"Deb's Big Idea"
Who is Deb and what's the big idea? For it's entire working life this CD was know as "Deb's Big Idea". That's because, Deb insisted that my next record somehow capture not just the music but the incredible energy that fills the room when we gather to make it. That energy is you, the listener, the heart of my music. And so the idea to record an intimate concert in Kevin and Marla's living room was born. (P.S. Deb's baby girl was born shortly thereafter!)

Who is the man on the keys making it sound so great?
Well, that would be Peter Farrell. ITalented songwriter, singer, producer and instrumentalist extraordinaire (keys, sax, guitar, bass, French horn...whatever he lays his hands on). And above all that, a spirit to be reckoned with. To hear some of Peter's original music, check out http://www.KFMBand.com

What is a house concert?
If your idea of the perfect live music experience DOESN'T include a smokey bar, a two drink minimum or the cappuccino machine accompaniment to "Old Man Winter", then you just might love hosting a house concert. What better way to enjoy live music than in the comfort of your own home with good friends. For more information on how easy it would be to present Meghan and Peter live at YOUR house, please email Meghan at houseconcerts@meghancary.com.

Produced by Meghan Cary, Peter Farrell and Kevin Lacy
Recorded live January 10 & 11, 2004 in Kevin and Marla's living room by Kevin Lacy
Mixed by Kevin Lacy at www.FreudianSlipRecording.com

All songs written and arranged by Meghan Cary except "The Dog Song" written by Don Metz

Additional arrangements by Peter Farrell

Mastered by David Torrey at DRT Mastering

Design: Michelle Dispensa
Photography: Michelle Dispensa

All songs © 2004 Meghan Cary      MB5504
except "The Dog Song" ©1990 Don Metz (BMI)

P.S. Look for the secret track! Moments from the two live recording shows that didn't make the record but are definitely not to be missed!!

Lyrics: Live at Your House

My Life
In suburbia I can drive in my car
just down the block it doesn't get me so far
but it sure does seem I'm living the American Dream

I'm playing grown-up at the grocery store
pretending to live a life I couldn't lead any more
than I could fly man I fly so high

when I'm laughing on the stage and sleeping in motels
weeping on the page I know it sounds like hell but it is

my life, where I wanna be
my life, I don't know what you see
but it's my life and its enough for me
it's my life

playing Barbie in a dress and high heels
I look so fine but it makes me feel anything
anything but real

but when I'm laughing on the stage and sleeping in motels
weeping on the page it seems to fit so well because its

chorus

on a late train form New Orleans
I wonder am I finally headed home
or is that just another stop along the way
on this path I am destined to roam in my life

chorus

I'm playing grown-up in suburbia
like playing Barbie only better

Darker Song
it's a much darker song its a much sharper pen
it's not about longing or losing again
its an old rusty chamber that used to house gold
rattling and empty it's stories all told

can I take a step back and remember a time
when meter meant nothing and words didn't rhyme
can I be the young love still thrilled at the touch
of a warm sleeping back after loving too much

and how can I tell you and set myself free
from these circling thoughts that are strangling me

can I live in the touch of your hand for a day
before blaming this business and running away
stilted and small they drop on the page
these words once were rivers now dried up with age

and how can I tell you and set myself free
from these circling thoughts that are strangling me
its a much darker song its a much sharper pen

Music in the Mountains
our Subaru was bathed in mud
our sleeping bags were soggy
we were not smelling like we should
feeling rather groggy
but our tent was stowed
we were on the road
we came here to play
there'll be no lolly-gagging
we've got three more shows today

making music in the mountains
its a grand adventure
its biscuits in our bellies
and grits that can't be beat
making music in the mountains
means sleeping 'neath the stars
haven't found a reason yet
to return to Bleecker Street

