AUTUMN YEARS

Picking up the pieces of my life
I wonder why the hell I ever came here
A man without a future left to face
And nothing but a memory to embrace

Holding on to threads of sanity
Imagining the roads I could have taken
It fills me with a deepening sense of shame
And outside I can hear the pouring rain

There is a place where in my mind I escape
And there I understand the way I feel
And deep in this world of make-believe
I will spend my Autumn Years
With you

Sitting in this grey and sunless world
I try to come to terms with guilty feelings
A man about to pay the final price
And nothing but his breath to sacrifice

There’ll be a time when I’ll be gone from your mind
A fading ghost that soon will disappear
And deep in my world of endless pain
I must face my Autumn Years

I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
I’m picking up the pieces
Picking up the pieces of my life

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

BROKEN SPIRIT

You promised things you couldn’t give
You took away my will to live
And now the greatest irony
You want to make it up to me

Once you had me spellbound
Once you had me cursed
You were hunger, you were thirst

But I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit

Just when I found my feet at last
Behold a vision from the past
And though desire overspills
You’ve only come back for the kill

In my hour of darkness
In my hour of need
You just left me there to bleed

It’s time you realized
I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit

And if you ever change your ways
It would have to be a miracle

Through the anguish
There’s a flicker of a smile
Like a cruel, malicious child

It’s time you realized
I don’t belong to you
So spare me the sweet apologies
Nothing you say or do
Will ever come close to mending this Broken Spirit

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1992 Clark Datchler

CHILD TO BE

I am the giver of life
You are the answer to my wildest prayers
My wildest prayers
Born with the right to exist
Into a society that doesn’t care

Have I done wrong
Have I been careless
Bringing you here?

Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all

In the adventure ahead
Every horizon bears a different sun
You’ll find your one
And this is the promise I make
Whether in doubt or danger
Don’t ever hide, I’m by your side

Though strangers today
Maybe tomorrow
We can be friends

Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all
What is the meaning of it all?

And when I have done my best
My body is laid to rest
Remember that you are you
Let life begin

Child To Be
Your destiny is waiting
I pass the World into your hands
And hope that you will understand
The meaning of it all
What is the meaning of it all?

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1992 Clark Datchler

CLOSE TO THE EDGE

All my emotions have intertwined
Or could it be that I’ve lost my mind
There is a feeling of hopelessness
Now that I’ve cracked up my life’s a mess

The pressure’s building up
This world has got too much
Can’t take society
You are my enemy

I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul

I can’t help shaking I’m so afraid
Caught in a gap between night and day
Living in silence behind closed doors
I’m not the man that I was before

This grip on sanity
Is slipping out of me
The fear of facing life
There is no end in sight

I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul

If I am still that strong
Enough to just hold on
I’ve got to stand and fight
In this eternal night

I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul
I’m Close To The Edge
And I don’t want to fall
I’m losing my head
My body and soul

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

CROWN OF THORNS

You were yesterday’s hero
An ordinary man of flesh and blood
Took the world on your shoulders
A hopeless crusade, an act of love

But it’s a world obsessed with religion
And now you wear the face of a god
Like the words you said
You’re as good as dead
Just a work of art on the wall
And that’s why

Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore

Holy men talk of hunger
While standing beneath a cross of gold
And there are preachers on the TV
In their thousand dollar suits
Who sell your soul

To think you died for what you believed in
Only to be exploited and used
Now you’re superman
From the promised land
Just a vision of Hollywood
And that’s why

Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore
Anymore

You showed me that there’s hope for humanity
But once more you’re being betrayed

So many countries torn by their idols
Too many prophets screaming for blood
And they only hear
What they want to hear
When it comes to god up above
And that’s why

Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns
Nobody cares
Nobody wears a Crown Of Thorns anymore

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

FISHING FOR SOULS

A lifetime away from the here and the now
A shadow is waiting, his body is bound
A man whose existence was stolen away
Who hopes against hope they’ll release him some day

Look at you powerful people
Cowering in silence

And it seems clear to me that you’re
Fishing For Souls
He’s hostage to all your political goals
When freedom comes closer
And deals could be done
A fair-weather government plays deaf and dumb

The days became months and the months became years
But hers is a memory that’s still crystal clear
And sometimes it seems she’s alone in the fight
To rescue the man who was torn from her life

Look at you powerful people
Grey suits and black hearts

And it seems clear to me that you’re
Fishing For Souls
He’s hostage to all your political goals
When freedom comes closer
And deals could be done
A fair-weather government plays deaf and dumb
Will is time ever come?

‘Cause if you really valued life
You would stop at nothing
To get him back
Or will you wait till he returns
In a box
Draped in union jacks?

