Alex Chilton

by Paul Westerberg

If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from Mars, wouldn't that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hanging down in Memphis all the while

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton
When he comes 'round
They sing, 'I'm in love! What's that song?
'I'm in love with that song'

Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice
Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face
Checking his stash by the trash at St. Mark's Place

I never travel far without a little Big Star

Running 'round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards
Falling asleep with a flop-pop video on
If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon?
If he died in Memphis, then that'd be cool

Midwinter

by Christina Rossetti

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him —
Give my heart.

Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle

Traditional

Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle—
Un flambeau! Courons au berceau!
C'est Jésus, bonnes gens du hameau.
Le Christ est né; Marie appelle!
Ah! Ah! Ah! Que la Mère est belle,
Ah! Ah! Ah! Que l'Enfant est beau!

C'est un tort, quand l'Enfant sommeille,
C'est un tort de crier si fort.
Taisez-vous, l'un et l'autre, d'abord!
Au moindre bruit, Jésus s'éveille.
Chut! chut! chut! Il dort à merveille,
Chut! chut! chut! Voyez comme il dort!

Doucement, dans l'étable close,
Doucement, venez un moment!
Approchez! Que Jésus est charmant!
Comme il est blanc! Comme il est rose!
Do! Do! Do! Que l'Enfant repose!
Do! Do! Do! Qu'il rit en dormant!

W żłobie leży

Traditional

W żłobie leży! Któż pobieży
Kolędować małemu
Jezusowi Chrystusowi
Dziś nam narodzonemu?
Pastuszkowie przybywajcie
Jemu wdzięcznie przygrywajcie
Jako Panu naszemu

My zaś sami z piosneczkami
Za wami pospieszymy
A tak Tego Maleńkiego
Niech wszyscy zobaczymy
Jak ubogo narodzony
Płacze w stajni położony
Więc go dziś ucieszymy

Naprzód tedy, niechaj wszędy
Zabrzmi świat w wesołości,
Że posłany nam jest dany
Emmanuel w niskości!
Jego tedy przywitajmy,
Z aniołami zaśpiewajmy
Chwała na wysokości!

Witaj, Panie, cóż się stanie,
Że rozkosze niebieskie
Opuściłeś a zstąpiłeś
Na te niskości ziemskie?
Miłosć moja to sprawiła,
By człowieka wywyższyła
Pod nieba empiryjskie.

Wind and Window Flower

by Robert Frost

Lovers, forget your love,
    And list to the love of these,
She a window flower,
    And he a winter breeze.

When the frosty window veil
    Was melted down at noon,
And the caged yellow bird
    Hung over her in tune,

He marked her through the pane,
    He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by,
    To come again at dark.

He was a winter wind,
    Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
    And little of love could know.
But he sighed upon the sill,
    He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
    Who lay that night awake.

Perchance he half prevailed
    To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
    And warm stove-window light.

But the flower leaned aside
    And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the breeze
    A hundred miles away.

Macht hoch die Tür

by Georg Weissel

Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit;
es kommt der Herr der Herrlichkeit,
ein König aller Königreich,
ein Heiland aller Welt zugleich,
der Heil und Leben mit sich bringt;
derhalben jauchzt, mit Freuden singt:
Gelobet sei mein Gott,
mein Schöpfer reich von Rat.

Er ist gerecht, ein Helfer wert;
Sanftmütigkeit ist sein Gefährt,
sein Königskron ist Heiligkeit,
sein Zepter ist Barmherzigkeit;
all unsre Not zum End er bringt,
derhalben jauchzt, mit Freuden singt:
Gelobet sei mein Gott,
mein Heiland groß von Tat.

O wohl dem Land, o wohl der Stadt,
so diesen König bei sich hat.
Wohl allen Herzen insgemein,
da dieser König ziehet ein.
Er ist die rechte Freudensonn,
bringt mit sich lauter Freud und Wonn.
Gelobet sei mein Gott,
mein Tröster früh und spat.

Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit,
eu’r Herz zum Tempel zubereit’.
Die Zweiglein der Gottseligkeit
steckt auf mit Andacht, Lust und Freud;
so kommt der König auch zu euch,
ja, Heil und Leben mit zugleich.
Gelobet sei mein Gott,
voll Rat, voll Tat, voll Gnad.

Komm, o mein Heiland Jesu Christ,
meins Herzens Tür dir offen ist.
Ach zieh mit deiner Gnade ein;
dein Freundlichkeit auch uns erschein.
Dein Heilger Geist uns führ und leit
den Weg zur ewgen Seligkeit.
Dem Namen dein, o Herr,
sei ewig Preis und Ehr.

Can't We Be Friends?

by Paul James

I took each word she said as gospel truth
The way a silly little child would
I can't excuse it on the grounds of youth
I was no babe in the wild, wild wood

She didn't mean it
I should have seen it
But now it's too late

I thought I'd found the girl of my dreams
Now it seems
This is how the story ends
She's going to turn me down and say
'Can't we be friends?'

I thought for once it couldn't go wrong
Not for long
I can see the way this ends
She's going to turn me down and say
'Can't we be friends?'

Why should I care
Though she gave me the air?
Why should I cry
Heave a sigh, and wonder why?

I thought I found the gal I could trust
What a bust
This is how the story ends
She's going to turn me down and say
'Can't we be just friends?'

Veni Emmanuel

Medieval chant

Veni veni Emmanuel
Captivum solve Israel
Qui gemit in exilio
Privatus Dei Filio

Gaude gaude Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te Israel

Veni O Jesse virgula
Ex hostis tuos ungula
De specu tuos tartari
Educ et antro barathri

Veni veni o oriens
Solare nos adveniens
Noctis depelle nebulas
Dirasque noctis tenebras

Veni Clavis Davidica
Regna reclude caelica
Fac iter tutum superum
Et claude vias inferum

Veni veni Adonai
Qui populo in Sinai
Legem dedisti vertice
In Majestate gloriae

Veni O Sapientia
Quae hic disponis omnia
Veni viam prudentiae
Ut doceas et gloriae

Veni veni Rex gentium
Veni Redemptor omnium
Ut salvas tuos famulos
Peccati sibi conscios

Never Get Over You

by George Harrison

I know I'll never get over you
So deep this feeling I have for you
Your eyes pierce through my heart
Your smile tears me apart
I knew it: it's so true
I'll never get over you

You touch me, making my heart race
So much was written on your face
I knew when you arrived
That no words could describe
What your love made me do
I'll never get over you

Girl, you're so much heart and soul
It was a moonlit night you came into my life
And now this feeling has grown
And if you leave me alone
I know I'll never get over you

So hide the moments when I feel blue
You warm the coldest feet
Can cool me in the heat
And although love was new
I'll never get over you
My understanding grew
But I'll never get over you

Now Thank We All Our God

by Martin Rinkart

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Airplanes

by Bobby Ray

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now

I could use a dream or a genie or a wish
To go back to a place much simpler than this
'Cause after all the partying, the smashing, and crashing
And all the glitz and the glam and the fashion
And all the pandemonium and all the madness
There comes a time when you fade to the blackness
And when you're staring at that phone in your lap
And hoping, but the people never call you back

But that's just how the story unfolds
You get another hand soon after you fold
And when your plans unravel in the sand
What would you wish for if you had one chance?
So airplanes, airplanes, sorry I'm late
I'm on my way, so don't close that gate
If I don't make that, then I switch my flight
And I'll be right back at it by the end of the night

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now

Running on Empty

by Jackson Browne

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by, like so many summer fields
In '65 I was 17 and running up 101
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on

Running on empty
Running blind
Running into the sun
But I'm running behind

Got to do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In '69 I was 21, and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on

Everyone I know
Everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
(I don't know about anyone but me)
If it takes all night
That'll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too

Honey, you really tempt me, the way you look so kind
I'd love to stick around, but I'm running behind
You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find
Running into the sun, but I'm running behind

The Parable of the Young Man and the Old

by Wilfred Owen

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned, both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake, and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets the trenches there,
And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

The Hollow Men

by T.S. Eliot

Mistah Kurtz—he dead.

