AN ALBUM HALF DONE

AN ALBUM HALF DONE
by Joe Cushnan

All song lyrics copyright ©Joe Cushnan 2016

TRACK LISTING

Casablanca Lovesong
Poet Laureate
Somebody Else Was Driving
Listen For The Thunder
Like A Cat
She Played Music
Harry's Song (For Harry Chapin)
The Last Country Song
Song For Rita
Closed Down For Winter
Crossroads

CASABLANCA LOVESONG
Why don't you look at me
the way that Ingrid Bergman
looked at Humphrey Bogart
and she didn't have to say a word
not a word
she didn't have to say a word

Lost in a fantasy
somewhere inside of me
placing you in my history
then I'm back to reality

Why don't we walk away
to find the blue horizon
and touch the starry sky
then love until the morning sun
the rising sun
love until the rising sun

Lost in a fantasy
all that you mean to me
in this sweet mystery
in love and harmony

And the piano player played

a song about a Paris summer

when I hear the tune I live my life again

play it again

Why don't you look at me
the way that Ingrid Bergman
looked at Humphrey Bogart
and she didn't have to say a word
not a word
she didn't have to say a word


POET LAUREATE

I used to write poems for you

in our hot summer love affair

and I'd smile as I read them to myself

when no one was there

I wrote seven that are special

some more along the way

and I'll give them to you, wrapped with love in velvet

maybe one day

I thought I was your Poet Laureate

for you were my ambition

and that summer was the best of times

without a contract of conditions

Maybe I wrote this song for you

or perhaps it wrote itself

you've gone so I place it gently out of reach

up on a shelf

I thought I was your Poet Laureate

for you were my ambition

and that summer was the best of times

without a contract of conditions

SOMEBODY ELSE WAS DRIVING

Somebody else was driving

somebody else's hands were on the wheel

somebody knew the road

they'd been that way before

somebody else was driving me along

This is the way it is

there's no way I can change it

I've never been a fighter

there's no way to rearrange it

When I look back on me

I've always needed a guide

I've written a lot of songs

'cause I need a place to hide

Somebody else was driving

somebody else's hands were on the wheel

somebody knew the road

they'd been that way before

somebody else was driving me along

Sometimes it's not easy to smile

when you're down to your last hope

but there's always a lover on your mind

and a kiss is all you need to cope

Somebody else was driving

somebody else's hands were on the wheel

somebody knew the road

they'd been that way before

somebody else was driving me along

LISTEN FOR THE THUNDER

There's a drunk and his wine

singing old time tunes

to the sound of the cats in the yard

there's a soldier and his gun

waiting side by side

for the morning and the change of the guard

There's a woman and her prayer

waiting for an answer

and the strength to face the day

there's a man and his tears 

for someone past

and he can't find the words to say

Listen for the thunder

be ready for the rain

listen for the lightning's crack

listen for the thunder

be ready for the rain 

and don't look back

There's a clock and it's tick

and day by day

you wonder where the time has gone

there's a road and a bend

and a chance to take

and the choice to go on alone

There's a day and a dream

and the morning sun

a gift from the Lord above

There's a heart and a song

and a peaceful thought

As I think of the one I love 

Listen for the thunder

be ready for the rain

listen for the lightning's crack

listen for the thunder

be ready for the rain 

and don't look back

LIKE A CAT

I feel like a cat with one life left

almost wasted nine

wasted all this time

Running from towns

running through doors

trying to run from all I knew before

I feel like a loser with no love left

running out of friend

burning out both ends

Tearing down walls

tearing down dreams

nothing ever stays the way it seems

Drumbeat silhouettes look down from the ceiling

I picture you in my head and try to feel the feeling

it's almost twelve o'clock and this road could take us home

but as I turn to you in a dream, I go to sleep alone

I feel like a spider without a web,

lost without a home

make it on my own

I feel like a cat with one life left

almost wasted nine

wasted all this time

SHE PLAYED MUSIC

Blank pages and empty lines

make up my life

or so it seems

wasted dreams

come to me in the night

Broken pens and unfinished rhymes

seem to stay with me

and looking around

I hear your sound

coming through the night

She played music when she touched me and she held me and she owned me 

and she kissed me

and I think I told her once or twice she was everything

Sad songs and yesterdays

are in my mind

the longer I stare

you are standing there

lighting up the night

She played music when she looked at me and she talked to me and she smiled at me 

and she kissed me 

and I think I told her once or twice that I loved her

She played music with her fingers and her lips and her eyes

and then the music died

HARRY'S SONG (FOR HARRY CHAPIN) 

