B i o g r a p h y
 (by official site)

Elizabeth Shepherd pushes the boundaries of what is considered conventional jazz, all the while creating a sound completely her own. From London to Tokyo, Elizabeth has captivated audiences and critics on both sides of the pond. Her Juno nominated debut album, Start To Move continues to receive critical acclaim, and was voted the Top 3 Jazz Albums of the Year by the listeners of the Gilles Peterson show on BBC Radio 1 UK in 2006.

Raised by ministers of the Salvation Army, an early exposure to the brass band sounds mixed with her love for classical and house music, disco and hip hop, lay the foundations for one soulful musician. Trained extensively in conservatories from across Canada to France, Elizabeth completed a degree in jazz piano from McGill University, Montreal. Initially entering the music program to pursue a career in music therapy she quickly discovered her extensive talent in songwriting and performing. She returned to Toronto in 2004 and worked as a server at a piano bar. Her serving job proved an asset to her musical career- once management realized Elizabeth's talent, she quickly became the restaurant's key entertainer. Organically and innocently enough, the Elizabeth Shepherd Trio was formed with Scott Kemp on bass, Colin Kingsmore on drums and Elizabeth Shepherd on piano and vocals.

The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio became a staple group in Toronto's soul jazz scene, performing all over town in jazz and other concert venues alike. Upon joining forces with Do Right! label owner John Kong, the Trio was invited into the studio to record a demo. But what was supposed to be a demo turned into a jam session resulting in the album Start To Move. The following few years established the EST locally and saw them gain recognition internationally, performing on BBC Radio 1, sold out shows at London's Jazz Café, and a week long residency at the prestigious Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan the summer of 2007.

Her follow-up full-length album Parkdale is an older, wiser Shepherd teamed with her ever youthful, graceful soul. The mood of Parkdale tracks the emotional whirlwind of human experience. The album explores what everyone fears the most: total openness, divulging your innermost humanity. "Parkdale," the title track, explores the nuances of brokeness within the community. The album leads the listener through it all with stories of personal growth alongside the evolution of a neighbourhood in transition. "I've always found strange the massive discrepancy between the highly emotional events that shape our personal lives, that we generally don't share, and the completely mundane events that insidiously make their way into conversation.

As far as being a jazz performer, Elizabeth does not count herself as one to be defined by a particular genre; her music comes straight from the soul, and is more than just what she does, but what she loves and who she is.




Start to Move
- 2006-10-23 -



Start to Move
George's Dilemma
Roots
Four
Circles
Reversed
Melon
Ton Visage

Along the Way (Instrumental)
Just Getting By
Price is Right
 


Besides (Remixes & B Sides)
- 2007-09-10 -



Midnight Sun
Reversed
(Nostalgia 77 Mix)
Just Getting By
(Eddy Meets Yannah Mix)
One Trump Card

Circles
(Alister Johnson Mix)
George's Dilemma
(Daisuke Tanabe Mix)
Open Your Eyes
Start to Move
(Natural Self Mix)
Reversed (Circle Research Demo)
George's Dilemma
(Jazzdance Version)
Soya (Instrumental)
Just Getting By (Live in Gilles Peterson BBC Radio 1)
Melon
(Basic Soul Unit Mix)
George's Dilemma
(Do Right Vs. Earth Corporation Mix)

Parkdale
- 2008-05-20 -



Shining Tear of The Sun
Parkdale
Let Me Be
Higher Ground
Long As You're Living
Sicilienne
Con Alma
Just One Song
Next Time Around
Mirror Livings

 


Heavy Falls The Night
- 2010-03-16 -



What Else
The Taking
Heavy Falls The Night
Numbers
Seven Bucks
One More Day
A Song For Dinah Washington
High
It's Coming
On The Insufficiency Of Words
Danny's Song
 

Rewind
- 2012-04-10 -



Love For Sale
Poinciana
Pourquoi Tu Vis
Lonely House
Les Amoureux Des Bancs Publics
Feeling Good
Midnight Sun
Sack Of Woe
Buzzard Song
When You Are Near

Born To Be Blue
Prelude To A kiss
Naima's Love Song
(Bonus Track)
(They Long To Be) Close To You
(Bonus Track)

The Signal
- 2014-09-30 -



Willow
What's Happening
B.T Cotton
The Signal
Lion's Den
This
On Our Way
I Gave
Another Day
Baby Steps

MONTRÉAL
- 2018-11-16 -



Tio'tia:ke
Reine du monde
Suits and Ties
The Terminal
C'
est le temps
Ainsi
Our Lady
Jedlika
La boxe
Good Lord'
s Work
Beau voyage

Three Things
- 2023-02-17 -



Time
Call Up My Scene
Thank You
Three Things
Guests
Right Now
Vernon Morning Star
Move On
Wild Geese
All You Need


Non Albums Tracks
- Misc -

Beauty and the Beast

 


Add some NEW lyrics (B-sides, live tracks, Cover), want to CORRECT some of them or found a BUG ? Just send a little EMAIL or simply post a message on the FORUM. Thanx !

Start to Move

Start to Move

Gotta be the next Herbie in virtuosity
Make that fill with Bill Evans' musicality
Simplify like Miles Davis in note frugality
Move a crowd like Dave Brubeck and force them to their feet
Feel the song like Sarah Vaughn dee bee dee and swingin'
Ground the sound like Clifford Brown blowin' from his heart within
Try to match that call with half the soul of Cannonball
Is it me, or does this order seem too tall?

I can't live up
Should I give up
This mad love affair with music

No, you really shouldn't try so hard
Cause no one's forcing you to play their part
If you stick with what is in your heart
Well maybe then you would see things start to move

Don't have to be a jazz diva by age twenty three
There's no decree that's claiming fame's what defines if I succeed
To simply be and let my soul speak freely as it needs
Is all it takes for me to make this music thing complete

Start to live up
Just can't give up
This mad love affair with music

You know, you really shouldn't try so hard
Cause no one's forcing you to play their part
If you stick with what is in your heart
Well maybe then you would see things start to move

George's Dilemma

He's never satisfied
He's never had his fill
While others are enjoying
George just can't sit still

He wants to have it all
At nothing will he stop
He's missing out on life while
Climbing to the top

Watch out George ‘cause you will find
Life's got a way
Of handing to each one in kind
His or her own pay
And you won't expect it

So take a tip from me
Quit scaling up that hill
Cause rich or poor there's no one
Dodging life's little bill

So why slave for all this money, my friend
Your life's passing quicker than you think
Time's not something you can buy
Money won't speak for you when you're gone

How ‘bout human relations
That take time to build
When death comes to find you
Leave this life fulfilled

You know, you're not immune to tragedy
Could come any day
And when it does, who'll be around
To help you back on your way, my friend

Crisp bills, no passion buy
Nor happiness
So while you swim in wealth, my dear friend
Life puts you to the test

Roots

Near thirty years of shedding these skins
Homes have come and gone
My memories, like a sailor wander
With no jealous place to claim them for its own

Now folks may ask
Just where it is that I come from
I'm at a loss for words
My heart's been pulled in so many directions
This patchwork self's a quilt still in the works

Born for reminiscing, always I'll be missing
Places that I felt were snatched away
Yet it's all I've known, I can't seem to settle down
Guess I'm taken with the impulse of this way

A roaming spirit and a vagabond heart
A restless soul am I
I walk these streets like a stranger at ease
That's life inside a body with no home

Four

Of the wonderful things that you get out of life there are four
And there needn't be many but nobody needs anymore
Of the many facts making the list of life, truth takes the lead
And to relax, flow in the gist of life, it's truth you need

Then the second is honour and happiness makes number three
When you put them together you know what the last one must be
Baby so to truth, honour and happiness add one thing more
Meaning only wonderful wonderful love that'll make it four

Circles

Haven't found a way to stop spinning round in circles
Since you came my way to weave your magic spell
It's only been a couple days and I'm spinning round in circles
Feet high off the ground wondering if you'll let me love you

My bruised heart's no fool for love
So why this game, you fates above

We could spend our days spinning round and round in circles
Moving with the earth as we'd watch the world go
Let's spin a new love, weave it round til we're encircled
What a lovely way this dance of life could be

But I guess I'll be alone spinning round inside this circle
Hoping for a day when you'll start spinning too
I'm woven in this love and can't seem to break the circle
What a lovely way this dance life could be

Reversed

In a world of simple wonders don't be fooled by what you see
While being taken in by glamour you could miss reality
Nothing matches expectation so look twice before deciding what's important.

There's not much that's necessary when you're in it for the ride
And it's in the ordinary that life's givings usually hide
Time will take and time will borrow so look twice before deciding what's important.

