Its raining again And her eyes are the sea Like an ocean in the wind Tempest and tossed, but still free This evening howls, the wind’s in her hair The grey fades into… black And all that I can see is the light Alive in her eyes. Tempest Tempest I run through the house, I run through the streets I run through the alleys where men meet Into the hills, the higher ground I’ve got to escape this town, I’ve got to escape this town I’ve got to escape this Tempest Tempest Tempest Tempest The rain has stopped its fall And the water, like diamond on her skin And though this darkness is fading, fast I’ll always remember where we’ve been. Tempest Tempest Tempest Tempest

Turn your head. I don't want you to see What's become of me. What's become of me? Sometimes I can't recognize The thoughts that linger Behind these eyes Sometimes I just can't see. And I'm looking For the laughing boy. He became a solemn man. I'd like to find him again. I guess its sad I guess its strange But I can't remember his name. And I'm dreaming of you And the night weighs less Than it used to. Your presence lingers Like a song on my mind Yeah you linger like time Linger like time And so we part Without goodbyes. The tears in my eyes, Did you see? Now I stop and stare I wonder where you are I wonder if you still care My feelings for you Like a tree's roots they grow. The breadth and the depth seldom show. And I'm dreaming of you And the night weighs less Than it used to. Your presence lingers Like a song on my mind Yeah you linger like time Linger like time And I'm dreaming of you And the night weighs less Than it used to. Your presence lingers Like a song on my mind Yeah you linger like time Linger like time And I know that I'm not justified To sit in my corner and hide And let my life pass me by. Please understand this is not the way I am This is not the way I am This is not the way I am This is not the way I am

Its quiet here in this town Like a house with all of the children gone And as this darkness settles It covers all I own, it colors all I’ve done. I reach out my hand She is the nearest star And no matter what I’m thinking She can always see that far, always see that far With bated breath And muted words I turn to her And her sad American eyes Her sad American eyes Through the shadows softly breaking I’m bent by the rain. There she stands like a monument Untouched by mortal hands. I follow her eyes up through these storm clouds And I can dimly see the stars. And though it isn’t easy With her help I can see that far. I can see that far With bated breath And muted words I turn to her And her sad American eyes Sad American Eyes Starlight, Falling, tumbling from the sky And as it falls It greets us where we lie. The wind through the trees like the ocean That’s a sound that brings me to my knees And when she lets me hold her That’s all I need. When days are long And nights are scarce A voice like song And her sad American eyes. Sad American eyes Sad American eyes Sad American eyes Sad American eyes

It seems the riptide knows your name. She sings it sweetly every time she drags you out again. Your shore is fading and falling farther behind. And you’re so tired, weary to the bone. Wrung out and empty, too far from home. You shout your lungs out but no sound breaks this tempest whine. I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline. Who will catch mine? Now you’re drowning in the middle of a crowded room. Nobody notices. Why can’t they feel it too? Cut off and stranded, another little, lonely light dies. I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline. Who will catch mine? There are many more miles to go before home and sleep There are many more tolls to pay with dreams sold too cheap There are many more molehills, many more mountains in your way. When your path is rocky and far to steep When It turns your ankles and it invades your sleep When your road gets you nowhere and eats up all of your time. I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline I’ll catch your lifeline. Who will catch mine? Who will catch mine? Who will catch mine?

The man in the water breathed deeply And lifted his feet from the stones. “Gone west” his old friends will say of him Though they'll never really know. The water here is inviting Not barren and cold like the shore. Even strokes of his arms break the sea-foam Leaving plenty of strength left for more. Avalon It won't be long now. Avalon Just a little farther To Avalon Through a night of crystal and diamond Making impossible all thoughts of hell. Towards that land, a purified Eden Where only the truly alive may dwell. There to find enough peace to gather All of the dreams that have not flown yet. To seek shelter from all of the legions And find fulfillment without regret. Avalon It won't be long now. Avalon Just a little farther To Avalon Avalon It won't be long now. Avalon Just a little farther To Avalon Fear and confusion finally behind him Like oil, a stain on the waves. Ahead only the humble horizon Alive with the promise of a new day. In time the Westing man floundered A swelling blue was the last thing he'd see. “Avalon is not drowned!” he cried in the end “Its just a little farther out to sea.” Avalon It won't be long now. Avalon Just a little farther To Avalon

