1. |
I'm Not Coming Back
03:24
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Yes, I’m tired of all my running ‘round.
I’m exhausted from the lies.
When you try to make me settle down,
some distant dream inside me dies.
My tongue is tied, my heart is struggling
to find the words to let you down.
Every time I try to speak my mind
I end up feeling like a clown.
I’m not coming back to you.
I just don’t feel the way you do.
The years slide by, my hair is going gray.
I live alone dissatisfied.
If I’m right, there’ll be a price to pay.
If I’m wrong I have my pride.
So I’m not coming back to you.
I just don’t feel the way you do.
In my dream the sea is shimmering.
Kids are playing on the shore.
And there’s a girl who looks a lot like you
waiting right inside my door.
So I’m not coming back to you.
I just don’t feel the way you do.
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2. |
Julie, Don't You Know?
04:48
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The big picture hangs on your wall,
an image of a fairytale ball.
Dancers float across a polished floor.
Wine flows into your glass,
white horses galloping past.
Eyes are fixed upon the golden door.
Julie, don’t you know
what makes the garden grow?
Julie, can’t you see
that love’s a mystery?
I labor out in the street.
I beg the people I meet,
“Can you see the colors of my dreams?”
I slide from day to day.
No goals to get in my way.
My destination’s closer than it seems.
Julie, can’t you hear
the passing of the years?
Julie, can’t you feel
your heart begin to heal?
When your world was coming undone,
an inclination to run
to another town, another time.
Now time is standing still,
sunshine erased the chill.
The future’s like a ladder you must climb.
Julie, don’t you know
what makes the garden grow?
Julie, can’t you see
that you’re already free?
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3. |
Love Is Not Guaranteed
03:47
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My clothes are fading, the money’s gone.
I’m contemplating going home.
Back where the river flows by the lawn.
The sun is shining all day long.
It’s what I want, what I need.
Love is not guaranteed.
There is a weakness down in my soul
for a woman, I’ll never know.
Is she real or just a lie?
I thought by now I’d meet her passing by.
It’s what I want, what I need.
Love is not guaranteed.
It’s what I want, what I need.
Love is not guaranteed.
And when I get there, the sky is blue.
I see a picture of me and you.
We’ll be together, you’ll be my bride.
We’ll raise a family side by side.
It’s what I want, what I need.
Love is not guaranteed.
It’s what I want, what I need.
Love is not guaranteed.
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4. |
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Your hands raised high across your face,
ecstatic in your secret place.
If I could only have a taste of what you bring.
An ocean seems to separate
the union of our common fate.
Our reservations dissipate into the sea.
My lonely castaway, lost at sea.
The current drags you where you ought to be.
Your books stacked high, your magazines,
your laugh lines and your vivid dreams
affect me like a symphony.
Your sexiness is no mistake,
the happiness for which you ache.
I promise I could never fake my feelings for you.
My lonely castaway, lost at sea.
You may find yourself swimming back to me.
Tomorrow is not yours to see,
you move like aristocracy.
I’m living in your fantasy.
If you’d just smooth my fears away,
if things could be like yesterday,
I’d simply let you have your way with me right here.
My lonely castaway, lost at sea.
Morning may find you where you ought to be—with me.
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5. |
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Floating, I am floating
on a dying sea, no stars for guiding me.
Seems like eternity.
Swimming, you are swimming
against the tide, no matter how I tried,
you could never get inside.
Despite the swiftly rising tide,
despite the tears that you cried.
We’ll swim for shore—that’s what we’re living for!
Hopelessly in love with you.
Singing, you are singing
the siren’s tune, to which I’m not immune.
You could not have come too soon.
Falling, I am falling
in love with you, no matter what I do.
Hopelessly in love with you.
Despite the swiftly rising tide,
despite the tears that you cried.
We’ll swim for shore—that’s what we’re living for!
Hopelessly in love with you.
The siren’s song, to which I strum along,
hopelessly in love with you.
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6. |
Judy Knew
04:46
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She was born in a slowly sinking city,
a princess crowned in a rusty town.
