

EBB AND FLOW

In the basement waiting for a statement

but station’s frequency is vacant

why don’t we go outside

in the break room waiting for a big boom

smoke haze rising in a big plume

everyone’s dissatisfied

The pools have dried the trial’s been tried

but the leak’s still spilling they don’t know what to do

the flow won’t stop pressure still won’t drop

tanks are overfilling

Forward we crawl backwards we fall through the ebb and the flow

living within a dream wading through the stream beyond the ebb and flow

Up late to earn the proceeds

all stressed out, working until your eyes bleed

overtime to buy things we don’t need

Always on the go and you’re thirty thirty

gotta make the ends and get dirty dirty

will it ever stop will it ever end

is it worthy

Reality of this is you go loco loco

and too much of this way and you’ll go postal postal

happens all the time just get in line

and go comatose

The moms and pops have all closed up shop

and who can blame them? I don’t know anyone

the kids just hide scared to go outside

and just who can blame them?

At times it seems unreal

we can see but we can’t feel

and no one’s at the wheel

born here all alone

growing old with hearts of stone

the lights are on but no one’s home



FIVE OF EVERYTHING

No matter what I try there’s no room in my mind

No way to go round that, that’s just the way it is must I remind

I don’t pick up the phone but you still try to call

There’s nothing left to say you’ve already gotta know we’ve said it all

The story never ends, in search of something

But once we arrive it all starts again

Reaching for higher ground, the river’s rising

It keeps on flowing forever no matter what we have found

Sometimes it seems insane

To just keep pressing on

As if it will put out the flame

But still the thirst remains

Drink another drink

And somehow I still feel the same

Step off, head out, take flight, and just run

Got five of everything but I just need one

My brain telling me what I want, I need

Got five of everything but I still proceed

Help me fill up this hole

It’s gaping and out of control

It feels like I’m losing touch and it’s taking its toll

When this wall isn’t moving

State of things not improving

And no satisfaction in the distraction of the day

Sometimes it seems insane

To just keep pressing on

As if it will put out the flame

But still the thirst remains

Drink another drink

And somehow I still feel the same

Step off, head out, take flight, and just run

Got five of everything but I just need one

My brain telling me what I want, I need

Got five of everything but I still proceed

Living in this culture can be a drag

It’s just a commercial what we have

A one track mind we grab, grab, grab

We’re past being crazy, call us mad

Gone is the golden egg and the goose

And the bullshit of all hell breaking loose

We gotta hit the boost

Sip on the thick juice

Disregard the bad cards

And wake the truth

Step off, head out, take flight, and just run

Got five of everything but I just need one

My brain telling me what I want, I need

Got five of everything but I still proceed

The story never ends, in search of something

But once we arrive it all starts again

Reaching for higher ground, the river’s rising

It keeps on flowing forever



SHOWDOWN

So ya been kicked in the shin

took one on the chin

sometimes you lose before you win

just smile in the meanwhile

at the bottom of the pile

third down and a mile

buckle up and try again

Keep pushin’, keep pushin’

