@ALBUM: River of Dreams Artist: Billy Joel 1993 Columbia Records Produced by Dan Kortchmar, Billy Joel, Dave Thoener and Joe Nicolo All selections by Billy Joel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: No Man's Land I've seen those big machines come rolling through the quiet pines Blue suits and bankers with their Volvos and their valentines Give us this day our daily discount outlet merchandise Raise up a multiplex and we will make a sacrifice Now we're gonna get the big business Now we're gonna get the real thing Everybody's all excited about it Who remembers when it all began Out here in no man's land Before they passed the master plan Out here in no man's land Low supply and high demand Here in no man's land There ain't much work out here in our consumer power base No major industry, just miles and miles of parking space This morning's paper says our neighbor's in a cocaine bust Lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust Now we're gonna get the whole story Now we're gonna be in prime time Everybody's all excited about it Who remembers when it all began Out here in no man's land We've just begun to understand Out here in no man's land Low supply and high demand Here in no man's land I see these children with their boredom and their vacant stares God help us all if we're to blame for their unanswered prayers They roll the sidewalks up at night, this place goes underground Thanks to the condo kings there's cable now in Zombietown Now we're gonna get the closed circuit Now we're gonna get the Top 40 Now we're gonna get the sports franchise Now we're gonna get the major attractions Who remembers when it all began Out here in no man's land Before the whole world was in our hands Out here in no man's land Before the banners and the marching bands Out here in no man's land Low supply and high demand Here in no man's land ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: The Great Wall of China Advice is cheap you can take it from me It's yours to keep 'cause opinions are free Nobody knows about the trouble I've seen Nobody's perfect, mister, nobody's clean It costs too much and takes too long to find out too late Some words are not heard 'til after they're spoken Your role was protective, your soul was too defective Some people just don't have a heart to be broken CHORUS We could have gone all the way to the Great Wall of China If you'd only had a little more faith in me In lieu of diamonds, gold and platinum reminders will still shine bright All the king's men and all the king's horses Can't put you together the way you used to be We could have been standing on the Great Wall of China You take a piece of whatever you touch Too many pieces means you're touching too much You never win if you can't play it straight You only beat me if you get me to hate It must be so lonely to think that you have only Somebody else's life to live if they let you I ain't too selective, but it don't take no detective To find out how fast your friends will forget you We could have gone all the way to the Great Wall of China Now all you're going to be is history Help yourself, it's all you can eat at the Empire Diner tonight You coulda had class, you coulda been a contender Charlie, you shoulda looked out for me You could have been standing, standing on the Great Wall of China This was not your calling, just look how far you've fallen I heard your story, man, you've got to be joking Keep things in perspective, this is my true objective Why tear this heart out if it's only been broken? CHORUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: Blonde Over Blue Some days when I'm far away In a lonely room in a cold seclusion Some nights when I'm wound so tight There is no release, there is no solution In hell there's a big hotel Where the bar just closed and the windows never opened No phone so you can't call home And the TV works, but the clicker is broken But in the darkness I see your light turned on You know my weakness, you know how I respond to CHORUS Blonde over blue Your hands are cold, your eyes are fire Blonde over blue They shine as though you're burning inside One word from you is all I need to be inspired Blonde over blue I need your inspiration tonight These days there's a million ways To be pulled and torn, to be misdirected These times there are sins and crimes On the morning shows for the disconnected I look and I write my book And I walk away with the wrong impressions I don't care 'cause I've done my share And I need some time for my own obsessions It doesn't matter, I've let that life go by It's been forgotten 'cause all I wanted was you CHORUS These days not a damn soul prays ANd there is no faith 'cause there's nothing to believe in THese days only good luck pays If we don't get paid then we try to get even I look and I write my book And I have my say and I draw conclusions Some nights when I'm wound so tight There is no release, there is no solution But in the darkness I see your light turned on You know my weakness, you know how I respond to CHORUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: A Minor Variation Some days I have to give right in to the blues Despite how I try to keep fightin' It's a sure shot I'm going to lose And I'll tell you why You think I'm crazy It's such a sad composition But can you blame me For what's been causing my bad disposition? Ain't nothing new with my blue situation And nothing's fine, it's just a minor variation When troubles want to find me, I ain't hard to find They know where I am Like a hungry pack of wolves when it's feeding time They tear up a man And it's a strange thing "Cause now it don't really matter More of the same thing Don't even hurt it's been part of the pattern But still in all it's a small consulation I just define it as a minor variation Ain't now way to fight 'em darling Ain't no way around 'em baby Ain't now way to take 'em honey Nowhere to hide and believe me I've tried to shake 'em I'm getting to the point where I don't feel the pain And I've had enough I'm ready for the next time it hits me again "Cause I've gotten tough It doesn't faze me And now I've made my decision I may be crazy It's not as though I don't know that condition Until I'm through with this blue situation Pass me the wine, it's just a minor variation Ain't nobody's business, baby Ain't nobody's worry darlin' Ain't nobody's problem No way to win when you've already been forgotten And it's a strange thing "Cause now it don't really matter More of the same thing Don't even hurt, it's a part of the pattern Until I'm through with this blue situation Pass me the wine, it's just a minor variation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: Shades of Grey Some things were perfectly clear, seen with the vision of youth No doubts and nothing to fear, I claimed the corner on truth These days it's harder to say I know what I'm fighting for My faith is falling away I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey wherever I go The more I find out the less that I know Black and white is how it should be But shades of grey are the colors I see Once there were trenches and walls and one point of every view Fight 'til the other man falls Kill him before he kills you These days the edges are blurred, I'm old and tired of war I hear the other man's words