G - L

GATE KEEPER by Tom Jensen

If it goes to trial

They got you on file

As a well-known liar

 

This whole time

The feds had it pegged

Were all wearing wires

 

You’re left to ask why

Not everyone tries

When bogged down in the mire

 

And it seems to me

You’re as high as can be

I don’t think it gets any higher

 

Time to make a deal

Before your fate’s sealed

The contract has expired

 

You see, going for broke

It leaves you broken

And cold and hungry

Yet you keep on hoping

That tomorrow

A new door will open

That’ll light the fire

And you’ll see that thing smokin’

 

You found yourself a game

That you really want to play

“Oh won’t you deal me in?”

They’ve been waiting for you to say…

 

Gate keeper, gate keeper

I can dig a little deeper

Please tell me what you require

Would you have me walk across the water?

Or are you thinking of something hotter?

Am I sensing a cleansing by fire?

Oh those eyes I see them rise in desire

As beads of sweat from your forehead perspire…

 

Gate keeper, gate keeper

Oh won’t you let me into your little show

Gate keeper, gate keeper

Oh tell me all the secrets

That we both know you know

 

 

 

 

 

 

GET OUTTA MY HOUSE By Tom Jensen

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend

I guess it's good to have something left when

 

When the feeling ends

When the love is gone

All that's left is a song

You make love to your bong

 

As quiet as a mouse when your loving wife says

"Get outta my house!"

 

After mistakes have been made

Just as the song said

She threw a vase

Smacked you in the face

 

And when you said ouch

She made you sleep on the couch

You never saw the writing on the wall

Kept telling yourself tomorrow she'd call

 

From days to months to years

From happiness to sadness to tears

 

Your lasting memories concern her tight blouse

And the night she said

"Get outta my house!"

 

The carriage of gold which you both rode

Down along the cove on your wedding day

Somehow became untracked and unhitched

And every one of them horses they got up and ran away

 

After every mistake followed another excuse

As the chain started to break

She figured what's the use

 

For when you called for a truce

She challenged you to a joust

On her shield she soon wrote in your blood

"Get outta my house!"

 

Hearts once ablaze and set afire

Have gradually lost their flame

Dreams once you both together aspired

No longer remain the same

 

Coals in need of stoking have lost all chance of smoking

Leaving each night's watchmen pointing blame

 

The mood grows colder as the time grows older

It's time to move south

When you're bleeding from the mouth

Because she sprayed you in the nose

And then smacked you with the hose

 

Even Smoky the Bear

Knew that the fire's been doused

On the night she said

"Get outta my house!"

 

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend

I guess it's good to have something left when

 

When the feeling ends

When the love is gone

All that's left is a song

You make love to your bong

 

As quiet as a mouse

When your loving wife says

"Get the fu#$ outta my house!"

"Get the fu#$ outta my house!"

 

 

 

 

 

GROOVY GRAVY By Tom Jensen

You look into my face

Expecting to see

A man who is angry

 

Yet these eyes of mine

Just finished crying

Miss my sweet ass candy

 

My mind…

Gotta fill it with groovy gravy baby

So I’m inclined…

To do or say anything that will pay me

 

Picked rhyme

‘Cause I find most lives of crime pay weekly not daily

And all my

Friends not in my head all think I’m going crazy

 

Sure, once I thought I was on a roll

But I found out it’s beyond all my control

Because when the Zen unfolded

Again I was the one left dumbfounded

 

Boy was I wrong

I really had thought I’d found it

Being used like a toy all along

There’s no other way around it

 

I was a puppet on a string

Just a bird with two clipped wings

Confined behind these four walls

Tortured was the only way I’d sing

 

I was force fed

To believe - so I’d pretend

That means don't matter

As long as it gets you to the end

 

But soon I was no longer

The one steering the wheel

The machine kept getting stronger

I was left wondering was I still real?

 

Yes, once I thought I was on a roll

Now I’ve found out it’s beyond all my control

Boy was I wrong

I really had thought I’d found it

 

Being used like a toy all along

There’s just no other way around it

Became the prisoner of my own sad song

No wonder I’ve grown so despondent

 

 

 

 

GYPSY MAMMA

by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen

I met a gypsy mamma

One day while I was driving down the road

Would have mistaken her for a farmer

Had her tire not felt the need to suddenly explode

 

There she sat stranded

With her young boy in tow

 

This summer trip they had both planned it

But this was not how it was supposed to go

 

"Can I help you out little lady?

I got a face that you can trust

And soft spot in my heart

For people down on their luck"

 

With these words she smiled

And proceeded in telling me

 

She didn't know where she was headed

Only that she had a date with fate and destiny

 

Said she lived in the same state for far too long

And that she was a singer

but lately all the words kept coming out wrong

 

With her life lacking harmony

she had since stopped writing songs

That's what she said...

