Lyrics to our songs.

My Lessons Richard Linley
c 2002

I taught myself how to listen
I taught myself how to fly
I taught myself then I went out in the world
and I thought I'd give my learning a try
give my learning a try

I defy disappointment
and take it all on the chin
I look around and see a world so bitter
I don't know where my lessons begin
where my lessons begin

oh ya

of all the forces of nature
that bring themselves to my door
the one that makes me lay down and shiver
is the only one I never felt before
only one I never felt before

so I lay alee when I have to
and protect myself from the wind
while up high kestrels circle in the sky
I think I know where my lessons begin
where my lessons begin

oh ya
________________________________________________________________

Every Day Richard Linley
c 2002

from the hills you can look below and see our village smoking
you can see the people run away to keep themselves from choking
when you exodus this way does it do any good
don't you want to fight the flames
don't you think you should
oh don't you know it's something I see every day
oh don't you know it's something I see every day

on the road that I walk down I see this man who's sleeping
he was there before the road was and now he is escaping
when you sleep the day away will you wake up in time
don't you think these dreams you have will leave you left behind
oh don't you know it's something I see every day
oh don't you know it's something I see every day

and where I get my news is a man with broken eyes
he says I've never seen you steal or heard you tell a lie
I believe it is not true that only blind men see
I don't think that I know you and I know you don't know me
oh don't you know it's something I see every day
oh don't you know it's something I see every day
__________________________________________________________________________

It's Important Richard Linley

Three billion souls surround us
could there ever have been one more
do you hear the crying of the new born baby
is it the same one I heard before

I find myself repeating the question
must we start from this place we are
it doesn't seem fair and defies too much reason
or we wouldn't have come this far

(chorus)
and the world is a living place
and you will survive
and those who gave us this living place
are they no more alive
and when you go to your dying place
who will survive
and if the world is our dying place
then the world is alive

and for all those who have come before us
they are the stepping stones on which we stand
they are the ones who cleared the path through the forrest
and it's important to remember them

my mothers people came across the water
they wanted somewhere to make their stand
they only wanted something better for their daughter
they thought that this would be the perfect land

and my father my poor old father
he always said he didn't understand
now he's gone and I know I can't confirm it
but I think the glove is on the other hand

(chorus)

I knew this man from South Africa
though I didn't know him very well
I asked how he remembered his brothers
for he had known many who fell

he said it's true I've known many who have fallen
and I feel I'm on that same shaky ridge
but I've seen our struggle as a raging river
and my friends bodies have made my bridge

when I look out there I curse the summer heat
so I let the waves roll in and cool off my feet
hours go by and I don't even know
when the moon comes up is it time for me to go
oh that island's gaining such celebrity
and I really want to go there and I want to take you there with me
I don't know how but somehow I just know
there's a life out there on the archipelago

go on out to the middle
and you're thrown about by a wind
that's blowing blowing you away
go on down to the lake
and you hear the sound of tomorrows calling
calling you today

(chorus)
turn away
don't look at the mess on the floor
turn away
don't come around here any more
turn away
don't look at the blood on the wall
turn away

I come down to the foreign land
to the heart of stone with the master plan
I make love to the energy
of the little ones that remember me
all my life I've been tired
all my life I've been tired
when you enter the dark you got to find the light
when you enter the storm
keep your hat on tight
don't turn your back to the door
when the one you loved isn't there any more
all my life I've been tired
all my life I've been tired

(chorus)

too many days go by
that I just don't know but I got to know why
when will we see the day
when the broken hearts all fade away
all my life I've been waiting
all my life I've been waiting
now I know everything is fine
I feel that light going up my spine
I make love to the energy
of the greater ones that remember me
all my life I've been waiting
all my life I've been waiting

oh you wanderer are your feet wearing you down
to the nubs of your soul
oh you wanderer you seem so weary from
so many days on the road
to look at you I feel I know where you've been
but then I know that your footprints don't lie
you're at my door but I will not let you in
until the rain on your shoulders is dry

(chorus)
where will you go from here
where will it take you now
where will you go from here
where will you go from here
where will life take you now
where will you go from here

all the places you've been all the faces you've seen
are they all left behind
are they following you are they wandering too
have they all been unkind
I hear a voice and it is calling your name
saying come back to where you belong
you'd be a fool if you choose not to remain
you've been wandering so very long

(chorus)

I hear a voice and it is calling your name
saying come back to where you belong
you'd be a fool if you choose not to remain
you've been wandering so very long

