Lyrics
Everything You’ve Got
You can’t run, so find a new pace
Find your own style. And a new grace.
Can you find your balance? Can you hold on tight?
And find your faith in the middle of the night?
It’s about all that you can do
with everything you’ve got
and not the things that hold you back
or anything you’re not
Can you take the change? Can you take the chance?
Will you walk the walk? Will you have this dance?
“Old before your time” or “Wise beyond your years.”
Walk like a child and don’t hide your tears.
All Roads Lead to You
I’ll be in Denver by one in the morning
If I can keep driving this pace.
I’m trying to keep my eyes on the road
But I keep on seeing your face
I’m lookin’ for signs and directions
and mile markers deep in the night
Grain elevators glow like temples
and silently flash their red lights.
I’m keepin’ you in sight
I pulled the car off the side of the road
the night air was so warm and sweet
from the sun bakin’ down that long summer day
on fields of cut hay and wheat
I used to keep a map on my wall
with every state I’d been through
and shade every highway I went down
Not knowing they’d all lead to you
All roads lead to you
Sometimes I wonder if my life would be different
If I could go back and relive the past
I’d skip those mistakes and dead-end streets
as long as I could end up at last
There on the street where we met for the first time
would you believe me when I’d try to say
Babe, I came all this way to find you
It was all leading up to this day
and all roads led to you
That night you told me it would all work out
You were there when I needed a friend
You said no matter the roads I had to go down
You’d be waiting for me in the end
You say when one road closes, another one opens
We have to hold on to that faith
It’s no wonder tonight as I drive to the west
I can’t help seein’ your face
and all roads lead to you
What Would You Do?
If you could do whatever you want, what would you do?
If you got to pick, which dreams would come true?
How would you live if you made the choices ’round here?
Where would you go if knew there was nothing to fear?
What if you lived from the heart and not by the rules?
How would it be if whatever you wanted was cool?
What if you knew you were perfect the way that you are
How would it be if your dreams could take you that far?
What if nobody told you what you had to do
If the one who was running your life turned out to be you?
What if you knew it was true?
What if you knew it was true?
What if you knew? What would you do?
What if you gave up judgement, anger, and hate
and started to practice forgiveness before it’s too late
What if they put you in charge just for one day?
Aw- What would you keep and what things would you give away?
One Hundred Years Ago
One hundred years ago he came to this country
Brown suit, brown shoes, fedora hat
Took the boat from Naples to Ellis Island
’told his family “I’m never goin’ back”
One hundred years ago he came to this country
Married his cousin ’cause it was the only way
No American girl would have these immigrants
That sort of thing was a generation away
He loved his guitar and piano
and the concertina we would ask for all the time
His grandkids would dance the tarantella
While he smiled his toothless grin and drank his wine
One hundred years ago he came to this country
He was a tailor with an artist’s hands and feel
He said Italians built the Empire State Building
and he loved FDR for the New Deal
And then one hundred years later
I finally went back to that port
Everyone there looked just like me
Big noses, big hearts- and they were so short
One hundred years ago he came to this country
He was only 17 years old
His name was Nicola Pelligrino
Which means “pilgrim” in Italian I am told.
It’ll Matter
It doesn’t matter how you look,
it’s not important what you weigh.
It doesn’t matter what you drive
or how much they’re gonna pay
Don’t you worry ’bout the future.
You will never change the past.
It doesn’t matter if you’re first,
It’s no disgrace to come in last.
It doesn’t matter how you move-
a limo or a chair with wheels
It’s up to you that you arrive
It’s up to you the way you feel.
It doesn’t matter what you eat-
or else it matters quite a bit
Start askin’ for advice-
you’ll never hear the end of it.
But it’ll matter who you touch and it matters what you give.
It’ll matter if you try and makes a difference that you lived.
We’re not here for very long. It’s the only chance you’ve got.
You think it may be time to wait, but I’m thinkin’ that it’s not.
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich.
You’re no less because you’re poor.
It’s a rolling of the dice,
not a way of keeping score.
Health and wealth are not rewards-
or used to punish if you’re bad.
It’s not he things you’re gonna get,
or about the stuff you had.
