Always Michelangelo

I was walking down a dirt road
Right outside the city
Right outside the city where I live

I was staring at a mountain
Not too far from Florence
Not too far from Florence where I live

On the side of the mountain
Waiting there for me
Waiting there for me to set it free

I saw the whitest marble
Perfect for the hero
Perfect for the hero I would carve

Each of us in his recall
Saw the Masters great and small
Before and since they come and go
No one Michelangelo

Piero Soderini
A Florentine of wealth
A Florentine of wealth and taste

Gave me a block of marble
Eighteen feet tall
Eighteen feet tall and white as pearl

On a shaky wooden scaffold
Deep into night
Deep into night of every day

I carved the man I saw
Protector of the people
Protector of the people that he loved

Each of us in his recall
Saw the Masters great and small
Before and since they come and go
No one Michelangelo

In the first morning light
A chisel in my hand
A chisel in my hand to liberate

A Roman took on life
Strong and serene
Strong and serene, a perfect gaze

Before the dust had settled
On the floor of the studio
On the floor of the studio where I lived

The voices rose in wonder
And gathered into song
And gathered into song the highest praise

Each of us in his recall
Saw the Masters great and small
Before and since they come and go
No one Michelangelo

There's A Man In The Mall

There's a man in the mall
He's got something to say
There'll be a whole lot of trouble
If you get in his way
Just another twisted soul
With a shiny gun in his hand
Promising destruction
If we didn't follow his plan

You should have seen all the people
Standing frozen in their shoes
Not a finger touched a cellphone
They each had too much to lose
A father with his young son
A mother with a friend
Hostages at midday
They worry how it might end

Put him on the cover of Time
Give him a variety show
Such an interesting story
Such an interesting man

Just another everyday
The sky a powder blue
Hold your breath or say a prayer
Either one will do

There's a man in the mall
He says he wants a new boss
And a girl and a new house
He doesn't care about cost
We really tried not to laugh
When he held up his gun
And said he wanted world peace
And for us all to be one

When I raised my hand
I thought he nodded his head
I know he twitched just a little
And looked away when I said,
"I got news for you, brother
do you really think you're alone?
We're all hurtin' inside
Trying to find our way home"

Put him on the cover of Time
Give him a variety show
Such an interesting story
Such an interesting man

Just another everyday
The sky a powder blue
Hold your breath or say a prayer
Either one will do

There's a man in the mall
His body stretched on the floor
His shirt an ugly red
His gun won't shoot anymore
An off-duty cop
Like a message from hell
Stopped him where he stood
Without a soul to sell

Just another everyday
The sky a powder blue
Hold your breath or say a prayer
Either one will do

World Without End

I snuck into this world one night
My eyes were never more open
My soul was never more closed to fear

Standing on uncertain legs
The dreams crossing like a thousand songs
The quiet voice that we were meant to hear

Tried to walk a middle way
Between desire's call and eternity
The crooked smoke of devil's play

Heaven was a distant shore
Nothing like the life I chose to lead
Holding on for fear I'd lose my way

Out of chill and shadow the stars appear so bright
Out of emptiness the fullness of the light
World without end, world without end

I met her when the frozen rain
Kept us huddled close inside
A pair of tired clouds of light

Even now I can recall
How she wore her hair across her eyes
Her iridescence late at night

It's always been a mystery
Finding her among the olive trees
Calling me before she knew my name

Even on the longest night
The sound of whispered thoughts
Caressing every lover's claim

Out of chill and shadow the stars appear so bright
Out of emptiness the fullness of the light
World without end, world without end

An old man on an icy road
Loosening the strings of my memory
I never leave this rented room

The voices stand around like stones
They hardly notice everything has changed
I want to tell them that my love still blooms

She sleeps across the hall from me
A faded afghan placed across her lap
A silent witness to the day we kissed

Later when I close my eyes
She comes to me with her arms held wide
Singing like an echo in the mist

Out of chill and shadow the stars appear so bright
Out of emptiness the fullness of the light
World without end, world without end,
World without end, world without end

The Terrible Beauty

You have seen what you have seen
Water turned to stone and back again
But there are places you can't go, all around you
And there are faces you can't see

Chasing down that pretty thing called soul
Stuck inside a bottle set adrift
But there is endless movement, all around you
Living just beyond your eyes

I was a lonely stranger, you took me in
I sang a song to dreamers, peeking into other rooms
The terrible beauty of things unseen
The terrible beauty of things unseen

Footsteps on a bridge in the dead of night
Finding what was lost in a secret place
Echoes of another world at play, all around you
They're dancing on a shadow in the light

Rising in the mist of a waterfall
A solitary moon in an autumn sky
But there are colors never seen, all around you
Painting every corner of your day

I was a lonely stranger, you took me in
I sang a song to dreamers, peeking into other rooms
The terrible beauty of things unseen
The terrible beauty of things unseen

You must leave things where they lie
Everything but love will disappoint
There's so much more than this I know, all around me
There's so much more than this

