Tell Me That Don’t Sound Better
Pale as a ghost, glued to a touch screen
Lost down a rabbit hole in search of a sweet dream
Scared to go to school, afraid of the fresh air
They’re selling crisis everywhere
I remember running wild in the summer
Bikes and ballgames until the sun disappeared
Ice cream trucks and dinner bells like sirens
Nothing but dad’s curfew to fear
Tell me that don’t sound better
Than the world we live in now
Following friends you never laid eyes on
Suicide trends someone’s trying to get you high on
Used to wake up and come flying out of bed
Every morning born again
Tell me that don’t sound better
Than the world we live in now
Don’t throw up your hands--it’s on you
You got to make a stand for what’s true
Let’s find the courage to see it through
Pacify kids with mama’s iPhone
And wonder why life becomes a game
Bedroom snipers blowing through some other time zone
There’s got to be a better way
Ain’t nothing wrong with the good old days
Tell me that don’t sound better
Than the world we live in now
My Brother (May the Blood Set You Free)
In the middle of the night
For the rest of my life
I’ll be dreaming of you, my brother
In the unspoken ways
For the rest of my days
Remembering you, my brother
Standing there bolt upright
The weight of the world on your shoulders
With your head held high
Pressure locked inside
Always the perfect soldier
One holy day
The body betrayed
Like a clock overwound
In a moment of truth
It took one false move
To bring it all crashing down
Blood is running like water
Flowing into the sea
Sail away now, my brother
May the blood set you free
For the rest of my life
I’ll be replaying that night
Open your eyes, my brother
Lying there all alone
Blood runs thicker than water
Wherever you go
I’ll be there, you know
A beacon from home
Blood is running like water
Flowing into the sea
Sail away now, my brother
May the blood set you free
Meant for the Sun
Hey, it’s all right
As long as our hearts are pounding we’re still in this fight
As long as we keep swinging there’s a chance we might
Hey, it’s okay
I know you’ve been trying to find a better way
We got to climb back in the ring and fight another day
I know it’s hard to see
I know it’s hard to do
Behind the dark night there’s a rising moon
Don’t give up on me
I won’t give up on you
Many false dawns before the light shines through
Our day is gonna come
You and me were meant for the sun
Hey, it’s all good
Maybe these punches are landing harder than they should
I know all we really want is to feel understood
I know it’s hard to see
I know it’s hard to do
Behind the darkest night there’s a shining moon
Don’t give up on me
I won’t give up on you
Many false dawns before the light shines through
Hey, it’s all right
As long as our hearts are beating we’re still in this fight
As long as we keep swinging there’s a chance we might
Hole in Your Heart
I lie in wait for every promise spoken
You break your word, your word is always broken
You told me that the love we made would go on and on
But now when I look for you you’re so far away
I thought that I knew you
Thought I could get through to you
But I’m all out of words to prove my love to you
I swear I’ve been true to you
And I don’t want to lose you
But there’s a hole in your heart I think I’m falling through
And we’re running out of time
A sea of gray stretching out forever
No black and white squares that fit together
The end of time or a mystery that goes on and on
All I ever wanted to do is float away with you
I thought that I knew you
Thought I could get through to you
But I’m all out of words to prove my love to you
I swear I’ve been true to you
And I don’t want to lose you
But there’s a hole in your heart tonight I’m falling through
And we’re running, yeah, we’re running out of time
I think we’re running, I think we’re running out of time
I thought that I knew you
Thought I could get through to you
But I’m all out of words to prove my love to you
I’ll give everything to you
Whatever you ask me to
We’ve still got time to see this whole thing through
I swear I’ve been true to you
And I don’t want to lose you
But there’s a hole in your heart tonight I’m falling through
A hole in your heart I’m falling through
It all began with you and me together
In your eyes I could see forever
I believed the love we made would go on and on
It Starts with a Fall
Baby takes her first step and the crowd goes wild
Daddy can’t stop taking pictures and mama’s got tears in her smile
Now the sky’s the limit, there’s a great big world to explore
Pretty soon she’s walking right out the door
And that’s when everything changes
A little dip that she didn’t see
Now she’s on the ground with a scuffed up knee
She just got her first taste of how it’s gonna be
Life ain’t easy
River’s fast and mountain’s high
Take it as it comes, believe me
Between the love and the laughter the tears are gonna find us all
And it starts with a fall
So you just met somebody and your heart’s on fire
Always got your head in the clouds, every day you get a little bit higher
This is the real thing, you want all the world to see
You say innocence is just a matter of degree
And that’s when everything changes
A look in his eye you never saw before
Something he said that you just can’t ignore
Now you’re lying in a heap in the middle of the bedroom floor
Life ain’t easy
River’s fast and mountain’s high
Take it as it comes, believe me
It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small
As soon as you start running get ready to crawl
Between the love and the laughter the tears are gonna find us all
And it starts with a fall
It looks like you made it--you’re standing on top of the hill
The job and the family, every obligation fulfilled
Take a deep breath, yeah, take a good look around
You got time to live without worry weighing you down
But that’s when everything changes
The little dip that you didn’t see
You knew the bad hip would give eventually
Now the doc sees something he don’t like in your imagery
Life ain’t easy
River’s fast and mountain’s high
Take it as it comes
Believe me
It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small
As soon as you start running get ready to crawl
Between the love and the laughter the tears are gonna find us all
And it starts with a fall
Here & Now
Staring out at a driving rain while the wheels on the dream rust
Thinking about how we used to say, “it’s paradise or bust”
Settled into the family way, pinching pennies into copper dust
Making plans for another day when things start to open up
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
We’ve been saving it up for a rainy day
Now the rain is pouring down
Take it slow and compromise
Ain’t the way we wanna live anyhow
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
I heard you talking the other day about living a simple life
Said you didn’t really need too much to feel full on the inside
But I know you got a hunger, girl, there ain’t nothing that you won’t try
You want a taste of everything before you’ll be satisfied
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
You said “I want it all” when I met you, girl
Now I ain’t gonna let you down
Easy does it and hold the line
Ain’t the way we like to roll anyhow
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
We’ve been doing all right
Never went hungry when the money got tight
Were we making a living, girl
Instead of making a life?
