1. |
However You Can
04:18
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However You Can
I don’t know if I’ve been a good man
Most days I give it my best
Sometimes I walk in God’s graces
Sometimes I fail the test
My son died in Kandahar province
My wife died in pain the next year
My daughter’s a doctor in Boston
Who sacrificed kids for career
So love me as if I’m your brother
Love me as if I’m your man
Love me as one loves another
Love me however you can
I worked the GE floor in Warren
Made lights bulbs for nine thousand days
And in ’14 they banned incandescents
And the last hundred jobs went away
Now I sit in the glare of fluorescents
Hard light on the family room floor
And I think of the good days we had here
Good times I won’t have any more
So love me as if I’m your brother
Love me as if I’m your man
Love me as one loves another
Love me however you can
This life is a trial, this life is a road
We walk the last mile alone
But I choke back the bile and shoulder the load
And think of the love I have known
I mostly spend time with myself now
My daughter, she calls once a week
And the days flow by like a river of time
Whole days when I don’t even speak
But I hope I’m at peace with my Maker
I’m making my peace with my fate
Still, sometimes I stare out the window
And wish that it wasn’t so late
So love me as if I’m your brother
Love me as if I’m your man
Love me as I loved another
Love me however you can
I don’t know if I’ve been a good man
Most days I give it my best
Sometimes I walk in God’s graces
Sometimes I fail the test
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2. |
Western Reserve
04:21
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Western Reserve
The moment I saw it, I knew it
The Buick pulled in the drive
I couldn’t think how we’d get through it
Couldn’t think how we’d survive
The soldiers could not have been kinder
You could see they’d done this before
Another suburban reminder
Of an endless, horrible war
To serve was never Ted’s calling
But he joined the Ohio Guard
The Iron Camels out of Piqua
When they cut back his hours at the yard
Ted was buried with full Army colors
With his brothers at Western Reserve
In a grave like ten thousand others
A grave that no one deserves
And I feel so sad for my Davy
With the loneliest crosstown commute
From Western Reserve down to Lake View
And the stones of life’s bitter fruit
Not long past Ted’s memorial service
I felt a strange pain in my thumb
At first, I thought it was nerves
Though most of the time I felt numb
But by April my hands were on fire
By May I was feeling so weak
In June I had to retire
By July, whole days when I couldn’t speak
And I cannot describe what it felt like
The infusions that tore me apart
And pain that consumed my body
After pain had consumed my heart
But the worst part was watching my husband
So angry with the Lord
Silently raging at heaven
Fury on the seventh-floor ward
Chorus
The moment I saw it, I knew it
The Buick pulled in the drive
I couldn’t think how we’d get through it
Couldn’t think how we’d survive
The soldiers could not have been kinder
I could see they’d done this before
Another suburban reminder
Of an endless, horrible war
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3. |
Tend the Fire
05:26
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Tend the Fire
Before we go, I just want to say
You made my life a wonder in a hundred different ways
But time moves on and the years roll by
You laugh, you lose, you learn to love, you live your life, you die
But who I am isn’t who I was
I love you and I always will, just because
And who I am isn’t who I’ll be
And you are in my heart and in my heart you’ll always be
My one
If I knew what went wrong
I’d write it in a sad and lonesome country song
And if I knew how to make it right
I’d love you through the long and lazy summer nights
But who I am isn’t who I was
And time defeats the purpose, as it often does
And who I am isn’t who I’ll be
I’ll find a place where I can keep my own company
As one
While you tend the fire
You tend the fire
You tend the fire
This time
I can’t deny, we’re getting old
The places that we’ve touched have started turning cold
I’d hold your hand if the myths were true
But I believe this is the last song that I’ll write for you
But who I am isn’t who I was
The night descends in silence, as it always does
And who I am isn’t who I’ll be
I wish you well, I wish you love, I wish you were with me
As one
While you tend the fire
You tend the fire
You tend the fire
This time
You tend the fire
While I’ll walk the wire
You tend the fire
This time
And now it’s time to end this song
Go with God, go with grace, but please don’t go too long
I’ll be here if you chance to call
I’ll look for you, I’ll look for love, I’ll try to see it all
As one
And I’ll tend the fire
I’ll tend the fire
I’ll tend the fire
While you’re gone
And I’ll tend the fire
While you walk the wire
I’ll tend the fire
From now on
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4. |
Don't Keep Me Waiting
03:27
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Don’t Keep Me Waiting
I am a simple man
I find myself in you
I do not shut the door
I won’t ask you for more
Why won’t you open up?
Don’t keep me waiting here
It’s been a long, long time
My feet have come to rest
The empty midnight sky
Has seen you asking why
Why won’t you open up?
Don’t keep me waiting here
I gave the best years to you
Now it don’t even show
If we’re not going to last
I wish you’d let me know
I am a simple man
I find myself in you
I do not shut the door
I won’t ask you for more
Why won’t you open up?
Don’t keep me waiting here
I gave the best years to you
Now it don’t even show
If we’re not going to last
I wish you’d let me know
© 1971 Francis McKendree
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5. |
Photography
04:57
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Photography
There’s a photo we keep on a bookshelf
Our daughter at the shore
She’s halfway through a cartwheel
Who could ever ask for more?
There’s a photo I saw in the paper
A toddler face down in the sand
The waves threw him out of a life raft
That no country allowed to land
I can’t meet my glance in the mirror
I can’t look myself in the eye
In my safety, my warmth and my comfort
As children continue to die
There’s a photo I keep in my office
My daughter at the park
Between the slide and the swing set
She’s happy as a lark
There’s a photo I saw in the paper
A child in a cage
And of course I found it horrific
Then I turned to the local news page
I can’t meet my glance in the mirror
I can’t look myself in the eye
With the freedom to go where I want to
As children continue to die
Who have we become? Who are we?
Complaining about the rain
Blind to the world around us
Ignoring the terror and pain
There’s a photo I keep in my mind’s eye
My daughter on the lawn
Camellias in bloom all around her
It’s a beautiful summer’s dawn
There’s a photo I saw in the paper
A young girl with fear in her face
As the tear gas swirled around her
For the crime of seeking a safe place
Can you meet your glance in the mirror?
Can you look yourself in the eye
With the peace you take for granted
As children continue to die?
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Howard Simon San Francisco, California
I am a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter. My songs are about love (romantic and otherwise), family, morality and mortality. If there is a common thread to my songs, it is the people we love, the desire to do right, and the hope and fear, the peace and the struggle that constitute life bring wonder in addition to its joy and sadness, and sometimes loss. ... more
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