SILVER LININGS” (2008) Recorded in Meigs County OH at Peach Fork Studios in 2007-2008.
Co-produced with Bernie Nau.
CELL PHONE SONG (written 10/2005, Athens OH)
Why do I gotta hear you talking when I’m walking down the street
With your cell phone up to your head
Saying, “I’ll be there in about five minutes,”
When you might as well not call and walk a little faster?
And why do we gotta hear your one way chatter
When it isn’t really any of our business?
It makes me wanna echo back every single solitary
Silly word that you say, just like,
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
I was like ‘Duh,’ and she was like ‘Duh,'” you know what I mean?
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
Did you see what she wore? She got it at the store, oh what a bore!”
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
Half-price pitchers! I wish that I was richer, but then again,”
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
And why’s this guy repeating every word that I say?”
Sure, a cell phone’s good to have around in case you
Get into a wreck and you need to call emergency personnel
And sometimes they can be good for your business
Like when you need to check on messages that really are important
But even though you’re standing right there in front of me
Still it seems as though your mind’s about a million miles away
And I don’t know why you won’t pay closer attention to the beauty
Of the moment while you’re yakking away oblivious,
Still you’re saying,
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
She was like ‘Whoa,’ and I was like ‘Whoa,'” there you go,
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
I think that he was drunk, no doubt he’s such a hunk, but kind of a punk.”
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
I’ll be there any second, another call just beckoned, totally!”
“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,
And why’s this guy repeating every, -peating every word that I say?”
“Hang on, I’ve got call waiting;
Okay I’m back, it was just my mom…
She’s wondering about my prospects,
But I’m just wondering if spring break is gonna be the bomb!
(I hear it will be!)”
I’d just as soon we confiscate ’em all
And blow a huge pile of cell phones into smithereens
And the only way that we would ever talk to one another
Would be on private lines and face to face without machines
Especially the ones used by the people yakkity-yakking
While they’re driving, it’s a wonder that they’re even still alive
They’re such a menace, in Venice they might throw them overboard
But not me, I know the pen’s still mightier than the sword,
So I’m like,
Oh my God, you’re totally clueless,
Erecting such a barrier, depending on a carrier, you know what I mean?
Oh my God, you’re awesomely clueless,
She’s talking in the stall like she thinks she’s in the mall, I’m truly appalled.
Oh my God, you’re bitchingly clueless,
Strange looks all the time from strangers in the line, but still you whine,
“Oh my God, I’m totally clueless,
And why’s this guy repeating ev-,
Repeating ev-, repeating every word that I say?”…
“Oh my God!”
FEAR-BASED THINKING (written 5/29/2002, Athens OH & 6/20/2002, Cincinnati OH)
Fear-based thinking’s got me in a fix
Froze me in a pattern, lost me in the mix
Fear-based thinking put me in a bind
Stuck me in a straitjacket and strangled up my mind
Fear-based thinking said, “Don’t write this song!
Nobody wants to know; it’ll just come out wrong,
Besides, what makes you think that you’re worthy of a voice?”
But it’s a question of choice
Along the rocky road to recovery, regeneration, rejuvenation,
There’s a shadow that’s keeping me on my toes,
That old fear-based thinking, same thing everybody knows
Fear-based thinking thinks it’s got me licked,
Paralyzed, bewildered, terrified and tricked,
Fear-based thoughts have a thing or two to learn
About the human capacity to finally turn
Toward the rocky road to recovery, regeneration, rejuvenation,
There’s a shadow that’s keeping me on my toes,
That old fear-based thinking, same thing everybody knows
It feels like being boxed inside a cage of my own choosing
That’s never been locked–it can’t be that hard to just break loose
What if we learn to stop them in their tracks?
Catch ’em in the process? Send ’em right back?
Maybe those fear-based thoughts could melt away
Hearts could soar and angels come to play
Along the rocky road to recovery, regeneration, rejuvenation,
There’s a shadow that’s keeping me on my toes,
That old fear-based thinking, same thing everybody knows,
Same thing everybody knows, same place everybody goes,\
I think everybody knows
What if I fail? What if it doesn’t work out?
What if I can’t find the trail? How do I deal with the doubt?
What if I’m poor? What if the bottom falls out?
What did I come here for? What is this heartbeat talking about?
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can….
