I saw a flash of distant lightning
Through the mist of drizzling rain
Felt a wave of rolling thunder
Blowing like the wind of change
Looks like there's a storm a coming
Soon to hold us in its sway
Thunderclaps like giants drumming
Rains to wash our sins away
Dogs are barking, geese are flying
Words are freezing in my mouth
Got to get through, keep on trying
This whole world is heading south
Some lie calm and some come crying
Some sit paralyzed with doubt
Some in vanity denying
What their lives are all about
Chorus:
Lord have mercy, see us through
The long night till the morning comes
Then we'll see what falls or stands true
In the fallout of the storm
I felt the power of the cyclone
Moving like a speeding train
Saw the force of its destruction
Torn across the southern plain
Lost the keys to my own kingdom
Just these hands and heart remain
Spanish boots pulled from the bedroom
All the rest went down the drain
Right then when your dreams seem shattered
As if what you do must fail
The pieces of your fortune scattered
Pulled together still prevail
So if you lose all that you've gathered
Take the heart in this simple tale
Moving on is all that matters
Keep your footsteps on the trail
Chorus
Nothin' Don't Add Up to Much
I cut across your lines of vision
Tiptoe through your streaks of doubt
Wait out your endless or do without
Violate the usual dogma
Penetrate the shadow realm
Taste a smoldering aroma
Climb aboard to take the helm
Climb aboard to take the helm
Chorus:
Something's weighing on me heavy
Hand me down my broken crutch
Count to five and plug the levy
Nothin' don't add up to much
No, nothin' don't add upto much
I cast aside all thought of glory
Raise the flag of freedoms lost
Tell a sad, beguiling story
Count the overwhelming cost
Count the overwhelming cost
Clash or not as fate determines
Cas in my last chips to go
Laugh at jokes, recite a sermon
Tell you all there to know
Tell you all there to know
Chorus
Leave Me My Illusions
The things I learned when I was young
I learned them very well
They got me down the road this far
But these days it's hard to tell
If I had it wrong or right
To see the world so black and white
And put up such an awful fight
These days it's hard to tell
Beneath the glory of the sky
The word is carved in stone
Any question, day or night
Comes down to this alone
We as the chosen, faithful ones
Surely must stick by our guns
Teach our daughters and our sons
To pass it to their own
Chorus:
Won't you leave me please with my illusions
Don't make these fine sand castles crumble down
Without them I'd be lost out in confusion
To wrestle with a world turned upside down
Seems like the gentle rains of grace
Don't fall here much no more
The rock of ages, worn to sand
Comes blowing through the door
Somehow we got in too deep
Our better judgement fast asleep
Now we wait for time to sweep
The fallout off the floor
Chorus
The Magic Mandolin
There's much I know deep in my blood
I can't right well explain
Like moonlight riding on the flood
That's coursing through my veins
What tongue can't tell and eyes can't see
Comes dancing on the wind
I hear it playing high and free,
The magic mandolin
There's more that moves beneath the sky
Than we shall see revealed
And more afoot than meets the eye
Where reasons lie concealed
It's way beyond my reach to tell,
I won't try to pretend
I ever understood it well
The magic mandolin
Chorus:
No words of explanation
From beginning to the end
Ring truer than the melody
Of the magic mandolin
I don't know where it comes from
If not from the source of all,
Or could be a fallen angel's strum
Comes ringing off the wall
If it is, I can't resist
Its sweet seduction sweeping in
Like a prelude to a lover's kiss
The magic mandolin
I follow where it leads to
Like a pilgrim in a trance
And mingle in the retinue
Of revelers at the dance
Where mystery runs deeper
Than my mind can comprehend
In the rhythms of the keeper
Of the magic mandolin
Chorus
Spirit In The wind
I hope you met your loved ones and the master
Like we talked about when you were called away
And I hope the gates of heaven opened wide
To welcome you and speed you on your way
Things are pretty much the same as when you left us
But for the empty place where you would have been
And when the evening whispers high and lonesome
I hear you like a spirit in the wind
I hope that all the life and love within you
Passed with you on the trail you walked alone
And that they lift you high as any angel
Has any expectation to have flown
Do you look from up above down on us
Or walk the road beside us like a friend
I swear that the shadows fall around us
I hear you like a spirit in the wind
Hard as I try I can't make the connection
To whatever lies beyond these mortal bounds
I must be patient to receive some answers
Till this old world has turned a few more rounds
I'll see you in the eyes of my children
Till time comes for my earthly cares to end
Then perhaps you'll be my guide in heaven
And we'll be kindred spirits in the wind
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One night I had a dream in which
I saw your face so clearly
It was as if you stood in front of me
To tell me everything's all right
And you love me dearly
Now come streaming back in memory
All the precious things and tender
Moments that I treasure
Like you will alwaqys be a part of me
Chorus:
I'm always thinking of you now
Whereever you may be
And you will always be a part of me
You were like the desert sunset
Blazing in the sky
