Words and Music Volume One Read online

Words and Music

  Volume I

  The Poems and Lyrics of

  Frank Terranova

  Copyright 2014 Frank Terranova

  This poetry e-book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual persons, living or dead, or real events, are entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Author’s Note: When I first began writing what might more or less be called “poetry”, I was doing so with the thought of composing lyrics which would eventually be turned into songs for my long since disbanded rock n roll band. However as the years have flown by I came to believe that many of these compositions could stand on their own, and with the advent of e-books I figured that I may as well compile some of my favorite works into an organized volume, if for nothing else then for the sake of prosperity.

  For the most part the themes in this volume follow that old tried-and-true spirit of rebelliousness; including topics such as sex, drugs, rock n roll, love and lust to name a few. But on the more serious side it also delves into some deeper existential themes such as war and peace, death and loss, loneliness and religious spiritually, so hopefully there is something in this collection for everyone.

  I have gotten plenty of feedback regarding these poems over the years, and as such I would like to give thanks to all who have encouraged me to complete this project (and as I’ve often said in the past; “you know who you are!”).

  Table of Contents

  The End (Is the Beginning)

  Aimlessly (I Walk Along)

  Black Beauty

  Mother of God

  Numbers (Man Becomes Machine)

  Windowpane

  Never Have Time

  Present Being

  Marianne

  Only Love

  Holdin’ On

  Life’s Too Short

  The Searcher

  Vulture

  Slow Death

  Don’t Panic

  Electricity

  Warm Up

  What’s On Your Mind

  Almost On My Way

  Lethal Injection

  She’s Mine

  Let’s Do It

  Love Is Like An Animal

  Living In A Dream

  Tailspin

  Tomorrow’s Fix

  Rock N Roll Disease

  Up In Flames

  War Zone

  Faceless Heroes

  Gun Shy

  Providence

  One Night Stand

  Fade Away

  I Wonder Why

  Underground

  Rat Races

  Wanderlust

  Rock N Roll (‘Til The Roof Caves In)

  Beer Drinking, Hell Raising, Son Of A Bitch

  Judgment Day

  Fist Raising Anthem

  Run

  The Brotherhood

  Reefer Smoking, Guitar Playing, Mother Fuckin’ Junkie

  Hollow (Down The Road)

  I Will Pave The Way

  Me and My Guitar

  Southbound Rock N Roll Railroad Train

  Confusion In Your Eyes

  Hourii

  Ain’t Into Death Syndrome (AIDS)

  911 (A Prayer For 9/11)

  Caterpillar

  Wormwood

  The Retreat Of The Innocent

  Ashcroft Road

  The End (Reprise)

  An End of Days prophecy?

  THE END (IS THE BEGINNING)

  There must be a reason for a change in the season

  A change in what’s known to be true

  And one day ahead, when the sky’s colored red

  A stormy breeze will send the land to the seas

  So that the bubble will burst, rushing man’s thirst

  Leaving an end to our history…

  …and where will we be, where will we be

  In the end of our history

  Every story has an ending

  Ours will be no different

  When the ending comes

  Let’s meet on our ground

  Do you know what we’ve found?

  Do you know what we’ve found?

  This one goes out to the wandering spirit within us all.

  AIMLESSLY (I WALK ALONG)

  Aimlessly I walk along

  Round and round the path goes on

  Turning, twisting in the wind

  Like a spiraling staircase with no end

  Visions of a mighty force

  Instruments without a source

  External signs and wonders

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Like the lighting and the thunder

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Aimlessly my love evades me

  Something in the sky persuades me

  Opposites attract they say

  I turn and walk the other way

  Aimlessly I turn the screw

  Aimless it points at you

  External signs and wonders

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Like the lighting and the thunder

  Aimlessly I blunder

  I’m looking for something I can’t define

  Something no one else can find

  Aimlessly the day begins

  Somehow it just all fits in

  Powered by the morning sun

  Open my eyes and start to run

  Visions of a mighty force

  Instruments without a source

  External signs and wonders

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Like the lighting and the thunder

