Kansas Album

Can I tell you something
Got to tell you one thing
If you expect the freedom
That you say is yours
Prove that you deserve it
Help us to preserve it
Or being free will just be
Words and nothing more

Two began together, lived as one
Each one to the other had become
More than a friend, living to meet a common end
They were true, each one knew all is well

Still the elder knew it could not last
Hidden memories from the young one's past
Drew them apart
Both knew that deep within his heart they must part
Each their own separate way

It puzzles me how we can be so close and yet worlds apart
Can it be, my memory has torn my life in two
From the very start
I screamed for the devil to let me be
I called to the heavens to set me free
Today I prayed for the answer and not one
Of the gods in the sky would rescue me

Dreams of fortune fill the young one's mind
Learn the worldly ways of hope to find
Love on the way, searching to find the light of day
In his soul he had found his own way

But to each other they soon will return
Destiny fulfilled, their words will burn an eternal flame

Virgin land of forest green, dark and stormy plains, here all life abounds
Sunlit valley, mountain fields, unseen in the rain, here all life abounds
No man rules this land, no human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see, so rich in Earth's delights

Painted desert, sequined sky, stars that fill the night, here all life abounds
Rivers flowing to the sea, sunshine pure and bright, here all life abounds
No man rules this land, no human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see, so rich in Earth's delights

So the maiden lies in waiting, for the sails to reach the shore
Land of beauty and abundance, innocent, you opened wide your door
Wanderers found the waiting treasure, full of gifts beyond their measure
Milk and honey for our pleasure.....

Across the sea there came a multitude, sailing ships upon the wave
Filled with visions of Utopia, and the freedom that they crave
Ravage, plunder, see no wonder, rape and kill and tear asunder
Chop the forest, plow it under.....

Highways scar the mountainsides, buildings to the sky, people all around
Houses stand in endless rows, sea to shining sea, people all around
So we rule this land, and here we stand upon our paradise,
Dreaming of a place, our weary race is ready to arise

On a winter's night, stars are cold and bright in the sky,
The slumber of the earth is pure and deep
From a distant wood, drifts the echo of a beast
The old man stirs and wakens in the night
He stands before his window gazing at the grave
Forgotten dreams are flashing through his weary mind
And though his life is empty, he pretends that she's still there

With hunger in his soul, he yearns for life and love gone by,
With memories his one and only joy
All he has to give, he would give to bring back the life,
And raise the one who lies beneath the snow
He lights a lamp and looks at pictures of the past
The faces of their youth still glow with new-found love,
But the picture's faded, and time has stolen youth away

With a spoken word that he thought he heard from her lips,
He felt another presence in the room,
He was filled with fear but filled with joy he arose
And turned to face the image that he knew
She stood before him and her hand reached out for his
A peaceful light shone in her eyes
She said she'd come to soothe him, and someday they'd be as one

She began to fade and her image disappeared,
So he was left alone to face the night,
Never in his life, had he been so held in awe,
As he faced the apparition of his wife
He stood before the window gazing at the grave,
And with a lightened heart he saw the first of dawn,
He knew that she was waiting, that someday they'd be as one

Early in the morning sunlight
Soaring on the wings of dawn
Here I'll live and die with my wings in the sky
And I won't come down no more

Higher than a bird I'm flying
Crimson skies of ice and fire
Borne on wings of steel I have so much to feel
And I won't come down no more

Sail on, sail on, I will rise each day to meet the dawn
So high, so high
I've climbed the mountains of the sky
Without my wings you know I'd surely die
I found my freedom flyin' high
I've climbed the mountains of the sky

Floating on the clouds of amber
Searching for the rainbow's end
Earth so far below me,
I'm here alone, free
I can't come down no more

I've so much to say, and yet I cannot speak
Come and do my bidding now for I have grown too weak
My weary eyes have seen all that life can give
Come to me, O young one, for you I can forgive

