A Long December

by Adam Duritz

A long December, and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving
Now the days go by so fast

And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven
I wish you would

The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl

And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California
I think you should

Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two AM
And talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower
Makes you talk a little lower
About the things you could not show her

And it's been a long December, and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass

And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean
I guess I should

Joy to the World

by Isaac Watts

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the Earth! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!

by Joseph Mohr

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Alles schläft. Eynsam wacht
Nur das traute heilige Paar.
Holder Knab' im lockigten Haar,
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Gottes Sohn! O! wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
Jesus! in deiner Geburt!

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Die der Welt Heil gebracht,
Aus des Himmels goldenen Höh'n
Uns der Gnaden Fülle läßt seh'n
Jesum in Menschengestalt!

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Wo sich heut alle Macht
Väterlicher Liebe ergoß
Und als Bruder huldvoll umschloß
Jesus die Völker der Welt!

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Lange schon uns bedacht,
Als der Herr vom Grimme befreyt,
In der Väter urgrauer Zeit
Aller Welt Schonung verhieß!

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut bey Ferne und Nah:
Jesus der Retter ist da!

Les anges dans nos campagnes

Traditional

Les anges dans nos campagnes
Ont entonné l'hymne des cieux;
Et l'écho de nos montagnes
Redit ce chant mélodieux.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Bergers, pour qui cette fête?
Quel est l'objet de tous ces chant?
Quel vainqueur, quelle conquête
Mérite ces cris triomphants?
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Ils annoncent la naissance
Du Libérateur d'Israël,
Et pleins de reconnaissance
Chantent en ce jour solennel.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Bergers, loin de vos retraites
Unissez-vous à leurs concerts
Et que vos tendres musettes
Fassent retentir dans les airs:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Cherchons tous l'heureux village
Qui l'a vu naître sous ses toits,
Offrons-Lui le tendre hommage
Et de nos coeurs et nos voix!
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Dans l'humilité profonde
Ou vous paraissez à nos yeux,
Pour vous louer, Dieu du monde,
Nous redirons ce chant joyeux:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Déjà, par la bouche de l'ange,
Par les hymnes des cherubins,
Les hommes savent les louanges
Qui se chantent aux parvis divins:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Dociles à leur exemple,
Seigneur, nous viendrons désormais
Au milieu de votre temple,
Chanter avec eux vos bienfaits:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Sunday Papers

by Joe Jackson

Mother doesn't go out any more
Just sits at home and rolls her spastic eyes
But every weekend through the door
Come words of wisdom from the world outside

If you want to know about the bishop and the actress
If you want to know how to be a star
If you want to know about the stains on the mattress
You can read it in the Sunday papers

Mother's wheelchair stays out in the hall
Why should she go out when the TV's on?
Whatever moves beyond these walls
She'll know the facts when Sunday comes along

If you want to know about the mad punk rockers
If you want to know how to play guitar
If you want to know about any other suckers
You can read it in the Sunday papers

Sunday papers don't ask no questions
Sunday papers don't get no lies
Sunday papers don't raise objections
Sunday papers ain't got no eyes

Brother's heading that way now, I guess
He just read something, made his face turn blue
Well I got nothing against the press
They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true

If you want to know about the gay politician
If you want to know how to drive your car
If you want to know about the new sex position
You can read it in the Sunday papers

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen

anonymous

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Aus einer Wurzel zart
Wie uns die Alten sungen
Von Jesse kam die Art
Und hat ein Blümlein bracht
Mitten im kalt Winter
Wohl zu halben Nacht

Das Röslein, das ich meine
Davon Jesaia sagt
Hat uns gebracht alleine
Marie die reine Magd
Aus Gottes ewgem Rat
Hat sie ein Kind geboren
Wohl zu der halben Nacht

Das Blümelein so kleine
Das duftet un so süß
Mit seinem hellen Scheine
Ver treibts die Finsternis
Wahr' Mensch und wahrer Gott
Hilft uns aus allem Leide
Rettet von Sünd un Tod

Lob, Ehr sei Gott dem Vater
Dem Sohn und heilgen Geist
Maria, Gottes Mütter
Dein Hilf an uns beweis
Und bitt dein liebes Kind
Daß es uns woll behüten
Verzeihen unser Sünd

So singen wir all Amen
Das heißt: nun werd es wahr
Was wir begehrn allsammen
O Jesu, hilf uns dar
In deines Vaters Reich
Drin wollen wir dich loben
O Gott, uns das verlieh!

