Songs From My Heart - Lyrics

All songs copyright © 2002 by Loren Davidson



Hearts Beat

You surprised me with your brilliance
I was blinded by your light
And enchanted by the siren songs
You sang to fill my night
With images bright

I approached you with fine words of praise
You shyly turned your head
In the pages of your shining eyes
A paradox I read
Of hope and dread

Chorus
	Will you dance away to a rhythm incomplete
	Or romance away to the music soft and sweet?
	Twinned hearts beat

I'm the breeze that gently strokes your hair
The sun that warms your breast
I'm the bird that sings forgotten songs
To ease you when you rest
At your request

From afar my thoughts will follow you
Like a whisper softly heard
I'm the love who would be there for you
If you only gave the word
Delicate bird

	(Chorus)

Will you be my soul-sweet lover?
Will I find out who you are?
Will I have to be content with
Worshipping you from afar
Radiant star?

You're a barely-breathed enigma
You're a blessing from on high
You can make me laugh and sing for joy
Or you can make me sadly cry
Wondering why.

	(chorus)
	

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Healing Arms

Sitting still, alone in your sadness
Making me want to bring you gladness
They say love heals all wounds, let me heal yours
I can bring you love and laughter
Kisses sweet, and all that comes after
Let me heal your heart that hid behind fearful doors

	CHORUS:
	Let my hands caress away your tears
	And help you feel all right
	You can weep or softly sleep
	In my Healing Arms tonight

We can dance together at twilight
Sweet romance can make anything right
I'll be your prince, your shining knight, we can work it out
Your sparkling tears make me want to hold you
If we're in love, there's nothing we can't do
With a love as strong as mine, there's no need to doubt

	CHORUS

When you are strong, will you still want me?
Or when you're healed and no longer needy
Will you walk away and rest in another's arms?
In healing you, I must face my own fears
I want a love that can grow and endure years
But for now it's enough to hold you and keep you warm

	CHORUS (repeat twice)

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Missing the Best of a Bad Situation

I got a call from an old friend from college,
Who wanted to buy me a beer.
We met in a quiet bar, sat by the window,
Then she started bending my ear.
The ex-lover we had all warned her about
Who had dumped her, and moved far away
Called out of the blue; he was just passing through
And wanted to see her today.

Though she started off hesitant, soon she relented;
What was the harm in mere chatter?
But after a while, she felt warmth and a smile,
Enchanted by familiar patter.
She called the office and claimed she was ill
As lunchtime became a liason.
She blushed to confess her own foolishness,
Embarassed at being so brazen.

	CHORUS:
	She was missing the best, and misremembering the rest
	Missing the Best of a Bad Situation
	She was missing the best and just not seeing the rest
	Missing the Best of a Bad Situation

	BRIDGE:
	She said to me, "This time is different!"
	I knew there wasn't much I could say.
	Love may not be blind, but it can sure be myopic
	And denial isn't just a river in Africa.

I saw all the signs, as she finished her story
She had fallen back under his spell.
Though he'd hurt her before, he was a comfortable pain
I forced a smile as I wished her well.
Why do people engage in such justification
To accept the things they know they shouldn't?
I hope that if faced with a similar temptation
I'd be strong enough to say I wouldn't.

	CHORUS:
	Or I'd be missing the best, and misremembering the rest
	Missing the Best of a Bad Situation
	I'd be missing the best and just not seeing the rest
	Missing the Best of a Bad Situation

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Flute Player

Outside my window, notes on the breeze
Lovely flute player, under the trees
Sweet-smiling chanter
Weaving her spell
Where did she come from?
No one can tell.

	CHORUS:
	Bright music play, songs for my heart
	Laughing eyes say, "This is the start
	Of memories I'll keep all my days."

Smiling, she called to me, "Come hear me play.
Listen to my melodies; celebrate the day!"
Bright hair in ringlets framed her gentle face
Brown eyes twinkled merrily, shining with grace

	CHORUS

Happy voices harmonies; laughter we shared.
I fell in love with mysteries quite unprepared.
Flower falls into my arms and loved until dawn.
I woke among the dewy grass; the music was gone.

	CHORUS

Many years have come and gone since that evening bright
Many times I've hummed the songs I heard that night.
I never fully lose the hope, one sparkling day
Outside my window, I'll hear her play.

	CHORUS

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Great Homebrewing Disaster

I came home one August evening, looked out of my back door
And noticed a big peach tree that I'd never seen before.
Branches full of bounty - just look at all that loot!
Whatever will I do? There must be twenty pounds of fruit!
As I stared at that great harvest, an idea planted seed:
"I'll brew it up in my biggest pot, and make a batch of mead!"
It fermented quite vigorously, with lots of pulpy foam.
Little did I know I was endangering my home.