I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey are all that I find When I come to the enemy line Black and white was so easy for me But shades of grey are the colors I see Now with the wisdom of years I try to reason things out And the only people I fear are those who never have doubts Save us all from arrogant men, and all the causes they're for I won't be righteous again I'm not that sure anymore Shades of grey wherever I go The more I find out the less that I know Ain't no rainbows shining on me Shades of grey are the colors I see ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: All About Soul She waits for me at night, she waits for me in silence She gives me all her tenderness and takes away my pain And so far she hasn't run, though I swear she's had her moments She still believes in miracles while others cry in vain It's all about soul It's all about faith and a deeper devotion It's all about soul 'Cause under the love is a stronger emotion She's got to be strong 'Cause so many things getting out of control Should drive her away So why does she stay? It's all about soul She turns to me sometimes and asks me what I'm dreaming And I realize I must have gone a million miles away And I ask her how she knew to reach out for me that moment ANd she smiles because it's understood there are no words to say It's all about soul It's all about knowing what someone is feeling The woman's got soul The power of love and the power of healing This life isn't fair It's gonna get dark, it's gonna get cold You've got to be tough, but that ain't enough It's all about soul There are people who have lost every trace of human kindness There are many who have fallen, there are some who still survive She comes to me at night and she tells me her desires And she gives me all the love I need to keep my faith alive It's all about soul It's all about joy that comes out of sorrow It's all about soul Who's standing now and who's standing tomorrow You've got to be hard Hard as the rock in that old rock 'n' roll song But that's only part, you know in your heart It's all about soul ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- @SONG: Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) Goodnight, my angel Time to close your eyes And save these questions for another day I think I know what you've been asking me I think you know what I've been trying to say I promised I would never leave you And you should always know Wherever you may go No matter where you are I never will be far away Goodnight, my angel Now it's time to sleep And still so many things I want to say Remember all the songs you sang for me WHen we went sailing on an emerald bay ANd like a boat out on the ocean I'm rocking you to sleep THe water's dark And deep inside this ancient heart You'll always be a part of me Goodnight, my angel Now it's time to dream And dream how wonderful your life will be Someday your child may cry And if you sing this lullabye Then in your heart There will always be a part of me Someday we'll all be gone But lullabyes go on and on... They never die That's how you And I Will be ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- @SONG: The River of Dreams In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep >From the mountains of faith To a river so deep I must be looking for something Something sacred I lost But the river is wide And it's too hard to cross And even though I know the river is wide I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore And try to cross to the opposite side So I can finally find out what I've been looking for In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Through the valley of fear To a river so deep And I've been searching for something Taken out of my soul Something I would never lose Something somebody stole I don't know why I go walking at night But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life Until I find what it is that I've been looking for In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Through the jungle of doubt To a river so deep I know I'm searching for something Something so undefined That it can only be seen By the eyes of the blind In the middle of the night I'm not sure about a life after this God knows I've never been a spiritual man Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river That runs to the promised land In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep Though the desert of truth To the river so deep We all end in the ocean We all start in the streams We're all carried along By the river of dreams In the middle of the night ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: Two Thousand Years In the beginning There was the cold and the night Prophets and angels gave us the fire and the light Man was triumphant Armed with the faith and the will THat even the darkest ages couldn't kill Too many kingdoms Too many flags on the field So many battles, so many wounds to be healed Time is relentless Only true love perseveres It's been a long time and now I'm with you After two thousand years This is our moment Here at the crossroads of time We hope our children carry our dreams down the line They are the vintage What kind of life will they live? Is this a curse or a blessing that we give? Sometimes I wonder Why are we so blind to fate? Without compassion, there can be no end to hate No end to sorrow Caused by the same endless fears Why can't we learn from all we've been through After two thousand years? There will be miracles After the last war is won Science and poetry rule in the new world to come Prophets and angels Gave us the power to see What an amazing future there will be And in the evening After the fire and the light One thing is cretain: Nothing can hold back the light Timme is relentless And as the past disappears We're on the verge of all things new We are two thousand years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @SONG: Famous Last Words Sitting here in Avalon, looking at the pouring rain Summertime has come and gone and everybody's home again Closing down for the season, I found the last of the souvenirs I can still taste the wedding cake and it's sweet after all these years These are the last words I have to say That's why this took so long to write There will be other words some other day But that's the story of my life There's comfot in my coffee cup and apples in the early fall They're pulling all the moorings up and gathering at the Legion Hall They swept away all the streamers after the Labor Day parade Nothing left for a dream now, only one final serenade And these are the last words I have to say Before another age goes by With all those other songs I'll have to play But that's the story of my life And it's so clear standing here where I am Ain't that what justice is for? Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn anymore Stack the chairs on the table tops Hang the sheets on the chandeliers It slows down but it never stops Ain't it sweet after all these years And these are the last words I have to say It's always hard to say goodbye But now it's time to put this book away Ain't that the story of my life ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Eric Wincentsen 267@ef.gc.maricopa.edu Glendale Community College Glendale, Arizona "I'm just marking my territory..."