"I don't censure what I observe or experience because reality has shown me that life is both dark and light. When you hit on the truth of something, it not only can be an enlightening experience--one that breaks you open or fills you with joy--but it can also be an unsettling experience, and often, a brutal one. And that's at least partly what defines the character of my writing. Grit and grace, yin and yang, dark and light. The pain borne by the oyster from the irritation of grit and sand becomes in the end, the pearl, something really beautiful."
Dreamin' Yesterday
Down to all those yellow dog days
Lovesick baby's in a blaze
Narcotic was the morning, her heart was in a haze
She drives her car to the edge of town
That way he can't put her down
She's got combat boots and a blue tattoo
And Dylan songs to get her through
And you can see how she's torn in two
She pulls on over to the side of the road
And looks on down it as far as it goes
She wants to let the light back in
It's no secret it's been getting thin
Ever since she was seventeen
She's been living on nerves and nicotine
She walks on down the road a ways
She tells her self she's gonna be okay
It's a long time Dreamin' Yesterday
It's a long time Dreamin' Yesterday
She reaches in her pocket and she pulls at the threads
Every scene cast from her life is playing in her head
Big cathedral's comin' down
It's not the same it's different now
They've had their ups and downs
They always used to settle down
They always used to come around
She knows she's half the flaws
What self-defeating habits cause
She just wants to hear him say
"I love you just the way you are
And baby, you don't have to run away,
And you don't have to run away"
Anna O: Vocals, Back-Up Vocals on Choruses
Jim Morris: Acoustic and Electric Guitars
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Where is the Garden
I've got a stone in my pocket
I've got a stone in my shoe
I've got a silver locket, holds a picture of you
The sweet light cuts right through it
To your shining face again
When we've got something so fine
Why do we lay it on the fault line
Looking for sweet redemption
For what the passion takes this time
Where is the shining light above
Where is the Garden of our Love
Where is the silence, baby, what does it take
Where is the conversations we used to make
Where is the Garden, baby
Where is the bridge between the gates
Where is the nectar, sweetheart
Tell me, tell me, where, where is the mistake
And where is the beautiful blanket we have made
Chorus
Why are we always holding, holding on to something
We've made it so far and so much is so right
Why are we always running, running from the same place
We make it so hard
We could make it so right
When we've got something so fine
Why do we lay it on the fault line
Anna O: Vocals
Jim Morris: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Drum Programming
Steve Connelly: Electric Guitar
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Howard Helm: Rhodes Keyboard
Mark Prator: Drums, Shakers
River of Tears
I'm half awake living on hope
You've got it down to a science
I've got it down to a joke
The more I think you know the worse I get
There's no way out of this, no way out of this
Maybe it was just a feel for trust
Maybe it was just a habit of faith
Maybe it was just to learn how to love
Or maybe it was just a bad twist of fate
And they say you'll find a way
And they say you'll find a way
River of Tears, wash everything clear
Love is the only thing that will heal us here
I've taken beauty always as my lead
And suffered hard for something
That always made me bleed
But something's got to give
When there's nothing left to try
When grace laid a footstep
I didn't see the lie
Chorus
Breaking it down, that's what you do to me
Twist the truth around, seal it in a memory
Make a hole in the sun, make some misery
Don't think of anyone, don't cry for me
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Back-up Vocals
Jim Morris: Electric Guitars
Howard Helm: Hammond Organ
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Mark Prator: Drums, Shakers,Tambourine
No Logic
Take me down to the water's edge
Take me to the wild song sky
Cover me with a taste of instinct
Cover me with wings to fly
Bring your voice to the river
Keep it silent, whispering
Unarm your heart so it might quiver
And give your love so tenderly
No logic, I confess
For what my soul can hold
I'm held to you, boy, I'm held to you, boy
I'm held to you like a petal to the rose
Faith is sleeping on a tear
Should I beg for mercy here?
The icicles have melted now
Should I beg for mercy now?
