Lights On

A Little Light

The curtains hang in the window.
They shift uneasy with the breeze
That carries news among the street noise
It whispers softly darling please

You hardly notice these small things
The air that creeps at night
It mentions something about changing
A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light

In all fairness, I was looking
To thread the needle through the eye
That little space no one can take from us
It whispers softly darling try

We gaze away at starry skies
And trace the fallen star’s flight
And we ask ourselves in fairness
A little darkness for a little light

A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light

You mutter something against the silence
That lonely minute before the dawn
When the birds call to each other
And you listen softly to their song

And you think back to a morning
That’s faded dimly from your sight
Another memory that you’ve traded
A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light
A little darkness for a little light

Bad Habit (To Be Yourself)

Underneath the blue light on Loisada Avenue
Bato runs his nails across his ten-o’clock shadow
And brushes the ashes off his new old shirt
“Whatever works”, he says, “whatever works”

Seems like everyday it’s something else
Another day slips by tiptoed, real stealth
And these little tasks we do, they add up to a life
But they won’t keep us from our dreams tonight

You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself
You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself

In this dirty world of favors and influence
It’s not so easy to stay so innocent
Just staying alive can hurt your chance to get ahead
You choose your own fate; you make your own bed

Bato says, “You know it is what it is”
“Is it really”, I say and he just grins
When he’s tired of complaining he’ll fix his face a certain way
Stare into the bottom of his drink and drift away

You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself
You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself

In a city so big you can hide from it all
Make your mark upon the bathroom wall
Tell another secret to yourself
Draw it in your book and put it on the shelf

You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself
You’ve got this bad habit
To be yourself

Built For Two

I guess that our love was fading
She spent two years anticipating
The day when she’d walk out the door
It wasn’t long after I came home from the war
To a room built for two

I guess that she thought I was changing
We’d spent three years rearranging
The shoebox existence we shared
We were happy and without a care
In a room built for two

Seasons pass
Through the window as the war carries on
But life still moves
Through the city streets while I’m gone

I guess she grew tired of waiting
We spent one year slowly disintegrating
And I still love her more than anything I own
But it’s hard to be here all alone
In a room built for two

Seasons pass
Through the window as the war carries on
Home at last
With a phantom pain in my arm

Staring at a Polaroid instant
Eight months of letters but I guess that I missed it
But I’m starting to see how she felt
On stool with my neck in my belt
In our room built for two

Cabin Fever

I stepped into each pitfall
Smacked into every wall
Just trying my very best to find my way
But there were times when my heart turned black
And I realize now when looking back
That I never thought I’d see the light of day

Oh, she told me
Oh, she told me so

I’ve seen visions ripple on the lake
Distort and disappear
And I thought that the distance
Would draw us near
And the circles cut through the ice
Stare at me like big black eyes
Reflecting the falling skies on me

February was cold and gray
I dreamt of the month of May
I never even turned the lock on my door
But I drank all of my stockpile
And I thought of you all the while
I got a bird’s eye view of my floor

Oh, you told me
Oh, you told me so

I’ve seen visions ripple on the lake
Distort and disappear
And I thought that the distance
Would draw us near
And the circles cut through the ice
Stare at me like big black eyes
Reflecting the falling skies on me

The worst of it was at my back
I fought my way to get on track
I told myself there was no other choice
But with the morning song of the loon
And the evening howls at the moon
I swear sometimes I still hear your voice

I’ve seen visions ripple on the lake
Distort and disappear
And I thought that the distance
Would draw us near
And the circles cut through the ice
Stare at me like big black eyes
Reflecting the falling skies on me

Gold and Green

August, another era
Amber light and heat lamp sun
Freckled face, dust bowl shins
Invent your day’s fun

Looking out over Kansas skies
And waiting for a drop of rain
The wheat in the ground is drying up
And the dust is blowing on the southern plains

There’s been twenty storms this year so far
But it’s wind instead of rain
And the sky is so dusty you can’t see a star
But they’re out there just the same

There’s hope for us somewhere
Maybe a life for us out west
We’ll work the land for someone else
And let the good lord do the rest

