Lyrics

All lyrics by Joe Castro.  ©2013 mightyjoetunes

All We Ever Wanted

take the car out tonight
meet me by the old playgrounds
make two lefts and then a right
crickets cheer nocturnal flight

all we ever wanted was to just leave home
all we ever wanted was to just leave home

sit beside me in the dark
inhale deep the cool night air
exhale dreams in black and white
they can not force their will on you

and all we ever wanted was to just leave home
and all we ever wanted was to just leave home

sidewalks sizzle with the rain
neon burns behind your eyes
the conversations linger on
under paparazzi skies
satellites wink back at you
a serenade in morse code
they can not force their will on you
the path you forge is yours alone

and all you ever wanted was to just leave home
and all we ever wanted was to just leave home

 

Everybody Tells Her That

packing tape can’t suffocate his voice from memories
nor chase his ghost away from this room she never leaves
but it’s not a home – it’s part museum and part shrine
a roadblock is all he’s left behind

and everybody tells her that, she’s gotta move on

sun faded photographs from golden summer days
boxes of letters from a devoted fiance
recall a time when nothing could bring her to her knees
and grief was only make believe

and everybody tells her that, she’s gotta move on

but in her prime she used to dance along the cracks of broken dreams
so dangerous yet ever so serene

objects of veneration honor all regrets
from that night in Riverside, she swears she caused the wreck
and like twin paper lanterns abandoned to the rain
her eyes just never shine the same

but everybody tells her that, she’s gotta move on

Good Days for Bad Times

I don’t care where we’re going
I know who I am
so hang on to your compass
when darkness comes again

’cause last night on Sycamore
I barely trusted my eyes
your apparition came early
to the gravedigger’s surprise

but gentle as a fallen snow
your torn flag still flies
and it’s a wondrous temple
to the gods of disguise

good days for bad times
good days for bad times
good days for bad times

midnight crept a silent waltz
we tried to wake up the moon
for shadow play after night fall
brings new life to this tomb

and your eyes are like switchblades
they search among the tombstones
with blood lust for weakness
my, how your funeral has grown

good days for bad times
good days for bad times
good days for bad times

over and over
entwined together
under and over
surrender forever

infants of the autumn
born of night and of storm
who lost it all in an instant
in roles we couldn’t perform

I lingered on one last kiss
the night sang last call
stepped out into morning
whispered farewell to it all

good days for bad times
good days for bad times
good days for bad times

Galicia

hand in hand we walk the cobblestones
celebrating the rain that soaks our bones
the way we carry on you’d think we’d never cried
or couldn’t breathe if we’re not by each other’s side

but listen – green hills whisper clues of ancestry
the lonely bagpiper’s tune cuts right through me
we watch the old man chase his two bulls down the lane
when all is said and done in my heart you’ll remain

galicia

every seed of self belief you give to me
becomes a road map for the man I try to be
and in this cafe where we pause and sip our wine
an act of defiance to the swinging hands of time

galicia

 

Norfolk Street

I wandered outside, I needed to know
the world was still here under this blanket of snow
I sat in the drive ‘cause it’s too hard to sleep
When ghosts only whisper of Norfolk Street

Not long ago, before I bit my tongue,
The salt in the air brought life to these lungs
And when days got too hot or our troubles too deep
We washed our sins in the waves down Norfolk Street

Mosquitos that night clung to your frame
And I jealously waited to do just the same
The moon was a witness as I told you I’d keep
Every promise we made on Norfolk Street

But on that last night, I couldn’t close my eyes
I watched the thunder break down as the cicadas cried

The water retreats, she sings to the sand
Buckets and pails, proud with shovel in hand
Driftwood and shells, discoveries to keep
Your heart never grows old on Norfolk Street

We cut through the park, and the leaves from the trees
Litter our footsteps like tears in the breeze
You pause and reflect, ask what’s better to keep
your heart or your word to Norfolk Street

I’m coming home,
I’m coming home,
I’m coming home

 

As Always Is Never Again

my pocket’s full of old lint and couch change
midnight atlantic city expressway
when we were still young

swimming pools and the scent of sunscreen
new hope streets with a pint of ice cream
when did you know
that you were letting us go

and it all goes by so (soon)
summer’s almost over
as always is never again

the awkward shyness of the silent boy who
loves loneliness more than he’d liked to be loved
well, where does he go?