She danced and sang as if she were an heiress,
sailing off to Paris, in a gown.
She met my dad on the bright side of the city.
He didn’t dance, but his heart was true.
They took a chance and he led her down the aisle,
her smile on a shining afternoon.
Judy knew the secrets of the seasons.
Judy dreamed of movie stars.
Judy drew constellations on the ceiling.
She had a funny feeling she could fly.
The babies came like a thunderstorm in summer.
Pressure grew in the laundry room.
There wasn’t time to dwell on lost emotion,
like ships upon the ocean sailing through.
She clapped in time to the rhythm of her children,
forgot about the plans she made.
She emphasized love for one another,
for my sisters and my brothers and me.
Judy knew the secrets of the seasons.
Judy dreamed of movie stars.
Judy drew constellations on the ceiling.
She had a funny feeling she could fly.
For 60 years their love flowed like a river.
They never thought it would come to this.
How could anything come between them,
if only you had seen their happiness.
Like Joan of Arc, they took her without reason.
There was nothing we could do.
An exiled queen from the northeast of Ohio,
we never heard her sigh, “Oh, pity me.”
Judy knew the end would not be pretty,
she closed her eyes but would not cry.
Judy saw her shining Eiffel Tower,
her family gathered ‘round her,
a pleasing summer shower,
and she finally had the power she could fly.
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7. |
Shake the Clouds
07:14
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Friday night at 3 a.m., I’m driving by your house again.
I wonder where you are tonight, blinded by your bedroom light.
I act like such a stupid fool, you don’t need to tell me so.
When I shake the clouds from my sky,
when the wind changes direction.
When a flower grows in the mud,
might that alter your perception?
The walls round here are closing in, the places we have never been
collect on maps that overflow, foreign cities all aglow.
My suitcase and my overcoat are haunted by the words that you wrote.
When I shake the clouds from my sky,
when the wind changes direction.
When a flower grows in the mud,
might that alter your perception?
You block my calls mechanically, what else can you do to me?
My dog is barking at the door, what could he be barking for?
The forecast calls for heavy rain, my hopes are going down the drain.
When I shake the clouds from my sky,
when the wind changes direction.
When a flower grows in the mud,
might that alter your perception?
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8. |
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The highway slides into the sea,
doesn’t really worry me.
From Santa Cruz to Devil’s Slide,
my baby’s riding by my side.
Dolphins cruise along the shore,
find out what you’re looking for
on the California Coast.
Dogs are digging in the sand.
I like it when you squeeze my hand.
My love for you is blossoming.
Seagulls stealing everything.
People taking off their clothes,
my baby’s brand-new tattoo shows
on the California Coast.
The Northern California Coast.
Brussels sprouts and artichokes,
kombucha and diet cokes,
free-range eggs and vegan pie,
I love the sparkle in your eye.
The hippie chick, the Rasta dude
dining on organic food
on the California Coast.
The sun is sinking in the west.
The local people are obsessed.
Parking out on West Cliff Drive,
the sunset makes them feel alive.
The ocean’s like a chemical;
High or straight, it’s beautiful!
On the California Coast.
She rides her bike to yoga class.
A homeless man sifts through the trash
on the California Coast.
The Northern California Coast.
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9. |
Right in Front of Me
04:55
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Sometimes I feel like I’m so far away
from the place I always thought I’d be.
I know it hurts you when I talk this way,
but I know you’re dreaming of the day …
I open up my eyes and see, love that’s standing right in front of me.
Our love is perfect in so many ways
that I can’t believe that it’s for real.
You move beneath me in such subtle ways
that there’s no denying what you feel.
You’ve opened up your heart to me, and lie there smiling lovingly.
The moon is shinin’ in the summer night,
and the fog reposes on the beach.
Your eyes reflect the yellow candlelight,
this is where I always want to be.
I open up my eyes and see
love that’s standing right in front of me.
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10. |
Don't Know What You Got
04:30
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When I met you, I tried not to stare,
but I’d seen you somewhere in my dreams.
