1. |
Wishing Well
04:18
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In a hotel lobby in Kansas City there's a wishing well
It's filled with pennies that once were dreams of the clientele
The water smells like copper and chlorine
The bottom of the pool is painted green
Seems a fitting place to drown my dreams
Drop them in and watch them shimmer down to the bottom
Checked in on Friday, a room for one with a double bed
The second pillow looks like a snow-covered meadow
waiting for a second head
And it glows in the blue light from the tv
And the minibar is stocked with J&B
Seems a fitting way to drown my dreams
Drop them in and watch them shimmer down to the bottom
It might seem silly but I threw a penny in the wishing well
I know dreams and wishes are not going to fix this
but I figure what the hell
It's a small price to pay for a fantasy
A wish that I could rewrite history
And this old broken heart's no good to me
I'll drop it in and watch it shimmer down to the bottom
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2. |
Still in OKC
05:02
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I brought my favorite camping chair
To the lawn at Myriad Gardens
The amphitheater is still the same
Though I think they changed the name
There's still the big, white, beautiful bandshell
Free concerts Sunday evenings
Sitting out beneath the stars
Sundays were ours, ours
I'm still in Oklahoma City but the
Place is nothing like it used to be
Once it was home but now it's just a town
Populated with memories
The artwalk is still a thing
First Fridays on Paseo
Sipping wine in galleries
All up and down the street
And the wild-eyed bearded man
Is still strumming on the corner
Playing the same Bob Seger songs
He still gets the lyrics wrong, so wrong
I'm still in Oklahoma City but the
Place was nothing like it used to be
Once it was home but now it's just a town
Populated with memories
No I haven't once been back
To eat at Country Kitchen
Because you always used to brag
About what a deal they had
Where else can you get steak and eggs
For less than seven dollars
And it's a decent cut of meat
Date night on the cheap
So sweet, why'd you have to leave
Why'd you have to leave me
I'm still in Oklahoma City but the
Place is nothing like it used to be
Once it was home but now it's just a town
Populated with memories
I'm still in Oklahoma City but the
Place is nothing like it used to be
Once it was home but now it's just a town
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3. |
The Grand Finale
03:11
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The world ended on such a gosh darn beautiful day
It was hard to be too mad about it watching it go down that way
Well, if all is well that ends well then this world was a beautiful thing
The grand finale on a picture perfect sunny day in early spring
When the sky was periwinkle blue
And the pink and purple, red and yellow
Wildflowers were in bloom
Oh, the world ended on such a gosh darn beautiful day
Now I can't imagine Armageddon coming any other way
The world ended on such a gosh darn beautiful day
All the neighbors came out to the park to watch their kids and doggies play
And for the first time in a long while we thought about what living is for
Found a new appreciation for some things we took for granted before
A friendly smile, an old familiar tune
A get together with some good friends drinking in the late afternoon
To share a hug, just simple human touch
Tell me how we failed to realize the little things add up to so much
Oh, the world ended on such a gosh darn beautiful day
It made me wish for an extension, keep it spinning for just one more day
Can we keep this world from ending
Keep it spinning for just one more day
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4. |
Light
03:03
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Love, you broke my heart to pieces
But according to the learned Leonard Cohen
Cracks are how the light gets in
Babe, you lit me up like Christmas
In the cavity where my heart should be
The sunlight gleams off of colored scraps of tin
The science of light is a funny thing
Both a particle and a wave discovered Einstein
In his quantum theory of
The heart is a fragile thing
But we trust it with the hardest stuff like pumping blood
And talking about love
And you are out of reach
A dazzle of memory
A beautiful mystery
Pure light, pure light
The heart is a puzzling thing
Full of sweetness and wildness
and a fondness for all kinds of dangerous things that
make you feel alive
A heart gets just so many beats
And you polished that big hunk of chrome until it shone
Like the whole thing was made of light
And you are out of reach
A dazzle of memory
A beautiful mystery
Pure light, pure light
Love, you broke my heart to pieces
But according to the learned Leonard Cohen
Cracks are how the light gets in
How the light gets in
How the light gets in
How the light gets in
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5. |
New Normal
03:10
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People watching from the outside
Say you're looking like you're doing fine
It's insane, you just can't explain
Every feature of your old life
Looks like nothing that you recognize
Things have changed, life is strange
And you don't get over it
And you don't move on from it
But you do learn to live with it
Your new normal
It's going to take a while to understand
How this fits into the grand plan
Of your life when it don't feel right
The Universe is gonna show you how
To live this moment in the here and now
Best laid plans
Some things are out of your hands
And you don't get over it
And you don't move on from it
But you do learn to live with it
Your new normal
When what you never dreamed becomes reality
When you become someone you thought you'd never be
When the world you knew turns into history
You've got to be strong, carry on
Create a new place you can belong
And you don't get over it
And you don't move on from it
But you do learn to live with it
Your new normal
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6. |
Messed Up
03:59
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Hey baby, did anybody ever try and make it better by telling you how
Everything happens for a reason
I think that's a load of bull, just something you say when you don't know what to say
You quote some scripture about time and seasons
And there are no words gonna make this alright
And there are no words gonna help you sleep at night
It's just a messed up situation
it's just effed up beyond all saving
Just a test that won't be graded
Tell me did I pass
What was I supposed to learn from that
Tell me what was I supposed to learn