 

With that I paused and took a breath

I said yeah, I play too, and I'm heading out west

 

Where the sky is the limit and sun shines bright

And all the people like to party like it's friday night

 

 

With big brown eyes she looked at me and said:

"Hey man, you're alright!"

 

So we just kept on driving

No, she never looked back

That was exactly ten years ago today

As a matter of fact

 

If it wasn't for a tire I'd have just kept on driving by

And if I was liar she'd have left me high and dry

(That's what she could have done)

 

If she was a farmer she could have lived off of the land

Yet she was gypsy mamma

Albeit one with a plan

 

Now ten years we've been together

Creating and writing and playing songs

 

(gypsy mamma)

 

As both our lives keep getting better…

To think that all this started

'cause one day everything went wrong...

woh ooh

 

 

 

 

 

 

HALF FULL by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen

My glass is still half-full

Though my heart's half-empty

My castle's falling down

After standing for centuries

 

My faith is still strong

As love has not been forgotten

I see many trees cut down

Yet their fruit has not turned rotten

 

My smile I wear is real

My arms are still open

I've revealed to you how I feel

And even my difficulties coping

 

In this ever-changing world

With you not being in it

We both know how hard it can be

To start over at the beginning

 

Yet we must carry on

Without malice or regret

Without shame or self-pity

Come on!

 

Yes we must be strong

Picking ourselves up

whenever we get stuck

or start stumbling along

 

For when it comes to life

Obstacles... There can be many...

 

When I say

I have the ability

To handle any and all adversity

To be the candle on the darkest night

Just hold my hand and trust in me

 

And I will try my best to

Guide you towards the light

And I will lead the battle charge

If there comes a time when we must fight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HALF TOLD by Tom Jensen

Behind my eyes I can’t let you in

The best I can do is begin again

I let you down and myself to

With all the shit I put you through

 

Been having a hard time holding my head up high

Been having a hard time sorting truth from lies

I’m not sure where I should go from here

I don’t know if it shows but I’m f*cking scared

Seems like everyone I know has disappeared… through the years

 

I’ve been looking for something new

And I don’t know what to do

I’ve been seeking to make changes

Having thoughts that are the strangest

 

I’ve been hiding from my demons

While pretending I don’t see them

Yet I feel their presence creeping

Around my room when I am sleeping

 

And I find it quite disturbing

More than a little bit unnerving

When you’re trying to go straight but keep on swerving

And before it’s too late the lesson you are learning

 

Is you can’t go back and change the past

It catches up with you living fast

 

As shiny gold turns to rusty bronze

You have to ask yourself where’d I go wrong?

As you trace back the last twenty years

Wondering how on earth did I end up here?

 

Yet you’re unsure of whether to laugh or cry

Though you’re not tired you close your eyes…

You feel a tear and you don’t know  why?

So with retrospect you gaze inside

 

Never been alone – not with pain and fear

Your travelling companions through the years…

Yet  you’re scared of some the past seeds you’ve sowed

So your conscious carries such a heavy load…

 

I’ve grown tired of these escapades

I’m trying to take back the day

The hands of time can’t be rewound

But I refuse to stay sorrow bound

 

They say everybody’s got a story

A fall from grace or shining in glory

As of now the tale’s only half told

And my fate awaits just up open the road, yeah!

 

 

 

                   

 

 

HAPPY PLACE  by Tom Jensen

It was a rainy day

Not unlike today

Do do do

 

I was by myself

But she was on her way / But he was on his way

Do do do

 

It was the month of March

But felt more like April than May`

Do do do

 

I was in my happy place

As if I had to say

Do do do

 

This is the song

Whose melody can be repeated when needed

You don’t even need words

Words just describe pictures to the state of the mind

 

This is the song

Whose melody can be hummed in defeat or retreat

Offering a calming peace

During the most troubling and trying of times

 

This is the song

That everyone can sing

The poorest of paupers

The richest of kings

 

This is the song

That’s one big fairytale

But only if you want it to be

This is the song

That when we all sing along

Turns out to become reality

 

 

This is the song

That everyone can agree on

This is the song

That can save the world…

 

This is the song

That everyone can depend on

For it’s the song we hummed

Way back when we were young

Even though at the time

We didn’t know the words…

Do do do

 

This is the song

That everyone can agree on

This is the song

That is there from the start

Deep in our heart

 

It’s the first song

We learned by ourselves

And then we sang together

All the little boys

And all the little girls…

Do do do

 

 

 

 

                     

 

HAVE NOT By Tom Jensen

You only live once...

Well at least

you've got your name

 

You tried to give once...

Got burnt and you

were never the same

 

Stay away from this one...

You who went from healing

to being one of the lame

 

Thy will be done...

The only thing you've learned

is how to point the blame

 

And now your motivation

for waking is slowly stripping

You can sense the tubes

of morphine still dripping

Becoming lost at such a cost

That you wonder just

Why you should go on

Why try to live the dream?

When your imagination is gone?

