CAN WE ALL COME TOGETHER? (oh my soul)

when will the change come?
when will we learn to live together?
after all of this pains done
is there common ground where we could gather?

in the midst of our differences
is there a way to shine a light?

can we all come together?
oh my soul
cries out for something better
a dream that won't be shattered
is there hope for the future?
oh my soul
a truth that we could carry
something extraordinary

when will the day come?
we we can learn from one another
after all of the tears dry
father, mother, sister, brother

in the midst of our differences
is there a way to shine a light?

can we all come together?
oh my soul
cries out for something better
a dream that won't be shattered
is there hope for the future?
oh my soul
a truth that we could carry
something extraordinary

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

the long days night

pray me not to die
i can't stop this feeling
won't somebody tell me?
before i fade to grey

go ahead and watch me cry
but don't dry my tears now
'cause maybe they heal me
as they run down my face

(chorus)
and the long days night goes on too long
where the darkness hides it's bitter face
the pain goes on and on and on
and i'm feeling somehow out of place
the time keeps passing by unseen
the clock is but a shadow there
if you still don't know just what i mean
can you mean the words you say you swear?

it's time to walk away
but what is the meaning?
no i really can't hear you
what did you say?

so do you know me now?
more than you wanted
seems i'm lost in a feeling
and i can't find my way

(repeat chorus)

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

you will be free

your world is falling all apart
crashing down upon you heart
you will be free
you will be free

nothing left of what once held you
fades away as if to tell you
you will be free
you will be free

(bridge)
freedom's early days can burn
the sting of what you left behind
a passage back to where you yearn
only in memory can you turn
and you're facing the future blind

silent floors where no ones walking
empty rooms where no ones talking
you will be free
you will be free

life goes on in other places
someday you will see their faces
you will be free
you will be free

(bridge)
freedom's early days can burn
the sting of what you left behind
a passage back to where you yearn
only in memory can you turn
and you're facing the future blind

(coptyright 2005 d. b. michel)

all you'll have left is the blues (the bathroom song)

i'm sittin' here in this lonely bathroom
bitter tears are runnin' down my face
it wouldn't be so bad if someone did me wrong
but i'm the one who got me to this place
i had a girl i knew, that really loved me
she told me each and every single day
but i got drunk and tore her love to pieces
like a fool i went and pissed her love away

(chorus)
you got it made when you got somebody
someone who even loves you when you lose
if you treat 'em bad
and leave 'em sad
all you'll have left is the blues

now i'm tellin' you, as if it makes a difference
'cause you seem to want to make the same mistake
you think it's bad if things ain't goin' your way
you want it your way every single day
so if you think it's better bein' lonely
you can go ahead and put her in her place
go ahead and tear her love to pieces
just another fool who pissed his love away (hey)

(chorus)
you got it made when you got somebody
someone who even loves you whe you lose
if you treat 'em bad
and leave 'em sad
all you'll have left is the blues

if you treat 'em bad
and leave 'em sad
all you'll have left is the blues

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)
-----------------------------------
a friend of mine called me one night drunk and pissed off...his girlfriend was late getting back home to pick him up...when i answered the phone...the first words out of his mouth were...'i'm sitting here in this lonely bathroom'...after i listened to his tale of woe i wrote this song...based on the first thing he said to me that night.

good night moon

good night moon
good night stars
pleased to see you
where you are

good night comets
good night clouds
pleased to see you
ain't no doubt

the planes and trains and the cars
just won't take me home
i wanna be up there with you
don't you know
there's something magic
'bout the beauty in the night
turn the lamp off
see the lights

good night planets
good night shooting star
i imagine
how far you are

good night dipper
good night milky way
how's it goin'
in outer space

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

in sweeter dreams

as the sun begins to rise
above the trees, to break the night
i can feel it's distant warmth
is touching me
i see a car go 'round the bend
i see a highway with no end
i see a place i used to be
when i was young

as the days go by so fast
turn the present, to the past
the one thing that will last
the memories
i am older, just the same
and yes i can go home again
when i gaze upon this place
in sweeter dreams

and the dream will have no end
and yes i can go home again
i can see all my old friends
the way they were
i will visit now and then
all the places i have been
as i remember when
in sweeter dreams

(copyright 2004 d. burr michel)

a fool's paradise

you say he's cool and he knows what he is doing
you don't see the fools who move the hands he's moving
he's living life on someone elses dollar
if the preacher knew
you know he'd scream and holler

he's had it made, he's never had to struggle
mistakes he made are buried in the rubble
those who talk are made to be rejected
if the people knew
they'd send him back to texas

(chorus)
why does it go on
the lies he's left to carry on
i see his mouth it moves alot
but there's no truth comin' out
alot of good folks have been fooled
his writers make up all the rules
and they give this world a spin
it's a fool's paradise

he's livin' big, so high on adoration
across the land the faithful dedication
to lies he sells on your old television
you can't afford
to listen to his wisdom

he'll change the world of that you can be certain
the one's who hurt, soon doubly will be hurting
send them off to overseas adventures
send them home
in a less alive condition

(repeat chorus twice)

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

all the things you said

holding on to nothing
tight as i can hold
i say to me
you will be free
if you could just let go
waiting here for something
to erase this sad regret
to take away
the hurt and pain
of all the things you said

(chorus)
all the things you said
were all the things i know
but in the end
it was the end
i never thought you'd go
all i ever wanted
was shattered, torn and dead
the moment i believed in
all the things you said

make believe is ending
reality is cold
i try to find
a place to hide
a refuge for my soul
i'm living in the moment
like a book i've never read
i turn the page
on every page
is all the things you said

(chorus)
all the things you said
were all the things i know
but in the end
it was the end
i never thought you'd go
all i ever wanted
was shattered, torn and dead
the moment i believed in
all the things you said

