This set is bruised. Unlike the sunlight and silver linings of previous lists, these songs don't flinch from damage. They sit in the wreckage: watching as love burns down, faith frays, promises splinter, and memory lies to your face with a crooked smile. Even when the tone is calm, the content is sharply personal and quietly devastating.
Themes and triggers include:
Grief for lovers who chose someone else
Emotional whiplash from betrayal by close partners
Desperation for meaning after abandonment
Persistent loneliness, unacknowledged by the one you waited for
Fixation on someone who no longer sees you
Alcohol abuse, barstool breakdowns, regret masked as charm
Yearning to be sculpted into someone worthy
Creative paralysis, trying to write someone out of your system
Collapse of romantic idealism
Ambiguous losses (someone left, or you left first — but it still broke you)
Losing your purpose in someone else's reflection
Fantasizing new love as a disguise for unspeakable pain
Faith crisis: asking for love but settling for "just be my friend"
Several songs teeter on the edge of emotional dependence, others unravel quietly into depression beneath poetic restraint. Dust to Dust brings a whiff of existential dread wrapped in nursery ash. Train and Little Bird disguise heartbreak as cleverness. Unity and Untitled Unlabeled ache with vulnerability dressed up as devotion — but you can hear the begging underneath.
If you've been left behind, gaslit, ghosted, or held a love that slowly soured in your hands — this list might cut.
These are trying times, as one song puts it. You are not alone.
Approach with care if any of the following are sensitive:
Romantic abandonment, especially with no closure
Gaslighting, manipulation disguised as artistry
Creative burnout and loss of identity
Unhealthy or codependent attachment
Being "inspired" by someone who hurt you
Bitterness around friendship vs. intimacy lines
Emotional numbness masquerading as strength
The pain here is dressed up in poetry — but it still bleeds through the page. You've been warned.
High Tides and Landslides — Song List 7
1. Blessing in Disguise — by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
2. Frames — by Jon Jacobs & Tom Jensen
3. Unity — by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen & Lai Youttitham
4. Dust to Dust — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
5. Water Flesh and Bone — by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
6. Train — by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
7. Little Bird — by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
8. Half Full — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
9. Trying Times — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
10. Used to Be — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
11. Match Maker — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
12. Untitled Unlabeled — by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
(1) Blessing in Disguise
by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
Maybe you'll see him again
when all is well
Up there in heaven
or maybe down here in hell
There's no telling
what the tide will bring to shore
No way to know if you'll meet again
Once you walk out that door
Think of the one you loved
whom you now despise
Believing that a heart grown cold
is a heart grown wise
Yet before the flood Mother Nature sighs
For she holds a power that no man denies
Soaked to the bone
as you're on your way home
With the umbrella that you hold
at least you are not alone
Yet you're soaked to the bone
as you're on your way home
With the umbrella that you hold
at least you are not alone
Everything happens for a reason
soon you will realize
That even your worst nightmare
could be a blessing in disguise
And that after it rains the sun will rise
Allowing you to gaze up at brighter skies
Your soul will guide you
when your heart tells you lies
Sometimes when you search
you have to close your eyes
There is no such path
straight as the crow flies
This journey you make
is filled with lows and highs
Soaked to the bone
as you're on your way home
With the umbrella that you hold
at least you are not alone
Yet you're soaked to the bone
as you're on your way home
With the umbrella that you hold
at least you are not alone
So much for talking
You had better start walking
With the clouds rolling in
pretty soon it'll pour
As all the dirt
washes down the street
Like tears cried over a battle
that was lost in defeat
Maybe you'll see him again
when all is well
Up there in heaven
or maybe down here in hell
There's no telling
what the tide will bring to shore
No way to know if you'll meet again
once you walk out that door
Soaked to the bone
as you're on your way home
With the umbrella that you hold
at least you are not alone
(2) Frames
by Jon Jacobs & Tom Jensen
One more beer
And then I'll head home
Unless she comes over here
Who wants to be alone?
