I've always felt that lyrics are one of the most important elements in a song, and I take particular care with mine. I also find them to be, by far, the most difficult part of songwriting. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favourites.
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The One Light
I felt my whole life slowin’ down
I took a week away
I parked my car in a one light town
To see if I could stay
The girl I loved I left behind
I said what I could say
I took this empty road to find
One light to show the way
But the One Light isn’t cold
In the wintertime
And the One Light never cries
In the rain
And the One Light doesn’t know
What it means to hide
In your shame
In your pain
She said my dream was a make believe
A part I just can’t play
A simple truth that I can’t recieve
I wasn’t built that way
I’m thinkin’ now she had her plan
She knew she wouldn’t stay
She must have thought she was better than
A man who lost his way
But the One Light doesn’t lie
When it’s closin’ time
And the One Light doesn’t care
For the blues
And the One Light only shows
What you leave behind
When you lose
He brings you the news
I Slept in Heaven
I slept in Heaven last night
Followed a highway all made out of light
Wrapped in a melody, simple and bright
I slept in Heaven last night
Rode up on a gold satellite
Spread out below me the meadow of life
Flowers and trees every colour of white
Rode up on a gold satellite
Sorrow melted away
The winter of loneliness lost in the grave
Nobody there left to save
I stood in the valley of Kings
A speck of a thing on a butterfly’s wing
A choir of angels taught me to sing
I stood in the valley of Kings
And here was the girl of my dreams
Sharing her love without saying a thing
Deep in her eyes was the promise of spring
Here was the girl of my dreams
Sorrow melted away
The winter of loneliness lost in the grave
Nobody there left to save
I slept in heaven last night
This morning I woke to the gift of my life
Love is forever and death is delight
I slept in Heaven last night
I slept in Heaven last night
Forgiven
In this world I pray to find
With this small light I’ve been given
One sweet love to lay with mine
One proud heart to believe in
Walk me through your streets of fire
Right up into your kitchen
Lay me down in your bed of wire
Wrap me round, for I am willin’
What was lost has now been found
Who was laid down has risen
What was bent is straight and sound
What we’ve done wrong
Forgiven
To our ship of stricken souls
On this beach we were wrecked in
There came a man who had a hold
On every love that left him
There he stood at our table’s head
His supper laid around him
He dropped his eyes, and all he said
“I made no move to find them”
CHORUS
Da da da dada da...
In my heart there still remains
One small piece of heaven
One clear part that can’t be stained
One sweet song still playin’
I hear it like a mountain stream
Laughing through the canyon
The music that the water brings
Has been my true companion
CHORUS
Da da da dada da...
A Bear Named Tannenbaum
One year right on Christmas Day
One little bear came out to play
Wrapped up with a ribbon on
This little bear named Tannenbaum
Hug him close, soft and brown
He’s the finest bear around
Always has time to play
Always funny things to say
Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum
How did you get a name so long
Once was a girl and a Christmas song
Named her bear .....
Childhood days, stretchin’ out
Find out what the world’s about
Off to school, home again
Glad you have your special friend
Day is done, time for bed
Tannenbaum lays down his head
A kiss for him and a kiss for you
Keeps you safe the whole night through
Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum
How did you get a name so long
Once was a girl and a Christmas song
Named her bear .....
Just a bear in a great big world
Just the bear for a lucky girl
Holds him tight when she’s sad
He always makes it better
Years have passed, time is gone
Girls grow up and move along, but
She won’t put her bear away
Tannenbaum is here to stay
Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum
How did you get a name so long
Once was a girl and a Christmas song
Named her bear .....
Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum
How did you get a name so long
Once was a girl and a Christmas song
Named her bear .....
Named her bear...
She named her bear.....