I was a lonely stranger, you took me in
I sang a song to dreamers, peeking into other rooms
The terrible beauty of things unseen
The terrible beauty of things unseen

Unless I Die

I wanna wanna wanna see the heavens open up
And all the trembling hearts released and born anew

I listen to the wind for signs of harmony
The taste of milk and honey on a day of rest

I look for some assurance of eternity
Spread across a lazy sky forever true

I wanna wanna wanna see the lion with the lamb
But I know I never will unless I die

In a Garden Green

She has made everything
Beautiful in its time
She has put eternity
In this man's mind

A generation comes
A generation goes
But she remains forever

The race is never to the swift
The battle to the strong
No bread for the wise
Who struggle all day long

But time and chance
happen to them all
and she remains forever

In a garden green
A flower grows
Wearing nothing more than its own
Magnificence
Look beyond the sky
With your better eyes
And wrap your arms around your own
Providence

He who digs a pit
Will surely fall in it
Better to watch a cloud
Than foolish play commit

She destroys
The wisdom of the wise
And she remains forever

Wherever the oak tree falls
Is where that tree will lie
The sun that disappears tonight
Tomorrow will arise

A kingdom rich and proud
Will fall away like sand
But she remains forever

In a garden green
A flower grows
Wearing nothing more than its own
Magnificence
Look beyond the sky
With your better eyes
And wrap your arms around your own
Providence

Her beauty unsurpassed
No heaven's equal seen
Far beyond the farthest star
Eternal Magdalene

The river dry as bone
The river floods its banks
But she remains forever

She has told me everything
And numbered all my days
Eat the food in front of me
And push the plate away

Today is tomorrow's past
Nothing here will last
While she remains forever

In a garden green
A flower grows
Wearing nothing more than its own
Magnificence
Look beyond the sky
With your better eyes
And wrap your arms around your own
Providence

Instantaneity

Can you just for a moment
Try to focus on this, here, now
Make amends with yesterday
And leave tomorrow alone

Be the man on the wire
Up there higher than high
Everything in a second
Or you drop like a stone
Or you drop like a stone

Too much time in reflection
On days you've already lived
Wastes a good walk in sunshine
And keeps you firmly in place

Your worried contemplation
Of days you may never see
Cannot help you to wrestle
The world today that you face
The world today that you face

A thimble on the table
A glass of wine in your hand
This one particular moment
Precious time in a glass

Tomorrow always arrives
It doesn't need your help
Every harsh word you've spoken
Will always stay in the past
Will always stay in the past

The young dawn in the eastern sky
All aglow in your eyes
Can you stay in this moment
And release all the rest

Let's do something special
Before we change our minds
Something irresistible
Let's get you out of that dress
Let's get you out of that dress

Let's do something special
Before we change our minds
Something irresistible
Let's get you out of that dress
Let's get you out of that dress

Together

Wouldn't you agree with me
There's not a better place to be
Nowhere in the whole wide world
Just here together with this girl

Busy though the day may be
I can never fail to see
That after all is said and done
You will always be the one

You are love, you are love, you are love, you are love

Even on a rainy day
When darkness seems here to stay
I only have to see you smile
And sit beside you for awhile

Together by an angry sea
There's nowhere that I'd rather be
With you asleep next to me
Everything is ecstasy

You are love, you are love, you are love, you are love

My heart will always be
Laughing at eternity
Standing in the sun with you
There couldn't be a better view

Even if the world ran down
And decided to stop spinning round
We would be in harmony
Love like it was meant to be

I could never see things through
Without the joy I get from you
As certain as the setting sun
Together when the day is done

You are love, you are love, you are love, you are love

Wouldn't you agree with me
There's not a better place to be
Nowhere in the whole wide world
Just here together with this girl

Busy though the day may be
I can never fail to see
That after all is said and done
You will always be the one

You are love, you are love, you are love, you are love

My heart will always be
Laughing at eternity
Standing in the sun with you
There couldn't be a better view

Botticelli Blue

On the last day of the month
Of the year before the fall
When the crowd destroyed the coat of arms
Of a king we can't recall

Against a sky of Botticelli blue
Pressed hard on reddened soil
Lessons taught but never learned
The soul of grace is spurned

Golden earrings laid on satin sheets
Multi-colored tapestries
Buried years ago by empty men
Whose anger sought release

A kingdom meant to last forevermore
Broken fragments of regret
Lessons taught but never learned
A key that will not turn

Did you see the sun today?
Was it ashen gray?
Does it still look tired
Like a dog that's lost it's way?
Did you see the sun…today?

A city filled with blind men
Who tap and tap their ivory canes
Behind the curtains no one moves
No innocence remains

Fading memories of excess
The driving rain will wash away
Lessons taught but never learned
Nothing will return

Breathless beauty, fields of green
The painted sky celestial blue
All are fading images
Someone forgotten knew

Begin the journey back again
The lighted path awaits
Lessons can be learned
A just dominion earned

Did you see the sun today?
Was it ashen gray?
Does it still look tired
Like a dog that's lost it's way?
Did you see the sun…today?