I stood where no man goes, and conquered demon foes
With glory and passion no longer in fashion
The hero breaks his blade

Cast this shadow long that I may hide my face
And in this cloak of darkness the world I will embrace
In all that I endure, of one thing I am sure
Knowledge and reason change like the season
A jester's promenade

Lying at my feet I see the offering you bring
The mark of Cain is on our faces, borne of suffering
O, I long to hear you say it's not been wrong
I stand before you now, a riddle in my song
The answer is that sweet refrain
Unheard it always will remain
Beyond our reach, beyond our gain

Trapped in life's parade, a king without a crown
In this joy of madness, my smile might seem a frown
With talons wrought of steel, I tore the heart of doom
And in one gleaming moment I saw beyond the tomb
I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose
Life is amusing though we are losing
Drowned in tears of awe.

Sweet child of innocence
Living in the present tense
Father Time will take his toll
Rack your body and steal your soul
What became of all the years
Are you drowning in your tears
Who will catch you when you fall
Who will hear you when you call

I will comfort you, take your hand and see you through
I will take you through the door

Who do you think you are
Try to live forever and you won't get far
I wait behind your door
Makes no difference if you're rich or poor
Though you're weary and afraid
Still you try to flee my blade
Come and walk in my new land
If you'll only take my hand

In the image of those who have walked before me here
I am cast in the web of an ancient spell
I am holding on to life, I'm drifting in the stream
Everything's much clearer now
We live within a dream and never wake

Judge not by what you see
More than you can count are here with me
Give up your foolish pride
All that walk the earth have died!

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Ahhhh

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high

Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Oh!

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, none can equal the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry (Don't you cry no more)

No more

From the mountains to the sun, Life has only just begun.
We wed this land and pledge our souls to meet its end,
Life has only just begun
Here my people roam the earth, in the kingdom of our birth,
Where the dust of all our horses hides the sun
We are mighty on the earth, on the earth

You have come to move me, take me from my ancient home,
Land of my fathers I can't leave you now
We will share it with you, no man owns this earth we're on
Now the wheels are rolling hear the howling winds of war
It's my destiny to fight and die
Is there no solution, can we find no other way, Lord let me stay
Under the endless sky and the earth below
Here I was born to live and I will never go, oh no

But we cannot endure like the earth and the mountains
Life is not ours to keep, for a new sun is rising

Soon these days shall pass away, for our freedom we must pay
All our words and deeds are carried on the wind,
In the ground our bodies lay, here we lay

On a crystal morning I can see the dewdrops falling
Down from a gleaming heaven, I can hear the voices call
When you comin' home now, son, the World is not for you
Tell me what's you point of view

Hey there Mister Madman, wat'cha know that I don't know
Tell me some crazy stories, let me know who runs this show
Glassy-eyed and laughing, he turns and walks away
Tell me what made you that way

Here I am just waiting for a sign
Asking questions, learning all the time
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love, and miracles out of nowhere

Tell me now dear Mother, what's it like to be so old
Children grown and leavin', seems the world is growin' cold
And though your body's ailin' you, your mind is just like new
Tell me where you're goin' to

It's so simple right before your eyes
If you'll only look through this disguise
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

I sang this song a hundred, maybe a thousand years ago
No one ever listens, I just play and then I go
Off into the sunset like the western heroes do
Tell me what you're gonna do

Here I am, I'm sure to see a sign
All my life I knew that it was mine
It's always here, it's always there
It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

Well you told me that I was just not the one,
And you left me standing out in the cold
It's been a long time and I'm so much better now
That I'm looking back and seeing it all
And for the first time there's no pain in my life
Been a long hard road that I've gone
We had a good thing and it made me a man and I know

You got me goin', yeah, pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying what's on my mind

Well I found you or maybe I found myself
And I think we knew it all of the time
We fit together just like a lock and a key
And we opened up each other's minds
Yeah, I was laughing 'cause there was no room to cry
There was too much growing to do
We had a good time and it ain't over yet 'cause I know

You got me goin', will you pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying

You came from nowhere and you just jumped in my life,
And I know it never will be the same
You made me love you, now I'm home once again
No, I never want to leave you no more
'Cause I'm attached to the better half of myself
And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be
You filled an empty, you fixed a bad broken heart, yes I know

You got me goin',yeah, pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying what's on my mind

I heard the men saying something
The captains tell they pay you well
And they say they need sailing men to
Show the way, and leave today
Was it you that said, "How long, how long?"

