Gemini: Volume 1 of “The Age of Wonder”
All songs by Bob Nordquist ©2010 - all rights reserved.
Intro – We choose to go to the Moon
Space can be explored and mastered
Without feeding the fires of war
Without repeating the mistakes that man has made
In extending his writ around this globe of ours
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet.
It’s hazards are hostile to us all. It’s conquest deserves the best of all mankind
And it’s opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again.
But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal?
And they might well ask, Why climb the highest mountain?
Why 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?
Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon.
We choose to got to the moon in this decade and do the other things.
Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.
Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept,
One we are unwilling to postpone.
And one we intend to win.
— John F. Kennedy at Rice University September 12, 1962
We were born in the age of wonder
We grew up in a time of hope
We were raised
On the promise of the future
Now we’re here...
Hey World
You could watch the colors ‘round your head
You could sleep for hours in your bed
Or you could wake your mom up every time she gets to sleep
You could learn to crawl, you could learn to walk
You might like to laugh, you might like to talk
Or you might be mysterious, with the secrets that you keep
chorus
Hey world, I’d like to introduce to you
A boy who’s new upon the scene
Treat him nice and don’t be cruel
I know sometimes you can be so mean
He’s a special friend of mine
I know his mom, I know his dad
So let him know when he’s doin’ fine
And please excuse him when he’s bad
You could clean your room before you’re told
Or you could be a child before you’re old
You could learn to play guitar, I’ll teach you if you’d like
You could always make your mother proud
Or you could play your music much too loud
You could amaze your friends doing tricks upon your bike
chorus
You could take the car, you could stay out late
You could be afraid on your first date
You might find you babble, when you have nothing to say
You could solve the problems of the world
You could find yourself a special girl
You could go to places, we’d only dream about today
chorus
I don’t mean to pressure you
But, I was once just minutes old myself
And there are things that people do
That I’ve been forced, to leave upon the shelf
Hey world, I’d like to introduce to you
A boy who’s new upon the scene
A boy who we’re all living through
Another chance to realize our dreams
El Remate
The airport was socked in with smoke on the field
The runway appeared through the haze
The plane bounced and landed, I did as commanded
Was stamped and led into the maze
El Remate, Guatemala
There is history under your ground
With a brush and some care, there are clues to what’s there
But the answers may never be found
I lost all my Spanish to misuse and time
My tongue makes me sound like a fool
But the cab driver’s reaching, a mind that needs teaching
His taxi turns into my school
El Remate, Guatemala
There is history behind your eyes
I can see what you feel. I see wounds that won’t heal
Through the cracks in a brilliant disguise
The War God’s attention has turned to the East
As Latin America breathes
A warm breeze is blowing
As farmers are sowing
And harvesting fruit from the trees
A new generation is learning to live
With lessons retained from the past
They’re careful in trusting. They know greed is lusting
They’re afraid that their die has been cast
El Remate, Guatemala
Will ever remember your smile?
Is this peace just a lull?
Are your knives growing dull?
Or is peace in this world out of style?
El Remate, Guatemala
Will your grandchildren know how to smile?
Is this peace just a lull?
Are your knives growing dull?
Or is peace in this world out of style?
