I listened to a bird
that told me all
He seemed to make no sense as I recall
I listened to the bees, their buzzing sounds
Told nothing of the purpose of their rounds

The claws that tear, the fangs that bite
The placid pond, the bird in flight
The lion stalking 'round his kill
The flowers purple on the hill

I looked out at the trees that gently swayed
They didn't need to know how they were made
I wondered if the world kept something hid
Denied to me, for something that I did

The claws that tear, the fangs that bite
The placid pond, the bird in flight
The lion stalking 'round his kill
The flowers purple on the hill

I listened to a bird that told me all
He seemed to make no sense as I recall
So far I haven't heard a songbird sing
A single verse that told me anything

The claws that tear, the fangs that bite
The placid pond, the bird in flight
The lion stalking 'round his kill
The flowers purple on the hill

Brad Roberts - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Ellen Reid - vocals
Stewart Lerman - electric guitar, drums, omnichord
Steuart Smith - acoustic guitar, bass
Rob Morsberger - keyboards, string arrangement
Suzanne Ornstein - violin, viola
Debbie Assael - cello

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - acoustic guitar, bass, Optigan
Steuart Smith - electric guitar
Pinky Weitzman - Stroh violin
Jerremy Forbis - drums

You said you'd meet me in California
You said you'd meet me in California
Out on the ocean the mermaids are singing
Out on the ocean the sirens are calling
You said you'd meet me
You said you'd meet me

You said you'd live here, you said you'd love me
You said we'd stay here, and make a family
You said you'd meet me
You said you'd meet me

Token affections, deep in the night
Promises whispered, then parting at light
You said you'd meet me
You said you'd meet me

Out on the ocean the mermaids are singing
Out on the ocean the sirens are calling
You said you'd meet me
You said you'd meet me

Token affections, deep in the night
Promises whispered, then parting at light
You said you'd meet me
You said you'd meet me

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - drums, bass, acoustic guitar
Steuart Smith - electric guitar
Rob Morsberger - string arrangement, Hammond B3 organ, celeste, melodica, Koestler Organ
Suzanne Ornstein - violin, viola
Jerremy Forbis - percussion

We turn out water into wine
It's something we do all the time
It doesn't cost a single dime
And it's beautiful... Yes it's beautiful

Our glasses, never just half full
The flowers vivid, colorful
And though we feel
the push and the pull
And it's beautiful...
Yes it's beautiful

And through our hearts are in the right place
And out there is the whole human race
And each one has a mask, and a face
And it's beautiful...

Enough about the look in your eyes
Enough about the sun and the sky
It will always be just you and I
And it's beautiful...
Yes it's beautiful

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - drums, Omnichord, acoustic guitar
Steuart Smith - electric guitar, piano, Mellotron, bass

One day I awakened
You left no goodbyes
You left no truth
And you left with no lies
And now it seems
That I'm paralyzed

I swam against the current
In rivers deep and wide
Oh so long - staring at the skies
And now it seems
That I'm paralyzed

I thought I had us plotted out
My chapters all revised
And now you just walk in the door
With your lips and hair and eyes
And when I see your face again
The living in me dies
The living in me dies

I had my heart down to a science
My dreams all analyzed
But here you are
With that look in your eyes
And now it seems like I'm paralyzed
And now it seems that I'm paralyzed

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - acoustic guitar, Omnichord, bass
Steuart Smith - electric guitar
Rob Morsberger - string arrangement, Hammond B3 organ, Theremin
Suzanne Ornstein - violin, viola
Jerremy Forbis - drums

I can't tell what's true
So it's harder to lie
I haven't got the proofs
My equations run dry

I'm in the in between place,
Where the seam meets the cloth
Where the lily pad's face
Shines up out of the bog

I've still got my mind
My body, and my heart
I can still be unkind
I can still come apart

I'm in the in between place,
Where the seam meets the cloth
Where the lily pad's face
Shines up out of the bog

Where the line in the sand
Is drawn with a stick
'Til the winds sweep the land
And blow the air thick

The place where the sky
Meets up with the land
Where the 1 watches 1
That it longs to command

Brad Roberts - lead vocals, mouth trombone
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - acoustic guitar, optigan
Steuart Smith - bass, electric guitar, piano
Rob Morsberger - Hammond B3 organ, vibes
Jerremy Forbis - drums

Well they're willing and their able
When they come over to my table
And say, "Hello, there..."
There's a Jane and a Julie
And then there's simply yours truly
Sitting alone here
They say one day I'll finally settle down

Not today, baby, cause there's
A whisper in the breeze
Can you hear, baby?
Hear it callin' out to me
So move along, baby

Well they pay my lots of money
Just to stand up and be funny
For an hour
Then the bees want some honey
And then oh-boy-all-of-a-suddenly
I'm their flower
They say one day I'll finally
Come around

Not today, baby, cause there's
A whisper in the breeze
Can you hear, baby?
Hear it callin' out to me
So move along, baby

Don't know what's comin' at me
Or who's such and such
As long as I'm this happy
I don't care, care too much

