1. |
Blink of an Eye
03:52
|
|
||
Blink of an Eye
There were days I thought would never end
As I sat in that classroom, playing with my pen
Then summer came, stretched out like a highway
Couldn’t see the end ‘til it was behind me
I worked in a factory, worked behind a desk
Worked into the night without any rest
Memos and briefs, full of victims and thieves
Too busy to figure out what it all means
In the blink of an eye
When I listen I can almost hear the sound, of time passing by
They were babies, then little boys, then young men
All grown up before I hardly knew them
I see little glimpses in what they say and do
Like looking in a mirror when I was twenty-two (chorus)
Time that’s so precious is wasted, holding on to what we’ve accumulated
Putting things ahead of feelings, losing friends cause we don’t see them
We’re aware of the shadows, they interfere with our light
We move a little slower, feel our way through the night
We make all these plans we can look forward to
More miles on these highways we’ve travelled through
In the blink of an eye...
|
||||
2. |
|
|||
That’s a Story for Another Time Bowman/Boudreau
Found trouble in my younger years
Lived up to all my mother’s fears
Grew up like a song that wouldn’t rhyme
Got expelled before I could graduate
I was restless and I tempted fate
That’s a story for another time
I’m a dollar late and a few quarters short
I’m still here, that’s my reward
Nothing I touched, I ever got to hold
No silver, no diamonds or gold
I’ve seen many women come and go
Can’t keep the ones I’ve come to know
I’d start out well, then cross too many lines
Thought I’d found the woman of my dreams
Turned out she wasn’t all she seemed
That’s a story for another time (Chorus)
I drove a truck up and down the coast
Went in the ditch, trucks don’t float
When I woke up, the cops weren’t very kind
You might wonder why I fell asleep
Or how the water got so deep
That’s a story for another time (chorus)
|
||||
3. |
|
|||
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained Ivan Boudreau/John Bowman
The hours ran away today
Work to do but time is passing
Need to find a better way
The only thing I’m asking
Second guessing holds me back
Looking in that rear view mirror
Cut myself a little slack
Hope the way gets clear
Where there’s a shadow, there’s a light
Like the brightest star in the darkest night
These dreams I hold won’t fade away (extended pause here)
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
I can’t ever walk the line
Back and forth, from fame to shame
I climb the walls or I’m feeling fine
Like a snakes and ladders game (chorus)
I live my life in fits and starts
Two steps forward, three steps back
I’ll work around the tricky parts
Avoiding a disaster (repeat chorus)
|
||||
4. |
|
|||
I’ll Be an Old Man Some Day
When I was a boy, I’d hear the old codgers
So stubborn and stuck in their ways
Swapping old stories from deep in the past
Complaining about what has changed
I’ll be an old man some day
Far off in the future, in a time far away
I’ll tell you about all the dues I have paid
When I am an old man some day
My father would tell me he had a hard life
He suggested I had it too easy
He might have been wrong, he might have been right
The world he grew up in made no sense to me
I’ll be an old man some day …
When I grew up I couldn’t google anything
We’d go down to the library to find the book we need
When we played out in the woods no one could find me
We didn’t carry cell phones, my mother’s yell would call me home
As the decades flash by, I try to resist
Repeating the words of my parents
But changes keep coming hit me like a fist
As traditions that comfort me are gone
I’ll be an old man some day …
|
||||
5. |
|
|||
Love, Grace & Gratitude Ivan Boudreau/John Bowman -
Young man sitting on a bench in the rain
Hat’s on the ground, waits for spare change
Ask him how he’s doing, look him in the eye
Everybody needs a little love in their life
Live with love, love with grace
Put a smile on a stranger’s face
Little things that you say and do
With love, grace, and gratitude
Tells me he’s hopin’ every nickel and dime
Will help buy blankets ‘cause it’s cold outside
Not enough beds to keep his friends warm
A little bit of kindness never does any harm (chorus)
Share some love along the way
It will come back to you some day
We yearn for things we haven’t got
We live too fast, race the clock
For all the joy that we’ve been through
Ain’t nothing wrong with gratitude (chorus)
|
||||
6. |
Moving Day
04:42
|
|
||
Moving Day
Scrounging boxes, from the liquor store
We’ve got lots, but we could use some more
Items sorted in piles on the floor
Some to pack, and some for the thrift store
Plants we watered are left behind
Walls we painted, they still look fine
The carpet’s marked, where I dropped my pen
Thought I’d be here until the end
It’s moving day
A part of me would like to stay
It was just a stop along the way
‘Til another moving day
I remember when I moved from home
To an old house, free and on my own
The sounds of mice, running inside the walls
Cold creeps in as the daylight falls
We moved again to a bigger place
Our family settled into their own space
Those walls were struck by balls and pucks
We left behind those traces
It’s moving day…
Now there’s too many rooms for the two of us
We no longer need these boxes of stuff
All the bargains we couldn’t pass up
Barely used, collecting dust
Now we’re packing up to move once more
To a small apartment on the second floor
We’ve been through this so many times before
Not any easier, it’s still a chore
It’s moving day ….
