Up and Out

Walking on sunshine 

It’s a beautiful day 

It’s raining but that’s the best kind anyway

What’s that playing

My favorite song 

Girl on the street says hey let’s sing along

Who’s that in front of me

It’s an old friend 

I met yesterday saying hello again

Hold them close just a moment 

Cause all we have are moments 

And we don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring

What I gonna do with all this love 

Can’t keep it all inside it’s burning up

Go and look outside and find the one

Who needs some of their own

What I gonna do when the song’s been sung 

Let it echo out now loud and long 

When it fades away it’s reached someone 

Who needed your voice  

Send it up and out 

Make faces at a baby 

Pet a friendly dog 

Listen to a story told by someone who lived it long ago

Hug a friend who’s crying 

Help someone in need 

You’ve been given so so much and it’s time to let it go 

Love is not a mirror 

Reflecting back at you 

Love is like a window 

Go on and send it through 

(Send it up and out)

Can’t hold it back can’t hold it down

Send it out and change this world now 

Send it up and out ...  

What’s left when the fire is out is what you get to keep

Go ahead
Pour your heart out on my floor
But leave some room for me
You’re right, again
I’ve been here before
And I’m still here
And I’ll be

Everything you are
Is all you’ve always been
Never apologize for who you are, my friend
Everything I am
I’m sorry, I’m sorry,
I never wanted you to understand

Go along
With it all and play the role
Quintessential Mrs. Cold
Calm on the surface
Inside the raging sea
No one can know
Don’t let them see

Everything we are
Is all we’ve always been
And our stories and our story will remain
I add to who I am
Some of who you are
I never thought it would end this way

Go away
Give it time to settle down
And we can lose these things we’ve found

Everything we are
Is all we’ve always been
And our stories and our story will remain
I add to who I am
Some of who you are
I never thought it would end this way

The fire that burns inside
It lasts for just a while
And we only get to keep what makes it through
Everything you are
Is who you were before
Take the memory of me with you

Of Oceans

When I was sixteen

Maybe my life would have changed

If the sound hit my ears it would take me

Across the ocean, to follow

And I couldn’t stop me

I’ve always been one of the good girls

Afraid of breaking the rules

What roads would your song lead to?

But when I heard your voice

I was old and wise

How I wish I could return

To my younger life

But I…

I’d have run away

I wouldn’t have known what to say

I’d never have found my place

And gone home, dreaming of oceans

When I was twenty-two

Life set in motion, future in view

When the sound hit my ears it just made me

Happy to sing with the tune

I wanted a safe life

I never thought that I would end up here

And time has carried on

Now I hear your words through new ears

When I heard your voice

I was old and wise

And I don’t want to return

To my younger life

I’d have run away

I wouldn’t have known what to say

I’d never have found my place

And gone home, dreaming of oceans

Maybe is maybe, it never was

What’s happened has happened, and it’s enough

Maybe I’d miss out on all this love

While I waited, dreaming of oceans

Homecoming

You've been away too long
And now you're coming home
What will you bring
More than your memories?

One suitcase for all you brought with you
And another for the gifts you'll give
To those you left behind
You were always on their mind

You'll bring a smile to their face
And the warmth of your embrace
A good night's sleep
And waking on a perfect weekend morning

Sun rises over the bay
It's just another typical day
But now that you're home
Don't roam!
Stay!

You've been away too long
And I've been feeling low
I've never been more
Ready for your homecoming

Savann

(My acapella of this is on soundcloud; the producer whose music inspired it did not come through. Anyone want to write better music?

https://soundcloud.com/andreamandal/savann-acapella )

In another time,
In another life I'd find...
In another way
To the other side of life...

But here I am, and there you stand, and oceans lie between
To see that sunrise with my own eyes I'd do anything
I don't know your name
But you'll come to take me away

I'm in the train, it's a long ride
Looking out as the world passes me by
What will I find on the other side?
Are you there holding my hand
Or am I alone?
I will stand on stones on the mountainside
Looking down on my new home
My new life

In another place,
To another foreign land
I'll escape, and maybe this time I can leave me behind
Start over new, be who I wanted to
And you're my ticket to ride
But I wasn't there, oh I was wrong
You couldn't give me what I needed, now you're gone
Everything I hoped for,
My castles on the mountainside are lost
Where are you now?
I don't know, I don't care
But now all I'm left with is me

I'm in the train, it's a long ride
Looking out as the world passes me by
What will I find on the other side?
Are you there holding my hand
Or am I alone?
I will stand on stones on the mountainside
Looking down on my new home
My new life

The Good Things Take Time

A field of green is all i see
The evening sun shines down on me
As we fly in to land
Again we end up just where we began
If dreams come true
Where is the one that was meant just for you?

