Lyrics

I’M TRYING

I should be happy seeing you happy, I should be
It’s just a matter of time so this is so untimely
Running into you and him in a random neighborhood
Rips the bandage off the wound, but when you ask I say, “I’m good” I force a smile so once again I’m lying
But I’m trying

It’s like a dagger through the heart, by a phantom hand
A freaking chance encounter, God damn
We said we’d part as friends, like how we started way back when
But coming face to face to face, it’s a bitch to pretend
I should be stronger now, it hasn’t killed me yet I feel like dying
But I’m trying

Everyone I know is full of it, that so called good advice
But I’ll just wait to be proved wrong that true love can’t happen twice

I should be happy seeing you happy, I should be
It’s just a matter of time so this is so untimely
But I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m trying

LIVE A LOT

Is that a new worry line, on your forehead
A deeper shade of red, bloodshot eyes
Friends and family, even perfect strangers
See your painful looking smile, is a lie

You might drop
If you don’t stop

Chorus
You’re like a time bomb, ready to blow
Can’t even think about letting go
You keep hearing you should live a little, why not?
Hey, maybe you should live a lot
You chewed thru today, might bite you back tomorrow
Too out of breath to pause and exhale
Can’t stop to smell a rose, watch a gorgeous sunset
Your life story reads like a cautionary tale

You might drop
If you don’t stop

Chorus
You’re like a time bomb, ready to blow
Can’t even think about letting go
You keep hearing you should live a little, why not?
Hey, maybe you should live a lot

Bridge
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, boom
Hey man in the mirror, i’m talking to you

Chorus
You’re like a time bomb, ready to blow
Can’t even think about letting go
You keep hearing you should live a little, why not?
Hey, maybe you should live a lot

I roam the floor, humming Caroline’s suite
As morning dawns on this quiet street
Where I am known and unknown
To the sleepless, daydreaming of sleep

Chorus:
Wherever you are, there’s sunshine, it’s all around you
Wherever you are, there’s sunshine, it surrounds you
Wherever you are, there’s sunshine, it’s all around you
Ooh, it’s all about you, ooh, it’s all about you

The eyes of the portrait, they follow me
And size me up, accurately
A sad faced soul with a lonely voice
Who dares to dream of brilliant harmony

Chorus

In your orbit there’s no shade thrown
All hints of darkness shined on
Even summer days seem brighter still
When your love light comes along

Chorus x2

Graduation, man, it was more like a prison break
You shouting “free at last” as we hit the Interstate
So done wIth dress codes, curfews, homework, authority
Being on the road was all we talked about, you and me
No map, no destination, no time to spare
There’s more to life, somewhere out there

CHORUS
I’ll ride with you, to the rainbow’s end
At least we gotta try to keep on dreamin’
I’ll ride with you, ’cause alone i’m lost
I’ll ride with you till the wheels fall off

Truck stop, rest stop, IHOP, KOA
You make a tent and a sleeping bag the perfect hideaway
I’ll load the car now baby, you put the fire out
Then it’s heads we go north, tails we go south
No map, no destination, no time to spare
There’s more to life, somewhere out there [CH]

BRIDGE
Someday we’ll stumble on a place that feels like home
But in the meantime we just pack up and go [CH]

©Bruce Ede

I’ve got this idea, it’s a pretty big idea
But i think it’ll fly
Started as a thought, grew to a notion
Continues to multiply
I could explain it, section by section
But it’s stronger on the whole
Larger than life-size, but you know that’s the point
Imagination’s in control

CHORUS
Can’t put my 40 ft. technicolor dream
On a 3 inch HD iphone screen
Takes a big canvas to paint a big picture
A frame obscures the design
Don’t want no limitations
Not even space or time
Gotta ask questions
That stretch the boundary lines

I’ve got this concept and it’s got me and
I’d like to spread it around
It’s got mass appeal, ‘least they tell me it will
After they break it down
And make it bite sized and easy to swallow
A cinch to regurgitate
Snug in a category, notched in a niche
No strain to appreciate [CH]

I got this idea, it’s a pretty big idea
Even the smallest part isn’t that small
They say that improves it to chop it up
But i’d rather not touch it at all
I think i’ll just hold off and wait
Till they’re ready to take it just as it is
So everyone has an equal chance
To get all it has to give [CH]

© Bruce Ede

He was born into money in the heart of the south
Till he spit the silver spoon right out of his mouth
Began his life of crime robbin’ neighbor’s homes
Now he’s raised the stakes at the Savings and Loan
Daddy thought he was weak, but he can be strong
No turning back he’s already gone

