1. |
A Bird's Heart
04:04
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A bird's heart beats faster than my own
Wing to an arm
Feather to a hair
Walk to a flight
Words to a song
And I know these things
They change like days
They change like hours
They change like years
And when you see like this
You see like them
Almost un-caged almost off the ground
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2. |
Black Smoke
05:48
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I only breathe in thick black smoke
For lack of air it hangs in my throat
I can see his face all wings and eyes
Teeth gnashing through flesh
Smoke blocking out the light
And all the laurels from our crowns
Are falling around our toes
But love can tie up a ribbon
And love can patch up a hole
And now a prayer for our hearts
Is like cold wind through my bones
And falling head first into my river of woe
And I’m breathing in water
And I breathing in smoke
So I’ll just sing for the drunks as they spit evil off the porch
I’ll sing for the night women who light their candles from my burning torch
And I’ll sing for those who sail their hearts across the seas
And I’ll sing for those who find my love and for whose love finds me
I’m taking on water
I cannot float
How can we live and handle this load
From the top of my head to the floor of my heart
I can feel my blood cells circle together and apart
And in the light of the moon
And the stars metal glow
I can just make out my smoky halo
And on the bible’s binding I swear
Oh we got to learn how to breathe air
So I’ll sing for the drunks as they spit evil off the porch
And I’ll keep singing for the night women who light their candles from my burning torch
I’ll sing for those who sail their hearts across the seas
I’ll sing for those who find my love and for whose love finds me
In all the black smoke
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3. |
I Was Afraid of Death
04:52
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When I was a kid I was afraid of death
What would happen to us when we left the flesh
To fall down to hell or rise up to heaven
What made us so sure the good lord would let us in
I'd think about my body the vessel for my soul
And the great gaping gash in the ground that’d swallow it up whole
I’d think about my shoes with no feet
And my cold dead heart with no blood to beat
And my momma would tell me baby don’t you cry
Don’t cry little girl because everybody dies
I wondered from heaven what we must look like
All small units tiny and bristle like
A writhing moving breathing mass of existence
Synchronized by syncopated in passing breezes
With no known purpose except but for moving and living and breathing and dying
I wondered what we looked like from down in hell
To see us from the underneath to see us that well
Probably not too pretty or becoming of us all
To see us from the underneath before we fall
While we’re buying and selling and trading
While living and breathing and dying
A dark and strangled kingdom
More fuel for the fire
And onward and onward and onward we fall
When I was a kid I was afraid of death
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4. |
A Tear for Maria
04:52
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When we talk of tears there is so much in life
That can bring them forward with no trouble or no strife
But for all the many tears I cry
For Maria my tears will never run dry
Because there will always be a tear for Maria
We are like sisters we are kin by more than blood
And we'll walk in this light forever protected by its flood
Sometimes you materialize when I miss you most
But I know that it’s not you it’s just a passing ghost
And there will always be a tear for Maria
Lately I been watching the moon wax on
Taking note of its exchange with the sun
The sun came around a different way where we were
It’s just a different exchange between the sun and the earth
And there will always be a tear for Maria
I have your picture right on top my piano
On the treble end where my right hand goes
And with my left hand pressed into the wood
Here a tear falls just where it should
And there will always be a tear for Maria
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5. |
This Game We Play
05:02
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My old dog is buried down by the creek
In the baby blanket that my momma made for me
You soon learn in this game we play
The Lord he gives and he takes away
Something I’ve heard many times before
When got shuts a window he opens a door
You soon learn what the haves will say
To make the have nots go away
It’s my humanness that scares me babe
I’m fighting the devil in me everyday
You soon learn in this game we’re in
The human race is one you just can’t win
In big cities where the money flows
In big churches with their big doors closed
They’ll all learn when it’s much too late
You can’t buy no mercy from the offering plate
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6. |
Piano
00:39
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7. |
Bury His Heart
04:45
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The weather’s in weird phrases today
When the sun comes out the rain don’t go away
And drawn into the windows frame
Is sun blue sky grey clouds and rain
They're gonna bury his heart in the woods
In my heart where red turns to blue
The dampness of days writes words untrue
But I can’t recall where the light lies
Because I can’t see through these metal eyes
They're gonna bury his heart in the woods
If you watch the mare’s tail blowing around
You can tell it’s a north wind coming down
But I can’t tell the truth from lies
I pulled the glass out of my hand with old rusty pliers
They're gonna bury his heart in the woods
The timber formed a cross and soaked up his blood
It bore the weight of our savoir held him up in the mud
It grows in the woods due north of this town
