Song Lyrics
AN ANGEL APPEARED
by Howard Lewis
I was playing guitar on a soft summer night
Down at the harbor in the fading twilight
Singing of love, singing of loss,
Singing about all of the miles I have crossed
When an angel in linen and fine Belgian lace
Entered my bubble of personal space
“Will you sing me a song,” she asked straight away
Without hesitation I started to play.
Over the Rainbow came tumbling out
And all of the while she was looking about
As if searching for something long gone astray
Looking for someone far far away
“He’s been gone a long time,” she said at the end.
“A fisherman,” she added, “And my very best friend.”
“I’ve lived in this village for seventy years,
Now I’m ninety years old,” she said through her tears.
(chorus)
I could promise to love you ‘til we’re old and we’re grey
I could promise you laughter at the end of the day
But one will go first and the other will stay
So the best I can do is to love you today
“Do you accept tips?” she frankly seemed moved
To ask me, and of course I approved
She slipped me a five then wandered away
Some people go, some people stay.
(chorus)
I could promise to love you ‘til we’re old and we’re grey
I could promise you laughter at the end of the day
But one will go first and the other will stay
So the best I can do is to love you today
Count me among those who remain
Who know the truth in this poignant refrain
“If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow why-o-why can’t I?”
Interlude to Over the Rainbow
Somewhere Over the Rainbow, way up high . . . . etc.
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PRACTICAL MAN
by Howard Lewis
We sailed from St. Thomas on a ship of the main
With a cargo of gold we wrested from Spain
Our fortune ‘twas certain, likewise our renown
(All) Should we safely deliver this gold to the Crown
We had lost sight of land at ten or half past
When our lookout cried, “I’ve spotted a mast!
She’s gaining on us, a swift little dodger,
And she’s boastfully flying a black Jolly Roger.”
“Cabin Boy,” said the Captain to me,
“Get my red shirt. It’s easy to see
They may overtake us sometime around dawn
When they strike I’ll be having my battle shirt on.”
(All) When they strike he’ll be having his battle shirt on.”
Well the captain was right, they hit us at dawn
He bravely led us, repelling the throng.
When the battle subsided, he said straight away,
“Cabin Boy, please put my red shirt away.”
(All) Put it away. Put it away.
At midday three masts swung into view
Chasing and posing a challenge anew
As they closed in upon us, their intention shown clear
Please,” said the Captain, “bring my battle shirt here.”
(All) Put it on! Put it on!
Once again we prevailed and sent the rogues packing.
Our Captain had cheered us when courage was lacking.
Charging into the fray, our battle shirt bearer
Dissected the foe and filled them with terror.
(All) He filled them with terror.
“My Captain,” I asked, “Why the red shirt?”
“I wear it,” he said, “in case I get hurt.
It won’t show the blood,” he whispered this part.
“When the men see I’m wounded they tend to lose heart.”
(All) (Losing heart noises)
(chorus)(All)
O Captain, my Captain, he does what he can
More than just cunning, he’s a Practical Man.
The very next morning an armada appeared
Eight-hundred pirates most mightily feared.
“Shall I fetch your red shirt?”
“No thanks,” he replied.
“But bring my brown britches,” he wistfully cried.
(All) “Bring our brown britches,” all of us cried.
(chorus)(All)
O Captain, my Captain, he does what he can
More than just cunning, he’s a Practical Man
So load up the canon, drink a tankard of rum (a tempo)
(All) And be certain brown britches are covering your bum.
(All) And be certain brown britches are covering your bum.
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DAFFODILS
by Howard Lewis
You gave me daffodils on Sunday,
Full of promise, full of joy
The first one opened Monday,
Others followed by and by
They were beautiful by Wednesday,
Glorious on Thursday too
Smiling like the sunshine,
Spectacular like you.
But time is unrelenting,
Nothing seems to stay
By Friday they were wilting,
They began to fade away.
You said, “Their time is over,
They’ve seen a better day.”
But my heart cried out, “They came from you.
How can I throw them away?”
(Musical interlude)
But time is unrelenting,
Nothing seems to stay
By Friday they were wilting,
They began to fade away.