Listen to the driving rain--it ain’t ever letting up
We got to get out of here before we get swallowed up
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
We’ve been putting down roots for so long
Our feet are stuck in the ground
Wondering how it all might have been
Ain’t the way this thing is gonna go down
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
There’s a time and a place for everything
Baby, it’s here and now
Through To Me
Today I woke up with a funny feeling down
Like you and me were coming all unwound
You picked me up, you kicked me all around
You turned my little frown upside down
I used to feel so cold and lonely
Now I just don’t feel so hot
Through to me that’s where you got to
Through to me that’s what you got
I know you think I’m taking you for granted
I know you think I’m giving you lip
Sometimes my point of view gets slanted
I’ve never been on such a strange trip
I used to feel like giving up on love
Now I want to take another shot
Through to me that’s where you got to
Through to me that’s what you got
Through to me
There’s love inside me that’s coming out
Through to me
There’s something besides me and I found out
You got through to me
And now I see the light
You got through to me
Everything’s gonna be all right
Today I woke up, I was ten feet under ground
I couldn’t move, I couldn’t make a sound
You dug me up, you wouldn’t let me drown
You retrieved me from the lost and found
Sometimes who you are gets hidden
Sometimes you act like what you’re not
Through to me that’s where you got to
Through to me that’s what you got
Now I’m holding back just a little
Well, I used to hold back a lot
Through to me that’s where you got to
Through to me that’s what you got
Through to me
There’s love inside me that you let out
Through to me
Yeah, you’re the one I’m all about
You got through to me
And now I see the light
Inside You
Inside you
Funny I should start that way, I know
Where you hide your heart
Why you hide your heart from me
Inside you
A secret under lock and key, so old
The rhythm of ritual
The weight of a ball and chain
Look out the window
All the stars you see are pointing the way back to me
Thunder and lightning tear up the sky
What more do you need to believe?
All the world is breaking open
I’m standing right here patiently
All these hands across the ocean
Will you ever reach out to me?
I’ll turn the key inside you
Inside you
The days get tangled up in blue, I know
I can see your heart
I’m with you wherever you go
Go up on the hillside
Reason to wonder as far as the eye can see
Feel the earth tremble
Kingdoms fall, nations slip into the sea
All the world is breaking open
I’m standing right here patiently
All these hands across the ocean
Will you ever reach out to me?
I’ll set you free
Soul Shake
Oh, my father who art in heaven
I know you’ve been looking down on me
Something is coming loose inside me
I know you could shake it out of me
Give me one more soul shake
To my very core tonight
I can feel my heart break
When you smile at me, we go falling back through time
Every breath brings us closer to goodbye
Come on, make my soul shake one more time
I try to live by what you told me
I’m taking it one day at a time
But sometimes I get lost and lonely
Come on, wrap your big hand around mine
Yeah, give me one more soul shake
To my very core tonight
I can feel my heart break
When you smile at me, we go falling back through time
Come on, make my soul shake one more time
I think we’re gonna make it home this time
You never had to say a word
I knew the truth just looking into your eyes
Everybody leaves a little bit of soul behind
Give me one more soul shake
To my very core tonight
I can feel my heart break
When you smile at me, we go falling back through time
Every breath brings us closer to goodbye
Come on, make my soul shake one more time
Blueprint
There’s a picture of you holding the babies
Light shining through, you’re thinking that maybe
The dream you’ve been dreaming your whole life is really gonna come true
A place in the sun, a street with a sidewalk
Little shoes in a row by a door that stays unlocked
And the love you deserve comes walking in every night around six o’clock
Only one dream makes sense, you see
Never wanna wake up and find it’s not real
And it’s close enough to feel
A voice on the line, a story she told you
A friend of a friend, a chill that enfolds you
Now everywhere you look the shadows of doubt have got a hold on you
Out of the blue and into a tailspin
The simplest things face into a headwind
And all you can see is how it used to be and what it should have been
Only one dream makes sense, you see
Never wanna wake up and find it’s not real
Maybe this life isn’t meant to be
The way it’s turning out
The ending it reveals
We were close enough to feel
Gathering dust and echoing hallways
Time on our hands turns into always
The blueprint looks off in the big and the small ways
Only one dream makes sense, you see
Never wanna wake up and find it’s not real
Maybe this life isn’t meant to be
The way it’s turning out
The ending it reveals
We were close enough to feel
Close enough to feel
