The following lyrics were created for the Musical Stories which were published as our seventeenth collection in 2022 under the title of “Hold to the Heart.” Simply click on the images below to go directly to the original story, music and complete lyrics along with other related links.

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Course of a Day

In the course of a minute
Everything changes within it
What was given before
Just isn’t there anymore
Faded away, dust on the floor

In the blink of an eye, sometimes
Hopes are dashed or take flight
And we are left to make sense of it all
To stumble and fall
Or sweep it away, just dust on the floor

When viewed from far away
Everything looks just the same, it seems
Nothing really has changed
Details in the course of a day

Yet everything changed
Details in the course of a day
In the course of a day

Time flies, time heals
They say that time rushes by
Yet time stands still

Life crawls on, life flies by
They say that when your flame dims
Days flash before your eyes
Flash before your eyes

Knowing good from the bad
Sifting lies from the facts
What to hold to the heart
Or simply let go
Time sweeps away, dust on the floor

When viewed from far away
Everything looks just the same, it seems
Nothing really has changed
Details in the course of a day

“Course of a Day” captures the delicate paradox of time, contrasting the suddenness of life-altering moments with the distant perspective of the broader world. Through imagery of fleeting moments reducing big hopes to “dust on the floor,” the song explores how a single day can feel monumental and disorienting to the individual, even while appearing entirely unchanged from afar. By playing with the contradictory nature of time—how it simultaneously crawls, flies, and heals—the narrative highlights the continuous human task of sifting through sudden changes to find meaning before the details fade away. But most importantly, we must always know what matters most, holding it tightly to the heart.

 

The Pusher

Bound and determined, you begin coaxing
Brash and headstrong, you say you know best
Bold and self-confident, there’s only one answer
You push and push and push and push and push till I fall, for your lies

Without rhyme or reason, you chase a hero quite imaginary
Feels a bit like I’m losing ground, while holding on to you

What are you doing, what are you saying to me
Tell me the truth for once, or maybe just don’t lie to me

I need to get my bearings, resist this downward spin
On and on in endless free-fall

Coarse and conniving, you resume coaxing
Scheming and selfish, sure you know best
Rash and reckless, you have all the answers
You push and push and push and push and push til I fall, for your lies

Something close to treason, you fly a flag that’s quite imaginary
Feels a bit like I’m losing ground, while holding on to you
You push and push and push til I fall, holding on to you
While holding on to you
I’m on to you

“The Pusher” is a tense, confrontational exploration of psychological manipulation and the struggle to reclaim personal autonomy from a toxic, overbearing dynamic. Capturing the disorienting “free-fall” of being relentlessly coaxed and misled by someone driven by selfish delusions, the text depicts the painful friction between holding on to a destructive relationship and losing one’s own footing. Ultimately, the narrative shifts from passive surrender to sharp awakening, culminating in the decisive realization that the deception has been unmasked.

 

Follow the Leader

Everybody loves a good show
Everybody likes to sing and dance along—Have a good time
With a song planted in your head
Mechanically, every word re-said—It goes on
When the show’s done

Everybody wants to be dazzled
Everybody loves a sleight of hand—Believe it was real
Inside your head you re-run the act
Again and again, you play it back—It goes on
When the show’s done

What began as a tune that you wanted to hum
Soon bugs you so much that your brain starts to numb

Attracted by the words and ways
Drawn into the spectacle of the showman
Willing shill or passive prop
Designed to charm and captivate
Could it be he’s nothing more than a show off
For the cheerful chump, delighted dupe

Everybody loves to be distracted
Briefly lose ourselves in fantasy—Leave the real world
With an alternate reality
We’re no longer who we used to be
The drama goes on, but we’re gone
Why worry ’bout the day-to-day
All we have to do is make a trade
A leap from faith
Then hope for some grace
Believe, but then you can’t leave

Just grieve

“Follow the Leader” is a sharp, critical exploration of spectacle, mass persuasion, and the deceptive ease with which people trade critical thinking for comfortable illusions. Capturing how simple entertainment can sour into mechanical repetition, the text exposes the charismatic “showman” who charms an audience into becoming passive props in an alternate reality. By trading genuine faith for escapist distraction, the crowd finds themselves trapped in a constructed fantasy where entering is effortless and playful, but escaping leaves only quiet grief and resignation.

