Show Don't Tell
---- ----- ----
How many times do you hear it?
It goes on all day long
Everyone knows everything
And no one's ever wrong
Until later

Who can you believe?
It's hard to play it safe
But apart from a few good friends
We don't take anything on faith
Until later

Show Don't Tell

SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
You've figured out the score
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
I've heard it all before
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
I don't care what you say
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME

You can twist perceptions
Reality won't budge
You can raise objections
I will be the judge
And the jury

I'll give it due reflection
Watching from the fence
Give the jury direction
Based on the evidence
I, the jury

SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Hey - order in the court
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Let's try to keep it short
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Enough of your demands
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Witness take the stand
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME

SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Hey - order in the court
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Let's try to keep it short
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
I don't care what you say
SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME
Let's see exhibit A



Chain Lightning
----- ---------
Energy is contagious
Enthusiasm spreads
Tides respond to lunar gravitation
Everything turns in synchronous relation

Laughter is infectious
Excitement goes to my head
Winds are stirred by planets in rotation
Sparks ignite and spread new information

Respond, vibrate, feed back, resonate

Sun dogs fire on the horizon
Meteor rain stars across the night
This moment may be brief
But it can be so bright

Hope is epidemic
Optimism spreads
Bitterness breeds irritation
Ignorance breeds imitation

Sun dogs fire on the horizon
Meteor rain stars across the night
This moment may be brief
But it can be so bright
Reflected in another source of light
When the moment dies
The spark still flies
Reflected in another pair of eyes

Dreams are sometimes catching
Desire goes to my head
Love responds to your invitation
Love responds to imagination

Respond, vibrate, feed back, resonate



The Pass
--- ----
Proud swagger out of the schoolyard
Waiting for the world's applause
Rebel without a conscience
Martyr without a cause

Static on your frequency
Electrical storm in your veins
Raging at unreachable glory
Straining at invisible chains

And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Can't face life on a razor's edge
Nothing's what you thought it would be

All of us get lost in the darkness
Dreamers learn to steer by the stars
All of us do time in the gutter
Dreamers turn to look at the cars
turn around and turn around and turn around
Turn around and walk the razor's edge
Don't turn your back
And slam the door on me

It's not as if this barricade
Blocks the only road
It's not as if you're all alone
In wanting to explode

Someone set a bad example
Made surrender seem all right
The act of a noble warrior
Who lost the will to fight

And now you're trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Done with life on a razor's edge
Nothing's what you thought it would be

No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate
Christ, what have you done?



War Paint
--- -----
Girl before the mirror
Appraises her disguise
Child become a mother
Tries to fix her eyes
No more of his excuses
It has to be today
She can keep her fantasy
If she can get away

Paint her name on a one-way street
Painted cheeks with angry heat
Wounded pride on painted eyes
Paint the night with battlecries

All puffed up with vanity
We see what we want to see
To the beautiful and the wise
The mirror always lies

Boy before the mirror
Checks his camoflauge
Polishes his armor
And the charger in the garage
No more lame excuses
It has to be tonight
He can take the princess
If he can take the fight

Pound the drums with martial beat
Pound the streets with marching feet
Wounded pride, distorted eyes
Paint the night with battlecries

All puffed up with vanity
We see what we want to see
To the powerful and the wise
The mirror always lies

Boys and girls together
Mistake conceit for pride
- ambition for illusion
- dreams for self-delusion
Girls and boys together
See what it is we lack
Boys and girls together
Let's paint the mirror black
Paint it black



Scars
-----
I've stood upon my mountaintop
And shouted at the sky
Walked above the pavement
With my sense amplified
- I get this feeling

All my nerves are naked wires
Tender to the touch
Sometimes super-sensitive
But who can care too much?
- I get this feeling

Scars of pleasure
Scars of pain
Atmospheric changes
Make them sensitive again

Each emotional injury
Leaves behind its mark
Sometimes they come tumbling out
Like shadows in the dark
- I get this feeling

When I think about all I have seen
And all I'll never see
When I think about the people
Who have opened up to me
- I get this feeling

Snow falls deep around my house
And holds the winter light
I've heard the lions hunting
In the Serengeti night
- I get this feeling

Forests turned to factories
And river, sea, and sky
Hungry child in the desert
And the flies that cloud her eyes
- I get this feeling

Pleasure leaves a fingerprint
As surely as mortal pain
In memories they resonate
And echo back again



Presto
------
If I could wave my magic wand...

