'Tis a dumpster in the courtyard festing,
not from hunger might I add.
For it is fed between these buildings, day
and night with hefty bag.
Here the bottles clang and clatter, through
these walls extra thin. Paper shuffling metal banging,
with the hollow sound of tin.
A street is busy with cars passing, sounds like waves
meeting sand. Doors and gates and footsteps trashing,
like some offbeat L. A. band.
Voices pitched add to vibrations, as the running
through the halls. All because a dumpster's waiting,
just outside, for one and all.

I write for you
Oh weary traveler,
You who has known
Only disappointments,
And failed attempts.
I write for you
Who has been so close
To what had been
So apparently sure
Only to see it disintegrate
For no reason,
And, without explanation.
I write for you
Oh King and Queen of Hearts,
Who encourages others
And is a happy witness,
to their success.
I write for you
Dreamer of dreams,
You the optimistic child,
You who wipes away each tear
To face again the wind.
I write for you
Oh One I love,
Because you know first hand
What it's like to fly without wings.
I write for you,
Oh because,
I wait like you for love,
Until it springs.

Some days I feel
Sun that shines.
Some days I go
Into the mines.
Some days I think
That I can fly.
Some days I think
I'm going to die.
Some days are filled
With wonderment.
Some days I wonder
Where it went.
Some days the world
Is oh so grand.
Some days there is
No place to stand.
Some days I am
So far apart.
Some days it all flows
From this heart.

ALMOST NOT QUITE

Almost not quite,
That's my story in black and white.
Almost not quite,
I've been beaten
And you've got that right.
So near, so far,
Another dream, a fallen star.
Almost not quite, almost not quite,
Almost not quite, almost not quite,
That's my story in black and white.

I'm something like an empty page
A border town or desert sage
The ball that leaves the batter's cage
The dangling light behind back stage
I'm a loner, I'm a loner.

I'm the hole in a pair of socks
The space in a popcorn box
The shadow of a silver fox
The door that has the broken locks.

I live in almost every town
I'm the one who always hangs around
You will find me mostly sitting down
Or on the pavement that I pound
I'm a loner, oh I'm a loner.

I'm the voice at night that calls
The paint that peels from walls
The echo through the halls
The name no one recalls.

I'm the faucet the one that drips
The shirt with all the rips
The sneaker without the grips
The glass that always tips.

I'm a lover with a special tie
I need a lot of open sky
I'm the one who always needs to fly
I'm the one whom for the world must cry
I'm a loner, that's me.

Stuck with an image
I cannot find.
Stuck with an image
I can't leave behind.

Stuck with an image
That makes me blind.
Stuck with an image
That's in my mind.

Where can you be?
Why can't I see?
Why do I feel
You so close to me?

What do you want?
What have I done?
Why this lifetime
Spent on the run?

Will it just happen
As some say it does
Or did I just miss it
Only because,

I'm stuck with this image
I have from above,
I'm stuck with this image
This image of love.

White orchids, golden leaves.
A blue heart summer grieves.
I look out at a stormy sea,
And know you're waiting there for me.

A fragrant smell, that distant bell,
A call that I cannot dispel.
I feel your touch in the restless wind,
I wonder if, I wonder when.

White orchids, golden leaves,
The voice that calls, way out at sea.
The distant bell, the restless wind,
A heart that's blue, and grieves again.
White orchids.

Children's voices ringing,
Traffic's on the street.
Lovers holding hands,
as loneliness it eats.

A shadow's on the wall,
A man with his guitar,
It's a sunny summer Saturday,
No money's in the jar.

Everybody's heading somewhere
I wonder what that's like?
Or does illusion just appear,
As in these passages I write?

Fumes from buses catch the drift,
With noise that all seems to fit.
A dog who pants stops to piss,
Another comes along who sniffs.

Businessmen dressed in suites,
Success written in pursuits,
Gals who seem to have this flair,
Walk as if no one's there.

Police cars, sirens,
Boom boxes, wild machines,
Park benches sit between,
Carriages of babies' screams.

Everybody's heading somewhere,
I wonder what that's like?
Or does illusion just appear,
As in these passages I write?

It's a sunny summer Saturday,
Music's on the street.
It's the sounds of the city,
Where everything competes.

A shadow's on the wall,
A man with his guitar
It's a sunny summer Saturday,
No money's in the jar.