You took me to some places

and not once did I say no

from the deck of a sinking ship

to some local radio

you took me higher than an eagle

and you never let me down

you taught me simple lessons

of a world a-spinning round

It's so sad that Harry's gone but I can bring him back

with an electronic needle on a hundred album tracks

it's so sad to lose a singer before the final song

now the angels buy his music

it's so sad that Harry's gone

You made my dreams a little sweeter

and my smile a little wide

you made me laugh a little louder

and cry deep down inside

you took me by the hand

and you told your stories well

when the wheel stopped turning

there was still much more to tell 

It's so sad that Harry's gone but I can bring him back

with an electronic needle on a hundred album tracks

it's so sad to lose a singer before the final song

now the angels buy his music

it's so sad that Harry's gone

THE LAST COUNTRY SONG (FOR PFC)

The last country song 

that I'll ever remember

being sung from the heart to the crowd

was the last time I saw him

on the blue side of lonesome

singing from his heart to the crowd

I can't remember if the rain was falling

on that cold, cold December day

I know I couldn't cry

just sat and wondered why

it happened as the day was dawning

The last country song 

that I'll ever remember

being sung from the heart to the crowd

was the last time I saw him

on the blue side of lonesome

singing from his heart to the crowd

And somewhere he is looking down on me

listening to me playing to the wind

aiming all my thoughts at the sky

to kiss the clouds and love his memory

The last country song 

that I'll ever remember

being sung from the heart to the crowd

was the last time I saw him

on the blue side of lonesome

singing from his heart to the crowd

SONG FOR RITA

Songs of you come easy, from love’s lament to lullaby

Songs of you come easy, we said farewell but not goodbye

Your memory preserved forever,

Showing you in silhouette,

You gave us all we’d ever need,

You gave us nothing to regret

So many moments looking back,

Crystal clear inside our minds,

A decent soul, a loving heart,

Heaven’s child, one of a kind.

Songs of you come easy, from love’s lament to lullaby

Songs of you come easy, we said farewell but not goodbye

No one said life would be easy

You were dealt a heavy hand

Left to raise your sons and daughters

We were too young to understand

You kept us safe, you were our haven,

You found the will, you found the way,

You taught us right, you taught us wrong,

You loved us each and every day

Songs of you come easy, from love’s lament to lullaby

Songs of you come easy, we said farewell but not goodbye

In darker days and troubled nights,

After all your faith and prayer

Your three angels held you near,

To comfort. you with loving care

Came the hour, came the moment,

Came the time for life to cease,

In spite of all the tears and sorrow,

Came your time to rest in peace

Songs of you come easy, from love’s lament to lullaby

Songs of you come easy, we said farewell but not goodbye

CLOSED DOWN FOR WINTER

It started out as summer love

warm days and loving nights

picnic fun and country walks

feather kisses and dizzy heights

Riding horses across the fields

wind blowing our cares away

stetson hats to shade the sun

on every one of our summer days

But now it’s over, we’ve drawn the line

summer’s gone and the sun don’t shine

what are the reasons who and how

we’ve closed down for winter now

Once this room was light and air

sunbeam rays played on the chair

we would talk all afternoon

'til we witnessed the evening moon

Now the room is dark and cold

young love is now feeling old

windows locked and shutters down

and I look like the saddest clown

But now it’s over, we’ve drawn the line

summer’s gone and the sun don’t shine

what are the reasons who and how

we’ve closed down for winter now

CROSSROADS

Do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together

is this the end of our loving days

do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together

Doesn't time fly

can't believe it's been so long

we used to be good

can't believe it's gone so wrong

a love gone bad

we just grew up fast

different directions

it could never last

What is there to do

do we run and hide

let's meet at the crossroads and decide

Do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together

is this the end of our loving days

do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together

Is it too late now

we're standing on the ledge

just one more step

could push us over the edge

where is the hope

in this tunnel of doom

we both need space

need to find a little room

What is there to do

do we run and hide

let's meet at the crossroads and decide

Do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together

is this the end of our loving days

do we go north together

or south together

or east together

or west together