'Cause the last wind up first
All we know seems reversed
So start planting while it's early, nurse your life the whole way through
When the sun sets on your last day you'll be happy that you knew
That everything worth holding takes time to grow into its own

Melon

How now that the future
Looks brighter than ever
Sweeter than a melon

Fate, how could I doubt you
Come swiftly, I'm ready
Riper than a melon

No more will I fear it
Change is breaking this shell of mine
Open like a melon

Ton visage

( Lyrics : Jean-Pierre Ferland, Music : Paul de Margerie )

Des yeux bruns pour le jour, des yeux verts pour l'amour, ton visage
Des yeux que j'aimerai pour deux éternités, ton visage
Une bouche à jamais douce comme un secret, ton visage
Il est beau, il est chaud, il est ma fleur de peau, ton visage
En me fermant les yeux, je le devine au creux d'un nuage

J'ai dû fermer les yeux, j'aurais dû faire un noeud aux nuages
Le vent s'est retourné et la vie m'a soufflé ton visage
Et puis j'ai voyagé pour tâcher d'oublier ton visage
Mais il reste collé, dressé sur mon passé, qui s'ennuie mon passé
Et je le redessine et le vent le ressouffle, ton visage

Je suis capitaine d'un bateau de peine qui ne coulera jamais
J'ai deux fois la peine de son capitaine qui ne s'embarqueront plus

Et je me suis saoulé pour tâcher d'oublier ton visage
Et je me saoule encore à jeun et à tribord, quel voyage
Hier c'était demain, demain ce sera toujours ton visage
Qui s'entête à coller comme un drapeau mouillé en retraite
Et je le redessine et le vent le ressouffle, ton visage

Et je me suis saoulé pour tâcher d'oublier ton visage
Et je me saoule encore à jeun et à tribord, quel voyage
Hier c'était demain, demain ce sera toujours ton visage
Qui s'entête à coller comme un drapeau mouillé en retraite
Et je le redessine et le vent le ressouffle, ton visage

Des yeux bruns pour le jour, des yeux verts pour l'amour, ton visage
Des yeux que j'aimerai pour deux éternités, ton visage
Il est beau, il est chaud, il est ma fleur de peau, ton visage
En me fermant les yeux, je le devine au creux d'un nuage
Des yeux bruns pour le jour, des yeux verts pour l'amour, ton visage

Just Getting By

Four years in school, was I a fool
To think that somehow all this music would pay
I've got skills and tools, but I'm still sensing
The disillusionment is on its way

Now I might think that I've got what it takes
But who is gonna take just what it is that I've got
So for now, you can find me just getting by

I wait tables for bread, it's hard not thinking
Instead I should have done a different degree
With nothing to show, I'm growing tired of
Claiming music's my profession to be

Too young just to give up and pack it in
But bills and debts keep me in check seems there's no way to win
So for now, I'll make do with just getting by

If time levels all then I'm confident
These bumps are nothing more than landscape décor
And if it's true that good things come to those who wait
I'll test my patience and pray for some more

Now pardon this tortoise mentality but
Who can rush the rising sun or hurry up the tide
So for now I'll make do with just getting by

Price is right

I wanna thank Mom, Dad, Joan, Chris, Andy
Kris, Ron Davis, James B. & The R.JO
The St Tropez Jazz FM
Frank Nagy, Keith White, Wilkey
And all the jazzers who came before for the real deal
Danny Wilkinson, Adam Olver, John Cong, The Dooright Family
All establishments who actually make their places wheelchair accessible
Jean and Young at Gate 403, Rick Washburn, The Salvation Army
And my boys
Did I thank Jamison

*** Thanx a lot to Peterican for this one ***

Besides (Remixes & B Sides)

Midnight Sun

( Lionel Hampton )

Your lips were like a red and ruby chalice
Warmer than the summer night
The clouds were like an alabaster palace
Rising to a snowy height

Each star its own aurora borealis
Suddenly you held me tight
And I could see the midnight sun
The midnight sun

I can't explain the silver rain that found me
Or was that a moonlit veil
The music of the universe around me
Or was that a nightingale

And then your arms miraculously found me
Suddenly the sky turned pale
And I could see the midnight sun

Was there such a night
It's a thrill I still don't quite believe
'Cause after you were gone
There was still some stardust on my sleeve

The flame of it may dwindle to an ember
And the stars forget to shine
And we may see the meadow in December
Icy white and crystalline

But oh my darling always I'll remember
When your lips were close to mine
And I saw the midnight sun

Open Your Eyes

( Flora Purim )

Never be afraid to love
Never be afraid to just be
Just catch away, the change, the doubt
Have a courage to be free

Don't gaud your eyes with others lies
See only what you want to see
Just duplicate this simple truth
Have the courage to be free

Open your eyes, you can fly
Open your eyes, you can fly
You can fly
You can fly

Never be afraid to love
Never be afraid to just be
Just catch away, the change, the doubt
Have a courage to be free

Don't gaud your eyes with others lies
See only what You want to see
Just duplicate the simple truth
Have a courage to be free

Open your eyes, you can fly
Open your eyes, you can fly
You can fly
You can fly

Parkdale

Shining Tear of the Sun

Sun once knew no fire
And like the wind was free
To roam through the night
With moon her company

'Til love came her way
With heartache on his heels
To set her aflame
Now after all these years

It's the fire of a broken heart
That makes the day
It's the fire of a broken heart
That sent me on my way

Days speak of her longing
At night she may well hide
But moon tells of her ache
That's hidden from the skies

Love lost is the burning
And I the shining tear
The sum of her longing
After all these years

It's the fire of a broken heart...

Parkdale

Chalk hearts on broken streets
Smoking, sweet relief
His soul knows no defeat
You just can't stop him

Neighbour chokes her sound
He's knocked her to the ground
Never seen her 'round
I just can't stop it

Shredded hearts in paper shacks
Know only love through lack,
Each day back
Looking hard to find it
Keep on looking, never stop

Dog barking loud at dawn
He knows his master's gone
Got shot, the dog's alone
And couldn't stop it

The girl in twenty eight
Lights fire in the night
To prove she's still alive
I just can't stop it

Shredded hearts...

The moon's watchful eye
May see how hard we try
But living for this high
You just can't stop it

Another night is done
We've lived to greet the sun
Though small, this battle's won
You just can't stop us

Shredded hearts...

Let Me Be

Let me be just what you need
Let me prove what we both know
Let me match your love's ferocity
Hidden tamed and still it shows

Easily...

I can taste your heart's unease
Let me be your remedy

Higher Ground

Green eyes, soft fingertips
Smile spreads on velvet lips
Breathing so warm and low
Never before has this heart of mine known higher ground

Aching, you pull me so
Making my heart to grow
Stretching this sense of self
Tearing me, only to build up again on higher ground

I can't see this future clearly
Something's got ahold of me
I'm trapped inside a past
That won't let go and so simply love you
Can't allow myself to fall albeit
Oh so gently into you
So this fear of loss could cost me more than i could know

Love me in spite of this
Hear me, this pain exists
Hold me, and I'll come 'round
'Cause while there's still a ways we're on our way to higher ground

Long As You're Living

Forgive me if I seem to preach
But there is something that I want to say
A message that I hope will reach
People who are throwing life away
I call it my philosophy
And that is why I pass it on to you
Because it works so well for me
And helps me get away from strife
I hope you listen carefully
They say the truth will make you free
And that's the way you want to be 'cause brother, this is your life

Long as you're living, always remember
Time is for spending, but there's an ending
While you are sleeping, lifetime's a-creeping
Wake up and taste it, foolish to waste it
Sample and savour all of life's flavour
Long as you're living

Long as you're living, always remember
Folks who are lazy are playing crazy
Better keep moving, keep on improving
You won't be hurried after you're buried
Live every minute, put yourself in it
Long as you're living

Long as you're living, always remember
You'll never beat life, so don't try to cheat life
Sisters and brother, do unto others
Love's for enjoying, hate's for destroying
Never forget it, or you'll regret it
Long as you're living

Forgive if I seem to preach....

Sicilienne

The very one for whom my heart sings
Is burying me alive
And here, I'm left with two broken wings
Too heavy and weary to fly

How soon it seems for love to fade
How quickly it's over and done
And I who thought it was here to stay
Believing it finally had come

Long as the morning dew clings to the grasses
Long as the noonday sun graces the sky
Long as the evening winds brush through the meadows
Whispering your name like an echoing sigh

Longing, my heart will call for you
Wandering under the sun
Aching, my lips will burn for you
Longing, under the moon...

Con Alma

Please don't think I want to be this way
If i could only compromise and still maintain
We could boast a love that's here to stay
But instead I just insist on my own way

So just chaulk up my gaming to a heart still youthful while aging
Give me a chance to sort out my balance

Don't be fooled by words that time has yet to mould
Many moons will show the love that's in my soul

Just One Song

Hey sister what's this I hear
Your good deeds are in arrears
By now you surely know
Of earth's aches and backwards flow

Some bank on just one more war
Hide behind faith to settle scores
And in all this righteous zeal
Seems we've lost our will to feel

Well if i die before I create
Please don't ask me 'bout the world's fate
My time is short and my path so long
It feels like too much for just one song

Guilt's never been good to me
Far be it for me to preach
This heart's a lifetime's task
To change another's too much to ask

When dust settles to the ground
I'll take stock, see what seems most sound
'Til then, storms will come and go
So I stick with these things I know

And place my faith in these here three
In compassion and simplicity
And hope to help each other along
When maybe it takes just one more song...