|
||||
7. |
Let it Come, Let it Go
03:22
|
|
||
Let it Come, Let it Go
My life’s like a car that’s racing, too fast almost lost control
I need to take a break, relax and rest my soul
These trials and tribulations, piled up it takes a toll
Sometimes I let it come, sometimes I let it go
I’ve made a lot of choices; some right, some were wrong
Try not to second guess, can’t wave a magic wand
The past can weigh me down, caught up in tales of woe
Sometimes I let it come, sometimes I let it go
A grudge can be set aside, friends can be welcomed back
The walls we created can be broken down
Find our way around
Life is too short for anger, too short for bitterness
Look around this place I live, feel that I’ve been blessed
I might lack confidence, unsure of what I know
Sometimes I let it come, sometimes I let it go
|
||||
8. |
Love is a Flower
03:00
|
|
||
Love is a Flower Bowman/Boudreau
I once thought love was a thing you find
Like a flawless gem in a diamond mine
Connection made, look her in the eye
Now I know, love’s a test of time
No passing fancy, no picture show
Love is a flower, gotta let it grow
I once thought love was a thing you shape
A perfect lover was something you could make
Love would sweep away trouble from the past
Now I know, love doesn’t work like that
A love that’s perfect you will never know
Love is a flower, gotta let it grow
So when you’re looking for a hand to hold
An arm around your shoulder when the nights are cold
Someone you can talk to when you’re lost and alone
There for each other, that’s how love is grown
I once thought love was a thing you made
All fire and passion that would never fade
Love goes deep, underneath the skin
Forever changing once it begins
No burning flame, no fiery glow
Love is a flower, gotta let it grow
|
||||
9. |
Those Younger Days
03:51
|
|
||
Those Younger Days
Easton/McIvor/Urbani/Stephenson/Bowman
Standing on the ledge, with the water far below
All my childhood friends are egging me to go
With one double-dog dare, I’ll leap into the air
Crash into the great unknown
Everything you know, you learned along the way
You aren’t getting old, you’re getting wiser
Life is just a game, all you gotta’ do is play
Like in those younger days
Hey. Don’t. Ever let your fears get in the way
Hey. Don’t. Put that curiosity away
Life’s a game all you gotta’ do is play
Like in those younger days
I’m rollin’ down the hill, two wheels on the ground
I’m picking up speed, there ain’t no slowing down
When I let go of the handlebars, arms flying free
I love that younger me
The fire’s burning out, the party’s almost done
I’m tired of being tired, not having any fun
Think back to the ledge, those two wheels on the ground, and never slow it down
|
||||
10. |
|
|||
If You Don’t Hurt Sometimes
There are times when I walk, I feel a pain in my knee
From those home plate dislocations
My shoulder aches when my bed is hard
From broken bones and a separation
My back hurts when I sit too long
From moving rocks, looking for treasure
But I wouldn’t trade the years I’ve had
A little pain, was worth the pleasure
If you don’t hurt sometimes, you have never lived
What it takes to be here you can’t easily give
You wear those scars and pay a price with pain
If you don’t hurt sometimes… you have never lived
You can love someone ‘til you feel it slip away
‘Til all that’s left are pictures of what used to be
You can hope our friends and family will always stay
But you learn before too long, grief won’t run away (chorus)
Could sit at home and watch TV
Live in fear worrying about what might be
Could never take those chances that make you feel free
Might be the safest choice, but it wouldn’t be me (chorus)
|
||||
11. |
Open Book
04:33
|
|
||
Open Book
Are you listening to what I’m saying?