I am made from the dust of the stars
And the oceans flow in my veins
Here I hide in the heart of the city
Like a stranger coming out of the rain

The evening plane rises up from the runway
Over constellations of light
I look down into a million houses
And wonder what you're doing tonight

If I could wave my magic wand
I'd make everything all right

I'm not one to believe in magic
But I sometimes have a second-sight
I'm not one with a sense of proportion
When my heart still changes overnight

I had a dream of a winter garden
A midnight rendezvous
Silver, blue, and frozen silence
What a fool I was for you

I had a dream of the open water
I was swimming away out to sea
So deep I could never touch bottom
What a fool I used to be

If I could wave my magic wand
I'd set everybody free

I'm not one to believe in magic
Though my memory has a second-sight
I'm not one to go pointing my finger
When I radiate more heat than light

Don't ask me
I'm just improvising
My illusion of careless flight
Can't you see
My temperature's rising
I radiate more heat than light

Don't ask me
I'm just sympathizing
My illusions a harmless flight
Can't you see
My temperature's rising
I radiate more heat than light



Superconductor
--------------
Packaged like a rebel or a hero
Target mass appeal
To make an audience feel
He really means it

Package the illusion of persona
Careful to conceal
The fact that she's only too real
She's got to screen it

Hit you in a soft place
A melody so sweet
A strong and simple beat
That you can dance to

Watch his every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Orchestrate illusions
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Watch his every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Hoping you'll believe
Designing to deceive
That's entertainment

He can put a target on the market
Bask in your applause
Reality withdraws
Now he believes it

The role becomes the actor
She's addicted to applause
The stage a world because
She never leaves it

Hit you in a soft place
With sentimental ease
They know the fantasies
That you romance to

Watch her every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
She can manipulate reactions
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Watch her every move
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Pin the donkeys on her tail
Fantasy for sale
That's entertainment...



Anagram (for Mongo)
------- ---- ------
There's a snake coming out of the darkness
Parade from paradise
End the need for eden
Chase the dreams of merchandise

There is tic and toc in atomic
Leaders make a deal
The cosmic is largely comic
A con they couldn't conceal

There is no safe seat at the feast
Take your best stab at the beast
The night is turning thin
The saint is turning to sin

Raise the art to resistance
Danger dare to be grand
Pride reduced to humble pie
Diamonds down to sand

Take heart from earth and weather
The brightness of new birth
Take heart from the harvest
Shave the harvest from the earth

Reasoning is partly insane
Image just an eyeless game
The night is turning thin
The saint is turning to sin

Miracles will have their claimers
More will bow to Rome
He and she are in the house
But there's only me at home

Rose is a rose of splendor
posed to respond in the end
lonely things like nights,
I find, end finer with a friend

I hear in the rate of her heart
A tear in the heat of the art

The night turns thin
The saint turns to sin



Red Tide
--- ----
Nature has some new plague
To run in our streets
History some new wrinkle
We are doomed to repeat
Fugitives at the bedroom door
Lovers pause to find an open store
Rain is burning on the forest floor
And the red tide kisses the shore

THIS IS NOT A FALSE ALARM
THIS IS NOT A TEST

Stay out of the sun
It only burns my skin
Sky full of poison
And the atmosphere's too thin
Bless the sun, the rain no more
River running like an open sore
Black wind falling to the ocean floor
and the red tide washes ashore

THIS IS NOT A FALSE ALARM
THIS IS NOT A TEST
Nowhere we can fly away
Nowhere we can rest
The party is disrupted by
An uninvited guest

Deadline approaches
For the weary land
It used to be something
But we let it run down in our hands
Too late for debate, too bad to ignore
Quiet rebellion leads to open war
Bring a sea-change to the factory floor
As the red tide covers the shore

Now's the time to turn the tide
Now's the time to fight
Let us not go gently
To the endless winter night
Now's the time to make the time
While hope is still in sight
Let us not go gently
To the endless winter night



Hand Over Fist
---- ---- ----
Hand over fist
Paper around the stone
Scissors cut the paper
Cut the paper to the bone
Hand over fist
Paper around the stone
Scissors cut the paper
And the rock must stand alone

I could disappear into the crowd
But not if I keep my head in the clouds
I could walk away so proud
It's easy enough if you don't laugh too loud

I thought I was okay alone
Wait for the postman and the telephone
Lost in a world of my own
I thought I could run alone
Thought I could run through the night alone

Hand over hand
Doesn't seem so much
Hand over hand
Is the strength of the common touch

You talk as we walk along
You never imagined I could be so wrong
Humming your favorite song
You know I've hated that song for so long

How can we ever agree?
Like the rest of the world
We grow farther apart
I swear you don't listen to me
Holding my hand to my heart
Holding my fist to my racing heart

Take a walk outside myself
In some exotic land
Greet a passing stranger
Feel the strength in his hand
Feel the world expand