Well the show is all over
And I'm rolling in the clover all alone here
And I know you'd keep my company
But I'm really very comfy on my own, here
They say one day I'll finally stay in town

Not today, baby, cause there's
A whisper in the breeze
Can you hear, baby?
Hear it callin' out to me
So move along, baby

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - baritone guitar, Hammond B3 organ, bass
Steuart Smith - electric guitar
Jerremy Forbis - drums

I'll never forget
The first time we met
On the beach, by the sea-
Just opened my eyes
Voila, a surprise:
You were looking at me
And I wished I owned
A heart of stone

And I knew it was over then
I knew that I was through
You don't have to believe me
But I know it's true
And when you go, and I'm all alone
I'll wish I owned that heart of stone

I was taken aback
I was thrown off my track
By your beauty and joy
The wind blew your hair
I just lay there, and stare
Like a stupid schoolboy
And I wished I owned
A heart of stone...

And I knew it was over then
I knew that I was through
You don't have to believe me
But I know it's true
And when you go, and I'm all alone
I'll wish I owned that heart of stone

Then we'd sit, holding hands
Lay so many plans
Of the places we'd go
But the years quickly passed
And then it came to the last
We never left home

And so now we are old
Both our stories are told
And we wait for the end
And if you're the first to go
I will follow you, know
That my heart will not mend
And I wish I owned
A heart of stone

Brad Roberts - lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Steuart Smith - various
Rob Morsberger - string arrangement
Suzanne Ornstein - violin, viola
Jerremy Forbis - percussion

There is a path by Lake Bras d'Or
I never go there anymore
It's not the same, since you and I
The path is narrow, over-grown
The few that thread there, thread alone

A patch of land, I call my own
I planted seeds, some have grown
But weeds have choked the few remains
My crop has withered in the sun
Doomed before it had begun

I thought I read the writing on the wall
Turned out that it was just a bit of scrawl
I walked along, tasting my defeat -
There was a time when what was writ
Seemed to me clear, and full of wit

There is a path by Lake Bras d'Or
I never go there anymore
It's not the same, since you and I
The path is narrow, over-grown
The few that thread there, thread alone

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - Optigan
Steuart Smith - banjo, mandolin, electric guitar
Jerremy Forbis - drums

I don't know if you've been told
If this old place is bought or sold
But I'm here now and now its mine
It's not much but it suits me fine

Call me thief or call me bum
It's squatter's rights where I come from
Don't show your face don't dark my door
Or you'll find out what I'm famous for

I'm not from here, I don't care
You can go to hell while I comb my hair
I might be right, I might be wrong
Just listen to the words of my goddamn song

Call me snake or call me rat
Its squatter's rights from where I'm at
Don't show your face, don't dark my door
Or you'll find out what I'm famous for

So stay the hell off my new land
While I pick my teeth and shoot tin cans
I'll be sittin' right out here
Workin' on my tan and drinkin' my beer

You can call my mother nasty names
It's squatter's rights from where she came
Don't show your face, don't dark my door
Or you'll find out what I'm famous for

Brad Roberts - lead vocals
Ellen Reid - background vocals
Stewart Lerman - Optigan, bass
Steuart Smith - electric guitar, piano
Jerremy Forbis - drums

Her sugar lips, her chinney-chin-chin
Ooh la-la - Where has she been?
Her silvery voice, her sweet perfume
The light she brings into the room
Her sunny smile when she walks the walk
Hey evil eye, her crazy talk
Her simple face, her pretty head
Her fickle heart
Her someone else instead

You'll never catch her
But you can watch her run
Sometimes you get closer
But now you see her, now you don't
Now you see her, now you don't
You'll never match her
But you can have some fun
Maybe you'll get to hold her
But now you see her, now you don't
Now you see her, now you don't

Her shiny hair, those lacy things
Ooh la-la - Where has she been?
The music plays, she's asked to dance
But sadly, no he missed his chance
The times she's had, the men she's known
Still she prefers to be alone
Hey empty room, her lonely bed
Her fickle heart, her someone else instead

You'll never catch her
But you can watch her run
Sometimes you get closer
But now you see her, now you don't
Now you see her, now you don't
You'll never match her
But you can have some fun
Maybe you'll get to hold her
But now you see her, now you don't
Now you see her, now you don't

When it's dark out
I want to sneak out
Drink my troubles away
Can't forget her
Wish I never met her
I still regret the day

Brad Roberts - acoustic guitar
Ellen Reid - lead vocals
Stewart Lerman - Optigan, bass
Steuart Smith - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, optigan
Rob Morsberger - string arrangement, accordion
Suzanne Ornstein - violin, viola

Put a face
on the page
into scenes
put a time
to a place
with a theme

Give it rhythm
meet the strict
rhyming scheme
get it down
write it out
make it seem

Into a room
that feels more
than a dream,
but a place
that we all
yearn to be

Like a real history,
Kings and Queens;
And the dawn,
As the birds start to sing,
The dust-motes
Lit up by a beam
Of the sun
Through the window
That stream