LIGHTS
The following songs ©1999 by Paul Solecki

Sunrise

On the Atlantic Ocean
The ships have noticed nothing strange
And on the nightly newscast
The anchors speak in normal range
And in my heart this evening
I know that it is time to change
To see the world and watch TV

Seen the sky that's there in your eyes
And I'm going to fly

And on the Wall of China
Somebody's wish is coming true
A storm is over somewhere
The sky is turning back to blue
And by the lake this evening
I'm gonna fall in love with you
We'll see the world and watch TV

Seen the sky that's there in your eyes
And I'm going to fly

 
Outer Space

If I lived in outer space
I'd love you from afar
And travel through the galaxy
In my solar car

And if I lived in outer space
I'd mail you a star
And wrap it in a comet's tail
And send it in a jar

But there is one small question that I have to ask
What will the answer be?
If I lived in outer space
Would you love me?

If I lived in outer space
I'd never get to hear
The music of Kid Niko
As it echoes in my ear

And if I lived in outer space
The fun would disappear
I'd never catch a Padres game
Or watch ol' Greg Kinnear

But of all the things I'd miss in outer space
I must admit it's true
If I lived in outer space
Then I'd miss you

There is one small question that I have to ask
What will the answer be?
If I lived in outer space
Would you love me?

 
Sideways Heart Attack

If only I could have the whole day back
It fills me like a sideways heart attack
If only I could have the whole day back
And do it again
And you were against the wall in right

I'm trying not to think about the past
And all of this is happening so fast
I really think that you and I could last
A day and a half
So come on and try against the sun

Thinking of a time when I was twenty five
Miles from your house

Tomorrow's just about a week away
I really think that you and I should stay
If only we'd have found out yesterday
That this was the way
Then we could have tried to laugh once more

Thinking of a time when everything was right
Right outside my house

If only I could have the whole day back
It fills me like a sideways heart attack
If only I could have the whole day back
And do it again
And you were against the wall in right

 
Caldecott and Newberry

Caldecott opened his eyes this morning
Wondered when he would wake up
Never thought living would be this boring
Wondered why nothing was up
A simple morning like a piece of history
Never known until it's over or interpreted the same

Newberry lost in a dream of someone
Walking past out in the street
Next to her, they have a conversation
Kind of shy, looks at his feet
One day he'll really go outside and ask her name
But until that day approaches he'll pretend he doesn't car

Half alive
(Waiting for themselves to change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling from a plane)
Half alive
(Only one of them will change)
In the sky
(Peanuts fall instead of rain)

Late at night, walking around the city
Sidewalk moves, lights passing by
Caldecott lifts up his head and looks at
All the stars up in the sky
Though he can only see a few from where he stands
He knows all the other out there can be seen from far away

Newberry out on a week's vacation
Visits the desert Southwest
Souvenirs fill the entire back seat
Scenery: mountains and sand
A day of driving and a hundred old CDs
Make him really wish he had another person in the car

Half alive
(Waiting for themselves to change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling from a plane)
Half alive
(Only one of them will change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling down)

If you're convinced that the sky is falling (that the sky is falling down)
You're not the only one
Take a look and you'll see the people (see the people all around)
Who are feeling just like you

They thought about their situations and they knew
It was time for them to change themselves
They knew that it was time

Half alive
(Waiting for themselves to change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling from a plane)
Half alive
(Only one of them will change)
In the sky
(Peanuts fall instead of rain)

Half alive
(Waiting for themselves to change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling from a plane)
Half alive
(Only one of them will change)
In the sky
(Peanuts falling down)

 
Jacques Cousteau

Tonight I'm a starfish and covered in gold
Through caverns of coral I take a stroll
The world around me is dark and is cold
And I never listen though I'm always told

Night on the ocean without rock n roll
All of these evenings are taking their toll
The moon as it glistens, the waves as they roll
Hideki Irabu falls short of his goal

Where did you go, my old friend Jacques Cousteau?
I'm in love again I know
It seems as though the ocean sinks below
Where I'm standing all alone

Tonight on the diamond the mountain is cold
And all of the people look like they're old
The entire city is in a black hole
Hideki Irabu discovers a soul

Where did you go, my old friend Jacques Cousteau?
I'm in love again I know
It seems as though the ocean sinks below
Where I'm standing all alone

 
Up and Expecting

I woke up in the morning
All the trees ran away
When I started to chase them
Buildings got in my way

I was suddenly silent
Didn't know what to do
Then I found myself thinking
I was thinking of you