 

Feathers and String

There’s a mystery in the way she smiles
Hides a secret that she knows
Making good on all the promises kept
So silent and still, pleased with herself

There’s a twinkle in her distant eye
Hints at something deep within
Where she houses such a fortress secure
So no one comes in, the secret is hers

Wrapped up in gauze
Feathers and string
The secret is hers
Locked up, tucked safely away

Someone weaker might struggle, give way to temptation
Even finally swayed to reveal
Such a deeply held secret
To be the first one to tell
Just to tell

Such a deeply held secret
That no one can tell
She’ll never tell

There’s a knowing in the way she smiles
Ever present, always new
There’s no reason for a doubt or concern
The keeper of light, the secret is hers

Held in a web
Made of feathers and string
The secret is hers
Woven and rewoven again

She’s a mystery we may never know

“Feathers and String” is a delicate, evocative portrait of quiet inner strength and self-possession, centering on a woman who guards a deeply held, empowering secret. Shielded by an intricate, talisman-like web of “feathers and string,” this hidden truth serves as a source of serene radiance rather than a burden. Contrasting her unwavering discipline against the human temptation to seek validation through revelation, the text celebrates the sacred power of keeping the secret and one’s own confident counsel—the enduring mystery of a fully self-contained mind.

 

Bursting Fourth

Sun warms the air
Days grow just a little bit longer
Springtime is here
The time is right for breaking ground
Bursting forth
An unfolding blossom to behold

Boo-py bop, Ba ba ba
Boo-py bop ba-dum

She was born smack dab in the middle of May
Burst forth in the usual way
She was all covered in giggles and grins
Ready and bound to delight
Yes, She was

She was then and still is one of a kind
All that everyone dreamed
Oh, Yes, she is

Boo-py bop, Ba ba ba
Boo-py bop ba-dum

Year after year
Just as the days grow longer
We celebrate
Once again breaking ground
Bursting forth

Free spirit dancing in the sun, spinning
Sharing her joy with everyone
Another year has just begun

“Bursting Forth” is an upbeat, joyful celebration of life, rebirth, and the simple happiness of annual milestones. Aligning the arrival of springtime with a mid-May birthday, the lyrics use vibrant flower metaphors to portray a unique, free-spirited individual who brings infectious delight to those around her. Blending playful scatting with themes of seasonal renewal, the song presents aging not as a burden, but as a recurring, sunlit opportunity to honor growth and shared joy.

 

Brood

Wondering just what it takes to be
Is it longing or need
When will I ever have enough
To believe finally I’m loved
Can I know the truth
Or would I rather brood

If I really had my way
Would Life seem mundane
Or would I feel vaguely lost
Betrayed by not being crossed
Can I know the truth
Or would I rather brood

Can I know the truth
Or would I rather brood

I imagine days so easy
Doing only what pleases me
Taking all the time I need
I’d be happy if they’d just let me be
Why can’t I take the time I need

I’d be happy, why can’t they see
I’ll be happy when I get what I need

Left on my own I could see all there is to see
I’d get answers if Life would just stop tapping on me
Stop jabbing at me
I’d be better if Life could somehow just let me be me
You’d think that Life could let me be
Just let me be

Reflecting on my life so far
I am more than dares or scars
Now I see clearly that I am enough
To feel finally, truly I’m loved
Now I know the truth
I don’t need more proof
When you see the truth
You know that there’s no need to brood
No more need to brood
No need to brood

“Brood” traces an intimate journey from self-doubt and victimhood to self-acceptance and emotional liberation. After wrestling with feelings of inadequacy and placing the blame for discomfort on life’s constant demands, the narrator confronts a key realization: brooding serves as a safe shield against the deeper work of self-recognition. By shifting perspective to honor past struggles and recognize intrinsic self-worth—declaring “I am enough”—the reliance on external validation disappears, dissolving the habit of brooding and ushering in lasting inner peace.