I woke up to a technicolor morning.
Trucks on the street were making up for time.
I heard the birds when they all started calling,
So I lit a cigarette and wondered why.

Bamboo curtains they don't keep out noises,
Noises that wake this voice inside.
I guess that I just don't have any choices,
Cause I prayed again last night that I should die,
Now I smoke this cigarette and wonder why.

There was a time I was called a child of promise,
But promises they always passed me by.
So if like me you are this child of promise,
Make a promise to yourself at least to try,
Or you'll end up just like me and wonder why.

My mother lays dying up the street.
My wife she just gave me her receipt,
And I know somehow that I just can't compete,
With those noises I hear along the street.

Sad songs they keep this world from going dry.
Seems like everyone I love says goodbye.
Now I think that everything I've heard is my own lie,
So I ask what the purpose is, and wonder why.

Can lady luck really be that unkind?
Can't she see that all I have is right here on my mind?
Or is there something else that I am here to find,
As in these bamboo curtains that I sit behind.

Bamboo curtains they don't keep out noises,
Noises that wake this voice inside.
I guess that I just don't have any choices,
Cause I prayed again last night that I should die.
Now I smoke this cigarette and wonder why.

I'm just another on a fast train, living a lie, acting insane.
Feeling my way, dealing with pain, I'm just another riding the train.
Billboards, pizza pies, facing downs, midnight highs,
Neon dreams, tender thighs, taking flight, under skies.
Smoke rings, potato chips, video games, salty lips,
Watching moves, rubber grips, racing cars, faster clips.
Doughnut holes, missing clues, frosty mugs, sister blues,
Prison ships, paying dues, eating more, curly cues.
Coffee cups, peanut jars, popcorn flings, tobacco tars,
Movie reels, plastic stars, rocket ships, testing Mars.
Worn shoes, wax burns, bed sheets, night turns,
Time squared, one learns, death haunts, stomach churns.
Waking up, water boils, breakfast treat, little coils,
Day begins, nature toils, afternoon, time spoils.
Soup spoon, lip slurps, inside something jerks,
Outside tiny burps, meanwhile, life perks.
Night runs, short hops, looking down, table tops,
Later on, food flops, passing by all stops.
Late show, newscast, guns pop, kids blast,
Tootsie rolls, won't last, another one, just past.
Top hats, silk draws, church hymns, new laws,
Tracks spread, because, train needs, new paws.

My sneakers got soaking in the rain,
Running down the street from nowhere.
A Celtic cross swinging 'round my neck,
Trying to find a place somewhere.
I know it wasn't back from where I came,
Where smoke from dampened leaves
Meets memories from a love that still remains.
I know it wasn't back from where I came,
Or in these sneakers worn out in the rain.

So I ask, What is the meaning of my life?
What debt could I be paying?
So I ask,
Where is that happiness
I once held in my arms
When you were still around,
And I was in your life?
Fires burn,
But nothing like the fire
In this lonely heart.
Fires burn,
Underneath the rain,
That soaks the ground
That I am made to walk.

My sneakers got soaking in the rain,
Running down the street from nowhere.
A Celtic cross swinging 'round my neck,
Still trying to find a place
Somewhere.

It's not the world I knew child,
It's not the world I knew.
Didn't fit in very well, still, I hope you do.
My world was filled with dreams alive,
Today it's just as true.
But it's not the world I knew child,
It's not the world I knew.
Don't think I'm any different,
Though people think I'm strange.
They think because I hug some trees,
Perhaps that I'm insane.
I see from someplace in my heart,
It's just the way I feel,
I've been in love right from the start,
At least to me it's real.
But it's not the world I knew child,
It's not the world I knew.
Don't think I'll ever see it child,
But still I hope you do.
I pray someone will come along,
The one to understand,
To see this child who waits inside,
This body of a man.
I looked into another's eyes,
Just this very night,
And again I felt this surge of love,
As I held her in my sight.
I wondered if she saw me there,
Saw me looking out,
I wondered if she felt the same,
If she shared my doubt.
It's not the world I knew child,
It's not the world I knew.
Didn't find it here at all,
Though its skies I flew and flew.
But I'll keep this dream I have alive
And hope that you will too.
Though it's not the world I knew child
Still I hope it is for you.

"If I only knew,"
My old man said.
Those were his last words,
Then he was dead.

I often wonder
What he meant.
What pearls of wisdom
On him were spent.
What did they dent?

