1. |
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IF YOU’RE LUCKY YOUR HEART WILL BREAK
I never thought I’d live to sing an old man’s blues.
I never thought I’d live past twenty-two.
But I’ve seen dreams and plans
broken like rubber bands.
And I never thought I’d live to see how much I’d lose.
But if you’re lucky, your heart will break
and you will live to see it happening
and maybe in that moment you will awake.
I always thought the point of living was to heal.
There was a better life I thought was real.
But I was always somewhere else,
hovering above myself.
And now, I think the point of life is mostly just to feel.
But if you’re lucky, your heart will break
and you will be there when it’s happening
and maybe in that moment you will awake.
It’s a dream,
wherever you think you’re going,
whatever you think you’re knowing.
You’re only going back to the dirt.
You’re only going back to the start.
So take your pain and all your hurt
and let them tear you apart.
And if you’re lucky your heart will break
and if you’re wise, you won’t hold on
and you might know at last that you belong.
And if you’re lucky, your heart will break
and you will be there when it’s happening
and maybe in that moment you will awake.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2019)
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2. |
Many Things Are True
03:37
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MANY THINGS ARE TRUE
It’s true that life is short.
It’s true that life is long.
It’s true you can’t get it right.
It’s true you can’t get it wrong.
It’s true you’re fucking up.
It’s true you’re doing fine.
It’s true the pain is unbearable
but you’re having a pretty good time.
Yes, it’s true.
Many things are true.
It’s true you’re slowly dying.
It’s true you’re not yet grown.
It’s true we’re in this together.
It’s true we’re in this alone.
It’s true the past keeps returning.
It’s true it won't come back.
It’s true regrets will torture you
and yet you still won’t crack.
Yes, it’s true.
Many things are true.
I wish I was a person
who didn't think all day.
I wish I could be certain
that life is just one way.
I wish I had more wisdom
but all I've got for you
is believe what makes you better.
I think that's the best
that you can do.
It's true.
It’s true you really love me.
It’s true you love yourself.
It’s true you’re thinking of me.
It’s true I could be someone else.
It’s true our time is coming.
It’s true it’s already gone.
It’s the true the flame is dying
but the fire burns on and on.
Yes, it’s true.
Many things are true.
I wish I had an answer
to the things you asked of me.
I wish that I could love you
the way you'd like to be.
Maybe I'm what you needed.
Maybe I won't come through.
Believe whatever makes you better.
I think that's the best
that you can do.
It's true.
It’s true that life is short.
It’s true that life is long.
It’s true you can’t get it right.
It’s true you can’t get it wrong.
It’s true you’re fucking up.
It’s true you’re doing fine.
It’s true the pain is unbearable
but you’re having a pretty good time.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2019)
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3. |
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SERVE ALL THINGS AS THEY ARE
Once I was an emperor
in the palace of your heart.
I never thought your love for me
could ever come apart
Look how I’ve fallen far.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
I’ve watched you walking through this life.
I’ve watched you growing up.
I’ve watched you on the subway
toss a coin into my cup.
I see the dimming of my own star.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
And in the end
we play both sides
and that’s just fine.
What counts
is the company we keep
in our own minds
in our own minds.
Show me a withered cypress tree.
Show me a one-winged dove.
Show me all the broken things
I never thought to love.
I’ll kneel and kiss each scar.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
Oh, oh, serve all things as they are.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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4. |
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WHAT ISN’T GIVEN AWAY IS LOST
Mona Lisa priestess,
proud as the dawn,
you come back in town
just to tell me that you’re gone.
With your feathers and rosaries
and spirituality,
you still took my love for granted
just because it was free.
But I’m tired of being bitter
and carrying that cross.
I don’t care any more.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
Look, the world is unraveling
like an old, frayed hem.
People store up experiences
already lost to them.
And I’m guilty of that too.
I still see you from another day.
Better let go or be dragged.
You’re not mine now, either way.
I’m tired of looking backwards
and counting up the cost.
I don’t care any more.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
And we worry how we’ll end up,
and yet we still end.
What exactly was I expecting
except that maybe we’d be friends?
And protect each other’s solitude.
And know each other’s grace.
I want to see you dreaming
with that new moon on your face.
I want to see you in the light.
I want to see you in the light.
I want to see you in the light.
In the light, in the light.
It’s 3am. I can’t sleep
through the howling of the pines.
I’m wondering if I misjudged you,
wondering if I’ve been unkind.
The winter’s coming for us.
Can we take a walk some time,
share secrets in the snowfall
that the morning will leave behind?
Look at the crazy cherry trees
blooming through the frost.
We should be like them.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
What isn’t given away is lost.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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5. |
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THERE’S NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
The shops have closed their shutters
all along the lonesome street.
The struggles of the morning
have all ended in defeat.
