A new beau has a tough time living up to a previous one, who may always be No.1
You're Still The One To Beat
VERSE 1:
Now you're out of sight
You should be out of mind
In your race to escape
Someone’s left behind
VERSE 2:
It's the taking part
That writes the story told
I won't let my regret
Dull memories of gold
CHORUS:
And if I can't move on
You will have won
First impressions last
They're not fading fast
Your last impression's first
I'd best deal with the worst
The taste of victory is sweet
You're still
You're still the one
You're still the one to beat
VERSE 3:
Just to get past you
Pushing on through the pack
It's unfair to compare
What I see looking back
(CHORUS)
It's getting tougher to compete
You're still
You're still the one
You're still the one to beat
MIDDLE:
Your successor's had no success
With the legacy to suppress
A predecessor legendary
Lesser chance of victory
I wasn't ready to let you go
My reaction far too slow
And in the final frame
I cheer a different name
VERSE 4:
Why fear to cross the line
When it's only a game?
What gain is without pain?
Hand over the flame
(CHORUS)
The time has come admit defeat
You're still
You're still the one
You're still the one to beat
Fictitious Affliction
Verse 1:
You must apply restraint lock me in my cage
Oh what a thrill I find the chase
You search my eyes see approaching rage
And fail to find a familiar face
Verse 2:
You cannot feel my skin once the darkness falls
When the howling wind will bite
Your warm flesh crawls as the nightmare calls
You can’t decide is it fight or flight?
Pre-chorus:
It’s like I can see
Infinity
I like my Lycanthropy
Nature's super unnatural gift to me
Chorus:
I’ve got a real fictitious affliction
And that’s not going to change
How I change on a full moon night
From me to strange
This magical actual condition
Will only cause you pain
But if you re-arrange; I turn you into me
A new link in our chain
Verse 3:
Silver bullets ensure your dawn may arrive
Tonight’s blood red in tooth and claw
You’ve not really lived till you’ve felt this alive
A spell that overturns nature’s law
(Pre-chorus, Chorus)
Middle 8:
There’s another side
Living inside
My day to day human life
The animal hides
Till it can turn the tide
And survive
Outside
Do you remember the time I was bitten by that strange dog? The one wearing a hat and shoes? Well, turns out it wasn't "just a scratch". Wasn't "just a dog", either and as a result I seem to have an actual magical condition! At first I was rather alarmed, but I'm alright nowww-ooo! It's only an issue on the full moon. Though, more for you than for me...
Perfect Crime
INTRO:
[Spoken: You murdered our love
Have a taste of
Your own medicine]
VERSE A1:
Till here I've been blind, but now I know
At last I see how this must go
No other route when driven this far
When you take your keys you're gonna crash your car
VERSE B1:
I've seen you round with some missing link
Your poison pen, my poison ink
You're signing goodbye unfaithfully
Watching you in pain's not gonna impact me
PRE-CHORUS 1:
Cleansing awaits
Inspired by Norman Bates
Your shower is hot and ready now
CHORUS:
Time
For my
Perfect crime
VERSE A2:
You promised to me until death we part
Your broken vows, my broken heart
You double-crossed and hoped to die
Wicked plan's in place no torture not to cry
PRE-CHORUS 2:
Drink from this cup
When I add it all up
All that remains is me minus you
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
I'll go to any length
To draw your last breath
I'm breaking out of living hell
It took all my strength
To love you to death
You're checking out of life's hotel
VERSE B2:
So many fates and so little time
So many loves they wait in line
My freedom's unlocked gates open wide
I'll serve my time in a life outside
PRE-CHORUS 3:
[Spoken: I'll spend your money
It's curtains, honey]
The closure of this, your final show
CHORUS/OUTRO:
Time
For my
Perfect crime
Time
For your
Perfect end
Ending a relationship by ending the other party! Of course, all characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This song represents the first set of lyrics I wrote, inspired by the line “When you take your keys you're gonna crash your car.”