Lover

by Derek Webb

Like a man comes to an altar
I came into this town
With the world upon my shoulders
And promises passed down
And I went into the water
And my father, he was pleased
I built it and I'll tear it down
So you will be set free

I found thieves and salesmen
Living in my father's house
I know how they got in here
And I know how to get them out
I'm turning this place over
From floor to balcony
Then just like these doves and sheep
You will be set free

I've always been a lover
From before I drew a breath
Some things I loved easy
And some I loved to death
See, love's no politician
'Cause it listens carefully
Of those who come, I can't lose one
So you will be set free

Go on and take my picture
Go on and make me up
I'll still be your defender
You'll be my missing son
And I'll send out an army
Just to bring you back to me
'Cause regardless of your brother's lies
You will be set free

I am my beloved's
And my beloved's mine
So you bring all your history
I'll bring the bread and wine
And we'll have us a party
Where all the drinks are on me
Then as surely as the rising sun
You will be set free

Adeste Fideles

by St. Bonaventure

Adeste fideles laeti, triumphantes;
Venite, venite in Bethlehem:
Natum videte Regem Angelorum:
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
gestant puellae viscera,
Deum verum, genitum, non factum.
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

En grege relicto humiles ad cunas
Vocati pastores approperant:
Et nos ovanti gradu festinemus,
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Aeterni Parentis splendorem aeternum,
Velatum sub carne videbimus,
Deum infantem pannis involutum.
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Pro nobis egenum et foeno cubantem
Piis foveamus amplexibus:
Sic nos amantem quis non redamaret?
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Cantet nunc Io chorus Angelorum,
Cantet nunc aula caelestium:
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Ergo qui natus die hodierna,
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum.
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Stella duce Magi Christum adorantes
Aurum, thus, et myrrham dant munera:
Jesu infanti corda praebeamus
Venite, adoremus Dominum.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

by Charles Wesley

Come, thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in thee
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth thou art
Dear Desire of ev'ry nation
Joy of ev'ry longing heart

Joy to those who long to see thee
Dayspring from on high, appear
Come, thou promised Rod of Jesse
Of thy birth we long to hear!
O'er the hills the angels singing news
Glad tidings of a birth
'Go to him, your praises bringing
'Christ the Lord has come to earth'

Come to earth to taste our sadness
He whose glories knew no end
By his life he brings us gladness
Our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend
Leaving riches without number
Born within a cattle stall
This the everlasting wonder
Christ was born the Lord of all

Born thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a king
Born to reign in us forever
Now thy gracious kingdom bring
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone
By thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne

Funny the Way It Is

by Dave Matthews

Lying in the park on a beautiful day
Sunshine in the grass and the children play
Sirens passing, fire engine red
Someone's house is burning down on a day like this

The evening comes and we're hanging out
On the front step and a car goes by with the windows rolled down
And that War song is playing, 'Why Can't We Be Friends?'
Someone is screaming and crying in the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
Somebody's going hungry, and someone else is eating out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's heart is broken, and it becomes your favorite song

The way your mouth feels in a lover's kiss
Like a pretty bird on the breeze or water to a fish
But a bomb blast brings the building crashing to the floor
Hear the laughter while the children play war

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks ten miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath, his baby's being born

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing underneath
It must have been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small, compared to how it used to be
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars

Watch the sky, a jet plane so far out of my reach
Is there someone up there looking down on me?
A boy chase a bird, so close, but every time
He'll never catch her, but he can't stop trying

I Thought I Was a Child

by Jackson Browne

It's such a clever innocence
With which you do your sorcery
As if somehow the years just bow
And let that young girl go free
I thought I was a child
Until you turned and smiled
I thought I knew where I was going
Until I heard your laughter flowing
And came upon the wisdom in your eyes
Surprise

I've spent my whole life running 'round
Chasing songs from town to town
Thinking I'd be free
So long as I never let love slow me down
So lonely and so wild
Until you turned and smiled
By now I should have long been gone
But here I am still looking on
As if I didn't know which way to run

It's such a clever innocence
With which you show myself to me
As if you know how it feels
To never be who you wanted to be
I thought I was a child
Until you turned and smiled
I thought that I was free
But I'm just one more prisoner of time
Alone within the boundaries of my mind

You and I

by John Deacon

Music is playing in the darkness
And a lantern goes swinging by
Shadows flickering
My heart's jittering
Just you and I

Not tonight, come tomorrow
When everything's sunny and bright
No, no, no, come tomorrow
'Cause then we'll be waiting for the moonlight
We'll go walking in the moonlight

Laughter ringing in the darkness
People drinking for days gone by
Time don't mean a thing
When you're by my side
Please stay awhile

You know I never could forsee the future years
You know I never could see where life was leading me
But will we be together for ever?
What will be my love, can't you see that I just don't know

No, no, not tonight, not tomorrow
Everything's gonna be fine
Wait and see if tomorrow
We'll be as happy as we're feeling tonight
We'll go walking in the moonlight

I can hear the music in the darkness
Floating softly to where we lie
No more questions now
Let's enjoy tonight
Just you and I

Can't you see that we've gotta be together?
Just you and I
No more questions
Just you and I

Frozen Fear

by Warren Haynes

Saw you from the corner of my eye
I know loneliness when I see it
Normally I'm not the hero type
But there was something between us
I could feel it

So I thought I'd throw you a line
I've needed one myself so many times
Now here were are, somewhere
Between 'thankful' and 'where do we go now?'

