The Innocence Mission Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs

B i o g r a p h y
(by Wikipedia)

The Innocence Mission is a band centered around the husband-and-wife songwriters Karen Peris (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and Don Peris (guitars, vocals). The original band, including Mike Bitts (bass) and Steve Brown (drums), was formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the early 1980s when the members met during a Catholic school production of Godspell. Although all members of the band have contributed musically, Karen Peris does most of the group's writing.
Their debut album, Tending the Rose Garden, was released in 1986. The song "Trust" was a hit on Christian radio, while "Can't Anybody Stay Together" made the playlists on mainstream Adult Contemporary and CHR stations. Their eponymous second album, released in 1989 (A&M Records), was produced by Larry Klein, then-husband of Joni Mitchell, and recorded in the couple’s basement recording studio. The album peaked on the Billboard charts at #167 in 1990, and the album’s second track, "Black Sheep Wall", released as a single in 1989, peaked at #22 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks. The album’s fifth track, "Clear to You", was used on the soundtrack of the pilot episode of Beverly Hills 90210. Klein also produced their 1991 follow up, Umbrella.

Their third and final A&M album, Glow, released in 1995 (A&M Records), Was produced by Dennis Herring, who had previously produced two records for Camper Van Beethoven. This album is a departure from Klein's heavier production style. Whereas the first two releases may have brought to mind The Sundays and The Cocteau Twins with their moody keyboards, Herring's lighter touch gave more emphasis to the group's guitar work and to Karen's vocals and lyrics.
Glow contains songs that appear on the soundtracks of the films Empire Records and Dream for an Insomniac, as well as the television series Party of Five. The album’s second track, "Bright as Yellow", peaked on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks at #33.

In 1999 the band recorded for a new label, Badman. Additionally, drummer Steve Brown left the band to pursue a career as a chef. On the subsequent album, Birds of My Neighborhood, Brown played drums and brushes on "Snow," but otherwise the group became a trio. Now bereft of drums, their sound took an even more acoustic direction. Some songs featured just Don and Karen, and a few, such as "She May Turn Around", featured only Karen's voice and instrumentation.
The 2000 release of Christ Is My Hope, featuring religious music that had inspired them over the years, was independently released on their own website. Small Planes, released in 2001, featured outtakes from Glow and Birds of My Neighborhood. Befriended was their next "proper" album, in 2003.
In 2004, the Innocence Mission released Now the Day Is Over, a collection of lullabies. Except for "My Love Goes with You", all songs are cover versions, such as a stripped-down vocal and piano rendition of Henry Mancini's "Moon River". We Walked in Song was released in 2007.
Don Peris has recorded three solo albums, Ten Silver Slide Trombones in 2001, Go When the Morning Shineth in 2006, and an instrumental solo guitar Christmas album, Brighter Visions Beam Afar, in 2007.

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Non Albums Tracks

A Thousand Miles

('Evensong' / Street Map EP)

My soles catch dogwood petals
I don't know who lives here
Where people are walking to a birthday
I am just passing by

This boy who sits in sadness
Beside me in the traffic
He is turning, farther and farther
I go straight, into town

La la la la la...

A thousand miles near
A thousand miles far
A thousand miles away

Oh I want to be like Sister Margaret Edmond
Whose life connects with so many in this city
I am inside my door

Some fellow misunderstood me
I thought I'd spoken clearly
Living rooms are such a long way
For words to travel alone

La la la la la...