CHORUS
Beyond too far, beyond too far
A cool black sheep in a stolen car
Beyond too far, beyond too far,
From a fortunate son to an outlaw star, Beyond too far

They looked squeaky clean from the outside in
But there were bones in closets, unforgivable sins
Now the old man’s payin’ for his sordid past
Their good name takes a hit with every shotgun blast
He was good for nothin’,his daddy used to say
Now he’s provin’ him wrong in the worst kinda way [CH]

BRIDGE
And if he lives to tell his story, he’ll throw some history in
How like father, like son they’re both as guilty as sin

Trapped by a roadblock on Highway 5
All the TV stations covered it live
Made sure to surrender near the camera crews
So he could flip off the old man on the evening news
It wasn’t for the cash, man, he did it for the thrill
And he knew he was lucky nobody got killed [CH]

She said she loved her harvest gold kitchen
He said he loved his muscle car
They said you know we love you too right? yeah, I guess
But they yelled a lot in that small tract house

Kept me awake, in my bedroom
Least it was quiet when he finally up and left

CHORUS
Homesick, yeah today, I’m homesick,
But I don’t know the way, no map, no true north, no anchor
Homesick, sad to say, I’m homesick, no,
I’m not ok, I can’t find what I’ve always longed for
No happily ever after, again and again
I’m homesick for a place I’ve never been

My girlfriend loved things cleaned and polished
I’d leave my clothes on the bedroom floor
I wish I’d learned to argue, not just to fight
One cold beer without a coaster
That was enough to start world war three
Now she’s gone like the ones before her, I can’t get it right [CH]

BRIDGE
The Brady Bunch, the Cunninghams, and the Cosbys
Why is my life, nothing like, TV [CH]

© Bruce Ede

CHORUS
I’m the one, in the dark
I’m the one in the dark in the back of your mind
I’m the one that you fear
‘Cause you can’t keep me down when temptation is near
I’m the One

I was there when you lived in the garden
That paradise built for two
Thought you were so safe and secure
But I slipped on thru
That was me who got you hungry
For that fruit right off of the tree
Goodness begged you not to bite
But you had to go and listen to me [Ch]

I was there for that midnight liaison
In the back seat of your daddy’s car
Sent your mind on a little vacation
When I teased you into going too far
And it was me who sent the stranger
Strolling thru that barroom door
You promised to love, honor and obey,
Then I came along and promised you more [CH]

BRIDGE
I’ll be hiding in the shadows,
You may not always hear my voice
But I’ll be there every night, ready to strike
When you forget you’ve still got a choice [CH]

© B.EDE/R.FROMER

I’ve fallen hard, I’m in soul deep
Surrendered my heart but not in defeat
Adrift in your arms, bathed in your eyes,
I see our future, opened wide
What’s on my mind, rolls off the tip of your tongue,
Everything I imagined, outdone

CHORUS
Heaven knows, that’s how it should be,
When true love flows so easily
It’ll wash you clean and set you free
When true love flows like an easy river

Gone are the days of hopeless romance
No more thinking I missed my chance
Can’t stop smiling, how can it be
You turned waves to ripples, just for me
What we got is real, don’t need no make believe,
We’re living out our wildest dreams [CH]

BRIDGE
You’re an angel, a lifeline, a godsend
You prove the best days of my life are still around the bend [CH]

© Bruce Ede

I’M A LONG WAY FROM HOME,
FEELING BAD TO THE BONE
ATE TEQUILA WORMS, TOOK A NASTY TURN,
I’M A LONG WAY FROM HOME
I WAS WRONG ALRIGHT,
ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT
WISH I’D SEEN IT BEFORE, NOW IT’S HARD TO IGNORE,
I WAS WRONG ALRIGHT

BRIDGE
THE SIGN SAYS I’M JUST A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD
BUT I KNOW I GOT A WHOLE LOT FARTHER TO GO

AM I IN TOO DEEP
BEYOND BELIEF
I TRIPPED AND I FELL DOWN THE WISHING WELL,
BUT AM I IN TOO DEEP

[INSTRUMENTAL VERSE]

I’M A LONG WAY FROM HOME,
DIALING THE PHONE
FINALLY GOT UP THE NERVE,
COULDN’T FIND THE WORDS,
STILL A LONG WAY FROM HOME [BR]