One more story
This time I just can't resist
It's time to share my pain
And what I've been living with
Like the crooked picture
Which we once hung on the wall
When you're hanging by a nail
It's just a matter of time before you fall
So come on over here
and pull up that chair
You'll get to learn why
my glass is half-full of beer
Once I had a jealous girl
And she had a jealous mind
And we lived inside a jealous world
So thus she's no longer mine
Like the crooked picture
Which we once hung on the wall
When you're hanging by a nail
It's just a matter of time before you fall
Yet everyday she
Walks on by straight through
And every day I wait here
For her to act like she used to
However I never
Seem to catch her eye
Every day she looks down
And I think I know why
Like the crooked picture
Which we once hung on the wall
When you're hanging by a nail
It's just a matter of time before you fall
Every day is the day that she regrets
Treating me like we never met
Someday she'll agree
She messed up a good thing leaving me
In through a window
Out climbed a broken vow
Into this sacred house
Where no one else was allowed
Like the crooked picture
Which we once hung on the wall
When you're hanging by a nail
It's just a matter of time before you fall
A matter of time before you fall
(3) Unity
by Justin Justice, Lai Youttitham & Tom Jensen
Sometimes when I look into your eyes
I feel I've been reborn
And yet other times I can feel my heart become
Colder, broken and torn
There is no greater pain
than letting what you want
Slip right through your fingertips
Sometimes it hurts, sometime it haunts
But the burning in your heart still lingers
Much like the touch of her lips
What I feel I might not always say
But I need you tonight
just as much as I needed you today
Like a river overflowing
I know that my love for you is still growing
Let us hope it never fades away
That is why I say…
Unity…you and me together
Soon we'll see if we can be
Forever for, for one, for one another
Or else never will true love
ever be discovered
Let me bend you and shape you…
Into…. what I want you…to be
A soul mate….a friend…
A lover of life for your whole life
'til its end
My soul, conscience and my guide
A true mirror to my inside
My eternal undying spring
Remember…
From nothing comes everything…
Comes everything
My delicate flower
Giving me a garden in the wintery snow
Take me and show me
Exactly where you would like to go
We both know that I'd follow
just given the word
And as soon as I cried
From the years of lifted sorrow…
You'd be given the world
Unity…you and me together
Soon we'll see if we can be
Forever for one another
Unity…you and me together
Soon we'll see if we can be
Forever for one another
Or else never will true love
ever be discovered
Or else never will a true love
ever be discovered
(4) Dust to Dust
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
When you don't wanna remember
Yet you can't seem to forget
Been through a range of emotions
Can't say just one suits you best
I've got so much
"Save the World" rally 'round stuff
And a heart full
of fading long lost love letters
Don't know from where it appears
but there's a whisper in my ear
No time to bury my fears
No time to stop and disappear
I've got a mind
that reminds me all the time to be
careful of whom I trust
when things don't look better
Ahhh...
Ahhh...
For there are those who like to overdose
on pleasure and love giving in to lust
"C'est la vie"
(c'est la vie)
Ashes to ashes
Diapers to diapers
dust to dust...
Ashes to ashes
Diapers to diapers
dust to dust...
dust to dust...
What is precious…All that is true
The best of intentions
I had and gave these things to you
dust to dust...
dust to dust...
dust to dust…
(5) Water Flesh and Bone
by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
Should I go to San Francisco?
I'm getting sick and tired of the snow
I've been stuck around here
For all my years
And I've been thinking I better go
There's not much that I'd be leaving
Except the one person I believe in
And maybe, maybe that's the reason
Maybe it's time to let her go?
For every day she waits
The closer I come to slipping away
I thought we were soul mates
But I don't feel as strong about her today
As I did yesterday
And I'm still waiting...
But I'm barely hanging on
My mind, it keeps debating
Over whether I am right or I am wrong
But every time I try to write
She becomes the subject of my song
And I'm still waiting...
But I think that this time
I might've been waiting too long
She held the hands that helped mold me
Into what I now am
She was my inspiration
Turned the key that drove me
Away from a dark and desolate land
She was my motivation
But we all know
That sometimes life doesn't always go
The way in which you had it planned
Some mornings you feel...
Like you're on top of the world
While other times...
You're the damned of the damned
So this morning I asked myself
Should I go to San Francisco?
I'm getting sick and tired of the snow
I've been stuck around here
For all my years
And I've been thinking I better go
There's not much that I'd be leaving
Except the one person I believe in
And maybe that's the reason
Maybe it's time to let her go?
(6) Train
by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
The conductor blows his whistle
Time for the train to leave the gate
As I'm sitting by the window
Wondering why you're late
I promised myself that you'd be here
Been telling myself that for so long
But as the cars start in motion
I'm thinking maybe that I'm wrong
Maybe you forgot your ticket
Or else on another track
On this train I'm leaving
And I'm never coming back
I said I'd meet you at the station
With suitcases in my hand
But why you never showed up
I'll never understand
You know I paid for your ticket
Even before I bought one for myself
Perhaps you boarded the next car
And sitting with someone else
In all of this confusion
You know I've lost my mind
While hurrying for the train
I left my heart behind
(7) Little Bird
by Justin Justice & Tom Jensen
Wondering deep inside my own fascination
Gathering all my strength just to open up the door
Close my eyes with a little hesitation
Knowing I'll never hear your music any more
How could someone so dear to me
Keep me so confused and from the truth for so long?
Whispering of love when she was so near to me
When deep inside she knew it was only a song
Oh little bird
Sing what's in your heart
Never sing a song
That should never have been heard
Oh little bird
You turned your trickery into an art
Humming a melody
These ears should have never heard
Oh little bird
Oh little bird
Sing what's in your heart
Never sing a song
That should never have been heard
Oh little bird
You turned your trickery into an art
Humming a melody
These ears should have never heard
Oh little bird
(8) Half Full
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
My glass is still half-full
Though my heart's half-empty
My castle's falling down
After standing for centuries
My faith is still strong
As love has not been forgotten
I see many trees cut down
Yet their fruit has not turned rotten
My smile I wear is real
My arms are still open
I've revealed to you how I feel
And even my difficulties coping
In this ever-changing world
With you not being in it
We both know how hard it can be
To start over at the beginning
Yet we must carry on
Without malice or regret
Without shame or self-pity
Come on!