LIVING IN ALASKA (written 5/27/1998, Athens OH)
Living in Alaska you can find yourself in landscapes
That you never knew existed but you always hoped were true
Where the eagle lifts off from the pines and calls your heart to follow
Over tails of whales kersplashing into waves of shining blue
And I went to Alaska ’cause I had to see the planet on
Her own terms without concrete, neon, advertising, constant chaos
And if you hear this through the overkill, the daily blah,
Perhaps you’ll dare imagine love is real and all’s not lost
The fishing boats, the cannery, the midnight sunsets by the sea,
The garbage bears, the urban moose showed me Alaskan freedom
One night a friend said “go outside,” the Northern Lights were flying high,
They truly took my breath away, I hope you get to see ’em
And I went northwest where the roads all end and the glaciers crawl
And people learn the rhythms of the seasons and the tides
And I came to face my fears alone all through the darkest longest winter
Till March burst me through the other side alive
Living in Alaska you can feel the mighty salmon
Leaping high into your bloodstream in a river turquoise clear
And if you feel this all’s not lost, the daily blah can’t get you now,
You’re on your own inside the last frontier
JEWEL OF THE HOCKING (written 9/2003, Athens OH)
I was raised in the city where the traffic’s something fierce
And the only green you see is between concrete
Then I came to the country, that’s where I fell in love
With a little college town where life is swee
She’s the jewel of the Hocking by the bend in the river
Any moment of the year she’s shining still
And there’s something about Athens and Southeast Ohio
That keeps the laughter ringing through these hills
I found a family of friendships down in Athens
With a wealth of rolling hillsides and a sky so blue
However far I roam I’ll always feel at home
On the college green at old Ohio U.
Friendly people there from everywhere with smiles full of light
And that good acoustic music after hours
In the fall the trees are rainbows, in winter fields turn white
And in the spring the spirits rise up with the flowers
(Chorus)
One time I was far away and I dreamed about old Court Street
I marveled at the brickwork and the old courthouse
Then I strolled down to the campus, saw the monument in sunshine
And I promised I’d get back to there somehow
In the cafes, bars and restaurants, at parties and at potlucks
Athenians always make you feel welcome
Ask any Bobcat, they’ll tell you how it sparkles,
That little patch of green that we call home
(Chorus, last line 3x)
WARREN’S SONG (Oh What A Ride) (written 9/9/2003, Glouster OH)
Your songs were like an open sore
We wondered what for, where were you coming from?
And you played us like a penny arcade,
No naive masquerade betrayed your chosen path
You were the person who cut through the fog,
Defrosted the windshield and took us along
On a dangerous ride from deep under the smog
To a home in the heart of humanity
You danced a crooked waltz with death
As if every breath was a showdown,
And in doing so you helped us laugh
At our shadow half in the mirror
You were the artist who cut through the fog,
Defrosted the windshield and took us along
On a difficult ride from deep under the smog
To a home in the heart of humanity
And when the wrestling match was won
And the setting sun came to beckon,
You found a way to heal the wounds
With some timeless tunes and compassion
Now you’re the spirit who cuts through the fog,
Defrosting the windshield to take us along
Oh what a ride from deep under the smog
To a room in a home in the heart of humanity
Oh what a ride from deep under the smog
To a room in a home in the heart of humanity
SUMMER’S FIRST RAYS (written 8/15/1993, Haines AK)
Tired and aching from six days of hitching,
He stood by the side of the road
A beat-up guitar case his traveling companion,
His feelings were worn and it showed
As the first rays of summer shed light on the highway,
He thought that his heart might explode
An elder one offered a lift to the diner,
The songwriter’s gratitude flowed
Up at 4:30 and working by six,
She was tired of her daily routine
Serving up hash browns way out in the sticks
And keeping those countertops clean
But her regulars lived for the smiles she poured them
Along with their cup of caffeine
And they’d leave as much as they could for they knew
She deserved to be tipped like a queen
And deep in the heart of a midwinter’s night,
A full moon’s reflecting the dawn’s early light
And singers surrounding the fires so bright
Feel blessed by the summer’s first rays
Now smiles are for sharing and songs are for singing,
And these are the fruits of their days
And maybe they’ll meet and find something in common,
Maybe these hard times are only a phase
And there he is turning the doorknob and stepping
Inside where she’s meeting his gaze
With a smile that can help him to sing through the sorrow,
The gift of the summer’s first rays
And down deep in the heart of a midwinter’s night,
A full moon’s reflecting such heavenly light
And singers surrounding the fires so bright
Feel blessed by the One whom they praise,
Caressed by the summer’s first rays