Steve was quite a vision
paisley shirt, VW bus
from the look on his whiskered face
he dug the look of us
he said come on home for dinner girls
my wife would like you too
we said thank you kindly Steve
but we've got way too much to do

making music in the mountains
it's a grand adventure
it's bug bites on our bottoms
and sunburn on our feet
making music in the mountains
means sleeping 'neath the stars
haven't found a reason yet
to return to Bleecker Street

it's six a.m. we're singing our songs
at the local radio station
admittedly not a frequency
heard across the nation
but later that night at the barbeque pit
our waitress said with a start
aren't you those two rock stars I heard
on my way to the Walmart?

making music in the mountains
is a grand adventure
itsnature without boundries
and the people are so neat
making music in the mountains
means sleeping 'neath the stars
haven't found a reason yet
to return to Bleecker Street
no we haven't found a reason yet
to return to Bleecker Street

Moon
You weren't expecting to hear from me
but there's something outside you just have to see
I thought it might be worth a call
its so full and bright right now
but when you look again it could be so small

I didn't want you to miss the moon
I didn't want you to miss the moon

by the way I think its great
you're getting married I got the news yesturday
everybody thought it would be you and me
I was so busy searching back then
I looked right past what I should've seen

I didn't want you to miss the moon
I didn't want you to miss the moon

her pale clear light is strong enough
to pull the tide away too soon
I didn't want you to miss the moon

I guess I really called to let you know
something I shoul've told you long ago
that no one's ever loved me like you do
like you used to
I didn't want you to miss the moon

you weren't expecting to hear from me.

Through Walking with Your Ghost
leave me alone, can't you see its killing me?
leave me alone, step back into my memory
and when I lay me down to sleep
won't you please stop haunting me

I'm making plans, they don't include you
I'm making plans, its time I see them through
all I ask of you, let me do what I gotta do
because I'm through walking with your ghost

I'm through walking with your ghost
I'm through walking with your ghost
I'm through walking with your ghost

no promises, life doesn't give them
no promises, still I'm gonna trust in love again
gonna open up my heart
gonna let somebody in
I'm through walking with your ghost

I'm through walking with your ghost
I'm through living like the best I've ever had
is come and gone I'm moving on
I'm through walking with your ghost
I'm through walking with your ghost
I'm through

Jersey
wistfully I gaze across the mighty river Hudson
once I lived among those tall steel towers
now I'm here with all the hair
the grass the trees the clearer air
and I wonder have I made a grave mistake?
I  moved to Jersey for love
and a parking space

Now I have to take a bus to get into Manhattan
once I traveled solely underground
this bus won't take my metrocard
the brakes aren't loud the seats aren't hard
and I wonder will I soften in this place?
I moved to Jersey for love
and a parking space

Every day my neighbor who lives across the yard
feels the need to say "hello"what she's up to I don't know
but maybe I should give the cops a call
but when would they get here at this pace?
I moved to Jersey for love
and a parking space

I walk in the door's unlocked and just inside your waiting
the car is safely stowed in our garage
maybe we'll eat in tonight
it's a novel idea but it feels just right
and maybe this new state is one of grace
I moved to jersey for love
I moved to jersey for love
I moved to jersey for love

Lost You in the Light
on a clear and cloudless day
I think I see an answered prayer
but then I look again
I see nothing but the glare

I turn and walk away
but my mind is playing games
I think I hear a voice
someone calling out my name

I shade my eyes
and much to my surprise
someone's really there
just beyond the glare
I must've lost you in the light

I turn and face the sun
I try to clear my mind
but your hand is on my shoulder
your voice comes from behind

chorus

the picture's not complete
without the lines where light and darkness meet
when I turn to face my shadow
its suddenly clear
you were always right here

chorus

I shade my eyes 
and at last I realize
you were always there
just beyond the glare
I must've lost you in the light
I guess I lost you in the light

I Might Miss You
red Texas dirt still clings to my shoes
as I travel these white concrete streets
a soft Texas smile warms up my heart
and just might touch every stranger I meet

I've criss-crossed this continent so many times
every hello begins with goodbye
leaving is something I've learned how to do,
and I never thought I might miss you.