A thousand miles near
A thousand miles far
A thousand miles away

(Help Me To Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp Compilation)

Now shall my inward joys arise
And burst into a song
Almighty love inspires my heart
And pleasure tunes my tongue

God, on his thirsty zion's hill
Some mercy drops has thrown
And solemn oaths have bound his love
To show’r salvation down

Why do we then indulge our fears
Suspicions and complaints
Is he a God, and shall his grace
Grow weary of his saints

An Old Sunday

(Sorry And Glad Together B-Side)

Atticus of an old Sunday
When you past me sitting on the step
On the porch, waiting for thunder
And all of you came by like a parade
Atticus, walking for hunger
There is suffering in the world you said
At seventeen, I was in first grade
I couldn't think of anything to say

My sisters have soldiers to pray for
And they receive their presents in the mail
And Atticus, I was just thinking
I could pray for you and all your friends

It was a cloudy London
A Sunday full of something to come
I cut you bunches of Azalea
I gave you bunches of Azalea
Cause you'd say, "Look at the flowers, look at the flowers"
And I thought I could keep all mine

And Atticus, I was so happy
When I said goodbye to you
And your parade

Can't Anybody Stay Together

(Tending The Rose Garden EP)

Oh no, oh no
Prince charming's leaving on
And Cinderella’s running along
No glass slipper this time
And no more compromise
But I’m really not surprised
It happens all the time

Can't anybody stay together
Can't anybody keep their love alive
Can't anybody stay together
Does anybody really try

Childhood memories of what true love should be
Tonight I'm Goule DeVot, but here it is
Babies born in love are no longer in love
What will they do now, my mistaken of, so wrong

Can't anybody stay together
Can't anybody keep their love alive
Can't anybody stay together
Oh, does anybody, anybody, anybody
Anybody really try
I don't know...

Do As The Living Do

(Tending The Rose Garden EP)

You can't think of worries
They might bury you
What good can they do
They just make you blue
And time is on your side
But it goes by so fast

We all make mistakes
We let them go past
When in life
Do as the living do
One day at a time
Find a way to do as the living do

And you don't have to try
To fit in with the crowd
Just hold your head high
Don't ever look down
And you can find a place
That is right for you
I've been there too
I just needed you

So when in life
Won't you do as the living do
One day at a time
Black into blue
You should know
That someone cares for you
So take your own sweet time
And find a way to do as the living do

Some things I have to understand
Something impossible to plan
But everyday we try a little harder
We go a little farther
When the world is crazy
You could run away
Wouldn't it be better to stay?

When in life do as the living do
One day at a time
Black into blue
Oh, you should know
That someone cares for you
So take your own sweet time, boy
And find a way to do as the living do

From A Homeland

(Street Map EP)

Let's not be restless, my darlings
Let's be glad at home, my dears
Though all the boats on shore are yearning
To be away from here
To be upon the sea
To be upon the sea
Upon the sea

Wherever you are
The colors and the light are in your view
And all the others there will see them
And feel the same as you
And feel the same as you
And feel the same as you

Let's not be restless, my darlings
Let's be glad at home, my dears
Though all the boats on shore are yearning
To be away from here
To be upon the sea
To be upon the sea
Upon the sea

Geranium Lake

(Bright As Yellow B-Side)

We have saved our days the whole year
We will wear our summer clothes
Walk for miles in the sun and remember every one
Say we know this place, we know

Though the world is tall and wide
And one does not need to return
Should we go another way
Some new place you'd rather stay

But we know where we will go
What we will say

Greys And Blues

(My Room In The Trees - iTunes Bonus Track)

What can we take to Ohio
What can we bring there from the sea
I'm holding on to the summer
With both my arms digging my feet

I'm going out there in a while
To photograph the greys and blues
Are you

If we are a fish out of water
At least we have love to go around
I miss you more in the day times
Then I can sing or write about now

I'm going out there in a while
To photograph the greys and blues
Are you

Let's Talk About Something Else

(Bright As Yellow B-Side)

I run round in my sleep with a butterfly net
I run round in my sleep with a butterfly

I try deciding my future
Where, how, when and why, now
I run round chasing worries, saying
Hey, let's talk about something else

They fly round in this summer, butterflies
They fly round in this summer like butterflies
And I have to, have to make up my mind
How, where to go, now

They fly round in this summer brightly
Hey, let's talk about something else
Hey, let's talk about something else
And I have to, have to make up my mind
How, where to go, right now

I run round with this field net, hollering
Hey, let's talk about something else

North Atlantic Sand

(Don Peris feat. Karen Peris, from Don's 2006 solo album "Go When The Morning Shineth")

