Close To The Dial

Your arms held me together
In that noisy tearstained crowd
You said…be steady for me baby
Make me proud
So handsome in your uniform
It seems like only yesterday
You blew me one last kiss
As you turned to board your plane

I keep you close to the dial
Where you’re trapped in our song
It’s saying everything I want to hear
That you haven’t said in so long
You said it so sweetly
When we walked down the aisle
When my finger reached out and touched you
Close to the dial

I hear you like a one-way conversation on the phone
You love my silky blond hair
How my skin glows when we’re alone
I know they’re just notes on paper
And someone else’s tune
But the volume fills this empty space at night
In our bedroom

I keep you close to the dial
Where you’re trapped in our song
It’s saying everything I want to hear
That you haven’t said in so long
When the storms come...and they do
I still find your smile
When my fingers reach out and I touch you
Close to the dial

I turn you on when I’m lonely
And my heart’s breaking
It doesn’t kill the pain 
…but it softens my aching

I keep you close to the dial
Where you’re trapped in our song
It’s saying everything I want to hear
That you haven’t said in so long
When the storms come and they do
I can still find your smile
When my fingers reach out and touch you
Close to the dial

Kay Mott/Writer

Close To The Dial

Fourth Quarter
timothymichaelmusic
15 JUN 2021

V1.
Got the news today.  I’m blown away,
And I just can’t comprehend.
My anxiety gets the best of me
As my glass runs out of sand.
And the road I’ve been on, for oh so long
Is coming to an end.
I’m heading home, but I’m not alone
As the good Lord takes my hand.
 
Chorus
I’d do it all again my friends
If I could do it all with you
I found everything that I’d been searching for
And made every dream come true.
It’s been a good run, towards the setting sun
As my time is getting shorter
I’d like some overtime, not this finish line.
Living life in the fourth quarter

V2.
Life seems to flash by in an instant
As I look back on my past
And when you hit that final countdown
The seconds tick away so fast
Is it really done?  I’ve been having fun,
And time really does just fly.
Where I’m headed is all I’d hoped for,
But I’m not ready to say goodbye.

Chorus
I’d do it all again my friends
If I could do it all with you.
I found everything that I’d been searching for
And made every dream come true.
It’s been a good run, towards the setting sun
As my time is getting shorter.
I’d like some overtime, not this finish line.
Living life in the fourth quarter.

[Instrumental]

Chorus
I’d do it all again my friends
If I could do it all with you.
I found everything that I’d been searching for
And made every dream come true.
It’s been a good run, towards the setting sun
As my time is getting shorter.
I’d like some overtime, not this finish line.
Living life in the fourth quarter.

I’d like some overtime, not this finish line.
Living life in the fourth quarter







Fourth Quarter (2025)

If you go into my eyes
can you see the broken inside
And if I keep pushing you away
are you sure you'd even stay

Pre
I'm simple, complicated
brave and terrified
Without listenin, can you hear me cry
Without feeling, can you touch me inside

CHORUS
I feel nothing
I feel everything
My blood is thin
I bruise out, I bruise in
Outside I heal
but inside is too real
I feel, I feel
Inside is too real

I love too hard or not enough
Would you even want to keep up
And if you can go the way I go
can you survive my lonely road

Pre
Will you be the light that shines
while I hide this dark of mine
Without listening, can you hear me cry
Without feeling, can you touch me inside

CHORUS
I feel nothing
I feel everything
My blood is thin
I bruise out, I bruise in
Outside I heal
but inside is too real
I feel, I feel
Inside is too real
Outside I heal
but inside is too real
I feel, I feel
Inside is too real

Bridge
I look in your eyes, do I trust what I see
Cause salt can look like sugar, yeah, it looks so sweet

CHORUS
I feel nothing
I feel everything
My blood is thin
I bruise out, I bruise in
Outside I heal
but inside is too real
I feel, I feel
Inside is too real
Outside I heal
but inside is too real
I feel, I feel
Inside is too real


Is Too Real

Do I breakout of this border
Unpaint myself from this corner
Break away where I'm safe and warm
Get myself caught up in a storm

Do I dare go through these dark clouds
How far could I just venture out
Am I strong enough to survive
The fury of what I decide

Lift:
Take flight in the wind, can a bird fly with just one wing

Chorus:
I'm always a dreamer
A brave heart in the dark
Soaring the horizon
Bright as a northern star
I don't want to forever
Close my eyes and have to wonder
If I needed light'ning
to make my own thunder
Always a dreamer

Take a gamble see where I land
Just leave it in God's hands
I want my dreams to fall out of the sky
Shine bright like a golden sunrise

Lift:
Be wild and free with the values taught me

Chorus

Bridge:
Run as walls tumble down
I may stumble and fall
I’ll make each moment count
In spite of my faults

Chorus


Always A Dreamer

If love were an ocean, there’d be no land
If love were a desert, there’d be only sand
You’re like an ocean I’m falling into
and I can’t fall without you

Lift
I’ve opened my heart

CHORUS
You give it all
You love my flaws
I let you in
Touch places I
have never been
I let you in
You are the star
that leads me home
I let you in
You light the dark
inside my soul
I let you in
I don’t have to be perfect
You love me without limit
When I dream
I let you in
When I breathe
I let you in

You show me where to look, don’t tell me what to see
Show me how to love the scars that built me
You fight for me when I want to give up
Lead me through the pain when life gets rough

Lift
I’ve opened my heart

CHORUS


I Let You In

PARTS OF SPEECH

You send me in a spin
every time you talk
Your voice is so suggestive
I have to stop and pause

As each delightful vowel
slides from your lips
oh, what a turn on
I'm so loving this

CHORUS
Intoxicating verbs
in my head
You sure know how to
get the right things said
Ambitious adjectives
and conjunctions flyin free
I could listen every day to
your parts of speech

Your sultry syllables
can sure inspire a girl
Each gorgeous consonant
melting my world

Your dangling participles
are so encouraging
Give me some interjections
like wow! whoa! boom! ah! zing!