It's allright, don't you know that the good things take time
Stay strong, fix your eyes
And your future will be so bright, so bright

I had a friend
One day his blue eyes felt the same
As your own eyes feel today
And he's the one who told me it's okay
Just hold on, keep fighting, stand strong
You'll make it, you'll take it
It might not be what you thought it would be
But it's allright

Don't you know that the good things take time
He was young but wise
And the words that he said stayed with me for a lifetime

https://soundcloud.com/andreamandal/the-good-things-take-time

What we don't

The first time I met you, you were six foot two or three
I remember you well... I remember
The next time I met you, you were not who you seemed to be
I remember that well... even better

Me, you, a bedroom bathed in blue
A promise left unsaid
Or only in my head
You said to me let's take it to the logical extreme
This place is full of people who are not like you and not like me
Let's see where this could lead?
...I said goodbye

Where would I be if I walked through that door?
Would it all be better than before?
We don't regret what we do, no
Only what we don't

You, me, now I can see all I can see
And it could never be
The life you live is not reality
How could I be taken for a fool?
But I remember how you do the thing you do
...Maybe I just didn't think it through

Where would I be if I walked through that door?
Would it all be better than before?
We don't regret the things that we do, no
Only what we don't....

Counting On Me

If you had given me everything
I'd just walk away
If you could turn the world backwards just for a while so I could see your smile
I'd turn my face
I didn't need the things you promised
Only what was deep inside of me
I didn't want the things you promised
Only the ones that I would choose to be

If you had said here is this golden cage and it's all yours
I would just fly away
If you had given me the life I've always wanted on a table
I'd pass it up day after day, after day
It doesn't mean a thing to me
It doesn't mean a thing

The only one that I can count on is me
If you want a job done right, then do it yourself
Just try it and see
The only one I'm counting on is me

Now if you'd like to come in for a minute
And have some tea and talk awhile
Please come in and have a seat
Tell me everything you're thinking
Let me know that beautiful mind
Let me know what's inside
And when we come to the place and the time
I'll walk you to the door and say goodbye

I want you in my life
If you'll let me live mine

The only one I'm counting on is me
If you want a job done right, then do it yourself
Just try it and see
The only one I'm counting on is me

Benny Lava

Your vision is perfect
Mine has been corrected
But the end result is the same
Or so they say
One day you'll see like I do
The rings and flashes on the streetlights
At night, passing by
And you'll know why I can't sleep
Until the world's gone hazy

But you'll never understand the world I see
I'll never understand the one you're part of
Here between our hands we meet - one moment -
Are you thinking what I'm thinking
Likely the answer is no

I come from an island
You from the wide open plains
But you understand the things I say
In your own way
One day you'll have to ride off
Into the sunset, and I'll go back to my books
You'll have your memories
I'll have mine, and I'll never be the same
Because they'll never be the same

You know, we could try
Live in sync, bridge the gap,
Match your mind to mine
But these words don't make sense
My loony bun is fine
We're running out of time

You'll never understand the world I see
I'll never understand the one you're part of
Here between our hands we meet - one moment -
Are you thinking what I'm thinking
Likely the answer is no

Post Party Girl

I'm not adjusting to this silence well
The music's off but I'm still on
The lights are up, the night is over
But I'm not ready To go home yet

They say there's time for magic
And there's a time to let it go
But there's a few moments left to live
Just turn the music on

{Let the stars align one more time
Take me dancing till the sun rise
It's all right
We'll ride this wave till it's over } - 2
In another life

It's only midnight now so turn the wheel
Let the music flow as time goes backward
Help me remember how it used to feel
The memory of an hour ago

The room was full of light then
The mood was so exciting
If the world had ended, I wouldn't care
You were there beside me
And everything around me
Disappeared

Hero for the Day

Written as an assignment for my Coursera songwriting course. You can hear it here: https://soundcloud.com/andreamandal/herofortheday-full-fade
Loop was provided with course materials. 

