1. |
Pictures In My Mind
04:44
|
|||
|
There are pictures in my mind- so close, so real
I feel like I could reach them
And forge a path through past embankments of snow
But the footsteps that you laid there
Don't stay there come the morning
With the frost, they have been lost to the earth
As the Autumn breeze swiftly frees the leaves
Memories come softly tumbling down
And stride for stride I walk beside myself as a boy
And then there I am, softly holding your hand
Sitting shotgun in your bruised blue Ford
Until I wake and find my palms are empty and cold
How can I ever forget
What stayed when the seasons would change
When each step ahead leads me further behind
The summer sun comes to warm my heart
And yet I cannot feel it’s comfort
It can’t replace the beaming smile I chase through my dreams
But somewhere deep in my breaking heart
Lies the strength that you once made there
A strength that stays when memories fade away
I know I will never forget
What stayed when the seasons would change
Though I can’t live in the past
A part of the past lives in me
In the spring I’ll find pictures in my mind
But I won’t feel the need to reach them
They won’t be left behind they’ll just remind me again
That a beautiful girl, one who made my world
Once took a broken man and changed him
And though she’s gone, she still lives on in my soul
in my soul
In my soul
In my soul
In my soul
|
||||
2. |
Empty Room
05:37
|
|||
|
There is one empty room
In this house that I built
In this room was a boy
A son I filled with guilt
I feel weak, I feel weary
But this house isn’t done
Every nail in its walls
Was driven for my son
Yes, he was stubborn, and he was angry
Am I not the same?
I wish that his room was not, oh so empty
Most of all I wish he could feel my pride
All that I held within
I’d tell him I’m on his side
No matter what room he’s in
There is one empty room
But my hands shaped a cell
They are calloused and rough
From shaping him as well
Oh, but as he grew older
Like the wood in these walls
He was stubborn, unyielding
In what I called his flaws
Isn’t it funny, I always told him
Fight until you’re free
And isn’t it funny, now that he’s heard me,
He is fighting me- But I still feel pride
The way it has always been
And I will be on his side
No matter what room he’s in
There is one empty room
That was built by my hand
It is kept with great care
For now I understand
That this room is no ember
That burns with all his wrongs
It’s where, he will remember,
A piece of him belongs
And I want him to know that I feel such pride
The way it has always been
If he needs a place to hide,
There will be room for him
|
||||
3. |
Nightlight
04:18
|
|||
|
Sometimes this world makes you feel so small
Like a single star in an endless sky
How can just one ever matter at all?
Am I like that light In the night,
Trying to make it's mark?
I feel all is lost, 'til I recall
When I was young, back when I feared the dark
A light in my room
Kept out the gloom
And when I was sad I was glad to have a nightlight
But now we're grown, we don't feel the night
These are words we say but don't believe
For in our hearts there's a child full of fright
Waiting for a light
If I, a single star, could be that light
I would still seem small against the sky
But I'd be a place that was safe, that was bright
To a soul in the night
Needing the light
And if you'd need me I'd be glad to be your nightlight
I don't need fortune, I don't need fame
To give a meaning to my name
If I am to you as you are to me,
That one distant star
Won't seem so far
For what may seem small really isn't at all
In a world gone mad you'll be glad you had a nightlight
|
||||
4. |
Other Side Of The Tracks
03:42
|
|||
|
I’m sitting at the station
It’s early in the morning, half past eight
You’re on the other side
Across the railroad ties, reading while you wait
I can’t reach
I can’t speak
But I can smile
That whistle’s blown’
That steam train’s goin’- and
I don’t care when my train comes in
It’s just as well for the places I’ve been
All I care is, will you be there, when the last cars pass,
On the other side of the tracks?
It rolls into the station
And quickly fills the chasm of our track
Before it blocks my view
I look again to you, but you’re not looking back
You can’t reach
You can’t speak
But I swear I saw you smile
But that whistle’s blown’
That steam train’s goin’ - and
I don’t care when my train comes in
It’s just as well for the places I’ve been
All I care is, will you be there, when the last cars pass,
On the other side of the tracks?
I can’t reach
I can’t speak
But I can smile
That whistle’s blown’
That steam train’s goin’- and
I don’t care when my train comes in
It’s just as well for the places I’ve been
All I care is, will you be there, when the last cars pass,
On the other side of the tracks
And I don’t care when my train comes in
It’s just as well for the places I’ve been
All I care is, will you be there, when the last cars pass,
On the other side of the tracks?
