"Philip Quast - Live At The Donmar"



    Tracklist: (Click on the song title to go directly to the lyrics.)

         1. Life On Earth/ Four Faded Walls
         2. Face Of A Stranger
         3. Lazy Afternoon
         4. I'm On Fire/ Every Breath You Take
         5. And They're Off
         6. Some Enchanted Evening/ Hello Young Lovers
         7. Color And Light
                                                       8. Finishing The Hat
                                                       9. Lost In The Stars
                                                     10. My Father's Hands
                                                     11. What You'd Call A Dream
                                                     12. The King's New Clothes
                                                     13. Letting You Go
                                                     14. Happy Anniversary
                                                     15. He Fades Away/ The River
                                                     16. New Words
                                                     17. Life On Earth
                                                     18. I Was Here

Recorded at the DONMAR WAREHOUSE THEATRE on the SANCTUARY MOBILE on 22nd & 23rd August 2002.

Production Credits:

    Musical Director/ Piano:   Jason Robert Brown
    Guitars/ Mandolin:   Mitch Dalton
    Cello:   Christopher Fish
    Percussion:   Mark Glentworth
    Fretless Bass:   Jaz Lochrie
    Drums/ Percussion:   Justin Woodward

    Directed by:   Matthew Ryan
    Musical Supervisor:   David White
    Orchestrations by:   Jason Robert Brown


Go to my Philip-Soundpage to listen to sound samples.


Lyrics

Life On Earth/ Four Faded Walls

   Come in, come in, do you read me?
   Come in, can you hear me?
   Come in, come in, do you read me? Can you hear me?
   Come in, come in, do you read me? Can you hear me?
   Come in, come in, come in.
   I’m going home, I’m going home
   To that poor little town in which I spent so many years
   And in that poor little town runs a sad little street
   And on that sad little street sits a dull yellow house
   And in that dull yellow house
   I swear it’s yellow - can you believe it?
   In that dull yellow house there’s a room.
   I know that room, I know this room
   In that corner in that chair
   Used to sit a yellow bear with button eyes, his name was Will
   And I recall from long ago how my soldiers row by row
   Would all stand guard upon that sill
   And over there of course the bed I used to hide beneath
   Although now I’ve grown too fat to fit
   Don’t ask me how I know, I just do
   God, the fantasies and glories I imagined way back then
   When now I have to fight to even think one moment through
   And standing here it all comes back, the wonders that I knew
   Inside these four faded walls I was the hero
   Inside these four faded walls I played the prince
   The toys paraded very grand and how they’d bow at my command
   Inside these four faded walls I smiled
   As I’ve rarely smiled since
   And now I live in the city, Sweet Jesus what a city!
   You should see it, come out and visit some time
   The lights are blinding and the rush is well worth getting
   Jesus Christ, I’m sweating just thinking of the place
   It’s quite a place you know
   And I work day and night to keep up with the pace
   The crowds move too fast but I stay in the race
   Help! My stomach bleeds red till I’m blue in the face
   And good God what a life I’m living
   Good God what a life I’m living
   When I used to have so little
   Stranded in the middle of these four faded walls
   Inside these four faded walls
   Inside these four faded walls I had adventures
   Inside these four faded walls the future gleamed
   Upon this floor, upon this site
   I lived in never ending light
   Inside these four faded walls the world was bright
   There was no night or so it seemed
   Inside these four faded walls I dreamed

