Lyrics – Ted Parnell

You Are the Woman I Love

In the dark
anyone can pretend
That there’s more
beneath a stranger’s skin
Than a pounding heart,
the flesh and the bone
A place to feel warm
when you are alone
After it’s said and done
You’re still the only one
You are the woman I love.
We make good conversation
for our so-called friends
They toss around our names
like victims of some accident
they whisper in your ear,
they laugh behind my back
they heard this, they saw that
they play games with the facts
But don’t believe a word
I don’t care what you’ve heard
You are the woman I love.
Time and distance can divide us
Nothing cools the flame
that burns inside
Tell me what we’re searching for
Cause if this isn’t love
I don’t know what is anymore.
It’s the endless yearning
of our restless hearts
That draws us away
and tears us apart
the road untaken
the song unsung
the taste of tomorrow
on the tip of your tongue
No matter what I do
it all brings me back to you
you are the woman I love.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bass, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

Lifeline

The cupboard’s bare
There’s static on the radio
Hazy silhouettes
Framed on every window
framed on every window
I’m not myself tonight I’m on a holiday
I don’t know wrong from right
I don’t know night from day.
Touch me if you dare
I’m wired and shooting sparks
Some people go through life
frightened of the dark
Hands will reach for you
fools will test your nerve
only the bravest souls
will get what they deserve.
When there’s nothing left for next time
You’ve thrown away your lifeline
You’ve come in past your bedtime
And there’s nothing left to lose,
nothing left to lose.
There’s a part of town
where you should never go
There’s a side of me you will never know
Down these darkened streets
with every twist and turn
No telling who you’ll meet
no telling what you’ll learn
Put your hand in mine
and put your trust in me
and stop this talk about
horoscopes and destiny
Love is random chance
so don’t deceive yourself
This might be what you want
this might be something else
When there’s nothing left for next time
You’ve thrown away your lifeline
You’ve come in past your bedtime
And there’s nothing left to lose, nothing left to lose.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bass, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

Here Comes Trouble

Here comes trouble
Looking pale and thin,
Here comes trouble
Will you let her in?
Here comes trouble
She’s got that wounded smile
Here comes trouble,
Can she stay awhile?
Can you mend every broken wing?
Can you dry those tears that flow like a river?
Can you fill an emptiness,
That could swallow up the sun?
Have you got that much love
To give her?
Now you lie on her bed of nails
You know love
Should never make you sorry
You’ve been here before
You should know better by now.
Are you fool enough to think
That you’re man enough?
Are you weak enough to be that strong?
Can you keep on giving,
Until it feels like giving in?
Can you prop her up til you fall down?

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bass, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

No Happy Ending

I walk the floor, I talk in circles
But nothing helps the time go by.
You pinned a memory to my heart and left me with no tears to cry
Doesn’t mean I don’t love you, doesn’t mean that I don’t care
When you reach out for me,
This time you won’t find me there
All these words
we toss into the air
they don’t mean a thing
We said to much, we spoke too soon
And now the truth has lost it’s sting
I analyze it all, wondering
What to believe
I get no clues from you
So I’ll go where my heart leads.
But what’s the reason?
Where’s the feeling?
There’s something here that
Doesn’t bear repeating
No easy answers,
no use pretending
We’ve run out of time and there’s no happy ending
I’m going out into the night
And let the darkness cover up my pain
I won’t stop until my footsteps lead me back into the light again
Ask myself the questions, no one has an answer to
Walk away and wonder what became of me and you.
But what’s the reason?
Where’s the feeling?
There’s something here that
Doesn’t bear repeating
No easy answers,
no use pretending
We’ve run out of time and
there’s no happy ending

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

Like I Want You

I want you upside down
I want you right side up
I wanna do it, do it, do it
Til we’ve had enough
I want you to make me baby scream and shout
Lovin so good it turns me inside out.
I want you to want me
I want you to want me, like I want you.
I want you hard to get
I want you easy as pie
I want you purring like a kitten
Or spittin in my eye
I want you to play me
Like a violin, I want you pure as an angel
And dirty as sin
I want you to want me
I want you to want me, like I want you.
I want you subtle
I want you rude, I want to wrestle with your attitude
Don’t be nervous baby
Don’t be shy
Let’s have no secrets between you and I.
I want you smooth as silk
I want you hard as nails
I want you swearing like a sailor
I want you timid and pale
First thing in the morning and before I go to bed
from the tips of my fingers
to the top of my head
I want you to want me
I want you to want me, like I want you.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bass, Mandolin, harmonica, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

