Positive (2010)
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- This TimeDownload
This Time?
I am just the new boy on my own.
Can’t you see that?
There is nothing more to me that I could ever say.
Can’t you see thatBut I’m getting so much older,
Than you know.
Can’t you feel it?And there’s only so much more that my poor heart can
take,
I can feel it might break,
One more mistake,
I can not wait
This time.But I already so much older than you know.
Can’t you see that?
And there really was just so much more my heart could take.
I can feel it might break
With one mistake
I just can’t wait
Help for God’s sakeI can’t lose this time.
I wrote this as I re-started my music career. It is sort of a 'note to oneself'. - Mr. ParkerDownload
Mr. Parker?
I really do enjoy my situation.
The time I spend at work just goes right by
And the whir of the shop as the belts never stop.
Ands these thoughts like the days drift by.I really do appreciate your point
There isn’t here an awful lot to do.
So I try my best
Not to be a pest
And let the machines do what they do.So they said:
We’ve still one head too many.
Two : It seems he’s wrapped too tight
Three: He’s just one more redundancy
Four: I’ll get his cards tonight.
But we’ll smile.Mommy won’t you take us to the factory?
Mommy won’t you show us what’s inside?
It’s all seems so magical
Like all things mechanical,
It looks like a great big ride.Everything appears to be in place,
But Mr. Parker seems to need a break.
And they all get a shock,
With one tick of a clock
Mr. Parker begins to display certain tendencies.So they said:
‘I did not see his violence.’
‘Who knew he had a gun?’
He’s shooting up the place now!’
There’s no one left alive!
But it’s all so clean.Monday morn comes early at the factory.
And everything is right back in it’s place.
There’s no change in the shop,
And the belts never stopped.
Same old job,
Same old world,‘New face today, please join me in welcoming Mr.
Clarke.’It really is a perfect situation.
As everyone prepares for punch in time.
And with one tick of a clock,
It’s a new day at shop.
‘Mr. Clarke, please take your place on line…’So let’s smile.
A cautionary tale about the price of making everything too efficient and everyone expendable. Maybe a little dead weight isn't such a bad thing after all. - CommitmentDownload
Commitment?
I once wrote a hundred letters,
None that you have read.
Page on page of words I felt inside,
But never said.A hope.(The pulse)
The tone.(The blood)
The pounding of my heart…A debt delayed
Won’t end today
But here is where it starts…
(With my commitment)CHORUS
I pledge my faith and my
commitment
I stand behind
True love never compromised by distance
Makes us what we are.I made myself from my commitment.
Though the sails were torn.
Storms remade to seas of calm around me
Though ship was tossed…And as you observe
The things you have done
Is there really anything you could say?A floating breeze
of memory
Surrounded by a violence of tears.All crash…
And bang.
And all the things on which hearts hang,
They turned out to be,
So useless to me
Since I set eyes on you.
(I am committed now)CHORUS
Look at the view in the beautiful
blue
Stretching out over all that we know
And with one tick of the clock
Everybody gets a shock
And finds out there was more to life
than anyone can know…I have come to view the ability to hang in there and do the right thing day in and day out as the highest expression of love. - The Zen SongDownload
The Zen Song?
A plane, a train they’re all the same, within the sea.
The old man said to me.
But I don’t seem to get it.
No I don’t see the need.
A ball, a doll, the rock we’re on,
the endless sea
(There’s nothing but words at play in a world so wide.)
But I don’t seem to get it.
No I don’t feel the need.Comets! Fall from the sky.
I see my life in you.
Shine so bright, but gone too fast,
I know.Words you say, fell from my mind,
Like water through my hands
Long before I ever learned to talk.I think the reality of Zen must be rather mundane and transparent. But what most people think of, or rather what most people imagine it's about... - Paul's StoryDownload
Paul's Story?
I’m gonna tell you a story.
You’re gonna hear a story.
Of a greater love in you.
You’re going to hear a story of a raging heart resolved.I’m gonna tell you a story.
You’re gonna hear a big story.
There’s a greater love than you’ve ever known.
You’re going to hear the amazing source of one true heart.You better listen,
There’s a place in a heart that cries so trueYou’re going to hear a story full of breaking hearts
I shouldn’t have to tell you it’s been all around.
Fear of the one who died when the rains came down,
Buddy:I was blind but now I see
Now it’s all so clear to me…I’m gonna tell you a story.