I feel my spirit resist
But I open up my fist
Lay hand over hand over
Hand over fist



Available Light
--------- -----
The restless wind
Has seen all things
In every kind of light
Rising with the full moon
To go howling through the night

The sleepless wind
Has heard all things
Between the sea and sky
In the canyons of the city
You can hear the buildings cry

Oh the wind can carry
All the voices of the sea
Oh the wind can carry
All the echoes home to me

Run with wind and weather
To the music of the sea
All four winds together
Can't bring the world to me
Chase the wind around the world
I want to look at life -
In the available light

Play of light
A photograph
The way I used to be
Some half-forgotten stranger
Doesn't mean that much to me

Trick of light
Moving picture
Moments caught in flight
Make the shadows darker
Or the colors shine too bright

Oh the light can carry
All the visions of the sea
Oh the light can carry
All the images to me

Run to light from shadow
Sun gives me no rest
Promise offered in the east
Broken in the west
Chase the sun around the world
I want to look at life -
In the available light

All four winds together
Can't bring the world to me
Shadows hide the play of light
So much I want to see
Chase the light around the world
I want to look at life -
In the available light

I'll go with the wind
I'll stand in the light

"RECOPILACIÓN"

Dreamline
---------
He's got a road map of Jupiter
A radar fix on the stars
All along the highway
She's got a liquid-crystal compass 
A picture book of the rivers
Under the Sahara

They travel in the time of the prophets
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and hereos, and the restless part of everyone
We're only at home when we're on the run
On the run

He's got a star map of Hollywood
A list of cheap motels
All along the freeway
She's got a sister out in Vegas
The promise of a decent job
Far away from her hometown

They travel on the road to redemption
A highway out of yesterday -- that tomorrow will bring
Like lovers and heroes, birds in the last days of spring
We're only at home when we're on the wing
On the wing

WHEN WE ARE YOUNG
WANDERING THE FACE OF THE EARTH
WONDERING WHAT OUR DREAMS MIGHT BE WORTH
LEARNING THAT WE'RE ONLY IMMORTAL --
FOR A LIMITED TIME

Time is a gypsy caravan
Steals away in the night
To leave you stranded in Dreamland
Distance is a long-range filter
Memory a flickering light
Left behind in the heartland

We travel in the dark of the new moon
A starry highway traced on the map of the sky
Like lovers and heroes, lonely as the eagle's cry
We're only at home when we're on the fly
On the fly

We travel on the road to adventure
On a desert highway straight to the heart of the sun
Like lovers and hereos, and the restless part of everyone
We're only at home when we're on the run
On the run...



Bravado
-------
If we burn our wings
Flying too close to the sun
If the moment of glory
Is over before it's begun
If the dream is won --
Though everything is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost

When the dust has cleared
And victory denied
A summit too lofty
River a little too wide
If we keep our pride --
Though paradise is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost

And if the music stops
There's only the sound of the rain
All the hope and glory
All the sacrifice in vain
[And] if love remains
Though everything is lost
We will pay the price,
But we will not count the cost



Roll The Bones
---- --- -----
Well, you can stake that claim --
Good work is the key to good fortune
Winners take that praise
Losers seldom take that blame
If they don't take that game
And sometimes the winner takes nothing
We draw our own designs
But fortune has to make that frame

We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

Why are we here?
Because we're here
Roll the bones
Why does it happen?
Because it happens
Roll the bones

Faith is cold as ice --
Why are little ones born only to suffer
For the want of immunity 
Or a bowl of rice?
Well, who would hold a price
On the heads of the innocent children
If there's some immortal power 
To control the dice?

We come into the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones

Jack -- relax.
Get busy with the facts.
No zodiacs or almanacs,
No maniacs in polyester slacks.
Just the facts.
Gonna kick some gluteus max.
It's a parallax -- you dig?
You move around
The small gets big. It's a rig
It's action -- reaction --
Random interaction.
So who's afraid 
Of a little abstraction?
Can't get no satisfaction
From the facts?
You better run, homeboy --
A fact's a fact 
From Nome to Rome, boy.

What's the deal? Spin the wheel.
If the dice are hot -- take a shot.
Play your cards. Show us what you got --
What you're holding.
If the cards are cold,
Don't go folding.
Lady Luck is golden; 
She favors the bold. That's cold
Stop throwing stones --
The night has a thousand saxophones.
So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Get busy!



