The Midlife Vices

Forty years is about halfway done
More if you're lucky I guess
Less if you're not and fewer if you're cursed
Man I don't know which is best

I've got letters from when she loved me
I've got letters from when she cared
Packed up in a box it ain't nothing worth saving
Ten-plus years on a shelf somewhere

Time, time
Time is pushing hard on the heart
It's going the distance
With or without you
It's all that I got
It's all I got

I'm holding onto things I wanna remember
And I miss when all we had was each other
This should be someone else's life
Stuck in the grip am I
Stuck in the grip of the midlife vices
Stuck in the grip of the midlife vices

Yeah if she still was here she'd remind me
Of all the things I'd done wrong
Free from the burden of history is the best part of being young

These days there's too much to look back on
Tonight I just wanna forget
What flying high felt like
When everything was just right
All easy years and the best ones ahead

Time, time
Time is pushing hard on the heart
It's going the distance
With or without you
It's all that I got
It's all I got

I'm holding onto things I wanna remember
And I miss when all we had was each other
This should be someone else's life
Stuck in the grip am I
Stuck in the grip of the midlife vices
Stuck in the grip of the midlife vices

The Midlife Vices

December's come and gone so fast this year
And this apartment is my souvenir I guess
The sun don't wake me anymore
I got a dark sheet on the window and I've closed the door

And I'm waiting out my time in Richmond
You won't find a trace of me
When I am heading north alone to be alone

Life is best traveled light on your toes
So I've packed one bag hope it's all I need
But who knows
And I'll leave behind the Christmas tree too it's just
One less thing to remind me of you

And I'm waiting out my time in Richmond
I hope she lets me go with ease
And in return I promise not to forget her

So I'll walk down Broad Street one more time
Head over to Main to say my last goodbyes
Down Monument to the overpass bridge
There's the place where you and I were gonna live
(Do you remember it?)

And this is my last night in Richmond
I hope she will look after you
And lead you to a better place
I'm sure you will be leaving soon, too

Waiting Out My Time In Richmond

Pressing down upon my shoulders
Leaving marks as red as paint
Be the good one, do the right thing
Admonitions fill my brain
Living up to expectations 
Fuels my yearning, proves my worth
But the emptiness is heavy
Sinking roots into the earth

And the heaviness grows
And the numbness rises
And the dread consumes me
But though life surprises
No joy is inspired
You can hope at best to keep despair at bay
Under the weight

Striving for the recognition
Pride in the accomplishment
Lies born of my own volition
Burying the discontent
Suck it up, keep pushing forward
Telling truths would devastate
So they love but never know me
And the empty resonates

And the heaviness grows
And the numbness rises
And the dread consumes me
But though life surprises
No joy is inspired
You can hope at best to keep despair at bay
Under the weight

Love with everything that’s in you
Ignore it when the well runs dry
Carry everybody’s burden
Drown within the void inside
Try to push above the surface
As the walls come crumbling down
Silence claims my voice 
and I drown
Under the weight
Under the weight
Under the weight

And the heaviness grows
And the numbness rises
And the dread consumes me
But though life surprises
No joy is inspired
You can hope at best to keep despair at bay
Under the weight

The Weight

Bought him a house in Levittown
Seven grand, no money down
Won the war came back and put roots down in Levittown

Southern State exit 28
Rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night
I made it out but my brother never came home to Levittown

Racing cars in Levittown
Tempting fate and cruising ‘round
Learned to fight, learned how to lie
Learned how to love, learned how to survive
In Levittown

Every town has a heartbeat
That's as real and alive as a fool’s dream
Take me back - I just wanna be in that scene again
But at night when the lights dim
And life is laid bare on a split screen
Somebody's getting a sharp hand 
Somebody’s packing to leave
Leave Levittown

Made it out of Levittown
Friends from back home still come ‘round
Some stayed married - some let go
To live anywhere else seems impossible
except Levittown

Every town has a heartbeat
That's as real and alive as a fool’s dream
Take me back - I just wanna be in that scene again
But at night when the lights dim
And life is laid bare on a split screen
Somebody's getting a sharp hand 
Somebody’s packing to leave
Leave Levittown

In Levittown
In Levittown
How could you ever doubt yourself
In Levittown
In Levittown
Look how the lights are fading fading
In Levittown
In Levittown
How could you ever doubt what you’re made of
In Levittown
In Levittown

