Down to Earth Lyrics and Reviews 

The Road Not Taken /I Am a Kite /If I Could Only Play the Game
I Wish You Well /I Don't Wanna Grow Old /Sueño con serpientes / It Will Carry Me / It's Only A Matter of Time / Give Me A Man With a Nose /Sorrow and Surprise / Love So New  The Long Way Home

I knew it was coming from the look in your eyes
I saw the doubts begin to rise
There was no more room for compromise
No, it wasn’t a surprise
Even so, my faith is shaken
Looking down the road not taken
 

Well, I’ve heard it before and since
I am too intense
And I am relentless in my love
The feelings were so strong
I thought we would just go on
I don’t know what I was thinking of
 

You were a path that I stumbled upon
I wouldn’t say you led me on
And it ain’t so bad to go it alone
Still I wish you’d turn around
And see you were mistaken
Looking down the road not taken


Notes on this song:
I wrote this for one of the kindest people I’ve known. As we moved from a romance into a friendship, he helped me feel not the least bit creepy about being the one who wanted to keep hanging on. We are still close friends.
 

These are not easy words to write
A letter came for me last night
For once, I’m gonna do it right
And answer from the gut
Oh, I know you’re such a humble guy
Can’t possibly imagine why
I wasn’t very sweet to you
When we last met
No, I could not find it in myself
To bend to your will
It seems you cannot deal with anyone
Not under your spell
And you don’t think you need to change
That’s the way I heard you tell it
Still, I wish you well, I wish you well
 

These are not easy words to hear
I’ve seen that angry mask of fear
Arise each time I’ve gotten near
To reaching you inside
All these years you’ve been on hold
Running scared, running hot and cold
Surrender
And let love be your guide
No, I will not be silent 
If indeed I am a friend
I will not say just what you want to hear
I’ve no need to pretend
And even if it means
You’re never gonna talk to me again
Still, I wish you well
I wish you well.

Song Bio or Writers’ Notes:
If any ex-boyfriends think this song could be for you, let me put your mind at ease. I could never be so cool and detached about the break-up of a real relationship. It was more of a flirtation gone awry.

I don’t wanna be wise
I don’t wanna unravel life’s mysteries
Don’t wanna be amazed
To see how quickly a lifetime flees
I don’t wanna grow old
But it’s bound to happen, I’m told
If I must become a sage of retirement age
Then let me grow old with you
 

I don’t wanna grow old
I guess nobody do
But it will be much easier
If I can grow old with you
No, it doesn’t seem fair
I know you’ll agree
That there is nothing sure in life
But a lifetime guarantee
 

I don’t wanna grow old
I already forget too many things
Regret too many things
I’ve learned to accept too many things
I don’t wanna grow old
But it might be okay
It you can still look at me that way
Oh, let me grow old with you!



 

Song Bio:
I think this song pretty well explains itself. I consider it only small recompense for the aches and pains of middle age. I like the way it projects a philosophical attitude  when I really just wrote it off the top of my head. Some people catch fish, some people catch songs. It was a nice sunny day when I caught this one.
 

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Sueño con serpientes, con serpientes de mar,
con cierto mar, ay, de serpientes sueño yo.
Largas, transparentes, y en sus barrigas llevan
lo que puedan arrebatarle al amor.

Oh,oh,oh, la mato y aparece una mayor.
Oh, oh, oh, con mucho más infierno en digestión.

No quepo en su boca, me trata de tragar
pero se atora con un trébol de mi sien.
Creo que está loca; le doy de masticar
una paloma y la enveneno de mi bien.

Ésta al fin me engulle, y mientras por su esófago
paseo, voy pensando en qué vendrá.
Pero se destruye cuando llego a su estómago
y planteo con un verso una verdad.
 

