Lyrics to Make You Sing
Lyrics
Never Really Left
I think about the watercolor sunsets
I think about how moonlight pearls the bay
I think of the Septembers
And I think about you next
I been away so long
But I never really left
I think about the bridge that spans the river
I think about the last time that I crossed
I think about my missteps
And I think about you next
I been away so long
But I never really left
I think about stores closing down on Main Street
I think about boys killed in far off wars
I think about the dreams that died
And I think about you next
I been away so long
But I never really left
I think about the reasons I went elsewhere
I think about how often I look back
I think of what it is I miss
And I think about you next
I been away so long
But I never really left
I been away so long
But I never really left
You Buried My Voice in an Unmarked Grave
I wrote the poem inside a sea shell
I wrote the poem about a dark moon’s water
I wrote the poem
That brought the rain to the flower
And you you you
Couldn’t stand my power
You buried my voice
In an unmarked grave
You left it there
To steal my glory
But it has risen
Risen again
And I’m going to tell
My story
I wrote the words for healing old wounds
I wrote the words about a new light’s mercy
I wrote the words
That carried calm to the thunder
And you you you
Put them six feet under
You buried my voice
In an unmarked grave
You left it there
To steal my glory
But it has risen
Risen again
And I’m going to tell
My story
I’m going to teach the Earth
Something about turning
I’m going to teach the fire
Something about burning
I’m going to teach the waves
Something about crashing
And no one…
Can break my passion
(Instrumental)
You buried my voice
In an unmarked grave
You left it there
To steal my glory
But it has risen
Risen again
And I’m going to tell
My story
Good Time to Leave
Easton craves adventure
Wants to set the world on fire
He’d jump into the Rio
Wearing nothing but a tire
Aspires to do some damage
So he buys a rocket launcher
Then wakes up in a clinic
With a bill for orthodontia
Now the lazy boys on Cedar
Joke he thinks that he’s Tom Sawyer
Old Noah says, “Your life’s a crime
Go find yourself a lawyer”
It’s a rotten hand he’s playing
And no cards up a sleeve
It might just be a good time to leave
It might just be a good time to leave
Meets someone named Ava
Cuz they buy from the same dealer
He compliments her laugh lines
She says, “I don’t wear concealer”
“You look just like Bonnie,”
Easton tells her as they ride
“Let’s buy some guns,” she shoots back
“Because that would make you Clyde”
They stop at their first bank
Teller says “You ain’t no Barrow”
And hits the panic button
Their escape's too close to narrow
It’s a rotten hand they’re playing
And no cards up a sleeve
It might just be a good time to leave
It might just be a good time to leave
Border guard is sleeping
So crossing should be easy
Guard wakes up and Ava shoots him
Easton's feeling queasy
Old, abandoned casa
They’re pinned down by federales
“Let’s get to Arizona --
Some good friends live in Nogales”
Minutes till they’re taken
So Easton flicks a switchblade
“They say the next life’s better
What say we both make an upgrade?”
It’s a rotten hand they’re playing
And no cards up a sleeve
It might just be a good time to leave
It might just be a good time to leave
2019 Lyric of the Year
at Muse Songwriters
Grace in a Laundromat
I found Grace in a laundromat
She mixed her colors with her whites
She kept her quarters in a Hello Kitty purse
Said she liked to do her washing late at night
I found Grace in a laundromat
She wore her San Francisco smile
I washed my load again so I wouldn’t have to leave
And we talked about the old days for a while
We lived together many years before near Union Square
I loved her but she couldn’t be convinced
She left a note that said, “Don’t try to find me”
I’d been looking for her ever since
I found Grace in a laundromat
She said she had a cat and dog
“’Cause human beings never understand my ways”
Then she kissed my cheek and vanished in the fog
2015 Lyric of the Year at Muse Songwriters
No Right to Sing the Blues
I’m such a lucky devil, beyond a doubt
I’ve been around the world with this guitar
I own mansions and limos and solid gold picks
It’s way more than I need by far
One day I flew my Gulfstream to the South
I wanted Delta blues with down home taste
Found a table and sat in the back of a shack
But they hauled me onto the stage
They handed me a guitar and said, “C’mon, play!”