Next Time Around

I was once asked to choose between love and art
It could have been the nature of the love I had at the time, but I opted for art
And while my answer might be different now, it's really not so black and white
It's safe to say that our identity is wrapped up in those who share our heart
And equally in that which brings us joy
It seems an incredibly difficult mandate to try and balance that all sometimes
And if there's anything I know with certainty about life
It's that every way in which I spend my time means having a little less time for something else

So that question remains, what'll it be

One life this time 'round two voices loud and clear
Both may speak of love and both I might hold dear
Maybe next time round it's you who'll be the one
But for now the sound of the other calls me on

Oh it says, oh I hear
For you my heart so true

One life this time 'round two loves my soul divide
But this heart can't give itself fully to both sides
Same way next time 'round you'll find me here again
Waiting for the sound of your voice to call my name

Oh it says

Mirror Living

In these mirror lives that we lead
While we try to hide the bleeding
If you read between the lines
Etched upon our faces
Each life line's what graces us
With our sweet fragility

Silent, we walk these streets
Our stories hidden, deep i disguise
But in our eyes
Our lives will betray us
Conveying our tales

Heavy Falls The Night

*** Thanx a lot to Laura for this one ***

What Else

Make me a carpenter tonight and let me create
I'd fix the crack that's in your head leakin' love away
And use my calloused hands to carve a boat for all that pain
So you could sail out from the dark and float into the day
I'd hang a million wooden stars all to guide your way
But as the sun's still burning bright it's killing me to wait

I can sing this song to you
I can sing this song to you
I can sing this song to you
I don't know what else I could give you

I don't know
What else can I give you
I don't know
Don't know what else can I give you

Make me a hero of your mind and give me all your weight
I'll slay the dragon in your heart, your sorrows I can shake
I wield my magic like a charm to keep your days alight
And send a maiden through the skies to warm your lonely night
While all I have are words alone I offer anyway
So let this song be on your lips to get you through the day
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
I can sing this song to you
I can sing this song to you
I can sing this song to you
I don't know what else I could give you

I don't know
What else can I give you
I don't know
What else can I give you

The Taking

Taking a chance calling off being his mother
Catching that dream before the moment dies
Man overboard, he was just good for playing
Hooky and head games but as dad no dice

Daughter can't speak but it's not for to trying
'Cause words they always fail when the time is ripe
She'd rather her girl seen an imperfect dream
That dwindling love blink and a dying soul, that's not right

Packing up, her eyes catch her reflection
Peering through at the ghost she once knew
One last round, she'll stop to kiss both her loves
Daughter in bed, and the cat that makes two

Taking it, taking it, take, take it over
Taking it, taking it, take, take it over
Taking it, taking it, take, take it over
Taking it, taking it, take, take it over

I just need time, just need the time to try
I just need time, just need the time to try
I just need time, just need the time to try
I just need time, just need the time to try

Pounding the pavement, now she's Nobody's mother
Looking around she knows she's well past her prime
Invisible steps will never let you forget it
Overlooked eyes, they just won't give you the time
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Perfectly coiffed is the pretty world around
Flawlessly young, no scars of time
Push through the door someone speaks without looking
"Sit, take a number", wipe your soul off the floor

"What do you have that nobody else has?
Please speak up, 'cause I haven't got time"
I was the woman who gave all to rise you
"I am the mother that noone will hire"

Taking her, taking her, take, take her over
Taking her, taking her, take, take her over
Taking her, taking her, take, take her over
Taking her, taking her, take, take her over

Heavy Falls The Night

"Let's nurse this sweet disclosure before the break of day
Who blushing, past confessions neatly hides away
Let's dance this moonlight silly drunk endeavours on parade
To disguise the bitter knowing of a pitiful charade

We'll pass this moment off to the emptiness it holds
Cloaked in wine-streaked tales, stains within its folds

As long as night falls heavy, my love
Your touch be the way, you laughter the light
And all we need now is some truth, my love
So fall heavy the night

Fall heavy, fall heavy
So heavy falls the night
So heavy falls the night

If tales spill messy once the dawn comes cracking through
We'll weep the daylight sober in dreamers' lonely hues
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
As long as night falls steady, my love
Your touch be the way you laughter the light
And all we need now is some truth, my love
So fall heavy the night

Fall heavy, fall heavy
So heavy falls the night
So heavy falls the night

Numbers

I go a thing for numbers 'cause figures don't lie to me
Now I've been doing some math, here and from my records it's plain to see
You're coming up short on your giving, it seems you're thinking we're made of time
But I'm starting to see the sun set, and like numbers, the shadows don't lie

One, for tomorrow
And two, for the now
And three, for the lovers
Who know not how

One, for tomorrow
And two, for the now
And three, for the lovers
Who know not how

Youth's been wasted on many on a poet a sage or two
On the bright, the shackled the sorry and maybe worse of all on the youth
But knowin' just what I do, dear, that the days here to grace us are few
While there's no lasting thing about our youth, still I know that mine won't be wasted on you
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
One, for tomorrow
And two, for the now
And three, for the lovers
Who know not how

One, for tomorrow
And two, for the now
And three, for the lovers
Who know not how

One, for tomorrow
And two, for the now
And three, for the lovers
Who know not how

Seven Bucks

Can't sugar coat the rain that's falling
He's looking for a bed
Now seven bucks is all it's gonna take
And he's just a sale away

The outreach man has open hands
With more dues to pay
He'll catch you eye while you be stealin' by
But you've got your bills to pay

Oh such fragile lives that we have
All divides in time do vanish
Oh such fragile lives that we have
All divides in time do vanish

Wednesday night he wears a smilin' charm
The new paper's on its way
But who will see this subtle change of face
When you're lost in day to day

Suits and ties can lend disguises
Though the rain hits all the same
The bank could own your bed in three weeks time
And it's just a cheque away
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Oh such fragile lives that we have
All divides in time do vanish
Oh such fragile lives that we have
All divides in time do vanish...

One More Day

For the light
Caught in the eye of the broken and the night of our way
For the heart
Who disappeared to the seas of doubt and their hungry waves
For the ones
Living in fear of the rising moon and sun slips away
And with one lonely question, we wonder how for just one more day

Time after time
We fall and we sway
But don't let us go
Just one more day

For the once
Bright with their smiles of forgetful ease who soothe the unwhole
For this one
Moment to pass by without a trace, one dark heavy souls
For tomorrow
And her promise of all that's lost to the weight of today
For the faith
Of moon who steps aside for sun to rise one more day
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Time after time
We fall and we sway
But don't let us go
Just one more day

Time after time
We fall and we sway
But don't let us go
Just one more day

A Song for Dinah Washington

I've got nothing on the weather
Can't buy moonlight for a dime
You touch me like a cloudy sky
The sun's run out of time

I know somewhere behind a cloud
Blue skies know where you are
But love's another rainy day
My heart just went too far

I've got nothing on the weather
Got no moon, no stars above
I can't do this thing called lonely
I can't do this thing called love

I've got nothing on the weather
Can't buy moonlight for a dime
You touch me like a cloudy sky
The sun's run out of time
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
I know somewhere behind a cloud
Blue skies know where you are
But love's another rainy day
My heart just went too far

I've got nothing on the weather
Got no moon, no stars above
I can't do this thing called lonely
I can't do this thing called love

I've got nothing on the weather
Got no moon, no stars above
I can't do this thing called lonely
I can't do this thing called love

High

I'm toking up the moonlight, I'm stoned inhaling stars
Candy wine just makes me tight so does stale beer in bars
I get a buzz on sunrise, drink martinis made of dew
I blow a noon of blue skies every day's my Belgian brew
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Life, I'm yours
And you're my life
Life, I'm yours
And you're my life

Life, I'm yours
And you're my life
Life, I'm yours
And you're my life

You call my life addiction
See me hooked and ask me why
But my heart is my conviction
I am yours, you make me high

Life, I'm yours
And you're my life
Life, I'm yours
And you're my life

Life, I'm yours
And you're my life
Life, I'm yours
And you're my life...

It's Coming

Blowing stars, he's in from afar to shake us with style and grace
Talk's loud 'cause the crowd's been drinking lies since the break of day
Straight-faced, your sounds start ripping through us with an honest blade
In six notes choking through the smoke you make this a holy place

He's got Grace to soothe
The darkest face of the Moon
Night, she's harder than truth
Oh Sunday, won't you come soon

Shake that pain, the city's gain, he's taking you far away
Keep time, with a noise divine, escape from this whole charade
Urban slick is slow to trick the music of a higher mind
He sees all, begs a bugle call: surrender, leave it all behind
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
He's got Grace to soothe
The darkest face of the Moon
Night, she's harder than truth
Oh Sunday, won't you come soon

Six/Eight knows the weight I've had to carry through many days
Heaven kissed your lips, earth gave the mater and a heart to play
The grave takes will rob and shake the night of her finest star
But where a soul still hopes you know the music is never far

On The Insufficiency Of Words

Lying beneath my jealous sun, I'm burning bright
I ask your lonely moon to shine for two tonight
And say "Starsick love, warm him with my day"
in distance and in shifting winds, you slowly fade away

Little words are all that we have
Breathing love to the in-between
Send them on by light of the moon
To haunt him with magic and poetry
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Why all the silence when our pulse is running deep
I sigh a simple phrase to kiss you in your sleep
Tie it up, send it in a song
For you, for us, the story and the memory to live on

Little words are all that we have
Breathing love to the in-between
Send them on by light of the moon
To haunt him with magic and poetry

Danny's Song

( Anne Murray cover )

People smile tell me I'm the lucky one
And we've just begun
I think I'm gonna have a son
He will be like him and me
Free as a dove conceived in love
The sun is gonna shine above

