1. |
Buried Gold
01:50
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I’ve had so many songs in me all day and all my life
And they call to me in all my dreams. Do I ever listen?
They’re frivolous and deep and sing to me when I’m asleep,
But like my dreams, they disappear as soon as I try to remember.
It seems as if there’s buried gold
Embedded deep within my soul
If I dug just deep enough,
Those songs might disappear into
The air, into the air
Into the sky, but then I might cry,
Because what if the world could hear it all, before I was ready for the world to hear it all?
And what if I trapped a song or two in a mason jar
And kept it for awhile on a shelf next to my window?
What if I opened it to find it strange and different?
Could I still be big enough to claim it was my own creation?
Perhaps my so-called buried gold
Should stay within my so-called soul
Or I could embrace the change
Then I’d have some more to sing
For you, I’d sing for you
I’d sing for me, well, mostly me
Because what if I couldn’t sing at all? Who cares if the world isn’t ready for me to sing it all?
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2. |
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As I stepped onto the trail, I expected quiet
But the breeze had been singing love songs through the branches.
The melodies embraced me, like an old friend.
Soft like the redwood bark that rested on the forest floor.
Gazing through your kaleidoscope of evergreen lace.
I sing to you, my dear friends, my own kind of love song.
Did you miss me? Because it’s been a little while.
Your neon needles make me smile.
It’s the glow of the new forest growth
Between the sky so high and the ferns reaching up from below.
Will you dance with me? I see you swaying up above.
From the forest floor, with love,
I sigh as you stretch oh so high.
The cool forest breath and the greens bring a tear to my eye.
As I stepped onto the trail, I expected quiet
But the breeze had been singing love songs through the branches.
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3. |
Better
03:10
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4. |
Rain
01:54
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They said it would rain - I hope that it rains
Because we need it so badly
And that would explain that strange kind of pain
The fog in my life lies so heavy
And the mist has me blindly solving puzzles
As I gingerly keep stumbling into puddles
And the truth is sopping wet
Because I forgot my jacket
Loose ends flailing like a worm without a home
They said it would rain and it's bringing me pain
But the ground and the plants really need it
And I wish I could watch from a cozy warm house
But I can't - I have to walk through it
(Instrumental break)
It doesn't rain a lot in California
And I forgot my umbrella
Brave little leaves skating down the streets
In a newly formed river of extraneous dreams
They said it would rain, and I said I hoped
That it would rain so I could rinse out my world
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5. |
End of the Driveway
01:57
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Three young girls, standing at the end of the driveway
Trees hiding their house - it’s 40 yards away.
The air smells ripe with forest, as the sun shines its last beams of the day
Blackberries on the bush have just started to turn slightly rosy.
One car approaches from afar
And the three girls snap into a pose, pose, a silly pose,
And eagerly await a honk or a wave
Or a smile, or anything that shows that somebody saw them.
Three young girls, standing at the end of the driveway
Facing all directions, arms all different shapes.
The birds are singing all around and their shoes are dirty as usual
And the blackberries on the bush have just started to turn slightly rosy.
Another car passes slowly by
And honks and waves as the girls perform a dance, dance, a silly dance
This was life before Instagram
The kids never knew if they were cool until somebody told them.
Three young girls, standing at the end of the driveway
Don’t know why they’re there, maybe they’ll never know
But this is a time to celebrate that someone finally noticed them
And the blackberries on the bush are starting to turn slightly rosy,
Yes the blackberries on the bush are starting to turn slightly rosy.
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6. |
Parking Lot
02:26
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In the parking lot,
We stand next to the Prius
The three of us in formal dress
Streetlights glowing gold
We don't know where the key is
Reaching for our phones in great distress
Oh, what a night to be stranded in the parking lot
Dressed up with no place to go
Black sky and yellow light, and cars driving through the night
Must change the plans we'd had in tow
I've never been so glad
I don't wear high heels
That I wore flat shoes to your cousin's wedding
I might just give up
Trying to look pretty
Curls fall flat and make-up just feels messy
Oh, what a night to be stranded in the parking lot
Dressed up with no place to go
Black sky and yellow light, and cars driving through the night
Must change the plans we'd had in tow
Oh what a night to take a walk with my best friend
While your dad follows from behind
Ocean air cools the warm September earth
Your suit jacket looks nice on me
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7. |
Vulture
03:20
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Sleek feathers fanning out from its wings, the creature flies
In circles, funneling high above its next meal
The gentle current keeps him afloat on the breeze, like a kite
He twists and turns, a black silhouette on the cloudless sky
CHORUS:
Somebody points and says "Look at the bird!
