1. |
Late Bloomer
04:45
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They said you were sick, and you may not get well, so we played the waiting game
You were so tired of all the back and forth all you left was your name
In one of your notebooks you wrote about the birds, and where they were flying to
Now every time that I see them in the sky I always think it’s you
The future is already written
Don’t count the years
If you’re like me you’re a late bloomer
Time won’t shed a tear
That morning the train pulled in the station to a wall of sideways rain
I drank and smoked so much the night before I still wasn’t feeling much pain
Walking the hill from the station, my head was a radio
With your voice like God’s announcer telling me you were letting go
You said take care of those still with us and shake off all childish things
When I looked up again I was sitting at my desk, and the phone started to ring.
The future is already written
Don’t count the years
If you’re like me you’re a late bloomer
Time won’t shed a tear
There are some times that my mind will wander
Sometimes my thoughts they drift
Mostly it’s the slightest movement
Sometimes a seismic shift
I keep you in my mind like an anchor to remind me why I’m still around
I know someday you and I will be flying through the air, without a sound
The future is already written
Don’t count the years
If you’re like me you’re a late bloomer
Time won’t shed a tear
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2. |
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Even when darkness falls
There’s enough light to see
I used to doubt it, too
Until the door cracked for me
Heart lead the blind to an opinion
Kindness lead the heart to a brighter place
You know me, even so
There’s stories I haven’t told
Novelettes never read
Monologues never said
Try an open mind oblivion
It might erase the lines that crease your face
Once more for those in back
There’s nothing that you lack
You might have to lose it all
Before you can feel the thrall
Our selves are so goddamn tight
It’s hard to make sense of life
Are the days ahead so bright?
It’s hard to see in this light
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3. |
Raspberry Dawn
02:35
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Raspberry dawn comes calling
Rolls away the dark of night
Standing entranced at the window
A sky full of turkish delight
A greeting card full of pastel gems
Watch the sun unsheath the shining spectacle
Again
Sherbet clouds roll in orange
Taste the creamy citrus hues
Big sheets of sweetness beaming
Filling up the morning’s view
A greeting card filled with pastel gems
Behold as it paints the ceiling of your home
Again
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4. |
All Day Long
03:37
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Look outside
A disc of glowing hydrogen has lightened up my cold heart
If I thought I could fly
I’d find a pair of wings upon my back to carry me
From this window
Over the parking lot
Out beyond the concrete world
You call it a phase
Dreaming’s not a job for anyone with a hard heart
Would you rather be blind
And not unwind the string that wants to tether you
To dark thoughts and heavy fables
Pull the cord and turn the tables
Watch the dark clouds disappear
All day, all day, all day long
Thinking mind’s the matter, but the mind is not the issue
All day, all day, all day long
Watching all your wishes flash and burn like paper tissue
Instead of seeking bliss you know will carry you away
Would you rather be blind
And not unwind the string that wants to tether you
To dark thoughts and heavy fables
Pull the cord and turn the tables
Watch the dark clouds disappear
All day, all day, all day long
Thinking mind’s the matter, but the mind is not the issue
All day, all day, all day long
Watching all your wishes flash and burn like paper tissue
Instead of seeking bliss you know will carry you away
Look outside
A disc of glowing hydrogen has lightened up my cold heart
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5. |
These Things Take Time
04:00
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Well, there never seems to be like there's a perfect opportunity
To set things right, the way they oughta be
All I'm doing now is strumming chords, putting melody to rhyme
Like anything else worth the trouble, these things take time
Well, we always kept our distance, for we feared failure's fall
But we often ended up there, without much help at all
Hindsight's 20/20, falling down's no crime
Like anything else worth the trouble, these things take time
Put your head into the sand, it's dark and safe inside
Not as bright as it could be with the brilliance that you hide
No one's got your number, no one's keeping score
All you gotta do's a little better than before
Well, your basket might be broken, your eggs might get cracked
But if you keep on keeping on, there's really nothing that you lack
It won't always be continually sublime
Like anything else worth the trouble, these things take time
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6. |
Know How
03:26
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Go now, don't wanna hear about your know how again
You've wasted plenty of money, you've wasted plenty of time
You're selling skies so sunny, still it's raining all of the time
Go now, don't wanna hear about your know how again
You'd rather settle for something when nothing is all that remains
Enough of the wheeling and dealing, enough of the verbal chains
Go now, don't wanna hear about your know how again
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7. |
Undertow
03:44
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Between the truth and the undertow
There’s no replacement for letting go
Were you the anchor…or the chain?
Down to the bottom
You rode it out
Holding out
For a sudden jolt of fate
You faded out
You made it out
Not a tick too late
Beyond the knowing of what is wrong
There’s rarely harm in taking too long
Were you the verses or were you the refrain?
Down to the bottom
You’re old enough
Bold enough
To take it on the chin
You’re pleading out
You’re bleeding out
The margins are so thin
Behind the total of all we learn
Lies some resentment for which we yearn
Are you the trestle or are you the train?
Over the chasm
You sweat it out
Fret and shout
Still you find your feet
To be sure
You’re making up
These challenges you meet
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8. |
Wednesday In My Head
04:32
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Some tales get lost in the telling
Forget what was done or what was said
You’re talking Sunday afternoon
Meanwhile it’s Wednesday in my head
I’ve watched all my days fade away
As if there were days I had to shed
Lost in time’s old reverie
While it’s always Wednesday in my head
I’m not overthinking it
I’m thinking it over instead
I can walk through a month of Mondays
Because it’s always Wednesday in my head
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9. |
A Stranger
04:20
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And so it is your indecision gets the best of you
Believing that every lesson you’ve been taught is true
A kinder line to walk along as you refine your time
Find sublime every morsel upon which you dine
Hidden in between the cracks of all your broken dreams
A wispy light that illuminates your past obscene
A richer man would’ve bought off your serenity
But here you are, at the mercy of a you that seems
A stranger
Before you go, one more thing I must impart to you
Until you trust yourself, there is no trust that’s tried and true
A day may come when reflection is the thing you seek
But when you look into the mirror what do your senses see?
A stranger
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10. |
Love Abides
03:27
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Looking back, it all seems like a dream
A fitting end to everything that seems
Sleepwalk in a straight unwavering line
On to where the intersection bleeds
Was there anyone among us
Living with that grace or strength inside
When you took that ride?
Lying on a gurney in the hall
Screaming till they brought the propyfol
Torn away from every safe design
Watching every domino just fall
And we roll through the mucky muck we made
Spend our working hours waiting in the shade
Is there anyone among us
Living with that grace or strength inside?
Does love abide?
So we roll through the mucky muck we made
Spend our working hours waiting in the shade
There are those still among us
Living with that grace and strength inside
And love abides
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Mike Schrand St. Louis, Missouri
Mike Schrand has been writing songs solidly for about 30 years. He's been a part of the St. Louis music scene for 20 years and been in public radio for about as long as he's been writing songs.
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