all songs ©Laforge/Randall
IN THE END
The early morning comes to ask
If I have finally made up my mind
I used to take her sweet hand in mine
But lately, I don’t know what’s happened to me
These nights are too long
I’m a lion who has turned into stone
No more wars to be won
Time erases what you just can’t keep
So lay me down, I just want to sleep
These wheels I have are sunk in deep
Just turn around, let me be
I am one of the strangers here
Who can no longer speak
The words that loved me once, have taken their leave
Is this some punishment I half believe
These nights are too long
I’m the king who surrenders his throne
No more wars to be won
Time erases what you just can’t keep
So lay me down, I just want to sleep
These wheels I have are sunk in deep
Just turn around, let me be
Movement has given up, broken by the tremor at rest
My heart still beats, my eyes still weep, so please don’t bury me yet
What ever happened to larger than life?
Hand me a shield so I can finish this quest
These nights are too long
I’m the road that has come to an end
No more wars to be won
WINTER IN NEW YORK
Close my eyes and I’ll be there
An etching comes to life
See her starry grey sidewalks
I know her like the back of my hand
Stray cats in the park
Looks the same in the dark
But not here
In this world apart
My old hometown, my original friend
Tell me New York, can I come home again?
Now this particular girl
Counts the snow as it falls
All winter long
Black and blue nights so strong
But big city lights are always bright
So I’ll close my eyes until they’re out of sight
My old hometown, my original friend
Tell me New York, can I come home again?
As a child you showed me
When I was older you told me
I’ve walked other shores
But it’s your memory that calls and calls
Tell me New York, can I come home again
Tell me New York, will I see you again
RADIO STATIC
He has become accustomed
To permanent hallucination
He lies down in a bed of roses
Awakens with a crown of thorns
This pain is indifferent to the sky
What would he give to forget
Can name your price to never have met
Despises this regret
She was honey in his mouth
Falling down a perpetual well
Daily life like white noise drives him
Losing a grip on what held his interest
Caught as he is in the cross-fire
Of emotions
Puts his fingers to his lips
Draws the outline of a kiss
Flashbacks like daggered postcards
He’s just grasping at straws
Sidewalks seem to ignore him
Because there’s no fixing a wasted heart
Falling down a perpetual well
Daily life like white noise drives him
Losing a grip on what held his interest
Caught as he is in the cross-fire
Of confusion
She told him
Made him a comic book hero
She used to hold him
Whispers and sighs
Breathless, took his breath away
Replaced the music by radio static
NO NEW LOVE YET PLEASE
A moment of perfection
My heart’s own resurrection
A dip in the road, a shift in the wind,
Another story tries to begin
You stumble, resolve dissolves
Improvisation, such concentration
When you counter love
So please, don’t bring me down with a new love
Make me close my eyes to the stars above
Shoot down the moon – block out the sun
I feel undone, I feel undone
Romance can be too much
Endless calls, hope rises and falls
I stay silent, when I want to talk
Run away when I should walk
Those promises, those letters, turn me on
Broken glass at our feet
True love is a hunter …… she’s a full time thief
So please don’t bring me down with a new love
Make me close my eyes to the stars above
Shoot down the moon – block out the sun
I feel undone, I feel undone
Departure has let me down
I’m just trying to stand my ground
I stay silent, when I want to talk
Run away when I should walk
Acting strong is not the same as being strong
Such a risky affair, dreaming with eyes open
I’m surrendering
THE GARE SAINT-LAZARE
I’ll be waiting for you at the Gare Saint Lazare
A quarter past one by the Morning Star
I’ll be the girl with the diamond eyes
Holding a script where I’ve written no part
In the landscape of green and golden guitars
I’ve made you a hero and crowned you king
It’s a different city as of yesterday
Know that you know my name
I want you to say it again and again
A lifetime of thinking of convenient things
Is it love, love, love, no surprise
I am unsure of the look in your eyes
So tell me what it means
To play sing or laugh and cry
Doing nothing together
Has become the best of times
Liquid and fire and the passing of time
Shared secrets go from your hand to mine
If I open myself and show the inside
If I hold back fear and swallow my pride
Show me your heartbreak
And, maybe, I’ll show you mine
I’ll tell you what it means
To play, sing and laugh and cry
Doing nothing together
Has become the best of times
I say just hold me in your arms
You tell me to big a big girl now
This rock and roll girl to your rising sun
Trying to tease you into coming undone
I’ve made you memory
Is it a permanent one?
