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Mercy
Have mercy on yourself 
This moment soon shall pass
Mercy
We all need a little help
We only have to ask

Grace
That’s all I have to give 
It’s one thing I can share
Grace
There's plenty left to live for
Together if we dare to…

Rise
On a new day
Rise
In a new way, let’s 
Rise 
What do you say? Come on
Rise
Take this new day

Hope
I know you lost it long ago
On the train that brought you down
Hope
We’re both old enough to know
What’s lost can still be found

And time
Was never on your side 
We’re all watching shifting sand
Time 
Close your eyes and count to five 
Reach out and take my hand, and we’ll…

Rise
On a new day
Rise
In a new way, let’s 
Rise 
What do you say? Come on
Rise
Take this new day

Though your bruised and broken heart is full of pain 
And love tears you apart again and again and again and again and again
I’m asking you to start a new refrain 
Come on!
Come on! 

Love 
It’s really all you need
Come on let’s make a deal
Love
I’ll give you mine for free
Won’t you join with me, together we'll…

Rise
On a new day
Rise
In a new way, let’s 
Rise 
What do you say? Come on
Rise
Take this new day

Rise
Showing mercy
Rise
Giving grace 
Rise 
Filled with hope and time to love
Rise 
Let’s rise together in this place, let’s…  

Rise

RIse

Rise

Rise 

---

© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written August 2025. Recorded October 2025
Keyboards and saxophone: Robert Tobin

Rise

So, do you feel so insecure
To come knocking at my door 
Like I know what to do?
So, do you need a helping hand 
With something you have planned? 
Is it down to me and you? 

Yeah, we’re looking for the light now
We’re fighting for our right now
We're holding on real tight now 
Yeah, we’re gettin’ stronger by the day now
Better in every way now
We're gonna have our say
We’re looking for the light 

Hey, can you take me for a ride
When there’s no place left to hide?
Is there room for you and me?
Hey, I’m afraid of catching strays
'Cause it feels like end of days
We’re still yearning to be free

Yeah, we’re looking for the light now
We’re fighting for our right now
We're holding on real tight now 
Yeah, we’re gettin’ stronger by the day now
Better in every way now
We're gonna have our say
We’re looking for the light 

--

© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written September 2025, recorded October 2025


Looking for the Light

Crooked 2

I say these words out loud 
In case there’s someone there
Will you tell that story I’ve heard a hundred times?
Will you breathe the morning air?

Close your eyes and sing to me
The songs that made me weep 
Old cassettes and harmonies 
Sinatra thirty-threes 
It’s getting late and that’s alright 
Put your head on my shoulder
And sleep

We’ll watch whatever’s on tonight 
Endeavor on repeat 
Turn up the volume if you like 
I’ll go and make some tea 

Close your eyes and sing to me 
The songs that made me weep
Old cassettes and harmonies 
Streisand thirty-threes
It’s getting late and that’s alright 
Put your head on my shoulder
And sleep

The garden’s going to bloom again 
It’s glorious, you’d say 
Enjoy the spring and summer while they’re here
Can we have another day?

I’ll close my eyes and sing to you 
The songs that made you weep
Old cassettes and harmonies 
Simon thirty-threes
It’s getting late and that’s alright 
I’ll put my head on your shoulder
And sleep

--

© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written September 2025, recorded October 2025

It's Getting Late (And That's Alright)

Too late, you’ve done it now
And you can’t take it back
I’m sure you meant it anyway
Too late to wonder how
And much too late ask
If you really mean the things you say 

I need a reason to believe
A reason you deceive 
A reason not to leave
Come down off your high horse

You’re saddled with that point of view
I hope that you feel good
I hope you sleep OK at night
Don’t want a war, even if you do
I’m just not in the mood
I’m only spoiling dinner, not spoiling for a fight

I need a reason to believe
A reason you deceive 
A reason not to leave
Come down off your high horse

The air’s too thin up there
You need to breathe 
Put your feet back on the ground
It’s time to rein it in
I’m begging, please
It’s not too late to turn this thing around 

I need a reason to believe
A reason you deceive 
A reason not to leave
Come down off your high horse

Come down off your high horse

Too late, you’ve done it now
And you can’t take it back
I’m sure you meant it anyway

---

© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written September 2025, recorded November 2025

High Horse

Flew direct from New York City
Straight off a transatlantic haul
Hungover, hungry, none too pretty
Tired of waiting for your call

