listen

One Whole Day

 listen

Count To Ten

 listen

North

 listen

 listen

Buster in the Back Yard

Four Blocks Over

Night After Night

I'm on the East Side

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Waitin' On Time
John Sonntag

Sweat drips down a bottle of beer
Old man pulls the shade down low
After sirens sweep under his window
Chasing trouble
He stares at her picture next to his favorite chair
Grabs the news, lights a smoke and drinks his beer
The old man turns the page
The old man turns the page

Waitin' on time
Waitin' on time

At the bus stop there's a very drunk man
Doin' his mid day twist and shout
He's lost his shirt and lost his mind
Dancing in the hot sun
But he's keeping the beat
Slapping it out on the bus stop sign
He's keeping his feet under his metro glide
The buses pass him by
The buses pass him by

Waitin' on time
Waitin' on time

Keeping a kiss
A wish in a well
Tempting a turn
Challenging a chance
Last in line
First to fear
Holding on hope
Longing for love
Longing for love

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- 2 -

One Whole Day
Rich Grula

I can't see you
I know it's wrong but you know why
I can't call you
We'd start to talk and I'd start to lie
I've got someone
Yea she hates me now she pulls away
But she's someone
You know when I need her most she's always stayed

Driving out of town
In that august rain
We parked in the field
And we stayed one whole day
Left there feeling bad
Came back feeling worse
There's a hole in my heart
And it won't close

I've got someone
Yea she hates me now
'cause I drink too much
She knows something
Still I fall asleep and I feel her touch
I can't see you
I know it's wrong and I know why
I can't call you
We'd start to talk and I hate this lie

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- 3 -

Chasing Stars
Bob Harris/John Sonntag

I prefer to travel in silence
I prefer the night
I fought temptation from a
Blond and blue smile lit up by billboard lights

I have ventured in all directions
Skipped like a child to the sea
Resurrected from the debts of the earth
That tried to capture me.

I have tried reflection
I have chased stars
Redefining my direction
I've traveled down those roads before
Just standing still
Chasing stars

The road shows no surrender
Knows no loyalty.
Blind to my endeavor
Fulfilling my privacy

Not like those who look to wander
Wonder and destitute
They've fallen under the gravity
Of an innocent pursuit

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- 4 -

Count To Ten
John Sonntag

Close your eyes and count to ten
Slow enough to kiss again
I'm gonna chase your blues far from you
Far from this new made bed

Raise your hands up to the rain
The shower will cleanse your pain
I'm gonna hold you tight hold you long
Till you find what's lost again

Oh baby

Darkness played you for a fool
Empty faces let you down
Twisting, tumbling, re-inventing
Somehow your feet found
The ground

Lay down in the trusting sun
No lies hide in anyone
I'm gonna lay my life down next to you
We'll shine like no love has done

Oh baby

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- 5 -

Hey Lou
John Sonntag

I'm reaching inside my pocket
Digging in emptiness
I said Lou, I don't know how long I can last
I've taken that Robert Frost road
You know the one not taken
And the difference is I got lost

Can you tell me
Do guardian angels ever drop their guard
Maybe that's how bad luck draws
How come innocence is always lost
Hey Lou how do I get through
These days of doubt

I hear the thunders' warning
I storm for cover
I said Lou I don't know where I belong
Gone is the shelter of family
And those lessons don't apply
How do I explain

Do you think Jesus feels I believe
Are the laws truly ours
Why does peace cost so many lives
Hey Lou how do I get through
These days of doubt

Do guardian angels ever drop their guard
Maybe that's how bad luck draws
When will love ever wake us up
Hey Lou how do I get through
These days

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- 6 -

North
Rich Grula/John Sonntag

Flat black midnight
Pull into a Quick Stop
Trucks roll past from Deming
Boots scrape the black top
There's a bulge inside my pocket
Nothing in my eyes
The night clerk with her hair cut short
Pulls up with surprise
Her crooked mouth is tremblin'
Half locked in a smile
For a second I think she's someone
I ain't seen in a while

She got me turned around
And I stopped
Turned around
She got me turned around
Just when I thought
I turned myself around

We both lived in Moab near the Stuntman's Hall of Fame
Her dad hated my dad but to us they seemed the same
Sleepin' out in her uncle's car suspension shot to hell
When I left I headed south for good but this time I can't tell

She got me turned around
And I stopped
Turned around
She got me turned around
Just when I thought
I turned myself around

Cloud burst on route 25
My wipers still don't work
There's a tall girl with a black eye and her thumb out
Holds a sign that just reads "NORTH"

