World In A Song

A new focus

I've primarily sporadically posted lyrics to this point on this blog... but going forward, methinks I'm going to refocus this towards how songs have impacted me through my life.

There have been songs that simply nudged me towards a new perspective, or that calmed when worried, set me to acceptance, helped me work through, inspired renewed strength, and helped me focus on what must be done.

Hopefully I can pull out these stories and share. This won't be a prolific space, but it will be a nice chronicle of my journey.

In Flight ~ Linda Perry

Learning what I am
Feeling like a bluebird
Flying away

I love the drops of rain
Smiling on my feathers
Guiding my way

Do, do do do do
Do, do do do do
Do, do do do do
Do, do do do do

I trip across the air
It's treating me so kindly
So far to go

So I flew unto a tree
Gather inspiration
Happy to meet

All the other birds
All the other birds
All the other birds
All the other birds

We talk about our flight
In this queer dimension
And how we're afraid

To carry on our own
And finish our direction
Flying home

All the other birds
All the other birds
All the other birds
All the other birds

Like me

Tori Amos ~ Winter

Snow can wait, I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose, get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter
I put my hand in my fathers glove

I run off where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice you must learn to stand up for yourself
Cause I cant always be around

He says when you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that Ill always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and Im here still waiting
Withering where some snowman was

Mirror mirror wheres the crystal palace
But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know, dad, the ice is getting thing

When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that Ill always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Hair is grey and the fires are burning
So many dreams on the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud
I always wanted that myself

When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gona change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that Ill always want you near
You say that things change my dear

Crying With The Moon ~ Naomi Sommers

Yes I love a woman
Yes I need a woman
I want to be a woman someday
I was borne a woman
Spent nine months swimming
That was the beginning of me

Yes I like to see you
And I'll try to feel you
Or you fear what you can't see
The fear that starts with sorrow
because you had to let go
Of the woman who brought you here

We are made of mud and bones
We are made of sighs and groans
We are laughing like the loon
We are crying with the moon

Why do I apologise
Dust gets in my eyes
Guess I must be in the wrong place
Why do we compare our sizes
And to compromises
Of the mind and of the face

When our hearts are open
Sometimes darkness steps in
And it looks like we are alone
That's when I need a woman
And I get to be the woman
To cry on my shoulder and take myself home

We are made of mud and bones
We are made of sighs and groans
We are laughing like the loon
We are crying with the moon

The night I first saw her
I felt like her daughter
Of her smile that held me like a child
I wish I could be her
So I could know and see her
Touch the faces that I hide

When she took me inside
I melted like a snow slide
My knees weak but I am strong
She made me be myself
For once I could see myself
That's when i knew that they were wrong.

We are made of mud and bones
We are made of sighs and groans
We are laughing like a loon
We are crying with the moon

My mother had a mother
Crippled like her daughter
She could not be the woman she once was
My mother doubled her fears
By waiting 50 long years
To know the warmth of woman's love

She took her worried sorrow
Gave me my tomorrow
Would I be brave enough to care?
So I know we need women
To laugh and give their being
To give more than any arms can bear.

We are made of mud and bones
We are made of sighs and groans
We are laughing like the loon
We are crying with the moon

Daylight

This song has a powerful hold on me, as does most of Delerium's Poem cd... but there is something about this particular song that carries this very surreal element, at once inevitable and deja vu.

If you can believe you're turning
On a world that broke your mind
Then I can do something for you
Even though you're lost in time

You won't have to be my heaven.
I won't have to be your friend.
'Cause daylight, daylight...
Cause comes every time it's coming
Daylight, daylight... it goes away again now

Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't let go of your heart

(When you feel the time has come,
Everything you wanted)

(When you feel the time has come,
In every different flavour)

Feeling like your skin is burning
One too many drops of rain
But it's doing nothing to me,
Drowning in a sea of pain

You won't have to be my heaven.
I won't have to be your friend.
'Cause daylight, daylight...
'Cause every time it's coming
Daylight, daylight... it goes away again now

Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't let go of your heart
Don't let go don't you know who you are
Don't let go... daylight... don't let go of your heart
Don't let go... daylight... don't let go of your heart

Top Of The Hill ~ Naomi Sommers

You are up to the top of the hill
You can see the next hill from there
And look down on the rooftops below
And turn back when it’s time to go
You are calling the names out loud
For all the friends who let you down
Saying look how high I am now
I made the top of the hill somehow