and never never stop

I feel that something’s gonna go down

don’t say I didn’t warn ya

looks like we’re headed for a showdown

gonna get it on yeah

Champions soon will be named

kings of the domain

all the pain and all the gain

worth more than fortune and fame now

my oh my the stakes are high

win or say goodbye

now it all comes to this game

Chorus

Play that game like a neighborhood side street

anywhere you want it I don’t care where we meet

school yard, front yard, back yard, town park

I don’t think that you bite, all I hear is you bark

to the body one shot

wrecking ball can’t be stopped

in the lane, yeah we got this game

play through pain that’s why we came

When it’s all laid on the line

I can’t settle for less than

everything that should be mine



REVELATION OF THE YEAR

We are not so different, you and I

no matter what we think

we’re kicking against the traces, bludgeoning

trying to make it sink

We’re stepping into the unknown

peeling layers of the onion right down

cuz that is part of my style to

risk to be left with nothing

in pursuit of chasing something

out of hand

I know, I know don’t tell me

I’ve been on this earth

I know the moon like a friend

I hear a tune or someone sing

feel the beauty in them

these words woman

we have some children

I got memories with you

I wonder how it ends

it’s beautiful yes

what we have chosen

with love in our hands

we have made this garden

& I think I can ride

although I’m not a horseman

but I have a patient mind

& it’s open

We don’t want to walk into the gray

solo rolling with no map in hand

so we reach out for someone to grasp

keep from sinking into the sand

Pick it up now brother help another pick it up

don’t get stuck in the destruction looming near

pick it up now brother help another pick it up

this is the revelation of the year

Picking up all the pieces here and there

to see if one might fit

spinning them around and sideways and up and down

it kinda stings a bit

Digging through all the ditches just unwinding all the stitches into thread

then hang it out to dry so

what was I expecting just collecting balls of lint up in my head?

