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LYRICS

 ALBUM: DREAM COME TRUE

Dream Come True

Slippery Ground

The Last Word

Out of the Blue

Everything's All Right

The Neighbor

Exile

Faith

C ar Guitar
Katherine's Lullaby

 

 SINGLE: Katherine's Lullaby (unabridged)  

 

ALBUM: MERLIN'S LEAP

Sundown Lullaby

Ten Thousand Lakes

The Water is Wide (traditional)

 

 

ALBUM: DREAM COME TRUE

Dream Come True

I don’t know who you are yet
I don’t know when we’ll meet
But I think the time is coming soon
And I just know it will be sweet
I know it will be
I know it’ll be…

Like a warm wind blowing
Like cool water flowing
That lifts me up, and carries me closer to you
The time I’ve been waiting
Has been sweet, anticipating you
My dream come true

I know it will be sweet, I know it'll be…
When I find my dream come true

Every day I’ve lived without you
Has been one more day to dream about you
But I think the time is coming soon
And I just know it will be sweet
I know it will be
I know it’ll be…

Like a warm storm blowing

Like a cold river flowing

That lifts me up, and carries me closer to you

All my life I’ve been waiting

Never stopped anticipating

You, my dream come true

 

I know it will be sweet, I know it'll be…

When I find my dream come true


Slippery Ground

 

I could walk into a tree

And not feel my bones break

I want to look at you all day to see

The moves you don't know you make

 

You chase away skies of gray

You’re the break of sunrise on the day

I don't ever want to take my eyes away

 

I could walk into the stormy sea

And not feel my blue body shake

I want to hold you close to me

Kiss your eyelids when you wake

 

You chase away skies of gray

You’re the break of sunrise on the day

I don't ever want to take my eyes away

 

Your mind is playing tricks on me

And when I try to slow down

Then you just bring out the thirst in me

To drink you in till I drown

I’m on slippery ground

 

I could walk into a house on fire

And not feel my smoking skin bake

I pasted my foot down on the gas

And now I can't seem to find the brake

   

Don't want to take my eyes away

Don't want to make up lies and say

That I don't think about you every day

 

You chase away skies of gray

You’re the break of sunrise on the day

I don't ever want to take my eyes away

 

 

The Last Word

 

Sometimes I don’t know where you end and I begin

But I know that the good-looking part is you

And somehow it seems like we’ve always been friends

In my heart I guess I always knew

I want to be by your side

Will you be my beautiful bride

 

We fit together like a lock and a key

I think so highly of you, were we meant to be?

Will you marry me?

 

Sometimes love is a wildfire on a windy day

Sometimes it’s a cozy blaze

That will never burn away

All of our days

 

Someday when the kids have grown and our hair’s gone to gray

And for you, I hope I don’t have a gnarly combover

And I’ll look back at how the years have flown by, and I’ll say,

If I had to do it all over

I wouldn’t change a thing since the day I bent down on one knee

And asked you, my love, to marry me

 

And I’ll say, remember how…

Sometimes we were a wildfire on a windy day

Sometimes we were a cozy blaze

And look how it’s never burned away

All of our days

 

Now you get the last word

While I get on my knee

Do you believe we’ll be happy?

I do.  Do you? I do.  Will you marry me?


Out of the Blue

 

You’re getting married, my friends

New beginnings and new ends

You’re gonna carry each other along

Past the roads that are dusty and the turns that are wrong

 

So hang on tight

You’re doing everything right

I hope your days are sunny

And you keep each other warm at night

 

You started out being just friends

That’s well and good, but not how this ends

Then there was love, was it out of the blue?

Did your hearts skip the first time you said I love you?