Top

Face Of A Stranger

   I sailed away from an island
   To an island across the earth
   And I worked at adopting their style and their customs
   For all I was worth
   And I rose to my present position
   And I gained some celebrity
   Now I bask in their praise and conditional love
   But who do they see
   The face of stranger
   Who can't even say who he is anymore
   The face of a stranger
   A mask made for covering passions and pain
   But lately I'm wondering what did I gain
   When I see in my mirror the face of a stranger
   Come home and visit your dad, boy
   Calls my mum from across the sea
   He's not young anymore and he's sad, boy
   Though he won't admit it to me
   So I fly myself back to their island
   To the wheat and the tractor wheels
   And I show them my sonny-boy smile and I know
   They can tell it conceals
   The face of a stranger
   No longer at home in that house on the hill
   The face of a stranger
   The boy that they raised there is gone without trace
   And even the family he's built in their place
   Regard him with love, but they're loving the face of a stranger
   I would be off on my own
   Exploring the earth's empty ends
   Then why am I lonely
   Surrounded by family and friends
   They tell you No man is an island
   But to me that's not how it seems
   I think every man is an island
   Of secrets and longings and dreams
   An invisible ocean surrounds us
   Those who love us reach just the shoals
   Is it any surprise it astounds us
   How well we keep playing our roles
   With the face of a stranger
   Who peers in bright windows from out in the dark
   The face of a stranger
   And even the woman I most truly love
   She tells me I wear an emotional glove
   But I laugh it off with the smiling face of a stranger
   Darling, have you seen the children
   Yes, they're out playing Pirates-at-Sea
   Ah, well, let me just pay this last bill, then
   And we can sit down and have tea...

Top

Lazy Afternoon

   It's a lazy afternoon
   And the beetle bugs are zooming
   And the tulip trees are blooming
   And there's not another human in view
   But us two
   It's a lazy afternoon
   And the farmer leaves his reaping
   And the meadow cows are sleeping
   And the speckled trouts stop leaping up stream
   As we dream
   A fat pink cloud hangs over the hill
   Unfolding like a rose
   If you hold my hand and sit real still
   You can hear the grass as it grows
   It's a hazy afternoon
   And I know a place that's quiet, except for daisies running riot
   And there's no one passing by it to see
   Come spend this lazy afternoon with me

Top

I'm On Fire/ Every Breath You Take

   Hey little girl is your daddy home
   Did he go and leave you all alone
   I got a bad desire
   Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire
   Tell me now baby is he good to you
   Can he do to you things that I can do
   Aha, I can take you higher
   Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire
   Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby, edgy and dull
   And cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my soul
   At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
   And a freight train running through the middle of my head
   Only you can cool my desire
   Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire
   Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire
   Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire

   Every breath you take
   Every move you make
   Every bond you break
   Every step you take
   I'll be watching you
   Every single day
   Every word you say
   Every game you play
   Every night you stay
   I'll be watching you
   Ohh, can't you see
   You belong to me
   How my poor heart aches
   With every step you take
   Every move you make
   Every vow you break
   Every smile you fake
   Every claim you stake
   I'll be watching you
   (Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire)
   Every move you make
   Every step you take
   I'll be watching you
   (Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire)
   Every single day
   Every word you say
   I'll be watching you
   (Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire)
   Every breath you take
   Every move you make
   I'll be watching you

Top

And They're Off

   Ponies in the sun, the race is soon beginning
   My father bet the family fortune on a sleek brown horse
   My father had a hunch
   We gave up lunch so daddy could make a wager
   Ma would scoff, she would scoff, hear her scoff
   And they're off... they are off
   And they move in a herd like a four letter word
   And they're off
   Tickets float to the ground and the band starts to play as the horses go round
   And they're off
   Mummy sat and cried, but dad was unaffected
   He said: Have you ever had a better two minutes in the last three years?
   We said: But dad, the dumb horse lost!
   He said: Sometimes joy has a terrible cost, I know that!
   Ma would scoff, she would scoff, hear her scoff
   And they're off... yeah they're off
   Mummy's biting his neck as they roll on the deck
   And they're off
   There is blood on the ground
   And the band starts to play as the horses go round
   And they're off
   Isn't life funny, people loose money and have fun
   Betting of course is hell on the horses
   And the families where the betting is done
   It's a joke to believe someone won
   All they did was fight, plus they discussed the weather
   My father bet the family fortune till it disappeared
   They also laughed a lot
   That was the thing I often forgot to tell you
   But it's true, yes it's true, it is true
   And he's off... daddy's off
   We get letters from Maine where he tries to explain why he's off
   What was lost was not found
   And the band starts to play as the horses go round
   And they're off
   And they're off... yeah they're off
   And they move in a herd like a four letter word
   And they're off
   There is blood on the ground
   And the band starts to play as the horses go round
   And round, and around, and around, and around, and around
   And they're off

