Every Long Journey: Songs for Wellness (2006)
All songs: lyrics and music by Ann Reed. Copyright year follows title.

1. Dropped Down In The Water (© 2005)
2. Carry Me (© 1980)
3. I Hope You (© 1991)
4. I WIll Be There For You (© 1997)
5. Life Gets Real (© 1995)
6. No Time Like The Present (© 1999)
7. Every Long Journey (© 1986)
8. Family of Strangers (© 1984)
9. Lisa's Songs (© 1980)
10. Watching Over You (© 1995)
11. Northern Star (© 2000)
12. Leap of Faith (© 2002)
13. My Grateful Heart (© 2005)

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.

 
 
 
 

Dropped Down In The Water
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2005 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

Standin' at a crossroads
Don't know where to go
Tired of fillin' a bathtub with an eye dropper, oh
Sit there almost empty
Wonderin' "what now?"
Throw a stone into the water
Watch the waves roll out

Any given moment
The daily ebb and flow
You might be the arrow
You might be the bow
Have faith you make a difference
Go 'bout your business with no doubt
You were dropped into the water
And the waves rolled out

Dropped down in the water
Set down in the sea
You and everything you do
Goes out and on and on and on…

It's lookin' hard and hopeless
The sun it will not rise
Oh, one foot, then the other and soon you realize
One step farther than the darkness
And a light begins to grow
Oh those waves go out
They go out even farther than you know

Oh, the waves roll out…

Here is what surrounds you
When you open up your eyes
Stones of ev'ry color, yeah
Shape and ev'ry size
Livin' right beside them
With the one thing that you share
Y'all been dropped into the water
And it rolls out ev'rywhere

 
 
 

Carry Me
words and music: Ann Reed • © 1980 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

My wings are soaked by the water
I am taken in waves
Struggling not to go under
Knowing too well I may
If I stretch out my arms to you
Would you reach out or just plain refuse
Will the winds shifting stop
Oh, will love lift me up
Oh, will love lift me up

The night is darker and deeper
Moonlight obscured by the clouds
And in my dreams I am falling
Hard to tell up from down
If I stretch out my cries to you
Wouldn't it sound like some wild fury runnin' loose
Would the pain reach your ears
I need my vision to clear
I need my vision to clear

I will let love carry me, carry me
I will let the night breeze carry me, carry me...

Firmly grounded in autumn
All my truths change and fall
Desperately grabbing for something
Finding nothing at all
If I stretch out my arms to you
Would you hold me 'til I know what to do
Stop my spinnin' in sand
Find me someplace to land
Find me someplace to land

 
 
 

I Hope You
words & music: Ann Reed • © 1991 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

Don't know you very well
I see you once a week at most
But it's so clear to me
You are a gentle soul, so

I hope you have someone
To share you're deepest dreams with
I hope you have someone
That you can feel at ease with

A light in the dark
An anchor, a spark
Someone you can be sure of

I hope your dreams come true
Whatever they may be and
I hope you see them through
Fight for them 'til the end

I wish you peace of mind
These are such troubled, angry times
I hope you keep the kind
Of friends you can rely on

I hope you have someone
I hope your dreams come true
I hope you see them through
I hope you have someone

 
 
 

I Will Be There For You
words & music: Ann Reed • ©1997 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI


Some paths are straight & strong
'Til they divide and though
Some lessons don't take long
The hardest you learn all alone

I will be there for you
Somebody to hold on to
Listening with only an open heart
I will be there for you

I'd ask the moon to stay
Give you it's strength, I would
Leave stars to guide your way
If I ever could

Too hard to carry on
When all the world feels wrong
Just in case hearts and promises break
You've got someone
You can count on

And while you're on your own
I will be standing by
Help keep you from the cold
Hold a light up high

 
 
 

Life Gets Real
words & music: Ann Reed • ©1995 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

From now on it's cash and carry
No more payin' over time
Get no credit for unfilled moments
Or any dreams left behind
And because of all that life gets simpler in fact

Right this moment you don't know it
But you're standing prepared
For the advent of all the big stuff
Had you runnin' 'round scared
And because of all that
Life gets simpler in fact

Learn to breathe
When to yield
Find what can be and cannot be healed
On the crest of the wheel
Life gets real

While you walk on all the long held
Fairy tales disappear
Ever after doesn't matter
Like right now & right here
And because of all that life gets simpler in fact

Now you decide
There's a pause at the top of the ride
Arms up, open wide

At some point it's from the ground up
Just a brick at a time
After layin' a new foundation
The building's comin' 'long fine
And because of all that life gets simpler in fact

 
 
 

No Time Like The Present
words & music: Ann Reed • ©1999 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

Shoulda done this, shoulda done that
Said things when I had the chance
Words I didn't think of show up 3 hours later
Second guessing seems to shout:
You're calling the truck when the fire is out
Strugglin' in the here & now I'm tryin' to say

There's no time like the present
And I could not love you more
Than I do this very second
That's what they made this moment for