HORSE
Before it rains the herd is quiet
Heads down and tails to the wind
Once the thundering, once the lightning
Have passed through the meadow
They tear away in a collective frenzy
Echoing the noise of the absent weather
Night riding is like night swimming
Full of imagination and invisible
Every hoof beat is measured
Every stride is gliding on the waves
A precious cargo brought to land
In the company of constant angels
They are nature
They are modern
They are wild
They are tame
They are forgiving
Where have you taken my wild horses
My dream creatures, my brothers in arms
The child won’t speak to me or you
Convinced, that he will answer
She whispers in his ear
He bends down to take her
Giving movement to her words
Recognizing a fellow prisoner
Where have you taken my wild horses
My dream creatures, my brothers in arms
Where have you taken my wild horses
I speak their silent language
They understand the signs
They are nature
They are modern
They are wild
They are tame
They are forgiving
HIJACK
They put up walls and treat you like dogs
It’s a hijack
They tell you tall tales and set up false trails
It’s a murder
You hold in your fear and wipe away tears
Pull the quilt up, baby
Close your eyes tight to close out the night
Chase the monsters
Can you hear them coming?
But when the morning comes
And illusion is dissolving
Run out while you can
Fallen angel
But when the morning comes
And illusion is resolving
Get up quick and run
Take no prisoners
Turn back in time, conceal the crime
Surreptitious
Dreams of elaborate suicide
Death’s harvest
Hollywood rains – on our windowpane
In the darkroom, baby
All of those lies, I know how you tried
You were ambushed
Did you hear them coming?
But when the morning comes
And illusion is dissolving
Run out while you can
Fallen angel
But when the morning comes
And illusion is resolving
Get up quick and run
Take no prisoners
But when the morning comes
And illusion is dissolving
Get up quick and run
Take no prisoners
SUPER 8
We’re riding in the car and sitting in the back seat
Taking in the scenery and putting up our little feet
There are skyscrapers, blue sky, hazy days or sunshine
Looks like a Super 8 movie to me
Reel to reel
Summer fills my heartbeat, roll the windows down neat
There are so many people, all bigger than me
There are loud ones and crazy ones and always in a rush ones
Actors play this movie for free
Walk right back in time; take your hand in mine
Wondering what happened there
In a life before my time
I’m longing to rewind
Reel to reel
I’m longing to rewind
This Super 8 in my mind – this Super 8 movie in my mind
Black and white snapshots forgotten in a shoebox
Hiding with the postcards and other memories
Set up the projector, I’m trying to remember
Scouting blurry faces, what about me?
Walk right back in time; take your hand in mine,
Close my eyes to recognize
In a life before my time
I’m longing to rewind
Reel to reel
I’m longing to rewind
This Super 8 in my mind
This Super 8 movie in my mind
Driving to a beach on a Long Island shore
The seats too hot to sit on, we’ll lie on the floor
Pretend to be sleeping, hear the parents speaking
Looks like a Super 8 movie to me
I’ll whisper in your ear, tell you secrets they won’t hear
Moving back in time
Going far away to find
Super 8 in my mind
Reel to Reel
I’m longing to rewind
This Super 8 movie in my mind
Longing to rewind……I’m longing to rewind….
This Super 8 movie in my mind
Reel to reel, reel to reel, reel to reel
ROUGH TRANSLATION
It’s a work in progress
With a working title
Unfinished canvas on an artist’s easel
A sketch, a screen test, a vivid detail
Remains untitled but the work is his
A brief description that stands as is
It’s a rough translation
It’s a form of art
Life is far from science
In matters of the heart
There’s no deep resolution
Only occasional solution
Sporadic attempts at construction and revolution
On this journey the game’s set in play
To send us rather wildly on our way
No one’s keeping score
We’re left wanting so much more
It’s a rough translation
Trying to make sense
Of words and explanations
Sense from nonsense
It’s a rough translation
It’s a form of art
Life is far from science
In matters of the heart
And in the planet’s collision
If you are one of the lucky ones
Solace will come with the passing of time
A sense of wonder, pleasure and pain
Promise of clear skies to gets through the rain
Beginning or ending, a story waits to be read
It’s a rough translation
Trying to make sense
Of words and explanations
Sense from nonsense
It’s a rough translation
It’s a form of art
Life is far from science
In matters of the heart
DAMAGED
I’ll need some time to understand
As dreams unravel a sinuous past
It’s like looking through a broken looking glass
Of faded scars and fearful lies
We have alibis
We have our alibis
The wings of a butterfly
Once touched he cannot fly
One so small and so very new
Drawn towards the very likes of you
Playing out in mock display
Such dangerous games for children to play
The wings of a butterfly
Once touched he cannot fly
The wings of a butterfly, the wings of a butterfly
Innocence and warning signs
Tell me how and where to draw the line
Corruption and deceit
The guardians fell asleep
Things get broken like shattered glass
They can never be the same
The wings of a butterfly
Once touched he cannot fly
He cannot fly, he cannot fly
What’s your alibi, what’s your alibi?
Things will never be the same
Never never be the same
The wings of a butterfly
Once touched he cannot fly
Things will never be the same
Never never be the same
How you justify and you falsify
What’s your alibi, what’s your alibi?