I know you're just running scared
And after all you've been through, you've got to beware
But don't be afraid to live your life, my dear
Unwillingness is just frozen fear

Find someplace soft and warm
I know we all need a little shelter from the storm
Times like these, you've got to leave it all behind
And know a new sun is gonna rise and shine

I know you think it can't be done
But every moment a new life is begun
People rise above everyday
Things that you and I will never have to face

Hold onto me if you need to
I know the river's deep and wide
Trust in me, I'll see you through
And I'll be there on the other side

I know you're just running scared
And after all you've been through, you've got to beware
But don't be afraid to live your life, my dear
Unwillingness is just frozen fear

No Better Place

by Adam Schlesinger

Is that supposed to be your poker face
Or was someone run over by a train?
You're minding your own business
But you're begging for forgiveness just the same
And it's running back and forth inside your mind
Just how that town defined you
Dressed you up, painted on your face
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place

You're awake and trying not to be
Wrapped around your pillow like a prawn
The nighttime's wrapped around you
Will be until it drops you on the dawn
From the C train to the shiny tower
Kicked around till happy hour found you
Where you can drink that smirk right off your face
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place

And here is your reflection
In a building uptown
A ghost inside some Madison Avenue display
Like water under bridges
You're slowly passing by
So you sail between the rooftops and the sky

The bourbon sits inside me
Right now I'm a puppet in its sway
And it may be the whiskey talking
But the whiskey says I miss you every day
So I taxi to an all-night party
Park me in the corner in an old chair
Sip my drink and stare out into space

Hard Candy

by Adam Duritz

On certain Sundays in November
When the weather bothers me
I empty drawers of other summers
Where my shadows used to be
She is standing by the water
As her smile begins to curl
In this or any other summer
She is something altogether different
Never just an ordinary girl

And in the evenings on Long Island
When the colors start to fade
She wears a silly yellow hat
That someone gave her when she stayed
I didn't think that she returned it
We left New York in a whirl
Time expands and then contracts
When you are spinning in the grip of someone
Who is not an ordinary girl

And when you sleep
You find your mother in the night
But she stays just out of sight
So there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming
And when you wake
The morning covers you with light
And it makes you feel alright
But it's just the same hard candy
You're remembering again

You send your lover off to China
And you wait for her to call
You put your girl up on a pedestal
Then you wait for her to fall
I put my summers back in a letter
And I hide it from the world
All the regrets you can't forget
Are somehow pressed upon a picture
In the face of such an ordinary girl

Go ask her to come around
And see me late after dark
Don't ask me to come around
Then wait to see if there's a spark

In Flanders Fields

by Lt. Col. John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Joy

by Tom Marshall

Joy is over there in her incredible clothes
She has silver silk shimmering down to her toes
I was doing the best that I can, I suppose
But that little girl dancer eventually grows
She grows

You can't imagine all the times that I tried
To uncover the source of the tears that you cried
Let's throw it away and just go for a ride
And you'd say ok but you'd keep it inside
And I tried

We want you to be happy
Don't live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
'Cause this is your song, too

I never thought I could have it so good
You were the song that my soul understood
But time is a river that flows through the woods
And it led us to places we both understood
Would be gone before too long

When we were young we thought life was a game
But then somebody leaves you, and you're never the same
All of the places and people belong
To the puzzle, but one of the pieces is gone
And it's you, Joy, it's you

In time we'll weather this storm
Inside together you'll see the change
When the sun shines through

We want you to be happy
Don't live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
'Cause this is your song, too

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

by Zooey Deschanel

Why do you let me stay here
All by myself?
Why don't you come and play here?
I'm just sitting on the shelf

Why don't you sit right down and stay a while?
We like the same things, and I like your style
It's not a secret
Why do you keep it?
I'm just sitting on the shelf

I've gotta get your presence
Let's make it known
I think you're just so pleasant
I would like you for my own

Why don't you sit right down and make me smile?
You make me feel like I am just a child
Why do you edit?
Just give me credit
I'm just sitting on the shelf

The Village Green Preservation Society

by Ray Davies

We are the Village Green Preservation Society
God save Donald Duck, vaudeville, and variety
We are the Desperate Dan Appreciation Society
God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do?