This little House of Ours

Today the rain poured down
Around this little house of ours
I sat by the window and I
Counted passing cars.
The rain fell til the ground
Could hold no more
Until the waves crashed at the door.
You can tell a lie, and then a lie
Another lie
Til you forget the who, the where the when, the what the why.
You don’t have to tell me where you’ve been
I can smell the stranger on your skin.
As if shaken from a dream
As if someone tore away
A curtain
Finally something to believe
Finally something I can know
For certain
You broke this fragile thing
And hid it in the dark
And down fell this little house of ours.
Something old and something new
Something borrowed something
Blue
The clouds came to surround us
on that day we said “ I do”.
First one drop and then another
Everybody ran for cover
But we stood there in the rain
And here we are again
One last look through empty rooms
This house is silent as a tomb
No angry words, no slamming doors
All that’s left of yours and mine is a patch of lawn and a For Sale sign
There’s nothing more to say
Lock the door and walk away
And watch the sun set on this little house of ours.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

No Regrets

If this is just another sad goodbye
Why don’t you kiss my cheek, I’ll close my eyes and you can disappear
Like you were never here.
We belong to another time
And out of sight is out of mind, isn’t that what they say?
Why did you have to break the silence, and tamper with the past?
Couldn’t you leave well enough alone?
I was doing well enough alone.
Everything and nothings changed,
it’s all so familiar, it all seems so strange.
Standing here on the street,
wearing awkward smiles and staring at our feet
Once there was a time, when I would have given anything just to hear you talk like this
It just came too late I guess.
No regrets
It’s good to see you again,
We’ll forgive and forget, and stay the best of friends
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to feel,

isn’t that what we’re supposed to say?
We just shrug it off and then we walk away.
Like a visitor from another world,
You introduce me to your little girl, “This is mommy’s friend”
You never mention his name, but I see him in her eyes
He’s here all the same
He’s tugging at your sleeve,
And whispering in your ear, he’s saying “come away”,
But you’re lost in yesterday.
No regrets (time heals)
It’s good to see you again, (everything)
We’ll forgive and forget,
(time heals)
And stay the best of friends (everything)
Isn’t that what we’re supposed (time heals) to feel,
isn’t that what we’re supposed to say? (everything)
We just shrug it off and then we
walk away (time heals everything)

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bass, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

Barb Best & Lilja Best, Backing vocals, Brian Klowak saxophone

Not Now, Not Ever

You say don’t shut the door, opportunity.
Won’t knock a second time, for you and me.
I might say something,
I’ll live to regret
I might want you back
Baby don’t hold your breath.
Not now, not ever,
Not now, not ever,
You can fabricate,
An apology, shed a tear or two
Get down on your knees
You can shake your fist, curse my name and pout,
Don’t you understand,
Do I have to spell it out?
Not now, not ever,
Not now, not ever,
When I’ve forgotten all those sleepless nights
When I feel no pain
When just a word from you
Turns wrong to right, that’s when I’ll forgive you,
That’s when I’ll take you back again.
It’s a bitter seed,
Bearing poison fruit,
it’s been growing wild,
Since I last saw you,
You want me to forgive,
You want me to forget,
You want to start again,
But it’s not over yet.
Not now, not ever,
Not now, not ever.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, Bas, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

The Killing Game

No one understands you
At least that’s what you say.
And try as you might
you can’t keep all those
dark feelings at bay.
There’s always somebody staring
and you don’t know why
You can’t bear to look a stranger in the eye
The condescending smiles
The laughter behind your back
That self-assured air
That makes you feel lonely and small
You’re a stain on the family name
That won’t wash out
All those men they pay to launder your dreams,
Still can’t figure you out.
So they give you something for the tension
and something for the pain
But it’s just a panacea
for the things they can’t explain.
When your prescription runs out
You’re back on the street again,
Angry and crazed,
But certified harmless and sane.
Buy a gun and take aim,
be a part of the killing game.
Those clamouring voices,
No one else hears,
Paranoia and prophecy,
Are ringing in your ears,
Your twisted politics and jaundiced rage,
Focus on a page from the society page,
A symbol of success,
Glamour and power, the man of the hour, he’s everything you’ll never be.
Buy a gun and take aim,
be a part of the killing game.
You buy a gun,
It feels good in your hand,
Cold and hard like the heart of a desperate man,
Overnight become a household name,
This is the prize when you play the killing game.
You hunt fame and fortune,
With a gun or a knife,
And buy a moment in history,
With another man’s life
You catch him off guard in a crowded place,
with that thing in your hand and that blank look on your face,
the cameras record it
all in slow motion,
Backwards and forwards,
Over and over again.
Buy a gun and take aim,
be a part of the killing game.

Ted Parnell-Guitars, keyboards, lead and backing vocals, drum programming

Recorded at Screamin’ Diva Studio, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.