BobLind.com

Lyrics to Bob Lind: 2008 Demos

The Outsider's Dream

Words and music by Bob Lind


There was a man who dreamed a dream
It was a hard dream to forget about because
He was so different in the dream from who he really was
He had a knack for how to live
He learned early how to give
He felt safe inside his skin
He passed no judgment on his friends
And he cared

There was a wedding in the dream
He found a girl and loved her honestly and well
There were no lies and doubts and angry nights of living hell
They took a sweet and simple oath
And life was tender to them both
He gave her home and peace of mind
She gave him children trust and time
That they shared

And from some place outside himself
He saw his funeral passing by
Mourned by the souls he mattered to
He saw his absence in their eyes

The night passed by and took the dream
And when the morning pressed the sun against his face
He woke to find his fingers clutching at the pillow case
Like there was something more to get
Than tiny tinges of regret.
And though he keeps the world at bay
He feels those tinges to this day

 

Somewhere In This City

Words and music by Bob Lind


The setting sunlight turns the streets to gold.
I feel a song rising out of the gutters and filling the air.
This town is singing to me, promising someone to hold.
I can’t quite see her but I know she’s there.

And I know that somewhere in this city
Somebody’s looking for me.
Someone knows this longing deep in the core.
Somewhere in this city I’m going to find her tonight
Around this next corner or behind this door.

Radios blast from the windows of passing cars.
But under the noise I feel somebody’s heart beating tender and strong.
Above the heat and the traffic and over the alleys and bars
These breezes whisper that it won’t be long.

And I know that somewhere in this city
Somebody’s out there tonight
Walking west on Lincoln or parking on Main.
Somewhere in this city somebody’s reaching for me.
Tonight she’ll know she wasn’t reaching in vain.


Don’t ask my mind for reasons
For what my heart’s believing.
But I can feel her breathing
Close and real.
The very thought is thrilling.
These malls and office buildings
Hold someone warm and willing.
I can feel it.

Somewhere in this city somebody’s yearning for me,
Someone I’ve spent all my life yearning for.
Somewhere in this city somebody’s waiting for me
Around this next corner; behind this door.
Around this next corner behind this door.

Sounds Like Goodbye To Me

Words and music by Bob Lind


That brittle edge in your voice on the phone machine
Saying don’t wait dinner, you’ll be working late again
The tick of the hallway clock
The click of the front door lock
That waits too long to feel your key
It may be nothing more than the noise of a normal night
But it sounds like goodbye to me.

That sigh you breathe like a prisoner as day begins
The rustle of bedclothes; the running shower
The drone of my useless words
Falling like dying birds
Into graves you don’t seem to see
It’s just the work-bound traffic that’s taking you out of sight
But it sounds like goodbye to me.

Like the seeds of weeds growing under suburban lawns
Like the rain hidden deep in the afternoon clouds
The paint that will not quite peel
The rust underneath the steel
The shore eroded by constant seas
No one hears this decay working under us day and night
But it sounds like goodbye to me.
It sounds like goodbye to me

 

Exeter (The Wedding Waltz)

Words and music by Bob Lind


Dreaming tonight of a little hotel back in England
I married you there, sure as the moon pulls the tide
And all that I was; all that I am
Sank in your body like seeds
And I grow there trusting always where it leads

Love drifting down over that ancient cathedral
Love through the window over those cobblestone roads
Years will go by miles will be traveled
Ice will melt into the sea
Still I keep you now and always there with me


On through the night on through eternity dancing
Out through the sky on past the limits of time
And all that you are; all you will be
Is strung through my heartline like beads
And this wedding still continues endlessly

Wrong Again

Words and music by Bob Lind


How much do I know?
I thought the Wright Brothers were crazy
The boys could fly though
And now they look down on the birds

Don’t listen to a word I say
I’da toldja there’s just no way
Somebody as fine as you
Could look at me the way you do
I never thought that love so strong
Would come along.
But I was wrong again.

I don’t play long shots
I had my money on Goliath
One little slingshot
And now I have to eat my words

Never thought I had a chance in hell
Goes to show that you just can’t tell
This warm and delicious kiss
I never woulda bet on this
(That you’d pick me to be your man)
But in the end
I’m glad I’m wrong again

Back to the playlist.

 

The Saints Had It Easy

Words and music by Bob Lind


I’m sick to death of hearing stories of the saints
How they faced bravely what made others run like water paints
How clean they lived and how steadfastly they stood true
Well wouldn’t you if God sat face-to-face with you
And gave you the whole story?

For instance, Paul. He had a belly full of hate.
Till on that road that day, God sat him down and set him straight.
He said: “I’m here for you. From now on let’s be friends.”
That temporary blindness was a small price in the end
To pay for that sweet rush of glory.


I say the saints had it easy.
Seeing him, touching him, knowing for sure.
If God revealed Himself that clearly to me
There’s nothing I would not endure.

This fellow Thomas was a man a lot like me.
They said “Christ has risen.” He said “Yeah, well let me see.”
When Jesus took his hand and touched it to his wounded side,
His life transformed itself. Is that a big surprise?
Who could ever again be worried?

Those kids at Fatima get all that splashy press.
Three separate times the angels told them they were blessed.
The Virgin Mary shining brighter than the sun came down to visit with them one to one to one to one.
No wonder they kept their courage

I say the saints had it easy,
Seeing him, touching him, knowing for sure.
If God revealed himself that clearly to me,
There’s nothing I could not endure.

Joan had her fevered visions; Joseph heard the voice.
But all the rest of us -- we’re on our own to make the choice
They got the precious gift of proof beyond a doubt.
We have to guess and hope and do our best to work it out
And balance our doubts and yearnings.

Without any bushes burning.

I say the saints had it easy.
Seeing him, touching him, knowing for sure.
If God revealed himself that clearly to me
There’s nothing I could not endure.

 

Let It Go

Words and music by Bob Lind


These are our days and nights.
These times will never come again.
These bright unfolding moments,
Shining like diamonds in our hands.
And they open just like roses
And I hear a voice within me speaking low:
“You are heavy with this anger.
Don’t you think it’s maybe time to let it go?
Let it go. Let it go.
These grudges kill you just as sure as guns and knives.
Let it go.
Let your heart fly free to other hearts and lives.
Let it go.
Another world is waiting, sweeter than you know.
Let it go.”

Three mornings back I woke to find my fist
Was clenching in my sleep.
Something was raging in me,
Some strange resentment, dark and deep.
I could blame it on my father;
I could blame it on a world that moves too slow.
I could blame it on a million things
But something else inside said, “Let it go.
Let it go. Let it go.
Throw these curtains back and step out in the sun.
Let it go.
Blow these fences down and let your stallions run.
Let it go.
There’s a garden in you reaching up to grow.
Let it grow. Let it go.”

 

Maybe It's The Rain

Words and music by Bob Lind


Maybe it’s the rain
Maybe it’s the hole I just now noticed in the screen
Or the thought I might not love you anymore
Or that the car needs gasoline

Maybe it’s just Sunday
Or the way the shadows fall like concrete at this hour
Or the thought I might not love you anymore
Or that this milk is going sour


It’s the strangest mood
It just keeps clutching.
It could be anything
Or nothing

Maybe it’s the rain
Or maybe that I didn’t hit the Lotto yesterday
Or the thought I might not love you anymore
Or that the weekend feels so far away

Or maybe it’s the rain

 

Back to the playlist.