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1992 Clark Datchler

HEART OF HEARTS

Why do you hide in the shadows?
Are you afraid of the sun?
You’ve got a lifetime before you
And many wars to be won
You’ve got to look to the future
And never dwell in the past
And though you’ll never forget me
Some things are not meant to last

So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true

For everything there’s a reason
Sometimes it’s hard to define
But maybe you can take comfort
Knowing you’re one of a kind

So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true

In the darkness
There’s a light that shines on you
It’s not over, I’ll be waiting
In another place and time
I will still be by your side

So why don’t you open the door
It’s a beautiful day
Nothing will stand in your way
Just take a look in your Heart Of Hearts
It’s true

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

IT’S BETTER THIS WAY

Answers can come too late
And time is not one to wait
I no longer believe
Feelings of deep despair
I tell myself I don’t care
It wasn’t meant to be

Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling

If I should feel the need
You know that my heart must bleed
I will not touch that phone
And maybe I’ll mourn my loss
But after the caring stops
Desire turns to stone

Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling

Pride has taken hold of me
I must escape this apathy
And should I wake to deep regret
I’ll suffer ‘cause I stand alone

And if there was any doubt
That this was the one way out
I’d never let you go

Maybe It’s Better This Way
Maybe it’s better than the games we used to play
Maybe It’s Better This Way
Won’t give in to fear of falling
When I hear tomorrow calling

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

RAINDANCE

If paradise is such a fragile affair
Then why have we the lion’s share?
As if we walk the Earth alone
Like infants breaking the cradle

There isn’t anything we fail to corrupt
The flipside of the Midas Touch
We’re walking in a world of glass
With iron footsteps

We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?

Have you a ticket to the greatest event?
The World inside a circus tent
Where clowns debate disarmament
And wildlife live within cages

The parody is never far from the truth
And mankind is the living proof
A dying planet in our arms
We walk the tightrope

We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?

The answer’s very simple
A World without its people
Has got to be better than this

We do the Raindance every night
And hope the gods will treat us right
And if the sky should tumble down
Will it quench our thirst or crush us to the ground?

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

STATE OF PLAY

There is a choice to be made here
There is a will to be known
Either you live your own life
Or follow wherever I go

Nothing’s forever
And time always changes everything
Nothing’s forever
From pauper to king

So tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do I leave or do I stay?
Tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do you love, do you love, do you love me?

Tell me your darkest of secrets
Offer no thread of a lie
For if there’s a key to the future
You’re looking him right in the eye

Nothing’s forever
And maybe I’ll only cause you pain
Nothing’s forever
Or will we remain?

So tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do I leave or do I stay?
Tell me what’s the State Of Play
Do you love, do you love, do you love me?

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

THE LAST EMOTION

Here where I stand
The final touch is close at hand
Where once joy was found
(Fishing For Souls: On this hallowed ground)
The weathered walls are crashing down

If only you could feel my feelings
Then you’d realize

This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart

Thoughts through my head
The many things we left unsaid
Will fade into dust
Eternity betrayed my trust

If only you could feel my feelings
Then you’d realize

This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart

(Fishing For Souls: And if my life has reached the point
Of self-destruction)
I don’t need you to cry
Just show me how to die
Won’t you show me?

This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart

This is The Last Emotion
I’m gonna feel for anyone else
This is The Last Emotion
Left within my tortured heart
Now let the love depart

[* Raindance version: “Where once joy was found”]
Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

TRUE CONFESSIONS

I never doubted a single word
I put my trust in your hands
And in the wake of a sacred vow
I thought that love was the pla

But see how the tables are turned
And nothing is sacred
The lesson is there to be learned
By tearing the mask from your face

Now it’s time for True Confessions
I want to know what you want from me
For True Confessions
I need to know why you show no sympathy

The satisfaction you take in this
Is growing ever more clear
And if truth be known in this bitter dawn
It’s like you never were here

The struggle for my self-respect
Has never been harder
And if I have any regrets
It’s knowing you wasted my life

Now it’s time for True Confessions
I want to know what you want from me
For True Confessions
I need to know why you show no sympathy

If we’re to be logical
I should be strong and walk right out that door
It’s so hypocritical
‘Cause deep inside I want you all the more

Reality cuts like a knife
The fantasy’s over
And here I am, paying the price
For all of your dark indiscretions

Now it’s time for True Confessions
I want to know what you want from me
For True Confessions
I need to know why you show no sympathy

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler

WIDOW

Looking at you
A merry widow
(Fishing For Souls: A newborn widow)
I hear the voice
Of solitude
Hoping one day
You’ll be together
If there’s a heaven
If there’s a heaven

As I watch the tears run down your face
I can see the youth that years erased
In a house you used to call your home
Where you sleep alone

Letters that speak
Of a bygone era
Held to your breast
And to your heart
And out of the door
The world is waiting
This is the threshold
This is the threshold

As I watch the tears run down your face
I can see the youth that years erased
In a house you used to call your home
Where you sleep alone

Music and Lyrics by Clark Datchler (PRS / BMI) © 1990 Clark Datchler