If I only knew
How many times
Those very words
Before me chime.

Loud and clear,
They always come,
After the fall,
From what I've done.

If I only knew. If I only knew!
Why can't I see
What I just do?

Perhaps that's what
He thought about,
When having some flash,
That erased all doubt.

Or, did he see,
It was too late,
And death was there
to seal his fate
Without the bate?

If I only knew. If I only knew!
I would have lived differently,
Honest it's true!
Just words of a shrews?
If I only knew.
If I only knew.

I need just like that little child
Who was in a lot of pain
When that face was pressed
Against the glass
And looked out at the rain.

Saturdays were lonely then
When raining hard outside
And nothing is as lonely now
As when freedom's locked inside.

Chorus
My love is on the outside,
Outside looking in.
'Cause whenever I am inside,
The outside calls again.

Lonely is no stranger
I've felt it all my life
I need to have my freedom
Like an eagle, when in flight.

I am looking out that window
It is Saturday again
My face is pressed against the glass
Just like it was back then.

Chorus

Rain is falling, the street is calling
Just like some long lost friend.
'Cause what I've found,
Is my heart is bound
And this lonely can't stay in.

I need, just like that little child
To stand out in the rain
Unshackled from the loneliness
Behind that window pane.

Chorus

I did not choose this fire,
Did not choose this path I'm on.
Not trying to get higher,
Believe me,
I'm just not that strong.
I did not choose this fire.

I haven't seen the moon
For too long a time.
Seems like there's a dark cloud
Even though the sun will shine.
You asked me what was wrong
Told you I'm unhappy.
Feel I don't belong,
And life left without me.

Hope has disappeared
With the passing of
Each dream I had,
I did not choose this fire
Or this feeling
That leaves happy sad.
I did not choose this fire
I did not choose this fire
I did not choose this fire
I did not choose this fire.

Don't give me any rules that say conform,
It only makes for waves like in a storm.
Don't tell me what is right or what is wrong,
Just let me have some space where I belong.
No rules will ever teach me how to see,
Because those answers are inside of me.
And if I am ever to be free,
I need to have that place where I can be.
I've watched a thistle flower, and spread her wings.
I've also come across the bee that stings.
Yet...known the joy that only laughter brings,
When finding pleasure in the simple things.
So don't give me any rules that say conform,
Don't tell me what is right or what is wrong.
I only need some place where I belong,
And then just maybe we might get along.
When I am left alone
It all comes naturally,
'Cause everything I do
I know comes back to me.
Don't give me any rules.
Don't give me any rules.
Don't give me any rules.

Can I keep my name,
Can I still be a man?
Can someone like me
Fit into your plan?
I'm one with a nature
I know a bit wild!
But it's been with me
Since I was a child.
Most times I'm gentle,
But sometimes I'm blind.
Sometimes I'm just a fool
Who gets out of line.
If you break that spirit,
Who will I be,
But a nameless soul
In eternity.
Some things aren't
Supposed to change,
Can you understand?
Like the man you see,
The man that I am.
Can I keep my name?
Can I keep my name?
Can I keep my name?

I've been driven
By a mighty wind.
A wind that blows
Inside.
I've been driven
By a mighty wind.
For all the reasons
Why.

I've blown across
Mountain tops,
Valleys far
Below.
I've blown across
Desert sands
And plains and winters'
Snow.

I've blown across
Every sea,
Every mood of
Sky
I've been driven
By a mighty wind,
For all the reasons
Why.

I'm running for cover
No place to hide.
Lost my umbrella
Got to get high.

Running for cover
Getting all wet.
Running for cover
Trying to find it.

It's raining hard
It's getting inside.
Just want my umbrella
So I can stay dry.

Umbrella Umbrella
You need to be found
I need you to cover
What's coming on down.

I'm running for cover
Don't ask me why
Just want my umbrella
To hold back the sky.

Umbrella Umbrella
Where can you be?
I need you to cover
What's getting to me.

I thought about perfection,
Thought about change.
Thought about loss,
Thought about gain.
I thought about life,
Thought about death.
Thought about things,
That haven't happened yet.

Seems I'm always thinking,
Or looking at the scene.
Trying to find some answers,
You know what I mean.
Here I go again,
I'm thinking of you.
I wonder where it's going,
Or if it's even true.

