Read My Stuff Best to Worst — 3 of 10

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collaborhythm

(3 of 10 read my stuff best to worse)

****WARNING EXPLICIT LYRICS, ADULT THEMES,

DIRTY THOUGHTS & SHIT THEY DON'T WANT

YOU TO KNOW IS IN THIS M*THAF*CKA********

"I'm not gonna lie... I wrote and read all this shit...

and I'm kinda f*cked up!" - Tom Jensen, collaborhythm

REST IN POWER by Tom Jensen

I love you to learn you

Just to hate you and burn you

You see I got these demons 

Who don’t deal well with feelings

When betrayed by your senses

You learn to build up defenses

And to hide in dark places

Drawing lines no one traces

Blazing a trail no one follows

A space empty and hollow

Where the dreams of a child

Would guide you through to tomorrow

Yet now the future looks bleak

As you’ve found what you seek

But it’s alien and strange

Since your outlook has changed

You used to want to save the world

Now you just wanna f*ck the girls

Letting your id eat you alive

The super ego closes his eyes

They’ve separated you from your mind

And your heart from your soul

It’s time to wrestle back control

Or become someone you don’t know…

As you passed a stranger out on the street

Thought to yourself, “He looked a lot like me…”

Well not who I am but who I used to be

Those are two different people entirely

To rest in power not peace

You gotta keep feeding the beast

And once you catch the disease

You no longer wanna break free

That’s when you know 

Got a tiger by the toe

But stop lying to yourself

You want them to let go

STAY BIG by Tom Jensen

My hate is filled with heart

My blood is in my art

My tears blotch out the page

This ink confines my rage

Sometimes I’m not myself

F*ck you go f*ck yourself!

Hell yes I fake Tourette’s

Have fun no one’s upset

Create the world you seek

With eyes and style unique 

Arise brand new each day

Play hard or else don’t play

I frame it… I hang it

I put it up for sale

I make it… I take it

Because I know they’ll

Always come back for more

When they know what they’re looking for

It sure is fun to go explore

Who wouldn’t wanna be out on tour?

I’m making my living 

With no f*cks given

Standing around the corner 

There’s a line full of women

All waiting for the star – of the show

All wondering where you are – they wanna know

Oh where could he be hiding?

What kinda car will he ride in?

It must be so exciting

Pick a party you’re invited

Everybody wants to know what you’re saying

Anybody you wanna bed we know you’re laying

You got every card in your pocket you could play, kid

There’s no way you’re gonna fade you gonna stay big!

TOM'S PSALM By Tom Jensen

If you believe in lies

Then your hands are tied

Self-crucified

You are still chained

In elders so wise

From them the truth still does hide

Walk in trance hypnotized

Nothing has changed

And their sermons surmise

In faith there is no compromise

Yet the same old problems

Still have not been rectified

Today and yesterday

They are still the same

The day the savior does rise

They shall all stand by his side

Though countless have died

For their religion's name

But what does it symbolize

When the only hope to unify

Is for laws of science to be defied

As the earth's engulfed in flames

And what does it signify?

That man has yet to visualize

Every instrument

Of the orchestra harmonize

When every piece is on stage?

SLIP STREAM By Tom Jensen

Enter this virtual world

Take an unguided tour

We'll find a cavern in your mind

That has yet to be explored

We'll cause a ripple in the water

Of intuition, space and time

Won't fear a tear in the fabric

Only scared of a flaw in the design

We can take a trip

Slip down stream

Feel free to follow me

Or I could follow you

Just take one of these

You know what to do

Become anyone you want

Let that become the truth

Free yourself from all distraction

For time ain't on anybody's side

I can see by your reaction

The sense of panic in your eyes

There's only shame in me asking

If you need your place to hide

Just take one of these

And you know what to do

Become anyone you want

Let that become the truth

I see a ripple in the water

Or it could be space and time

A small tear in the fabric

I see a flaw in the design

Just take one of these

And you know what to do...

Let everything you see

Become shiny and new

LET ME LIVE THE DREAM by Tom Jensen

I woke up… My mind was racing

When my feet hit the floor… 

they soon started pacing

Craving the apple I was once tasting

Footsteps to the past I began retracing

Running from old enemies I once was facing

All the while believing I was escaping

I never show my weakness 

even when I am breaking up inside

The only thing stronger than my ego 

is my foolish sense of pride

Sometimes I sacrifice all I've made

To live within a lie

The only cross to which I'm bound

Is burning me alive

Oh my, my, my, my... let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons... alive and unseen

From the blaring whispers of compulsion

Very few mortals can hide

Freedom is just another word for failure

For all those who have lost 

when they've tried

For the key to unlocking the mind

is different

To each be them young or old

In trying to reach what they're searching for

Yet have never been able to hold

Oh my, my, my, my... let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons... alive and unseen

I tried staying with my own kind

I tried swimming within my own mind

But so slowly the path unwinds

Though I keep following what I hope to find

Even when life looks grave 

as you're running out of time

Could reality ever match my dream?

Will this nightmare ever end?

Will a new day ever begin?

Can I learn to make myself whole again?

To live without and change within?

Oh my, my, my, my...

let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons...

alive and unseen

Out of sight can mean out of mind

Yet what I am running from 

is never far behind

Once distant memories 

now mirror the present

As the shadowless clock 

has stopped telling time

No, you can't escape the voices

Echoing inside of your ear

As thoughts become desires

Speaking all too loud and clear

Although you may bow your head

While pretending not to hear

When the calming silence is gone

You know what is there

Oh my, my, my, my...

let me live the dream

Of escaping the demons...

