You think your love is something so unique
That you can gather all the pieces as you leave
Spice them and up and serve them on the side
While you, the main dish, never have to slide
You think that happiness is dumbfounded and blind
Down at the corner it is paddling up for dimes
You think you're kingpin of all that is fine
A masterpiece in making, a tantalizing prime
Still you're chilled by the sound of a young baby crying
You're fearful of storms and of the moon rising
So basic your failure to stand, on your own
To learn how to walk with no shoes without whining
To stand in the wind with no coat and be smiling
To feel young and whole, for simply being yourself
So with all false force you muster up your pride
Exposing teeth where kissing lips abide
Revenging demolitions brought up by the cure
Investing all your time in figments so obscure
Still you're chilled by the sound of a young baby crying
You're fearful of storms and of the moon rising
So basic your failure to stand, on your own
To learn how to walk with no shoes without whining
To stand in the wind with no coat and be smiling
To feel young and whole, for simply, being yourself
Warm voices are calling your home
Your dad keeps on dialing, so pick up the phone
Still your pain keeps on echoing strong, like a drone
The charge in your fists it is real, you believe
To wipe out the deeds with a blow, you conceive
Still your fear keeps you locked up and chilled, all alone
Maybe one day you'll wake up in a storm
Your baby’s crying, your wife is not at home
Your bare feet stepping on a wooden floor
Will spell you forgiveness to your very own
Then you won't be so chilled by the sound of the crying
You won't be so fearful of storms and moon rising
You'll be on your own, and still, you’ll feel warm
You'll walk with no shoes alone with your darling
You'll stand in the wind with no coat and be smiling
And you will feel young and whole, for simply
Being yourself
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2023
Tanya Donnelly, Wreckless Eric, Rosanne Cash, contribute cover versions of John Wesley Harding’s songs for this charitable compilation. Bandcamp New & Notable May 6, 2021