 

For once you lose

your inhibitions

The hands around you

mold you into what they want

Shaping and persuading you

Into giving what you haven't got

 

Leveling society

By changing you from

a have into a have not

 

 

 

HE SAID SHE SAID By Tom Jensen

She woke up this morning

In a place she’d never seen before

She said…

 

I’m ready to turn the page but first I must close some doors

I thought that maybe I was learning but now I’m not so sure

 

I said, “You’ve got to hold on”

She said, “I’m not that strong”

“That’s okay” is what I respond

She said, “But I’m not where I belong…I took a right… But my right went wrong”

 

I said in time you’ll find if you keep on trying

You can hurdle your mind and leave it all behind

I can’t weather this storm

I can’t see the sunshine

The last words I heard from you was that…

All sense of hope was fading fast

 

But what you forget

Is that I cry, too

Unclench your fists and remember this

Given time all things must pass

Now I’ve found the rhyme

Have you found a reason?

 

Killing time it ‘tis the season

A bottle of wine can be so pleasing

I’m feeling fine now my minds at ease

 

She woke up this morning

In a place she’s never been before

She said…

 

I’m ready to turn the page

But first I must close some doors

I thought that maybe

I was learning but now I’m not so sure

 

 

I said, You’ve got to hold on

You say…

I’m not that strong

 

That’s okay is what I respond

She said…

 

But I’m not where I belong

I took a right but my right went wrong

 

I said in time you’ll find if you keep on trying

You can hurdle your mind and leave it all behind

You can weather the storm…

 

Maybe I can weather this storm

You can find your sunshine…

Maybe I’ll watch the sunrise

 

She woke up this morning

Or should I say this afternoon

Had she finally broken free?

I can’t tell it’s far too soon

She thought about the

Bridge she’s been burning

Her only way of escape

From this land of ruin

She said…

 

Well I’ve been burning bridges

But it’s better than burning crosses

When everyone seems suspicious

You start adding up your losses

End up breaking more than dishes

That’s how this whole thing got started

So choose wisely for what you’re wishing

I said try not to make things hard, kid

 

 

 

 

 

HEARTSTRINGS By Tom Jensen

I don't need you for inspiration

Nah, I got plenty of that myself

I'm not looking for someone to save me

Nah, you can't leave that to anyone else

 

I'm was just looking for someone to keep me and love me

For all I am....for my better or worse

I wasn't looking for someone to take me and leave me

Leaving me feeling this angry, helpless remorse

 

As I see you sitting in the chair

Staring back at me

With a cold and lonely stare

I will remember for eternity

 

I finally want back

What's been taken

What you stole

But I will never get that till I regain control

 

I am just another trophy

Collecting dust on your mantle shelf

Something that you've taken

That once belonged to someone else

 

Now as I feel forsaken

I criticize my useless self

Plucking at my heartstrings

Is the music you play only for yourself

 

Never a thought for someone else

 

 

 

 

 

HEAVY MACHINES By Tom Jensen

I try to comprehend infinity

While operating heavy machinery

And that’s just by using my brain

While slowly jogging in the passing lane

 

Of time and space and rhyme and plane

I’m trying to see just what makes me

Superior to royalty probably because of my belief

In fairness and equality to the nth degree for all humanity

 

Which unfortunately includes the sufferers of insanity

Stupidity, vanity…

Are you kidding me?

I have to fight for them, too?

Couldn’t we just let them be?

For each one of them just add one to get their I.Q. – yup….it’s two….

When that’s your crew what the hell you gonna do?

It sure beats me…So I ask you

 

The time has come

Something must be done

The time has come

We are the chosen ones

 

The time has come

No longer can we run from this

 

Sure I talked a lot of s%^t

But I never made a stand

Can’t take back any of it

Well that’s not what I have planned

 

Time to let the new revolution begin

All this time I’ve been blaming myself

When I should have been blaming you and you….

And her and him

 

This crazy look inside my eye

Should tell you a little bit about me

There’s so much that I despise

So many things that keep me from being free

So let us make a list of the biggest causes

Of our collective misery

 

 

 

HERE AND NOW

by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen

The time is getting late

Your lifetime is passing

Why should you wait

Is the question you are asking

Paralyzed by fear

Frozen by the uncertain

Unknowing in how far or near

Is the final curtain

 

But you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

Yea you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

 

In the here and now

Is where heroes are made

In this world we live

We die even villains fade

With our vision to achieve

Great statues are erected

And although we still believe

What is strived for is never perfected

 

But you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

Yea you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

 

In the here and now is where we are

You may try to run -- but you won't get far

As the dreams you hold may never be

Just as the light that shines you may never see

 

 

But you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

No,  you can never tell

What lies ahead

Maybe Heaven, maybe Hell

Only one man sorts the dead

 

 

 

                          

 

HERESY SPEAKS NO EVIL By Tom Jensen

Government sponsored torture

is kind of hard to ignore

Especially when you're held prisoner

of a misguided war

 