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- 7 -

Full Moon in Her Eyes
Rich Grula/John Sonntag

It's been fifty miles since we last spoke
She hangs her head out the window and stares down that road
We've run out of radio stations
Run out of reasons for staying
All we've got left is a long drive home

Full moon in her eyes
There's a full moon in her eyes

She's awfully quiet now but she'd like to explode
Tell me all my troubles like I don't already know
This love didn't blow up it just fell apart
Nothing left to fix nothing to do but start up
Somewhere else and I know she's already gone

Full moon in her eyes
There's a full moon in her eyes

I've seen that look before
Once when she disappeared behind my bathroom door
Had her sights on something
But this time it's not me
This time it's not me

Nothing to explain that would make it worse
The only question is who pulls the trigger first
There's two things I remember most
Once when she scratched my hand when we first met
How the light of tonight is framing her face right now
Right now

Full moon in her eyes
There's a full moon in her eyes

I'm a fool
I'm a fool
I'm a fool in her eyes

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- 8 -

Black Suit
John Sonntag

Bummin' 'round with my good friend Lou
Doin' the avenue like we do
Taking it slow. sayin' hello
'Cause everybody knows Lou

Leaning in he carefully explains
Worried eyes tell of a troubling pain
Says he's on the way out
I'd better buy a black suit

So get one fine with a thin lapel
Tailored so no one can tell
How hard it is to move on
Spit shined shoes. A perfect crease
Starched white shirt can make you believe
You're strong enough to wear a black suit

Life stood still in that moment of jest
Though we were laughing, I ached in my chest
Is it a curse or good fortune
To live as long as some folks do

The cold is too cold the heat is too hot
Joints creek, eyes squint, muscles tied in knots
The miracle drugs have too many warnings to trust
Oh no no

Life's gonna bruise even take as we pursue
Our daily existence 'tween the sun and the moon
For love or for loss,
for Lou
I should have a black suit

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- 9 -

Buster in the Back Yard
John Sonntag

Hear the neighbors wage war
With cutting and punching words
Another 25 hour fight
I've quit keeping score
The jets fly low
And the bus over heats
I survived a black and blue day
My victory is sweet

And you with your white picket fenced in life
You've got Buster in the backyard
You where the sun rains in your garden
Where your feet are firmly planted on the ground

And the night falls down
With disappointed lovers
Under my window
The lies are discovered
And the street washes in its hip-hop, salsa and rock
Show me yours, I'll show you mine
It ceases to stop

Didn't we feel invincible
Didn't we feel invincible
Hey didn't we
You and me

Now I've been writing songs
That other folks are playing
They ask if I'm happy
I'm day to dayin'
I watch them scratch and crawl
Up the jaded hill
I'm in the front row I'm standing still

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- 10 -

Four Blocks Over
Don Brody

All of your true feelings
Were buried like a treasure chest
Now you want to dig 'em up to prove to me you did your best
I always ignored you, now I avoid you
It's not like I haven't got eyes
I'm sure all of this is still some how my fault
So why don't I apologize

You're four blocks over and four blocks down
Sometimes this is a pretty small town
You're not my enemy I'm not your friend
But all the father we got in the end was
Four blocks over and four blocks down
Four blocks over and four blocks down

Green turned yellow and then turned red
Fingers pointed back and forth
We both struggled and we both stumbled
We both made the masks we wore
You talked out of turn and your fingers got burned
It's not like I haven't got ears
You said some things you can never take back
I wanted you to disappear

All your choices were your own
And still you blame someone else
I held you down I held you back
You'll do fine without my help
These are all your questions
You must answer them yourself

Guess I'll see you around
See you around

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- 11 -

Night After Night
John Sonntag

No longer will I hold you
No longer will I hold you safe
Night after
Night after night

No longer will I watch you
No longer will I watch you sleep
Night after
Night after night

No longer will I dream
No longer will I dream
Night after
Night after
Night after night

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- 12 -

I'm on the East Side
John Sonntag

Boys and girls
Wear their black
To stand out in the night time
Pierce their face
Wear combat boots
With tattooed attitudes
Scene to be seen
Seen to be seen

These lonely streets
Beat up streets
Lined with motorcycles
Gray buildings lean
One reaching trees
Reaching to get above them
Space is suspicious
Light is suspicious

I'm on the east side

Boys and girls
With shifting minds
After disappointment
Poets pissed off
Telling me
What I should be thinking
It's intoxicating
Oh yea yea

I'm on the east side

I'm so far away from home
Alone I set out
Among the displaced searchers and dreamers
Here I have no doubt

