The Joy Gem
Words and Music by
Coveted by great hordes of men
Seeking the famous gem-power to bring them joy
Hidden from dangers in the ground
Buried as soon as found-safe under dirt and coin
Betrayed by promises of old The gem just left him cold
So in the hole it stayed
Hidden there's no joy Hidden no lives touched
Hidden no change in hearts of men
Hunted by armies of the land
Confident in their hands the promises would come true
Finally under veil of night
Stolen by blood and might the quest for the gem was through
Betrayed by promises of old The stone still left them cold
So in a new hole was laid
Stolen there's no joy Stolen no lives touched
Stolen no change in hearts of men
Through years of theft and battle changing hands
Gotten at great cost
And carried as a prize to foreign lands
Scarred deeply and
chipped
Waiting for the stone to show its pow’r
Held high as a trophy
The victors spent their lives confused and sour
But never a gift
This treasure just desired for its name
Hoarded and buried
Yet nothing realized to earn such fame
Forgotten and cold
A thing of beauty begging to be found
Its light like a drapery
For fear conscribed to languish underground
Adorning a hole
Now in my father's empty home
Me and my child alone happen upon the stone
I had heard stories through the years
And with no little fear I give it to my boy
At last the promises of old were just as they'd been told
And now the whole was known
Power to bring joy Power to touch lives
Power to change the heart of man
Stolen by Ghosts
Words by Dearing. Music by Groves & Dearing.
I) Ghosts
I thought I felt your presence in the room
A tiny little ember glowing deep within the tomb
Illuminates the fragments on the floor of my cocoon
I thought I heard your voice upon the wind
Striking deep in places I’ve no power to defend
A tortuous reminder of the things that might have been
What is left of me now
Everything changed in the blinking of an eye
What is left for me now
You’ve taken away all that I loved most
My soul has been stolen by ghosts
II) Me Again
All these years have passed me by
All that time, where did it fly
All that’s left are memories
And wondering what might have been
I’m lost
But when I find the way I’ll let you know
All that’s left is emptiness
A hole where there was you
The walls still echo with your sound
When happiness was still around
I don’t know why I’m still this way
With everything in disarray
I can’t find me again
III)
Escape
IV) Acceptance
There are times I could cry ‘til I run out of tears
when I think about all of the years we have lost
and I can’t help but feel that I’m slipping away
‘Cause I never imagined I’d pay such a terrible cost
V) Stolen Souls
What is left for me now
Everything stolen by ghosts
What is left of me now
All I was stolen by ghosts
VI) Hold On
In a heart full of darkness
There's a light on the hill
Though the world can obscure it
It cannot be killed
In a soul that is barren
There's a sparkle of light
Though at times I can't see it
It will bring me life
Hold on...
In a mind that is raging
There's a morsel of peace
Though it's hard just to touch it
It will bring relief
In a body that's shattered
There's a part that is whole
At the end of the journey
You’ll regain control
Hold on...
All Fall Down
Words by Dearing. Music by
Dearing & Groves.
Having once been so high, humanity fell so low.
What had once been dedicated to the soul was now dedicated to the sale.—Ignatius J. Reilly.
Paint me a picture that’s deceiving
Something that’s not everything that it seems
A portrait of decadent grandeur
That hides the decay of contemptible dreams
A mask to display all the confident pride
And tries not to show that there’s nothing inside
Sing me a song if you can
Sell me what soul that you have
The curtain still hides what is left of your pride
‘Til the wind blows you back home again
Put on a show of illusion
Spectacular artifice, a clever disguise
Fly on the wings of ambition
And try not to be everything you despise
An ill-gotten piece of the succulent pie
Try not to show that your world is a lie
And it’s all just a show, for the seeds you have sown
Will come to fruition one day
Drunk on the power that soon will devour you
And you’ll find nobody cares anyway
The Future Me
Words by
Lifetimes lost
while proving the dinosaurs
Ages argue faith
versus fact
Draw it out – you can make it a war
‘Til you can’t feel your core
Baptized in the din of discussion
Dogma and it’s all in your head
Sermons on my neighbors and how they fail
In the end, while there’s so much we lack
One more easy attack
One more pat on the back
Like a shadow of light faintly breaking the night
Nothing bright when I’m seen – more a speck than a beam
And I know I’m not free
One step further from the future me
Like a shadow of light faintly breaking the night
Nothing bright, not a gleam—more a twig than a tree
Though I’m beyond the seed
Still no closer to the future me
Searching for my purpose while blind in the dark
Nowhere in these earthly bounds found
She calls me – calls my name out here in the streets
See her smile and I feel my heart race
But I can’t see her face
She takes my hand and I’m suddenly pulled inside
Sits me down and she draws me some tea
From the shelf beckoning dusty leathered leaves
Reveal planet Earth’s masterpiece
Through a window I see
No. A mirror to me
An explosion of light waves destroying the night
Reflected glory I see! Finally the true me!
Now I know that I’m free
Safe in steps towards the future me
Keep me safe in the future. Keep me safe in Your arms.
All songs are the copyrighted works of the listed
authors,
published by Songs from the Hill, SESAC.
Lyrics
reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.