Face Up
---- --
You turn my head
I spin my wheels
Running on empty --
You know how that feels

I'm on a roll now --
Or is it a slide?
Can't be too careful 
With that dangerous pride
If I could only reach that dial inside
And turn it up

FACE UP -- Or you can only back down
FACE UP -- Hit the target, or you better hit the ground
FACE UP -- There's still time to turn the game around
FACE UP -- Turn it up --
Or turn that wild card down
Turn it up

Don't complain
Don't explain
I don't think my new resolve
Can stand the strain

I'm in a groove now --
Or is it a rut?
I need some feedback
But all the lines are cut
I get so angry, but I keep my mouth shut
And turn it up

You get all squeezed up inside
Like the days were carved in stone
You get all wired up inside
And it's bad to be alone

You can go out, you can take a ride
And when you get out on your own
You get all smoothed out inside
And it's good to be alone
Turn it up




The Big Wheel
--- --- -----
Well, I was only a kid -- didn't know enough to be afraid
Playing the game, but not the way the big boys played
Nothing to lose -- maybe I had something to trade
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, on a holy crusade
I placed no trust in a faith that was ready-made
Take no chances on paradise delayed
So I do a slow fade

PLAYING FOR TIME
Don't want to wait for heaven
LOOKING FOR LOVE
For an angel to forgive my sins
PLAYING WITH FIRE
Chasing something new to believe in
LOOKING FOR LOVE
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, cruising around in a trance
Prisoner of fate, victim of circumstance
I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance
The way the big wheel spins

Well, I was only a kid, gone without a backward glance
Going for broke, going for another chance
Hoping for heaven -- hoping for a fine romance
If I do the right dance

Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of faith
Taking your chances you'll have the right answers
When the final judgment begins

Wheel goes round, landing on a leap of fate
Life redirected in ways unexpected
Sometimes the odd number wins
The way the big wheel spins



Heresy
------
All around that dull gray world
From Moscow to Berlin
People storm the barricades
Walls go tumbling in

The counter-revolution
People smiling through their tears
Who can give them back their lives
And all those wasted years?
All those precious wasted years --
Who will pay?

All around that dull gray world
Of ideology
People storm the marketplace
And buy up fantasy

The counter-revolution
At the counter of a store
People buy the things they want
And borrow for a little more
All those wasted years
All those precious wasted years
Who will pay?

Do we have to be forgiving at last?
What else can we do?
Do we have to say goodbye to the past?
Yes I guess we do

All around this great big world
All the crap we had to take
Bombs and basement fallout shelters
All our lives at stake

The bloody revolution
All the warheads in its wake
All the fear and suffering 
All a big mistake
All those wasted years
All those precious wasted years
Who will pay?



Ghost Of A Chance
----- -- - ------
Like a million little doorways
All the choices we made
All the stages we passed through
All the roles we played

For so many different directions
Our separate paths might have turned
With every door that we opened
Every bridge that we burned

Somehow we find each other
Through all that masquerade
Somehow we found each other
Somehow we have stayed
In a state of grace

I DON'T BELIEVE IN DESTINY
OR THE GUIDING HAND OF FATE
I DON'T BELIEVE IN FOREVER
OR LOVE AS A MYSTICAL STATE

I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE STARS OR THE PLANETS
OR ANGELS WATCHING FROM ABOVE
BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S A GHOST OF A CHANCE
WE CAN FIND SOMEONE TO LOVE
AND MAKE IT LAST

Like a million little crossroads
Through the backstreets of youth
Each time we turn a new corner
A tiny moment of truth

[For] so many different connections
Our separate paths might have made
With every door that we opened
Every game we played



Neurotica
---------
You just don't get it
What it is ... well, you're not really sure
You move like you're walking on this ice
Talking like you're still insecure

Time is a spiral -- Space is a curve
I know you get dizzy, but try not to lose your nerve
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Waiting for rescue, and I know you just
Don't get it
You just don't get it

Neurotica -- Exotica
It's just Erotica -- Hypnotica
It's just Psychotica -- Chaotica
It's just Exotica -- Neurotica

You just don't get it
Baby, don't you ask yourself why?
If you don't like the answer -- forget it
You know I hate to see you cry

Fortune is random -- Fate shoots from the hip
I know you get crazy, but try not to lose your grip
Life is a diamond you turn into dust
Looking for trust, and I know that you just
Don't get it
You just don't get it

SNAP!
Hide in your shell, let the world go to hell
It's like Russian roulette to you
SNAP!
Sweat running cold, you can't face growing old
It's a personal threat to you
SNAP!
The world is a cage for your impotent rage
But don't let it get to you
SNAP!



