Necessary Angels

Lyrics

Pursuit of Happiness
Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
And loving and leaving

In your pursuit of happiness
I see you running yourself to death
In your pursuit of happiness
Dont forget to count your blessings

Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
And loving and leaving
Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
And loving and leaving

Go for the gold
Straight for the glittering gold
Forego the silver, forget the bronze
Stick to your guns, look to the skies
Break a sweat, better yet
Break your back
‘Til your dream's realized

In your pursuit of happiness
I see you running yourself to death
In your pursuit of happiness
Dont forget to count your blessings

Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
and loving and leaving
Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
and loving and leaving

Work your way to the top of the heap
You're living a dream and there's no time to sleep
Invest what’s left of yourself
Do it alone without anyone's help
If at first you don’t succeed
Practice makes perfect
Ambition builds greed
You're addicted, indeed
Burn, baby, burn, feel the burn
You've been so eager to climb
The ladder
You've bought into those loving lies
Life has been passing before your eyes

In your pursuit of happiness
I see you running yourself to death
In your pursuit of happiness
Dont forget to count your blessings

Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
and loving and leaving
Hiding and seeking
Thinking and Speaking
Wanting and needing
and loving and leaving

Shadowboxing
Shadowboxing with the moon
It’s a tiny pearl in God's eye
Every step I take
Every swing I make
Brings me closer than I was before

Shadowboxing with the moon
The night’s silver cup pouring down on me
The ebb and tide
Of day and night
Keeps me wanting
so much more
Keeps me wanting...
Ooooh oh

Shadowboxing the night sky
Do you remember moon, it used to be just you and I?
Then Desire stepped in the ring
She made you seem less challenging
But, that was all
a lie
Please save me from the sky!

Take time to step back and reflect
I'm doing the best I can do
And when we've outgrown these gloves
We’ll be ready for dancing shoes

Shadowboxing by myself
For tonight the moon is just a sliver of herself
Last week I won the round
The sky he saw me take her down
But she’ll be back to box... some more
I’ve seen that grin before

Best of Times
This the best of times
Some say the worst of times
I guess it all just depends
Which glass you're drinking from
This is our only chance
To reverse a dance
That was started so long ago

This is the best of times
Look beyond the signs
Don't let yourself be scared
Don't let them make you numb
This is the final day
Each and every day
We can return to the love
That we keep running from

I see only beautiful faces
Hands eager to hold

So when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want to make you laugh
And remind you of the best of times
Living right before your eyes
So, when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want give you hope
And remind you of the best of times
Oh, we’re living in the best of times

These are the best of times
Yours and mine
We can never forget
How blessed we are
And though the sun may set
When we least expect it to
Remember all the times
Life was so sweet with you
And in the end it will seem
Life rolled by like a dream

So when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want to make you laugh
And remind you of the best of times
Living right before your eyes
So, when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want give you hope
And remind you of the best of times
Oh, we’re living in the best of times

These are the daily trials
Yet every once in a while
Clouds all disappear
Making everything else clear
When our emotions grow cold
Tide of winter takes hold
Don't give in to sorrow so soon
When the spring could arrive by this afternoon!

So when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want to make you laugh
And remind you of the best of times
Living right before your eyes
So, when I see you down
I want to pick you up
I want give you hope
And remind you of the best of times
Oh, we’re living in the best of times

Sister and Sam
1967
Sam is sixty-one
Sister's in the kitchen
Making dinner for everyone

White frame house in Heflin
On a tree lined street
The buzz of gossip fills the air
As the neighbors line up in the summer heat

Sister's skinny and she's lost her hearing
Sam is short and so's her sight
She wears the bottoms of bottles for glasses
And her voice is like dynamite

So, I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these women
And my summers near Birmingham

Pickin' snap beans out in the garden
Bead of sweat droppin' down your neck
There's fried chicken and potatoes
Hot rolls and ripe tomatoes
Outside I hear those chickens peck

Evening's calling for a country walk
Cicadas hummin' the trees to sleep
Hand in hand my aunts and I are counting the stars
Reflecting off of our bare feet

So, I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these women
And my summers near Birmingham

And I used to think:
Did either kiss in the moonlight?
Or feel the hot flame of a hand on her breast?
Oh, maybe someday a child will wonder over me, too
As I am laid to rest

I open rusty trunks to find
Letters, and dolls, and photo frames
Yellowed faces but no names
It hurts to think this is my past
Lying here, scattered in my lap
And no memories can come to mind
When you're sitting where the past has been left behind

So I try hard to remember
What we grow up to forget
And I have grown to love these memories
And my summers near Birmingham

Time Will Tell
Clocks keep ticking in this town
You walk towards the bell
Too much heartache fills your heart
And your soul, as well
Dancing with the devil's voice
You race for relief
Somehow, somewhere
You made this choice
And only time will tell

