Gift Of Age (2002)

1. Saying Hello
2. Gift of Age
3. Get Outta My Kitchen
4. This Year I Sing
5. Walkin' My Puppy
6. Please, Mr. Ashcroft
7. Marching Back To School
8. You Never Know
9. The Busker
10.Meals On Wheels
11.Two Trees
12.Leap of Faith

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.

 
 
 
 

Saying Hello
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

There's an old friend walkin' down the street
What do I say then when we fin'ly meet
A little idle chatter 'bout the people that we know
Though it doesn't matter
Is there a diff'rent way of saying hello?

It's alright then just stopping for a chat
Keeping it light and oh, there's nothin' wrong with that
It's all about connections tell you anywhere you go
A little unexpected
And a diff'rent way of saying hello

Good to see you, hi
How you been, oh don't time fly
Ola, bon jour hey you
What's up, oh yeah, so nu?
Little hug a larger smile
Lookin' good it's been a while
Give a wave and shake the hand
And that's how you greet a friend

Catch a smile then people do it with their eyes
Take the time and give 'em a surprise
Oh they wanna hear it 'specially when they're feelin' low
Nothing can come near it
It's a diff'rent way of saying hello

 
 
 

Gift Of Age
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

Did you ever think all those years ago
That the world would be such a crazy show
Is there anything to be certain of
Save the gentle steps of the ones we love

As I trace the path grateful to
Have walked along this road with you

And I realize as I turn a page
This looking back is a gift of age

Are you anywhere you thought you'd be
Has it changed at all what you believe
As we mark the time and recall the past
Did you ever think it would go so fast

We welcome in and we say goodbye
Each another star added to the sky

And where grace abounds there are few complaints
This looking back is a gift of age

Was there ever any guide
To the who and where and why
Couldn't plan this if you tried

Did you ever think all those years ago
That the world would be such a crazy show
As we mark the time and recall the past
Did you ever think it would go so fast

As I trace the path grateful to
Have walked along this road with you
And I realize as I turn a page
This looking back is a gift of age

 
 
 

Get Outta My Kitchen
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

My grandmother worked for the swell elite
They had money but she had sweet smells
Comin' from the oven, underneath the door
Their plates were emptied, they demanded more
They put one foot in her domain
She'd say 'let me make this clear and plain":

Get outta my kitchen (3X)
Get outta my kitchen and let me cook

The bossman said "looky what I got
Caught 'em myself they aren't store bought
Now I want you to take this tiny little fish
Create a great delectable dish
Someone came lookin' for the recipe
"I'm stuffin' this smelt, get away from me"

Sometimes you cook for comfort
Sometimes it's just because
You want some satisfaction
Sometimes you cook for love

Thanksgiving, a sight to see
She loved cookin' and her cookin' loved me
Sage butter turkey, pears poached in wine
Yams, potato and pumpkin pie
Closin' her eyes, takin' a taste
Hum a little tune while everybody waits

Oh, a little bit of that, a little bit of this
Never really measured, never ever missed
Butter in the fridge, butter on the stove
Low-fat, not a term she'd know
Don't let me catch you bakin' with a substitute
You know what I'll say if you ever do

 
 
 

This Year I Sing
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

The sun comes up
I stand, I breathe
No one will hear me if I will not speak
The legend of my life
Is locked inside

All the tales tumble on through time
There's room enough in this world for mine
This will be the last time that I hide

This year I sing
I'm gonna tell my story
I'm gonna bring my life to light
Give it wings; let it all take flight
This year I sing

Joy and pain
Delight and fear
Walking the labyrinth that brought me here
Inching through the shadows
'Til it's clear

Voices from inside my bones
I hear them echoing
"You're not alone
Remember, oh remember as you go"

Revealing what I've hidden inside
Means I'm leaving this invisible life

All the tales tumble on through time
There's room enough in this world for mine
This will be the last time that I hide

 
 
 

Walkin' My Puppy
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

I'm walkin' my puppy, y'know I tell him
All my troubles, all my dreams
I'm walkin' my puppy, he's busy smellin'
The doggy secrets on the breeze
The nose is up, then it's down, it's roamin' all around
I think my puppy's walkin' me
     I'm walkin' my puppy my body is saggin'
     The world is heavy and immense
     I'm walkin' my puppy, his tail is waggin'
     His world is always present tense
     Don't always stay upon the path, he strays this way and that
     Now let's go walkin' 'long the fence

Why bite when you can growl
When you're lonely, let out a great big howl
If you're happy, go dance about - put your whole body in it.