 

So whip your hair in the air

And walk on down the aisle

Keep the flame of passion

Brightly lit on your smile

 

Now you’re close as two can be

Best friends, lovers, now family

Keep the love fresh and out of the blue

May your heart skip whenever you say I love you


Everything's All Right

 

It’s getting on well past midnight

Looking up at the sky

Underneath the star trails and traces of fire

Everything’s all right

Everything’s all right, all right

 

Leaves are calling out your name

Caught by the wind’s harmony

Seems like it's all rushing by like a river in its prime

But it’s just a flickering eyelash in time

And it's all right

And it's all right

 

It's like you're riding in the eye of a hurricane

Surrounded by motion and light

But you’re standing still

And you don’t feel the chill

Because you know that it’s all right

You know it’s all right

You know


 

The Neighbor

 

Hey neighbor, you don’t seem like you’re a bad kind of guy

So when I say I wish you were dead and gone, don’t be surprised, and I’ll tell you why

It’s not like you’re a crack house shooting guns off in the night

Or a cathouse or a frat house, but still, something’s not quite right

 

Why don’t you clean your yard

Come on, it can’t be that hard

Even if it’s just that little part that I can see

Come on, neighbor, do this thing for me

 

I’m not looking for perfection

But man your garbage needs attention

And that stinking tire collection

Smells like a bad rubber infection

 

Why don’t you just clean your yard

Come on, you lazy chunk of lard

Even if it’s just that little part that I can see

Come on, neighbor, do this thing for me

 

The sun sparkles so pretty off those shards of broken glass

Your shopping cart collection gives the neighborhood your special touch of class

My yard’s not perfect, I don’t worship my grass

But you, you let yours grow till it’s high as Michael Jordan’s…  ask me…

 

Why don’t you clean your yard

Come on, it can’t be that hard

Even if it’s just that little part that I can see

Come on, neighbor, do this thing for me

 

Hey neighbor, you don’t ever seem to be in short supply

Of the crap that blows over from your pathetic pigsty

It’s not like you’re a killer doing funny things to sheep

But all I ask from you neighbor, is a little basic upkeep.

 

Why don’t you clean your yard

Come on, you human discard

Even just that little part I can see

Come on, neighbor, do this thing for me


Exile

                                                             

It’s after dark  

It’s getting cool on the boulevard

As I’m walking past the street people to the bar

Throw back some cold ones to get away from it all

Get away from it all for just a little while

A little bit of that social exile.

 

It’s after dark

It's getting cold on the boulevard

As I’m walking past the street people to my car

And there she is rolled up on the bench

With a newspaper coat and a crystal meth smile

But Mama always walked the hardest mile

 

Your head's turned to the side

You always had your pride

Is there something that you want to hide

Or are you just getting away from it all for just a little while

You got a bottle for a pillow, a bit of that social exile

 

It’s after dark

It’s starting to rain down on the boulevard

As I'm driving around sipping from a jar

The streetlights are shooting stars

I wish on them, don't open Mama's scars

If she wants to get away, let her get away from it all for just a little while

 

I ought to turn around

I ought to know what's right

Maybe try to cover her up since it's her birthday night

If she doesn't won't know where it came from, she won't care

It's being seen by her boy, that's what Mama can't bare

 

If she wants to get away, let her get away from it all

If she wants to get away, let her get away from it all

If she wants to get away, let her get away from it all for just a little while


Faith

 

The thing about you

You got the faith

That everything happens for a reason

Doesn't work for me, never did

I don't got the faith

But it works for you, doesn't it

 

And that’s good enough reason for me

You got to have a point of view

If you say, there’s such a thing as miracles

Then I say, the miracle is you

 

I don't think there's a reason I met you

It was just the right place and time

Even when I'm not sure I belong

I'm still glad you happened along

 

If there’s really such a thing as fate

And we’re just players in a grand design

Chasing our destiny

Either way, the sun’s gonna shine

No use racing for what’s meant to be

 

And that’s good enough reason for me

As long as our time’s not yet through

If there's really such a thing as miracles

Then the miracle is you

 

I don't buy your weird way of thinking

Not any more than you buy into mine

And I don't buy into taking things wrong

See, I’m just glad you happened along

 

The thing about you

You got the faith

That everything happens for a reason

Doesn't work for me, never did

I don't got the faith

But it never bothers you a bit

 

And that’s good enough reason for me

To thine own self be true

If there's really such a thing as miracles

Then the miracle is you

 

 

Katherine's Lullaby

 

You might just have a fine day today, Katherine

All sorts of things might just go right

And when your fine day has faded away

You might just have an even finer night.

