

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Man meets a woman and takes her for his wife

Things happen and they find themselves sliding down the edge of a knife

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Ain't it funny how things happen in this life?

Woodside

She took him walking in Woodside, their arms became entwined

He tried to show her his good side, she didn't seem to mind

But the more they kept walking, the more he wanted to say

So he had to stop talking before he gave it all away

Didn't want to give it away

Chorus

And even though the things that I just told you are things I think that you already know

All I really want to do is hold you, I'm telling you I just can't let it go

And even tho the things that you just told me are things you think that I already know

Even though the strings of steel still hold me, I'm telling you I just can't let it go

And so he wrote her a letter; he put down every word

And though it made him feel better, he knew it was absurd

To think that just a few pages could bring a brand new start

Something completely outrageous -- no way to capture a heart

That ain't no way to capture a heart

Chorus

And if there's any chance that this could be a real romance

And it there's any hope, won't you please throw me a rope?

He knew the good Lord would test him to see which way he'd turn

He knew no one would arrest him, nobody's soul would burn

Something he never expected, she brought the truth to his eyes

Something he should have suspected, she's an angel in disguise

Chorus

Please Stay

Choose a vase to fit the flowers, make some coffee while she showers

For a moment he believes that he belongs there

Sit around the table talking, take the dog and go out walking

Waiting for a day to play some of his songs there 

Chorus 

And all he really wants now is to be part of her day

Tell her that he loves her, that she takes his breath away

And all he really wants now is to watch her turn and say

Please stay 

Check the house out while she travels, when she calls he just unravels

The illusion of imagining it’s real

Waiting while she’s on the phone, thinking about what can’t be known

What he sees in her and what she can’t reveal 

Chorus

And will she ever say there’s a place that he can stay?

Will she ever really let him in her heart?

Will he always want to hold her, take back the words he told her

When he put his arms around her at the start?

Please stay 

Have his poems read by her mother, love letters by her brother

Nothing hidden, nothing ventured, nothing gained

Though he’ll always be a friend, he’ll continue to pretend

That someday she’ll let her love flow down like rain 

And all he really wants now is to be part of her day

Tell her that he loves her in the ordinary way

And all he really wants now is to watch her turn and say

Please stay, please stay

Middle of the Night

Thirty years later and the days come and go

As we learn what we can about what we used to know

Through the sound of voices we’re not ready to hear

We think about choices as the days disappear 

All these words from your keyboard, these words from my pen

Can you say out loud now what you couldn’t say then?

I know the trouble you’ve seen and it fills my sight

I will pray for you always in the middle of the night 

Talking about the present through the lens of the past

Thinking about the future and the things that don’t last

An old faded photo of an old shaded hill

The one stolen moment when time stood still 

All these words from your keyboard, these words from my pen

Can you say out loud now what you couldn’t say then?

As the day fades to darkness and the darkness to light

I will think of you always in the middle of the night 

If I could pack up your sorrows and take them away

I would do that tomorrow and more the next day

And these new old feelings, they still cut like a knife

If you’d asked me to, I would have changed my life 

All these words from your keyboard, these words from my pen

Can you say out loud now what you couldn’t say then?

What I feel today seems so right

I will love you always in the middle of the night 

All these words from your keyboard, these words from my pen

Can you say out loud now what you couldn’t say then?

What I feel today seems so right

I will love you always in the middle of the night

I will love you always in the middle of the night

I will love you always in the middle of the night

Nancy Ann

On a railroad morning, the midsummer sky

Grew lighter by inches as the hours inched by

With a clack of the rails, the city came into view

And with the wind at my sails, I made my way up to you

Chorus            

Oh Nancy Ann, oh Nancy Ann

I’ll do what I can, I’ll do everything that I can

To be a good man, your sweet lovin’ man

Oh Nancy, Nancy Ann

Walking up Broadway with your hand in mine

Never felt better, never felt so fine

And the light in the park, it had that crystalline glow

That you only get sometimes when you know what you kno

Chorus

And how can it be that you know just what to say

Whenever I need you in the night or the day?

How could I love you any more than I do?