Lobbyists sit with

wads of cash in their fists

For any politicians who

find it too hard to resist

 

Seems that tax cuts

for corporations

and also the rich

Is the only way to build

true bipartisanship

 

For our money system

The Fed is privately owned

Backed by paper not gold

And everyday us indebt

wage slaves are sold

 

When you're afraid of

not being afraid

The "terrorists" win

Their best weapon is fear

 

They watch our civil liberties

become stripped away so fast

through the most unpatriotic of acts

Soon we won't be able to

speak, see or hear

 

If this is the state of the union

I think a state of emergency

should be declared

On second thought...

that's not such a great idea

 

And I haven't even

gotten to distribution of wealth

Inflation, funding for education

or health care

 

Why are so many more

concerned with the

theft of their identity

Than the loss of free will,

dignity and humanity

 

When you lack

any great substance

I guess you dress to impress

And fill yourself with vanity

 

This misinformation generation

eats up whatever they feed ya

Be it Mickey D's, MTV,

shows based on "reality"

Yum Yum...

spoon fed by a controlled media

 

We're infatuated by celebrities

and American Idols

Fox News, LeBron's shoes,

natural disasters

and let us not forget...

the crazy homicidal

 

If this is the state of the union

I think a state of emergency

should be declared

On second thought...

that's not such a great idea

 

And I haven't even

gotten to distribution of wealth

Inflation, funding for education

or health care

 

I am growing tired of this throw away

disposable consumer society

Why are those who say

our globe isn't warming

Still trying to lie to me?

 

Using up energy sources

 

that will not be soon replaced

Did you know that plastic

is gonna be the fossil

of the entire human race?

 

Our seas are overfished

and rainforests destroyed

Why? So men can make money

Mother Nature gets lucky when

people are unemployed

 

If this is the state of the union

I think a state of emergency

should be declared

On second thought...

that's not such a great idea

 

And I haven't even

gotten to distribution of wealth

Inflation, funding for education

or health care

 

Time to step off my soapbox

And walk down the road yonder

But before I go

two final questions to ponder:

 

Might seven billion people

be considered overpopulation?

How can we have all-you-can-eat buffets

AND sufferers of starvation?

 

 

 

 

 

 

HISTORY TO ME by Tom Jensen

I remember when Ice Cube and T were black

And rapped...now they act...like crap...

 

I remember when The Rock he cooked

And then he'd call us all funny names

Eye brow raised with that funny look...

Now he acts...like crap…it’s a fact…

 

Everything is coming back

But changed...

They're calling it the same name

But it's strange...

 

I remember when it was cool to say hello

To somebody new I didn't know

Now they're all plugged in to their phones

Which is plugged in where? They don't know...

They don't care. I say hello. They don't say hello.

So I stare...

Uh Oh...

 

I need more than a good chiropractor

To fix this fractured broken soul

I need more than skilled psychiatrists

To bandage up these mentally slit wrists

 

And net all these knotted thoughts

I watch spin and twist out of my control

So look out… all up, down and around

Both near and far, hey you up there, look out below!

 

Everything is coming back

But changed...

They're calling it the same name

But it's strange...

 

I’m seeing so many faces playing charades

Believing they’ve found a new game in a new age…

Hahaha… It’s just history to me…

Written on a fresh page

 

 

 

 

 

HIVE MIND by Tom Jensen

Weaponized envy surrounds me

It’s everywhere I can’t break free

Negative energy now grounds me

As I’m watching the world so jealously

 

My high anxiety stresses me

I’m alone because I fear intimacy

So averse to pain I constantly retreat

I’m living like a zombie half asleep

 

Some say this outcome was expected

Look how everything’s grown hectic

Has anyone been left unaffected

By the eye in the sky’s hive mind collective?

 

Ostracized and placed outside the wall

Is where your fellow heroes fall

With lasting remains inside an unmarked grave

True to themselves at least one was saved

 

Unwilling to play a schizophrenic game

In which fact and fiction are one in the same

Where truth and lies are often seen on the same side

As enemies become friends and your rivals allies

 

You soon realize there’s a great divide

Between not only us and them but both you and I

Leaves you to scratch your head and wonder why…

Or maybe be just like them and not even try

 

And yet that seems like suicide

As you boldly claim, “Today’s not your day to die”

You then break out with a great big smile

 

 

Yelling “F*%k it all! I’ll walk the extra mile!”

 

Sacrifice for something

Bigger than myself

Maybe trade away the day today

To make tomorrow great for someone else

 

A flock of sheep can be a dangerous thing

Tended by a shepherd or led by a king?

