The Single

This is my E=mc2
This is my gift to the world
A recipe for common man
More oyster than the pearl
And I don’t know why
This is not a Hootie song
But it’s still the one you should pay for
Fill it full of hooks so it sounds sweet
And say a word about love

It doesn’t take imagination
But a tune that they can stand
Just a beat so we can dance
We’ll introduce you to The Man
And I don’t know how
This is not a Hootie song
But it’s still the one you should pay for
Fill it full of hooks so it sounds sweet
And say a word about love

Don’t bother learning how to sing
In the mix we’ll make it fatter
Make sure the icing is just right
The more annoying the better
And this is not a Bowie song
This is not a Hootie song
But it’s still the one you should pay for
Fill it full of hooks so it sounds sweet
And say a word about love

The Simple Things

The weight of the world is hard to contemplate
In our retreat we turn to simple things
The simple things, they can take me away
And that I understand

The pain to try, too much for me to bear
A single thought can lead to despair
The simple things, they can take me away
We can be happy
The simple things, they can take me away
And that I understand

You can seek peace in instant merriment
But nothing simple can bring fulfilment
The simple things, they can take me away
The shining of the sun can brighten your day
The bloom of a flower balances the rain
The simple things, they can take me away
We can be happy

Tunisian Queen

I ran into you on my way out the door
A little smile, no words exchanged
Winter sky opened up, cold rain fell like tears
Licked my lips, not bitterness but sweet cleansing rain
Your smile so bright it was burned into my mind
Began to desperately need to see you smile at me again

My dreams could not create
One so perfect as you
On my knee I proposed
And you made them come true
My Tunisian Queen

Those first fragile moments when a rose unfolds
Watch it twist slowly open bathed by mother sun
We opened up our souls no matter what came our way
The welcome vine entangled us as our hearts began to meld

My dreams could not create
One so perfect as you
On my knee I proposed
And you made them come true
My Tunisian Queen

The nights we’ve spent together neither notices the time
The sunrise welcomes us to the new life we’ll share

My dreams could not create
One so perfect as you
On my knee I proposed
And you made them come true
My Tunisian Queen
Give you my heart and give you my soul tonight
Only for you tonight
All of my love my queen

Puppeteers

Fan out the pamphlets with a five firehouse alarm
All the while you claim you’re doing no harm
Your words will be your arms

Dole out the punishment in your own silent way
All the while you claim that things are ok
But this is not the way

Puppeteers are our kings
But propaganda depends on the weight of our strings

String out the issue ‘til you tie up our own will
Or dangle a carrot better still
Mold us as you will

Puppeteers are our kings
But propaganda depends on the weight of our strings

You pull me left or right, it don’t matter in the end
Masquerade as an old friend
I still refuse to bend

Puppeteers are our kings
But propaganda depends on the weight of our strings
‘Cause it’s a sure shot they’re the despot

They’re puppeteers of America
Don’t elect puppeteers

Consequences

Long term consequences aren’t as intangible as they seem
Can you and me still be company
With the fruits of your labor drowning me in a sea of misery

I was the one who was there watching you
Just on the verge of imagination
Observing the turbulence of the brooding two
I can cycle in rumination
And I was left there wondering who’d be cruel to me
Could you be?

Long term consequences aren’t as intangible as they seem
Can you and me still be company
With the fruits of your labor drowning me in a sea of misery

Like the crack of a bat a voice reels me in
The snap of a whip gains my attention
Stops me in my tracks, curls my skin
No reason is intervention
And I was left there wondering who’d be cruel to me
Could you be?

Long term consequences aren’t as intangible as they seem
Can you and me still be company
With the fruits of your labor drowning me in a sea of misery

And even now I find somehow
That I’ve misplaced the thought with which it all began
Hard in a way to switch it off, this reflex that I do not need
My mind is spinning around

Long term consequences aren’t as intangible as they seem
Can you and me still be company
With the fruits of your labor drowning me in a sea of misery

I’m left with consequences

The 8th Day

I don’t wanna work, I wanna loaf around
Got seven days full of shit to do, kind of makes me sick
And I’m tired of pushing the world around

I need a break, some point to stop
If we had an 8th day with nothing to do but warm the couch
There’d be less people that I’d wanna pop

But I’ve got no time to loaf around while I wait for the 8th day
No time to sit on my ass while I wait for the 8th day
And I feel my sanity crack as I wait for the 8th day

I could get used to this, this lazy chore
Well on the 8th day well did He start over
Or did He stop... and rest some more?

Well I’ve got no time to loaf around while I wait for the 8th day
No time to sit on my ass while I wait for the 8th day
And I feel my sanity crack as I wait for the 8th day

Ghost Within These Halls

Cap and gown I wore as captain as I sailed this dream around
But prevailing winds would steer my course until I drove this dream aground
How could I throw it all away
How could I just stray?

Trouble me with what was to be
You know I linger on the falls
Could it be there’s nothing more to see
For now I hang like a ghost within these halls

These halls have seen the brightest glimmer in the minds of hope’s own dream
But as the light grows dim, a pale reflection to these fires now I must seem
How did I let the feeling go
How did I just slow?