Fairer are the days that wait for you
Dogwood flowers and moonbeams wait for you
Your mother and your dad
the North Atlantic sand
Try to understand how much we love you

Greener are the hills where you are bound
Kinder is the world where you belong
Your mother and your dad
The North Atlantic sand
Try to understand how much we love you

Where you go I will follow
Where you go I will follow
Where you go I will follow
Anywhere

Peace Be With You

(One For Sorrow, Two For Joy B-Side)

When you're driving with your mother
Upstate to the Chautauqua
And you've let the rain in the car

Things will be different you know
Things will be better
You feel stronger already
You feel stronger

Peace be with you where you go
And you know, the way you know

All the forests and the seas
Of your own world
Only you can ever know them
Only you can

Peace be with you where you go
And you know, the way you know

Pioneering

(Street Map EP)

Pioneering down comes the day
The light is on the ground
And I think I will be well
On the lawn of St. John the Divine
Dogs and birds are starting early to arrive

Pioneering down will come the day now

We are driving out into brilliant light
Remember how we saw windmills on for miles
Like white birds in California skies
Lifting up at once to be near to the sea

Oh drive on, drive on
I will be well, I will be

I can see this on St. Francis Day
All the sadnesses will surely fall away

Pioneering down will come the day now

Prayer Of St. Francis

(The Lakes Of Canada B-Side)

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord
And where there is doubt, true faith in you

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is despair in life, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there is sadness, enter joy

Oh master, grant that I may never see
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
The giving of ourselves that we receive
And in dying that we're born to eternal life

Shadows

(Tending The Rose Garden EP)

There are things we do
I don't know how we always get through
Hurling back to back
Love comes to save us in the last half
There are two of me
One does the right thing, one cannot see
And she has no shame
Out of the darkness, she takes the blame

We'd like to keep a watch on our shadows
Every move they secretly make
We'd like to be so close to heaven
But then our shadows, they run away, they run away
So the shadows move
And what do we do, we give them room
When I do so wrong
I don't say I’m sorry, my pride is so strong

We'd like to keep a watch on our shadows
Every move they secretly make
We'd like to be so close to heaven
But then our shadows, they run away
They run away

Smalltown Blues

(Tending The Rose Garden EP)

Lately, the conversations drag me down
The circle full of friends just make my head spin
'Round and 'round and 'round
And there's always someone waiting in the hall outside
And every time you leave, they ring the telephone line, saying
"How’s she going to make it on her own now that he's gone?"

And I can't take these small town blues
I'm tired of being lonely, living without you
And I can't take these small town blues
I'm tired of living without you

You're always far away, putting feathers in your cap
And business is good, but honey, that's not why I’m mad
There's always someone waiting on the street outside
And every time you leave, they ring the telephone line, saying
"Now’s she's running on her own, he won't be home"

And I can't take these small town blues
I'm tired of being lonely, living without you
And I can't take these small town blues
I'm tired of living without you

You know I’m tired of living without you
They're talking about you
They're saying that you've gone
Tell me it's not true
I need you by my side, my side

Sunshine Roof

(Street Map EP)

Alive in the light on Monday
Alive in the light of May
We zig-zag on a bus to market
I know, I know these things will not go

Alive in the light on Monday
Alive in the light of May
Branches on the ground are shining
I know, I know these things will not go

I'm walking to the sound of your feet
We're moving into squares of sun
Our heads are golden, even mine is
Light on, light on everything to come

There is a branch that's come down lately
There is a bridge not far away
Our heads are golden, even mine is
Light on, light on

I'm walking to the sound of your feet
We're moving into squares of sun
Our heads are golden, even mine is
Light on, light on everything to come

The Way You Know

(Befriended - Japanese Bonus Track)

So I left the flowers outside
There in the hallway
With a note against your door
You were not home
You were not home

You may be
On your way to the Chautauqua now
With your mother calling out the way to go
The way you know
The way you know