I'm on the east side

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 listen

 listen

 listen

Statue of Liberty

Love Forever Reaching

Daddy Turned Grey

 listen

 listen

Homecoming

That's What I Would Say

Leave It All Behind

 

##########

One More Midnight
John Sonntag

One more midnight
How I wish that clock wind down
Count another second
While old friends get drunk down town

One more midnight
Lovers off to sleep
Counting their kisses
From their heads down to their feet

Tick tock tick tock
Lonely light on the block
I think I'm gonna stay in
Witness a new day begin
Tick tock tick tock
Helpless heart in a knot
I'll wait for the light
What's one more midnight

One more midnight
Now my TV's turned to snow
Maybe call and get advice
From the guru
On talk radio

One more midnight
Now I'm pacing the floor
Start a letter and argue,
Yea I'm arguing what for

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- 2 -

Since My Baby's Gone Away
John Sonntag

Night fades away slowly as the day makes its break
Feelin a little unholy like a man on the take
Yea I wasted another night
Let the hours slip away clean
Let this castle of comfort
Make a prisoner out of me
One day I'm gonna get it right
One day I'm gonna get it right

Daydreams race to nightmares as the radio plays on>
Heart pounds like thunder when I hear those old songs
I swim in yesterday
Feel the mist all around
But I find it's just my tears
Splashin' on the ground
One day I'm gonna get it right
One day I'm gonna get it right

Since my baby's gone away

Today's now history I've seen it on TV
The pictures and commentary don't register with me
I'm feelin' rather numb
Sight and sound all a mess
When my faculties return to me is anybody's guess
One day I'm gonna get it right
One day I'm gonna get it right

Since my baby's gone away

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- 3 -

All I Want To Do Is Dance
John Sonntag

Well I'm not suppose to feel this way
When you catch me staring at you
And I'm not the kind that turns away hiding
Escaping smiles from view
No I don't want to analyze it
?cause there ain't nothing here to hide
But for a moment, yea, well I lost control
I won't let it happen again

All I want to do is dance
Take you in my arms and sway
All I want to do is dance baby
Take me in your arms
Steal my heart away

For far too many times I've stood
Near the edge preparing to fly
And I've learned a lesson -- a hard one or two
My heart couldn't take another lie
So instead I'll keep my distance
Be an admiring fool
And I'll let tonight and this moment pass
Let you get away

All I want to do is dance...

I'll admit you're the first one in quite some time
That could possibly break my spell
It's the way you move and the dance in your eyes
What could happen's just too early to tell
I'm having trouble keeping my guard up
But I'm stubborn just the same
It's when you wink your eye my defenses fall
And you hold the key to my hear
Oh baby turn the key to my heart

All I want to do is dance...

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- 4 -

Statue of Liberty
Don Brody/John Sonntag

There I was crawling back under the river
Streets opened empty and wide
Closed and locked up tight and deserted
Dark as the fifth of July

Out on my own I'm the one pushing
Pushing me desperately here
Grabbing the light that blast through the window
Reasons are perfectly clear

I live next to the Statue of Liberty

Press through the faces
We meet in the darkness
Reach for the voices above
Sinning with passion
Challenging fashion
Shadows and drifting applause

I live next to the Statue of Liberty

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- 5 -

Love Forever Reaching
Rich Grula/John Sonntag

Is this where they leave it all
Frozen by the words "we will see"
He rolls a question in his hands
She stares and makes a silent stand
Love forever reaching
Love forever reaching

All too many words were said
Words brought emptiness to bed
Words always tumblin' from their mouths
Words of frustration of doubt
Love forever reaching
Lover forever reaching

Letters sent with stamps upside down
Hanging up before an answer
Flowers on a work desk dying

Is this where they leave it all
This is where they leave it all
Love forever reaching
Love forever reaching

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- 6 -

Daddy Turned Grey
John Sonntag

All I'm asking is who knows the name
of the man who came to town and sold us out
Like a pied piper man tell me what's it all about
To take a good town down

Who remembers his proposition
The fine graphics and forecast
Blinded by cash man believed it was gonna last
I witness my old man deceived

Chorus:
Daddy turned grey when they locked up the gates
and my town turned grey over night
daddy turned grey when they shut off the last light
and my town turned grey over night

I was young when the mills where open
Downtown streets where like new york city
Who'd he call on and where's the committee
I've got the odds that they're doing well

Chorus
Bridge

Promised to carry on
Carry on they did
Carried everything right out of town
Shut it down and packed it up tight
Sent everybody home

