Open Mic, 10/25/11

333 On Broad
Rome, GA

"I wrote 63 songs this year. They're all about Joe. And I'm going to sing each and every one of them tonight."
Well, there are only four, and they're not about Joe, but the sentiment's the same. They're all relatively new, no band has played them, so I've included the lyrics.

Lions On The Lam

Here, in the jungle, lions -- there!
We could escape anywhere

Free as the north wind blowing through
I can’t believe I found you

Or that you found me -- wandering, lost
Tossed to the side -- hungry, ghost

I’ve heard the legends
I’ve had the dreamsYou, and now me
So it seems

Fire on the mountain -- home, almost
Wires strewn about -- signals crossed

Seen very clearly through the mist
It must be something like this

Dark, now the darkness -- home, safe, found
Start, it’s like this -- right here, now

So it begins
There is a way
Sleep, now awake
Into the day
 
Night's Watch (Holding Pattern)*

It's a rainy night in Georgia, and I wish you were here
One more night (like so many others) that's going nowhere
Too much excitement for one man to bear
Keeping the night's watch -- there are dragons out there

I hear the rumbling, hope that it's you
Turns out the thunder has brought no news
Bright-eyed wonder gives way to the blues
Standing in silence is the way that I choose

Fell into sleep, fell out again
So hard to keep, but what do I do with it then?
First thing this morning, a moment of Zen
Served with black coffee, a curious blend

The New One 

Went back in time to find that one old song
Saw myself as I was then, sat down to play along
Suddenly, it seemed, (somehow) it seemed the same

She comes to me after all these years
Like it was yesterday, right before I disappeared
That one is gone, this one comes to stay

tear down the walls that surround us all
praise the moon, praise the sun 
question yourself so the head is ruled by none

There was a word, it filled a space
And now the song is in its place
The strangest of gifts has been right here all this time

I come to her, and I give it my best
It's better than that, or anything else
Must have been the wind that's blowing my mind

the moonlight smiles on the palace we've built
this strange new world i've never seen
you made me your king, i made you my queen

After some time in the darkest of places
Here's a little light to read the story so far
What once was but a dream now stands before you in full bloom

I walk with her through shifting sands
And watch the sun go down again
A whisper speaks, and suddenly, the moon...

remember nights of starry skies 
the campus green, the downtown bar
it comes from me to where you are

As For Me

Everybody's always somewhere else
"Hey, whatchadoin'? I'm so damn bored."
As for me, I'll always be right here
"Come back. Stay."

Everybody here's from somewhere else
Down to the ocean, wash it all away
As for me, everything comes from right here
Please, make yourself at home

And we'll laugh at the world when they tell us to stop 
Who needs them anyway?

Everybody does what they say they won't do
The other shoe falls like rain
As for me, I'm still who you thought I would be
You can sleep, trusting the roof over your head

I still remember the dress that she wore

But I can't remember what happened before

Everybody says "I love you"
It doesn't always mean what they think it means
As for me, it's so simple -- I'll say it again...

You can't be afraid if there's nothing to fear
What is fear anyway?

*debut performance

The host summed it up perfectly when I was done. The girls wanted to hear some dance music, so they were going to take a break from the open mic format. There were only three or four of us tonight. I usually stick around to play a second set, but tonight wasn't the night for that. Oh, and all lyrics and music are written and owned by me.