undressing quickly on your mother’s work days
under the covers, mistakes get made and
what if she knows?
do you think she knows?

and it all goes by so (soon)
summer’s almost over
as always is never again

so kiss me as the cars float by on
honeysuckle in the night time sky
before tomorrow’s promises become yesterday’s lies

and it all goes by so (soon)
summer’s almost over
and it all goes by so (soon)
summer’s almost over
and it all goes by
and it all goes by
as always is never again

 

Why Not Just Give In This Time

I never wanted you
to tell me I was crazy
I never wanted you
to tell me I was wrong
I never wanted you
to look so beautifully lazy
I never wanted you
to pack up and move home

but I’ve got mileage on my side
and your legs won’t catch no ride
and to swim is suicide
why not just give in this time?
and these folks across the street
dissect the nights they heard us weep
they keep their gossip on the cheap
why not just give in this time?

I never wanted you
to become terminally bitter
I never wanted you
to loose all your lucky charms
I never wanted you
to be the superstitious sister
I never wanted you
to feel so vacant in my arm

but I’ve got no where left to hide
and these friends all wonder why
I’m always last to take your side
why not just give in this time?
take that long walk into town
turn their heads then turn around
put your brains back in that crown
why not just give in this time?

I never wanted you
to tell me I was crazy
I never wanted you
to tell me I was wrong
I never wanted you
to look so beautifully lazy
I never wanted you
to pack up and move home

but these memories of mine
are like a nite-lite in my mind
for the sleep I left behind
why not just give in this time?
and I know you’re still sore
’cause the frying pan’s in the kitchen door
but take it on the chin just once more
why not just give in this time?
why not just give in this time?

 

we still miss the ones who’ve gone

we had a cassette player with the Ramones on
asphalt dreams when the days got long
and that was all we needed

we were picking apart the scabs on our knees
from grinding the curbs in the summer breeze
and wishing we were bound for California

but it’s over that fence and into their pool
the neighbors don’t like how we keep cool
but hey, rules are over rated

and when some are still here
you miss the one’s who’ve gone

midnight movies and take out food
with jason, freddy, and michael too
hey, anybody here got a lighter?

and then black cats echo inside of these walls
a firecracker turn style battle royal
Never in my life have I laughed harder

and some are still here
but you miss the one’s who’ve gone

and I apologize for mistakes that were mine
this shot of Jameson’s for you and the end of our good times

so meet me for a drink over the Last Drop
’cause I’ve got a new tune and it just won’t stop
playing over and over inside my head

thrift shop digging for 517s
sound checks, stellas, and guitar strings
how long ’til we land in California?

sometimes it felt good, sometimes I left mad
one day it got ugly and that was that
but we knew it couldn’t last forever

and some are still here
but you miss the one’s who’ve gone

I can’t say why you left us so soon
but I miss every single last one of you
please know – you are remembered

 

 

Without dreams, we are only sleeping

I just don’t know which to believe
you or this self doubt tugging at my sleeve
but you’re armed with your green eyes eager to deceive
when everyone else comes and goes as they please

but I’m falling fast, more then I can tell
deep in the dark, my confidence fell
and I traded my dreams for a good nights sleep
don’t write me off until I take this leap
tonight

I believe in myself but I’m easily fooled
gulliable and trusting – yeah, I’m all of that too
do you think your exceptional? well l’m sure that it’s true
but the world is impatient when it decides to crush you

and which way is up? I can’t always tell
deep in the dark, my confidence fell
and I traded my dreams for a good nights sleep
don’t write me off until I take this leap
tonight

tonight
the planes are flying low
rattlling frames on the walls below
it’s quarter past four and I’m drowning

air swells with the threat of rain
dampens sheets and weather vanes
inside my heart is pounding

ignite our dreams in kerosene
from suburban nighttime quarantine
I’m shadowboxing with ghosts and regrets

like dandilions in the wind
torn apart to begin again
I’ll watch them drown in the sweat I spill
this burden of creativity
lacerates all sympathy
and without dreams we are only sleeping