Top

Some Enchanted Evening/ Hello Young Lovers

   Some enchanted evening
   You may see a stranger
   You may see a stranger
   Across a crowded room
   And somehow you know
   You know even then
   That somewhere you'll see her
   Again and again
   Some enchanted evening
   Someone may be laughing
   You may hear her laughing
   Across a crowded room
   And night after night
   As strange as it seems
   The sound of her laughter
   Will sing in your dreams

   I know how it feels to have wings on your heels
   And to fly down a street in a trance
   You'll fly down a street on a chance that you'll meet
   And you meet not really by chance
   Hello, young lovers, whoever you are
   I hope your troubles are few
   All my good wishes go with you tonight
   I've been in love like you
   Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star
   Be brave and faithful and true
   Cling very close to each other tonight
   I've been in love like you
   I know how it feels to have wings on your heels
   And to fly down a street in a trance
   You'll fly down a street on a chance that you'll meet
   And you meet not really by chance
   Don't cry, young lovers, whatever you do
   Don't cry because I'm alone
   All of my memories are happy tonight
   I've had a love of my own
   I've had a love of my own like yours

   Once you have found her never let her go
   Once you have found her never let her go

Top

Color And Light

   White. A blank page or canvas
   The challenge: To bring order to the whole
   Through design
   Composition
   Balance
   Light
   And harmony
    "Sunday In The Park With George" by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.
    And I got to play George. George Seurat.
    But, ahm, I knew nothing about painting.
    So Carol, my wife, and I went off to Paris to the Musée d'Orsay to find his paintings.
    We turned up at this, eh, amazing building, and, eh, we went in and -
    Look, if you come from where I come from you would never expect to see these things in a whole lifetime.
    And there they were, things you'd only ever seen in books.
    So... Cezannes and...waterlilies...that Monet fellow...
    And, eh... and Degas...and, eh... Toulouse-Lautrecs and Van Goghs, and, eh...
    And then there was this one painting... a Seurat...
    Look, it's made of a sort of dots...
    Thousands, millions of dots...
    And then - I got the score!
    Talk about dots...
    Oh, so much to learn!
    And I have to learn to paint
    Paint sticks, paint dogs...
    Sorry, darling?... A baby?!!
    When? How long?...
    But I've gotta paint hats!

   More red...
    Me, a father...
   And a little more red...
    And I have to improve my articulation
   Blue blue blue blue
   Blue blue blue blue
   Even even...
   Good...
    And I have to rehearse my intonation
   Bumbum bum bumbumbum
   Bumbum bum...
    And then I have to learn to count the beats
    (Two three four)

   More red...
    What?
    (One two three four)

   More blue...
    Two three four five - shit...
    (...seven eight)

   More beer...
    (two three four five six seven eight)
    I don't care what we call it, I've gotta learn this song!...
    (one two three four five six seven eight)

   More light!
    And right down in my guts, looming ever closer...
   Color and light
    ...was opening night
   There's only color and light
    Stephen Sondheim's what?
   Yellow and white
    In the building??!...
   Just blue and yellow and white
    What if your baby comes on opening night?
   Look at the air, miss-
   See what I mean?
    Hello, Stephen. How are you?
   No, look over there, miss-
   That's done with green...
    He hates me... he hates me...
   Conjoined with orange
    I never gonna learn this
    Not in a million years...
    Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit...
    Oh bloody hell...
    Just look at it all, will you...

