New Face
Hope Island
Coats
Only be With You
Shake
Purple Heart
Fruitless Ways
Blue Moon #9
3 Broken Words
Slide on Down
Change
3 Chord Song


New Face
Here is my new face
I wear it for you

Sign of a new place
Honey and fruit

And all of my people
Think I look stranger

So good to see people
Being nice to other people

We all have big holes
Fill them with seed

Water and sunshine
Flowers are beautiful

And all of my people
Think I look strange

Here is my new face
I wear it for you


Hope Island
My boat sinks
More than it floats
I’m on an island
I’m naming “Hope”
I’m stranded
On Hope Island
All alone

There are no fish
No one to love
My good friends left me
Can’t remember fun
I’m stranded
On Hope Island
All alone

Just to look
In someone else’s eyes
Just to hear
Another sigh,
“It’ll be alright,
It’ll be alright.”

I sleep late
Dream of what’s to come
My face is burned
I’m the native son
I’m stranded
On Hope Island
All alone


Coats
My skin is paint
Watch it flake
Pick up the brush
Fix the mistake

You see my bones
My coat is shed
Peal away the past
The epidermal dead

And coats keep us warm
When we are cold
Coats hide the pain
That sits in our soul
Sits in our soul

Olive trees bloom
White leather bells
Gather them up
Sew us a shell

Cover us both
In flowers of winter
Two ripe hearts
Cut like ginger

And coats keep us warm
When we are cold
Coats hide the pain
That sits in our soul
Sits in our soul

Only be With You
Congratulations. You've discovered
The secret message.
Please send your answer
To Old Pink, care of
The funny farm,
Clintonville, OH.


Shake
There’s a dark cloud hanging over
And some trouble in my mind
You can try to shake it
Or you can just go
Shake, shake, shake

Sign of things coming
Electricity sits on the hill
So you know it’s not the cold
That makes you go
Shake, shake, shake

Listen to the wind
Listen to the leaves
Even crows are calling,
“Good times will come again,
Good times will come again,
Good times will come again!”

It’s a joyful sounding noise
Ringing in my head
Like the devil in the trees
Going Shake, shake, shake


Purple Heart
Purple Heart
Taut and swollen
Flush with envy
Like a plum

Purple Hear
Green and hungry
Thin as paper
Sharp as glass

It’s an odyssey of faith
An endless human race
One heart, one face
Of grace

Purple Heart
Hear me singing
I know you’re sleeping
Or playing dead

Apple, apple
Pouring rain
Poor, poor apple
Red and wet


Fruitless Ways
You brought your other neighbor water
And you let me go dry
Lay down, lay down
Your fruitless ways

The line was a long one
And I waited my turn
Lay down, lay down
Your fruitless ways

You’re my country, my father,
My lover, my friend
We bleed the same blood
But we die different in the end

Messengers need not travel
Moons have announced our sad fate
Tear down, tear down
Your fruitless ways


Blue Moon #9
awwwwwhoooooo


3 Broken Words
Over and over
The setting of the sun
Save all your babies
I’m not the one

Pull up the covers
The monster needs sleep
The maid comes tomorrow
To sleep, to sleep
3 Broken Words

Off in the distance
A man made a lake
A mantis sits praying
For an honest mistake

Washing the windows
Of the house that we built
Dancing above treetops
On stilts, on stilts
3 Broke Words


Slide On Down
Jump round my mind
On an apricot vine
The fruit of our troubles is tied
So slide, so slide,
Slide on down with me

Augustine knows
Our spirit hangs low
And swims like a tired minnow
So slide, so slide
Slide on down with me

This fusion of souls
Red marigolds
Alive, alive and be free
So slide, so slide
Slide on down with me


Change
Ain’t got no tongue
Got nothing to say
And starting all over
Sometimes is the only way

Pick up the pieces
Buy a bottle of glue
Gonna count all my blessings
My blessings used to be you

And all those days
Still remain
And all that’s left
Is Change!

Gonna fly me an airplane
Land if in the clouds
Where I’m high and all alone
Singin’ “Ain’t too proud to beg”

Put paint on the ceiling
Pretend it’s the ground
Where things dry smooth and even
And you’re not the only on who’s down

And all those days
Still remain
And all that’s left
Is Change!


