This concept album was written for FAWM 2014 and has titles corresponding to the titles of Todd Rundgren's "Runt" album.
Pushing through life uphill, backwards in a wagon Hitting the brakes downhill and my feet are dragging I get to the bottom and I’m broke down and busted I’m feeling old, like my bones are rusted Getting old sucks, and life’s not worth living When the light comes for me, I’m going to heaven Can’t wait for that day But I’ve got something to say You see, it’s not where I’m at, it’s what I am And I am not the negative you thought Getting older is a gift, it’s a plan And facing those later years is a future I’ve bought Long ago, I made up my mind That getting older will not be unkind That it’s the way I face it That it’s the way I’ll live it So broke down and busted is not going to be me I plan to live to be old, and to live healthily The food I eat will not destroy me And the people I know will not annoy me And the life I live will not betray me And the time I’ve got left will not delay me I’ll be living it to the extreme Where I never struggle going upstream Where life’s moments are all to be enjoyed Where life’s happiness is never destroyed
Believe in me, I believe in myself The future is yet to begin Believe in me, I’m not done yet I’m not defined by where I’ve been In the past, I’ve done my best That doesn’t mean I can’t do better The future’s bright, but I don’t need shades The sun shines for me forever That doesn’t mean I don’t get discouraged That doesn’t mean I can’t be encouraged I am what I am and I am what I believe And I believe I’ve got a lot to give The way I look at it, I’ve got years to create If I were dried up, where would I go? I only need to say “I can do it” And never ever let someone tell me “no.” If you will believe in me, I will believe in you We’ll make the future together For what I see in me, can be yours, it’s true The sun shines for you forever
Now is the time, this is the place There is a truth you have to face We gotta get you a woman The time is now, it’s not too late Don’t put it off and seal your fate We gotta get you a woman She’s not a slave, she’s not a maid, She won’t clean up a mess you’ve made We gotta get you a woman She’ll hold your hand, right when you need A friend who’s there when you don’t succeed We gotta get you a woman A woman will care, a woman will share A woman could drive you crazy A woman will love, like she’s sent from above As long as you don’t get lazy The die is cast, your fate is sealed The truth of life is now revealed We gotta get you a woman A woman is strong, so don’t get me wrong A woman can be your best friend A woman is brave, your life she can save A woman will be a godsend
Forty years had passed me by In that time I never tried To keep up with the people I’d turned my back, and all I shunned The friends I had abandoned No friendships to rekindle But absence and longing The friends I was missing The opportunity was there The friendships needed repair I walked into the room My mistake was to assume That it would go according to my plan But all I heard was “Who’s that man?” Not a hint of recognition Not a chance of vindication Forty years of disgrace Flying straight into my face I had never taken the time I had never spent a dime To call or send a greeting I had turned myself away I never looked that way I now deserved the beating Who’s that man? Who’s that man? The echoed words were clear Who’s that man? Who’s that man? My friends I should have kept near
Once burned, a candle has no life Once burned, a candle gives no light Once burned, all the heat is gone Once burned, all its use is done But what if it were an actual life? But what if it could again give light? But what if it could again provide heat? What if its own death it could defeat? People are like candles, their life is a light And throughout they shine during day and at night. And when the life’s over the light is snuffed out And at the end there is never a doubt. But what if the life that no longer exists Takes on a new light, and it yet still persists In the memories of those that the light did touch? Then the light would still shine forever as much Remember the light, and the lights that have been The light is not gone, just gone slightly dim And shine forth it will, if we only recall The life that we shared, the candle stands tall
I look at that last piece of cake on the plate I look at the scale and notice my weight I consider temptation, I know it’s not right But I go ahead and fall to the Devil’s bite I love my new pup, he’s a bundle of fun We play in the yard, and he loves to run He is my best friend, but this is my plight How can I forgive that devil’s bite? And as a teen, in the car with my girl Our first try at romance, I give it a whirl And facing my parents later that night It’s discovered I bear her devil’s bite. Why is it things that I love the most, The encounters I have of which I boast, Can turn on me quickly, a well-placed riposte And leave me a quivering, vacant, milquetoast? I now turn to a healthier, fitter lifestyle In hopes that I no longer practice guile But even though knowing it’s out of my sight I fall prey once more to the Devil’s bite.
When I was young, surely just a teen There was a place, like you’d never seen A gathering place, a place for fun A place to escape the summer’s sun They called it The Clique, was the place to be A place with friends, even just two or three A pool and pool, mini golf nearby And when it closed, I thought I’d die But today, I’m back there, I’m in The Clique It’s long forgotten, but there’s a trick It only takes a recalling thought And the time dispels what now is naught There are more places, many I’ve lost I can’t go back there, there’s such a cost I look at pictures, I shed a tear To recollect what once was near But today, I’m back there, I’m in The Clique That dear old place next to the crick The gathering place in the RL scene Now just another ghost in the machine
The word came early on a Sunday morning And after the word, I found myself mourning The loss of a friend I no longer knew well But it surprised me more that my heart just fell There are no words that I can express There are no feelings that I can suppress That truly show the grief I bear That truly show I really cared The word came late on a Tuesday night The phone rang twice; I jumped with a fright My friend was gone, he’d been quite sick When I saw him last, he’d been a brick There are no words to fill the void The bond we held now seems destroyed The time we had was now a blur The moments we shared, emotions stirred The friends I’ve gained The friends I’ve lost The count is high It’s such a cost The word came late on a Friday noon A friendship I’d only had since June Had left this world by her own hand Her life trickled away like hourglass sand There are no words to stay the tears There is no way to keep her here My heart is shattered, broken, cold Only memories that I’ll forever hold.