We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society
God save Mrs. Mopps and good Old Mother Riley
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them

We are the Sherlock Holmes English-Speaking Vernacular
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty, and Dracula
We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity
God save little shops, china cups, and virginity

We are the Skyscraper Condemnation Affiliates
God save Tudor houses, antique tables, and billiards

Preserving the old ways from being abused
Protecting the new ways for me and for you
What more can we do?

Cowgirl in the Sand

by Neil Young

Hello cowgirl in the sand
Is this place at your command?
Can I stay here for a while?
Can I see your sweet, sweet smile?

Hello ruby in the dust
Has your band begun to rust?
After all the sin we've had
I was hoping that we'd turn back

Hello woman of my dreams
Is this not the way it seems?
Purple words on a grey background
To be a woman and to be turned down

Old enough now to change your name
When so many love you, is it the same?
It's the woman in you
That makes you want to play this game

Going Underground

by Paul Weller

Some people might say my life is in a rut
But I'm quite happy with what I got
People might say that I should strive for more
But I'm so happy I can't see the point

Something's happening here today
A show of strength with your boy's brigade
And I'm so happy, and you're so kind
You want more money, of course I don't mind
To buy nuclear textbooks for atomic crimes
And the public gets what the public wants
But I want nothing this society's got

I'm going underground
Well let the brass bands play
And feet start to pound
Going underground
Well let the boys all sing
And let the boys all shout for tomorrow

Some people might get some pleasure out of hate
Me, I've enough already on my plate
People might need some tension to relax
Me, I'm too busy dodging between the flak

What you see is what you get
You've made your bed, you better lie in it
You choose your leaders and place your trust
As their lies wash you down and their promises rust
You'll see kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns
And the public wants what the public gets
But I don't get what this society wants

I'm going underground
Well let the brass bands play
And feet start to pound
Going underground
So let the boys all sing
And let the boys all shout for tomorrow

We talk and we talk until my head explodes
I turn on the news, and my body froze
The braying sheep on my TV screen
Make this boy shout, make this boy scream!

Going underground

Plans

by J Mascis

Well I followed you at times
Things that touched me slipped my mind
If you'll help me then I'll try
Then I'll believe it

I need time, could you explain?
I've been caught up in my pain
And it's really not the same
You can see it

I got nothing left to be
Do you have some plans for me?
I got nothing left to be
Do you have some plans for me?

I can't filter what I've lost
See my face and see the cost
All the good that just got tossed
And I keep kneeling

And I don't know what to bring
I get pissed at everything
I need you to see me sing
Keep me believing

I got nothing left to be
Do you have some plans for me?
I got nothing left to be
Do you have some plans for me?

I know you do, I know you do
I know you do, Lord
I know you do, I know you do
I know you do, Lord

Now I know you came
Now I know you know my name
Don't let me be the same

Well I followed you for years
I got pain, and I got fears
Then there's moments when it clears
And I've been waiting

Once in a Lifetime

by David Byrne

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, 'Well, how did I get here?'

Letting the days go by
Let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by
Water flowing underground
Into the blue again
After the money's gone
Once in a lifetime
Water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, 'How do I work this?'
And you may ask yourself, 'Where is that large automobile?'
And you may tell yourself, 'This is not my beautiful house'
And you may tell yourself, 'This is not my beautiful wife'

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removed
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Removed water

You may ask yourself, 'What is that beautiful house?'
You may ask yourself, 'Where does that highway go to?'
And you may ask yourself, 'Am I right? Am I wrong?'
And you may say to yourself, 'My God, what have I done?'

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Look where my hand was
Time isn't holding up
Time isn't after us
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

After the rain holds up
Same as it ever was
Then a twister comes
Here comes the twister
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

My City Was Gone

by Chrissie Hynde

I went back to Ohio
But my city was gone
There was no train station
There was no downtown
South Howard had disappeared
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces
Way to go, Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my family was gone
I stood on the back porch
There was nobody home
I was stunned and amazed
My childhood memories
Slowly swirled past
Like the wind through the trees
Way to go, Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls
And muzak filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
Way to go, Ohio

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

by Eddie Vedder

I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar, yet I can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place
I wish I'd seen the place, but no one's ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts, they fade away

I swear I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me you wouldn't recall, for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all
Small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see

I just wanna scream, 'Hello!'
My god, it's been so long, never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are, and here I am
Hearts and thoughts, they fade away

