Some of us are lucky enough to know what it's like to be known

lyrics:



i’m searching for a place 
to call my own

i’m misfit
i just don’t go
i’m on my own
 

all my life
i’ve believed
that there was no one
who could understand me


and somehow there you are
you smile like the sun
surround me like the stars

you love my broken heart
you think i’m beautiful
cause that’s just who you are


you take me under your wing
you teach me how to fly
you teach me how to sing

you’ve convinced me
that i am not the ugly duckling

Who You Are (Demo)

sometimes getting lost is just what you need


Lyrics:

lately I've been drifting out to sea
winter's found me lost inside the city
every shade i see, every cup of tea
is somehow bleached to grey, tastes like sand to me


i've got my car and you've got your coat
i've got my keys, so come on let's go
say goodbye, take a ride to the coast
if i'm gonna feel lost than i might as well take someone with me


oh
i just got to get away
follow my feet away from yesterday

come rain or come shine
as long as i'm walking i know i'll be just fine
cause i'm 

walkin next to you


lately it's been difficult to breathe
i can't explain, i just know something's empty


you've got your smile, and i've got my hope
our bags are packed, so come on, let's go
we've got two-thousand miles, no map, and the road
if i'm gonna get lost than i might as well take someone with me

Next To You (Demo)

this is a song about dealing with life after

lyrics: 

everyone else
receives an apology
i leave with dreams
we meet and we marry

i kneel and you cry
my heart is safe 
for the very first time

and what our hearts can never know
become the dreams that haunt us so
the dulling ache of coming close
the helplessness of letting go

and if i see you after the sun has set
will you say you know me?
and if you find the strength to call out my name
will you say you know me?
and if you see my face will you turn away
will you see right through me?
will you say you know me?
will you say you’re sorry?

what scandalous lies
we tell unto our hearts
we invite deception in
because she seems so innocent

one little white lie
can forever change
the landscape of our lives

and this time
that i’ve spent in the graveyard weeping
i’ve been coming to life
learning it’s okay to feel okay to feel okay again
it would seem all is right

except i miss my friend...

Will You Say You Know Me (demo)

how the ones we hold
can hold our hearts hostage
how we build our worlds
on simple words of praise
a turn of phrase
between earning and losses
but a word away
from heartbreak

i feel it building deep inside
(here it comes again)
i feel fear take hold of my pride
(here it comes again)
i become victim to your way
(here it comes again)
so careless with the things you say
here it comes again

what more can i do?
who else can i be?
what more could you say?
that you are proud of me

all i want from you
all i want from you
is to be here for me
right beside me

don’t tell me you miss me
don’t tell me you love me
just be here for me
right beside me

Jealousy (demo)

one step at a time
was all it took
through carnival lines
and cobweb spooks

you turn away from autumn
you turn away from change
my heart is yours, my lover
so how come you won’t stay?

look how far we’ve come
we’ve suffered
but look how far we’ve come


what bold desire
what selfish need
that set the shore on fire
sent me to the sea?

with reckless abandon
with furious haste
i’ll go till passion is wasted
wasted, i’ll chase her violently

your smoldering eyes
reduce me with but a glance
your sulfur venom lies
burn my heart to ash


Shore On Fire (Demo)

sometimes the people you love leave
and it's all you can do just to let yourself
love again...

lyrics:


this empty space
inside my heart
it seems you filled 
more than i ever knew

i can’t replace
the deserts rain
no sooner could
i tell the sun to rise

than i could
make the moon to smile
or ask the stars to shine
than i could make an inch a mile
than i could make you change your mind

how many days
since i’ve seen your face
how many more
until i see you again?

if i could
make the moon to smile
or ask the stars to shine
if i could make an inch a mile
than i could make you change your mind


i feel the weight inside my head
of the guilt that anchors me
it didn’t escape my selfishness
how i traded you for this dream
now it’s on to movin’ on i guess
find it in me
to give love a second chance...

This Empty Space (demo)

A sample track from the band The Last Gold Leaf that I play in.

lyrics:


i need to apologize 
for the way i've been feeling
i know you've been trying 
but it still seems like you've missed the point
that i, i'll be here 
for the day you forgive me

i 
i just won't quit
i won't give in
until i feel like you can hear me
i
i'm on your side
i promised that i
i'd be here through whatever
so i won't quit

you tell me that if i had ever 
felt like i should leave you
to tell you cause you shouldn't like to be with 
somebody that didn't need you
well look me in the eyes 
there's no goodbye 
because i'm not leaving

no matter what you do
whomever you become
whatever you may say
i'll stay with you    

I Won't Quit You

your hands are on my throat
my fingers on your lips
i see you’re out for blood
i can taste it on your skin

i’ve fought for 40 days
you’ve wrestled for 40 nights
in this desert of my pride
i can’t tell wrong from right

i am drawn
tense and taut
my rage pointed
fletched against my heart

i’m aimed to the sun
bright and hot
he’s bearing down
waiting for my love

our sweat has turned to salt
the salt has turned to tears
it’s bitter in the mouths
of lovers gripped by fears

the tears have turned to moats
encircling our dreams
dividing mine from yours
yet still you make your siege

too late to turn back
too soon to give up
i’ll die before you hear me say
that i’ve had enough

 


Drawn (Demo)

you move back and forth so quickly
 that I can't keep it straight
 push and shove 
your love keeps my heart at bay  

you say you say what you mean
 and you mean what you say
 but things have changed
 you can raise the stakes 
but my expectations have to stay the same?

speak to me
cause i need to know
Don’t it just break break your heart?
Your indecisions tear me apart
speak to me	
I need to know

Push and Shove (Demo)

slowly building my castle out of guitar strings and piano keys

The wide-open spaces of the central midwest and the narrative culture of black gospel music made the most unlikely foundation for me musically. In songwriting you have the daunting task before you of saying something new. Or at least saying it in a way no one has said it before you. 

I don't try to make my folk roots talk to my black heritage. But what I can say is that my simple approach to soul music somehow makes my songs sound like estranged folk; the songs i write are not quite comfortable saying saying they're home in either genre. 

--

A little about myself: I've self-recorded 3 EP's and 2 full-length albums, both released independently. I've written hundreds of songs, some of them better than others. I've collaborated with a lot of people, few of whom you've heard, but all of which you wish you had. 

Music, for me, has always tied together what didn't previously make sense for me. I hope my songs can do that for you.

Cheers,

Derrick Keith

derrickkeith