1. NETHER LANDS

High on this mountain
The clouds down below
I'm feeling so strong and alive
From this rocky perch
I'll continue to search
For the wind and the snow and the sky
Oh I want a lover and I want some friends
And I want to live in the sun
And I want to do all the things that I never have done

Sunny bright mornings and pale moonlit nights
Keep me from feeling alone
Now I'm learning to fly and this freedom is like
Nothing that I've ever known
Oh I've seen the bottom and I've been on top
But mostly I've lived in between
And where do you go when you get to the end of your dream

Off in the Nether Lands I heard the sound
Like the beating of heavenly wings
And deep in my brain I can hear a refrain
Of my soul as she rises and sings
Anthems to glory and anthems to love
And hymns filled with earthly delight
Like the songs that the darkness composes to worship the light

Once in a vision I came on some woods
And stood at a fork in the road
My choices were clear yet I froze with the fear
Of not knowing which way to go
Oh, one road was simple acceptance of life
The other road offered sweet peace
When I made my decision
My vision became my release


2. ONCE UPON A TIME

Every morning you wake up alone
And you shake up your soul but nothing stirs
So you take the love of whoever you please
But you can't find no reason for giving yours

[Chorus]
'Cause once upon a time
You held a love so strong and fine
That all the others simply don't compare
She's always on your mind
But once upon a time
You had her there

Drive into town 'most every night
On the chance that there might be someone waiting for you
You tell yourself you'll give it your best
Maybe settle for less but you never do

[Chorus]

[Repeat First Verse]

[Chorus]


3. DANCING SHOES

Dancing shoes on the wall above your bedside
Saw it all as we performed our pirouette
Fleshes fused as the flicker of the candles
Threw upon the wall a single silhouette
Tu es dans ma coeur et dans ma tete

Dancing shoes we have loved on distant beaches
Where the winter never reaches there we fell
Dying swan on the dawn you danced before me
Though your eyes were dark and stormy I stood still
Qui peut dire le faux et le reel

Dancing shoes though the distances divide us
There's a paradise inside us we can't lose
Me and you dance a 'pas de deux' forever
And I pray you never shed your dancing shoes


4. LESSONS LEARNED

You...with the past at your back and the future unsure
Asked for the chance to try love once more
Well aware of the consequences should the dream fall through
You threw down your last defenses wanting to try something new
Wanting to try something new

You found me in a sea of confusion drifting with the tide
Living on love that had long since died
But every time that I touch you, baby
I feel a little more alive
And I'm reminded how much you've made me
Believe in the love that survives
You know, we must believe in the love that survives

[Chorus]
Oh lessons learned are like bridges burned
You only need to cross them but once
Is the knowledge gained worth the price of the pain?
Are the spoils worth the cost of the hunt?
Are the spoils worth the cost of the hunt?

Borne on the first warm winds of feeling newly found
Fly but remember don't look down
Take as much as you think you ought to
Give just as much as you can
Don't forget what your failures have taught you
Or else you'll learn them all over again
Or else you'll have to learn them all over again

[Chorus]



5. LOOSE ENDS

Climbing a mountain
In darkness
Stranded alone on the ledge.
Every attempt that I make to hold on
Pushes me nearer the edge.

Sensing the changes impending
My thoughts are diffused by despair
I feel like I'm swimming straight up
Underwater
Desperately racing for air
I'm racing for air.

And the chords struck at birth
Grow more distant
Yet, we strike them again and again.
And we plead and we pray
For a glimmer of day
As the night folds its wings
And descends
Exposing the loose ends.

Surrounding myself with possessions
I surely have more than I need
I don't know if this is justice, hard earned,
Or simply a matter of greed
A matter of greed.

And the chords struck at birth
Grow more distant
Yet, we strike them again and again.
And we plead and we pray
For a glimmer of day
As the night folds its wings
And descends

Exposing the loose ends.
And the chords struck at birth
Grow more distant
Yet, we strike them again and again.
And we plead and we pray
For a glimmer of day
As the night folds its wings
And descends

Exposing the loose ends.