I said, “It’s wrong for me to do the blues
I go walking in storms without an umbrella
And the rain never touches my shoes”
(Chorus)
No right
I got no right
I got no right to sing the blues
(2x)
I haven’t ever put on prison orange
You’ll never catch me tramping by the tracks
Don’t drink whiskey or vodka until I fall down
If I kill, it’s with this six-string axe
I love my pretty woman, don’t cheat on her
With every kiss I know she’s true to me
She’s my best friend, my lover, my everything
I’m as happy as a man can be
(Chorus)
No right
I got no right
I got no right to sing the blues
(2x)
If I ever strum those 12 bars, slap my face
Because it’s wrong for me to do the blues
I go walking in storms without an umbrella
And the rain never touches my shoes
(Chorus)
No right
I got no right
I got no right to sing the blues
(2x)
2019 Collaboration of the Year
HOUSTON SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION
Touching Your Name
Music by Andrew Richardson
I’m here today with another letter
Hoping it will make me feel better
To keep your memory going
Is all that I can do
By coming here I feel I’m reaching you
(Chorus)
I can’t let go
No, I can’t let go
I can’t let go of the pain
I’m here at this black wall again
Touching your name
I remember evenings we read Huck
The time you brought down a six-point buck
The fence we put up that summer
As you grew into a man
I tore it down once I got the telegram
(Chorus)
I can’t let go
No, I can’t let go
I can’t let go of the pain
I’m here at this black wall again
Touching your name
(2X)
(Bridge)
A handkerchief to give a polish
The gesture offers me some solace
My fingers linger on this granite wall
It’s better to have loved
And lost you
Than never to have had you
At all
(Chorus)
I can’t let go
No, I can’t let go
I can’t let go of the pain
I’m here at this black wall again
Touching your name
(2X)
(Outro)
Touching your name
(4X)
A Mile Ahead of Yesterday
Ribbons of white radiance
Snaking through the flats
I pass them going the other way
And ache to hit the gas
Semis coughing out exhaust
Brake lights glaring red
At this rate, no outdistancing
The phantoms in my head
Chorus
I tasted every tear that you let fall
There’s poetry in leaving
And we’re human after all
Your soul’s full of rain
Mine’s been led astray
I’m hoping I can stay at least
A mile ahead of yesterday
If memory catches up with me
I’ll watch the action play:
First you run into my arms
But then you turn away
Words that open gaping wounds
Looks that pour in salt
Neither can apologize
And both of us at fault
Chorus
I tasted every tear that you let fall
There’s poetry in leaving
And we’re human after all
Your soul’s full of rain
Mine’s been led astray
I’m hoping I can stay at least
A mile ahead of yesterday
Bridge
We wanted love but finally saw
The need was our mistake
There wasn’t any sacrifice
We found the heart to make
Neither of us gave an inch
So we… were bound to break
Chorus
I tasted every tear that you let fall
There’s poetry in leaving
And we’re human after all
Your soul’s full of rain
Mine’s been led astray
I’m hoping I can stay at least
A mile ahead of yesterday
(Repeat)
Haven
I know I’m not always easy
I know I’m not always fun
At times I irritate you
But nobody is greater
At making me stand fast
When I want to run
(Chorus)
You raise me high
When I’m feeling low
You give me yes
When the world says no
You are the place
Where I always go
When I need a haven
(2X)
No one has my back like you do
No one makes me laugh so loud
You like to explain
The benefits of rain
When I shake my two fists
At the menacing clouds
(Chorus)
You raise me high
When I’m feeling low
You give me yes
When the world says no
You are the place
Where I always go
When I need a haven
(2X)
(Bridge)
Everybody has those times that bring us down
If I can’t make it to you
You always come around
(Alternate Bridge)
I’ve been shattered to pieces and you picked me up
Empty-hearted and you brought me love
Deep within my pain
And you pulled me through
(Chorus)
You raise me high
When I’m feeling low
You give me yes
When the world says no
You are the place
