Lyrics /
Sun Delay
It’s nothing like the past
It’s all in how you act
Complacency you grind
And this won’t change your mind
You treat me like a fool
For daddy’s little girl
For show and tell not truth
Behaving like you’re still in youth…so
Find out
Your doubt
Leave past
Your past
You have sewn in your truth
I can’t get past this flaw
I blame you for your genes
I know it’s not your fault
That you have more than me
I pull and then I push
At this I do excel
A loneliness by choice
That you won’t understand until
You find out your doubts
And leave past
My past
Find out
My doubts
You won’t hedge on your bet
It’s nothing like the past
It’s all in what you grasp
Complacency I grind
In leaving you behind
The movement slows ahead
It’s only a sun delay
And it won’t last too long
Or it could last all day
She's a Natural
Pissed off, pissed on
And just piss drunk
We were traveling, life unraveling
Pseudo-punks
The CTA man is sleeping
Moving past him we’re creeping
I can’t say this is much fun
And I know she’s not the one
But…
She’s a natural something
I can see it in her lies
This will lead to nothing
But no matter how I try
I can’t get away
Late night, last night
In a club downtown
Testing my comfort zone, we were not all alone
In sliding down
But the room is much too crowded here
And it’s a crime if we’re out there
So we push past the girls in line
(I hope you have a good time…)
She’s a natural something
I can see it in her lies
This will lead to nothing
But no matter how I try
I can’t get away
Love Your Pride
On our way to
Another waterfall
I’m with ten folks I really don’t know
I have been here
A dozen times before
I can’t say the changes show
Only another day without you
Feeling no rush of something new
Knowing that I am to blame
So you do
I could climb a tree
And know you’d follow me
Looked me over, you were not shy
Take your artistry
Make it work for me
But it’s much too late for me to try
Another song of lament
Wishing my time was wisely spent
Knowing that I am to blame-
All the same
Another grace I won’t know
I’m asking for things you’ll never show
Knowing that you’ll never call
All in all:
You think that the only thing
Worth saving is your pride,
So I guess it couldn’t have been different-
Even if I had not lied
And the next time that I see you,
I’ll be awkward
You’ll be snide
You love your pride
It Takes a Little Time
I can see how far from me you are
I can see you’re not at ease with where you are
It takes a little time
To stabilize your mind
‘Cause something good will someday come your way
Just don’t ask me how
Because I can’t give it away
Cross the sea, or cross the street, you cross your heart
And hopefully, you’ll cross your t’s and check your chart
It takes a little time
To read between the lines
‘Cause satisfaction comes in many ways
Just don’t ask me when
Because I can’t give it away
You’re moving oh-so slowly
And that’s okay
Don’t sweat the time
You’re not the one and only
To change your mind, so change your mind
Real Life Drama
Show me how one life can be disrupted
And he will show you many
Tell me how you waste away your weekend
And she will laugh at you
Picture all the ways in which you dally
And I will say, "What is new?"
And still we carry on
When the river meets the sea
And releases you and me
We will sing the same refrain
Nothing is lost
Nothing is gained
Taking in a movie, pick a drama
You pay your seven fifty
Staring at the faces on the posters
They seem so real to you
If only you could feel like Edward Norton
Or how he seems to feel…
You’d love to marry art
But when the river meets the sea
And releases you and me
We will sing the same old song
Nothing is right
Nothing is wrong
This Love Will Lead You Know Where
You took me by surprise
With the pull of your hand
Could a moment arise
That I would understand?
Because I will not look ‘round this corner
This love will lead you nowhere
And I would not portend or think you’d be there
You took me by surprise
But what you don’t comprehend
Is how these factors collide
And to this weakness attend
Because I will not look ‘round this corner
Your love will lead you know where
And you should not pretend or think I’ll be there
You took me by surprise
But what you don’t comprehend
Is that every moment of mine
Is a movie pretend
Beautiful People
Pushing back the bent-back tulips
Painted eyes and lips
This could be a tragedy
But likely it’s just tips
Working down the stares of this joint
Passionately hip
I could hide my eyes to turn
A universal quip
These pretty girls are useless
Each and every one
Pitch and climb, who’s got the time?