Tannenbaum
Tannenbaum
Tannenbaum
Late to the Game
The days, they’re runnin’ backwards now
And me, I do the same
I’m buried in the past somehow
For no reason I could name
I’m lookin’ for the child I knew
And the man that he became
I see every wrong I can’t undo
With only me to blame
I’ve heard that where the river’s wide
You can wash away your shame
I’m out here thumbin’ for a ride
And I’m coming late to the game
The sun is low on the mountain side
He’s goin’ down in flames
He’s lookin’ for a place to hide
‘Till he has to rise again
This road that I’ve been walkin’ down
It doesn’t have a name
Way out here, so far from town
Every road’s the same
They all lead to the proving ground
The passion and the pain
That lonely place where the lost are found
And I’m coming late to the game
And the night, still shining through my tears
Diamond bright, as my vision slowly clears
The players now, they take the field
To the fan’s wild acclaim
Their long shadows on the grass reveal
How little time remains
The day is gently lowered down
Like a coffin to the grave
I’ve put on my mourning gown
In hopes of being saved
My darling please, make a place for me
In your father’s funeral train
In the last black car, with a long cigar
I - I’m coming late to the game
Tell the World
Tell the world - I’ve been lonely
Tell the world - I still have love to give
I’m a flag unfurled - snappin’ in the wind
Holdin’ on to anything I believe
Could make me whole again
Oh my friend
Tell the sun - my skin is burnin’
Tell the sun - I’m frozen up inside
I’m a sheet of ice - slowly meltin’
Into the snow - there I go - at least you know
I won’t be back
I won’t be back again
Oh ------ my friend
Tell the night - with the stars so bright
I said hello
Tell the day - I came to play
But I had to go
When I fell so low
Tell the stars - I’ve been laughin’
Tell the stars - I shed a tear or two
Tell all the hearts I broke in passin’
I never knew what I would put you through
I will never do - a thing like that again
Oh my friend
Tell the world x 2
Tell the world my friend x 2
Whoah my friend
The Sting of the Blows
Lost another one
Took it lightly
Rose up with the sun
Shinin’ brightly
Hands up to the sky
Learn what the wind knows
Hold my head up high
Until the sun goes down
Til the sun goes down
Here’s another day
Let me tell you
I’ve come quite a way
Since I fell through
Got behind the play
Had to be rescued
Not a lot to say
Ask anyone who knows
The sting of the blows
The sting of the blows
Whoah, my soul, my soul
My song - so long
My world - and you, girl
I’ve been - so wrong
Lights out - I”m gone
Oh my lttle lost soul
Where did you go
Oh my little lost soul
He went and lost control
He lost control
He knows
The sting of the blows
The sting of the blows
He knows, the sting of the blows
He knows, he knows
A Bullet on Broadway
Whiteside, he came down
To the neighbourhood
He brought a gun
Like you knew he would
Had a friend to meet
At the Indochine
Across the street
Cars in between
He waits for his man to step outside
His hoodie up - eyes starin’ wide
Oh - he’s more than ready for the fight
Oh - he’s got a point to make tonight
Tonight
Black pickup truck
Cuts across two lanes
Knows somethin’s up
He’s gettin’ out of range
A shooter steps out
From the restaurant
Whiteside makes him and he
He opens up
Like the gunfight at the OK Corral
Pistol crackin’ and the
The bullets howl
Oh - and now you know it’s not a game
Oh - nothin’s gonna be the same tonight
Not tonight
Struck by a bullet - on Broadway
Cut down by a bullet - on Broadway
On Broadway
And time runs in slo-mo frames
This moment will play again
And again, and again
Alfred Wong, he was
A stand-up kid
Proud and strong
In everything he did
Fifteen years old, in the family car
Ridin’ home, but - he won’t get that far
He hears the crack
Of a bullet’s flight
Sat in the back - looks to his right
Oh - the last thing that he ever sees
Oh - it’s Whiteside shootin’
From his knees
The pictures freeze
Caught by a bullet - on Broadway
Struck by a bullet - on Broadway
On Broadway
And the devil - he’s not to blame
But he was right there
All the same, all the same
Just the same
Cue the cops - and the crime scene tape
Bringin’ all their chops
But it’s too late
For Whiteside and Wong
The curtain fell
One gone to heaven
The other... well
The sun comes up, the troops are gone
Nothin’ we can do but carry on
Oh - a pile of flowers in the sun
Oh - all that’s left to say, he’s gone
He’s gone
Caught by a bullet - on Broadway
Cut down by a bullet - on Broadway
On Broadway
On Broadway
A bullet on Broadway
Nothing to Lose
Watchin’ the sky fall
My heart beatin’ louder
I hear my name called
As I turn into powder
Nothin’ to lose
I’m goin’ nowhere
And it doesn’t matter
Illusions I’ve found here
I’m watchin’ them shatter
Nothin’ to lose
Nothin’ to lose
Don’t cry
There’s no sadness here to mend
Tonight
I’ll be sleepin’ on the wind
hummm
Here at the window
Everything’s brighter
I’m done with these shadows
I’m done with this fighter
Nothin’ to lose
Nothin’ to lose
The ruins behind me
They melt in the sweet air
The palace is empty
Nobody lives there
Nothin’ to lose
Nothin’ to lose
Don’t cry
There’s no message I could send
Birds fly
They can’t tell you where they’ve been
hummm
Here in the hollow