Your silhouette attracted my gaze,
enchanted my days, I was lost.
But you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
When summer came we laid on the sand,
you held out your hand, we were gone.
Your lips, your eyes, the sun on your skin,
where do I begin? I’m in love!
But you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
It seems our souls are tethered to a dream.
Two birds of a feather flying fearlessly.
Under starless skies I lie here alone,
I wait by the phone for your call.
If only I could hold you tonight,
you’d cancel your flight after all.
‘Cause you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
You wonder why my heart broke in two,
my sky turned from blue into black.
Your memory seems to have failed,
our train has derailed from the track.
‘Cause you don’t know what you got,
no you won’t know what you got, till I’m gone.
Don’t want to keep you tethered to my dream.
Two birds of a feather flying separately.
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11. |
Fog & Stones
04:09
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A possum in the ceiling, a rat scratches the wall,
I lie here in the darkness remembering it all
until the fog and the stones fill my eyes.
Hawks perch on the phone pole, the weeds grow in the lawn.
Sap drips from the pine tree, it reminds that you’re gone
until the fog and the stones fill my eyes.
We just assumed that we would always sing a love song.
We never thought that things could ever go so wrong.
Our daughter is lying peacefully, her dreams are gold and brown.
Her heart beats like a sparrow as I drive her into town,
back to you, where she’ll stay for seven days.
I hope you will remember the pleasant times we had.
And if I’m sentimental, I don’t mean to make you sad.
Just let the fog and the stones fill your eyes.
We just assumed that we would always sing a love song.
We never thought that things could ever go so wrong.
The emptiness I feel tonight, the sadness in my heart,
the never-ending tug-of-war that tears my world apart
until the fog and the stones fill my eyes.
Until the fog and the stones fill my eyes.
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12. |
Revolution Blues
04:54
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Well, we live in a trailer at the edge of town.
You never see us 'cause we don't come around.
We got twenty five rifles just to keep the population down.
But we need you now, and that's why I'm hangin' 'round.
So you be good to me and I'll be good to you,
And in this land of conditions I'm not above suspicion.
I won't attack you, but I won't back you.
Well, it's so good to be here, asleep on your lawn.
Remember your guard dog? Well, I'm afraid that he's gone.
It was such a drag to hear him whining all night long.
Yes, that was me with the doves, setting them free near the factory where you built your computer, love.
I hope you get the connection, 'cause I can't take the rejection.
I won't deceive you, I just don't believe you.
Well, I'm a barrel of laughs, with my carbine on
I keep 'em hoppin' till my ammunition's gone.
But I'm still not happy, I feel like there's something wrong.
I got the revolution blues,
I see bloody fountains,
And ten million dune buggies comin' down the mountains.
Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars,
But I hate them worse than lepers and I'll kill them in their cars.
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13. |
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When I met you, I tried not to stare,
but I’d seen you somewhere in my dreams.
Your silhouette attracted my gaze,
enchanted my days, I was lost.
But you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
When summer came we laid on the sand,
you held out your hand, we were gone.
Your lips, your eyes, the sun on your skin,
where do I begin? I’m in love!
But you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
It seems our souls are tethered to a dream.
Two birds of a feather flying fearlessly.
Under starless skies I lie here alone,
I wait by the phone for your call.
If only I could hold you tonight,
you’d cancel your flight after all.
‘Cause you don’t know what you got,
no you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone.
You wonder why my heart broke in two,
my sky turned from blue into black.
Your memory seems to have failed,
our train has derailed from the track.
‘Cause you don’t know what you got,
no you won’t know what you got, till I’m gone.
Don’t want to keep you tethered to my dream.
Two birds of a feather flying separately.
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Jeff Troiano San Francisco, California
Jeff Troiano was born in rusty old Youngstown, Ohio, back in the Olden Days. He ran through cornfields, threw stones and dreamed of better television reception. He lived in Venezuela as a teen where he became infused with Magic Realism, which has served him well. Jeff now lives in San Francisco where he dreams of pop stardom and putting his daughter through college. Lots to think about. ... more
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