1. |
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Hide My Eyes
© 2008 Jason Paul Johnston
Trying to find a way out of town
but I can't see the end yet
I've been paying oh so long
but I'm still so deep in debt
I wish I could write a song
that makes me just forget
But every time one comes along
it just stirs up regret
Chorus:
So I’ll stick my head in the sand and I’ll try
Every time a wave comes my way I’ll cry
Turn my face from the space that I occupy
When the tide gets high I’ll hide my eyes
Every time I step your way
oh something makes me stop
Been searching for a key to you
left here fumbling at the lock
I’ve been trying to talk to you
but my words fall out in parts
Been looking for a way inside
that distant little heart
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2. |
Great Soul (Roger Wilco)
02:32
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Great Soul (Roger Wilco)
Jason Paul Johnston ©
Well you’ve got great soul, Well you’ve got great soul
Yeah, you’ve got great soul but you are getting kind of old
And you’ve got great hair, Oh, you’ve got great hair,
Yeah, you’ve got great hair, but it’s getting thin up there
Chorus:
Ya, you’ve got great soul
and in the end that is the sticky part
Everywhere you’re turning
there’s a yearning for this temporal stuff
But you’ve got the grace to embrace of a house of self-control
Well you’ve got a few songs, Yeah you’ve got a few songs
We’ll you’ve got a few songs but this is taking way too long….
So what’s left now? I said what’s left now? When it’s all gone what do you have left to show? Roger wilco?
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3. |
The Crane Came
04:06
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The Crane Came
© 2008 Jason Paul Johnston
So my wings touch the sky, but I’d sometimes come by
And perch high above everyone’s heads
I would sometimes stare down, or ignore all the clowns
In their sapien circus down there
Above on the branches, it would give me an edge
Over all that might harm me around
I would sometimes fly low, quickly come and then go
Look for something to eat on the ground
Till the cranes came and took it away
Men and cranes came and took it away
Yes I felt some regret, the day I came and set by
The tree that had lasted so long
Cause my father before, and his father ago
Had all perched there and practiced their song
Till the cranes came and took it away
Men and cranes came and took it away
I guess all things must die, but I’m wondering why
When the leaves were still green and gave shade
My only best bet, is that it was a threat
To the houses and progress they made
Till the cranes came and took it away
Men and cranes came and took it away
Till the cranes come and take it away
Men and cranes come and take it away
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4. |
Wondering
02:17
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Wondering
Jason Paul Johnston © 2008
I’ve been wondering - How do you get here
How do you find the way inside
Cause I was wandering outside the barb wire
And I was thinking the fence was too high
I was flipping Batman adventures
And came upon a tempting display
Some x-ray glasses – $9.97
Guaranteed to work right away
Ooo, I keep wondering about you
What I would give to see right through
So I’ll keep on squinting and staring at you
And pray that someday I’ll catch a glimpse
Then I will see you right when you let me
So I’ll keep looking - sure I don’t miss
Ooo, I keep wondering about you
What I would give to see right through You
What would I do without you
I keep wondering about you
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5. |
Edge of Town
03:41
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Edge of Town
Jason Paul Johnston © 2005
Chorus:
Something's going on at the edge of town
Something's going on out there
There's a parking lot where the people stop
And fill up their trunks with all the junk they can't afford while their money goes God knows where
Do they even know my name? Take my credit, I'll take shame
A campaign button with a smile. Politicking that I'll stay and shop a while.
Sew my shoes up for a dime.
You keep your workers but they’re barely kept alive
Cause you build my trinkets and my games.
I wonder if our lands will ever look the same
Bridge:
Will their blood stains stay on my hands this time
Are they dark enough yet – to get deep inside
Will it seep into my own veins and start
– to change what is in - my consuming – this dark consumer heart?
Will they cover over me?
Can they pull some discount sheets and let me sleep?
Low-low prices ease the pain
And clear my conscience so I please come back again
Something’s going on at the edge of town....