What Matters To Me
Two in the morning and I couldn’t sleep
countin’ my worries instead of sheep
I had some time to think it through
and what matters to me is you
It’s not the problems on the job
They’ll be there tomorrow it’s true
I remembered what’s important now
and what matters to me is you
It’s not about what I own
or the things that I gather
I remember when I hold you close-
those others things just don’t matter
It’s not the fancy restaurants
or the places we’ve been to
When I’m with you, I know that I’ve arrived
and what matters to me is you
It’s not the point if I write this down
‘though I hope I do that too
Just to remind me next time around
that what matters to me is you
It’s not about my next show
Will the people be many or few
‘cause you are almost always there
and what matters to me is you
I get distracted by the noise of the world
and all the endless chatter
but I remember when I hold you close
those other things just don’t matter
And now you’re sleepin in my arms
I guess I always knew
but I remembered in the middle of the night
that what matters to me is you
The River Flows
The river flows between the rocks-
It finds its way and it never stops.
It’s the wisdom of the deer and hawks
Elk, coyote, bear and fox.
Vireo, finch, mocking bird
every song you’ve ever heard.
We’ll ride the waves and share the song
The herons watch as we roll along.
The Illinois and the Buffalo-
the rivers know the way to go.
The water knows the turns to take
It winds and coils just like a snake.
And surges up around the bend
It sweeps and turns and it never ends.
We can’t go back and we can’t stay,
The river always knows the way.
Your voice is drifting on the breeze
beneath the great Magnolia trees.
Your song is carried on the wind
It grows and then flows back again.
I love your laugh and I love your song
I’ll love you for your whole life long.
Our love it grows and it never stops
And overflows out at the top.
Learnin’ To Fly
I’m just learnin’ to fly
I’m right where I want to be
I am beginning to fly
This is the life for me
I hear the voices from town
sayin’ you better come down
But I don’t really know
just how high I can go
There’s no fear at all.
I know I’m not gonna fall
It’s just hard to see
the need for all this gravity
I’m no rock or tree
Those are not the ways for me
If I seem different today
I’m just findin’ my way
I’m Tellin’ You Now
I’m tellin you now ’cause it just can’t wait.
I’m tellin’ you now, before it’s too late.
You remind me of things- not the ones I forgot to do.
You remind me I’m alive on a clear black night with a
yellow moon
Girl, I’m way in love with you.
You say you’re runnin’ late-
There’s no one on whom I’d rather wait.
When I’m by your side, I’m where I want to be.
I don’t want you apart from me.
You said I move you. I said I like the way you move. You say you’re not afraid but that kind of scares you too.
Girl, I’m way in love with you.
I don’t need Dr Ruth to tell me this is the moment of truth
I’ve tried to find the words but it’s just no use,
You don’t need to leave to find yourself-
You can find yourself right here.
I wanna find you here.
Just Like Me
What if everyone in the world were just like me
If we all looked and talked and thought alike
and were good at the very same things
We don’t like folks who are different-
and just don’t seem the same
with skin of various colors
and long and funny names
The ones who are strange or foreign
you know what I mean-
from all those distant places
with all their weird cuisines
If everyone in the world were just like me
Would we have homelessness and hunger,
war and poverty?
If every one of us looked and talked alike
Would we agree on everything, or find one of us to fight?
What if every driver on the highway looked just like you
It’d be boring ‘cause their cars would all be identical too.
Opposites attract and side by side they grow
intertwined like NPR and Christian radio
What if everyone in the world were just like me
who’d be architect and artist- look at our planet differently
Should the world be run by some generic engineer?
I’m just left of the mainstream and I kind of like it here.
If you believe in God, maybe this was the aim
God wanted us to be different, or we’d all be the same
Oh to live like you want, and let other folks be
Or, everyone could be just like me.
Not Goin’ Home
Silver light gleamin’ up from the rails-
Half moon in a clear black sky to light my trail.
I hear the music from a distant street
and the cinders crunch beneath my feet.
The wind’s at my back but it’s blowin’ cold.
They say I’m a dreamer but I’m not goin’ home.
These tracks go windin’ past my house.
These tracks’ll take you clear down south-
past more towns than you can count-
with Choctaw names you’ll only mispronounce.
Turn up your collar and don’t look back.