Seems anything worth doing,
I’ve already done before.
There’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
I’ve got a little money
but no one to spend it on.
All my old ambition
has somehow up and gone.
I could chase a fantasy
but it just sounds like a chore.
There’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
Last night, I lay dreaming
about the way things used to be.
Your hand was in my hair
on a beach in Italy.
But I woke up all alone
in a room without a door.
There’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
Sometimes I get angry.
Sometimes I feel misled.
When I was young, I learned to fight
for better days ahead.
They said I had a future,
but now I’m not so sure.
I think there’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
Life just keeps on going
even as it comes apart.
But peace is overflowing
between two beats of the heart.
It’s when you’re backed into the present
that you see the further shore
where there’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
There’s nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to
nothing to look forward to any more.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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6. |
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GREED IS KING OF OUR SOULS
Rabbit grew up hungry
in a dirty Memphis slum.
He moved to New York City
and he thought his luck had come
when met a girl named Raven
who sold weed on his block.
She looked like Amy Winehouse
and he liked the way she talked.
That summer, they got married
in a fever hot as coals.
You think love runs the world.
Hey, hey, but greed is king of our souls.
Raven came from Albany,
from a large Italian clan.
Her father bet on horses
but she never bet on a man.
Rabbit, he was good to her,
but he wasn’t going to take her far,
so she called a friend named Badger
and they all met at Izzy’s Bar.
They drugged Rabbit and robbed him
and fled with what they stole.
You think you‘re running free.
Hey, hey, but greed is king of our souls.
Badger was a strange one
from an army base out east.
He got into Santeria
and started calling himself a priest.
He moved Raven out to Ojai
where they practiced healing touch.
He had a way with women
but he pushed it a little too much.
One day, somebody accused him
and the cops threw him in the hole.
You think you’ve got the power.
Hey, hey, but greed is king of our souls.
Eagle was the officer
assigned to Badger’s case.
He’d done three months’ probation
for shooting a suspect in the face.
He wanted to get to Badger
and tear him limb from limb.
But before the interrogation,
Eagle’s heart gave out on him.
Now he lies in a jealous rage
while some younger cop patrols.
You think you fight for justice.
Hey, hey, but greed is king of our souls.
How far do we go back
before we reach the top?
Is there some place or person
where you could say the buck might stop?
You want to root for Rabbit
because he’s poor and all alone.
But Rabbit works for a bank now,
repossessing people’s home.
You can’t blame the animals.
It’s out of their control.
You think you’re getting out.
Hey, hey, but greed is king of our souls.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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7. |
Take Care Of The Silence
03:07
|
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TAKE CARE OF THE SILENCE
Take care of the silence
and it will take care of you.
Speak in gentle whispers
and step lightly in your shoes.
When your life seems at an end
and you’re on your own again.
You can lay down in the dark.
You still have a friend.
Take care of the lilies
and they’ll smile back in the sun.
Take care of the kindness
that is there in everyone.
People mean more than they know
and they love more than they show.
You can lay down in the dark,
but you’re never alone.
I’ll see you in the clouds above,
in disappointments I’m still thinking of,
as the light of endless love
pours down.
Take care of your own mind
and you’ll find peace there still.
Put joy on your doorstep
and simplicity on your sill.
There is nothing to pretend.
There is nothing to defend.
When the lights go out in the world,
you still have a friend.
I’ll see you in the clouds above,
in disappointments I’m still thinking of,
as the light of endless love
pours down.
There is nothing to pretend.
There is nothing to defend.
When the lights go out in the world,
you still have a friend.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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8. |
A Mind Needs To Rest
03:33
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A MIND NEEDS TO REST
In the dark days of winter
when my life seemed so bitter,
I thought of all the people I love best.
And you were always present
in memories so pleasant
but I see now that my mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to be still.
A mind needs some time to be alone.
So I keep my body busy
walking miles around this city
till I find it in my heart to let you go.
To love you was not easy.
I always felt uneasy.
My nerves were shot from all the stress.
So afraid that you would leave me,
so afraid you would deceive me,
I see now that my mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to mourn.
A mind needs some time for it to grow.
So I learn to cook again
and be my own best friend
till I find it in my heart to let you go.
The days are getting warm now.
New things are being born now.
But the old pain keeps rattling in my chest.
I’d like someone to speak to.
I wish that it could be you
but I see now that my mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to rest.
A mind needs to move on.
A mind needs more time than it might show.
I wish I could be stronger.
But I'm staying away longer
till I find it in my heart to let you go
One day I might be stronger.
But I’ll keep my distance longer
till I find it in my heart to let you go.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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9. |
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THE WORLD IS ITS OWN MAGIC
The world is its own magic.
You don’t have to add to it.
You don’t have to make it fit
to your life.
Life’s better when there is no “I” in it,
better when you're not defining it
better when you stop trying
to get it right.