   Red red red red
   Red red orange
   Red red orange
   Orange pick up blue
   Pick up red
   Pick up orange
   From the blue-green blue-green
   Blue-green circle
   On the violet diagonal
   Di-ag-ag-ag-o-nal-nal-nal-nal
   Yellow comma yellow comma
   Numnum num numnumnum
   Numnum num...
   Blue blue blue blue
   Blue still waiting
   Red that perfume
   Blue all night
   Blue-green the window shut
   Dut dut dut
   Dot Dot sitting
   Dot Dot waiting
   Dot Dot getting fat fat fat
   More yellow
   Dot Dot waiting to go
   Out out out
   No no no George
   Finish the hat finish the hat
   Have to finish the hat first
   Hat hat hat hat
   Hot hot hot it's hot in here...
   Sunday!
   Color and light
    I got till opening night
   There's only color and light
    But where is the baby?
   Purple and white
    The fucking baby...
   And red and purple and white
    Carol is the size of a truck...
   Look at this glade, girls
    Call the cab!
   Your cool blue spot
    She's on the floor of the cab
   No, stay in the shade, girls
    Oh God
   It's getting hot
   It's getting-
    WAH!
    He's blue, he's blue!
    And they're blue...

   And it's warm inside his eyes
   And it's soft inside his eyes
   And you drown inside his eyes
   I could look at him forever...

Top

Finishing The Hat

   Yes, she looks for me, good
   Let her look for me
   To tell me why she left me
   As I always knew she would
   I had thought she'd understood
   They have never understood
   And no reason that they should
   But, if anybody could
   Finishing the hat
   How you have to finish the hat
   How you watch the rest of the world from a window
   While you finish the hat
   Mapping out a sky
   What you feel like planning a sky
   What you feel when voices that come through the window go
   Until they distance and die,
   Until there's nothing but sky
   And how you're always turning back
   Too late from the grass or the stick
   Or the dog or the light
   How the kind of woman willing to wait's
   Not the kind that you want to find waiting
   To return you to the night
   Dizzy from the height
   Coming from the hat
   Studying the hat
   Entering the world of the hat
   Reaching through the world of the hat like a window
   Back to this one from that
   Studying a face
   Stepping back to look at a face
   Leaves a little space in the way like a window
   But to see
   It's the only way to see
   And when the woman that you wanted goes
   You can say to yourself
   Well, I give what I give
   But the woman who won't wait for you knows
   That however you live there's a part of you
   Always standing by, mapping out a sky
   Finishing a hat
   Starting on a hat
   Finishing a hat
   Look, I made a hat
   Where there never was a hat

Top

Lost In The Stars

   Before Lord God made the sea and the land
   He held all the stars in the palm of his hand
   And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand
   And one little star fell alone
   So the Lord God hunted through the wide night air
   For the little lost star on the wind down there
   And he stated and promised he'd take special care
   And it wouldn't get lost again
   Now a man don't mind if the stars grow dim
   And the clouds blow over and darken him
   So long as the Lord God's watching over them
   Keeping track how it all goes on
   But I've been walking through the night and the day
   Till my eyes get weary and my head turns gray
   And sometimes I think maybe God's gone away
   Forgetting the promise that we heard him say
   And we're lost out here in the stars
   Little stars, big stars, blowing through the night
   And we're lost out here in the stars
   Little stars, big stars, blowing through the night
   And we're lost out here in the stars

Top

My Father’s Hands

    When I was a kid I actually saw more of my Dad than most kids see in a lifetime. He taught me things, lots of
    things: how to weld, how to put threads on pipes, how to plough, how to use a saw...