                A penny for the Old Guy

I

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer—

Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
                                For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
                                Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
                                For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Moon on Your Pyjamas

by Paul Weller

Was that a shooting star I saw?
It's rare for me to make a wish at all
Because I feel that I can only hope
In these dangerous times, we are barely afloat

I hope the world will heal itself
Our worn-out souls along with it
So that you'll get the chance to say
That you have seen a better day

You've got the moon on your pyjamas
And the stars in your eyes
Sweet child, you're a dream in disguise
Angels on silver strings hang from above
Let love and laughter shine wherever you go

For your new eyes I've come to see
How beautiful my life can be
And I'll keep this wish this time, I think
And blow it in with a kiss upon your head

And I hope the world will heal itself
And our worn-out souls along with it
So that you will get the chance to see
A summers blue sky behind green trees

You've got the moon on your pyjamas
And the stars in your eyes
Sweet child, you're a dream in disguise

Holy, Holy, Holy

by Reginald Heber

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! tho' the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Cage & Aquarium

by John Flansburgh

Somebody's reading your mind
Damned if you know who it is
They're digging through all of your files
Stealing back your best ideas

You cover your windows with lead
Even keeping the pets outside
Then you hear a moment too late
This sound coming over the phone

This is the spawning of the cage and aquarium
Don't wait a moment too soon
Used to be different, now you're the same
Yawn as your plane goes down in flames

October

by Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

Positively 4th Street

by Bob Dylan

You got a lot of nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning
You got a lot of nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that's winning

You say I let you down
You know it's not like that
If you're so hurt
Why then don't you show it?
You say you lost your faith
But that's not where it's at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it

I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You're in with
Do you take me for such a fool
To think I'd make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What she don't know to begin with?

You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, 'How are you? Good luck!'
But you don't mean it
When you know as well as me
You'd rather see me paralyzed
Why don't you just come out once
And scream it?

No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I'd rob them
And now I know you're dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don't you understand?
It's not my problem

I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is
To see you

East Coker (Pt. III)

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

O dark dark dark. They all go into the dark,
The vacant interstellar spaces, the vacant into the vacant,
The captains, merchant bankers, eminent men of letters,
The generous patrons of art, the statesmen and the rulers,
Distinguished civil servants, chairmen of many committees,
Industrial lords and petty contractors, all go into the dark,
And dark the Sun and Moon, and the Almanach de Gotha
And the Stock Exchange Gazette, the Directory of Directors,
And cold the sense and lost the motive of action.
And we all go with them, into the silent funeral,
Nobody's funeral, for there is no one to bury.
I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed
With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama
And the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away—
Or as, when an underground train, in the tube, stops too long between stations
And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence
And you see behind every face the mental emptiness deepen
Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about;
Or when, under ether, the mind is conscious but conscious of nothing—
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
Whisper of running streams, and winter lightning.
The wild thyme unseen and the wild strawberry,
The laughter in the garden, echoed ecstasy
Not lost, but requiring, pointing to the agony
Of death and birth.

                                            You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know
And what you own is what you do not own
And where you are is where you are not.

[Pt. IV here]

Girl Inside My Head

by John Popper

When all is said and done
I wish I needed no one
Never was up to me
Just something in her way that sets me free
It seems so easy

And I try to pay attention
But there's only four things running through my mind

How hard will it be if she is nice to me?
How bad will it get if I let her get to know me?
Should she see the willing dog, or should I be a jungle cat?
And most of all, my god, how does she make her eyes do that?

I don't need another girl inside my head

'Johnny, be brave,' I say inside
As I won't take a bite from the apple that she gave me
But that's not what I'm after
Still all along, my mother's voice singing
'Treat her like a lady'

I'm not the only one to write her letters
It doesn't matter anyhow
The question isn't if, but when

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

by Bob Hilliard

When the sun is high
In the afternoon sky
You can always find something to do
But from dusk til dawn
As the clock ticks on
Something happens to you

In the wee small hours of the morning
While the whole wide world is fast asleep
You lie awake and think about the girl
And never even think of counting sheep

When your lonely heart has learned its lesson
You'd be hers if only she would call
In the wee small hours of the morning
That's the time you miss her most of all

Fool in the Rain

by Robert Plant

There's a light in your eye that keeps shining
Like a star that can't wait for a night
I hate to think I've been blinded
Why can't I see you tonight?
And the warmth of your smile starts burning
And the thrill of your touch gives me fright
And I'm shaking so much, really yearning
Why don't you show up and make it alright?

And if you promised you'd love so completely
And you said you would always be true
You swore that you never would leave me
Whatever happened to you?
And you thought it was only in movies
As you wish all your dreams would come true
It ain't the first time, believe me
I'm standing here feeling blue

Now I will stand in the rain on the corner
I watch the people go shuffling downtown
Another ten minutes, no longer
And then I'm turning around
And the clock on the wall's moving slower
My heart, it sinks to the ground
And the storm that I thought would blow over
Clouds the light of the love that I found

Hand that ticks on the clock
Just don't seem to stop
When I'm thinking it over

Tired of the light
I just don't seem to find
Have you wait, get away

I see it in my dreams
But I just don't seem to be with you
I gotta get it all

Now my body is starting to quiver
And the palms of my hands getting wet
I got no reason to doubt you
It's all a terrible mess
And I'll run in the rain till I'm breathless
When I'm breathless, I'll run till I drop
The thoughts of a fool's kind of careless
I'm just a fool waiting on the wrong block

This Peace

by Sara Groves

So many words to say
But I'm opting for silence
So many days to live
I think I'm sitting this one out
'Cause something I've been chasing
Finally stopped to let me catch it
Something I've been longing for
And dreaming about

It's a whisper in my ear
It's a shiver up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

It's something so elusive
Something close but far away
It's the home that I can't live in yet
Somewhere in outer space
Sometimes I barely miss it
When I walk into the room
The curtains are still swaying
And I feel the air move

It whispers in my ear
And it shivers up my spine
It's the gratitude I feel
For all that's right
It's a mystery appeal
That's been granted me tonight
This peace

No time to grab a camera
No time to write it down
Just time enough to breathe it in
And linger

Wesley Covenant Prayer

by John Wesley

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

The Trains

by Carl Rusk

She acts unaware of her smile
Or the scent of her hair
When she leaves the room
She takes everyone's eyes out with her

