Ron Sexsmith Album

secret heart
what are you made of?
what are you so afraid of?
could it be three simple words
or the fear of being overheard?
what's wrong?
let her in on your secret heart

secret heart
why so mysterious?
why so secret, why so serious?
maybe you're just acting tough
maybe you're just not man enough
what's wrong?
let her in on your secret heart.

the very secret you're trying to conceal
is the very same one you're dying to reveal
go tell her how you feel

secret heart,
come out and share it
this loneliness, few can bear it
could it have something to do with
admitting that you just can't go through it alone?
let her in on your secret heart.

there's a rhythm under the song
and it beats for the old and the young
and it pounds in the back of the sun
it's the sound of one drummer one drum

there's a rhythm it's subtle yet strong
and it moves all the wallflowers on
to the dance floor that holds everyone
to the sound of one drummer one drum

dance for the time marches on
off to a war that can never be won
to the heartbeat of drums

there's a rhythm not cruel or kind
though you feel that it's left you behind
is it justice or you that is blind
when you don't see it coming how come?

i can't understand this sadness here
sorrow's rolling in from where's unclear
but i know there's a reason for all these blues
so i'm off to find the words we never use

yes i know you've been hurt by words i've said
but more by the times i turned my head
for the willow of your smile is showing through
you're aching for the words we never use

how long must we bury all we feel?
yes and turn in the face of what is real
well now love has made an offer we can't refuse
so let's try for the words we never use

more than once around
more than once so near
left standing here to witness
summer blowing town

but it all works out
in it's own sweet time
what comes to mind is forgiveness
summer blowing town

with no wounds left unhealed
no hard feelings and no scars to reveal
as we go around life's ferris wheel

let the birds fly south
let the first snow fall
it doesn't hurt at all to witness
summer blowing town

i'm going down to lebanon tennessee
from where i stand it's as good a place as any
i don't know anybody there
and nobody knows me

there'll be a job in lebanon tennessee
i'll work on a farm i'll work in some factory
and i'll buy myself a home down there
you can get one pretty cheap

get off the bus on the border of town head in from the east
walk into a bar take a seat in the corner be a man of mystery

folks don't treat you mean in lebanon tennessee
but like a human being they'll take you in off the street
they'll bring you in their home down there
and give you something to eat

he don't know how to lie or undermine you
he don't know how to steal how to deal or deceive
so leave him alone set him free 'cause he's speaking with the angel
speaking with the angel that only he can see

you'd say he's so helpless but what about you?
you don't pull the string don't you know anything?
leave him alone let him be 'cause he's speaking with the angel
speaking with the angel that only he can see

would you teach him about heaven?
would you show him how to love the earth?
would you poison him with prejudice from
the moment of his birth?

he in the name of love he in the blood of lamb
he that never lays blame he don't even know his name
so leave him alone set him free 'cause he's speaking with the angel
speaking with the angel the very one that spoke to you and me

do you remember?

in place of a brick wall you made a window
in place of a dark hall you painted a mural
where there was only weeds you raised a garden
and if i've failed to notice i'm sorry darling

if you were gone what would i do?
'cause no one could ever take the place of you
if you should go where would i be?
in place of you an empty space for me

in place of wandering blind you put direction
in place of squandering my love and affection
you built a place for me where i could store it
and i'm eternally grateful for it

there is so much from what i've gathered
to put in place of these things you think you need
in place of emptiness you put fulfilment
in place of bitterness you put endearment

and i greet you from the other side of sorrow and despair
with that love so vast and shattered it will reach you everywhere
and i sing this for the captain whose ship has not been built
for the mother in confusion her cradle still unfilled

for the heart with no companion
for the soul without a king
for the prima ballerina
who cannot dance to anything

through the days of shame that are coming through the night of wild distress
though your promise counts for nothing you must keep it nonetheless
you must keep it for the captain whose ship has not been built
for the mother in confusion her cradle still unfilled

several miles have come between
all for the best it seems
and just in case you're listening
to this song i will make it
clear that i still love you

whatever happened it don't need to be second guessed
we move from one home to a new address
it's just miles miles behind us
miles to go miles behind us

several miles have come to pass
the smoke has cleared at last
into our lives we disappear
till it's just a song that you sometimes
hear as you're passing through

i'm listening too
it's just miles miles behind us
miles to go miles behind us
it's just miles

several miles have come between
all for the best it seems
and just in case you're listening
i'm listening too

from a few streets over
before the sun goes down
you can hear it coming closer
to this dislocated shoulder
of an old and crooked town
that's when the ice cream van rolls around

but in the land of plenty
the money here is tight
the children here are many
and if you do have any
he will park his van outside
there waits the ice cream man with the cold dark eyes

for it's not a rockwell summer
or a world of dick and jane
and how it makes you shudder
like you used to hide from thunder
when you hear him coming down the lane
and you condemn the ice cream man to the world of flame

a sickly sweet wind is blowing
across the fields of hell
a liquorice night's unfolding
near a grave sight a corroded
old and burnt out carousel
here lies the ice cream man the devil treats him well

first chance i get i'm going to write you a letter
and tell you everything i'm feeling
first chance i get i'm going to make it better
then we can both start healing

but right now there's blood everywhere
tears and despair
and the mirror is cracking
first chance i get i'm going to send my blues packing

first chance i get i'm going to take you somewhere
somewhere safe and secluded
first chance i get i'm going to take you up where
pure love ain't diluted

but right now the roads are bad
the world's going mad
but i swear i'm going to get there some day
first chance i get i'm going to plan the big getaway

but right now i'm occupied
my hands are tied
but i swear i'm going to get around to it
first chance i get i'm going to say i love you and prove it

a day is long many hours to fill
but it's all right if we let a few minutes spill
where's the crime in wasting time with you?

don't have to run when the pistol's fired
it's all right if we let the meter expire
where's the crime in wasting time with you?

people love to talk about
big things they're going to do
or they've been through it all
we can just remove ourselves
we don't have to prove ourselves
worthy of their approval
"you're only young once"

well that's one point of view
and it's all right if we've nothing better to do
where's the crime in wasting time with you?

i woke up on galbraith street
where the houses stood like twins
and even though the door's been closed
i can find a way to get back in

for in daydreams my mind returns
like a ghost upon the hill
as i knock upon old doors again
and find my friends all live there still

so many good times to speak of in a life
but none compared to the good times i had there

the world looks so much brighter
when you believe in every word
now i'm holding on to all those years
like a tear before it falls unheard

so many goodbyes to speak of in a life
but none compared to the goodbyes i said there

the sun went down on galbraith street
i saw it from my childhood bed
as the red and gold brick houses stood
underneath a crimson sky that bled