Ashen branches hold up and ivory crown
They're gonna bury his heart in the woods
Under dogwood growing in woods all wild
Birdsong fierce as wolf and meek as child
Are the graves of words that we do not say
Sound and silence to night and day
They're gonna bury his heart in the woods
They've gone and buried his heart in the woods
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8. |
I Sing About the Water
04:42
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I sing about the water because it is my home
I climbed out of bed with all my good clothes on
I knew I could not undo all the sinning that I done
So I went down to the water and I made it my home
Ain’t it just human nature to hate your self once in a while
When you’re walking the path of the Devil with Jesus watching your every mile
And the only thing keeping you going is hating your own crooked smile
You feel the water of redemption receding all the while
It was just one moment of upset of rage and strife
One small moment of weakness when I took my own life
A second of dedication wanting to put things right
My first step into the water was with the blade of a knife
It was only natural that I follow this course
That I lay down my soul by my hands own force
I was taught all of my life to praise the Lord
To throw them stones and pick up some more
Well the years and years of hating throwing stones again and again
I knew that I was a sinner so at myself I took my aim
Now I could repent I could ask the Lord to forgive
But with all this hate in my heart for myself I could not live
So at the water’s edge I put my knife through my sinning heart
I fell down onto my knees I felt my wicked soul poor out
Oh my blood it ran and as the water turned dark
I knew I could never rid His Kingdom of all the passions of my heart
So someday will I walk with Jesus when my time here is done
Will I walk in the loving shadow of your only Son
Or will I never be forgiven for all the sinning that I done
Will I always sing about the water will it always be my home
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9. |
The Greatness of Life
04:22
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The greatness of life is dependent upon
The way the light shines through their bloody beating hearts
I’m the mother of many a child
Who's died in my arms living life too wild
The greatness of life is dependent upon
The changing ways of the wind
There’s those in heels and there’s those in suits
Working twelve hours a day with nothing to look forward to
The greatness of life is dependent upon
The rags of hope I tie tight around my wrists
I’m an old woman sitting in the park
I’m warm in the day and I’m shivering in the dark
The greatness of life is dependent upon
The good Lord’s will and may his will be done
In the light we can all be free
I just take from the Lord what he gives to me
The greatness of life is dependent upon
The sweetness of breath in my song
The great wheels are twisting they’re turning and smoking
And we’re all trying to breathe without choking
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10. |
A Way to Live
04:16
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When you cannot stop waving hands by turning the other cheek
Don’t look at the cracks on the ground or they’ll form canyons wide and deep
You can’t take hold of wisdom it’s a presence felt blind but sensed
And you cannot pull your youth clean out it’s like weeds in a chain link fence
I’ll count all my years of hope and I’ll count all my years of rust
And I’ll pray that it will mean something when wood turns to ashes and rocks turn to dust
But I've got to believe in a few people and I've got to believe in a few things
Most times I’m in disbelief and it’s hard to carry the heartache that brings
It’s in the night with the lack of light that you got to feel for scars
Don’t forget to look up at the sky to see the silver halos of stars
Most times you can see all you got to see by the light of the moon
But it’s easy to forget this as the sun often rises too soon
You’ll never forget all the things that you don’t really want to remember
Like your papa’s teary eyes when you tell him you’re leaving again in November
But you got to hang on to all the hurt and you got to hang on to happiness
All I really hope for in life is the gift of being content
There are many holes to fall in many temptations to fill
Just work when the spirit moves you to keep the Devil in you still
It’s hard to walk the strait and narrow Oh Lord I know I stray
Because these little jewels of wisdom are so easily mislaid
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11. |
Silent at Sea
05:40
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If I were a bird I would be
A bird of the water and silent at sea
I walk on the ground with these two feet
And all too often I'm down on my knees
When I’m kneeling on the dirt
I can feel the gift of the shifting trembling earth
If I were a bird I would be
A bird of the water and silent at sea
I cut my sleeves down the seam
I freed my hands into living
And a chord is struck from hammers and strings
And this time it’s for the living
If I were a bird I would be
A bird of the water and silent at sea
My heart it lives in hope
And it’s tied to his with a golden rope
So I won’t think of this anymore
I am human and I live on the shore
But from shore I can see
All the birds of the water
Silent at sea
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Joni Davis California
Joni Davis is a Northern California based musician, cook, baker and teacher. She has self-released two albums , written music for two independent films , and has played her music around the west coast of the United States, England and the Netherlands. Joni's music is inspired by being uncomfortably human on this magnificent planet. ... more
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