Where the Earth is Round (2009)


1. Not Some Far-Away Place
2. Where the Earth is Round
3. Coffee Tasted Better When You Were Here
4. Pink Guitar
5. How Did I
6. Space 'Neath the Sky/Softly and Tenderly
7. Loons On Lake Calhoun
8. Good Thing I Bounce
9. If You Forget
10. A Song for the End of the Day
11. We Will
12. Friendsong

Don't forget: Using a songwriter's lyrics and/or music without permission is very bad indeed. Frowned upon.
Quite disrespectful. Creates icky stuff in the universe.

 
 
 
 

Not Some Far-Away Place
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

There you were, here you are
Y'kinda wondered if you'd get this far
Hello, faith so long deferred
Life goes by like the shadow of a bird

On a wide, wide window looking over
A map drawn on your face
Horizon so close you could paint it if you try
It's not some far-away place

Sleepin' through, wake up late
Time gets squishy when there's less of it to waste
Fav'rite dream never tried
Smacks you in the head like a bully passin' by

Down a narrow hallway gallery
Of the mem'ries that you've framed
The objects in the mirror are closer than they seem
And it's not some far-away place

Big ol' rock. Canyon wall.
Edge of a cliff. Not pretty at all.
Take a step, close your eyes
You might learn to fly

Dusty trunk, hefty pack
Easier to see it if it isn't on your back
Dizzy bridge, cleared to cross
Might feel better if the heavy stuff is tossed

There's a key fits the lock of your childhood home
But the rooms are rearranged
Bruised but aware while you're trippin' on the chairs
It's not some far-away place

 
 
 

Where the Earth Is Round
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2008 Turtlecub Publishing

From here, I can see that the Earth is round
    blessed by the bones in the sacred ground
I can see where the rivers flow, oh, they flow
I can touch the brilliant sky
    the sun and the moon and the northern lights
Oh, the dancing stars they feel so close

    I am here because of souls
    Who walked before and called this home
    Bowed their heads on a trail of tears
    Falling down and now, today
    They're resting here within this place
    Where the Earth is round [Where the seasons change]

From here is the scent of seasons change
    before the snow and after the rain
Leaves releasing, waltzing with the wind
I hear the sound of magic, oh
    the loons calling out, my heart is full
Sounds of where I am and where I've been

Land holds the lakes
Lakes reflect the sky
Sky holds our dreams
Tumbles down in light

From here, I can see that the Earth is round
    blessed by the bones in the sacred ground
I can see where the rivers flow, oh, they flow
I can touch the brilliant sky
    the sun and the moon and the northern lights
Oh, the dancing stars they feel so close

 
 
 

Coffee Tasted Better When You Were Here
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2008 Turtlecub Publishing

Sit here wonderin' what has changed
My coffee tasted better yesterday
Bought it from the same java-beanery place
My coffee tasted better yesterday

Same ol' kitchen
Same ol' cup
Same ol' way I tend to drink the stuff up
Only thing I added is a little tear
Guess the coffee tasted better when you were here

Start the engine go for a ride
The car's so quiet and I don't know why
I haven't changed the funny way I drive
The car's so quiet and I don't know why

Same ol' chassis
Tires and jack
Same ol' route to there and back
Only thing missin' is just the right song
The car's so quiet now that you are gone

I wake up I look here and there
My smile's run off to I don't know where
Such a pretty day so it don't seem fair
My smile's run off to I don't know where

Same ol' sun in the
Same ol' sky
Same ol' me and I'm thinking I'll find
Only thing that up and disappeared
My smile stuck around when you were here

 
 
 

Pink Guitar
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2008 Turtlecub Publishing

Everything is sagging
Her eyelids to her knees
The body might be dragging
The spirit's light and she's

Got a pink guitar, pink guitar
It helps her think
Playing her pink guitar
Pink guitar, pink guitar
Brand new strings upon a pink guitar

No time left to fake it
There's much she cannot fix
It's midlife if she makes it
Lives to one-oh-six

(Chorus: With her pink guitar ...)

If some fairy offered her a trip back to her teens
She'd stuff that little sprite into a jar
Anytime she's feeling ancient, she knows what she needs
Crazy thing, the joy it brings
Playing her pink guitar

Half-way down the road and
She's looking at the signs
One says, "What you know" and
The other, "Keep on trying' — and bring your: (Chorus)

 
 
 

How Did I
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

Not what she wants but it's what she's got
Wrote her own story with a sorry plot
I can always edit or so she thought
She begins to frown when she looks around

She says: How did I get so stuck?
Outta time and outta luck
I'd like to change it but I'm too caught up, oh
How do I end this play?
There's too much left to say
Didn't mean to let it get away, so tell me how did I?

Not where she went but it's where she is
Tryin' to find a map and the turn she missed
Wasn't I s'posed to end up with my bliss?
She begins to frown when she looks around

She says: How did I get so lost?
Where is that stuff I tossed?
I'd show my life who's boss but it's so exhausting
How did this thing get stalled?
It's barely at a crawl
Didn't mean to hit the brakes at all, oh, tell me how did I?

