What's It Like In Maine

Seattle has the bluest skies, it's true
But they don't help me when I'm missing you
And the winter rain is making me so blue

So I'm moving on to find some drier land
California sun and smooth, warm sand
And I'll try to make it mine if I can

But what's it like in Maine
It's a place I've never been to
Did you notice the name
On the letters that I sent you
Are you sad I never came
Well you know, I always meant to
Are you still the same
And what's it like in Maine

Now Minnesota might be where I'll go
I miss the smell of newly fallen snow
But I didn't know the winters pass so slow

And I thought I saw you walking my way
On a sidewalk here in Maryland today
But it can't be you, you're miles and years away

Chorus

I bought a place in Florida today
Now mom and dad are not too far away
And if it feels like home, it might be where I'll stay

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

The Minstrel

I saw a picture of a wandering minstrel
When I was just a child of ten
Somehow I knew, I just had to have it
Though I didn't know how or when

As I walked down the stairs that next Christmas morning
I saw a familiar shape under the tree
As I slowly unwrapped it, I was silently hoping
That my minstrel had come home to me

Could it be, could it be, could this be my minstrel
Will he stay and sing me a song
As we share in a moment, a dance and some laughter
Before he moves along

Over the years, I watched for my minstrel
And listened to catch his words on the wind
Time and again I followed his shadow
Just to find it was not really him

Then on the day that I finally stopped looking
He came wandering through and captured my soul
I met him that summer though I'd known him forever
For he'd stolen my heart long ago

Chorus

Now years have gone by since I saw my minstrel
And I lost the picture a long time ago
But I'll never stop hoping that one day he'll find me
And I won't have to sing all alone

Chorus

As we share in a moment, a dance and some laughter
Before we move along

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Hey, Tarzan

Hey, Tarzan
Have you ever stopped to look behind
To see who's caught up in your trailing vines
Whipped around and flying blind
Hey, Tarzan, have you

Hey, Zorro
Did you ever think I might not need
Another hero with his noble deeds
Are you so afraid to let me lead
Hey, Zorro, are you

Hey, Robin
Were you too busy keeping score
To realize that less is more
Were you so sure that I was poor
Hey, Robin, were you

Always rushing in so eager to fight
Take a look around, there's no victim in sight

Hey, Conan
Is your heart made out of flesh or steel
Have you ever really tried to feel
Have you figured out if you're for real
Hey, Conan, have you

© Cyd Ward/BMI

All Dressed Up

She's all dressed up, eagerly waiting
In a pretty, new dress and pink button shoes
For the boy next door to finally notice
And hoping to be the one he'll choose

Now she's all dressed up in white lace and satin
With something borrowed and something that's new
Her dad stands nearby to give her away
Now he's feeling old and a little bit blue

From ribbons and ruffles a few years ago
To long gowns she'll soon put away
Tomorrow she'll be back in the same old clothes
But she's all dressed up today

She's all dressed up in a black hat and stockings
For the boy that she married has already gone
She stands so still with her daughter beside her
Holding her hand and wondering what's wrong

Now she's all dressed up in white lace and satin
But no one is there to give her away
Her mother has gone to the boy she loved so
But she has found her own love today

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Between The Lines

I stuffed my heart in an envelope
And mailed it first class
But as soon as it left my fingers
I wanted to take it back

I wrote all the words but never came close
To what was on my mind
And you'll never understand
Unless you read between the lines

That I'm sorry means you hurt me
Though I'm sure you never knew
Give her my best means I wish I were her
It's the best this pen will do
And goodbye means I love you

I watched you pull away from me
Towing all my dreams
But you didn't see my heart fall down
And break apart at the seams

I gathered it up, piece by piece
And sent them off to you
A puzzle to unravel
Without the slightest clue

Chorus

I stuffed my heart in an envelope
And mailed it first class
But as soon as it left my fingers
I wanted to take it back

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Killing Time

You turn on the TV and watch the news
People still fighting over whose land is whose
Well you might have seen war and you know it gets rough
But all you can be just isn't enough
For watching so many people, running around
Looking for cover while the sky is falling down

Men killing time killing men killing time and time again
Men killing time killing men killing time and time again

You pick up the paper and on the front page
Is a man with a knife, a face filled with rage
He swallowed his pride until he was full
Of an anger that had nowhere else to go
Ashes to ashes, hand in hand
We'll all fall down and end in nowhere land

