t
you can almost feel the current flowing
you can almost see the circuits blowing

one day i feel i'm on top of the world
and the next it's falling in on me
i can get back on
i can get back on

one day i feel i'm ahead of the wheel
and the next its rollin over me
i can get back on
i can get back on


whirlwind life of the faith and betrayal
rise in anger fall back and repeat
slow degrees on the dark horizon
full moon rising looks ever at your feet

(chorus)

"solo"

(chorus2)

it's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit
you can almost see the serpent growing
you can almost feel the planets glowing

one day i feel i'm on top of the world
and the next it's falling in on me
i can get back on
i can get back on

one day i feel i'm ahead of the wheel
and the next its rollin over me
i can get back on
i can get back on

one day i fly through a crack in the sky
and the next its falling in on me
i can get back on
i can get back on

ohhhhhhhh
i can get back on
i can get back on



Armor and Sword
The snakes and arrows a child is heir to
Are enough to leave a thousand cuts
We build our defenses, a place of safety
And leave the darker places unexplored

Sometimes the fortress is too strong
Or the love is too weak
What should have been our armor
Becomes a sharp and angry sword

Our better natures seek elevation
A refuge for the coming night
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

We hold beliefs as a consolation
A way to take us out of ourselves
Meditation or medication
A comfort ,or a promised reward

Sometimes the spirit is too strong
Or the flesh is too weak
Sometimes the need is just too great
For the solace we seek
The suit of shining armor
Becomes a keen and bloody sword

A refuge for the coming night
A future of eternal light
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

Confused alarms of struggle and flight
Blood is drained of color
By the flashes of artillery light
No one gets to their heaven without a fight
The battle flags are flown
At the feet of a god unknown
No one gets to their heaven without a fight

Sometimes the damage is too great
Or the will is too weak
What should have been our armor
Becomes a sharp and burning sword


Workin' Them Angels
Driving away to the east, and into the past
History receeds in my rear-view mirror
Carried on a wave of music down a desert road
Memory drumming at the heart of a factory town

Diving down into the wreck, searching for treasure
Skeletons and ghosts among the scattered diamonds
Buried with the songs and stories of a restless life
Memory drumming at the heart of a moving picture

All my life
I've been workin' them angels overtime
Riding and driving and working
So close to the edge
Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels
Overtime

Memory drumming at the heart of an English winter
Memory drumming at the heart of an English winter
Filling my spirit with the wildest wish to fly
Taking the high road, into the Range of Light

Driving down the razor's edge between past and future
I turn up the music and smile, eyes on the road ahead
Carried on the songs and stories of vanished times
Memory drumming at the heart of an African village

All this time
I've been living like there's no tomorrow
Running and jumping and flying
With my imaginary net
Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels
Workin' them angels
Overtime

Riding through the Range of Light to the wounded city
Taking the high road
Into the Range of Light
Taking the high road
Into the Range of Light
[Repeat to fade]


The Larger Bowl
(a pantoum)

if we're so much the same, like I always hear
why such different fortunes and fates?
some of us live in a cloud of fear
some live behind iron gates

why such different fortunes and fates?
some are blessed and some are cursed
some live behind iron gates
while others only see the worst

some are blessed and some are cursed
the golden one or scarred from birth
while others only see the worst
such a lot of pain on the earth

the golden one or scarred from birth
somethings can never be changed
such a lot of pain on this earth
It's somehow so badly arranged

some things can never be changed
some reasons will never come clear
it's somehow so badly arranged
if we're so much the same like I always hear


Spindrift
As the waves crash in
On the western shore
The wind blows fierce from the east
Wave tops torn into flying spindrift

As the waves crash in
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
The spray that's torn away
Is an image of the way I feel

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?

As sun goes down
On the western shore
The wind blows hard from the east
It whips the sand into a flying spindrift
As the sun goes down
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
In the hot dry rasp of the devil winds
Who cares what a fool believes

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?
Words that fly against the wind and waves

(A little closer to you)
Where is the wave that will carry me
A little closer to you?

What am I suppose to do?
Where are the words that will make you see
What I beleive is true?