It's a rainy summer evening
And circumstance has brought us here
A forgotten tune is playing
You're keeping time
And the song, it fills my ears

The meaning's coming clearer
As you're slowly drawing nearer
You never thought we'd be here
But I know that you'll deliver

Can you be a hero for the day?
Can you feel the flood rush in your veins
Can't you feel it baby?
That you're driving me crazy?
You tripped into my arms
And you fell into my heart
This can't be real

You're the storm and you're the shelter
We're drenched and drowning in the rain
Thunder crash -- you hold me closer
Your body next to mine
And I lose myself again

You stumbled into me, then
We both fell in the deep end
Your eyes said stay with  me, and
Mine said "only for the weekend"

Can you be a hero for the day?
Can you feel the flood rush in your veins
Can't you feel it baby?
That you're driving me crazy?
You tripped into my arms
And you fell into my heart
This can't be real

When the storm has passed  (You're the storm and the shelter)
We'll go our separate ways (You're everything you need to be just when you need to be that)
The good things never last (The good things they take time but never ever last)
And what would they say, anyway ... ?

Can you be a hero -- just for today --
Feel the flood rush in your veins
Can't you feel it baby?
That you're driving me crazy?
You tripped into my arms
And you fell into my heart
This can't be ... 

55

I remember flooded streets
And the sky was dark with rain
I remember all your words
And the music of your name
But if we met again I wouldn't recognize your face
Only the blueprint of your eyes remains

Fifty-five minutes our paths were crossing
You and I found something in common
A hometown, and a smile, and a knowing gaze
But it wasn't the time or the place
Fifty-five days I've all but forgotten
But inside my mind there's a carved out portion that is saved for a piece in a fifty-five minute shape

I hope that all is well
In the months that intervened
That your life is full of love
And you have all that you need
If I returned today
I hope you would not be there
That you're out chasing your dream
Or just the next step on the stair

Fifty-five minutes our paths were crossing
You and I found something in common
A hometown, and a smile, and a knowing gaze
But it wasn't the time or the place
Fifty-five days I've all but forgotten
But inside my mind there's a carved out portion that is saved for a piece in a fifty-five minute shape

It won't ever fall in place
And that's okay
I've gone away
Gone away

Fifty-five minutes our paths were crossing
You and I found something in common
Was it a hometown, or a smile, or a knowing gaze
In fifty-five days I've all but forgotten
But inside my mind there's a carved out portion that is saved for a piece in a fifty-five minute shape

Gold sandaled feet

She wore yellow slippers that matched her mind
A spring in her step on that bright spring morning
She wore them too on that fateful day
When the storm came in without warning
But the sun is all that I can see
I only understand what comes to me

They say you have to walk a mile
But your shoes don't fit me, not that style
Hey you, come over, let's be friends
We'll walk in the storm together and tie up all the loose ends

She wore leather loafers - you know the kind
That tread the less-worn trails
Slide on and off in airports
Secure when adjusting the sails
How can you ever move slow
When there's so many places left to go?

They say you have to walk a mile
But your shoes don't fit me, not that style
Hey you, come over, let's be friends
We'll walk the world together and tie up all the loose ends

She wore Louboutins, perhaps in dreams
And Pay-Less in the waking
She doesn't care what they might say
The world's hers for the taking
Don't wait for the moment when everything's right
This life is a ride, sit back and hold on tight

They say you have to walk a mile
But your shoes don't fit me, not that style
Hey you, come over, let's be friends
We'll ride this ride together and tie up all the loose ends

She wore lace-up sneakers, perhaps to dance
Just to get from point B to A
Life's short, she said, just take the chance
Our work is endless play
But I'm still trying to understand
And I'm afraid to take her hand

They say you have to walk a mile
But your shoes don't fit me, not that style
Hey you, come over, let's be friends
We'll dance in the street together and tie up all the loose ends

She wore gold sandals on dusty streets
That bear illustrious names
I wore them too, in better days
But therein ends the same
These memories are too sad for me to stay
I cannot understand; I'll walk away

And she says,

They say you have to walk a mile
But your shoes don't fit me, not that style
Hey you, come over, let's be friends
We'll walk new roads together and tie up all the loose ends

She wore golden slippers that matched to mine...

Thousand Times

You, standing over there, flyaway hair
Toss it back, the wind will catch it -- picture perfect --
As you've always been
Standing next to him
I've already had my chance
I wouldn't change the past

Too many lies, I've heard a thousand times
The words they bounce right off me
I'll let it be, I'll let you be
Let it go and let you go your way
(Hope it always goes your way)

You smile and say he's flawless
Inside his mind is lawless
His eyes they are the mirror
His soul you'll see it clearer
You will drown in them and then
You'll soon regret unless you're just like him

He says he speaks a different language (when he goes on)
But it's just equivocation (let the wind blow on)

Too many lies, I've heard a thousand times
The words they bounce right off me
I'll let it be, I'll let you be
Let it go and let you go your way
(I hope it always goes your way)

