The Script

The Script

The stories behind the lyrics are in the 24 page booklet that comes with the CD.... hope you like it :)

TAKE ONE: ROCK - FULL BAND

Even The Angels Cried – Gail Swanson ©2000

You can slip through a crack in my mind
Just as fast as a waterfall
And your love rushes over me like you never left at all.
How can someone big as life
Leave my life feeling so small
Even the angels cried when they watched you take the fall.

Even the angels cried when they tried to get back, back to you.
Even the angels cried when they tried to get back, back to you.

You closed the door, pulled the shades and tried to hide
You threw away the key, but you found the demons were locked inside
When the silence was so loud you wanted to scream
You tried to run, but you’re feet were frozen, just like a bad, bad dream

And I know you thought of me just for a flash in time
And I hope you thought of me because it eases my mind
And I know you broke yourself free from the cold world outside
But it was a cold cold rain down on me when your angels cried.

If time’s the only shelter I will find in this storm
Let me close my eyes until the rain is finally gone
And let me sleep through the thunder, let me sleep through the years
Cause only time can wipe away these angel tears.

The plot thickens, the story’s been spun
Every day a new play has begun.
And the crimson faded velvet chairs
Spectator film critic stares
A dingy hall, a star on the wall
I hit the stage.

I am locked inside this theatre
Don’t want to be here, don’t want to be your star
You are not my first director
He was here when I got here… when I got this part.
Living in a movie. Living in a movie

Talk is over rated or so they say
Just know your lines don’t improvise but… who are they?
Every script has got a twist
Every story has a hook
If you don’t want to see my flaws, don’t look.

And I’m winding down my life
I just wanna slow down but I don’t know how
I’ve been trying to clear my eyes I’m
Looking in from the outside now
Living in a movie Living in a movie

If you’re scared grab a chair in the back row
From the alley you can see through the window
In the dark you can cry no one will know
As you watch through the mirror of your life show
Hold it steady you can see your reflection
See your life from the new direction
You’re the hero, the villain that we all see
We are all just living in a movie.
Yeah we’re living in a movie.

PAPER DOLL

Gail Swanson/Kristy Jackson ©2000

Who’s the new girl in the new world
Who’s the flavor of the week or two
Time to wake up, here’s your make up
Just a little more …we can still see you.

We can make you better, we can make you what we want
You’re just another fixer-upper
Another doll for us to flaunt.. a doll for us to flaunt

CHORUS:
Just a paper doll, we’ll tell you what to do (Just a paper doll, we’re making you)
We’ll make it so your mother doesn’t recognize you
Just a paper doll, the pills give you a rush (Just a paper doll, we’re lying)
You’ll lie down and you’ll wake up in a puddle of blush.

Can you dance now, will you prance now
While the doctor cuts away the years
You’re the one now, you’re the prize cow
A perfect image in a broken mirror

We can make you better, we can make you what we want
You’re just another fixer-upper
Another doll for us to flaunt, doll for us to flaunt

CHORUS

If you got it, we will spot it
By the way girl, what’s your name?
We can change that, rearrange that
Even Norma Jean played our game.
Keep your shirt on
Is there dirt on you we should know about - it’s ok
This won’t hurt a bit… We don't give a shit
Don’t call us, we’ll call you… Now go away

If we make you better
If we make you what we want
You’ll be our little fixer-upper
Our little doll for us to flaunt… doll for us to flaunt.

CHORUS

I play the guitar in a burger bar
There are no windows, so the notes just fly away
My life story floats out to the boats and the people walking by
But no one's listening to a word I say

Except the couple in the corner and the waitress
Who smile at everything I do
And I can hear them clap when no one else is brave enough to.

CHORUS
I am your juke box baby, I play the songs you know
You can tune me in or tune me out, just like your radio.
Cause deep inside I know my music still belongs
To the couple in the corner and the waitress who knows all my songs.

