All This Dust
Lived my life inside a fuse box
Put my doubts up on the stage
Stored our secrets in the basement
A mason jar of jealousy and rage

All this dust, it will destroy you
The photographs they make it hard for you to breathe
Throw your pennies to the mice and
Lock the door tight when you leave

I’ve been thinking you should settle down
Send a postcard when you do
I’ll let the angels know you’ll be around
Just in case they manage to get through
And they ask for you

Your piano is on fire, dear
It’s always one last cigarette
Rest a spell and sit for me here
And I will trace your silhouette

The moment to decide is drawing nearer
Sometime between this stoplight and the next one
Happiness lives in your rearview mirror
But you’re blinded by the setting sun

An Apology
Ed wasn’t like the other boys
So someone said,
“I’ll bet he goes for boys” and we agreed
We made jokes and I made friends
With all the guys who’d never speak to me

A family moved in up the street
In English they chose not to speak
We couldn’t grasp that ideology
So we threw eggs and I threw up
The next best thing to an apology

But somehow
We turned out all right
For awhile they had to wonder
If our fear would pull us under

When I was eight I tempted fate
A big mistake
I told a girl she meant the world to me
I broke down when she broke up
And spent the rest of recess in a tree

I wasn’t always thin like this
A TV lovin’ kid
I’d walk to class while insults followed me
They grew quiet as I grew up
But when will I get my apology?

Busride
I’ve been awake for 27 years
You’ve been asleep for just as long
And that’s just about to change

I’m finally drifting off just as
You start to stir
But don’t you think it’s strange?
I know you’ve gotta get going, but you
See this is the only moment
Where our lives overlap

Let’s take a minute and lie here
And remember it when you
Come home to find me
Still sleeping
But you shouldn’t wake me up
I’ll drift away and dream that you continued to stay
There by my side
Some days that might just be
The extent to which this relationship exists
While I’m inside
You’re out there on your busride

Next time we speak you’ll be in another city
Just call me when you
Just call me when you
Just call me when you get there, baby

Chance At Greatness
Throw away your chance at greatness
Throw it all away and dare to be missed
Face the grind
And do normal things that must be done and feel fine
To make some space for a shining face like mine

Cuz I haven’t got the nerve
To fade in and smooth the curve
Afraid you’ll forget my face and meaningless name
Of losing identity
Fear of a life where every day is the same
But without people like you
There’s no use for people afraid like me

Settle for second, settle for second
That’s the balance of things
That’s the balance of things
That’s the balance of things

No use for people
There’s no use for people
There’s no use for people
There’s no use for people afraid like me

Firenze
Three A.M., through the streets of Florence
A moped ride
She drives too fast, but I hang on tight because I
I’d never felt peril bear such bliss
Forever been waiting for my film-style kiss
And this could lead to that moment

This is the only place on Earth
Where every day feels as long as it’s worth

Three months pass and I’m at the station
And I’m on board
She says she’d come with if it was something she could afford
Slowly the train, it pulls away
Again like a movie, I’m tempted to stay
As she runs along side it

The skies they turn like pages
The trains don’t run on time
The stone reveals the ages
And somewhere love got left behind

I promised myself I would return
The only question’s when
Maybe on tour or with my bride
Or back to school again
Cuz nothing reminds you just how much
You’ve left to learn
Like a place where your right to be understood
Must be well earned
And mine’s Firenze

The skies they turn like pages
The trains don’t run on time
The stone survived the ages
And somewhere love got left behind

Heads Hurt Better
Locked inside that room of yours
Sounds as though your feet don’t touch the floor
We’re stuck staring at your door
For three dark days and four bright nights

But then we haven’t had enough time
To figure this one friend to friend
As the tempers and temperatures rise
We do damage time won’t mend

Ideals get the best of me
You’re left with the worst
Vices meant for testing me
Somehow they got to you first

Heads hurt better when drowned this way
But when do monkeys become demons?
And all that mattered dissolved one day
You stop breathing and she starts screaming

But you never spent enough time
Making sure she understood
That without her vigilant eye
All that drowning does no good

Ideals get the best of you
She’s left with the worst
Vices meant for testing you
Somehow they got to her first

What would it take to bring you home?
The lions wait for you at home
You swore you couldn’t stay with us at home
What would it take to bring you home?

Impostors
Changing the station
Does nothing
To make you feel any less
A guilty part of the rest of the world

Turning the channel
Does nothing
To separate you
From the voices that spew
But don’t speak for us

Feels like you’re bound
Feels like they speak for you
Doing things in your name
Things you would never do

When thoughts swim like these
Tell me how anyone
With living to do
Is supposed to get any done

Throwing your hands up
Does something
To make you feel better
After skipping that letter you’d meant to write
Aiming at neighbors
Does something
To separate you from the guilt that you didn’t do
All you could

Just A Star
Like your favorite song
That fades out as you drive
Away from the nearest town
It’s heartbreaking
And like advice
From almost anyone
Who gets it right the first time
It’s hard taking

But here it is
And there you are
It’s the sun
But you’d swear
It’s just a star
And so it is
If you believe it is

Just because
You didn’t work for it
That doesn’t mean
It’s not worth keeping
Tonight’s the perfect night
To see what else you might’ve had
The sky is clear and full of common lights
While the earth lies sleeping

Microphone Song
So, here I sit
Pen hangs forever an inch above the page
Feels just like schoolwork
Thought I’d be through with all that by this age
Caffeinated ideas race to and fro I can’t catch even one
Two hours to go
Someone remind me that this should be fun

I’m tired of trying
To express what’s not there
Forming opinions worthy to share
I’ve got things I’m thinking but why would you care?
Who am I?