Woke Up In Love
VERSE 1:
Yesterday, this was a different place
Just me here living in my own world
A time before this was your conquered space
Your flag not yet unfurled
PRE-CHORUS:
Sundown; unsure of you
Daybreak; what would I do?
Sweet dreams made up my mind
Sun up; I find
CHORUS:
(Woke up in love, woke up in love)
A different spin on the place I’d been
(Woke up in love, woke up in love)
Here’s something more than I was before
Realised; you’re not inconsequential
Dawn arrived; now you could be essential
Opened eyes; to see your full potential
A light went on above
Fell asleep indifferent
Woke up in love
VERSE 2:
Yesterday, although I knew your face
My indecision surrounded you
This morning’s light clearly illuminates
A new day shining through
(PRE-CHORUS, CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
Eternal existence
Carved in stone
Unerring persistence
Forever alone
When I closed my eyes, I opened my mind
And everything changed
OUTRO:
In dreams, it seems...
I could be a touch more sensible
You could be so indispensable
We could be complete inseparable
A light went on above
Fell asleep indifferent
Woke up in love
Do I consider you a passing acquaintance or am I in fact madly in love with you? Let me sleep on it.
All You Want For Christmas (Is Me)
Verse 1:
Summer’s gone
December has come
With snowfall's sweet kisses
On high, above
I've been waiting, watching over you
Is there room on your list for love?
Bridge 1:
When you've been so good
You should have me near
Don't let loneliness be your ghostly guest
At this time of year
Chorus:
What do you give someone?
The one who needs everything?
When you look straight through me
I hear angels sing
You won't find destiny
A midnight delivery
Wrapped underneath your tree
Solve the mystery
All you want for Christmas is me
Verse 2:
Starlight bright
A lone soul tonight
Think once of your wishes
This cold Christmas Eve
If you dare to wish for something true
Tell me now do you still believe?
Pre-chorus 2:
Please accept my gift
Let a New Year start
Now Heaven is here labelled with love
Won't you open your heart?
Bridge:
It's your choice
Raise your voice
Raise your hands
Make me understand you understand
All I have to give you is yours
All you need forever and more
A Christmas song thinly disguised as… well, a Christmas song. Angelic choirs, church organs, sleigh bells, little drummer boys, howling winds and a hint of the Gloria section of the chorus of "Ding Dong Merrily On High". Did I leave anything out?
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
Fearless
Verse 1:
I can go under with no need to breathe
Perform very simply what's hard to believe
Flick all the switches while I'm soaking wet
Dance on a high wire with no safety net
Verse 2:
I can smell burning but I'm not alarmed
I could walk out the window walk back in unharmed
I remain unshaken when the earthquake starts
Relaxed on my surfboard surrounded by sharks
Pre-chorus 1:
Blow out the flame
Turn out the light
I'm not afraid of the dark
I'm not afraid of the night
Chorus:
I'm scared of nothing
I'm scared of nothing
Without you there's nothing
That's what I'm scared of
That's what I'm scared of
Verse 2:
Composure intact as the bullets fly
If my balloon should pop I don't blink an eye
No brakes? No worries on those downhill bends
Enormous arachnids? Some of my best friends
Pre-chorus 2:
Open the cage
Let's start the fight
I'm not afraid of the bark
I'm not afraid of the bite
(Chorus)
Bridge:
I've no sense of fear that's been shown the door
Now that you're near I'm not afraid anymore
But without your love I have no defence
No confidence
Pre-chorus 3:
Torch-less I explore any bump in the night
Something unsightly says "Boo!"
I just say "How do you do?"
(Chorus)
topHow brave we can be when that special someone is close, but life can become a scary movie when we are on our own. What would be a suitable soundtrack? “Jaws”? “Psycho”?
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
To Be A Little Weaker
Verse 1:
I can see you and I know you can see me
When you look my way, you look away
You keep holding out, I keep holding on
Part of you must want to go
Where all of me has gone
Will you ever ask me to dance?