You Bet Your Life
--- --- ---- ----
Just another hunter, like a wolf in the sun
Just another junkie on a scoring run
Just another victim of the things he has done
Just another day -- in the life of a loaded gun

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE

Just another winner, pours his life down the drain
Just another island in a hurricane
Just another loser, like a cat in the rain
Just another day -- in the path of a speeding train

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE

anarchist reactionary running-dog revisionist
hindu muslim catholic creation/evolutionist
rational romantic mystic cynical idealist
minimal expressionist post-modern neo-symbolist

armchair rocket scientist graffiti existentialist
deconstruction primitive performance photo-realist
be-bop or a one-drop or a hip-hop lite-pop-metallist
gold adult contemporary urban country capitalist

Just another gypsy with a plastic guitar
Just another dancer with her eyes on the stars
Just another dreamer who was going too far
Just another drunk -- at the wheel of a stolen car

THE ODDS GET EVEN -- You name the game
THE ODDS GET EVEN -- The stakes are the same
YOU BET YOUR LIFE

Animate                                                    
-------
POLARIZE ME
SENSITIZE ME
CRITICIZE ME
CIVILIZE ME
COMPENSATE ME
ANIMATE ME
COMPLICATE ME
ELEVATE ME
                                                   
Goddess in my garden
Sister in my soul
Angel in my armor
Actress in my role

Daughter of a demon-lover
Empress of the hidden face
Priestess of the pagan mother
Ancient queen of inner space

Spirit in my psyche
Double in my role
Alter in my image
Struggle for control

Mistress of the dark unconscious
Mermaid of the lunar sea
Daughter of the great enchantress
Sister to the boy inside of me

My counterpart -- my foolish heart
A man must learn to rule his tender part
A warming trend -- a gentle friend
A man must build a fortress to defend 

A secret face -- a touch of grace
A man must learn to give a little space
A peaceful state -- a submissive trait
A man must learn to gently dominate



Stick It Out
----- -- ---
Trust to your instincts
If it's safely restrained
Lightning reactions
Must be carefully trained

Heat of the moment
Curse of the young
Spit out your anger
Don't swallow your tongue

STICK IT OUT

Don't swallow the poison                                      
SPIT IT OUT
Don't swallow your pride                                       
STICK IT OUT
Don't swallow your anger                                      
SPIT IT OUT
Don't swallow the lies
                                 
Natural reflex
Pendulum swing
You might be too dizzy 
To do the right thing

Trial under fire
Ultimate proof
Moment of crisis
Don't swallow the truth                              

STICK IT OUT

Each time we bathe our reactions
In artificial light
Each time we alter the focus
To make the wrong moves seem right

You get so used to deception
You make yourself a nervous wreck
You get so used to surrender
Running back to cover your neck

STICK IT OUT



Cut To The Chase
--- -- --- -----
It is the fire that lights itself
But it burns with a restless flame
The arrow on a moving target
The archer must be sure of his aim

It is the engine that drives itself
But it chooses the uphill climb
A bearing on magnetic north
Growing farther away all the time
Can't stop -- moving
Can't stop -- moving
Can't stop

YOU MAY BE RIGHT
IT'S ALL A WASTE OF TIME
I GUESS THAT'S JUST A CHANCE
I'M PREPARED TO TAKE
A DANGER I'M PREPARED TO FACE
CUT TO THE CHASE

It is the rocket that ignites itself
And launches its way to the stars
A driver on a busy freeway
Racing the oblivious cars

It's the motor of the western world
Spinning off to every extreme
Pure as a lover's desire
Evil as a murderer's dream

Young enough not to care too much
About the way things used to be
I'm young enough to remember the future --
The past has no claim on me

I'm old enough not to care too much
About what you think of me
But I'm young enough to remember the future
And the way things ought to be

WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE
CAN ONE PERSON MAKE?
CUT TO THE CHASE 



Nobody's Hero
-------- ----
I knew he was different, in his sexuality
I went to his parties, as a straight minority
It never seemed a threat to my masculinity
He only introduced me to a wider reality     
   
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that he was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart 
But he's nobody's --

Hero -- saves a drowning child
Cures a wasting disease
Hero -- lands the crippled airplane
Solves great mysteries

Hero -- not the handsome actor 
Who plays a hero's role
Hero -- not the glamor girl 
Who'd love to sell her soul
If anybody's buying 
NOBODY'S HERO

I didn't know the girl, but I knew her family
All their lives were shattered 
in a nightmare of brutality
They try to carry on, try to bear the agony
Try to hold some faith 
in the goodness of humanity                           
   
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that she was gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart
But she's nobody's --

Hero -- the voice of reason 
Against the howling mob           
Hero -- the pride of purpose 
In the unrewarding job          

Hero -- not the champion player 
Who plays the perfect game
Not the glamor boy 
Who loves to sell his name
Everybody's buying 
NOBODY'S HERO
   
