Liner Notes: The Lost Ones

This CD is for you...all of you who have been listening since the beginning. All of you who remember the songs that rounded out the set in the first years. Songs that were lost along the way.

I was culling through old live recordings to see what I could put together to create a patchwork "live" CD. I realized pretty quickly that I just couldn't do my live CD that way...that I had to sit down in front of you guys and play through the show top to bottom with you to create my first live CD. But as I was going through these old recordings, I came across songs that I hadn't played (or even heard!) in a very long time. And I got to thinking that I wanted to give them back to you guys...you who were such a big part of their creation. And so the concept for "The Lost Ones" was born.

Three songs made the short list immediately. They were written as a trilogy, but I haven't played them together in years. "Thursdays in the Park", "Waiting" and "I Gotta Go" make up The Texan Trilogy. I knew they had to be recorded as a part of this "Lost Ones" CD. Finally the story exists from start to finish on one CD!

The next no-brainer was "A Strength I Call my Own". I decided to record it a capella because that's how I first wrote it and sang it - walking along the winding trails in the Catskills that first summer. It was my walking mantra; my comforting reminder.

Then it got tougher. There were a bunch of older songs that I could've included, but I realized pretty early on that, to put it simply: they had slipped through the cracks for a reason! Not that they weren't good (or potentially good) songs, but some of them were just never fully realized, and I didn't want to commit them to any medium in that form. So, I'll let them stew a bit more and perhaps they'll resurface in a few years as polished masterpieces!

I chose 3 more songs: "Baby Got Back" because I knew I would never put it on a record without an explanation of why it was written (sometimes the story really DOES make the song!): "More Than a Quiet goodnight" because I like it but it didn't seem like it was gong to fit on any other record anytime soon (this one by the way, may go through some rewriting, but I think this version has value); and "Two Souls" because I put my heart and soul into the writing of this song for Deb and Adrian and have only played it publicly once...at their wedding. I included it because I really wanted to share it with all of you.

So those were the songs. Now I just had to record them. I decided to try to do it all in one take - and pretty much succeeded (with a little of Kevin's computer magic!). I decided to warm into each song by introducing it the way I would in a live show. I didn't know if it would work to keep the stories in on the final product, but as we listened through, I realized that it was just perfect that way. It became more than a collection of songs, it became "an evening with" - sort of like your own private concert in a box. That's why I call it "The Lost Ones - songs and stories".

And so here it is, the first in what I hope will be a series of short CD's recorded just for you guys. My first "thank you" to you for being the spirit behind the music since the beginning. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.

This CD would not exist if it weren't for: Kevin Lacy who recorded it and bought into the whole idea in the first place. Peter Farrell who reminds me day after day that the music is in me whenever I'm willing to sit quietly and listen for it. My family because they believe in me even when I don't even believe in myself. And Deb who listened to the first mix with me and cried through the whole thing - so I knew it was going to be just fine!

Lyrics: The Lost Ones

there is a strength I call my own
a sense I never am alone
I take for granted this love I know
this light that guides me wherever I go.

there is a family led me here
to this place I so revere
they gave me wings and faith to fly
taught me the world is my blue sky

and so I venture through this life
one day a mother perhaps a wife
and through it all one thing I know
there is a strength in my own soul

last week we rode thru the streets of new york city
dodging cars in search of a bar where we could drink for free
freedom was the treasure we were racing for all day
we both knew there'd be a price to pay

our next day together is a movie in my mind
holding hands and making plans for adventures yet to come
there'll be no talk of leaving this love we've found behind
I have you everyday in the movie in my mind

thursdays in the park thru the summer
could it be enough to fill this empty well?
sparkling days and dancing nights, is it all a dream?
I know your answer: only time will tell.
only time will tell if this love will grow
will it stay right here, or will we find the faith it needs
to let it go? let it grow

if I could i'd read ahead and find out how this ends
it seems without a guarantee you'll stay up on your fence.
I can't promise what we have is the miracle you seek
and so I'll have to live for love one day a week.

thursdays in the park thru the summer
could it be enough to fill this empty well?
sparkling days and dancing nights, is it all a dream?
I know your answer: only time will tell.
only time will tell if this love will grow
will it stay right here, or will we find the faith it needs
to let it go? let it grow
thursdays in the park
thursdays in the park