You said, “Their time is over,
They’ve seen a better day.”
But my heart cried out, “They came from you.
How can I throw them away?”
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THE MIGHTY UNKNOWN
by Howard Lewis
Columbus sailed west toward the mighty unknown,
Taking a chance he’d never get home.
Driven to show that the world was round
Thinking there might be new lands to be found.
Lewis and Clark travelled upstream
To find the Pacific, accomplish the dream
Of charting a course ‘cross the mighty frontier,
An easier way to get there from here.
Some dreams can be hard, some of them cruel
They challenge or break a conventional rule
But those are the ones too big to ignore
Those are the dreams we’re bound to explore.
Marco Polo set out on a trip to the East
Crossed mountains and deserts on a caravan beast
Down the silk road ‘til he landed in China
And stayed there for years, waiting to find a
Reason to leave, to return to the West,
To tell the known world what he’d seen of the rest.
I’ll conquer an ocean, I’ll challenge the sea
I’ll find a safe harbor, be waiting for thee
I’ll set out alone through a forest unknown,
To find a green meadow and build a new home
For you . . . . . For you.
(chorus)
So cross the deep ocean, sail the dark sea,
Follow your heart, come looking for me.
I’ll put a lamp in the window, keep a fire burning bright,
And pray for your journey all through the night.
Some dreams can be hard, some of them cruel
They challenge or break a conventional rule
But those are the ones too big to ignore
Those are the dreams we’re bound to explore.
(chorus) (repeat ad lib)
So cross the deep ocean, sail the dark sea,
Follow your heart, come looking for me.
I’ll put a lamp in the window, keep a fire burning bright,
And pray for your journey all through the night.
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SHED MY SKIN
by Howard Lewis
(Intro—Native American Prayer – Spoken)
Spirit Who Comes From Out of the East
Come to me with the power of the rising sun
Let there be light in my word
Let there be light on the path that I walk
Never let me be burdened with sorrow by not starting over
I walked out on a rocky ledge
A river looped below
I teetered on the jagged edge
To watch the river flow
A trail descended from the bluff
Then meandered through a wood
Where pine and larch, the mighty fir,
And giant redwood stood
A blue jay paused to laugh at me
A comic sideshow fool
But I moved on around a bend
Toward a quiet forest pool
A trout swam up and looked at me
As if to say hello
He kissed the sky then flipped his tail
And disappeared below
I shed my skin, and jumped straight in
It seemed the perfect way
To lose my pain and misery
And wash my sins away
(Interlude)
I shed my skin, and jumped straight in
It seemed the perfect way
To lose my pain and misery
And wash my sins away
I shed my skin, and jumped straight in
It seemed the perfect way
To lose my pain and misery
And wash my sins away
And wash my sins away
Epilogue — “Everybody needs beauty . . . places to play and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.”
— Voice for the Wilderness, John Muir, 1902
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THE SWALLOW
by Howard Lewis
I saw a bird in a lifeless tree
A swallow gazing down at me
Looking bedraggled and clearly forlorn
Her feathers decidedly tattered and torn
Prairie surrounded the moldering tree
Spreading as far as the eye could see
“You’re looking exhausted,” I said to the swallow,
“What brought you to this, what path did you follow?”
“I don’t know,” said the bird, “I feel hopelessly lost
Must have made a wrong turn in the last state I crossed.
I’m not good at directions, I can’t read a map,
Don’t know which way is forward or which way is back.”
“Well jump on my shoulder,” I said to the bird,
“My back is strong and so is my word,
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
Where gentle ocean breezes blow.
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
To a sunny place where swallows go
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
To a sunny place where swallows go
(Interlude)
Well I offered my hand to the shivering bird
“Come with me,” I said, but I don’t think she heard
She unfolded her wings and fluttered away
To weak to go, to frightened to stay
“Jump on my shoulder,” I called to the bird,
“My back is strong and so is my word.
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
Where gentle ocean breezes blow
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
To a sunny place where swallows go
I’ll carry you down to Mexico
To a sunny place where swallows go.
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