You don’t need to worry ‘bout what’s comin’ down the track.
You’ll hear it half a mile from here
and stand and watch while it disappears.
Trigonometry of Love
You say you’re learning all the angles
and deciphering the rules
and figuring the signs
the way that you did back in school.
You say that you and your new love
have found real chemistry
but from here it looks a lot
like trigonometry.
Love is complicated
and you don’t know the half
You’ll never make it simple
if you use the rules of math.
It’s hard to know who’s winning
when you both are keeping track
The curves have peaks and tangents
and the signs keep pointing back
Sing each other songs as you walk along the path, Bring each other poetry and forget about the math
Math has inequalities and it can be obtuse
Measurements in love you’ll find to be of little use
A formula will drive you crazy if you let it
You can show your work but there will be no partial credit.
This isn’t rocket science just an age old mystery
Your calculator’s useless and the slide-rule’s history
After years you might begin to see what makes her tick
But you won’t get very far with all of your arithmetic.
People search for love with chemistry
It’s so much more than mere anatomy
Love can be so fragile. There is no guarantee
or rules that work each time you try like in geometry.
Love is never simple but try to keep it free
of rules like those in algebra and trigonometry
A Change Will Do You Good
For a change of direction,
you’re long overdue
You can’t wait for instructions.
It’s all up to you.
You’re so well preserved. What’re you savin’ it for?
The rest of your life is beyond that door.
You sure took your time
You’d wait longer if you could
But nothin’ stays the same
And a change will do you good
I know that you’re scared and it’s so hard to see
But you’re just steps away from where you want to be
And you know it won’t be easy.
It never has been anyway
But it’s time to make a break
There’s so much you’ve got to say
There’s another side, a different point of view
Step over that line. Let it appear to you.
The Strangest Part
That’s the strangest part
That’s the strangest part
Who knew that it’s about
Living from the inside out
As you give can you believe
it’s sometimes harder to receive
The present leaves without a trace
You’re standing in a different place
You make it to the open door
and find that there’re a hundred more
As far as the eye can see
Nothing but possibilities
You only have to raise your voice
You only have to make one choice
Everything You’ve Got
You can’t run, so find a new pace
Find your own style. And a new grace.
Can you find your balance? Can you hold on tight?
And find your faith in the middle of the night?
It’s about all that you can do
with everything you’ve got
and not the things that hold you back
or anything you’re not
Can you take the change? Can you take the chance?
Will you walk the walk? Will you have this dance?
“Old before your time” or “Wise beyond your years.”
Walk like a child and don’t hide your tears.
All Roads Lead to You
I’ll be in Denver by one in the morning
If I can keep driving this pace.
I’m trying to keep my eyes on the road
But I keep on seeing your face
I’m lookin’ for signs and directions
and mile markers deep in the night
Grain elevators glow like temples
and silently flash their red lights.
I’m keepin’ you in sight
I pulled the car off the side of the road
the night air was so warm and sweet
from the sun bakin’ down that long summer day
on fields of cut hay and wheat
I used to keep a map on my wall
with every state I’d been through
and shade every highway I went down
Not knowing they’d all lead to you
All roads lead to you
Sometimes I wonder if my life would be different
If I could go back and relive the past
I’d skip those mistakes and dead-end streets
as long as I could end up at last
There on the street where we met for the first time
would you believe me when I’d try to say
Babe, I came all this way to find you
It was all leading up to this day
and all roads led to you
That night you told me it would all work out
You were there when I needed a friend
You said no matter the roads I had to go down
You’d be waiting for me in the end
You say when one road closes, another one opens
We have to hold on to that faith
It’s no wonder tonight as I drive to the west
I can’t help seein’ your face
and all roads lead to you
What Would You Do?
If you could do whatever you want, what would you do?
If you got to pick, which dreams would come true?
How would you live if you made the choices ’round here?
Where would you go if knew there was nothing to fear?
What if you lived from the heart and not by the rules?
How would it be if whatever you wanted was cool?
What if you knew you were perfect the way that you are
How would it be if your dreams could take you that far?
What if nobody told you what you had to do
If the one who was running your life turned out to be you?
What if you knew it was true?
What if you knew it was true?
What if you knew? What would you do?