History has recorded the tales of both

Carrying crosses and swearing oaths

 

All of that has led us to here

Where honor and faith

I watched disappear

Become replaced

With aggression and fear

 

It’s been happening so long

For years and years

Soon feels natural

So that nobody cares

 

You see me alone and standing here

Lying to myself hoping nobody hears

They gave up on me so I gave up on my peers

I’m the only one who knows…they’re still unaware

 

I turned around again…and there was no one there

 

 

 

                            

 

HOUSE OF SHATTERED GLASS

by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen

I'm feeling trapped

Within myself

Within my heart and within my own head...

 

I'm feeling surrounded

With this sense of hurt, this sense of loss and the feeling of dread

 

I'm waiting for your letter

The one that I'll cry as I read:

 

The one that says:

"I'll always love you... But you're something that I don't need"

 

And it is filling me with misery

And I still feel nothing but love

 

Love for you... but not for me

 

That part of my heart is empty

There's nothing there it's null and void

 

I worked so hard to get you to love me

Yet here I am left unemployed

 

I don't feel bitter

I just feel let down

I've never been a quitter

I'm a lover not a leaver

 

But now I'm leaving town...

'Cause I just can't bare to be around

 

In you...

I am your greatest believer

 

In me...

I'm my own greatest deceiver

 

As everyone told me it was a fairytale world

From inside this house of shattered glass

I stood up to every stone they hurled

 

And we both know it hurts

Watching your blood make mud

As it mixes with the dirt

That they also threw at you

But I knew what it was that I had to do

 

Still, through all of this

I only know of one truth:

I will never stop loving you

But what's even worse:

Is that you know it, too

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOW CAN YOU

by Bryan Magsayo & Tom Jensen

How can you live with yourself?

Do you pretend to be someone else?

When you wake up in the morning and you’re lying in bed

What do you feel, what goes on in your head?

 

Do you bury your conscience down below?

Please tell me because I need to know

 

How can you live with yourself?

You took my heart in your hands and you tore it in two

How can you sleep after the things that you do?

 

I loved you so much and did whatever you asked

When you told me you loved me you were wearing a mask

 

How can you live with yourself?

Do you pretend to be someone else?

Lying in bed your nightgown covered in lace

When you told me you were leaving I never saw your face

 

After all we been through you probably never even cried

And if you did your tears quickly dried

 

I’ll never know because your face you hide

With every I love you another lie

 

How can you live with yourself?

Do you pretend to be someone else?

 

 

 

 

 

HURTING HER KNEES AND PRIDE

by Tom Jensen

My girlfriend's house...

Her parents are home

They don't like me much...

So we're never alone

 

I'm sitting on the sofa...

And she's looking so fine

We've been dating so long...

Don't they know she's mine?

 

They think she's so pure...

And that she can wear white

An innocent girl...

A parents' delight

 

I'm so sorry...

She didn't tell you what's right

Like what she does...

When she spends the night

 

Because of these lies...

By your law she abides

Because of these lies...

In the bushes we hide

 

Because of these lies...

We make love outside

Because of these lies...

We take the car for a ride

 

They say what's unknown

Doesn't hurt you

And that the truth shall set you free

But if they only knew what I've taken

They'd take you away from me

 

This is our little secret

So we'll play our charades

We'll keep singing our song

Until the music fades

 

Come for a ride and I'll take you away

It's finally our turn

In this game that we play

 

Yeah I'm feeling good

I really got it tonight

Let's drive somewhere

And turn off the lights

 

Love has its prices

And love has its costs

I'll unbutton your shirt

While you watch out for the cops

 

Though she can't by wine

She can still buy smokes

Is she old enough to love?

Don't ask her folks

 

Their old school values

And their old school style

Today I'd place 'em

In an old school pile

 

Because of the old ways...

They try to keep me away

Because of the old ways...

They never let me stay

Because of the old ways...

This is the game we play

Because of the old ways...

They think we'll wait 'til our wedding day

 

When she's at college

They never see me at all

And they never hear us rattling the walls

But when she's home

In the window I crawl

 

Better not get caught...

I hear that dad's gotta gun

I smoke a pack a day...

Don't get far when I run

 

Too great the risk...

I don't wanna get caught

I think it's time to head

Out to the parking lot

 

Yeah, out in the corner

And in the shadows we hide

She says,

 

"It hurts her knees...and it hurts her pride"

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN THE POURING RAIN

by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen

Look into my heart

Look inside your soul

Do you see they are the same?

 

Have you ever gazed beneath my eyes?

And what I attempt to hide...

Just like a children's game?

 

My emotions tell me

To tell you

I love you

But my mind is scared of the pain

 

What if when I tell you

You're my sunshine

It begins to rain?

 

Since I fell in love with you

I've never been the same

When the world is quiet

I still hear your name

 

When I am by your side

I feel no pain

I am warm and dry

In the pouring rain

 

Look into my heart

Take a look into my soul

Can you feel the warmth of a fire...

Burning out of control?

 

My emotions tell me

To tell you

I love you

But my mind is scared of the pain

 

What if when I tell you

You're my sunshine

It begins to rain?