Alive and unseen

LET DOWN

by Tom Jensen

Who’d have thought 

that a pair of faded blue jeans

Could bring me to my knees?

Who'd have thought that after I let her in

She'd do just what she pleased?

An angel on the outside 

The devil within

I would soon discover

Well I guess they're right 

It just goes to show

You can never judge a book by its cover

I've done something I've told myself 

that I would never do

Before you proved your love

 I put all my trust in you

I believed your lies

And dried your eyes

And to my surprise

You took me for a ride

A ride I'll never take again

Can you see me frown?

As you're leaving town

The truth's been found

You spun me around

You let me down again

Such a beautiful smile yet eyes full of deceit

You said that you loved me 

All the while 

you were lying through your teeth

I'd like to follow you 

telling everyone you see

Be careful of this girl

Look what she did to me

Who'd have thought 

that a pair of faded blue jeans

Could bring me to my knees?

Who'd have thought that after I let her in

She'd do just what she pleased?

An angel on the outside 

The devil within

I would soon discover

Well I guess they're right 

It just goes to show

You can never judge a book by its cover

I've done something 

I've told myself that I would never do

Before you proved your love 

I put all my trust in you

HEARTSTRINGS By Tom Jensen

I don't need you for inspiration

Nah, I got plenty of that myself

I'm not looking for someone to save me

Nah, you can't leave that to anyone else

I'm was just looking for someone 

to keep me and love me

For all I am....for my better or worse

I wasn't looking for someone 

to take me and leave me

Leaving me feeling this angry, helpless remorse

As I see you sitting in the chair

Staring back at me

With a cold and lonely stare

I will remember for eternity

I finally want back

What's been taken

What you stole

But I will never get that till I regain control

I am just another trophy

Collecting dust on your mantle shelf

Something that you've taken

That once belonged to someone else

Now as I feel forsaken

I criticize my useless self

Plucking at my heartstrings

Is the music you play only for yourself

Never a thought for someone else

MATCHES TO BURN by Tom Jensen

(for a female vocalist)

I need a reason to sing

I can’t think of anything

And I’ve been thinking a lot

About a world not filled

With things you could see

But of all those things

I dreamed to be

So long ago that I forgot

When down memory lane…

I took a stroll

I re-lived mostly pain…

and now that pain…

It takes its toll

I’ll make a promise to you

And then I won’t show

Yeah, I’ll always leave you guessing

With your insides now exposed

While you’ve still yet to learn your lesson

Ahh… but at least now you’re feeling the cold

Though still… you keep on pressing

But with this new insight you now behold

You see the sun now glistening off of the snow

If you listen closely then you’ll learn what I know

It takes ten seconds now to see

What took me twenty years to learn

Ain’t no paper worth nothing to me

To a girl… With matches to burn

To a girl... with matches to burn..

MULTIVERSE by Tom Jensen

The only thing real is this moment

So get up on it

And be a proponent

F*ck the trophy for participation

You want to finish in first place 

At the end of the race?

With time you’ll find 

The seeds were already sewn

By you in your mind in the very beginning

The day you stop dreaming 

Is the day you stop achieving

And start living down to expectations 

With nothing left to believe in

Through the years 

Many infidels have raised hell

Trying to make things even

Leaving us in tears 

As more victims fell 

To some godless heathen

If you visualize grilled cheese

That could lead to world peace

But if you envision a barbeque

That just might be the end of me and you

Once you take control 

Over the power within your mind

You can create the best possible version

Of all outcomes desired

MEET MICHAEL HAWK By Tom Jensen

I called up this girl who

was going to see me tonight

She told me she was going to

a play with Michael Hawk…

Have you ever

met Michael Hawk?

I heard all his friends

call him Mike

He’s real friendly with the ladies

There’s something

about him they all like

Have you ever

met Michael Hawk?

He’s what they call

a real standup guy

He is over

six feet tall

And almost two feet wide

Michael Hawk might look

a little strange to you

Because his head is purple

His belly is white

And his feet are blue

He’s a memorable man

that Michael Hawk…

He always leans when he walks

He only wears one sock

And he never, ever talks

All the girls fall in love

with Michael Hawk

They say he’ll fit you

like a glove

that Michael Hawk

And that no man rises above

Michael Hawk

Yes, he’s very well

thought of that

Michael Hawk

Come along with

Michael Hawk

Won’t you dance

with Michael Hawk?

Hum a song to

Michael Hawk

Wrap your hands

around Michael Hawk

But never laugh

at Michael Hawk

And never turn your back on

Michael Hawk

Or you might get

slapped by Michael Hawk

For he’s very rash

that Michael Hawk

Have him for breakfast

Michael Hawk

Make him supper

Michael Hawk

Introduce him to your

sister and mother

Michael Hawk

But not your father or brother

Michael Hawk

He reminds me of a pirate,

Michael Hawk

For he’s only got one good eye

He’s made many girls go blind

Other girls quiver

and other girls cry

If you ever come across

Michael Hawk

Don’t hesitate to

give him a kiss

Just so long

as you don’t mind

The slight taste

of salt upon your lips

CLEAN WIPE TO THE SLATE by Tom Jensen

As you're getting sleepy in your bed

Busy staring at the walls

My head is still spinning

As I'm pacing up and down the halls

I just need one more line only one more verse

And when I finally fall asleep it only gets worse

Yea lately I've been losing faith

Been having trouble thinking straight

What I thought I'd found has been misplaced

What I've been giving out

Well, I finally got a taste

When I woke up I couldn't see my face

Time to take a clean wipe to the slate

The past has now been erased 

No right path to follow

No lines left to trace

I see no yellow lines on the highway

I've done it your way now I'll try it my way

There's a road not yet paved in stone

No one left to follow when you're alone

No shepherd to guide you

No shadows to hide you

No need to ask directions 

When you're heading home

Every sign you've seen has led you astray

When you stuck out your thumb 

no one was going your way

The highway you stand upon

Winds so violently and looks so long

You've just gotta be strong

Keep writing and singing your song

Time to take a clean wipe to the slate

The past has now been erased 

No right path to follow

No lines left to trace

I see no yellow lines on the highway

I've done it your way now I'll try it my way

CRYSTAL BALL By Tom Jensen

Indecisiveness has got a hold of me

Should I stay, should I go?