Now, the chemistry is simple when you're making homebrew:
It's yeasties peeing alcohol and farting CO2.
The airlock has a pinhole to let out all that gas,
But plug it up with peach-pulp foam, and nothing's gonna pass.
Oblivious that evening to impending yeast-caused doom,
I entertained a lady, and we wound up in my room.
We drifted off to sleep together, dreaming hand-in-hand
Unaware of the rude awakening those evil yeast had planned!

	CHORUS:
	It was the Great Homebrewing Disaster
	That eruption made St. Helen's look tame
	It was a sloppy skyward spew of aborted homebrew
	And the yeasties and the peach pulp were to blame

The airlock blew with a sudden BOOM about quarter after three
Not loud enough to wake the dead, but it surely wakened me!
Followed by a gushing sound, like a rushing waterfall.
I scrambled up, then ricocheted on down the darkened hall.
I fumbled for the light switch, then gaped at what I saw
A bubbling brown fountain spewing mead upon the floor
The carboy almost empty, I declared the batch a loss
The brown spot on the ceiling was a foot or two across.

	CHORUS:
	It was the Great Homebrewing Disaster
	That eruption made St. Helen's look tame
	It was a sloppy skyward spew of aborted homebrew
	And that ceiling's never gonna look the same

A morning's worth of cleaning made it mostly disappear.
The woman's still a friend of mine, been over 20 years.
When I moved, the landlord studied that ceiling spot a while,
"I'd better have that leak fixed," and I nodded with a smile.

	CHORUS:
	It was the Great Homebrewing Disaster
	That eruption made St. Helen's look tame
	It was a sloppy skyward spew of aborted homebrew
	And I managed to avoid getting blamed!

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Rise and Fall

Digeri plays across the outback
Walks the songlines of man's ambition.
Witness cycles of sun and season
All these changes - is there a reason?
Satellites screaming, to Earth returning,
Bright stars are falling; old icons burning.
'Round Skylab's wreckage the sand is blowing
And in the hollows new seeds are sprouting.

	Chorus:
	Stock prices falling, gas prices rising
	In Nature's picture these have no meaning.
	And Mir is falling while Alpha's rising
	And we are singing and to Earth returning.

Electrons flowing on thin glass highways
Carrying pictures and words and music,
Songs of love and words of hate
Praising Goddesses; creating demons.
Electronic fantasies, substitute realities
Virtual lovers are found and lost with ease.
What seems life-shattering before the phosphor screen
Blown away by the wind like it had never been.

	(Chorus)

When power fails and houses darken
Families gather by flickering candles
Rediscover joy in playing board games
And reading books of far-off places.
The stars are brighter without the streetlights;
Bright planets beckon, ancient wanderers.
The shining moon smiles on her children
As they dance to bright Alpha's rising.

	(Chorus)

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By the Bay

I've been to Malibu and walked on the sands
St. Thomas, Provincetown, and some foreign lands
But when I think of where I want to stay
My thoughts return to San Francisco Bay
I want to stay by the Bay / Though I've been to beaches far away
Watching the seagulls and the children play
I like to go and wander by the Bay

	(chorus)
	By the Bay, By the Bay
	All the way from Suisun down to San Jose
	When my life brings me a lazy day
	I like to go and wander by the Bay

Ohlone built their shellmounds tall and wide
Hunted shellfish at the lowest tide
Above their gravesites office buildings gleam
Is it progress, or just fatuous dreams?
Buildings gleam/Fatuous dreams / Perpetuate those developer schemes
Office workers come here every day
How many stop to wander by the Bay?

	(chorus)

Parks and harbors and refineries
All share the shoreline and the ocean breeze
Oil tankers, sailboats, and container ships
Sail through the Gate, embarked on global trips
Many ships on global trips / Commands are called from weathered mariners' lips
As they sail to places far away
I sit and watch the boats out on the Bay.

	(chorus)

I've seen Snoopy, the Red Baron, and more
Artists decorate the Berkeley shore
Silhouette by sunset through the Golden Gate
Makes me want to dance and celebrate
Celebrate, celebrate / Watching the sunset through the Golden Gate
There is nothing like this down in LA
Watching the lights come on around the Bay. (We love it!)

	(chorus)

I dream of sailing to exotic shores
Discovering ancient tomes of mariners' lore
Although I know it's just a wistful dream
Bay waters call me with their dancing gleam
Dancing gleam of wistful dreams / My heart still hammers with romantic schemes
And though I dream of places far away
My heart is filled with beauty by the Bay.

	(chorus)

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Sorry About Last Night

I'm sorry about last night,
Things got so out of hand
I didn't want to fight
That wasn't what we planned
I wanted to feed you wine and strawberries
Sing you songs about dragons and faeries
And share sweet loving beneath the pale moonlight
I'm Sorry About Last Night

I'm sorry about last night
I didn't handle it well
And in the morning's light
I really feel like hell
I said one thing; you heard another
Things got worse and we both dove for cover
I'd take it all back now, just to set things right
I'm sorry about last night

	Eagles dance in a crystal sky
	Soaring together up so high
	If they can do it, why can't you and I?