Waltzing up to past mistakes
Pour yourself some juice
Too much thinking going on
Shake these voices loose
All your anger
All your fear
All your laughter and bitter tears
Too much wanting
Hidden here
And answers never seem quite clear…
But only time will tell
Only time will tell

Eye of the Storm
Tonight I read the questions
The tears on your face
You wonder how long I will love you
If your heart is safe

Well I don’t remember
What I should say
'Cus it’s been too long
Since I felt this way

Someone broke the locket
By forcing the key
Someone said they were a poet
With no words to say

And I don't remember
What you should say
'Cus it’s been too long
Since you felt this way

And all I remember
Is the eye of the storm
You got caught up in the hurricane
Oh, and I stayed safe and warm

You should separate
The rose from the thorn
I’ve learned to watch for the wolves
Dressed in sheep's clothes
We’re in for nasty weather
You're not reading the signs
I see lightning and thunder
I hope you'll protect yourself this time

And I don't remember
What I should say
'Cus it’s been too long
Since you felt this way

And all I remember
Is the eye of the storm
You got caught up in a hurricane
Oh, and I stayed safe and
All I remember
Is the eye of the storm
Losing yourself to the wind and rain
While I stayed safe from harm
And all I remember
Is the eye of the storm
You got caught up in a hurricane
Oh, and I stayed safe from harm

Oh, Daddy
Drove her home to the south side
He lived on the west side
He explained the best that he could
“Oh, your momma and your daddy
Were drawn to a flame
But, we burned up like so much dead wood."

Oh, daddy
Oh, daddy
Where did we go wrong?
Let's throw out these ashes
We’ve carried so long
Oh, daddy
Oh, daddy
Let's settle the score
It don't make a difference
What happened before

Now Lila's memories of daddy
Were pictures so fractured
Slides of an incomplete tour
Oh, the heart of a daughter
Aching with anguish
Is a heart that can never be cured

These old accusations
These questions that burn
About past relations
She never will learn
Memories so painful
Like sticks or like stones
Shattering the remnants
Of your heart and bones

Oh, daddy
Oh, daddy
Where did we go wrong?
Let's throw out these ashes
We’ve carried so long
Oh, daddy
Oh, daddy
Let's settle the score
It don't make a difference
What happened before

Now Society whispered
Cruel thoughts in her head
Claiming daddy did something
Untrue
And those stories stained hard
And hardened her heart
Lila began to believe in them, too

Daddy's shoulders were shaking
He cried tears of thunder
At the questions she threw in his face
A good father he'd been
All those long loving years
He listened as they were erased

These bold accusations
These questions that burn
About past relations
That never occurred
Memories so painful
Like sticks or like stones
Shattering the remnants
Of your heart and bones

Oh, daughter
Oh, daughter
Where did I go wrong?
Let's throw out the ashes
You’ve carried so long
Oh, daughter
Oh, daughter
Let's settle the score
It don’t make a difference
What they said before

Room of One's Own
Shaking her drunken head
Full of pearls
Eyes tired from fighting an unseeing world
She took the book
From the shelf
And handed it down smiling to herself
A sharing of secrets

She told me to read
This vernacular seed
Days passed between us like so many
Fallen leaves
Something inside
Could not be denied
I heard her voice
True and tried
Wanting to warn me not to forget

And all that she wanted
Was a room of her own
A place to create her heart's
Burning song
All that she wanted was a chance to leave
More than her name in stone
More than her name in stone

A dream is a gift
Hard work and love
She said,
“If you get stuck ask for help from above."
She warned me that life
Would give me a try
It held no remorse in passing me by
If I ignored the call

Her fingers stiff at the piano
Recalling melodies I did not know
She took a bow to the applause in her mind
An encore performance that madness designed
I felt a tear fall, ooh
I felt a tear fall from my eye

And all that she wanted
Was a room of her own
A place to create her heart's
Burning song
All that she wanted was a chance to leave
More than her name in stone
Oh, more than her name in stone

The smell of death dated her breath
Old-fashioned drinks laced with regret
She'd courted fame but they’d never met

I took a walk when I finished the book
Feeling inspired
She was weak when I saw her working in the yard
I promised to follow the path she'd begun
I promised to sing the songs she'd never sung
And I smiled to myself as I told her

All that I want is a room of my own
A place to create my heart's
Burning song
Oh, all that I want is this chance to leave
More than my name in stone
Oh, more than my name in stone

Tiger in a Teacup Town
Tigers usually live in a jungle
And you did
Until you moved into town last summer and
Started asking questions
Oh, life was just a pleasant game that we all played
Until you tried to tell us we were living charades

You weren't afraid to speak your mind
Or show your true colors
And though they seemed like friends whenever you were around
Behind your back they'd laugh and they’d call you a clown
They were building you up just to tear you down