Chorus A:
Try a little harder
To be a little weaker
Look a little longer
Fall a little deeper
Open to persuasion
To enter this liaison
My first impression
Is we'll last forever
Verse 2:
Just one night time or the start of a lifetime
You're not left alone if you come home
You keep holding out, I keep holding on
Part of you must want to stay
When all the rest have gone
Will you ever know how I feel?
(Chorus A)
Bridge:
If you just hold my glance
For a little while
You might have the chance
To see the promise in my smile
There's more than transience
On my mind
When you leave
I won't leave you behind
Will I ever know how you feel?
Chorus B:
Come a little closer
To go a little further
Move a little faster
Leave a little slower
Open to persuasion
To enter this liaison
Try a little harder
To be a little weaker
Could it be possible that the typical evening at a club and the resulting one-night-stand scenario may actually be the unlikely start of a lifelong relationship? One tries to convince another that this could be the case, through a lyric playing with opposites; mirroring the expectation and outcome of such a situation.
That's Kind Of Interesting
Verse 1:
What is it now
Causing my furrowed brow?
Your face at the edge of my mind
Like a Broadway star waiting in the wings
And that's kind of interesting
Verse 2:
Who'd have thought
You'd get a second thought?
When I need to get on with my day
Now I have this urge to drop everything
And that's kind of interesting
Bridge 1:
You'll find this amusing
What I find bemusing
Why can you not be ignored?
Verse 3:
Will I waste my time
If I turn on a dime
And follow your yellow brick road?
I feel your pull like I have puppet strings
And that's kind of interesting
Bridge 2:
Immersed in a quandary
My world turning wondery
Did I really just say that out loud?
Verse 4:
Have I mistook
A quizzical look
For more than a casual glance?
It's pure fantasy I'm imagining
And that's kind of interesting
Bridge 3:
I stand here open eyed
You're a daydream personified
When will this nightmare end?
Verse 5:
A distraction unplanned
This attraction at hand
There's no need for a big song and dance
But I may well dance, might even sing
And that's kind of interesting
Bridge 4:
Be under no illusion
I'll make sense of this confusion
Just tell me what should I do?
Verse 6:
You're a problem to solve
Will I die or evolve?
Do I now need you just to survive?
I'm starting to think this is no bad thing
And that's kind of interesting
Bridge 5:
If I express interest
Can you ever let it rest?
Will I regret what I leave behind?
Verse 7:
Given the choice
Would I think with your voice?
When in my head I was never alone
I don't want to end what I didn't want to begin
And that's kind of interesting
A show tune. Our hero cannot get someone out of their mind no matter how hard they try - and they wonder why...
Coming Home Is Easy (It's Just Leaving In Reverse)
Verse 1:
I know you're so sorry
About the way I behaved
But baby, what's done is done
You left me here standing
In your cloud of dust
But I still see why you’ve gone
When will your heart be overtaken
By forgiveness of my mistakin’?
Chorus:
I'm going nowhere, I'm still right here
So please reconsider your shifting gear
Correct the direction in which you steer
I’m an object in your mirror closer than they appear
If my admission
Is the transmission
You are waiting to hear
Change your mind
Back up, look behind
Shift her out of first
Coming home is easy
It's just leaving in reverse
Verse2
I wanna stop this painful journey
Come back to yesterday
But please, don’t be bitter, my sweet
If we’re to move forward
Gotta fix this wreck
Find the crossroads where our hearts meet
When will the sound of your approaching engine
Mean my loneliness is endin’?
(Chorus)
Bridge:
I never meant to drive you away
But the rubber that’s burned is burned
The doors you slammed when you went that-a-way
Will open on your return
There'll be no talk
Of who's at fault
Or lessons I have learned
(Chorus)
topMy (first?) Country [and Western] song. Inspired by a typically humorous title and the inevitable "honey I done ya wrong" theme, with a truck thrown in to complete the checklist of required attributes.