They say the sea turns so dark that
You know it's time, you see the sign
They say the point demons guard is
An ocean grave, for all the brave,
Was it you that said, "How long, how long,
How long to the point of know return?"

Your father, he said he needs you
Your mother, she says she loves you
Your brothers, they echo your words:
"How far to the point of know return, to the point of know return"
"Oh Oh, how long, how long?"

Today I found a message floating
In the sea from you to me
It wrote that when you could see it
You cried with fear, the Point was near
Was it you that said, "How long, how long, how long
To the Point of Know Return?"

How Long? How Long to the point of no return?"
No Return

How Long?
(Repeat and Fade)

He had a thousand ideas
You might have heard his name
He lived alone with his vision
Not looking for fortune or fame
Never said too much to speak of
He was off on another plane
The words that he said were a mystery
Nobody's sure he was sane
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
He was in search of an answer
The nature of what we are
He was trying to do it a new way
He was bright as a star
But nobody understood him
"His numbers are not the way"
He's lost in the deepest enigma
Which no one's unravelled today
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
And he tried
But before he could tell us he died
When he left us the people cried
Oh, where was he going to?
He had a different idea
A glimpse of the master plan
He could see into the future
A true visionary man
But there's something he never told us
It died when he went away
If only he could have been with us
No telling what he might say
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
But he knew
You could tell by the picture he drew
It was totally something new
Oh, where was he going to

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Oh

Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind (All we are is dust in the wind)
Dust in the wind (Everything is dust in the wind)
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind

Can you see me, do you know my position how quick is your eye?
I have no home, no reason to roam yet I travel the length of the sky
I stretch my fingers jagged icy white 'till my energy's all around
My clutch is swift, my force is fearful I convey it without a sound
I live to free the skies from everyone, watch me run - watch me

The north wind rises, old man's eyes wondering deeply as he locks his door
He knows the fear when I'm too near him, he's seen me angry before
The black intruding clouds approach as I release a destructive blow
All the crashing, all the flashing light brings terror upon my foe
I fight with force and power for my land
I command the lightning's hand!

Run for cover - Oh your life is in vain if you try to escape me
Don't look back - Oh your wealthy world cannot save you
'Cause I'm gonna break you
I hear them moan, I hear them weep because they feel I belong to the devil
They feel the pain, and will again 'till they stop reaching up for this level
No one will defeat me, no one can
I command the lightning's hand!

The sparks of the tempest rage a hundred years on
The voice of the dreamer screams, the cause of the pawn
The King and the Queen are gone, each piece is the same
The difference between us is a part of the game

Darkness is spreading like a spot on the sun
The dead are the living in the age of the gun
While everyone clamors for the justice they seek
The Word is corrupted and the strong take the weak

They mold you and shape you, they watch what you do
The sparks of the tempest are burnin' you through
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

The future is managed, and your freedom's a joke
You don't know the difference as you put on the yoke
The less that you know the more you fall into place
A cog in the wheel, there is no soul in your face

Run for the cover, Millennium's here
Bearing the standard of confusion and fear
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

Blood in the sand, a cry in the street
Now the cycle is nearly complete
Ten thousand years, and nothing was learned
No turning back, now the wheel has turned

Big Brother is watching and he likes what he sees
A world for the taking, when he's ready to squeeze
The King and the Queen are gone, each piece is the same
The difference between us is a part of the game