As perfectly yourself as you could be
But a burst of light soon turns to shadow
Fades before your eyes
And you will always be a part of me
The consolation that I take now
Since you took that long ride
A comfort to my soul in time of need
If I no longer have you here
At least you're inside
And you will always be a part of me
Chorus
Spanish Cowboys
Spanish cowboys toss the lasso high
And reel them in as clouds go rolling by
With a motion smooth and flowing
Make it seem so easy going
It's as if they didn't even have to try
Chorus:
Ooh, ooh, Spanish cowboys
Spanish cowboys ride with silver spurs
Go raring back too skillfully for words
I never saw a rider
Who came close to this outsider
When it came to sitting cool and self-assured
Chorus
Spanish cowboys treat the ladies right
Extend with graceful hand their heart's delight
When they gaze into their eyes
As the moon begins to rise
You might as well be turning out the light
Chorus
Bridge:
They always seem to make it look so easy
Never seem them break a sweat or lose their cool
With a polished manner elegant and breezy
Beneath the moon shining like a jewel
Chorus
Spanish cowboys ride on like the wind
Right on through your life and out again
With a tip of the sombrero
This soulful caballero
Will soon be on his way around the bend
Chorus
The Voice within You
May you fall in with a cordial crowd
That shares your high ideals
And honesty and courage
Be the ground beneath your wheels
May the path to freedom
Take you where you want to go
Your senses and your reason
Tell you what you need to know
Chorus (2 verses):
May the gifts you have within you
Shine on in the light
And the voice you hear inside you
Always steer you right
May all your accomplishments
Be met with just acclaim
And the things that you do naturally
Bring honor to your name
May truth and beauty mark your way
And be your stock in trade
And may your family prosper
In a sweet home you have made
May principle and fairness
Be your judgement's cornerstone
And good cheer and humor dance
Whereever you may roam
Chorus
Politics
Why is it when people get a little taste of privilege
They close the door on everybody else
And then, when as insiders in the private halls of power,
Commandeer the distribution of wealth
They cloak themselves in virtue
As if their greed were meant to serve you
But hold on friends, it is not really thus
With motives as self-serving
As their tactics are unnerving
It's all about manipulating us
Why is it to hear them talk
Sounds like they wrote the bible
While newspapers make a living off their crimes
And when they're called to answer
Swear by God they didn't do it
The other party, up in arms,
Just swears they're lying
Ads vilify and pander
Stopping nothing short of slander
Labeling the opposition as a rat
This blood sport we call politics
Is razor blades and dirty tricks
What kind of statesman wants to live like that?
It's a complicated world and we'd all like some simple answers
That make it all make sense in simple terms
But when you strip away too many facts to tell your story
The truth goes out the window, that's for sure
Spinmeisters feed us slogans
To play on our emotions
And spare us from the need to think it through
But once elected in their glory
The remainder of the story
Too often is, my friend, the joke's on you
In My Time Of Doubt
In my time of doubt and sorrow
Let me see the light
That shines above the darkened clouds
Just beyond my sight
And let me know the path to walk
To be who I must be
Lift the veil of blindness
From my eyes and let me see
Chorus:
Shine your healing light upon my soul
Till every touch of shadow disappears
Ease the burden of my worried mind
Release me from the bondage of my fears
Bridge:
Cool the fires of anger
When they burn hot in me
The wrongful things I can't control
Please whisper let them be
Let me in my loneliness
Understand I'm not alone
And when I'm underneath the pain
Remind me that I've grown
Enough to see it through with grace
With a smile upon my face
To rise above my smaller self
And get back in the race
Chorus
Vancouver in the Rain
I’ve been around as much as most,
Most everywhere from coast to coast,
Drunk to inspiration’s toast
And fanned the flame of fury’s ghost,
Known ecstasy and pain;
But nowhere have I ever been
Where I could breathe as free as when
There far from home and next of kin
I tucked my scarf against the wind
And went walking through Vancouver in the rain
The first time fate had led me there;
It could have been most anywhere;
A group of friends with thoughts to share
A bed and bread and wine to spare
Sat waiting for my train;
I stepped down in the mist and chill
With time and blues and thirst to kill,
Got caught up on the news until
They led me up to old Granville,
Out walking through Vancouver in the rain
Bridge:
Brushing past a thousand strangers in the street,
Splashing syncopated rhythm with my feet
The whisper of the wind, blowing high and sweet,
Echoes through the cavern of my brain;
No destination in my mind
Agenda, calls, or hard deadline
Just out to see what I can find,
Walking through Vancouver in the rain
Sometimes I sit and reminisce
About the taste of fortune’s kiss,
Chances taken, fateful twists,
Connections made and dances missed
That led me to that train
Who knows where we go from here,
What waves of woe may soon rise near,
Or wild new wonders will appear
But this one thing at least is clear,
We’re walking through Vancouver in the rain
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