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
Love Goes On
Verse 1:
So you've finally got all you never wanted
Dry your eyes, you'll cry again
Now you're on your own
To one from two
Your only friend
Is going to be pain
Well that's not true, and may I remind you…
Chorus:
It's only a broken heart
You'll live
It's only the end of the world
Life goes on
It's only nothing you'll feel
You'll love
Déjà vu remembers you
Love goes on
You'll live to love again
You'll love to live again
Verse 2:
Now there is no use living in hope: it's over
Don't beat your heart against the wall
And if tomorrow never comes
There's no harm done
Love still has your number
And you should take that call
I've something to say: look at it this way…
(Chorus)
Déjà vu will see you through
Love goes on
Bridge:
Love has done you wrong
Forgive it
It's your only life
Now live it
Yes your love life went bang
But you've been thrown clear
Check the survivor's list
Your name appears
The rest of your life starts here
Love is dead
Long live love
(Chorus)
You'll live to love again
You'll love to live again
One friend consoles another after the end of a significant love affair, reminding them that life goes on, love will come again and they’ll live. The four letter words LIFE, LOVE and LIVE interchange throughout the conversation.
Don't Tempt Fate
Verse 1:
You don’t have to tell me what I already know
You're only tempting fate
The silent voyeur in our home
No black cat lies in wait
Don't tempt fate
Chorus A:
Say "I love you" the mirror's cracked
Say "I love you" get your suitcase packed
We don't have to walk under that ladder
I'm telling you that words don't matter
Silence could make it last forever
And you know I know
You love me
Verse 2:
Let's just go on like this, the weather's fine this way
And it never rains, it pours
Fate tries to cross you on the stairs
Puts that umbrella up indoors
Don't tempt fate
(Chorus A)
Bridge:
I want to feel your body so close to mine
At the start and end of every day
From this to the last one I see
I want to feel your soul here in my mind
At home, at work, at play
But I don't want to hear you say
You love me
Verse 3:
Fate will make I.L.Y. a lie
Say the magic words
Prepare to say goodbye
Silence is golden, keeps Heaven from Hell
Keep it unspoken, don't break the spell
Don't tempt fate
Chorus B:
Say "I love you" the party's over
Say "I love you" just a three-leaf clover
We don't have to walk under that ladder
I'm telling you that words don't matter
Silence could make love last forever
And you know I know you love me
And I know you know I love you
Fingers-crossed that if those three little words "I love you" are uttered, everything won’t fall apart. If we never say "I. L. Y." will it last forever?
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
Don't Tell Me
Verse 1:
I stare out the window
See the future blurring past
With what I have to tell you
I don't know where to start
Nothing lasts forever
Even the pain of today
But that's no consolation
For what I have to say…
Don't tell me…
Chorus:
I know what happens now
It falls down to the ground
Shattered all around me
Is the love I thought I'd found
I can read your mind
I can see it in your eyes
Full to overflowing
My collection of goodbyes
Verse 2:
Please don't think you've failed me
It's I who've let you down
You never could have given me
What you never could have known
I won't pretend to fool myself
You're in any way prepared
As I try to pour some warmth into
The cold sting of these words…
Don't tell me…
(Chorus)
Bridge:
I know that you still want me
But try to understand
The tide came in on our love
Two hearts drawn in the sand
(Chorus)
Don't tell me…
topBoy meets girl, boy intends to leave girl, boy has to find a way to tell girl. Maybe in a song! Girl realises what’s coming and stops boy in his tracks to take over the chorus.
Just The Other Side Of The Glass
Verse 1:
An unseen force has come between
And we’ve taken different sides
Can we contrive
How we might collide?
Running as we do on parallel lives
Chorus:
So near
So far
Day and night our ships pass
So long
So close
Yet I still feel I’m watching
From just the other side of the glass
Verse 2:
Do you see my face in your mirrored eyes?
Are you hearing voices call?
If we isolate
We can’t communicate
Break down or go round this dividing wall
(CHORUS)
Bridge:
It depends on your perspective
What’s transparent
And what’s reflective
Are you looking back
At me looking for you?
Is this fragile love
One that we’ll see through?
For whatever reason, the relationship here has evolved to a point of isolation and a lack of communication. One is on the outside and one appears to be inside a container maybe labeled "Do not touch".
