all we want
Steppin’ out to come undone
Constant change, always on the run
The returning of the prodigal son
That’s you, that’s me
You can’t hold it back, the power’s strong
Gonna pull you up like a magical song
And I ask myself, how long, how long?
All we want is to live in peace
Free the spirit and live in peace
People sharing a legacy
We hold the key
Talk about survival, talk about chance
Tangled in the circle of a primal dance
While the medicine man sings in his trance, his trance
New beginnings, little deaths
We turn in search of our ‘raison d’être’
Gotta cut these strings
Get out of this net
I feel the past within my bones
As I stumble for the stepping stones
Won’t you get my momma on the phone
This carnival sells tricks real cheap
And thrills that only go skin deep
They’ll steal your shoes
And leave you with cold feet
two travellers
Walking along the city’s industrial beach
Nobody here, just you and me
Out of the city’s reach
Coils of brown cables tangled
With clusters of concrete
The ruins and remains, reminders of
The times our feet
Driftwood and feat beneath hers, jewels of china
Chips of glass
Reflecting you, reflecting me
We live our lives, we come to pass
Wrapped in your shawl
Superimposed on the scene
Like some exotic bird
Captured in somebody else’s dream
Trembling and ruffled
So fragile in the wind
An exiled angel fallen from the clouds
With numb and tattered wings
You are so beautiful a sight to behold
Want to put my arms around you
Hold you gently, keep you from the cold
We are two travellers
On a foreign shore
Trying to retrace our steps
To where we were before
Walking along the city’s industrial beach
Nobody here, just you and me
Out of the city’s reach
You are so beautiful a sight to behold
Want to put my arms around you
Hold you gently, keep you from the cold
Driftwood and feathers, jewels of china, chips of glass
Reflecting you, reflecting me
We live our lives, we come to pass
laughter & tears
The first time our eyes touched
All the world stood still
A rushing in my head, a waterfall
And though I have never seen your face before
My heart said, ‘I know you, that is all, that is all’
And the love I’ve been searching for all these years
Came to me in a silent explosion of laughter & tears
In a moment with you flowers of truth unfold
To the radiance glowing from your eyes
The sound of your voice blossoms in my mind
And stirs me from my sleep like the sunrise,
The sunrise
Dissolves the darkness, dissolves my fears
And leaves me in a silent explosion of
Laughter & tears
Times untold, I’ve watched the waves rolling in
The endless music of the sea
And now the rhythm of your song becomes clear
And swells like a tide over me, over me
And the love I’ve been searching for all these years
Fills me with a silent explosion of laughter & tears
jet fuel
Walkin’ the block down Winchester, Parliament
Tappin’ on the window tall americano
Engines hot, gotta keep my cool
Gonna launch my rocket, gonna get jet fuel
Outer space, inner space, my space, your grace
Unload, jettison, taking the medicine
Implode, explode, punch in the right code
Droppin’ the payload, getting’ on the high road
if & when
If & when I do get home
Never gonna leave you so alone
If & when I do get home
Never gonna leave you so alone
If & when I do get home
Never gonna leave you so alone
lazy trombone
Lazy trombone
Won’t you bring my baby home
Play that lazy melody
Bring her back to me
This empty home
Been so long, been so alone
That melody brings back
All those sweet memories
Soft summer nights
And a thousand delights
Won’t you bring my baby back home
Soft summer nights
A thousand delights
Soft summer nights
Won’t you bring my baby back home
il terrazzo
Il terrazzo, il terrazzo
There’s a party on the terrace tonight
In the disco bar down by the sea - il terrazzo
It’s a hot Mediterranean night
Where the music plays for you and me - il terrazzo
Hear the laughter by the light of the moon
Swaying palms trees in the breeze - il terrazzo
Love to hear Mediterranean tunes
Scooters swarming ‘round like bees - il terrazzo
It’s a party on this coastline shore
Dancing barefoot in the sand - il terrazzo
Weave your magic on the cool dance floor
To the music of this Latin band - il terrazzo
It’s a party on this hot summer night
We’ll be dancing till the break of dawn - il terrazzo
Feel the rhythm goin’ down so right
And the band is groovin’ on and on - il terrazzo
pardon me
Pardon me for the things I say
For the words I shoot before I aim
I don’t want to see a cloud appear
When I say a silly thing
And bring on the shivers with the rain
Pardon me for the things I do
When my pride inflates my ego
Feel I’m rising like the moon
