Learning how to pray
(Mark I. Anderson)

Dear lord, it’s been a little while
I feel as helpless as a little child  
But I need to talk with you
And I’m guessing that you know
I made a few mistakes / and I can’t let ‘em go

So, I turn to you
Hoping I might find
The strength to surrender one more time

[Chorus]
I’m asking for forgiveness
I’m asking for your grace
I’m asking you to hold me
In your sweet embrace
Till I can fly again
Higher than today
Just an earth-bound angle in the end
Learning how to pray 

Dear lord if you can hear me
I’m on my knees as you can see
And in trouble once again
But I’m guessing that you know
All about the fool / who just can’t let it show

So, I turn to you
Hoping I might see
The image of the man you made in me

[Chorus]
I’m asking for forgiveness
I’m asking for your grace
I’m asking you to hold me
In your sweet embrace
Till I can fly again
Higher than today
Just an earth-bound angle in the end
Learning who to pray

[Bridge]
Been too long on my own
Too long turned away
Tryin’ to make it home
When I pray

[Chorus]
I’m asking for forgiveness
I’m asking for your grace
I’m asking you to hold me
In your sweet embrace
Till I can fly again
Higher than today
Just an earth-bound angle in the end

Till I can fly again
Higher than today
Just an earth-bound angle in the end
Learning how to pray
Learning how to pray…

Learning how to pray

Love with you
(Mark I Anderson)

If you could see inside my heart
And measure time when we’re apart
Then you would see right from the start
That I’ve been in love with you
 
If I could find the words that ring
In prose and passion when we sing
Them I would have found everything
When I made love with you
 
[Chorus]
I put my faith in this magic
It’s there in your smile at night
I reach out my arms just to hold on
I’m falling for you again here tonight…

 If you could hear my still small voice
Then you’d know why there is no choice
I just surrender and rejoice
When I make love with you 
 
[Chorus]
 I put my faith in this feeling
And trust that the magic is right
I reach out my arms just to hold on
As I’m falling again for you here tonight…

[Bridge]
It’s more than emotion / It’s strong as a storm
A moment of healing / So safe and warm
No word of a lie / A pure guarantee
You can believe in me…
 
[Chorus]
I put my faith in this magic
That’s there in your smile at night
I reach out my arms just to hold on
As I’m falling for you again here tonight…

If you could see inside my heart
And measure time when we’re apart
Then you would see right from the start
I’ve been in love with you 
Then you would see right from the start
I’ve been in love with you …

Love with you

Slipping away
(Mark I Anderson)

All he could think about / was his retirement
He had it all planned out / but something inside of him
Was slipping, slipping away

Those years of nine to five / it’s hard to let it go
You could see it there in his eyes / the only thing he’d ever known
Was slipping, slipping away…

[Chorus]
Forty years out on the job    
It’s time to walk away
A little time alone with God
To help you find your way
Throughout the passing years / you watch em disappear  
Best we leave them as they lay, best we leave them as they lay
Slipping away…

Alone there in the dark / it’s creeping in on him
What happened to the spark / when did it begin
Slipping, slipping away…

[Chorus]
Forty years out on the job    
It’s time to walk away
A little time alone with God
To help you find your way
Through the passing years / you watch em disappear  
Best we leave them as they lay, best we leave them as they lay
Slipping away…

[Bridge]
That night he hit his knees and said a prayer
All we really need is always waiting there 
When doubts surround us, we start slipping, start slipping
Slipping…

Now when we reached the ending / it’s no mystery
No use in pretending / anyone could see it
Slipping, slipping away

[Chorus]
Forty years out on the job    
It’s time to walk away
A little time alone with God
To help you find your way
Through the passing years / you watch em disappear  
Best we leave them as they lay, best we leave them as they lay
Slipping away…

Slipping away

I’ll listen
(Mark I Anderson)
 
I don’t know what do right now
But I won’t turn away
It’s hard to find the right words
When you don’t know what to say
I wish that I could tell you
Everything will be alright  
But I’m not sure there’s anymore
Words you need tonight
 
[Chorus]
So, I’ll listen
Unspeaking with affection / our soliloquy
I’ll listen
To hear all your confessions / if you need me to (if you need me to)
I’ll listen…
 
Come sit here by the fire
Much ado about the day
So many stolen moments
Calling us away
I’ll wrap my arms around you
Til the morning light
Cause I’m not sure there’s anymore  
Words you need tonight…
 
