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Face the East Lyrics
FACE THE EAST
(Words & Music: C.Rosser)
(Gtr: DADGBE)
I’m headed to Virginia
On this railroad line
Trying to cross the distance
Between her heart and mine
Nothing in my pocket
Nothing in my mind
And every day’s more empty
All I’ve got is time
I gotta get down on my knees-
And face the east
I’m praying I’ll be there soon
Praying day and night
I’m praying she’ll be there too
To greet me when I arrive
My home in California
Must be far behind
No sense of direction
Except the morning sky
I just get down on my knees-
And face the east
I’ve lost track of the days
I’ve lost track of my mind
But I knew where I was going
I’m crossing the Virginia state line
Maybe she’ll be waiting
Somewhere in these pines
Maybe we will marry
If that should suit her fine
I just get down on my knees-
And face the east
I just get down on my knees-
And face the east
MIRROR (IF ONLY TO BE)
(Words & Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: EADGBE)
The shadows on the ground
Have drawn me like a flower
To the light that I have come to know as you
And the closer I get
The more I burn away in it
Until my life is only found
When I’m with you
If only to be another flame in your fire
If only to be another wave in your sea
If only to be the face in your mirror
Looking back at me
High above the ground
The world seems so much clearer
Watching from a distant point of view
I’ll fly where the light slides down
In the sky that could never keep it
And circle with the burning sun
To be with you
If only to be another flame in your fire
If only to be another wave in your sea
If only to be the face in your mirror
Looking back at me
If only to be another flame in your fire
If only to be another wave in your sea
If only to be the face in your mirror
Looking back at me
HIGHER UP
(Words: L.Rosser, Music: C.& L.Rosser)
(Gtr: EADGBE capo 2nd)
Sometimes I feel like a bird
That’s flown too close to the sun
Burned her wings and came tumbling down
I crash to the earth of my desires
And wallow in the muddy ground and wretched mire
But I go a little higher up each time
Land a little further up on the skyline
Making that star-bound heavenward climb
One step at a time
Sometimes the prodigal son
I grasp at golden wings
And stand bewildered when they’ve gone
And in that moment when I’m alone
Like a runaway child
I think of flying home
And I go a little higher up each time
Land a little further up on the skyline
Making that star-bound heavenward climb
One step at a time
I go a little higher up each time
Land a little further up on the skyline
Making that star-bound heavenward climb
One step at a time
One step at a time
RED HARVEST MOON
(Words & Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: CGCGCD capo 2nd)
On a night like tonight
We could dance ‘til the morning
‘Til this small town fairground
Is covered with dew
Above there’s a twinkle
In heaven’s bright eyes
And your smile is warm and true
So play one for good luck and one for the lady
Sad country fiddle and a mandolin tune
One for our dreams and one for the baby
Sweet autumn dances - beneath the red harvest moon
You like the slow ones and I like the waltzes
Soft southern kisses and an old mountain song
The heart’s melody played pretty and simple
So before the band goes home
Play one for good luck and one for the lady
Sad country fiddle and a mandolin tune
One for our dreams and one for the baby
Sweet autumn dances - beneath the red harvest moon
Now the fairground is empty
And the bandstand too
And I’m dancing with a memory gone too soon
So it’s one for good luck and one for the lady
Sad country fiddle and a mandolin tune
One for our dreams and one for the baby
Sweet autumn dances- beneath the red harvest moon
HEAVY ON HOPE
(Words: L. Rosser, Music: C.& L. Rosser)
(Gtr: DADGBE capo ?)
Heavy on hope for tomorrow
Or is it a closed door
Maybe I’ll find an open window
It’s better than sitting still here on the floor
Like seeing an unknown exit
Out of a freeway jam
I know the moment I find it -
It’s better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
Where I am
Heavy on dreams and ambitions
Or do I know where they lead
All of my desires and conditions
And various material needs
Disappear in the distance
Of love and eternity
From self to second chances -
It’s better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
On me
Heavy on daily survival
Or am I just wasting time
Maybe I’ll find a strong revival
Of what I hope to know as mine
Opening a chrysalis in the spring
Wondering what it is I’ve found
Trying out a pair of brand new wings
It’s better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
On the ground
Better than being stuck here
Better than being stuck here
O SON OF EARTH
(Words: Baha’u’llah, Music: C.Rosser)
(Gtr: CGCGCD)
Wouldst thou have Me, seek none other than Me;
And wouldst thou gaze upon My beauty,
Close thine eyes to the world
And all that is therein;
O Son of Earth!
For My will and the will of another than Me,
Even as fire and water,
Cannot dwell together in one heart;
O Son of Earth!
O Son of Earth! O Son of Earth!