As the years went by, we drifted apart
When I heard that you were gone
I felt a shadow cross my heart                

Hero



Between Sun And Moon
------- --- --- ----
There is a lake between sun and moon
Not too many know about
In the silence between whisper and shout
The space between wonder and doubt

This is a fine place
Shining face to face
Those bonfire lights in the mirror of sky
The space between wonder and why

ahh yes to yes to ahh ahh to yes
why the sun why the sun

There is a fine line between love and illusion --
A fine place to penetrate
The gap between actor and act
The lens between wishes and fact

This is a fine place 
To hesitate
Those bonfire lights in the lake of sky
The time between wonder and why

Some need to pray to the sun at high noon
Some need to howl at the midwinter moon
Reborn and baptized in a moment of grace
We just need a break --
From the headlong race

ahh yes to yes to ahh ahh to yes
why the sun why the sun

This is a fine place, shining face to face
These bonfire lights in the mirrored sky
The space between wonder and why



Alien Shore
----- -----
You and I, we are strangers by one chromosome
Slave to the hormone, body and soul
In a struggle to be happy and free
Swimming in a primitive sea

You and I, we must dive below the surface
A world of red neon, and ultramarine
Shining bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching to the alien shore

For you and me -- Sex is not a competition
For you and me -- Sex is not a job description
For you and me -- We agree

You and I, we are pressed into these solitudes
Color and culture, language and race
Just variations on a theme
Islands in a much larger stream

For you and me -- Race is not a competition
For you and me -- Race is not a definition
For you and me -- We agree

Reaching for the alien shore

You and I, we reject these narrow attitudes
We add to each other, like a coral reef
Building bridges on the ocean floor
Reaching for the alien shore

For you and me -- We hold these truths to be self-evident
For you and me -- We'd elect each other president
For you and me -- We might agree
But that's just us

Reaching for the alien shore



The Speed Of Love  
--- ----- -- ----
Love is born with lightning bolts
Electro-magnetic force
Burning skin and fireworks
A storm on a raging course

Like a force of nature,
Love can fade with the stars at dawn
Sometimes it takes all your strength 
Just to keep holding on
At the speed of love
A radiance that travels
At the speed of love
My heart goes out to you.                 

Love is born with solar flares
From two magnetic poles
It moves towards a higher plane
Where two halves make two wholes

Like a force of nature,
Love shines in many forms
One night we are bathed in light
One day carried away in the storms
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster 
Than the speed of love
My heart goes out to you

We don't have to talk
We don't even have to touch
I can feel your prescence 
In the silence that we share
Got to keep moving 
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster 
Than the speed of love
Got to keep on shining 
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster 
Than the speed of love
My heart goes out to you



Double Agent
------ -----
Where would you rather be?
Anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now

On the edge of sleep,
I was driting for half the night
Anxious and restless,
pressed down by the darkness
Bound up and wound up so tight
So many decisions, a million revisions
Caught between and light...

Wilderness of mirrors
World of polished steel
Gears and iron chains
Turn the grinding wheel
I run between the shadows
Some are phantoms, some are real

Where would you rather be?
Anywhere but here
When will the time be right?
Anytime but now
The doubt and the fear
I know would all disappear
Anywhere but here

On the edge of sleep,
I heard voices behind the door
The known and the nameless,
familiar and faceless
My angels and my demons at war
Which one will lose -- depends on what I choose
Or maybe which voice I ignore...

Wilderness of mirrors
Streets of cold desire
My precious sense of honor
Just a shield of rusty wire
I hold against the chaos --
And the cross of holy fire

Wilderness of mirrors
So easy to deceive
My precious sense of rightness
Is sometimes so naive
So that which I imagine
Is that which I believe

On the edge of sleep, I awoke to a sun so bright
Rested and fearless, cheered by your nearness
I knew which direction was right
The case had been tried by the jury inside
The choice between darkness and light...


Leave That Thing Alone 
----- ---- ----- -----

Instrumental 


Cold Fire
---- ----
It was long after midnight 
When we got to unconditional love
She said sure, my heart is boundless
But don't push my limits too far

I said if love was so transcendant
I don't understand these boundaries
She said just don't disappoint me --
You know how complex women are
I'll be around 
If you don't let me down 
Too far

It was just before sunrise 
When we started on traditional roles
She said sure I'll be your partner
But don't make too many demands

I said if love has these conditions
I don't understand those songs you love
She said this is not a love song
This isn't fantasy-land
I'll be around 
If you don't push me down 
Too far