And even though we ain't got money
I'm so in love with you honey
Everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
It brings a tear of joy to my eyes
An tell me everything is gonna be alright
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup, drink it up
Love her she'll bring you luck
And if you find she helps your mind buddy take her home
Don't you live alone
Try to earn what lovers own

And even though we ain't got money
I'm so in love with you honey
Everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
Brings a tear of joy to my eyes
An tell me everything is gonna be alright

And even though we ain't got money
I'm so in love with you honey
Everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
Brings a tear of joy to my eyes
An tell me everything is gonna be alright

Rewind

Love For Sale

Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love

Love for sale
Appetising young love for sale
Love that's fresh and still unspoiled
Love that's only slightly soiled
I got love for sale
So who's gonna buy
Who would like to sample my supply
Who's prepared to pay the price
For a trip to paradise
I got love for sale
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Let the poets pipe of love
In their childish ways
I know every type of love
Better far than they
If you want the thrill of love
I've been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every love but true love
For sale
Appetising young love for sale
Who's prepared to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
I got love for sale

Let the poets pipe of love
In their childish ways
I know every type of love
Better far than they
If you want the thrill of love
I've been through the mill of love
Old love, new love
Every love but true love
For sale
Appetising young love for sale
Who's prepared to buy my wares
Follow me and climb the stairs
I got love for sale

Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love

Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love
Sweet love, sweet sweet love

Poinciana

Poinciana, your branches speak to me of love
Pale moon is casting shadows from above

Poinciana, somehow I feel the jungle heat
Within me, there grows a rhythmic beat

Love is everywhere, it's magic perfume fills the air
To and fro you sway, my heart's in time, I've learned to care

Poinciana, though skies may turn from blue to gray
My love will live forever and a day
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Poinciana, your branches speak to me of love
Pale moon is casting shadows from above
Poinciana, somehow I feel the jungle heat
Within me, there grows a rhythmic beat

Love is everywhere, it's magic perfume fills the air
To and fro you sway, my heart's in time, I've learned to care

Poinciana, though skies may turn from blue to gray
My love will live forever and a day
My love will live forever and a day
My love will live forever and a day

Pourquoi tu vis

( Jeanette )

On t'a fait un monde trop petit
Pour tes idées
Pour l'appétit de tes grands yeux écarquillés
Sur l'infini

Tu es prisonnière de ta maison
De tes parents
De cet adulte qui te dit qu'il a raison
Et qui te ment

Toi, tu es née pour la folie, pour la lumière
Pour des pays, peuplés de rois
Et tu te demandes dans tes nuit de prisonnière
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas

Tu n'as pas d'avion, ni de bateau
Pour t'en aller
Les illusions qui restent sont dans ton radeau
Qui va couler

Et pourtant tu veux de tout ton corps
De tout ton coeur
Briser enfin le noir et blanc de ton décor
Vivre en couleurs

Toi, tu es née pour la folie, pour la lumière
Pour des pays peuplés de rois
Et tu te demandes dans ta nuit de prisonnière
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Toi, tu es née pour la folie, pour la lumière
Pour des pays
Peuplés de rois.
Et tu te demandes dans ta nuit de prisonnière
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas
Toi, tu es née pour la folie, pour la lumière
Pour des pays
Peuplés de rois.
Et tu te demandes dans ta nuit de prisonnière
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas
Pourquoi tu vis et où tu vas

Lonely House

( Kurt Weill )

At night, when everything is quiet
This old house seems to breathe a sigh
Sometimes I hear a neighbor snoring
Sometimes I hear a baby cry

Sometimes I hear a staircase creaking
Sometimes a distant telephone
And then the quiet settles down again
The house and I are all alone
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Lonely house, lonely me
Funny, with so many neighbors
How lonely it can be

Oh lonely street, lonely town
Funny, you can be so lonely
With all these folks around

I guess there must be something
I don't comprehend
Sparrows have companions
Even stray dogs find a friend

That night for me is not romantic
Unhook the stars and take them down
I'm lonely in this lonely house
In this lonely town

Les Amoureux Des Bancs Publics

( George Brassens )

Les gens qui voient de travers
Pensent que les bancs verts
Qu'on voit sur les trottoirs
Sont faits pour les impotents
Ou les ventripotents
Mais c'est une absurdité
Car à la vérité
Ils sont là c'est notoire
Pour accueillir quelque temps
Les amours débutants

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'fouttant pas mal du regard oblique
Des passants honnêtes

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'disant des "Je t'aime" pathétiques
Ont des p'tites gueule bien sympatiques

Ils se tiennent par la main
Parlent du lendemain
Du papier bleu d'azur
Que revêtiront les murs de leur chambre à coucher
Ils se voient déjà doucement
Elle cousant, lui fumant
Dans un bien-être sûr
Et choisissent les prénoms de leur premier bébé

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'fouttant pas mal du regard oblique
Des passants honnêtes

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'disant des "Je t'aime" pathétiques
Ont des p'tites gueule bien sympatiques

Quand la sainte famille machin
Croise sur son chemin deux de ces malappris
Elle leur décoche hardiment des propos venimeux
N'empêche que toute la famille
Le père, la mère, la fille
Le fils, le Saint Esprit
Voudrait bien de temps en temps pouvoir s'conduire comme eux
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'fouttant pas mal du regard oblique
Des passants honnêtes

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'disant des "Je t'aime" pathétiques
Ont des p'tites gueule bien sympatiques

Quand les mois auront passé
Quand seront apaisés
Leurs beaux rêves flambants
Quand leur ciel se couvrira de gros nuages lourds
Ils s'apercevront émus qu' c'est au hasard des rues
Sur un d'ces fameux bancs
Qu'ils ont vécu le meilleur morceau de leur amour

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'fouttant pas mal du regard oblique
Des passants honnêtes

Les amoureux qui s'bécottent sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s'disant des "Je t'aime" pathétiques
Ont des p'tites gueule bien sympatiques

Feeling Good

( Nina Simone )

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze drifting by you know how I feel

Dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean
Butterflies all having fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That's what I mean
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Freedom is mine
You, you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Midnight Sun

( Ella Fitzgerald )

Your lips were like a red and ruby chalice
Warmer than the summer night
The clouds were like an alabaster palace
Rising to a snowy height

Each star its own aurora borealis
Suddenly you held me tight
And I could see the midnight sun
The midnight sun

I can't explain the silver rain that found me
Or was that a moonlit veil
The music of the universe around me
Or was that a nightingale

And then your arms miraculously found me
Suddenly the sky turned pale
And I could see the midnight sun
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Now was there such a night
It's a thrill I still don't quite believe
'Cause after you were gone
There was still some stardust on my sleeve

The flame of it may dwindle to an ember
And the stars forget to shine
And we may see the meadow in December
Icy white and crystalline

But oh my darling always I'll remember
When your lips were close to mine
And I saw the midnight sun

Sack Of Woe

( Julian Adderley / Jon Hendricks )

Trouble one thing I understand
Seems to be a part of me
Misery and me go hand in hand
Never ever let me be
Sure as I'm born one thing I know
The bag I'm in is just a sack of woe
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Trouble one thing I understand
Seems to be a part of me
Misery and me go hand in hand
Never ever let me be
Sure as I'm born one thing I know
The bag I'm in is just a sack of woe

Trouble one thing I understand
Seems to be a part of me
Misery and me go hand in hand
Never ever let me be
Sure as I'm born one thing I know
The bag I'm
The bag I'm in is just a sack of woe

The Buzzard Song

( Ella Fitzgerald )

Buzzard keep on flying over
Take along your shadow

Ain't nobody dead this morning
Living's just begun
Two is strong where one is feeble
Man and woman living, working

Sharing grief and sharing laughter
And love like August sun

Ole age, what is you anyhow
Nothing but being lonely
So pack your things and fly from here
Carry grief and pain
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
There's two folks living in this shelter
Eating, sleeping, singing, praying
Ain't no such thing as loneliness
And we are young again

Born To Be Blue

( Ella Fitzgerald )

Some folks were meant to live in clover
But they are such a chosen few
And clover being green is something I've never seen
'Cause I was born to be blue

When there's a yellow moon above me
They say there's moonbeams I should view
But moonbeams being gold are something I can't behold
'Cause I was born to be blue
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
When I met you the world was bright and sunny
When you left the curtain fell
I'd like to laugh but nothing strikes me funny
Now my world's a faded pastel

Well, I guess I'm luckier than some folks
I've known the thrill of loving you
And that alone is more than I was created for
'Cause I was born to be blue

When I met you the world was bright and sunny
When you left the curtain fell
I'd like to laugh but nothing strikes me funny
Now my world's a faded pastel

Well, I guess I'm luckier than some folks
I've known the thrill of loving you
And that alone is more than I was created for
'Cause I was born to be blue

Prelude To a Kiss

( Duke Ellington )

If you hear a song in blue
Like a flower crying for the dew
That was my heart serenading you
My prelude to a kiss

If you hear a song that grows
From my tender sentimental woes
That was my heart trying to compose
My prelude to a kiss

Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy, nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
Oh how my love song gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss

Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy, nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch

Oh how my love song so gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss

Naima's Love Song

( Betty Carter )

This father's love he cherishes
To be her dad is wonderful
But he'll regret, she carelessly
Without a fear of what's to come
Scared them so, the cost is pain

Naima's love song life is hers alone
To learn, to be, to see, to give, to take
And to find what grown up life is really all about
To find her voice in life

Teenagers' love so blindly free
Life which they move into a love song
They will make big mistakes
Naima knows her dad will understand
Because she is his baby girl
He knows she's unaware what life
And all its pitfalls has in store
And he'll help her find her way
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
The young, they choose
And so they should
They reach for stars, however lonesome
It's not an easy thing for youth to concentrate on what is best
Too much of this, too much of that
They think that they are wise and find out what parents say is true
To find their voice in life

(They Long To Be) Close To You

( Burt Bacharach / Hal David )

Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair
Put starlight in your eyes of blue
Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin
That is why all the girls in town
They come by when you are around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Close to you

The Signal

Willow

By this piece of weeping wood
Lady fell, lady stood
Like its crooked lines
Time to us hasn't been kind

Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Aching through my echo

Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Aching through this echo
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Such fear of busy hands
Bells toll witch hunt through the land
Hear your daughters years on
Saying "Sister, where have we gone?"

Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Aching through my echo

Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Softly blows the willow
Aching through this echo

Baby Steps

How perfect for you to choose
The dead of a cold winter night to come
Little seed, on a star dusty breeze
You made your way to me, in an essence so complete
To rest awhile in me, watch us grow
Two souls, one cord, this is eternity
Counting down the days, slowing down our ways
Indifferent to this crazy pace

One, two, three, four, five, six and seven
Baby steps to take us straight to heaven
Here or there, my love will never leave you
Little one, this life so becomes you
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Oh to retrace this tired earth's lines
Erase its shadows and heal the pain of time
I'd give my life to carve another way
For your perfection to last another day
But this world and me, we're bold
And so I'll leave no truth untold
For the gift of love, it's one small fee
Who we are in our entirety

One, two, three, four, five, six and seven
Baby steps to take us straight to heaven
Here or there, my love will never leave you
Little one, this life so becomes you

One, two, three, four, five, six and seven
Baby steps to take us straight to heaven
Take it slow, we've got a life to do it
Gratitude of mine you have no limit

My love will never leave you
My love will never leave you
My love, my love

What's Happening

Feel the welcome start to fade
What's happening, what's happened here
It's a new and different war
To lose again, I'm losing it

Neighbours slowly turn away
I'm trapped here, I'm trapped again

Thinly veiled is my pride
Thinly veiled fear in their eyes
Such waste for my heavy heart
This wasted life, this part I play

How I know this sinking feeling well
So well
Of written laws that hold the keys to hell
My hell
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Empty schools bear testament
It happens here, it's happening
Sisters say it's for our good
Just feel our love, can you feel our love

Take away the work I own
And keep the pay, just keep your pay
But leave me my own war to wage
For dignity, for dignity

Thinly veiled is my pride
Thinly veiled fear in their eyes,
Such waste for my heavy heart
This wasted life, this part I play

How I know this sinking feeling well
So well
Of written laws that hold the keys to hell
My hell

How I know this sinking feeling well
So well
Of written laws that hold the keys to hell
My hell

What's happening, what's happening
What's happening, what's happening
What's happening, what's happening
What's happening, what's happening

B.T. Cotton

When we pick cotton
You gotta jump down to pick a bale of cotton a day
You can't fool around
And we sang

Turn around man, don't be caught in a corner
He's got a plan that will keep you safe.
It's just what you need, it's the seed of a promise
Heaven's closer with a crop that pays

Don't sell the farm just to keep your little acre
The future's brighter than the height of day
Just give him one season to show what you've been missing
No other way but forward
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last

More than one summer, you gave all he asked you
No way to bargain with the devil's rate
Rain mixed with blood as the soil kept on drying
Until it hit you like the noontime rays

Better off dead than a broke man owing
Drink the hope from the cup he made (go on, go on)
Liquid poison kept your cotton from growing
Coats your throat, now it's over

Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last

Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last
Too good to last, too good to last

Turn around, cotton, turn around
I turn around, bale of cotton, turn around
Jump down, turn around, cotton, jump down, turn around
Jump down, turn around, bale of cotton, jump down, turn around
Jump down, turn around, bale of cotton, jump down, turn around
Pick a bale a day

The Signal

Sample - CBC radio programme The Signal's Laurie Brown :
Don't you love those stories about people who arrange to meet
Let's say like in five years time somewhere
Say New York City on July first at noon right outside the Algonquin Hotel
Or, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower at midnight in some Christmas Eve or something
I love that idea that there's no communication involved before hand
No planning, you just meet, and then decide what's going to happen
It's highly romantic and highly stressful

Don't you love those stories about people who arrange to meet
Say New York City on July first at noon right outside the Algonquin Hotel
At the foot of the Eiffel Tower at midnight
There's no communication involved before hand
No planning, you just meet, and then decide what's going to happen
It's highly romantic

New York, my birthday, 1988
4th day, 12th hour on the 10th month
Room 23 at the Algonquin Hotel

I remember the sound of your suede leather shoes
We were one with the world that day
We'll meet once again, we said
But only if the memory doesn't fade
Paris, the Eiffel Tower
Noon, 10th month
Noon, same date
1988
My birthday falls on a Wednesday that year
Remember
The sound of my footsteps
The Eiffel Tower will be quiet
And I'll be sure to wear the same suede leather shoes
And I will know the sound, the sound
The sound of your footsteps
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Don't you love those stories about people who arrange to meet
No planning, you just meet, and then decide what's going to happen
It's highly romantic

I'm so tired
Whose idea was this anyway
Paris, two kids
Always the planning

Noon, 10th month
When did it change
The story of us
1998
It's the day
Can I choose
You used to let me choose, but then
Maybe she's changed her hair
I didn't have to choose, because you knew already
It's gotta be time for lunch
It's time, it's time
Is anyone else hungry
It's time
Let's go now
Noon
There's nothing more
Let's go now
1998
Wait
How could I be
Never mind
So silly to think
I know, I know, I know
That the sound
I know that sound
That the sound of a footstep
I know that sound
After all these years

Don't you love those stories about people who arrange to meet
Let's say like in five years time somewhere
No communication involved before hand
No planning, you just meet, and then decide what's going to happen

Lion's Den

Back when magic held the land
Ruled a prophet seated at the right hand
Of a vain king who would fall yet again
For the flattery of all his greedy men

One night a single question
A riddle to the prophet posed by heaven
"Of the fiercest to roam this place
Just who's the beast and do you know his face?"
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Father deliver me safely out of the lion's den
Tonight I meet the mistaken soul of the beast within
And if I'm safer here than at the hands of fellow men
How can I live with the other side of these walls I'm in

Now those beasts all rule the land
Swiss bankers seated at their right hand
An unknown girl is set apart
Twelve years young, she's man-fearing, pure of heart

Running fast from greedy men
Who're looking to wed when three lions step in
Of the fiercest to roam this place
Just who's the beast and do you know his face

My mama couldn't keep safe from the hands of men
Oh bleeding legs we can't escape from the hell we're in
But if I'm safer here than at the hands of fellow men
I found my home tonight safe within the lion's den

Black manes you recognize all that they wish to tame
We share one heart one soul one fear that just cannot be named
And if I'm safer than at the hands of fellow men
I found my home tonight safe within the lion's den
I found my home tonight safe within the lion's den
I found my home tonight safe within the lion's den
Safe within the lion's den, safe within the lion's den
Safe within the lion's den, safe within the lion's den

This

Like the songbird sentenced to his silence
Though all along his song was just for one
Little life, you have a way of breaking us
Even though your time may not be done

Through the burning, through the wanting
We're hoping still
The bending and breaking, the moaning
Believing still

Through the crying, the dying
We're standing, still
The aging, our gracing
We're breathing still

Take this little moment as it is
This tiny sigh of time
In a body that ebbs away
Little moments still taste of the divine

Taste this little second as it is
Though small, it holds it all
For too soon it will pass away
Single moments weave into a life
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Like the piece of light that falls between all
Of the shadows that may well make up our time
Even blinded eyes still turn to feel you
Little life of little joys sublime

Through the burning, through the wanting
We're hoping still
The bending and breaking, the moaning
Believing still
Through the crying, the dying
We're standing, still
The aging, our gracing
We're breathing still

Take this little moment as it is
This tiny sigh of time
In a body that ebbs away
Little moments still taste of the divine

Taste this little second as it is
Though small, it holds it all
For too soon it will pass away
Single moments weave into a life

On Our Way

Nobody said it would come so easily
There are tomes instead playing into uncertainty
When I count the hours wasted on some "how-to" book
Tally up the days, the epic climbs, the efforts made

Chat rooms and mommy forms
Search tools to weather storms
Calling out in the night
"Could someone shed some light here?!"

Put down the guide to a mommy-making industry
Sift through the words
And weave them into love instead

Until now all that's inside of me
Somehow is guiding our days
From now, all that's sustaining me
Is this love, so let's be on our way

Back as a child, holy fear was guiding me
Keep my step in line help me on the narrow way.
Rooms built on shame, galaxies of endless guilt
Young mind takes in, young young body puts it out
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Terse words by old white men
Harsh terms for every sin
No mercy for the likes
Of half the folks I love here

Put down the fear
And step right back into this life
Sift through the words
And weave them into love instead

Until now all that's inside of me
Somehow is guiding our days
From now, all that's sustaining me
Is this love, so let's be on our way

On our way, on our way
On our way, on our way
On our way, on our way
On our way, on our way...

