Square 1 – 4:26

They send the letter and the next day you’re out on the highway
They send the letter and the next day you’re out on the road
They send the letter and all semblance of sanity flies away
Pick up the letter and you carry the load

They send the message and the next day you’re up at the daybreak
They send the message and the next day you’re up at the dawn
They send the message and it’s back to your own private earthquake
Got a day to decide what is right, what is wrong

And they send you down the river
And you’re sailing toward the falls
And you’re screaming to the sky
And there’s no reply at all

They send the letter and it’s back to their down the wire
They send the letter and it’s back to their tricks of the mind
They send the letter and you try to get truth from a liar
And the dreams of the heart are so far down the line

When they send you down that river
And you’re sailing toward the falls
And you’re screaming to the sky
And there’s no reply at all...

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Bach - 1:33

(instrumental)

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Returning - 10:38

I can’t remember, maybe ten years old
But it’s all blurred like a life
that flew by in front of an eye with a shutter speed way too slow
The memory’s there, but clouded
A crowded way of life shut the memories out
And who you knew before becomes irrelevant
A crowded way of life shut the memories out
And what you knew before - all forgotten

Another empty day, another silent hour
We have machines now to prove we have no messages
Another bill to pay, another office tower
Comes between us

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, discussing philosophy
Amazingly on top of it for a ten-year-old
I had the bright idea, I had the philosophy
That maybe what we had was all we needed
A little time, a little care
It seems a million miles ago
And I know I can’t preserve it
It seems a millions miles away
And I know I can’t remain

Sitting alone on the floor
Singing softly to myself
Trying to justify my own existence
I feel that bitter melancholic mood, pretentiously outlining
the applications of modern philosophy to my current
position

It seems a million miles ago
And I know I can’t preserve it
It seems a million miles away
And I know I can’t remain

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, discussing philosophy
Amazingly on top of it for a ten-year-old...

Life is a beautiful thing
It’s just a shame it holds so many tragedies
You have to go on with the hectic routine
Ignoring what’s knocking at your door

So here I am some years later, watching the embers glow
The image is there still engrained in my vision, but the fire is gone
Gather branches off the ground and set the sticks to burn
Strike the match upon the rock and feel the warmth return
Gather thoughts from years ago and lead them out from shelter
As I am trying to return

I could remember when I was ten years old
But it got blurred in life
It flew by in front of my eyes while I was blinking
Somehow my life got crowded
A clouded way of life shut the memories out
The search to find yourself becomes more relevant
A clouded way of life shut the memories out
But they can’t be forgotten

So now I find I’m trying to hold on to yesterday
And the philosophy of a ten-year-old
Return to finally find myself
Fifteen years ago

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Nighttime for a while – 8:10

The morning’s filled with lullabies
The nights are mostly silent
And I lie awake, saying...
Where is my home?
I can’t even see it from here
Every day I just stray farther and farther
I turn on every light in this house, until they shine so bright it’s blinding
But my way is not so bright, not like my mother and my father
I’ve nothing to fear, (at least nothing more than at day)
But it’s at nighttime I just can’t seem to keep my demons at bay
So many storms in my head, until my sanity spins away

Every day begins just as the day before
Drive down the freeway in the new black four-by-four
Leave behind houses that all look the same
Start the commute and try to stay sane

The last time you thought about home you thought about flying
Decided philosophy’s not worth the pain
The last time you thought about life you thought about dying
And let the truck drift over in the wrong lane

And hopelessness surrounds you like the morning fog
And sounds you cannot recognize distract you and you’re frightened
And you feel the sticky helplessness as if you’re barely breathing
And you’re seething underneath and unenlightened
Direction comes so slowly if it ever comes at all
And you can’t decide if you should drive the truck into the wall
And you wonder if there’s anyone who’s felt this same appalling sense
of being so small

And it’s during these times that dying seems like heaven
And you’d love to be anywhere but here
But you finally get back at half past seven
And all you wanna do is just lay back and disappear

Philosophy’s not worth the pain

Then sleep overtakes you like the kind and generous curtain
And somehow you’re back home
Seated at the table, pass the bread if you are able
Holding hands with all the loved ones never known
You dream of mother, you dream of father
You dream you’ll get to dream again
You dream of lovers, you dream of laughter
You dream of one true friend

And it’s alright, sleep tight, it’ll stay nighttime for a while
And it’s alright, sleep tight, it’ll stay nighttime for a while...

