beware, a cocoon can turn into a coffin
safety betrays, it ain’t always your friend
besides what is life if it’s not lived often
be not afraid to turn into the wind
 
i look at this life through a prism of lenses
a screen door in the wind swinging wild on its hinges
it slams then expands to show new scenery
i’ve been transformed by love’s alchemy
It swims in the tears of my proud father’s eyes
roams the meadows of spain, sings the sheep lullabies
cloaked in the coat of a camouflaged king
awakened a life that lived only in dreams
 
it even exists in a pyramid scheme
and my woman who waits by the oasis spring 
rises like steam from the fresh blood of war
laid under the shade of an old sycamore
it’s the legend that leads you to treasures untold
pours lead in a mold, expects no less than gold
pushes the sun on its course in the sky
wooshes like wind, never born nor will die
 
beware, a cocoon can turn into a coffin
be not afraid to turn into the wind

one drop of water and the lake still shakes
stomping my boots but the mud's still caked
i gotta find a way to let this go
a pile of bricks sticking to my chest
weighing me down they will not decongest
i tried to kill this ache but still it grows
 
how do i breathe now there's no air in my lungs
how do i climb down this ladder's out of rungs
how do i slow down when all i ever did was
all i ever did was run
 
should i be drinking now, well probably not
order a whiskey, cause it's worth a shot
maybe i'll drown this fear before it drowns me
trouble with worry is it won't get gone
cause you can never put your finger on
something you feel but you can not see

one drop of water and the lake still shakes

*co-written with Veronica May (music)
​
i ran my sweaty palms through messy tangled hair
i was a nervous schoolgirl at the science fair
i smiled hard with extra teeth so i could hide the way
the lump in my throat despised this pile of paper mache
 
the project baffled me, worked hard as i projected
tinkered with chemistry, results were unexpected
i felt fear in safety goggles, couldn’t calculate the quote
maybe too much vinegar, maybe too much baking soda
 
my volcano
now she's holding her breath, she's swallowing her pride
my volcano
is a mountain of words that just got tongue-tied
my volcano
she's glorious, she's dangerous, she's dormant and she's still
my volcano
if you wait ten thousand years, she might just tell you how she feels
 
i press my legs to chest, my knees cradle my ear
i'm an anxious woman, stretching my neck toward mt. ranier
i whisper soft with extra air so she can hear me say
i feel you bubbling underneath, i feel it every day
 
i am no longer shocked by the lack of an eruption
one day i will know, but for now there's no relief in self-destruction
for birds are nesting in her nooks, and humans hike her trails i feel kinship with a mountain that chooses not to melt

DRUM VERSION HERE

around five in the morning the mist masked the moon
just a few more hours, we'll be in oregon soon
we drove through the night, laughing all the way
while the skyscraper trees held the sun at bay
 
here comes the new day
here comes the sunrise
our cheeks hurt from smiling
good tears fill our eyes
here comes the new day
here comes the sunrise
the road is so familiar
but it feels like a surprise
welcome the new day
here comes the new day
 
around seven in the morning the light swallowed up the dark
it won't be long now til we put this car in park
the pastels of the morning allow the night to just let go
honoring past tales without mourning
they only want to say hello

*co-written with Veronica May
 
the echo of the past, it lingers in my ear
the rumble of the future, never here but ever near
it's ok to look back it's ok to look on
like the setting of suns and the breaking of dawns
 
but space can make you close
close can make you far
the place you're missing most
is right here where you are
 
the voices of the past, they speak but don't say much
the fingers of the future, reaching out without a touch
it's ok to react it’s ok to stay calm
like the flash of the sun on the horizon

i find myself crossing a pair of my fingers
could it be a wish or a lie
is it oncoming peace or despair that lingers
in each breath of a chest-heaving sigh
the tremors that shake me after the quake
break me down cause they all signify
that last little shift in a continent drift
the moment the end just passes you by
 
why does the whiplash hurt more than the impact?
the ache in your head makes you realize the glass cracked
life flashed through your eyes, but you're alive, still
if the crash doesn't get you the whiplash will
 
the sight of your nose throws me back in my chair
i only knew noses could smell
jumped geronimo style from way up in the air
it might have been brave, but i'm still scared as hell
the parachute pull has rattled my skull
i fumble for ways to propel
will gravity greet the ground with my feet
it usually does, but you never can tell

Verse: Cm G# D# A#
Chorus: D# G# // Cm A# G# G#m D# G# D# (A#)

darling love was never the question
i have more than enough and so do you
darling love is the only answer
when people ask us how can you
 
tolerate hanging around this pain

don't you hate when the wind blows
i will wait with you and catch the rain
hold out our hands and see what else can grow
 
darling leaving is out of the question
i'll do my grieving right here with you
let them whisper let them have their opinion
just let em talk when they ask us how can you

​there’s a shroud of silence
that sends us off to sleep
there’s a cloud so dense
filled with words we dare not speak
tongues are tied, i can’t explain
if mine is biting yours
guess we refrain from the rain
cause when it pains it pours
 
there’s a shred of sunlight
that wakes us in the morn
there’s a miracle of life
like a baby being born
voices blend i can’t explain
which notes are yours or mine
guess the lights is why we fight
cause when we sing it shines
 
there’s a shrug of shoulders
that moves us up the road
there’s a hug of wases and weres
and a kiss from the unkown
fingers crossed, i can’t explain
if it’s a wish or command
guess it’s best to give it rest
cause when you trust it lands

​my love, once a chameleon green
changed shapes, fought hard not to be seen
shrank into a shallow shamrock dream
seeking out a four leaf clover
 
my love, once a jazzy blue
learned songs and scales it never knew
it sought the sky but stuck like glue
to an uncertain ocean lover
 
i've taken to the color wheel
to repaint the walls of how i feel
my canvas is a heart that needs to heal
but aren't all works in progress works of art still
 
my love, now a honey gold
smacks of sweetness somehow subtly bold
rises sunny to thaw out the cold
setting with a gentle hover
 
my love, now a crimson red
bleeds deeper than it's ever bled
as plump as kissed lips, freshly wed
fills to the top and spills right over

Various Voicings of Bm A G

we built a freight train, it carried cargo
we set the train out to sea if it would float
we had a false hope
we had so far to go
if only trains had buoys
 
we should have built a boat, we should have let it sail
instead we built a train and let the train derail
 
we built a strong ship upon a railroad
sang sailor songs and dreamed of moving in one lane
we had a true love, we called it music
the anchor dropped, there was no steam
 
we should have built a train, we had a thousand tries
instead we built a boat and let the boat capsize
 
i'll dock my boat out in calmer waters
close enough to see land and i'll look for you
your locomotive will pass along the harbor
just close enough to squeeze my hand as you fly through
 
i'm going to build a boat, i'm going to hoist the mast
you're going to build a train, you're going to hear my name
a voice from the past
 
we're going to learn and grow, we're going to have some fun
go our separate ways and maybe meet some day
out by the setting sun