Just give me
simple pleasures like the sea
simple treasures and I’ll be
satisfied to live my days
among the ordinary.
Simple pleasures for a while,
a tree, a bird, a stranger’s smile,
and it will be enough.
Just listen to my cautionary
tale about a boy who tried
to wish the time away.
He jumped into tomorrow
and then longed for yesterday.
The world is its own magic.
You don’t have to fight with it.
You don’t have to brighten it
with a song.
Life’s better when there is no “you” in it,
better when you're not pursuing it.
Who can really say you’re doing it wrong?
Just give me
simple pleasures like the sun
simple treasures and I’ll run
down the beach into the reach
of what is ordinary.
Simple pleasures for a time,
a nap, a dream, a perfect rhyme,
and it will be enough.
Just listen to my cautionary
tale about a boy who tried
to wish his time away.
He jumped into tomorrow
and then longed for yesterday.
The world is its own magic.
The world is its own magic.
The world is its own magic.
And suddenly it's evening.
And the light is leaving.
Everybody starts dreaming,
scheming, seeming what they're not.
Who are we fooling?
We're only human.
What are we doing
ruining the little bit of living that we've got?
The world is its own magic.
You don't have to win at it.
You don't have to spin it as your success.
Life's better when there is no "they" in it,
better when you're not comparing it.
We all can get a share in happiness.
Just give me
simple pleasures like the night
simple treasures and I'll write
a poem in grays to praise
the grace of what is ordinary.
Simple pleasures here and now:
a seed, a star, a secret vow
that it will be enough.
Just listen to my cautionary
tale about a boy who tried
to wish his time away.
He jumped into tomorrow
and then longed for yesterday.
The world is its own magic.
The world is its own magic.
The world is its own magic.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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10. |
Live Close To The Ground
03:23
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LIVE CLOSE TO THE GROUND
Isn’t it peculiar
how easily
everything’s destroyed
in a flash?
The situation slips.
Your reputation dips.
Old relationships
fall into the void
burn to ash.
In the morning,
I woke to find this voice
in my head.
It said:
Come down, come down,
from whatever heights you’ve found.
You've got to live close to the ground.
Hear the sirens, honey.
You can’t rely on money.
You can’t rely on running
faster than the plague.
(Or whatever they’re calling it
these days.)
I woke beside you
but you didn’t notice,
touched you
but you couldn’t focus,
watched you
held you
but you got more hopeless,
so I walked home again.
Manhattan Bridge in the pouring rain.
It was morning.
I went on with
that voice in my head.
It said:
Come down, come down,
from whatever heights you’ve found.
You’ve got to live close to the ground.
Not every branch upon this tree
can hold our weight.
Not everything I hoped we’d be
matters now.
Better feel the earth beneath your feet
before it’s too late.
Come down, come down
from whatever heights you've found.
You've got to live close to the ground.
Lovely sister,
how I miss the times
when we lived together
for the promise of spring
and the hyacinths bloomed bright in you.
And the world had an innocence
that seemed to shine through every thing.
It was old, it was new.
(It was both in its own way too.)
Come down, come down.
That’s all over now.
You've got to live close to the ground.
Come down, come down,
and take off your crown.
Live close to the ground.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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11. |
Don't Get Carried Away
03:31
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DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY
You want to have a good time tonight, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
You want to wear a suit sometimes, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
You want to fall in love and settle down, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Burn your whole life down to the ground, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Don’t get ahead of yourself.
There’s nothing else
up the road, anyway.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Wear your love more lightly.
It’ll all come out rightly
some day.
You want to tell yourself you’re blessed, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Start crying in a CVS, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Get ready for the Judgment Day, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Put the pain out of your mind, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Don’t lose your head.
Pick up the thread.
Be willing to start again.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Wear your love more lightly.
It’ll all come out rightly
in the end.
You want to scream out "Hare Krishna," that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
You want to sign a political petition, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
You want to break the bars of tradition, that’s fine.
Just don’t get carried away.
You’re already tomorrow’s tradition.
So don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Don’t get ahead of yourself.
There’s nothing else
up the road, my friend.
Just don’t get carried away.
Just don’t get carried away.
Wear your love more lightly.
It’ll all come out rightly
in the end.
You want to farm organic food.
(Don’t get carried away.)
You want to be in some kind of mood.
(Don’t get carried away.)
You want to wear Axe Body Spray.
(Don’t get carried away.)
Live only for today.
(Don’t get carried away.)
You want to move to an airstream home.
(Don’t get carried away.)
Finally learn how to be alone.
(Don’t get carried away.)
You want to chase after a dream.
(Don’t get carried away.)
Things are never what they seem.
(Don’t get carried away.)
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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12. |
Give It A Minute
02:27
|
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GIVE IT A MINUTE
Love is a tale that’s told in time.
