LYRICS


LYRICS for the CD “LONG TIME COMING   (* in album order)
All songs written by Jeff Kloetzel © Blue Distance Music LLC.
(except “Come Back To Me” written by Bud Cerio © administered by Blue Distance Music LLC)

* CAROLINA
I’ve been turning over rocks and leaves, and looking up in trees
searching on the internet, and climbing balconies
reading papers late at night, and sifting through debris
but I’ve only found a clue or two, to where you just might be…
    carolina…   I gotta find ya
    caro-lina…   I can’t find ya…  (repeat)

you left your scent upon the air, and it’s driving me insane
you’re deep inside my DNA, and I just can’t break this chain
I thought I had you just this year, but you fled from my domain
and now I’m on this hunt again, so that I can attain…
    carolina…   I gotta find ya
    caro-lina…   I can’t find ya…  (repeat)

everything was sharper, when I stood by your side
so much joy just fades away, when you disappear and hide
now I’m not big on searching, for too much on my path
but you are worth the trouble, and I can do the math…
    carolina…   I gotta find ya
    caro-lina…   I can’t find ya…  (repeat)


* SAN DIEGO
postmark on the letter said “California”…
San Diego, 9-2-1 it read…
she says she’s doing fine, and loving all the sunshine
and to her the past is just hanging by a thread
well I’m tired of living this big city life…
back here… where the clouds, they hang so low
I wanna see a slice of sky, every day with my own eyes
wanna find a piece of California gold
 so you know I’m heading out to San Diego
 to find my slice of California sky
 to be with my sweet baby, in the sunshine going crazy
 but I’m gonna drive ‘cuz I can’t stand to fly

you know I saw it in some coffee table book
with the ocean, and the hills a distant blue…
and I won’t be coming back, gonna get myself on track
gonna make a new beginning, I’m overdue…
 so you know I’m heading out to San Diego
 to find my slice of California sky
 to be with my sweet baby, in the sunshine going crazy
 but I’m gonna drive ‘cuz I can’t stand to fly

 I’ll be livin’ and lovin’, not pushin’ and shovin’
 sleepin’ and dreamin’, not whinin’ and schemin’…
 laughin’ and drinking, not sittin’ and thinking…
 whoa c’mon, let’s all go, on out to, San Diego

 so you know I’m heading out to San Diego
 to find my slice of California sky
 to be with my sweet baby, in the sunshine going crazy
 but I’m gonna drive ‘cuz I can’t stand to fly
 oh now I’m gona drive ‘cuz I can’t stand to fly
     I said I’m gonna drive ‘cuz I can’t get that high…

postmark on the letter said “California”…


* COME BACK TO ME
baby…  haven’t see you in so long
months are rolling into years
and the feeling still ain’t gone…
     I’ve been hoping…
     you come back to me…
     I’ve been hoping that you come back to me

baby… do you ever think of me at all?
I’ve been stuck inside of this winter
since our last fall…
     I’ve been hoping…
     you come back to me…
     I’ve been hoping that you come back to me


baby…  haven’t touched you in so long
months are rolling into years
and the feeling still ain’t gone
     I’ve been hoping…
     you come back to me…
     I’ve been hoping that you come back to me

     come back to me…   come back to me… Ohh…
      come back to me…


* HONEY BEE
mercury is moving up, I can smell those buttercups
so much buzzing everywhere, so much pollen in the air
all over my hands and toes, nectar is where nectar goes
bring it all back to the hive, work it with your honey-jive…
  come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey bee
  oh-oh baby, you just gotta be - gotta be my honey bee
  we’ll make our own colony, buzzin’ round in harmony
  come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey, honey bee

you got the buzz, you got the shake, I got the need, I got the ache
I know I gotta watch your sting, but you still make me wanna cling
tasty sugar golden brew, you know I got it bad for you
I need you to fly me home, right back to that honey honey-comb…
  come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey bee
  oh-oh baby, you just gotta be - gotta be my honey bee
  we’ll make our own colony, buzzin’ round in harmony
  come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey, honey bee

I’m not just another drone & you’re not just a queen
I can’t leave you all alone, let’s you and I … convene…

come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey bee
oh-oh baby, you just gotta be - gotta be my honey bee
we’ll make our own colony, buzzin’ round in harmony
come on baby, you got to be - gotta be my honey, honey bee
            lemme share your energy…
            c’mon, baby you gotta be            
            gotta be my honey, honey bee…