 

Where Forever Waits

There is a path we take, trying to find our way
There is a life that we make step by step, day by day
Taking us to where forever waits
Where it feels so much like home

There is a bridge we must cross, without waver or pause
Spanning a river below, where each and every day flows
Taking them to where forever waits
Where they gently come to rest

From all the tears and solemn goodbyes
Spirits soar up, to unimagined heights
Floating above, floating on love
Bittersweet leaving and arriving

Floating above, floating on love
No more waiting to find forever
Forever

There is a hope we hold, somewhere we never grow old
There is a dream that we share, surely someday we’ll gather there
In that special place where forever waits
When we all will be at home

In the end we’ll all be home
At long last, our journey done
Home

“Where Forever Waits” is a poignant, comforting reflection on mortality, framing life as a gradual journey toward an ultimate spiritual homecoming. Utilizing evocative imagery of crossing a river of time and transcending the pain of earthly farewells, the text balances the bittersweet nature of loss with the serene promise of soul liberation. Ultimately, it offers profound consolation by painting the afterlife not as a mysterious void, but as a timeless sanctuary of rest, hope, and a universal reunion of consciousness..

 

Zippity Zoom

1-2-3-4-5
Pulled out my suitcase
Opened it up with a zippity-zip
Looked all around the room to see
What I should take on this trip

So much to choose from,
I see so many things that I’ve done
It was so much fun to be 4 this past year
Now I’m moving on
Moving on to more

Piled in a stack of books
Mostly the ones that I have read
Favorite stuffies jumped in
Still warm from being in bed

Folded my yellow belt, tucked it
Safely next to my gloves
I can hardly wait to be 5 years old
Bringing everything that I love
Moving on from four

Dancing around my room
While I dream of what’s in store for me
Singing a favorite tune: bop, bop, bop
And the stuffies hum along
We’re moving on

1-2-3-4-5
Singing a favorite tune: bop, bop, bop
And the stuffies hum along
We’re moving on

Tossed in my bathing suit
Wondering where I’ll take a swim
Remembered my mask and cape
Just in case sneaky bad guys get in

My jar of Brain Flakes took up
The very last available room
Now I’ve packed my suitcase
I’m ready to zoom

I zipped up my suitcase
Zippity zoom
Moving at Super Cat Speed
I’m Ready to Zoom

“Zippity Zoom” is a playful, high-energy milestone celebration that uses the whimsical metaphor of packing a suitcase to mark a child’s transition from four to five years old. By gathering cherished books, stuffed animals, a martial arts belt, and superhero gear, the text captures a joyful inventory of past growth and favorite memories. Radiating with youthful excitement, rhythmic chants, and imaginative superhero energy, it frames aging as an eager, confident leap into the adventure of turning five.

 

Tiny Feathers

Floating weightlessly behind my eyelids
Drifting ever-slowly toward my beating heart
Tiny feathers of a fleeting thought

Slipping calmly into rhythmic breathing
Matching beat for beat with my sacred heart
Floating weightlessly behind my eyelids

Drifting ever-slowly toward my beating heart
Tiny feathers, soft hints
What my Soul dares to dream

“Tiny Feathers, Soft Hints” captures a serene, meditative state of deep internal attunement and spiritual receptivity. By shifting focus from the conscious mind (“behind my eyelids”) to the bodily rhythms of breath and pulse (“my sacred heart”), the lyrics frame inspiration as a gentle, delicate process. The “tiny feathers” represent subtle intuitive whispers from the subconscious, suggesting that the soul’s highest dreams and truest desires reveal themselves not through forceful effort, but when we cultivate the stillness required to quietly receive them.

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