But I've learned too much to let her bring me down
But when she's not around
I can hear the trains underground
When I'm alone
I can feel the sun going down

How can I explain
All the reasons she frightens me so?
When she has the power
To burn me right down to my soul

But then every night I see her in my dreams
But the days in between
She tears me apart at the seams
Once I was strong
She's taught me what loneliness means

No, nobody else could understand it like I do
So I got to make her realize she loves me too
And I do, I really do

September Song

by Maxwell Anderson

It's a long, long time from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September and November
But these few precious days I'll spend with you
These precious days I'll spend with you

Autumn in New York

by Vernon Duke

Autumn in New York
Why does it seem so inviting?
Autumn in New York
It spells the thrill of first-nighting

Glittering crowds and shimmering clouds
In canyons of steel
They're making me feel I'm home

It's autumn in New York
That brings the promise of new love
Autumn in New York
Is often mingled with pain

Dreamers with empty hands
They sigh for exotic lands
It's autumn in New York
It's good to live it again

This autumn in New York
Transforms the slums into Mayfair
Autumn in New York
You'll need no castles in Spain

Lovers that bless the dark
On benches in Central Park
It's autumn in New York
It's good to live it again

Be Thou My Vision

Traditional Irish poem
Trans. by Eleanor Hull

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art–
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battle shield, sword for my fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight,
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower:
Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:
Thou mine inheritance now and always;
Thou my soul's shelter, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heav'n's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Burnt Norton (Pt. III)

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

Here is a place of disaffection
Time before and time after
In a dim light: neither daylight
Investing form with lucid stillness
Turning shadow into transient beauty
With slow rotation suggesting permanence
Nor darkness to purify the soul
Emptying the sensual with deprivation
Cleansing affection from the temporal.
Neither plenitude nor vacancy. Only a flicker
Over the strained time-ridden faces
Distracted from distraction by distraction
Filled with fancies and empty of meaning
Tumid apathy with no concentration
Men and bits of paper, whirled by the cold wind
That blows before and after time,
Wind in and out of unwholesome lungs
Time before and time after.
Eructation of unhealthy souls
Into the faded air, the torpid
Driven on the wind that sweeps the gloomy hills of London,
Hampstead and Clerkenwell, Campden and Putney,
Highgate, Primrose and Ludgate. Not here
Not here the darkness, in this twittering world.

Descend lower, descend only
Into the world of perpetual solitude,
World not world, but that which is not world,
Internal darkness, deprivation
And destitution of all property,
Desiccation of the world of sense,
Evacuation of the world of fancy,
Inoperancy of the world of spirit;
This is the one way, and the other
Is the same, not in movement
But abstention from movement; while the world moves
In appetency, on its metalled ways
Of time past and time future.

[Pt. IV here]

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

by Steven Morrissey

Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
Who are young and alive
Driving in your car
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore

Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people
And I want to see lights
Driving in your car
Oh please, don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought, 'Oh God, my chance has come at last!'
But then a strange fear gripped me
And I just couldn't ask

There is a light, and it never goes out

Colorado

by Rick Roberts

Hey Colorado, it was not so long ago
I left your mountain to try life on the road
Now I'm finished with that race
It was much too fast a pace
And I think I know my place
Colorado, I want to come home

There was a woman, but I left her far behind
I could have loved her if I only had the time
But I stopped along my way
Just long enough to say
Lord, I'd really like to stay
But my lady knows I've got to go

I was too young to know what I'd done
I made my plans, but I was wrong

Hey Colorado is it too late to change my mind?
I've done some thinking, and I'm trying hard to find
The way to come back home
Oh I've been so very long alone
Won't you take care of your own?
Colorado, I think I'm coming home

Rocky Mountain High

by John Denver

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Coming home to a place he'd never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains, his life was far away
On the road and hanging by a song
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changing fast and it don't last for long

It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullaby
Rocky Mountain high

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept the memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight is turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
Talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of the simple things he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

In the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky Mountain high

The Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it raining fire in the sky
Friends around the campfire and everybody's high
Rocky Mountain high

Up on Cripple Creek

by Robbie Robertson

When I get off of this mountain
You know where I want to go?
Straight down the Mississippi river
To the Gulf of Mexico
To Lake Charles, Louisiana
Little Bessie, girl that I once knew
She told me just to come on by
If there's anything she could do

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

Good luck had just stung me
To the race track I did go
She bet on one horse to win
And I bet on another to show
The odds were in my favor
I had 'em five to one
When that nag to win came around the track
Sure enough, she had won

I took up all of my winnings
And I gave my little Bessie half
She tore it up and threw it in my face
Just for a laugh
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world
I sure would like to see
That's when that little love of mine
Dips her doughnut in my tea

Now me and my mate were back at the shack
We had Spike Jones on the box
She said, 'I can't take the way he sings
'But I love to hear him talk'
Now that just gave my heart a throb
To the bottom of my feet
And I swore as I took another pull
My Bessie can't be beat

Now there's a flood out in California
And up north it's freezing cold
And this living on the road
Is getting pretty old
So I guess I'll call up my big mama
Tell her I'll be rolling in
But you know, deep down, I'm kind of tempted
To go and see my Bessie again

Where the Columbines Grow

by A.J. Fynn

Where the snowy peaks gleam in the moonlight,
Above the dark forests of pine,
And the wild foaming waters dash onward,
Toward lands where the tropic stars shine;
Where the scream of the bold mountain eagle,
Responds to the notes of the dove
Is the purple robed West, the land that is best,
The pioneer land that we love.

The bison is gone from the upland,
The deer from the canyon has fled,
The home of the wolf is deserted,
The antelope moans for his dead,
The war whoop re-echoes no longer,
The Indian's only a name,
And the nymphs of the grove in their loneliness rove,
But the columbine blooms just the same.

Let the violet brighten the brookside,
In sunlight of earlier spring,
Let the fair clover bedeck the green meadow,
In days when the orioles sing,
Let the golden rod herald the autumn,
But, under the midsummer sky,
In its fair Western home, may the columbine bloom
Till our great mountain rivers run dry.

'Tis the land where the columbines grow,
Overlooking the plains far below,
While the cool summer breeze in the evergreen trees
Softly sings where the columbines grow.

Babylon

by David Gray

Friday night I'm going nowhere
All the lights are changing green to red
Turning over TV stations
Situations running through my head

Looking back through time, you know
It's clear that I've been blind, I've been a fool
To open up my heart to all that jealousy
That bitterness, that ridicule

Saturday I'm running wild and
All the lights are changing red to green
Moving through the crowd, I'm pushing
Chemicals are rushing in my bloodstream

I only wish that you were here
You know I'm seeing it so clear, I've been afraid
To show you how I really feel
Admit to some of those bad mistakes I've made

And if you want it
Come and get it
Crying out loud
The love that I was
Giving you was
Never in doubt

Let go your heart
Let go your head
And feel it now
Babylon

Sunday all the lights in London shining
Sky is fading red to blue
I'm kicking through the Autumn leaves
And wondering where it is you might be going to

Turning back for home
You know I'm feeling so alone, I can't believe
Climbing on the stair, I turn around
To see you smiling there in front of me

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

by Steven Morrissey

Last night I dreamt
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm

Last night I felt
Real arms around me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm

So tell me, how long
Before the last one?
And tell me, how long
Before the right one?

