1   SPARKS

        Instrumental​

 

2   AS CLOSE TO GOD AS I'M

EVER GONNA GET

       Years ago, while living in a triplex in the southern Minnesota town

of St. Peter, I had only two brief encounters with a single middle-aged woman one floor below. I spoke with her ever so briefly as noted in the lyrics to this song, only to hear a short time later that she had died in a car accident. I paused every time I walked past the closed door to her empty, silent room. 

​

Some people are like rainbows

Or maybe just the rain

They pass through our lives

Like graffiti on a train

The ones never meant

To have and to hold

Their memories are like messages

Written in our souls

​

(Chorus)

The last time I saw her

She looked up at me and said

"That's as close to God

As you're ever gonna get"

I laughed and I waved

But I'll never, ever forget

That's as close to God

As I'm ever gonna get

​

 I saw her sitting by her window

So peaceful as she read

Her door slightly open

Words left unsaid

That picture in my mind

It just keeps running through my head

After hearing she had died

Such a quick and violent death

​

(Repeat chorus and first verse)

 

3   MARY MORIARITY

The county attorney for Minnesota's largest county, Hennepin, has made quite

the name for herself by letting young, violent criminals off the hook with light sentences and rehabilitation. The public health philosophy used to justify some of this is that the human brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25.

I'm no expert, but it seems to me a person doesn't need that level of maturity to know that you don't brutally kill innocent people. Part of any restitution (of no benefit to their victims, of course) would seem best to include serving time and learning that there is a high price to pay. In my view, disparities in some of these cases shouldn't be a catch-all excuse or justification for leniency and putting at further risk society and those who serve to protect it.

​

 Zaria McKeever was just 23

Her cold-blooded killer barely 17

Too young they say to know wrong from right

Let's rehabilitate his wayward life

​

(Chorus)

Another lad gets off scot-free

For murder in the first degree

A slap on the wrist then it's back on the street

Thanks to Mary Moriarity

​

Guilty as charged by give 'em a break

Their half'-baked brains aren't thinking straight

Let Kailey and Derrell and Steven too

Pay the price for things they didn't do

 

4   RELENTLESS DESIRE
Instrumental.

 

5   REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD

The line intrigued me but as someone once said, revenge is not always sweet. Once consummated, we feel inferior to our victim... not to mention leaving ourselves open to further retribution if caught!  But you might feel differently if you served time for something you didn't do.     

​

Framed for murder

Fingered and double-crossed

Taking the fall

Living the cost

I'll make you pay

For the time that I've lost

Watch your back, pal

​

I'll get even I swear

Vendettas never rest

Vengeance will be mine

I've learned from the best

Johnny says patience

Is the key to success

So watch your back, pal

 

(Chorus)

You've gotta get 'em

When they least suspect it

Wait long enough

And they'll never expect it

You'll have 'em in a stranglehold

'Cuz revenge is best served cold

​

I've been dreaming my way

Right out of this cell

Like a dying killer

On his way to hell

But dreams can be places

Where the best plans dwell

So watch you back, pal

 

6   IS YOUR LOVE MEANT FOR ANOTHER?

       Written years ago, this pretty much lays out what can happen in a lop-sided relationship. Often, the victims in these instances can be their own worst enemies. As Hemingway noted once, "The

most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too."

​

Love had come so easy

He could see it in her eyes

And the depth of her affection

Had caught him by surprise

What she lacked in understanding

She made up for with desire

But in him such blind devotion

She never could inspire

 

  (Chorus 1)

He said, "Please don't try to change me

I'm all that I was ever meant to be

If you're looking for a lover

You'll only bring the bad things out in me

From neglecting to rejecting you

I've never loved you like somebody can

Is your love meant for another

Or is love a word you'll never understand?"

​

Well he couldn't hide his feelings

And he never could ignore

A love that just created

The need for something more

So she came to know his anger

And the weight of his demands

And the time they spent together

Became more than she could stand

​

(Chorus 2)

She said, "Please don't try to change me

I'm all that I was ever meant to be

I was looking for a lover

But you only bring the bad things out in me

From loving to resenting you

I've tried to please you every way I can

Is your love meant for another

Or is love a word you'll never understand?"