 

Since I fell in love with you

I've never been the same

When the world is quiet

I still hear your name

 

When I am by your side

I feel no pain

I am warm and dry

In the pouring rain

 

I could never lose you as a friend

Nor could I break my heart again

My only fear is if I wait

Then maybe it would be too late

 

Since I fell in love with you

I've never been the same

When the world is quiet

I still hear your name

 

When I am by your side

I feel no pain

I am warm and dry

In the pouring rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

INNOCENCE LOST By Tom Jensen

I've sat at every bench in this park

Both before and after dark

Looking out at an ocean oh so deep

When everyone else is asleep

 

I see the sailboats stopped

Lookin' just like upside down lollipops

I see the seagulls pecking

Down by the beach

But it all seems out of reach

 

Take off my shirt to get a tan

Wondering about life's master plan

Just when my troubles start to fade away

I have to go to work soon so I cannot stay

But oh what a price I pay...

 

As soon as you're high

Something brings you down

As soon as you smile

Something makes you frown

As soon as you blink

The second has passed

As soon as you're first

You wind up last

 

This world can be such a tease

As soon as I feel

That my mind's at ease

Just when I think I have it made

Rain falls down on my parade

 

I've had my shares

Of ups and downs

Cried like mimes

And laughed like clowns

 

I've been dwarfed by guilt

And knocked off of my stilts

I've seen the flowers bloom

And I have watched the pedals wilt

 

Here at the park I collect my thoughts

Try to find a pair of scissors

When I'm tied up in knots

Then these words

Became my thoughts...

 

As soon as you're high

Something brings you down

As soon as you smile

Something makes you frown

As soon as you blink

The second has passed

As soon as you're close

You run out of gas

 

I watch the children

I've seen so many times before

And their innocent eyes

Not yet knowing what's in store

 

With every game comes a new surprise

Every truth told contains

At least a part of a lie

Under a parent's eye they run so free

Not a worry in the world

The way life should be

 

And yet as they grow a little older

The winds blow a little colder

But we all know it is calm

Before the storm

Mommy still has a blanket

To keep them warm

 

She protects them for as long as she can

There are some things children

Should never have to understand

Don't tell them the secret...

 

As soon as you're high

Something brings you down

As soon as you smile

Something makes you frown

 

As soon as you blink

The second has passed

As soon as the sun rises

The shadow's been cast

 

Yes I was once a child many years ago

And I learned the hard way

The things I didn't know

 

Life was once so simple

But like a gunshot to the temple

I was told I couldn't go any higher

And then was thrown into the fire

 

Now all I can do is dream

Back to the days

When my own eyes did gleam

 

Someday when everyone is asleep

That same child will come here to weep

And they too will write their song

About how the innocence

They once knew is gone

And they'll say...

 

As soon as I'm high

Something brings me down

As soon as I smile

Something makes me frown

As soon as I blinked

My childhood passed

What I loved so much...

I want it back

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY by Tom Jensen

Graffiti scribbled on the side of a building

Obscenities aimed at the passing children

 

Yet these simple words can have

Such a complicated effect

On an empty vessel of thought

Dependent on a world filled with neglect

 

With the wind picking up

There's trash blowing all over the ground

There's three guys under 'neath a bridge

Passing the bottle around

 

I see weeds sprawling across the sidewalk

Crawling up through the cracks

I watch a kid on his way home to a broken home

Walking alone along the tracks

 

Things are heading south

No matter which way you face

What is bitter to your eyes

Can give your mouth a bad taste

 

Seems that everywhere I look

There's something that hurts my eyes

They say another day, another dollar,

Which each new day comes a new surprise

 

It's not just the inner city

Where things are getting worse

When the intellectual property of so many

Needs to be torn down or reinforced

 

 

 

 

 

INTERNAL BRUISES

by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen

I live in a world

Where there are no fist fights

People fight each other

With their mind

 

The bruises that are left

Never seem to heal right

There is no cure

For words so unkind

I wish you hit me

I wish you hit me

I could get over that

 

But what you said to me

What you said to me

 

I wish you hit me

I wish you hit me

I could get over that

 

But what you said to me

Yeah what you said to me

 

You know you knocked me flat

 

You're supposed to leave

When the love grows old

You could never grieve

You're just too damn cold

 

You stayed and led me on

Kept saying you're my girl

You let me play along

In your imaginary world

 

I wish you hit me

I wish you hit me

I could get over that

 

But what you said to me…

What you said to me…

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT DOESN'T MATTER By Tom Jensen

I know there's lyrics being sang

I hear the music in my head

And yet I cannot understand

Exactly what is being said

 

For it seems like nothing

but busy noise

More sounds coming from

the under employed

 

Just like children laughing

while they're playing

With the empty boxes

of all their toys

 

Ain't that the way it goes?

You just like the beat...

