Weather Well
One clear morning, after days of rain,
My eyes caught time flashing by –
A thief of tears and bitter years,
The heartache’s friend,
On some tested wings rides this healer
Who’s faithful to the end.
It’s really been some time it seems,
Since I was a child, looking at the world
Nurtured on the breast of Eternity.
Tried to keep my wits about me,
To keep my spirit flying,
And hope that my heart would always care
For those strangers to the silver lining.
Even so, the wheel was turning,
The Queen, she kept me high,
And fantasies that once came true
Made time pass quickly by.
But wanderlust soon carried me
And I left my castles by the sea
To sail my wooden ships across tomorrow.
Sailing on along,
The endless sun leads me on.
The coast that I left yesterday
And me, here on this rocky sea,
We’ve lost sight of one another.
Some times at night the sirens sing
That they can rescue me from anything,
But I read their two-tone tales
In some log of long ago.
So I hold fast for the morning sun,
When light and the distance lead me on,
Guided by maps of teachers past
And a few of my design.
But when fortune’s wheel turns again
And I find the Queen is not my friend,
When the fury of the storm has taken its share of me,
If I should cast the nets of my hungry soul
Before the ocean’s stormy swell –
Sister, pray that I weather well.
Fair Warning
Now there’s rain in the air again today,
I’m talking to you but you’re still so far away.
The music’s on and I’m bending your ear,
But softly, for your heart to hear,
The clock on the wall
Says it’s half-past three in the morning.
Well it seems like years until today
Since my pen came out to play,
To capture the poetry before it passes.
And I can’t say for sure
That time has been on my side,
But yesterday’s behind me,
It can’t hurt me any more.
And from the night
That I first saw you there –
A treasure some fool once abandoned,
Like a pearl in so many grains of sand –
I suddenly felt myself
Drawn in your direction,
Now could it be
I’m looking in your eyes
For my reflection?
"So take yourself another chance, lad"
A voice inside is calling,
"You’re strong enough by now to try again."
Well Sister, here I am, reaching out to you.
Is there anything I can do,
Would you let me walk with you a while?
A thirsty summer vineyard,
Won’t you pour a gentle rain on me
Before another fruitless season passes?
And if your cup is empty
Would you let me fill the need?
I want to be by your side
When the sun comes up in the morning –
Lady, I’m just giving you
Fair Warning.
Sweet Release
(A Smile as Big as Texas)
She's got a smile as big as Texas,
Big brown eyes to melt the coldest heart.
An easy way of laughing --
You can't help but love her from the start.
She's the ripple on still water,
The candle of a flame that won't die out.
And when she stepped into my life --
I began to learn what joy is all about.
When she calls your name,
It's angels singing.
One touch of her hand can bring you peace.
One kiss from her lips,
A gift from God above --
A moment in her arms such sweet release.
She's got a smile as big as Texas,
Big brown eyes to melt my cold, cold heart.
An easy way of laughing,
And I fell in love with her right from the start.
Ships will cross the oceans,
Sands and time will shift before the wind.
Lovers come and lovers go --
But I know she will always be my friend.
And when she calls my name
It's angels singing!
One touch of her hand brings me peace.
One kiss from her lips,
A gift from God above,
A moment in her arms such sweet release.
August of '79
Everybody makes mistakes,
As we know all too well --
Now and then, choose the wrong thing to do.
Did I hear a heart break,
Just before the tears fell
The day I said goodbye to you?
I'm back to say I love you.
Won't you open the door and let me in?
Try to leave behind
August of '79,
Open the door and let me in again.
I didn't understand,
Back when every day was summer,
Back when I was looking out for myself,
Why you couldn't see
I needed more than a summer love,
As you were going home to someone else.
But the lessons of time explained
Some times you look for a better way --
Some times you do what you gotta do,
When the highs aren't high enough
And the lows don't get in the way --
God, we were alive when we were two!
So I'm back to say I love you.
Won't you open the door and let me in?
Try to leave behind
August of '79,
Open the door and let me in again.