There’s a tune I’ve never done
My youngest tender one
The one that makes me cry every time I sing it live
I take a breath and go
And I fumble through the intro
And I feel like I could die

And I close my eyes and hope that they are listening
Yeah I close my eyes cause I can't bear to see
My heart and soul just floating through a room of people who don't notice me.

CHORUS

Now my moment turns to fear
As the last note that I hear, the final strum of my guitar
Is drowned out by a passing car
The silence deafening, I stand there listening
I open up my eyes and scan the corner of the bar

But my couple's gone just like that scary moment
And it's time for all the tables to be turned
As I blink, a new couple smiles at me
The waitress sings a perfect harmony.

Chorus

No hard feelings anyway
He was not the one for me, I'm glad you took him away
No hard feelings, but I wonder
How do you like my life… so far?

I wonder if you like the tile I picked out for the shower where you cry
And I wonder if you use my favorite beach towels to dry your eyes
Yeah I wonder when you look in my mirror
Who’s face do you actually see?
Cause you’ll always be the other woman
And I’ll always be me.

And when this court is adjourned
And you find a new girl to burn
Make sure she isn’t a songwriter like me…
Cause we always get the last word.

No hard feelings anymore
I’ve been in this show I’ve played your ugly part before
No hard feelings, no I’m not to judge
But I find it ridiculous, that you’re the one who holds the biggest grudge.
Yeah you’re the one who holds the biggest grudge.

An old man on an old park bench in an older part of town
Passers by afraid to look him in the eye
But his cloudy eyes are pointed down anyway
He's writing feverishly, something prophetically profound
He's way ahead of his time, but his times run out
So he's gotta write it all down.

He's feeding pigeon at a quarter to five
Eating from the garbage cans just to stay alive
How did you get here, how did you come to this?
He said "They call me crazy... I just don't fit it!"

CHORUS:
I came on over just to talk to you
To find out how you got to be
I came on over just to hear your story
I don't want to end up like you, don't you see
They'd call me crazy

The old man took a sandpaper hand and he cupped his chin
And he flashed on the circumstance that got him to the state he's in
He was a bright young man, only took a stand for what he believed in
But government said, he was a terrible threat so they took his ass in.
They called him crazy
And they took his job
They called him crazy
And his life just stopped.

CHORUS

LEAVING LAS VEGAS- Sheryl Crow/Bill Bottrell/David Baerwald/kevin Gilbert/David Ricketts

Life springs eternal On a gaudy neon street Not that I care at all
I spent the best part of my losing streak In an Army Jeep For what I can't recall
Oh I'm banging on my TV set And I check the odds And I place my bet
I pour a drink And I pull the blinds And I wonder what I'll find

CHORUS:
I'm Leaving Las Vegas Lights so bright
Palm sweat, blackjack On a Saturday night
Leaving Las Vegas Leaving for good, for good
I'm leaving for good I'm leaving for good

Used to be I could drive up to Barstow for the night
Find some crossroad trucker To demonstrate his might
But these days it seems Nowhere is far enough away
So I'm leaving Las Vegas today

I'm Leaving Las Vegas Lights so bright
Palm sweat, blackjack On a Saturday night
Leaving Las Vegas Leaving for good, for good
I'm leaving for good I'm leaving for good

I'm standing in the middle of the desert Waiting for my ship to come in
But now no joker, no jack, no king Can take this loser hand And make it win

CHORUS

I quit my job as a dancer At the Lido des Girls
Dealing blackjack until one or two
Such a muddy line between The things you want
And the things you have to do

CHORUS

ALL THE PIECES OF MY HEART - Gail Swanson

The smoke clears
And I’m still here – just thinking about you baby.
I cruise the war zone for your closet
And your favorite flannel shirt
And I slip into your scent and I lie down in the dirt.
Cause every time we fight
You take a chunk right out of my heart
I put it into a paper bag.
And I hide it there
In a corner where you’ll never find it
Till I decide to love again.