Will you be there
Will you be there
Will you be there, when the last cars pass,
On the other side of the tracks?
|
||||
5. |
Silent Cry
04:12
|
|||
|
I remember when inside a holy place
You played a certain song you wrote for me
And I remember when I kissed you on your face
Nothing lasts that long
Yet somehow I must stay strong
I remember when we walked on through the snow
Pressed together to keep away the cold
Even then inside my heart, yes I did know
Nothing lasts that long
Yet somehow I must stay strong
But listen and you'll hear
You'll hear my silent cry
You'll hear those few unspoken words
Breaking through this lie...
I remember when you said it was the end
Through my tears I knew inside my heart
That you'd remember if you'd ever need a friend
I will be around
Awaiting silently the sound
I'll listen and I'll hear
I'll hear your silent cry
I'll hear those few unspoken words
Breaking through this Lie
Please remember that I'll always hold you dear
This is not the end
Love is just around the bend
Listen and we'll hear
We'll hear our silent cry
We'll hear the truth beyond our words
Breaking through this lie...
|
||||
6. |
Eyes Of Green
04:32
|
|||
|
There was a man with eyes of green,
He hailed from northern land
He traveled south to New Orleans to find his lover’s man
And oh, this man with eyes of green did love his woman so
But stories told revealed in bold what she would never show
He knew not who this man might be, but knew his fate despite
The barrel of a .45 would be his final sight
Oh how softly she tread
On the wood of his floor
And how quickly he came to adore her
Oh but she, like a bird
Wanted use of her wings
Even with all the fine things he laid
In her cage
It took three long months to find her with the man that stole her heart
This green eyed man was shocked to find she loved him from the start
In his rage, he fired a shot, her lover’s life to end
But she stepped in front, with eyes of steel, her lover to defend
She had no fear, her love was clear by who she gave her final breath
She fell with pride, right by his side, she loved him to the death
Oh how softly she fell
On the dry, hardened ground
Even though the earth shook, it made not a sound
Oh and she, like a bird
Was now clipped of her wings
For she could not be held by her cage
By his rage
It was then he knew her love was true, but was not his to own
One shot fired did take her life, just one more might atone
He then knew what he must do, his eyes of green brimmed red
His lesson learned, the gun he turned, another man fell dead
He did the only thing he could, the fatal seed was sown
He fired one shot that took her life, and one more for his own
|
||||
7. |
Mail Myself to Mars
04:38
|
|||
|
Have you ever been
Let down
By clever men
Smilin' wide?
Don't you know that when a
Bell Rings
An Angel thinks,
'Someone lied'...
Don't you feel let down
You've yet to feel the ground
People say to me that
One day
Eventually the truth
will prevail
but History repeats
I say
And every word we eat
Leaves a trail
One truth prevailed, boy
Truth is, they were wrong
Born in a nation deemed too big to fail
Like setting sail
On the titanic, look how that turned out
But how can we heal?
With healthcare that couldn't care less,
The favor lies with those who pay the best
Rich men in black say 'The system's back'
While Old Man Jack has a heart attack
I ain't no shy kinda guy,
I know I won't get truth if I let things lie
Am I the only one
Under this yellow sun
That sets his sights in the stars?
I guess I'll mail myself to Mars
Was I the only one
that thought
Something was off when those
Buildings fell?
But every time I speak
They run
Flyin' like a bat
Out of hell
Is it fear or delusion?
Sometimes it's hard to tell.
But ignorant bliss
Makes us
Marionettes to
Those who know
They're pulling all the strings
while we
Bake all the bread that lets 'em
Roll in dough
'Cause the rich man with the strings in hand
He always runs the show
I feel like Dorothy in the Land of Oz
That's because
These talking heads that I've been told to blame
Just ain't the same as
The men behind the curtain that pull the strings
They make me wonder what tomorrow brings
So rich men in black, don't give me no flack
I'm gonna pack my sack and I won't come back
I ain't no shy kinda guy,
I know I won't get truth if I let things lie
There is no other way
These guys are here to stay
I guess I'm off to the stars
I'm gonna mail myself to-
I just had a thought that I ought not have thought
But I've got no other plans to plot
I think I've found a way
To make them go away
And since they're not behind bars,
We'll have to mail them all to mars
|
||||
8. |
Sergeant Stone
05:12
|
|||
|
Sergeant Stone, of the first Battalion, stands his ground alone
'Cross the sea, he's left every comfort to save what's left at home
His mother cried out "How can I
Bid farewell when it might be good-bye?"