Tell her she's not driving
Loosen up her grip
It's not about arriving
Sit back, enjoy the trip

Not where she aims but it's where it lands
Maybe that's the way with the best-laid plans
S'pose I'll have to do the best I can
She begins to frown when she looks around

She says: How did I miss the mark?
The target seemed so large
Gotta work twice as hard to get half as far
How did I end up here - another day, another year
Didn't mean to have it disappear, so tell me how did I?

 
 
 

Space 'Neath the Sky
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2008 Turtlecub Publishing

I know the truth — it's only a place
It's earth and it's roots
It's sky and it's space

But it's the land where my grandmother sighed
Right here where I stand
In this space 'neath the sky

The wind blows familiar songs
Voices with the leaves
Spinning so slowly along
Until they rest in me

No matter where — if I close my eyes
I'll wish myself there
In the space 'neath the sky
I'll wish myself there
In the space 'neath the sky

 
 
 

Loons on Lake Calhoun
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

I'm riding on my bike
Gliding along
The light is early morning
It's pretty and half-awake
This city that has
The lakes as its reward

I stop all my inner debating
And waiting a minute, it hovers and fades

Ducks talking, coots check in
Chalking up routes
They've been on their migration
Then floating up above
The soloist does her stuff
With carbonation

It's a melody picked out
To tell how a tickle would sound if given the room
There's loons on Lake Calhoun

They've dropped in to see a show
Stopped to see grebes they know
From a long, late winter
The people lift eyes from the ground
Seeming surprised at the sound
Of grace, delivered

I never expected a miracle
Here I'll admit: Oh, I rarely — do you?
There's loons on Lake Calhoun

And they've made it from far, far away
Before takin' it northward, but before they do
There's loons on Lake Calhoun

 
 
 

Good Thing I Bounce
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

Thank God I'm lucky when I'm not so smart
Got empty pockets but a full, full heart
I hit the floor and then I get back up and when
Doors go slammin', I say: here's my card
Oh, I think out loud: good thing I bounce

I grabbed a shovel but I had some help
I didn't dig this hole all by myself
Recalling up above, soakin' up all the love
Guess you know heaven by your time in hell
So I'm thinkin' now: good thing I bounce

Ooo, to the moon and down
A little ice on the ground, Ooo
Good thing I bounce
Trip of the lip, a few slick seconds
And everything can change
Good thing I bounce

I guess I'm happy that I'm not too thin
I got some ballast in a mighty wind
Thing is y'never know how hard it's gonna blow
Maybe just lettin' go will save my skin
Oh, I'm thinkin' now: good thing I bounce
(chorus)

Oh, it's a big trampoline
Oh, on the way up I see I'm really ...

Pretty lucky when I'm not so smart
Empty pockets but a full, full heart
With ev'ry other step I'm certain less and less
Where I wake up I guess that's where I'll start
Yep, I'm thinkin now: good thing I bounce

 
 
 

If You Forget
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

I will remember you
I'll be holding your hand
Won't let your stories wash away
You are not made of sand

Refrain:
If you forget
If you forget
Why you are here
If you forget why you are here

One day your reflection
(You never know just when)
You may not recognize the gaze
But she'll look like a friend

The ones who know you
They will not let you fall
They will be there on either side
You will not feel so small

 
 
 

A Song for the End of the Day
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

Riding home, the people in my brain
Are busy putting all the files away
I can hear their chatter begging me
To keep on working, but I disagree

Breathing in, beginning to replace
The beige but earnest air of office space
I do not listen to the radio
It will not tell me what I need to know

Oh, how was your day, how did it go?
Did everybody treat you like the precious soul you are?
If that didn't happen I suppose
When you step inside the door
That is what a home is for

Conversations real or wish-I'd-said
Running in a loop inside my head
I tell them nicely, "Sit and rest a while"
As I think ahead and start to smile

People and their dogs all have a date
We'll make our way around the neighborhood and take a look
At flowers in the gardens, and we'll say
Let's plant yellow, red and blue
'Cause our home would like the view

Ah — let it fade away / It's been a very long day

We might ask some friends to stop on by
Or watch a show we've seen a hundred times
Try hard not to think of how it goes
Tomorrow is today soon you'll say: Oh ...

Oh, how was your day, how did it go?
Did everybody treat you like the precious soul you are?
If that didn't happen I suppose
When you step inside the door
That is what a home is for

 
 
 

We Will
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

It's a long road we've set our feet upon
And with loving hearts we walk on

We will walk on ...

Bridges are made with open hands
We begin to heal the world

We will heal the world ...

When the sun shines through all of us
There on the road
Will be a rainbow in front of us
Wherever we go
Wherever we go

Take a single flame and pass it on
It's enough to light the way

We will light the way ...

When the sun shines through all of us
There on the road
Will be a rainbow in front of us
Wherever we go
Wherever we go

All the souls who came before are standing here
You can hear them whisper low

We will walk with you ...

 
 
 

Friendsong
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2009 Turtlecub Publishing

Frame the past
Feed the soul
Make you laugh
Make you whole
In the darkest hour you'll find
A light left on inside

Call your bluff
Keep the faith
Hold you up
When your legs give 'way
Water, earth and air and sun
A world inside each one

Oh, I thank you
My companions
Ev'ry season
We have journeyed through
May love bless you
My companions ...

Grieve for those
Lost too soon
When they go
There's an empty room
Never quite the same
It'll always feel that way