1. |
If I Had Wings
03:41
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If I had wings, I’d carry you up to higher places,
These valleys surround you now, from a million miles away,
The faintest lines, on a swirling visage of our Mother,
Far a way, She spins in space and time.
No wings have I, the soles of my shoes have holes, clothes fadin’…
Weathered clothes, that shed the rain at night,
But I have my room, a small dog at home alone awaits me,
The bills are paid, though the cable’s comin’ due.
Once I had moonbeams, and all the dreams, and toys, in Candyland,
Down sizin’ took it’s hand, swept them away…
But I still have the breeze, that fills the sails at sunset,
I have the trails, that crisscross in the sky,
I have my dream, to find some peace amid the litter,
I have my whiles, that keep me safe at night.
Once I had moonbeams, and all the dreams, and toys, in Candyland,
Down sizin’ took it’s hand, swept them away…
But I still hear the song, the seagulls sing to me,
A gentle song, waves crashing on the beach,
It brings me peace, amidst the swirling rush of traffic,
A place of rest, ’til I’m back out, on the street.
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2. |
Goodbye Song
02:55
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Only such a short time, I liked you when you came,
The fire that burns within you, has lit another flame,
But time has flown, and now were going’, and things won’t be the same,
But your memory will still warm me, if we never meet again.
What can I tell you, that you don’t already know?
Although I am much older, you know the way to go,
So all I’ll say is thank you friend, and I just want you to know,
That I hope that love will follow you, everywhere you go.
I’m sorry for the trouble, sometimes I ain’t been kind,
There were times when I was foolish, times when I was blind,
But your love just kept on coming on, and that is hard to find.
Oh, I stood corrected now and then, but you satisfied my mind.
So, so long my good buddy, its been short, but it’s been sweet,
May the love that shines within you, find it’s way out to the street,
And in the hearts of passers-by, whose pulse has grown weak,
And may you hear the drum within you, and never skip a beat.
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3. |
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You don’t have to be Superman, I love you,
You don’t even have to say you care.
But when you come home late and I’m starvin’ for some affection,
I don’t want to have to talk to your empty chair.
Oh, the day in the park, and the kiss in the dark when you loved me,
I thought you gave much more than I could take,
But now your dinner’s grown cold, and the children are sold to the TV,
And the clutch seems to slip and there’s something not right with the brakes.
But, you don’t have to be superman, I love you,
And you don’t even have to say you care.
But when you come home late and I’m starvin’ for some affection,
Don’t want to have to talk to your empty chair.
And now you have your career, and you hold it quite dear, like a trophy,
And I know that time has changed how I appear,
But a flower can't grow without sunlight, and so, I’m requesting,
That you make up your mind, and start findin’ some time to be here.
You don’t have to be superman, I love you,
You don’t even have to say you care.
But when you come home late and I’m starvin’ for affection,
I don’t want to have to talk to your empty chair.
Don’t want to have to talk to your empty chair.
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4. |
Outer Space
03:11
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Words too easily change their shapes,
Shapes solidify,
The laughter and the smiling face
become an anguished cry,
The closer that I get to things,
the farther ‘way they seem,
As the smile escapes, the tears dry up,
and fade into a dream.
Does music live in outer space?
Can the body ever lie?
And when a song comes from the heart,
Can you let that feeling die?
And if our hearts are out of tune,
Should we sing another song?
Can I pretend that things are right,
When I know that something’s wrong.
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5. |
My Grandpa's Song
03:44
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There’s a train that runs through Guelph, to the mines near Temiskaming,
My Grandpa’s on the train, he loves to hear it’s whistle sing,
He’s thirsty when he gets there, and he's got to earn his steak,
Hey Mister, “Do you have some work?”. “Son, do you have what it takes?”
“Do you know anything ‘bout powder?”, “No Sir” says my gramps,
“You”re just the man I’m looking for at four-thirty at the camp.”
“I don’t need some fool who thinks he does, to blow us both to Hell”.
It wasn’t long, my gramps was gone with the whistle and the bell(s).
“You can’t buy a farm in England when you’ve only got your mom,
At a lawyers desk in London, I’d be fatter than a plum-
pudding in a swivel chair, thats no life for me,
I need the dirt beneath my boots, and the birds up in the trees.”.
There’s a train that runs through Guelph, turns left at Temiskaming,
Picks up mail in Winnipeg, through the Battlefords she screams,
He finds a guide in Lloydminster, they watch the wheel turn south,
It won’t be long, before the prairie soil, feeds another prairie mouth.
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6. |
No Weepin' Woman Blues
03:13
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Well, I give you back your telephone, I don’t need it anymore,
And, you can have the number, that’s posted on your door.