Thirteen

by Alex Chilton

Won't you let me walk you home from school?
Won't you let me meet you at the pool?
Maybe Friday I can
Get tickets for the dance
And I'll take you

Won't you tell your dad to get off my back?
Tell him what we said about 'Paint It, Black'
Rock and roll is here to stay
Come inside where it's okay
And I'll shake you

Won't you tell me what you're thinking of?
Would you be an outlaw for my love?
If it's over, let me know
If it's 'no', well I can go
I won't make you

Can't Lose You

by Derek Webb

So you're gone
But I know you're not so far away
You're a call on the phone
Or a ride on a plane
But that just isn't the same

That's ok
Because I was never home anyway
So now everyone's evolving
And I am just the same
As I was ten years ago

But I don't know
Maybe the simple life
Is more the way to go
But then again
I'm mostly all alone

'Cause I'm losing everyone
But I know I can't lose you
And maybe my time will come
But I know I can't lose you

The older I get
The more that life is making sense
And it's similar to traffic
Or being president
'Cause I'm not the one in control

You grab a hold
I'm just a hammer
Helping to nail the future down
But it's getting hard
Making my friends leave town

But maybe I missed
The nose right on my face
For what's just past it
And maybe I have the gift
That everyone speaks to highly of
Funny how nobody wants it

Masters of War

by Bob Dylan

Come, you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothing
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
While the young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness?
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

by Noel Gallagher

You know that feeling you get
You feel you're older than time
You ain't exactly sure
If you've been away a while

Do you keep the receipts
For the friends that you buy?
And ain't it bittersweet
You were only just getting by

But I hope you know
That it won't let go
It sticks around with you until the day you die
And I hope you know
That it's touch and go
I hope the tears don't stain the world that waits outside
Where did it all go wrong?

And until you've repaid
The dreams you bought for your lies
You'll be cast away
Alone under the stormy skies

Where did it all go wrong?

Into Tomorrow

by Paul Weller

Into the mists of time and space
Where we have no say over date and place
Don't get embarrassed if it happens a lot
That you don't know how you started
Or when you're going to stop

And if at times it seems insane
All the tears in searching
Turning all your joy to pain
In pursuit of learning
Buy a dream and hide away
Can't escape the sorrow
Your mojo will have no effect
As we head into tomorrow

Round and round like a twisted wheel
Spinning in attempt to find the feel
Find the path that will help us find
A feeling of control over lives and minds

Into the stars and always up
Drinking from a broken cup
Whose golden gleam is fading fast
Praying that it has not passed
Into tomorrow

If I Could

by Trey Anastasio

Take me to another place, she said
Take me to another time
Run with me across the oceans
Float me on a silver cloud

If I could, I would
But I don't know how
If I could, I would
And I'd take you now

Stay with me till time turns over
I want to feel my feet leave the ground
Take me where the whispering breezes
Can lift me up and spin me around

Hear you laughing as we go
Flipping backward through the doors
And through the windows
I'm melting into nothing

Patchwork Quilt

by Warren Haynes

I never knew you
But then who really did?
If you were at all like me
You managed to keep yourself hid
A patchwork quilt of a life
Memories embroidered on your soul

So please forgive me
For putting you in my song
But the spirit, she moves me
In fact, she pushes me along
It's a patchwork quilt of a life
Can't stop the river, just let it roll

We were at Jones Beach when we got the word
Saddest sound that I ever heard
The bluest note that nobody could play
Ravens sang with us that night on the stage
Tears of sadness, tears of rage
But nobody spoke, we all felt old and in the way

So walk beside me
Or above me, I don't know
These days it sure seems
I'm lost where ever I go

'God, how could you?'
I heard someone say
And what do we do
With our lives now anyway?
Now that our North Star
Can no longer be found

But there's a banjo moon in a tie-dyed sky
Hippies dance and babies cry
Church bells ring
As a silver-haired angel looks down
And the blood of his music
Runs through the veins of our guitars
Bright lights, Dark Star

Cortez the Killer

by Neil Young

He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
And that palace in the sun

On the shore lay Montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wandered
With the secrets of the worlds

And his subjects gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones

And they carried them to the flatlands
But they died along the way
And they built up with their bare hands
What we still can't do today

And I know she's living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer

Lost in the Flood

by Bruce Springsteen

The ragamuffin gunner is returning home
Like a hungry runaway
He walks through town all alone
'He must be from the fort,' he hears the high school girls say
His countryside's burning with wolfman fairies
Dressed in drag for homicide
They hit and run, plead sanctuary
'Neath a holy stone they hide

They're breaking beams and crosses
With a spastic's reeling perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant
Pleading immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street
From drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep
His ankles caked in mud

And I said, 'Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand
'That's quicksand, that ain't mud
'Have you thrown your senses to the war?
'Or did you lose them in the flood?'