Missed connections in Chicago
No reception in LA
Left my car down in Key Largo
Lost my faith in Santa Fe

No more lobby bar martinis
No more drinking on my own 
No more so far so-so cities

I want to go home 

Made some friends in Philadelphia 
Got the blues in New Orleans 
Left Las Vegas a little wealthier 
Bennies stuffed into my jeans 

No more messy nights in motels
No more missing mobile phones 
No more hopelessness in hotels 

I want to go home

The local bars
The late-night cars
Collecting endless points
The greasy food
My bitter moods 
Smoky, seedy joints
Hotel keys
And cleaning fees
And cable TV porn
The lost receipts
The dirty sheets
Can’t take it any more
 
I want to go home

Took the red eye back to London town 
Soho, Shoreditch, did it all
Lost my marbles on the Underground 
Still waiting for your call 

No more cocktail clubs in Clapham 
No more warm beer on my own 
No more waiting for things to happen

I want to go home 

I want to go home

---

© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written August 2025, recorded November 2025

Walk along the dunes with sunlight failing 
Cold sand between our toes 
The end of the N and the end of everything 
Where the tour bus never goes
Where Karl keeps all the sunsets for himself 
They’re not for us to see
But this is how I like my city best
Cooler by degrees 

Take me to the outside lands 
Where ocean meets the sky 
Take me to the outside lands
Where we don’t have to try
Just be

A gray coat wrapped around our house last night 
Blankets at our door 
Mark Twain didn’t really say that line
But I’ll still try to keep you warm
Shook the sand from in my worn out shoes this morning
You dreaming, sound asleep 
From Midland boy to Land’s End, that’s my calling
An ocean wide and deep

Take me to the outside lands 
Where ocean meets the sky 
Take me to the outside lands
Where we don’t have to try
Just be

Hey Judah, take this sad song, make it better 
Bring some harmony ashore
Take the last train to the coast if you can get here 
You’re welcome at my door

Take me to the outside lands 
Where ocean meets the sky 
Take me to the outside lands
Where we don’t have to try
Take me to the outside lands 
Where ocean meets the sky 
Take me to the outside lands
Where we don’t have to try
Just be

---
© Jon Meakin, 2025
Written August 2025, recorded October 2025

Outside Lands

 Goodbye humble town
 Someday soon they’ll knock you down
So long humble town 
You ain’t gonna drag me down 

‘Cause I’m getting up, I’m getting out
I’m packing up my books and boots
I’m digging up my roots 
I’m going to fly
And I won’t feel an ounce of pain
I’m leaving on that midnight train 
And it won’t be a shame to say goodbye
Goodbye humble town 

The place that you call home
I wonder how you sleep at night
No, I ain’t going home 
Just to prove our parents got it right

I’ve got my ticket in my hand
And this will be no one-night stand
It’s never been my plan to stay and die
And I won’t bend and I won’t break 
I won’t even hesitate 
It’s time to take my leave and say goodbye
Goodbye humble town 

And all the stuff we knew before
And all the shit we tried to score
We swept it all away from us 
We kept it all in spite of us
And sometimes when I think about
My humble town I’m left without 
Without a sense of space and time 
And close the door on a world that’s mine, that’s mine, that’s mine 

‘Cause I’m getting up, I’m getting out
I’m packing up my books and boots
I’m digging up my roots 
I’m going to fly
And I won’t feel an ounce of pain
I’m leaving on that midnight train 
And it won’t be a shame to say goodbye
Goodbye humble town 

---
© Jon Meakin
Written between 1997-2025. Recorded December 2025


Humble Town

I’ve sailed these rocky shores
A pirate all my days
 I’ve had my share of treasure, too 
I’ve left some wrecks behind
Scuppered on my wicked ways 
I’ve plundered all that I could do

Are you out there, on the air?
Ship to shore! Ship to shore!
I’m calling anywhere 
Can you hear me? Ship to shore! 
I’m sinking going down 
Ship to shore! Ship to shore!
Help me before I drown 
Can you save me? Ship to shore!

My time is running out 
I hear the siren call
The perfect storm is rising fast
I’ve been around the world 
The seven seas will take their toll
And now I’ve sailed right off the map

Are you out there, on the air?
Ship to shore! Ship to shore!
I’m calling anywhere 
Can you hear me? Ship to shore! 
I’m sinking going down 
Ship to shore! Ship to shore!
Help me before I drown 
Can you save me? Ship to shore!

---
© Jon Meakin, September 2025

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