Open Book Music

Lyrics from Out of Time

Out of Time

You throw your coat across the back of my chair…
You throw a glance across the room…
You sit beside me like you were already there…
and then you smile.

You try to gather up the confidence…
You try to summon up the nerve…
You try to find a place where you can finally feel at home…
for just a while.

And I've seen that look you get before you run away…
And I've seen how hard you've tried to ride it out.
And I don't know how far you've come only to run away…
I know that it will take a lot of love.

You give yourself a little distance from the rest…
You give yourself so little faith.
And you give up long before you ever get to start the test…
you're out of time.

What did you bring tonight?
Where do you keep the weight you carry?
Your secret's out of sight …
until the light shines in your eyes.

Words and Music: Michele Rubin
© 2002

Falling

Here it comes again…I'm falling, falling
I'm weightless on the wind…I'm swirling to the ground
And I'm reaching out to catch my fall…don't feel anything at all
And I'm crashing down , I'm off the wall again…falling to the end

You'd think that after all these years, I would recognize
False responsibility in confident disguise
Carrying the burden of a weight that is not mine
I'm looking down; I never see the sign.

Here it comes again…I'm falling, falling
I'm weightless on the wind…I'm swirling to the ground
And I'm reaching out to catch my fall…don't feel anything at all
And I'm crashing down , I'm off the wall again…falling to the end

Tell me something I can use
To break this fall, to lose these blues.
I am listening to you, my friend.
Catch me if you can.

Here it comes again…I'm falling, falling
I'm weightless on the wind…I'm swirling to the ground
And I'm reaching out to catch my fall…don't feel anything at all
And I'm crashing down… I'm off the wall again…falling to the end

Words and Music: Rick Gedney
© 2002

Let it Rain

You say you don't want to drag me down.
You say this is more than I can take.
But what you don't understand
and what you don't see
is my heart is far too full to break.

I say you don't need to be alone.
I say I will always stay.
But what you don't understand
and what you don't hear
is there's really nothing you can't say.

So if laying your troubles down
will lessen the pain
and if there is a coming storm
let it rain.

You say you can't find the time to dream.
You say you can't make those nightmares go away.
but what you don't understand
and what you don't know
is that I am awake too - night and day.

So if laying your troubles down
will lessen the pain
and if there is a coming storm
let it rain.

Words and Music: Michele Rubin
© 2002

Peaceful Island

On this island, in this southern town
I get my rest and lay my body down
Lock my mind up, let my spirit free
Let the world go by right in front of me

I'm a stranger here, nobody knows my name
There's no one to answer to, no one to blame
Between the rising and the setting sun
There's no need to hurry, no need to get it done.

It's just the running wave and the quiet earth
The gentle night and the morning's birth
The flowing air and the shining star
On Peaceful Island, it's just the way things are.

The moon and stars give off their healing light
I feel at peace through the day and night.

I am grateful now for this time out here
I won't be back awhile, maybe another year.
But I know now after I'm gone,
That life goes on the same here in this island home.

It's just the running wave and the quiet earth
The gentle night and the morning's birth
The flowing air and the shining star
On Peaceful Island, it's just the way things are.

Words and Music: Rick Gedney
© 2002

If You Knew Me

Now that I've stopped trying to explain
will you finally hear?
Now that I've stopped waiting for you
will you reappear?

Now that I've stopped opening up my heart
will you feel the pain?
Now that I've stopped hoping for the best
will you suddenly change?

And if you knew me at all
you would be here.
And if you knew me at all
you would know love is not fear.

And the more I gave away,
the more you owned.
And the more I tried to stay
the closer I came to being alone.

Never said these words out loud
never let them show.
Never had intended to shut you out
but now you must know.

That if you knew me at all
you would be here.
And if you knew me at all
you would know love …

Words and Music: Michele Rubin
© 2002

Be My Love

You can take me dancing on a moonlit night, under the stars above,
talk to me softly, if you want to be my love.

Tell me you love me, tell me you care, say we'll never be apart,
But tell me the truth, if you want to see my heart.

This old world is filled with deceivers
who will pick you up and string you along.
And they've hurt a lot of willing believers
like the one here singing this song.

You can take me all the way to a tropic isle, down to the sand and the sea
But don't take me for granted if you really care for me.

Can you be honest?
Can you be true?
In all those things you say and do?
Can you look in my eyes
When the day is done?
Is that too much to ask of anyone?