CHORUS
Then I can put the pieces of my heart back together
I can put the pieces of my heart together again
I can put the pieces of my heart back together
I can put the pieces of my heart… together again.
Your sticks and stones never crack my bones
But your words destroy me
So like a knife, you cut down my life
From a pay phone in the city.
Every time you call
Another beat falls out of my heart
And into the paper bag
And I hide it there
In a corner where you’ll never find it till I decide to love again

Chorus

I am not torn, I am not broken
You can keep this empty paper shell a token of my hospitality…
Now leave me

So I can put the pieces of my heart back together
I can tell you how it goes, just turn on all your radios
I will write a song for every time you broke me down, just stick around
I will sweep the tiny crumbs of love under my dirty kitchen rug
Keep them, you can eat them with your words when you are hungry and alone
I will throw you an occasional bone
You are a profiteer and I was just your Souvenir
I laugh at you, I cry for you with all the pieces of my heart - Now go away.

TAKE TWO: ACOUSTIC

You push my buttons, and you wonder why I get so blue.
You push my buttons baby, and you wonder why I get so blue.
So I try to set you down for a while, put your love aside
But you keep on creepin back into me, late at night.

Get outta my dreams, stay away from my heart.
You’re keeping me up all night long baby, can’t you see I’m getting tired.
There’s only one head on my pillow, and it belongs to me
Get outta my dreams.

Baby, baby… I’ve tried everything to let you go.
I said baby, baby.. you’re my addiction - I got no control.
So show me some mercy and leave this little girl alone
Pick up your toys boy… and go home.

CHORUS

I got you outta my house.
Got you outta my bed.
Got you outta my world
But I can’t get you outta my head.

Get outta my dreams
Stay away from my heart
There’s only one head on my pillow and it belongs to me
Oh Baby let me go, so I can get some sleep
Unchain my brain boy and set me free
Get outta my dreams.

Say you can’t take it with you when you go now
Put your things down, take it slow now.
You will get there.
Aint’ no reason to be tied down
To a truck full of toys in a playground
If you don’t care.

Cause it’s love that matters
When the day is thru
It’s only love that matters
And you can take that with you.

So fill your heart up with every sweet drop of love that comes your way.
Every random act of kindness
Every sunny day.
Fill it up
Baby take it with you, let it show
Cause if you don’t have a full heart when it’s time to leave
You take nothing when you go.

When the road feels a little colder
You gotta lean in and hug the shoulder
Of a good friend.
And reach out to somebody that you don’t know
A troubled heart who’s flying solo
In the cold wind.

Cause it’s love that matters
In everything you do
It’s only love that matters
And you can take that with you

So fill your heart up with every sweet drop of love that comes your way.
Every random act of kindness
Every sunny day.
Fill it up.
Baby take it with you, let it show
Cause if you don’t have a full heart when it’s time to leave
You take nothing with you
Fill it up
Baby let it shine and let it show
Because love’s the only thing that lives forever.

A love song’s just a love song, till I sing it to you
Then it flies like a bird through my heart
|A morning’s just a morning, till I wake up with you
Then it’s a song, and you’re the melody that leads me from the dark.
Everybody knows that I am
Half a heart, half a heart, half a heart without you
You are the song in me.

There was no beginning, no love at first sight
You’ve just always been here.
You are the reason I can dream when I’m asleep at night
You’re in my heartbeat, keeping me safe inside.

Everybody knows that I am
Half a heart, half a heart, half a heart without you
You are the song in me.

There was a time I tried to walk away and leave you
The air so cold I couldn’t breathe.
But now I know I turned around cause I believe you are the better half of me.
Half a heart, half a heart, half a heart without you
You are the song in me.

He wore an angry heart on his uniform
A medal from an angry war
That no one should have been fighting.
He came back early to his home town
He was sitting down
In a chair less than inviting.
He shouted at the world
I will pay you back
I will get you back
I will make you pay for my pain.

Then destiny sent him an angel
Dressed in old school rags, a teacher he called Zen
And the teacher he healed him, he moved him
Till this broken man stood tall and walked again.

He cried to his teacher
Let me pay you back
I want to give it back
Please let me pay you back for my life…

CHORUS:
The teacher said don’t pay it back You just pass it on
And the circle grows bigger than us
It's a lesson you live until you die
Give more than you get, and you will find
A Piece in your heart, I hold in mine
Carry my words after I'm gone... Pass it on.