All they know is fun
Landing here I had a reason
But I guess we all do
Slowly it’s escaping me
As it will do to you
Honey flows like water, not wine
Twice as sweet as tea
I should be used to this now
But they’re still Greek to me
Pretty boys are useless
Each and every one
It might be made-for-TV
And likely it’s fiction
Saturday night in the Village
I lived for this scene
Taxi down, look around
Look at me! Look at me!
Scripted
Raindrops on my window begin to dance
As I pull out onto MLK
Alone, with you
On my mind
Still I can’t keep from smiling about the things
That we said we would one day become
I know that we
Were naive
I pine for a homeland, where we could be
But a place where no one knows our names
Somewhere where we’d
Start anew
Feels like it’s been scripted
You and me
Me and you
Though space and time have shifted
I conceive
That we’ll still know just what to be
The cost is not in dollars, it is in sense
Each is wealth I will never possess
To pay this price
Is obscene
Feels like it’s been scripted
You and me
Me and you
Though space and time have shifted
I believe
That we’ll still know just what to be
Avon Fields
In my own life
You won’t even join me
For a day trip
You travel lightly
You don’t take a thing
I am always packing
Set to leave
I see Avon Fields
I feel I’ve been nineteen
For the last ten years
Too fast then too slowly
Too quick to the floor
We go to the same bars
We drink the same drinks
We see the same people
Do we ever leave?
Just for Avon Fields
There is a park
Not far from here
I heard that it’s pretty, but I’ve never been
My things are in order
I have what I think I need
But I only want what I have not got
Is it Avon Fields?
Commonplace
If there’s anything that you want from me
I will try to make it true
You know you have my empathy
So don’t look as if you’re blue
I don’t care if it is commonplace
Or if it’s something new
I only want to spend my time with you
Seeking things that we both can’t see through
You said: “I can say, ‘I knew you when…’”
But I want you to say
That you will be there with me then
And never go away
I don’t care if it is commonplace
Or if it’s something new
I only want to spend my time with you
Seeking things that we both can’t see through
If we took a walk along the riverside tonite
Never in your shadow could I be that kind of light
Yes, it’s true that I’m beholden
And I’m very lonely, too
I only want to spend my time with you
Seeking things that we both can’t see through
The Same Mistakes
Push me away
Don't give a reason
But I'm not that thick
And you're not that clever
It's a new day
Of a new season
And my new place has
Made you uncomfortable
It's the same old story
Only the names have changed
We make the same mistakes
‘Back in the day’
Or so you might call it
We were so close
And we shared everything
Now I find that peace comes
When you least expect it
Old floorboards
Or a nap on Saturday
It’s the same sad story
Only the names have changes
We make the same mistakes
University is falling
Wind is hauling little pieces over bigger ones
No one really knows the reason
Credits /
All songs written by Kevin Carlisle
© 2001 Kevin Carlisle, BMI
Produced by Kevin Carlisle with assistance by Pat Osterday
Recorded by Kevin Carlisle June, 2000 - September, 2001
at Eclectic Electric Studios, Cincinnati, OH (O'Bryonville and Pleasant Ridge)
Additional tracking with Kris Brown at Family Sauce Studios, Cincinnati, OH
Performed by:
Kevin Carlisle: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, keyboards, loops and programming
Kris Brown: bass on 'She's a Natural,' 'Real Life Drama,' 'Commonplace,' and 'The Same Mistakes,' electric guitar on 'The Same Mistakes,' and pedal steel guitar on 'Avon Fields'
Chris Freson: drums on 'Love Your Pride,' 'It Takes a Little Time,' and 'Scripted'
Mike Roesch: drums on 'The Same Mistakes'
Thanks to Amanda Hogan, Kris Brown, Pat Osterday, and Eric Falstrom
Cover photo by Shirley Carlisle, 1977
© 2001 Kevin Carlisle