RAPPING TELELPHONE LINE

(meditation for Adam Yauch)

Minds
Like telephone lines
Easy to find
Even in broad daylight
Get High
Like telephone lines
Easy to find our souls...
Find
Your telephone line
Our moment in time
Here in the fine white line
Try
Meditative mind
It's easy to find our souls...

In Time
You tried to design
A filament so fine
That we could speak our minds
This time
In your decline
You helped us find our souls...

Whipping up this lightning storm

(If you have the)Time
Please get in line
And we'll make it shine
Even in darkest night
Goodbye
Rapping telephone line
From all of our hearts and minds

© Chris LeRoy May 4, 2012
Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

CALIFORNIA, HOW I LOVE YOU

I came from a bowl of dust
Each and every morning
This the land in which we trust
Each and every morning
Sometimes grab a hand to help me round
Until the break of day

Coming here from far and near
Each and every morning
Dreams that never disappear
Each and

every morning
Climbing through grapevine into town
Like a getaway

California, How I love you
Come to understand
There’s no master plan

Might come from a broken home
Each and every morning
Might have traveled far alone
Each and every morning
Here because I need to settle down
By the break of day

California, How I love you
Come to understand
Blue sky cross the land
There’s no master plan (2-3-4)

Used to need the do re mi
Each and every morning
Man, that’s part of history
Each and every morning
Nowadays I’m not the only one
In California sun

I could be your hand me down
Each and every morning
Quiet like the bluebirds sound
Each and every morning
And I could be be the one to help you round
Each and every day

California, How I love you
Come to understand
Blue skies cross the land (repeat chorus)
There’s no master plan
Blue sky cross the land
Goodbye Birmingham

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

TURN AROUND

Hand that fans a debt list
Hand that fans a flame
Hand that makes a cold fist
Hand that knows your name
Who would grant a madman
The Power and The Pain?
Who would let a monster
Into this house again?
Turn around round round
Turn around, just around the bend

Eyes that burn like candles
Eyes that burn like flame
Eyes that stare unblinking
Eyes that know your name
Who would grant a madman
The Power and The Pain?
Who would let a monster
Into this house again?
Turn around round round
Turn around round round
Turn around, just around the bend

Heart that’s torn and empty
Heart that feels no pain
Heart that gave out long ago
Heart that knows your name
Who would grant a madman
The Power over Pain?
Who would let a monster
Into this house again?
Turn around round round
Turn around round round
Turn around, just around the bend

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

PICK IT UP

Headed to the march  - Pick me up
You know its been a very long time
Straight into the crossfire - Pick me up
It gonna be a long, long line
Everybody singing but its not enough
Every bell is ringing but its not enough
Everybody talks a good line

Somebody’s down just PICK UM UP
Gonna be a real long climb
Someone drops the flag just PICK IT UP
Gonna wave a really long time, TIME
    
Straight into the crossfire - Pick me upYou know its been a very long time
They don’t need a bonfire- Pick it up
Just get me to the church on time
Everybody singing but its not enough
Every bell is ringing but its not enough
Everybody talks a good line

CHORUS  (E BREAK - solo)

Someone knocked me down -
You helped me up
Taught me that the sun gonna shine
Can’t hold us together in a broken cup
It gonna be a long, long, long line
Everybody singing but its not enough
Every bell is ringing but its not enough
Everybody talks a good line

Someone knocks you down just PICK IT UP
Gonna be a real long climb
Someone drops the flag just PICK IT UP
Gonna wave a really long time
Someone fallin down just PICK UM UP
Gonna be a real steep climb
Someone drops the flag just PICK IT UP
Gonna wave a really long time, time

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

LAST THREE SONGS

Good morning
Where the drink is strong
Where the house is empty
Notebooks thrown around
There’s an empty page
Where the clouds belong
Working on my last three songs…
Good morning
How the story goes
Streets of walking mannequins 
Beneath their clothes
I find an open field
With bluebirds gone
Working on my last three songs…