Where I always go
When I need a haven
(2X)
(Outro)
When I need a haven
You are my haven
Since We First Touched
Since we first touched
My hands are two strangers
Feeling their way
Through an unexplored land
And my eyes are re-opened
As if they had never
Noticed what lay there before them
Since we first kissed
My mouth savors honey
Sweeter than nectar
From flowers in the spring
And my heartbeat’s wide open,
A dance of desire
Pulsing with hope and with hoping
Since we first touched
Since we first kissed
Since our first night
Since our first night
Our souls are like bright stars
Lighting the reach
Of the dark’s boundless range
And the sun’s rose has opened
Like a smile from heaven
Over the road we have chosen
Since we first touched
Since we first kissed
Since our first night
Secrets
Verse 1
Saturday’s crawling, see it kissing the ground
Her skirt tight as skin, she goes downtown
Low-slung ride, deep knee Benz
Smooths her skirt and hunts for friends
Verse 2
The dark-haired looker comes and gives me a look
Says: I know the truth, I read the book
Eyes reveal what you think
Will you roll or will you blink?
(Lift)
So I roll, I roll
(Chorus)
We take a walk and one two three
She pours her secrets over me
Like honey, sweet as sweet can be
Verse 3
Sunday is rising to the ringing of bells
She takes me to church and then somewhere else
Sings her hymn, I feel blessed
Oh Lord, she says, you never confessed
(Lift)
So I roll, I roll
(Chorus)
We take a walk and one two three
I pour my secrets faithfully
Like honey, sweet as sweet can be
(Bridge)
My mother used to tell me
Don’t think twice
I never liked virtue
I always liked vice
This one’s a winner
All sugar and spice
I think I’ll keep rolling
Rolling these dice
(Chorus)
We take a walk and one two three
We’re spilling secrets willingly
Like honey, sweet as sweet can be
All the Dark Distance
Every time that I walk
On these frozen waters
If the ice is too thin
My dreams will be swallowed
But I can’t help myself
Let the angels fear
There’s a much paler sky
And it draws me here
Every time that I walk
Over broken glass
I keep telling myself
I could lose my grasp
But there’s no holding back
Crimson stains on the earth
See the new waters flow
It’s my heart’s rebirth
And all the dark distance between you and me
Fills with images of what could’ve been
All the dark distance between you and me
Fills with mirages of what will never be
Every time that I walk
Across burning coals
If the fire’s too hot
I might lose control
When I’m free from the pain
And my spirit soars
Hell can wait for a freeze
I’m at heaven’s door
And all the dark distance between you and me
Fills with images of what could’ve been
All the dark distance between you and me
Fills with mirages of what will never be
If You Want
You can call me if you want
You can call me any time
You can call me if you want
But please don’t feel love’s… on the line
Because it’s not
Oh, no, it’s not
Love’s not on the line
We can go out if you want
We can go out any time
We can go out if you want
But please don’t feel.. you are mine
Because you’re not
Oh, no, you’re not
You aren’t mine
I really gotta say you’re something special
But hope you’ll stay away from doves and swans
Deep down inside I’m not too sentimental
I just can’t let my heart be preyed upon
No doves and swans
Don’t get sentimental
Don’t want my heart preyed upon
You can come by if you want
You can come by any time
You can come by if you want
But don’t go feeling
Don’t you dare go feeling
Oh, baby, don’t go feeling
’Cause that is where I draw the line
Pelicans
Pelicans
by Doug Haberman
Verse 1
I’ve held her hand in many a troubling wind
When her spirit scattered like the leaves
’Cause it’s so like her, so like her, so like her
To look right at a gale and see a breeze
Verse 2
I’ve cradled her on days when she hated life
When her spirit shattered just like glass
But it’s so like me, so like me, so like me
To wrap my hands around what I can’t grasp
(Chorus)
And the pelicans are flying to the north across the bay
I watch them from the window while I pack
I beg her “Come with me”
