Cotton Wool

Lock down that emotion
Don’t let it rear its lumpy head
Stamp out all dissention
Keep your lip zipped
Lock it up tight so it feels safe
Wrap it up right and it won’t break
Keeping it light so it don’t weigh
Make it waterproof, spare the heartache

And send it half the world away
Hey hey hey
In cotton wool to keep the pain at bay

Seal off the indecision
Don’t let doubt around the door
I put it down to strange relations
Keeping it nice, so it feels right
Does your heart race through the hot night
In the wrong place
And it feels strange - jam it in tight
Make it over-sized and it won’t break

So lock me up tight so I’m constrained
Keep me boxed in so it feels safe
Keep me taped down so I will stay
Keep my lip zipped so I can’t say
Make me waterproof so I don’t weep
Make me over-sized so I don’t break

Earthbound

I want to float through the atmosphere
And easily rise above
I’m tired of waiting to get set free
Earthbound in the mud.

When will I know all there is to know?
Is there ever time to learn?
How will I get where I need to go?
Earthbound in the mud.

Earthbound – I warned you –
Icarus tried to fly too.

Some man on TV assures me that it’s easy
But I have never tried so hard
I never set my hopes so high
To watch them crumble time on time
While I’m earthbound in the mud.

Take Me Home

We checked into this hotel
Because a man on the street said
‘Follow me please I’ll help you’
In the dark it’s hard to tell
Up the marble stairs through the grimy light
There’s a welcoming smile
Will it be alright?

But the room’s so small
With dark, stained walls

Take me home
I am tired
Take me home
I am wired
Take me home
I’ve been down so many roads
That I don’t recall their names

On the street it’s a constant hard-sell
From the man over there
The woman on the ground
And her kids too
Why does everybody yell?
With hardened hearts and downcast eyes
From the push and shove of the daily grind

And I might explode
From the heavy load

Arabian Sea

Red dust on the broadleaf tree
Red sun through the haze laid its mark on me
God’s red mark sits between his eyes
Cows on the road - will we get there alive

From the beach to the mountains on the winding road
On her henna-stained hands old stories unfold
But I left my guitar on the train and I had to go back to the town again

And

My friend the Arabian Sea
Cool my feet, wash me clean
My friend you understand
Won’t you please Guide me

The beggar at the station’s only got one hand
His legs are twisted and he can’t stand
God’s mark on the woman with the skin disease
Whose bed every night is a sack on the street
The blind man won’t move away from the door
I gave him a dollar but he wants much more
The kids all smile and they want to shake hands
And I’m touched by the love of the family man