The high road, the low road

So many forces

That push and that pull

They act as they will

And they're acting now still

Just one of the choices

That I have to make

How much more can I take?

Couldn't sleep

For the last month and a half

Need a crystal ball

Because I shattered the glass

Was it half full or half empty?

But I can get it refilled they got plenty

Or at least they tell me so

But just where it is I still don't know

Maybe around the corner

Maybe half-way around the globe

Still feeling like a foreigner

Living the life of Job

I don't feel disgraced

I'm just losing my faith

Finding more questions than answers

As the hour's getting late

PARDON ME By Tom Jensen

I just got a pardon from the president

Because I did not admit 

to what I knew they'd submit as evidence

And I just made a friend 

who will do what it takes

And be there to the end 

or at least until he fixes mistakes

I think we may have just set 

a new precedence

Since it is so clearly evident

That politics is no place for benevolence

When we can't trust the president

That means we can't trust the government

Who often sells out its residents

Giveth and taketh on false precedents

Since some just take whatever they need

With greed...

what's important is the numbers on

Not the names of dead presidents

I have come to believe

Not everyone is entitled to be free

Because a handful of money is all you need

To put people in your pocket to guarantee

That when trouble comes it'll let you be

When you buy a judge 

You can throw out the jury

The system's become corrupt

Manipulated through misdeeds

Someone should do something

'Cause there's a document I've seen

Saying they're vetting Ann Coulter 

and Satan

To run together in 2016

Just remember that

Every candidate has a rhyme

Around election time

Saying we'll do just fine

If you wave this sign

Standing on a pedestal

Waving a fake gold medal

Just rubbing on their crystal ball

Saying they've been here and there

They've seen and done it all

Only after the choice has been made

And you've dealt them the ace of spades

While thinking that politics isn't a game

And you haven't been played

But finally after all the promises 

have been made

You found that the scale of honesty

Has never been weighed

As they've forgotten all that they've said

Speaking this while doing that 

They placed one foot on the platform

And then they fell flat

The train they boarded straight to the top

The engine failed; the track got derailed

And when the conductor was jailed

The bail they collected was never mailed

Yet every opinion they stated

Was quoted as fact

Saying that proof was in the eye

And they said it with such tact

Even though no

Evidence ever backed

But numbers can lie

Once you've developed the knack

So everyone signed on the dotted line

Without ever reading the pact

And now you're complaining

About paying so high a tax

Once you sign a deal with the Devil

There's no turning back

However, there's a new path unpaved…

So it's up to me and you

We've been taught to

follow the leader

Sadly, it's true

It can't be that way anymore

Time for us to settle the score

Start pushing the stale old values aside

No more can we run and hide

The government that rules us

practically everyone is a liar

Words catching on

And now it's spreading like a fire

They've talked and talked

Talk, talk, talk 'til they're blue in the face

Just follow me and I'll show you the way

Going to Washington D.C.

Time to see the true enemy

But beware...for their twisting tongues 

will tell you it's me

Don't listen to them if you want to be free

Join us - every color and race

Speed up! - We've got to quicken the pace

Million man march - huh – 

multiply that by ten

History, we're going through it again

Do it for the homeless you meet

Do it for the children on the street

Think about the hungry, the ill, and the sick

We'll dismantle the system brick by brick

Tell it straight 

and don't beat around the Bush

We tried to pull now it's time to push

It's nine for them and one for us

It's their turn to sit on the back of the bus

The politicians look us right in the eyes

While their words are full of lies

So it should come as no surprise

What happens to them after they die

They care not for us only I

They tell me, "Well, just because..."

When I ask why

They say,

"They learned it from their peers...

That true honesty has disappeared."

So true has come our biggest fears

There's no one left who really cares

I'm going to give each one a mirror

So they can see what we see

Then I'm going to run for president

So I can show what's evident

I will answer questions truthfully

And you can think what you want of me

I'll hide behind no mask at all

Not forced to sit I will stand tall...

I'll be myself and wear no veil

With my left hand on the bible:

"I smoked pot and I inhaled!"

COMPLICATED SUBJECT By Tom Jensen

It's such a complicated subject...

this matter of war

Traces back to the beginning of time...

if not before

Intertwined with our destiny

Throughout all our history

As the fate of humanity

Rests within this legacy

The true nature of man...

is not one of understanding

to say the least

The way it now stands...

This violence and bloodshed

shall never cease

There are four words

That'll never be

Our one sole belief

We come in peace

There are four words

That make me nervous

When I hear someone speak

We come in peace

For it seems to me

We'll all eventually

Suffer some kind of defeat

All genders and races

All colors of this crayon nation

All beliefs and creeds

Yet when we fight today

The battle cry is not Semper Fi

It's bleed green for corporate greed

Please take my eyes

Or take away these things

That I don't want to see

Still we try to perceive

all that's unperceivable

Still we strive to conceive

in what's inconceivable

Still we struggle to believe

in the unbelievable

Still we attempt to achieve

What is unachievable

It's such a complicated subject...

this matter of war

Traces back to the beginning of time...

if not before

Intertwined with our destiny

Throughout all our history

As the fate of humanity

Rests within this legacy

BREAKING HER HEART

by Tom Jensen

Your heart breaks with every tender touch

You think to yourself

You don't love her all that much

The moon and the stars

She'd give them all to you

So with a tear in your eye you continue...