DON'T GO TOO FAR --
The phosphorescent wave on a tropical sea 
Is a cold fire
DON'T CROSS THE LINE --
The pattern of moonlight on the bedroom floor                              
Is a cold fire
DON'T LET ME DOWN --
The flame at the heart of a pawnbroker's diamond 
Is a cold fire
DON'T BREAK THE SPELL --
The look in your eyes as you head for the door 
Is a cold fire

Love is blind if you are gentle
Love can turn to a long, cold burn



Everyday Glory
-------- -----
In the house where nobody laughs 
And nobody sleeps
In the house where love lies dying 
And the shadows creep
A little girl hides, shaking,
With her hands on her ears
Pushing back the tears, 'til the pain disappears

Mama says some ugly words
Daddy pounds the wall
They can fight about their little girl later
Right now they don't care at all
No matter what they say...
No matter what they say...

EVERYDAY PEOPLE
EVERYDAY SHAME
EVERYDAY PROMISE
SHOT DOWN IN FLAMES

EVERYDAY SUNRISE
ANOTHER EVERYDAY STORY
RISE FROM THE ASHES --
A BLAZE OF EVERYDAY GLORY

In the city where nobody smiles
And nobody dreams
In the city where desperation 
Drives the bored to extremes

Just one spark of decency 
Against a starless night
One glow of hope and dignity
A child can follow the light
No matter what they say
No matter what they say...

If the future's looking dark
We're the ones who have to shine
If there's no one in control
We're the ones who draw the line
Though we live in trying times --
We're the ones who have to try
Though we know that time has wings --
We're the ones who have to fly

Test For Echo
---- --- ----
Here we go -- vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo

Here we go -- in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo

Some kind of trouble on the sensory screen
Camera curves over caved-in cop cars
Bleacher-creatures, would-be desperados
Clutch at plausible deniability
Don't touch that dial --
We're in denial
Until the showcase trial on TV

Some kind of pictures on the sense o'clock news
Miles of yellow tape -- silhouetted chalklines
Tough-talking hood boys in pro-team logo knock-offs
Conform to uniforms of some corporate entity
Don't change that station
It's Gangster Nation
Now crime's in syndication on TV

What a show -- vertigo
Video vertigo
Test for echo

Touch and go -- in slo-mo
Video vertigo
Test for echo

Some kind of drama live on satellite
Hidden camera coverage from the crime scene to the courtroom
Nail-biting hood boys in borrowed ties and jackets
Clutching at the straws of respectability
Can't do the time?
Don't do the crime
And wind up in the perp walk on TV



Driven
------
Driven up and down in circles
Skidding down a road of black ice
Staring in and out storm windows
Driven to a fool's paradise

BUT IT'S MY TURN TO DRIVE

Driven to the margin of error
Driven to the edge of control
Driven to the margin of terror
Driven to the edge of a deep, dark hole

Driven day and night in circles
Spinning like a whirlwind of leaves
Stealing in and out back alleys
Driven to another den of thieves

BUT IT'S MY TURN TO DRIVE

Driven in -- Driven to the edge
Driven out -- On the thin end of the wedge
Driven off -- By things I've never seen
Driven on -- By the road to somewhere I've never been

IT'S MY TURN TO DRIVE

The road unwinds towards me
What was there is gone
The road unwinds before me
And I go riding on



Half The World
---- --- -----
Half the world hates 
What half the world does every day
Half the world waits
While half gets on with it anyway

Half the world lives
Half the world makes
Half the world gives 
While the other half takes

Half the world is
Half the world was
Half the world thinks 
While the other half does

Half the world talks 
With half a mind on what they say
Half the world walks 
With half a mind to run away

Half the world lies
Half the world learns
Half the world flies 
As half the world turns

Half the world cries
Half the world laughs
Half the world tries 
To be the other half

Half of us divided
Like a torn-up photograph
Half of us are trying
To reach the other half

Half the world cares
While half the world is wasting the day
Half the world shares
While half the world is stealing away




The Color Of Right
--- ----- -- -----
I don't have an explanation
For another lonely night
I just feel this sense of mission
And the sense of what is right

Take it easy on my now --
I'd be there if I could
I'm so full of what is right
I can't see what is good

It's a hopeless situation
Lie awake for half the night
You're not sure what's going on here
But you're sure it isn't right

Make it easy on yourself
There's nothing more you can do
You're so full of what is right
You can't see what is true

A quality of justice
A quantity of light
A particle of mercy
Makes the color of right

Gravity and distance
Change the passage of light
Gravity and distance
Change the color of right



Time And Motion
---- --- ------
Time and motion
Wind and sun and rain
Days connect like boxcars in a train

