AUTUMN YEARS
Picking up the pieces of my life
I wonder why the hell I ever came here
A man without a future left to face
And nothing but a memory to embrace
Holding on to threads of sanity
Imagining the roads I could have taken
It fills me with a deepening sense of shame
And outside I can hear the pouring rain
There is a place where in my mind I escape
And there I understand the way I feel
And deep in this world of make-believe
I will spend my Autumn Years
With you
Sitting in this grey and sunless world
I try to come to terms with guilty feelings
A man about to pay the final price
And nothing but his breath to sacrifice
There’ll be a time when I’ll be gone from your mind
A fading ghost that soon will disappear
And deep in my world of endless pain
I must face my Autumn Years
I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces of my life
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
BROKEN SPIRIT
You promised things you couldn’t give
You took away my will to live
And now the greatest irony
You want to make it up to me
Once you had me spellbound
Once you had me cursed
You were hunger, you were thirst
But I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit
Just when I found my feet at last
Behold a vision from the past
And though desire overspills
You’ve only come back for the kill
In my hour of darkness
In my hour of need
You just left me there to bleed
It’s time you realized
I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit
And if you ever change your ways
It would have to be a miracle
Through the anguish
There’s a flicker of a smile
Like a cruel, malicious child
It’s time you realized
I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1992 Clark Datchler
CHILD TO BE
I am the giver of life
You are the answer to my wildest prayers
My wildest prayers
Born with the right to exist
Into a society that doesn’t care
Have I done wrong
Have I been careless
Bringing you here?
Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all
In the adventure ahead
Every horizon bears a different sun
You’ll find your one
And this is the promise I make
Whether in doubt or danger
Don’t ever hide, I’m by your side
Though strangers today
Maybe tomorrow
We can be friends
Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all
What is the meaning of it all?
And when I have done my best
My body is laid to rest
Remember that you are you
Let life begin
Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all
What is the meaning of it all?
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1992 Clark Datchler
CLOSE TO THE EDGE
All my emotions have intertwined
Or could it be that I’ve lost my mind
There is a feeling of hopelessness
Now that I’ve cracked up my life’s a mess
The pressure’s building up
This world has got too much
Can’t take society
You are my enemy
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I can’t help shaking I’m so afraid
Caught in a gap between night and day
Living in silence behind closed doors
I’m not the man that I was before
This grip on sanity
Is slipping out of me
The fear of facing life
There is no end in sight
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
If I am still that strong
Enough to just hold on
I’ve got to stand and fight
In this eternal night
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
CROWN OF THORNS
You were yesterday’s hero
An ordinary man of flesh and blood
Took the world on your shoulders
A hopeless crusade, an act of love
But it’s a world obsessed with religion
And now you wear the face of a god
Like the words you said
You’re as good as dead
Just a work of art on the wall
And that’s why
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore
Holy men talk of hunger
While standing beneath a cross of gold
And there are preachers on the TV
In their thousand dollar suits
Who sell your soul
To think you died for what you believed in
Only to be exploited and used
Now you’re superman
From the promised land
Just a vision of Hollywood
And that’s why
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore
Anymore
You showed me that there’s hope for humanity
But once more you’re being betrayed
So many countries torn by their idols
Too many prophets screaming for blood
And they only hear
What they want to hear
When it comes to god up above
And that’s why
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
FISHING FOR SOULS
A lifetime away from the here and the now
A shadow is waiting, his body is bound
A man whose existence was stolen away
Who hopes against hope they’ll release him some day
Look at you powerful people
Cowering in silence
And it seems clear to me that you’re
Fishing For Souls
He’s hostage to all your political goals
When freedom comes closer
And deals could be done
A fair-weather government plays deaf and dumb
The days became months and the months became years
But hers is a memory that’s still crystal clear
And sometimes it seems she’s alone in the fight
To rescue the man who was torn from her life
Look at you powerful people
Grey suits and black hearts
And it seems clear to me that you’re
Fishing For Souls
He’s hostage to all your political goals
When freedom comes closer
And deals could be done
A fair-weather government plays deaf and dumb
Will is time ever come?
‘Cause if you really valued life
You would stop at nothing
To get him back
Or will you wait till he returns
In a box
Draped in union jacks?
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1992 Clark Datchler
HEART OF HEARTS
Why do you hide in the shadows?
Are you afraid of the sun?
You’ve got a lifetime before you
And many wars to be won
You’ve got to look to the future
And never dwell in the past
And though you’ll never forget me
Some things are not meant to last
So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true
For everything there’s a reason
Sometimes it’s hard to define
But maybe you can take comfort
Knowing you’re one of a kind
So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true
In the darkness
There’s a light that shines on you
It’s not over, I’ll be waiting
In another place and time
I will still be by your side
So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
IT’S BETTER THIS WAY
Answers can come too late
And time is not one to wait
I no longer believe
Feelings of deep despair
I tell myself I don’t care
It wasn’t meant to be
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling
If I should feel the need
You know that my heart must bleed
I will not touch that phone
And maybe I’ll mourn my loss
But after the caring stops
Desire turns to stone
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling
Pride has taken hold of me
I must escape this apathy
And should I wake to deep regret
I’ll suffer ‘cause I stand alone
And if there was any doubt
That this was the one way out
I’d never let you go
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
RAINDANCE
If paradise is such a fragile affair
Then why have we the lion’s share?
As if we walk the Earth alone
Like infants breaking the cradle
There isn’t anything we fail to corrupt
The flipside of the Midas Touch
We’re walking in a world of glass
With iron footsteps
We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?
Have you a ticket to the greatest event?
The World inside a circus tent
Where clowns debate disarmament
And wildlife live within cages
The parody is never far from the truth
And mankind is the living proof
A dying planet in our arms
We walk the tightrope
We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?
The answer’s very simple
A World without its people
Has got to be better than this
We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
STATE OF PLAY
There is a choice to be made here
There is a will to be known
Either you live your own life
Or follow wherever I go
Nothing’s forever
And time always changes everything
Nothing’s forever
From pauper to king
So tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do I leave or do I stay?
Tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do you love, do you love, do you love me?
Tell me your darkest of secrets
Offer no thread of a lie
For if there’s a key to the future
You’re looking him right in the eye
Nothing’s forever
And maybe I’ll only cause you pain
Nothing’s forever
Or will we remain?
So tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do I leave or do I stay?
Tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do you love, do you love, do you love me?
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler
THE LAST EMOTION
Here where I stand
The final touch is close at hand
Where once joy was found
(Fishing For Souls: On this hallowed ground)
The weathered walls are crashing down
If only you could feel my feelings
Then you’d realize
This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart
Thoughts through my head
The many things we left unsaid
Will fade into dust
Eternity betrayed my trust
If only you could feel my feelings
Then you’d realize
This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart
(Fishing For Souls: And if my life has reached the point
Of self-destruction)
I don’t need you to cry
Just show me how to die
Won’t you show me?
This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart
[* Raindance version: “Where once joy was found”]
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI)
© 1990 Clark Datchler