1. |
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I built my cabin with my own hands-Cut down all the logs myself-Stood foundations in the land
I staked my claim above Butte Ridge-A fire tornado raced through there-And burned the covered bridge
Chorus 1:Strange amber hue, ember in trees/As the flames chase us to the sea
Paradise is burning-There’s nowhere for us to flee
Thirty years of toil and strife-More than half a life -Yet now I’ve lost my Paradise
Blood sun by day-Smoke chokes the night-And yet some will deny this drought’s
The root of all our plight
Chorus 2: Red tail hawk flies aflame through the night-Like a phoenix dissolving from sight
Paradise is burning -But we must keep our hope alive
Bridge:
Fear and desperation tinged by troubled respiration -The truth is suffocating cloaked by ashes in the light
Surreal supplication through refracted domination -Let’s take this warped perspective
And try to change the paradigm
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2. |
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There’s a nurse who lives next door
Her family sheltering in place
Before work she kneels and prays
For the human race
From the window by her door
She sees her daughter cry
Love in the time of COVID
She can’t kiss her kids goodnight
Her patients in the triage ward
All struggle to survive
Their throats are tight their lungs are sore
But she can’t tell them why
She’s works so hard while hoping
That they’ll all come through just fine
She’s helping us through COVID
So we can kiss our kids goodnight
There is a nurse who lives next door
Her family sheltering in place
When her shift is done she prays once more
For the human race
But from her kids she keeps a distance
So she can keep up the good fight
I sure hope that one day
She can kiss her kids goodnight
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3. |
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The smell of lavender and poppy
Sun and shadows on your legs
You start to rustle right beside me
As I glance down and see you wake
The way you stroke my brow in silence
Tells me more than words could ever say
A budding love that’s once more sprouting
As we wait out the looming plague
In the past we were reliant
On the distance we maintained
Locked in mutual defiance
That settled in, became ingrained
But now instead of feeling slighted
We’re unchained from all our past complaints
Resentment gone our love burns brighter
As we wait out the looming plague
And so I bring you morning coffee
Without a grimace on my face
I’m so glad that you are smiling
And that we’re in a better place
I hope you really never doubted
That the trust we have together comes with age
I hope our love becomes unbounded
Once we get past this looming plague
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4. |
Citadel
02:57
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You know what it’s like to be too young for having words
to understand just how it feels to be misused
Hold you down by bended knee, to choke you so you cannot breathe
All in plain sight to help tamp down the truth
You don’t have to reconcile in order to forgive
Your soul is like a citadel your heart is safe within
We’ll make sure that you’re respected, not oppressed and unprotected
We’ll stand with you ‘til hatred’s healed by love
You know what it’s like to feel entirely unseen
By those who should have held you in their heart
From rusted chains to muffled rage
They said you’re free yet you still feel caged
Held back by social mannacles of power
The hateful unapproving gazes come from every side
Just as harsh as smoke from burning crosses in your eyes
They think that you’re placated since you can’t get intubated
But their lies break us apart for all to see now
We see you
We hear you
We hold you
We comfort you
All of the inequities preserved through hateful past
Crumble just like statues of harsh emblems that can’t last
We raise you on your shoulders and we hold you by the hand
In the of love unveiled you lead us to the promised land
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5. |
Fly, Angel, Fly!
03:45
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Without fanfare at Alamo Square a man walks his pug each day
Painted ladies greet them there as the sun sends fog away
He sat down on my bench and with a smile both sad and wry
He cocked his eyebrow wondering if I could ever tell him why
Why oh why, did my heart’s desire fly?
My dream girl who danced harmony from strife
Why oh why did my desire fly?
The angel who helped choreograph my life
They would meet each Sunday at the swing dance gathering
In leather boots and punked out suit she was a sight to see
A heart shaped tattoo on her chest peaked out with soaring wings
But just what her heart was yearning for remained a mystery
Every Sunday in the park he and they held each other near
He’d see her once each week again for nearly 20 years
But one day when she didn’t show they formed a search party
Her bike was by the Golden Gate but she was never seen
I woke up and then I thought this song might be a dream
But one day I saw a shadow dancing solo on the beach
And in that very moment, I felt my heart soar free
Her shadow’s gone and she’s flown on into eternity
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6. |
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I’ve done things that I’m not proud of
But in the end that’s been a gift
My mistakes are in the open
And that’s helped me make a shift
To be more open to suggestion
And the things that others see
So I can be a better man
To my friends and family
Chorus: So we can be- Truly free
If we open up our hearts
We give ourselves some room to breathe
So we can be who we should be
And help lull fear inside us
through a deeper harmony
I bet I’m not just guessing
so don’t say it isn’t true
That the anger you are feeling
keeps my love from breaking through
Don’t stay mired in a fantasy
Of how our love should be
Because that’s keeping you from seeing
Our love’s true reality
So don’t put our love behind you
Or just put me on a shelf
We can grow in love together
When we let us be ourselves
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7. |
Crystal Pistol
03:41
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A plastic bag your only shield from rain
People walking by ignoring you
As you cough and shiver yet you don’t complain
Because you know there’s nothing you can do
Strange delusions deep inside your brain
Leave you haunted by dark specters and confused
They strapped you down inside a padded room
But you escaped and then you found your soul’s refuge
Now you’d like him right beside you but you’re alone again
Russian roulette with your silhouette no substitute for a lost friend
He bet the crystal’d drown out all his pain
And I guess that’s why he’d never outlast you
For you know that sadness comes back ‘round again
Just like the furtive shadow in the moon
No knight in shining armor
Could survive your game for two
Cinderella’s crystal slipper
Nothing like your silver spoon
No tourniquet can bloat your closed up veins
To quiet the voices screaming in your head
If the rusted needle can’t find its way in
You’ll have to find another way instead
You sense your bitter tenure here might end
Just like it may have ended for your friend
But serenity comes strangely into view
When you think this is the last thing you might do
Tempting fate this way’s the only time you feel OK
Even if these words might end up being the last ones that you say
That crystal pistols loaded up with ice instead of lead
but nonetheless as deadly and cocked up against your head
I guess it’s not too early-For things to end too soon
At the Crystal Pistol Hotel at this bus stop with a view
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8. |
Flame Flower
02:36
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Flame Flower
Do you want someone to hold you
Even when you cry?
Do you want someone to guide you
When your passion blurs your sight
The love that can transpire
Even when we cry
Transfigures all desire
So its flames blot out the light
The memory of what we had
Appears still quite ideal
The smoke upon the hills have cast
A shadow on what's real (chorus)
We shared a smoldering flower
Whose flames light up the night
The pattern in the cinders
The memory of your eyes
Combustible power
Re-meet and reignight
How can we catch a fire
If you can't love your own light (chorus)
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Guitar Poet Portland, Oregon
Brian Gore is an instrumental guitarist and singer songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. He is also founder of "International Guitar Night.
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