I STAND ON THE PORCH, I RING THE BELL
SHE OPENS THE DOOR, SHE LETS ME CRASH IN THE FLOOR
STILL A LONG WAY FROM HOME

©BRUCE EDE

Freak summer storm, biblical rain,
Nine time out of ten woulda out run that train
Clipped the rear bumper, we spun then we rolled
Yea, you still don’t remember and you can’t let that go
You’re crippled with guilt for not letting me drive
But it’s not all your fault what happened that night
Don’t let it wreck the rest of your life

CHORUS
A man is more than a moment
A man is more than a moment
There are still second chances you haven’t had yet
A man is more than a moment

You always say that freight whistle makes you feel like a drink
Still you’re seven months sober, that’s what everyone thinks
But now I caught you at the Outpost, half way through a beer
Bet you thought me and this chair never came way out here
You say it’s you first, cross you heart hope to die
I just don’t wanna see what happened tonight
Unravel the rest of your life [CH]

BRIDGE
It’s a long haul my dear brother
I’ve got your back like you’ve always had mine
So come on, what should we do now,
With the rest of our lives [CH]

© Bruce Ede

Two guys walk into a bar in the next life called heaven 17
No more wagons to fall off of, no need for friends to intervene
One plays the jukebox, a raspy new take on “Pancho and Lefty”
His friend gets all nervous, self conscious, upset, and he mumbles, “I’m not worthy”

CHORUS
Then Townes said to Garcia, “Don’t you know what I mean
it’s something I can’t get used to”
Jerry said “Townes, it’s the best high I’ve found
When Dylan covers you”

Then Woody sat down and said, “Is that my friend Bob you boys are talkin’ ’bout
Well I’ve had me just a little more time to figure that one out
It took me years to forgive him for strappin’ on that damn ‘lectric guitar
Finally saw he played songs that still spoke the truth no matter how loud they are”

CHORUS 2
Jerry said to Woody, “I know what you mean
and if the crowd gives it back you can’t lose
Like how they drown out the band on ‘This Land is your Land’
when Dylan covers you”

BRIDGE
It’s just the circle remaining unbroken, over and over again

CHORUS 3
Zevon said to Townes, “Don’t you know what I mean,
it’s something I can’t get used to
Townes said to Warren, “Just sit back and enjoy him
when Dylan covers you”

A barstool, two beers, three cigarettes
I’m like the setup to some old joke
Sealed with a kiss-off, cupid overruled
Another fairy tale up in smoke
Ya, I’m here tonite, but i don’t get out much
Out of bed, out of my head, out the door
Don’t want no advice, still the bartender says
“Son, don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before”

CHORUS:
Life’s like walking in the rain
Can’t help but get a little wet
But don’t be scared of every cloud you see
Storms that ain’t storms yet
It’s time to make another splash
Tell the world you’re still here
Survived the slip, the fall, and all of that pain
From walking in the rain

My friends and my dear family
Bet they saw this train wreck comin’ on
But bless their hearts they know me too well
Woulda told ’em they were just dead wrong
Now it’s hard not to see I don’t know it all
Clearly I ain’t got no clue
Took a stranger pourin’ beer to make me realize
‘Bout time a faced the plain damn truth
[CH]

BRIDGE:
Just gotta get myself past this heavy weather
The only way through it is putting one foot in front of the other

I hate that you completed me
‘Cause now I’m incomplete
Can’t place an ad saying, “Half a man
Seeks woman who just gets me”
Some girls call me lovesick fool
To others I’m damaged goods
They all say they understand
But I know nobody else could

CHORUS:
You’re the only one
Who knows what to say
When I don’t know what to do
So who do I talk to now
About getting over you, over you

It was easy to love
Now it’s so damn hard
Giving up on what we had
For what we are
All my letters returned to sender
I call your number, it’s someone else
We got communication breakdown now
So there’s nobody I can tell [CH]

BRIDGE:
Was I all wrong about your heart
Was it ever mine
Hope I won’t get fooled again
If or when, there’s a next time [ch]

I hate that you completed me
‘Cause now I’m incomplete
Can’t place an ad saying
“Half a man seeks woman who just gets me”
Some girls call me lovesick fool
To others I’m damaged goods
They all say they understand
But I know nobody else could

CHORUS:
You’re the only one
Who knows what to say
When I don’t know what to do
So who do I talk to now
About getting over you, over you

BRIDGE:
Was I all wrong about your heart
Was it ever mine
Hope I won’t get fooled again
If or when, there’s a next time [CH]