You start tapping your toes

 

Without any time to think

A beautiful stranger

Pulls you up to your feet

After a wink you drop your drink

 

And now there's no place to retreat

With the speakers pumping

Something new into your system

You don't know the words

But you can feel the rhythm

 

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

 

Whether it's the chorus

or the bridge

If they all tell the truth

Or if they are hypocrites

 

As long as they keep

knocking out hits

You'll be out there all night

Shaking your t….

um... hips

 

And you're not the only one

That's what makes

this whole affair

So much fun...

 

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

 

Soon you lose yourself

in this timeless dream

There's reality

and there's make believe

You've become lost

in the world in between

 

You may pay a cost

but you feel so free

As you say

think what you want

to of me

 

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

It doesn't matter

 

 

                         

 

IT IS YOUR TURN

by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen

If you don't know yet who I am

Don't worry that will change

I am a very simple man

Both on and off this stage

 

My life's work and my fun are one

That's why I am so happy

We all regret something we've done

Won't let that entrap me

 

I just look ahead... and never behind

Helps keep me from wasting all my time

Best for your body, soul and your mind

Can't press fast forward... I can't hit rewind

 

Leave something they will remember you by

Like those who were the first to fly

Or the first man on the moon

Now it's your turn what will you do?

 

You won't find me living in the past

Too much to do time runs by so fast

We never know how long it'll last

So little sand in this hour glass

 

Don't live life doing something you hate

That is the best advice I can give

Work is a four letter word - yeah, great!

Some live to work and some work to live...

 

Spend your life doing something you love

If it don't exist then make it up

You only walk this trail one time 'round

Don't let your dreams fade to the foreground

You won't find me living in the past

Too much to do - time runs so fast

We never know how long it'll last

So little sand in this hour glass

 

We never know how long it'll last

So little sand in this hour glass

 

 

 

 

 

JEWELRY BOX By Tom Jensen

I'm not an underachiever

More what you call

a late bloomer

Took me a long time

to become a believer

Otherwise I'd have been here

a whole lot sooner

 

I heard it said that

I was past my prime

But now I know

it was just a rumor

Such harsh words have

strengthened me over time

Good thing I still have

a sense of humor

 

When I said "take it

or leave it..." she left it

Never cared about money...

but she cost me time

Ring's in the jewelry box...

I don't regret it

Replacements for me...

I'm sure they're waiting in line

 

Sacrifices had to be made...

but I'm at peace

You only live once...

I'm back to chasing my dream

After what we both held inside

had been released

Gave her half of everything...

but my self-esteem

 

When I said "take it

or leave it..." she left it

Never cared about money...

but she cost me time

Ring's in the jewelry box...

I don't regret it

Replacements for me...

she's got them waiting in line

 

Sacrifices had to be made...

but I'm at peace

You only live once...

I'm back to chasing my dream

After what we both held inside

had been released

Gave her half of everything...

but my self-esteem

 

I heard it said that

I was past my prime

But now I know

it was just a rumor

Such harsh words have

strengthened me over time

Good thing I still have

a sense of humor

 

I'm not an underachiever

More what you call

a late bloomer

Took me a long time

to become a believer

Otherwise we'd have been

here a whole lot sooner

 

When differences

in opinions increased

And they soon become

known to be extreme

As you find you own what

really should only

have been leased

Yes, opposites attract

yet it's best to

share common themes

 

Sacrifices had to be made....

But I'm at peace

You only live once...

I'm back to chasing my dream

 

 

 

 

 

LET DOWN

by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen

Who’d have thought that a pair of faded blue jeans

Could bring me to my knees?

Who'd have thought that after I let her in

She'd do just what she pleased?

 

An angel on the outside

The devil within

I would soon discover

Well I guess they're right

It just goes to show

You can never judge a book by its cover

 

I've done something I've told myself that I would never do

Before you proved your love I put all my trust in you

 

I believed your lies

And dried your eyes

And to my surprise

You took me for a ride

A ride I'll never take again

 

Can you see me frown?

As you're leaving town

The truth's been found

You spun me around

You let me down again

 

Such a beautiful smile yet eyes full of deceit

You said that you loved me

All the while you were lying through your teeth

 

I'd like to follow you telling everyone you see

Be careful of this girl

Look what she did to me

 

Who'd have thought that a pair of faded blue jeans

Could bring me to my knees?

 

Who'd have thought that after I let her in

She'd do just what she pleased?

