Lyrics

+ Almost There

Words by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, music by JPR and Wendy Ramsay

I am almost certain that I’m almost there
Almost across the line
I am almost wishing that I cut my hair
Guess I’m looking almost fine
Check it

If this is almost heaven, then I’m almost dead
Off to a better place
I could be almost famous for the life I led
Or vanish without a trace
Check it

Ooh yeah
Anytime you call me you will find me standing by
Any situation I will almost be your guy
Check it

Almost told you how I almost feel
Almost every night
Sang my confession on a reel-to-reel
Almost got it right
Check it

Ooh yeah
Anytime you call me you will find me standing by
Any situation I will almost be your guy

The time is coming when I’ll cross that line
With the banners waving, the sun will shine
As I raise the cup, celebrating the day
Balloons are rising in the azure sky
In the blur of faces I catch your eye and then
All the other voices fade away
Away

Anytime you call me you will find me standing by
Any situation I will almost be your guy
Any way you want me
I will try to satisfy
Anything you ask me
You know this is my reply
Ooh yeah

I am almost certain
That I'm almost there
I could be almost famous
For the life I've led

+ American Dream

When you’re out on the road
Driving alone
With the rising moon
A sliver of bone
The desert hills fade to black
And you’re not sure
If you’ll go back at all
To what you knew

Whatever lies ahead
Whatever falls behind
Whatever matters here
Is on the line
In this American dream

When you’re out on the road
Leaving no trace
Just a motel key
A smile with no face
At every town you read the sign
But nothing pulls you
From that line
It’s all you know

Chorus

Listen
The roar of the windows
And scanning for stations
The radio preaches approaching salvation
The all-night café with the coffee eternal
The trucks breathe like dragons
Their eyes fired with diesel

When you’re out on the road
Driving alone
With the rising moon
A sliver of bone
You never give, you only take
And I’m not sure
You’ll ever wake at all
From this American dream

+ Any Other Way

Here comes the bell, 6:08
The coffee starts to percolate
Big blue mug in my hand
I fill the crossword with a pen

7:12, garage door up
I sail on through, sip my cup
I’m at my desk before the boss walks in
Tomorrow I will do it all again

I do it any way I want
No compromise, no need to talk
The choice is mine, the buck stops here
The lines are clean, my rules are clear
I do it any way I please
Don’t wait for my apologies
Doesn’t really matter what you say
I wouldn’t have it any other way

What now is mine, once was ours
The wife, the kids, the whole nine yards
Sneakers strewn in the hall
Finger smudges on the wall
Yes, I provided, and all I asked
Was a simple list of household tasks
She let ’em slide until one winter day
My wife packed up the kids and moved away

Chorus

Sunday I am on my knees
I give the rag a gentle squeeze
Wash the old oak floors until they shine
Some days the silence can be loud
The empty spaces call me out
I see the hollow eyes inside the mirror
How am I here?

I do it any way I want
No compromise, no need to talk
The choice is mine, the buck stops here
The lines are clean, my rules are clear
I do it any way I please
Just trying to keep my mind at ease
One step at a time and every day
I wouldn’t have it
I wouldn’t have it
I couldn’t have it any other way

+ Bones

Shin bone connected to the thigh bone
Thigh bone connected to the hip bone
Hip bone connected to the trombone
Yeah

Round bone in your head
Thin bone in your feet
He bone jumping she bone in the sheet

Choose your way
You can chart your course in the day to day
Skip your future like a stone
You are free
Let it comfort you like it comforts me
But watch out for them bones

Time bone connected to the peace bone
Peace bone connected to the soul bone
Soul bone connected to the bone bone
Yeah

Old bone in the ground
Young bone on the wing
Dream bone dreaming winter into spring

Chorus

Work bone connected to the cash bone
Cash bone connected to the stuff bone
Stuff bone connected to the stuff bone
Yeah

Need bone in your arm
Want bone in your sleeve
Wish bone telling which bone to believe

Chorus

+ Closer

On a slow train to the edge of the city
In the lurching of an empty car
Your jaded eyes, a thin disguise
You’ve never gone this far

You hear the punch punch of the hole in your ticket
And the old man sings a station son
gAnd when you dare descend the stair
Your shadow will grow long

This is your time, this is no test
You’ve got no crime to be confessed
There’s only love for evermore
Will take you back to the core

When you stand alone in the crush of the city
When your heartbeat is a distant drum
You never know that you must go
Until the time has come

In the cold light of insinuation
You’re a cartoon of what they say
You take your stand when you demand
Just who the hell are they

Chorus

The drum drum is taking you back...