Skin so soft and light brown hair

She stares into your eyes without a single care

You have become her shelter from the rain

Yet while she's filled with love you're filled with pain...

Reality screams into your ear

So you try to collect yourself 

You try and calm your fears

How long can you play this game?

How much longer can you simply hold your shame?

Life is anything but a fairy tale

And before you pass sometimes you fail

They say it's better to have loved and to have lost

Then never have played so we pay the cost 

Every passing day you sink in sand

Becomes even harder when she holds onto your hand

You can't be the one who shatters her dreams

So you make her believe everything is as it seems

It's never easy when the time has come

It's never easy but you had your fun

Do not feel sorry for what you've done

For after the rain soon comes the sun

Life is anything but a fairy tale

And before you pass sometimes you fail

They say it's better to have loved and to have lost

Then never have played so we pay the cost

HURTING HER KNEES AND PRIDE 

by Tom Jensen

My girlfriend's house...

Her parents are home

They don't like me much...

So we're never alone

I'm sitting on the sofa...

And she's looking so fine

We've been dating so long...

Don't they know she's mine?

They think she's so pure...

And that she can wear white

An innocent girl...

A parents' delight

I'm so sorry...

She didn't tell you what's right

Like what she does...

When she spends the night

Because of these lies...

By your law she abides

Because of these lies...

In the bushes we hide

Because of these lies...

We make love outside

Because of these lies...

We take the car for a ride

They say what's unknown

Doesn't hurt you

And that the truth shall set you free

But if they only knew what I've taken

They'd take you away from me

This is our little secret

So we'll play our charades

We'll keep singing our song

Until the music fades

Come for a ride and I'll take you away

It's finally our turn

In this game that we play

Yeah I'm feeling good

I really got it tonight

Let's drive somewhere

And turn off the lights

Love has its prices

And love has its costs

I'll unbutton your shirt

While you watch out for the cops

Though she can't by wine

She can still buy smokes

Is she old enough to love?

Don't ask her folks

Their old school values

And their old school style

Today I'd place 'em

In an old school pile

Because of the old ways...

They try to keep me away

Because of the old ways...

They never let me stay

Because of the old ways...

This is the game we play

Because of the old ways...

They think we'll wait 'til our wedding day

When she's at college

They never see me at all

And they never hear us rattling the walls

But when she's home

In the window I crawl

Better not get caught...

I hear that dad's gotta gun

I smoke a pack a day...

Don't get far when I run

Too great the risk...

I don't wanna get caught

I think it's time to head

Out to the parking lot

Yeah, out in the corner

And in the shadows we hide

She says,

"It hurts her knees...and it hurts her pride"

NEVER EXPECT IT By Your Wife Tom Jensen

My wife’s a b*tch… That’s why she gets hit

When I get upset… I just raise my fist

She knows it well… She gave me hell

Then down she fell… Now she ain’t well

My wife’s a b*tch… That’s why she gets hit

When I get upset (click sound)… I just raise (bang!)

(pause)

My husband’s dead… I shot him in the head

That’s the last time I said… Now the floor’s all red

Now I’m going off to bed… Later I’ll clean all this mess

Decide whether to confess… Or go and burn this bloody dress

(humming)

My husband’s dead… I shot him in the head

That was the last time I said...

CALL IT FATE By Tom Jensen

Birds circle around your home

Say it one more time...

Why won't they leave you alone?

They flap their wings from side to side

But from Mother Nature no man can hide

Being punished for crimes --

Well, that may be

For crimes against humanity

Just when you thought

There was no one to see

Now you look at your life

And who is to blame?

You can call it fate

You can call it a shame

As your family boasts:

"You're in the prime of your life"

You go under the doctor's knife

For cancer has no name or face

Unfortunately for you it's too late

Enter the hospital a dying life

Exit the church a crying wife

Now you look at your death

Pondering who is to blame?

You can call it fate

You can call it a shame

In the next room of the hospital

Is a mother's joy

The prize of a life - a baby boy

The parents counted the fingers

Then the parents counted the toes

But what's in the soul nobody really knows

Food, love and shelter - baby got his fill

So no one knows why he grew to kill

You can look at their deaths

And who they blame

You can call it fate

You can call it a shame

A man dresses in the mirror

As he flashes a smile

In a two-thousand dollar suit

He'll wear at the trial

He asks the judge to cut his client a break

Starts preaching about

How we all make mistakes

The judge, on these words, reduces bail

Keeps a guilty man away from jail

His freedom is gained but what's been lost?

Will he do it again?