You know the word was if you couldn't find a job here
You ain't gonna find nothin' anywhere
Now I visit my town that's on welfare
See my old man and just hold him tight

Chorus

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- 7 -

New Paradise
Rich Grula/John Sonntag

I've tapped off the tank baby time to say good-bye
You and me we had it all here but the well has run dry
I know these empty rooms hold a piece of us
You gotta get up off the floor
Throw those keys out the wind let's get on the road
It ain't our home anymore

I will drive the first thousand
You can drive when you like
I know we're gonna make it
Move to new paradise

You should see the way it's laid out - every sidewalk's brand new
And the way they've got the street lamps
They only shine on me and you
I know you'll love the matchbox cottage look
Every kitchen off to the right
Squeeze me a little tighter
We've past our old towns last traffic light

I will drive the first thousand
You can drive when you like
I know we're gonna make it
Move to new paradise
I will sleep a few hours
Baby sleep as long as you like
Together we will make it
Moving to knew paradise

A desert rain-washes us
Windows down the air is clear
The long road stretches endless
The long road stretch is clear

The sun is coming up feelin' better every mile
And I've notice that frown baby has turned into one big beautiful smile
Sure there ain't much here but all that'll change
We're just the first ones to get it right
Squeeze me a little tighter
We've past out new towns first traffic light

I will drive the first thousand...

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- 8 -

Hiding Behind Headlights
Rich Grula/John Sonntag

Truckers lie dreamin' on the side of the road
Rigs light up like Christmas trees
Ain't seen no map on this drive
Don't think it matters much to me

Hiding behind headlights
I'm sittin' low
My hand floatin' out the window
One day I'll go home

My house is just one long list
More to do
And more to do after that
Car alarms, telephone calls
Windows down, stereos on

Out here
I stretch 'cross my hood
Watch a fallin' star disappear
Somewhere that star made a splash
Somewhere far away from here

Hiding behind headlights
I'm sittin' low
My hand floatin' out the window
One day I'll go home

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- 9 -

Homecoming
Margo Hennebach/John Sonntag

A man picks up a telephone
Dials it slowly
The number he's ringin'
He's held so close
he's crazy with hope
Faith in his heart
That the woman he's calling
Might grant a fresh start

And he says, did you really believe
That I fell off the face of the earth
I know how it works now
And I want to come home

She doesn't reply
Like letters sent back
There's more than one reason
For the trusting she lacks
And hearing her rage
Her deliberate words
Finally reach him as the truth is heard

And she's says did you really believe
That it's going to be so easy
To call me out of nowhere
And expect to come home

Solo:

Phone lines fall silent
Now they're smiling
The pieces of the broken frame
Are redefining
And the night cries out
As if to influence
Their understanding and their deliverance

Did you really believe
That I fell of the face of the earth
I know how it works now and it's good to be home

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- 10 -

That's What I Would Say
John Sonntag

Here I am
And there you are
Standing on the wrong side of the room
And the band plays
The band plays on
Shadows take their places on the wall

What's your name
That's a fine name
Would you take a dare tonight
I want to take your hand
Lead you across this floor right into paradise
That's what I would say
That's what I would say

If I could just remember that chains have a weak link
I'm much stronger than that
War's not for lovers. Arguments are for lawyers
Disappointments just part of the rules
And light stays green for so long
I must stop remembering that
And if I'd just reach deep into my pocket
I know I'd fine the key
Then I would, then I could

What's your name
That's a fine name
Would you take a dare tonight
I want to take your hand
Lead you across this floor right into paradise
That's what I would say
That's what I would say

Here I am
There you are
Standing on the wrong side of the room

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- 11 -

Leave It All Behind
John Sonntag

What can I tell you that you don't already know
About a girl I loved
She decided to go
I guess she has that piece of me that I want back
The innocence that fumbled
Heartbeat that stumble
Maybe I should leave it all behind

How do I explain all the waiting in vein
Nights becoming strange like the age on my face
I guess the letters were nothing more than marking time
Like winter pushed be spring
It's a natural thing
Maybe I should leave it all behind

Leave behind
Like that old oak tree I climbed
In the woods where I grew
Leave behind
That beaten path I walked alone on the way home from school

So why do I account for all the nights that are lost
Secrets slip through shadows before my alarm goes off
I guess its in darkness you feel things most
Your life turning the bend
Losing love and a friend
When you leave it all behind

Leave behind
Like that old oak tree I climbed
In the woods where I grew
Leave behind
That beaten path I walked alone on the way home from school

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