The scent is clear, I want you here
And I would bear my soul
'Cause I never want to see you go
Take me into the depths of this
Take me and be so brave
Cover me with all that I wish
And know my love for you won't fade
Bring your voice to the river
Keep it silent, whispering
Unarm your heart so it might quiver
And give your love so tenderly
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Steve Connelly: Electric Guitar
Sabastian Deladda: Electric guitar
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Mark Prator: Drums
Sweet Oblivion
The curve of your mouth is calling me to you
Your hands on my ribs, you know everything is true
I leave a little secret on your pillow when I leave
We're servin' our time, we're just tryin' to breathe
Saints and Sinners one by one
You know that nothin' can be done
I hold you in my arms until the dawn
Everything's the same, you're still the one
Sweet Oblivion
Layin' on the bed wonderin' what to do
Slippin' on the edge fallin' deeper into you
Cry for mistakes and for every place it aches
Whatever happens, whatever it takes
Chorus
Years from now you'll still be the one
And I'll still be there pulling darkness to the sun
All my footsteps they keep leading back to you
You were made for me, babe, I was made for you
Chorus
You're still the one, you bring it on,
You're still the one, you bring it on,
You're still the one
Sweet Oblivion, Sweet Oblivion, Sweet Oblivion
....mmmmm.....
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jim Morris: Electric Guitars
Patrick Bettison: Bass
Howard Helm: Hammond Organ
Mark Prator: Drums, Tambourine
Shooting Star
Every wheel's turning faster
Every sign's burning thin
And for every word laid in plaster
There's another one rusting like tin
But what if we slice through the coma
So we could be naked again
Would that be a sign of sin
Let the camouflage wither and thin
Cages inside
Days on the line
One wing at a time
'Cause I feel every sliver behind
What is real is that beauty is effective
So I steal from the beautiful scar
'Cause God is in the wound and the butterfly jar
God is in the wound and the butterfly jar
I say, "Dream on Shooting Star
All you love, all you are
Dream on Shooting Star
Shine on, all you are"
The watchtower light's getting higher
The angels have fallen from here
Dark arrows have pierced through the choir
And white lies have pierced through my ears
Anna O.: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Steve Connelly: Electric Guitar
Jim Morris: Electric Guitar
Irvine: Bass
Brad Trumbull: Hammond Organ
Mark Prator: Drums, Tambourine
Maybe the Angels Fall
Well, okay, I never said it was hallmark shaded
I've lived some life, seen enough to make me jaded
What should I believe? Tears are rolling down my sleeve
Remember what you wanted, it ain't what you need
I've seen every side of you
So don't look so proud
Crucifixions, babe, always bring a crowd
But maybe someday I'll say we had it all
Maybe the Angels Fall
Maybe it wasn't love at all
Drugged by the scent of you
I'm comin' down, I'm comin' to
Comin' off the down side of you
What remains now is dark, blue, and ink-stained
It's not a simple thing, it's never gonna be the same
So don't lie to me, oh, don't talk so loud
Good intentions, babe, can't change what's comin' down
But maybe someday I'll say we had it all
Maybe the Angels Fall
Maybe it wasn't love at all
Drugged by the scent of you
I'm comin' down, I'm comin' to
Comin' off the down side of you
Down Side...Maybe Someday...Angels Fall...
Maybe someday, I'll say...
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Grand Piano
Jim Morris: Electric Guitars
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Howard Helm: Hammond Organ
Mark Prator: Drums
Bittersweet
Well, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
And you can feed a good boy honor but you can't make him think
And I swear by the ashes over my mother, I swear I was hypnotized
He spread every word smoother than butter until I was paralyzed
He painted the time like roses in wine and I drank every part, down to an art
And I'm still pulling thorns from my heart
He's a one-trick pony in a one-horse race
Slide in the saddle, let me give you a taste
He burned Bittersweet tears down my face
....Bittersweet
Scribbles in white chalk, skating in black chalk,
The sun and the moon disappear
For days on a thread and a Valentine bed, reflection was lost in the mirror
He was the siren, a face in the water, a fire Venus couldn't kill
And I prayed to myself and I prayed to myself, but my heart could not keep still
Bedlam would cry straight to the sky
Singing "Why, why, why.
Was I named for pain and just a cheap thrill?"
Chorus
Cat's in the cradle, the dog's in the snow,
The ouroboros comes wagging it's tail
It's a big ride on the weather vane, it's a big ride on the night train
And if you're weak, well, it's gonna show
He says, "I don't want to be all alone, would you please take me home?"
But I said, "No, Mr. Heartbreak, you're on your own
The seeds of the acorn have blown
You're lassoed by the slingshot of your own stone."
