Eventually (2013)

1. This Is Where My Heart Is
2. I Can Go Anywhere
3. Amen (The Myth Of Solid Ground)
4. Navigation
5. Live In Love
6. Leaving Too Soon
7. One Breath
8. Eventually
9. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
10. Say Yes (Migration)
11. Wednesday
12. Love This Life

Don't forget: Using a songwriter's lyrics and/or music without permission is very bad indeed. Frowned upon.
Quite disrespectful. Creates icky stuff in the universe.

Dropped Down In The Water
words and music: Ann Reed • © 2005 Turtlecub Publishing/BMI

Standin' at a crossroads
Don't know where to go
Tired of fillin' a bathtub with an eye dropper, oh
Sit there almost empty
Wonderin' "what now?"
Throw a stone into the water
Watch the waves roll out

Any given moment
The daily ebb and flow
You might be the arrow
You might be the bow
Have faith you make a difference
Go 'bout your business with no doubt
You were dropped into the water
And the waves rolled out

Dropped down in the water
Set down in the sea
You and everything you do
Goes out and on and on and on…

It's lookin' hard and hopeless
The sun it will not rise
Oh, one foot, then the other and soon you realize
One step farther than the darkness
And a light begins to grow
Oh those waves go out
They go out even farther than you know

Oh, the waves roll out…

Here is what surrounds you
When you open up your eyes
Stones of ev'ry color, yeah
Shape and ev'ry size
Livin' right beside them
With the one thing that you share
Y'all been dropped into the water
And it rolls out ev'rywhere

This Is Where My Heart Is
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2012 Turtlecub Publishing

My little neighbor at the fence
Here I am, her audience
Looks at me and smiles
I know somethin' …
         Just as she's gonna let it slip
         Her tiny hand comes off her hip
         Points to herself and sighs
         "This is where my heart is"

As she swirls and turns she leaves
Me in my garden, it talks to me
Ev'ry root and vine says
I know somethin' …
         Here I stand and here it is
         There it grows and there it lives
         I throw my arms out wide
         This is where my heart is

My heart, mon coeur, mi corazón …

I pedal through a day so clear
Pushed by autumn's breath I hear
A tune I recognize
I know somethin' …
         Of all the things I've left undone
         I whisper to that song unsung
         I do believe it's time
         This is where my heart is

I know where I belong
Love and care
My heart, my home

Of all the millions walkin' 'round
A miracle it's us we found
I hold you close and sigh
I know somethin' …
         When you take my hand in yours
         This is it, I don't need more
         When I look in your eyes, I know
         This is where my heart is

I Can Go Anywhere

Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

My little Huffy
First set of wheels
Wobbly, uncertain
Freedom I'd feel
Trying to ride …

Oh, my dad
Held tight to the seat
To my surprise
He let go of me
So I'd ride my bike

         I can go anywhere
         Any any anywhere
         I can go anywhere
         Any any anywhere
         I can go anywhere

Neighbors would watch
They'd never know
I was cruisin' through France
'Cross the Rockies I'd go
When I'd ride my bike (refrain)

Isn't it simple:
Pedals, a chain
Moving some muscles
and I'm on my way

Rusty and beaten
No longer new
Seats that are squeakin'
Knees that are too
But we ride

Here is my plan
Think what you like
When I turn 80, I might get a trike
And I'll ride, I'll ride

Amen (Myth Of Solid Ground)
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2012 Turtlecub Publishing

What's this? I think that face is mine
In this reflection I see
Footprints, these many little lines
Deepen in and say Amen

Oh, I walk and wade and persevere
Rain, sun, day, dark, I see
No matter what, I end up here
Look around and say Amen

         Find some truth, oh, say Amen
         Sifting through fables and doubt
         The gift of stillness
         The myth of solid ground

Where I am well, that's my path
When I go down deep, I see
I remember what it is to laugh
Shake my head and say Amen

         Find some truth, oh, say Amen
         Sifting through fables and doubt
         The gift of stillness
         The myth of solid ground

Lost and wandering, it's a fact
Y' get found if you want but I see
Once aware you can't turn back
Eyes open, say Amen