I know I know don’t yell at me

I know you’re tired of the same routine

you have that look on your face

I think I know what it means

out of sorts in a vast machine

a worker bee up in the scene

never will be the queen

& yes sometimes you have to sting

expose the schemes to unlock the dreams

ignite quicker than the gasoline

to mask everything again in a smokescreen

We don’t want to walk into the gray

solo rolling with no map in hand

so we reach out for someone to grasp

keep from sinking into the sand



SAND DOLLARS

I’ve been humming a high note

maybe something that I wrote

out sailing in my boat

I’m not really sure

I’m still singing the same tune

I’ve been kicking around since June

all morning and afternoon

now it’s all a blur

I’ve been listening to sea shells

to hear the stories that they tell

of high times and tide swells

that have yet to occur

Backsliding down the drain

partially taking all the blame

Chasing coins to fill the purse

is it really better or for worse

is it a blessing or a curse

to pass the buck



Is it a bounty or a bust

is it precious metal or just rust

well it seems it’s up to us

so wish us luck

I kept making a U-turn

ended up with a sunburn

but the lesson that I learned

was worth the skin that peeled

I climbed so many mountains

it’s not even worth counting

all the drinks in the fountain

before it was revealed

From the copper to the kettle

the stamen to the petal

we watch the value of sand dollars crumble



BOOM SHANKA

Transmission, beaming out from the sun

collision, no use in running from

my senses picking up the pulse

the silence said a mouthful

intuition, didn’t know what I was waiting for

Can’t go very far, gonna notice where you are

got a love for you so large, fixed to you like a star

can’t go very far, gonna notice where you are

got a love for you so large, fixed to you like a star

Every time I think I got it figured

something bigger always jumps in the frame

something gets in the way

Now I’m ready to turn the page on yesterdays and forgive them

now I’m willing to disengage to seize the day and move on

Wanna swing you higher

wanna swing you higher

Vibration, coming up from the ground

translation, something just more than sound

when I move on to the next world

I’ll wait for you over there

rotation, my head the other way around

Chorus

If I’m not careful I may

slip away before I get

one last look at your face

you now I’ll see you again

somewhere in another time and space



MAKE IT ROUGH

Never thought it would come easy

slow as turning soil

that’s the only way to reach me that much I am sure of

bring it to a boil

Just take your time, thoroughly

let the seasons be the air you

breathe in and out

patiently

wait for spring’s returning

Try not to think too far ahead

the pendulum swings soon enough

we could stay on this side instead

but we wanna make it rough

There were times I thought I’d get there

I know you thought so too

the days have bled together

Now anyway will do

if you’re looking I might have it

but you have to look to see

the image you have of me

is what I’d like to be

I was so good at pretending

and denying when things bothered me

so shut the front door I’ll

kick in the back

metaphorically, I’m hoping

Try not to think too far ahead

the pendulum swings soon enough

we could stay on this side instead

but we wanna make it rough

Make it rough ’til they put you in the handcuff

seeking out minds that are not yet corrupt

woi-oh woi-oh and away you go

I’m a go on til the god damn juice gone

far enough into the journey to feel the satisfaction yes

action speaking louder than bombs

we just go on and on, on and on, on and on and on

Try not to think too far ahead

the pendulum swings soon enough

we could stay on this side instead

but we wanna make it rough



THE GREAT DIVIDE

It’s like I stepped into a dream

I think you know what I mean

a reality break to a place unseen

things come alive stupefied mind quarantined

from sleeping then awaken to somewhere in between

ay, I’m on a cloud parfait

I jump into the valley of the far from mundane

my knees buckle a chuckle chuckle

mutha fucka I get back up

like there never was a scuffle

Strange like a tale from Brothers Grimm

they’re watching you we can’t look at them

living life out here like on a limb

one or the other sink or swim

maximum velocity

yet speeding up so rapidly

there’s no where else I’d rather be, for me

They keep you high, won’t let you come down

distract the facts ma’am, that’s the plan now

where you work, where you lurk, what you search

climb too much get off of that perch

virtual reality your nightmare

on the grid, kid, getting nowhere

get ahead, leave behind

lose your mind find in time

a nowhere rhyme

Chemicals up in the atmosphere

another meteor is falling near

buried in the headlines disappear

I’m not the type to live in fear

you dream but I know you’re awake

explaining a nightmare you couldn’t shake

maybe the kool-aid that you drank today

We’re breaking away from the past

reaching a new plane at last

regardless of what cards get played

no one can keep you afraid

Unless you wanna be

you make that choice indubitably

they wanna play my emotions

but I’m like the ocean

too calm to get upset by somebody’s notion

Future makers

organ takers

a non-human intelligence is guiding

worlds colliding

far away star system

I string DNA where I need ’em

What we gonna get with a zero field

gotta have the one to make it real

I tell ya that more will be revealed

the mystery don’t bother me

everyday masquerade

there’s always too many plans we laid

keep going faster down the grade we made

We’re breaking away from the past

reaching a new plane at last

regardless of what cards get played

no one can keep you afraid

We’re always beginning

as sure as we’re spinning

for it’s never ending from here

after all this time

I am sorry I’m not sorry

hate me later

something greater

than the petty here and now

Venture on

the sketch is not completely drawn

travel wide

it’s not hiding inside

venture on

the sketch is not completely drawn

travel wide

its out beyond the great divide



FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Friday afternoon and all the worries just float into the air

we’re going to our secret spot and no one else knows how to get there

the words just poured out of you like a melody

I just could not believe the things you’re telling me

Come closer, come closer

Nothing could be half so compelling

as you and me, our senses telling us where to go

you give me quite a show

we’re stretched out horizontal throttle down

upon the ground and always taking it slow

here we go

I taste the salt on your skin and then it’s really beginning

I got the message you’re sending

Go again and again ’til we’re spent

I hear somebody coming

Maybe a year went by

Could be two lifetimes

But I know it’s building up again



SIMPLE TRUE

Lying down on the pavement, so happy

seeming to be in balance, but how could that be

really I must be jealous, don’t tell me

I just gotta leave the broken pieces or it’ll be the death of me

Six long years and seven heartbreaks

broken strings and countless outtakes, why?

never thought that I would follow through

got a working title somewhere

and I know one day I’ll get there, I’m

grasping here

I’m looking out for a simple kind of true

don’t know what I am waiting for

I’m holding out for a simple kind of true

at least some kind of a metaphor

It’s simple, simple and it’s true

we got much to do

no excuses they’re just useless

we’ve got much to do

I’d say you hung the moon if they ask me

you help me so the plot won’t get past me

sometimes the obvious cannot be seen

at least not by me

Chorus

Remember all of the times

when we couldn’t make up our minds

hours and years disappear



FIRST DIMENSION

Blow you right out of the room

ringing ears like sonic boom

miles wide you hear me calling, calling

Across the ocean cross the sea

navigating disparity

miles wide you hear me calling calling

Now it’s time that we mention

a further extension

reality is our intention

It’s like meditation

beyond medication

and striving for the transformation

Quantum leaping through science

to cosmic compliance

by ending our fossil reliance

Now the miscalculations

are causing mutations

here’s your correction, boom!

It’s something beyond comprehension

we come from another dimension

it is our one true intention

to change your fate yes I’m telling you

Beings that once were cetacean

resonating through earth’s vibration

want you to solve the equation

before it’s too late c’mon!