You might want to change your mind, just like you done before,
But Mamma, doesn’t live here, anymore.
Well, If you find yourself a girl, who wants to look at your machine,
You can take her for a ride, upon your crazy dreams.
When the gas tanks out of gas, don’t come knockin’ at my door,
Cause Mamma, doesn’t live here, anymore.
Your Mamma has woken up,
She has seen the light,
From now on she’s gonna do things,
A little more right.
You won’t get no calls, no requests, demands, or pleas,
You won’t get no weepin’ woman, commin’ crawlin’ on her knees.
The old ball game is over now, there’s no more chance to score,
‘Cause Mamma doesn’t live here anymore.
Your Mamma has woken up,
She has seen the light,
From now on she’s gonna do things,
A little more right.
You won’t get no calls, no requests, demands, or pleas,
You won’t get no weepin’ woman, commin’ crawlin’ on her knees.
The old ball game is over now, there’s no more chance to score,
’Cause Mamma doesn’t live here anymore, No, your Mamma doesn’t live here anymore,
‘Cause Mamma doesn’t live here anymore.
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7. |
Ode to Gerry
04:05
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You say you are a lonely man like Jesus,
Who’s lookin’ for a friend, We’ll feed the poor.
You asked with all your heart, But I said we had to part,
Now, I can’t really see you anymore.
The water’s splash, the lightning flash between us,
Your presence doesn't comfort me no more,
You see, I’ve got my plans, and I’m tryin’ to be a man,
Love’s taken me away to other shores.
Hey Gerry, where’d you go?, In this world, I miss you so,
I knew you when we had the eyes to see,
But life here was too slow, and you had no place to go,
Gun on the floor, and all that tragedy.
Was it drugs, or was it too much distance?
That razor mind of yours had rusted dull,
In elevated flight, you burned with radiant light,
Where once was seed, is now an empty hull.
Hey Gerry, where’d you go, in this world I miss you so,
I knew you when you had the heart to feel.
But life here was too cold, and you had no place to go,
Gun on the floor and all that tragedy.
I believe
That there’s mountains to climb ahead,
But you’ll never get there if your dead,
I had to let you go.
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8. |
Praise for Robert
03:01
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There sits a man, behind steel bars,
Whose weathered hand, once touched the scars,
As his daughter, calls to him in pain.
All the doctors, could do was cut,
That’s when he said, “Hey, that’s enough,
Because I love her, I have to set her free”.
Another day, ticks slowly by,
He gives the college books a try,
After supper, he’ll watch them squabble on T.V.
But, I bet he’ll sleep tonight,
When the guards, turn out the lights,
Because he loved her, and he had to set her free.
He knew he’d have to hear, hear some call it murder,
But the call that he heeded, came so much clearer.
And now the jets, roar overhead,
And another nation, counts its dead,
After supper, they still squabble on T.V.,
But I’d like, to shake his hand,
Love to see his boots back upon the land,
Because he loved her, and he had to set her free.
Because he loved her, he had to set her free.
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9. |
Colour of the Sun
02:23
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Well, I wonder,
how my own true love
Is spending time tonight.
I wonder
If she’s lonely
In the hours I’m out of sight.
As the truck
roars down the highway,
and it’s lights all fade from view,
I’m wishin’
she were standin’ here,
and I’m wondering what she'd do.
Is her hair
the color of the sun?
Can she smile
with all her heart?
Does she ever think about this one
In the hours when we’re apart?
I’ll ask the waitress
for more coffee,
roll another, “cigarette”,
and wonder if the sun’s gone down,
and if she’s gone to bed.
Is her hair
the color of the sun?
Can she smile
with all her heart?
Does she ever think about this one,
in the hours when we’re apart?
As the truck roars down the highway,
tires screaming in the rain,
I’m wishin’ she was standin’ here,
and holding’ me again.
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10. |
Lonely Boy
03:20
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Oh, where are you lonely boy?
Are you real or just a dream?
The moon just went behind the clouds,
Have you flown away, did we treat you mean?
Are you sleeping in your mother’s arm?
Or playin’ with a friend?
You know I’d love, to see you smile,
When the sun comes out again.
Did the hand that struck you then,
leave its mark upon your face?
And the shouts of rage,
and words unspoke,
leave their scars in a deeper place?
The gate that keeps the jackals out,
keeps a tiger trapped inside,
you pay for sanctuary with
those things you gotta hide.
Oh, where are you lonely boy,
When I need a prayer from you?
Although I hurt you like I did,
It was nothing that I meant to do.
