No Way Back (2006)
All songs © 2006 by Jeff Gutman,
Published by Mr. Knees Music, ASCAP

Hitchhiker
Early morning on a desert road
Wheels were turning
Through the sand below
When a shadow fell across my eye
Miles from nowhere and his throat was dry

"I know, it's all I know...
Too late to find the road back home.
I wait through all my days
For stars to fall and guide me on my way."

Door was opened but no words exchanged
Sat beside me, somehow knew my name
All my questions but he only laughed.
Said he'd come too far, he can't go back.

Gears were grinding as the engine died
Rattled slowly pulling to the side
Heat was rising and it cracked the ground
Dug our heels in and we started down.

Voices in the canyon scraped my ears
Turned around, the stranger disappeared.
He left me standing just where I began
But I can't remember who I am...
(Ghost Choir)

Emerald Eyes
Emerald eyes, sweetest song of summer
Stay a while, safe and under cover
And your voice, smooth as velvet moonlight
Melting down over me.

All those nights, carved into my heart
And we tried, and we fell apart
In your eyes, whispered from the start
That we tried all in vain.

All our time seemed to run together
Every night fluttered like a feather
In this crowd full of faceless strangers
Somehow I found you there

Storm is coming, can you hear the thunder?
On the run, we've got to find our shelter.
Money's gone, a long a restless hunger
Soon we start to feeding off each other.

While the world crumbled into pieces
In a whirl, time was all we needed
In this town full of faceless dangers
Somehow I lost you there.

Not Too Late
Do you know the way you're facing?
Do you know the way back home?
All the lines that you're retracing
Just to find where it all went wrong

All of the words unspoken
Are fading away
All of the plans you've written down
Are fading away
It's not too late

And I wondered how I got so restless
And I wondered if you were the one
And the tide was coming in between us
Boiling over till we came undone.

And I want you to come back home
I've forgotten that things were wrong
And I want you to come back home.
And this time...

Do you wonder if the days get shorter?
Do you wonder what you leave behind?
And the shadows
that you crawl down under
Will they catch you
When you fall behind?

Masquerade
If I saw you in your disguise,
The shadows crawling behind your eyes
It's been so long, It's been too long
You wouldn't know me now
The mask I've worn
The hardened leather, the edges torn
It's been so long, It's been too long
Till midnight comes....

And the last of the masquerades was on
Hands that moved the helpless pawns
That danced across the halls
And we sat on the edges of the night
And spiraled in the smoky light
Of alabaster white

And the moon seemed to shimmer
Through the crowd
And silver lined your silken mouth
That spoke without a sound
And we staggered together in the dark
We couldn't tell ourselves apart
But I know who you are...

And I said that I knew that I was wrong
I stayed away for far too long
And left you on your own
And you said that you knew
That I should know
Of how you let yourself unfold
In arms that held you close.

Midnight found us at last
As I lifted your mask
Burning eyes through my bones
As my hands turned to stone
As my arms turned to stone
As my eyes turned to stone

Standing frozen for all our days
I long to hold you and here I'll stay
It's been so long, It's been too long.

Pyramid
Chains around my neck that bind my legs
Pulled along the sand for all my days
Rise into the sun to scorch the earth
Salt within my blood that boils and burns

Those who fell before the falling lash
Buried under stone to cry their last
Pull the muscle tight to grind the bone
Falling into place the cornerstone

From the swollen tongue that spoke my name
Know the child you bear will know the same
To the heaven high, receive the gift
Born a sea of blood, the pyramid.

Once Again
And I would have waited for you,
waited all my days
For the time when I could hear you say
You'd be mine once again.

And I wasn't looking when you
turned your eyes away
Did you know
I would come back one day?
Did you know that one day?
But a sign was on the doorway
"Come again another Sunday"
And I knew you held another
All the weight was on your shoulder

And I would have waited for you,
waited all my days
For the time when I could hear you say
You'd be mine once again.
You'd be mine once again.

Sky is Falling
The sky is falling and how they run
The crowd is crawling
And now, tumbling down
Call out aloud as thunder so high above
And buried under alive, nowhere to hide
Under the sky

So hold your hands high and pray for rain
And hold your head high the same
Never the same
Never the same

The Secret
Long crawling shadows swallow the street
I stagger downward, fall to my knees
Canyons above me, winds howl below
Voices surround me, they'll never know...

I've got a secret I'll never tell
And for my secret, I'll see you in hell
Dark velvet curtains cover the night
Stars falling backward vanish from sight

They'll never stop now, nowhere is home
Heels fall behind me, come and they go
Hide in the doorway, they pass me by
I stay awake and I may survive.