I'm walkin' my puppy my mind is spinnin'
Through all the clutter of the day
I'm walkin' my puppy and he's beginnin'
To think a nap might be okay
Play a bit, take a ride, makin' it so simplified
I think my puppy's got it made

I'm walkin' my puppy with all my worries
Down a familiar little street
I'm walkin' my puppy he's not in a hurry
Check out ev'ry garden, ev'ry tree
Survey the neighborhood, every day life is good
I think my puppy's walkin' me

I'm walkin' my puppy , without a "heads up"
He's takin' off, oh, away we go
I'm walkin' my puppy & there's no let up
He gonna drag me down the road
Don't always stay upon the path, you gotta stray this way & that
& then my puppy walks me home

 
 
 

Please, Mr. Ashcroft
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

I have ever indicated for the uninitiated
Arts are open wide to one and all
Open to whomever buys it why not dive right in and try it
Satisfy that urging, inner call
Acting, dancing, writing, singing
Sculpting butter, maybe stringing beads, whatever, anything is fine
Something happened I must mention
Begging for my full attention
I now announce I may have changed my mind:

Please, Mr. Ashcroft, don't write songs anymore
I just heard your tune and of you I must implore
Your singing isn't…awful, and I know it's deeply felt
But I'm wishing you collected stamps like Franklin Roosevelt
Please, Mr. A.G., find something else

Oh, Mr. Ashcroft, if you really must
Obey your muse then do it without inflicting it on us
I know the job is stressful and you must find some release
Don't make me think back fondly
On John Mitchell and Edwin Meese
Please, Mr. A.G., do not proceed

Late at night with great dispatch, you're writing songs with Orrin Hatch
You hand them to a captive staff, the patriot's sing and the others laugh

Please Mr. Ashcroft I got big, bad dreams at night
Rumsfeld's in an opera starring Condoleeza Rice
Ari Fleischer's dancing, ballet tights he's quite the lad
You gotta stop this stuff before I hear your boss is in a band
Please, Mr. A.G., I know you can

So, you've joined the club yeah, good for you
But you forgot to pay your dues
If the bad guys give you the blues
You'll love a record deal, it's true
Oh, please…Mr. A.G…find something new.

 
 
 

Marching Back To School
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2001 Turtlecub Publishing

My parents take a photograph
When I'm in college they won't do that
When I'm in college, I'll have it made
But for now, I'm in second grade
My mom is cryin' and I'm tryin' not to really mind
But I'm marchin' back to school and mom, you gotta stay behind
     Autumn looms, summer fades
     I'm starting in a higher grade
     It's okay, I'll make new friends
     To tell the truth I'm a little tense
     I've got a new fixation on my locker combination
     There are higher expectations as I'm marching back to school

Heigh-ho! It's off to school we go
And for sure we know this year we'll do it better
Three cheers to start a brand new year
Here's a song to march us back to school

Power books, PDAs
The University starts today
I'll fill the space inside my head
But first I gotta get out of bed
One class of mine, it really sucks
The textbook costs a hundred bucks!
And I don't know where to park my truck and go marching back to school

Give a big hooray for teachers here today
Overworked and underpaid but we appreciate them
And in their hands the mighty lesson plan
Just like us they're marching back to school

Here I am at 53 going for my first degree
September I remember as a very special time
I've got pencils and some shiny pens
Brand new clothes and estrogen
I'm as happy as I've ever been to be marching back to school

 
 
 

You Never Know
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

You read a face
There's a dark cloud just behind the eyes
A masquerade
And it's how their day goes by
From outside in
They seem so steady, in control
But where they live
It's a feeling less than whole

You never know the things they've heard or said
Touched or just left alone
You never know what hell they've landed in or why
You never know

You meet your dream
A happy accident or fate
For once it seems
Not too early not too late

You never know the way events transpire
Loosen up and it unfolds
Roads you thought parallel intersect and why
You never know

'round any corner each time you wake oh what comes in view
'cross any border each hand you shake
you don't know what they've been through