And I'm sorry about last night
You know that I still love you
And I hope that you might
Forgive and let me be with you
I have a vision of long lives together
Sharing dreams in all kinds of weather
Please let me know if you really think we might
Because I'm sorry about last night.

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Chicago Skyline

We went to Chicago to renew our fading fire
I made myself remember your traits that I admired.
Ignoring cellphone calls in crowded malls and other petty stuff
I was scared to lose your love.

We ate Chicago pizza and danced and loved and played
We shopped the storefront windows and walked the Promenade
I could feel something missing - the spark behind our smiles
We just delayed the end awhile.

	CHORUS:
	We tried to rediscover the joy that we once knew
	Our hopes, like the waves, were tossed by the winds that harshly blew
	Beneath the high Chicago Skyline, sky-blue and building-grey
	Those towers would always be there
	I felt you slip away

We embraced by the marina, but your eyes held emptiness
Though I tried to reach your passion, my grasp was powerless
Your heart slipped through my fingers, like fragile fabric, frayed
Your starry gaze was far away

	CHORUS:
	We tried to rediscover the joy that we once knew
	Our hopes, like the waves, were tossed by the winds that harshly blew
	Beneath the high Chicago Skyline, sky-blue and building-grey
	Those towers would always be there
	We went our separate ways

But we'll always have Chicago

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Slowly Roll By

I saw a man yell at his phone in a Wal-Mart
Waving his arms like a loon
Nary a care for the people around him
We could have all been on the Moon!
Cell phones in restaurants, email on the beach
We've run out of places to be out of reach
I turned it all off, to hear the wind's whispering tune.

	CHORUS:
	When I focus too much on the destination
	A part of me just seems to die
	I want to have time for slow contemplation
	Untying the knots of fast-paced consternation
	And watch the world Slowly Roll By

Jump in your car and race to the airport
Must be in Chicago by one
Drop the tray table and open the laptop
Getting the Power Slides done
I'll be there in two days, because I'm taking Amtrak
Sipping on rum drinks and tilting the seat back
Enjoying the scenery, lit by the bright morning sun

	CHORUS

Some people play their computers like pinball
Making the day-trading score
Up twenty thousand, then give it all back again
Desperately hoping for more
I just put a few dollars away for a rainy day,
Choose simple pleasures; they're cheaper than therapy
Saving my time to watch the waves lap on the shore

	CHORUS

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Real as it Seems

Evening is falling
Nightingale's calling
Come to the porch, and watch the stars come out with me
Your eyes are entrancing
Your lips made for sweet romancing
Together the music we make is a sweet symphony

	CHORUS (1)
	I'm in awe of the beauty of your body and mind
	You're sensitive, subtle, your wisdom is kind
	Your touch brings me joys I would never dare dream
	Is our love as Real As It Seems?

Our dance becomes thrilling
Fantasy-filling
Holding each other so tight is the right thing to do
These moments we're taking
Memories making
Indelible images painted of me close to you

	CHORUS (2)
	I pray at the altar of your sweet delight
	Our ecstasy's music makes songs in the night
	I've never known pleasures like this before
	Each soft caress leaves me wanting more

Our passions are mounting
And I've stopped counting
The blessings you bring by sharing your senses with me
Now we lie together
Your hair smells of sage and heather
Never an evening was measured so pleasantly

	CHORUS (1)

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Lady of the Sea

Eric had a granite hall, with towers tall, by the sea
Pensive, he went walking, self-talking in the sheltered lee
And his thoughts were of a lady gay
Who when at his side chased the pain away
And his mind turned back to that fateful day
When he met his Lady of the Sea

One evening came a frightful gale, that shredded sail, blinded eye
Eric set the tower light burning bright; he heard a cry
And he ran down to the rocky strand
Saw a pale form; he reached her and
Pulled her from the waves, was surprised to find
He held a true daughter of the Sea

He wrapped her in his dampened cloak, and when she woke he was at her side
"How came you, child of Neth's own hall, ashore to fall by the stormy tide?"
Said she, "I tired of coral homes
And for years I've traveled and lived alone."
Said he, entranced, "For now you needn't roam
Come be my Lady of the Sea."

When she rose up, she was human-formed, came to be warmed at the keep
And they sat and talked all through the night, 'til the morning's light, without thought of sleep
And she told him of life beneath the wave
And he told her of towns he'd helped to save
And when came the dawn, she her promise gave
To be his Lady of the Sea

Years passed and were quickly done
She bore a son with eyes of green
More often she came to the seaward tower
And would sit for hours, as in a dream
Eric woke one morn, found that she was gone
Left her son well cared-for; left him alone
He remembered her voice as it sang a song
Of a mighty longing for the Sea

Their son grew to a handsome man, and will rule this land when Eric is dead
And Eric walks more and more on the stony shore where his lady he met
And he dreams of hair like a silken cloud
And of eyes like sky without any cloud
And he falls to his knees and he cries out loud
For his Lady of the Sea

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