The Setup EP

He sets out. Nashville bound. 6-strings and a handful of moneySeveral more/others who take that route. There’s nothing you could say to discourage.It sounds great. But is it real? Perhaps a photo that never happened.

They’ll stay for a few years or so only to settle back in.

Am I one? Chasing a mirage that I’m currently making/building/creating.

Stay the course. The destination should you findHow it looks is determined by the driveYeah you’re one, in becoming what you are

Cause no one ever speaks/tells of him that didn’t start

At least you’ll know. There’s something to gauge.I’ve been doing pull-ups off of the high diveIf I let go & take that plunge

I’ve got to swim out my way

That approach, is it best?When ropes lead to the surface

Am I one? On my own but should rely/be leaning on anotherGuiding hands. Different set. That would require I let go, let go, let go …

Stay the course. The destination should you find.How it looks is determined by the driveYeah you’re one, setting stones on which you walk

The firm beneath your feet is for your cause

Take my best shotTo forge this pathMore than attempt

To reach its end

Need to attractLegitimateYou’ll turn your head

& NoticeNotice

Am I one? Buying in. I see illusion & inch towardNot enough to push through. Have to back, back, back, back, downWill regret. Ask what if? Just didn’t have it, have it have it?

Stay the course. The destination should you find.How it looks is determined by the driveYeah you’re one, in pursuit of what you love

And that and that alone/my son, is enough

We’re waiting. Impatient. The passing of minutes.We’re looking for something but no one’s sure just what.Pass the time. Creative. All carefree. All playin’.

Content or complain, we’re stuck with what we got.

Sit four to a seat all with wind in our hair.Sleep when we can, watch the time ‘till we’re there.Sing out our lungs. Countryside through the glass.

Passes with these restless hours.

20 questions. A sign with new letters. State license.On this roadside we’ll find something along the way.Searching nothing. Nothing wakens. Wakens upright. Daylight breaks-in. Just a part of what would later become the molded clay while it starts to take shape.

We finally made it. As for the time it’s taken.It’s the dark before the new dawn comes.The wait / beat until the sound of the start gun.

Cement poured and lying flat. Is it dried? No, not yet.We’re the sum, sum of the pieces. Awaiting definition but defined in the wait.In those hours near or far we were kids finding out who we are.

It used to be a drive I’d makeA late night trip to see your surpriseSend you a line to say

I can’t wait until we talk tonightWell it must’ve worked cause you said, “I do”But now our two’s becoming three

So when he looks into my eyes I’ll know there’s a new way for me

Tell her you love her before you go to bedCrawl in and wake her up with a hugPaint a picture of how pretty she is and remember how I told you son

When I start her eggs that’s when you put down the toast so the butter melts right whenYou call her name so she knows it’s doneUntil tomorrow when we do it again

Made you a science project each method I wrote about usWe were a new experiment, but now I have the/real resultsI try to please, learned to fold towels in threes, and you wear for me Cardinal red

So when he asks, “Which roses should we get?” I’ll say, “She prefers tulips instead.”

Wave goodbye as she drives off to workWhen she gets back run in to her armsWhile she’s gone we’ll try to clean up and I’ll teach you her favorite songs

When you make the bed fold the top sheet down cause she thinks that looks bestAnd when she walks in say, “Mommy we cleaned, so you should lay down and rest.”

Loves just a word if not shown by/through supportAll those little things will still be aroundBut white chocolate mousse won’t show to you the way teaching him how

He is loved more than anything else. Always remember thisTo others be kind as well as polite. Life itself is a gift.We don’t know how this works but we’ll try our best so that when that day comes

When it’s your turn to love you’ll know the way, from what you’ve been shown

Look around all new facesNot much in common yetWell we’re here

Tell me know what's next

Learn the namesTalk it upAvoid idle watching hands on the clock

Formal and nice but we don't hideWe’d much rather be somewhere else

The second we get back with friends we’re in our placeThe space between the source that helps those times be made

It's come time to move onWe could stay here forever but that's not what we wantI'll take with me memories and stories we owned

It's 2 AM and now ya got to go home

Stroll along through the same song dailyDread it less take it all in stride

It's funny how once distant now seems familiarTime the ever-present passerbyThe weeks gone and the night’s young

We're out content drinking as ifThis was all we knewOnce the reason my cause

It starts the second I walk in and take my stockThings look good my grin an indication of what I got

Start a new different sceneReluctance pointless but still within arms reachGive it time

They'll becomeThe ones we raise our glasses with

Separate and facelessEach in our placeNothing would I trade but I’d hit pause to those nights re-create

Are you bothered by frustration?It's like no one notices because nothing’s doneSo is there some opposition?

He that speaks should march and carry his words on

Talk is cheapYour thoughts are cheaperInflationary pressure sets your tone

I’m less apt to read what you wrote in sand so leave your markings in the stone

What you said comes through quite loudlyYou could raise the volume without shouting. I’d hear you betterTrade language for definition

A spoken promise only becomes valid if fulfilled

A fallen treeIn abandoned woodWon't be heard if you're back at home

I'm less apt to read what you wrote in sand so leave your markings in the stone

Put down the stick take the hammer in handWhat's done can't be taken away

Own it

Own it and your difference will be madeOwn it and your difference will be madeOwn it and your difference will be made

Own it and your difference will be made

Then we'll talkIt comes in clearMaybe this problem’s just my own

I'm less apt to read what you wrote in sand so leave your markings in the stone

I can't wait to read what you wrote in sand and then carved in to the stone

Lost is what wasWhen dreams were suchThey all came and left no artifacts behind

But tonight my time is up

And I feel so alive that years from now I’ll tell myChildren of the change in meAnd I can’t quite describe how the hands of muses touch me

I just don’t want them to leave

Burning bright I hope it keeps when freshly lit look past thisWhere tomorrow’s brush awaitsWarmth can’t be saved

It’s lost if not spreadI fear this flame, blue, will turn in future redIn past these plans did from this point begin

But this time, I’ll reach a different end

And I feel so alive that years from now I’ll tell myChildren of the change in meAnd I can’t quite describe how the hands of muses touch me

I just don’t want them to leave

Verbal thanks won’t hold the weight ofThis new man createdThis revolution’s yours

This revolution’s yours!

And I feel so alive that years from now I’ll tell myChildren of the change in meAnd I can’t quite describe how the hands of muses touch me

I just don’t want them to leaveAnd I won’t be surprised if this emotion’s one day foreignBut in this moment I am changed

In this moment I am changedIn this moment I am changedIn this moment I am

If I ever had to walk through flamesTo the blisters on my feet you’d be rainThis has gone on forever & I know it will continue

Through/In/Until my final breath this is me asking you

You consume me over the hurry off the subwayYou’re that water drip forming an elaborate cave (making me a deep)This is me asking though I love what we’ve been

But I wrote out a riddle with a dried out ink pen/No one answers (responds) to a riddle from a dried out ink pen

You make a thousand voices silent in a crowded roomWe steal away to the car & it’s us & Mr. MoonThis is me asking can we let everybody know?

Behind the clothes in the closet you’re my unseen Van Gogh

We could block out the sun & light it up in the dark skyOr we could turn on the sound/shut off the noise and everyone would choose to close their eyesThis is me asking for a way & I don’t care how

Let’s pull back the curtain & see what love allows