Every day ends just as the day before
Fasten the locks, collapse on the floor
Living in houses that all look the same
Set the alarm and try to stay sane

But after all is said and done and hours of thought pass by
We’re still left with moving on, apart, alone
And knowing there’s a place out somewhere I can never be
In a house that I will never call my home

But it’s alright ‘cause it’ll stay nighttime for a while
And it’s alright ‘cause it’ll stay nighttime for a while
And it’s alright ‘cause it’ll stay nighttime for a while
And it’s alright... for a while...

The morning’s filled with lullabies
The nights are mostly silent
And I lie awake...

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Flute and rain - 1:33

(instrumental)

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TheBeginning of a New Day - 26:20

PART I

I walk in a fair-line file, never ask never answer
You show me the way to turn, I’m new here
I come from a land far off where I once was a dancer
I guess that’s over now.

I walk in a fair-line file, never touch never talking
You show me the way to learn, I’m new here
I come from a land far off, with the door never locking
I guess that’s over now.

How do I feel? the voice asks from far away
The message floating through the air waves
I feel alone, so very very much alone
I guess you’re over me

“But, no (know), my son,” cries the voice from far away
“This is only temporary, this too will pass away
“We are here, so try not to be afraid
“Hold on, soon we’re coming
“You were always going somewhere
“You have always known this
“You were always more than you have been
“Everything in circles, now it’s time you were beginning
“Now that you’re here, now that you’re here”

Nevermore shall we carry the weight of our captors on our shoulders
Swim to shore, for there is more to living life than getting older...now

Open up your eyes, see the sun shine down
Feel the warmth given you for free
yourself, and free your heart
See the thin curtain fall
Hear the lies fed to us all
Listen to the sky
See the sun shining, shining

Don’t cry mother, I am coming
Don’t cry father, I can hear
I can hear the voices calling, “Remember dear, remember dear, remember”
And the time is quickly passing
Soon the moment will arrive
I can hear the calling asking “Remember, remember”
I have heard, my brothers I have heard
With greater clarity than words
Could it be, could it be
I have been set free?
From somewhere deep inside I rest assured
I see the thin curtain fall
I hear the lies fed to us all
I listen to the sky
And join the sun shining, shining

I’ve walked in a fair-line file never touch never talking
But you’ve shown me the way to turn ‘til I’m through here
I’ve strayed to a land far off, with the door ever locking
I guess that’s over now!

Don’t cry mother, I am coming
Don’t cry father ‘cause I can hear
I can hear the voices calling, “Remember, remember...”
We are.

PART II

And now the time has come to move beyond those childhood ways
And how the visions of the future slowly fade
Stay! nothing’s what it would have been
And everything is missing from this dream
Except this pale charade that others call reality

Images fleeting from my sight
Gone from the daydreams they once occupied
Clarity confused with blurs of color
Each the other, streaks of paint, or dust, or chalk upon the wall
Clarity fleeting from my grasp
I fall back in the mold where I was cast
Everything I thought was broken, everything I thought was wrong
Rose again, together now, to end the war that I had started

And now the time has come for all good men to gather up their arms
And summon all their courage for it’s off to go to war

Every human being has its rights
But the world doesn’t give a damn tonight
Sisters wanting something more worthwhile for them to do
Brothers waste their lives in line for corporate fools
Freed from chains by capitalist tax
We pay the price of freedom with our backs
The soul is lost, the soul is gone, we send it off by courier
To the nearest economic trading post

And who is she? who is she? she’s nobody of consequence
And who is he? who is he? well he’s only one of many
And who are they? who are they? they are guardians and the pullmen
They are anchors of the corporate machine

Empty-souled and pigeonholed we dedicate the framework
Stereotype the neophyte and put him in a box
Wither in that cubicle!
Incarcerate the wildman!
Who is HE to say he’s so complex?

And the dream spills over on my restless flight
And the night is over as the morning meets the modern dreamer
And my dream shall not die waking

We were always going somewhere, we have always known this
We were always more than we have been
Everything in circles now, it’s time I was beginning
Now that I find myself here again

And the dream spills over on my restless flight
And the night is over as the morning meets the modern dreamer

And my dream shall not die waking as I see the morning sky
Over evergreen comes sunlight that the mountains cannot hide
Hear the crackling in the distance of an ever-stronger fire
See the sun rise in the eastern sky as the flame is lifted higher

High in the sky the song is flying above the eager waiting
Ten thousand strong all one in song illuminate the shading
Of city lights below us
Of thousands more unknowing
Down in the street café the jazz man’s playing
A crowd has formed to watch and pour out heart and soul
They drink and talk about the day’s transactions
Is anybody listening?