Holiday in the Sun
On our own holiday in the sun...
All of the people down on the street
Where are they going what do they need?
We could escape them, just you and I
Out on the highway, maybe tonight...

I wanted a picture to capture the sky
Driving in circles, we never arrive
Where we could end up, we'll never know
A day to remember when we get old...

Pictures of you, pictures of me
Pictures of hills, pictures of trees
Pictures to show all that I see
Pictures of homes covered with leaves
Pictures of sand covered with sea
Pictures I know that I'll never need...

No Way Back
Days pass by my window
Falling through my hands
Its all behind me now, I've done all I can
All the things I've seen, Was it all a dream?
When you wake to find something missing...
Did you understand what was in your hand
When you held it high to the heavens
There's no way, no way back
There's no way, no way back...

Pictures that you gave me crumble into dust
It's more than I can bare, slowly losing touch
You won't listen now till the lights go down
And you're calling out "How'd I get here?"
But you need to know there's no way back home
So you'll carry on where you're going
There's no way, no way back
There's no way, no way back

What in the World
In the space between the walls
The sound dissolves away
And all the words we say
Are captured for all time
In my hands the clock was standing still
And winding down until
It slowed around the hours you were mine
Lost in photographs
And unaware that all we had to share
Was all the time we had nowhere to be
Stars we caught in shallow dreams
Were fading more,
The shadows seemed to stretch before
As far as eyes could see...

What in the world have I done?
How can I say I was wrong?

All the time you wasted
What was it for?
All the time I waited
To see you at my door again...

All I have to show are years of holding on
To words we said and words we meant
And words that disappeared.
All I have to give you is a simple song
That never scratched the surface on
All the things you were to me...
What in the world have I done?
How can I say I was wrong?

Through the Night (2010)
All songs © 2009 by Jeff Gutman,
Published by Mr. Knees Music, ASCAP

Child

Oh my Child

I can't wait to see your eyes

I can't wait to feel your light

I've been waiting quite a while

I would wander around for days

In my mind a darkened haze

And my voice would fade away

Because I had nothing left to say

 

If I knew you were on your way...

(You take so long)

And I can hardly wait

If something's wrong

Then I can't make you stay

But you know I'd be grateful for a day

 

All the times I could've died

from the fire in my mind

I was running out of time

You're the reason I survived

On and on the story goes

So it's written I suppose

By a hand that no one knows

To plant a seed and pray it grows

 

I'll hold you in my arms

Closer to my heart

And I'll take on all the pain

Watch it all again just to have you here

Oh won't you?

I'll take on all the pain

Wash it off again just to have you here

Oh won't you?

And we want you to

And we want you - Please...

 

Run To You

I run to you when I need you

With all my fear inside

I was so lost till I found you

And I won't ever let you down down down

 

Your light is shining to guide the way

And I won't let you slip away

 

Sometimes my words can get twisted

But all I ever mean to say say say

I hope somehow that you'll hear me

That I don't ever mean for you to cry cry cry

 

Your light is shining - everyday

And I won't let you slip away

 

Through The Night

I don't know where the road goes

I don't know that I will

I don't know what your dreams will hold

But I'll lie here beside you

With you, through the night

 

You fell out of a bad dream

You fell out of the skies

You fell farther than you could fall

But I'll be there to catch you

And I'll take you home

 

The sun on the horizon

The sun rising again

The sun shines over everyone

And we fade like the shadows

that we leave behind

 

And now your eyelids are heavy

And now you drift into sleep

And now you head down that dusty trail

And where? Where will it lead you?

Somewhere, through the night...

 

Won't You Say You Will

Oh won't you say you will stay with me until

I can feel the sun - I've been holding on

Nowhere left to fall, no one there at all

To take all this weight, I can't get away

High above the street, you could finally see

People out of time, marching in a line

Trapped inside a day, daylight slips away

And there's so much more that you can't ignore

 

I've been waiting for the time to come along

I've been waiting for the other shoe to fall

And I hope that I won't be waiting long

I've been waiting for the time to wait some more

 

Oh won't you say you will stay with me until

I can find the ground - 'cause I've been floating around

Not afraid to fall, nothing there at all

I took all the weight, gave it all away

High above the street, I can finally see

People out of time, marching in a line

Trapped inside a day, daylight slips away

And there's so much more that I won't ignore

 

Make It Stop

And I held on for a day

Watched the candle melt away

Watched as every hope I held inside would slowly fade to grey

 

It was not my time to go

Chase the shadows down below

Chase the swirling turning thoughts that I held trapped inside the door

There was no one home at all

Just the voices down the hall

And the echoes of the footsteps that had

nowhere left to fall

 

Oh the things we said that day

Words to shelter, words to pray

Words that fell like hollow rain that never

washed it all away

 

Won't you please make it stop?