(chorus)
________________________________________________________________________

Live on Hope Richard Linley
c 2002
you can walk down any street
in any city in the u.s.a.
you can almost hear the flapping wings
of dreams as they fly away
you can walk in any room
in any building in any town
you can hear the shattering
of promises that hit the ground

I shake the hand of my brother
and I ask him why
we can't come to terms
then he looks me in the eye
and says we've got ourselves
a deal we can understand
but as I walk away
I know he's making other plans

(chorus)
I live on hope
oh I live on hope
I live on hope
oh I live on hope

I've said good-bye
to so many that I've loved so much
and entered in the home
of empty rooms with empty touch
and every time I leave the scene
of our last farewell
I can only wait
for a future I cannot foretell

out of the wilderness
emerges some hungry beast
who sees my body
and my heart and soul as his next feast
I can beg forgiveness
I can ask him for another day
but if I give it thought
there's nothing really I can say

(chorus)

no no no no

hope...can I live on hope

you can walk down any street
in any city in the world
you can hear the crying
of some hungry boy or girl
and so I understand
the situation and the scope
there's no time to wallow in the pain
cause all we've got is hope

I sleep light in this heat
shimmers on the road
scrub grass and sweat
I sleep light in this heat

oh you sleep so deeply on your pillow at night
wakened only by the warmth of the daylight
your dreams tell you what you need to know
and they follow you wherever you go
you close your eyes and you know what you see
it can open your eyes to the possibilities
and I wonder at the wonder of that
and I wonder if I could do that

all my good luck seems to come and go
I'm a goanna trying to cross the road
and my chances get shorted all the time
must keep my eyes on the white line
oh but you reach out into space
and all of your seeds seem to fall into place
and I wonder at the wonder of that
and I wonder if I could do that

oh the years go by so fast
I turn my head and another one has passed
I could sit and watch the sky turn blue
I could wait until it rains on you
oh but time seems to comfort you so
you listen to it whisper
and it tells you what it knows
and I wonder at the wonder of that
and I wonder if I could do that
___________________________________________________________________________

Joe Moon RichardLinley

down in Mexico where the rain forests grow
Joe Moon wants to go north but his wife says no no no no no
I need to stay where my ancestors lay
I need to be where my feet are planted in the ground
I will not go away
This is where I am going to stay
but if you go away Joe, I will miss you so

at the border line Joe Moon is out of touch
he wants to work up north so very very much
with his papers right he climbs aboard the bus
he's going to live with people he knows he can trust
he is finally on his way
it's the beginning of a brand new day
but somewhere deep down he knows he can never stay

(chorus)
and his wife cries out come back to me oh Joe Moon
I don't want to live alone oh Joe Moon
don't you miss your family oh Joe Moon
oh please come back to me oh Joe Moon

in the city of angels he gets a job
making round tables it doesn't seem that odd
he sends his money home down to Mexico
with every dollar he sends a little bit of him would go
now he doesn't know if he can stay
he thinks about her every every day
do they need money or can they raise their babies poor

(chorus)

down to Mexico is where Joe Moon did go
they wanted him to stay but he said no no no no no
I need to be with my family
I need to be where my feet are planted in the ground
I really cannot stay
it doesn't mean I don't appreciate you anyway
if you ever come down you know you'll have a home

(chorus)
Kaieteur the old man
sat on the river's edge
and as the sun began to set
it warmed him through his head
(repeat)

his life had been real
full of light and many children
cropping of his trees
building of his house
and he knew he'd never been driven
he said "river, we were meant to be one"

Kaieteur wrestled close to the earth
tumbling in the grassy fields now
and running clear with the river's falls
any danger he knew the river healed
he said "river we were meant to be one"

(chorus)

I never wrote you he now said
but the rocks just brought a shudder
and the canoe belted forward
and Kaieteur he dove downward
he said "river we were meant to be one"

I never mastered you he said
Kaieteur hung his head in disbelief
stooped and rocky
he now pays homage like a thief
he said "river we were meant to be one
(chorus)
________________________________________________________________________

He Said Richard Linley

he said to his teacher "how wrong did I go
can I be criticized for things I do not know"
his teacher smiled at him and called him a fool
"these are the things" she said "that you should learn in school"

he said to his father along the way
"what's the secret to surviving day to day"
his father smiled at him and said "son you're on your own
'cause I find I'm happiest when I am not at home"