'Cause everybody makes mistakes.
Restless
(in my back yard)
Stayed in town a couple of days too long,
And the restlessness caught up with me -- again.
Came time to pack my bags
Say so-long to the ones I love,
And check myself right out of this hotel.
I can see from the back porch clearly
The earth and the sky out there --
Where they meet out on that distant, hazy line.
Pull up on my bootlace tightly,
Check my suit and close the door behind me,
You know the road made me a promise long ago,
Saying,
Come on boy, ride with me.
Travel light and come alone,
You can't imagine all there is out there to see.
Just take the highway, don't look back
And put your trust in me.
But now and then
I think of my home, down south in Carolina.
The Blue Ridge Mountains down to the sea,
Oh, the pines grow so high.
A fishing boat, an old man's song
Make me glad I can remember a time
When everything I needed was there,
In my back yard.
Compared to most of the folks I know
I've been so many places,
And there's still a bridge or two I'm out to burn.
And I really have no regrets
Except seeing my baby cry,
Knowing when I left
That I might not return.
By and by I've been hypnotized
By the steely face of the dealer,
Who's pleasure, quite simply,
Is your business.
He keeps you on a broken, thin white line --
Where the possibilities you face
And the chances you take
Are endless.
But now and then
I think of my home, where it's warm,
Down in Carolina.
From the mountains to the sea
The pines grow now
Where my dreams once grew so high.
A fishing boat, an old man's song
Take me back and I remember a time
When everything I dreamed of
Was there, in my back yard.
Pull up on my bootlace tightly
Check my suit and close the door behind me --
Out to see now,
What there is out here to see.
In the Wink of an Eye
Maybe I picked a bad time
To come along,
And you may think
That I come on too strong.
Well, lady, please excuse me,
But what I've got t'say can't wait
You see, I've only just found you --
And even now it may be too late.
This feeling only comes along
Now and then, at best.
It can come on as easy as the Southern wind
And it can put you to the test.
Some times you can't find it
No matter how you try,
Then, just when you give up trying,
It's there -- in the wink of an eye.
Yesterday, there was no one.
Today at least, there was you.
Ooh, your smile really made it
And the song in your bright baby blues!
Well you're a big girl, but you're still growing
And I don't wanna tie you down,
Still there's so much I want to know,
You know, I'd like to come around…
I know it's a chance I'm taking
And I'm not making any plans.
You've got your own life,
You may not need another man.
But at the risk of sounding foolish,
Or worse, of making you run,
After looking so long and finding you,
I wonder, are you the one?
(ooh, could it be you?)
'Cause love only comes along
Now and then, at best.
It can come on as easy as the Southern wind
And it can put you to the test.
Some times you can't find it
No matter how you try.
Then, just when you give up trying,
It's there -- in the wink of an eye.
Won't You Come Back?
I thought it never would
But it finally happened,
Met a girl -- like the one I've dreamed about!
Never thought I could
But I must've said the right thing,
'Cause she came to me like there was never any doubt.
(Chorus) Baby, won't you come back
When you can stay a little longer,
When you don't have to get back home so soon?
When we've got time --
to put
Our magic act together,
Lady I hope you come back soon.
You might say
I was caught up in a whirlwind,
You can surely say that I got carried away.
But she touched me --
and I
Had to let her know,
Cause dreams just don't come true every day.
Like the girl of my dreams
She was so real!
Warm touch, soft green English eyes,
Real arms to hold me close,
So there was no space in between,
A heart that's heard its share of alibis.
I'd like to find her again
In the living light of day,
Instead of when I'm sleeping by myself.
So many women I've wanted
Are all wrapped up in her --
In that way she's like nobody else.
(Repeat Chorus)
And if you get to feeling like the underdog,
If you ever feel like giving in,
Just look around, you'll find me
Standing in your corner,
You will find
That I am still your friend.
(Repeat Chorus)
Baby, won't you come back…
Baby, won't you come back…
Baby, won't you come back…
I hope you come back…