What if you gave up judgement, anger, and hate
and started to practice forgiveness before it’s too late
What if they put you in charge just for one day?
Aw- What would you keep and what things would you give away?
One Hundred Years Ago
One hundred years ago he came to this country
Brown suit, brown shoes, fedora hat
Took the boat from Naples to Ellis Island
’told his family “I’m never goin’ back”
One hundred years ago he came to this country
Married his cousin ’cause it was the only way
No American girl would have these immigrants
That sort of thing was a generation away
He loved his guitar and piano
and the concertina we would ask for all the time
His grandkids would dance the tarantella
While he smiled his toothless grin and drank his wine
One hundred years ago he came to this country
He was a tailor with an artist’s hands and feel
He said Italians built the Empire State Building
and he loved FDR for the New Deal
And then one hundred years later
I finally went back to that port
Everyone there looked just like me
Big noses, big hearts- and they were so short
One hundred years ago he came to this country
He was only 17 years old
His name was Nicola Pelligrino
Which means “pilgrim” in Italian I am told.
It’ll Matter
It doesn’t matter how you look,
it’s not important what you weigh.
It doesn’t matter what you drive
or how much they’re gonna pay
Don’t you worry ’bout the future.
You will never change the past.
It doesn’t matter if you’re first,
It’s no disgrace to come in last.
It doesn’t matter how you move-
a limo or a chair with wheels
It’s up to you that you arrive
It’s up to you the way you feel.
It doesn’t matter what you eat-
or else it matters quite a bit
Start askin’ for advice-
you’ll never hear the end of it.
But it’ll matter who you touch and it matters what you give.
It’ll matter if you try and makes a difference that you lived.
We’re not here for very long. It’s the only chance you’ve got.
You think it may be time to wait, but I’m thinkin’ that it’s not.
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich.
You’re no less because you’re poor.
It’s a rolling of the dice,
not a way of keeping score.
Health and wealth are not rewards-
or used to punish if you’re bad.
It’s not he things you’re gonna get,
or about the stuff you had.
What Matters To Me
Two in the morning and I couldn’t sleep
countin’ my worries instead of sheep
I had some time to think it through
and what matters to me is you
It’s not the problems on the job
They’ll be there tomorrow it’s true
I remembered what’s important now
and what matters to me is you
It’s not about what I own
or the things that I gather
I remember when I hold you close-
those others things just don’t matter
It’s not the fancy restaurants
or the places we’ve been to
When I’m with you, I know that I’ve arrived
and what matters to me is you
It’s not the point if I write this down
‘though I hope I do that too
Just to remind me next time around
that what matters to me is you
It’s not about my next show
Will the people be many or few
‘cause you are almost always there
and what matters to me is you
I get distracted by the noise of the world
and all the endless chatter
but I remember when I hold you close
those other things just don’t matter
And now you’re sleepin in my arms
I guess I always knew
but I remembered in the middle of the night
that what matters to me is you
The River Flows
The river flows between the rocks-
It finds its way and it never stops.
It’s the wisdom of the deer and hawks
Elk, coyote, bear and fox.
Vireo, finch, mocking bird
every song you’ve ever heard.
We’ll ride the waves and share the song
The herons watch as we roll along.
The Illinois and the Buffalo-
the rivers know the way to go.
The water knows the turns to take
It winds and coils just like a snake.
And surges up around the bend
It sweeps and turns and it never ends.
We can’t go back and we can’t stay,
The river always knows the way.
Your voice is drifting on the breeze
beneath the great Magnolia trees.
Your song is carried on the wind
It grows and then flows back again.
I love your laugh and I love your song
I’ll love you for your whole life long.
Our love it grows and it never stops
And overflows out at the top.
Learnin’ To Fly
I’m just learnin’ to fly
I’m right where I want to be
I am beginning to fly
This is the life for me
I hear the voices from town
sayin’ you better come down
But I don’t really know
just how high I can go
There’s no fear at all.
I know I’m not gonna fall
It’s just hard to see
the need for all this gravity
I’m no rock or tree
Those are not the ways for me
If I seem different today
I’m just findin’ my way
I’m Tellin’ You Now
I’m tellin you now ’cause it just can’t wait.