Navigation
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

Beginning and the end it seems
Life's a freestyle dance between
Oh, my soul
Knows where a moment lives
Knows where a moment lives

A smile, a photograph, a song
Through kindness shared we all live on
Oh, my soul
Learns what a gift it is
Learns what a gift it is

         Sailing on uncertain seas
         A glow above with stars to lead
         And in a storm then what I fear
         Is ever slowly they'll disappear

A thousand suns and moons reveal
The hurt I've caused and cannot heal
Oh, my soul
Learns what forgiveness is
Learns what forgiveness is

         Sailing on uncertain seas
         Wounds above and scars beneath
         What I know and what I fear
         Is ever slowly I'll disappear

Humbled both by joy and grief
There's deeper, wider love we seek
Oh, my soul
Knows how to welcome in
Knows how to welcome in

Oh, my soul
Learns what a gift it is
Learns what a gift it is

Live In Love
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

This is what it is to live in love
This is what it is to live in love
One of many branches in an ancient tree
Reaching up and out while the roots grow deep

This is what it is to walk with love
This is what it is to walk with love
Step by step, we move in thoughtful prayer
Even if we stumble on this journey shared

         Lift up your voice
         Sing from your heart
         From sadness to joy
         From wherever you are
         Live in love
         Open our hearts
         Come, welcome in
         Wherever you are

This is what it is to heal our world
This is what it is to heal our world
A single drop of water on a bed of stones
Joins with all the others and the river flows

Inhale love
Exhale kindness
Inhale love
Go in peace

         Lift up your voice
         Sing from your heart
         From sadness to joy
         From wherever you are
         We live in love
         Open our hearts
         Come, welcome in
         Wherever you are

This is what it is to live in love

Leaving Too Soon
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

I don't mind the stretches of bitter-cold days
They'll soon live in mem'ry and then
Persistent young dandelions yellow in May
I don't really find them a pest
I had come to accept you would always be late
A flower forgetting to bloom
I do mind the fact that you'll never come back
And I do mind you leavin' too soon
I do mind you leavin' too soon

I don't mind the detours the long way around
Surprise on the winding side streets
Holes in the roads and bridges fall down
I'll end up where I need to be
I now must confess you were part of the map
Routes that were safely assumed
It isn't all right to walk off with your light
I do mind you leavin' too soon
I do mind you leavin'

Too soon … too soon … too soon

I don't mind some myst'ry a few grains of doubt
Ride with the ebb and the flow
Wrestle with questions, they never run out
I don't mind the answers don't show
But I'm certain, quite sure of the one precious place
Reserved in the world just for you
Sometimes I could swear you're standing right there
I do mind you leavin' too soon
I do mind you leavin' too soon

One Breath
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2011 Turtlecub Publishing

I cannot hear the news
It only stains my heart
Heavy fear comes through
Weighs me down
The smallest ray of hope
I take into my soul
A friend I found

Perhaps the world is flat
I've walked out to the edge
With torn, outdated maps and
Wond'ring when
Some blessed clarity
Might find its way to me
But till then …

I'm gonna take
One step ... One breath
Then I'll take
One step ... One breath

These things that are not mine
I've carried way too long
Neither the will nor time
To sort it all
My weary arms they shake
What difference would it make
To let it fall?

I hold tight
To a scrap of faith
That there lives light
In the darkest place

Too much, too much for me
I'll cling to what I know:
Rivers of love don't freeze
They're deep and wide
Oh, kindness, come, I beg
Forgiveness, move my legs
Help me rise

Eventually
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2011 Turtlecub Publishing

When I ride the trees go by
More slowly
I'm satisfied and, no, I
         don't mind I'm late
Hey, you might
Wave at me in a friendlier way

Ev'ryone is passin' me by and I don't care
I'll get there eventually

And each day there's things I may
Or may not learn
I'll concentrate to find a space
         and clear some room
Inside my brain
Think I need a sizable broom

Ev'ryone is smarter than me and I don't care
I'll get there eventually

Never too late, I'm tryin'
To be OK where I am

Am I old? Oh, I don't know
Compared to what?
Well, I suppose there's some roads
         I don't go down
'Cause some are closed
I just take a diff'rent way 'round