Though Albert’s crayons never stayed between the lines
That was no reflection on his beautiful mind
He never made it all the way through public school
But now his theory is the most well known scientific rule

CHORUS:
Go right, feel left, look up, feel down
Stick out, stay in, on point, off beat
At home, nowhere
Too round to be a square

Wolfgang never grew out of his terrible twos
But he’d always be submissive to his harmonic muse
He died too young to watch his stuffy rivals fade
Now he’s still crazy cool with ringtone tunes you hear every day
[CH]

BRIDGE
Most folks just seem strange to me, no one gets me yet
Guess it don’t take no damn genius to know you don’t quite fit
[CH]

I should have told you
When it happened
And not made you think, it’s your fault
I’m not in the mood
But I held my tongue
And let you wonder
Why I shut you out
For no reason you could prove
I just sat there and watched our love die
Between a secret and a lie

You kept trying to ask me
To share my feelings
Like that might have fixed things
As good as before
But the damage was done
The vow was broken
I was too ashamed
To touch you anymore
I just lay there and watched our love die
Between a secret and a lie

BRIDGE
Secrets or lies
We lose either way
It’s me who’s to blame
In this endless, heartbreaking game
(repeat 1st verse)

Met her on a Friday, my heart beat fast
Barely crossed my mind, was it gonna last
Then it hit me like a wave I never felt before
Rings, picket fences, and honey-do chores
By Monday I was gone, I can’t deny
Staring down forever burned my eyes like the sun,
She can’t be the only one, for me
Some love stories are just short stories

Damned if I was right, further up the road
A new girl, a new wave and new plateau
I promised we’d be married, in a month we were
She swore to me, I swore to her
A year later I was gone, I can’t deny
Staring down forever burned my eyes like the sun
She can’t be the only one, for me,
Some love stories are just short stories

Met her on a Tuesday, my heart beat fast
Now all I think about is if it’s gonna last
When you’ve always been the first to cut and run
Just a frown can be a sign it’s coming undone
Every day she’s not gone I think I can fly
Staring down forever in her eyes, am I the one
Or just the guy she learns it from, unhappily
Some love stories are just short stories

Driven west by broken treaties, broken arrows
Tribal mothers grieved and cried endlessly
No guiding hands for helpless sons and daughters
Who must survive, preserve the legacy

CHORUS:

On a trail of constant sorrow
The elders prayed for signs
To lift a mother’s spirit, calm her soul
So the gods traced all their tears
And flowers grew from every one
The bright and hopeful bloom, Cherokee Rose

The blossom’s white for the pure drops they were weeping
The center gold for stolen riches, stolen lands
And it grew like wildfire, reclaiming precious acres
With it’s seven leaves, one for every clan [CH]

©BRUCE EDE

You say a rich guys a tax break
It’s gonna trickle down
But while we’re waiting for a drop
Those profits go to Cayman towns
Stashing money overseas that’s just business
But Welfare’s a crime
Guess you think that’ll fool
More than half of the people this time

CHORUS:
It didn’t work out for Marie, it didn’t work out for Marie
Blind ambition, insensitivity
She said, “let ’em eat cake”,
Sounds a lot like your mistakes
Are you doomed to repeat her history?
You know that didn’t work out, that didn’t work out for Marie

You said they use food stamps
For vacations to Hawaii
But the fact is they’re still
Only good for groceries
Y’all wanna be king
So you bend the truth till it lies
Guess you think that’ll fool
More than half of the people this time [CH]

BRIDGE:
Nobody’s gonna lose, gonna lose their heads
Hope you just fade away, fade away instead [CH]

©Bruce Ede

The American dream as a nightmare
Sold us houses we could not afford
They tied blue ribbons round our worthless paper
Pawned it off, made a really big score, kept us poor

CHORUS:
We’re drowning and there’s no one to save us
Hope we all find the will to survive
It’s gotta end sooner or later
But the water continues to rise
Ain’t no flash flood, ain’t no king tide

Got fools on the hill, distracted
By elections and talking point speech
As our future goes down for the third time
No jobs, and the prospects are bleak, a leg up out of reach [CH]

BRIDGE:
And those rainmakers still gotta pay
Justice will be done, one day, one fine day [ch]

Under water, under age
Hairline cracks, in the golden child
Forge a mask, build a wall
Calm facade, on a boy gone wild
Tied off and alone, unsafe at home