Fill them up with precious cargo
Squeeze in all that you can find
Spontaneous elation
And the long-enduring kind

Time and motion
Flesh and blood and fire
Lives connect in webs of gold and razor wire

Spin a thread of precious contact
Squeeze in all that you can find
Spontaneous relations
And the long-enduring kind

The mighty ocean 
Dances with the moon
The silent forest 
Echoes with the loon

Time and motion
Live and love and dream
Eyes connect like interstellar beams

Superman in Supernature
Needs all the comfort he can find
Spontaneous emotion
And the long enduring kind




Totem
-----
I've got twelve disciples and a Buddha smile
The Garden of Allah, Viking Valhalla
A miracle once in a while

I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul
Vishnu and Gaia -- Aztec and Maya
Dance around my totem pole

I believe in what I see
I believe in what I hear
I believe that what I'm feeling
Changes how the world appears

Angels and demons dancing in my head
Lunatics and monsters underneath my bed
Media messiahs preying on my fears
Pop culture prophets playing in my ears

I've got celestial mechanics 
To synchronize my stars
Seasonal migrations -- daily variations
World of the unlikely and bizarre

I've got idols and icons, unspoken holy vows
Thoughts to keep well-hidden --
Sacred and forbidden
Free to browse among the holy cows

That's why I believe

Angels and demons inside of me
Saviors and Satans all around me

Sweet chariot, swing low, coming for me




Dog Years
--- -----
In a dog's life
A year is really more like seven
And all too soon a canine 
Will be chasing cars in doggie heaven

It seems to me
As we make our own few circles 'round the sun
We get it backwards
And our seven years go by like one

Dog years -- It's the season of the itch
Dog years -- With every scratch it reappears

In the dog days
People look to Sirius
Dogs cry for the moon
But these connections are mysterious

It seems to me
While it's true that every dog will have his day
When all the bones are buried
There is barely time to go outside and play

Dog years -- It's the season of the itch
Dog years -- With every scratch it reappears
Dog years -- For every sad son of a bitch
Dog years -- With his tail between his ears

I'd rather be a tortoise from Galapagos
Or a span of geological time
Than be living in these dog years

In a dog's brain
A constant buzz of low-level static
One sniff at the hydrant
And the answer is automatic

It seems to me 
As well make our own few circles 'round the block
We've lost our senses
For the higher-level static of talk




Virtuality
----------
Like a shipwrecked mariner adrift on an unknown sea
Clinging to the wreckage of the lost ship Fantasy
I'm a castaway, stranded in a desolate land
I can see the footprints in the virtual sand

Net boy, net girl
Send your signal 'round the world
Let your fingers walk and talk
And set you free

Net boy, net girl
Send your impulse 'round the world
Put your message in a modem
And throw it in the Cyber Sea

Astronauts in the weightlessness of pixellated space
Exchange graffiti with a disembodied race
I can save the universe in a grain of sand
I can hold the future in my virtual hand

Let's dance tonight 
To a virtual song
Press this key 
And you can play along

Let's fly tonight 
On our virtual wings
Press this key 
To see amazing things

Like a pair of vagabonds who wave between two passing trains
Or the glimpse of a woman's smile through a window in the rain
I can smell her perfume, I can taste her lips
I can feel the voltage from her fingertips

Net boy, net girl
Send your heartbeat round the world




Resist
------
I can learn to resist
Anything but temptation
I can learn to co-exist
With anything but pain

I can learn to compromise
Anything but my desires
I can learn to get along
With all the things I can't explain

I can learn to resist
Anything but frustration
I can learn to persist
With anything but aiming low

I can learn to close my eyes
To anything but injustice
I can learn to get along
With all the things I don't know

You can surrender 
Without a prayer
But never really pray
Pray without surrender

You can fight
Without ever winning
But never ever win
Without a fight


Limbo
-----
Instrumental 



Carve Away The Stone
----- ---- --- -----
You can roll that stone 
To the top of the hill
Drag your ball and chain 
Behind you

You can carry that weight 
With an iron will
Or let the pain remain 
Behind you

Chip away the stone
(Sisyphus)
Chip away the stone
Make the burden lighter
If you must roll that rock alone

You can drive those wheels 
To the end of the road
You will still find the past right 
Behind you

Try to deny 
The weight of the load
Try to put the sins of the past night 
Behind you

Carve away the stone
(Sisyhpus)
Carve away the stone
Make a graven image
With some features of your own

You call roll the stone
To the top of the hill
You can carry that weight
With an iron will
You can drive those wheels
To the end of the road
You can try to deny
The weight of the load

Roll away the stone
(Sisyhpus)
Roll away the stone
If you could just move yours
I could get working on my own