When she was born, a small helpless child She couldn’t even do one thing But grandpa was there, his presence so mild To help her sleep the baby would swing The gentle movement put her right fast asleep Her dreams surely then took their wing Instead of the practice of counting the sheep All it took was the baby to swing As the baby grew up, the swing was her friend As the winter turned to a warm spring A playground was found, and time they would spend Having fun and the baby would swing At first just a push, a light gentle touch Then the heights she was not even fearing Her little legs pumped, but no movement as such But boy could that baby now swing A baby no more, but now a young girl She continued without wearying Her legs took her higher, unfold and then curl O’er the top of the bar she would swing Then all of a sudden, she gave up the play And no longer her legs were a pumping Grandpa was sad when she moved away That the little girl now wouldn’t swing The years passed them by, play was no more Then grandpa heard the doorbell ring The baby was grown, was no longer four But she told him, grandpa let’s swing
What was the last thing you said? I ask ‘cause I don’t remember. My short term memory is full of holes Can’t recall anything since December. What was the last thing you said? I ask ‘cause I didn’t hear it. My ears are not what they used to be. I’d guess, but I’d come nowhere near it. What was the last thing you said? I ask ‘cause I didn’t care It may have been important to you But my attention was elsewhere What was the last thing you said? I ask ‘cause I don’t believe it. I notice whenever you open your mouth I find that it’s full of… malarkey
It happened one day that I found myself taken My freedom had vanished, my confidence shaken Bound, gagged and blindfolded, I had just one demand “I plead to you, sir. Please don’t tie my hands.” For if they are bound, how else can I play The guitar I must touch at least once every day? My hands must be free to form the right chords My mouth must be free to sing the right words I lit into song, my tale I would tell I sang from my heart in my captive cell I sang for my rescue, I sang for my life I sang for my captors to spare me the knife A note of deep sadness would often escape My strongest material began to take shape The days became weeks, became months, became years The end of it was one of my greatest fears Then my eyes were opened, I found myself free For I quickly discovered, my captor was me The prison I’d fashioned was all in my mind And it only took time for the muse I would find
I read the news today, oh Carol I saw it was your birthday, Carol You’re a diamond’s best friend, Carol Or was it the other way around? I saw you on the Grammys, Carole Your life’s a rich Tapestry, Carole It’s going to take some time, Carole ‘Cause no one else can match your sound I saw you on the TV, Carol You brought us lots of laughs, Carol You went with the wind, Carol And brought down the house You changed the TV world, Carroll Before you Archie was a teen, Carroll You kept it in the family, Carroll And loved your dingbat spouse Carol, Carole, Carol, Carroll Carol, Carole, Carol, Carroll Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall We’ll always celebrate your birthday Carol, Carole, Carol, Carroll
When I was ten I could hardly believe The changes occurring around me The President dead, the country in grief The images viewed on the TV I came of age on that fateful day The world no longer a mystery It opened my eyes to that staged world play It gave me respect for its history Now fifty years hence the world has changed And much of it seems to be teetering On the brink of disaster from idiots deranged To bring us much harm with their terror thing But in the same sense, no change has occurred It seems that nothing is different The Beatles are back, Doctor Who on the tube The past has become today's present When I look past the past, will the future hold tears? I’m wondering what will the normal be? I just hope I’m around, for the next fifty years So I see what the present has in store for me. Will I look back and know, as I recall the past That today had a glimmer of hope for us? That the world will be fine, that it’s all meant to last And the future’s past will somehow deliver us?
I listen to your words, to me they make no sense The sounds you are emitting, only put me on the defense The noises you are spewing, barely qualify as poor And all I ask of you is that you say no more Blah, snort, wheeze, blip, it’s all I can do not to skip Whatever you try to say I cannot hear La, la, la, la, la, with my fingers in my ears See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil I just will not listen to you, what you say is null Zip, zap, flip, flap, all I want is for you to shut your trap It’s just so pointless trying to reason with you You disappoint us with everything you spew Nevertheless I always fear the words you always bore Into my head. I plead that you will say no more Fluff, bogus, snark, quip, it’s only there for me to skip Whatever you try to say I cannot hear La, la, la, la, la, with my fingers in my ears See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil I just will not listen to you, what you say is null Blech, yech, ugh, oof, lack of intelligence, you’re living proof
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