[Chorus]
So, I listen
Unspeaking with affection / our soliloquy
I’ll listen
To hear all your confessions / if you need me to (if you need me to)
I’ll listen…
 
[Bridge]
I need you to hear
I need to hear / your voice
Falling all around me
Highs and the lows
Ups and the downs
A couple of hearts
A beautiful sound…
 
So, I listen
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Chorus]
I listen
Unspeaking with affection / our soliloquy
I listen
To hear all your confessions / if you need me to (if you need me to)
I’ll listen
Unspeaking with affection / our soliloquy
I listen
To hear all your confessions / if I need you to (if you need me to)
I’ll Listen
 
When you need me to / if you need me to
I’ll listen…

I’ll listen

Nearly perfect
(Mark I. Anderson)

Nearly perfect / the end of the day
The sun and the fun going down
On Montego Bay
Something special / and I can’t get enough
Under the stars in the sky you and I
Still falling in love
The moonlight on the water
The lovelight getting stronger
Nearly perfect…

Nearly perfect / that look in your eye
Have I seen it before I’m not sure
And I wonder why
It’s pretty special / when you can’t get enough
All the teasing and pleasing believing
Yeah, this is love
The moonlight on the water
The feeling getting stronger
Nearly perfect…

(Chorus)
The rest of the world is a thousand miles from here
The rest of the world, well it might as well disappear
There’s a storybook ending here we’re trying to write
Nearly perfect, nearly perfect tonight…

Nearly perfect / just dancing with you
When this song is over, I’m sure we’ll
Remember the tune
Something special / no, I can’t get enough
Here at this moment, two hearts are 
Calling out love
The midnight hour is waiting
What we’re anticipating
Nearly perfect…

(Chorus)
The rest of the world is a thousand miles from here
The rest of the world, well it might as well disappear
There’s a storybook ending here we’re trying to write
Nearly perfect, nearly perfect tonight…

(Outro)
Nearly perfect / the end of the day
The sun and the fun going down
On Montego Bay...

Nearly perfect

There’s still good in the world
(Mark Irving Anderson)

…I carry her smile
Right here in my heart
The years and the distance
Can’t keep us apart
With one little smile
From one little girl
I know there’s still good in the world…
 
…Cause, I’ve known the grace
In her precious smile
She lights up a room
Oh, the ways of a child
They will tug on your heartstrings
Until they unfurl
I know there’s still good in the world…
 
[Chorus]
I’ve known the bitter, And I’ve known the rain
I’ve fallen down broken up, Going almost insane
But whenever my memory, Finds that little girl
I know there’s still good in the world…
 
…She knows the best way
To bring down the walls
In a world that’s gone crazy
When her memory calls
I see rosy, red cheeks
On a missing tooth girl
And I know there’s still good in the world…
 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
[Chorus]
I’ve known the bitter, And I’ve known the rain
I’ve fallen down broken up, Going almost insane
But whenever my memory, Finds that little girl
I know there’s still good in the world…
 
…I carry her smile
Everywhere that I go
I share it with friends
To let the world know
How one little smile
From one little girl
Can show us, there’s good in the world…
 
[Outro}
With one little smile
From a missing tooth girl
And I know there’s still good in the world…

There’s still good in the world

Whispers of the infinite
(Mark Irving Anderson)


…I’ve knelt beside a candle’s flame
And watched the smoke ascend
I’ve lost my way in shadowed woods
And found myself again…

…Sometimes it feels like longing
A hunger never fed
Sometimes it feels like going home
When evening prayers are said…

[Chorus]
…Whispers of the infinite, your whispers call to me
A whisper of the universe inside of me… 

…And when I feel the darkness
The ache of being small
I close my eyes and listen
To the echo of it all…

…For in the silent spaces 
Where fear and doubt reside
There’s still a spark of something more
Burning here inside…

[Chorus]
…Whispers of the infinite, your whispers call to me
A whisper of the universe inside of me 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

…So here beneath the heavens
With gratitude I stand
A part of all creation
Held gently in his hand…

…And as I walk this road
Wherever it may lead
The spirit of the universe is here with me 

[Chorus]
…Whispers of the infinite, your whispers call to me
A whisper of the universe inside of me 
Whispers of the infinite, your whisper calls to me
A whisper of the universe inside of me …

Whispers of the infinite

*** A rewrite of the first song I posted on SAW ***

You can’t edit that out 
(Mark Irving Anderson)

