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In the years that have passed since the last CD, I've written a great deal, composed, reflected and grown, but I stopped recording and nearly gave up on ever releasing my music on a greater scale. This past year, having assembled our own recording studio equipment, Karl and I are getting back into the music, and I'm feeling myself open up again.

When you sing for yourself all the time, you become a bored audience, a bored performer, and your own worst critic. On top of that, the songs that are waiting to be sung begin to atrophy and can expire on the shelf having missed their moment to be heard.

My third CD, Snips and Snails, is dedicated to the men who have helped to shape my life and make me who I am today. Although each song has been written with a particular person in mind, it may only serve at best to capture one moment of his life, or one aspect of his being, through my own eyes, and hopefully will not be taken as an attempt at an exhaustive guidebook.

These men have my deepest thanks for their influences on my life, and for the lessons they have imparted.
May they ever reap what they have sown.

A man who was afraid to embrace his poetic gift for fear that he would be loved too deeply, and the light of the One to whom he sought to bring others overshadowed by the cult of personality.

I was born singing
Into the world with a song in my mouth
Ever the listener
Melody glistened and harmony shone
Answer the calling
Music, the offering and worship, the song
Pour out this vessel
Drink from the source that is feeding us all

Chorus:
No, no
He would not let me sing
He would not grant his blessing
He would not feel my heart sting
No, no, no, I’m not listening
No, no, I’m not hearing anything
No, no, no, I won’t feel the words
Unless they are spoken, no melody heard

He kept it quiet
Poetry spinning the wheel in his head
Lift up the organ
Drown out the choir of a chorus, he said
Keep it traditional
Prick up your ears for the meekest women
Voices that tremble
Cannot inspire revolution again

Chorus

Call it ironic
After he’s gone now his voice can be heard
More is the pity
Felt for the man with a lesson unlearned
Come to me sorrow
Help me to grow as I welcome you in
Pray I’ll remember
Never to hide from the truth that’s within

Chorus

Come to me softly and sing
Come to me softly and sing, little child
Come to me softly and sing
But not too loud

( top )

A man who cannot be saved from himself, dependent upon the misery of his own stories to garner pity from those who might wish to save him - because they see deep inside the spark of an honest plea and answer it.

You and yours and back to you
At any given time
If only you could change your tune
Baby, that would be sublime

It took too long to sniff you out
You took me by surprise
But now I see your glassy stare
The lack of fire behind your eyes

Chorus:
Tell me why I’m hesitating
Body’s tired and feet are aching
Tell me what you’re celebrating
Help me justify this waiting
When my heart is throbbing hard
I’m moving with the beat
My blood is coursing faster than
You will ever move those feet

So wrapped up in all you think
And all that you are after
Unabashed you join the crowd
In mild derisive laughter

You're convinced you pave the way
With truth and trust as friends
But inside a coward lies
And no apologies he sends

Chorus

Watch out for the snake that gleams
Watch out for the talker
He may bring you tea in bed
But he just don’t know how to rock you

Chorus

( top )

A man clothed in vestments he does not deserve seeking those who are seeking, to teach the lessons he cannot learn himself, hoping to facilitate their enlightenment that he might be blessed by association.

Chorus:
Down, down, down to the river
Down, down, down to the ground
Down, down, down underwater
Down, down, down

I find it’s been some time since my last transformation
And I find that I miss how it feels to transform
You pride up your back and I let out my sails
And I pull up my anchor again

Chorus

I’m caught on a path with a clear destination
Though I know at one time I had no destiny
This suit that I’m wearing, it fits me too perfectly
I need to feel naked again

Chorus

I could drown, drown, drown
On my way down, down, down
As if I could drown, drown, drown
Come lead me down, down, down

Chorus

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A man like a rock, who once put his life on hold to rescue a beaten friend from the abuses she had come to accept as necessity, giving her a new voice when she had cried herself hoarse.

There was a time when my world was collapsing
And I stepped through your open door
With the blood in my veins sadly cooling
You warmed me and let me pour

Chorus:
And I slept away tears softly falling
And I wept away rage and regret
While I swept away empty companions
And you kept away fear ‘til I could forget

And though painful I started emerging
And though tired you watched me transform
In the sunlight I felt my blood surging
But you smiled at me from your door

Chorus

Now it’s your turn
You know it’s been coming for some time now
This is the time
Trust me as I trusted you

Chorus

And I won’t let you forget
No, I won’t let you forget

( top )

A boy so close to my heart that when our paths diverged I wept, with whom I shared my spirit, my potential, and my joy, never tiring of his company though often missing it.

