1. |
Bare Bones
04:44
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I am the feather that flies
Following the wind where’er it blows.
I am the blade of grass that bends and sways
As prairie currents buffet hot and dry.
I am the bare bones left behind
When words and deeds and time are at an end.
I am the essence I have always been
When I break down enough to let you in.
I am the cone releasing seed
When fire sweeps the forest carpet clean.
I am the gold that remains
When torches burn away what is impure.
I am the bare bones left behind
When words and deeds and time are at an end.
I am the essence I have always been
When I break down enough to let you in.
I am the soft, defenseless turtle
Freshly hatched out of the egg.
I am the sand upon the shore
Endlessly pounded in the waves.
I am the bare bones left behind
When words and deeds and time are at an end.
I am the essence I have always been
When I break down enough to let you in.
I am the straight and hardy stalk
That stands long after flowers fade.
I am the naked branches of the leafless tree
In the silent dark of winter sleep.
I am the bare bones left behind
When words and deeds and time are at an end.
I am the essence I have always been
When I break down enough to let you in.
I am the bare bones left behind
When words and deeds and time are at an end.
I am the essence I have always been
When I break down enough to let you in.
I am the essence I have always been…
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2. |
It's Too Late
05:17
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I’ve never been patient
Hating to wait my turn
Stepping aside for the bolder and prettier girls
Trying to hold on
To the dream that I could be like them
‘Cause the books I read, they told me it was true
And all these years later, I haven’t read anything new
But it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess
It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill
It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom
It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright
Go fade into the night
Now I’ve slayed some dragons
And I’ve found a treasure or two
Journeyed to mysterious lands both far and near
Sometimes I’ve been lonely
Sometimes I’ve been afraid
And no fairy godmother came to save the day
Pulled up my own bootstraps and did things my own way
And it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess
It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill
It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom
It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright
Go fade into the night
Are you a pirate?
Or a prince, charming and brave?
Did you think you could turn me so easily?
Perhaps you’re a diamond
In the rough, and I am, too
Don’t try to tell me my day will come to shine
I’m used to this roughness, and I’m really fine
Because it’s too late to convince me I might be a princess
It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill
It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom
It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright
It’s too late to convince me I might be a princess
It’s too late to help me discover my secret magic skill
It’s too late to make me believe I’m inheriting a kingdom
It’s too late to be my savior in shining armor bright
Go fade into the night
I’ll be all right
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3. |
Holding On to the Dream
05:30
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Long, long ago, someone looked to the sky
And wondered what it would be like
To soar like a bird way on up to the sun
To leave this blue marble behind
After many an age ‘twas no longer a dream
With balloons or with wings in our flying machines
We reached to the heavens as far as we dared
And found we’re as small as we feared
When I was younger in simpler times
Gazing up into the deep purple sky
Daring to dream of everything
Daring to dream I could fly
Now I am older and wiser and grounded
But I still hold the stars in my hand
Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine
And I’ll hold them as long as I -
as long as I can
Soon we were breaking the wall of sound
Higher and higher we climbed
Who would be fastest and who would be first
Proud Earthling on alien ground
But the race against time was laced with a price
Too much and too little care
For brave pioneers lost to the stars
We released prayers aloft through the air
When I was younger in simpler times
Gazing up into the deep purple sky
Daring to dream of everything
Daring to dream I could fly
Now I am older and wiser and grounded
But I still hold the stars in my hand
Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine
And I’ll hold them as long as I -
as long as I can
I know in my lifetime I'll never see
The day when I step out my door
And transport to havens unlike any down here
A wondrous alien shore
In movies I've seen and in stories I've read
In journeys more inward than out
I believe one day we'll finally find
Our brothers and sisters, no doubt
When I was younger in simpler times
Gazing up into the deep purple sky
Daring to dream of everything
Daring to dream I could fly
Now I am older and wiser and grounded
But I still hold the stars in my hand
Dreams live on, and I hold on to mine
Yes, I’ll hold them as long as I -
as long as I can - as long as I can
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4. |
Water
06:35
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In the dark
Primordial sea
The first forms of life on this planet
Came to be
Evolution
Through many an age
Turned into life on the land
With rock as our stage
But if there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
The uncharted waters
Held many a mystery
For the two-legged
Land-dwelling beings
Our imagination
Fed sea-faring monsters
Terror and fear
Fueled many a tale
And if there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
Down through the ages
Humans appealed to the gods of the waters
They called upon Tiamat and Mazu
Oshun and Manannan mac Lir
Some worshipped Triton
Some honored Neptune or Nerthus or Njord
Far in the Arctic, some invoked Sedna
In Greece, of the sea, Poseidon was lord
And if there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
Beware the song sung by the Siren
May you never meet the Serpent or Kraken
The Mermaid will trick you with her great beauty
The Selkie can walk on the land
But if you are blessed
You may swim with the Undines and Naiads
Far through the fresh and the salt water treasures
And their silent mysteries
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
If there is magic here on the Earth
It is in the water
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5. |
Smoke
03:44
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An old soul born again to walk among us
Counting time face by face and line by line
Day by day, brightest light casts darkest shadow
Shining eyes daring me to look within
But his heart is dark
And his heart is deep
As he walks amid the shadows
In and out of space and time like smoke
A cold hand placed so gently on my shoulder
Backward glance proves to me I’m not alone
Round and round, hide and seek among the trees
I must return to the here and now
But my heart is dark
And my heart is deep
As I walk amid the shadows
In and out of space and time like smoke
One small spark is enough to light the dark
One bright flame is enough to banish blame
This is who I am, light and dark it’s all the same
Take my hand, I am not afraid
Tho’ his heart is dark
And my heart is deep
As we walk amid the shadows
In and out of space and time like smoke
His heart is dark
My heart is deep
We walk amid the shadows
In and out of space and time like smoke
Like smoke
Like smoke
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6. |
Ready For the Storm
04:23
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7. |
Scarlet Town
04:02
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We set out
Danni and me
For the land of opportunity
Outside of the law
Outside of the norms
We set our sights on a distant shore
Once on board
Part of the crowd
Didn’t care if we got a bit too loud
Ship of dreams
Ship of desire
Not even the ocean could quench our
Fire inside
We were rolling with the waves
And enjoying the ride
Dreaming of the day we wouldn’t have to hide
In a scarlet town
Decked out
In our leather and lace
She had starlight shining on her face
Didn’t feel the chill
Of the salty air
As she kissed me here and there
Paid no heed
To what anyone thought
Breaking all the rules that they’d been taught
She whispered my name
I couldn’t resist
And I followed her down to the
Fire inside
We were rolling with the waves
And enjoying the ride
Dreaming of the day we wouldn’t have to hide
In a scarlet town
A thud and shudder
The ship grew still
Pulled away from Danni with all my will
“We’re going down”
Someone said
“In a couple more hours we’ll all be dead”
Made for the boats
They wouldn’t let us in
The fine ladies said “we’ve no room for sin -
“Let them stay,
Let them drown,
Let the frigid depths take their demon
Fire inside
Let them roll with the waves
And curse the ride
Dreading the hell they’ll find on the other side
In a scarlet town”
What do you say
To that kind of hate?
The righteous ones had determined our fate
So Danni and I
Laid down in our bed
Spoke all the words needed to be said
Determined to die
As we had lived
No regrets, nothing to forgive
And when the cold dark
Sucked us down
I swear there was steam from the
Fire inside
We rolled with the waves
And enjoyed the ride
Arriving in the place we wouldn’t have to hide
From the fire inside
Eternally rolling with the waves
And enjoying the ride
Free at last to love on the other side
In a scarlet town
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8. |
Tanglewood Tree
03:55
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9. |
Newgrange
06:30
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Sun beating down, the breeze is whispering
Standing alone in the middle of a crowd
Touching cold stone the sparks fly through my soul
The lives the spirits welcoming me home
Spirals dance and make me dizzy
I don’t know where or when I am
Circling ‘round no beginning no end
Only the past and the future again
So many come and seem so amazed
That ages ago things meant more than today
The birth and the death and the birthing again
Simple truth redefined for me
Spirals dance and make me dizzy
I don’t know where or when I am
Circling ‘round no beginning no end
Only the past and the future again
The living is simple the loving divine
The wheel turns away then it comes back around
The light shines through for a moment in time
How can I return to my own world
I say how can I return to my own world
With what I have seen and what I know now
How can I make sense of the path that I chose
With Newgrange calling me home
Spirals dance and make me dizzy
I don’t know where or when I am
Circling ‘round no beginning no end
Only the past and the future
Only the past and the future
I know it’s only the past and the future
Circling ‘round
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10. |
Savior of the World
05:59
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I had a dream last night about the end of the world
Not sure what was going down but the human race was done
I was with my friends, we were saying goodbye and good luck
When in the distance we saw him there, on a stage, guitar in his hand
I thought that maybe some music would keep the people calm
And we could face the end hand in hand and singing a song
But then he turned his amplifier on, and tuned those steely strings
And with a pick of stone, he made sparks fly beneath his fingertips
And he played every note from the corners of his soul
And he sang every song like his last night on the earth
And he shone with a light that few could understand
I could not look away when he plugged in his guitar and started to…
As first, in the chaos, it was just another noise
But then, most amazing, one by one, the people heard
And they felt way down deep the magic in the sound
---
Some were afraid, seeing only lightning fly
A mad guitar god slinging fire and smoke all around
But then when the sound broke through to their hearts they were turned
And they joined all as one and their song saved the earth
And he played every note from the corners of his soul
And he sang every song like his last night on the earth
And he shone with a light that few could understand
I could not look away when he plugged in his guitar and started to…
Sound – light – words – sound
Love – peace – music all around
And he plays every note from the corners of his soul
And he sings every song like it’s his last night on the earth
And he shines with a light that few can understand
I cannot look away when he plugs in his guitar and starts to…
Play…
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11. |
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Cathy McManamon Chicago, Illinois
Cathy is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer in Chicago who occasionally performs solo, but more often in the Pegasus
Award-winning duo Random Fractions (with Jason Neerenberg. She is the former drummer for the filk rock band Toyboat.
Cathy is also a studio musician and arranger for Canticles Productions & Dreamflight Theatrical Gymnastics, a drum circle facilitator, and a guitar teacher.
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