We share a legacy, cold steel and stone,
It was handed down to me.
Only your wise and gentle words
can set our spirits free.
Oh, where are you lonely boy,
now I’ve swept you, from my life,
The shadow of your silent face
clouds the sky, and turns the sun to ice.
Are you sleeping in your mothers arms,
Or playing with a friend?
You know I’d love to see you smile,
When the sun comes out again.
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11. |
Primordial Soup
03:27
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It was gettin’ past four-thirty, I was tired and I was beat,
I punched the clock, hung up my smock, and walked out to the street,
Them lightnin’ bolts were flashin’, at the Cosmic Bar & Grill,
I bellied right up to the bar and ordered me some swill.
I must have sat a billion years, the cook was mighty slow,
He took some methane from the air and added H2O,
Then he threw in some ammonia, and zapped it with a bolt,
And tasted his discovery, an amino acid float.
Hey waiter there’s a fly in my primordial soup today,
Last time I was here there was only DNA,
So compliment the chef, and bring the salt I pray,
If I don’t eat my dinner soon the thing might fly away.
When dinner time was over, I was tired and all alone,
It’s hard to get excited, when you’re talkin’ to your clones,
I might as well talk to my mirror, unhook my telephone,
So I hid my frown, and spun around, and I headed for my home.
When I got to 42nd street I saw the strangest sight,
It was plump and kinda bumpy, and its lips were really bright,
So I asked it home, I knew it could walk ‘cause it had two legs like me,
A year has passed, time went fast, we’re no longer two but three.
Hey waiter there’s a fly in my primordial soup today,
Last time I was here there was only DNA,
So compliment the chef, and bring the salt I pray,
If I don’t eat my dinner soon the thing might fly away.
Well I thought that kids just grew from buds, and everyone was the same,
But this one’s different from us both, with hair as red as flames,
I thought that sex was good for something, now I know it’s true,
If you don’t like the way you look then have a kid or two.
Hey waiter there’s a fly in my primordial soup today,
Last time I was here there was only DNA,
So compliment the chef, and bring the salt I pray,
If I don’t eat my dinner soon the thing might fly away.
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12. |
Home Again
05:06
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Well, they handed me back my keys last night,
Two weeks in jail, for drivin’ tight.
Didn’t see that sign that said “ONE WAY”,
When I did, so did the cruiser at the traffic lights.
At least the bed was warm.
I been sleepin’ at night in this car of mine,
What I made in the day, I spent on wine.
Should’a listened, to that cop, a month ago,
My plates are old, but he let me go,
And winter’s comin’ on.
Well those two weeks in jail, were a kick in the ass,
I wanna get high, but I gotta buy gas.
And the road stretches out to the western sea,
No way I’ll make it, but I gotta break free,
And I’ll be comin’ home, dancin' down the Avenue,
Oh my, the trees have grown, the old man keeps it all so new,
Home never was a place to cling to, either way there swung an open door,
Rushing out, ignoring all those words of gentle warning,
Coming back, I’m sure I’ll hear some more.
I got four hundred miles behind me now,
Spent the night in the Mission in Portland town.
Ain’t no work, and the money’s all gone,
Got four hundred to go, got my tools to pawn,
And I’ll be comin’ home, dancin' down the Avenue,
Oh my, the trees have grown, the old man keeps it all so new,
Home never was a place to cling to, either way there swung an open door,
Rushing out, ignoring all those words of gentle warning,
Coming back, I’m sure I’ll hear some more.
Home Again, so good to see your face again,
Your smile lights up the place again, let’s take a look around.
Home, I need a place, a week or maybe two,
‘Till the sun comes shinin’ through again,
And I’ll be on my way.
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13. |
Season for Dreaming
02:43
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With my suitcase in hand, heart in my pocket,
I’m takin’ a long look, I’m turnin’ away,
I got reasons to stay, reasons for leavin’,
The goodbyes have won, now I’m on my way.
And ain’t it strange, how good friends can part?
I hardly know your name,
I can’t ask you to say, you’ll keep your gate open,
When I come back, to see you again.
Now I sit in my room, with all my illusions
Of how things might have, or maybe could be,
It’s a time now for work, a season for dreamin’
It may seem like nothin’, but it’s somethin’ to me.
And ain’t it strange, how good friends can part?
I hardly know your name,
I can’t ask you to say, you’ll keep your gate open,
When I come back, to see you again.
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John Burn
DOB: 1948
Lives in a house/truck.
Originally from Vancouver, BC, he
studied
Prosthetics at UCLA and spent most of his working life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Likes three
-wheel cars and wind turbines,and parabolic solar collectors.
... more
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