(from The Hidden Words, Persian #31)
SHE RUNS
(Words & Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: EADGBE capo 5th?)
She’s been around the world
She’s been around this town
She’s never known the good thing
When it comes around
She’s fought so hard to see
The possibilities
The time was not to choose
The life was not to lose
She runs - and she hides
Till she can see the end
She hurts - she cries
And burns out the light inside
She won’t remember me
Or our part in history
Riding on the waves for eternity
Searching for the land we’ve lost
In a vessel torn and tossed
The price for needing love
No matter what the cost
She runs - she hides
Till she can see the end
She dreams - she flies
And hangs from the sunset sky
She’s been around the world
She’s been around this town
IN THE WIND
(Words: L. Rosser, Music: C.& L. Rosser)
(Gtr: EADGBE)
Picket fence sentinels on every side
Guide my steps down this old road
The wind whispers secrets I cannot understand
Blowing on to far places only it can know
Seeds of cottonwoods scatter in the sky
They float away past my horizon
Like a child locked behind the front yard gate
I would travel from this place to find my vision
Oh, I long to see the world
Through the eyes of the wind
High above and everywhere
Maybe I can find some peace there
In the wind
I plant my garden in familiar ground
And I’ve no contempt for what is growing there
The house is solid, I’ve lived here many years
But sometimes I find a home in flowing air
Oh, I long to see the world
Through the eyes of the wind
High above and everywhere
Maybe I can find some peace there
In the wind
To embrace the earth
Holding wings to fly
All the way to the edge of the sky and starlight
Oh, I long to see the world
Through the eyes of the wind
High above and everywhere
Maybe I can find some peace there
In the end - in the wind
CHEROKEE RIDGE
(Words & Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: DADGAD capo 6th?)
Red summer moves through the Father’s land
And he goes up to the top of the mountain
He’s walked down how many roads-
Wants to be a man
Everything he owns is in his sunburned hands
He’s found the Burning Bush
And the medicine man
Now he’s looking over the holy land
There’s a song on the wind
Blowing through the trees
A snake sleeps on the bridge
The sun goes down on Appalachian Creek
And the eagle flies over Cherokee Ridge
The clay beneath his feet is bleeding red
Crow black hair pulled behind his head
The voices of the Ancients say he can
He stretches out his arms and makes his stand
Feel nature’s push
Hear the mystery
Now he’s leaning over the edge to see
There’s a song on the wind
Blowing through the trees
A snake sleeps on the bridge
The sun goes down on Appalachian Creek
And the eagle flies over Cherokee Ridge
Another eagle flies over Cherokee Ridge
REST YOUR WEARY WINGS
(Words & Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: DADGBE)
You’re flying high somewhere in the rain
I’m stretching up a hand to you
And calling your name
You’re reaching out for something far away
Addicted to the sunlight
In the darkness of today
You left your heart here on the ground
You say you’re never coming down
Rest your weary wings
There’ll be better times to fly
When the hurricane rolls in
You’re circling in the eye
Waiting for a strong wind
To carry you home again
Don’t waste your strength on foolish things
Rest your weary wings
I know I should have seen it from the start
You’ve run away from everything
When staying seemed too hard
Carrying a torch into the dark
Afraid of all the turns you’ve made
And how you came this far
You say you’re washing out the pain
You say you like it in the rain
Rest your weary wings
There’ll be better times to fly
When the hurricane rolls in
You’re circling in the eye
Waiting for a strong wind
To carry you home again
Don’t waste your strength on foolish things
Rest your weary wings
Here I am, your shelter again
Wondering who you’re trying to save
And what you’re running from today
Rest your weary wings
There’ll be better times to fly
When the hurricane rolls in
You’re circling in the eye
Waiting for a strong wind
To carry you home again
Don’t waste your strength on foolish things
Rest your weary wings
WRONGED ONE
(Words: Baha’u’llah, Music: C. Rosser)
(Gtr: CGCGCDb)
...Thou seest this Wronged One lonely in exile:
Where are the hosts of the heaven of Thy Command,
O Sovereign of the worlds?
I have been forsaken in a foreign land:
Where are the emblems of Thy faithfulness,
O Trust of the worlds?
The agonies of death have laid hold on all men:
Where is the surging of Thine ocean of eternal life,
O Life of the worlds?
...Thou seest the Dayspring of Thine utterance
In the darkness of creation:
Where is the sun of the heaven of Thy grace,
O Lightgiver
O Lightgiver
O Lightgiver of the worlds?...
(from Baha’i Prayers, Fire Tablet)
The passages from The Hidden Words and Baha'i Prayers are reprinted by permission.
All songs copyright 1995 by Chris & Lynn Rosser (BMI)
