Music: Theresa Johnson
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

I never loved how snow
Makes the landscape more pristine
Or how flowers burst in colors
Amid a meadow’s green
I never loved to see
Lightning split the sky in two
And I never, never, never
Loved you

I never loved a quiet dinner
Wine and candlelight
Or holding hands on an empty beach
On a dreamy, moonlit night
I never loved to dance real slow
To set the perfect mood
And I never, never, never
Loved you

We fool ourselves so easily
We fool ourselves, and how
Was I doing it for all those years?
Am I doing it right now?
The need is deep to wash away
The presence of the past
When it turns out nothing’s what it seems
When it turns out nothing lasts

I never loved the intimacy
Of arms around my waist
Or imagining the look the world
Must see upon my face
I never loved the way love feels
When there’s no doubt it’s true
And I never, never, never
Loved you

Never, Never, Never

Music: Justin Reed
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

Across a Bad River

I been sleep, sleep, sleepwalking the desert
Soles worn out on my shoes

I can’t go much further
Life give me the blues

Across a bad river
I see a hard sky
Gonna cross the bad river
Lay down and die

No rain rain raining any love on me
Heart don’t even get used

I can’t go much further
Life give me the blues

Across a bad river
I see a hard sky
Gonna cross the bad river
Lay down and die

Gotta coin on my tongue, the ferryman’s waiting
Nothing left for me to lose

I can’t go much further
Life give me the blues

Across a bad river
I see a hard sky
Gonna cross the bad river
Lay down and die

Across A Bad River

Music: Harri Kujala
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

You’re springing forward
I’m falling back
You’re smooth as glass
I’m full of cracks

You’re waking up
As I go to sleep
I lurk in the shallows
You’re diving deep

One step, one block, one mile at a time
It’s hard to bring our paths in line
We keep hopin’ things’ll turn out fine
We’re not even close

You’re silver linings
I’m etched in black
I walk the edge
You pull me back

You dance in sunlight
I tramp the dark
The difference
Couldn’t be more stark

One step, one block, one mile at a time
It’s hard to bring our paths in line
We keep hopin’ things’ll turn out fine
We’re not even close
We’re not even close

(B)
We’ve seen enough movies to know how ours ends
(2X)

One step, one block, one mile at a time
It’s hard to bring our paths in line
We keep hopin’ things’ll turn out fine
We’re not even close
(2X)

Not even close
Not even close
Not even close

Not Even Close

Collaboration for 50/90 2022

Music: Justin Reed
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

Verse 1
My papa loved barfly women
Mama played with razors
Nobody ever came along
To be my childhood savior

Verse 2
The bullies in school beat me
Teachers just ignored it
What faith I had all disappeared
And nothing could restore it

(Chorus, part 1)
Hard knocks are the best school
I got a Ph.D.
I majored in rotten luck
And minored in misery
The rivers that I’ve cried
Coulda filled the sea with waves
And when I die, I’ll die alone
No stone above my grave

(Chorus, part 2 )
No stone above my grave
No stone above my grave
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone above my grave

(Verse 3)
My women all up and left me
I couldn’t hold on to friends
Thought that they all cared for me
It seems they’d just pretend

(Verse 4)
I never was good at nothing
Plumber, salesman, sailor
I even messed up bankruptcy
That’s right, I failed at failure

(Chorus, part 1)
Hard knocks are the best school
I got a Ph.D.
I majored in rotten luck
And minored in misery
The rivers that I’ve cried
Coulda filled the sea with waves
And when I die, I’ll die alone
No stone above my grave

(Chorus, part 2)
No stone above my grave
No stone above my grave
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone above my grave

(Bridge)
Darkness is my atmosphere
Bitter is the flavor of every tear
It’s been forever
Since I remembered
It’s good to be alive
But I still persevere

(Chorus, part 1)
Hard knocks are the best school
I got a Ph.D.
I majored in rotten luck
And minored in misery
The rivers that I’ve cried
Coulda filled the sea with waves
And when I die, I’ll die alone
No stone above my grave

(Chorus, part 2)
No stone above my grave
No stone above my grave
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone
No stone above my grave
(Repeat)

No Stone Above My Grave

Music: David Forman
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

Photo courtesy of jcomp at freepik.com

How I Want to Feel Acoustic

Lyrics: Doug Haberman, Music: Jacob Everett Wallace

Infinite Water
V1
Blue light in windowpanes
And shadows like black orchids
I’m haunting city streets from long ago

V2
Flashback to golden days
It might just be a parody
Of what I used to feel and used to know

(Lift)
Why did she leave?
Where did she go?