+ The Day After Yesterday

The day after yesterday I lost my luck
Sped right off in an old milk truck
Oh I heard it clinking away

The sky was yellow and the sun was black
Rise or set—I can’t keep track sometimes
It’s been a very big day

The ladders climbed, the quarters played
The babies cried, the blue jeans frayed
Crack in the rear view mirror
The final round of truth or dare
The dorky sprout of facial hair
Are closer than they appear
On the day after yesterday

The day after yesterday I lost my spot
The line stretched on, the day was shot
Looks like it’s really here to stay
Dropped my nickels and I spun the dial
Let it ring a good long while
Oh I will get an answer someday

In black and white suspended space
The gap-tooth smile, the breathless chase
Wheeling it into town
The ice comes down, the branches gleam
The slipping slope, a child’s dream
Never to touch the ground
On the day after yesterday

The vinyl hour I take a spin
The needle pops again again
Stuck in the Memphis blues

Forever young, forever gray
Forever spun the same old way
Nobody can refuse
The day after yesterday

The day after yesterday and still I find
I fall ahead, I spring behind
Sometimes I just take my time

+ Dog for a Day

I’m rushing off into the morning
Eyes hanging down
Waiting for the coffee to slap me around
I hear a thumping on the sidewalk
And look up to see a dog face smile
I’m off to work as he naps for a while

And then I’m planning a career or
I’m planning for play
Planning for a mortgage on some distant day
You know I’m planning for a kid and for dinner
Planning to plan no more
When I hear paws scratching at the door

If I could shed my skin
Alter the shape I’m in
Fill out with fur and grow a long tail
If I could be that way
I would be a happy man
A dog for a day

I’d scare a squirrel to a treetop
And mangle your shoes
Chase a stick into the water or simply refuse
I’d bark my head off if I wanted
Whenever I heard the siren call
Or I would sleep, contented, through it all

Chorus

So I am stuck inside my body
And with my two feet
But there are human consolations here
In the front seat
No, I never have a collar or dog chow
And I’m allowed on the bed
But I wonder what my life would be instead

Chorus

+ Don’t Think That I Can Say Goodbye

Don’t think that I can say goodbye
So I’ll just go
Can’t figure how to quite forget
So much that I know
Some silver lining
Is out in this storm, I’m sure
But all I see are clouds
So I’ll just go

We reach for the reasons
And find only traces and shards
Trifles or treasons
We can’t tell just what they are
As the days blow by
Let the pieces fall
And crumble to dust under our feet

We reach for forever
But nobody shows us the way
We think that we’re clever
Believe all the things that we say
But the painted lines
Are in shades of gray
Dissolving away into the night

Don’t think that I can say goodbye
So I’ll just go
Can’t figure how to quite forget
So much that I know
Some shiny morning
Out on a distant shore
Nothing to say
There will be nothing to say at all

+ Eight Days in January

On the 1st of January, crawling out of bed
Like a half-inch staple is sticking in my head
I don’t see my dog curled up on the floor
Stumble on his belly and slam into the door

On the 2nd of January, got to get to work
Finish up a project for a freakin’ jerk
Yeah, he knows it’s my vacation, but after all
Gotta have it by tomorrow or the sky will fall

Hey now, won’t you meet me by the river
Hey now, won’t you throw me right in
Hey now, won’t you please deliver
Got a sinking feeling but I got to swim

On the 3rd of January I lock myself out
I’m banging on the window with a desperate shout
But the only one listening inside my place
He wags his tail when he sees my face

On the 4th of January my baby is trying
To explain about a fellow she met online
Such a perfect stranger, no history
Not a heap of baggage like she got with me

Chorus

On the 5th of January I’ve got to ask why
Staring in the mirror I find this guy
Needs a freakin’ coffee and a freakin’ shave
Got one foot down in the freakin’ grave

On the 6th of January I hear a little tone
From a new text message arriving on my phone
In the airport taxi all my baby has to say
Are these six characters: C U L 8 R J

On the 7th of January a storm blows in
Finally shovel out the driveway, the plow comes again
Leaves an icy bank about six feet high
I throw my shovel and begin to cry

On the 8th of January I come across this song
So freakin’ cheerful can’t help but sing along
Such a perky melody and chipper little chords
I sing it and I sing it like I'm out of my gourd

Chorus

+ End of the Line

At the end of a dirt road
At the end of the line
Where all of the stars still shine