And all your faith and trust in me
Will suddenly go ‘boom’
Burst like a child’s balloon
No regrets, they say ‘don’t look back’
But times I still feel guilty and ashamed
I’ve stepped on so much tender grass
I’ve shattered so much precious glass
But I‘m no Nero with blind desire
Don’t want to set no Rome on fire
Just wanna be your lover
And uncover all the sweet harmony
But if I hit a bad note, forgive me in your heart
Please pardon me
Just wanna be your lover
And uncover all the sweet harmony
But if I hit a bad note, if I sing off key
I‘m just trying to find the notes of my true melody
Until I find the part, forgive me in your heart
Please pardon me
backyards of my old hometown
See the squirrel like a tight rope walker
High on the telephone wire
See the wise and weathered chimneys
Faithful guards with no desires
See the tattooed walls of old brick houses
Leaning towards the lanes
See the sun in the blood-shot eyes
Of dusty window panes
Through the web of leafless branches, late winter trees
See the swallow in a ‘pas de deux’
With her lover, the breeze
Like a photo from the past
Fading to brown (Like a long worn ‘hand-me-down’)
It’s a memory of the backyards of my old hometown
See the rider-less rocking horse
Leading the parade
Of broken toys & broken stoves
Projects long delayed
See the rusty metal peeling
From garage walls like skin
Padlocked doors, shutters bolted
Secrets kept within
And rows and rows of fences that children love to climb
Seeking out the passageways that break through with time
Near the diner ‘round the corner
See the cats on the prowl
Hear the freight train whistle blow
Hear the neighbour’s old dog howl
An old forsaken Buick
With no tires, no more chrome
Ghosts from the past
Still clinging to this home
And downtown in the distance, like a back-drop stage light
See the cool moon rise to the music of the night
clearance sale
Picking up a parcel from overseas
How will I get this through the door?
A family heirloom filled with memories
What am I getting this for?
Stop for a coffee in a sidewalk café
Watch the city bustling by
Across the road they’re having a clearance sale
Why does it catch my eye?
I need to clear the past from my mind
Need room to move, leave it all behind
Take a deep breath and then count to ten
And start all over again
I’ve carried so much baggage over all these years
Now it’s time to lighten up the load
It’s time to re-assess my happiness
Time to take a new road
Checking my emails, all these friends I have
I must be some kind of lucky guy
It’s got me thinking about that clearance sale
Urging me on to simplify
fire in the sky
Fire in the sky, ocean deep within
The rhythm of the earth, myth of original sin
An infant in your arms, the yearning in the heart
The stranger at the door, feeling worlds apart
The nights you stay awake, the friend who is in need
The tightness in the shoulders, the terminator seed
A ripple and a stone, the question of defeat
A child, a broken home, a spiritual retreat
Fire in the sky, a twisted dying tree
The hopeless romantic, falling on his knees
The constant winds of change, the stirring in the womb
The barking of the dog, the shadows in the room
The Venice of my dreams, the journey after dark
A walk in the ravine, two lovers in the park
A blind leap of faith, the lily in the pond
The mother ever saddened, the trickster’s magic wand
The seagull in the harbour, the town after the flood
The music never stops, the burning in the blood
The glamour industry, the silence that we crave
The Lowbrow Movement, the mourners at the grave
The plastic figurine, words that we forgot
The belly of the Buddah, tongues tied in a knot
The post card from Brazil, the rusted metal boat
The statue at the gate, the karma of the fur coat
Fire in the sky, the spider on the wall
The neighbours in the night, the whispers in the hall
The mystery in your eyes, the shock of the new
The everlasting light, the full body tattoo
Religion in a box, the tugging of the kite
The breaking of the wave, a hungry nation’s plight
The nurse outside the door, a close brush with death
The traffic in a jam, a newborn baby’s breath
The boxer in the ring, the environmental plan
A soldier in the field, serving the corporate man
The curtain call at eight, the shifting of the storm
A blind musician’s voice, a place to keep you warm
The news that’s fit to print, the ringing in your ear
The image on the screen, fights cancelled due to fear
The cynic in the tower, Madonna in the street
Billboards in your face, the sound of marching feet
Lectures and debates, the quest for the ‘why’
Shake a rattle, beat the drum, fire in the sky
Shake a rattle, beat the drum, fire in the sky