Sunshine follows in her footsteps While I'm here, always in the shade. Bluebirds land upon her shoulders But when I come near they always fly away. When storms blow they wreath her head with rainbows, A halo of Spring's early light. For me though the darkness always thickens And lightning sends me running for my life. Can there ever be happily ever after For this beauty and this beast? Once upon a time he had all he wanted But self-doubt leaves little room for peace. Gentle woodland creatures always gather around her While butterflies weave flowers in her hair. For me its mosquitoes, gnats and horseflies As I try to act like I don't even care. Skin of cinnamon and ivory And lips that would beckon any prince. I'm staggered by all this casual beauty Utterly undone now by a single kiss. Can there ever be happily ever after For this beauty and this beast Once upon a time he had all he wanted But self-doubt leaves little room for peace Can there ever be happily ever after For this beauty and this beast Once upon a time he had all he wanted But self-doubt leaves little room for peace

Dress me up Then dress me down But do not take me on the town I’ll kick and scream You’ll hold me still Until at last I’ve had my fill My pulse will slow The sobbing starts You have exposed my shattered parts Just don’t let go I’ll float away Tether me and there I’ll stay Stay awhile In this place Feel my breath on your face Rock me slowly Into sleep Peaceful sleep a slumber deep A tender stroke A gentle touch I am afraid to ask so much Dress me up Then dress me down But do not take me on the town

You sigh my name softly Then turn your back to me and into sleep disappear. The sound of your breathing, Its rise and fall, is now all I can hear. Speech always fails Some things will forever just have to be sung There’s too much to say But when the right words come they just stick to the back of my tongue But my sanctified heart Like a holy censer so recently rhythmically swung Testifies with each beat How I bathed in your water and came out redeemed, newly young Newly young Newly young Now I understand What you hold in your open hand It may not seem like I've got a plan But I do… I’ll do what it takes to keep you. All language has fled And in this full-blooded silence I somehow love you more. I forget how to breathe My heart it quakes, my body shakes with this jugular roar. My skin is aflame And all flesh is strained by the storm that forms within. This cacophony cries Raging behind my eyes, killing all hope of sleep With its din With its din With its din Now I understand What you hold in your open hand It may not seem like I've got a plan But I do… I’ll do what it takes to keep you. Then you sigh my name softly Your hand finds mine, fingers intertwine. You're so near. The sound of your breathing, Its rise and fall, is now all that I can hear. Now I understand What you hold in your open hand It may not seem like I have a plan Oh, but I do… I’ll do anything to keep you. I'll do anything to keep you. I'll do anything to keep you.

There's an unnatural quiet A falling backwards and away A feeling creeping up on me, Sometimes unnoticed as a stray. Something's missing from the light, A quality lacking in all sound, The feeling in my fingertips... I'm loosing all that I had found I used to hibernate Until this fate would pass me by This time I'll just take your hand If you don't mind Break my spell Break my spell Help me with these knots That used to tie me up so very well Obsessing every waking moment A mental flood that drowns all sleep I'm harvesting all that I have sown But I can keep nothing that I reap. There's anguish in every detail There's a worm in every fruit I'm running through these empty streets now But I can't shake this cruel pursuit I used to hesitate Just waiting for these tangles to unwind But this time I'll take your hand If you don't mind Break my spell Break my spell Help me change my course So this wind will fill my empty sails Break my spell I need the courage for something else I need the strength to just break free But there is always that looming knot, That dark pit of uncertainty. A seedling pressure stirs within me And now my breathing just won't start There's a bud of gloom that threatens To bloom deep beneath this heart. Once I would tread water Until the slaughter tide left me dry But this time I'll take your hand If you don't mind Break my spell Break my spell Defuse all my doubts With your voice that rings like cathedral bells. Break my spell Break my spell Break my spell Guide me through this no man's land And wait for me if I rebel Break my spell Break my spell Flood me with the faith That you will catch me if I ever fell

Just sit Sit here next to me. Within arm's reach, That's all you need to be. You showed me so much And you've seen so much in me too With unflinching eyes. I am so in love with you. And if its not If its not too much to ask Can you move closer And take me in your arms at last? Just don't be shy And don't shy away from my tears. Simply kiss my face And cure all my doubts and fears. Take it all Take everything inside. I'm laid bared for you There's nothing more I want to hide. You are so strong So strong and defenseless too. To find myself I needed only to get lost in you.

The world is trapped in amber, everything has gone still life The air has changed, the space between shimmers with new light No ear can hear, no eye can see, no microscope detect This something new that has slipped between cause and effect. This is just the deep breath before the plunge This is just the deep breath before the plunge A timeless smile simmers, a burning bridging glance Two kindred souls are poised now, vibrating at the chance Now you feel the space between our beating hearts A borderland that separates this life from where another starts This is just the deep breath before the plunge All of this is just a deep breath before the plunge Join me now in in this deep breath before the plunge Hold me closer and I'll steal a deep breath from your lungs A frozen ache, that deep tremble before the touch Straining flesh and flushing lips that hunger for so much All secrets are revealed, every hiding place fully bared The sacrament of blood and honey, is finally fully shared. This is the just deep breath before the plunge Join me now in this deep breath before the plunge Close your eyes, open wide, here I come! Don't let go, don't let go, our fall has just begun Don't let go... Never let go... Just don't let go... l do anything to keep you.

