welcome to the song dumpster, where I take the trash voice memos from my phone and turn them into slightly higher quality trash demos for your listening pleasure.
highly personal lyrics! okayish sound quality! usually piano or a cappella.

song dumpster

"This Is" - an original song.

LYRICS:
This is the city
Where we fell in love
You probably wouldn't remember
But I'm thinking of
The times that we spent here
The things that we did
Kissed, and cried, and went to museums
Thought about having a kid

This is our apartment
Or it used to be
You hated the blue-shuttered windows
But you loved me
Now it's looking empty
'Cause you're going away
Your mom took most of your stuff but
I just can't stay

And this is the kingdom
Of things that used to be
A wall of promises kept it
From crumbling into the sea
And we were the pillars
We held it up
But then you crumbled
And I was not enough

This was our bed
It's made for two
I roll over expecting
To bump into you
I haven't been sleeping
I know that I should
But there's no one here to say it's bedtime
If you were here, you would

And this is the kingdom
Of the us we used to be
[Don't you miss me? x2]
We ordered things from catalogues
And built it, you and me
[Don't you miss me? x2]
[You said not to miss you, you said not to care x3]
We were the pillars
But things have begun to rust
Every since you crumbed
Ash to ash and dust to dust
[So I won't miss you, I won't miss you]

This Is

An experiment in wordplay and harmonies.

LYRICS:
I got a body
and it ain't anybody's.
No, this body ain't nobody's, anybody's body
but mine.
But this body
wants to belong to somebody.
So if somebody's body don't belong to nobody
they could come be somebody of mine.

I'm going somewhere.
I swear I'm going somewhere.
They may say I'm going nowhere,
But I'm going everywhere I can.
So if you're stuck in nowhere, 
or stumblin' towards your somewhere,
I'll meet you there, anywhere,
we'll fare better as a pair,
and we'll go somewhere we need no plan. 

'Cause I got one time.
I'll make the most of it sometime.
See, I've been tryin' but every time
I've got less time than when I began.
So if you see me some time,
let's make the most of our one time,
I'll see you anytime and everytime
and one day, when we're out of time,
I'll wind the clock and start time again.

But that's the thing -
I want to do everything.
But the anything between nothing and something
is a lot of things to do.
So I sing, "I want to do everything!"
And since I can't believe in nothing
I believe that there is something
looking down on everything we do.

So here's the last one
where I tell you we're all someone.
And if someone tells you you're no one
then they're not someone you should see.
But if you've got no one,
And you're looking for someone...
Well, I'll take anyone and everyone,
so if you're one who's got no one,
then come be someone with me.
I say, come be someone with me.

'Cause I've got a body
and I've got time
to do everything, go anywhere
and still make it rhyme
And no one's gonna bring me down.

Body & Time

lyrics:

let's make a list of all the things that we miss
you go first
oh, you're not ready?
okay, then i'll go first
i've got a list

i miss her letters and i miss his smile
i miss childhood summers
i miss when $20 felt like a lot of money
i miss sunny days when all we had to do was try not to get burned

i miss when mom and dad would ask what i learned in school
and i could tell them i learned how to spell
antidisestablishmentarianism
and they'd be impressed
and i'd be proud
i miss being proud

i miss the stories my great-grandmother would tell about
life on the island when she was a little girl
the world changed so much
in the time she was alive

i miss the people who died before my time
howard ashman, and jonathan larson
i miss hearing the words they wrote
for the very first time

and i miss you
and i miss you

i miss the emails we all used to write
before everyone had cell phones
and unlimited texting
except for the chain emails in bright purple
those were the worst

i miss the battles with the super-soaker water guns
and sliding down snowy hills on a toboggan
i don't know why we stopped doing all those things
they were fun

i miss the people i didn't get to know
i miss bunkmates at band camp and
classmates who moved away
people who i met at a convention
and never saw again

i miss the room we claimed when we were seniors, back at school
i miss the christmas tree that someone brought from home
and we all decorated
i miss how close we were
at the top of the world

and i miss you
and i miss you

i miss the certainty i had when i was 13
that one day i'd be married, and write a novel
and have a house, and a cat
and be happy

and i miss those bold moments
when i turned away from fear
when i said i'll do it anyway
and i don't care what they say
i used to be brave
i used to be
 
and i miss me
and i miss me 

so this has been a list of some things that i miss
but not everything
if i tried to list everything
this list would be as long as my life
'cause i miss it all
even the chain emails in purple

so now it's your turn
tell me what's on your list
is the people, the places, or the feelings?
is it missed opportunities?
please say it's me.

the things i miss

LYRICS:

Six o’clock, the sun is setting,
The horizon line
Is gold and pink and fading;
We’re running out of time.
I thought you would forgive me
Before the night grew colder,
Yet time goes by
And we’re still getting older.

So tell me how the ocean looks
When it’s seen from your side.
From here the sea seemed stormy
And I still chased out the tide.
Do I regret that I jumped in?
If you could see me shiver…
But then you always knew the ways to make me quiver.

The last time we said goodnight
I didn’t know it was goodbye.
Or maybe it was “see you later”
I still can’t decide.
I wish you would just talk to me
Because this silence seems to be
A lot like drifting out alone to sea –
You’ve left me drifting out alone to sea.

Nine o’clock the stars are rising
Clouds drift in the skies.
Is the watercolour moonlight
Reflected in your eyes?
Is it captured on a canvas
Carried underneath your arm?
Is it the reason for your lateness?
Is there no need for alarm?

Or are you writing me a letter
That you’ll send in your place?
Should I be waiting by the mailbox?
Have you given up the chase?
Still, the docks are peaceful late at night
And so I’ll keep on waiting
I will relish in this tension you’re creating.

The last time we said goodnight
I didn’t know it was goodbye.
Or maybe it was “I don’t love you”
I still can’t decide.
Do I regret my honesty?
Did you expect any less from me?
Am I not what you though I would be?
Because you are exactly who I thought you’d be.

The last boat lands at midnight
And it’s 11:59.
Then it gets loud, I scan the crowd
And find, to my surprise,
That I forget the colour of your eyes.

The last time we said goodnight
I think I knew it was goodbye.
I believed that you still loved me
And I think that’s why I cried.
Should I give up and let you be?
I said I’d love you endlessly.

That was before you moved across the sea
That was before you stopped speaking to me
I feel in love, I knew I would
You broke my heart, I knew you could
I knew that someday you would leave
I’ve taken enough time to grieve
Now I know you are the sea
And I’m the moon and we will be
Tied together by the tide
But never by each other’s side

And goodnight means hello
And not goodbye.

the moon and the sea

i said the boy must be a thing divine
nothing natural i ever saw so noble
i said the boy he looks like bread and wine
he'll provide and provide pleasure
i said don't run away from me
i know nothing good ever came so easy but
i have to have you or i'll die
i have to have you or i'll die

did you ever see someone so fine
could be an exhibition
divinely crafted to be so
have you seen how he looks in the sunshine
how could heaven let him go
do fallen angels follow leads
go where they know that someone needs them
i know i need him
and maybe maybe maybe he needs me
and maybe maybe maybe he needs me
he is a star, he is a star
i look from afar and i know
i see how he glows
i see how he shines in the night
yeah he is the light
i need in my life
'cause when you live in the dark
you live in the dark
you mark time by tracking the sky
and i wonder why
he brought me into the sun
but there is one thing i know
out here i have begun
to grow

the boy must be a thing divine

created as part of a songwriting challenge. lyrics by teague chrystie.

(the royal in our) we

alicia | storyteller & sometimes songwriter

(the royal in our) we

alicia neptune