Greet your dreams with an easy smile

When you turn out the light

Till tomorrow and another fine day, goodnight

 

Doesn’t matter if the sky is wet and gray or burns a brilliant blue

The trick is to appreciate, no matter what the view

But if you should ever feel despair, I hope you know that I still care for you

And wish that you…

Greet your dreams with an easy smile when you turn out the light

Till tomorrow and another fine day, goodnight

 

Car Guitar

 

Ever since I got my first guitar when I was seventeen

I knew I wouldn’t play it much if I tried to keep it clean

So I shoved that guitar case where the sun don’t shine

Under the bed …

 

See, if I keep it in its case it might as well be in outer space        (CHORUS)

It’s my car guitar and it’s by my side and I play it all the time

It’s not meant to be looked at, sucker was built to be played

I don’t care it cost a million bucks, it ain’t some damn Monet

I’m really gonna use it, not be shy I might bruise it

It’s my car guitar and it’s by my side and I play it all the time

 

I got a cheap guitar so I can have one with me in the car

And at the beach where there’s the sun and salt and sand and sticky tar

I strap it to my back so I can play it any time

I need to get out of my head some incessant damn rhyme

 

It’s got grit  in the gears and strings brown as dirt

The body’s beat to shit and I hope that rust there doesn’t hurt

It’s seen a lot of bend, fold, and mutilate

But it’s always by my side and that’s what makes it really great

 

It’s my car guitar and sometimes I play while I steer with my knee

Sometimes I strap it on my bike, and the wind blows a melody

I know the way I treat it, someday it’s gonna get wrecked,

But better fuck it up from too much use than from useless neglect

 

I got a brand new classical without a pick guard

I guess you’re not supposed to play a pretty thing like that too hard

At first I treated her like precious glass

But then I figured, life’s too short, and being careful's a bite in the ass

 

I used to play with my pinky finger anchored like so

Problem was I played that nice guitar with such gusto

As the years went by my pinky finally rubbed right through the wood

Bloody splinters under my nails, I said, “That can’t be good!”

 

I went to the doctor, and there in the box of toys

Was this big rubber frog meant for the girls and boys

Hope I don’t burn in hell for that frog I stole

But his butt fit so perfect in that guitar's bloody hole

 

I got a brand new Taylor, fancy inlay on the face

Pristine cherry mint condition, not a fret hair out of place

Plays so sweet my baby gives me cavities

I keep it by my side where I can play it when I please

 

Before my fancy Taylor’s first birthday

I played on stage outside the Blue Skye Café

Should’ve seen it in the cards when that umbrella sailed away

Clear over the roof into the streets of Morro Bay

 

Well I finished up my set and put my Taylor on the stand

Next to my favorite gut string, at least that’s what I planned

Cuz when I turned around to thank the crowd for sticking around

I heard the sound of guitars blowing down to the ground

 

And I said, “Hey!” when I saw my Taylor scraping on the street

And I said “No way!” when I felt the crack on the neck, right here from the concrete

And I said, “Don’t care what you look like, as long as you’ll still play

Cuz if not, I’ll be playing it in the key…  of Folk in A

 

(CHORUS) See if I keep it in it’s case…


Katherine's Lullaby (unabridged)

 

You might just have a fine day today, Katherine

All sorts of things might just go right

And when your fine day has faded away

You might just have an even finer night.