’Cause I know I won’t be back
But her empty suitcase says she’s gonna stay
And the pelicans are flying from the bay
Verse 3
The miracle is we understood the odds
But we shared our feelings undeterred
It was so like us, so like us, so like us
To do it all without a single word
(Chorus)
Now the pelicans are flying to the north across the bay
I watch them from the window while I pack
I beg her “Come with me”
’Cause I know I won’t be back
But her empty suitcase says she’s gonna stay
And the pelicans are flying from the bay
(Bridge)
She finally figured out my love won’t free her
I finally have a feel for all her pain
But life is pushing me into the skies tomorrow
The pelicans and I must go our way
(Instrumental)
(Chorus)
And the pelicans are flying to the north across the bay
I watch them from the window while I pack
I beg her “Come with me”
’Cause I know I won’t be back
But her empty suitcase says she’s gonna stay
And the pelicans are flying from the bay
(Repeat)
At Dusk in Your Impala
Verse 1
You sweep me off my feet in school
A trip that takes me way up to
Cloud Nine
I love to look into your eyes
Perfect mirror of the skies
You’re mine
(Chorus)
At dusk in your Impala with the top rolled down
We sit and watch the waves come in
And hear their soothing sound
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
Verse 2
The draft board says that you’re 1-A
I’m thinking how I hate this day
You shrug
You pat our baby not yet born
Insist you’re not afraid of war
We hug
(Chorus)
At dusk in your Impala with the top rolled down
We sit and watch the waves come in
And hear their soothing sound
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
(Bridge)
You promise it won’t be a one-way trip
Then sail across the ocean on a Navy ship
I wave a long goodbye while standing on the dock
A few weeks later comes the hardest knock
Verse 3
I give birth to Melissa May
One serene September day
She cries
Now when I bring her close to me
You know what I can’t help but see
Your eyes
(Final Chorus)
At dusk in your Impala with the top rolled down
I look into Melissa’s eyes
And hear the ocean’s sound
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
I tell myself right then and there
You’ll always be around
Blood from Roses
Diamonds cutting
Through the glass
Of yesterday
In your hands
Offenses unatoned
Diamonds cutting
Through the glass
Of yesterday
In your hands
The reasons I’m alone
(Chorus)
Somehow
You wring blood
From roses
(4X)
Space is losing
Its race
In the universe
In your hands
Infinity’s a stone
Time is losing
Its race
In the universe
In your hands
Forever has no home
(Chorus)
Somehow
You wring blood
From roses
(4X)
(Bridge)
You once…
Held my heart
You once…
Held my heart
You once…
Held my heart…
Like a rose
(Instrumental)
(Chorus)
Somehow
You wring blood
From roses
(8X)
Can You Leave Tomorrow
All the black and whites you want are off the wall
Your vinyl records packed in the trunk
The only things you aren’t taking:
My heart and other random junk
It’s been years I knew this day was coming
Still it takes the breath from my lungs
You see, I’m just not ready
You go, I’m sure to come undone
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m asking you for one more day
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m begging you to find a way
Can you leave tomorrow?
I still need you today
The children all grew up and we were left alone
The reasons for us slowly disappeared
But inside, part of me is dying
It feels worse than I thought and feared
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m asking you for one more day
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m begging you to find a way
Can you leave tomorrow?
I still need you today
You were closer than my shadow for so long
I guess that’s why it seems all wrong
I don’t want to be alone here watching our life in review
I want to be making new… memories with you
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m asking you for one more day
Can you leave tomorrow?
I’m begging you to find a way
Can you leave tomorrow?
I still need you today