3 Chord Song
Everybody’s crying mercy
And I just want to rock you in my arms
Little Black Bird’s singing “Little Maggie”
You know she’s my favorite song

Know a place by the river
Where we can re-learn one another’s needs
Let the summer feel like summer
It can end with a fallen leaf

Bathe me in still water
Bathe me in the promise of love
Bathe me in snow waters
Bathe me in the promise of your love, love , love





I. D. W. 2 F.
Friends
Your Hands
Dark Plums
My Lips


I. D. W. 2 F.
I don't want to fuck
I just want to spoon
I'm too sensitive of a man
To be any closer to you.

And it's not really you
It's all about me
I get weird just thinking about
Being inside someone so pretty.

My skin doesn't grow thicker
My heart grows weak
I thought of another woman
when I kissed your back
But you're all I smell in my sheets.

Now you're sharing your secrets
And my fingers between your legs
It feels so good to hold someone again
You don't remind me of anyone.

Could I believe in anyone?
Could I believe in you and me?
You don't even know my middle name
It's so easy to be wrecked by beauty.

Take me out of your mouth
I'll take you out of my mouth
We'll both empty our mouths
There's nothing in my mouth.


Friends
Tequila, my friend
You make me
A bad man.

Tequila, my friend
You help my
Pituitary gland bend.

And ache
Like a dirty earthquake.

And what's inside me
Is inside you
What comes in the bottle
Comes real
With every swallow
Swallow.

Tequila, my friend
She pulled my pants down
And said she knows
My girlfriend.

Tequila, my friend
Inhibitions with you
Always end.

And break
You take me to a better place.


Your Hands
Take off your shirt
Take off my pants
Shake off my troubles
It's a dance for the past.

I think of you often
Your memory's safe
Relived on my futon
Listening to Planet Waves.

And your hands
Are better than mine
And your hands
Aren't here at my side.

I miss your smell
It can't be repeated
Scents grow dull
And it's only me I'm reheating.

It was sweat and shampoo
Now it's cocoa butter lotion
And I dream of your hair
In my afternoon motion.

And your hands
Are better than mine
And your hands
Aren't here at my side.

We're together forever
Like little hairs you can't see
And as you're with someone else
You're still pleasing me.

And your hands
Are better than mine
And your hands
Aren't here at my side.


Dark Plums
My body is a plum tree
Reach between my legs
Ripe are the fruits
You keep turning away.

Dark plums, dark plums
Need some love today.

Is your mind an orchard
Barren and torn to shreds?
Or do you not want me?
You drink your juice from a different bed.

Dark plums, dark plums
Need some love today.

Can you feel them swell beside you?
Shoo the fruit flies out of your way
It's been like this for two months
Are we too good of friends to play?

Dark plums, dark plums
Need some love today.

Release me, release me
Make me moan like a man
You'll remember why we started
I'll give you butter for your jam.

Dark plums, dark plums
Need some love today.


My Lips
My lips on your knees
Make you say jeez
What if I sneeze?
Will you still want me?
Are we understanding each other
Or understanding death?
My body in your body
All in one deep breath.

Believe in love
Believe in faith
Believe in beauty
Never procreate.

My chest on your back
My lips tickling your arm
I'm counting brown freckles
You're making silky white tar
Will we wear out our welcome
As closeness grows dull?
Our bodies too familiar
My hard-on sinks into a lull.

Believe in love
Believe in faith
Believe in beauty
Never procreate.

My lips on your lips
After cunnilingus
Nothing is nothing
Bliss is bliss.

Believe in love
Believe in faith
Believe in beauty
Never procreate.

Who Will Walk in the Darkness With You?
Blue Skies
Honest Eyes
Song Without You
The Raft
Hours Never End
Black Swan Blues
Days Are Long
Rocks in My Shoes
Bring You Down


Who Will Walk in the Darkness With You?
Who will walk in the darkness with you
When your shadow falls behind?
The doors you close swing both ways, dear,
And the mirror will tell no lies.

I know why you choose to falter
And resistance calls your name.

Who will walk in the darkness with you
When the sun no longer shines?
Painted heads of thoughtless complications,
A stranger's arms can't hold you tight.

Green pastures, foreign landscapes,
Empty streets, a gallows trail.

Who will walk in the darkness with you
When your eyes no longer see?
Who will walk in the darkness with you?
The God of Dreams won't let you sleep.