Living past and future tense
I get confused and I forget
To tell you you're the reason
Why my heart beats faster
Notes to you, I'll write 'em down
While one of us is not around
Let's put 'em in a book that's bound
Called: Things That Matter

Yesterday's the day I thought
Would never come and now it's gone
That's how years roll away
Tend to what I've planted
If I take it all for granted it'll fade

Books by doctors hold the view
That I'm O.K. & so are you
One step at a time will do, it fills the pages
Through the chaos in our lives
I remind myself that I
Don't need a coach, don't need a guide
Just one sweet phrase

 
 
 

Every Long Journey
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 1986 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

Every long journey is made of small steps
Is made of the courage the feeling you get
When you know it's been waiting, been waiting for you
The journey's the only thing you want to do

We cannot know what you go through or see through your eyes
But we will surround you, the pride undisguised
In any direction whatever you view
You're taking our love there with you

In every long journey what drives you to go
It's half what you know and half what you don't
The secret's been waiting your heart's got the key
The secret's the only thing you want to see

Every long journey begins with a dream
A spirit with courage to make it all real
The dream has been calling, been calling to you
The dream is the only thing you want to do

 
 
 

Family Of Strangers
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 1984 Turtlecub Publishing

We are in a family of strangers
Afraid of our own names, afraid to fall
Locked in roles too hard to change
Jailer, juggler, puppet savior, clown

Hidden wounds that never heal
Blood born bonds that seldom seal
Empty love is all you feel

Here, no words, just silent pain
You love them all the reason's never clear
Try and they're all so far away
Scream so loud inside and hope they hear

All the tales of days they missed
Your story's now and no one's list'nin'
Always greetings with a kiss

We are in a family of strangers
Feed our bodies, starve the soul & heart
Room for joy but not for anger
Everyone knows exactly who you are

 
 
 

Lisa's Song
words & music: Ann Reed • © 1980 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

There is a spirit here
There is a friend yet to know
As many new spaces to share
As there are roads
You are a part of me now
I'm a part of you, we
All fit together somehow
Close your eyes & you'll see

& we will fly
& we will sing
& we will rise
When we spread our wings
& we will fly
& we will dance
& we will try
Chance after chance

There is a spirit here
There is a friend yet to know
Break down that shell you've built well
And just say hello
Touch me & I will remember forever you'll see
You are a part of me now
I'm a part of you, we

 
 
 

Watching Over You
words & music: Ann Reed • © 1995 Turtlecub Publishing

Daylight dims
The moon will rise
Lift it's head
To light the night
Just a silent, white balloon
Sails the sky watching over you

When silence comes
Then I believe
Spirits take
That time to meet
Just a silent rendezvous
With a world of stars watching over you

& no matter what you face
The night will find you cradled & safe
& no matter what you do
The heavens are sheltering you

Before the night
Sings you to sleep
On your way
To peaceful dreams
Send a silent thank you to
Who's ever there watching over you


Written on Sand Island, Apostle Island National Lakeshore,
Artist in Residence Program 1995

 
 
 

Northern Star
words & music: Ann Reed • ©2000 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

You're my east my south and west
You're the one who gives me rest
And I know no matter near or far
You will be my northern star

You're the one when I'm at sea
You are there the land for me
When I've lost my way and day goes dark
You are still my northern star

You're the one I want to be holding
When the sun has wandered along
And the sky begins it's unfolding
There's no where else we belong, oh

Like the cardinal in the snow
When the trees are bare and low
The reward of spring is slow to start
You are still my northern star

 
 
 

Leap Of Faith
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

I am living in time
It's a rhythm I know
More and more I think life
Is all balance and hope
'Cause it's not black or white
It's any shade of my choice
Coming fully alive when I give it my voice

Oh, it is time
I will live out loud and
Open my eyes to the great divide
I'm walking my path
Finding my way
And every step's a leap of faith

Ev'ry story's a thread
In a weave that avows
I don't know what's ahead
But I'm standing here now.
There are moments I fly
Days when I weep
Sometimes I close my eyes
And remember to breathe

I walk on a fluid road
Ever changing where it goes
I wrestle my fear
And trusting my heart
That strength will appear
Oh, growing there in the dark


written for the Women's Cancer Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN

 
 
 

My Grateful Heart
words & music: Ann Reed • ©2005 Turtlecub Publishing / BMI

A day in December
The sun on my face
In the middle of motion
One quiet place
At the center of strangers
A meeting of souls
an embrace that is treasured
Wherever I go

When I struggle in shadow
There are voices that come
Whisper so low: Oh, you know
You're a fortunate one.
Then I gather my blessings
From the light and the dark
Welcome them into my grateful heart

The blue of the moonlight
All the heavens contain
The madness of music
Helps keep me sane
At the core of confusion
A small flame that glows
There then to guide me
Wherever I go

Slighting the spirit
My feelings go numb
Then it comes like a kiss: Remember this
You're a fortunate one
Then I gather my blessings
From the light and the dark
Ask them to stay in my grateful heart

A day that's remembered
In a small, sacred space
Walking toward balance
Praying for grace
Gather my blessings
Like the gifts that they are
Place them quite gently in my grateful heart