I Gave

She takes her time to wipe his eyes as they water
Her soul took the bait
She's fearless as she weaves through their illness
And glides over hate

Once called by faith but now a daily fall
So far from His grace
"My Father," she calls "why this darkness?"
But silence awaits

I gave my all to see
Sacrificed joyfully
But if I can't believe
What now's your heaven to me

My hope a shadowland
Doubt is on what I stand
Love saw the best in me
What now's the greatest of these
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Her bent knees grow tired from the asking
Her back's ached for years
Passersbys move slightly to the side
Part reverence, part fear

She longs to yell, to tell her world of sorrow
"I'm drowning in tears;
Look, see us here, we're all begging for something
But who's going to hear?"

I gave my all to see
Sacrificed joyfully;
But if I can't believe
What now's your heaven to me

My hope a shadowland
Doubt is on what I stand
Love saw the best in me
What now's the greatest of these

Mother Teresa :
Saint John says :
"How can you say that you love God whom you don't see
If you do not love your neighbor whom you see?


Another Day

My feet don't fear the night
They've never known escape
Happy the pulse of my days
When fearless I awake

Yet with each dawning under the sun
Across the vastness we are somehow one

Running or nesting or frightened or free
A child's tears will feel the same
The salt on our skin and the singing to sleep
These simple things remain
Aching, elated, in silence or song
A child's laugh will feel the same
The breeze on our lips and the aging within
These simple things remain

Sweet are the joys we all seek
Honest the shades of pain
Many the miles in between
The songs along the way
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Yet in each voice singing under the sun
I recognize the sound of why we've come

Running or nesting or frightened or free
A child's tears will feel the same
The salt on our skin and the singing to sleep
These simple things remain
Aching, elated, in silence or song
A child's laugh will feel the same
The breeze on our lips and the aging within
These simple things remain

Running or nesting or frightened or free
A child's tears will feel the same
The salt on our skin and the singing to sleep
These simple things remain
Aching, elated, in silence or song
A child's laugh will feel the same
The breeze on our lips and the aging within
These simple things remain

Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun

Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun
Another day around the sun...

MONTREAL

Tiotia:ke

Pour l'appeler, faut dénouer
Le fil de l'histoire, rembombiner
Bien avant de l'habiter
C'était une terre façonnée

Consacrée, cultivée
Défrichée, parfois divisée
Baptisé par le feu sacré
Dénommé Tiotia:ke

Pour l'appeler, faut dénouer
Le fil de l'histoire, rembombiner
Bien avant de l'habiter
C'était une terre façonnée

Consacrée, cultivée
Défrichée, parfois divisée
Baptisé par le feu sacré
Dénommé Tiotia:ke

Homa
Jean Talon
The Point
Mile End

Le plateau
The ghetto
Le Village
Ville Marie

Verdun
Outremont
The Main
NDG

Park Ex
Chinatown
Ville Emard
Little Burgundy

Pour l'appeler, faut dénouer
Le fil de l'histoire, rembombiner
Bien avant de l'habiter
C'était une terre façonnée

Consacrée, cultivée
Défriché, parfois divisée
Baptisé par le feu sacré
Dénommé Tiotia:ke

Pour l'appeler, faut dénouer
Le fil de l'histoire, rembombiner
Bien avant de l'habiter
C'était une terre façonnée

Consacrée, cultivée
Défrichée, parfois divisée
Baptisé par le feu sacré
Dénommé Tiotia:ke

Moniang, moniang
Dénommé Tio'tia:ke

Reine du monde

Ce coeur qui bat si proche du mien
Ce pouls nouveau qui t'appartient
Ce corps qui prend forme, qui tire du mien
C'est tout, t'es tout

L'amour connu, mes joies vécues
Exaltation et temps suspendu
Bonheur fécond et peines perdues
N'ont rien, n'ont rien
N'ont rien, n'ont rien

Mère et reine du monde, Marie des fresques
Toi qui existes entre parenthèses
Les tomes de femme, jamais racontées
Ton histoire à toi, toujours éclipsée

Ainsi soit-il
A jamais, à jamais...
Ainsi soit-il
A jamais, à jamais...

Ainsi soit-il
A jamais, à jamais...
Ainsi soit-il
A jamais, à jamais...

Nous les reines du monde, on vous remercie
Des statues et fresques, du peu de place permis
La garantie du ciel bien que gentil
N'a rien sur cette terre, rien sur cette vie

Mon enfant, bien aimé
En toi j'ai mis mon amour
Mon enfant, bien aimé
En toi j'ai mis mon amour

Mon sang coulé
Mes larmes versées
Mon corps étiré
Volonté cédée,
Mes jours rompus
Mes nuits volées
N'ont rien, n'ont rien
Car
Tout ce que j'ai connu de l'amour ça vient de toi

Suits and Ties

“And when he said you always gotta make sure you have a 5$ in your pocket
Or a 10$ in your pocket when you leave
And I said, “Why?”. They said “because the police would be out in the back in the alley
Waiting for their payment.” He said, “And you paid them, or they beat you.”

Mommy's wardrobe
A treasure trove
That floral dress
And the way that it flows

Dab of rouge on my cheek
Straight to the mirror, steal a peek
High in these shoes, I'm wild and free
Cancing beauty: this is me

Suits and ties, suits and ties
For propriety
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Put them all at ease
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Make him into a man
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Some things can't be planned

After work
Down at 'Le Mystique'
Loosened ties, but
We're still discreet

He caught your eye
In a dusty mirror
Then brushed your arm
'Cause it's safe in here

Red lips spelling
"Are you new?"
You don't know your name
Or what you're supposed to do

Suits and ties, suits and ties
For propriety
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Put them all at ease
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Make him into a man
Suits and ties, suits and ties
Some things can't be planned...

The Terminal

Boys, we made it through
These Depresssion times
But there's a new divide
Things have changed here
Nothing lasts long
The twenty-two-month stint
Well that's an era gone

I've had your backs for years
But a "white-only" band?
Writing's on the wall now
So play you hearts out on that stand

Can't help but keep this thing alive
You know I just can't help but keep this thing alive
Can't help but keep this thing alive
You know I just can't help but keep this thing alive

Can't help, just can't help it, can't help
Can't help, just can't help it, can't help

Twenty-five years on
It's not a reed I use
But a welding gun
From bow ties to ballasts
Life's a terminal
Of a different kind

While the gigs are gone
My work isn't done
There's the doorbell ringing
"Time to play that scale with soul my son"

Can't help but keep this thing alive
You know I just can't help but keep this thing alive
Can't help but keep this thing alive
You know I just can't help but keep this thing alive

Can't help but keep this thing alive
You know I just can't help but keep this thing alive

Can't help, just can't help it, can't help
Can't help, just can't help it, can't help

Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever

Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever
Take this moment, learn forever

C'est le temps

C'est le temps
Qui enlève, et redonne
Qui guérit et pardonne
Qui se force et poussant
Nous façonne

C'est à toi qu'on doit
Nos joies, les ravages
La loi singulière et sauvage

C'est le temps
Le vrai guide du destin
Qui nous prouve que la foi
Ou la science n'ont rien
Sur l'inévitable

Le choix illusoire
Nous soutient
A travers le chaos
Gravité et souffrance

Et c'est toi qui nous offres
La joie de la quête
Le désir de comprendre
Ll'envie de voir
La sagesse et l'espoir
La grâce

C'est toi seul qui les donnes
En mesure de ta somme
C'est le, c'est le
C'est le temps, le temps, le temps
C'est, le temps, c'est le, le temps

C'est le temps, le temps
Le temps, c'est le temps, le temps, le temps
Le temps, le temps, le temps, le temps

Ainsi

Vieux Players en main déja mi-fumé
Bière Colt en papier brun déguisé
Les dégustations des pêcheurs urbains
On les repère par la coulée du St Laurent

Jaunissant aux ongles, poumons aux dents et aux yeux
Peau sablée par le vent, par le temps et la dureté
Chaque jour se confond aux autres, enfin perforé
Par l’arrivée opportune du chèque de bien-être social

Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains

Pantalon "Renaissance", boutons bien sérrés
Café d'chez Tim pour emporter
Cigare au vin pour bien dépanner
Les dégustations simples de l’étranger

Parfois lui manquent les tons bien nettement plus foncés
Du bon café, du tabac, de la terre de sa patrie
Le fleuve aujourd’hui lui reflète une autre fête manquée
De son ainé, qu’il ne voit plus depuis qu’il a appris à marcher

Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains

Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains
Ainsi se marquent les lendemains...

Ainsi se marquent
Ainsi se marquent
Ainsi se marquent
Ainsi se marquent...

