Words and Music

"We are the Music Makers - - the Dreamers of Dreams" Arthur O'Shaughnessy (& WIlly Wonka)

To all the poets, story tellers, story givers, musicians, and writers out there (I think that covers most of you)
I celebrate your process of discovery and inspiration - whatever it might be. Here are some of the lyrics to my songs - keep coming back to check for samples of my music as I record them.

    • Excellent View - In the midst of adversity I could never see what gifts were there for me. In time, the things that seemed so wrong or sad - revealed new beginnings and renewed faith - in myself.
  • Educational Tour - I was once asked a question, which lead to remembering a part of life that was both innocent, and - well - educational.
  • The Man of Someone's Dreams - I was the man - of someone's dreams - and now I am the man of my own life - I cannot attract what I want - only what I am.
  • Look At Where You Are - Being present is one of the most difficult aspects of life. If I'm not "here" - "now" then how can I appreciate what is in front of me?
  • Invincible Summer - Living through the winter of a failed relationship - the 'one' that was supposed to be it - coming back to myself and letting the love start here, within me - my invincible summer.
  • Let the Harvest Be Enough - Sometimes the people who hurt us the most, never 'see' or 'own' what they have done. We need to celebrate the lessons they have given to make us better human beings
    - and let go the rest.
  • Sailor - The journey of many miles begins with - forgiving ourselves.  Unchartered waters, unkown experiences in this dreamscape - what a gift !
  • The Coat of Many Colors - An old story - about a coat of many colors and the jealosy and betrayal it engenders from feeling left out.  And a story of triumph, a spiritual journey, and a very personal view.

Daniel

For What It's Worth
Performance at the Sweet Noise Cafe - Lafayette CO
 


           I stood up, I showed up
           My hands shook as I owned up
           Burning dollars for the hurt
           I threw stars in the dirt

           They turned their heads
           Walked away instead
           Live a life resplendent
           Let go of resentment

           They’ll never say their wrong
           They’ll never know what they’ve given
           They’ll never see you’ve learned love
           Let the harvest be enough

           You deserve better than forsaken
           And more than what was taken
           Give the best to the one
           You most easily abandon

           flowers from Costa Rica

Let The Harvest Be Enough



It just wasn’t right
It was seeping into my life
Let them be
Let them go
If they see
You’ll never know

They’ll never say their wrong
They’ll never know what they’ve given
They’ll never see you’ve learned love
Let the harvest be enough

So stand up and show up
Let your hands shake as you own up
Learn and live what you know
Learn and live what they’ve shown

They’ll never know you’ve learned love
So let the harvest be enough



           She made me a coat
           Of many colors
           Invisible except
           For the love in her eyes

           He saw me as something
           Apart from himself
           Had to take it away
           As part of his pride

              It was only a coat
              Only a jacket
              It was only a life
              Etched into granite
              The sotry it told
              Were gifts from others
              It was my coat
              Of many colors

           She taught me the words
           When I was thirteen
           Her reason was hidden
           By the love in her eyes

           Courage compassion
           Serenity and sadness
           Were parts of the package
           Needed to survive
feathers from my coat of many colors

The Coat of Many Colors

It's only a coat
It's only a jacket
It's only a life
Etched into granite
The sotry it tells
Are gifts from others
It is my coat
Of many colors

     I won't take it off
     Too much of a cost
     It won't scare your children
     It's OK to touch

So I made me a coat
Of Many colors
Visible to those
With love in their eyes

I see it as something
That's part of myself
It's only skin deep
The story of my life



                     A lone reluctant sailor
                     Breathes in the distant shore
                     Before he sets a path
                     Before he knows for sure

                     The compass cannot guide him
                     The stars come in and out of view
                     He grabs ahold of kindness
                     To keep the journey calm and true

                     Safe travel on the water
                     Safe travel on the land
                     Safe landing on your weary feet
                     Accept a helping hand
                     Safe travel with your open heart
                     Safe travel in the sky
                     Beware the traps set on the way
                     The ones set in your mind

               boats on the water

Sailor

What is the destination
What is the final goal
What are the consequences
If we just don't know

Take off the shackles
Let go of the wheel
Trust then close your eyes
Learn to see the way you feel

Safe travel on the water
Safe travel on the land
Safe landing on your weary feet
Accept a helping hand
Safe travel with your open heart
Safe travel in the sky
Beware the traps set on the way
The ones set in your mind

An old and seasoned sailor
Breathes in the distant shore
He welcomes the unknown path
Thankful to be unsure

                     Orion the hunter
                     My winter companion
                     Can you see my prayer tonight

                     In the half moon light
                     A lone winter night
                     I whisper to the stars

                     I listened for answers
                     In all the wrong places
                     And gave up my time
                     For all the wrong graces
                     Trusted lovers - trusted brothers
                     Out to ease their own mind

                     What was the question
                     I heard it all the time
                     What do I want
                     What makes me feel alive
                     Confusion and dissolution
                     I've made up my own mind

                           I know how I want to feel
                           My eyes start to smile
                           I can't seem to start just yet
                           As forgiveness takes awhile
                           Will I last through winter
                           Before it takes hold
                           The invincible summer
                           Lives deep in my soul

Invincible Summer

In the full sunlight
The heart seems strong
Chase the shadows
And don't look around
Until some other time of day
When they come back again

I whisper prayers in the night
For my reason to return
You're a truth I have to wear
And no longer my concern

invincible summer

I know how I want to feel
My eyes start to smile
It's here where I start
As forgiveness takes awhile
The invincible summer
Lives deep in my soul

Orion the hunter
My winter companion
Can you hear my prayer?