And the first one
Makes a difference
And the next one
Always makes me cry
But this one
Rise up like the sun
Sun (Like the sun) 
Like the sun

Good morning
Goodness sakes alive
If I keep on moving
I will stay alive
From my Happy Times
To where All Rivers Collide
Working on my last three songs…

And the first one
Makes the difference
And the next one
Always makes me cry
But this one
Will rise up like the sun
Sun (Like the sun) 
Sun - Like the Sun

Good morning
No matter what you did
Everything created
Ends up like your kid
Like a parent starving 
For a goodbye kiss
You’re waiting on these last three songs…

And the first one
Makes a difference
And the next one
Always makes you cry
But this one
Will rise up like the sun
Sun  (Like the sun) 
Sun

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

GRENADE

Let me be clear about this said the man who was made
Let me be clear about this said the man who was made
What I hold in my hand
This is not a grenade

When he stepped to the podium
50 men in the shade
When he stepped to the podium
50 men in the shade
50 men are forbidden
To set eyes on the grenade

Well it fire or its brimstone til the preachers been paid
Well it fire or its brimstone til the preachers been paid
Keep this man from the precipice
He might have a grenade

Seven doctors walked quiet
And they left the parade
Seven doctors walked quiet
And they left the parade
It’s the best you can do when you see a grenade

When the general left town
Only staff people stayed
When the general left town
Only staff people stayed
They have to love and nurture
And learn to live with a grenade

Well my TV set’s wide-eyed
And the stars are turning gray
Well my TV set’s wild-eyed
And the stars are turning gray
When I look out my window
See the nighttime turn to day
Learn to live with a grenade

© 2017 Chris LeRoy
Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

WALK THAT LINE

first, the night, the rain, the blinding from the right
our window frame, insistent yellow light
they know our names
they know we are inside

next, the dark, the rain, the hollow dogs that bark
they hate the night, 

they bark because they bite
they watch the wall,
before the shadows part

who’s gonna walk that line?

then, the sky, the rain, the crying of a child
a mother sighs
nowhere left to hide
they know our names
they know we are inside
    a world could be in flames
    they only know our names

who’s gonna walk that line?

last, the start, the rain, the beating of our hearts
a family kneels, a doorway down the hall
a last reveal and then a curtain call
    the world could be in flames
    they only know our names

who’s gonna walk that line?

the world can be in flames
in other news around the nation
investigation
initiation

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

LIVE A LIFETIME

I went searching for your home
Empty streets and drawn blinds
Could we sit and talk a while?
Could we speak our minds?
Leaflets rain from hollow skies
Hung up on the phone lines
Should we scatter as they fly?
Or should we live a lifetime?

Saw your gate left open wide
Walked beneath your grapevine
Saw you through your window there
Have done many times
Candles in your living room
Gave your books a dull shine
You could burn them one by one
Or you could live a lifetime
You could live a lifetime

Sacred songs are stars that shine
Sacred songs are true

Maybe I should sing for you
Songs to fit the long climb
You could measure out your years
Or you could live a lifetime
You could live a lifetime

If we step back, we turn away
Ghost along the grapevine
The Spirit walking darkened streets
Past the stars that shine,
To the hills with distant guns
Message for the front line
"You can march in right away
For they will walk a straight line
You can take this child at play
For they have lived a lifetime
They have lived a lifetime
They have lived a lifetime."

