Weather Systems
[Lyrics]
first song

then it was dusk in illinois
a small boy, after an afternoon of carting dung hung
on a rail fence, a sapped thing
weary to crying
 
dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ears with what seemed their joy
 
soon the sound was pleasant for a boy
listening in the smoky dusk and nightfall of illinois
and from the fields two small boys came
bearing cornstalk violins
so they rubbed the cornstalk bows with resins
and the three just sat there scraping of the joy
of their joy, they’re scraping of the joy
 
it was now fine music
the frogs and the boys did
in the towering illinois twilight make and into dark
in spite a shoulder’s ache
a boy’s hunched body loved out of a stalk
the first song of his happiness
and the song woke his heart into the darkness and sadness of joy
 
dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ear with what seemed their joy
 
© 2003 wegawam music (bmi)  lyrics include excerpts from the poem “first song” by galway kinnell, from his book WHAT A KINGDOM IT WAS, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1960.  Copyright by Galway Kinnell.  Used with Permission. 

I
 
we’re keeping busy yeah we’re bleeding stones
with our machinations and our palindromes
anything but hear a voice that says we’re basically alone
  
© 2003 wegawam music (bmi).  lyrics used by permission.  all rights reserved.
 
lull
 
being alone it can be quite romantic
like jacques cousteau underneath the atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun’s never shone
and i fascinate myself when i’m alone
 
so i go a little overboard but hang on to the hull
while i’m airbrushing fantasy art on a life
that’s really kind of dull
oh, i’m in a lull
 
i’m all for moderation but sometimes it seems
moderation itself can be a kind of extreme
so i joined the congregation
i joined the softball team
i went in for my confirmation
where incense looks like steam
i start conjugating proverbs
where once there were nouns
this whole damn rhyme scheme’s starting to get me down
 
oh, i’m in a lull
i’m in a lull
 
being alone it can be quite romantic
like jacques cousteau underneath the atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun’s never shone
and i fascinate myself when i’m alone
 
i’m rambling on rather self consciously
while i’m stirring these condiments into my tea
and i think i’m so lame
i bet i think this song’s about me
don’t i don’t i don’t i ?
 
i’m in a lull
 
© 2003 wegawam music (bmi).  lyrics used by permission.  all rights reserved.
 
action / adventure
 
now if you think i’m wasting your time again
i’m wasting your time
when you pick me up in duty free
that’s when i thought i’d be the cross in your t
or must see tv
 
but if you think i’m wasting your time again
no, you’re wasting mine
when you’re playing for a prime-time dream
the c n b scene
now i’m just another split in your seam the i in your team
 
ooo please don’t get too excited
oooo maybe you’re not invited to my action adventure
my action adventure dream
 
so when you think you’re on the fast track
you find it’s just a cul-de-sac back
in that adult lifestyle community
where all your little boys, your action toys are duty free
 
ooo please don’t get too excited
oooo maybe you’re not invited to my action adventure
my action adventure dream
 
so i wonder what you got your persona for
cause there’s a 2-for-one down at the corner-store
and i wonder could ya pep it up a bit
you know throw a fit
you go ahead and dance
i’ll just sit
 
but if you think i’m wasting your time again
no, you’re wasting mine
when you’re playing for a prime-time dream
the c n b scene
now i’m just another split in your seam the i in your team
 
so i’m looking at the back of my hand again
i’m looking at the back of my hand again
to what end if i can’t even find a goddamn pen
 
© 2003 wegawam music (bmi).  lyrics used by permission.  all rights reserved.

weather systems
 
quiet
quiet down she said
speaking to the back of his head
on the edge of her bed
i can see your blood flow
your cells grow
 
hold still a while
don’t spill the wine
i can see it all from here
i can see
i can see
weather systems of the world
 
and every time you turn the soil
another cloud begins to boil
 
some things you say
are not for sale
i would hold that we’re
all free agents
of a substance or scale
 
hold still a while
don’t spill the wine
i can see it all from here
i can see
i can see
weather systems of the world
 
© 2003 wegawam music (bmi).  lyrics used by permission.  all rights reserved.

don't be scared

whenever paul thinks of rain, swallows fall in a wave and tap on his window with their beaks. whenever paul thinks of snow, soft winds blow round his head and his phone rings just once late at night-like a bird calling out, "wake up, paul. don't be scared. don't believe you're all alone." "wake up, paul," whisper clouds rolling by and the seeds falling softly from the branches of the trees.
 
lyrics by rennie sparks, reprinted by kind permission  © 2002 handsome family music (bmi)  administered by bug music.