* FLY ON
sitting in the airport, man-slaughtering time
looking for a couple words that wanted to rhyme
over in the corner, at Gate 81
now I’m working on something that never seems “done”
making my way back over the miles - I’ll be there to see you smile…
   you got to fly, fly on… ohhh, fly on
   you got to get me on up in the air, put me back on the ground

don’t you know, baby, the line’s getting long
all of these people, who wanna be gone
but now we’re stuck here with the time getting tight
and our final arrival slips into the night
making my way back over the miles - I’ll be there to see you smile…
   you got to fly, fly on… ohhh, fly on
   you got to get me on up in the air, put me back on the ground  (repeat)

captain, take this bird in the air
through the turbulence, wing and a prayer
keep burning up all of the miles
I’ll be there to see you – SMILE….
   you got to fly, fly on… ohhh, fly on
   you got to get me on up in the air, put me back on the ground  (repeat)


* CAN’T LET IT END THIS WAY
you and I, baby, we’ve been...working this so long
and it’s driving us crazy, that we keep getting it so wrong
we know what binds us, is emotion undeniably strong
so we can’t let it go, gotta change the status quo
‘cuz you know you and I, we belong…

we can’t let it end this way
we can’t let it end this way
I’m begging you baby, please…don’t run away
no we can’t let it end this way…

it ain’t gonna be easy, but we have the same dream inside
got a feeling that maybe, our mountain just ain’t too high
and we know we can make it, gotta compromise and swallow some pride
so let’s do what it takes, learn from all of our mistakes
and you and I together, we’ll ride…

we can’t let it end this way
we can’t let it end this way
I’m begging you baby, please…don’t run away
no we can’t let it end this way…

I am surely sorry for the hurt I’ve given you
and I wish I never felt all the pain you put me through  
but we can push it all aside, let our love just override
baby, come on back to me,  and I know you will see that….

we can’t let it end this way
we can’t let it end this way
I’m begging you baby, please…don’t run away
no we can’t let it end this way…

come on girl, we can find a way - Too many words still left to say
no we can’t let it end this way…
this ain’t no time to run away – C’mon drop your things & stay
no we can’t let it end this way…


* STOPPED LOOKING
stopped looking for your car in town,  the one that used to drag me around
old dent in the side of the door,  always a mess on the floor
blue-grey, with brand new plates,  only thing that changed was the state
just the same as you always were,  you don’t change it won’t occur

I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
... now i’m free... 

stopped looking at your picture today,  frame was cracked, anyway…
left a spot there on the desk,  put up something more picturesque
now my brother & I stand on skis,  in the place where you asked me please
to put the photo you brought as a gift,  I made a place so the damned thing fit

I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
... now i’m free... 

stopped thinking ‘bout your skin on mine,  the way you arched, so feline
you played me like an old guitar,  I was the instrument you were the star
but strings need changing and off you went,  continue on with your descent
another street, off from Main,  rattle someone else’s chain

I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
I don’t care, I don’t see, I don’t feel what you did to me
                  no more misery.....  I don’t care...
                  ...  I don’t, whoa-whoa-whoa,
… I don’t see... what you did to me
...  now i’m free... oh-oh-oh, I’m free…

         stopped looking for your car in town…


* NUMBER ON ME
she did a number on me when she set me free
I’m just a number to her, in her diary
left me alone in my agony…
she did a number on me, when she set me free

well, once I was happy but now I’m way down
2 became one and I just wanna drown
3 times as lonely as I was before
my heart’s been cut out and that sure is sore
   5 times an hour, I think about her
   taking its toll, and my job is a blur
   dialing her number 6 times a day
   hear the same message, don’t know what to say…

she did a number on me when she set me free
I’m just a number to her, in her diary
left me alone in my agony…
she did a number on me, when she set me free

and at 7 tomorrow, I’ll be in my truck
down by the river feeling down on my luck
8 times tonite I’ll awake from my sleep
wond’ring which memories, I wanna keep
   9 times tomorrow my phone won’t ring
  but her voice in my ear now, could cure everything
  and after 10 times of hearing our song on the air
  I turn ‘em all off, in my depths of despair…

she did a number on me when she set me free
I’m just a number to her, in her diary
left me alone in my agony…
she did a number on me, when she set me free