When I think of you, all that we’ve been through
And all of the memories come flooding back to me
Can you believe in the years that have floated by
I’ve never told you, but I’m gonna try

Alanis is singing and Dorothy’s house is spinning
And Brenda’s lamenting the prints on the door
The angsty frustration, the campy jubilation
The cracker crumbs strewn on the Boar Office floor

Adventures with Matt in the boat I was captaining
Driving with Karl to the Cape Breton coast
The airport, Algonquin, Toronto, we stopped in
The dark we were eating those alien cones

Chorus:
(Through) All the insanity, every calamity
You were the rock where I weathered the storm
The laughter, the parody, we sang in harmony
You were the river that broke my reform

The music consumed us, the Beav he re-tuned us
Recording in basements and studios bare
Ad-libbing harmonies, operas for jelly beans
Shaping our lives by the secrets we shared

Religious conformities, skirting the boundaries
Boys that were rotten and better off left
Yours was the place I cried on the night my Lady died
Over the years, boy, your shoulders got wet

Chorus

And although our paths they don’t cross very often
I’ll always remember the smile on your face
My vision is clear and my heart has been softened
And you’ll always find me a safe happy place

Chorus:
(Through) All the insanity, every calamity
I’ll be a rock where you can weather the storm
The laughter, the parody, we’ll sing in harmony
‘Cause you are the river that broke my reform

( top )

A man like a serpent, living in darkness so deep his night-vision gives him the advantage over those of us who spend any time in the light, watching and waiting and wielding his will.

Chorus:
It’s immaterial what you’re thinkin’
It’s irrelevant that you’re sinkin’
It’s commitment that you’re lackin’
And your devotion is what’s slackin’
You say the words you throw away
They stay a-burnin’ in my brain

You know it’s not my way so I won’t play
I’ve set my mind and I won’t budge
You clearly need some time to realign
I’m givin’ you a little nudge
An impropriety there’s bound to be
When I’m outvoted two to one
You’re not convincin’ me to let this be
It’s over when I know I’ve won

Chorus

Now I don’t mean to pry and I will try
To understand your reasonin’
If there’s a disconnect my intellect
Will polish off the evenin’
It’s written on your face you need some space
And I don’t think I’m gettin’ through
I figure it’s my place this line to trace
Your loyalties have gone askew

Chorus

( top )

A man whose ego blocks out the sun, without an inkling of true self-awareness, who does not shrink from blackening those around him with the murky outpourings of his vapid mind.

I should have written all this down
When anger lit me up
When venom dripped right off my tongue
And acid filled my blood
But I let time and my profession
Ease you from my mind
And though you wait almost forgotten
Chainless you are mine

Chorus:
I have held these words for you
Deep within my heart
I have kept them safe for you
Played a willing part
I have stored them up for you
Every poisoned dart
And I will rain them down on you
And glory in my art

I know that you believe yourself
To be the shining sun
The ultimate authority
With every battle won
You think that you’re untouchable
And that you’re free and clear
You think you got away with it
Your lip curled in a sneer

Chorus

Chainless you are mine

( top )

A boy to whom I gave my ripened heart to get it back in tatters, and another who learned to play my songs but never answered my letters, in those moments in the twilight of our youth when we wandered in pairs.

Those days are long gone
The wind took them flying
And recently returned them
When I wasn’t even trying

Chorus:
To remember the nights we walked in the wood
The nights we sat playing those games
And from where I stood I thought you understood
Part of me that ached to grow wild
Growing backwards from adult to child
There were days when we played and nights when we sang
When we kissed and told secrets and held hands
We were warm, we were free, drawn by dreams in our eyes
And we talked side by side in the sand

We spent too much time
Pretending and often denying
Trading letters, trading friends
Drowned by lonely, silent sighing

Chorus

Those days are long gone, so I

Chorus

We walked side by side hand in hand
I’ll remember you, moonlit in the sand

( top )

A man who tried to save me from my own devices and got stepped on for his trouble, who taught me to look in the mirror and be at peace with who I saw there, providing a lull in the storm when I was ready to drown.