Mixed by BennyMuellerMixing
https://soundcloud.com/bennymuellermixing

Levittown

Me and Mona Lisa standing at the bar
Picking out the people we'd like to go home with
She's a little wild - all the more risqué
I'm a little shy and I'll be alone tonight

I wanna tell her she's flowing through my veins
The closer I stand the hotter the flames
Don't you feel something
Won't you please burn for me

Hey little mystery
I'll never stop trying to reach ya
In a hundred years
They'll still be telling our story
Me and Mona Lisa

Me and Mona Lisa - we’re sticking to the plan
Keep givin' them the reasons we can only be friends
Blowing up their wishes - brushing off their schemes
I'm so tired of fighting it - baby I just wanna be

Why you came
What you can't deny
Who you're thinkin 'bout when you break into that smile
The angels and devils are pulling for us both tonight

Hey little mystery
I'll never stop trying to reach ya
In a hundred years
They'll still be telling our story
Me and Mona Lisa

What's behind that smile tell me are you holding onto a secret
C'mon I can keep it
Would I be surprised baby or would I be wrecked inside
I wanna know your secret

Hey little mystery
I'll never stop trying to reach ya
Yeah in a hundred years
They'll still be telling our story
Me and Mona Lisa

Words and Music by David Keats
© 2016 David Keats (BMI)

Me And Mona Lisa

This is the ending no one thinks about 
I hope this letter lets me sort it out while there’s still time 
I might be gone but you’re still here – blue eyes, gold hair and no fear 
Don’t you let the fire burn out in your heart 

Now you go girl – you go girl 
Live long and marry right 
May you be strong – move on - love with all your might 
And I owe you, I owe you 
For every smile, every tear, every moment you were near 
Love again but please don’t take his hand and watch the sun set on Oak Island 

Everyone said they’ll keep an eye on you 
Whether or not you really want them to – they've got your back 
Remember long drives to the beach in the wintertime
Love as pure as the Carolina sunshine 
Wrapping my arms around you as we sat on the sand 
My heart will give up before long 
I know you’ll struggle to hold on 
Darkness will give way to a new dawn 

Now you go girl – you go girl 
Live long and marry right 
May you be strong – move on - love with all your might 
And I owe you, I owe you 
For every smile, every tear, every moment you were near 
Love again but please don’t take his hand and watch the sun set on Oak Island 

Take this letter once you've read it and light a match 
You'll be running blind if you're always looking back 
Take this letter once you've read it and light a match 

And go girl – just go girl 
Live long and marry right 
May you be strong – move on - and live a brilliant life 
And I owe you, I owe you 
For every smile, every tear, every whisper in my ear 
Love again but please don’t take his hand and watch the sun set on Oak Island

Oak Island

Lifeline

What I miss, what I miss most
Is the devil in your eyes and the angel in your soul
And I want just to know you're well
That the angel hasn't left, that the devil's raising hell

Five years is a long time, someone becomes your lifeline
They pick you up and make you shine, save you when you're sinking

Oh, this is what we do
You save me and I save you
Lose ourselves and need to be rescued
No matter how hard it gets
Even if it leaves us fighting for breath
Love is strong enough to pull us from the darkness

When all my drifting ends, maybe I'll find love again
But it will never feel the same - even if I pretend
'Cause your voice still echoes in my head
Louder than my heartbeat, every word you said

Five years is a long time, someone becomes your lifeline
They find you in the nick of time just as you stop believing

Now everything's a shade of grey
And all my strength has drained away
I'm just a man who's overboard
And no one's there to hear me calling

Oh, this is what we do
You save me and I save you
Lose ourselves and need to be rescued
No matter how hard it gets
Or even if it leaves us fighting for breath
Love is strong enough to pull us from the darkness

And I need your lifeline now
I need your lifeline now
I need your lifeline now

Lifeline

All You Are

It’s too hard
To forgive yourself
Like a wrecking ball
Trying to become a flower
I wanted you
To release yourself
See the light in your eyes and the smile in your heart
That has never faded

All you are is all I wanted
The still, the silence, the burning flame
The road to nowhere
My destination always the same
Because of all you are

Keep the light on, love
Don’t go dark on me now
When you drop your guard
Anything can happen
Can’t we laugh at ourselves
Be the sharers of secrets
Untwist the knots getting tighter
I know we can can free us

All you are is all I wanted
The still, the silence, the burning flame
The road to nowhere
My destination always the same
Because of all you are

Mixing by Johannes Eberhard @ Casblanca Recording Studio

Dave Keats

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