Hey baby, they say you came into my life
To teach me something or make me somehow
Better, wiser, stronger, what doesn't kill me
Thanks a lot, bang up job
Do you think you could teach me something without wrecking me
I could have gone on dumb but happy
And there are no words gonna make this alright
And there are no words gonna help you sleep at night
It's just a messed up situation
It's just effed up beyond all saving
Just a test that won't be graded
Tell me did I pass
I'm just trying to construct a narrative where all this shit makes sense
A story with a plot, beginning, middle and an end
Tell me when does this end
It's just a messed up situation
It's just effed up beyond all saving
Just a test that won't be graded
Tell me did I pass
What was I supposed to learn from that
Tell me what was I supposed to learn
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7. |
Cry
03:25
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I know you're strong but it's not wrong
To let them know what you're going through
If they only knew
The energy it takes to put on a happy face
Is taking so much out of you
Do what you gotta do
Go ahead and cry
Feel that stinging in your eyes
Let the water flow down
I'll be by your side
Go ahead and cry, cry, cry, go ahead and cry
So let it hurt, it didn't work
Although you gave it your everything
But everything was never gonna be enough
So let it out, go ahead and howl
Let yourself just feel the pain
Let rain fall from the clouds
Go ahead and cry
Feel that stinging in your eyes
Let the water flow down
I'll be by your side
Go ahead and cry, cry, cry, go ahead and cry
You've been such a brave soldier
You can lay down your armor
Just for a little while
Go ahead and cry
Feel that stinging in your eyes
Let the water flow down
I'll be by your side
Go ahead and cry, cry, cry, go ahead and cry
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8. |
Love With Nowhere to Go
03:23
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Your closet is empty but it still smells like you
The book on your nightstand is marked three-quarters through
It feels like any moment you might walk through that door
Then I remember you don't live here anymore
You filled up my life and when you left it left a gaping hole
I'm left with all of this love that's got nowhere to go
On that bright morning when your soul had to fly
I was not ready to tell you goodbye
It doesn't make sense yet but the biggest surprise
Is that it feels like you're still here but a part of me has died
You filled up my life and when you left it left a gaping hole
I'm left with all of this love that's got nowhere to go
It fills up my eyes, makes a lump in my throat
It feels so tight in my chest, all of this love with nowhere to go
You filled up my life and when you left it left a gaping hole
I'm left with all of this love that's got nowhere to go
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9. |
If I Still Had You
03:13
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Last night the stars were out
A glistening spray of diamonds on a sea of deepest blue
The clouds were lace trimming on a silvery moon
It would have been so romantic if I still had you
Last night I stayed at home
With the radio, a glass of merlot - well, maybe quite a few
A box of old photos and a box of tissues
It would have been so romantic if I still had you
I'm still dating your memory
I can't even feel lonely
The way your ghost haunts me
The whole night through
Last night friends took me out
I made an effort, wore a short skirt
Heels and French perfume
A jazz trio was playing some Ellington tunes
It would have been so romantic
It would have been downright romantic
If I still had you
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10. |
Reprieve
03:50
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Twilight, purple sky and golden light
Even the day gives way to night
When the sun gets tired of burning
Sweet interlude, give me a chance to regroup
Bandage up and lick my wounds
Seems like so long I've been hurting
But in this moment now everything feels right somehow
Oh time, oh life, let me stay here for a little while
And catch my breath before you alter the scene
Oh time, oh life, let me stay here for a little while
'Cause this is nice, a little respite from my grief
Grant me a moment's reprieve, a momentary repreive
Let me find peace, let me let go of this worry
Hold on to sweeter memories to get me through days that are coming
Help me hold on just for a minute
To the people I love, to my reasons for living
And gather my strength, tomorrow I'll get back to running
But in this moment now everything is working out
Oh time, oh life, let me stay here for a little while
And catch my breath before you alter the scene
Oh time, oh life, let me stay here for a little while
'Cause this is nice, a little respite from my grief
Grant me a moment's reprieve, a momentary reprieve
Grant me a moment's reprieve
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11. |
When You Go
03:41
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Take all my love with you when you go
And may happiness find you where you go
May you find peace in the sweetest release
Take all my love with you when you go
You take a part of me when you go
So take comfort knowing you'll never be alone
And know there's a part of you that lives in my heart
Take all my love with you when you go
Take all my love with you when you go
We'll meet again in a place we can call home
Until that day may love guide the way
Take all my love with you when you go
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12. |
All Souls Day
03:26
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Offering up a sweet for my sweet
Something of beauty for my memories, you're here with me
Dark as night you've closed your eyes
Follow the scent of marigolds and wine
Sugar and roses, candles and votives
Photographs and mementos for the ones that you love
Late autumn breeze, a chill in the air
Relationships etched in stone and tended with care
I'll find you there
We'll make it a date on All Souls Day
There might be some tears but we will celebrate
Sugar and roses, candles and votives
Photographs and mementos for the ones that you love
I know you're gone but darling love never ends
It's always hard to say goodbye to a friend
How about, 'Until I see you again next time, maybe sometime'
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Janice Francis-Smith Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Janice Francis-Smith is an award-winning songwriter and poet based in Oklahoma City.
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