I dream of serpents of a certain sea
Of a certain sea, about serpents do I dream
Long and transparent, and in their bellies they carry Whatever they can grab away from love              

Oh, oh, oh, I kill it and another one appears          Oh, oh, oh, with an even more hellish digestion     

I don't fit into its mouth, it tries to swallow  me        But it gets stuck on the cloverleaf of my forehead     I think it must be crazy, I feed it a dove to chew on And in doing so, I poison it with my goodness

This serpent finally swallows me up                           And as I pass through its esophagus                           I wonder what is yet to come                                    But it is destroyed when I reach its stomach              And plant there a verse of truth

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Blissfully, I’m unaware
Of just how small a share
In all of this
Is my little part to play
Lifted as child
Onto her father’s knee
I prosper, free and wild
A little wiser every day
Thanks to the turning tide
That has brought me to the sea
I no longer deny its hold on me
And I don’t need
To go the distance
Caught up in my own resistance
Bound up in my sorrow
There’s always tomorrow
It’s only a matter of time

The knowledge of my birth and death
Closer now with every breath
Until the moment finds me
This changing reminds me
It’s only a matter of time
 

Give me a man with a nose
So said my great-grandma
So the story goes
Great-grandfather Lawson
Was totally awesome
With respect to the size of his nose
We respected the size of his nose
 

He was steadfast and strong and serene
With two honest eyes and a nose in between
He may have snored loudly
But he did it proudly
For he was endowed with a nose
Yes, he was endowed with a nose
 

Great-grandfather Lawson was smart
Well, he led with his nose but he followed his heart
And my great-grandmother
Had eyes for no other
She said, "Give me a man with a nose
Oh, give me a man with a nose!"

A nose takes you right to the source
And just like a rudder, it keeps you on course
Although the wind blows
It’s steady as she goes
Yes, you owe a lot to your nose
Oh, you owe a lot to your nose!
 

Golda Meir and Susan B. Anthony
John Lennon, Joan Baez and Jimmy Durante
To name just a few
Of the great people who
Were endowed with an ample proboscis
What I mean is, they all had big schnozzes
 

My own nose is medium-sized
Through three generations, it’s been minimized
To prove my potential
It will be essential
To find me a man with a nose
Yes, find me a man with a nose!


Song Bio: My mom suggested I write this song. She had just mentioned  a great-grandfather Lawson on my father’s side, whose wife always used to say, "Give me a man with a nose!" in reference to his noble character and deeds. "You should write a song about that, Betsy!" said my mom. Humoring her, I agreed, thinking what a typical out of touch "Mom" idea that was. Nevertheless, I went home and scratched out four verses that same night, and about a year later added two more verses plus the intro, thinking the song was "not long enough". This is part of an interesting syndrome; often the "throwaways" that I have no real emotional investment in turn out to be among my best creations.
 

Then there arose
Such a storm on the sea
The colors of my father’s eyes
Came drifting in to me
And in my dream that night
There was peace in his eyes
And in my dream that night
Just a touch of sorrow
Sorrow and surprise
 

And as I wandered up the hill
I saw the birds were flying still
I wished for wings, with them I’d fly
And vanish in the fading sky
And vanish in the night
 

And to my mind this living
Is only a dream
And just beneath the surface
Is an everflowing stream
And in our dreams at night
And in our dreams at night
We find a source of light
And in our dreams at night
We find an avenue of light
That leads us from the shadows
Of sorrow and surprise

Song Bio, Writers’ Notes:
Many years ago I had a dream about my dad, and in his eyes was a wistful, just-awakening expression I could best describe as a look of sorrow and surprise. I added in a favorite beach and the birds,  recalling my father’s avid birdwatching. It’s easy to imagine him taking wing along with his feathered friends, if only in his mind.
 

Through the berries and the bracken ferns
Straying from the path at every turn
In the morning we would roam
Through the meadow or by the brook
It didn't matter which way we took
We took the long way home

I was young and unafraid
You were the best dog ever made
You were young then, too
You were in your prime
I would sing and you would run
And when I called, sometimes you'd come
And going home, we took our time

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