Cuz on the ki-ki-kinda day like today
When I-I-I’ve got nothing to say
I feel that my-my-my words get in the way
Of what the fi-fi-five of them are trying to play
So please do-do-don’t pay attention to me
Cuz I’m go-go-goin’ broke lyrically
And if a po-po-poet’s what I wanted to be
A micropho-pho-phone’s not something I’d need
C’mon!

Still here I sit
Minutes to go and I’m losing my cool
I start to resent
All those of you who swear by the rule
That great rock n roll isn’t just something you pick up and play
But great rock n roll should always have something of value to say

Money Making Money
Raised being told that he
Could do anything he wanted to
He wondered if that still were true
His son was three
His house was two
His wife kept quiet cuz she knew
Much better than that

He’s making money making money for a living
And it brings him down
She thinks it’s funny
She says, “Honey, count your blessings”
And it brings him down
When he was young
He thought that someday he’d be comfy
Now it brings him down

The things that he regrets not doing
Outnumber memories of the things that he did
No time to worry ‘bout that now
He’s busy cushioning his kid
To protect him from that

Rescue By Christmas
In a boy’s life
All the things going wrong
Momentarily felt alright
With Christmas in the air
And school nowhere in sight
We’d set everything aside for once
Nobody dared to fight
Mom loved dad and dad loved back
The gifts made that clear that night

I’ve been countin’ on
That rescue by Christmas
That time every year
Was it just me or was everyone
Glowin’ like no one was glowin’ all year?

Our holiday records play loud enough
Sometimes it’s tough to talk
If you need me
I’ll be out shovelin’ the walk
We keep the Christmas lights bright enough
Sometimes it’s tough to see
The faces that we force
As we gather around the tree

I’m still waitin’ on
That magic I’m missing
Though Christmas draws near
The snow’s out, the tree’s on, the family’s here
But the feeling’s more elusive
With each passing year

I wouldn’t trade it for anything

Shadowcat
Jesus talks in red
To separate the things He said
Every night I read
And memorized the famous parts
Just before I’d go to bed

All the rest appeared in black
As the authors recalled
The best they could while looking back
So careful not to confuse
The difference between the two
Don’t speak for Him
He won’t speak for you

You can try, but you won’t pin this on me
You were broken before we came to be
Don’t you dare claim to know what He wants for you

You stopped by to talk
Suggesting that we take a walk
Then you delivered the news
The reasons that you gave amazed
I wished they’d heard the quotes you’d used

After all the time we spent
Dodging pressure to bend
How could this be heaven sent?
And the church we passed by
For three years I tried
But couldn’t bear to set foot inside

Ten years on
I think the anger’s finally gone
Since then I’ve learned
To separate the things He said
From all the phrases you have turned

Now it’s clear that we just weren’t meant to be
But not for reasons you gave me

Slow Down Chicago
I’d like to ask this town to slow down
Selfish, I know
But I think it’s come to this.
I’m losing my breath and I’d take a break
If I thought I could
But the things I’ve been doing
To keep this town moving
Would surely be missed

From the corner of State and Madison, I cried,
“Chicago Slow Down”
A few folks glanced over
But none broke their stride
That’s when I found

This town it breathes on its own
With or without me
The skyline wakes up whether or not I get out of bed
El trains, they rumble along
And headlines will happen with no help from me
And when I can’t keep it all up
I’ll sing, “La, la, la, la”

It kills me to ask a thing of this town
Not mine alone
A burden I’d hate to be
I’m losing my step
And as I fall back
My life is living itself
But the seeds I’ve been sowin’
Could keep this town goin’
If only she’d wait for me

From the 95th floor, I looked out and I prayed,
“Chicago Slow Down”
But the teeming streets shrugged off
the plea that I had made
That’s when I found

Sympathetic Vibrations
Ah, the power of suggestion
It’s more convincing than a kiss
Everybody wants to feel this way
So when you finally do
It doesn’t matter
Where it’s all coming from

You’d rather not I ask the question
Who needs life when you’ve got love like this?
Now it’s been this long, he understands
That it’s easier to let it be than
Consider shaking it up

Sympathetic vibrations are what he feels for you
Heard you call it love
And we all wish that were true.
The passion you possess seems to be enough
To cover his as well as yours
But he needs you near to
Remind him why he needs you at all

When we’re out, your smiles are matching
No one doubts the things you share
But clearly this was your idea
From the first date to the ring you wear
Now it’s been this long, he understands
That it’s easier to let it be than
Consider shaking it up.

The Things You Don’t See
Something was different
When you woke up today
Feelings had changed
But exactly how you couldn’t say
You left the house whistling
The tune played by your alarm
And tapped out a backbeat
On the fore of your arm

You walked the same way every day, but today
Your footsteps become dances
You talk the same way every day, but today
Your phrases become stanzas
You’ve driven this way every day, but today
Your car rolls the road like a drum
You’ve given away your love
Now she plays on your heartstrings
And they hum

The moment it happens is easy to miss
I promise the changes they won’t be
It’s amazing a quiet revelation like this
Allows you to hear all the things you don’t see
But now you’ve felt it too
There’s no going back
It’s a beautiful thing
A beautiful thing
Now but It’s no wonder you
Would do what you can
To capture the sound
Of the world in full swing