Party with the Servants
I was rich in 1930
I was filthy, I was dirty
I wasn't hit by no depression
I kept all of my possessions
chorus:
My life was like a movie set
With maids and butlers and no regrets
I wonder where those glory days went
When I partied with the servants
2 A.M. at the kitchen table
Amanda is asleep and stable
Josephine pours a cup of shine
The butler drinks the cooking wine
Chorus
I would always buy the booze
That everybody else would use
They would raise their glasses high
And toast my name up to the sky
As bosses went I wasn't bad
These people used to hate my dad
Still, they never spoke an unkind word
At least not that I ever heard
Chorus
When the war came I was unaffected
My money kept me well protected
But my friends who always were such fun
Were at either end of a smoking gun
For ninety years I walked this planet
Things don't go just how you plan it
I draw a blank on last December
But this is what I still remember
Chorus
To Make My Heart Behave
I can keep my lungs from breathing for a little while
I can pretend that I’m not freezing, in a cold September lake
I can take another step, with the blisters on my feet
But I just can’t seem to stop myself, from making this mistake
Though I know it’s self-destructive, I’m pursuing what I crave
Because I still have never learned
To make my heart behave
I thought some friend or angel, must have sent you here
I proceeded with the confidence, of a man who’s on a trail
You must have known where I was heading, you’ve been down this path before
You could have pointed out the places, where you’ve seen the others fail
And I know somehow I missed it, the warning that you gave
Because I still have never learned
To make my heart behave
The look that you just gave me, could melt a frozen heart
You showed me you were moved, nothing’s ever felt so sweet
But like a setting sun it passed, and the chill of night returned
And it’s the constant thaw and freeze, that leaves the potholes on my street
If actions were accompanied, by their true intent
Would we all be sad magicians, with our bags of tricks revealed
And if I knew what you were thinking, when I looked into your eyes
Would a passing thought mislead me, when it should have stayed concealed
And my mind can hold the treasures that I thought that I could save
But I still have never learned
To make my heart behave
I’ve watched you pull away, just like a plane backs from the gate
And I’m searching for the window, that might still contain your face
But it taxis down the runway, then the wheels lift from the ground
And I find myself with strangers, in this busy, lonely place
My car’s stuck in the driveway, cos the locks are froze
And I’m running in my dreams, while I’m lying in my bed
My actions were all proper, they’ve been analyzed to death
But they revealed a hazy shadow, of what remained inside my head
And I tried to give you space, but it just felt like a cave
Because I still have never learned
To make my heart behave
Please Don’t Put my Brain in a Jar
I asked of them one final favor
Of course no others were granted so far
I'm the last living Native Tasmanian
Please don't put my brain in a jar
I was born a free woman and happy
Now there's white people studying me
When I die finally grant me my freedom
Dump my poor shriveled body at sea
After thousands of years of tradition
Surviving through flood and through drought
Our world was defined as this island
Now strangers were pushing us out
They preached to us civilization
But we saw there was nothing to gain
So they offered us extermination
Starvation and sickness and pain
We were doing just fine with our tools made of stone
Our water bag bladders and needles from bone
I picked up their language, their stories and skills
But I never could grasp their desire to kill
Soon there were two of us living
If living is waiting to die
Though I knew almost nothing about him
I still sang his soul to the sky
Then I ripped the strange clothes from my body
And kicked the strange shoes from my feet
In my mind I went back to the ocean
And died there refusing to eat
Now I'm weightless and floating and dreaming
In a darkness that's blacker than tar
I could be in the depths of the ocean
But I bet that my brain's in a jar
Take Me Away
Obsession is required, to succeed at this game
As his score is climbing higher, the bullets fall like rain
His eyes, in need of blinking, have contracted to a squint
And his throat in need of drinking, is as tender as a flint
He forgets about his family, he forgets to go to school
He forgets that he’s not smart enough, he forgets that he’s not cool
And when he dies a thousand deaths, and has no money left to play
With a weak and sorry breath, he whispers, “Take me away”
Take me away. Take me away. Take me away. Take me away.
I’m in control, only when I play
In your world there is nothing I can say
Take me away.
In a darkened room in Houston with his heroes on the wall
He listens to their music and he waits for friends to call
If there was anyone to notice they could see it on his face
The way his eye’s look empty, the way he’d left this place
The constant repetition gives the words a truthful ring
He relates to the emotions as the entertainers sing
And he welcomes isolation as his thumb depresses play
As the CD finds the track he whispers, “Take me away.”
Take me away. Take me away. Take me away. Take me away.
I’ll never move from where I lay
And you can not judge my life by yesterday
Take me away.
In a slum in São Paulo, a boy found a place to stay
That was relatively dry, and he kept out of the way
Of the off-duty policemen, with the hoods over their heads
As they rounded up the homeless, who were now most likely dead
And he stole a can of paint, and wrote a friends name on a wall
As a daring public epitaph, or a desperation call
And he inhaled the poison paint fumes, just like every other day
As his pulse rang like an anvil, he screamed, “Take me away”
Take me away. Take me away. Take me away. Take me away.
There are more dreams, than beds today
And tonight I may be swept out of the way,
Take me away.
Take me away. Take me away. Take me away. Take me away.
