IT WAS YOU
Meeting in the badlands of the Venice Rodeo
Lust was at first sight, you’d heard me on the radio
Then you’d make for the hills with your clichéd entourage
And I would go
Early in the morning with my eyes still open wide
Blinded by the beauty that body can provide
Then flirting with the danger
But safe without the knowledge that you’d lied
Oh, how I sighed
‘Cause it was you, who didn’t need to say a word
It was you, who showed me I could still be hurt
It was you, who made just like a bird and flew away
You called me and I called you, we played out the facade
Rendezvous at Red Rock on the Sunset Boulevard
You reached under the table to make contact
Man, it was hard.. so very hard
Chorus
Ten days passed and it was clear, you didn’t want to know
And though my heart said otherwise, I had to let you go
By then I knew my marriage was convenience
Now I’m a one-man show.. just thought I’d let you know
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
IF YOU FALL
Everybody knows it
It’s in the way that you smile
And everybody blows it
Every once in a while
Because smiles don’t mean forever
And you’ll receive the call
And if you try it
I’ll stay through it
I’ll catch you if you fall, if you fall
Everybody needs it
It’s a helping hand
And everybody bleeds it
So take your head from the sand
You can live a thousand life times
You can duplicate them all
But if you really live one
I’ll stay through it all
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
LONGER DAY
How many times do you find that the day has passed you by?
It’s taken from under your feet while you were flying high
It happens time and time again
Then when you find the time, it’s time to die
Oh, for a longer day, one with more sun
Oh, for a longer day, one that goes on & on & on
What do you want? I’d give you all my money
Short, dark days ain’t so funny
Just like me, the clock keeps on running
How many times do you think that, if there had been more light
You could have found the answer before you lost the right
And you could have made a difference
Like the one between, day and night
Chorus
The question to the answer is how to make more time?
The answer to the question is what I can’t define
Standing still for no-one, well you’ve crossed the power-line
But one day I will stop you
And that will be the day that I resign
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
SILLY THINGS (WE DO FOR LOVE)
I met a girl in ‘Love Town’: a mountain hideaway
She made my world spin right ’round: oh yeah, happy days
I pictured her in a white gown: not a good thing to say
I had let my guard down: so she ran away
The silly things we do for love, the silly things
The silly things we do for love, the silly things
I won’t do them anymore
Hearts are hard in ‘Safe Town’: and the dreamer dies
Love plays no part in this land: it’s demoralised
Building walls of protection: don’t apologise
I can’t more rejection: is love compromise?
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
HARD TO BELIEVE
(Liberated… So contented…)
A man chases dreams that he fails to accomplish
Does anyone have a Plan B?
Lost in a time where he was contented by the Mediterranean Sea
Socially outcast by judgemental kinfolk
Stuck in their past memories
Cursed with loving a love-fearing lady
This isn’t how it used to be
Back then he was free – (liberated)
Now it’s hard to believe, it’s so hard to believe
Back then he was me – (so contented)
Now it’s hard to believe, it’s so hard to believe
He still waits in hope, like a hopeless romantic
Nothing changed there but the scene
Puzzled by gardens with white picket fences:
The so-called ‘American Dream’?
Confidence shattered by constant rejection
Now he can’t stand his own company
Taken for granted by a love-fearing lady
This isn’t how it used to be
Chorus
And it hurts. And it hurts..
A man still believes that it will end in full circle
Not bitter and twisted, or alone
But it all seemed clearer in the Mediterranean
So maybe it’s time to go home?
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
LOVE’S REFUGEE
Alone I will be love’s refugee
Pouring my heart to your sea
Don’t let me be love’s refugee
Open your heart and you will be.. my estuary
Wade through the reeds
Scythe down the weed, obscured: the path you are to take to me
Crawl through the hole
Then scale the wall that guards the clearing on the greener side
Chorus
Follow my lead
Dispel the seeds of doubt that fuel the fear that haunts you
Emerge from the cave
Crash through the waves that form your broken-hearted history
Chorus
Alone I will be love’s refugee
Open your heart, Estuary
And you’ll see me
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
BAG OF TRICKS
I was cruising for reaction, you were the main attraction
I could see through your limousine
The length of the line, your body working overtime
It was the best I’d ever seen
You probably counted money, so I’d have to be funny
Or pretend to be a connoisseur of wine
And though that wasn’t my style I thought I’d ‘hang’ for a while
To see if you’d be forthcoming with a sign
Then I saw your bag of tricksI
t felt strange, like the LA Knicks
And I’m done with teenage kicks
So I took a bit of time out on my own
But as I turned away, I heard you ask me to stay
Or was that the evil voice of temptation?
Would I run from the crap, or fall into the lap
Of the gods of sexual frustration
Sometimes you’ve got that choice when you are Damian Joyce
And you are standing on a stage with a crowd
But once you lose the guitar, nobody cares who you are
Even if you shout out loud
Chorus
Sometimes you get a feeling, when you’ve spent time on your own
When a person craves attention: who wants to be alone?