You turn the radio up and try not to hear
It's not just out there, it's getting too near
The neighbors are home, they're getting way too loud
Then suddenly it's quiet, I guess two was a crowd
Now, right and wrong, they're only two points of view
So when Jack fell down, Jill came tumbling down, too

Now Johnny's got nothing better to do
Than to watch what you watch and do what you do

You pick up the phone and hear the teacher say
Johnny got an 'F' in combat today
You wanna be strong, you're everyone's rock
But the mind wasn't made to handle the shock
Of the sight of a gun in a hand so small
Mama, you're babies are falling, cradle and all

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Knights

My mama told stories of heroes
And that's all I ever dreamed of
White horses and princes and dancing till midnight
And finding my own true love

But it seems as you start to grow older
Those dreams lose their bright, shiny glow
As if they've been picked up and held once too often
So you don't take them out anymore

And the knights in shining armor
All seem to have lost their way
And I've waited this long just to realize
No one's coming to save the day

I spent too much time building castles
With sand that would wash back to sea
I should have been forging tomorrows
Not waiting for them to find me

I could stay here and stare in the mirror
Just waiting around for a kiss
But I'd find myself standing alone here at midnight
Wondering what I had missed

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Maybe I Will

Maybe I'll get out that old photograph
We both looked so tired that day
We stayed up all hours to spend some time alone
Maybe it'll be okay

And maybe I'll put on that old song again
The one about the gambler, I forgot the tune
We never danced but still, it was ours
Maybe I'll play it soon

But not today, not while I'm still hanging on
Maybe tomorrow, if the memories have gone
Maybe next year I'll find a way
Maybe I will but not today

Maybe I'll walk up that hill again someday
To the place we shared coffee and you sang me a song
It's the same one you drove down when we said goodbye
Maybe it won't be long

And maybe I'll think about you one last time
Then I'll let you go and I'll let my heart mend
And when I'm sure that I'm finally over you
Maybe I'll try again

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Fear Of Heights

I don't like heights, no matter what the view
But I forgot all that when I first saw you
Something about you made me wanna fly
So I followed your trail, till it took to the sky
And then I lost my mind

I saw you take off and I just grabbed hold
I wasn't looking for thrills, babe, I'm just not that bold
I wasn't thinking about how I would get back down
Until I got so damn far off the ground
Hey, anybody got a rope

Well, I would not be up here if the feelings weren't strong
But I'm not the type to walk a tightrope for long
And even if I thought that you had put up a net
When I started to fall, I'm afraid I'd forget
And die on the way down

Now shakin' in my boots ain't my natural state
But that 'ol fear of heights just showed up late
As long as we were climbing, I was feeling just fine
But one look down and now I'm stranded on cloud nine

I'm ready to go home now, for what it's worth
But no ladder's gonna reach all the way down to earth
I haven't got me a parachute and I'm sure I can't fly
I doubt I've sprouted wings, so I'm not about to try
Hey, anybody got a rope

Aw, come on now, somebody has to have a rope
I say, has anybody out there got a really long rope

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Can We Make A Family

I've tried before to settle down
And be somebody's wife
I tried to give the best of me
But I just gave up my life

I know you've been down that road, too
You've got troubles of your own
But I understand you're tired
Of living all alone

Can we make a family, I know I'd like to try
Can we put our lives together before they pass us by
I'll let go of my questions if you'll let down your guard
It might not be so easy, but then it might not be so hard

Yes, I know you've seen trouble
And growing up was tough
The little boy who needed love
Is a man who's had enough

And I've make my own journey
And forgiving's hard to do
But holding on to what went wrong
Leaves no room for anything new

Chorus

You tripped up and lost your way
And I've had my share of blues
But here we both are standing still
And I think we've paid our dues

And even though a lot of things
Went wrong along the way
I've been hanging on this long
For a chance to hear you say

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI

Sonny's Dream

View Sonny's Dream lyrics at Christy Moore's' site.

© Wonderful Grand Music/Sold for a Song:TMP Socan

Next Time

Time is measured in dust on the furniture
And lines that have carved out your face
It's measured in things we didn't get done
And memories we just can't erase

Time is measured in grass that needs mowing
And children who grow up too fast
It's measured in pain that never ends
And pleasures that never last

It slips through our fingers like sand in an hourglass
It fades away like the sun going down
And it always seems like there'll be a next time
But next time never comes around

Time is measured in bills getting paid - (Descant: Time is meaured)
And feeling the rain and the cold - (feeling cold)
It's measured by things that will never change - (measured by things)
And watching the new turn to old - (growing old)

Chorus

© Cyd Ward/BMI