Can you look me in the eye?
Can you raise your head up from that screen?
There’s no better offer I can provide
Can I trust in your discretion?
This is something I need to put you through
Are you ready to talk to me seriously?
Face to face, like friends used to do
I am not an open book
I’m choosy about who can take a look
I have no desire to blurt out my innermost thoughts
I don’t shout “look at me”
Don’t crave attention or sympathy
Won’t confide in imaginary friends, over the internet
I’m starting to feel like a visitor here
More and more that I don’t understand
How can people all live so close to each other,
Yet many are solitary grains in the sand
There are so many ways to communicate now
You’d think we’d understand each other better
But farther away, we grow from each other
Maybe I should’ve just wrote you a letter
I am not an open book …
If you’re troubled, you can call me
I’ll come to wherever you are
I’ll listen to all you have to say
It’s better that way… better that way
I am not an open book…
|
||||
12. |
|
|||
Someday Soon, But not Today
There’s a pile of paper on the shelf beside my bed
Most likely unimportant, they’ve been stashed and left for dead
I should try to sort them out, throw some away
I’ll do that someday soon, but not today
There’s a closet full of clothes I never wear
Can’t remember most of the items hanging there
I should fold them up and send them on their way
I’ll do that someday soon, but not today
Someday soon, but not today
This old guitar is asking to be played
Someday soon, but not today
There’s a case of beer that’s calling out my name
There’s a blue bin full of cables long and short
I don’t know what they do, or what they’re for
I should straighten out this tangled disarray
I’ll do that someday soon, but not today
When I’m old and gray there’ll be clutter on my floor
My living room’s a trashy dollar store
Should I get up and clean this sad display
I’ll do that someday soon …… but not today
|
||||
13. |
Red Line of Tail Lights
03:27
|
|
||
Red Line of Taillights Josh Lichti/John Bowman
There’s a tower out my window, blocks out the sun
Dogs bark on the sidewalk, like they’ve always done
Car alarms sing their chorus, a demented sound
People yelling at their phones, like they’re the only ones around
I’m following the red line of taillights
How long will it be, ‘til I see the stars?
Following the red line of taillights
When can I escape, the inside of this car?
The white noise of the river, rambles on nearby
A pack of wild coyotes, are laughing at the sky
I hear the dry leaves rustle, there’s a bear outside my tent
Crickets have gone silent, I wonder where they went
I’m following the red line ….
The sounds of the trees are very different
From the artificial noise where most of my time’s spent
The frogs are harmonizing, they’re all in perfect time
I’m happy softly singing with them in my mind
I’m following the red line ….
|
||||
14. |
|
|||
The Village Where My Brother Lives
Every couple of weeks I call him. He’s almost always home
I can hear the TV voices, make him feel he’s not alone
Ask him for the latest news, though there isn’t much to tell
The village where my brother lives, still as water in a well
The village where my brother lives is from a different time
Before we moved to cities, left the simpler life behind
The modern age has passed my brother’s village by
My brother and his neighbours, they don’t mind
There’s a church hall in the middle, where they host the roast beef dinner
The volunteers all cook and serve, feed all the saints and sinners
On Friday nights there’s music, with coffee and home baking
All proceeds going to the church, she’s old and needs maintaining
The village where my brother lives….
After many hours on a plane, I’ll come by for a visit
I wonder if anything has changed, I’ll soon find out it didn’t
We’ll sit out on my brother’s deck, and stare at rocks and ocean
The village where my brother lives, lots of time but little motion
(chorus)
|
Streaming and Download help
If you like John Bowman, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp