John Gorka

I met her in the summertime
When her arms
Were the color of silence
So blue her eyes
A new horizon

And I walked that way
And I talked that way too
And I found my way through
To her silence
Whoa
To her silence

My heart was full of bitterness
So dark and so close to violence
The ace of spades
Turned upside down

Nothing beat in my hopeless chest
I could not detect a sound
But she would not let me rest
Bound to my silence
Whoa
Bound to my silence

Love came unexpectedly
Late to the bill
An added attraction
The way it goes
The way it stays

And when she is far away
Still I feel her here
Every since she made the day
And the lonely man disappear
Into that silence
Whoa
Into that silence

Love is never easy
It's almost always out of your way
It's not the path of least resistance
It's not some words you get to say

It's a stream running up the mountain
It's a wave rolling out from the shore
I wish I could say I never
Felt that way before

I have a friend who's lonely
She is chasing after her dreams
And she is the one and only
One who knows how hard it will be

There's treasure on her island
Buried in this city of news
I wish I could say we didn't
Have that much to lose

One friend tried to end it
He could not see the good in his life
In his mirror or his pocket
And his hopes had come down life a knife

There's treasure on his island
Buried in this city of dues
I wish I could say we didn't
Have that much to lose

Love is never easy
It's almost always out of your way
It's not the path of least resistance
It's not some words you get to say

Jack's crows are loud in the morning
They're critical of other birds
Farmers don't appreciate 'em
Though they don't say it in so many words

Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows have a bad reputation
Some of them are known as thieves
They're involved in strange celebrations
And magic on All Hallow's Eve

Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows are all very ancient
No relation to the crows of Jim
Jim was driven to the shadows
But now you're seeing more of him

With Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

Jack's crows are in for a murder
A murder is a gathering
Some watch some go a little further
Some eat what the others bring

To Jack's crows Jack's crows
Where everybody's from
And nobody goes
That's where you're gonna find Jack's crows

They're growing houses in the fields between the towns
And the Starlight drive-in movie's closing down
The road is gone to the way it was before
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore

Two more farms were broken by the drought
First the Wagners now the Fullers pulling out
Developers paid better than the corn
But this was not the place where they were born

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

At first he wouldn't sell and then he would
Now they'll be children playing where the silo stood
The word came from the marrow of his bones
It was the last sure way to pay off all the loans

The new streets will be named for kings and queens
And a ransom will be payed for every castle's dream
The model sign is crested with a lion
And the farmers they will have enough to die on

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

I guess no one should be afraid of change
But tell me why is there a fence for every open range
It's a sign I'm getting on in years
When nothing new is welcome to these eyes and ears

There's houses in the fields
No prayers for steady rain this year
Houses in the fields
There's houses in the fields
And the last few farms are growing out of here

They're growing houses in te fields between the towns
And the Starlight drive-in movie's closing down
The road is gone to the way it was before
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore
And the spaces won't be spaces anymore

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
I heard the whistle
And the mercy of the wheels
It's a hand to mouth existence
In a mouth to nothing world
I was longing
For the way I used to feel

I'd like to catch a train
That could go back in time
That could make a lot of stops
Along the way
I would go to see me Father
With the eyes he left behind
I would go for all the words
I'd like to say
And I'd take along a sandwich
And a picture of my girl
And show them all
That I made out ok

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
And I wondered if I
Should have gotten on
Cause a train knows where it's going
And when it's time to go
And that it looks best
When it's already gone

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of a dream
And I wandered through the weeds
As it went by
Oh the trains they have the numbers
The nicknames and the nights
They know it's ok
To run away and cry

I'd like to catch a train
That could go back in time
That could make a lot of stops
Along the way
I would go to see me Father
With the eyes he left behind
I would go for all the words
I'd like to say
And I'd take along a sandwich
And a picture of my girl
And show them all
That I made out ok

I heard a train calling
Through the middle of the night
I heard the whistle
And the mercy of the wheels

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
Bad at savings bonds
Fashion magazines
I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams

I am good at night
I am good at night
Sun don't fit me right
I tried with all my might
I am good at night
I am good at night

I am good at stars
I am good at skies
Not like other guys
I am good at skies
I could close my eyes
I could be your size
I would still be good at skies

I am good at wind
I am good at stone
I am good at rain
Good at all alone
I am good at you
I am good at home

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
Bad at savings bonds
Fashion magazines
I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams

I am good at night
I am good at night
Sun don't fit me right
I tried with all my might
I am good at night
I am good at night