So he walked in the footsteps that healed him
Long after the old man Zen had died
He was a volunteer, a pioneer, became a millionaire
And he gave it all away.

CHORUS

I am the spirit that winds it's way through your room
Slips through your fingers, hangs like perfume
I'm the rustle in your sleep, the dreamer of your dreams
I'll climb inside you, pull at all the strings.

It aint' no voodoo
No wicked charm
Aint' no pin in a doll
I'm just poking at your arm
I'm a long lost part of you.

Like the voice in your head, I don't make a sound
I stay a step ahead, staking out your ground
And it's high time you put your faith back in me
Cause I'm your map, I'm your compass... The one that you need.

Aint no voodoo
Don't be alarmed
I just need your attention so I'm poking at your arm
I'm a long lost part of you.

I used to run like a storm in your soul
There was no place we thought we couldn't go
Nothing we could not do
But now I've come back
I've come back to reclaim you.

I am the light you will follow out of the dark
I will weave like a thread back into your heart
Cause I am you, you are me
We are one
We will be resurrected, whole and complete

Chorus

ONE AND ALWAYS

One and Always – Gail Swanson

I follow your gaze it lands on my lips

And I watch you watch me sing

You’re such a lovely man I confess

That I want to show you

Everything that moves me

Then you look right through me

Straight to my heart

If you want my love I can take you there

Down these wounded hallways

If you want my heart if you really care

You could be my one and always

My Monday man in the same bar

On the same broken stool

To lead me on this way if it’s not real

Would be so cruel

But your blue eyes speak to me

Straight to my heart

CHORUS

In another lifetime of regret

I’ve waited for you

I’ve waited for Baby

CHORUS

Dear Me
Now we’ve got some time alone
I’ll keep it short and sweet, if you unplug the phone
Seems I’ve lost track of me, in this confusion I call home
Dear Me.
I’m wondering how you got along, back when you lost your best friend
I’m wondering how you stayed so strong
When you found out it was his decision
I can forgive you for the things you can never forgive yourself
I will absolve you of your pain and all your self-imposed guilt
Dear Me.

Dear Me
If don’t know which shoulder I am on
I am the strongest she, the voice you most rely upon
When you build walls and shut doors, I am the one you hand the key
I am your confidence, when you are feeling week.
But I am afraid for you, your reasoning is sometimes left to chance.
And I will still pray for you, your cut and dry rules suffocate romance
I’ll always wait for you among these broken eggshells, hearts and glass
Cause I will believe you, even when you can’t.
Dear Me.

Dear Me
I just want to say
That I really missed me
When you went away.
You wore a mask and hid inside a bottle and a lie
You didn’t take care of us, so I figured.. hey.. why should I?
You slid your guitar and music underneath your bed.
You left it for seven years, your friends thought that you left it for dead.
Now you look back in time, embracing your regret, wondering why
You did one more stupid thing for just one more stupid guy
Dear Me.

Dear Me
I’ll always be here.
Cause I am the frightened she
But the one you hold most dear.
When you think you’re ugly, and you feel insecure
I am the voice you hear.
I am so sorry if I stuttered when I said you were ok
And that you skinny arms and stringy hair were beautiful anyway
I am so sorry we waited so long to start recording
Guess I didn’t speak loud enough when I told you, you could sing.
Dear Me.
Dear Me.

I crave you like sugar
I want you to know
If we were together
I’d never let you go.

I feel you Inside me
Down in my soul.
Touching the part of me I can’t control

CHORUS
Carry me baby
More than a friend
You are the song inside my head that never ends.
Carry me baby
When we’re apart
Promise me you will always carry me
Inside your heart.

I know what you’re thinking
Cause you’re always on my side
And words don’t matter anyhow
They’re just shelters where our feelings hide
No rules have been broken
Outside my mind…
You’re everywhere I go I cannot stop this craving inside.

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