Gone are the roaring motors
The blinding speed
My two legs are all I need
Gone is the tick-tock torture
My wrist is free
To feel the pulsing of the day
Hey

No gaze in the mirror
And no blade upon my skin
No web of illusion to spin

Clear as the snowmelt
In an icy stream
Hard as the rock beneath my feet
Ambling close and closer
To sanity
And all I really have to say
Is hey

+ Enough About You (What About Me)

Well, enough about you
Yeah, enough about you
And all the stuff you do
Enough of that too
On this at least
We can all agree:
What about me

How cool that you came on by
So awesome you searched my name
Don’t bother to tell me why
It’s all the same
(Yada yada, ooh yada yada)

Catch up on my latest news
Thumbs up and a wink wink wink
You’re loving my brand new show
Tell everyone what you think
(Like-a like-a, ooh like-a like-a)

Yeah, enough about you
Enough about you
And all the stuff you say
Can’t hear it anyway
So sorry for your troubles
Whatever they may be
But what about me

Yes, I will be your friend
If you will be my fan
And in the final count
I will be a bigger man
They’re buzzing like a hive of bees
All about my new brand
(Like-a like-a, ooh like-a like-a)

Enough about you
Yeah, enough about you
And all the stuff you do
Enough of that too
On this at least
We can all agree:
What about me

What about me (me me)
What about, what about me (me me)
What about, what about me (me me)
Me me (papa's got a new brand)...
All about, all about me

+ Fly

Fly away
Drop what you’re doing
Gray skies will soon be bluing
No doubt am I entertaining
No reason for explaining

Been too much anticipating
Fed up with contemplating
No more will I be waiting

’Cause we’ve got
Stones on our shoulders and steps to climb
We’re losing our breath in the crush of time
Gather the weight and the questions on your mind
And leave it all behind

Fly away
Stop with the teasing
I got a bag of reasons
No way can I be going
No matter how it’s blowing

Been too long, too much dealing
Today I got a feeling
This moment is for stealing

’Cause we’ve got
Stones on our shoulders and steps to climb
We’re losing our breath in the crush of time
Gather the weight and the worries on your mind
And leave it all behind

Fly away
Drop what you’re doing
Gray skies will soon be bluing
No doubt am I entertaining
No reason for explaining

No doubt and no reason
No waiting, no teasing
No talk and no secret
Just spread your wings and fly
Fly

+ Googling

When will it warm up
When will I see you again
When will I get my refund
When will I die

Why am I so ugly
Why am I so gassy
Why am I single
Why am I so awake

What if she says no
What if she says maybe
What if she has a boyfriend
What if she doesn’t text back

Will I ever be happy
Will I ever grow a beard
Will I ever be good enough
Will I ever love again

Am I a psycho
Am I a narcissist
Am I a hipster
Am I fat

Is she a player
Is she attracted to me
Is she a keeper
Is she a hoe

What if we could
What if we were real
What if we are the aliens
What if we had no moon

+ Here

Hand
A hand
Gentle touch of a hand
I am reaching

Face
A face
Open eyes on a face
I am seeking

In a glimmer of light
In the eye of a storm
I am here
You are here

Hand
A hand
On a silvery string
I am playing

Voice
A voice
On a delicate wing
I am praying

In a glimmer of light
On the cusp of a dream
I am here
You are here

Way
A way
We are dreaming a way
Through the tangle

Chance
There’s a chance
If we turn
To a different angle

At the end of the day
This is all I can say
I am here
You are here
We are here

+ Hippie Hair (for the First Time)

Just like that it all shuts down
We vanish into screens
The bars go dark, the streets are clear
The days pass like a dream
While out there on the front lines
The news is only grim
And the least of all concerns is that
My hair could use a trim

But looking in the mirror I see a rising dome
A shaggy dude with waves and curls
Like I have never known
A few more months, salons are back
But I make up my mind
Though my mother wonders why
Think I’ll let my freak flag fly and grow...

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

I was just a toddler at the dawning of the Dead
Far too young for dropping out
I’ve got no ’60s cred
Still I did meet Jerry and I played his Wolf guitar
Never like to join a crowd
But I’m feeling strangely proud I’ve got...

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

In my mind I’m reeling through my teens again
From Daltrey to the Doobies
All the rockers had a mane
Is it much too late to strive
To be Frampton Comes Alive with my...