Oh, a memory that's sweet
Pedals from the trees
When your road is hard
When your road is hard

Oh, the forests and the deepest seas
Of your own world
No one else can ever know
The way you know
The way you know

The sorrow happens
And you find you can't tell anybody
Words don't enter into greater realms
The way you know
The way you know

Hope and memory that's sweet
Pedals from the trees
When your road is hard
When your road is hard

You may be
On your way to the Chautauqua now
With your mother calling out the way to go
The way you know
The way you know

The way you know
The way you know

Tiny Picture

(Preliminary Hearing OST)

Almost coming out
Almost going in
Almost in the middle but the middle's half a place to be
Gray is not the range
Book mobiles are burning
I am only yearning for a place where I can be myself

Some don't care (how pathetic)
Some of them do (have their signs)
But there are many who are neither one of them
And I can play the part (walk on the streets)
And I could learn the lines (personality)
Why must they divide us then apply us in this way?

More than two kinds of people
Could we blow up this tiny picture
There are more than two kinds of people
So let's blow up this tiny picture

Make it bigger
See it better

I am not all bad (have my good points)
And you are not all good (have your vices)
Father says we're equal, the children don't agree
The man builds the walls (divided)
Man builds them all (confide in)
Man builds the camera that takes the tiny picture

More than two kinds of people
Could we blow up this tiny picture
There are more than two kinds of people
So let's blow up this tiny picture

And make it bigger
See it better
Oh, make it bigger
See it, see it better

Make it bigger

Can you take a bigger picture
Can you take it
Can you see a bigger picture
Can you see it

Trust

(Tending The Rose Garden EP)

We're good soldiers, getting by on the border of this life
And the darkness is no place to be frightened, afraid

Trust, trust
Trust, trust

"Trust" means you can't see, but you know, you know
"Follow me" means you can't see but you grow, you grow

See no evil your soul
I just count on you, I just know
When I question, I am wrong
I should know better, should be strong

Trust, trust
Trust, trust

"Trust you" means you can do, and there's, no worry, I know
"Follow you" means you lead me through and I go, I go

No matter what you do, I put my trust in you

Trust, trust, trust, trust
Trust, trust, trust, trust
Trust, trust, trust, trust
Trust, trust, trust, trust

Yeah, yeah do I, do I believe you
Yes, I do
And I see, and I see no evil in your soul
Your sweet, sweet soul

You Draw The Streets Of Rome

(Street Map EP)

I am listening to you and my eyes are closed
Though I know the map you draw in blue chalk includes us
With the scarves blowing out and the cardigans wrapped round
Looking down beautiful views from the rooftops a long way

And you draw the streets of Rome
They are the branches on a tree
We walk them one by one
And we will glide down the stairs like air, like water
I'll be braver than I am here

I am listening to you and my eyes are closed
Though I know the buildings and the sparkle of fountains
And the names of the streets are the ones you keep a song for
Along, they string along like lights on the roadway

And you draw the streets of Rome
They are the branches on a tree
We walk them one by one
And we will glide down the stairs like air, like water
I'll be braver than I am here

And you draw the streets of Rome
They are the branches on a tree
We walk them one by one
In a twilight of music I believe
If we ask we will receive.

And we will glide down the stairs like air, like water
I'll be braver than I am here

Your Advice

(Wonder Of Birds B-Side)

Your advice, your advice
Two impatient fledglings
Left a small hope of flying your advice
When your down and you're tired
You have dreams of glory
But the world shuts you down, robbed you blind

Your pertinence has crippled you
And so you give your warnings
And I think I knew I said enough

Your goodbyes, your goodbyes
You are said, you crush us
But you think it's destiny of finding I
And I said in return
That your fame has left you
But I still cannot say your advice

Your pertinence has crippled you
And so you give your warnings
And I think I knew I said enough
And so you give your warnings
And I think I knew I said enough
By the grace of your advice, by the grace of your advice
Your advice, your advice
By the grace of your advice, by the grace of your advice