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

ramblin' on

ramblin' on
ramblin' on
sky full of stars
that will stay until dawn
untraveled road
that leads me to see
whatever it is
that i'm meant to be

ramblin' on
ramblin' on
searching for truth
i can hang my hat on
barenaked trees
on a cold winters night
stand all around me
in peaceful starlight

(bridge)
dim lighted pathways
to places unknown
uncounted moments
i spend all alone
searching for freedom
from the toils of the day
walking this road
always takes them away

ramblin' on
ramblin' on
the stars rule the night
when the daylight has gone
wistful old memories
are with me tonight
as i walk alone
in peaceful starlight

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

endless play

wailing out to somewhere else
i don't know what i'm doing
pick a spot on the floor to land
ready to take the fall
empty promises believed
but now i'm a little skeptical
why would you go on that way?
if you were just playing around

(chorus)
it's an endless play
made for tv land
nothing more to say
i'm playing out this hand
proof beyond a doubt
was more than i could see
i'm left with flesh and bones
while on my soul you feed

falling down like a tired stone
out of the grasp that had me
pull my dreams and lock the door
tired of being tired
icy heart with a mortal face
taking the breaks and running
how can you forget me now?
just when i started smiling

(chorus)
it's an endless play
made for tv land
nothing more to say
i'm playing out this hand
proof beyond a doubt
is more than i could see
i'm left with flesh and bones
while on my soul you feed

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

i wish i had such a hill to climb

it's a long way from here
from where my forefathers came
they left a magnificent land
to come to where i remain
a hill with a town around it
they said it was beauty there
thet left it the way they found it
and left me part of a dream to share

(chorus)
someday i would like to see
such a place as where they used to be
i've never been there but i see it in my mind
i wish i had such a hill to climb

the hill had one face rock
and the other face of green
a hill not too steep to climb
a vision down from the peak
the town wrapped itself around it
to be closer to the strength
i dream now and then about it
the place my great grandpa seen

(repeat chorus twice)

---------------------
for my long lost relatives in scotland

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

and i will

the candle flickers in the breeze
coming through the open window
i see you in the dancing light
i want to stay with you all night

the place you lay right next to me
seems a world away from others
who have taken all i had
leaving me forlorn and sad
---------------------------------------------
(chorus)
and i will give you all you want and more
i would send it all straight to your door
and i will love you like you want me to
something i thought i could never do
----------------------------------------------
i can't erase the memory of that pain
but you make it seem to fade
touching you puts them to rest
let's me savor happiness

you hold the key i've sought so long
the key for every door
you get up to let me in
and then we start it all again
-----------------------------------------------
(chorus)
and i will give you all you want and more
i would send it all straight to your door
and i will love you like you want me to
something i thought i could never do

(repeat chorus and end)

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

on lake st. helen's shores

keep on movin'
it's on up the road
keep drivin'
'cause it's so far to go
but you've been there
it's a place that you know
it's been so long
you've been missing it so

(chorus)
but it's really more a time than a place
and yesterday for them is faraway
you wish that they were there
but they couldn't stay
on lake st. helen's shores
they fade away

you were younger
they were calling for you
to be there
so that's what you would do
they're still smiling
just like they were then
but the pictures
can't go in for a swim

(chorus)
'cause it's really more a time than a place
and yesterday for them is faraway
you wish that they were there
but they couldn't stay
on lake st. helen's shores
they fade away

(bridge)
youthful dreams you dreamed
and shared them all around
the people dear to you were there
now that time has past
it's an empty camping ground
and winter's chill is in the air

you hold them
still deep in your heart
you remember
how it was at the start
the ending
didn't come with a bang
just faded
like the rest of the gang

(chorus)
'cause it's really more a time than a place
and yesterday for them is faraway
you wish that they were there
but they couldn't stay
on lake st. helen's shores
they fade away

on lake st. helen's shores
they fade away

(copyright 2005 d. b. michel)

feel

feel the rhythm of the rain inside you
feel the echo of the breeze behind you
feel the touch of the clouds above
feel like you are a part of the love
feel like something greater lives within you
feel like miracles because it's in you
feel like all along you've had enough
feel like flying wouldn't be too tough

and what it all is, it is
and though the shadows may fall
the sky will light the dark at daybreak
another morning calls

feel the mountain calling in the distance
feel the wisdom of an ancient tree
feel the humor in the dandelion
feel the wonder of being free
feel the river as it flows right by you
feel the life that lives within it's banks
feel like yesterday is right beside you
feel like tomorrow has today to thank

and what it all is, it is
and though the shadows may fall
the sky will light the dark at daybreak
another morning calls

(copyright 2004 d.b. michel)

after the fire

looking at the picture
i can see familiar faces
smiling from the faded photgraph
caught up in the memories
i remember how i felt then
like they'd always be my friends
along lifes path

(bridge)
but time and years bring danger
and an end to youthful cheer
the ones i wanted with me
only left me with a tear

(chorus)
why the hell did yesterday have to end so badly?
why must i always walk this empty path alone?
why do i always feel like i'm walking on a wire?
it's the same old thing on and on
after the fire

holding on to memories
i imagine what you'd tell me
through my tears i find a way to laugh
living in the meantime
has been a little different
i just wish i had you here
so i could ask

(bridge)
the world keeps getting colder
so fast the days go by
i dream of all the laughter
followed by a cry

(chorus)
why the hell did yesterday have to end so badly?
why must i always walk this empty path alone?
why do i always feel like i'm walking on a wire?
it's the same old thing on and on
after the fire


(in memory of an old friend...who for a brief time was like a big brother to me...in a time i really needed one...)

(copyright 2004 d.b. michel)