        Look At Where You Are

             Standing on the edge of the world
            A view I can't describe
            The tears formed in my eyes
            From the Island In The Sky

            I woke to the early light
            In a place warm and far away
            I watched the new-years sun
            In the hills of San Jose

                Spinning and turning
                Constantly learning
                It's borrowed time beneath your feet
                Gravity unyielding
                Your life is revealing
                It will always be incomplete
                Whatever your plans
                Now is in your hands
                So look at where you are

            Boats float on the water
            And drop down to muddy land
            The tide will go up
            Forty feet from where I stand

            I look deep into the eyes
            Of the woman who had such trust
            And the things I couldn’t tell her
            And the heart I had just crushed

                      What's in front of you
                      What's in your heart

           The truth, the whole truth
          And nothing but your part
          I laughed and I loved
          And played in the snow
          I remembered to notice -
          It was time to let go

And so the dearest cost of life
Is the way that time unfolds
To remember who you've loved
And forgive those who didn't know

We look into our souls
And talk of troubled thoughts
We whisper from our hearts
Let go of useless ghosts

    Spinning and turning
    Constantly yearning
    It's borrowed time beneath your feet
    Gravity unyielding
    Your life is revealing
    It will always be incomplete
    Whatever your plans
    Right Now is in your hands
    So look at where you are

Lilly Lake Colorado

 

         The Man of Someone's Dreams

                I was the man of someone’s dreams
               A lifetime for our embrace
               Taking pictures of moments
               To build our lives from grace

               A song brought us together
               The ice metling on the lake
               To shine a light for each other
               We’d be the ones of our dreams
               We’d be the best we could be

               As the shoreline shifts and changes
               With the passing of the tides
               I want to touch our lips and bodies
               And not from thoughts in my mind
               As the shoreline shifts and changes
               With the passing of our time
               I want to hear our words and fears
               Bring comfort to our lives

               I was the man of someone’s hope
               We drew pictures in the sand
               I gave her my sorrow
               She made a secret plan
               She stopped holding my hand

And in the hours of darkness
Your love floats in the air
Was it need or was it love
Or was it ever there

I am the man of my own dreams
Taking care of my own truth
Letting go of love’s illusions
Forgiving lies meant for me
Forgiving lies to be free

And as the snow falls on the mountains
With the passing of the storm
I want to touch my soul with someone
And not from memories scourned
And as the snow sits on the mountains
With the rising of the sun
I want to feel my words and fears
Bring comfort to my life

I was the man of someone’s dreams
I was the man of someone’s hope
I am the man of my own dreams

         Educational Tour

             Who taught you how to kiss like that
            She whispered in my ear
            I shook my head, no one I said
            Then stopped to think back all those years

            I was three months into my 14th year
            In nineteen sixty four
            Traveling on trains to the east and back
            Just me - and 200 more

            Waking up to Chicago
            Her head resting next to mine
            She was seventeen and knew much more
            And so began my Educational Tour

            I can’t recall the color of her hair
            Was she short or tall, it’s all such a blur
            Then onto a bus - please show me a sign
            And then she slipped her hand into mine

            Touching softly our warm embrace
            Every time the dance was new
            Simple moments of awkward grace
            We thought time would never be through

            Imagine our passion - first love did ensue
            She knew what we had and me not a clue
            A sad goodbye and tears of regret
            I was only a boy with no way to forget
train
It must have been twenty years later
When all the family was well
We reminisced of the days we missed
Confessing what we remembered to tell

She wrote me letters wanting to wed
My mother confessed she tore them to shreds
And more I wished she'd let me see
It might have explained a time of mystery

Touching softly her hand in mine
Every time the dance was new
Simple moments of awkward grace
We thought time would never be through

To answer her question I kissed her again
Attentive, in love, completely me
She looked back and so serene
I said, “she was in high school & I was thirteen”

I stoped to look into her eyes
Something I had to say
I touch her face and whispered back,
“Who taught you how to kiss like that?”

 

         Excellent View

             Find the center of your story,
            Find the beating of your heart
            Decide the makeup of your own headlines.
            Blissful, blessed, dramatic or dark.

            Have a look, what do you see
            Is there a sky filled with white clouds?
            Or is a storm outside threatening
            That fills you full of terror and doubt.

            Traveling along a new-found-land
            Traveling with your woman hand in hand
            The place where you started pulls you hard
            The things you once hated bring gifts you regard     
            As what shaped you and made you
            Right – where you are

            Hold tight your very dark secrets
            Hold them close from the very start
            Don’t give them out to anyone
            Until you see
            And feel
            And know –
            They’re true in their heart

     Pray for the rain to wash you clean
    Think of the one man you could trust
    Pray for the dreams you shared in your heart
    And you turned them into dust

    And IF no storms, come tomorrow
    And IF no storms, come today
    Were you saved from a twisting tornado
    Do twisted secrets still remain

    Traveling along a new-found-land
    Traveling beware of the memories you’ll have
    The place where you started is part of you
    The things you once hated brought gifts to you
    That would help you see – the storm
    You thought –
    destroyed your life - - - - actually
    Leaves an Excellent View
 excellent view