                                                 They keep their fingers crossed                                                                                

COME FOR A RIDE 

by Tom Jensen

Hey baby, 

Come for a ride and I’ll take you home

But then I’ll have to leave you on your own

I can never be the one for you

Sometime, somewhere you’ll see it too

I tried to stay as long as I can

But you’ll find another to be your man

Someone to love you like I couldn’t do

One who brings candy and roses, too

Hey baby, 

Come for a ride and I’ll take you home

But then I’ll have to leave you on your own

I can never be the one for you

I could never promise my love was true

I tried to stay as long as I can

But I cannot change the man I am

I won’t lead you on 

It’s too weary for the heart

I should have seen it coming 

Right from the start

Hey baby, 

Come for a ride and I’ll take you home

But then I’ll have to leave you on your own

I can never be the one for you

Sometime, somewhere you’ll see it too

I tried to stay as long as I can

You’ll find another to be your man

Someone to love you like I couldn’t do

One who brings candy and roses, too

Hey baby, 

Come for a ride and I’ll take you home

But then I’ll have to leave you on your own

I can never be the one for you

I could never promise my love was true

I tried to stay as long as I can

But I cannot change the man I am

I won’t lead you on 

It’s too weary for the heart

I should have seen it coming 

Right from the start

Hey baby, 

Come for a ride and I’ll take you home

But then I’ll have to leave you all alone

AS FOR ME

by Tom Jensen

Kisses and drugs

Make the world go round

Angry eyes and frowns

Just keep us down...

Booze and hugs help take off the edge

It's great to escape every now and then...

As for me... (as for me)

Well I'm glad you asked

When I look at my reflection I see 

many faces looking back 

from the shattered glass

back from the shards 

of shattered glass

back from these shards 

of shattered glass

Religion puts us all in boxes and rows

Though we know it's hard to open

a mind that's closed

In politics half the people are wrong

Half the people are right

Some enjoy a good fight

As for me... (as for me)

Well I'm glad you asked

When I look at my reflection I see 

many faces looking back 

from the shattered glass

Back from the shards of shattered glass

Back from these shards of shattered glass

Some people are strong

Others weak inside

So they hide behind 

a hollow wall of pride

(That's what they/we do)

Some people are greedy

Others feed the needy

Still more are shady

And some just plain seedy

As for me... (as for me)

Well I'm glad you asked

When I look at my reflection I see 

many faces looking back 

from the shattered glass

back from the shards of shattered glass

back from these shards of shattered glass

I don't judge myself on what I've done...

(Don't judge yourself on what you've done)

But on the things I've yet to do...

(There's so much out there that you can do)

I know somehow I've failed someone...

(You can't go pleasing everyone)

I'm just not yet sure if I know who...

(Sorry, but you will have to choose...)

APPLIED FAITH by Tom Jensen

Close your eyes

Quiet your mind

And describe to me

What you hope to find

Don’t give it a name

Let it be free

For fear it may change

Or worse never be

Calm your breath

Yes inhale deep

Then pinch yourself 

Make sure you’re not asleep

Is life a dream…

Then one day we wake?

To a world brand new

That’s ours to shape

Or is this it…

And at the end of the ride

There’s no more nothing

Just hello, goodbye

What if it’s a question of choice

And it’s up to you to decide

As what you believe in most

That fate will then be applied

Don’t dare waste thoughts

On hollow or empty things

For fear of finding out 

What the consequences bring 

Behold the power 

Of free mind and will

Everything can be unmade

And anything can be built

Conceive, believe, achieve 

Imagination is all you need

Yes, you can manifest your destiny

In this world, the next or whatever world will be

NOTHING AT ALL By Tom Jensen

You walked up to me

With my clothes in your hands

We had a conversation about things

Only I could understand

Not a tear I did see

For I kept my eyes closed

The way in which I feel

I'm the only one who knows

You begged and pleaded from your knees

Every other word I heard was please

Please don't you go away

Please, please

Don't you leave me this way

Only I knew that our fate was sealed

I kept my eyes closed

So that nothing was revealed

Someday all your wounds will heal

Someday I will tell you how I really feel...

I once asked you to save me from myself

Though soon I learned

That you can't leave that up

To anyone else

I asked you to change your ways

Though soon I realized

That some colors won't fade

The only one to help me is myself

For sometimes some things

Cannot be entrusted to someone else

Your inspiration was once my soul

But soon your hatred was for me

And the love I stole

You thought I'd take your heart

And keep it forever

But in this world of uncertainty

You can never say never

So many red-eyed days

So many nights filled with unrest

I was finally forced to realize

This may be too great a test

So many sleepless nights

And soon daydreams of another's face

I knew I couldn't stay

While wishing I was in some other place

Your heart's filled with gold

Yet your eyes are so cold

And the mirror which you hold

Reflects the face of no one at all

Your weakness often showed

And soon the time grew old

As no dream I had was too bold

The ceiling of our love was bound to fall

No regrets

Though memory will not soon forget

Myself I found

Now there are no more chains

To hold me down

There must be some reason

That it turned out this way

But I know right now

There's not one that I could say

I loved you once

And you will find love again

There is no better message

That I can send

Maybe I shouldn't have made you

Feel so tall

Maybe all your problems I couldn't solve

Sleep well knowing I am sorry

For the pain I've caused

Just know it's better feeling pain

Than feeling nothing at all

FENCES By Tom Jensen

Fences...

I see more fences

springing up every day...

There are people

paid to separate people

Who are lining up

to stand in the way

Of the profits of the prophets

Who create the media slaves, yeah

Who dictate who gets to divide the riches

Who gets to go diving with the fishes

And who gets to migrate and escape

Before it gets to be too late

Fences...

I see more fences

springing up every day...

Forcing us to choose sides

In this great divide

Between the people and the state

This state of confusion

A perpetual illusion

Of entertainment, sex,

death, of who's next,

Of celebrity, sport, fear and hate

Like me you want to get away

Want to find yourself

some kind of inner wealth

A reason to carry on

My dearest one

A reason to stay awake

Fences...

