All songs words and music by J.M.François (c) 2019

 

A Silent storm         

 

we can't choose were we come from

but we can choose were we go from here and still leave a trace

one day we will all be stories

one day we will all be a name by the fireplace

we accept the love we think we deserve

no questions asked

no real understanding even if it hurts

 

there's a silent storm below the surface

and the world goes on

a silent storm

a silent noise

and the sound of a rush through the trees that keeps on calling your name

 

what about the time you said “we're gonna change it all”

what about the games we played?

mountains never high enough

what about the promises, we were so young so undecided and yet so certain of it all

we've come to terms with our mistakes,

they are just stepping stones

we crossed the waters we kissed our last goodbye so long ago

 

did you hear the fleeting winds around our fate

did you hear the silent storm around our hearts abate

can you feel the love we shared and lost

and we did not contemplate

because we did not know,

we did not know

 

Staying on the safe side           

 

I keep longing for a time when joy was in a green fairy

dancing was a silent movie, and love a game to play

masquerades were smoke grenades

we were much too wary

moving on

 

staying on the safe side

for much too long

it’s past your curfew

the deed is done

your time ran out before you even tried

 

don’t hide your magic tricks

when the circus comes to town

don’t speak those soothing words to me

running low and burning slow

a touch of fortune in your hand

 

i can hear the safe and wistful child

through the banter behind the door

her laughter always heals me

the captain she’s been waiting for

is on a far and distant sea

on a leisurely shore

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above the whisper            

 

Well I guess i am way too old to carry secrets of this kind, but I still do

And I’m far too old to wander round the city late at night, but sometimes I still do

So you change a little bit, but not too much

You wouldn’t want the outside world to get out of touch with you

Although there will be talking here today, I can’t say I mind

‘Cos I’m above the whisper anyway

 

There is a strange and awkward feeling every time I meet a stranger here

And in an instant you just know , It doesn’t need to grow

You can taste it in the atmosphere

Maybe there’s a look or a twinkling in your eye

Or the way you smile when you say goodbye

I really don’t mind what other people say

I am above the whisper anyway

 

Are you still looking in the rear view mirror,

do you still regret the choices that you made

you got to stop doing that, it won’t get any better

Yes I know there was a price you paid

So  for now just tag along, Be resilient and strong

And float upon the waves of life, cherish all the love you made

Go on rely on your gut feeling boy

You are above the whisper anyway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Away, Away           

                       

You used to ride your bike so gracefully

Ride into the setting sun

Away, away, You used to say

I’ll find my freedom moving on

You used to drive around in no-man’s land

Across the pitfalls and the cracks

Away, away, go with the wind

No one will stop you in your tracks

 

Out where horizons never lie

Into a place where you can fly

Away from all controlling eyes you roam

You don’t look back, You don’t rely on any promise passing by

Before you compromise, you told me once, “you’d rather die”

And now you sit there counting morons, little demons, petty woman you all gathered on your ride

You seem distracted, you only acted superficial but your opportunities are still open wide

I think you need to ride again

Away, away

 

I wonder why you never took the lead when all the favours where on you

Away away you said, This praising;

It’s nothing special that i do

And I won’t begin to mention all the girls you liked

Or how the girls would worship you

Away away my darlings

I’ll trade my loving gladly too

 

 

You missed your window,

Time went by your little circle in the sky

You had the chance but you didn’t try, you roamed

You found contentment so you say

As if your blue turned into grey

While you were only longing for

A place to stray

So now you sit there, oh so quiet, I wonder what goes on inside your head

Your wasted talent, and how it went

And how you turned your back on everything that doomed your day

I  think you need to ride again

Away away

 

And now your bike is gathering dust in time

It’s just a picture on the wall

Away away These mem’ries

Away, away before i fall

 

 

 

 

 

Mothers & Fathers                     

 

Mothers and fathers

Oceans and seas

Brothers and sisters

Forrest’s and trees

Teachers and Schoolyards

It was nothing but play

We were Cowboys we were Indians every day

 

Children and birthdays

We had lemonade and cakes

Not a worry in the world

There was nothing yet at stake

You remember the changes

And your first kiss in the park

I still smell the sweet spring and hear the sound of the singing lark

 

But in a wink you grow older

While you thought it would always last

Now you look over your shoulder

God it went so fast

Mothers and fathers, Daughters and sons

 

Paintings and photographs

Of landscapes and views

Afternoon sunshine And morning dew

I see girls in white dresses

Dancing in the field

As the time keeps on slipping the memory gets more and more real

 