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Aimlessly I walk along

  Round and round the path goes on

  Turning, twisting in the wind

  Like a spiraling staircase with no end

  Aimlessly I turn the screw

  Aimless it points at you

  External signs and wonders

  Aimlessly I blunder

  Like the lighting and the thunder

  Aimlessly I blunder

  I’m looking for something I can’t define

  Something no one else can find

  Maybe just another girl

  Maybe just another world

  Maybe just heaven above

  Maybe just another love

  It’s something that I can’t define

  Something no one else can find

  Maybe just another time

  When love was just a peace of mind

  Maybe just hell below

  Maybe just I just don’t know

  It’s something that I can’t define

  Something no one else can find

  Whenever I’m near the ocean the scent of the salty air brings me back to those glorious nights of my youth; nights spent walking the beach until sunrise, wired on speed (“black beauties” we called them in those days), as we desperately tried to unravel the mysteries of life. This piece is the byproduct of one of those nights…

  BLACK BEAUTY

  Black Beauty and me, we walk by the sea

  She keeps me up all of the night

  I trudge through the sand, just holding her hand

  And wait for the morning light

  I count all the waves as they crash to the shore

  Look to a sky I don’t know anymore

  Black Beauty has taken her toll on me

  She always will be such a mystery

  Black Beauty

  Move slowly

  And don’t ever let me down

  The ocean it seems can make a man dream

  And the tides can drag a man down

  I got nowhere to turn, no lessons to learn

  But somehow I hold my ground


  Because my heart’s pounding rhythm

  To the song in your soul

  And I worry about things

  That I cannot control

  Black Beauty

  Move slowly

  And don’t ever let me down

  So hold me at bay

  And I’ll hold you someday

  The water will come

  And wash us away

  Black Beauty

  Move slowly

  And don’t ever let me down

  This one is dedicated to all the mothers in the world, especially mine; after all, everyone, including God, has a mother.

  MOTHER OF GOD

  Everybody finds a way

  Somehow to get them through the day

  It's the same old cliché

  It don't matter what they say

  Silently you hide your fears

  You need someone to really care

  Mother of God I need you here

  And we all need someone to depend upon

  Someone to see us through

  Mother of God I need you now

  Mother I depend on you

  Make your donation to the corporation

  Shelter yourself from the high taxation

  You need to get some relaxation

  Don't forget your medication

  Cross your knees, do a meditation

  Mother of God you’re my inspiration

  And we all need someone to depend upon

  Someone to see us through

  Mother of God I need you now

  Mother I depend on you

  A shot of hope, a shot of booze

  Sleeping pills to take a snooze

  A life you’re born in to, a dream held on to

  A daily ritual, it gets habitual

  And we all need someone to depend upon

  Someone to see us through

  Mother of God I need you now

  Mother I depend on you

  Name your vice, roll the dice

  Take your chances, pay the price

  Heads or tails, which way to choose

  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

  First it's snow, then it's ice

  It's time you took your own advice

  And we all need someone to depend upon

  Someone to see us through

  Mother of God I need you now

  Mother I depend on you

  One man’s vision of our not too distant future.

  NUMBERS (MAN BECOMES MACHINE)

  1, 2, 3, 4

  I’ve seen it all before

  5, 6, 7, 8

  It’s in the hands of fate

  9, 10, 11

  When we get to Heaven

  12, 13, 14

  Then we’ll wake up from this dream

  Count the days

  Love at the end of the maze

  Pleasure is my pain

  Until we meet again

  …until we meet again

  15, 16

  Pollution fills the air

  17, 18

  You see it everywhere

  19, 20

  As crazy as it sound

  20, 21

  We’re living underground

  But there’s light at the end of the tunnel

  For those who’ve read the book

  There’s a silver lining in every cloud

  For those who care to look

  …for those who care to look

  22, 23

  As far as the eye can see

  24, 25

  Only the strong survive

  26, 27

  As crazy as it seems

  28, 29

  Man becomes machine

  Mass produced, assembly line

  Evolution’s lost its rule

  But love still lingers on and on

  In the dreamers and the fools

  …in the dreamers and the fools

  30, 31

  Love is obsolete

  32, 33

  The sexes join and meet

  34, 35

  A new technology

  36, 37

  A human factory

  No one ever dies

  They just replace the parts

  Man has traded immortal soul

  For a plastic heart

  …for a plastic heart

  A trip into the window of my mind...