That pure American brother
Dull-eyed and empty-faced
He races Sundays in Jersey
In a Chevy stock Super Eight
He rides her low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory
In red, white, and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racing stories
The kids call him Jimmy The Saint

Well the blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch
Loaded to blasting point
He rides head first into a hurricane
And disappears into a point
And there's nothing left but some blood where the body fell
That is, nothing left that you could sell
just junk all across the horizon
A real highwayman's farewell

And I said, 'Hey kid, you think that's oil?
'Man, that ain't oil, that's blood'
I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?

Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts
Whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria
She's putting on me the stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands
With his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots
The cops come up for air

And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown
They're shooting up the street
And that cat from the Bronx starts letting loose
But he gets blown right off his feet
And some kid comes blasting round the corner
But a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg, screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away

And someone said, 'Hey man did you see that?
'His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud'
I wonder what the dude was saying
Or was he just lost in the flood?

Hey man, did you see that?
Those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they were getting into
Or were they all just lost in the flood?

Golden Blunders

by Jonathan Auer

Golden blunders come in pairs
They're very unaware
What they know is what they've seen
Education wasn't fun
But now that school is done
Higher learning's just begun

You're gonna watch what you say for a long time
You're gonna suffer the guilt forever
You're gonna get in the way at the wrong time
You're gonna mess up things you thought you would never

Disappointment breeds contempt
It make you feel inept
Never thought you'd feel alone at home
'His and hers' forever more
Throw your freedom out of the door
Before you find out what it's for

Four weeks seemed like a long time then
But nine months is longer now
And even if you never speak again
You've already made the wedding vow

Honeymoons will never start
Bonds will blow apart
Just as fast as they were made
Men and women, please beware
Don't pretend you care
Nothing lasts when nothing's there

Brooklyn's on Fire

by Nicole Atkins

Friday nights on the seventh floor
Paperbacks on the corner store
Looking over the ledge
The sidewalk traffic starts to spread
Summer's begun across the bay
And no bit of silence remains

Oh, Brooklyn's on fire
And fills July hearts with desire
Sleep will not come until the morn
'Cause tonight your memories are born

And the band's not begun just yet
Fifty names you're bound to forget
Black and blue on the lakes
Wear badges from happier days
Late in the night, in '84
Walked in through the old out door

I'm caught in the way
Of tears from much happier days
When we were young and unafraid
Of stupid mistakes that we made

Oh, Brooklyn's on fire
And fills July hearts with desire
Sleep will not come until the morn
'Cause tonight your memories are born

Mending Wall

by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'

There Is a Reason

by Randall Goodgame

Late at night I wonder why, sometimes I wonder why
Sometimes I'm so tired I don't even try
Seems everything around me fails
But I hold onto the promise
That there is a reason

Late at night the darkness makes it hard to see
The history of the saints who've gone in front of me
Through famine, plague, and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
'Cause there is a reason

He makes all things good
There's a time to live, a time to die
A time for wondering, to wonder why
'Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

I believe that God who sent His only Son
To walk upon this world and give His life for us
With blood and tears on a long dark night
And know that he believed
There is a reason

The lonely nights, the broken hearts
The widow's mite in the rich man's hand
And the continent whose blood becomes a traitor
A child afraid to close his eyes
The prayers that seem unanswered
There is a reason

He makes all things good
There's a time to live, a time to die
A time for wondering, to wonder why
'Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

Brick

by Ben Folds

Six AM, day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold, car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping, I am numb

Up the stairs to her apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They're not home to find us out

And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Than I ever have before

She's a brick, and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast, and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick, and I'm drowning slowly

They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
And I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got

Can't you see
It's not me you're dying for?
Now she's feeling more alone
Then she ever has before

As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me, 'Son it's time to tell the truth'
And she broke down
And I broke down
'Cause I was tired of lying

Driving back to her apartment
For the moment we're alone
Yeah she's alone, and I'm alone
Now I know it

She's a brick, and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast, and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick, and I'm drowning slowly

Why Worry

by Mark Knopfler

I see this world has made you sad
Some people can be bad
Things they do, the things they say
I'll wipe away those bitter tears
I'll chase away those restless fears
That turn your blue skies into grey

Why worry?
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now?

When I get down I turn to you
And you make sense of what I do
I know it isn't hard to say
Just when this world seems mean and cold
Our love comes shining red and gold
And all the rest is by the way

Why worry?
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now?