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/
Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

SATISFIED

Late in the evening when the morning comes

Late in the evening when the morning comes

All through the night like a river run

All through the night like a river run

I sit and wonder what you’re thinking of

I sit and wonder what you’re thinking of

I’m down here and you’re up above

Hearts below keep your head above

I’m satisfied when the stars come tumbling down, down

I’m satisfied when heaven come and touch the ground

Late in the evening when we don’t know why

Late in the evening when we don’t know why

Through the night I’m watching your mind

Through the night I see stars that shine

I sit and wonder what you’re thinking of

I sit and wonder what you’re thinking of

I’m down here and you’re up above

A half awake and a sleepy love

I’m satisfied when the stars come tumbling down, down

I’m satisfied when heaven come and touch the ground

Late in the evening when the morning comes

Late in the evening when the morning comes

All through the night like a river run

Hearts and diamonds on a river run

I’m satisfied when the stars come tumbling down, down

I’m satisfied when heaven come and touch the ground

© 2017 Chris LeRoy/

Published by New West Crash Music /ASCAP

THE OPPORTUNITY

There will come a time when I get weary
There will come a time when I can't see
Even when I close my eyes 
See what you done to me
There will come a time when I'm not speaking
You can take my words and melodies
I could lose a thousand lines
See what you done to me
But who know you'll never, never
Take my heart from me
Thank you for the opportunity

There will come a time when I get angry
There will come a time you make me bleed
I will try to hold you back
To see what you done to me
But who know you'll never, never
Take my heart from me
Thank you for the opportunity

Cuentos en la calle dicen
Como eramos
Y todos escritos
Son verdad, Son verdad…
(Stories on the street will tell you
When you once were mine
I've written every line
They once were true)

There will come a time to seek forgiveness
This could be a long apology
Maybe as the years have gone
You'll see what you done to me
But who know you'll never, never
Change this part of me
Thank you for the opportunity
You need to know you'll never, never
Take this heart from me
Thank you for the opportunity

© Chris LeRoy 2017  Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

LOVE, FOREVER

I'm happy as a mushroom cloud
You called, out loud
Happier to live without -- SOLD OUT
So happy when you heard me go
PLEASE SHUT THE DOOR
Forgotten what we came here for -- SOLD OUT

Close your eyes and press your mind
You'll remember
Since you've run I hope you find
Love forever

You're as happy as a summer cloud
Unbent, unbowed
I'll try melt into this crowd ---They're so loud
CHORUS

In between these rocks and stones
As white, as bones
Because they wandered far from home -- all alone
If you remember down the road
One love, one soul
If happiness is where you go -- you go

Close your eyes and press your mind
You'll remember
Since you've run I hope you find
Love forever
Close your eyes and press your mind
You'll remember
(Since you've gone I hope you're fine
Love, Forever)

© 2013 Chris LeRoy
Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

UNFAITHFUL ONE

Unfaithful one
You make me breathe
You’ve got the prettiest smile
And though I hate to leave
There’s a wide road calling
I might find my fortune there
And it’s going to make me cry

Unfaithful one
I knew you all the while
You really know my difference
Kiss me like a child
There’s a wide road calling
I might find my fortune there
And it’s going to make me cry

But when I get home
I’m gonna take you down
To a little county fair
Then I’ll walk you home

Unfaithful one
You’re with me all the time
You really make my difference
You really make me smile smile smile
There’s a wide road calling
I might find my fortune there...

My way with you is always unkind
And it’s going to make me cry

© Chris LeRoy
   March 20, 1983 New West Crash Music

NEW GOLD BAND

All my life in the ground

Sun rolls up

Sun rolls down

Tonight you'll hear the fields singing

Come and join the band

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

There could be trouble out there

Might as well lend a hand

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

Summer rain through our hands

Wind blows round the fields of sand

Tonight you'll hear the people singing

Come to hear the band

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

There could be trouble out there

Might as well lend a hand

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

Like a hurricane a howling

Or the strings on this old guitar

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

There could be trouble out there

Might as well lend a hand

Celebrate if you will

The New Gold Band

© Chris LeRoy  2016 Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

WE ALL GET LOST SOMETIMES

That the hands of time
Would wind up late!
Heard you round the corner
Heard you lost your way
Lonesome Susie never read the signs
Every turn goes wrong
Road is long
We all get lost sometimes
We all get lost sometimes
Remind me

