When does a story become a story?
Is it only when the tale is done?
the total of our days and nights
all rolled up … into one?

Counted up all my near misses,
All the times I’d thought ‘she’s the one’
misplaced trust and truffles…
all those bursting bubbles … gone
But I can feel you now, on the other side of tears … [tell me]
Where you been hiding that beautiful soul … all these years?

How many moonlights have I held my breath
til my wishes turn to rhymes?
when lost chords and melodies
come back … into time
But I can feel you now, on the other side of tears … [tell me]
Where you been hiding that beautiful soul … all these years?

Just a year ago
As brown leaves piled like sorrows
Little did I see that final chance
You let me know
I had one more tomorrow.
One last romance … A November dance

When does a story become a story?
Is it only when the tale is done?
the total of our moons and suns
all rolled up … into one?
But I can feel a new beginning… when I’m finally winning
Where you been hiding that beautiful soul…
Where you been hiding that beautiful soul…
Where you been hiding that beautiful soul… this story’s just begun
        

Spent last Sunday morning with a book of souvenirs
markers on the road of life I’ve gathered through the years
And I came upon a memory that made me stop and dream
It was a very old picture of a very young me.

Saw my life as many chapters in that dusty photo book
flashed on the adventure in each picture that I took
there were years and tears and silly fears and footprints by the sea
And I re-lived all of those memories of a very young me

Now, I’ve learned what’s inside a mountain, I know why there is a stream
I’ve learned how to see the truth in things from how they often seem
I’ve learned how to hold a baby I’ve learned how to be a friend
I’ve learned how to treat a woman…
But not nearly what I’ll know before I learn what’s at the end

Thought good days would last forever and that dark nights wouldn’t end
I kept following my heart but sometimes had to make amends
I grew a little every day and tried to just be kind
To walk inside another’s shoes and keep an open mind.

There were tales of winter cities and many a long shot bet
There were scores of friendly faces and very few regrets
There were loves I’d lost who’d double crossed me, chances left behind
There was one whose love I still dream of when the moon and stars are kind…

I’d lived life in every chapter of that dusty photo book
treasured each adventure and all the roads I took
there were years and tears and many cheers in a life spent being free
behind that very old picture of a very young me.

Now, I’ve learned what’s inside a mountain, I know why there is a stream
I’ve learned how to see the truth in things from how they often seem
I’ve learned how to hold a baby, I’ve learned how to be a friend
I’ve learned how to love a woman…
But not nearly what I’ll know before I learn what’s at the end.
But not nearly what I’ll know before I learn …what’s at the end

He fixed his tie, grabbed his case; Hurried out the office door
Past the woman with her child camped in a shelter with a concrete floor
With a sideways sneer He said… I got mine,
You must be doing something wrong If you … have to beg for dimes

She looked up with far off eyes, to an image of a recent past
To the memory of the storm, how the walls and ceiling crashed
To the day that she lost everything she had
To the claim letter in the mail … that simply said… ‘too bad’

She said you’ve got yours, but what I _ feel inside is mine
Have you ever had a day when you needed someone _ to be kind?
Go on your way, I don’t mind

It’s nature of the world, he said … and I can tell I’ve won
You can see my time’s important … and I’ve got to run
Cocktails at 5, dinner at the club
If you’d only do a little bit of work, you wouldn’t _ have to grub

She looked up at the misting sky, and down at her smiling boy
Just wanted a bit of a better life, for her heart’s only joy
If Providence were different, and the world hadn’t turned too fast
She might have made it on her own … but the past _ is just, the past

She said you’ve got yours, but what I _ feel inside is mine
Have you ever had a day when you needed someone _ to be kind?
Go on your way, I don’t mind

It’s a fine line between sunshine and the coming dusk
It’s a fine line between yours and mine, We all do what we must
He didn’t think about all those letters he’s signed and sent
Just about the bonus they gave him … he just turned, and off he went

She said you’ve got yours, but what I _ feel inside is mine
Have you ever had a day when you needed someone _ to be kind?

It’s a fine line between yours and mine, We all do what we must…

She was bloggin’ by the sea …
A new start on livin’
down around the gulf coast water.
She was funny and free
Til she got Entangled
In a net … full of mystery that caught her

Maggie knows the best ways to get in trouble
Down South Florida way
She’ll make you smile til you’re bent over double
And say…
Let’s have fun today

She was trackin’ down a lead
that led her into trouble
Workin’ in the Dolphin Park
she was born with the need
to just burst your bubble
so she can’t … keep from teasin’ the sharks

Maggie knows the best ways to get in trouble
Down South Florida way
She’ll make you smile til you’re bent over double
And say…
Let’s have fun today

There’s nobody around
who’s quite like Maggie
spunky in a carefree way
she’s got a twinkle in her eye
that’ll never flag be--
‘cause she’s just… gotta do it her own way

Maggie knows the best ways to get in trouble
Down South Florida way
She’ll make you smile til you’re bent over double
And say…
Yeah, we’ll have fun today

Don’t care ‘bout what I would’ve ….. or could’ve
I’m not worried ‘bout all the things I should’ve
I’m just keepin’ the blues at bay
Holdin’ on to a rainy day

Don’t care if it’s gray, it’s ok
‘Cause there’s a rainbow in every day
I’m just keepin’ the clock at bay
Holdin’ on to a rainy day

I was there … when the First yellow leaf fell
I’ve felt the Springtime beneficial rain
I’ve learned a lesson from … every season under the sun
We’ll all get to heaven … one by one

I’ve got a hunch…..in the crunch
I’ll be eating ice cream for lunch
keepin’ brussel sprouts at bay
Holdin’ on to a rainy day.