Is anybody listening?

Applause, they hear the thunderous roar of thousands far away
Singing from their choir loft high above
Gazing high and wondering at this feeling they are missing
But the music only plays when someone’s listening
The music only plays when someone’s listening

(Gather branches off the ground and set the sticks to burn)

So who is she, who is... she’s a poet and a dancer
And who is he, who is he... can sing and play guitar
And who are they, who are they make beautiful creations
But the music only plays when someone listens

Who is she, who is... she’s a poet and a dancer
(Now’s the time for all good men)
And who is he, who is he, he can sing and play guitar
(To summon up their courage)
And who are they, who are they, make beautiful creations
(And gather up their arms for now)
But this song is not received by many ears
(It’s time to go to war)
Now’s the time for all good men to summon up their courage
Gather up your arms for now it’s time to go to war

PART III

Nevermore shall we carry the weight of our captors on our shoulders
Swim to shore, for there is more to living life than getting older
We’ve been chained by beliefs of those who have come before us and
have chained ourselves by believing what they have told us
And now...
Your father’s father on a boat escaped a captor’s pen
He landed in America to find that he’d been jailed again
Hatred doesn’t seem to die until we see the worth of women and men...
ALL women and men.

Break the chains of beliefs of those who have come before us
and release ourselves from believing what they have told us
And then
Nevermore shall we carry the weight of our captors on our shoulders
Swim to shore, for there is more to living life than getting older...
Now.

And the war, my friends, is in the soul
And the journey is the drive to gain control
And the war, my friends, is in the head
For there are those who’d take freewill and lay it dead
And the war, my friends, is in the heart
And the strength of soul to finally make a start
And the war, my friends, is held within
Yet the answers will not come ‘til we begin

And so you’re needing some conviction
A little something to get by
A little private revelation or inner motivation
Or elevation to the sky

This modern world has never cared about you
This modern world means nothing when you die
But underneath the earth has always held you
And there has always been a clean and open sky
And all the while the clock is ticking
Count all the hours we waste away
Another day, captivity
When all the while we should play...

So how many times have you stood in the middle of a field?
Smelled the flowers around you, heard a rushing brook?
And how many times have the flashing lights distracted you?
You could have seen the world around you, but you didn’t take a look
And how many times did you lay the thought aside?
Put the poet’s pen away ‘cause you couldn’t find the paper?
And how many lies have you listened to today?
How many sunsets have you seen?
We should play...

Don’t turn you back on what we’re given
Don’t close your eyes, fall in line and fall away
Just take the time to feel the earth beneath you
And find a meaning to the dawning of the day.

Running down the river, echo in the canyon
Whisper on the highest plain
Singing in the desert, ebbing in the wetland
Everything is new again

It’s so easy living lies, and it’s so hard to break away
But creation’s here beginning her new day
Don’t turn away.

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Reaching for the Sky (the Lawn Chair song) - 3:48

Well my friend you’re welcome to this lawn chair
And here’s an extra fishing line
Well we can waste the day just waiting for the sunset, I don’t mind
My friend why do you call me crazy
Just ‘cause I’m staring at the wall
Imagination leaving for the blue sky, here’s the boarding call

And now I’m sitting at the edge of the ocean
Watching all the seagulls passing by
The turning tide can set the sails in motion
Reaching for the sky

My friend you try to understand me
With textbook psychotherapy
Might I suggest it’s probably easier to interview a tree
And hey friend why do you look so frightened
Do you not want to come along?
Hey, all you need is one good friend, five minutes, and a song

And now I’m sitting at the edge of the ocean
Watching all the seconds passing by
The turning tide can set the sails in motion
Reaching for the sky

So my friend before you call me crazy
Pick up and heed the boarding call
Imagination see the blue sky just get staring at the wall
And my friend you’re welcome to this lawn chair
And here’s an extra fishing line
Well, we can waste the day just waiting for the sunset
I don’t mind.

And now we’re setting at the edge of the ocean
Watching all the seagulls passing by
The turning tide can set the sails in motion
Reaching for the sky

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Lotus’ Land - 3:26

(instrumental)




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Special thanks to Christopher Frick for the transcript.