This story is old
I know
But it goes on

I Had the Craziest Dream

by Mack Gordon

In a dream the strangest and the oddest things appear
And what insane and silly things we do
Here is what I see before me, vividly and clear
As I recall it, you were in it, too

I had the craziest dream last night
I never dreamed it could be
Yet there you were, in love with me

I found your lips close to mine, so I kissed them
And you didn't mind it at all
When I'm awake, such a break never happens
How long can a guy go on dreaming?

If there's a chance that you care
Then please, say that you do
Say it and make my craziest dream come true

No Expectations

by Mick Jagger

Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again

Once I was a rich man
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before

You heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind

Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
It's here, and then it's gone

So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again

Rise

by Eddie Vedder

Such is the way of the world
You can never know
Just where to put all your faith
And how will it grow

Gonna rise up
Burning black holes in dark memories
Gonna rise up
Turning mistakes into gold

Such is the passage of time
Too fast to fold
And suddenly swallowed by signs
Lo and behold

Gonna rise up
Find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up
Throw down my ace in the hole

When It Was Over

by Sara Groves

When it was over and they could talk about it
She said, 'There's just one thing I have got to know
'What in that moment when you were running so hard and fast
'Made you stop and turn for home?'
He said, 'I always knew you loved me
'Even though I'd broken your heart
'I always knew there'd be a place for me
'To make a brand new start'

Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

When it was over and they could talk about it
They were sitting on the couch
She said, 'What on earth made you stay here
'When you finally figured out what I was all about?'
He said, 'I always knew you'd do the right thing
'Even though it might take some time'
She said, 'Yeah, I felt that
'And that's probably what saved my life'

Love wash over a multitude of things
Make us whole

There is a love that never fails
There is a healing that always prevails
There is a hope that whispers a vow
A promise to wait while we're working it out
So come with your love and wash over us

Where I Began

by Aaron Tate

The grass looked greener on the other side
So I tried to snatch myself from your hand
Caught a boat to anywhere but Nineveh
And well, you know, I got spit back on dry land

Give me purity and give me continence
But oh no, not yet
Like a coin hiding in the corner trying not to be swept
I was trying not to be swept

Kicking against these goads
Sure did cut up my feet
And didn't your hands get bloody
As you washed them clean?

Here I am again, back where I began
Try as I may I can't get away from you
And all these roads that lead me to roam
Bring me back home
Here I am again, back where I began

So you have yourself your ninety-nine
Isn't that enough for you?
Still you followed me to the shadowed valley
Carried me on your shoulders too

I've done the work of Sisyphus
Thinking that I could get over this hill
But the one thing I can't get over now
Is the force of your will

All the Years

by Randall Goodgame

I've grown tired of all the years
I can feel my bones grinding down
I used to cage all my fears
But I've grown tired of all the years

I have sung a thousand simple songs
For all the world to sit and hear
Candle wax has frozen up the keys that go right here
And I've grown tired of all the years

Take me away, take me away, my love
Can you find me a road I've never known?
Take me away, take me away, my love
I'm tired, can you just take me home?

I waited spring and summer for your kiss
Now yellow leaves go laughing down the road
I've bet my love, and I had to pay
But I've grown tired of all the years

Light Blue Lover

by Reid Genauer

Who left this light blue lover
Lying in the cave of my chest?
Who left me holding silence
Even though it might have been best?
No way, no one, nowhere could ever confess
To have known such pleasure in such plural excess
I hope that one day I might catch my breath
But I gotta let her go, I guess

My shadow aches and itches
It's a sentiment my silence permits
I walk through foggy feelings
With punctuated pain when it hits
No way, no one, nowhere could ever express
The way her body met the hem of her dress
I hope that someday I might churn with her flesh
But I gotta let her go, I guess

There's no light
There's just night
I hope to rest
But I gotta let her go, I guess
Light blue lover in my chest

Maybe

by Emma Bunton

Love isn't funny
When it is burning inside
When all you think of
Is how to get through the night
And when you want it
It's just a game that you play
And when you get it
They're gonna take it away

Maybe it's nothing
Maybe it's all just in my mind
Maybe I'm foolish
Maybe it's just a waste of time

But I don't think so
Maybe I definitely know
That maybe I'm in love

So if you want it
You want to come out to play
Then you can have it
'Cause he's got plans for the day
And if I want it
There's no one out there for me
When you don't need it
There's plenty fish in the sea

Maybe it's nothing
Maybe it's all just in my mind
Maybe I'm foolish
Maybe it's just a waste of time

But I don't think so
Maybe I definitely know
Why do I keep fooling myself?
Why can't I let go?
This is not like me
But now I definitely see
That maybe I'm in love

I Need Thee Every Hour

by Annie S. Hawks

I need thee ev'ry hour
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like thine
Can peace afford.

I need thee, O I need thee,
Ev'ry hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to thee.

I need thee ev'ry hour;
Stay thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow'r
When thou art nigh.

I need thee ev'ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly, and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need thee ev'ry hour;
Teach me thy will,
And thy rich promises
In me fulfill.

I need thee ev'ry hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.

I need thee, O I need thee,
Ev'ry hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to thee.

Psalm 23

מזמור לדוד

‏יהוה רעי לא אחסר׃
‎‏בנאות דשא ירביצני על־מי מנחות ינהלני׃
‏נפשי ישובב ינחני במעגלי־צדק למען שמו׃
‎‏גם כי־אלך בגיא צלמות לא־אירא רע כי־אתה עמדי שבטך ומשענתך המה ינחמני׃
‏תערך לפני שלחן נגד צררי דשנת בשמן ראשי כוסי רויה׃
‎אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני כל־ימי חיי ושבתי בבית־יהוה לארך ימים׃

Translation

Back on the Chain Gang

by Chrissie Hynde

I found a picture of you
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past we've been cast out of
Now we're back in the fight

We're back on the train
Back on the chain gang

A circumstance beyond our control
The phone, the TV, and the news of the world
Got in the house like a pigeon from hell
Threw sand in our eyes and descended like flies

Put us back on the train
Back on the chain gang

The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they've done to you

But I'll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They'll fall to ruin one day
For making us part

I found a picture of you
Those were the happiest days of my life
Like a break in the battle was your past
In the wretched life of a lonely heart

Now we're back on the train
Back on the chain gang

Faithful to All Generations

by Philip Graham Ryken

Faithful God, the Creator of heaven and earth
The Maker of all things that live
By your Word you sustain all this vast universe
Keeping faith with the life that you give
Our Creator and Maker, our covenant God
You are faithful to all generations

Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, the Father's great Son
In all things most faithful and true
By your cross you have saved us from death due to sin
By your life you will lead us to you
Our Redeemer and Savior, our high risen Lord
You are faithful to all generations

Holy Spirit, Revealer of all that is true
Who makes us God's children and friends
By your grace you have given us faith born within
And will keep us in Christ to the end
Our Revealer and Helper, our comforting God
You are faithful to all generations