Ev'ryone is younger than me and I don't care
We all get there eventually

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

On the road to full equality
There's darkness, twists and turns
But now we stand
To celebrate for all the world to see
With only one remaining thing to ask:

         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         You're my favorite justice on the Supreme Court
         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         You bring the rulings and I'll bring a little torte

On the side of fairness, there you'll be
Oh so resolute, your heart is pure
The worth of individuals you see
That Wal-Mart's not a person, that's for sure

         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         Now that it's possible, I'm fin'ly free to say
         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         Or will you be the one who breaks my heart and slips away?

In your black robe and your jabot
You're the one for me I know

When other jurists on the bench
Issue deeply flawed majorities
Breathless, I will wait for your dissent
The voice that's clear o'er all other Supremes

         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         I'll defend your honor when Alito's in your face
         But, oh, you don't need me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
         Just by being true, that's how you keep him in his place

         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         You're my favorite justice on the Supreme Court
         Will you marry me, Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
         You bring the rulings and I'll bring a little torte
         You're my favorite justice on the Supreme Court

Say Yes (Migration)
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

A song is there
Is there before I see
Before I see them
Blending with the trees
I inhale autumn
As if autumn is my final breath

And then I hear
I hear a voice
A voice that softly
Softly sings inside
As I watch you rise

         Say yes, go on
         Farewell
         Say yes, let go
         Farewell
         Say yes

Oh, the sound
The sound of wings
These wings that lift
They lift body whole
Colors bathe my eyes
As if my eyes see them anew

Feel the feathers
Feathers pulsing rhythm
Rhythm steady as the heart
That beats and opens wide
As I watch you rise

I watch you fly
         you fly I pray I pray your safe return
Use the wind
         the wind that rages, shouts and whispers and affirms
Say yes …

A song is there
Is there before I see
Before I see them
Blending with the trees
I inhale autumn
As if autumn is my final breath

Oh, the sound
The sound of wings
These wings that lift
They lift body whole
And I watch you rise

Wednesday
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2013 Turtlecub Publishing

Here's a day I like just a little
Sits there right in the middle of the week
Couple days have gone before
Up there lay, a couple more, oh, I see

Old nurs'ry rhyme makes me wonder
It's a verse that's kind to the others, it's just so
Fair of face, that's Monday's lesson
Tuesday's full of grace, the next one's full of woe

         And I was born on Wednesday
         I born on Wednesday

Some folks are light like a feather
But I like those with a measure of despair
They hold this life from A to Z
Know surprise and gravity's waiting there (I hear them sing …)

bridge:
Oh, its singularity
That's what appeals to me
Does not spell the way it sounds
Oh, it's not a day of rest
Just a place to catch your breath
Faithful friend that always comes around

Halfway done, halfway to heaven
'Cept for some, working all seven, still they know
It's the night when choirs rehearse
Voices rise, swim the universe there they go (it's like a little hymn)

Love This Life
Words and music: Ann Reed • © 2012 Turtlecub Publishing

So sad to hear you say you think the joy in days
Is done, over and done
So, yeah, the news is bad, darkens the path, let's add some
Light when it seems there is none

         Gonna sing in the middle of a great big crowd
         Gonna do a little dance
         Gonna live out loud
         Gonna play with the puppy
         Gonna ride my bike
         Make funny faces and love this life

For ev'ry hateful word I'll say ten loving verbs
To mend this tattered flag of mine
So, yeah, this ragged piece, within and underneath
Threads, unbroken and bright

         Gonna listen to the giggles of the kids next door
         Gonna give what I got
         Gonna play this chord
         Plant my garden
         Watch it grow and thrive
         Kneel in the dirt and love this life

Bad ol' Goliath, he's got two big feet
Ain't gonna let him step all over me

Oh, if you're lookin' down you only see the ground
And miss the colors of the sky
So, yeah, you just might trip
If that's the worst of it
Lift your head, feast your eyes

         And glide through the water in a blue canoe
         Stand in the glory
         Of a big, full moon
         Laugh till you cry
         Treasure the time
         Weep at beauty and love this life