Words, music Heidi Berry 1987.  © Universal Music Publishing Group

 

OUT OF MY HANDS

 

Today my eyes went blind

I waved my will goodbye

My body moved like I was one thousand miles

Underneath the ocean

I went and looked in a mirror

Until my sight began to clear

All I could see was just me looking back

And it bored me

 

There was rain on the window

I heard it on the street 

Rush hour traffic sounded heavy

Heard the woman downstairs

Turn on her light

So should I

But I let the day die

 

It’s out of my hands

Out of my hands

Out of my hands

 

Today I wasted time

While I mislaid my mind

My body moved like I was wandering round in my sleep

There was rain on the window 

I saw it on the streets

Saw the lights in other windows

Saw the woman next door walk out in the night

So should I

But I let the day die

 

It’s out of my hands

Out of my hands

Out of my hands

 

 

FIREFLY

 

Here’s to the girl

With the smile like the dew

On the leaves of a midsummer garden

Here’s to your life

And here’s to the love

That persists even when your time is passing

Here’s to your spirit

Wherever you go

You won’t walk in the shadow

 

You once showed me a picture

Of yourself when you were young

A tender girl

With a heart full of fire

Where did you go to

When you finally closed your eyes

On this world

That made you so tired

I’ll sing for your spirit

Wherever you go

You won’t walk in the shadow

 

 

NOBODY TELLS ON YOU

 

And on the day we meet again, I’m surprised to find

You’ve grown as thin as a hollow reed

The wind blows through your eyes

I see where leaving me caused you pain

Though I never believed

And nobody told on you

 

The common language we once spoke

Divided each to each

Yours is a northern dialect

And I use southern speech

With no place to run to

You found a place to hide

Where nobody tells on you

 

Look away – you looked away

And turned your footsteps to the night

I was burned, I was blind

I’d stayed too long in the light

 

And I suppose you’re happy now

And so I’ll wish you well

And lines that no longer intersect

At least lie parallel

And things I don’t need to know

I know you’ll never tell

And nobody tells on you

 

 

WILL IT ALL CHANGE

 

Have you ever got the feeling 

That you’ve been here before

You’ve walked by an open door

Have you ever had the impulse

To just up and run away

On a sad and rainy

 

Am I crazy – or (just) feeling strange

If the wind blows the other way

Will it all change

Will it all change

 

In my dream the other night

I was on the mountain side

I was supposed to reach the top

I was not allowed to stop

I went cold with fear

My whole body (it) began to shake

Opened my eyes before I was awake

 

Am I crazy – or (just) feeling strange

If the wind blows the other way

Will it all change

Will it all change

 

 

HOUSES MADE OF WOOD

​

When you’re born to houses made of wood

And you live in streets of stone

Your heart sometimes sets sail at night 

For the old “colonial” home

 

The ties of blood they guide you into the harbour

Like a lighthouse shining over on the other side

 

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

 

Inside my house, I felt it breathe

Blood ran through wire veins

I heard its heartbeat late at night

The wind shook window panes

 

Each day, when I awake I wonder where I am

My mind holds memories, like footprints in the snow

 

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

Houses made of wood

 

 

HASTEN THE BUDS TO BLOOM

​

Oh, I know there’s no way

I can hasten the buds to bloom

If I force them with my hands

They will fall down crushed and bruised

 

I’ll come away from the window

And away from the door

Wash my body of impatience

And my heart will ache no more

 

For I know there’s no way

I can hasten the buds to bloom

If I force them with my hands

They will fall down crushed and bruised

 

I feel the air growing sweeter

Smell the soil as winter ends

Summer birds will be returning

As the longer days begin

 

And I know there’s no way

I can hasten the buds to bloom

If I force them with my hands

They will fall down crushed and bruised