​

7   PARTY POOPER

       The song pretty much says it.

​

I was never much of the partying type

Always talking over each other all night

Saying too little but spilling too much

Oh how good it is just to stay in touch

"Man, this has great

It's been way too long

You haven't changed a bit

Still like to hog the bong

Come on... Pass it over here, bro!"

 

My kid's into hockey

My job's goin' great

My wife was just promoted

We've got a lot on our plate

Man, it's good to see ya

You're looking just fine

I'd love to hear what you're up to next time

Man, this has been great

My kinda party, Dean

Gonna have to run, though

Say hi to the wife for me

 

8   THESE BLUES 

      These days in particular, it can be easy to let all that's happening in

the world drag us down a bit. But at least in my case, I've learned that

it's always temporary and nothing that a good night's sleep and

the new perspective of another day can't turn around.

​

My blues are more like shades of gray

Like the barren trees of November

Or the empty feelings that bring to mind

What's left of her I remember

​

(Chorus)

But these blues

They always come and go

You're down for the count

But the next thing you know

You're up and you're at it

And you're back in the game

Accepting the challenge

All over again

You might as well face it

And take it on the chin

When those blues come calling again

Never give in

​

There's a rustle and shiver

Of falling leaves

As the north wind stings my face

But the shimmer and sparkle

Of the virgin snow

Is like the promise of a brand new day

​

(Repeat chorus)

​

9   ENCHANTMENT

       Instrumental

​

10   EVANESCENCE

       This is a tale concocted out of thin air. In this case, it's about someone running from commitment, but it can be about anyone who suddenly disappears in a mysterious way.

​

She said, "You were always big on the truth

So let me give it to you straight

Falling in love with you

Is just gonna have to wait

'Cuz I've got a plane to catch

I'll call you from L.A."

​

"She said, "Love is so elusive"

In her melodramatic way

Like she was bringing me to my knees

Begging her to stay

A little bit lost and confused

But who am I to say?

 

(Chorus)

And that's the last I've

Seen or heard from Keilly Anne

The more I got to know her

The less I'd understand

​

She's probably sipping on her Charbonneau Way

In some French Polynesian bar

We always talked about making it there

But we never quite got that far

I'll always be with you," she smiled

"No matter where you are"

​

(Chorus)

And that's the last I've seen or heard from Keilly Anne

The more I got to know her

The less I'd understand

​

11  YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

      I was listening to someone being interviewed on the radio recently who

talked in questions. It reminded me of the stereotypical Valley Girls from  Southern California in the 1980s.

​

"Do I bring you down with my upspeak?

Like validation is what I seek?

I don't just talk, I interrogate?

Maybe it's just something that I ate?

​

(Chorus)

You know what I mean?

You know what I mean?

Awesome!

You know what I mean?

You know what I mean?

So cool!

 

We all know people who talk this way

They question every word they say

Is there really a solution?

Or is it kinda like Goodman's reverse elocution?

 

Is it a rare disease?

Or a bad infection?

Or just a case of hyper-inflection?

 

Chorus)

You know what I mean?

You know what I mean?

Awesome!

You know what I mean?

You know what I mean?

So cool!

​

12   CELEBRER SA VIE

       My tribute to that modern-day pirate of the caribbean, Jimmy Buffett. Say

what you will, but he was a gifted songwriter (at least in the earlier years)

and a musician who latched onto a vibe and maintained a persona that

always put me in a better mood and lightened my load

.

​

How I love those halcyon days

Where the wind has its way

So far from my home

A vagabond adrift

Til those things that I miss

Start calling me home

And that girl

With the cascading curls

Makes me feel so alone

No matter how far I go

The time will come when I know

It's time to head home

​

I've got this thing about the sea

Where my heart longs to be

So far from my home

Just a little out of reach

Off Colombier Beach

Far from my home

Where the ghost of Jimmy steers

The horizon disappears

You'd swear that you're stoned

But there always comes a day

I've change course and set sail

And find my way home

​

(Chorus)

Everybody dance

Everybody sing

Célébrer Sa Vie

Celebrate with me!

Célébrer Sa Vie

Celebrate with me!

​

​

© Bradford Kissell. All Rights Reserved. Images and music on this site

can only be used with the expressed written permission of the author.