See, all I really want to know is what are you trying to hide?
And if you’ve got something worth sharing deep down inside?
You see, I learned my lesson from a girl who was messin’
And now I ain’t got no time for no games
Your defence I will shatter to reach the heart of the matter
And nothing will ever be the same
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
HOW HIGH WAS I?
How high was I? When I thought that we might have it all
When love is a riddle, life is a guess, it’s wilderness
You’ve loved, you’ve lost, now you’re counting the cost
You’ve cursed, you’ve cried and you’ve kept most inside
So you move on, on to another
You’re brave, you take a lover
But the past stirs inside and new love is denied
Chorus
Too real, too good, too soon for you to love
So I bide my time, keep my mind open wide
But it’s you, just you, that does that thing you do
And that’s drive me wild, wild as a child
Who wants it bad and is denied
Chorus
Life’s an illusion, love is a dream
I’ve loved, I’ve lost and I’ve counted the cost
So we wait, though it frustrates, that the past still dictates
And it’s hard to be strong and would it really be so wrong
What a waste and I could cry
What a chance denied
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
ROLLERCOASTER LOVE
Please inform our next of kin
They forgot to strap us in tightly, rightly
So when you drove us ’round the bend
We fell out ’cause we were not ready, not steady.. go
There on the horizon I see hope
One more ray of sunshine, she gonna light me up
We will be the toast of getting off the rollercoaster to try love
Be my love
Done with ups and downs, we’ll take the ride on level ground
So don’t cry love, your my love
I saw you make your big descent
I was on my way back up again, crawlin’, you were free fallin’
Then you reached out with those sweet brown eyes
I couldn’t let them pass me by, I caught you, distraught you
Let’s give up the red eyes and the blues
Can it be bad timing when we no more to lose?
Chorus
First time ’round at the speed of sound, my feet they hardly touched the ground
Second time ’round, going underground, I drank so much that I almost drowned
Third time ’round, nearly crowned, white dress, suit and legally bound
Last time ’round, was it true love found? It hit so hard, it almost broke me
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
THE LIGHT
California dreaming on a Sunday afternoon
Stepping off the beach into our living room
Cruising towards the sunset, not a worry to my name
Baggage left behind me, never to reclaim
And it’s all down to you and all that you do
And if it’s all up to me, this is eternity
Oh the light, I’m seeing it again
And it’s all down to you
Float on air that takes us where hearts warm through the cold
There on the horizon gleams the source of stories old
It’s the rolling hills of Lancashire and through the dream, green grass we roam
Making love with you until the cows and I come home
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
LANDS OF OPPORTUNITY
Don’t cover up because I will find, with my Elvis like ‘suspicious mind’
I’ll write a song and it won’t be kind to you
Don’t promise if you can’t deliver, lies for votes, you make me shiver
They’ll find you face down in my river-bed
Lands of opportunity, lands of opportunity
We’ll do our bit if you don’t disappoint us
Before we go and force our way, let’s ask them for what it is they pray
Our ignorance is what they hate
It keeps your so-called ‘dream’ alive while millions struggle to survive
What about them Jack?
Chorus
Dictatorship has different styles, one obvious, one hidden files
Just tell us what we need to know right?
There is a world outside of yours, oil, revenge, vote-seeking whores
And different doesn’t equal wrong!
Words & Music by:
Damian Joyce
LIBERTY
(JFK Speech…)
I have a dream I’ve kept within
Everybody lives in rainbow skin
Nobody talks of a great divide
Nobody needs to run, nor hide
Oh yeah, oh yeah, well, that’s my dream
In a world called Liberty, everyone is free
In a world called Liberty (Sing a song of freedom)
Someone tell me how you win
When taking your own life is such a sin?
What kind of god says it’s ok
To take somebody’s life away?
Well, I don’t know, I don’t know and I don’t understand
Chorus (JFK Speech)
So if you meet a man someday
Who says he’ll take your life away
‘Cause he’s ‘gonna rule the world, you’ll see
‘Say “Not this world called Liberty.”
No no, no no, ’cause that’s my world
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
THE WILDERNESS
Tired and defeated, I withdrew my point of view
Flawed and conflicted, there was no point and I knew
No clue, no comprehension, a predicament I was in
The mirror told it’s story but the struggle lay within
And I cried Oh.. the wilderness and me
I cried Oh.. oh wilderness, let me be
Beat up, discarded, ridiculed, behind
Searching for the pieces that together bring piece of mind
Self-doubt, indecision. I need a chance to show
Opportunity arises but confidence is too low
Chorus
Then came direction and with it came hope
So spare me our pity for now I can cope, I can cope
Hey you, there, wilderness, you’re just too vague
And now you’ll acknowledge the plans that I’ve made
Oh.. the wilderness
Words & Music By:
Damian Joyce
Damian Joyce 