Its the day that follows thursday, she can't get out of bed.
those familiar words running through her head.
she's heard them all before but this time hoped for more.
in the darkness that's her mind she rearranges every word.

the morning sun's reflecting off cobwebs in her mind.
she ducks inside afraid of what she'll find.
believing so long, she wonders could she have been wrong?
it seems the man beyond the myth always falls behind.

but she's waiting by the window.
she's waiting...waiting.
she's waiting by the window
with a bottle of wine and a whole lot of time
on her hands.

she'll choose the myth; the truth it is too sane.
she'll choose the fantasy so he will remain
the one who'll never part; the god who won her heart.
the face that's always smiles hides a soul torn apart.

but she's waiting by the window.
she's waiting...waiting.
she's waiting by the window
with a bottle of wine and a whole lot of time

and she'll understand why he went away.
and she'll understand why again he can't stay...

and she's waiting by the window.
she's waiting...waiting.
and she's waiting by the window.
she's waiting...waiting.
she's waiting...waiting.
she's waiting...

I gotta go.
three words you always say
I gotta go, oh baby
its denial in a phrase

I gotta go
and then you turn on your heals
I gotta go, oh baby
it leaves me spinning my wheels.

and you think I know you'll be back
and you think I should bank on that
but you know where to find you
and me, I haven't got a clue.
don't you know?
you can leave too many times
lose all you left behind.

I gotta go.
three words that I could say
I gotta go, oh baby
its freedom in a phrase

and you think you know I'll be back
but baby don't you bank on that
cause i'm not gonna be here
waiting till you reappear.
don't you know?
you can leave too many times
lose all you left behind

you have walked one two many
one, two, three, four or more, baby you have
you have walked one too many times out my door.

I gotta go.
now I know why you say that baby
cause it feels sooooo good
I gotta go, oh baby
I think its time that I should...

she met him on an october morning
with the autumn sun lighting his face
they spoke of things she'd never thought of
his laughter made a young girls heart race

there was love in his eyes for another
stories of the one he held dear
so the first thing she learned about loving
is you only hear what you will hear

she wants more than a friendly embrace
she wants more than a quiet goodnight
she wants more than a touch on the cheek
she wants more than she knows is her right

with a look he could bring out a smile
that no one had brought out before
it was enough to make him feel special
enough to leave her wanting more.

she wants more than a friendly embrace
she wants more than a quiet goodnight
she wants more than a touch on the cheek
she wants more than she knows is her right

she never know what love was
maybe she doesn't know now
there are so many things she would tell him
if she only knew how

she wants more than a friendly embrace
she wants more than a quiet goodnight
she wants more than a touch on the cheek
she wants more than she knows is her right
she wants more than she knows is her right
she wants more and she knows it ain't right

baby got back and baby ain't black
and what's a white girl to do?
baby got thighs you just can't hide
and what's a white girl to do?

well she's got thunder
and no lightening
to be caught under them
would be frightening

baby got back and baby ain't black
and what's a white girl to do?
baby got thighs you just can't hide
and what's a white girl to do?

if she was j-lo
she'd make movies
she is not though
so its not so groovy

baby got back and baby ain't black
and what's a white girl to do?

with a rustle of silk she walks down the aisle
beneath a white veil are tears and a smile
and she's walking between the only two people
she's loved all her life.
they'll let her go because both of them know
today she'll be a wife.

she'll give him her hand
and he'll give her his name
they'll open their hearts
to see they're one in the same...
two souls join today.

he always knew that she'd be his bride
but it took him some time to finally decide
that he was enough to give her the love
she deserves for all her life.
so from this day he will meet her halfway
for today she'll be his wife.

she'll give him her hand
and he'll give her his name
they'll open their hearts
to see they're one in the same...
two souls join today.

we stand witness to the promise they've made
to love and to cherish
until their dying days

and she'll give him her hand
he'll give her his name
they'll open their hearts
to see they're one in the same...
two souls join today.

and I will give back all that they gave
and what I need it will remain
for the seed is sown within my heart
and so this strength will never depart

there is a strength I call my own
a sense I never am alone
it gives me wings and faith to fly
I see the world as my blue sky