CHORUS :
Tried to stand up in the deep end, over and over and over again
Stand up in the deep end, no solid ground
Tried to stand up in the deep end
Came up short once too often
And the weight of the world held [him/her/them] down
Till [he/she/they] drowned

Under water, under age
Pageant perfect since she was six
Melting down in the spotlight
From whiskey rebellion, to defiant fix
A runway runaway, with bad habits to break [CH]

BRIDGE:
It’s the comeback kid and the new kid in town
It’s classic and tragically hip
It’s comfortably numb, it’s a tightrope
It’s smiling and hoping you’ll slip [CH]

©Bruce Ede

Like a star child of another planet, a visitor, a refugee
Always dreamed I’d disappear, be anywhere but here, and anyone but me
Then with your smile like a lifeline, and the gravity in your voice
This third rock from the sun, became the only one, the obvious choice

CHORUS 1:
You connect me to the world
I was always lost in space
I’m yours so I exist
In this different time, this different place
My wild-eyed, open hearted girl
You connect me to the world

You walk gracefully among them, you seem undaunted if disapproved
How lucky can I be, to follow you breathlessly, like every eye in the room
And you’ve got your strong connections, I watch you reach out and I learn
Unconditional love, that’s what you’re made of, you build bridges that never burn

CHORUS 2:
You connect me to the world
There’s a reason I should stay
Got you to hold on to
When I’m feeling blown away
My wild-eyed, open hearted girl
You connect me to the world

BRIDGE:
Never thought I would, till I found it
Now I’m earthbound and grounded [CH1+CH2]

There and gone, it’s not fair, the angels came too soon
A black hole space, in every place, I’m still expecting you
So much more I would’ve said, if I’d just known it was time
For a fond farewell one afternoon, to become our last goodbye

CHORUS:
I love you forever, no distance too far
From the deepest, bluest ocean, to beyond the darkest star
The love we shared goes ’round and ’round, the music never stops
From the higher plain of the unexplained
To the bottom of my heart, the bottom of my broken heart

Days used to fly way too fast, now they barely crawl
Not ready yet, baby steps, from the bedroom down the hall
I’ve heard it said, but now I know, the world can always wait
As our circle of friends to the end, stand guard at our gate [CH]

BRIDGE:
A wound is supposed to heal, measure by measure
Guess I’ll be ok someday, but never better [CH]

I seized every single day, I took it all in
The seeds were planted, the ideas came but nothing more
‘Cause I had passion with no sense of direction
So good at taking off but I never seemed to soar

CHORUS:
I saw the light, the light don’t fade
I heard the songs of the decade
I felt the warmth of a circle of friends
Filled my senses in Gaia’s garden
I read the words, words like a prophecy,
But it took you to truly inspire me, you inspire me

I’ve known love before but this is a revelation
You put a great big positive spin on my life
And nothing’s turned my thoughts and dreams to action
Like the faith, the hope and the trust in your eyes [CH]

BRIDGE:
Got a whole new way of thinking
Got the world on a string
Now anything seems possible
Anything…and everything [CH]

Abandoned like a broke down car
I’m thru with love
Dented, like a hit-and-run
All in pieces, a twisted wreck
I’m thru with love
Stalled out, totaled, i’m done,
You drove me to it, skillfully
I fell truly madly deeply,
Too bad i was the only one,
Dimmed the lights on a dead end street
Only saw what you let me see
Broadsided, stunned

So i’m thru with love, so thru with love

I took the bait, your hypnotizing words of love
Unbelievably well rehearsed
I should have known, been caught before
I’m a fool for love
Always hooked, reeled in, or worse
Couldn’t breathe, didn’t understand
I was helpless in your hands
I lost control, lost my nerve
You blamed yourself, a lame excuse
An easy way to cut me loose
Cast aside again, cursed
So i’m thru with love, so thru with love

Guess i’m doomed to repeat my history
Like everybody, everybody
Can’t trust my heart, it’s the same old punchline
So never again, until, the next time
I’m thru with love, so thru with love

Abandoned like a broke down car, I’m thru with love…

©Bruce Ede

Raise your voice in opposition
An angry note against the grain
There’s a time for tempered silence
But not here, not now

In the darkest times there will be singing
We’ll be singing in the darkest time

In harmony together
A choir with truthful tones
Has a hundred times the impact
Of any tweet storm, unsung

In the darkest times there will be singing
We’ll be singing in the darkest times

I hope it’s loud enough so everyone receives
An invitation to come and shine a light

In the darkest times there will be singing
We’ll be singing in the darkest times, we will sing