I see more fences

springing up everyday

Seems all those in line

Are blind to the times

Either wearing rose-colored glasses

Or being kept in the shade

The trees are tall

when you follow

every letter of the law

Straight to the 'T'

And yet fundamentally disagree

Failing to fully appreciate

the fact that fences

When used as defenses

are completely senseless

Especially when humans

are turned into machines

I see power serving power

I see snipers in the tower

I see the faces of the crying

I see truth from people dying

I see walls that keeps getting higher

I see more kindling being thrown on the fire

I see people scared and losing faith

And not being able to think straight

Fences...I see more fences...

Springing up everyday

F THE W By Tom Jensen

I see your face 

It looks to me 

You need some cheering up

Eyebrows are raised

Hair out of place

Your eyes are tearing up

You’ve lost your faith

In yourself hey…

You better listen up

Sometimes it seems

They crush your dreams

And THEN that’s when life gets tough

I turn frowns 

Upside down 

And make unhappy people smile

Life gotcha down? 

If I’m around

I’ll sit and talk with you awhile

I’ll share with you

A story or two

From my youth and time will fly…

For today we’ll let

Our troubles fade…

Say F the W and let’s get high

When we get home…

I’ll roll a bone….

And now you’re blazed….

Got dry mouth taste…

Let us all give thanks 

To that purple haze

For today we’ll let

Our troubles fade…

We’ll pie your eyes so you don’t cry…

We’ll have a laugh

Flipping through some funny photographs

Oh how the time goes by

So why be sad?

Angry or mad

When you can look up at the beautiful sky?

LIGHT By Tom Jensen

My world is empty

As strangers pass 

I imagine myself 

endeared in their eye

They never stop, 

just go about their daily routine

Never wondering what 

an unknown figure 

could ever do for them

Perhaps make every dream come true

Perhaps give them the sun 

and place it in their hands

They walk by 

and their lives are changed forever, 

unknown to them

I could have been their everything

My life remains the same, alone

I am willing to love

Yet they never stop, 

just go about their daily routine

Sometimes I try to be noticed, 

I shout and wave my hands

And make promises I fully intend to keep

But they do not stop, not for me

Desperate, I keep on searching

Filling my void with whatever 

I find to make the day pass

Night falls and covers 

my weeping eyes and damp cheeks

Despair fills my heart 

just as darkness fills the air

Alone and in the dark 

my eyes catch sight of a distant light

So far in the distance 

and so high atop the sky

Seemingly a kin to the mountains 

it is so unreachable

Yet I must try

What have I to lose 

except the pain of tears?

With every step closer 

my sorrow is lifted

I walk long miles 

yet my legs do not feel heavy

My heart begins racing 

as the light does not fade 

as I get closer

So many times before my dreams crushed 

right before my eyes

Maybe once I will succeed to reach the top

After what seems like 

an eternity of traveling I reach the summit

The light, once distant and small, 

now encompasses me

I stand before it, anxious to touch it

I extend my hand in friendly greeting

The light enters my fingertips 

and explodes into my body

A body once cold regains warmth

Each sense more excited than the next

All pain ever felt before 

is exiled back to where it came

My spirit returns and I feel alive

The light I now hold within guides me

Through darkness

Through worry

Now as I have found the light 

I will never be alone

The light I have found 

is you

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY by Tom Jensen

Graffiti scribbled on the side of a building

Obscenities aimed at the passing children

Yet these simple words can have

Such a complicated effect

On an empty vessel of thought

Dependent on a world filled with neglect

With the wind picking up

There's trash blowing all over the ground

There's three guys under 'neath a bridge

Passing the bottle around

I see weeds sprawling across the sidewalk

Crawling up through the cracks

I watch a kid on his way home to a broken home

Walking alone along the tracks

Things are heading south

No matter which way you face

What is bitter to your eyes

Can give your mouth a bad taste

Seems that everywhere I look

There's something that hurts my eyes

They say another day, another dollar,

Which each new day comes a new surprise

It's not just the inner city

Where things are getting worse

When the intellectual property of so many

Needs to be torn down or reinforced

ADVICE By Tom Jensen

I woke up this morning

Feeling cold and alone

I woke up this morning

After another night at home

All by myself

Sad and alone

All by myself

So I picked up the phone…

Oh won’t you please

Give to me

Some good advice

That’s right for me

On what to do 

With you know who

That’s whoever it is

I’m supposed to please

Oh please give to me 

Some good advice for

You know all about 

My pathetic life

Have a look at me

And tell the truth…

Can I still do all the things

That I wanna do?

Oh look at me and tell the truth…

Am I doing what I was meant to do?

Sometimes there’s a little voice

Inside my ear

Whispering words 

That I don’t wanna hear

A question mark after everything:

It’s not just the words I write

But the melody and who sings

Seems to be the story of my life

I keep doing what I think is right

Then get sidetracked by what compels me

Should I do what everybody tells me?

PLAYING CHESS By Tom Jensen

Burning up...Burning out...

Sitting in an ashtray...

With no way out...

Walking in circles...

Across hot coals...

Something landed on my lap...

What? Only God knows...

This is some new sh#$...

Highly funky...

Caged like a monkey...

Start by turning one key...

End up as a junky...

You may say highly unlikely...

But you could end up just like me....

If you say yes...

Would your life be a mess?

It's anyone's guess...

Well, life's like playing chess...

Let me explain my life

In a way that you can see it

I'm fighting a battle

I'm playing a game

But I know I’ll never beat it

So many moves though

I proceed with caution

While I’m weary of hesitation

Each step must be wise...

Just to escape total domination...

In that there is no compromise

All the devils have eyes...

Some wear suits and ties...

And tell dirty lies...