God Says Nothing Back

by Jakob Dylan

Seems like the world's gone underground
Where no gods or heroes dare to go down
As teardrops from a hole in heaven come
Overhead like ravens dropping down like bombs
Through the morning's silver-frosted glow
God says nothing back, but I told you so

God bless the void of my daydreams
Head back in the snow, making angel wings
As slow motion dancing lights at dawn
Sail beneath a burning yellow sun
I'm calling out from the deep ends of my bones
Time says nothing back, but I told you so

Still waters rising in my mind
Black and deep, smoke behind my eyes
Last night I could not sleep at all
I hallucinated that you were in my arms
To be in your heart I failed my own
Love says nothing back, but I told you so

Still here reclimbing every rung
Someone saw something, someone speak up
Back over the rotted bridge I cross
Open up these graves, let these bodies talk
Buried under leaves blood red and gold
Death says nothing back, but I told you so

That Man I Shot

by Patterson Hood

That man I shot, he was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me, he was trying to kill me
That man I shot, I didn't know him
Was doing my job, maybe so was he

That man I shot, I was in his homeland
I was there to help him, but he didn't want me there
I did not hate him, I still don't hate him
He was trying to kill me, and I had to take him down

That man I shot, I still can see him
When I should be sleeping, tossing and turning
He's looking at me, eyes looking through me
Broke out in cold sweats when I see him standing there

That man I shot, shot not in anger
There's no denying it was in self-defense
But when I close my eyes, I still can see him
I feel his last breath in the calm dead of night

That man I shot, he was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me, he was trying to kill me
Sometimes I wonder if I should be there
I hold my little ones until he disappears

I hold my little ones until he disappears
I hold my little ones until we disappear
And I'm not crazy, or at least I never was
But there's this big thing I can't get rid of

That man I shot, did he have little ones?
That he was so proud of? that he won't see grow up?
Was walking down his street, maybe I was in his yard
Was trying to do good, I just don't understand

Add to the Beauty

by Sara Groves

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange places
Small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find its worth

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places
Small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

Ozymandias

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

from The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald
from the coda of chapter three

(Editor's Note: Being prose, this isn't a usual post for this blog, but I just had to post this, after reading it last night. Fitzgerald truly has a knack for painting beautiful impressions of the romanticism of both New York and the Jazz Age; and then putting his finger to the wounds which lay within - and which would soon birth themselves. All particularly accentuated by my own anticipated move to New York.)

I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye. I liked to walk up Fifth Avenue and pick out romantic women from the crowd and imagine that in a few minutes I was going to enter into their lives, and no one would ever know or disapprove. Sometimes, in my mind, I followed them to their apartments on the corners of hidden streets, and they turned and smiled back at me before they faded through a door into warm darkness. At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others—poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner—young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life.

Overkill

by Colin Hay

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications
Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know we'll be alright
Perhaps it's just imagination

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It's time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation
At least there's pretty lights
And though there's little variation
It nullifies the night
From overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back another day

Just Like Heaven

by Robert Smith

'Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick
'The one that makes me scream,' she said
'The one that makes me laugh,' she said
And threw her arms around my neck
'Show me how you do it, and I promise you
'I promise that I'll run away with you
'I'll run away with you'

Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways
I had to make her glow
'Why are you so far away?' she said
'Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you?
'That I'm in love with you?'

You, soft and only
You, lost and lonely
You, strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You're just like a dream
Just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone, alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me

You, soft and only
You, lost and lonely
You, just like heaven

Thine Is the Glory

by Edmond Budry
Trans. by Richard B. Hoyle

Thine is the glory, risen, conqu'ring Son;
Endless is the victory, Thou o'er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.

Lo! Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness, hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee; aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conqu'rors, through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.

Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed

by Isaac Watts

Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His Soul in anguish stood.

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature's sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
'Tis all that I can do.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

by Thom­as O. Chis­holm

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been, thou forever will be.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided;
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided;
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Moon River

by Johnny Mercer

Moon River, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're going I'm going your way

Two drifters off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend
Moon River and me

Ash Wednesday (Pt. I)

by T.S. Eliot

Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessèd face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

[Part II here]

The Walrus and the Carpenter

by Lewis Carroll

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright—
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done—
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"

The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying over head—
There were no birds to fly.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it WOULD be grand!"

"If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."

The eldest Oyster looked at him.
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head—
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat—
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more—
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—-and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed—
Now if you're ready Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue,
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said
"Do you admire the view?

"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf—
I've had to ask you twice!"