Sov'reign Lord, who has loved us through all of our days
Your faithfulness we have observed
By your wisdom and grace you have guided your church
And defended your life-giving Word
Our Protector, Provider, and all-sov'reign God
You are faithful to all generations

Gracious God, you have given us work to be done
Good deeds joined with truth from above
You have called us to serve to the ends of the earth
And to glorify your faithful love
Our Creator, Redeemer, and unchanging Lord
Keep us faithful to all generations

What I Thought I Wanted

by Sara Groves

Tuxedo in the closet
Gold band in a box
Two days from the altar
She went and called the whole thing off
What he thought he wanted
What he got instead
Leaves him broken and grateful

I passed understanding
A long, long time ago
And the simple home of systems
And answers we all know
What I thought I wanted
What I got instead
Leaves me broken, somehow peaceful

I keep wanting you to be fair
But that's not what you said
I want certain answers to these prayers
But that's not what you said

When I get to heaven
I want to go find Job
I want to ask a few hard questions
I want to know what he knows
About what it is he wanted
And what he got instead
How to be broken and faithful

Staring in the water
Like Aesop's foolish dog
I can't help but reflect on
What it was I almost lost
What it was I wanted
What I got instead
Leaves me broken and grateful

Daddy Learned to Fly

by Patterson Hood

Daddy's gone away, and no one can tell me why
Mama's been so sad since Daddy learned to fly
Everybody brought food, and everybody cried
Nothing's been too good since Daddy learned to fly

The fun we used to have and the way we used to laugh
Have all gone away since they cut my world in half
Sometimes I think I see him smiling from the sky
But he never stops to visit since Daddy learned to fly

Everyone tries so hard to ease my troubled mind
I guess he's doing better than the ones he left behind
They tell me I'm not old enough to know the reasons why
The clouds reached down from heaven and Daddy learned to fly

They tell me that in time everything will be ok
Life gets back to normal like before he flew away
They tell me he can see me, so I'm trying not to cry
But sometimes I can't help it since Daddy learned to fly

Ain't That Enough

by Gerard Love

If you can, I wish you would
Only if you feel you should
Bring your loving over

All adds up with circumstance
All stood up with taking stands
Bring your loving over

Highlights glisten
Silence listens
Days that found you
Embrace that found you

Here is a sunrise
Ain't that enough?
True as a clear sky
Ain't that enough?
Toy town feelings here to remind you
Summer's in the city, do what you gotta do

Time can only make demands
Fill it up with grains of sand
Bring your loving over

Toy town feelings, who's going to argue?
Summer's in the city, summer's in the city

Colors

by Grace Potter

You don't have to ask me why
Because I know you understand
All the treasures of my life
Are right here in my hand

Suspended in a moment
No more breath to catch
If you hold on to your end
Maybe we can make this last

This is the greatest time of day
When all the clocks are spinning backwards
And all the ropes that bind begin to fray
And all the black and white turns into colors

I don't want to build a wall
Or draw a line across the sand
Because there's room for one and all
And this land is our land

I hope this can go on and on and on
Before the skipping stone hits the surface of the pond
I know that life is never very long
One second, then one minute, and then it's gone

You want to sink into the colors on the wall
But all the while you are the brightest of them all

This is the greatest time of day
When there's no you, and there's no others
And all the rules grow wings and fly away
And all the black and white turns into colors

Everything You Want

by Matthew Scannell

Somewhere there's speaking, it's already coming in
And it's rising in the back of your mind
You never could get it unless you were fed it
Now you're here, and you don't know why

But under skinned knees and the skid marks
Past the places where you used to learn
You howl and listen, listen and wait for
The echoes of angels who won't return

He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

You're waiting for someone to put you together
You're waiting for someone to push you away
There's always another wound to discover
There's always something more you wish he'd say

But you'll just sit tight and watch it unwind
It's only what you're asking for
And you'll be just fine with all of your time
It's only what you're waiting for

Out of the island and into the highway
Past the places where you might have turned
You never did notice, but you still hide away
Anger of angels who won't return

I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you
And I don't know why

Feels Like Summer Again

by Jakob Dylan

My mind is open, and my heart is full
I ain't got any weight that I can't pull
And right now I know that anything is possible

I'm gonna bang my drum, blow my horn
I forget what these pills were ever for
I believe I won't need them anymore

I used to burn candles at both ends
Now I just throw the whole damn thing right in
Playing in traffic is easy once you learn where you get in

You want to come with me, then get on board
Get in or get out, use either door
The future is calling, and it's me that it's looking for

'Cause it feels like summer again
I was thinking that it just might never begin
After winter and spring
It's good to have the sun on my face again

I wear big boots, I know I do
I ain't envious of anybody's shoes
I wear them loose, maybe that's why it bothers you

I'm building my ship stick by stick
And where the waters get rough, I'm getting in
The motion of the waves, it does not make me sick

I buried my horse in a shallow a grave
I said a few things, I had champagne
That beast gave me everything that nobody gave

I got high hopes, tomorrow came
I won't look back on anything
I just found out that my bird can really sing

'Cause it feels like summer again
I was thinking that it just might never begin
After winter and spring
It's good to have the sun on my face again

How About You?

by Ralph Freed

I like New York in June, how about you?
I like a Gershwin tune, how about you?
I love a fireside when a storm is due
I like potato chips
Moonlight motor trips
How about you?

I'm mad about good books, can't get my fill
And James Durante's looks give me a thrill
Holding hands in the movie show
When all the lights are low
May not be new, but I like it
How about you?

Lay of the Sunflower

by Robert Hunter

I must leave you for a season
Go out logging that hardwood timber
Hardwood timber that grows so low
In the forest of Fennario

Tell me what you need to live
Do you ask that you might own
Keep my blue-eyed hound to guard you
I will make my way alone

I will not return in winter
If I be not back by fall
Seek me when this small sunflower
Grows above the garden wall

Fare ye well, I would not weep
I bid you tend your prayers to keep
Hill by dale now must I go
To the forest of Fennario

Nine-month blew with sleeted rain
And still he came not back again
Summoned she the hound to go
To seek him in Fennario

He came back the fated day
To find his lady gone away
Made haste to follow in her track
Where she could go but not turn back

The blue-eyed hound at her side did bay
While fast her breath did fade away
She cried out, 'Turn, my love, and go
'I would not you see me so'

Fare ye well, I would not weep
Bid you tend your prayers to keep
Hill by dale now I must go
To the forest of Fennario

I shall not turn, I shall not yield
O selfsame serpent sting my heel
That bleeds my lady's blood away
Beside the blue-eyed hound to lay

Angels sing their souls to sleep
Four winds grace their breath to keep
Up above yon garden wall
Stands the sunflower, straight and tall

Fare ye well, I would not weep
Bid you tend your prayers to keep
Hill by dale now I must go
To the forest of Fennario

First Song That I Sing

by Sara Groves

In the morning when I rise
Help me to prioritize
All the thoughts that fill my day
Before my schedule
Tells me that my day is full
Before I'm off and on my way

I want to praise You
I need to praise You
Let the first song that I sing
Be praises to my God and King