Blue Skies
Blue Skies are clouded again
And it seems like my old face
Has seen better friends.
But now that I have you
Here in my arms,
I don't need Blue Skies anymore.

Lately, our love has gone cold.
The nights have grown longer
Since you moved on.
You say you still love me,
But not like before.
I never see Blue Skies anymore

It's not that I want you back,
Just want what we had
And only a memory
Can relive the past.

Nights now, I sit here and pine.
My heart and my mind don't seem right.
But think of me often
When Blue Skies appear.
You were the one I held so dear.


Honest Eyes
It's been so long
Since I've seen
Honest Eyes

And yours, my dear,
Are just more lies
For me to believe
With a midnight kiss

Truth is washed over
Since the bottles
Ran dry

And the nights we tried
To realize
What we're doing
And what we've done

It's been so long
Since I've seen
Honest Eyes


Song Without You
Tonight is fading
And tomorrow's falling down

Promises are breaking,
Can't you hear the sound

The silver lining
Is rusting from the sun

And those candles,
They don't burn for anyone

I've got five cigarettes,
But one will do
I've got three beers to get me through
Just trying to write a song without you

All that jewelry
Will never buy back your soul

Your ways are wicked
Like a heart that's lost control

And those heroes,
They've all turned to stone

So go to bed girl
Feel what it's like to be alone.

I've got five cigarettes,
But one will do
I've got three beers to get me through
Just trying to write a song without you.


The Raft
My lady wants to know
Why my love don't seem to grow,
But even the bluebird
Knows it ain't so.

And if these walls had wings
And flew away with everything,
We'd sail into the sea
With the wind and the leaves.

And on this raft we'll float
From morning till night time's cloak.
No need for a weighted rope.
Still waters lay still.

When you're alone,
You're not alone.
When I'm alone,
I'm not alone,
My love.

So put your hand in mine
As the years pass on like a sigh:
A rose that will never die
Or wilt, by and by.


Hours Never End
Well, I'm hungry for the morning
But my eyes are turning red
And I'd gladly drink your poison
If it would kill my memory dead

The stick figures of your past
Only make us feel more thin
Don't be staring at the clock
The hours never end

Plant yourself a lover
One for when I'm gone
Leave the front door open
Cry to your favorite song

You keep your secrets silent
Like an ax over my head
Cut me with it gently
The hours never end

Hold your silver locket
That hangs between your breasts
Feel its coldness scare you
Forget about all the rest

Say goodbye to sorrow
Say goodbye to pain
Say goodbye to your tomorrows
The hours never end


Black Swan Blues
When I see you,
I see something good.

When I hold you,
I hold something good.

So tell me why
Do I have to let you go?

Tell me why
Do I have to let you go?

Your hand, your hand,
Inside of mine

Feels so good, so good,
It's a lullaby.

So tell me why,
Do I have to let go?

Tell me why
Do I have to let you go?

(the hummingbird: hmmmms)


Days Are Long
We both know
The way love goes
Singing songs of forevers

Time moves slow
Never grows
Delusory rows of believing

Days are long
Nights are long
The water's wide (the water's wide)

Trouble's here
Ties up the tears
Like the words of tomorrow

Kiss my neck
Feel your breathe
There's a promise in your laughter

Days are long
Nights are long
The water's wide (the water's wide)


Rocks in My Shoes
Tell me,
Why you want to be with me.
Tell me,
Something I can believe.

And now that you're gone
Put rocks in my shoes.
I'll stand here waiting
And always be true
With rocks in my shoes.

Tell me
How long we can go like this.
Tell me
About the night I'll touch your lips.

Miles have grown.
Miles say we're through.
But my love is stone
And it bleeds through and through
With rocks in my shoes.

I see a blue river.
Blue like the blood in your veins.
It's cool and it's deep
And it's calling my name.
It's calling my name.

Tell me,
Where it all went wrong.
Tell me,
Will you ever sing my song,

Now that I've gone
To God's beautiful shore
To lay myself down
With my weary tune
And rocks in my shoes.


Bring You Down
Well, I don't like your friends
And they don't like me.
They just tie you up
To bring you down.

The answers aren't simple,
They're overdue
Just like the blues
That bring you down.

Love is not lonely, anymore.
It stays in the covers
And has keys to your door.

So, relax.
Close your eyes.
Take a breath.
The shades are low

To bring you down.


send e-mail to:
theblackswansband@gmail.com