    I’m just a number to her…   she did a number on me
    I’m just a number to her, in her diary…
    she did a number on me, when she set me free


* CLEAR MORNING LIGHT
I awoke late last night, from some kind of dream
everything was different, or, so it did seem
but you know how it is, cloudy from sleep
when it all feels so real, the hill is too steep

feel better now by the clear morning light
feel better now, with it all in sight
oh I know I’ll be alright
feel better now by the clear, morning light

she thinks her life would crumble, without him there
but the time he gave to her was like, playing solitaire
at night, awake in bed, she’ll toss and turn
but she knows when the morning comes, she will have learned
feel better now by the clear morning light
feel better now, with it all in sight
oh I know she’ll be alright
feel better now by the clear, morning light

I awoke again last night, talking in my sleep
holding conversations, instead of counting sheep
problems that I could not solve, eat at my soul
take hold of my dream existence, out of control
  feel better now by the clear morning light
feel better now, with it all in sight
oh I know I’ll be alright
feel better now by the clear, morning light
   (repeat)


* SUN I SEE
at times it just seems easy,  to get lost in the crowds
and the fog that wraps around us,  there among the clouds
it’s hard to see the trail,  without a guiding light
but you gave to me a beacon,  shining on so bright
oh the sun breaks free and it makes my day
when you smile at me in your special way
it’s the sun I see, when you smile at me

oh you’ve given me direction,  I found my even keel
completed what was lacking,  created something real
I thank you so for all these things,  my problems seem so small
the way that you can lift me up,  your smile does it all
oh the sun breaks free and it makes my day
when you smile at me in your special way
it’s the sun I see, when you smile at me

 the light that you provide me                                  
shines out far beyond
together we can make it
love our common bond….        

reflection of your spirit,  there upon your face
the sunshine that it brings me,  never commonplace
and I wonder how I ever,  made it quite this far
without the joy you bring to me,  shining like a star
oh the sun breaks free and it makes my day
when you smile at me in your special way
it’s the sun I see, when you smile at me

oh the sun breaks free and it makes my day
when you smile at me and the clouds just fade
it’s the sun I see, when you smile at me…
it’s the sun I see, shining down on me
it’s the sun I see, when you smile at me   (etc) 

* JOURNEY
well I walked into the mountains, tasting pine upon the wind
I knew if they would let me, I would lay my roots down in
but the wind to me did whisper, in his travels he had learned
 “you cannot fight your destiny, that is why you must return…”

so I walked beside the river, and she sang her lonely song
I cried, “please take me with you, no one here would know I’m gone…”
but the river, in her wisdom, told me, “Stay where you belong,
your trials still await you, that is why you must be strong…”

then I walked into the ocean, saw horizon all the while
and I dreamed if tides would take me, that is where I’d go in style
but the tides obey the moonshine, they refused to hear my plea
and their rolling motion told me I must make peace within me
                 
ooh-ooh - that is why we must return…
ooh-ooh - that is why we must be strong…
ohh-ohh - give me peace within this song…


* SINGING THE SUN DOWN
sitting at the water’s edge, sun sinking in the west
…I strum the strings and watch the scene
heading on its merry way, a fitting end to another day
how can beauty be so god-damn lonely…?
    singing the sun down, world keeps turning ‘round
    it doesn’t stop because I’m blue
    singing the sun down, everything comes around
    even though I am here without you - singing the sun down…

black clouds in a burning sky, no one here to testify
music seems to be the only way…
chords coming from somewhere, I offer up this sunset prayer
raising a voice in lonesome tones…
    singing the sun down, world keeps turning ‘round
    it doesn’t stop because I’m blue
    singing the sun down, everything comes around
    even though I am here without you -

darkness looms around the bend
twilight shadows here again
been the same since god knows when…

    singing the sun down, world keeps turning ‘round
    it doesn’t stop because I’m blue
    singing the sun down, everything comes around
    even though I am here without you -
    singing the sun down, everything comes around
    maybe I’m better off without you…
    singing the sun down…  singing the sun down…
           singing the sun down…