You saw every road you walked with clear eyes
You bet every dime you had on the endless skies
You left everything you loved
With no goodbyes
You made every fool’s mistake
But now you are wise

There was a girl who left you behind
Because you could not read her mind
And another you tried to keep
You still talk to her every night in your sleep
About how you can’t stand growing old
And how could she have left you so cold
Look how much better you are
It took some time but you climbed so far

You saw every road you walked with clear eyes
You bet every dime you had on the endless skies
You left everything you loved
With no goodbyes
You made every fool’s mistake
But now you are wise

You are up on top of the hill
Your body is as strong as your will
But the hardest part is the descent
Keep your back straight and your knees bent
So proud that you made it alone
Walking through the great unknown
Who cares that it’s been done before
This is your boat and you found the shore

You saw every road you walked with clear eyes
You bet every dime you had on the endless skies
You left everything you loved
With no goodbyes
You made every fool’s mistake
But now you are wise

I'm Not Ready To Make Nice ~ Dixie Chicks

I'm not a fan of country music. Bluegrass, yes; country, no. That said, the Dixies really have taken their newest cd beyond the usual country fare, perhaps by necessity given the revolt of the true believers. How dare Natalie Maines dis our fearless leader?

That I agree with her sentiment is an understatement. That the reaction was goofy is probably an understatement. She gave her opinion, and in hindsight, she looks pretty prescient, eh?

With this song, they've added a new fan... it has staying power in my head.

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and i'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

Reflections of My Life ~ Marmalade

Originally released in 1969 during my high school years, this song both then and to this day has always found a captive audience with me, for the usual reasons - it goes right to my soul. Unrepentent yet serious pop (not my usual fare, with some notable exceptions!) the instrumentation and vocals come together to draw me right in. Thanks to the wonders of the digital internet, I finally have this song in my file.

The lyrics are simple, but no matter, they do a very effective job.

The changing of sunlight to moonlight
Reflections of my life
Oh how they fill my eyes

The greetings of people in trouble
Reflections of my life
Oh how they fill my eyes

Chorus
Oh my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home

Oh my crying (Oh my crying)
Feel I'm dying, dying
Take me back
to my own home

I'm changing, arranging,
I'm changing,
I'm changing everything
Everything around me

The world is
a bad place
A bad place
A terrible place to live
Oh but I don't wanna die ...

Oh my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home

Oh my crying (Oh my crying)
Feel I'm dying, dying
Take me back
to my own home

Oh my sorrows
Sad tomorrows
Take me back to my own home

Oh my crying (Oh my crying)
Feel I'm dying, dying
Take me back
to my own home

Lori McKenna

I first heard Lori on Emerson College Radio; they were regularly playing her version of Fake Plastic Trees. For those who might be unfamiliar, this song was originally done by Radiohead. Based on information in wikipedia, it was written about Canary Wharf in London.

When I heard Lori's rendition, I was hooked. She sings it with eloquence, grace and passion, adding a touch of matter of fact lament. Lori has a new cd out now, which I've yet to listen to, but will be later. Her website can be found here Lori McKenna. 

Her green plastic watering can
For her fake chinese rubber plant
In fake plastic earth.
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plants
Just to get rid of itself.
And it wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out.

She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns.
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins.
And it wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears him out.

She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love.
But I cant help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out.

And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted,
All the time, all the time, ohhh... ohh...

Everyday Boy ~ Joan Armatrading

Joan really captured the essence of how courage and spiritual strength can be found in places we normally don't expect to find such things. In turn, that strength gives to those around someone, helping them to see the world just a bit differently, perhaps finding something within themselves. *raises hand*

Well I've never met anyone
With your courage
And the way your enjoy life
Puts me to shame
Just an hour with you
And I understand
Why we had to meet

I saw you look in the mirror
And adjust your hair
Smile and leave the room

Just an everyday boy
Doing everyday things
But you're somebody special
Somebody who feels
You're not the first
And you won't be the last
But you are the one
I'll remember

It's God's revenge
You're surrounded by fear
A compassionate man
You hold people dear
No blame for the mother
Who curses your name
She fears for her son
It's death by association

But you respect yourself
And you let it show
Some fade with guilt
And the shame
They way you
Tell your story
With no tears
For yourself

Just an everyday boy
Doing everyday things
You're not the first
And you won't be the last
But you are the one
I'll remember

Hey hey
Just an everyday boy
Just an everyday boy

Doing everyday things
Just an everyday boy
Just an everyday boy
Just an everyday boy
Doing everyday things
Just an everyday boy