A broken heart
Or worse, a soul that's torn in two
The countless scars
Some are ancient some brand new

You never know the answers all the time
Make your peace, let it go
Get to a place where you stop wond'rin' 'bout the why
You never know

 
 
 

The Busker
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

Appearing daily on the train of my choice
I play a tune, I pass my hat
Eye on the tourist with a lilt in the voice
Commuters dozing dull and flat
I hear the Klezmer at the Opera stop
Doors close, clarinet fades
Americans delighted, preparing to shop
I want your smile, I need your change

     They're lookin' at the tour book, manglin' the language
     Knowin' s'il vous plait and merci
     Tryin' to find their way to Louvre and the Orsay
     Pity that they never may see Paris of the little side streets

Appearing nightly on the cobblestone road
Strolling the avenue of cafes
Avoid the bistros where the business people go
I spot them easy blocks away

     Talkin' on the cell phone, suckin' down a Winston
     Wavin' 'round whatever hand's free
     Got a look of boredom, been there and they done that
     But beneath the same ol' routine there is their city of dreams

All day long the stories of fallin' in and out of love
All the choices ever made are written on the hands and faces
Where they are and where they been it's all about the place you're in
Lookin' at me lookin' through I live on luck and so do you

Play the museums, people slowly pass
Wouldn't trade places if I could
I'm the star of videos, vacation photographs
"I don't know her name, but she sure was good…"

Connecting with the gent who's conjures up a coin I give a little bow and "merci"
Again, La Vie en Rose or makin' up a tune and send him home a souvenir piece
Of Paris that he found on the street

 
 
 

Meals On Wheels
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

So say that you're driving but not quite arriving as quickly as you desired
You started much later got stuck in Decatur replacing your two front tires
A gig on the line you gotta make time, y'drive it straight through the night
Try not to get stopped by a cop and you gotta do somethin' 'bout where to dine

Honey, here's the deal:
You're gonna have meals on wheels

Avoiding a stain on your clothing remains the most current important cause
Plain outta luck so I guess you'll be suckin' your supper up through a straw
Certain food items as soon as you bite 'em ingredients start to fall
Soon all this crap is all over your lap and who says you can't have it all?

Choc'late and sodas and jelly filled donuts
Tacos, burritos & run away Cheetos
Hot baked potato and any tomato
The better you're dressed, the bigger the mess
Anything smothered and covered in sauce
You're lickin', it's stickin' you can't even floss
Up to your knees in sunflower seeds Up to your hips in fries and chips

It's not that you need it the truth is you eat it attempting to stay awake
For the duration there's some combinations'll make your whole body shake
Cups of coffee you drink as big as a sink Moon Pies and Cokes
Pale and pallid and dreamin' of salads and sittin' like other folks

After you get there it takes you a week
To shovel the garbage from under the seat
Next time there's no need to stop at a mall
You're wearin' some plastic or nothin' at all
Java is steamin'; ketchup is streamin'
Barbecued fowl & you don't have a towel
A burger with cheese all over your sleeves
Up to your socks in Jack-In-the-Box

 
 
 

Two Trees
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2001 Turtlecub Publishing

Two trees are standing side by side
Their roots are deep and intertwined
Branches reach up to the sky
Two trees that stand there side by side

And together they remain
Steadfast in the sun and rain
Watch the clouds go rolling by
Two trees that stand there side by side

The seasons come
We rest and grow
Receive the ones
Who nest and go

When the final winds come through
Then fall to me and take me too
For I have no desire to face
Or witness there an empty space

 
 
 

Leap Of Faith
words & music: Ann Reed • © 2002 Turtlecub Publishing

I am living in time
It's a rhythm I know
More and more I think life
Is all balance and hope
'Cause it's not black or white
It's any shade of my choice
Coming fully alive when I give it my voice

Oh, it is time
I will live out loud and
Open my eyes to the great divide
I'm walking my path
Finding my way
And every step's a leap of faith

Ev'ry story's a thread
In a weave that avows
I don't know what's ahead
But I'm standing here now.
There are moments I fly
Days when I weep
Sometimes I close my eyes
And remember to breathe

I walk on a fluid road
Ever changing where it goes
I wrestle my fear
And trusting my heart
That strength will appear
Oh, growing there in the dark