I’m tellin’ you now, before it’s too late.
You remind me of things- not the ones I forgot to do.
You remind me I’m alive on a clear black night with a
yellow moon
Girl, I’m way in love with you.
You say you’re runnin’ late-
There’s no one on whom I’d rather wait.
When I’m by your side, I’m where I want to be.
I don’t want you apart from me.
You said I move you. I said I like the way you move. You say you’re not afraid but that kind of scares you too.
Girl, I’m way in love with you.
I don’t need Dr Ruth to tell me this is the moment of truth
I’ve tried to find the words but it’s just no use,
You don’t need to leave to find yourself-
You can find yourself right here.
I wanna find you here.
Just Like Me
What if everyone in the world were just like me
If we all looked and talked and thought alike
and were good at the very same things
We don’t like folks who are different-
and just don’t seem the same
with skin of various colors
and long and funny names
The ones who are strange or foreign
you know what I mean-
from all those distant places
with all their weird cuisines
If everyone in the world were just like me
Would we have homelessness and hunger,
war and poverty?
If every one of us looked and talked alike
Would we agree on everything, or find one of us to fight?
What if every driver on the highway looked just like you
It’d be boring ‘cause their cars would all be identical too.
Opposites attract and side by side they grow
intertwined like NPR and Christian radio
What if everyone in the world were just like me
who’d be architect and artist- look at our planet differently
Should the world be run by some generic engineer?
I’m just left of the mainstream and I kind of like it here.
If you believe in God, maybe this was the aim
God wanted us to be different, or we’d all be the same
Oh to live like you want, and let other folks be
Or, everyone could be just like me.
Not Goin’ Home
Silver light gleamin’ up from the rails-
Half moon in a clear black sky to light my trail.
I hear the music from a distant street
and the cinders crunch beneath my feet.
The wind’s at my back but it’s blowin’ cold.
They say I’m a dreamer but I’m not goin’ home.
These tracks go windin’ past my house.
These tracks’ll take you clear down south-
past more towns than you can count-
with Choctaw names you’ll only mispronounce.
Turn up your collar and don’t look back.
You don’t need to worry ‘bout what’s comin’ down the track.
You’ll hear it half a mile from here
and stand and watch while it disappears.
Trigonometry of Love
You say you’re learning all the angles
and deciphering the rules
and figuring the signs
the way that you did back in school.
You say that you and your new love
have found real chemistry
but from here it looks a lot
like trigonometry.
Love is complicated
and you don’t know the half
You’ll never make it simple
if you use the rules of math.
It’s hard to know who’s winning
when you both are keeping track
The curves have peaks and tangents
and the signs keep pointing back
Sing each other songs as you walk along the path, Bring each other poetry and forget about the math
Math has inequalities and it can be obtuse
Measurements in love you’ll find to be of little use
A formula will drive you crazy if you let it
You can show your work but there will be no partial credit.
This isn’t rocket science just an age old mystery
Your calculator’s useless and the slide-rule’s history
After years you might begin to see what makes her tick
But you won’t get very far with all of your arithmetic.
People search for love with chemistry
It’s so much more than mere anatomy
Love can be so fragile. There is no guarantee
or rules that work each time you try like in geometry.
Love is never simple but try to keep it free
of rules like those in algebra and trigonometry
A Change Will Do You Good
For a change of direction,
you’re long overdue
You can’t wait for instructions.
It’s all up to you.
You’re so well preserved. What’re you savin’ it for?
The rest of your life is beyond that door.
You sure took your time
You’d wait longer if you could
But nothin’ stays the same
And a change will do you good
I know that you’re scared and it’s so hard to see
But you’re just steps away from where you want to be
And you know it won’t be easy.
It never has been anyway
But it’s time to make a break
There’s so much you’ve got to say
There’s another side, a different point of view
Step over that line. Let it appear to you.
The Strangest Part
That’s the strangest part
That’s the strangest part
Who knew that it’s about
Living from the inside out
As you give can you believe
it’s sometimes harder to receive
The present leaves without a trace
You’re standing in a different place
You make it to the open door
and find that there’re a hundred more
As far as the eye can see
Nothing but possibilities
You only have to raise your voice
You only have to make one choice