   In the middle of my lifetime I began to lose my way
   Between this, that and the other of a crowded resume
   Then I stumbled on a memory out upon the shifting sands
   For one simple honest moment I could see my father’s hands
   They were strong, they were rough,
   They would lift me high so I could count the stars
   When the world was not enough
   They would reach for each day
   And the feel of home was just a touch away
   In my father’s hands
   How could he have seemed so foolish back when I thought I was wise
   Guess you come to see things different looking through your father’s eyes
   Now that I’ve become a father I begin to understand
   All the lessons that are waiting right there in our fathers hands
   They were strong, they were rough
   They would lift me high so I could count the stars
   When the world was not enough
   They would reach for each day
   And the feel of home was just a touch away
   In my father’s hands
   Weathered lines, storied scars
   Tell who he was and who you are

Top

What You'd Call A Dream

   There are two men out, and it's in the ninth, and the score is four to three
   There's a man on first, and a man at bat, and the man at bat is me
   And I'm sorta scared, and I'm sorta proud, and I'm stronger than I seem
   And I take a swing, and my dad is there, and it's what you'd call a dream
   For the ball flies in the sun, and it sails off as I run
   The crowd is roaring, cheering as I go, so are all the guys on the team
   And I run for home, and we win the game, and it's what you'd call a dream
   And the sun shines like diamonds
   The summer sun shines like diamonds
   The summer sun, high in a baseball sky, shines like diamonds
   And the sun shines like diamonds
   There are two men out, and it's in the ninth, and the score is four to three
   There's a man on first, and a man at bat, and the man at bat is me
   And it's what you'd call a dream

Top

The King's New Clothes

   Once upon a time there was a king who was absolutely insane about new clothes
   One day, two swindlers came to the king to sell him what they said was a magic suit of clothes
   Well, the truth of the matter is, there were no clothes there at all.
   But these two men were very smart, and they held up their hands like this
   And they said: "Your Majesty, this is a magic suit of clothes
   Naturally, because you are very wise and very intelligent, you can see what a beautiful raiment it is
   But to a fool it is absolutely invisible"
   "I see", said the king, and naturally, since he didn't want to appear a fool, he said
   "Isn't it grand! Isn't it fine! Look at the cut, the style, the line!
   The suit of clothes is all together
   But all together it's all together
   The most remarkable suit of clothes that I have ever seen
   These eyes of mine at once determined
   The sleeves are velvet, the cape is ermine
   The hose are blue and the doublet is a lovely shade of green (lovely shade of green)
   Somebody send for the Queen"
   Well, they quickly sent for the Queen and the Queen was quickly told how only wise people could see the magic suit
   Naturally, the Queen not wanting to appear a fool, said,
   "Well, isn't it oh! Isn't it rich! Look at the charm of every stitch!
   The suit of clothes is all together
   But all together it's all together
   The most remarkable suit of clothes that I have ever seen
   These eyes of mine at once determined
   The sleeves are velvet, the cape is ermine
   The hose are blue and the doublet is a lovely shade of green (lovely shade of green)
   Summon the court to convene"
   Well, the court convened, and you never in your life saw as many people as there were in that court
   All the ambassadors were there, the dukes, the earls, the counts, it was black with people
   And since none of them wanted to appear a fool, they all said
   "Isn't it ohhh! Isn't it ahhh! Isn't it absolutely wheee!
   The suit of clothes is all together
   But all together it's all together
   The most remarkable suit of clothes a tailor ever made
   Now quickly, put it all together
   With gloves of leather and hat and feather
   It's all together the thing to wear in Saturday's parade (Saturday's parade)
   Leading the royal brigade"
   Well, Saturday came and by then everyone had been told about the magic suit and what they were supposed to see
   So, the streets were lined with thousands, and thousands, and thousands of people
   And they all watched as the artillery came by, as the infantry marched by, as the cavalry galloped by
   And finally - the king!
   And since nobody wanted to appear a fool everyone began cheering like mad, boys
   Except one little boy...
   You see, he hadn't been told about the magic suit and he didn't know what he was supposed to see
   So when the King came by the little boy looked and, horrified, said
   "L-l-l-l-l-l-l-look at the King! Look at the King! Look at the King, the King, the King!
   The King is in the all together
   But all together the all together
   He's all together as naked as the day that he was born
   The King is in the all together
   But all together the all together
   It's all together the very least the King has ever worn"
   All the courts positioned to call an intermission
   His majesty is wide open to ridicule and scorn
   "The King is in the all together
   But all together the all together
   He's all together as naked as the day that he was born"
   And it's all together too chilly a morn!