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
FYI Goodbye
VERSE 1:
Initially
I couldn't believe
Letters sent by you
Transmitted I received
Terminating niceties
Abbreviating formalities
Punctuation slows me down
CHORUS:
Exit strategy [R.S.V.P.]
Your invitation has expired
You quit immediately [A.S.A.P.]
Presence not required
So I'm signing off
As you're signing out
Am I getting through
That I'm through with you?
As I hit reply
FYI - Goodbye
See why I [C.Y.I] must cut these ties
(As I hit reply)
VERSE 2:
A.M. P.M.
You're Absent With Out Leave [A.W.O.L]
I've not lived through you
To merely Rest In Peace [R.I.P.]
I'm dotting I's and crossing T's
Just mind your P's and Q's please
Let me spell it out for you [4U]
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
FYI - I know you lie
L.I.E. 2U is A.B.C.
Y.O.U. from you and me
I.O.U. nothing
Z.I.P.
As I hit reply
OUTRO:
FYI - Goodbye
Your company not desired
As I hit reply
FYI - Goodbye
Message reads move on you're fired
As I hit reply
FYI - Goodbye
Breaking up using modern technological communication (both the software and abbreviated language) rather than face-to-face. The backing vocals in this song are spoken by a computerized voice - in fact a child's spelling toy.
Body Double
VERSE 1:
Firelight guides the path of my touch
Sand as warm as your skin and the sea
There's no one else alive tonight
Only you and me
Your lips reflect the love in my eyes
I sense real magic in the air
But the moonlight's a spotlight
And there are cameras everywhere
Pre-Chorus 1:
My leading lady we're perfectly cast
But perfect situations almost never last
CHORUS:
Get me a double for the broken-heart scene
I'll need a stand-in for the last goodbye
If I'm not there for the final moment
Our love won't really die
VERSE 2:
Up on screen we fool them all
We take a ride into every sunset
One more fake happy ending
A box office success
Behind the scenes to me it's true
Find it hard keeping to my lines
Your face in soft focus
So clear in my mind
Pre-Chorus 2:
Convincing performance makes me believe
But our continuity is not guaranteed
(CHORUS)
VERSE 2:
Ignore the script say you do love me
With a screen kiss close-up of your smile
Why stay here in the back row?
We could walk down the aisle
I can't control what's in the stars
Our fate directed by other's hands
Censorship's cruel heartless knife
Can edit our romance
(CHORUS)
Are you just acting I cannot be sure?
Will I end up on the cutting room floor?
The star of this song really doesn't want the relationship to end. Is it a real relationship or a fantasy? If it is in the script that it must end, perhaps having a stand-in for that scene will allow it continue in his mind?
Heart Hurt
CHORUS:
Being apart
Makes my heart hurt
Too many beats from your destination
Being apart
Makes my heart hurt
Too many miles from home
VERSE 1:
A wound time's not healing
Passed right through
Can't eat, can't sleep
Hard work apart all week
Pre-Chorus:
Impatience at train stations
Life support is the telephone line
Impatience at train stations
Your a friend of mine
Did you feel me think of you today?
(Chorus)
VERSE 2:
I talk at the faces
look right through
Just stand in the way
Of the words that they say
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
Whispers exhaust me
Touch me; it breaks my will
Hoping for forever
Or time standing still
Whispers exhaust me
You smile; I'm on my knees
Healing hands on my burning heart
Finally released
My home is where your heart is
topA song about a long-distance affair. Waiting for the weekend when you can be together. Being somewhere else in all senses of the phrase during the working week.
The Playground
VERSE 1:
Baby, please don't go, though I know
The temptation is so strong
Colours and noise, girls and boys
Their laughter pulling you along
Don't get in that car
Don't talk to strangers
Say no to candy
And its gift-wrapped dangers
CHORUS:
All sharp edges
And no soft landings
Its such a long way to fall to the ground
Lessons are learned the hard way, baby
No safe haven
Take care not chances
Innocence left in the lost and found
Don't think that life is child's play, baby
(Chorus)
VERSE 2:
All may be fair in love and war
The playground has no rules
Who'll pick you up, should you fall down?