Hippie hair for the first time
Hippie hair alright
When I sing hippie songs
For the first time I kinda look the part
I am letting it grow for my art

+ Holy Man

I am not a holy man
I take the wisdom when I can
A crack of light around a granite door
I’m trying to leave behind the din
The voices dig beneath my skin
The less they know, the louder they are sure

I’m going away, gone away
Where the blaring fades away

I am not a man of steel
I take my chance behind the wheel
A yellow beam across the blowing snow
I’m trying to find where I am bound
Crunching on the frozen ground
The only way to see is just to go

I’m going away, gone away
Where the sun breaks through the gray
Hesitation gone today
Nobody is in my way

You are not the only one
To seek the words and drop the gun
Slowly now we gather and we rise
We are stronger than we think
We might be standing on the brink
Power in our hands and in our eyes

Going away, gone away
Where we find the voice to say
Resolution here today
Nobody, nobody, nobody is in our way

I am not a holy man
Come beside and lend a hand
Put your weight against the granite door

+ How Long Till It's Too Late

How long till it’s too late
To stop the shouting
Communicate
How far till it’s too far
To see each other
As we are

The loud man blows
All the angry embers
To open flame
But the only word
That he cares to hear
Is his own name

How loud till it’s too loud
To hear each other
In the crowd

How long till it’s too late
To work together
Participate
How far can we go down
Till there’s nowhere
To turn around

We feed and feed
Think it’s all we need
So cut and dried
Can we drop the mirror
Face the fear
Of the other side

How long till it’s too late
To stop the shouting
Communicate
Work together
Participate
Meet each other
Face to face

+ Humming My Way Back Home

Stand by the window and raise it wide
Open your ear for a song
I’m turning the corner and coming inside
Weary but never so strong

I’m humming my way back home
Humming my way back home to you
Humming my way back home
To rest with you
As night rolls through

Living is longings and lessons half-learned
Our words tangle up in a knot
Let’s forget what we’ve given, forget what we’ve earned
Give thanks for the love that we’ve got

Chorus

Winter is coming, the leaves blow down
Daylight is slipping away
Stoke up the fire and gather around
There’s no place where I’d rather stay

Chorus

To rest with you

+ I’ve Got It Here Somewhere

I know I’ve got it here somewhere
I might have left it on the table
I’m fishing into every pocket
But just as soon as I am able
I’m gonna blow down the road

I had it on the city street back when
All my time was all there was to spend
Weaving through the crowd
And I knew I’d find my place
A book of dreams, a touch of grace
I was on my way

I know I’ve got it here somewhere
It might be spinning in the dryer
But if I dropped it on the trail
Might be sinking in the mire
Still I’ve got to blow down the road

I rifle through the memories again
Swear I had it when she held my handLooking up ahead
Moving on to who knows where
Without a doubt, a double dare
We were on our way

Groove along my thumb
Only for only one
Swing on a shiny chain
Open the way again

I know I’ve got it here somewhere
I might have left it on the table
I’m fishing into every pocket
But just as soon as I am able
I’m gonna blow, blow
I will blow down the road

I know I’ve got it
It might be sinking
It might be spinning
I know I, I know I
I know I’ve got it here

+ Leap of Faith

I won’t say any more
But hold out my hand
No promises or speeches
On the edge of the land

We make this leap of faith
And watch the headlands fade
Floating through the deepest bowl of night

We are sailing awayBy the light of the moon
I don’t know where we are going
But we’ll be there soon

I won’t say any more
But hold out my hand
To feel a new life beating
Toward his first day on land

We ride the rising wind
And bundle from the cold
Opening our future to the sky

Chorus

I won’t say any more
But watch for the sun
We’re thinking of beginnings
But the voyage has begun

+ My Bad

Yeah, it’s me, I did it, I am the one
Left my fingerprints on the smoking gun
Used a candlestick in the billiards room
When I see my chance I will resume

To the rhythm of your tell-tale heart
Tell me how it went so I can play the part
I’ll be the kind of man that you never had

My bad...
Mama, mama

Yeah it’s me, I did it, all my fault
I filled the sugar bowl with a mound of salt
When the seat’s left up and your fortune’s down
You know for sure I’ve been around

I put the wrinkles in your tailored plans
My every wish is your command
In every compromise that you ever had

My bad...Mama, mama

Try to catch me
I am gone
Never catch me
I

I got the superpowers that can’t be matched
When I’m not even there, I leave the door unlatched
Tear the pages from your book of dreams
You know reality is never how it seems
My sneaky moves are unsurpassed
You will never see ’cause I move so fast
I’m the shadow of the doubts you always had