 

An angel on the outside

The devil within

I would soon discover

Well I guess they're right

It just goes to show

You can never judge a book by its cover

 

I've done something I've told myself that I would never do

Before you proved your love I put all my trust in you

 

 

 

 

 

 

LET ME LIVE THE DREAM By Tom Jensen

I woke up… My mind was racing

When my feet hit the floor… they soon started pacing

Craving the apple I was once tasting

Footsteps to the past I began retracing

Running from old enemies I once was facing

All the while believing I was escaping

 

I never show my weakness even when I am breaking up inside

The only thing stronger than my ego is my foolish sense of pride

 

Sometimes I sacrifice all I've made

To live within a lie

The only cross to which I'm bound

Is burning me alive

 

Oh my, my, my, my... let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons... alive and unseen

 

From the blaring whispers of compulsion

Very few mortals can hide

Freedom is just another word for failure

For all those who have lost when they've tried

 

For the key to unlocking the mind is different

To each be them young or old

In trying to reach what they're searching for

Yet have never been able to hold

 

Oh my, my, my, my... let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons... alive and unseen

 

I tried staying with my own kind

I tried swimming within my own mind

But so slowly the path unwinds

Though I keep following what I hope to find

Even when life looks grave as you're running out of time

 

 

Could reality ever match my dream?

Will this nightmare ever end?

Will a new day ever begin?

Can I learn to make myself whole again?

To live without and change within?

 

Oh my, my, my, my...

let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons...

alive and unseen

 

Out of sight can mean out of mind

Yet what I am running from is never far behind

Once distant memories now mirror the present

As the shadowless clock has stopped telling time

 

No, you can't escape the voices

Echoing inside of your ear

As thoughts become desires

Speaking all too loud and clear

 

Although you may bow your head

While pretending not to hear

When the calming silence is gone

You know what is there

 

Oh my, my, my, my...

let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons...

alive and unseen

 

 

 

                      

LITTLE BIRD

by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen

Wondering deep inside my own fascination

Gathering all my strength just to open up the door

Close my eyes with a little hesitation

Knowing I’ll never hear your music any more

 

How could someone so dear to me

Keep me so confused and from the truth for so long?

Whispering of love when she was so near to me

When deep inside she knew it was only a song

 

Oh little bird

Sing what’s in your heart

Never sing a song

That should never have been heard

Oh little bird

You turned your trickery into an art

Humming a melody

These ears should have never heard

Oh little bird

 

Oh little bird

Sing what's in your heart

Never sing a song

That should never have been heard

Oh little bird

You turned your trickery into an art

Humming a melody

These ears should have never heard

Oh little bird

 

 

 

 

LIVING LARGE By Tom Jensen

When my fat girl winked at me

I smiled back Immediately

 

‘Cause I’ve learned to

like ‘em you see

hefty, chunky,

bumpy and large

 

You know when obesity

Comes running towards me

You know I don’t stray far

Oh yeah…oh yeah….

I’ve grown to love ‘em large

 

Sure she’s got some

pie on the thigh

And some rack on the lamb

But at least I found someone

Who loves me for who I am…

 

Sure she may sag a bed

Or perhaps maybe

even bend a chair

But it’s really good

for your head

To know she’ll

always be there…

 

Sure, she’s got more

than just one chin

And the girth of

two full-grown men

 

But she’s become

the center of my earth

Not because of

gravity but because

I know what true

love is worth…

 

It’s not weighed by

pounds of the flesh

Yet it’s so rare that

 

Two people mesh

 

Sure, she fell on me

the last time we hugged

That’s not how or why

I got sucked into the

belly button of love…

 

I just felt so cozy

so safe, so warm

And well-protected from

all of this world’s harm

 

So now I live here in this place

Living off the

crumbs and gravy

that runs down

The sides of her face…

 

Sure, when she sits

she somehow expands

But we were meant

to become one

in God’s great big plan

 

Because I finally found a girl

Who loves me for all that I am

 

So when my fat girl winked at me

I smiled back immediately

 

‘Cause I’ve learned to

love ‘em you see

hefty, chunky, bumpy and large

 

You know when obesity

Comes running towards me

You know I don’t stray far

Oh yeah…oh yeah….

I’ve grown to love ‘em large

 

Oh yeah…oh yeah….

I’ve grown to love ‘em large

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

LOOK HER UP by Tom Jensen

You fell in love

But she wasn’t a ten

Now you’re wondering

What if you went back again…

 

Would you look her up

Just to f*ck her hot friend?

Yeah, that’s the question

Most asked amongst men

 

Some live to run themselves

Straight through the ringer

Keep falling in love

With all these unplugged singers

 

When they’ve already heard the story

As we count the fallen seeking glory

 

 

 

LOST AND FOUND By Tom Jensen

I see what you have

And I want it

It will be mine

For I'll pay any cost

 

Someday you'll turn around

And she will not be there

For I will have found

What you have lost

 

You will begin to hate it

But it was all premeditated

Just when you thought

You had everything together

I finally convinced her

That she can do better

 

Because no matter

where you go

Pick any corner of the world

There's one thing I know...

There are only

four types of girls:

 

Either...

For now

For later

Forever

Or forget it

And if she's three of the four

Then you're gonna live to regret it

 

For now comes and then goes

For later keeps you on your toes

Forget it never shows

But when forever arrives

Then everybody knows

 

There is no such phrase

As setting standards too high

So be forewarned...

When forever appears

She catches everybody's eye