Everyday is the first day of school
They're not your betters
Because their older
I can't put an old head
On your young shoulders
(CHORUS)
OUTRO:
Yet life in the toy box could become your cage
Why can't I release you, let you act your age?
I know one day you won't rely on me
I can't keep you from reality
How far should one go to protect someone special? Maybe sometime they need to be let go?
Then We'll Go
CHORUS:
Change your ways
Change our minds
Then we'll go
Open your hearts
Open our eyes
Then we'll go
VERSE 1:
How long do you think this can go on?
Fingers-crossed choices, most of them wrong
We don't hear reasons, you just answer no
Our only reply an empty echo
Pre-Chorus 1:
Give us good reasons
Give us a chance
Then we'll dance
(Chorus)
VERSE 2:
We feed on rumours, hungry for trust
Long years of building take seconds to rust
And your sugar-sweet story loses its charm
Played to a backdrop of fire alarms
Pre-Chorus 2:
If you don't listen
If you don't learn
Then we'll burn
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
We ask you questions
You tell us lies
Games in the boardroom
With other people's lives
Pre-Chorus 3:
Just tell us how
Just tell us why
Then we'll fly
(CHORUS)
topA protest song! In my first job after graduating with a masters degree, I joined a big company with high hopes of an exciting career. However, I was sent to work in a particularly tedious role - designing luggage compartment carpets. Of course, those lyrics would have been a little too specific, so just apply to your own situation!
(MP3 version available on the Audio page)
What, This Old Thing?
VERSE1:
Someone said something
Covets something of mine
Bought by destiny
Not by cash or design
Though your compliment, complete surprise
Reflecting back, materialized
CHORUS:
You mean this?
What, this old thing?
I've had as long
As I've worn this ring
It's one of a kind
Comes as a pair
Suits every occasion
Wear it everywhere
And it still looks good
And it still feels good
This old thing
VERSE 2:
So we've spent some time
Covered more than some miles
Face the future now
Dressed in timeless style
Though not obvious, to my own eyes
Objects of desire, realized
(CHORUS)
BRIDGE:
Don't know where I got it
But I know the day I did
Seems like yesterday seems
In distant memories of dreams
Lived today
OUTRO:
And this old thing
This Me and You
As old as all I want to recall
Yet feels brand new
And this old thing
This You and Me
Our familiar gifts
Others envy the view
How we look right through
Inspired by the usual modest reply that a woman may give in response to being complimented on a particularly beautiful item of clothing. This song extends and twists that idea by replacing the material possession with something else that may be admired by others.
Sleeping Beauty
Intro:
[Radio Voice: "All the news is bad today…"]
Verse 1:
You can ask but I can' tell you why
Some men are so proud to die
And the more they take with them
The more proud they are
Death rides the subways, death drives a car
Pre-chorus 1:
People out there will tell you lies
Listen hard while money talks
But don't seem to hear your cries
And there's guns in the hands of cartoon characters
For children to see on TV
Chorus:
Let the world spin by outside
There's nothing you can do
This madness must subside
That's when I'll wake you
So sleep through the sirens
For one more day
For one more night
One hundred years
Until it's alright
Sleeping Beauty
Verse 2:
Question me but I cannot say
If tomorrow will forgive us for today
Somewhere in the city
One more life blinks out
So few of us with, yet more are without
Pre-chorus 2:
People out there will tell you lies
Listen hard while money talks
But don't seem to hear your cries
So don't wake up until this nightmare's a memory
And walk in the park after dark
(Chorus)
Bridge:
Someday soon I don't know how long
The sun will shine on everyone
We two will walk, won't have to run
I know that day will come
But until you feel my kiss of life - dream on
What a terrible times we live in, certainly no fairytale. Our hero pledges to wake his (or her) Sleeping Beauty once the outside world has become a place where she (or he) can live the dream.