 

 

Melancholy  

 

This is where we watched the cows graze

You and me dad, in long forgotten days

In the distance I still see The shipyard where you used to work

Where you made a living for your family

 

This is where we used to ride our bikes

Along the riverbanks across the dykes

Now where the meadows used to be I see an oil refinery

Oh progress has a price

 

And you did not know me

And I did not know you very well

And we never tried hard to ring each other’s bell

But time has shown me

Time has a way to tell

Gee I never reckoned I would feel so melancholy

 

I look around this land, It is where our hearts lie

The ocean clears a message in the sand

Just like the words you said are washed away in time

And I still wonder

We only ruled our own dominions

Maybe it’s not too late to say

Maybe the years have softened our opinions

Yes love has many ways

 

 

 

 

 

Heroes must die first   

 

So this here is the life that you’ve been looking for

This here is as good as it can get

Along the way the stranded ones have vaporised

Apostate and unwillingly, abandoned and deprived of love and calling

Well in retrospect you can always see your flaws and your demeanour

As something of a learning process

You win some, and you lose some

And the values you once cherished

Just like the seasons they’ve all passed

 

But you must not cry because the sun goes down

It will rise again tomorrow

Don’t dwell on yesterday

Don’t consummate your sorrow

The only thing you have to do before you quench your thirst

You mustn’t die before your heroes do

Heroes must die first

 

Now with all your knowledge all your knowhow and all the wealth that you can think of

you're still so dissatisfied

do you still believe our main goal is to misuse and to plunder

then are you aware that you never even tried?

so this is why the brave ones, the ones that we look up to

must go before our time is through

the adulated set examples

they disregard their own needs

but all their deeds

they need to be adored by you

 

 

 

No angels       

 

There are no angels here

They have upped and gone away

they left me here abandoned 

they could not stay

 

There are no angels here

Maybe there never were

But traces of their goodness

Must be lying ‘ round here somewhere on this earth

 

Grief has made me angry (grief and indignation)

Grief has made my heart grow cold

I’m trying to exist, I’m trying to resist the sound

of a peace and quiet sphere

it’s definite, it’s undisputed

there are no angels here

 

i wish there was an angel here

to comfort me to soothe my soul

to chase away the demons

and forsake this bad existence as a whole

 

but there are no demons here

there are only demons in your head

they are only bad ideas and memories of some words you later thought, well

you shouldn’t have said

 

 

 

Welcome to the real world

 

Ten years ago, it Seems like yesterday

twenty years like the day before

Your “gold and shiny” hair shows a little grey

Still remember that blouse you wore

There’s no regrets, today is precious

Age has put a smile on me

It’s in my head I’m keeping treasures

And I’m the one who holds the key

I was never one for church or for belief

So I never wondered why I was around

Feeling blessed right now, well, It cannot be a great relief

But it seems too late to turn around

There’s no defence today is precious

is that the wonder of it all?

This here’s my castle in the ashes

This here’s the fire of my love

And it’s burning down

 

Let's light another candle (still burning down)

If it's still too hard to handle (still burning down)

so many reasons not unfurled

And my common sense is not enough,

Welcome to the real world

 

I try to understand the words I read

I try to grasp the evening news

These days you don’t count when you’re incomplete

And you’re more likely bound to lose

It’s all pretence, but is it really precious

Now aren't we just a bit naive?

Here our celebration crashes

Here our expectations fall

One and all

 

I Still believe I'll wake up one day

Finding all the sounds around me take me back to the fields were we used to play

Hiding in the tall grass, I feel your tender kisses take my innocence away

 

 

 

Broken hearts & Cancelled dreams

 

25 years of nothing

25 years of a working life for a stupid car

or a house you’ll never own

25 years of nothing, 25 years

 

25 years of suffer

Suffering in a working plant or a factory

Or in a shop to sell the latest news about the refugees or the homeless people In a foreign land

25 years

 

How to mend the broken pieces of the mirror you looked in long ago

The friends you’ve known remind you

Of the Broken Hearts & Cancelled Dreams,

The shadows of that first hello

 

25 years of loving

25 years of girls and women,

dates in darkened alleys, wrong decisions, sad divorces, forced accords I was way off course

for 25 years

 

25 years of living

Living a lie, or half a truth or half a made up story about the boy you used to be.

Never setting free the dreamshe had, is rather plain pathetic, Rather sad

 

And 25 years ahead or maybe less,

but please no more to contribute or add to this distress.

I may have no desires, only less,

Or lesser expectations.