Now you're a tiger in a teacup town
How does it feel, how does it feel?
Now you're a tiger in a teacup town
Now now now now now

When they started building the red cage on wheels
I knew where you were headed
I watched their eyes grow dark
Whenever you passed by

You'd say "good morning"
And wag your tail
To who’d ever notice
I guess you didn't mind
Eating your lunch alone

And as they sipped their tea
Acting so politely
You were living your life too far out on a limb
They grew to hate your nature and your beautiful skin
They were fragile with the fear
'Cause you're not like them

Now you're a tiger in a teacup town
How does it feel, how does it feel?
Oh, you're a tiger in a teacup town
You better watch where you sit down
You're a tiger in a teacup town
They're gonna lock you up and throw away the key

But deep inside
You're gonna eat them alive
With the strength of your own memory

One morning I was called to have tea
With the neighbors and friends
I guess I started asking too many questions

I guess it escaped me
I guess I had closed my eyes
But the look on their faces
Started to fill me with fear

They said that you'd left town
And tried to console me
And it was then I knew that you'd been taken for sure
For underneath my feet was the feel of your fur
And the room was spinning....
Endlessly
Then it hit me

I'm a tiger in a teacup town
How does it feel, how does it feel?
Oh, I'm a tiger in a teacup town
Now now now now now
Oh, I'm a tiger in a teacup town
I'm a tiger in a teacup town

Slippery
Closing
My eyes
Looking but not seeing
Here in the darkest room
I have ever been in
Slippery things slip through my fingers
Keeps me wondering

I'm searching
For something
Gnawing at my soul
Here in this bottomless pit
My stomach is grumbling
I sure hope that I don't quit
Before I find peace of mind

Oh, I can believe in myself
Like never before
Oh, something within me
Is leading me to
An open door...

Life just keeps getting faster
But I refuse to speed up
I won't allow myself to be blown around town
Like a broken down paper cup
I'm gonna sit right down
On solid ground
And remember what sitting is for
What's the sitting for?
What is sitting for?

Opening
My eyes
Finding what I was searching for
Here in the brightest room
I have ever seen
Oh, slippery things slip through the night
Passing me by
In the strangest dream
La da da da di da da da da da da

Joy
A grocery cart for a car
A broken curb for a pillow
No house, no kids, no pets, no bills
Just a husband with an angry scar

Her face was kissed by the night
And I’m a slice of the moon
I gave her my toaster oven
On a frozen afternoon

Her mother named her “Joy"
It was the last word from her lips
How strange a woman with not much more than a name
Can find such happiness

Living on the streets she don't mind
Everyone she meets has no time
To be kind

I can search for days up and down
So afraid she won't come around
And I find
If I stop looking
There is Joy to be found

She would visit our dumpster
Collecting empty bottles of beer
I gave her an electric blanket
On the hottest day of the year

Joy can shop in the rain
And she makes dinner in the snow
Joy finds things in places
I’m too scared to go

Living on the streets she don't mind
Everyone she meets has no time
To be kind
I can search for days up and down
So afraid she won't come around
And I find
If I stop looking

Nothing is hers, she says:
“There is nothing we really own"
And she ignores the fences
Society's sown

Summer fell into fall
And fall grew into spring
There was never another word from Joy
And I knew it could only mean

Living on the streets she don't mind
Everyone she meets has no time
To be kind
I can search for days up and down
So afraid she won't come around
And I find
If I stop looking
Oh, if I stop looking
There is Joy to be found

The Place Where the Garage Used to Stand
I thought I'd grow up to build
Underwater cities
We thought you'd be a runway model
'Cause your face was oh-so-pretty
Girl Scouts, soccer, softball, boys
Sneaking out you better not
Make a noise
Jane scraped your arms with her
Red fingernails
Frisbees flew like summer sails, and

Here is the place
Where we made our future plans
In the days of my childhood
Here is the place where
The garage used to stand
And it stood and it stood and it stood
And it stood in my old neighborhood

John killed a lime-green tree frog
With a single blasted Black Cat
First heard of some secret
Family jewels as
You kicked Tim for calling Barbara fat
Summer dresses, swimsuits, shorts,
Tried to gain access to all their forts
One of the boys lit a loaded match
The garage went down in seconds flat, and

Here is the place
Where we made our future plans
In the days of my childhood
Here is the place where
The garage used to stand
And it stood and it stood and it stood
And it stood in my old neighborhood

Mom is whistling,
“Time to come in!"
Summer's fading
School year begins
“Eat your dinner. Did you wash your hands?"
School is ending
And it’s summer again
Life was easy to...
Life was easy to...
Life was easy... to understand

Here is the place
Where we made our future plans
In the days of my childhood
Here is the place where
The garage used to stand
And it stood and it stood and it stood
And it stood in my old neighborhood