I was starving myself and I was alone
And although it was something that few would condone
I met up with a boy who lived life to the full
And nothing else mattered when I felt his pull

And he gave me the chance to choose white or red
But I shifted and rolled and kept both instead
And the short of it is that we just fell apart
‘Cause I couldn’t decide what to do with his heart

Chorus:
Beyond this line a lake begins
And it’s easier to drown than swim
Undertake a journey just to see if you’ll survive
Cast yourself upon the rocks
As you spiral out to sea
There’s a chance that I might see you on a wave

Now who’s to say what would’ve become
If I’d clipped my wings and unloaded the gun
If he’d found his center and followed his dreams
Understood that perfection is more than it seems

Well the truth of it is that it’s better this way
I let him play the tunes that he wanted to play
But it wasn’t ‘til later I found my own song
And I like where I am, though the road here was long

Chorus

( top )

A man of wit and words who defends the disillusioned and cares for the outcast, circling the crowd but rarely mingling, akin to the crystals in a geode that is hard to crack but well worth the effort.

Once there was an apple tree
Who grew up in a valley
With men who cut and pruned her branches
Kept a running tally

Of every blossom, every fruit
That she might choose to ripen
And as she marked the years with rings
Their stranglehold they tightened

Chorus:
The darkness set her free
When the wind blew through the night
In blindness she could see
When the crows took flight
On wings of night

One morning as the sun did rise
She dreamed awake a thought
In whispersong she thanked the bees
For all that they had brought

The summer sun beamed down
Upon her leaves as she did feed
And she in turn poured sunsap
Into apple, into seed

At harvest time the men could not believe
Their blessed eyes
For each and every flower
Had become a reddened prize

They picked and plucked the rosy fruit
Until the sun had set
Retiring to their hearths and beds
Good fortune they had met

But
Chorus

The stars lit up the blackened deep
Before the moon rose high
The time for transformation near
She looked into the sky

When down towards her empty branches
Flew a welcome sight
Who tightly gripped an apple's stem
And silently took flight

Within the apple's juicy flesh
A tiny seed was held
That spark of life that was the tree
With joy and terror welled

They flew beyond the boundary
Of orchard and town square
They flew into the winderness
Into the cold night air

Chorus

A secret place they landed
Where the crows dug out a pit
And it's there the seed was planted
And the dark earth covered it

The seasons brought the turning
Of the wheel, the sun and rain
In that wooded place she sprouted
Nourished by the wild refrain

She never lacked for comp'ny
For she had her feathered friend
Who had freed her from the village
Who had brought her there to mend

Although his voice was weathered
He knew how to weave a spell
For his living brought him wisdom
And he wore his feathers well

Chorus:
In darkness they were free
When the wind blew through the night
In blindness they could see
When the crows took flight
On wings of night

The ancient tree where she'd lived
That had oft in beauty swelled
Waned and weakened, ceased producing
And by saddened men was felled

While beyond the valley's borders
In the woods a sapling grew
With the crows that guarded secrets
As all crows are wont to do

( top )

A man who stepped outside the box and, although he tried, could never fit his father’s mould, demonstrating to me that I could be understood by a kindred spirit who also sought beauty in his surroundings.

Out on the moor alone tonight
Out on the lonely moor tonight
Gather around me now twilight
Gazing up at the cold starlight

Stand in the shadow of the light
Here in the shadow I delight
Harder to see which way is right
Out of the stained and coloured light

Loved and lost

We bear the mark of second sight
We bear the scarring of hindsight
And from the hour our souls took flight
We knew we’d never make things right (for them)

Loved and lost

Quite a surprise to find that I
Am not alone here after all
The steeple before me blocks the sky
Blinds my eye
Quite a surprise to find you here after all

( top )

A man who will never fully appreciate the sweetness of his nature, the depth of his gifts, or the value of his friendship to those that do, resolved in his belief he is commonplace and therefore unaware he is unique.