6. LOVE GONE BY

Try your best to see through the confusion
Seems the more you see the less you try
You don't know what's real and what's illusion
If you don't know by now then how should I

[Chorus]
And I've been thinking 'bout the love gone by
Honey, has the well run dry
Oh, it's enough to make you cry
Thinking 'bout the love gone by

Give me back my heart and call it even
Ain't no use in figuring who's to blame
Once I thought this love was made in heaven
Now I think it's just a crying shame

[Chorus]

Winners never know the worth of losing
'Til the prize has slipped right through their hands
Love will take a heart of its own choosing
And break it if you try to understand

We're left with nothing but the love gone by
Honey, has the well run dry
Oh, it's enough to make you cry
Thinking 'bout the love gone by


7. PROMISES MADE

Promises made and promises broken
Measures of our demise
Secrets of souls that rarely get spoken
Pleasure's a thin disguise

Dozens of ways and dozens of reasons
Shielding our hearts from pain
Riddles of romance
That distance may yet explain

Certain of nothing
So fearful of love
Nobody seems to show you enough
Over and over the scenes are replayed
And once again those promises made

Feeling forsaken, broken in two
How did this ever happen to you
Taken for granted, bruised and betrayed
Lonely survivors these promises made

Dozens of ways and dozens of reasons
Shielding our hearts from pain
Riddles of romance
That distance may yet explain

Certain of nothing
You're so damn fearful of love
Nobody seems to show you enough
Over and over the scenes are replayed
And once again those promises made
Those promises made


8. GIVE ME SOME TIME

Slow down girl, what's the hurry
Love can wait if you're worried
Then I'll try to ease your mind
You say we're losing time

But I've got to find
A way to convince you
I've got cause to be wary
For so long I've had to carry

The weight of another soul
You say I won't let go
But how do you know I can
Give me some time now
I've just got to find how
I'm going to forget her
And talk myself into believing

That she and I are through
Then maybe I'll fall for you
You're just what I've needed
But I'd be unfair and conceited

To say you're the only one
Woman, I'm on the run
From something I have begun
And can't seem to finish
Although it hasn't been recent
I still think it wouldn't be decent

To let you believe in me so soon
I've got to make you see
What she meant to me
So please

Give me some time now
I've just got to find how
I'm going to forget her
And talk myself into believing
That she and I are through
Then maybe I'll fall for you

Maybe I'll fall for you
Maybe I'll fall for you
Maybe I'll fall for you
Maybe I'll fall for you


9. SCARECROW'S DREAM

Seldom seen a scarecrow's dream
I hang in the hopes of replacement
Castles tall, I built them all
But I dream that I'm trapped in the basement
And if you ever hear me calling out
And if you've been by paupers crowned
Between the worlds of men and make-believe I can be found

Plans I've made
A masquerade fading in fear of the coming day
Heroes' tales like nightingales
Wrestle the wind as they run away
And if you ever hear them calling out
And if you've been by paupers crowned
Between the worlds of men and make-believe I can be found

Garden gate
An empty plate waiting for someone to come and fill
Scarecrow's dreams like frozen streams
Thirst for the thaw but they're running still
And if you ever hear them calling out
And if you've been by paupers crowned
Between the worlds of men and make-believe I can be found


10. SKETCHES

a. Summer
Late in the summer when the cottonwood dies
The fields are on fire with green bottle flies
And I'm still seeing reflections of me in your eyes
And why did you leave last summer
Now, the seasons are changing from summer to fall
And I've still got that picture hung on my wall
And there's so much forgotten and too much recalled
And why did you leave at all

b. Winter
Standing beside you mid-winter day
Hearts beating close together
Wishing that we'd found some way to make
That moment last forever
Standing silent--laughing--breathing steam
Gazing down into a freezing stream...
I saw the face of a child
I saw the face of a child


11. FALSE FACES

Oil on canvas
Couplets and stanzas to divine who you are
Pencil portrayals and jealous betrayals
Get you further afar

[Chorus]
Oh, false faces and meaningless chases I travel alone
Oh, first places and calendar races I need a home

Hostile hotel walls, footfalls and phone calls
And you're on the line
Gentle coercions and bitter desertions
When the truth is a lie

[Chorus]

Lover twice yearly
That last battle nearly cost me the fight
Broke through the ice and got cut down to size
And escaped through the night

[Chorus]