You can take me dancing on a moonlit night, under the stars above,
but you've got to open your heart to me if you want to be my love.

Words and Music: Rick Gedney
© 2002

Downstream

There is a strong tide pulling tonight
I feel the current circle my feet
There is a wave riding just offshore
And the moon moves it closer to me.

And I have been anchored by what I can't see.
So what makes me so sure it's too deep?
And water is shapeless when the wind dies down
And I wish that it would carry me downstream.

And the moment that I give in
Is the moment when I receive.
And the moment when I let go
is when I will believe.

We are so much like water in so many ways
And we flow like a river to the sea
And when we surrender, we get swept away
Like a boat carried so gently downstream.

And the moment that I give in
Is the moment when I receive
And the moment that I let go
is when I will believe.

Words and Music: Michele Rubin
© 2001

Indiana

Indiana
Many years have come and gone since we first met.
You'd be just a faded memory but yet.
I see you in the dark and silver light.
Riding through these empty fields tonight.

Destination
Is a place not far beyond your border line.
And I don't have plans to stay with you this time.
I'm just a tired traveler passing through.
Thinking back on years I spent with you.

I came of age here in your Midwest town.
With the nation's troubles burning all around
Safe and sheltered from that fear and pain.
With the farms and the sky and the cornfields and the summer rain.

Expectation
Of the kind of the kind of man I thought that I could be.
Those old hopes and plans are staring back at me.
Some came true and some were left behind.
Waiting here tonight for me to find.

So many roads took me far away.
So many changes in the wind along the way.
But this westbound train brings me back again.
To the time and the place and the dreams from way back then.

Words: Rick Gedney
Music: Michele Rubin
© 2002

Everything has Changed

No, I never looked for things beyond my sight.
I never heard a small voice call to me.
No, I never searched for any guiding light.
Only held the things within my reach.

No, I never prayed for revelation.
No, I never thought to wonder why.
No, I never needed anything at all.
Maybe it was easier not to try.

But now every thing has changed
You may never understand
That everything has changed for me.

No, I never knew where any path would lead
when I finally followed my own heart.
No, I never planned what my next move would be,
Only knew the time had come to start.

But now every thing has changed
You may never understand
That everything has changed for me.

Minstrel

He has learned to play the rhythm
He likes to sing those songs
Of a love that's lost or broken
And so he starts.

It's a song that's full of meaning
Or a story told by lovers
It's the one that they remember
in their hearts.

And the minstrel plays his loneliness
And every song he sings takes him back
To the times and the feelings gone away
And the minstrel sings his loneliness
Remembering those days when love was life
And now they're gone and so… the minstrel plays

And he doesn't know they're listening
When he plays his lonesome tune
And he dreams about that life
that he once led.

And it satisfies his longing
When the song has reached the end
And he dreams about those brighter days ahead.

And the minstrel plays his loneliness
And every song he sings takes him back
To the times and the feelings gone away
And the minstrel sings his loneliness
Remembering those days when love was life
And now they're gone and so… the minstrel plays

Words: R. Kris Barthelmess
Music: Rick Gedney
© 2002

The Circle

Bitter in silence
shut down with words
no separation between.
Unthinking anger
unknowing weakness
the best of intentions unseen.

And the circle's unbroken and round
and the words will again be found
It's impossible to explain
which came first, the anger or the pain.

Not unforgiven
You're not accused
but you're standing braced for the blame
This path is wearing
around the truth
this pattern of comfort will remain

And the circle is unbroken and round
and the words will again be found
It's impossible to explain.
which came first, the anger or the pain.

I don't know how this will end…
you just might break if you don't bend
but you look right through me once again
there is no start…there is no end.

Say a Prayer

It's the same old story
I can't find the time
No matter how hard I try
Drag out the hoses
Put out another fire.

Living a life
Dreaming a dream
Always the two apart
Mending the fences
Instead of the broken heart.

Say a prayer for your daughters…say a prayer for your sons.
Say a prayer for love to guide them on…say a prayer for the child in everyone.

Maybe tomorrow
Maybe today
Maybe another year
The end of December
always takes me here.

I heard a voice
Sing the refrain
"nothing stays the same"
So I look for the sun
Standing in the freezing rain.

Say a prayer for your daughters…say a prayer for your sons.
Say a prayer for love to guide them on…say a prayer for the child in everyone.

Guide me with spirit
Guide me with love
Guide me with words of truth
I'll hear your voice and follow my heart to you…

Words and Music: Rick Gedney
© 2002