My brain seems to never tire,
Thinking all the time.
Trying to find the words,
Trying to find the rhyme.
Don't think it's ever going to stop,
Don't think it ever ends.
I guess I'm still trying to find
Those reasons I depend.

Just blues
They come around,
Just blues
To weight you down.
Just blues
I don't know why,
Just blues
Like a purple sky.

I've got the blues,
And it ain't you,
Just blues, babe,
Coming through.

Moving slow
Shuffling along,
Feeling the blues
Nothing wrong.
Just blues
Like something you wear,
Just blues in the atmosphere.

I've got the blues,
And it ain't you,
Just blues
Coming through.
Just blues
Like a sullen night,
Just blues
It's going to be all right.
I've got the blues,
And it ain't you,
Just blues I gotta do.

I'll be your reason for failure,
I'll be the reason you're blue.
I'll be the fault in behavior,
Whenever you want me to.
Life gives us moments of darkness,
Times we all become weak.
And things we've done we're ashamed of,
And truly, we'd rather not speak.
But I'll be your reason for failure,
I'll be the thorn in your side.
I'll be the fault in behavior,
Where you can just run and hide.

Now time becomes our best teacher,
Humbling to say it at best.
For many things happen between us,
Before we can put it to rest.
But I'll be your reason for failure,
I'll be the reason you're blue.
I'll be the fault in behavior,
Whenever you want me to.
Life is one contradiction,
Like the push and the pull in the sea.
Yes everything's part of the friction,
But you can still blame it on me.
Now we may not want to believe this,
But everyone's given their turn.
'Cause everyone's really that special
And given this life to learn.
But I'll be your reason for failure,
I'll be the thorn in your side.
I'll be the fault in behavior,
Though I am only your
Pride!

Tangerine lights,
Blue colored walls,
People at the bar,
Waiting last call.

A few more songs,
And this night's through,
And the Tangerine lights,
Sad but true.

I heard her say,
"You're a handsome man,"
Above the noise of
The Tangerine Band.

Desperate for love,
You could see that,
And so was he,
The way he looked back.

Ah, Tangerine lights,
Where do you go?
When daylight comes,
Where's that glow?

They danced a bit,
Where the lost are found,
Up on the floor,
Swinging around.

He left alone,
As the night moved on,
But they had their moment,
Though it didn't last long.

Things look good
Under Tangerine lights,
Keeping those flaws
Out of sight.

Tangerine lights,
Where do you go?
When daylight comes,
Where's that glow?

Then the band said,
"It's last call,
We'll play two more,
But then that's all."

I stayed to watch,
Enjoying the blush,
'Cause I knew it would end
Revealing us.

Tangerine lights,
Where do you go?
When daylight comes,
Where's that glow?

I'm your temporary lover babe,
But that's all right.
I'm a temporary lover,
Who's been a witness to some light.
I'm a temporary lover,
On a temporary flight.
I'm a temporary lover,
But I'll give it all tonight.

When I was young, I had this dream,
I think you know the kind I mean.
But life had a different plan,
I think you, understand.
That's why tonight babe,
I'll give you all I can.
I always had this thing inside,
Just never could be satisfied,
Thought for years it was my pride,
But it's just love, I couldn't hide.

So tonight we'll be together,
Knowing well that it won't last,
But I'll give you all the love I have,
'Cause there's nothing to hold back.
We're just temporary lovers,
With temporary names.
We're just temporary lovers,
But it's loving all the same.

I'm a temporary lover,
Who's been a witness to some light.
I'm a temporary lover,
On a temporary flight,
And that's all right.

The brightest side of heaven
Comes when it turns night,
And we're sitting here together
In its soothing light,
And there's no place I'd rather be
Than here with you tonight,
Singing songs that make life
Seem like it's alright.

Chorus
While the candle burns,
Nighttime turns the blues away,
Just some candlelight, an old upright
And some songs to play,
The guitar man, the music stand,
And some folks who want to stay,
While the candle burns,
Nighttime turns the blues away.

Our troubles will return
Sure as the sun comes up,
Another day just drinking
From the same old cup,
Trying to get someplace
That's never quite far enough,
Another day just filled with
All that old life stuff.

Chorus Solo over Verse

But in the meantime,
You and I will stop, no need to run.
'Cause no matter what has happened,
What's been done is over and done.
So let tomorrow have those troubles,
That we'll leave behind tonight,
And I'll sing some songs
That make life seem like it's alright.

Chorus