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"

"I weep for you," the Walrus said.
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size.
Holding his pocket handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter.
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?"
But answer came there none—
And that was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

And So It Goes

by Billy Joel

In every heart, there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self-defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon, I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
As if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions, too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

Something

by George Harrison

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Somewhere in her smile she knows
That I don't need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

You're asking me, will my love grow
I don't know, I don't know
You stick around, and it may show
I don't know, I don't know

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me
I don't want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Please Read the Letter

by Robert Plant

Caught out running with just a little too much to hide
Maybe baby, everything's gonna work out fine
Please read the letter
I nailed it to your door
It's crazy how it all turned out
We needed so much more

Too late, too late, a fool could read the signs
Maybe baby, you'd better check between the lines
Please read the letter
I wrote it in my sleep
With help and consultation
From the angels of the deep

Once I stood beside a well of many words
My house was full of rings and charms and pretty birds
Please understand me
My walls came falling down
There's nothing here that's left for you
But check with lost and found

One more song just before we go
Remember baby, you're gonna reap just what you sow
Please read my letter
And promise that you'll keep
The secrets and the memories
We cherish in the deep

Please read the letter that I wrote

Ballad of San Francisco

by Derek Webb

So I'm walking down the street somewhere outside of San Francisco
And I don't really know my way around
I'd love to stay a day or two and get into some trouble
But tomorrow I'll be in another town

There's at least one coffee bar for every single couple
And there's at least a couple in this place
Strange the things you notice when the walls are closing in
And the walls are closing in on me today

So where, oh where, can I find someone, anyone?
'Cause there's no way out of here
But here is where I live, and so I guess that means
The carrot's gonna dangle for at least another year

I love anonymity, and I love being noticed
Just the same as anybody else
Years ago I told you how I loved to be alone
These days I'd be perjuring myself

So where, oh where, can I find someone, anyone?
'Cause there's no way out of here
Here is where I live, and so I guess that means
The carrot's gonna dangle for at least another year

It's like you gave me up just like I gave up drinking coffees
I guess I would've done the same
Now I know I'm lost somewhere outside of San Francisco
But I'm still glad that I came

Unglued

by Michael Tait

Restless and alone
A weary soul has traveled home
What am I to do
In a world without you?

I don't want to believe
I turned around, and you're gone
All the sweet memories
Of loving you for so long

Sometimes it's hard
Most times I cry
But God holds this heart of mine
He feels the pain inside

Broken and undone
You were the one we counted on
You taught us how to say, 'I love you'
Then you showed us how to pray

I don't want to believe
I turned around, and you're gone
All the sweet memories
Of loving you for so long

Sometimes it's hard
Most times I cry
But God knows this heart of mine
He heals the pain I hide

The Fairest of the Seasons

by Jackson Browne

Now that it's time
Now that the hour hand has landed at the end
Now that it's real
Now that the dreams have given all they had to lend
I want to know, do I stay or do I go
And maybe try another time?
And do I really have a hand in my forgetting?

Now that I've tried
Now that I've finally found that this is not the way
Now that I turn
Now that I feel it's time to spend the night away
I want to know, do I stay or do I go
And maybe finally split the rhyme?
And do I really understand the undernetting?

Yes, and the morning has me looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs carefully

Now that it's light
Now that the candle's falling smaller in my mind
Now that it's here
Now that I'm almost not so very far behind
I want to know, do I stay or do I go
And maybe follow another sign?
And do I really have a song that I can ride on?

Now that I can
Now that it's easy, ever easy all around
Now that I'm here
Now that I'm falling to the sunlights and a song
I want to know, do I stay or do I go
And do I have to do just one?
And can I choose again if I should lose the reason?

Yes, and the morning has me looking in your eyes
And seeing mine warning me
To read the signs more carefully

Now that I smile
Now that I'm laughing even deeper inside
Now that I see
Now that I finally found the one thing I denied
It's now I know, but do I stay or do I go?
And it is finally I decide
That I'll be leaving in the fairest of the seasons

Little Gidding (Pt. V)

[Pt. IV here]
by T.S. Eliot

What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. And every phrase
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning,
Every poem an epitaph. And any action
Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat
Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start.
We die with the dying:
See, they depart, and we go with them.
We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.
The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew-tree
Are of equal duration. A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments. So, while the light fails
On a winter's afternoon, in a secluded chapel
History is now and England.

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this
Calling

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always—
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

Lead of Love

by Aaron Tate

Looking back at the road so far
The journey's left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight

Looking back, it is clear to me
That a man is more than the sum of his deeds
And how you've made good of this mess I've made
Is a profound mystery

Looking back you know you had to bring me through
All that I was so afraid of
Though I questioned the sky
Now I see why

I had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love

Looking back I can finally see
How failures bring humility
Brings me to my knees
Helps me see my need for thee

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.