Before the curtains part
Before my day is starting
Before I make up the bed
Before the snooze alarm
Reminds me that it's morning
Before the dreams have left my head

Before my feet hit the floor
I'll praise You, Lord
Before I fill my cup
I'll lift You up
Before I start my day
I'll sing Your praise
Before I start my car
Before I get too far

All Right Here

by Sara Groves

It's every loss and every love
It's every blessing from above
Here I am, all added up
It's all right here

It's what I know and what I'm guessing
It's half-truths and full confessions
It's why I choose to learn my lesson
It's all right here

And I'm not God, I'm a man, I confess
That I don't have a sea of forgetfulness
No, it's all right here

It makes me stronger, it makes me wince
It makes me think twice when I pick my friends
It's all right here

It's caution and curiousity
And it's all the things I never see
Welling up inside of me
It's all right here

It's what is best, and what is worse
It's how I see the universe
It's in every line and every verse
It's all right here

Every heart has so much history
It's my favorite place to start
Sit down a while and share your narrative with me
I'm not afraid of who you are

I'm all here, and you're all there
Some of this is unique, and some of it we share
Add it up and start from there
It's all right here

It's caution and curiousity
And it's all the things I never see
It's all right here

It's what is best and what is worse
It's how I see the universe
I'm all right here

Here's That Rainy Day

by Johnny Burke

Maybe I should have saved
Those leftover dreams
Funny, but here's that rainy day

Here's that rainy day
They told me about
And I laughed at the thought
That it might turn out this way

Where is that worn-out wish
That I threw aside
After it brought my lover near?

Funny how love becomes
A cold rainy day
Funny, that rainy day is here

Under the Milky Way

by Steve Kilbey

Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty
Some of the breath fades with the light
I think about the loveless fascination
Under the Milky Way tonight

Lower the curtain down on Memphis
Lower the curtain down, all right
I got no time for private consultation
Under the Milky Way tonight

Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find

And it's something quite peculiar
Something shimmering and white
It leads you here, despite your destination
Under the Milky Way tonight

Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find
Under the Milky Way tonight

It Is Well with My Soul

by Horatio Gates Spafford

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Ohio

by Neil Young

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming
We're finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio

Got to get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground?
How can you run when you know?

East Coker (Pt. II)

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

What is the late November doing
With the disturbance of the spring
And creatures of the summer heat,
And snowdrops writhing under feet
And hollyhocks that aim too high
Red into grey and tumble down
Late roses filled with early snow?
Thunder rolled by the rolling stars
Simulates triumphal cars
Deployed in constellated wars
Scorpion fights against the Sun
Until the Sun and Moon go down
Comets weep and Leonids fly
Hunt the heavens and the plains
Whirled in a vortex that shall bring
The world to that destructive fire
Which burns before the ice-cap reigns.

That was a way of putting it—not very satisfactory:
A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,
Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle
With words and meanings. The poetry does not matter.
It was not (to start again) what one had expected.
What was to be the value of the long looked forward to,
Long hoped for calm, the autumnal serenity
And the wisdom of age? Had they deceived us
Or deceived themselves, the quiet-voiced elders,
Bequeathing us merely a receipt for deceit?
The serenity only a deliberate hebetude,
The wisdom only the knowledge of dead secrets
Useless in the darkness into which they peered
Or from which they turned their eyes. There is, it seems to us,
At best, only a limited value
In the knowledge derived from experience.
The knowledge imposes a pattern, and falsifies,
For the pattern is new in every moment
And every moment is a new and shocking
Valuation of all we have been. We are only undeceived
Of that which, deceiving, could no longer harm.
In the middle, not only in the middle of the way
But all the way, in a dark wood, in a bramble,
On the edge of a grimpen, where is no secure foothold,
And menaced by monsters, fancy lights,
Risking enchantment. Do not let me hear
Of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly,
Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession,
Of belonging to another, or to others, or to God.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.

The houses are all gone under the sea.

The dancers are all gone under the hill.

[Pt. III here]

I Get a Kick Out of You

by Cole Porter

My story is much too sad to be told
But practically everything leaves me totally cold
The exception I know is the case
When I'm out on a quiet spree
Fighting vainly the old ennui
And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face

I get no kick from champagne
Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all
So tell me why should it be true
That I get a kick out of you?

Some, they may go for cocaine
I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
It would bore me terrifically, too
Yet I get a kick out of you

I get a kick every time
I see you standing there before me
I get a kick, though it's clear to see
You obviously do not adore me

I get no kick in a plane
Flying too high with some gal in the sky
Is my idea of nothing to do
Yet I get a kick out of you

Burnt Norton (Pt. II)

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

Garlic and sapphires in the mud
Clot the bedded axle-tree.
The trilling wire in the blood
Sings below inveterate scars
Appeasing long forgotten wars.
The dance along the artery
The circulation of the lymph
Are figured in the drift of stars
Ascend to summer in the tree
We move above the moving tree
In light upon the figured leaf
And hear upon the sodden floor
Below, the boarhound and the boar
Pursue their pattern as before
But reconciled among the stars.

At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
The inner freedom from the practical desire,
The release from action and suffering, release from the inner
And the outer compulsion, yet surrounded
By a grace of sense, a white light still and moving,
Erhebung without motion, concentration
Without elimination, both a new world
And the old made explicit, understood
In the completion of its partial ecstasy,
The resolution of its partial horror.
Yet the enchainment of past and future
Woven in the weakness of the changing body,
Protects mankind from heaven and damnation
Which flesh cannot endure.
                                                            Time past and time future
Allow but a little consciousness.
To be conscious is not to be in time
But only in time can the moment in the rose-garden,
The moment in the arbour where the rain beat,
The moment in the draughty church at smokefall
Be remembered; involved with past and future.
Only through time time is conquered.

[Pt. III here]

Tiny Light

by Grace Potter

What will come of us today?
What we need we cannot say
It's been a long, long time since I've been so afraid
As we all fall down, it's hard to see a brighter day

But I see a tiny light
Like a flashbulb sparkle in the night
I see a tiny light
Telling everyone to hold on tight

What will come of all our pride?
This house of stone has crumbled from the inside
It's been a long, long war, now the battle's drawing near
Closer and closer till it whispers in my ear

Bring me back the streets of gold
Give me something warm to hold
Give me love and only love
And you will see it shining from above

Russian Hill

by Andy Sturmer

I dreamt about a tranquil Sunday drive
A sensory lullaby
We trade the comics, cartoons, and magazines
For pistons and gasolines

We see the road from the bedside
Parked under the sunshine
We feel the warmth of the engine
So we climb inside
And take to the motorway

Watch the clouds turn into faces
It's fun to play
Shift the gears for years
And age a single day
Until we spill onto Russian Hill

Past cathedrals filled with God's favorite guests
Dirty hands feel clean
Dressed in their Sunday best
Treeline village, oh so heavenly
Cross a bridge of gold
To landscapes of juniper
Only Eden is for millionaires

I'm pulling through the last stoplight
We head home past the shoreline
And through the rear view mirror it all melts away
Till we're helpless

Watch the clouds turn into faces
It's fun to play
We shift the gears for years
And age a single day
For like curtains close this sunset matinée
A dream fulfilled on Russian Hill