All these years down the line, it feels totally new

Lying beside you at the end of the day

Nothing to say, you took my heartache away

As we move to the rhythm of the sound of our hearts

I know that this is the place where the rest of life starts

Chorus

My Father's Days

My father died with fear in his face

Not quite ready to leave this place

But with a tube down his throat and two more in his chest

He went off to his eternal rest

I don’t want to live in my father’s days 

Don’t know why he felt such fear

I wouldn’t mind getting’ out of here

Maybe it was the way that he cut off his brother

Or the things that he said to my mother

I don’t want to live in my father’s days 

My father died with things unsaid

With people he’d hurt rollin’ round his head

He didn’t want to go before making it right

But someone else turned out the light

I don’t want to live in my father’s days 

Before I go I’m gonna get it done

Gonna find those people, the important ones

Who I ever hurt, who ever hurt me

Talk it out with some honesty

I don’t want to live in my father’s days 

The ones who were right when I was wrong

Who I slashed through the heart with an ugly song

Ones that I lied to, ones I ignored

Ones that I cut with words like swords

I don’t want to live in my father’s days 

I don’t believe in a great beyond

No clouds, no harps, no golden pond

But if you leave this world with a troubled mind

The peace you’re seeking, mister, you won’t find

I don’t want to live in my father’s days

To Ashes

In the winter light on the Niagara shore

With a small lacquer box that she took from a drawer

With his heart in her hands and her hand on her heart

She walked over the border to finish her part

And it’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust

When the time finally comes to do the things you must

With the soul of your father in the palm of your hand

You crossed over the river to your own Promised Land 

The words that she spoke then were words of her past

To try to make sense of a life gone too fast

A child by nature, a father by name

Too often a stranger and always the same 

And it’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust

When the time finally comes to do the things you must

With the soul of your father in the soles of your shoes

You walked over the water with nothing else left to lose         

The day called for ashes but her forehead was clear

As she called out her pain for all the things she held dear

She called out her questions of the life that he’d led

A life that gave her life, a father now dead 

As they stood there together in the bright winter sun

His heart entered her heart, their lives became one

And as the water slowly drew her history away

They walked off together to the rest of the day 

And it’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust

When the time finally comes to do the things you must

With the soul of your father in your bones and your breast

You can build your own bridge now to peace and to rest 

The day called for ashes but her forehead was clear

As she called out her pain for all the things she held dear

She called out her questions of the life that he’d had

A life that gave her life, the life of her dad 

As they stood there together in the bright winter sun

His heart entered her heart, their lives became one

And as the water slowly drew her history away

They walked off together to the rest of the day 

And it’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust

When the time finally comes to do the things you must

With the soul of your father in your bones and your breast

You can build your own bridge now to peace, and you can rest

Winds of Separation

In the middle of the night when I can feel your heart

I pray that nothing in the world will break our bond apart

And when the rush of secret waters seems to drown our love

I pray for strength to learn to live with what I can’t rise above 

And the winds of separation are blowing at our backs

Raising clouds of dust and fiction in the face of all the facts

It’s a cold and heartless wind outside that blows no one no peace

These winds of separation that never seem to cease

In the middle of the night when I can hear your breath

I lay awake in silent sorrow for all the loss and death

And when your breathing seems so labored, so shallow and fast

I pray for strength to hold you close enough to heal over the past 

And the winds of separation are blowing through our days

With smoke and ash that linger from the fingers of the blaze

It’s a hot and humid wind outside that blows no one no rest

These winds of separation blowing hard from east to west

And if you can hold on to me, these winds will past on through

And when your story’s told to me, we’ll start it all anew

And if we can just join our hearts against the howling winds

The breath of God will heal the hurts and pardon all our sins

In the middle of the night when I can smell your hair

I close my eyes in love and wonder in the cool night air

And as I pull your body closer as the night slips past

I hear God whisper close beside me, “This love will last.” 

And the winds of separation are tearing through the night

Rattling the windows and blowing out the light

It’s a restless hungry wind out there that blows no one no grace

Winds of separation hold us firm in sacred space

And if you can hold on to me, these winds will pass on through

We’ll live a quiet, peaceful life out on the avenues

And if can just stand our ground against the howling winds

The voice of God will sound out loud forgiving all our sins 

In the middle of the night when I can feel your heart

I pray that nothing in the world will tear our love apart

And when the rush of secret waters seems to drown our love

I pray for strength to learn to live with what I can’t rise above

And the winds of separation are tearing through the night

Rattling the windows and blowing out the light

It’s a restless hungry wind out there that blows no one no grace

Winds of separation hold us firm in sacred space

I know we will withstand them in God’s care and warm embrace

The Day that Never Comes

What will you do when I say I’ll wait for you

Every morning, every evening of my life?

What will you say when I make it plain as day

That the time will come when you will be my wife?

Chorus

How will it feel on that day of revelation?

That day of joy and happiness, that day of jubilation?

The day I’ll want to celebrate with songs and shouts and drums?

The day I’ll wait a lifetime for, the day that never comes? 

How will it be when you finally come to see

That you and I should never be apart?