The Way the Wind Blows
Now it's come to this
It's like we're back in the Dark Ages
From the Middle East to the Middle West
It's a world of superstition

Now it's come to this
Wide-eyed armies of the faithful
From the Middle East to the Middle West
Pray, and pass the amunition

So many people think that way
You gotta watch what you say
To them and them, and others too
Who don't seem to see to things the way you do

We can only grow the way the wind blows
on a bare and weathered shore
We can only bow to the here and now
In our elemental war

We can only go the way the wind blows
We can only bow to the here and now
Or be broken down blow by blow

Now it's come to this
Hollow speeches of mass deception
From the Middle East to the Middle West
Like crusaders in a holy alliance

Now it's come to this
Like we're back in the dark ages
From the Middle East to the Middle West
It's a plague that resists our science

It seems to leave them partly blind
And they leave no child behind
While evil spirits haunt their sleep
While shepherds bless and count their sheep

Like the solitary pine
On a bare wind blasted shore
We can only grow the way the wind blows


Faithless
I've got my own moral compass to steer by
A guiding star beats a spirit in the sky
And all the preaching voices -
Empty vessels of dreams so loud
As they move among the crowd
Fools and thieves are well disguised
In the temple and market place

Like a stone in the river
Against the floods of spring
I will quietly resist

Like the willows in the wind
Or the cliffs along the ocean
I will quietly resist

I don't have faith in faith
I don't believe in belief
You can call me faithless
I still cling to hope
And I believe in love
And that's faith enough for me

I've got my own spirit level for balance
To tell if my choice is leaning up or down
And all the shouting voices
Try to throw me off my course
Some by sermon, some by force
Fools and thieves are dangerous
In the temple and market place

Like a forest bows to winter
Beneath the deep white silence
I will quietly resist

Like a flower in the desert
That only blooms at night
I will quietly resist


Bravest Face
Though we might have precious little
It's still precious

I like that song about this wonderful world
It's got a sunny point of view
And sometimes I feel it's true
At least for a few of us...

I like that world
That makes a wonderful song
But there's a darker point of view

But sadly just as true
For so many among us

Though we might have precious little
It's still precious

In the sweetest child
There's a vicious streak
In the strongest mind
There's a child so weak

In the whole wide world
There's no magic place
So you might as well rise
Put on your bravest face!

Put on your bravest face...

I like that show
Where they solve all the murders
And your growing point of view
It's got justice and vengeance too

At least as the story goes...

I like that story
It makes a satisfying case
But there's a messy point of view

That's sadly just as true
For so many among us
For so many among us...

In the softess voice
There's an acid tongue
In the oldest eyes
There's a soul so young

In the shakiest will
There's a core of steel
In the smoothest ride
There's a squeaky wheel

In the sweetest child
There's a vicious streak
In the strongest mind
There's a child so weak

In the whole wide world
There's no magic place
So you might as well rise
Put on your bravest face!

Put on your bravest face...

In the softess voice
There's an acid tongue
In the oldest eyes
There's a soul so young

In the shakiest will
There's a core of steel
On the smoothest ride
There's a squeaky wheel

In the sweetest child
There's a vicious streak
In the strongest man
There's a child so weak

In the whole wide world
There's no magic place
So you might as well rise
Put on your bravest face!

Put on your bravest face...

Though we might have precious little
It's still precious

In the softess voice
There's an acid tongue
In the oldest eyes
There's a soul so young


Good News First
The best we can agree on
Is it could have been worse
What happen to your old
Benevolent universe?
You know the one with stars
That revolve around you
Beaming down full of promises
To bring good news

You used to feel that way
The saddest words you could ever say
But I know you'll remember that day
And the most beautiful words I could ever say

The worst thing about it all
Is that you've never been right
And I'm still not really sure
What started that fight
But I still get this feeling
There's more trouble ahead
So never mind the bad news
Let's have the good news instead

Some would said they never fear a thing
Well I do
And I'm afraid enough for both of us
For me and you
Time, if nothing else, will do it's worst
So do me that favor
And tell me the good news first


We Hold On
How many times
Do we tire of all the little battles?
Threaten to call it quits
Tempted to cut and run

How many times
Do we weather out the stormy evenings?
Long to slam the front door
Drive away into the setting sun

Keep going on until dawn
How many times must another line be drawn?
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

Keep going until dawn
How many times must another line be drawn?
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

How many times
Do we chafe against the repetition?
Straining against the fate
Measured up in coffee breaks

How many times do we swallow our ambition?
Long to give up the same old way
Find another road to take

Keep going until dawn
How many times must another line be drawn?
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

Keep holding on so long
There's every chance that we might not be so wrong
We could be down and gone
But we hold on

How many times do we wonder if it's even worth it?
There's got to be some other way
Way to get me through the day!

Keep going until dawn
How many times must another line be drawn?
We could be down and gone
But we hold on