Top

Letting You Go

   Sweeping up plaster, mopping the floor
   Washing the windows
   Cleaning the closets
   Closing the door, filling the cracks out in the hall
   Scraping the paint off of the wall
   Changing the lock, turning the key
   Letting you go away from me
   Knowing it’s better here in my head
   Doing the laundry
   Washing the dishes, making the bed
   Nothing to fight, nothing to choose
   Maybe it’s good learning to lose
   Maybe I’ll shine finally free
   Letting you go away from me
   If I was smart, if I was strong
   If I could just say I was wrong
   Say it was me, say I could move
   Make you believe these things improve
   Would I forget all of the cracks
   Deep in the ground under our tracks
   And if I go then would you see
   Or would you go away – would you go away
   Facing the facts, watching the clock
   Maybe you’ll change just down the block
   And if you did where would I be
   Letting you go away from me

Top

Happy Anniversary

   I've been ready for hours
   And I'm wearing my best
   Ordered champagne and flowers
   And you're not even dressed
   Tonight's a special night
   To remember with pride
   These twenty happy years
   Since you became my bride
   It is all too absurd
   You're so cross and abrupt
   But I don't say a word
   Or you're bound to erupt
   Your peculiar moods
   I've experienced before
   So I pour another drink
   And quietly pace the floor
   It's a quarter to eight
   As we fretfully wait
   For your little black dress
   That was promised by six
   Is it just rotten luck
   When we're doing the town
   That the fate should conspire
   To let us mortals down
   I have seats for a show
   And it's opening night
   My shoes do not fit me
   And my suit is too tight
   And you sit there and curse
   And occasional curse
   And I've got a headache
   That's quickly getting worse
   Happy anniversary
   Happy anniversary
   They deliver your frock
   But you're still in distress
   It was past nine o'clock
   When I helped you to dress
   I tried to do you up
   But it wasn't my day
   For then to fill my cup
   Your zipper stuck halfway
   I got all in a sweat
   Over-anxious and vexed
   Will I ever forget
   The thing that happened next
   Your dress came apart
   With one terrible tear
   Your disappointed cries
   Were more than I could bear
   At eleven at last
   When we got into town
   We arrived at the show
   But the curtain was down
   I suggested a bite
   No, no, you wanted to walk
   You had no appetite
   And no desire to talk
   So we strolled for an hour
   And the evening was sweet
   And I bought you a flower
   From a man in the street
   And we kissed on the sidewalks
   Without reason or rhyme
   And we knew that our love
   Is stronger than time
   Happy anniversary
   Happy anniversary
   Happy anniversary

Top

He Fades Away/ The River

   There's a man in my bed, I used to love him
   His kisses used to take my breath away
   There's a man in my bed, I hardly know him
   I wipe his face and hold his hand and watch him
   As he slowly fades away
   And he fades away
   Not like leaves that fall in Autumn
   Turning gold against the grey
   He fades away
   Like the bloodstains on the pillowcase I wash every day
   He fades away
   And he's not the only one who made the trip so many years ago
   To work the Wittenoom mine
   So many young men old before their time and dying slow
   They fade away
   Wheezing bags of bones with lungs half clogged and filled with clay
   They fade away
   There's a man in my bed, they never told him
   The cost of bringing home his weekly pay
   And when the courts decide how much they owe him
   How will he spend his money when he lies in bed
   And coughs his life away
   And he fades away
   Not like leaves that fall in Autumn
   Turning gold against the grey
   He fades away
   Like the bloodstains on the pillowcase that I wash every day
   He fades away
   He fades away