Trouble me with what was to be
You know I linger on the falls
Could it be there’s nothing more to see
For now I hang like a ghost within these halls

In them I see the ghost of my vision, the man I wanted to be
Time there was when I was seen, now their eyes stare right through me

POEt

It was just last year, about this time
I was a prisoner, and you an angel
And he the night watchman up here in the tower
But still you came and we crept away

Now I’m a free man and you my savior
Now he the poet long since past
In your eyes I see his ghost downstairs
Forevermore will I mourn this day
Evermore will I know his pain

The poet stirs in his endless sleep
My sweet angel now she lies with him
And she leaves me stranded alone in my cell
A single word recalls his name
And now forever yours as well

Time goes quickly and other stars will shine
But then I pass by his house again
And the blackest cloud, oh it hangs so low
And then that day the tide comes rushing back
Surrounding me and drowning me

And I struggle in my sorrow just to stay afloat
Let the water fill my lungs with regret
The flood subsides but I still recall
And each puddle I see reminds me so
How fear kept you away from me

But if I was bold, if I was the knight
I might be holding your hand instead of your ghost
So I resolve again that fear won’t reign
For now I’m the poet and you my muse
And only hope in the watchtower

His Way

If a black cloud came down, swallowed every town
What would you do?
And if you could not sing about just anything
What would you sing?
It won’t change his way
It won’t change his sweet way
It won’t change his way
Won’t change

And to the man before the gun, still shines like the sun
Could you?
Effortlessly, playfully charming too
It won’t change his way
It won’t change his sweet way
It won’t change his way
Won’t change Josh

Let me tell you about his way, want to live every day
Don’t you?
And though he will be missed, we still have his bliss
Don’t we?
We still have his way
Still have his sweet way
We still have his way
Still have Josh

Tracy

Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just a glance from your eyes could touch my soul
Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just to feel your warmth could make me whole
Just a glance could heal my soul

I’ve spent too much time apart from love
Starting to lose my control
I can’t hide the eagerness that’s in my eyes
They are the window on my soul
And I can guess that you’ve denied yourself for far too long
And any meaning in the words could soon be gone
If we don’t open up ourselves to what’s missing and live this song

Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just a glance from your eyes could touch my soul
Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just to feel your warmth could make me whole
Just a glance could heal my soul

I can feel that when I’m with you
You sense the possibility
I think that I could steal your heart away
If you would let me please
I could calm your deepest fears sensitively
And I could charm the pants off you, figuratively
All that I am asking is some faith in you and me

Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just a glance from your eyes could touch my soul
Tracy, love and we’ll see
Just to feel your warmth could make me whole
Just a glance could heal my soul
Tracy

Hand of Fate

So here I sit on those lonely nights
Wondering what will come of this
And I see you there with that look in your eye

I decided long ago to trust you
And I put my faith in God and love
But betrayal knows trust better than I

I swore I felt the hand of fate
Pushing me towards love
But now I’m standing here in the ruins
Of the love that she tore down

It was you my love that made the mistake
But you turned around and gave me your guilt
I’m standing here laying the blame on fate

As I’m looking back on all the problems
There’s still a part that yearns for love
Why my lord do I long for pain?

I swore I felt the hand of fate
Pushing me towards love
But now I’m standing here in the ruins
Of the love that she tore down

So here I sit on those lonely nights
Wondering what will come of this
And I see you there with that look in your eye

I swore I felt the hand of fate
Pushing me towards love
But now I’m standing here in the ruins
Of the love that she tore down

Must have been the hand of fate

Harboured Souls

Harboured souls seek refuge tonight
Young and old cast out, sail which way the river flows
Guided by a beacon of light
Anguish high, knocked down, fall which way the body goes

On and on with another body blow to my soul
It hurts me to the bone

Harboured souls are leaving tonight
Ties that hold are breaking, awakening from the doze
Ignited by a question of right
But will to fly is fleeting, and fears, who will silence those?

On and on with another body blow to my soul
It hurts me to the bone

Lead me on a question of what is right
No pain is what you seek to gain
Need to search to muster the might
The search continues
You search within you

On and on with another body blow to my soul
It hurts me to the bone

For No Good Reason

Was God created simply to explain
All the bad deeds of the day so that man could lay the blame
Faith and love so fickle, He can love and forgive
Offers salvation in the palm of His hand, but the backhand is more effective

And if I should stray or disobey
I fear the thunderclouds of wrath
And if I finish learning all of their tricks
Would I be following in Your path?

Need faith be white and truth be black
Our colors dark and our havens dank
If I shut my eyes to temptation, will it fade away?

If I bear my cross and I sacrifice not for faith, but guilt and fear
Then I go through all these motions, and for no good reason I am here
The heart is my temple, therein lies the truth I need
There you’ll find my reason, only there exists my creed

And if I should stray or disobey
I fear the thunderclouds of wrath
And if I finish learning all of their tricks
Would I be following in Your path?

Need faith be white and truth be black
Our colors dark and our havens dank
If I shut my eyes to temptation, will it fade away?

I will not be denied and I will not be silent
I will never come clean and you’ll never see me repent
I will never lose hope but I will always believe in You and in me

One man drives the nail that pierced His holy skin
And one man succumbs to the flesh, will He forgive them both their sins?
God loves all his children but they cast out those who ask
The meek shall rise to open arms, but the first will come in last

And if I should stray or disobey
I fear the thunderclouds of wrath
And if I finish learning all of their little tricks
Would I be following in Your path?

Need faith be white and truth be black
Our colors dark and our havens dank
If I shut my eyes to temptation, will it fade away?