The best

Your star shone so brightly
On those nights, those hours,
Tuesday after Tuesday
I close my eyes tightly
Against the light that's faded
Though the clouds block the way

What if there was a clear sky
(A never ending bliss)
What if there was an open line
(I cannot access this)
What if I've given all my best
(And it is not enough)
What if I'd simply never left
(And interrupted love)

The sky, the line, the best, is mine
My city is a memory left behind
I'm here, and I will stay alive
If you don't leave my mind's eye

I'm lost in the desert
And the warmth of my rock
Is fading in the night
I thought it was heaven
But I shout in the void
And I wonder, who were you
And how did you shine so bright

No reason to keep thinking

(It never does me good)

Or question what I'm seeing

(As if I ever would)

I'm always left assuming

(That's where I fall behind)

That I am always losing

(There goes my peace of mind)

The sky, the line, the best, is mine
My city is a memory left behind
I'm here, and I will stay alive
If I believe my mind's eye

Middle Earth

down from valleys i have come to give you my regards
and true i found them frightening, wet, cold and dark
but through the darkness light shined out, a bright black blue
leading me beautifully out to you

the shortest way to destination is the straight line
i would rather wander outside of the plane, i've got time

up from mountains underwater i swam the miles
i met the mermaids, they bid me stay awhile
i feasted on the fruits of a sea i never knew existed
but now i'm here on cloud nine and i'm hungry again

why is all you offer cold hors d'oeuvres and champagne
when i've come from another world so far and away?

is it something within me that puts this ice here between
or is this city simply too high for me?

and you say that my journey was meaningless
most was dark and the rest filled with idleness
but in your eyes there's the ghost in the forest, the king of the sea
and i know that you were there the whole time with me

well perhaps in this mad world the hero's the fool
and perhaps under sadness is buried what's true

so we've wondered and wandered from point a to b
and we're here because there's just no other place we can be

but i swear the journey, it wasn't for naught
you find out where you are by figuring out where you're not

(Written many years ago. To someone else's music. I need to rework the melody but I love the lyrics.)

In the city of the future

In a dream I saw you there in the city of the future
You had a day to leave so I helped you gather up your things
We didn't know why but they said you had to go; we couldn't question
You didn't look back when you said goodbye to me

It's as it should be
Don't overthink it, no, you've got to move on
Time keeps passing and so just go your way
It is what it is, so what can we do
We've always gotta move to something new
So just go your way

And when it's my time will I follow your way without a question
Or will I hold on with all the strength I have in me
I won't know until I'm there, but I hope I'd be the strong one
To keep moving without breaking

I've fought destiny
And I've seen that it leaves nothing left of me
Just let go
When it's all out of control

It's as it should be
Don't overthink it, no, you've got to move on
Time keeps passing and so just go your way
It is what it is, so what can we do
We've always gotta move to something new
So just go your way

(This was based on a dream I had that I wrote here: http://dreamingatmidnight.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-city-of-future.html)

The wind has changed

Just wrote this tonight. Was thinking about the years when I sat in between decisions, not knowing where to go, what path to follow. I wish I'd had this song then.

The wind has changed
Is it a shift of consciousness
Is it a tender sweet caress
That blows on and leaves me here
The wind has changed
Will it take me away
Or will I remain the same
Or will I get swept away
The wind has changed

And if I don't go
Am I letting life pass me by?
Or do I hear its sweetest sweet reply
"Stand strong and fight"
But if I heed its call
I don't know where it leads
Could my best days be all behind me?
Which way is right?

The wind has changed
And so have I
I call to it
Don't get no reply
It's up to me
To decide who I will be

i had forgotten about this one

untitled as of yet.. but lyrics are finished. this song only needs one verse, and lots of music.

Under a night sky I walk alone
Searching for the only home I've ever known
The music's on the paper
The song waits for my voice
And as I sing I waver
I know that I have the choice
But the one thing that sets me free
Is the one thing entangling me

You want me to stay forever
Part of me wants to believe
So I sit here and sing in wonder
Till I leave....

the circle

We all return
To where we've been
But don't you know
A new day begins again
You'll return to the snows of your youth
I'll return to my longing for truth
But we find that the place is the same
From where we came, though it's today
And the circle begins again
A circle without an end
The circle begins again
On and on without end

Don't you know
That what we hide
Is what we hold
Closest to us inside
My old dream of moving away
Came true, but in a different way
Looking back, I can see that the pain
Brought me to where I am today

And the circle begins again...

We are the same but ever new
There is a thread that pulls us through
We are the same but ever new
What is this thread that pulls us through?

And the circle begins again...