WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT

(A. Block/D. Hecht)

I was walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
The way we used to do
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

I stop to see a weeping willow
Crying on his pillow
Maybe he's a-crying for me
and as the skys turn gloomy
The night winds whisper to me
I'm lonesome as I can be
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

I walk for miles along the highway
Well that's just my way
of saying "I love you"
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Searching for you

I'm always walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
Hoping you may be
Somewhere a-walking after midnight
Searching for me
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

SUN COMES UP, IT'S TUESDAY MORNING

(Michael Timmins)

Sun comes up, it's Tuesday morning
hits me straight in the eye
guess you forgot to close the blind last night
Oh, that's right, I forgot, it was me

I sure do miss the smell of black coffee in the morning,
the sound of water splashing all over the bathroom,
the kiss that you would give me even though I was sleeping,
but I kind of like the feel of this extra few feet in my bed
Telephone's ringing, but I don't answer it
'cause everybody knows that good news always sleeps till noon

Guess it's tea and toast for breakfast again
maybe I'll add a little T.V. too
No milk! God, how I hate that
Guess I'll go to the corner, get breakfast from Jenny
She's got a black eye this morning, `Jen how'd ya get it?'
she says, `Last night, Bobby got a little bit out of hand'

Lunchtime. I start to dial your number
then I remember so I reach for something to smoke
and anyways I'd rather listen to Coltrane
than go through all that shit again

There's something about an afternoon spent doing nothing
Just listening to records and watching the sun falling
Thinking of things that don't have to add up to something
and this spell won't be broken
by the sound of keys scraping in the lock

Maybe tonight it's a movie
with plenty of room for elbows and knees
a bag of popcorn all to myself,
black and white with a strong female lead
and if I don't like it, no debate, I'll leave

Here comes that feeling that I'd forgotten
how strange these streets feel
when you're alone on them
Each pair of eyes just filled with suggestion
So I lower my head, make a beeline for home
Seething inside

Funny, I'd never noticed
the sound the streetcars make as they pass my window
Which reminds me that I forgot to close the blind again
Yeah, sure I'll admit there are times when I miss you
Especially like now when I need someone to hold me
but there are some things that can never be forgiven
and I just gotta tell you
that I kinda like this extra few feet in my bed

'CAUSE CHEAP IS HOW I FEEL

(Michael Timmins)

It's the kind of night that's so cold, when you spit
it freezes before it hits the ground
And when a bum asks you for a quarter, you give a dollar
if he's out tonight he must be truly down
And I'm searching all the windows for a last minute present
to prove to you that what I said was real,
for something small and frail and plastic, baby,
'cause cheap is how I feel

Half moon in the sky tonight, bright enough
to come up with an answer
to the question why is it that every time I see you
my love grows a little stronger
But your memory leaves my stomach churning,
feeling like a lie about to be revealed,
but I'll horde all this to myself
'cause cheap is how I feel

It's not the smell in here that gets to me it's the lights
I hate the shadows that they cast,
and the sound of clinking bottles is the one sure thing
I'll always drag with me from my past
I think I'll find a pair of eyes tonight, to fall into
and maybe strike a deal
Your body for my soul, fair swap
`cause cheap is how I feel

THIRTY SUMMERS

(Michael Timmins)

Caught in the vice of heaven and earth
he turned his life into a cell
imprisoned by the doubts which hound us all
and those desires which we all know so well
His days he lost to promises, his nights he purged of dreams
and he would wake in the hours before sunrise
and dread the coming of the day

Never thought a man could become so desperate
never thought a life could lose so much hope
to be tearing at the roots around you
as if in manacles, or irons, or ropes
They say he told his children that all he taught was lost
that love and pride and honesty
were to be gained at too high a cost

It's been thirty summers that I've spent with him
and I expect thirty more to pass
he has blessed my life in so many ways
that I could never turn my back
But I need just one more reminder
of the man that he used to be
if he would just look deep into my eyes
and say it's in you my love that I will find the key

MARINER'S SONG

(Michael Timmins)

The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door
The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door
I would give it what it wants, but I do know,
it would just ask for more

I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through

I didn't mean to leave you,
I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow
I didn't mean to leave you, darling,
I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow
Why why why why why, oh why I did not drop my anchor,
Oh Lord, I will never know

I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through

On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm
On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm
Whispering baby, I'll be your delight, if you promise
to be my red sky tonight

I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through

In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm
In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm
But I would weather you my love, if you would be my guide,
if you would be my stars in the sky tonight

I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through

POWDERFINGER

(Neil Young)
Silver Fiddle BMI

Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river,
with a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun,
and it's making big waves

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wondering what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring
He told me, 'Red means run, Son, numbers add up to nothing'
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flash in the sky

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured,
to fade away so young
with so much left undone
Remember me to my love
I know I'll miss her

WHERE ARE YOU TONIGHT?

(Michael Timmins)

There's a young man in the corner playing 'Crazy' all night long
quarters piled high upon the table
He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile
he says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable'
But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap
tell me a different story
that this is not my prince to grant all my wishes
Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night
Just another boy with a sink full of dirty dishes

Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night
you promised me that we would be breaking free
Where are you tonight?

He tells me of the back roads
and how we'll drive them all night long
how the days will fade and the moon will hang forever
and how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song
and the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender

Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror
with his arm around my shoulder
this girl I see has grown so unfamiliar
and as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side
she can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar

Where are you tonight?
I don't think I can face tomorrow's light
not knowing if you'll be there to guide me
Where are you tonight?

Where are you tonight?
I think that I'll make it through all right,
but I'd love to have you just one more time beside me

WITCHES

(Margo and Michael Timmins)

There are witches in the hills calling my name
saying come join us sister, come kiss the flame
Come dance in the moonbeams, ride the night wind
make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins

I shiver with delight, I shiver with fear
my heart wants to go but my soul's filled with fear
So I turn to my lover and ask what do I do
do I answer their call or stay here with you

But under spell of deep sleep he moans and turns away
taking his protection and my desire to stay
So I rise to the hill tops, I ride the night winds
I make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins

ROCK AND BIRD

(Michael Timmins)

She captured both Rock and Bird
tied one to the leg of the other
kept them as prisoners
until they knew who was master
then she threw them to the sky

Bird with unbarred wings disappeared
Rock with weighted heart returned
and Rock became her anchor
and Bird became her dream

Now she stands on the forest floor
among the pines and towering firs
Rock still firm beneath her feet
Bird perched high above her
singing songs of love's betrayal

'I offered you my endless skies
you countered with hoods and chains
this song I sing will be the last
to be inspired by your memory'

ESCAPE IS SO SIMPLE

(Michael Timmins)

The way you kissed me this morning
it told me that you soon would be going
You didn't even look in my eyes
when you said goodbye

And last night in your sleep you broke all the promises
that I knew you would never keep
Now I'm reading the letter which you placed on the dresser
and you're five hundred miles down the road

Escape is so simple
in a world where sunsets can be raced
But distance only looses the knife
the pattern of its scar
can always be traced

Yeah, I remember when we said 'forever'
was the craziest word that we knew
but I think that I like it much better than I do 'goodbye'

And I could sit here all evening and think of the reasons
why you are not by my side
Instead I'll go to the kitchen, find a strong chair to sit in
and drink myself far, far away

Escape is so simple
in a world where sunsets can be raced
But distance only looses the knife
the pattern of its scar
can always be traced