November 2009 Demos

My Escape

I open the invite:
It's the party of the year.
An RSVP:
Well, I'd like to stay clear.

But I'm feeling pressured,
Like I have to go.
I'm caught inbetween
A yes and a no.

I smile and wait
A while till I can make
My escape.

A part me of says
Of course you should;
Another part says
You know it's no good.

Don't want to wear that face
Or go somewhere loud.
I don't mind people,
But I can't stand a crowd.

Gotta find that still point
Where the world spins round;
Gonna sit there a while,
So my soul can rebound.

I'm not antisocial
Or a misanthrope;
Just need some time alone
So I can cope.

The Crazy (Black Friday Xmas)

Black Friday now
Hit the ground
Running round
Shopping hounds
It ain't that I'm lazy

Gotta get a deal
I don't feel
This is real
It's a steal
I don't get the crazy
I just don't get the crazy

Shopping malls
Bouncing balls
Trading halls
Cell phone calls
It shoudn't phase me

Jingle bells
Funny smells
This ain't swell
A kind of hell
I don't get the crazy.
I just don't get the crazy

Is it over yet
Wanna bet
I won't get
My jet set
I'm feeling hazy

Christmas Day
come what may
I gotta lay
down and pray
I don't get the crazy
I just don't get the crazy

Forever

Some talk to the dead or to the grave stones
Some talk just to keep from feeling alone
Some say it out loud, some whisper in their minds,
Just say what you will and leave nothing behind
And know that I'm still here
Don't be afraid there's nothing to fear

When I die don't leave roses on my grave
They wouldn't grow there anyway
But take your guitar and pick a tune
And know that your time may be coming soon

I've seen people look happy, but most look sad
And sometimes someone looks really mad
The sun will shine, though it may at first rain
Happiness is happier after a little pain
And know that I'm still here
Don't be afraid, there's nothing to fear

When I die don't leave roses on my grave
They wouldn't grow there anyway
But take your guitar and pick a tune
And know that your time may be coming soon

Oh, the day is short
Oh, the night is long
Oh, may you fall asleep
At the end of a song.

Be Still

Be still
Be still
Hold the silence in your hand

Be still
Be still
There's nothing to understand

Be still
Be still
Like the morning snow

Be still
Be still
There's nowhere to go

Be still
Be still

Break It Down

empty boxes
scattered round
empty head
no thoughts found
empty heart
no rebound
empty chords
lonely sound

who knows how long you'll feel this way
who knows how long those feelings stay

break it down break it down

open hand
missing ring
open door
gently swings
open wounds
scream or sing
open up
the next thing

who knows ...

you don't have to have been bitten
to know that it hurts
but you have to have been bitten
to know how much it hurts

11.27.09
STE-128?

Solitude

Solitude
I'm alone
Not lonely
Solitude

I don't need to shuffle round
To keep myself from feeling down
Today
I can stay inside my little room
Weave thoughts inside my silent loom
All day

Solitude
I'm alone
Not lonely
Solitude

I don't need to make some noise
While running round with all my boys
Tonight
I can stay inside my quiet place
Never need to see another face
All night

Solitude
I'm alone
Not lonely
Solitude

I'm no misanthrope
There is always hope
I hope you understand
I love my fellow man
I could never get enough
Of love.
No never get enough
There'd never be enough
Of love.

What Would You Do?

If I gave my heart to you
What would you do?
What would you do?

If I gave my love to you
What would you do?
What would you do?

Would you put it in a box and hide it away?
Or put it on your shelf to display?

If I gave my mind to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

If I gave my thoughts to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

Would they be a chapter in your book?
Or stashed in your diary where none could look?

If I gave it all to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

I'll do nothing till
You've done what you will
Time stays still

If I gave my voice to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

If I gave my song to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

Would you sing it to all you knew?
Or would it be unsung by all but you?

If I gave it all to you,
What would you do?
What would you do?

That World Is Gone

The street where we met
Has a different name
The park where we kissed
Is no longer the same

And we have moved on
That world is gone

The room where we slept
Is no longer a mess
The house where we shared
Has a different address

And we have moved on
That world is gone

The neighborhood we loved
Is now a tourist trap
The town where we said yes
Is completely off the map.


And that country
Is no longer there
And that world
Is no longer there
And I don't know
where in the world
And I don't know
where in the world
I will go
When that world
That I once knew
That world that
I once knew
That world is gone.

STE-131

The Multitudes

I am clay
I am dust
I am steel
I am rust
I can love
And I can lust

I am meek
I am proud
I am quiet
I am loud
I can be alone
Or be in a crowd

I am strong
I am weak
I am normal
I am a freak
I am lost
But still I seek

I am big
I am small
I'm a drag
And I'm a ball
I'm everyone
And no one at all
I'm everyone
And no one at all

Alone

An empty home doesn't mean you're alone
And stray sounds keep you still as a stone
The rooms are filled with your past
The sun is low and long shadows are cast
Cause you're never ever really alone

An empty yard doesn't mean you're alone
There's a world hidden & unknown
The clouds shapeshift to correspond
Long shadows cross you, will you respond?
Cause you're never ever really alone

STE-132

Sadie And Maud

lyrics by gwendolynn brooks

So Much Depends

Although tomorrow's a mystery
I can say today with certainty
So much depends on you loving me
So much depends on you
On you

A seed never knows where it will fall
But it's better to have fallen than never at all
So much depends on you loving me
So much depends on you
On you, on you

So much depends on you
So much depends on you

Although I do my best and try to see
Sometimes I can't see what's in front of me
So much depends on you loving me
So much depends on you
On you, on you

There's a sign everywhere, everywhere there's a clue
For even the sparrows know just what to do
So much depends on you
So much depends on you

STE-123 (C) / STE-124 (A)

I Will Break Their Guitar

"I will break their guitar"
-- Joan Miró to Andre Masson concerning
the preeminence of Cubist painting
in postwar Paris

A fractured chord tapered off
Amid the dry and brittle palms
A curse came from afar
I will break your guitar.

Hands stuffed inside pockets
With lint and loose change
Passing by an empty jar
I will break your guitar

[Interlude Em Am F G C]

Their palms were crossed with silver
Their hearts were crossed with water
In the space of a Pater Noster
I will break your guitar.

A cadence is corrupted
Among the brooding angels
A curse came from afar
I will break your guitar.


Verse: Am G C / Am G C / Am G C / Em F G Am / Em F G C
STE-126