CHORUS

Ending
Every in, at, on, and of
I love
your parts of speech



Parts Of Speech

🎵 "Blood Stained Memories" 🎵

[Verse 1 — Revised]
I was diggin’ through boxes where the attic breathes dust
Found a jacket stiff with time, stinkin’ of rust
The name tag’s hangin’, sleeve torn at the seam
Still smells like diesel, like gunpowder dreams
Pictures in a pocket of boys lookin' like they don't have a care
Grinnin’ through hell, with no fear in their stare
One had his arm wrapped around my granddad's back
Freeze-framed in a moment that never came back

[Verse 2]
He came up the stairs like the floor might break
Saw that coat and stopped — didn’t blink, didn’t shake
Lit a smoke like he’d done it a thousand times
But his hands said more than his quiet lines
He said, "That one there, that’s Ray. He never made it out."
Then looked through me like the lights went out
Pulled out a shell from a battered old tin
Held it like it still burned under his skin

[Chorus]
These are blood stained memories, they don’t hang on a wall
They live in the quiet, in the cracks when night falls
In the way he walks, in the way he don’t sleep
In the names he don’t say and the ones he can’t keep
No folded flag or parade can make it feel right
He came home breathing but lost half his life
Still fights a war that no one sees
Yeah, he’s stitched with blood stained memories

[Verse 3]
He spread out a map on the kitchen floor
Ran his hand over places that ain’t there anymore
Stopped at a spot, whispered, “That’s where we stood...”
Then shut his eyes like he could taste the blood
Showed me a photo — edges cracked with time
Said, “That laugh right there? Man, it used to shine.”
He tucked it away like it hurt to look
And lit another smoke with a half-shook book

[Chorus]
Blood stained memories, they don’t fade or forgive
They haunt every day he’s still tryin’ to live
They’re in the silence when the fireworks start
In the stiff of his drink and the beat of his heart
Ain’t no welcome home gonna patch what tore
He may’ve left the field, but he’s still at war
He don’t say much, but I can see
He’s carryin' blood stained memories

[Bridge – Spoken or Sung Soft]
"Some things you don’t speak — you just wear 'em like skin,
They come home with you, then move right in.
And some nights, they sit at the end of your bed...
Sayin' nothin’ — but louder than words ever said."

[Final Chorus – Stripped Down First Half, Full Build Second Half]
Blood stained memories, passed down through the years
In the box I found... and the weight of his tears
They don’t ask for glory, don’t beg for light
They just show up quiet in the middle of night
You wanna thank a soldier, don’t reach for a line
Pull up a chair, give him your time
'Cause not every wound is meant to be seen
Some run deep as blood stained memories

[Outro – Spoken or Whispered]
"He came home walkin’, but part of him stayed —
Blood stained memories live in silence, but never fade."

Blood Stained Memories     (7)

To the toughest two Linemen  that ever lived , My Dad, and my husband Joe

When The Lines Went Down --- 1)  DEMO.mp3

WANT TO.mp3

GOODBYE_GONE.mp3

Wear You All Over Me
by Zena Byrne

[Verse 1]
That old t-shirt you left behind
Still smells like your cologne and summertime
I wear it when the nights get cold
Pretend your arms still hold me close

[Pre-Chorus]
Every thread pulls me back in
Like your fingers tracing skin
I close my eyes so I can see
What we used to be

[Chorus]
I wanna wear you all over me
Like denim faded perfectly
Your kiss on my neck, your hands on my skin
Every memory stitched under my grin
I want your love like my Wrangler jeans 
Broken in, soft and clingin’ to me
Yeah, I wanna wear ya all over me
Oh, I wanna wear ya all over me

[Verse 2]
Lipstick stains on your flannel shirt
Hung it up, but God, it hurts
Still got your boots by my back door
Like you might walk in like before

[Pre-Chorus]
Your ghost is hangin’ in this place
Like leather laced on satin grace
No matter how I try to leave
You’re a part of me

[Chorus]
I wanna wear you all over me
Like perfume on a springtime breeze
Your laugh in the hall, your breath to my lips 
Every memory etched in seamless bliss 
I want your love like my favorite tee
Broken in, soft and clingin’ to me
Yeah, I want to wear ya all over me
Oh, I wanna wear ya all over me

[Bridge]
I don’t need no runway style
Just your touch to fuel the fire
Caus’ you’re the thread I can’t unwind
Wrapped around this heart of mine

[Final Chorus]
I want to wear you all over me
Like ink that don’t wash out clean
From morning light to midnight dreams
Every memory stitched under my chin 
I want your love like my Wrangler jeans
Broken in, soft, and clingin’ to me
Yeah, I wanna wear ya all over me
Oh, I wanna wear ya  all over me too

WEAR YOU ALL OVER ME ( Male)

Rock  / Country / Modern Folk / Americana  / Soundtracks / Contemporary Christian Music.........  I've written and recorded my older music with an acoustic guitar as "Rough Demos" which sometimes made it into a production studio for artist and sync placements. My newer songs are AI productions using my lyrics. Hope you enjoy :)

Blood Stained Memories (7)

Kerry Ballard

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