How will it feel when you know my love is real

And I find the key to winning back your heart? 

Chorus

It’s not that I expect it; it isn’t in your plan

To rise and greet the sun one day knowing I’m your man

And dreams can eat your heart out leaving nothing more than crumbs

But I can live on dreams now ‘til the day that never comes 

How great our lives will be when you give yourself to me

And we hold each other close as we grow old

And this love that we have built will warm us like a quilt

As we watch each gentle evening turn to gold  

Chorus

It’s not that I expect it; it isn’t in your plan

To rise and greet the sun one day knowing I’m your man

And dreams can eat your heart out leaving nothing more than crumbs

But I can live on dreams now ‘til the day that never comes

I can live on dreams now ‘til the day that never comes

I can live on dreams now ‘til the day that never comes

Something More

A moment is the changing sea, tethered to the tide

Last night, the moments brought me to a lifetime by your side

And so I slipped inside that dream and danced with it ‘til dawn

The morning laughed and sang to chords that never will be gone

The moment stopped in time, the dream was glowing ‘til it shone

With something more, something more 

Before I heard your story, I had opened up the door

To search your love for glory and to touch you to the core

And now I only want to say to you my friend

Only want to be with you until the very end

And though I haven’t been to all the places that you’ve been

There’s something more, something more 

A lover is forevermore, until love slips away

I've always been the dreamer for a love I know will stay

And now the love I feel for you just grows until it blinds

The world whispers languages of loves of different kinds

I learn the peace that sanctifies the lucky ones who find

That something more, something more 

Before I heard your story, I had opened up the door

To search your love for glory and to touch you to the core

And now I only want to say to you my friend

Only want to be with you until the very end

And though you haven’t been to all the places that I've been

There’s something more, something more 

And how can I tell you all the love that I feel?

With time so short, it’s hard for even me to know it’s real

So tell me with your eyes that you’ll accept it and we’ll seal

The care in me, oh marry me 

Before I heard your story, I had opened up the door

To search your love for glory and to touch you to the core

And now I only want to say to you my friend

Only want to be with you until the very end

And though I haven’t been to all the places that you’ve been

There’s something more, something more

High Falls Road

I have been traveling with a troubled mind

Had a good woman, left her behind

Now I pray to heaven to lighten my load

And to end my journey on High Falls Road

Chorus

High Falls Road, watch the water cascade

Over the stones that the good Lord made

High Falls Road, Where my heart could rest

In a cloud-filled room With my head on her breast 

I have been traveling through a land so bare

I lost my bearings when I left her there

With no map to guide me and my back so bowed

I’ll try to find my way back to High Falls Road 

Chorus 

High Falls Road, where the sky meets the hills

High Falls Road, past the barns and the mills

High Falls Road, I was out of my mind

On the day I decided to leave her behind 

I have been traveling where my feet choose to go

With no path or direction to the valley below

With each step I take, I fear my heart will explode

Because I can’t go back now to High Falls Road 

Chorus 

I have been traveling with a troubled mind

Had a good woman, left her behind

Now I pray to heaven to lighten my load

And to end my journey on High Falls Road

And to end my journey on High Falls Road

And to end my journey on High Falls Road

Sausalito

So there I was

So there I was

So there I was

Talkin’ to the past

And oh God, I was tryin’ to make it last

Long as I could

‘Cause there you were

A voice out of a dream                        

And I said, Oh God, can this be what it seems

Can this be that good? 

And the boats of Sausalito are anchored to the Bay

And like them we are tuggin’ at our chains to pull away

From the harborside that hides us from the rough and tumble sea

And the waves we’d ride together, if together we could . . . 

So there I was

So there I was

So there I was

Lookin’ out at you

And thinkin’, Oh God, can this really be true

Can this be for real?

‘Cause there you were

Lookin’ right into me

And I said, Oh God, do you see what I see

Do you feel what I feel? 

And the coasts of Sausalito were blue and clear that day

As we came down from the hillside to wash our sins away

In that hour of renewal we became one with the sea

And the waves we’d ride together, if together we could . . . 

Oh Saualito, up on the bay

Oh Sausalito, wash the past away

Spend a perfect day

Not knowin’ what to say

But say it anyway 

So there I was

So there I was

So there I was

Holdin’ on to you

And thinkin’, Oh God, I don’t know what to do

I don’t want to refuse

But there you were

Looking through your tears

And thinking, Oh God, all the same old fears

With so much more to lose 

And the ghosts of Sausalito will haunt us ‘til the end

If we start a life as lovers or end our lives as friends

We look out on different oceans and we drown in different seas

But our waves will rise together, and together we will . . .