My bad...
Mama, mama

+ My Life Doesn't Rhyme

Searching for chords that’ll turn like a wheel
As I try to interpret the way that I feel
Wishing for words that’ll glimmer like pearls
No, I never stop hoping to impress all the girls
Too ancient for Idol, too young to expire
Here’s why this songwriter does not retire

My life doesn’t rhyme so I pick and I choose
I leave out the black and I sing you the blues
For artistic license I’m paying my dues
With every step of the way

I’m mining for meaning, spelunking for sound
The headlamp is beaming, it’s dark all around
I’ll take something clever if nothing’s profound
And call it a fairly good day

You know heartache and quiet desperation
Are hanging around every bend
But a song with a rhyme can turn on a dime
And carry me home again

My life doesn’t rhyme and the world is off key
But here in my song all the voices agree
And sweet resolution is just up to me
I like it much better this way

’Cause heartache and quiet desperation
Are a songwriter’s very best friend
But a song with a rhyme and a good sense of time
Will carry you through to the end

So I’ll mix all these metaphors and hope for the best
Reach for the feeling down deep in my chest
Thank you for listening to what I’ve confessed
In my sinner songwriterly way

+ One More Waltz

Words by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, music by Johannes Brahms (Waltz, Op. 39, No. 8) adapted by JPR

He stands at the top of the stairs
With the bannister shadow across his shoes
The memories hang in the air
Of the eggshell brown on her shoulder
And the smell of her skin
All the heat rushes in
Through the wall once again

Her touch on the nape of his neck
And the skim of her thigh on a pillow
And her deepening sigh

Remembering this
Who can resist
One more waltz with the memory?
One more waltz

He watches the thickening dark
Through the flutter of moths on the old window pane
Deep in his chest there’s a spark
Then a blaze of regret
At a parting without a goodbye
All the years for a lie
Digging in, running dry

Her words like a blade on his neck
And the richochet cries in the doorway
And the tears in her eyes

Remembering this
Who can resist
One more waltz with the memory?
One more waltz

+ Only the Soul

Lean a little closer
Let the signals fade
Dig a little deeper
In this life we’ve made
All the shiny little figuresAre dancing on a screen
Every finger is twitching
On a shiny new machine

Only the soul knows
Way down, way down

Easy little answers
With the easy clicks
Easy little candy
For a midnight fix
All the shiny little wrappers
Are lying in a heap
Still the hunger is calling
And will not let me sleep

Chorus

Tell me what you picture
When the screen goes gray
Tell me what you think of
When there’s nothing to say
Feel the swaying of the rhythm
When the noises start to fade
Steal the tiny little secret
Lying in the cooling shade

Chorus

+ Packing On

Got a long thin shadow on an empty road
Got the morning light and a heavy load
Can’t say for certain just where I’m bound
Got to lose direction until I’m found

I’m packing all I know is true
I’m doing all I got to do

Got a long time coming and a long time gone
I’m no king but I ain’t no pawn
Got a heap of troubles I can’t explain
Got to keep on walking through the wind and rain

I’m packing all I know is true
I’m doing all I know to do

Got a young girl growing and calling my name
Got a young boy leaping into every frame
Got a friend for jamming a song or two
Got a simple gift I want to share with you

This is all I know is true
I’m giving all I got for you
I’m packing on
Packing on

+ Prayer

He leaves the TV on in another room
The blue light flickers
On the dusty picture of the bride and groom
She drops her suitcase down with a hazy smile
And he stands there weighing
What he’s not been saying for a long while
From the dawn to dusk is an uphill slog
When the sleep is falling
All the doubts come crawling through the heavy fog

If he could find the words
Lay ’em down right there
If he could clear his voice
He might have a prayer

He pours another glass; she reads a magazine
The remote is clicking
But there’s nothing sticking on the TV screen
They’re laying back to side in a chilly bed
All the anger welling
But there’s just no telling what is in his head
In a game of chance, he is down by law
He will soon be folding
And he’s always holding on the shortest straw

If he could find the words
Lay ’em down right there
If he could clear his voice
He might have a prayer

In the headlong rush of the day to day
It’s a way of being
Keeps our eyes from seeing any other way
All the shock and awe and the shameless lies
The big suits figure
With their hand on the trigger we won’t realize
They are making off with quite a haul
But there’s no point stopping
All our bargain shopping at the mega mall

If we can find the words
Lay ’em down right here
If we can raise our voice
We might have a prayer

+ Proof

I’ve been so certain I know what I’ve known
I’ve felt the barb on the wire
Soft expectation torn down to the bone
I’ve been so sure of a lie