  WINDOWPANE

  There’s a windowpane looking through my mind

  The shades are drawn and I’m so hard to find

  I’m not sure who I really am

  I’m not sure I really give a damn

  I’m the day and sometimes I’m the night

  I’m the black and sometimes I’m the white

  I’m the cold and sometimes I’m the hot

  In my hand I hold a microdot

  When I open up my window

  I see another world

  I see things I ain’t never seen

  Do things I ain’t never done

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Am I John or is it really Jack?

  Look at me I’m a schizophrenic

  My mind is pressed up to the windowpane

  Watching dreams go slowly down the drain

  Acid rain’s been eating up my brain

  So ‘scuse me if I act a little strange

  Now and then I’m floating out in space

  The kids today disown the human race

  When I open up my window

  I see another world

  I see things I ain’t never seen

  Do things I ain’t never done

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Drink some juice, burn a little hash

  Be careful ‘cause you know you’re gonna crash

  Here I go, falling down like rain

  Blue gel, blotter’s left a little stain

  So smash the glass, unlock the windowpane

  Your mind will wander down the memory lane

  Free me from the pull of gravity

  ‘Cause I’ve temporarily lost my sanity

  When I open up my window

  I see another world

  I see things I ain’t never seen

  Do things I ain’t never done

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Windowpane where did you come from

  Conceived on the night of my first ever Grateful Dead concert in Providence Rhode Island; staring out the window of our room at the Holiday Inn, immersed in a hallucinogenic haze, the mass of people entering the arena, although peaceful as could be, resembled an angry mob to me. And as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror of our hotel room, lost in that same heightened state of awareness, the face staring back at me was unrecognizable. The next morning, sitting in the back seat of my friend’s car during the ride home, stuck in rush hour traffic, it struck that the freeway wasn’t really free…

  These simple verses also became the lyrics to the first song I ever wrote. The band I was in at the time performed it on numerous occasions, and although some in the audience felt that the dirge-like pace of the song broke the momentum of our usually up-tempo repertoire, for others it was a beautiful ballad and their favorite song of ours.

  NEVER HAVE TIME

  Looked out of my window

  Don’t like what I see

  Never have time, can’t find a rhyme

  To change the things around me

  Looked into to the mirror

  Is this really me?

  Never have time to pray to God

  But I hope he prays for me

  Looked out on the freeway

  Is this really free?

  Never have time, if I ever have time

  I let it slip by me

  Sometimes words come to me out of the blue, and other times an idea gets caught in the back of my mind but the words just won’t come. This s
ong is an example of the latter. Back in the mid to late70’s me and my friends would buy tickets to see all of the great bands, and I’d look forward to the big event for months in advance. And when show-time finally arrived it seemed to fly by so fast and afterwards I’d feel depressed that something I waited so long for was gone in the blink of an eye. I wished I could somehow hold on to the moment and keep it frozen in time. I’d go home with my ears ringing, lying in bed tossing and turning and at a loss to explain what it was I was feeling. And then suddenly on one particular sleepless night it came to me, in its entirety; the result was this song.

  PRESENT BEING

  Born without the knowledge of the seeing of the sun

  We walk the Earth, we stalk the Earth, but walking on the run

  And where we stand in time between us is our only crime

  Where are we now

  Its present tense

  Recall the past to make some sense

  Your life absorbed in seeing, your life the present being

  It’s now, today, an endless play, your life absorbed in seeing

  You go away, come home each day, your life the present being

  Do you remember your friends of yesteryear?

  Do you ever wish that they were here?

  Do you often wonder what they’re doing now?

  Wouldn’t you retrace your steps if only you knew how?

  Just think it out, you look about, a second ticks away

  You reach for it, you can’t hold on

  It floats…towards…yesterday-ay-aaaay

  ah/aaaah

  Where are we now

  It’s present tense

  Recall the past to make some sense

  Your life absorbed in seeing, your life the present being

  It’s now, today, an endless play, your life absorbed in seeing

  You go away, come home each day, your life the present being

  Look around you, look around, the shape we’re in right now

  You know that I would love you girl if only I knew how