Nearly Beloved

by Jakob Dylan

Last night I dreamt one thousand lies
I could see the dawn through a different set of eyes
There in my slumber passing time
Long live the world resting on its side

I walked the orchard with you
Your hand in mine
In the evergreens drinking wine
I saw the snow fall in black and white
From the auburn sky
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

Up through the earth at dawn I came
I crossed the kingdom through venom-pouring rain
When the vacuum of my own brigade
Resurrected to make you mine again

Orpheus looked back once
She sailed the underworld
No second chances will be earned
I have returned as a phantom now
To walk the bow and stern
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

If we could do better, I know that we would
Maybe admit it now: we're not that good
We keep the needle between zero and one
You play your fiddle, I'll play dumb

Into the pastures of our minds
Goes my nearly beloved and I
Blazing two parallel white lines
Through this broken heart spilt open wide

Time may be on my side
But it's mostly far behind
I was the apple of your eye
Now I'm the boy spinning on a wheel
There stuck with knives
Last night I lived more than one thousand lives
Not one of them survived

Sugar Magnolia

by Robert Hunter

Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming
Head's all empty and I don't care
Saw my baby down by the river
Knew she'd have to come up soon for air

Sweet blossom come on under the willow
We can have high times if you'll abide
We can discover the wonders of nature
Rolling in the rushes down by the riverside

She's got everything delightful
She's got everything I need
Takes the wheel when I'm seeing double
Pays my ticket when I speed

She come skimming through rays of violet
She can wade in a drop of dew
She don't come and I don't follow
Waits backstage while I sing to you

She can dance a Cajun rhythm
Jump like a Willys in four-wheel drive
She's a summer love in the spring, fall and winter
She can make happy any man alive

Sugar Magnolia
Ringing that blue bell
Caught up in sunlight
Go on out singing
I'll walk you in the sunshine
Come on honey, come along with me

She's got everything delightful
She's got everything I need
A breeze in the pines in the summer night moonlight
Crazy in the sunlight, yes indeed

Sometimes when the cuckoo's crying
When the moon is halfway down
Sometimes when the night is dying
I take me out and I wander 'round
I wander 'round

Sunshine daydream
Walking in the tall trees
Going where the wind goes
Blooming like a red rose
Breathing more freely
Light out singing
I'll walk you in the morning sunshine
Sunshine daydream
Walk you in the sunshine

I See the Rain

by Junior Campbell

Beautiful day, I'd like to lie on the green lawn
The ducks are congregating round, round the lily pond
And the cows have all gone
Running home to put their coats on

Stay indoors
While it pours
Till tomorrow

I see the rain again
I must complain again
Why does the rain let me down?
Will you try to make it sunny in the morning?

Five to ten, now it's time for the weather
The sun will shine and, in its time, get better
But it won't last for long
Clouds are spreading over London town

Hung Up on a Dream

by Rod Argent

Well I remember yesterday
Just drifting slowly through a crowded street
With neon darkness shimmering through the haze
A sea of faces rippling in the heat

And from that nameless changing crowd
A sweet vibration seemed to fill the air
I stood astounded, staring hard
At men with flowers resting in their hair

A sweet confusion filled my mind
Until I woke up only finding
Everything was just a dream
A dream unusual of its kind
That gave me peace and blew my mind
And now I'm hung up on a dream

They spoke with soft persuading words
About a living creed of gentle love
And turned me on to sounds unheard
And showed me strangest clouded sights above

Which gently touched my aching mind
And soothed the wonderings of my troubled brain
Sometimes I think I'll never find
Such purity and peace of mind again

Rejection

by Franz Kafka

When I meet a pretty girl and beg her: 'Be so good as to come with me,' and she walks past without a word, this is what she means to say:

'You are no Duke with a famous name, no broad American with a Red Indian figure, level, brooding eyes and a skin tempered by the air of the prairies and the rivers that flow through them, you have never journeyed to the seven seas and voyaged on them wherever they may be, I don't know where, so why, pray, should a pretty girl like myself go with you?'

'You forget that no automobile swings you through the street in long thrusts; I see no gentlemen escorting you in a close half-circle, pressing on your skirts from behind and murmuring blessings on your head; your breasts are well laced into your bodice, but your thighs and hips make up for that restraint; you are wearing a taffeta dress with a pleated skirt such as delighted all of us last autumn, and yet you smile — inviting mortal danger — from time to time.'

'Yes, we are both in the right, and lest we become irrefutably conscious of it, we wish — isn't it true? — to instead go each to our own home.'

East Coker (Pt. I)

by T.S. Eliot

In my beginning is my end. In succession
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.
Old stone to new building, old timber to new fires,
Old fires to ashes, and ashes to the earth
Which is already flesh, fur and faeces,
Bone of man and beast, cornstalk and leaf.
Houses live and die: there is a time for building
And a time for living and for generation
And a time for the wind to break the loosened pane
And to shake the wainscot where the field-mouse trots
And to shake the tattered arras woven with a silent motto.

In my beginning is my end. Now the light falls
Across the open field, leaving the deep lane
Shuttered with branches, dark in the afternoon,
Where you lean against a bank while a van passes,
And the deep lane insists on the direction
Into the village, in the electric heat
Hypnotised. In a warm haze the sultry light
Is absorbed, not refracted, by grey stone.
The dahlias sleep in the empty silence.
Wait for the early owl.

                                                 In that open field
If you do not come too close, if you do not come too close,
On a summer midnight, you can hear the music
Of the weak pipe and the little drum
And see them dancing around the bonfire
The association of man and woman
In daunsinge, signifying matrimonie—
A dignified and commodiois sacrament.
Two and two, necessarye coniunction,
Holding eche other by the hand or the arm
Whiche betokeneth concorde. Round and round the fire
Leaping through the flames, or joined in circles,
Rustically solemn or in rustic laughter
Lifting heavy feet in clumsy shoes,
Earth feet, loam feet, lifted in country mirth
Mirth of those long since under earth
Nourishing the corn. Keeping time,
Keeping the rhythm in their dancing
As in their living in the living seasons
The time of the seasons and the constellations
The time of milking and the time of harvest
The time of the coupling of man and woman
And that of beasts. Feet rising and falling.
Eating and drinking. Dung and death.

Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence. Out at sea the dawn wind
Wrinkles and slides. I am here
Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning.

[Pt. II here]

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

by Charles Wesley

Christ, the Lord, is risen today,
Sons of men and angels say,
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply,

Love’s redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight, the battle won,
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over,
Lo! He sets in blood no more,

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal,
Christ hath burst the gates of hell,
Death in vain forbids His rise,
Christ hath opened paradise,

Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once He died our souls to save,
Where thy victory, O grave?

Soar we now where Christ hath led,
Following our exalted Head,
Made like Him, like Him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies,

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven,
Praise to Thee by both be given,
Thee we greet triumphant now,
Hail, the resurrection, thou,

King of glory, Soul of bliss,
Everlasting life is this,
Thee to know, Thy power to prove,
Thus to sing and thus to love,

Hymns of praise then let us sing,
Unto Christ, our heavenly King,
Who endured the cross and grave,
Sinners to redeem and save.

