"Big Top Soda Pop"

62 Years

2006-06-28T00:25:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Sixty-two years ago, she walked the aisle so slow,
Until he met her with his eyes.
Sixty-two years ago, how could she ever know,
That they would make it all this time?

Chorus:
I want the same for you and me.
I want spontaneity.
I want mystery, surprise.
And it want it by your side.

Sixty-two years ago, her dress as white as snow,
She looked up at her beau and cried.
And now she looks again, her partner and her friend,
And feels a love she can’t describe.

Chorus

Sixty-two years today, of happiness and pain,
They weathered all the storms of life.
And now they're growing old, but their story won't be told,
until they have to say good-bye.

Chorus

We choose a life of play, we do things our own way,
No church or law holds us tied.
Sixty-two years from now, if destiny allows,
I will still be by your side.

Chorus

Space Repair

2006-06-28T00:24:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Chorus:
Since I cannot have you near me, I will float to outer space
There is nothing here to hold me, I’ll be gone without a trace
I will fly, fly
Leave earth behind, behind

I will slide around on Saturn’s rings
I’ll be mesmerized by Mars
My heartache, it won’t bother me
As I jump from star to star

Chorus

Oh, the times I’ll have on Mercury
Won’t Venus be a lark?
The thought of you won’t torture me
I’ll be safe out in the dark

Chorus

I won’t be afraid to touch the Sun
Or to gaze upon the Moon
Outer space will be just the place for me
Since I can’t have me with you

Chorus

Big Top, Soda Pop

2006-06-28T00:23:00.000-04:00

Circus came to town today, and it swept me away
Just like a carousel, all the colors seemed to swell
Horses pranced, their heads held high
Trapeze artists in the sky
A man shot like a cannon ball
Giants big and midgets small

Chorus:
Big top, soda pop, sawdust on the floor
To be a circus star, who could want more?

Circus came to town today, glitz and flash, a wild parade
Dizzy with its majesty, I thought perhaps it was for me
A clown took me aside, said “Are you ready to apply?
Once you join, you’re stuck inside. The circus is our disguise.”

Chorus

Circus came to town today, smoke and mirrors did amaze
But when the patrons left the tent, I saw you don’t see what you get
They packed into a caravan, barely fit for beast or man
And when the clown washed off his smile, I turn and ran for miles and miles

Big top, soda pop,
sawdust on the floor
To be a circus star,
I want more,
I want more,
I want more,
I want more,
I want more

Whistle Pig

2006-06-28T00:22:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Whistle pig, oh, whistle pig…you’re so small and the world is big.

You and your friend, sitting by the highway. Eating leaves and grass all day.
An SUV goes driving by. It goes so fast, and you see your friend die.

Whistle pig, oh, whistle pig…you’re so small and the world is big.

We’re wondering if you really care? To see your friend, all guts and hair.
Do you miss the time he spent with you? Do you sit there wondering what to do?

Whistle pig, oh, whistle pig…you’re so small and the world is big.

Whistle pig, you are in our thoughts today. Standing there, are you in pain?
As you chew your grass, do tears well in your eyes?
We want to know – do whistle pigs cry?

Whistle pig, oh, whistle pig…you’re so small and the world is big.

Muddy Water, Butterfly

2006-06-28T00:21:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Muddy water, butterfly.
Muddy water, I watch it roll by.
Leaves and branches, branches, roots.
Leaves and branches, I’m waiting for you.

Why are you not here?
When will you appear?
I hope soon.

Muddy water, butterfly.
Muddy water, I watch it roll by.
I feel the sweat, on my brow.
I feel the sweat – where are you now?

When will you appear?
It’s so hot out here
in the woods.

Muddy water, butterfly.
Muddy water, I watch it roll by.
Mosquito buzzing, about to bite.
Mosquito buzzing as daytime turns to night.

I’ve been waiting here.
It feels like a year,
maybe more.

Muddy water, butterfly.
Muddy water, I watch it roll by.
Until the sun disappears,
And in the dark, it all becomes clear.

It’s time for moving on.
But at least I have a song.
How ‘bout you?

Do You Have What it Takes?

