Song Lyrics
All songs written by Rick Gray
BIRD ON THE PHONE
I’d never seen so many stars
Claiming all the space in the sky
I’d never drank in Outback bars
The same stares in every room
Amusement with a dash of gloom
​
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
With all the time in the world today
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
And she’s hoping I can stay
​
We walked the track the length of town
Then she took my hand
I felt so alive with you around
The trickery of youth
Starting fires without a clue
​
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
With all the time in the world today
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
And she’s hoping I can stay
​
Should have seen the way we smiled
Like purpose had our name
I never snapped the thread in time
That keeps the pictures clear
I see them now in every mirror
​
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
With all the time in the world today
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
And she’s hoping I can stay
There’s a bird on the phone
There’s a bird on the phone
But it’s time to go home today
CLICK YOUR HEELS
Dorothy’s got a road ahead of her
Paved with doubt and fire
And these pretty little flowers intent on devouring her have stolen her desire
Up at three, feel the need to call a friend
Not the one that you trust, the one that you must
To bring these chills to an end
​
You’re alabaster in the mirror
Constant buzzing in your ears
Your eyes look the wrong kind of deep
So click your heels and bring us something we can keep
​
Strawmen blow away and lions are just hard-wired
Neither courage nor brains or the heart remains intact
You’re starting to get tired
​
You’re alabaster in the mirror
Constant buzzing in your ears
Your eyes look the wrong kind of deep
So click your heels and bring us something we can keep
​
Half a chance to change your circumstance
Don’t let a tinman’s heart blow it all apart
Before you find the legs to run
​
You’re alabaster in the mirror
Constant voices in your ears
Your eyes look the wrong kind of deep
So come back to us now
Click your heels and bring us something we can keep
​
Dorothy’s got a road ahead of her
Paved with doubt and fire
And these pretty little flowers intent on devouring her have stolen her desire
LUCKY YOU
Driven straight through night
Just to find the lost horizon
Divided evenly into dark and light
Toward a clear day
When everything was made to last
Now everything breaks so fast
​
Had you not been there from the start
I couldn’t see these possibilities abound
You pulled the stake out of my heart
Look at you; I doubt you feel like Arthur today
​
I start to feel there’s a way
Mixed with all this fear
Divided evenly
Then I hear the halves
Beating like a drum
In time with the song
So why does it sound wrong?
​
Had you not been there from the start
I couldn’t see these possibilities abound
You pulled the stake out of my heart
Lucky you, you got to feel like Arthur for a day
​
Maybe my hands could align some stars
The will and the way could meet up in a bar
I don’t know if it’s real or if I saw it on TV
​
Driven straight through night
Just to find the lost horizon
Divided evenly into dark and light
Toward a clear day
When everything was built to last
Now everything breaks so fast
​
Had you not been there from the start
I couldn’t see these curiosities abound
You pulled the stake out of my heart
Lucky you, I doubt you feel like Arthur today
Look at you; you got to feel like Arthur for a day
Lucky you, Lucky you, Lucky you
MAGNOLIA LEAVES
I may not parade
These unbroken ties
But I’ll keep for myself
The glance from your sharp eyes
Though I have felt the lack
Of something stronger than myself alone
I have remained intact
And pieces here and there have grown
Much to my surprise
​
Now that I’ve shed this haze
Remembering comes easily
I bring it all on
To judge myself accordingly
And while I have watched these scenes
As they tumble like magnolia leaves
To cover my smile
I tend to lose my breath
In keeping with this little death
That keeps flashing right before my eyes
​
And I once may have felt that blindness is bliss
But I can’t embrace that now
There’s no taste for me to keep
​
And so I will watch this world
As it passes like a slow cloud
I’ll keep my head up
‘Cause I remember how
And though I do feel the lack
Your laughter keeps coming back
To fill me
And it will stay with me
Burned into this memory
Never fading
Right behind my eyes
​
And I once may have felt that blindness is bliss
But I can’t embrace that now
OCEAN OF STORMS
With the second wave you hope to fare better
You get the shock out of the way
You search these bright rooms for things that you lost
The ones you thought failed you the ones that got tossed away
​
On your ocean of storms how’d you ever find the place
Headed uptown on your avenue of saints
​
These moments pass your grip closes tighter
But a picture’s all that’s left for you
You search these dark skies for feelings you lost
The ones that left glimpses still seem worth their cost
​
On your ocean of storms how’d you ever find the place
Drifting around on your avenue of saints
​
I hold on to the places I’ve been with no mercy
I can feel them trailing like wire behind me
They’re the ghosts of my days
​
You remember their names, you read some old letters
You keep the photos in a drawer
Of all these great things you set out to grab
That lonely perspective is the one that keeps taking you back
​
To your ocean of storms how’d you ever find the place
Coming back down on your avenue of saints
SAILORS' TALK
Sailors’ talk in desert towns