You’re gonna hear a story.
Of a greater love in you.
You’re going to hear of a raging heart resolved.I’m gonna tell you a story.
You’d do well to listen.
There’s a greater love than you’ve ever known.
You’re going to hear the amazing hope of one true heart.As I walked down
The same old road.
The path well trod
So many years ago.
When a flash came downBeyond the sky
And showed me my world black.With sight restored,
It’s clear to me.
There is so much more
That I never could see.
Was a miracle born when I believed
That one moment can change your life?You’d better listen:
There a place full of hearts that cry like you…You’re going to hear a story full of breaking hearts
There’s going to be no question now in going on
Tears of blood from the eyes of God like rain fell down
Buddy:I was blind but now I see
Now it’s all so clear to me.
Once blind but now set free.
Now it’s only good to me.I was blind but now I see
Now it’s all so clear to me.Once blind but now set free.
Now it’s only good to me.Lots of people play a game, 'who would you most like to have dinner with?' For me, the answer is St. Paul. I have never been able to figure out how Paul was able to win over so many hearts. His success is, to me, the single outstanding mystery of The Church. - Who Goes FirstDownload
Who Goes First?
Who goes first?
After you.
Who’s next step,
on the way to tearing apart me and you?
You keep running around in your anger,
but running just won’t do.Who goes first?
After you.Who comes next.
After you.
Who takes the blame for me
not having me and you?
We keep walking away from the two of us.
And heading on to something new.Who comes next?
After you.Sorry. I’m so sorry.
I can’t begin to tell you.
Sorry, I’m so sorry,
There was so much more, that I’d like to do.Sorry. Just sorry.
But I no longer know if it’s for me or you.
Don’t where to step back or forward on this track.Who goes first
After you?
I’ve taken all these steps, because I didn’t know what else to do.
You keep running away from the two of us. So now there’s nothing left to do.I come first.
How about, I come first?
Who comes first?
Well, not you.“The judgment seems quite equitable.
Just sign the papers, then you’re through.”“Yeah, I guess that’s right. Guess that’s the thing to do.”
You know that little dance two people going through a doorway do, when deciding who goes first? Ironically, my ex-wife and I did that very dance on our way into divorce court. 'After you.' 'Oh no, please... after you.'My main interest in the Holocaust has apparently easy it was to get the average person on board. It is, apparently, an intrinsically human feature. So the frightening thing is that it is likely that our ability to rationalize is far more powerful than any sense of 'conscience' we may possess. - On My Way HomeDownload
On My Way Home?
What can I say that you don’t
already know?
I cheated.
I lied.
I stole.
Many were the tears you shed for me.
On my way home.What could you say that I had not heard?
I’m sorry
I love you
I tried.
Many great tears will be shed for you.
On your way back home.I understand
your depth of sadness.
Having battled hard once or twice before
I only know that way lies madness.
No one’s ever lived who did fight that war.What
would you hear that I had not tried?
I miss you.
I grieve.
Goodbye.
Many great tears never shared by two.
On our way…If you're with someone for any length of time, you and they are probably going to do some horrible things to one another. It's just part of being human. That's when you find out how much you really love one another; whether or not you can still see the person you love hiding behind your own disappointment. - Just A JobDownload
Just A Job?
Now walk that straight and
narrow line
And take it easy on yourself.
You now there’s still a long time (left to go)
But at least you’ve got your health.Don’t cry at what you’ve seen
There weren’t too many
Oh sure now there are so few
But we did not get them all.
No we did not get them allI don’t regret it.
All this work I’ve done
I know it wasn’t for nothing
But I worked so hard to find,
They’re still playing in my mind.
And we’ll be back.Ain’t it funny how you find those people?
You have in common.
When you all work the same kind of job.It’s a job.
Just a job.
Just a job I do…My main interest in the Holocaust has apparently easy it was to get the average person on board. It is, apparently, an intrinsically human feature. So the frightening thing is that it is likely that our ability to rationalize is far more powerful than any sense of 'conscience' we may possess. - You Are LovedDownload
You Are Loved?
Take yourself down to the river.
Better you wash your face and hands?
You carry a torch for your anger.
But it never was at your command.Thinking lately about myself:
Feeling alone. (All alone, people)Tried before to express myself.