Power without control

dig yourself into a hole

rocketing on the horizon rising

Philosophy expressed to me

moments spending silently

listening to the horizon rising

The nuclei dividing before my eyes

I wonder why how can this be at all

imagine a time

before words made a rhyme

before clocks to wind

before they had the chance to stall

Across the ocean across the sea

navigating disparity



MADE IN THE SHADE

Sitting by the bedroom window

looking at a slideshow on a Sunday but it’s Monday

well how would I know I’d be looking out the same old window

years later on a Monday thinking something would come from doing the same thing

Bout time to give up on the same old stuff I’m stuck on

just say that it went wrong and move it along

sayonara till tomorrow it’s just how it goes sometimes.

You gotta keep on climbing the hill

cuz if you think you’ll make it you will

go swimming quick like a fish and every wish will be fulfilled

strike up and start the parade

cutting down the weeds keep slinging the blade

when they fire that warning shot

you’ll have a spot made in the shade



Standing at a side street station

feeling like a one way on the down low

flying solo till further delay

easy blame it on procrastination

always hoping somehow that the nonsense this time will make sense

stuck in circles

faces in the sunshine they never look at mine

people just walk by and keep their eyes low

sayonara till tomorrow

that’s how it goes sometimes



EXISTENTIAL HERO

Whole world! From the high country to the bottom of the sea

I caught a place that I needed to be

it comes and it goes, the momentary glory

then, quick as they came they’re down the drain

another one coming from a shallow place will not remain

remember when what was possible would never end

now we abide by limits I cannot defend

it fits good and yet the best we reject

you get what you get I guess don’t get upset

Where is that garden of eden

under stars and the trees and

and so far, so far from the heathens

planets follow patterns, we fall into seasons

flowing like a river we broaden and deepen

Hold on, before we are gone

got lots to do but time with you

keeps on sliding

and I keep on blowing a fuse, there you go

unseen, your face in the screen

I feel your attention dividing

but this is worth more than the news

Prepare to bare all

I paint the cave walls

I am the hobbit

with the ring in the forrest

I am the richest I am the poorest

a particle I vibe I just keep dancin’

I move from this world into a mansion

of light and love as below and above

I chart the planets and the whales migration

I’m home everywhere I run the station

the last light of a dying star

in every game I am that wild card

I participate I’m paleolithic

and geology and astrophysics

a true cowboy existential hero

I compiled that deck and named it tarot

I’m in play I want the ball

I’m buddha with amnesia then sudden recall

Somehow I fell into it all again, it all again

somehow I fell into it all again, it all makes sense

somehow I fell into it all again, it all make sense

somehow it was here all along



THE CALL

We could say it’s just how it is

and how it always will be

and believe things will never change

as far as we can see

it’s a disaster and it doesn’t matter

well I disagree

a ray of hope remains if we take the reins we’ll arrive eventually

Keep all the lights on in the streets of Babylon

then we’ll just dig for some more

pull back the curtain cuz one things for certain

action speaks louder than war

Look around there’s no time left to stall

(you’ve got to) stand up while you can don’t miss the call

Hold on here we go

where we stop nobody knows

breath and count to five

live while you’re still alive

right before your eyes

your best laid plan up and dies

cleverly disguised

the bounty materialized

Now we’re moving fast

we’re picking up on speed

we got the energy

creating fast

as we tunnel deep

& no time to think

here we just react

to the things

we need

hold on to your world

Look around there’s no time left to stall

(you’ve got to) stand up while you can don’t miss the call

To live just in your mind

is some kind of crime

stuck in your station

in isolation

never too late for beginning

to set your captive free

Tonight the moment has arrived

to live while we’re still alive

(wake up and) look around there’s no time left to stall

(you’ve got to) stand up while you can don’t miss the call

(it’s time to) end the debate don’t hesitate this time

(c’mon on and) take a stance don’t miss your chance

to stand up right now!



TRANQUILITY

Journey in peace now

You don’t have to be afraid

Though mistakes, they have been made

Journey in peace now

Journey in peace now

You don’t have to be afraid

Though mistakes, they will be made

Journey in peace now my friend.

No you can’t go around it

You have to walk right through it

My father told me that so long ago

Every time that you ignore it

It gets a little more

You just have to walk toward

The fear to go

Don’t be afraid, it’s all part of the plan for us

Don’t be afraid, it’s all part of the plan for us

All that you hold dear

Is on the other side of that fear