(chorus)
oh ya oh yea oh

he walked the city streets and saw what was there
and he said "I think I've got more than my share"
he walked the mountain roads, jagged and rough
and he said "I don't think I have enough"

he said to his preacher "tell me honestly
if I leave this place what will become of me"
"answers" the preacher said "are fleeting if they're true
all I can promise is that I will pray for you"

(chorus)

he went to his doctor after years of rest
"can you tell me what's this aching in my chest"
his doctor listed, then told a lie
he said "there is no reason I should let you die"

"after all these years" he said "I still am just too young
and I can't think of anything worthwhile I have done"
he went to sleep that night with tears in his eyes
said "I'd do much better if I had one more try"

(chorus)
________________________________________________________________

Hold On Richard Linley

Jackie wants to dig a hole
he wants to find out what's below
and he digs and digs for days and days
in the hot hot sun
one thing he did not know
is when he got down in the hole
he wouldn't get back out again

Jackie tried to climb the walls
he'd climb a little bit and then he'd fall
and he climbed and climbed for days and days
in the hot hot sun
one thing he did not know
is when he got out of the hole
he wouldn't remember being there

(chorus)
hold on to what you can
there's not enough time to execute your plan
hold on to your belief
later on it just might bring some relief

Maddie wants to write a book
'cause her youth is gone and she's lost her looks
and she writes and writes for days and days
in her cold cold room
one thing she did not read
is when you battle time you must concede
that your memories won't make you young

Maddie put her pen down
she started walking out of town
and she walked and walked for days and days
in the hot hot sun
one thing she did not know
is that she would fall into a hole
and she'd remember being there

(chorus)
_______________________________________________________________________

Up and Down Richard Linley

oh my lover she's like a hollow tree
you find comfort in the shade
even though it's full of bees
my concern is this buzzing in my ear
and my heart goes up and down whenever she is near

the night time comes and I dance like a fool
I am full of Beaujolais and I'm feeling very cool
and then there's slumber
but sometimes it is so mean
and my heart goes up and down when she enters in my dreams

(bridge)
all this time it's what I've been looking for
if I was drowning in the river
she would pull me to the shore
I am conflicted
I don't know what to do
but I can't imagine anybody new

oh my lover she is one of strong will
she may make me lose my mind
but I love her still
I want to tell her but it chills me to the bone
and my heart goes up and down when she comes around my home
____________________________________________________________________________

Go to the Sea Tom Chandler

I'll go to the sea
I'll stay on the land
til the rain comes again

I'll pack up my house
I'll stay in a hotel
til the wind passes through

I'll go to the sea.
____________________________________________________________________________

Moon in the Day Sky Tom Chandler

I see you
hair around your face
mountains in spring
still of the night
moon in the day sky

I see you
as you write in lines
as you whisper and sing
with your love for it all
quiet afternoon
______________________________________________________________

LAUGHING SPIRITS Richard Linley

over time they say that all wounds heal
but they often leave a scar to remind us that they're real
many tears are shed in memorys name
rivers of blood did flow when outsiders came
will there ever be a cure for deep down hate
will the laughter in your heart find its soul mate
who'd have thought that it would be this way
when half the world awaits this day

the laughing spirits who are now passing through
the laughing spirits may they come to you
the laughing spirits can take you worlds away
the laughing spirits may they come and stay

is it wise to burn your bridges anymore
and keep on swimming till you see some other shore
in these moments you can feel so unsure
and when you find relief you feel so insecure
how can it be wrong to need a small reprieve
just a little break to let the sorrow leave
and if you open your windows wide
as you sleep then in they slide

(chorus)

little things can mean so very much
when you're aching for the strength of human touch
in these moments you can feel so alive
and when the moments gone you know you'll survive
how can it be wrong to need a small reprieve
just a little break to let the sorrow leave
and if you open you heart to this
when you wake you'll feel the kiss

(chorus)
_______________________________________________________________________

COLORS AND LOVERS Richard Linley

in the warmth of the light
in the shadows of the night
I see colors all around

I look up I look down
there are many to be found
I see colors all around

some from here some from there
there are many lives to share
I see lovers all around

bring the colors that you bring
bring the music that you sing
I see lovers all around

do the colors make you blind
do you take the love you find
I see lovers all around

hey now we go
hey now we stay
hey now we go away
(repeat)

hey now we eat
hey now we sleep
hey now we can barely see
(repeat)

hey now we run
hey now we fly
hey now we're gettin' by
(repeat)
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