There are more dreams, than beds today
And tonight I may be swept out of the way,
They’ll take me away.
Her Own Wings
She was a mess, she couldn’t stand on her own feet
She had borne a lifetime’s worth of pain
I was changed by helping her
I felt the sleeping feelings stir
I was her friend
And friends we still remain
What kind of love can give
When chained up to the ground?
What kind of music lives
And never makes a sound?
What kind of boat will just stay tied up to the shore?
What kind of man am I to hope for something more?
She’ll fly with her own wings
So high on warming air
She takes what nature brings
She gives, but doesn't share
She turns and sweetly sings
I burn to hear her call
She'll fly with her own wings
She won't need me at all
Merry Christmas, I hope you're doing well
I write the same thing every year
Then I throw the card away
It would just remind her of the day
When she was not herself
Before she overcame her fear
What kind of love can give
When chained up to the ground?
What kind of music lives
And never makes a sound?
What kind of boat will just stay tied up to the shore
What kind of man am I to hope for something more?
chorus
She was a mess, she couldn’t stand on her own feet
She had borne a lifetime’s worth of pain
I was changed by helping her
I felt the sleeping feelings stir
I was her friend
And friends we still remain
The Midnight Christmas Snow
I stepped through the door, felt the wind on my face
It stuck the snow to the branches, made the trees look like lace
Saw the bright colored lights, through the frost covered panes
Of my neighbors’ apartments, caught the last downtown train
chorus:
The train cuts like a scalpel
Through the midnight Christmas snow
Past the roof tops with white blankets
And the kids asleep below
I speed into Chicago
Like a bomb about to blow
Trying to keep it miles away from
Everybody that I know
My family safe at home asleep, they probably heard me leave
But they didn’t try to stop me, they were probably relieved
They probably are wondering, what became of their lost boy
The one who used this body, when a gun was just a toy
Chorus
I swear that I’m a good man
I don’t know who does these things
I don’t know whose thoughts I’m thinking
I don’t know whose song I sing
I scared the only girl I’ve loved
Hurt some stranger in a bar
Would he have ever stepped between us
If he knew I’d go that far?
The say that we get better, and I hope for me they’re right
It’s my hell to be a soldier, when there’s no one I should fight
I hope I did some good, at least I hope God sees I tried
On this train into Chicago, I hope he sees I cried
Chorus
Summer Storm
Humid, close and sweaty night
A line of clouds, a flash of light
A single drop of rain then the release
First hint of daylight
White curtains puffed out by a breeze
The air is cool and damp
And smells like last night’s rain
And here you are
Lightly sleeping
Your breath feels warm upon my chest
I kiss your forehead
With all your dreams contained
chorus:
Yesterday the grass was brown from drought
Yesterday my mind was torn with doubt
When I think how far the river fell
A single storm won’t break the spell
But I can’t imagine how I’d live without
I wondered lonely
Through streets where no one knew my name
Searching desperately, To find someone to touch
And here you are
A mystic told me
That you awaited my return
And I believed him, Because I wanted to so much
Chorus
You should be leaving
You turn to me to make you stay
But this is not the place
You’d always dreamed you’d be
Yet here you are
I can’t believe this
My lips are telling you to go
My heart is screaming
For you to stay with me
Chorus
Leave a Message on the Moon
Charles Duke, Houston / Neil Armstrong, Tranquility Base, The Moon
We're go cling tight we're go. 2,000 feet. 2,000 feet into the egg 47 degrees – Roger 47 degrees Eagle looking great you're goThe lunar crescent shines upon me
As I rise to greet the sun
And I know that, the same reflection
Is telling you your day is done
You’re a hemisphere away
It’s hard to comprehend
And it’s hard to fit our love
Into the letters that we send
It’s a shame our eyes can’t meet
I so need to hold you soon
If you miss me leave a message on the moon
Altitude 16 hundred 14 hundred feet still looking very goodYou’re a hemisphere away
It’s hard to comprehend
And it’s hard to fit our love
Into the letters that we send
It’s a shame our eyes can’t meet
I so need to hold you soon
If you miss me leave a message on the moon
We copy you down Eagle. Houston aah... Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed Roger Twank... Tranquility we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.
All songs by Bob Nordquist ©2010 - all rights reserved.