One Is the Magic Hour
Four fathoms beneath the surface
Four years behind in school
Three strikes before you know
The loneliest things come in twos
Went through eight hours of astral travel
Through eight million miles to find
The one point of structural weakness
In the grand design
All together now
And we’re all in pieces now
We’re all inside our shell
And we’ll all be breaking out again
I’ve got two eyes to let me know
The four sides to every story
And one… it’s the magic hour
When all these wishes come true
Mercy
-by Tim McNeely
The day that they brought her home was the happiest,
The happiest they’d ever known
And all the while she shuddered
For the world was in her
Man, wife and a little house, and now a daughter,
A child they could make their own
And all the while she shuddered,
For the world was in her
They said let’s call her Mercy,
Our hopes and dreams have always been the same
They said let’s call her Mercy
So Mercy was her name
They bought her all the perfect things
Unlocked the doors and sent her out to play
But one wrong look from Mercy,
And the other kids stayed away
Parents cried “something’s wrong, something’s wrong”,
Our little girl shouldn’t grow up to be so strong
Something’s wrong with Mercy
I don’t want to be here but I am,
Because you asked me to
I can’t take the pain of life but I will,
Because you asked me to
I’d be gone if it wasn’t for you
When they put her in the ground it read Mercy,
And Mercy was her name
And all the while she laid still
Backyard to the Stars
Born in the breath of a storm
Running hard from the backyard to the stars
With calm in her eye, but hell on both sides
Tear me from my roots, and cradle me in tender arms
Will she think of me, when she’s out at sea
Boarding up my windows and waiting
Mother Nature’s child, spinning around on the inside
She’ll thrash you to pieces, and wash you with warm tears of rain
What can I do
When skies of blue turn to grey
And thunder is the only sound
That makes her feel safe
Paint the sky with colors of a black eye
Shatter the ground, leave behind only flowers
Will she think of me, when she’s out at sea
Boarding up my windows and waiting
I’m waiting…
Waiting for the heart of summer
When southern skies will turn their eyes to me
Waiting for the breath of her first wind
She whispers with thunder, and flashes her name across the sky for me
Circle of Gold
I’m gonna sell all of my things and buy a cheap ring
Worth more than anything we’ve ever seen before
Second finger from your left, that’s where it fits best
And time will tell if this circle of gold will hold
There are things in this life that can’t have a name
But you and I can see them just the same
This love is lighter than air but it hits like a hammer
I’m gonna work until I drop, and build us a little house
With sweat and blood built right in that walls
Fill the well up with good times, dig a little deeper
Every year ‘til we come out the other side
With this rising cost of living low
We’ll take each day and we’ll take it slow
With the circle of gold on one hand and nothing in the other
I promise I will let myself love you this time
I will let myself love you this time, and in time
You will let yourself love me so fine
I will let myself love you ‘til the end of our time
Deep inside this circle of gold
There are promises and stories untold
But for now… hold on to me now, hold on to me now
I’m here right now
But I’m gonna wait until next spring to pop my question
When love is rising right up from the ground
Then I’ll take you in my arms and kiss you hard
Because ‘yes I will’ will be the only sound that I heard
When the Autumn leaves roll into our view
I will say those words and know that they are true
With the circle of gold to hold everything in
I can say ‘I do’
An Angel’s Gold
Once in a lifetime you will find peace and happiness
For a moment then it’s gone, like the last hours of the sun
The taste of a peach, the smell of a rose, they’re soft on your fingertips
Hold on tightly as they slip through, like all good things do
In your dreams you can have everything, but not what you want
Deep in those nights we hide our faces, in lonesome places
Stronger than steel but thin as a shadow
Our will to live, and our love not forgotten, stand waiting to fall
Once in a lifetime you take a chance, and it burns you into ash
As the master plan dissolves into a flash of light
Once in a while it turns around, like the weather vane in a thunder cloud
And you know that an angel’s saving up her gold
To get you a chance to do all the things
There’s only once in a lifetime to do
Once in a lifetime there will be one who shares all your secrets
Without sharing a word, nothing between you
Once in a lifetime you will know the sorrow,
As it soaks through your skin and hollows you out
Leaves you a shadow with a doubt