It’s time to let things go for now
Life here has grown too lean
So pack your bags for nowhere
And dream of gold and green

There’s been twenty storms this year so far
But it’s wind instead of rain
And the sky is so dusty you can’t see a star
But they’re out there just the same

As we watched our land disappear
I could see your eyes grow tired
From crying for the life we had
Our dreams and our desires

It’s hard to make sense of things
And the world doesn’t seem to care
But the preacher says the lord won’t give
Us more than we can bear

There’s been twenty storms this year so far
But it’s wind instead of rain
And the sky is so dusty you can’t see a star
But they’re out there just the same

I Know What You’re Talking About

You let the words trail off so sweet
The thoughts, they never come complete
And after all
The routines fade…

Love can never be in vain
You swim in light or feel the sting
But either way
The shock of life

I know what you’re talking about

Frozen in time you leave the room
Imagining their day resumed
Stuck inside the need to be…
You step outside and try to see
What others see

I know what you’re talking about
I know what you’re talking about

There was a time before you came
To break the routine and stay sane

Stay sane

I know what you’re talking about
I know what you’re talking about
I know what you’re talking about

Lights On

Off in the distance something catches your eye
They bait and switch your laughter for your cry
You got burned the last time around
They had you looking at the sky while they were digging in the ground

You seem to lose your focus way up close
You’re can’t see the things that you need the most
And they’ve blown your intuition apart
Left you fumbling for a light somewhere in the dark

Oh, you’ve got to hold
What your heart knows
And don’t let go

Talking in circles with senators
Or they don’t recall whichever you prefer
They’re smiling nervously and biding time
So you keep your cards close and I’ll hide mine

We repeat ourselves but we don’t know what to do
We read our history books and see nothing new
But they can focus your gaze somewhere else
While they’re digging in the ground halfway to hell

Oh, you’ve got to hold
What your heart knows
And don’t let go
Until someone here turns the light on
Someone here turns the light on

All the eyes are searching around looking at us
And they’re wondering in which god that we trust
And it’s anything, everything that we lust
We invented it all and then went bust

Someone will come along with something new
They’ll feed you a line and they’ll swear it’s true
But you’ve still got a little good left in your heart
You want to trust again don’t know where to start

Oh, you’ve got to hold
What your heart knows
And don’t let go
Until someone here turns the light on
Someone here turns the light on

Love Gets Lost

Lost in the city and it’s hard to believe
That a stranger won’t look me in the eye
I must have stumbled across a lonely land
I’ve been left out here to die

Everyone knows that it’s nothing new
It’s caught up in the air we breath
I tried to stay but it wouldn’t do
And you know it’s hard to leave

You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again
You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again

The moment happened just like that
And it needed no help, no plan
So let us speak free between us now
In a language we both understand

The feeling fades before too long
You try to bottle it up inside
But if you let yourself get dragged on down
You’ll never stand up in time

You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again
You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again

It’s barely enough, these things we have
That we’re left to fight for air
And a piece of love gets rationed out
In the distance, somewhere out there

So if you see her off in a corner somewhere
Just looking towards the ground
It’s not that I didn’t try
She just wasn’t looking to be found

If you’re quiet then you’re dangerous
So don’t you whisper those strange lies
Love casts doubt and it’s hard to trust
When you look in someone else’s eyes
When you look in someone else’s eyes

You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again
You let those plans
Slip right through your hands
Love gets lost again
Again
Again
Again

Misguided

Two lamps burn
But there’s no ship at sea
Our decadence is earned
Nothing but the best for me

Your bad luck
Means a little more for me
You try to get unstuck
From the mud slung under feet

Hard to know right from wrong
And they’re trying to drag me along
Misguided like a falling bomb

In the morning when we wake
Scrambled eggs and the war on TV
We pretend for the children’s sake
This is how it’s meant to be

Hard to know right from wrong
And they’re trying to drag me along
Misguided like a falling bomb

We fight but
Our eyes are filled with sleep
But we’ll always think of you
As we pray our souls to keep

Hard to know right from wrong
And they’re trying to drag me along
Misguided like a falling bomb