Soothsayer saying now tell me no lies
What is this madness that is filling the skies
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

I'm on fire
Burning with the question in my mind
Strange desire
Seems there's nothing else for me to find

'Cause I've been here, and I've been there,
Seems like I've been everywhere before
I've seen it all a hundred times
Still I think there surely must be more

I've been livin', I had to take my time and change my style
Now I wonder is something gonna make it all worthwhile

I know there's more than meets the eye
Like to see it 'fore I die for sure.
Something tells me it's all right
Only one step farther to the door

There ain't no feelin', feels the same as findin' out the key
Now I'm reelin', thinking of the things that I might see

I'm not afraid to face the light
I'm not afraid to think that I might fall
I was going nowhere fast
I was needing something that would last

There are some who can still remember
All the things that we used to do
But the days of our youth were numbered
And the ones who survive it are few
Oh, I can still see the smiling faces
When the times were so good
All in the old familiar places
I'd go back if I could (to the)

People of the south wind, people of the southern wind
It's the people of the wind, I got to be there again

Well, it's a hard thing to face the music:
But it's something everybody has got to do
So I hope that I can always remember
All the crazy times we had to go through
Now it's a dream that is slowly fading
And I don't want it to go
All of the memories are evading
And I want you to know (it's the)

People of the south wind, people of the southern wind
It's the people of the wind, I got to be there again

Now we've traveled all across the oceans
And we've seen what there is to see
But I guess it's not the proper solution
Cause it's all about the same to me
Now I look back and it makes me wonder
Why we just couldn't see
All of the battles we fought and won there
And I wish that I could be with the

People of the wind
I want to see 'em again
It's where we used to be free
And that's the place for me
It's just a state of my mind
A thing that's so hard to find

Look in the mirror and tell me
Just what you see
What have the years of your life
Taught you to be
Innocence dyin' in so many ways
Things that you dream of are lost
Lost in the haze
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause it's closer than you think
And you're standing on the brink
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause there's something on the way
Your tomorrow's not the same as today
Don't you recall what you felt
When you weren't alone
Someone who stood by your side
A face you have known
Where do you run when it's too much to bear
Who do you turn to in need
When nobody's there
Outside your door He is waiting
Waiting for you
Sooner or later you know
He's got to get through
No hesitation and no holding back
Let it all go and you'll know
You're on the right track
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause it's closer than you think
And you're standing on the brink
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause there's something on the way
Your tomorrow's not the same as today

It's no funny hanging around winter seems so numbing
Getting fat where I sit down do you suppose it's old age coming
I get this feeling I'm no good for nothing life has led me wrong
Once in a while it makes it all worthwhile if I can sing this song

Got to rock on I can't be this way
I'm hanging around but wait till music's in season
That's when I'm high that is how I play
and I do it the best that's all I need for a reason

Can't think straight can't think at all staring out the window
Hear the band I hear them call everything will disappear and

I get the feeling I can conquer anything gets in my way
Don't need no doctor 'caus I know exactly what I need today I

Got to rock on I can't be this way
I'm hanging around but wait till music's in season
That's when I'm high that is how I play
and I do it the best that's all I need for a reason

The sun beats down upon me and it looks as tough that spring
Has waited long enough to get here she knows that I must
Sing about her future oh sing about her past I love to play my music
And I try to make it last but sometimes summer comes too fast

I got to rock on I can't be this way (cont.)