…Like a permanent document
Something you can’t change
Once you say those words to her
They will always remain
In indelible ink
To remove the doubt
You can try if you want to
No, you can’t edit that out…

…Like a permanent document
For the world to see 
Like it’s written in stone
Like it’s a guarantee
You just can’t take it back
That’s what this is about
You can try if you want to
Boy, you can’t edit that out…

[Chorus]
…You can change the words to a classic love song
You can rewrite the script if the story ends wrong
You can change any rule if there’s any doubt
When it comes to your heart
No, you can’t edit that out…

…Like a permanent document
Etched on your heart 
You can’t unread that book
Once the story starts
Like a canyon will echo
In a thunderous shout
When a man says I love you
No, you can’t edit that out…

[Chorus]
…You can change the words to a classic love song
You can rewrite the script if the story ends wrong
You can change any rule if there’s any doubt
When it comes to your heart
No, you can’t edit that out…

[Bridge]
…We’re all a critic with an editor’s pen
When it comes to the heart let me say it once again…

[Chorus]
…You can change the words to a classic love song
You can rewrite the script if the story ends wrong
You can change any rule if there’s any doubt
When it comes to the heart
No, you can’t edit that out
When it comes to the heart
No, you can’t edit that out
When it comes to the heart
No, you can’t edit that out…

You can’t edit that out

Peace of mind
(Mark Irving Anderson)

…I reach for you to say goodnight
A perfect ending to our day
You in the blankets wrapped up tight
Enough to make me knell and pray…
 
…I try to speak but there’s no sound
Silent words are hard to hear
You just put your arm around me now
And all my troubles disappear…
 
[Chorus]
…I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without you I know
No, I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without a heart and soul…
 
…5:00am I’m wide awake
Waiting for the sun to rise
Like I had someplace to be
And then again I I realize…
 
…There’s no other place on earth
That I rather to be
So, I climbed back into bed
And pulled your body close to me…
 
[Chorus]
…I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without you I know
No, I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without heart and soul…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
[Bridge]
I have wandered off with mighty thoughts
Through quiet woods and fields
The sun broke through the clouds today  
And I remember what was real…
 
[Chorus]
…I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without you I know
No, I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without heart and soul…

…I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without you I know
No, I / can’t find
No peace of mind
Without heart and soul…

Peace of mind

What the rain does to me
(Mark Irving Anderson)

…It starts with a whisper on my windowpane
Gentle and daring, and calling my name
Clouds in the sky, the world at the door
The morning turns misty, like we’ve been there before…

[Pre-Chorus]
…The memories come easy when the thunder rolls through
Like an old, faded picture of love that we knew…

[Chorus]
…Oh, the rain, takes me places I ain’t seen in years
Backroads and heartaches and sweet summer tears
It’s a soft invitation to dream restlessly 
Lord, there’s no telling you, what the rain does to me…

…Drops hit the tin roof, a steady parade
Every drop a reminder of a promise we made
The scent of wet earth and sky painted slate
It brings back the laughter, of nights stayed up late…

[Pre-Chorus]
…I close my eyes, hear the rhythm begin
The rain writes our story all over again…

[Chorus]
…Lord, the rain, takes me places I ain’t seen in years
Backroads and heartaches and sweet summer tears
It’s a soft invitation to dream endlessly
Lord, there’s no telling you, what the rain does to me…

[Bridge]
…It could be the thunder or the flash of the light 
But I feel you near me whit each lightning strike
With the puddle’s reflection, the wind in the trees
It all brings you back, and it won’t let me be…

…I drive through the country, old wipers in time
To the song of forgiveness, to words that still rhyme
The heat in the fire, the hope on the breeze
I’m chasing tomorrow with memories like these…

[Pre-Chorus]
...The radio’s playing an old sweet refrain
Just me and my thoughts and the sound of the rain…

[Chorus]
…Oh, the rain, takes me places I ain’t seen in years
Backroads and heartaches and sweet summer tears
It’s a soft invitation to dream endlessly
Lord, there’s no telling you …

…It’s a soft invitation to dream endlessly
Lord, there’s no telling you, what the rain does to me…
…What the rain does to me…

What the rain does to me

Hello, my name is Mark. Thank you for checking out my songs. I’m a songwriter living in Portland Maine.  I write mostly country songs because that’s the music I listened to growing up.  Though I’ve branched out a bit through the years at the core I’m still county.

I’m interested in networking and writing with others to improve my craft. Ultimately I’m looking for a publishing company to take these songs to new and established artists. 

Thanks again.
Mark