ISLAND
So she draws me down
Back to the shore
Her whisper I’ll bear no more
Above the liquid tide
In between dawn and night
Under her watercolour skies
Island, hiding in the sea
Island, her beauty is a little out of reach
Waves roll in
Waves roll back out
Revealing on the hard wet sand
Jagged rocks and secret treasures lost
The people are like the tide,
Sometimes on a summer night
They pull the cover from their heart
Love and pain are hidden not forgot
Island, hiding in the sea
Island, she sings her song for me
So when I was young
And more than once
With a girl I thought I loved
Ran naked on the beach
She’s still there
Though I have gone
Island, hiding in the sea, my island,
Her secret belongs to me
WHILE WAITING
We’re doing fine, we’re doing alright
Putting sunshine in every moment
Listening to the radio
And learning to let go
And laughing, laughing, laughing
Your beauty’s mine, our destiny lies
Take this journey from light to light
Listening to the radio
And learning to let go
And waiting, waiting, waiting
Dreaming while waiting
Ride on baby ride, Ride on baby ride
Faith in the stars, this life is ours
The road ahead is paved with gold
Listening to the radio
And learning to let go
And dancing, dancing, dancing
Dreaming while waiting
Ride on baby ride, Ride on baby ride
We’re doing fine, we’re doing alright
Putting sunshine in every moment
Listening to the radio
And learning to let go
And waiting, waiting, waiting
RUNWAY LIGHTS
I’ve started to learn
Started to yearn
I’ve started on a solo flight
Hands in my pockets free as light
Walking tiptoes on the edge of life
Broken in two, in three, in five
Broken free like a runaway
Take the bit between the teeth
Keeping valentines out of sight
So now what am I going to do
If I go and fall in love with you
Now how am I going to let it be
If you go and fall in love with me
Got so much work to do
Standing tall in high-heeled boots
Cut my hair, get a tattoo
A rebel cause
Better late than never
Some consolation, some conversation
Who is that in my rear-view mirror
Heart beats up, wide eyed wonder
A little bit closer, closer, closer, closer
So now what am I going to do
If I go and fall in love with you
So how am I going to let it be
If you go and fall in love with me
Free and easy, keep it light
I’m a dissident for independence
A poster girl for solitude
Don’t tell me about love’s devotion
Who am I kidding
Come a bit closer, whisper desire let’s take it higher
Kick the monkey off my back, tell me darling
Can you spend the night
I AM A MARTIAN
I am a Martian
Dropped in from elsewhere
Into the living room
For drinks and conversation
On my planet
The moon is always red
The sand from your desert
Reflects the blood you shed
I am an angel
Hiding in your pocket
I’ve bent the sky for you
On a chemical afternoon
Where is my place
Somewhere out in outer space
Who has escaped?
A comic-book character
A paper-weight in two dimensions
I am an octopus
Walking on the highway
Hitchhiking the galaxy
Can fish learn to fly?
I am a Spaceman
I’ve been on this planet
Since before it was born
And all this time as nothing
I am a Martian
A star without a picture
My spaceship will return
And I will be gone
Where is my place
Somewhere out in outer space
Dust on the dashboard
Inconsequential
A Dancing bear in the kitchen
Where is my place
Somewhere out in outer space
Who has escaped?
A comic-book character
A paper-weight in two dimensions
LIQUID AND FIRE
Begins slow and quiet
And gets desperate over time
Needing constant fulfillment
Walking a fine wire
One to calm, one to arouse
Sleeping to waking
A permanent merry-go-round
Always something to do
To keep my hands quiet
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
So I have faithful companions
To my faithful anxiety
Risk only adds excitement
Long term is too far to see
Easy to please, silent and eager
In love with the danger
A permanent merry-go-round
Always something to do
To keep my hands quiet
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
Too much radio static
White noise and disapproval
Jousting with windmills
They always stay one step away
Put on a mask, put up a shield
Don’t need to know who I am
A permanent merry-go-round
Always something to do
To keep my hands quiet
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
With liquid and fire
Liquid and fire
SKIN TO SKIN
Touch me
Wrap me around your little finger
Touch me
Raise me up and lay me down
Hold me
Tight enough to make me wonder
Hold me
Let me see celestial splendor
There’s been way too much talking,
Let’ s go skin to skin
Tongue to tongue
Take me
A place where loneliness can’t come
Take me
My head on your lap on a beautiful dawn
There’s been way too much talking
Let’ s go – Skin to skin
Tongue to tongue
There’s been way too much talking
Let’ s go – Skin to skin
Tongue to tongue
Love me
I can hear the brilliant trees
Love me
Put your fingers in my mouth to change the world
LAY LOW
Is it half past nine? I didn’t see the time go by
It’s so hard to go but I’ll try to come back sometime
All washed in light, your face becomes a higher plane
I’m transparent as glass
Fill myself with anything to hide the past
Should I try to follow the tracks
Of an invisible path
Behind the door – Kandinsky’s hanging on the wall
All in reds and blues different shades of you
Distracts me from the Siren’s call
I’m transparent as glass
Fill myself with anything to hide the past
Should I try to follow the tracks
Of an invisible path
Is it quarter to? I really can no longer stay
Like the rabbit helping Alice to find her way
I’ve fallen so many times, I think I’ll just lay low
Wait for a stronger wind to push me back home
Push me back home
Push me back home
Push me back home