He had all the time He had all the world But he could not Get the girl Friend of a friend She was quiet, he kind of shy For him it was surely Love at first sight He was just a friend In her small circle secure But he envied the arms That always held her more What a silly boy What a silly boy he was He felt his chance come Nearly every night Parked in his father's truck In her house's pale yellow light He always dropped her off last To savor her embrace But he could never utter his truth To her pale, pretty face What a silly boy What a silly boy he was What a silly boy What a silly boy he was But oh so slowly She began to notice his heart It was a quiet dawning And a glorious start But their timing was off Because he had to go Let the months and mile rage They'd bravely suffer the blows What a silly boy What a silly boy he was What a silly boy What a silly boy he was It was on the phone When she called it off He should have fought real hard But he couldn't talk All he managed to do Was just watch her go While the sinking stone in his chest Beat heavy and slow. What a silly boy What a silly boy he was What a silly boy What a silly boy he was So the years have gone by A lifetime slowly abridged And in the dark when all sleeps He often thinks of his kids Age makes him wary Of the memories that he keeps But into his dreams still pale And pretty she creeps He had all the time He had all the world But he could not Get the girl

Oh I know That you've grown weary of your heart You feel alone Like your life will just not start You need a place To let your banners fly unfurled The time and space to slip beyond this cold, cruel world Down the road Out beyond the trees Hides a midnight garden Waiting just for you and me Vine covered gates Past the last street lamp's glare Stand open welcoming Will you meet me there? Will you meet me there? By design Deaf and blind you had to be But now you hear And your open eyes now see Solitude Inner distance and closed doors Does not offer The same cold comfort any more Come to me When the bells have all tolled twelve In our midnight garden I will help you find yourself As the wind rises around us And rushes through the trees I will fall into you As you fall into me As you fall into me... And we'll stay Until the dawn splits the night And our midnight garden Is filled with the morning”s light And amidst the lilac blooms Your lips they will find mine And we'll leave our sunlit garden With fingers intertwined

Heartbeat riot in my chest Breath in ragged sheets torn from my mouth Tidal surge pulse pressurizes every vein Feet hammering out a rhythm on the drumhead ground. I can't quite remember everywhere I've been But it doesn't matter cause everything should be ahead And no one can possibly see where all of it will end Not until this cannonball's flight is fully spent If a missed step or uncertain ground Leaves me in a walk somehow Just seven seductive steps Are all that I ever will allow Can't lift my eyes from five feet ahead As I follow a route that I've long known by heart It doesn't matter if I'm running towards or away Both keep the pressure I know best from spilling out Remembering how not to run Given a chance to catch a breath These seven seductive steps Haven't all been used up yet Sometimes my eyes are stung by the sweat Sometimes an endorphin spike makes me miss a breath And doubting perseverance coexists With the victory bought with every successive step But if I let myself think too much Start to question all I know Then these seven seductive steps Could be the start of another road Do I dare to contemplate That this race could ever be done At the end of these seven seductive steps Is surrender to walk or run?

She said, “Spin, spin me around. But don't let my feet touch the ground.” So he took her hand And led her out within reach of the band. As the music started to play They let themselves fall under its sway An old man's guitar starts to beat like a heart The square closes up as the dancing starts Feet beating dull strike the bare, dusty ground. Hands reach and swing and hair starts to fall down But, oh won't you look at that Texas boy! His long legs loose, feet tapping with joy! See how he swings that Cherokee girl! She's red in the cheeks, gasping with every twirl! Texas boy's hair falls into his eyes Can't get no air though his mouth's open wide Look at her panting, see her chest heave Some say she's winded but don't you believe The boy and the girl dance one final song, Because the moon will rise here before too long. Now they are steppen' away into the dark, Towards the warmth of the shadows past the dyin' fires' sparks. And they both think that no one see's 'em go But they can't be hurt by what they do not know: That in this held breath all men want to be him instead And every woman would go where Cherokee girl is led. Her pa moves to stop 'em cause he clearly sees But he might as well stop the sap from rising in the trees. So he stops his walking, feeling weak in the knees, And watches the dying embers soaring up on the breeze.