Our Lady

She's been his thing all her life
Now closing in on two generations
The sweetest words that she heard
Were the midwife saying: "love, it's a girl"

"This home makes me ill, this man makes me wild
This child is my salvation"
It's taken months, but she's planned it well
Her deliverance from this hell

Time's come now, don't turn back
He's out, the bags are packed
Just hail that taxi cab
you're shaking like a leaf, relief

New life, new song, new breath
Gotta keep moving on
New child, fresh start, one chance
Gotta keep moving on
He must know by now
Gotta keep moving on
He's gotta know by now

The sun's high in the sky
this day I'll memorize
These faces on the street
Know nothing of defeat

New life, new song, new breath
Gotta keep moving on
New child, fresh start, one chance
Gotta keep moving on
He must know by now
Gotta keep moving on
He's gotta know about my release

"How did it start, how could you stay"
You ask me time and again
So let me put it back to you
This question lay to rest

You know that job you couldn't stand
Yet you showed up for years
If it's so hard to leave your work
How about the home you've created

And if I leave it all
What if they don't believe
And when I try to call
They send him after me

New life, new song, new breath
Gotta keep moving on
New child, fresh start, one chance
Gotta keep moving on
He must know by now
Gotta keep moving on
He's gotta know by now

The sun's high in the sky
this day I'll memorize
These faces on the street
Know nothing of defeat

New life, new song, new breath
Gotta keep moving on
New child, fresh start, one chance
Gotta keep moving on
He must know by now
Gotta keep moving on
He's gotta know about my release

Jedlika

L'union fait la force tant qu'on n'la force pas
Voilà ce qui m'a forcé de partir
De la Sibérie je me retrouve dans le grand Nord
Avec ma guitare et le sourire

Quand on aime son proche
Les règles ne figurent pas
La rigidité puritaine
Me fera pas trahir la plus grande loi

Le dogme, j'en ai vecu, ça a l'air que j'en vis encore
Quel destin coquin qui me poursuit
Le vrai instinct d'aider ne connaît pas de bornes
La compassion c'est ma vie

Quand on aime son proche
Les règles ne figurent pas
La rigidité puritaine
Me fera pas trahir la plus grande loi

Le dogme, j'en ai vecu, ça a l'air que j'en vis encore
Quel destin coquin qui me poursuit
Le vrai instinct d'aider ne connaît pas de bornes
La compassion c'est ma vie
La compassion c'est ma vie
C'est l'amour qui me fait vivre

La Boxe

De quel animal s'agit-il ici ce soir
Engourdi par son instinct batailleur
Femmes méfiantes se présentent tout autour
Pour soigner l'infirme et apaiser le dieu

Est-ce par amour propre ou honneur subtil
Par courage pur ou nature oubliée
Peu importe ce qui t'attire au feu
C'est grace à la bête noble qu'on se reconnaît

Ou c'est l'évasion ou la gêne
Notre plus grand défaut
Qui nous fait oublier
Que tout se termine en k-o

On suit tes pas de près, mais toujours d'à côté
Par peur de glisser dans tes empreintes
Qu'est-ce qui nous mène donc à ainsi frôler
D'un écart certain de la mort, la fin

Spectateurs divertis, on est témoins
De force brute, de nos ravages
Rien, et tout, pour apprivoiser
Un tel désordre, le grand inévitable

Ou c'est l'évasion ou la gêne
Notre plus grand défaut
Qui nous fait oublier
Que tout se termine en chaos

Ou c'est l'évasion ou la gêne
Notre plus grand défaut
Qui nous fait oublier
Que tout se termine en chaos

Ou c'est l'évasion ou la gêne
Notre plus grand défaut
Qui nous fait oublier
Que tout se termine en k-o...

Dans la vie et dans la ronde
Dans la vie et dans la ronde


Good Lord's Work

Sister, you do it in style
Keeping them fueled for the extra mile
The world's cold but the service is hot
So dig in, then give it all you've got

We need hands, we need hearts
But most of all, we need food to start
Sidekick to the holy One
Whose mysterious ways have just begun

Man don't live by bread alone
But the hunger makes the battle long
So when the war has got you down
Wash your hands, then gather around

Heroes and saints all gotta stay fed
Before preaching what the master said
He turned water into wine
I can dish up another kind of divine

Sister, you do it in style
Keeping them fueled for the extra mile
The world's cold but the food is hot
So fill up, then give it all you've got

We need hands and hearts to fight
To keep the world in check tonight
Your son's gone, but the work's begun
Sidekick to the holy one

Can't bring back your Anthony
Turn back time on Leslie
Police still dose brutality
Talking shit and walking free

But we show up day after day
Show them it can't stay this way
And when you reach your end sit
At the table, friend

Beau voyage

Un beau voyage, mon bel enfant
Où t'emporteront les vagues, le vent
Je ne sais comment, ni le pourquoi
De ce qui t'attire vers l'au-delà

D'un souffle doux, j'ai imploré
Au Grand Esprit de me donner
Un enfant, et tu le fus
Le soleil d'une planète perdue

Et si lorsque tu y arrives
Dépaysée, loin, et ivre
De solitude, dans ton silence
Ecoute l'oiseau, écoute le vent

Regarde le ciel, regarde en bas
Et dans les eaux, tu me verras
Mon regard tendre, triste, et fier
De ton voyage sur la grande terre
De tes pas doux, sur cette terre

 

 

 


Thank You

As long as there’s a pulse that’s still beating
My face can turn up to the sky
And aching, I’ll sing as I cry

‘Cause this is how I thank you
For the gift of one day more
This life, I know
Is love’s greatest reward

As long as there’s a pulse that’s still beating
My face can turn up to the sky
And joyfully, I’ll sing as I cry
‘Cause this is how I thank you
For the gift of one day more
This love I know, is life’s greatest reward

Thank you, thank you, thank you
Thank you, thank you, thank you...


Three Things

These three remain
Faith, hope and love
But of the three
The greatest is love

When I was young I used little words for
Little thoughts running through my mind
When I was young, trusting without knowing

Each day a new world was waiting
For me to call into being
When I was young

Now that I’ve put aside that simple self
I see all that I just don’t know
Ask me a question, and I have no answer
I have no answer

Stare into a fog long enough
It’ll all soon become so clear
I’m left with just one simple notion
To love

I could have eternity in the palm of my hand
I could soar up to heights unknown to man
I could sing perfection to you, and with the angels stand
But if I don’t have love, then there’s nothing left

I could have eternity in the palm of my hand
I could soar up to heights unknown to man
I could sing perfection to you, and with the angels stand
But if I don’t have love, then there’s nothing left

These three remain
Faith, hope and love
But of the three
The greatest is love



Guests

First one up is waiting by the door
I’m too broken, I’m too poor
Next in line takes one step in
Sees the sun then leaves again
“Been so long in misery
Feel at home in tragedy”
Just behind another goes away
"I’m not good enough, or so they say"
So they say

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:
You’re my heart, you’re my heart

For each invited, many turn away
All I want’s to love and keep you safe
Heard ‘em all, excuses and the fears
Lies as ancient as the years

The bigger the load, the freer you could live
The less you have, the more I can give
I’ll be here waiting, my light will be on
Call to me and I will come

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:
You’re my heart, you’re my heart
You’re my heart, you’re my heart


Right Now

Trees in the forest echo my pain
While some unknown promise still calls my name
I’m not through yet, and nothing’s due to me
But still it aches

Clarity comes easy, though sometimes it’s dim
Sunlight casts its shadows and highlights my wins
I can choose how to be, own it and age gracefully
But still it aches

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Sometimes I think I’m ready for the end
Then imaginings of what’s still ‘round the bend
Keep me grounded here, with my eyes lifted to the sky
Then back, down to you

Little lives to big ones steadily grow
Endless days to quick years somehow flow
This is it, this time, this moment, this instant
This is all I know

Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying
Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying

Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying
Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now
I want to be right here, right now
Be right here, right now
Be right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now



Vernon Morning Star

Pull up to the Pharmasave in Vernon
Lock eyes with a junky there
Load-in through the alley door
And make my way to the club upstairs

A volunteer meets me here to steer me to the green room
A wood-paneled cubbyhole
A stack of newspaper clippings cast aside
Are by the chair that I’ll call mine tonight

The Salish name, although I’ve never heard it is
"Where the creek narrows, there you jump"
I make a note to try to find that stream
Maybe follow it back in time

Before the name, before the town
Before the junkies hangin’ round
There was the magic
Like they say, when the flow will let you
Step out, take a look around, and jump

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

In the business of executing beauty
As we perform night after night
Sometimes I might forget what I’m here for, but
Then a volunteer meets my eye, says

We take a break from wrestling whatever demon holds us
'Cause now is the time to jump.
While no one sees you crossing over
We see the beauty of landing again

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground



Move On

Look at the stars
Count them one by one
There was a time
We took our places among them

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
When I’m gone

There was a time
You and I were one
We shared a body
Then took our places under the sun

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
When I’m gone
When I move on

See the stars
Don’t forget to count them one by one
I take my place now
Deep among them

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
Will you remember me

As I look on
Will I live on

When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
Move on




Wild Geese

(Wendell Berry)

Geese appear high over us
Pass, and the sky closes
Abandon as in love or sleep
Holds them to their way
Clear in the ancient faith
What we need is here

And we pray
Not for new earth or heaven
But to be quiet in heart
And in eye clear
What we need is here

What we need is here
What we need is here



All You Need

What we need is here
What we need is here

Shadows grow
Turn slowly
Greeting the day
These wings may never fly again

Seasons have their pull
They’re aging my soul
But even through the hold of time
I sit still on this branch
To greet you on your way
So I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know...