(Chorus)
Her voice still sneaks
Up on me
It tells me what I taught her
I thought of her, still think of her
As the angels’ daughter
And when I hear it in my mind
Her voice soothes…
Like infinite water

V3
I was much younger then
The future only a fog and a mist
But everything was possible in dreams

V4
Fate plays with all our plans
The paint peels off and walls fall down
And hopes evaporate like subway steam

(Lift)
Why did she leave?
Where did she go?

(Chorus)
Her voice still sneaks
Up on me
It tells me what I taught her
I thought of her, still think of her
As the angels’ daughter
And when I hear it in my mind
Her voice soothes…
Like infinite water

(Bridge)
Here in the desert of reality
I find myself clinging to her memory
(2X)
As if it will save me
As if it will save me
As if it will save me

(Chorus)
Her voice still sneaks
Up on me
It tells me what I taught her
I thought of her, still think of her
As the angels’ daughter
And when I hear it in my mind
Her voice soothes…
Like infinite water

FAWM 2023

Infinite Water

Music: Harri Kujala
Lyrics: Doug Haberman

A poet who hates all modern-day poetry
Meets a poor woman who’s partial to luxury
It had to be, don’t you think fate decreed it?
Our destiny was what the gods needed
Wasn’t it?

I like pretty words that twist until uglier
You’re a romantic, you go for the jugular
You say your love is as red as a petal
But everyone knows blood tastes like metal
Doesn’t it?

We’re too old to play
Childish games
You want your fortune
I want my fame
When every kiss
Leaves a dark stain
You know it’s a match
A match made in heaven

On days I can stand, you give me that look of yours
You climb your ladders and I do the household chores
Then sit and write with the wit of a broker
You read it and say, “It’s mediocre” 
Cruel you

We’re too old to play
Childish games
You want your fortune
I want my fame
When every kiss
Leaves a dark stain
You know it’s a match
A match made in heaven
You know it’s a match
A match made in heaven

(B)
We laugh after love
At our dwindling bank account
You’ll run the table
And make it a big amount
When I’ve arrived
And they give me the Pulitzer
I’ll put on mohair
My very best woolen shirt
We’ll go dance on the Hudson

We’re too old to play
Childish games
You want your fortune
I want my fame
When every kiss
Leaves a dark stain
You know it’s a match
A match made in heaven
(2X)

You know it’s a match
A match made in heaven

A Match Made In Heaven

Vagabond Blues

V1
Gone home and it turns out
You ain’t here no more
I get home and it turns out
You ain’t here no more
If you’re gone for good, babe
I’m kneeling down and kissing the floor

V2
I bought you fancy jewels
Never was enough
I got you fancy jewels
Never was enough
Why’d I think you’d want me?
All you want is stuff, stuff – y’ want your stuff

V3
Sure ain’t no expert
But I feel it strong
Sure ain’t no expert
But I feel it strong
Don’t need your opinion
The way you love is nothing but wrong

Nothing But Wrong

Lyrics: Doug Haberman
Music: Jacob Everett Wallace

Every time that I walk
On these frozen waters
If the ice is too thin
My dreams will be swallowed
But I can’t help myself
Let the angels fear
There’s a much paler sky
And it draws me here

Every time that I walk
Over broken glass
I keep telling myself
I could lose my grasp
But there’s no holding back
Crimson stains on the earth
See the new waters flow
It’s my heart’s rebirth

And all the dark distance between you and me
Fills with images of what could’ve been
All the dark distance between you and me
Fills with mirages of what will never be

Every time that I walk
Across burning coals
If the fire’s too hot
I might lose control
When I’m free from the pain
And my spirit soars
Hell can wait for a freeze
I’m at heaven’s door

And all the dark distance between you and me
Fills with images of what could’ve been
All the dark distance between you and me
Fills with mirages of what will never be

crisp1

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