You think that something's happening
And it's bigger than your life
But it's only what you're hearing
Will you still remember
When the morning light has come
Will the songs be playing over and over
Till you do it all over again

Play, play the game tonight
Can you tell me if it's wrong or right
It is worth the time, is it worth the price
Do you see yourself in a white spotlight
Then play the game tonight

And when the curtains open
To the roaring of the crowd
You will feel it all around you
Then it finally happens
And it's all come true for you
And the songs are playing over and over
Till you do it over again

There's a hole in the wall
With a light shining in
And it's letting me know to get up
It's time to begin

Oh there is nothing to lose
'Cause it's already lost
In a runaway world
Of confusion
I'm gonna take it

That's why I fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
I don't want to lose this flamin' desire

Standing alone
In a crowded room
I can feel a chill in the air
I'm shakin'

I'm miles away
I want to cry out loud
I want to fight till the end
I won't let 'em take me alive

And you know I'll fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
'Cause I'm never gonna lose this flamin' desire

You say it's time to stay behind
All I wanted was to hold you
All I wanted was to touch you

No need for blame cause we're not the same
All I wanted was to love you
That's all I wanted

How many times will it take
Hurting me the way you do
How many times till I break
You're hurting me the way I'm loving you the way I do

It's not so strange for us to change
All I wanted was to love you that's all I wanted

How many times will it take
Hurting me the way you do
How many times till I break
You're hurting me the way

I'm loving you the way I do

Have you ever seen a miracle - you couldn't doubt or imitate
What's it really worth to you to shake the holy hand of fate
Well I did what I could to make ends meet
Been a gunrunner and a medicine man
In a Kansas town I was a rainmaker - there the hand of fate got out of hand

Rainmaker Rainmaker save this one horse town
Rainmaker pray to heaven

From the Flint Hills the land was cracked and dried
Thirsty streets in misery
I took the sign down that said medicine man
Put one up that said rainmaker - that was me
So the townspeople gave me money up front
To light a fire - pray, and dance around
Tell them it'd rain so they'd all go to bed
And I'd make my break clean out of town

But I started this dance and a storm kicked up
The sky went black from coast to coast
It was too late to stop - it was to late to pray
I had summoned down the Holy Ghost
Oh the searing wind and the clouds of dust
And hell came raining down
What came out of me and the powers that be
Was the last of that one horse town

Why can't you see where we are going
Why can't you see where we have been
You tell me the pain is still growing you tell me tell me who'll win
I feel for you you know what I'm saying
But I've got to do what's right in my head

I've got to ride ride rocket ride
Carry me quick to the one's who've cried
I'm a saint I'm a sinner but you decide
In desperate times
Sled sled rocket sled
Carry me quick to the one's who've bled
I'm a saint I'm a sinner and these are desperate times

I would give my soul to carry your burden
I would give my soul cause I know you still grieve
Where will we go to hide from their blindness
Where will we go if we don't both believe
Bad blood rains down we've got to take cover
Cold blood rains down who can find any peace

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from ?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong ?

Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near.
Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

In the darkness I rise, long before
The dawn
I was dreaming of home and the life I
Led
But now I hear the sound of the engines
Roar
And I crave the embrace of my
Empty bed
Where I'm safe (there I'm safe)

But the call is clear, and the task is
Set
And my enemies wait in the dark sky
Do they fear the same fear,
Do they dream like us
And do they long for the day when it's
Over
And they're safe

Now we're cruising above the horizon
Never knowing if we will return
In a moment we'll loose the
Destruction
And we'll justify all that we burn

Here the air is cold, but my thoughts
Are clear
And so I'm wondering why I must be
Here
For the evil that can come,
From the heart of a man
Must be answered in kind 'til it
Disappears
And we're safe

Now we're cruising above the horizon
Never knowing if we will return
In a moment we'll rain down
Destruction
And we'll justify all that we burn

Here they come

I'm dodging all the tracers, sky is full of
Lead
I can see the pilots' faces
Safety in our numbers, eagles
Overhead
We are in the sight of aces

Flak, bursting all around
Friends, going down in flames

And now we're hit, it's happened
This is what I feared
Something's telling me my time has
Come
Though it should be panic, I can feel
A peace
Strangely, now I know my purpose...

Hey boys! Hey, get out while you
Can
I'll try to take us home

I'm going home...