With no one to guide me
I found a new rainbow
I wrap it around me
Nothin’ to lose
Watchin’ the sky fall
My heart beatin’ louder
I hear my name called
As I turn into powder
Nothin’ to lose
Nothin’ to lose
Nothin’ to lose
Lightfoot in the Garden
I saw Gordon Lightfoot in the garden today
He knelt in the sun and bowed his head to pray
He spoke to the angels, the wind and the trees
His face ran with tears, he prayed for release
From the cage of the body that brought him so far
I saw Gordon Lightfoot come back from the war
So long ago, were we ever that young
I saw him out playin’, fell into his song
His voice was a river, shining and strong
I wanted so much to be where he belonged
So I worked, I played and I rode out my dreams
Nothin’ much ever came out of those scenes
I saw Gordon Lightfoot in the garden today
He looked like a man who had just found his way
His eyes, they were mirrors, his skin was like clay
Broken and dry where the river once played
He spoke with a voice that was
Golden and young
He said, "What can I do for you son"
I saw Gordon Lightfoot in the garden today
I told him my story, he just looked away
He said, "Son, you can’t turn the whole world
on a dime
Make it or not, you put in your time
You work your ass off, that’s all you can do
That’s all that I’ve done that should matter to you"
I saw Gordon Lightfoot in the garden today
He shook my hand once, then he walked away
Anyway
Had a dream, what did it say
God came back today
Silk suit, he’s looking fine
Said he sure was a friend of mine
Sat me down, he said now son
Time you got some learnin’ done
Spent a lifetime playin’ the fool
You don’t get a pass from school today
Not from me, anyway
Anyway
Had a date with a checkout girl
We took a ride on a Tilt-a-Whirl
Thought it meant we’d fell in love
Told her what I’s thinkin’ of
She looked down, I heard her say
I really can’t go on this way
I got a guy at home you see, and
He really means a lot to me, I gotta go
She stayed, anyway
Anyway
I think about the things I’ve done
Battles lost and won
I think about the times I ran away
Every bridge that I have burned
Every stone I left unturned yesterday
Who cares - can’t change it anyway
Anyway
So we’re here and we don’t know why
Fell out of the sky
Musta’ hit real hard, I guess
That’s why we’re such a mess
Must have been a painful night
Brought our souls into the light
Had to be a real hot day
To burn all that pain away
I don’t know
I still feel it anyway
Anyway
The Gold
He said he came to save a life
Said he had a chance
Said he came alone
He said he came alone
He took my hand and he made a sign
I fell into the past
And there I was back home
There I was back home
And then he said
Here’s what you have to know
If you want to ride to the end of the rodeo
Some will stick and some will go
But the ones who love you back
Until the end of the show
They are the gold x2
Step into my teenage room
Walls are painted green
Lino on the floor
Grey lino on the floor
Friday night, here’s me at home
And I’m not goin’ out
Gonna read alone
I’m gonna read my book alone
And it’s just because
Every bug I was bitten by
They died in the grave of the fireflies
Every flame that caught my eye
Too hot for me to hold
Because they might have been the gold
They might have been the gold
And Oh ----- how far have we come
And Oh ----- the journey begun
Must find its end
Everyone will take a seat
When it comes the time
For the bus to go
For all of us to go
Looking out as we hurry by
The streets are filled with life
I can’t believe the show
Such a beautiful show
And I realize
There’s so much more to see
About this dream that we call reality
It’s not who you hope to be
It’s what your heart can hold
Brings you the gold
Brings you the gold
That is the gold
That is the gold
When Will You Take Me Home
Something I will tell you
If you promise not to hear
This gift that I have brought you
You have never seen so clear
I hold it in my open hand
Wrapped in ribbons and the rain
You know that I will understand
If we never speak again
Oh my angel - why do you fight alone
Oh my angel - when will you take me home
Take me home
Your mother shares the past
But her stories always change
She keeps her secrets under glass
Their colours rich and strange
She told me that she placed your heart
In a chamber underground
Says she held you when you came apart
But no record can be found
Oh my angel - why do you fight alone
Oh my angel - when will you take me home
Take me home
Your dogs were born in Africa
They’ve got the desert in their bones
When you walk them through the vault of the night
Do they think they’re gong home
Do they tremble when the wind is high
The branches dancing in the trees
As they shrink beneath this foreign sky
Do they bring you to your knees
Oh my angel - why do you fight alone
Oh my angel - when will you take me home
Take me home
And when this day is over
And you’re falling through the night
Your body wrapped in covers
Your spirit lost in flight
Will you meet me in your garden
In a place that you prepare
And with our voices hushed and solemn
Will we sing this simple prayer
Oh my angel - why do you fight alone
Oh my angel - when will you take me home
Take me home
Oh my angel - you cut so close to the bone
Oh my angel - when will you take me home
Take me home