Some things just won't die

Someone watching

From way up high

Is playing chess with my mind

And I think the general

He wants me to die

As he sends me to the front

Of the battle lines

I've been a pawn

For far too long

Even though I'm still fighting

I don't know which side I'm on

Every time I look behind me

The general's gone

I hear checkmate

I now stand alone

And half-way around the world

Is a long way from home

Somehow I was taken

And played just like a fool

And I was mistaken

Thinking everyone plays

By the same set of rules

When I smash the board

I'll free myself

When I drop my gun

They'll enlist someone else

For I am no hero

I've lost all hope

Of saving mankind

If I can save myself

Then at least

I won't be wasting time

If I ever get that far

Then I'll try to free the others

One at a time

Show them what to be weary of

And all the warning signs

For even on top of the world

There are still mountains left to climb

SHADOW OF SMOKE By Tom Jensen

Just a shadow of smoke

That's how I appear

Try to reach out and touch me

What you see disappears

No living soul can reach me

First you see my face

Vanish into thin air

And then gone without a trace

Just another mystery

A puzzle no one can solve

First I am there

And then I dissolve

Just a castle of sand

Before the tide comes to me

And after a warm embrace

Carries me out to the sea

So back into the fog I fade

My own little solitary parade

Back into the waters I wade

Unable to undo all I have made

I've lost my soul

Through the horrors I've seen

Along with my past desires

Of all I could have been

To the days of old

I can never return

Time passes slowly

When the memories still burn

As I see children laugh

And young mothers dance

I know I've lived my life

There is no second chance

Just a shadow of smoke

That's how I appear

Try to reach out and touch me

What you see disappears

SHADES By Tom Jensen

What color are your eyes?

To me that’s as important

As the color of your skin

About this I am quite certain

What color are you inside?

That’s what really matters

What we can see outside

Are just shades and spatters

Shades from mighty bright white

To midnight black or blacker

To me it’s a mitigated factor

Much like the clothes of a good actor

For it’s just a tiny fraction of the whole

Something that’s beyond all of our control

Gives no insight to the depths of the soul

Might show where we’re from -

But not where we’re gonna go…

FIRST GLANCE by Tom Jensen

The ocean acts as the blood of the earth

She’s screaming out in a flood of hurt

Oh misguided one can’t you see what you’ve done?

Taken and forsaken see the red rivers run

With our mother provider in failing health

We could stop dividing and help ourselves

He who seeks paradise just to leave it in ruins…

Finds indeed all good things do end too soon

Visions of your future are found in the memories of your past

You can trace each face and place as you look back

A symphony of senses as you travel the threads of time

It’s like dreaming but you’re not sleeping still you feel so alive

You can feel the current of energy running through us all

The frequency determines whether we degenerate or evolve 

As free will plays as big a part as chance

So much more is happening here than appears at first glance

SHADOW BOXING By Tom Jensen

Maids in the morning sweeping up broken glass

Long lost dreams of a shattered past

As a cup full of life is spilled to the floor

A man who once had riches now lives poor

Walking down the spiral staircase that is my mind

Passing all the memories that I've left behind

See the same things enough soon you'll grow blind

Be careful of what doors you open and what you will find

Some patterns are so hard to break they end up breaking you

Anyone who's ever worn these shoes knows this is true

See enough dope and you're bound to give it a try

See murders every day and pretty soon you won't cry

There's blood on the sidewalk

The scent of death in the air

Yet you stroll right past

While others stop and stare

Some men live long and some die young

Some carry heavy burdens, some carry none

When you're shadow boxing you sometimes bruise

When you fight yourself sometimes you lose

BIRTHRIGHT By Tom Jensen

I had a glass of wine and I felt fine

Yeah, so I had a couple more…

I went out looking for a good time

Like Marco Polo – I wanted to explore…

Had no idea what it would bring

Maybe something great 

or perhaps nothing…

The only difference 

between the pauper and the king

Is just birthright 

and the size of the diamond ring…

Change the substance not the shadow

Or else you’ll find that change is hollow

Let the light in open the window

Lead the people and they will follow

What do I do…

If not this?

What do I share?

If not this gift?

What’s the best present

To give to our kids?

I say a future world 

Left better than when we 

First came into it?

But leading by example 

Is the hardest thing to do

To reserve and hold your judgment 

Until you walk one day without shoes

Singing the song of someone else 

Well, it only goes to prove

That one man’s country song

Can be another man’s blues

What do I do if not this?

I could go back to being a hypocrite

Hello dear…(fake smile)

Hi my love…(kiss, kiss)

Change the substance not the shadow

Or else you’ll find that change is hollow

Let the light in open the window

Lead the people and they will follow

Here’s something those of you

With two jobs already know

This bitter pill has become 

Too hard to swallow

Healthcare’s gone for good

And Social Security will follow

They want you to pay for today

So they can own you tomorrow

Overworked and underpaid

Slowly dying from minimum wage

Swimming in debt as the cost of living

It rises over your head…

so you try to forget…

But I won’t let you forget:

Change the substance not the shadow

Or else you’ll find that change is hollow

Let the light in open the window

Lead the people and they will follow

BEAUTIES AND BEASTS by Tom Jensen

I can see by that look in your eye...

That you're longing for something to believe in

You can see as you look back at me...

That I'm trying to find some kind of reason

For you to hang on

And for me to be strong

Maybe if we put our heads together

We can tell where things went wrong

One fresh breath of inspiration

Of flickering illumination

To spark the motivation

And bring back the love

That now seems to be gone...

To be gone...

The love of all the beauty

That lies within our beasts

The fulfillment of our goals

That we see inside our dreams 

The return to balance and moderation

Between these two extremes

Summoning the inner wisdom within ourselves

That lets us flow as we become one 

With the supreme being In harmonious love...

