What better way to portray the endless nature of Time than to depict a scene in space. When I first started to conceptualize the cover, that’s exactly what I had in mind. One day though, my friend Hal Lester sent me some pictures of some beautiful opal stones. I was fascinated by their beauty and eventually I saw something else after studying them for a while. I asked Hal if he could make the stones into circular shapes and place them in a star field. That’s exactly what he did, with some extras thrown in, and that’s what you see.
All the songs on this CD were written between December 2006 and February 2008 with the exception of “Somewhere On An Island”, which I started in 2004. “Where Does the Love Go” was the first song, and it came about because I was attempting to write a Christmas song. You might say I got a little sidetracked. However, there is a bonus track after the last cut on the CD called “It’s Xmas” which was written around a loop I borrowed from “Where Does the Love Go”. So, I got to write that Xmas song after all. I’ve never written this many songs in a 14 month period before. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I wrote 11 songs in the decade preceding this output.. For myself and perhaps for other songwriters, it was an affirmation that the creative process may remain dormant for a time, but it is always there waiting for an avenue of expression if you’re willing to take the journey. Thanks for listening.
Dave
1. The Good Years
Once upon a time
I was blessed with youthful optimism and a head full of dreams and visions
More than a few came true
And I treasure all those moments
But the dreams I wanted the most were sublime and elusive
If I could have another go around
I wouldn’t waste a day
Celebrate the good years
Dedicate your life to your family
Make each day count more than the one before
And celebrate your life in the good years
Don’t misunderstand
These are not the rants and ravings
Of a man bent on self-destruction
It’s just an acute observation about the misdirection created by temptations in life
That continue on without us
Long after the clean up of the wreckage is complete
CHORUS
You can’t replace what you never had
Life’s not so bad when you try
Take a little bit, give a lot
Don’t worry about what you haven’t got
Just live every day
Celebrate the good years
Dedicate your life to your family
Make each day count more than the one before
And celebrate your life in the good years
These are the good years
I jotted down the 2nd verse one day as one complete stream of consciousness.
One man’s view of the of the sometimes difficult journey through life and the
eventual conclusion of what really matters.
2. Time
I’d get more done if I only had a little more time
Good times, bad times, happy times, sad times
Timex, Rolex, Big Ben, watch the clock
Find time, lose time, downtime, it’s time
Next time, last time, in time, outta time
Time is money, time is on my side
Time can pull it all together, time can tear it all apart
Time zone, time flies, time out, time travel,
Time stamp, timetable, time lapse, it’s about time
Daytime, nighttime, bedtime, lunch time,
Crunch time, quiet time, playtime, Father time
Save time, spend time, buy time, keep time,
Kill time, do time, two-time, big-time
Super slow motion, light speed, Mach5,
9 to 5, 5 o’clock shadow, time to go,
Time to stop, spare time, precious time, no time
I’d get more done if I only had a little more time
Last minute, airtime, anytime, pastime, wartime, peacetime, overtime,
Realtime, show time, dreamtime, lifetime, timeless,
Time doesn’t lie ‘cause it doesn’t know how
Time doesn’t wait ‘cause it lives in the now
Millennium, century, decade, year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, nanosecond, wait a second, gimme a minute
Punch in, punch out
I’d get more done if I only had a little more time
Time marches on
Time
I wrote down three pages of “time” related words and phrases and picked these for the song.
For the items I borrowed, I’d like to acknowledge The Beatles, John Philip Sousa, Pink Floyd, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Gen. MacArthur and Malcolm X.
3. She Knows Things
Good morning she replied and pushed past through the doorway
To the road that crossed the path
She thought aloud about the men at the end of her patience
You think they would have let her go
She knows things
She sees them in the souls on their faces
She knows things
She fights an overwhelming curiosity
But picks him up with her eyes
The man in the corner seat throws back his head and laughs
She’s got a lot of free time now
CHORUS
She walked into the gardens and scribbled on the fountain
It’s none of your affair
‘Cause you don’t even know me
Her lips said without a sound
CHORUS
The lyrics for this were inspired by one of those junk emails you get that look as though they were literally translated to English from another language. Most of it was gibberish, but I liked the imagery of certain lines.
4. Heaven
Take me to heaven
Where your God lives
Take me to heaven
Where my God lives
Floating like a butterfly with diamonds on your wings
Painting colors in the sky with a wave of your hand
There can be no other one for me but you
I’ll always be a part of you, and you, of me
CHORUS
I’ve loved you since I looked into your eyes that day
I felt like I was hypnotized, and I could not look away
I knew that I was falling into the light of your inner glow
I knew that I had found the place I’d been searching for so long
CHORUS
A nod to spirituality or a love song?
