Soft Blows

Here:
Standing on the south pole
braving the 31 below zero
Like paramagnetic slivers
faced with parka-less shivers
after their brief trembling

Iron red, Eyes run redder

You albatross, spanning your global wings
because a thousand miles wasn't enough distance
You albatross, devouring golden calves
guided by the currents and incandescent lamps
You albatross, swooping down the sea-line
baring your teeth at the black and white
You albatross, plaguing the water and wine
because even a blurry view is much too bright

Here:
Standing on the center-sun
sweating anthemic buckets
Like emasculated cloudbursts
losing our shoes and shirts
after a sudden final flare

May

Download MP3 Here

I got scared in the winter
That the summer had disappeared
And we all got trapped in our isolation
Let's get out of here, yeah!

I rode around on my bicycle
Thinking of all the words you said
It was so good, it was so good
It was so good like the month of May
It was so good, it was so good
It was so good like the month of May
When everything looks close on maps
And everyone just smiles in the photographs

I caught you trying to catch a break
Your pulse was slowing, it was frozen in a way
It's ok to finish, even if you're late
It's ok to finish, you know that I can wait

I got scared watching snow fall
That the spring would never come
And we'd all be trapped here in hibernation
Waiting for the sun, yeah!

It was so good, it was so good
It was so good like the month of May
It was so good, it was so good
It was so good like the month of May
When everything looks close on maps
And everyone just smiles in the photographs

City

6:09 pm with a thunderous crash
I finally got the chance to leave you waiting

I sat around the house
and built a fire with a match;
I changed my clothes
(suit and tie)
Stepped into the elevator

Froze my ears off
figure-skating sidewalks
I hailed a car:
50th
49th
48th
...a countdown to disaster, see?

Looked up your name
and called your bluff,
You were seven stories up
In a window shining bright
Like a hurricane devouring lamp posts
Look out
(and hear me) bellow!

and at the table
in the store
in the demonstration room
in this exhibition
i heard it begin
s o s o f t l y
but building...

Until all our fine china had been dissolved
Until all our clothes were splatter-painted
Orange and Red
Orange and REd
Orange and RED
We walked outside into our crumbling city
and watched the fire go out

Saints (with MP3 download link)

Download MP3 here
The wind blows
across my back;
I am wandering,
I am whispering
to you now
'til you know

Distant waves
Different saints
We are saved by the sound

The wind blows
across my back;
I am wandering,
I am whispering
to you now
'til you know:
"I love you"

The Warmest Feeling

Holding hands was the warmest feeling;
could use it right now
Snow is falling, the earth is calling
all its friends back down

It's so beautiful, The most beautiful thing
I've seen in awhile
I know it's pitiful, Yeah so pitiful but
I can't seem to smile

Oh, I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, how I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, I wish to God I was...

Take a picture to help you remember
Everything you saw
I'll be watching, through the winter
Waiting for the thaw

Enjoy the weather, Enjoy your feathers
Keep using them to fly
It's for the better, It's so much better
If you don't realize

Oh, I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, how I wish I was sharing this with you
Oh, I wish to God I was...

Get up, get up, move faster now
Come watch it all fall down
I don't think I have ever seen
More beauty than right now
Get up, get up, and move your feet
It's freezing back at home
Come on, you know that we are both
Shivering
Shivering
Shivering, alone...

On That Day

These lyrics come with a bonus: a video of me playing the song! Email me (pknettel@gmail.com) for a copy of the MP3.



I want to wake up with my eyes wide open
I want to see everything, in awe of it all
I want to break, break open all the windows
And let the rain pour in

I'm gonna leave here, on the next train coming
I want to be there, when the sun goes down
I'm gonna wake up in a different hour
It's enough to make me smile

Oh, I'm off to see the world
I'll travel so fast, so far
Oh you know, I'd stop
Or at least I'd slow it down
To be where you are

I want to wake up with a mouthful of laughter
I want to sing with the birds and the wind
I want to throw off all of these covers
And let the sun stream in

I'm gonna buy you two dozen roses
I want to see them fall to the ground
I'm gonna watch you with your eyes wide open
Screaming I love, I love, I love, I love you

Oh, I'm off to see the world
I'll travel so fast, so far
Oh you know, I'd stop
Or at least I'd slow it down
To be where you are

I'm gonna walk out into the ocean
I want to feel my fears float away
I'm gonna swim with you in the sunlight
On that glorious day
On that glorious day
On that day

Cavalry

We lost, we lost this one
To the bright and shining sun
We stared, it was so beautiful
But it only left us burned

We tried, to stop it
We tried, to slow it down
We watched, we watched it fall
So quickly towards the ground

I have no words
To share with you my friend
I lost my nerve
I think it's time you just forget
I was here

You stole, you stole the very thing
I could not afford to lose
I called, I called the cavalry in
They were of no use

You ran, to stop it
You ran, to slow it down
(It was the only thing you could do)
I watched, I watched and tried to chase
But could not follow through


I have no words
To share with you my friend
I lost my nerve
I think it's time you just forget
I was here

Rush in on your white horse and try to rescue me
I swear you're six months late and I've fallen helplessly
Don't cry or make a scene, I'll plunge into the ground
I swear if you lose any sleep over me now...
There's no use trying to stop me
There's no use trying to help me
There's no use trying to save me