All my life you have been as a rock
In a sea ever tossed by stormy gales
And while grounded you float like a dock
More than once I have unfurled my sails
And although I am riding the sea
There are days when I look out to see
Where the light calls me home to the shore
And I sail as the seabirds soar

If I call you a lighthouse in the dark
You would no doubt remind me of the source
As a mirror reflecting the spark
Or a lens ever focusing the force
To the world you appear to shine
Whether they see your light as divine
While a tear rarely falls from your eye
Underneath the river ne’er runs dry

In this revelation of you I’m not alone
There are many who would call you when they’re down
There are others who would put you on a throne
And those who drop by when they’re in town
For my own part I’ve written you this song
I have given a voice to the throng
Though their faces and names fade away
May you carry their love today

( top )

A group of men who have colluded with one another to exonerate their ancestor and implicate his wife alone for crimes against humanity, building a mighty empire on the ashes of her descendents.

Temptation is a trickster
It masquerades as wise
You traded in your sister
To see with clouded eyes

You didn’t want to lose her
And live your life alone
You wanted more to choose her
Than kneel before that throne

Chorus:
It’s time to be a man
‘Fess up and raise your hand
Take a final stand
By popular demand

It’s your own fault you lost your way
You let lust blind your reason
But we still bear the blame today
On us it’s open season

Whenever you cry witch or seer
She tricked me with a spell
Common sense is lost to fear
You threaten us with hell

Chorus

If you were tricked then say so
Admit to your own weakness
You had the power to say no
We’re trading in our meekness

If you could do things over
Would it be all the same?
A solitary rover or
Someone who shares the blame?

Chorus

( top )

A man who delights in the company of friends, good music, and the mockery of fools, who bolstered my confidence and heard my voice over the din of a restless crowd, telling a tale in the guise of a song.

There once was a man who could play the guitar
You’d oft find him playing it deep in some bar
He’d smile at the crowd and he’d play them a song
And on a good night they might all sing along

Now there were some hundred-odd songs he could play
And sing with a range that could blow you away
He’d ask for a challenge in the wee hours of the morn
The call would come back for that old Unicorn

His hands strumming chords that he’d ne’er need rehearse
And just as he’s aiming to finish the verse
You’d see something twitch and his fans had no doubt
That tired old Unicorn would soon twist and shout

He’d play the itsy bitsy spider with a Metallica ring
But he wouldn’t play Johnny Cash or any old thing
The occasional Lightfoot this bard could enjoy
But a man at the bar requests Oh Danny Boy

And out of frustration this player he’d say
Why can’t you request something different today?
No more John Denver! I’m taking a stand
And no, I will not play the Black Velvet Band

So if in your travels you happen to meet
Our good friend named Bill, you’re in for a treat
He’ll let you come up, you can sing him a song
And on a good night he might just sing along

( top )

A man my heart remembers but my eyes have forgotten, whose sudden departure led some to the light and others to darkness, the source of an ache too strong to relinquish from a star too bright to fade.

Safe in a dream with my blanket around me
Smiled when he told me goodbye
Woke with a scream and a terror surrounds me
I saw a bird falling out of the sky

Chorus:
Singing
Follow the wind
Up as she rises
Into the storm
Lightning she flashes
Birds in the sky fly
Closer to starlight
Ride the white wave
In the moonlight she splashes

Safe in a memory I cherish and hide him
Wanting to see with my eyes
Part of my family beyond the horizon
He’s drawing lines on the roof of the skies

Chorus

Safe in a circle of love and compassion
My heart can finally bleed
As I encircle with will and with passion
All that I long for and all that I need

Chorus

And you and me will be

( top )

A man who shares my thoughts because he hears them before I give them voice, full of passion and grace, rhythm and laughter, at once a blazing spirit and a cool blue pool, refreshingly deep.

We started in the spring
When we were both metamorphosing
You listened to me sing
You became the sun to my raining

And as went walking out under the sky
We’d spent our childhoods learning to fly
Restlessly searching and not knowing why
But we found each other by and by

We feel the summer breeze
And we are both climbing our own trees
And traveling the seas
Ensuring this cup never empties

And as we go walking out under the sky
We spent our childhoods learning to fly
Restlessly searching and not knowing why
But we found each other by and by

When the leaves begin to turn
And our skins are weathered and sunburned
We’ll measure what we’ve learned
Share the memories that each of us has earned

And as we go walking out under the sky
We spent our childhoods learning to fly
Restlessly searching and not knowing why
But we found each other by and by

And when the winter breaks
We’ll both come to peace with our heart aches
And covered in snowflakes
We’ll fall into sleep as the earth takes us home

And as we go walking out into the sky
We’ll spend our childhoods learning to fly
Restlessly searching and not knowing why
But we’ll find each other by and by

( top )