5. Don’t Tell Me
Too much information
Mindless dedication
Morbid fascination
Like the Earth goes around the sun and the ocean is deep
Don’t tell me how to run my life
And don’t tell me, I don’t need your strife
Don’t tell me with your evasive eyes
And don’t tell me all those silly lies
Raving contradiction
Global science fiction
Conflict without sanction
Like the Earth goes around the sun and the ocean is deep
Don’t tell me, I’ve heard it all before
No, don’t tell me, I don’t believe it anymore
Don’t tell me that’s the best you can do
And don’t tell me that I’m the same as you
SOLO
Don’t tell me about your cult of hate
No, don’t ask me, I won’t participate
Don’t tell me it’s not at all that way
And don’t ask me not to walk away
Church and state collusion
Catastrophic mission
Small minds without vision
Like the Earth goes around the sun and the ocean is deep
Don’t tell me that I should trust in you
And don’t tell me that we share the same point of view
Don’t tell me that you’ve lost all control
And don’t tell me that you can save my soul
Too many people with questionable agenda telling us what is right for us.
6. Black Ash
Black ash drifting down to the ground
Like evil snowflakes
Was it something I said
Was it something I didn’t say
Weeping in moonlight shadow
Eyes reflect the fire’s red glow
Was it something I did
Was it something I didn’t do
Oh, you didn’t think I had the guts to do it
Now that I’ve gone through with it
You’ll never find me
I’ll be gone, I’ll be gone, I’ll be gone
You deserved all you got
Black ashes fill your open palms
It was something I saw
But it was something you never wanted me to see
Black ash
I saw a news report on CNN where a woman was asked what she saw when she went to
the site of her burned down home. She said , “black ash”. Although the report stated that her boyfriend did it, I switched the gender of the perp so she finally had unremorseful revenge on her abusive partner.
7. I Feel So Alive
I don’t remember anything
When I woke up they said I nearly didn’t make it
I almost checked out
And I’m thankful to be here
To laugh again, to love again, see my family again
I feel so alive
As I came back to my senses
I thought about the deeper meaning of my life
Now I know more than ever that only love matters
And I’m grateful to be here
To laugh again, to love again, see my friends again
I feel so alive
Written for a dear friend who almost left us in 2007.
8. Mad World
Military escalation, propagation, politician, new position, no magician, war sucks, oil bucks
Feyadeen, mujahadeen, train bomb, plane bomb, shoe bomb, dirty bomb, Islam, no Saddam
Nuclear madmen, N. Korea, Iran, Holocaust never happened, wouldn’t you love to nuke Manhattan
Stay the course, no remorse, insurrection, IED, DOD, chopper down, shut it down, shut it down
It’s a mad world
Illegal immigration, love the money, hate the nation, protest, demonstration, cultural disintegration
Too much litigation, corporate compensation, triple Whopper, gay marriage, global warming augmentation
CP sicko, registered sex offender, Internet chat room, prowling for the young and tender
Got an itch, it’s a bitch, flick the switch, switch the flick, change the channel, channel in, it doesn’t matter where you’ve been
It’s a mad world
Hip-hop, trip-hop, misogyny, bling money, Glock 9, Mac 10, bust a cap and go again
Ecstasy, meth lab, crack pipe, psilocybin, cocaine, black tar, Mexican pipeline
Reality TV, public humiliation, exploitation, degradation, tune in your favorite station
Hollyrude, Michael Richards, Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Brad and Angie, Tom Cruise, Donald Trump, what were they thinking?
It’s a mad world
Just a fun rant.
9. Prière Dix-Sept
Nous chantons une chanson d'amour
Nous chantons une chanson de paix
Parce que sans amour,
Il ne peut pas avoir de paix
Nous chantons une chanson d'amour
Nous chantons une chanson de foi
Nous chantons une chanson d'espoir
Parce que sous foi,
Il ne peut pas avoir d'espoir
Nous chantons une chanson de foi
Nous chantons une chanson d'amour
Nous chantons une chanson de paix
Parce que sans amour,
Il ne peut pas avoir de paix
Nous chantons une chanson d'amour
Prayer 17
We sing a song of love
We sing a song of peace
For without love,
There can be no peace
We sing a song of love
We sing a song of faith
We sing a song of hope
For without faith,
There can be no hope
We sing a song of faith
I wanted to write an a cappella song in French ala David Crosby’s “Orleans”,
but it mutated into this. Pardon my French, and thanks for the help Mathias.
10. Where Does the Love Go
Jon and Jenni started out with a bang
And they saw all the signs of love that’s true
Anybody with a heart would agree
But they could not keep it alive
The well’s run dry as a bone
Where does the love go?
Took a drive in the middle of the day
With a friend I’ve known for most of my life
I know he’s having some trouble at home
And he did not think he could take anymore
So many years together
Where does the love go?
I had a dream, saw her beautiful face
It was love so strong, not so long ago
I tried calling, but she didn’t want to talk
There’s a thousand things I could have done better
Sometimes it turns out that way
Where does the love go?
Kinda self-explanatory.
11. Somewhere On An Island
Somewhere on an island
I’m dreaming my life away
With sunsets blazing fire
And cooling waterfalls
Somewhere on an island
Lost in a lazy day
Gently waves kiss the seashore
And the rainbows dance with the clouds
Somewhere on an island
A billion stars light the night sky
And moonrise on the horizon
Draws a silver line to me
Hawai’i- all that and more.
12. Traffic
I never outgrew the 80’s I suppose.
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