I am good at dreams
I am good at dreams
I am good at night
I am good at night

My father met Eleanor Roosevelt
In 1939
The war at last was over then
And they were still alive

Her husband was the president
Til he ran out of time
Her Fraklin D. was history
And they'd put him on the dime

My father joined the leaernecks
To stay out of the mines
The new marine was just fifteen
In 1939

There were medals and malaria
The South Pasific War
Through jungles that were paradise
And were paradise no more

Chorus
Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi, fe fo fum
Look out peacetime, here we come

Some of the men who did survive
Were not the lucky ones
War is only good for those
Who make and sell the guns

My father lay recovering
The hurt was all inside
Sometimes the wounds that never heal
Are easiest to hide

When Eleanor came bearing gifts
To San Francisco Bay
She gave my dad a blanket
In the hospital that day

That blanket meant a lot to him
My mother has it still
Some forget the kindnesses
That others never will

Chorus
Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi, fe fo fum
Look out peacetime, here we come

I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back for more
I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back

I live where the neighbors yell
And their music comes up through the floor
I live where the neighbors yell
And their music wakes me up

Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious as Basketball
Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious

Four blocks from the steel mill blast
I paint my claim up on the wall
Four blocks from the steel mill blast
I paint my claim

From my end of the southside drag
Its a common thought to call the cops
Further west its been gentrified
They turned biker bars into flower shops

I kind of miss those Harley guys
How rarely did a body harm
They mostly liked to drink and shout
And flash the pictures on their arms

It happens wen the money comes
The wild and poor get pushed aside
It happens wen the money comes
The poor get pushed

The buyers come from somewhere else
They raise the rent so you can't hide
The buyers come from out of state
And they raise the rent

Buy low, sell high
You get rich and you still die
Money talks, people jump
Ask how high low life Donald what's his names
And who cares?
I don't wanna know what his girlfriend doesn't wear
Its a shame that the people at work
Wanna hear about this kind of jerk

These people aren't saints
No, people just are
They wanna feel like they count
They wanna ride in their own car

These people aren't saints
No, people just are
They wanna feel like they count
They wanna ride in their own car

I just want to make enough
To buy this town and keep it rough
I just want to make enough
To buy this town

Buy low, sell high
You get rich and you still die
Money talks, people jump
Ask how high low life Donald what's his names

I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back for more
I walk where the bottles break
And the blacktop still comes back

I live where the neighbors yell
And their music comes up through the floor
I live where the neighbors yell
And their music wakes me up

Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious as Basketball
Life beyond the playground fence
Is serious


I walk,I live, My life, I hide

Where the bottles break
By the playground fence
Where the neighbors yell
Where they raise our rents

Where the bottles break
By the playground fence
By the steel mill blast
Where they raise our rents

Night is a woman who embraces me
I am never lonely in her arms
Deep in her heart I am free from harm
The moon and the stars are her ancient charms
She gives to me the gift of less to see
Night is a woman who embraces me

I know that she is stronger than the winter sun
She brings me to the places I am warm
She's on me like a blanket or a thunderstorm
And she waits for me when I am forlorn
Although she is much older we have just begun
I know that she is stronger than the winter sun

Night is a woman who embraces me
Her hair is dark and thick and it will tumble down
She dresses up her shadows in a flowing gown
And she's always welcome wen she hits this town
She is always everything she wants to be
Night is a woman who embraces me

Night is a woman who embraces me
She will reach me late and take my hand
Lead me to my dreams and back again
Then she'll run like a shiver from the land
She gives to me the gift of less to see
Night is a woman who embraces me

Night is a woman who embraces me

I'm from New Jersey, I don't expect too much
If the world ended today, I would adjust.

I'm from New Jersey, no I don't talk that way
I watched too much TV when I was young

I'm from New Jersey, my mom's Italian
I've read those mafia books, we don't belong.

Girls from New Jersey who have that great big hair
They're found in shopping malls, I will take you there

I'm from New Jersey, it's not like Texas
There is no mystery, I can't pretend
I'm from New Jersey, it's like Ohio,
But even more so, imagine that

I know which exit, and where I'm bound,
Tolls on the parkway they will slow you down.

New Jersey people, they will surprise you
'Cause they're not expected to do too much
They will try harder, they may go further,
'Cause they never think that they are good enough

I'm from New Jersey, I don't expect too much
If the world ended today I would adjust

I would adjust;
I would adjust