Hard to know right from wrong
And they’re trying to drag me along
Misguided like a falling bomb

Mrs. Cooper

Mrs. Cooper gets off the subway train
Carrying supplies she gets caught in the rain
But all she ever wanted was a song written in her name
She’ll hum it every night in bed for the ball and chain

Mrs. Cooper makes brunch for two at Sunday noon
Before heading out for a stroll to McCarren Pool
She wonders when her neighborhood became so damn cool
But she never gives it too much thought as a general rule

Mrs. Cooper’s having lots of fun
Her preparations done
And her New Year’s party
Has just begun

Mrs. Cooper invited all her friends
They drink the punch and discuss the latest trends
While the dancers do their deep knee bends
And the writers fidget with their pens

Uncle Phillip plays on the stereo (oh, oh, oh)
Einstein on the Beach acts II, III and IV
Ringing in the New Year with a bang
You know it’s always good to see the old gang

Mrs. Cooper’s having lots of fun
Her preparations done
And her New Year’s party
Has just begun

She quit her job at the local bar
She said goodbye to Bud, but didn’t move too far
She runs bingo on Tuesday nights at the Candy Store
She calls G23 as she paces down the floor

Mrs. Cooper takes her cab ride home with the sun
She brushes her teeth and puts her hair in a bun
And all she ever wanted was a song written in her name
She sings it every night in bed for the ball and chain

Open Up The Door

Sam is singing gospel in his Sunday best
But it won’t be long before they have him under arrest
He’s got a little something to get off his chest
You know change is almost here

She always wondered what was underneath the mask
But what she found made her wish she never asked
She’s got a broken gauge; she’s running out of gas
On the highway tonight

Open up the door to find that your lover’s gone
She took off running down to New Orleans and left you all alone
Hey, it’s not as bad as it seems
She may have broke your heart but she left all your dreams
Open up the door
Open up the door

You were looking for a reason to cash in your hand
To come out from the dark and make a stand
It’s less of a name and more of a brand
That put those thoughts in your head

It’s little more than fear I think
That’s got you running for the stash beneath your kitchen sink
It’s there when you need it and gone in a blink
Just when you were feeling at ease

Open up the door to find that your lover’s gone
She took off running down to New Orleans and left you all alone
Hey, it’s not as bad as it seems
She may have broke your heart but she left all your dreams
Open up the door
Open up the door

A man can’t hide his love away
At least not for long before it starts to fray
It’s nothing we hold too dear anyway
It’s just a shell to crawl into

The days of spinning wheels gone out of control
Are now just measured steps and a serious soul
Left you planning for the future where you’re not on the dole
You’ve got your own thing now

Open up the door to find that your lover’s gone
She took off running down to New Orleans and left you all alone
Hey, it’s not as bad as it seems
She may have broke your heart but she left all your dreams
Open up the door
Open up the door

World Without Love

Two days of sleepless nights
Serenaded by the buzz of the old street lights
Staring at the glow of the city night
Left wandering the hills in my head

I still remember your favorite song
But I forgot to write and I’ve been gone too long
The last thing I saw was the sun
Dip behind a mushroom cloud

Angels are ideas
Stuck inside my head
Love is just a dream
I had when I was in your bed
We have to learn to live without it now
In a world without love

We’ll adapt and watch our own backs
Eyes in the back of our heads
Some will call that progress
It makes me want to stay in bed

Who says that we don’t need love?
We’re all alone, no one above
No olive branch, no white-winged dove
How will we survive?

Angels are ideas
Stuck inside my head
Love was just a dream
I had when I was in your bed
We have to learn to live without it now
In a world without love
In a world without love, love, love
In a world without love, love, love, love, love
In a world without love

Everyone go and get your gun
One big bomb and we’re all done
You know you can’t trust anyone
In this crazy world

Angels are ideas
Stuck inside my head
And love was just a dream
I had when I was in your bed
We have to learn to live without it now
In a world without love
In a world without love, love, love
In a world without love, love, love, love, love
In a world without love

Don’t want to live in a world without love (repeat)