We walked down there before
Heads turned down
Trying every door
We put our hands around
Pretty Saro never was my kind
So every turn was wrong
Leading me on
We all get lost sometimes
We all get lost sometimes
Remind me

If you see me first
Gone from bad to to worse
Your light from me withdrawn
The sun will never come
Won't you keep on walking
Cause you're kind
Through that open door
That's what its for
We all get lost sometimes
We all get lost sometimes
We all get lost sometimes
Remind me

 
 © Chris LeRoy 2016   Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

© Chris LeRoy New West Crash Music
6/18/98

ALL RIVERS COLLIDE

Rain me some silver down by the river
Drifting forever, it's time to deliver
You could bring a sweater
It's gonna make you feel better
Forget the weather, rise up together
Say goodbye, don't tell the morning tide
Kick those dreams aside
All rivers collide

Dark the horizon, she dreams of water rising
Water on the radio, he turns to flip the lights on
Fumbling for the car keys, barking and the sirens
Say goodbye, don't tell the morning tide
Kick those dreams aside
All rivers collide

Put down your cereal
We're driving the Imperial
Nowhere to go
But we got the raw material
Gonna take a while
Gonna take a miracle
Say goodbye, don't tell the morning tide
Keep those dreams alive
I'm ready for the ride
All rivers collide…
For all our lives
Tonight

© Chris LeRoy  2016 Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP
© Chris LeRoy New West Crash Music
6/18/98

MAYBE I WANT YOU

When I was a child
Covers pulled up tight my only smile
I had my radio on
Had a vision bright
I could never hide
Unless you found me
With my radio
Transistor beaming
Maybe I could dial a dream
You know we're never what we seem

MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO
MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO 

Walk me through my days
Walk me home from school and never leave me
Without my radio on
Take me through the haze
You are all I need 
And all I wanted to
And my radio
City lights gleaming
Maybe I could dial a dream
You know you're never what you seem

MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO
MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO

Don't you realize
I belong to you, you'll never find me
Without my radio
You make the music right
Then you chill me through
Cause I can't find you
Without my  radio
Transistor beaming
Maybe I could dial your dreams
You know we're never what we seem

MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO
MAYBE I WANT YOU
YOU GOTTA WANT ME TOO

© 2016 Chris LeRoy
Published by New West Crash Music

DREAM FOR DAYS

I remember you
You're my distant star
Deep into your blue
Close to where you are
I can hear your words
Can't you hear my song?
Deep into your blue
Back where we belong
Might be only sleeping
You can help me count the ways
Cause I can dream for days

I remember you
Walking through the rain
Across the fields of gold
Never back again
Maybe I'm still sleeping
You can help me count the ways
Cause I can dream for days
Hold on secret heart
Words that we could make ring true
Wish that I could start again with you

I remember you
Standing torn and frayed
Never let you go
Never be afraid
In my golden slumber
You can help me count the ways
Cause I can dream for….
Maybe were just sleeping
We can take it all the way
And we can dream for days

© Chris LeRoy  2016 Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP

GRACE

It was Grace that I was named
On the day that I was born
And it's grace that's sure to lift me
When I fly
It was grace that You gave me
When I cold outside
In the darkest night
When I lose my sight
God has grace enough
To bring the morning light

In a world of temptation
Watch me turn to seek Your fire
It's for praise and devotion
I conspire
And the times when I grow weary
I'm walking on a wire
In darkest night
When I lose my sight
God has grace enough
To bring the morning light

It was Grace that I was named
On the day that I was born
And its grace that's sure to lift me
When I fly
It was grace that You gave me
Despite my foolish pride
In my heart You poured forgiveness
And my eyes were opened wide
With grace enough
To make the morning bright
God has grace enough
To bring the morning light

© 2016 Chris LeRoy
Published by New West Crash Music/ASCAP