I always leave Austin exhausted unwound
but full of a freedom and ease
big Texas sky holds on in my mind
I close my eyes I feel the warm Texas breeze

I've carried you along with me so many times
your laughter, a touch, a look in your eye.
never before has this longing come too
this time I think I might miss you.

I might miss you I might miss you
this time I think I might miss you

I've walked away from you so many times
I've learned that goodbye is said best with a smile
but to my surprise I've broken that rule
and this time I think I might miss you.

I might miss you I might miss you
this time I think I might miss you

Old Man Winter
sunlight and shadow as we pass beneath the trees
warm and cold upon our faces dancing to the crackling leaves
our hearts join in the dance of this bittersweet romance
as the seasons roll away from us without a backward glance

sunlight and shadow as I pass those trees alone
the music's not the same now that I'm on my own.
there's a feeling that I get when the sun is on my face
its a longing for the season's past when I slept in your embrace

now the summer leaves behind a void I can't describe
the nights grow colder as I grow older without you by my side
and if I could, I would still the autumn breeze
I'd wrestle old man winter and I'd bring him to his knees

there's a feeling that I get when the sun is on my face
its a longing for the season's past when I slept in your embrace

sunlight and shadow they pass through every life
glittering on the gold and darkening with the strife
a lifetime flits away like the passing of a day
as the years roll out behind me and there's nothing I can say

except the summer leaves behind a void I can't describe
the nights grow colder as I grow older without you by my side
and if i could, I would still the autumn breeze
I'd wrestle old man winter and I'd bring him to his knees
for the winter chill cuts to the very bone
and the frigid sheets beside me remind me I'm alone

Dog Song
out of state license plate, Mercedes Benz
a big city lawyer and his slick city friends
came down my road like a train down a track
and they left my poor dog in a ditch on his back.

so i jumped in my pick-up and i followed that car
i met them just after they'd stopped at a bar
i slid in behind him and that lawyer turned red
i grabbed his silk necktie and here's what i said

you mangled my dog you son of a bitch
you left him for dead on his back in a ditch
you miserable coward you never turned around
now i'll do to you what you did to my hound

well he stammered and he stuttered some lame-brain excuse
his friends tried to help but it wasn't any use
he figured for certain he was gonna get hurt
so he grabbed a thick billfold from under his shirt

and he counted out fifties and twentites and tens
i told him: keep counting we could get to be friends
i left him five dollars out of all that he owned
then i jumped in my truck and ran back down the road

he mangled my dog that son of a bitch
he left him for dead on his back in a ditch
now five hundred dollars won't ever repay
what he did to my dog
but it sure as hell helps

well i got back to my place and wasn't i pleased
to see my old mutt on the porch scratching fleas
he scratched as he waited as he snapped at a fly
for the next big black car to come barrelling by.

you mangled my dog you son of a bitch
you left him for dead on his back in a ditch
now five hundred dollars won't ever repay
what you did to my dog
happens three times a day

Thursdays
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 through 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 guarentee 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

chorus

Waiting
It's 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

chorus

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

chorus

Live
when I pass a graveyard I cross the street
I cross a railroad I iift my feet
I touch the roof and my angel comes tumbling down
freedom is just not looking for reasons
look at the moon or the changing seasons
who told them they were right or they were wrong?

I may never know how I made it this far
but wherever you go there you are

I'm going to live like there's no tomorrow
I'm going to love you like there is no sorrow to fear
its all coming clear

sun comes up on a beautiful morning
I see my life spread out before me
set me up with those wings I can fly
who says there's no second chance
I have a lifetime to learn this dance
I've made a plan to live until the day I die

the wind may blow and the rain may fall
but I'm gonna jitterbug right through it all

I'm going to live like there's no tomorrow
I'm going to love you like there is no sorrow to fear
its all coming clear

you have loved and you have lost
so you'll play it safe but at what cost

you've gotta live like there's no tomorrow
you've gotta love like there is no sorrow to fear
its all coming clear