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jim Morris: Acoustic and Electric Guitars
Steve Connelly: Electric Guitar
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Mark Prator: Drums
Pink Heart, Blue Tattoo
A sea of bliss, a sea of devotion
With just a kiss, we made an ocean
Your voice in my head, your love in my love
Your heart in my bed, your blood in my blood
When you were mine, when you were mine
When you were mine, when you were mine
Down where things open up I brought you there
And I found your loneliness and longings laid bare
Dangerous and beautiful, strangely divine
Strange how the puzzle fit most of the time
Chorus
All I ever wanted, all I never wanted
You know better
Still you don't choose
Every love letter still you'd rather lose
With just a kiss, an ocean of bliss
I'm nailed to you, impaled to you
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Grand Piano
Jim Morris: Electric Guitars
Mark Neuenschwander: Acoustic Bass
Roger Stevens: Drums
Pointed Spear
Throw it in the wishing well, silent lies you make your hell
I bleed my conscience clear, the rage you watered here
Hush, the sun is breaking, and all the light is taking
Under my southern cross, bury all that I have lost
I fall into this room, morning would come too soon
What you say you steal, what you fake I feel
And all this time, all for what is real
All this time
Lay it down on Jerusalem
Lay it down, everything is done
All this time it still comes down to here
All this time like a Pointed Spear, here
You want everything Charity for what you bring
Fear behind the wishing well, the bruise behind the shell
Hush, the sun is breaking, and all the light is taking
Under my southern cross, bury all that I have lost
All this time, all for what it's cost
All this time
Chorus
Always on a big crusade, I turn my back you twist the blade
When the truth is you'd rather see me lose
Everything you could not choose
Sun burns down in a southern sky
There's a black spot now on your eye
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jim Morris: Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Electric Guitar
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Mark Prator: Drums, Shakers
Fossils
Ripe with the smell of earth
And with the taste of sea
Salt marks leave a trace
Tributaries on our face
Road maps where we've walked
Road maps where we've talked
Tangled in a tattered chart
We make fossils for the heart
All these things made of sorrow
And all these things gone tomorrow
But you and me will always be
Will always be
Blueprints for the books of art
A shelter for what comes apart
Laid upon a dreaming stone
Pressed into the caves of bone
Tears that leak and burn
Not knowing how to turn
We steer into the dead of night
Headlights veering left and right
We tilt and swerve, tilt and swerve
Into the Learning Curve
Chorus
Dents and marks and tattoo pins
Hold the imprint to the skin
Tangled in a tattered chart
A shelter for what comes apart
Laid upon a dreaming stone
Pressed into the caves of bone
Blueprints for the books of art
We make fossils for the heart
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jim Morris: Guitar, Acoustic Guitar (upper
harmony on Instrumental break)
Andrew Irvine: Acoustic Bass
You and Rock 'n' Roll
I look at the dried roses on the shelf
It makes me think, "Where has all the time went?"
You know me better than anyone else
And better than I know myself
For everything that's fell between the cracks
For all the blood on these tracks
The only thing that ever saved my soul
The only thing that ever made me whole was
You, baby, you, and Rock n'roll,
Baby, You, baby, you, and Rock n'roll
That ever saved my soul...
Well, hell, everybody's got somethin'
A roomful of ghosts or some dysfunction
But nothing's really wasted if you think about it
Nothin's really lost, it all just gets integrated
Some things stay the same
Some things have to change
You write the story as you go
All these kisses all these wishes
This is the best love I have known
Chorus
I guess ordinary living has its eloquence
Victory and defeat have their consequence
And nothin's really tasted without innocence
Nothin's really savored 'til you're down to losin' it
Anna O: Vocals, Acoustic Grand Piano, Tambourine
Jim Morris: Acoustic and Electric Guitars
Andrew Irvine: Bass
Mark Prator: Drums, Tambourine
Here
I've been waiting on you, you've been waiting on me
We've been trying to get to someplace but where can it be
And where is there to go, I know we used to know
All these days keep on changing
For something won and something lost
For every hope and what it's cost
You choose to run or where you'll walk to
Bruise my heart, we both know that one
For all this love here, here, here, here
I reach for you here
For all this life here, here, here, here
I wait for you here
Maybe I'll remember to forget
About the missing pieces not found yet
Maybe it's just fear or the passing years
But we're down to this and we're here
Chorus
Maybe love knows no cure, only compromises
But how can I be sure...
Do we dare to ask for more?