Greet your dreams with an easy smile

When you turn out the light

Till tomorrow and another fine day, goodnight

 

Doesn’t matter if the sky is wet and gray or burns a brilliant blue

The trick is to appreciate, no matter what the view

But if you should ever feel despair, I hope you know that I still care for you

And wish that you…

Greet your dreams with an easy smile when you turn out the light

Till tomorrow and another fine day, goodnight

 

So your mom spilled the beans I was writing you a lullaby

And before you’d ever heard it you wrote me this kind reply

From a ten year-old’s crystal point of view

And with this perfect verse you made your very own wish come true

Cuz what you said...

 

Dear Bruce, thank you so much for writing me a song

You don't know how much I appreciate it

And I know this sounds like a lot of trouble

But could you possibly either write my mom a song

Or split my song with her

I'd really appreciate it

And I know that she would love it

I think it would remind her that she is loved

Your Friend, Katherine

 

You might just have a fine day today, Katherine and your Mom

All sorts of things might just go right

And when your fine day has faded away

You might just have an even finer night

Greet your dreams with an easy smile

When you turn out the light

Till tomorrow and another fine day, goodnight

MERLIN'S LEAP ~Once Upon a Fingerstyle Guitar~

Sundown Lullaby
There goes the sun behind the hill
Coloring the clouds above and still
Dark is coming
Feel it in the chill

The clouds are burning up
Red on blue
Soon you’ll lay your head down
And sleep will come to you

May you rest, May you be warm and dry
May your worries never make you cry
May you dream of climbing mountains
Into the clear blue sky

And when you open your eyes
The sun’ll be there to greet you
And my love, so will I
And when you open your eyes
The sun’ll be there to greet you
And my love, so will I

May you wake up easy, May you wake up pure
May you breathe a new day safe and secure
And know that someone cares for you tonight

And when you close your eyes again
When the sun goes behind the hill
Coloring the clouds above
When everything goes still

May you rest, May you be warm and dry
May your worries never make you cry
May you dream of climbing mountains
Into the clear blue sky

And when you open your eyes
The sun’ll be there to greet you
And my love, so will I
And when you open your eyes
The sun’ll be there to greet you
And my love, so will I

TEN THOUSAND LAKES
I remember when I was a little boy
In the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes
Not an easy place, snow whips in your face
When the cold winter wind awakes.
I remember when the leaves would turn
From colors so bright, to earthy and dry
Piles so high, getting ready for to burn
And diving in making those old leaves fly.

From the coast of California on the way to Canada
From the blazing New York skyline to the swamps of Florida
Home is where I am and the company I keep
And home is this sweet paradise where I lay my head to sleep
But I remember thunderstorms that would light up a Minnesota sky
And I remember the Northern Lights
Shining colors across my eyes.

I remember when I turned away from
The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes
To this warm pretty place, with its laid-back pace
Now it’s just fire and flood and earthquakes.
Tires spinning on Rocky Mountain ice
In an all-wheel drive SUV
Guitars crammed to the walls
Eating Wonder Bread balls
And my dog stepping right in my coffee.

From the coast of California on the way to Canada
From the blazing New York skyline to the swamps of Florida
Home is where I come from and the memories that cut deep
And home is the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes
Where the living it don’t come cheap
I remember thunderstorms that would light up a Minnesota sky
And I remember my home, as if I’d never said goodbye.

I remember when I was a little boy
In the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.

the water is wide (traditional)
the water is wide
i can't cross o'er
and neither have
i wings to fly
give me a boat
that can carry two
and we both shall row
my love and i

oh love is gentle
and love is kind
the sweetest flower
when first it's new
but love grows old
and waxes cold
and fades away
like the morning dew

there is a ship
that sailed the sea
she's laden deep
as deep can be
but not as deep
as the love i'm in
and i know not
if i sink or swim

the water is wide
i can't cross o'er
and neither have
i wings to fly
give me a boat
that can carry two
and we both shall row
my love and i
and we both shall row
my love and i