Oh wait, it's only a vulture."
And the hearts of the humans fell to the ground
Like a hawk collecting prey
Ragged and gangly, wobbly frame
What's wrong with being a vulture?
The unsung hero of the ecosphere
Seeing you fly has made my day
You are not only a vulture to me, my red-faced friend,
You're beautiful - descending toward the carcass nearby
Cloak of feathers sweeping the earth of its dead as life goes on
Keeping our world cleaner, doing what nobody wants to do
CHORUS
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8. |
Lemons
01:56
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Feeling sticky, like my life had gone sour
I looked up from my yard, and standing tall, like a tower,
Was a tree so full of lemons that the branches bent to droop
I knew that I would have to pick this low hanging fruit.
Peeled myself out of my chair to get the picker
With a newfound zest for life, I pulled the fruit, but here’s the kicker -
The neighbor dog started barking, he didn’t ci-trust all the clatter,
It was a seedy situation, that’s the pith of the matter.
So many juicy lemons in the tree!
The time is ripe to pick them all for free.
But wait - there’s the neighbor stepping out.
She said take all the lemons, we have to many.
From Eureka to Escondido there’s so much to ad-Meyer
About this noble fruit that was so easy to acquire
Squeezing all the juice and taking all that you can savor,
When life gives you lemons, they were probably stolen from the neighbor!
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9. |
Breathe
03:13
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When the notes in the chord resonate just right
And the dusky clouds glow, anticipating night
And the flowers turn their heads as I’m walking by
I must remember to breathe
Chorus:
Breathe, and everything flows right through me
Breathe, letting go of what clings to me
And I recall a small moment of joy in my life
And I work to embrace both the love and the strife
When it’s all going well, and when it’s not going well
I try to notice it all when I breathe
When I’m anxious to do something I know I do well
When my car is filled with papers and sweaters and smells
When the questions and the management start to overwhelm
I must remember to breathe
At the end of the day when I lie on the floor
Overwhelmed with the thoughts, feeling tired and sore
And I’m stuck in a puzzle that I’d rather ignore
I must remember to breathe
Chorus
When I finally feel the command of the floor
When the stage is kind of shaky and the rain starts to pour
When I’m feeling so small I just don’t know anymore
I must remember to breathe
Chorus
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10. |
Where Did Charlie Go?
03:03
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Oh, where in the world did Charlie go?
He’s been gone longer than expected
Oh, where in the world did Charlie go?
His absence is unprecedented.
Oh, I don’t mind that he’s gone away
I’m just really curious
Where in the world did Charlie go?
Is he ever gonna come back home? (last line 3x)
I met Charlie 2 years ago
He was a brand new band director
He came from Columbus, Ohio
Where they’re slightly more kind to renters
One day I offered a room in my house
Because California’s quite expensive
So Charlie moved in and it’s been fun
And I wonder if he’ll come back home. Is he ever gonna come back home? Will he ever....come back home?
Chorus
Instrumental
Charlie told us that he’d be gone
For most of the month of June
And now we’re well into July
And I hope he’s gonna come back soon.
His car’s been parked on the street the whole time
The neighbor’s been curious
He’s only gonna live here for 2 more weeks
He’d better pay 2 weeks’ rent, I could be using that space, Charlie….pay your rent.
Outro chorus:
Where in the world did Charlie go?
He’s been gone longer than expected
Where in the world did Charlie go?
His absence is unprecedented
He’s got mail piling up outside his room
Including something that looks like a paycheck
Where in the world did Charlie go?
Is he ever gonna come back home?
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11. |
Song Birds
03:13
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Fresh sheet of paper, so white and clean
Gonna write new scribbles that no one's ever seen
Wearing comfy clothes, lukewarm cup of tea
In my brain birds whistle licks of melody
They flutter through the depths, collecting tiny twigs of ideas
Twigs that, when woven just the right way, could nest a baby song
Now my song has hatched, it needs some time to grow
Fill up all that paper with some words lined up in rows
Nourish it with practice, revisions all around
Maybe add a bass line for a more robust sound
Soon comes a time, when it's good enough or long enough or simply enough
When the song leaves the nest to sing into the ears of the world
Fighting pangs of guilt as it nose dives through the air
Perhaps it wasn't ready to graduate my care
But I've already let go - now I simply wait
It's not in my control now, my words have shaped their fate
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Stephanie Douglass Santa Maria, California
I'm a multi-instrumentalist songwriter living on California's Central Coast.
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