You can’t push forward or fall behind.
You've got to stay
on the crest of the wave.
We work on the same dream from opposite shifts.
We come together,
then suddenly drift far apart
with every beat of the heart.
I know our thing is kind of a rough cut.
I know you think you’ve had enough, but
Give it a minute before you walk out the door.
Give it a minute before you want something more.
Give it a minute till you’re in it, till you’re in it,
till you really know what you came here for.
Give it a minute before you go it alone.
Give it a minute before you pick up your phone.
Give it a minute, don’t you quit it, don’t you quit it
till you’ve seen all that there is to be shown.
Look up, mama, we can see all the stars
and every line that might connect them.
But you and I can only be right where we are
and give it our full attention.
Love is a tale that’s told in time.
You can’t fast forward or press rewind.
You've got to stay
for the rest of the play.
The future is a letter that will never be delivered.
The past is a flood in a muddy, muddy river.
You might drown
if you let it drag you down.
I know it takes a lot to unearth the will.
I know you’re wondering whether it’s worth it, still
Give it a minute before you walk out the door.
Give it a minute before you want something more.
Give it a minute till you’re in it, till you’re in it,
till you're in it, till you know what it’s for.
Give it a minute till it slips into gear.
Give it a minute before you trip on the fear.
Give it a minute, there’s no limit, there’s no limit.
All you really have to do is be clear.
All you have to do is not disappear.
All you really have to do is be here.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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13. |
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YOU NEVER WASTED YOUR LOVE
If you hadn't stayed awake all night
with teardrops in your eyes,
you wouldn't see the sunrise in all its glory.
If you hadn't read her letter
and found out her love was lies,
you wouldn't see the truth behind that story.
If you hadn't walked alone for days
where streets and stores were closed,
you wouldn't see the future start to open.
If you hadn't fought with faceless fears
and bled beneath their blows,
you wouldn't see that your heart was never broken.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, you never wasted your love.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, never.
If you hadn't seen the icy earth
spit back the seeds you sowed,
you wouldn't know it's your life that is the flower.
If you hadn't played to empty rooms
on nights when no one showed,
you wouldn't know that pain is your power.
If you hadn't failed and tried and failed
to find some kind of break,
you wouldn't see that all the world is breaking.
If you hadn't seen the hand of death
raise up impossible stakes,
you wouldn't see the dream from which you're waking.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, you never wasted your love.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, never.
And courage grows.
Spinning around the endless beginning
like a spiral within a rose,
you get used to all the endless ending
as beauty puts on new clothes.
You follow her down
wherever she goes
and put flowers on your shelf.
Receive the day.
It'll be okay.
You just have to learn to trust more
in yourself.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, you never wasted your love.
You never wasted your love ever.
No, never.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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14. |
Life Doesn't Work Out
03:19
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LIFE DOESN’T WORK OUT
At the end of the long day,
this feeling comes on:
Life doesn’t work out.
You live a while
and then you’re gone.
We chase after laughter
and push away grief.
But the house always wins.
Loss slips in like a thief.
Put your hands in the clay.
Please stay.
Let yourself play
a little while.
Earth in your palms,
carry on.
It’s been so long
since I’ve seen you smile,
since that joy filled you up inside.
Life doesn’t work out,
but oh, what a glorious ride.
At the end of a long day,
will it be enough?
If life doesn’t work out,
can we save each other
with our love?
We make lots of memories
and conquer our fears.
But something was missing,
something lost,
something right here.
Put your hands in the clay.
Please stay.
Let yourself play
a little while.
Earth in your palms,
carry on.
It’s been so long
since I’ve seen you smile,
since that joy filled you up inside.
Life doesn’t work out,
but oh, what a glorious ride.
Life doesn’t work out,
but oh, what a glorious ride.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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15. |
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WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
The last of us standing
go out in the sun
in the cold mid-April weather.
We’re all in this together.
We’re all in this together.
Everyone.
Some of us are crying.
Others stand tall
with hearts worn down like leather.
But we’re all in this together.
We’re all in this together.
One and all.
One and all.
I know you won’t see me,
my sweet enemy.
I know our bonds have long been severed.
You're free to float on like a feather.
But we’re all in this together
even you and me.
The last of us standing
go out in the sun.
In the cold mid-April weather,
we wade into the river
to disappear forever.
But we’re all in this together.
We’re all in this together.
We’re all in this together.
We’re all in this together.
Everyone.
Words and music copyright of Paul Weinfield/Tam Lin Music Publishing (BMI, 2020)
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Paul Weinfield New York, New York
Paul Weinfield is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, author, and meditation teacher whose songs have been compared to those of Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen and hailed by No Depression magazine as "unafraid of music boundaries." He is currently working on his eleventh album, As Long As It Takes. ... more
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