All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here...

I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know

I sit still on this branch
To greet you on your way
So I tell you what I know

All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here



Time

Time’s not the movement of the hours passing by
It’s standing still to see the fractions fall behind
And how nothing’s the same
How nothing’s the same
Nothing’s the same
Nothing’s the same

Inches on my children
My mom slowing down
Silver in the sunlight
Bouncing off my hair

Waiting feels easier
Aching’s a good friend
Not knowing’s my companion
Right until the end

Time is a unit of our own transformation
The end of presence, where we stop
And take stock as years may go by

Years may go by
Years may go by
Years may go by...

Living out of time
The present’s the only sound
Movement never lies
It pulls and pushes around

Taking me beyond
Carrying me far
Transforming what I think I know
To how things really are

Years may go by
Years may go by
Years may go by...



Call Up My Scene

Call up my scene when my soul is in need of finding some direction
Grown through the years, it appears at times a little schizophrenic
From bloodlines to rare finds to folks that I’ll never see eye to eye with
I call up my scene, it’s how I practice connection

It’s true there’s so few who I call to like glue to keep me together
But sometimes you gotta let it fall apart to grow back better
I live in the woods, so lessons come straight to me from the forest
The trees got a scene, when the lean years come they use it for protection

I don’t always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll
Never see to
All that you don’t know

Everything that I have known
Has come straight to me from someone
So if there’s more for me to learn
Then take me to your scene

What is it in me that’s pulling me off in every direction
I read in this book not to limit, so I choose love and not rejection
“Be like a fox wander round, make more tracks than ever necessary
So go off course and get lost: that’s how we practice resurrection”

I don’t always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll
Never see to
All that you don’t know

I don’t always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll
Never see to
All that you don’t know

I don’t always choose
Folks like you
I don’t always choose
Folks like you

I don’t always choose
Folks like you
I don’t always choose
Folks like you

Three Things

Time

Time's not the movement of the hours
Passing by
It's standing still to see the fractions
Fall behind
And how nothing’s the same
Nothing’s the same
Nothing’s the same

Inches on my children
My mom slowing down
Silver in the sunlight
Bouncing off my hair
Waiting feels easier
Aching’s a good friend
Not knowing’s my companion
Right until the end

Time is a unit of our own
Transformation
The end of presence
Wwhere we stop
And take stock as
Years may go by

May go by
May go by
May go by

May go by
May go by
May go by
May go by

Living out of time
The present’s the only sound
Movement never lies
It pulls and pushes around

Taking me beyond
Carrying me far
Transforming what I think I know
To how things really are

Years may go by
Years may go by...

Call Up My Scene

Call up my scene when my soul
Is in need of finding some direction
Grown through the years, it appears
At times a little schizophrenic

From bloodlines to rare finds
To folks that I’ll never see eye to eye with
I call up my scene
It's how I practice connection

It's true there’s so few
Who I call to like glue to keep me together
But sometimes you gotta let it
Fall apart to grow back better

I live in the woods
So lessons come straight to me from the forest
The trees got a scene
Wwhen the lean years come they use it for protection

I don't always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll never see to
All that you don't know

Everything that I have known
Has come straight to me from someone
So if there's more for me to learn
Then take me to your scene

What is it in me that’s pulling me off
In every direction
I read in this book not to limit
So I choose love and not rejection

'Be like a fox wander round
Make more tracks than ever necessary
So go off course and get lost
That's how we practice resurrection'

I don't always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll never see to
All that you don't know

I don't always choose
Folks who are
Just like you
'Cause you’ll never see to
All that you don't know

Don’t choose folks like you
Don’t choose folks like you
Don’t choose folks like you
Don’t choose folks like you
Don’t choose folks like you

Folks like you
Folks like you

Thank You

As long as there’s a pulse that’s still beating
My face can turn up to the sky
And aching, I’ll sing as I cry

‘Cause this is how I thank you
For the gift of one day more
This life, I know
Is love’s greatest reward

As long as there’s a pulse that’s still beating
My face can turn up to the sky
And joyfully, I’ll sing as I cry
‘Cause this is how I thank you
For the gift of one day more
This love I know, is life’s greatest reward

Thank you, thank you, thank you
Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Three Things

These three remain
Faith, hope and love
But of the three
The greatest is love

When I was young I used little words for
Little thoughts running through my mind
When I was young, trusting without knowing

Each day a new world was waiting
For me to call into being
When I was young

Now that I’ve put aside that simple self
I see all that I just don’t know
Ask me a question, and I have no answer
I have no answer

Stare into a fog long enough
It’ll all soon become so clear
I’m left with just one simple notion
To love

I could have eternity in the palm of my hand
I could soar up to heights unknown to man
I could sing perfection to you, and with the angels stand
But if I don’t have love, then there’s nothing left

I could have eternity in the palm of my hand
I could soar up to heights unknown to man
I could sing perfection to you, and with the angels stand
But if I don’t have love, then there’s nothing left

These three remain
Faith, hope and love
But of the three
The greatest is love

Guests

First one up is waiting by the door
I’m too broken, I’m too poor
Next in line takes one step in
Sees the sun then leaves again
“Been so long in misery
Feel at home in tragedy”
Just behind another goes away
"I’m not good enough, or so they say"
So they say

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:
You’re my heart, you’re my heart

For each invited, many turn away
All I want’s to love and keep you safe
Heard ‘em all, excuses and the fears
Lies as ancient as the years

The bigger the load, the freer you could live
The less you have, the more I can give
I’ll be here waiting, my light will be on
Call to me and I will come

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:

You’re no guest child , this is your home
Have a seat ‘cause the table is long
Your place has been set since you were born
I’ve known you from the start:
You’re my heart, you’re my heart
You’re my heart, you’re my heart

Right Now

Trees in the forest echo my pain
While some unknown promise still calls my name
I’m not through yet, and nothing’s due to me
But still it aches

Clarity comes easy, though sometimes it’s dim
Sunlight casts its shadows and highlights my wins
I can choose how to be, own it and age gracefully
But still it aches

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Sometimes I think I’m ready for the end
Then imaginings of what’s still ‘round the bend
Keep me grounded here, with my eyes lifted to the sky
Then back, down to you

Little lives to big ones steadily grow
Endless days to quick years somehow flow
This is it, this time, this moment, this instant
This is all I know

Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying
Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying

Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing, praying
Waiting, watching, hoping, changing
Living, looking, growing

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now

Time is a healer, a wounder, a killer
Tell me, why must you pass so fast
These endless moments in a blink can be over
So I want to be right here, right now
I want to be right here, right now
Be right here, right now
Be right here, right now
Right here, right now
Right here, right now

Vernon Morning Star

Pull up to the Pharmasave in Vernon
Lock eyes with a junky there
Load-in through the alley door
And make my way to the club upstairs

A volunteer meets me here to steer me to the green room
A wood-paneled cubbyhole
A stack of newspaper clippings cast aside
Are by the chair that I’ll call mine tonight

The Salish name, although I’ve never heard it is
"Where the creek narrows, there you jump"
I make a note to try to find that stream
Maybe follow it back in time

Before the name, before the town
Before the junkies hangin’ round
There was the magic
Like they say, when the flow will let you
Step out, take a look around, and jump

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

In the business of executing beauty
As we perform night after night
Sometimes I might forget what I’m here for, but
Then a volunteer meets my eye, says

We take a break from wrestling whatever demon holds us
'Cause now is the time to jump.
While no one sees you crossing over
We see the beauty of landing again

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Try to find another
Way to get over
Or you’ll wind up sinking down

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Jump first, then you’ll get it
'Cause our lives depend
On grace just to find our ground

Move On

Look at the stars
Count them one by one
There was a time
We took our places among them

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
When I’m gone

There was a time
You and I were one
We shared a body
Then took our places under the sun

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
When I’m gone
When I move on

See the stars
Don’t forget to count them one by one
I take my place now
Deep among them

Will you remember me
Will you remember me
Will you remember me

As I look on
Will I live on

When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
When I move on
Move on

Wild Geese

(Wendell Berry)

Geese appear high over us
Pass, and the sky closes
Abandon as in love or sleep
Holds them to their way
Clear in the ancient faith
What we need is here

And we pray
Not for new earth or heaven
But to be quiet in heart
And in eye clear
What we need is here

What we need is here
What we need is here

All You Need

What we need is here
What we need is here

Shadows grow
Turn slowly
Greeting the day
These wings may never fly again

Seasons have their pull
They’re aging my soul
But even through the hold of time
I sit still on this branch
To greet you on your way
So I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know...

All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here...

I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know
I tell you what I know

I sit still on this branch
To greet you on your way
So I tell you what I know

All you need is here
All you need is here
All you need is here


Non Albums Tracks

Beauty and the Beast

( appears on Modal Jazz Loves Disney, 2008 | originally by Angela Lansbury )

Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Than somebody bends
Unexpectedly

Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bitter-sweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun
That's rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme

Certain as the sun
That's rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme

Certain as the sun
That's rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme

Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast

*** Thanx a lot to Billy for this one ***

The Lyrics HomepageThe New Lyrics additions or correctionsCome and chat on the forumMy lyrics requestThe Statistics of the lyrics page