You’re proving me wrong
Proving me wrong
On a day by day
On a day by day

I've been so certain I know what I’ve known (never know)
I’ve seen the cracks in a smile (piecing together in time)
A shattering window, a fist on a stone (slowly releasing it all)
Sure of the weight of denial (lighter and floating)

You’re proving me wrong
Proving me wrong
On a day by day

I’ve been a framer and I have been framed
A prisoner in my own backyard
Slowly forgiving the blade and the blame
I am releasing the guard

You’re proving me wrong
On a day by day

+ Shoulda Coulda

Shoulda coulda kept up with my lessons
I would be a master by now
Shoulda toured the world when I was younger
Shoulda done what mama don’t allow

Shoulda seen exactly what was coming
Shoulda known the honeymoon would end
Shoulda stopped the bully on the playground
Shoulda coulda been a better friend

In the rearview mirror, it is all so clear
Just where the road not taken would have gone
Giving so much care for the then and there
We’ve got no clue what’s really going on
Singing I . . . shoulda coulda

Should coulda picked a different major
Mighta made a stinking pile of dough
Mighta had the luxury and leisure
To wonder what I ever do it for

Shoulda let you how I was feeling
All the things that needed to be said
Mighta had the crucial conversation
Scripted out so clearly in my head

Chorus

Said I love you (shoulda coulda)
Flossed my teeth more
Gone to grad school
Joined the Peace Corps

Seized the moment
Wrote the novel
Told the whole truth
Cut my losses

Spoken up more
Hit the road, Jack
Used protection
Learned a language

Said thank you
Tried harder
Quit the damn job
Been kinder

I shoulda wasted way less time
Singing I . . . shoulda coulda

+ Sister

I have a little sister
But we never got to play
She said hello and said goodbye
The very same day

Daddy was so quiet
Mommy cried and cried
Grandma took me to the park
My parents stayed inside

I have a little sister
I saw her foot slide far
Across my mommy’s belly
Like a shooting star

I painted her some pictures
Of a rainbow on the bay
My sister took them with her
When she went away

People see my family
My brother and me
They say that we have two kids
But I know we have three

I have a little sister
This year she will be two
I like to think of all the things
She and I could do

We’d strum the ukulele
And race the wooden cars
And when she grew up big enough
I’d teach her monkey bars

People see my family
My brother and me
They say that we have two kids
But I know we have three

I have a little sister
She’s somewhere up above
I send her secret wishes
And messages of love

She plays with every sister
And brother who is there
On a rainbow-colored playground
Floating through the air

I have a little sister
And though it makes me sad
I like to do my puzzles
And wrestle with my dad

My brother does this wiggle
He dances like a clown
Sometimes I don’t mind it when
He follows me around

We are all a family
Branches on a tree
My sister is my sister
And she will always be

+ Somehow

I want your hair on my shoulder
I want to breathe you now
Feeling our hands getting bolder
Somehow somehow

I want to fall like a feather
Onto the silver ground
I want to rest there together
Somehow somehow

Eyes at the window
I’m caught in the frame
Watching and waiting
For a flicker of change

I want a place at the table
Feeling so hungry now
And I want to serve while I’m able
Somehow somehow

I want a song for the aching
I want to sing it loud
Over the cracks in the breaking
Somehow somehow

Fog in the window
I’m writing your name
Brush of the fingers
Wipes it away
Glow of a headlight
Halo of gray
Sometimes a song
Is all I can say

+ Stop, Drop, and Roll

Because the spark falls
The wires are crossing
And the heat is thick
Your mind is tossing
You’re alone, awake
A figure on the fray

Because the smoke rolls
A slow train coming
And you can’t recall
When you left home and
In the room the lines
Are blurring into gray

One small window swollen tight
Can’t crack open to the night
You feel the singe, the choking air
No more wondering when or where

You’ve got to stop, drop, and roll
That’s all

Because the flame licks
The paint is peeling
And you can’t escape
The headlong feeling
Of the tick, the tock
The chances slipping away

Because you bang and bang
And bang your fist
Against the wall and still
The hard resistance
And there’s not a dent
You can make today

One small window, can’t jump down
Too far distant from solid ground
You feel the singe, the choking air
No more wondering when or where

You’ve got to stop, drop, and roll
That’s all

Because the spark falls
The wires are crossing
And the flame licks
Your mind is tossing
And the tick, the tock
The chances slipping away

Because you give until
There is no giving
And you lose the life
Inside the living
And there’s not a shred
Of reason to delay

One small break and you roll on through
You choose the exit that chooses you
When you do the thing you do not dare
You find yourself in the clearing air

You just stop, drop, and roll
That’s all

+ Sycamore Tree

Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree
Sprouted from a tiny seed
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?