All he could say was
"I'll live for my mother, I'll live for my father
I'll live for the day when I'll know my own daughter
I'll fight for my country I'll fight for my family,
Yet I cannot fight what I feel
No man's ever cried like this
Every son must bid farewell
But I won't say good-bye like this
This tale will be mine to tell
On blood-soaked ground, stands a lonely warrior, blocking out his pain
Fighting on, facing death defiant, as bodies fall like rain
He kills a man, and feels justified
'til he looks in the whites of his eyes
For what he sees is
A man with a mother, A man with a father
A man who will not ever know his own daughter
And as Sergeant Stone sees this
Man die alone he sees
Only himself in his eyes
No man's ever cried like this
For although his life goes on
No man's ever died like this
The spirit inside is gone
Sergeant Stone, now a broken warrior, comes back home to stay
Though he's met with a hero's welcome, aching memories replay
They place a star of silver on his breast
And they ask if he has one request
He says, "Just listen:
I've robbed a man of the life that I'm living
So take back your silver, I'm not so forgiving
But to those who wage wars, behind desks behind doors,
Will you please hear a broken man's cry:
Why men have to die like this?
On this ground I'm not alone
So many have cried like this
Yet no one is coming home
|
||||
9. |
Velvet in the Grass
03:55
|
|||
|
Laying on the ground
The cold September earth beneath my skin
I watch the world go ‘round
Time moves on while I stay where I been
Someone must’ve lied
When they said “In time, all things will pass”
‘Cause memories can’t hide
The touch of skin like velvet in the grass
But wisps of winter swept you from my sight
My coarse and clumsy hands
Won’t patch the gaps your slender ones designed
Dusty pots and pans
From muddled stews you said you didn’t mind
I remember well
The old abandoned spot up on the hill
We showed but didn’t tell
Of love that burned despite the looming chill
And wisps of winter make me long for the days when
Autumn ground was hard, but you were soft like velvet in the grass
From the place I lay
We fought the storms of distance and disdain
But I would always say
That greener grass can use the extra rain
The battle now has passed
But still it seems I haven’t won the war
The shadow that you cast
Makes me wonder what I’m fighting for
And wisps of winter make me long for the days when
Autumn ground was hard, but you were soft like velvet
You were soft like velvet
You were soft like velvet in the grass
|
||||
10. |
Dear Diary
04:47
|
|||
|
Dear Diary:
I write to you in times of trouble
So fiery, the guilt that broken hearts can bleed
I left my love, you see
When I got on that southbound Greyhound
But a part of me is still just waiting by the road
She was an open page
A place I poured my soul
When that page was lost
Where was I to go?
And finally
Then I could see
The only safe place
I could be
was you,
Dear diary
Dear Diary:
Two months have passed between your pages
Inspire me to write a word I haven’t read
I left to be
A man unfettered by his comforts
By now I see I’m just as trapped by what I’ve lost
Nights of sleepless dreams
Of kisses in the shade
I write these empty scrawls
To fill the void she made
Though I would show
The best of me
She still could see
the rest of me
Like you
Dear Diary
Dear Diary:
To think that I am almost twenty
Such Irony, that I felt braver as a child
In spite of me
I’ve found some strength in other pages
And now I see
Just how a friend can mend a heart
I wrote these empty scrawls
To relive my love in vain
It took one empty palm
To show there’s love to gain
This broken heart
Of ivory
Is finally free entirely
I won’t forget, I’ll always see
All the things you’ve done for me
My dear, dear Diary
|
||||
11. |
Pathways
03:59
|
|||
|
They can tell me the road that I should take
Which is for the future, which is a mistake
But is it all so clear, which is right or wrong?
The truth is in our wake
On a back road, rough and overgrown
Past the thorns and brambles, many storms have blown
No judgement from the sky will lead this path awry
We walk it both alone
How can we say which road will lead us home?
So how can they say, how can they see
The place that I should roam?
Every pathway must come to an end
To the weary traveler, it's always 'round the bend
Our voyage down this lane, is it all in vain?
We'll know it at the end
|
||||
Mason McDowell New York
Contact Info:
e-mail:
masonmcdowell88@gmail.com
Mason McDowell
is equal parts storyteller and songwriter. He creates intricate stories from a theatrical perspective, and delivers them with a powerful voice and piano rock edge.
... more
If you like Mason McDowell, you may also like:
“Portraits” is a collection of expertly drawn narrative songs with sharply observed lyrics and rustic instrumentation.
go to album
This debut from the Paris-based American artist showcases his genre-fluid sound.
go to album
i burnt all my letters (deluxe)
by themme fatale
Recorded over the space of a year, the vivid pop songs on the latest from themme fatale match sugary hooks with diaristic lyrics.
go to album
Hideaway EP
by John Mark Nelson
Beautiful folk-derived songs on the new EP from John Mark Nelson center yearning melodies and gentle arrangements.
go to album
Inspired by the natural world, this collection of piano compositions from John Mark Nelson radiates gentle beauty.
go to album
Darkly dramatic synth-pop with airy vocals that paint a grim but still hopeful portrait of our present day.
go to album
A delicate and ethereal album, gracefully blending dreamy melodies with hushed guitar & introspective lyrics.
go to album