Shines a light out past the boundaries
Each tailored word inspires a path
To feed the hawks or fill the foundries
​
They will go
With outstretched hands and dreams
Nothing to show for some
Others find ways and means
The stream never stops
Brought on by sailors’ talk
​
Ideas fall on open minds
As crumbling houses spur their gears on
The stories told will burn some down
Others stand and leave a light on
​
They will go
With outstretched hands and dreams
Nothing to show for some
Others find ways and means
The stream never stops
Brought on by sailors’ talk
​
Once you’ve sailed you’re in the game
Where Poseidon knows your name
​
Sailors’ talk in desert towns
Shines a light out past the boundaries
Each tailored word inspires a path
To feed the hawks or fill the foundries
​
I will go with outstretched hands and dreams
Nothing to show for some
But I’ll find ways and means
The stream never stops
Brought on by sailors’ talk
TO HEAR HER SING
STUCK ON INSINCERE
Let’s take a long walk on a short pier
And see who comes up first for air
Cause I could hold my breath to China
Just to prove the point my dear
You can shed your own tears and sink
Cause mine are already in the drink
​
I keep hearing if you need to talk I’m right here
What I keep seeing is a broken clock
The second hand is stuck on insincere
Now I’m clear
​
Misunderstandings aside
You really could have held your tongue
Instead of feeding the fire
And stoking up false hope where there’s none
Since I’ve been finding you out
This trust is just shot down for the count
​
I keep hearing if you need to talk I’m right here
What I keep seeing is a broken clock
The second hand is stuck on insincere
Now we’re clear
Let’s take a long walk on a short pier
And see who comes up first for air
Everybody’s got a phone you’ve got a ticket home
And this bus ride’s shaking you to the bone
You’re feeling these riders all know your place
You ain't said a word but they could read your face
​
You don’t feel ready you don’t feel dressed
You keep fooling with the sign hanging round your neck
You got a head full of trouble and no one to tell
And every day is a shotgun shell
​
He’s saying I’d be glad to meet you anywhere
If I could just hear you sing Rocking Chair
​
This place has changed since you’ve been away
21 years and 15 days
Now they’re cooking poison to sling around
Killing these ways and killing this town
​
The sight to make this alright would be sunlight in your hair
And if I could just hear you sing Rocking Chair
​
Your wife couldn’t take all the strain
Still calling out that baby’s name
She’s been wandering in a haze of pain
Using these men to get away
​
So it’s one last gesture to bring her around
And finally leave him in the ground
There’s nothing to fix here he shuts the gate
Makes the revenue man seal his fate
​
Saying I’d be glad to meet you anywhere
Just to hear you sing Rocking Chair
VETERAN'S DAY
TOO BRIGHT
Mr. O’Leary’s gone and slid right off the world
And it’s a shame
He’s taken the drink and he’s following the curl
Of these bar lights spinning round him
He stays in the same place
He’s probably thinking ‘bout her as he studies his face in the mirror
It’s a staggered view
But the bottles in his way make him feel so new tonight
He’s on his way to burning too bright
​
People to his left and right are just a distant blur
He’s lost inside his head again
He’s searching through his pockets like he’s bound to find the cure
To everything that ails him
He stays in the same place
He’s still thinking ‘bout her as he studies his face in the mirror
He won’t stay still
And the empties seem to grow as he questions his bill tonight
He’s on his way to burning too bright
​
And everything he’s counted on has left him by the wayside in time
Disappointment lingers like smoke on the 4th of July
​
Mr. O’Leary’s gone and slid right off the page
And he’ll survive
He stumbles in the street and he gets swept off with the rain
With these street lights spinning ‘round him
He’ll bum a ride and argue ‘bout the route from the passenger side
He’s an ass
But he fits in fine with all the others ‘round him he’s got nothing but time tonight
They’re on their way to burning too bright
He isn’t sure which way to turn
So he looks out to explore his options
He marks his way with the strange blue ribbons
That he found at the parade
Where the veterans rolled by
Both young and old
And they said
There was a day when we stood here as whole men
But there came a time giving body and soul for this place
So he’s standing with his crown of confusion
Shining like a halo overhead
He reaches conclusions after all
​
There are some loyalties nothing known to man can erase
Half your life’s been written on your face
Looks like you’ve been saving grace for years
​
And he knows one thing for sure
He’s tired of the voices saying
You are here and it’s just what you need to do
Looks at examples along the way
Studies the characters he reads them through and through
Spots an old man at the corner bar
Shining like an empty glass
At the bottom of a full week’s pay
​
There are some memories nothing known to man can erase
Half your time’s been staring into space
Looks like you’ve been saving grace for years
​
But he’s looked away for so long that he’s
Made the full circle and it’s staring him straight in the eyes
But he’s not gonna shine like that
​
There some loyalties nothing known to man can erase
Half your life’s been written on your face
There are some memories nothing known to man can erase
Half your time’s been staring into space
Looks like you’ve been saving grace for
Seems like you’ve been holding back
Looks like you’ve been saving grace for years