2006-06-28T00:20:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Do you have what it takes?
Do you need a big break?
Will you jump in a lake?
Are you playing for high stakes?
Can you make it alone?
Is this song just a clone?
Does the melody drone?
Can I call you up on the phone?
Are you feeling alright, sitting there with no light?
Can you make it tonight?
Can you love more than you fight?
Are you waiting for cheers?
You’ve been waiting for years.
Do they know what they hear?
Do they criticize out of fear?
Are you ready for more?
Life is still a closed door.
You can’t just go to the store and buy what you’re looking for.
‘Cuz it’s given with time.
Not just a song with some rhymes.
But something truly sublime.
If you believe more than you whine.

Are you waiting for cheers?
You’ve been waiting for years.
Do they know what they hear?
Do they criticize out of fear?
Are you ready for more?
Life is still a closed door.
You can’t just go to the store and buy what you’re looking for.
‘Cuz it’s given with time.
Not just a song with some rhymes.
But something truly sublime.
If you believe more than you whine.

World of Novelty

2006-06-28T00:19:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

In this world of novelty,
The lights, the stage, the majesty
You’ve got what it takes to be
The best the world has ever seen

All those years you worked were hard
The nights you slept in railroad cars
Empty theaters, empty bars
You knew someday you’d be a star

Now the moment is near
You have arrived, there is no fear
Steppin’ out to win their cheers
Your heart it pounds, you’re finally hear

Grab your top hat and your cane
There’s no reason to refrain
One deep breath, you’re on the stage
You dance, you sing you are the rage

As the curtain is going down
The crowd it yells for one more bow
Then you know you’ve got it now
You’re better than God should allow

Music Makers

2006-06-28T00:15:00.000-04:00

Lyrics adapted by Ami Worthen from
Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s 1874 poem, “Music Makers”

We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams.
Wandering by sea breakers, sitting by desolate streams.
World-losers and world-forsakers, upon whom the pale moon gleams.
Yet we are the movers and shakers, of the world, forever it seems.

Of the world, forever, it seems.

Chorus:
We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams.
We are the movers and shakers, of the world, forever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties, we build up the world’s great cities.
And out of a fabulous story, we can fashion an empire’s glory.
One man and his greed, as leisure, can go forth and conquer a crown.
And three with a new song’s measure, can trample and empire down.

We will trample an empire down.

Chorus

A breath of our inspiration, is the life of each generation.
A wondrous thing of our dreaming, unearthly, impossible seeming -
The soldier, the king and the peasant, are working together in one.
Till our dream shall become their present, and their work in the world be done.

Till their work in the world be done.

Chorus

But we with our dreaming and singing, ceaseless and sorrowless we!
The glory about us clinging, of the glorious futures we see.
Our souls with high music ringing; oh, it must ever be.
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, a little apart, you see.

We’re just a little apart, you see.

Chorus
Chorus
Chorus

Berry-Belvin

2006-06-28T00:14:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

We met in a parking lot, uh oh that’s how it started
We met in a parking lot, and now, uh oh, we’ll never be parted

Chorus:
The love we feel, is a magic spinning wheel, the love we feel, a fantasy made real

We had a sacred day, a fairy queen I knelt to pray
You are the one that’s meant for me, and you’re I’ll always be

Chorus

In the mountains we spent time, now we live near ocean brine
We have made our world anew, wherever I go I love you

Chorus

We’ve shared so many things, our love what joy it brings
We’ve shared so many things, and now uh oh hear me sing

Chorus

Made real, made real, made real

Nora Trip

2006-06-28T00:08:00.000-04:00

(c) 2006 Ami Worthen

Chorus:
There you go friend, each mile chosen, and a pen is all you hold.
Sister, lover, friend, grandmother – we each help you down the road.

If this life is what you make it, and you are making it each day
Embrace the path that you’ve taken, though not every road is paved
Make your way, make it happen
Don’t be scared, don’t be afraid
‘Cuz this life is what you make it
And you have got it made

Chorus

Read the maps, make your plans now
But you can through them out the door
Turning in a new direction, that’s what getting lost is for
You have always reinvented - nothing’s sacred, nothing’s safe
And this journey is no exception, keep doing things in your own way

Chorus

As the waves crash the rocks
While the buffalo roam
City streets filled with light
Every echo of home
Make your nest where you land
When you wake, you will soar
Through your laughter and tears
Take your pen and write some more