Won't you please make the bleeding stop?!?

 

Pull Me Down

Pull me down, hold me down

Pull me down, I won't recover

 

Thought my hands were strong

Kept you safe from harm

There was nothing I could do

on that darkened night

And the undertow that we faced alone

With the river black and cold rising high

 

And I wait so long till my breath was gone

I was swaying back and forth with the tide

And I sank so low and they'll never know

How I waited and I prayed for a sign

 

To Make A Life

What does it mean to make a life?

And try to help it grow

I've wandered through the night

But I can't let it go

All of the doctors with their lies

I guess we're on our own

When you believe you're always right

The things you'll never know

 

I cannot take this, I can't escape it now

I'm reminded all the time

I can't accept this, I won't accept it

I don't believe I'm strong enough

 

So what does it mean to make a life?

Just to watch it fade

All of the doctors tried and tried

Till they just turned away

I've never witnessed such a height

And never such a fall

There was a choice we had to make

When there's no choice at all

 

I cannot take this, I can't escape it now

I'm reminded all the time

I can't accept this, I won't accept it

I have to leave this all behind

 

Beating Heart

Tonight we're heading down

All the way to the bottom

Sliding through the alleyways

Their names were forgotten

The cracks here they run so deep

That you might get lost

The shadows are filled with ghosts

Hiding in the fog

 

There's something down there -

Something we buried over

Under the pavement

Through all the winding tunnels

There's something down there -

Something that pulls me under

Down with the shadows

I feel the pulse of a beating heart...

 

Tonight we're finding out

What's under the ground

The steam and machinery

That make up the town

I feel like I'm finally home

And I don't want to leave

Tomorrow may never come

And that's all right with me...

Please let me forget it all

if just for tonight...

 

Waiting Around

We've been waiting around

And it's been so long

Hiding under the ground

But it's been too long

We could turn it around

And it's been so long

Try to figure it out

But we might be wrong

 

Day after day adding up till we start again

Low after high after low till we start again

Day after day piling up till we start again

Low follow high follow low, can we start again?

 

We've been waiting around

And it's been so long

Holding on to the ground

But it's been too long

Nothing's coming around

And it's been so long

Try to figure it out

But you might be wrong

 

Ain't That Something?

All through the night

Waiting in line for the light

On the train down the track

If it arrives I'll be on time

For the light of my life to come back

 

What if it never seems to arrive?

What if it never comes?

Tell me it's not all in my mind

Tell me it's not a dream...

 

Now that the station closed for the night

And the train hasn't run in so long

Still I would wait though it's so late

Just to see if you might come along

 

And so they say there'll come a day

When you'll look back and laugh at it all

All of the days you couldn't wait

Just to see what was coming along

 

What do I see? I can't believe...

Rumbling through the fog

I know you're not passing me by

I know you're not a dream...

Ain't that something?

 

Monsters In The Night

Every corner in the road

Turning back in an endless circle

I was stranded on my own

Wait in silence but no one's coming

I can't wait here anymore

Moving on in the wrong direction

And the doorway in the wall

Opened up to another doorway

 

All the voices will slowly fade away

I hear them get further everyday

And the monsters surround you in the night

Come the morning they'll vanish in the light

 

And I looked up to the stars and the sky was

an empty canvas

And I never felt so hard and I never

have felt so hopeless

And I wonder where you are and I pray I

can find you somehow

There's no difference near or far, every path now will lead me to you

 

Through an open window pane, broken glass like a frozen flower

There I thought I saw your face, smiling up through the faint reflection

Things will never be the same, but they never will seem that different

Things will never be the same and they never will seem so different

Close your eyes - it's time to go to sleep

Little one - it's time to go to sleep

 

Where Dreams Are Made

I'm wide awake

There's no mistake

My eyes have seen you

Across the water

Down by the lake

Where dreams are made

I've waited so long just for a moment

With you...

 

Can I rise above the icy waters?

Keep my head above the tide...

 

I thought that I

Had run out of time

And here's the moment

I've waited for

Down by the lake

Where dreams are made

I'll stay beside you

Always to guide you back home...

 

When The Dust Has Settled

When the dust has settled

And they finally leave us

Standing where we first began

On our own

 

Say it's been an hour

It might as well have been ten years

But I don't care about the time anymore

 

Looking back at pictures

I don't recognize the faces

Who were we then? Who are we now?

I don't know...

 

In the early morning

Everything looks different now

Is it only in my mind? I hope so...

 

Wait all night

Know that I would wait all night

Wait all night

Know that I'm awake all night

She may hide

Underneath the amber light

Amber light

Know that I'm awake all night.