I was there … when the first Winter snow fell
I’ve felt the heat when Summer dried the plain
I’ve learned this lesson from … every season under the sun
We’ll all get to heaven … one by one

It’ll be Fall in a while …
and I got a pumpkin smile
cause I’ll be wishing those leaves into a pile
Holdin’ on to a rainy day

Yeah, I’ll be keepin’ those Maples at bay
Holdin’ on to a rainy day

I got a lap full of passion and a head full of booze
Got a tank full of gas and I got nothing to lose
So if you’re looking for something I got something to see
And I’m heading south on Alabama Forty Three

Heading south on Highway Forty Three, yesiree
Where the road goes on to Mobile and the days go on for free
I got beer and oysters waiting and a date with Missus B And I’m …
Heading south on Highway Forty Three

I got a good invitation I got lovin’ in store
Got a wild inclinatIon there’s a little bit more
So if you’re looking for something I got something to see
And I’m heading south on Alabama Forty Three

Heading south on Highway Forty Three, yesiree
Where the road goes on to Mobile and the days go on for free
I got beer and oysters waiting and a date with Missus B And I’m …
Heading south on Highway Forty Three

I got an old pickup blocking, so I’m gone l ike a flash
Got my hand on the shifter, and my foot on the gas
I don’t care for the limit, I’m just dying to pass
Got my head out the window and I’m talkin’ some trash, and I’m…

Heading south on Highway Forty Three, yesiree
Where the road goes on to Mobile and the days go on for free
I got beer and oysters waiting and a date with Missus B And I’m
Heading south on Highway Forty Three

Seasons pass, styles and minds have changed
The world that I had known’s been rearranged
I woke up to september … leaves had turned before my eyes
Becoming old before their time

Watched old friends grow older than their years
That twinkle in their eye became a tear
But my heart’s younger than the rest of me, … I remember how to shine
I want to be young before my time

When your spirit gets too heavy, that’s the time to let it fly
We’re more than dust and leaves in the wind
Livin’ every moment … keep that twinkle in my eye
We’ve only got this moment to begin

Got an Autumn heart inside me that’s not gonna wait
For that first pearly glimpse of Heaven’s gate
Won’t spend the rest of my time … waiting for that Cadillac ride
I want to be young before my time

When your spirit gets too heavy, that’s the time to let it fly
We’re more than dust and leaves in the wind
Won’t pass up any chances … keep that twinkle in my eye
We’ve only got this chance to begin

Got a list of buckets far as I can see
I’m gonna save the best of me for me
Gonna take what’s left that’s mine,…. Paint my own road signs
I’m gonna be young before my time
I’ll be the ‘after’, not the ‘before’ … Look for ‘better’, not for ‘more’
I’m gonna be young … before my time

Instrumental

She pushed the bottle back across the table, sat back smiling
She said “you’ve got a self-interest in this conversation”
But as she said her goodbye’s, she would never meet their eyes
And spent still yet another night in her self-preservation

Double dealing double meanings through a double drinking evening
She drank doubles like she’d never get the chance to drink again
She danced nimbly ‘round the meanings of their double talking leanings
To the shelter of her feelings from self-interested men

It was cold in dairy country and the night was frozen cheese
Everybody out to seize whatever pleased them
There was frozen water flowing from a well no one had known
And though, apparently full-grown, she had to tease them
Had to freeze them, had to tease them into thinking she would please them

They could tell that she was lonely, and her whiskey glass was only
Just another sip away from where she’d set her keys and phone
She’d become a local star, sitting in that crowded bar
But they never knew that she was in that crowd to drink alone

It was cold in dairy country and the night was frozen cheese
Everybody out to seize whatever pleased them
There was frozen water flowing from a well no one had known
And though, apparently full-grown, she had to tease them
Had to freeze them, had to tease them into thinking she would please them

She pushed the bottle back across the table, almost empty
Fooling herself into putting on the lid
She won’t regret their passions cooling, won’t regret the things she’s doing
But her true regret is saved for all the things she never did

She pushed the bottle back across the table…

Springtime, / sky of blue, / life’s promise, / me and you
Summer roses, / red and carefree, / you and I / turn into We
Autumn’s orange / changing leaves, / bring surprises / and belief
In -- what’s -- to -- come

Each season has its colors, each time of day its hue
you and I will live those colors, and as seasons pass our view
And I’ll know that each day of -- my life,
my favorite color is you

Winter time, / browns and whites, / glowing in / the early night
Golden sunsets / reminders of / how we’ve received, / wisdom and love
From those who’ve made us and / gone before / …to share with those / we’ll make
To carry on once more.

Each season has its colors, each time of day its hue
You and I will live those colors and as seasons pass our view
And I know that each day of -- my life,
My favorite color is you

Sunrise, / mauve and pink / promise of our / new beginning
Yellow heat, / noon of day /work together /along the way
Purple clouds / at evening’s close, / we’ll share between us / all of those
As each -- day’s re -- born

Colors of the rainbow reflected in your eyes
Each passing day will bring us something new
And I’ll know that each day of my life
My favorite color is you

My favorite color is you

Kiss my lips, the way that you do
Kiss my lips, it’s how I remember you

It’s not how long you sleep, it’s what you dream
It’s not just what you keep, it’s how you seem
It’s not how long you stay, it’s in your eyes
It’s not just what you say, it’s the surprise

Kiss my lips, the way that you do
Kiss my lips, it’s how I remember you

It’s not how long you pray, it’s what you feel
It’s not just another day, your love’s still real
You’ve danced through Heaven’s gate, that’s in the past
We’ll laugh (dance) together, one sweet day, at last.

Kiss my lips, the way that you do
Kiss my lips, it’s how I remember you

It’s how I remember you