Yes we must be strong
Picking ourselves up
whenever we get stuck
or start stumbling along
For when it comes to life
Obstacles... There can be many…
When I say
I have the ability
To handle any and all adversity
To be the candle on the darkest night
Just hold my hand and trust in me
And I will try my best to
Guide you towards the light
And I will lead the battle charge
If there comes a time when we must fight
(9) Trying Times
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
I was trying to find a single ray of light
To lead me through
To guide me onward
To help my eyes regain their sight
I was trying to find
a single fresh breath of air
To fill my lungs
so I could scream and yell out your name
So you'd know where I am
after you disappeared
I was trying to find a single reason why you left
But I could not as I thought and thought
There was nothing I said… There was nothing I did
Except give you everything
I always tried my best to give you everything I got
I was trying to find a single reason to go on
Be it only to be right
Or perhaps just to prove you wrong
Maybe if you could see me happy again
It would show you that I'm still strong
I was trying to find a single reason not to cry
For it seems like the right thing to do
When you feel so broken and empty inside
For these trying times
Seem to bring out the monster that hides
Beneath the false face I wear
The one that covers my sadness and my despair
All my pain and hurt
When the flame of light no longer glows bright
Or whenever I do finally flint a fire
I always find myself getting burnt
(10) Used to Be
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
I used to be really rockin'
I used to be rollin'
I had it
I lost it
I found it…and then it was stolen
So now I'm back out lookin'
Down the avenue I'm strollin'
Still got the fire but nothing's cookin'
I had it once but I no longer hold it
Gone, gone, gone away
I found it once but I no longer own it
Led, led, led astray
Let everybody see it
When I never should have shown it
No, no, no way
And if you can't clone it
Then you better lock it away
That's why today
Is just the price we have to pay
For yesterday's mistakes
For jumping in the lake
When it was far too shallow
and much too cold
Didn't pay for the ticket
but ride is getting old
All right everyone gather around
Everybody's gotta play their part
Go starting looking
all over the ground
And don't stop looking
until you find my heart
I once gave it away
But it was disregarded
And the way I see it
You'll probably find it in pieces
'Cause she left me here so brokenhearted
I used to be really rockin'
I used to be rollin'
(11) Match Maker
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
I'm inspired...again
By the flame of a fire at least it's not the rain
I'm inspired...again
Will this song that I sing just sound the same?
The same as all the other songs
That I used to write
Where the melody was truly beautiful
But the words were never right
Or maybe it was just the name
What if I change it?
And yet let the lyrics remain
Perhaps then all would be in perfect harmony
If instead of her and I
I wrote about you and me...
I'm inspired...again to open my heart
And with this new start another song would begin
Or it could all come to an end
And instead of an old love song
This time I could start my new rhyme:
A poem freshly penned for a friend
Either way I would write with words full of love
Hoping that you and I unite
Sharing all the dreams we've been thinking of...
I'm inspired...again
By the flame of a fire at least it's not the rain
I'm inspired...again
Will this song that I sing just sound the same?
(12) Untitled Unlabeled
by Klaus Bluetner & Tom Jensen
I will never ask you
For what you cannot give
Since I always speak the truth
I no longer know how to live
In a world full of illusions
False promises and disguise
One that no longer seeks solutions
Only places to hide
I wouldn't ask you for your heart...
Only for some piece of mind
I wouldn't ask you for your body
Only for some of your time
I will never ask you
If you'll love me 'til the end
I'd just ask you to hold my hand
And walk and talk with me and be my friend
I will never ask you
For that which
I'd ever have to take
Nor would I want something that wasn't real
Hollow, pretentious or fake
I wouldn't ask you for your heart...
Only for some piece of mind
I wouldn't ask you for your body...
Only for some of your time
I will never ask you
If you'll love me 'til the end
I'd just ask you to hold my hand
And walk and talk with me and be my friend
I would ask you…
To just be my friend...
I would ask you…
To just be my friend...
Song List 7 is an emotional warzone, where love and its dark opposite battle for dominance. The set moves from hopeful connection through betrayal, abandonment, creative paralysis, and quiet devastation — closing on the most stripped-back declaration in the catalog: just be my friend.
Song List 7 — Page 11 of 34
Lead Rating: PG-13 | Total Points: 22 | Strategic Arc: Romantic collapse, creative disillusionment, quiet devastation.
Collection Summary: A bruised collection where love burns down and faith frays. These songs sit in the wreckage, watching promises splinter and memory lie, offering no easy comfort.
Artist Comparison: John Mayer, Hozier, Counting Crows