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6. |
Dark Year of the Soul
05:31
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Dark Year of the Soul
Jason Paul Johnston ©2006
It was the dark year of the soul,
And it was all that I could do to hold onto
The falling night upon me - every single day
All the friends that I once told, all of my secrets and my woes had been erased, to the shadows now without a single trace.
Chorus:
And all the goals that we had set
All the people we had met
And everything that we had build up to now was gone
All our bridges now are burned
With all our lessons left unlearned
As we sit here with the lights off and the curtains drawn
In the months that it progressed
I became just less and less, and lost some will and my fight
As it stole my light
I'd take a happy birthday now, if I could walk instead of crawl
Across that line on - the calendar, and wish this year goodbye
Bridge:
This year –how are you this year?
When the sun's behind the clouds and yet the shadows are so clear...
This year – how are you this year?
Are you holding on to what you know or letting go my dear?
If there's a light there at the end,
I just wish someone would send a better map
Cause we are quite lost and just might wander off...
From the faith that we have known – at least the sunny side that we were shown – cause it's here in the dark year, that we find ourselves alone
Chorus
God if you are here - in our dark year - won't you come and light our way home....
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7. |
Full Mast
02:32
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Full Mast
© 2005 Jason Paul Johnston
And you fly your flag at full mast all the time
I wonder how my half-massed speed doesn't get you down
Your smile it ‘luminates the greyed out crowd
My crowed face it seems to drag us on the ground
Chorus:
I know the answer
It's so complicated
I have to keep thinking – on it
I've got it figured
Right down to a little
Small decimal number – in my head
But your steps, it's like they walk above the lines
And your stride is like no other one that I can find
You waltz your way through silent music days
And dance to rhythms that are deeply tucked away
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8. |
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Ghost
© 2007 Jason Paul Johnston
There's a ghost in here but I don't know where
It's been swirling round my head for years
It goes away, then reappear
But it keeps on whispering in my ear
Yes it goes away and then drifts back in
And then it leaves one day and comes back again
I can see it now from the corner of my eye
But when I turn my head it floats to the sky
I have never heard this spirit speak
Well, maybe once but the voice was weak
I thought at first it was a warning sound
But it was just saying “stay on the ground.”
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9. |
Where Are You Now?
04:30
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Where Are You Now
Jason Paul Johnston © 2007, 2011
Verse 1:
You were there when I took my first breath
You'll be there when I'm laid to rest
Before my life, after my death
You are there, you are there, you are there
Chorus:
So Where are you now?
When I needed you most?
As I'm covered in dust
And left haunted by Ghost
When I'm crying for help
I would like to believe
That you would come close
So why did you leave?
Verse 2:
You were there fanning me to stage
Held my hand as you led me age by age
Clapped at every entrance, smiled at every line
You were there, you were there, you were there.
Bridge:
Why did you leave? Where did you go?
Was the show of affection, just that: a show?
Were you giving me time, some time to grow.
Oh why did you say so, ‘cause I didn’t know...
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10. |
Give To You
03:25
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Give To You
Jason Paul Johnston © 2006
Don't have diamonds to give you, girl
Don't have the cash flow to buy you pearls
Don't have a career, or a corner office
And I probably never will, I must confess
Chorus:
But what I have I give you
It's only myself, I hope that will do
What I have I give you
If that is enough, I think we'll make it through...
Retirement's a long way off
What good is saving what you don't got
Maybe we're spending more than we own
Seems I never pay up to what I owe
Let's sit together, just let it all pass
Don’t fret the future, not dwell on the past
We've got today – and here we are
Kick back in the grass and stare at the stars
Bridge:
There's a quiet voice, whispering in the wind
It may be my own, but it sounds like a friend
Or maybe a father, watching for his kids
Or maybe the son, who gave all that he had....
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Jason Paul Johnston Lexington, Kentucky
Jason is the son of a preacher from the Great White North (Canada) and a music teacher from Tennessee, giving his muse northern and southern winds. Jason released his first album "Willows Motel" in 2009. It was an americana inspired album of eleven originals and one old gospel tune. Jason is now working on a series of follow-up albums: 100 Stories Volumes 1-10 ... more
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