With all living things

La... la...

la la la la la la

La... la...

la la la la la la

WORTH THE WAIT by Tom Jensen

By the time I got to my paper

My pen was too tired to write

My eyes they started closing

And then I lost my sight

I don't quite remember 

Just what I was thinking of

It had something to do with you

And it had something to do with love

Blah blah blah blah…

The words all sound the same

Ha ha ha ha 

Even silence sings your name

Na na na na…..

There's no one that I blame

La La La La ……

I'm just so happy that you came

 Some say that absence

Makes the heart grow fonder

But I wasn't waiting 'round much longer

And though I've never been good at predicting fate

You were well worth the wait

Now that I've grown 

I've learned how to play the game

To finally win in the end

I found myself being tamed

Now that I've grown

There’s nothing I can't take

And since I learned how to bend 

I know I’ll never break

Some say that absence

Makes the heart grow fonder

But I wasn't waiting 'round much longer

And though I've never been good at predicting fate

You were well worth the wait

HE SAID SHE SAID By Tom Jensen

She woke up this morning

In a place she’d never seen before

She said…

I’m ready to turn the page

 but first I must close some doors

I thought that maybe I was learning 

but now I’m not so sure

I said, “You’ve got to hold on”

She said, “I’m not that strong”

“That’s okay” is what I respond

She said, “But I’m not where I belong…

I took a right… But my right went wrong”

I said in time you’ll find if you keep on trying

You can hurdle your mind 

and leave it all behind

I can’t weather this storm

I can’t see the sunshine

The last words I heard from you was that…

All sense of hope was fading fast

But what you forget

Is that I cry, too

Unclench your fists and remember this

Given time all things must pass

Now I’ve found the rhyme

Have you found a reason?

Killing time it ‘tis the season

A bottle of wine can be so pleasing

I’m feeling fine now my minds at ease

She woke up this morning

In a place she’s never been before

She said…

I’m ready to turn the page

But first I must close some doors

I thought that maybe

I was learning but now I’m not so sure

I said, You’ve got to hold on

You say…

I’m not that strong

That’s okay is what I respond

She said…

But I’m not where I belong

I took a right but my right went wrong

I said in time you’ll find if you keep on trying

You can hurdle your mind 

and leave it all behind

You can weather the storm…

Maybe I can weather this storm

You can find your sunshine…

Maybe I’ll watch the sunrise

She woke up this morning

Or should I say this afternoon

Had she finally broken free?

I can’t tell it’s far too soon

She thought about the

Bridge she’s been burning

Her only way of escape

From this land of ruin

She said…

Well I’ve been burning bridges

But it’s better than burning crosses

When everyone seems suspicious

You start adding up your losses

End up breaking more than dishes

That’s how this whole thing got started

So choose wisely for what you’re wishing

I said try not to make things hard, kid

THE SPOT by Tom Jensen

I got half a tank of gas 

And I’m looking for some ass

So I decided to take a drive down town

I know there’s girlies by the square

So that’s why I’m heading there

Right now…

It’s the hippest spot to be 

If you want to be seen on the scene 

(on the scene)

Be seen on the scene, yeah!

And you know me

That’s where I want to be (want to be)

Yeah, that’s where I want to be

I like the spotlight

Shining down on me… down on me

For all the world to see

Well I got up to the spot

And every girl I saw was hot

I was craving some affection

From a member of the opposite sex and

I always try to set a good example

For all the other upright mammals

On how business should be handled

Because few can hold a candle

To my legend or my name

Y’all can debate my place in the game…

But to me it’s all the same

Destiny don’t mean sh*t to me

I’m leaving hard work as my legacy

And if you are next to me 

then it’s best to be

Able to look at all things 

in this world honestly

The worst lies are the ones 

we keep telling ourselves

We keep living in denial 

and then no one helps

The heaviest burdens I’ve placed on myself

I got my head straight now -

Yeah, I’m back in good health

Life is so much easier when… 

You stop fighting yourself

I’ve stopped fighting myself

Back at the scene 

It was a Dionysian dream

And I was determined

To find myself a queen

The journey ahead has been left undefined

And in this endeavor it is the treasure 

that I hope to find

In fact I think I see her now 

So I got to go

If she turns out to be the one 

Don’t say I didn’t tell ya so

So here we go…

Oh oh oh oh - Oh

LOOK HER UP by Tom Jensen

You fell in love

But she wasn’t a ten

Now you’re wondering

What if you went back again…

Would you look her up 

Just to f*ck her hot friend?

Yeah, that’s the question

Most asked amongst men

Some live to run themselves

Straight through the ringer

Keep falling in love

With all these unplugged singers

When they’ve already heard the story

As we count the fallen seeking glory

TRASH CAN by Tom Jensen

Here is where I stand

Beside a burning trash can

Found a way to relieve my pain

Gathered everything that 

reminds me of your name

Ooh...Whoa...

Ooh...Whoa...

Every picture of you and I 

And all of the precious possessions 

That you left behind

As if a priest I now preside

In leading the funeral procession

My tears over these lost years

Have replaced the

bittersweet tasting wine

Ooh.... Whoa...

Ooh... Whoa...

Ooh... Whoa...

Since I am already pale 

Having found I lost my host

I find no further reasons

To invoke the holy ghost

Hoo...

Here is where I stand

Next to everything that you left

Beside a burning trash can

It's the only way that I'll ever forget

Hoo... Ooh...

Hoo... Ooh...

                                                                  Hoo... Ooh...