On a soft and sunny afternoon
My parents bring me home and soon
They tie a bunch of blue balloons
Right around the sycamore tree

The grass tickles on my feet
When I’m rocking in my bouncy seat
The summer breezes smell so sweet
Blowing by the sycamore tree

I stand right up and fall back down
And search for treasures on the ground
Like the fuzzy seeds lying all around
Underneath the sycamore tree

We roll a snowman up so big
And on his head we make a wig
With a pile of knobby little twigs
Fallen from the sycamore tree

Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree
Sheltering a family
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?

I can see the tree right from my bed
All bony smooth where the bark has shed
The leaves are as big as a daddy’s head
Wise old sycamore tree

In our front yard I kick the ball
But now that space is getting small
Some weeks I don’t go out at all
To run by the sycamore tree

I’m off to high school and one day
To a leafy college far away
But in my dreams I still play
In the shade of the sycamore tree

I move to the city, and then in time
My parents long for more sunshineI hate to see that “For Sale” sign
On the corner by the sycamore tree

Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree
Forever in my memory
Did someone plant you there for me
Sycamore sycamore tree?

I’m a husband now and a father too
We drive for miles to catch a view
Of the shady place where I grew
Loving that sycamore tree

There’s a red-haired girl with a lemonade stand
I put three quarters in her hand
So many footprints are on this land
Remembered by the sycamore tree

I sip the juice and the memories
My little boy is on his kneesStuffing pockets full of fuzzy seeds
Children of the sycamore tree

Each seed is a promise that if you try
If your roots dig deepAnd your trunk stands high
Your leaves will stretch and taste the sky
Growing like a sycamore tree
Like a sycamore sycamore tree

+ Take Me in Your Arms (Possibility)

Unknown, unsaid
Untied, unfed
Unseen flicker on the sea

No stars, no storm
This night still warm
Undone, bending on my knee

Take me in your arms, possibility
Take me in
Take me as you see

One match, one stone
No one alone
No one is speaking silently

Too late to sleep
I’m in too deep
Hear my still, small plea

Take me in your arms, possibility
Take me as I am
Falling short, longingly
Break another day
Blaze another tree
Take me in
Take me as you see

God only knows where I’ve been to by now
God only knows if there is a plan
Only a seeker of the one true call
Stumbling on somehow

Take me in your arms, possibility
Take me as I am
Falling short, longingly
Break another day
Blaze another tree
Take me in
Take me as you see

+ Till I'm Alone with You

I’m sending a song to you
Light as a star
Follow the river bend
To where you are

Out in the breathing dark
I’m lost in the sound
This is the nearest thing
To having you around

Till I’m alone with you
Till I’m alone
Till I’m alone with you again
With you again

You’ve taken the time to see
And to understand
Under the cracks in me
Is a solid man

I want to lend my hand
And I want to be true
Speak with the clearest words
That will travel through

Chorus

I’m sending this melody
As far as I can
To carry me to the day
When you join in
Join in

Till I’m alone with you again

+ Tiny Song

Up the tiny stairs
At a tiny desk
I feel a tiny stirring
Inside my chest
I make a tiny sound
With a tiny voice
I have no idea
I have got no choice

Callused fingers on the tiny strings
Walking me on back home
Walking me always home

It’s like a tiny building
In the nighttime sky
You spy another room
You connect the line
You see a tiny person
By a windowsill
Try to trace the story
Growing bigger still

Feel the beating of the tiny wings
No, you are not alone
You are not alone

Through a pinhole eye
Is an open view
Of the city skyline
I am there with you
All the tiny people
Form a swelling crowd
And the tiny sounds
They are getting loud

In a tiny way
I have said my piece
Such a tiny song
But a big release

+ Traveling Song

An afternoon with my legs stretched on the grass
My head leans back and lets the hours pass
Oh there’s a child in aimless wander
Lifting flowers from the grass

The child moves on, the sun sinks in my clothes
A song appears, I hum it as it grows
Oh if the wind swept up around me
I would tumble where it chose

And sing of
Travels where my past is tied and hugging on my back
Travels stepping on and off the track
Travels where the winter’s dust is shaken from my shoes
Travels always leading home to you

Today the beach, the ocean holds my eyes
The waves erase my footsteps as others rise
Oh, if a wave swept up around me
I would float without surprise