   I come from down in the valley
   Where mister when you're young
   They bring you up to do like your daddy done
   Me and Mary we met in high school
   She was just seventeen
   We'd ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green
   We'd go down to the river
   And into the river we'd dive
   Oh, down to the river we did ride
   Then I got Mary pregnant
   And man that was all she wrote
   And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
   We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest
   No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle
   No flowers, no wedding dress
   That night we went down to the river
   And into the river we'd dive
   Oh, down to the river we did ride (down to the river)
   Down to the river
   And into the river we'd dive (the river)
   Oh, down to the river we did ride
   I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
   But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
   Now all them things that seemed so important
   Well mister they vanished right into the air
   Now I act like I don't remember
   Mary acts like she don't care
   But I remember us riding in my brother's car
   Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
   At night on them banks I'd lie awake
   And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
   Now those memories come back to haunt me
   They haunt me like a curse
   Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
   Or is it something worse
   That sends me down to the river
   Though I know the river is dry
   That sends me down to the river tonight (down to the river)
   Down to the river, my baby and I (the river)
   Oh, down to the river tonight
   Down to the river
   Though I know the river is dry
   That sends me down to the river tonight
   Down to the river, my baby and I
   Sends down to the river at night ...

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New Words

   Look up there, high above us
   In a sky of blackest silk.
   See how round, like a cookie
   See how white, as white as milk
   Call it the moon, my son, say "moon"
   Sounds like your spoon, my son
   Can you say it
   New word today - say "moon"
   Near the moon, brightly turning
   See the shining sparks of light
   Each one new, each one burning
   Through the darkness of the night
   We call them stars, my son, say "stars"
   That one is Mars, my son
   Can you say it
   New word today - say "stars"
   As they blink all around us
   Playing starry-eyed games
   Who would think it astounds us
   Simply naming their names
   Turn your eyes from the skies now
   Turn around and look at me
   There's a light in my eyes now
   And a word for what you see
   We call it love, my son, say "love"
   So hard to say, my son
   It gets harder
   New words today, we'll learn to say
   Learn "moon"
   Learn "stars"
   Learn "love"

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Life On Earth

   Come in, come in, do you read me?
   Come in, can you hear me?
   Come in, come in, do you read me?
   There is life on Earth
   We’ve found life on Earth
   There are trees, tall green trees
   And the good warm light of a sun
   There is life on Earth
   We’ve found life on Earth
   They have birds, flying birds
   And we think we saw – something run
   Earth is beautiful, so beautiful
   Everywhere you look you see a miracle, a miracle
   Give the word to everyone back home
   Life on Earth, life on Earth
   Tell them flowers bloom somewhere out in space
   Tell them fruit grows ripe in this far off place
   And you hear things call and you see things chase
   And the tall grass stirs and the rivers race
   And I swear, I would swear that a fish just jumped
   There goes another one, another one, another one
   There is life on Earth
   There is life on Earth
   There is life on Earth
   There is life!

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I Was Here

   I’ve gone without bread, I’ve slept in the mud
   I’ve given my best while they’ve screamed for my blood
   I’ve begged and I’ve bullied for any small chance to perform
   At nights I’ve awakened, my guts in a knot
   Remembering how much I gave up and for what
   Some paints and some costumes – a pitiful tent in a storm
   A handful of coins, a trunk always packed
   No family, no home, just this madness to act
   Still I have a theory about this disease we contract
   That most men are equally crazy as actors in fact
   Why does a boy carve his name on a tree?
   Or the first-born inherit the throne?
   What is a sculptor aspiring to be
   When he spends half his life carving stone?
   Kings build their tombs for the ages
   Poets and fools fill up their pages
   What are we hoping for? What do we fear?
   I say we yearn to leave something that lasts
   To be known for what little we’ve done
   Men tell their children the tales of their pasts
   And each man gives his name to his son
   Something in song or in story
   Something in blood, something of glory
   Something that won’t fade away in a year
   Well, I will not flicker and die like an ember
   Too many men flicker and die
   I will leave something behind to remember
   Somehow I must - don’t ask me why
   I have no wealth, at least none I can claim
   And no patience for carving in stone
   All that I have are my skill and my name
   And this chance to make both of them known
   This is my key to the portal
   How I can leave something immortal
   Something that time cannot make disappear
   Something to say: I was here!

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