But the pains that He endured,
Our salvation have procured,
Now above the sky He’s King,
Where the angels ever sing.

Jesus Christ is risen today,
Our triumphant holy day,
Who did once upon the cross,
Suffer to redeem our loss.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

by Isaac Watts

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o'er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

My Jesus, I Love Thee

by William R. Featherstone

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree.
I love thee for wearing the thorns on my brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I'll love thee in life, I will love thee in death;
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the deathdew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

Don't Look Back

by Zooey Deschanel

Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone
But I never had yours
I followed you back to the end of the path
But I never found the door

And you can work to save your love
You can bear it from the earth below
You can work, but you can't let go
But you have to know

Don't look back, all you'll ever get
Is the dust from the steps before
I don't have to see you every day
But I just want to know you're there

Quietly took to the dark of the day
And the hiss of the summer night
The heat of the breeze was a cell block wall
And when I looked, you were out of sight

I'll Never Fall in Love Again

by Hal David

What do you get when you fall in love?
A girl with a pin to burst your bubble
That's what you get for all your trouble
I'll never fall in love again

What do you get when you kiss a girl?
You get enough germs to catch pneumonia
After you do, she'll never phone ya
I'll never fall in love again

Don't tell me what's it all about
'Cause I've been there, and I'm glad I'm out
Out of those chains, those chains that bind you
That is why I'm here to remind you

What do you get when you give your heart?
You get it all broken up and battered
That's what you get, a heart that's shattered
I'll never fall in love again

What do you get when you fall in love?
You get enough tears to fill an ocean
That's what you get for your devotion
I'll never fall in love again

What do you get when you fall in love?
You only get lies and pain and sorrow
So for at least until tomorrow
I'll never fall in love again

Here Today

by Tony Asher

It starts with just a little glance now
Right away you're thinking 'bout romance now
You know you ought to take it slower
But you just can't wait to get to know her

A brand new love affair
Is such a beautiful thing
But if you're not careful
Think about the pain it can bring

It makes you feel so bad
It makes your heart feel sad
It makes your days go wrong
It makes your nights so long
You've got to keep in mind
Love is here today
And it's gone tomorrow
It's here and gone so fast

Right now you think that she's perfection
This time is really an exception
Well you know, I hate to be a downer
But I'm the guy she left before you found her

Well I'm not saying
You won't have a good love with her
But I keep on remembering
Things like they were

She made me feel so bad
She made my heart feel sad
She made my days go wrong
And made my nights so long
You've got to keep in mind
Love is here today
And it's gone tomorrow
It's here and gone so fast

from Atalanta in Calydon

by Algernon Charles Swinburne

When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces,
  The mother of months in meadow or plain
Fills the shadows and windy places
  With lisp of leaves and ripple of rain;
And the brown bright nightingale amorous
Is half assuaged for Itylus,
For the Thracian ships and the foreign faces.
  The tongueless vigil, and all the pain.

Come with bows bent and with emptying of quivers,
  Maiden most perfect, lady of light,
With a noise of winds and many rivers,
  With a clamour of waters, and with might;
Bind on thy sandals, O thou most fleet,
Over the splendour and speed of thy feet;
For the faint east quickens, the wan west shivers,
  Round the feet of the day and the feet of the night.

Where shall we find her, how shall we sing to her,
  Fold our hands round her knees, and cling?
O that man's heart were as fire and could spring to her,
  Fire, or the strength of the streams that spring!
For the stars and the winds are unto her
As raiment, as songs of the harp-player;
For the risen stars and the fallen cling to her,
  And the southwest-wind and the west-wind sing.

For winter's rains and ruins are over,
  And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
  The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remember'd is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
  Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

The full streams feed on flower of rushes,
  Ripe grasses trammel a travelling foot,
The faint fresh flame of the young year flushes
  From leaf to flower and flower to fruit;
And fruit and leaf are as gold and fire,
And the oat is heard above the lyre,
And the hoofèd heel of a satyr crushes
  The chestnut-husk at the chestnut-root.

from This Side of Paradise

by F. Scott Fitzgerald
from Book Two, Chapter One

[Editor's Note: Another unusual post for this blog, which I can't resist posting. And again it's Fitzgerald. And again a scene from the night streets of New York. Either Fitzgerald captures the essence of the New York night so perfectly, or his nocturnal prose especially resonates with me, or both.]

Amory wandered slowly up the avenue and thought of the night as inevitably his—the pageantry and carnival of rich dusk and dim streets . . . it seemed that he had closed the book of fading harmonies at last and stepped into the sensuous vibrant walks of life. Everywhere these countless lights, this promise of a night of streets and singing—he moved in a half-dream through the crowd as if expecting to meet Rosalind hurrying toward him with eager feet from every corner . . . How the unforgettable faces of dusk would blend to her, the myriad footsteps, a thousand overtures, would blend to her footsteps; and there would be more drunkeness than wine in the softness of her eyes on his. Even his dreams now were faint violins drifting like summer sounds upon the summer air.

Chapel Hill

by Thurston Moore

Back in the days when the battles raged
And we thought it was nothing
A bookstore man meets the CIA
And we know

Throw me a cord and plug it in
Get the Cradle rocking
Out with the redneck pig old men
And it's go

The hair in the hole in my head
Too bad the scene is dead
Memories in the shadow
Back in time again

I can't forget your terrorized face
When you cried for the shameless
Wasted life Ameri-K-K-Kan
And you smile

So why should we run when we cannot hide
And my flag is burning?
We could be wrong, but that's alright
We'll rise again

The hair in the hole in my head
Too bad the scene is dead
Memories in the shadow
It's back in town again

Looking away, it's another day
And of course, we love you
Radical man is the CIA
And we say no

We'll round up the Durham H.C. kids
And the Char Grill Killers
Jesse H. come into our pit
All ages show

The hair in the hole in my head
Too bad the scene is dead
Memories in the shadow
It's back in time again

What's Going Ahn

by Alex Chilton

I liked her face and oh, those eyes
She left today, oh goodbye
And looking at you, I'm drained outright
And isolated in the light

And I resigned everyone
Ever since I was young
I'm starting to understand
What's going on and how it's planned

I like love, but I don't know
All these girls, they come and go
Always nothing left to say

Carolina

by Robert Earl Keen

The sweet smell of nighttime rides on the breeze
The river is winding through the hickory trees
The redbones are howling down by Wilson's Bridge
The lawmen stand waiting upon Deadman's Ridge

Ooo Carolina, so dark I can't see
Ooo Carolina, won't you let me go free?

I came here with Lily a year just last fall
We left her old daddy back in Donegal
We made us a home place of Black Mountain stone
But one cold winter morning I woke up alone

Days full of silence are so incomplete
Nights without Lily I took to the streets
In the streets of Asheville I channeled my pain
'Til one raging black night I slept in the rain

I dreamed of a refuge, a red velvet world
And I swore my sweet Lily was one of the girls
I loved her so madly, I loved her so long
I woke with my dream girl, but her life was all gone

Ooo Carolina, so dark I can't see
Ooo Carolina, won't you let me go free?
Love has no boundary, sorrow no end
And the lawmen of Asheville have no mercy in them