And sing of
Chorus

The months pass by, your touch is far away
The song grows sad, I miss you every day
Oh, but another day approaches
Reunion rolls in like a wave

So I sing of
Chorus

+ Turn Away

Turn away
You know this scene by heart
Every frame and phrase
Is still the same
And nothing ever goes
Better than before

Turn away
No secret’s hiding there
Inside the rusted past
If you remain
How will you ever know
Better than before

Turn away
Tomorrow calls without explaining
Up ahead you’ll see
Take a chance
Your memories will not sustain you
Turn away with me

Turn away
Those cutting words were said
And we all have our scars
Let ’em fade
And maybe we will grow
Better than before

Chorus

If I sing this song for you
Will you sing with me?

Turn away
Tomorrow calls without explaining
Up ahead you’ll see
Take a chance
Your certainties will not sustain you
Turn away with me

+ Waiting for Spring

It’s melting and freezing, can’t make up its mind
It’s a tease and a promise to leave winter behind
Is it faith or delusion that spring can be found
The daffodils buried in the frozen ground

Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
The daffodils buried in the frozen ground
Waiting for spring

You’re coming and going, the door is ajar
The distance as close as the distance is far
No simple directions for healing this heart
The end of the end is the start of the start

Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
The end of the end is the start of the start
Waiting for spring

One step and another, a word and a glance
Each morning delivers a choice and a chance
Whatever the weather, we fall and we rise
We’re taking our chances just to open our eyes

Waiting for spring
Waiting for spring
We’re taking our chances just to open our eyes
Waiting for spring

+ Wasting Time No More

It’s a small town in her mind
With such a big road screaming by
She can taste the fumes, the destination

Watching the sun sink in the hill
Above the dust-clogged windowsill
The dark removes her hesitation

Soon it will be alright
She’s wasting time no more
All the hush and the heat
Of a dream going down

He’s such a big man in her mind
With such a small view of the sky
The horizon shrunk in black sunglasses

She’d been a young girl on his arm
As if the world could hold no harm
Where they lay alone in prairie grasses

Soon it will be alright
She’s wasting time no more
All the pain and the parch
Of a dream going down
Going down

He finds the screen door flapping wide
Without a light left on inside
Where the radio speaks, no one listens
While on the freeway she drives on
Her reservations all but gone
In the blasting wind, the firing pistons

Soon it will be alright
She’s wasting time no more
All the rage and the rush
Of a dream going down

She’s on her way, any way
So long, so long, so long

+ What I Never Said

What I never said
How you would reply
Trapped inside my head
Trailing in a sigh

Where we never went
What we would have found
Never to regret
Seeking higher ground

Written in the sand
Just a step away
Follow to the end
What I never say

Trace another route
On the great divide
Linger in the light
Of what we never tried

Written in the sand
All that we have missed
Offering a hand
Opening a fist

This is where we stand
Traveling so far
Letting go instead
Being as we are

+ Write Again

Words by Jack O. Bocchino and Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, music by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

I miss the days of writing letters
On paper with a pen
Seal it in an envelope
Lick a stamp and then
Walk it to the mailbox
Raise the flag and when
The mailman brings an answer
Maybe I’ll sit and write again

Write again, my friend
Maybe I’ll sit and write again
When the mailman brings an answer
Maybe I’ll sit and write again

I miss the quiet contemplation
Imagining you there
The wishing and the waiting
The questions in the air
And then the sweet delivery
When I recognize your hand
I read your letter slowly
And it brings you near again

Near again, my friend
It brings you near again
I read your letter slowly
And it brings you near

I miss the time to think it over
And find the words to say
Share with you the yearning
That’s in my heart today
With every line across the paper
I better understand
I feel that you are with me
As I sit and write again

Write again, my friend
As I sit and write again
I feel that you are listening
As I sit and write

+ The Wrong Way Home

There’s a black wing circling a brown dirt hill
And the crunch of gravel in the noonday still
With the bottle empty and the hour so long
Taking the wrong way home

The fog has lifted and the signs are clear
We’re halfway going from there to here
There’s no mistaking which road we’re on
Taking the wrong way home
Taking the wrong way home

Where the sea runs dry under blackened sky
I hang my soul to the wind
When the edges fray, I blow away
Ah…

There’s a time for running and a time for rest
There’s a deeper valley when you reach the crest
And you can see nothing but to get along
Taking the wrong way home
Taking the wrong way home

Where the sea runs dry under blackened sky
I’m bound against my will
Try to save a life with a rusted knife
Ah…