Singing ‘Oh!’, singing ‘Oh! This time you’re wronged’
Singing ‘Oh,’, singing ‘Oh, you’re wronged!’Let’s go back to the river:
Are you happy with how things have gone.
You talk and you talk and you talk of living your life.
Like it’s happening to someone else.Maybe you think I’ve got it made,
but I’m all alone. (Just like you)
Spent too much time sitting by myself.
I was wrong. I was wrong. That time I was wrong.
So wrong, so wrong, you know?You are loved.
Tried to tell you about it, but you walked away.
You are loved.
Even though it won’t feel that way.
You are loved.
And I’d tell you about it,
If you could drag yourself away…Let’s look back in the mirror.
Recognize your face anymore?
Collect your debts
And reject regrets
Just don’t ask whose still fairest of all.Now maybe you think
you’ve got it made
But you’re all alone.
All alone, baby.Take your time when you hit that road
Or you’re gone, far gone. then you’re gone.
Then you’re gone too far, you know.This song is for people who really want closeness, but who will make others jump through hoops in order to reach them. - Why Don't You Come InDownload
Why Don't You Come In?
You say it’s been a day
You never slept so hard
The world can take it’s toll
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so old.
Why don’t you come in you must be cold?You say it’s getting harder
You’ve nothing left to give.
I hear you my old friend.
You are so dear to me.
But I can’t really see.
Why does it always seem so hard
To let things go.
Why don’t you come in you must be cold?You say you’ve had enough
And take it all so hard
You shuffle round within yourself
I don’t mind that you prefer to be off
All alone.Because every time I look
I see much more in you
There’s no way you’ll be back today.
I really don’t mind if you still feel left out.
Because you’re not.You say it’s been a hard life
There’s nothing left to say
You can’t fool me this time
The the things that you’ve been through still make me cry.Why don’t you come in
I’ll put some fresh tea – here just on the fire.
Why don’t you come in you must be colder than a stone?
Why don’t you come in you must be cold.The flip side of 'You Are Loved'. It's just the softer side of the same psychology. - Danielle CameronDownload
Danielle Cameron?
(I love Danielle Cameron)
Out of the souls I have known,
She’s the friend my heart has chose.
I do believe I’m for her.You can do what you want, say what you
like.
Proclaim your thoughts are wrong or right,
But I sleep well tonight.(I love Danielle Cameron)
If you don’t look ahead then you can’t see the sky.
There’s no way to explain if you don’t see the why.
I do believe that love will lastYou can do what you want, say what you like.
Proclaim your thoughts are wrong or right,
But I sleep well tonight.II
Look at the sun, such a beautiful sun don’t you know?
Look at her face, it is beautiful like the sun.
Her eyes are her rays
The rays are her arrows
Don’t get shot, you could go too blind
For you know what can happen, while looking at the sun
I am blind. I am blind.Look at the moon such a beautiful jewel don’t you know?
Look at the view in the beautiful blue below.
Her smile like the waves
The waves are a mirror
Don’t get fooled you may not see home
For men get lost, while carried by those waves
Now I don’t see anything but her…This is a song about Hubris. It was written in the throes of love for my now ex-wife. What still interests me about the song is that it recognizes how dangerous it is to go that bananas over anything and yet we do it anyway, over and over and over... - Commitment (Coda)Download
Commitment (Coda)?
Over and over the
physical world there is love.
It’s flowing all around you.
Hard to say how anybody could say, ‘there is love’,
It’s flowing all around you.
On the tide of this
cynical ride
Where worlds go by….I believe that
everybody that breathes can feel love.
It’s flowing all around you.Look at the view in
the beautiful blue,
Stretching out over all that we know.
And with one tick of a clock, everybody gets a shock
And finds out there is more to life, than anyone can know.As we look all around
For the beautiful sounds
Stretching out over all that we know.
And if you hear with your heart
You can make some peace
And sleep tonight.How does one remain optimistic; seeing the inherent goodness out there? Perhaps it requires a different way of looking at things.
This world is so fast and yet so
Terribly slow. It wears us down
And makes us believe that everything
We do programmed and replaced.
But all you are
And everything you know
Might change in an instant.
It can happen
If we remain alert,
See shapes through the glare,
And aren't looking at our shoes
When it's our turn to arrive.
Some personal notes on Positive (2010)...