I know I can't decide how I felt when I noticed that you weren't there

I was up in the sky and expecting to fly and the world's going by like the blink of an eye and you're waiting for somewhere to land in the morning and you can't believe that you'll never be lonely again

But the world continues
Where the skyscrapers stood
Got to find it within you
If you haven't you should

I can shape and remember
And look up at the sky
But I know that it's over
But I still don't know why

I know I can't divide all my feelings in one song or you into me

When you're up in the sky and expecting to fly and the world's going by like the blink of an eye and you're waiting for somewhere to land in the morning and you can't believe that you'll never be lonely again

Every time there's a morning
At the end of the day
And it gets really quiet
And the lights fade away

Every time that I see you
I don't know what to say
But I think I'm expecting
You to take it away

I know I can't decide whether I'm in the world or it's just a dream

When you're up in the sky and expecting to fly and the world's going by like the blink of an eye and you're waiting for somewhere to land in the morning and you can't believe that you'll never be lonely again

 
Million Mile Sky

Far away in the middle of the day
On a highway someone's driving really slow
There's a stone changing colors all alone
Looks exactly like it did lifetimes ago

Not a sound for a hundred miles round
But the wind and the abandoned radio
Exit here, there's a chance that something's near
Yeah, they're driving but they've got no place to go

Here the sky is a million miles wide
We no longer try
Here the sky is a million times your size
Yesterday it cried

There's a lot of open windows
And a dark cloud in the sky
And there's something in the water
If we hurry we'll stay dry

Late at night, there's a dark and scary sight
It's the moonlight overshadowed by the side of the rock
It's a face in an interesting place
And it's looking at us now as if to say, "Go away"

Here the sky is a million miles wide
We no longer try
Here the sky is a million times your size
Yesterday it cried

There's a lot of open windows
And a dark cloud in the sky
And there's something in the water
If we hurry we'll stay dry

Here between indecision and a dream
There's a lot of time to think about the world
There's your car, there's a bright and distant star
There's a building and a present from a girl

It's a chance, complicated like a dance
But you'll miss it if you see it every day
Some have tried, some have even almost died
Only one has ever made it all the way

Here the sky is a million miles wide
We no longer try
Here the sky is a million times your size
Yesterday it cried

There's a lot of open windows
And a dark cloud in the sky
And there's something in the water
If we hurry we'll stay dry

 
World Around You


The world is ours today
But what about the day
That I will go away?

There's gonna be a world around you
It's gonna be there
There's gonna be a world around you
Over everywhere

And when the trip is through
Will anything I do
Direct me back to you?

There's gonna be a world around you
It's gonna be there
There's gonna be a world around you
Over everywhere

And then where will you be?
A bubble on the sea
The possibility
That you'll find me…

 
TWELVE O'CLOCK IN ALL THE WORLD
The following songs ©2002 by Paul Solecki unless otherwise noted

The Other People on the Plane

The other people on the plane are
Hoping that they don't miss their
Connections and the deal will fall through
I'm hoping that I don't miss mine and you

The people in the airport have
The same exact suitcases
With the same exact things in them heading for
A place exactly like the place before

It took a long time getting through the gate
Cause the president's dad taught him how to hate
But I believe in searching someone who's
Exactly like the one who's searching you

And there are other airplanes out there
Not with people but explosives
And they're dropping bombs on citizens of lands
That they don't even try to understand

What can I do?
Remember
What can I do?
What can I do?
Remember I am just like you

On intercontinental flights
The butter isn't heated right
The screen displays exactly where you are
And shows the coasts of Rome and Zanzibar

And sometimes someone crashes
In a neighborhood or ocean
But it's almost always in an empty space
And so it never looks that out of place

What can I do?
Remember
What can I do?
What can I do?
Remember I'm as old as you

Soon airplanes will be spaceships
And we'll fly to other planets
And the pilots will be aliens who say
That on the right a new star starts today

The other people on the plane are
Hoping that they don't miss their
Connections and the deal will fall through
I'm hoping I don't miss mine and miss you

 
Brooklyn

He was nice
And he winked at me with a trench coat
High above the skyline
With a hat

Here's the deed
He was also a notary public
He stamped it on the
Front and back

Here's his business card
He lives right near the Tappan Zee
And he knew that you'd be surprised
How wise

Now it's yours
You can charge a toll if you want to
(Not Verazzano Narrows)
No proceeds go to
Charity

Let's go up
And spit down into the East River
(Not the Tri-Bourough Bridge)
The boats'll look up and see
You and me

Follow anyone
They'll all cross it eventually
Now it's yours, you know, yeah you own it
Because

I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
It's time you thanked me with a
I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
And me

It was cheap
And available just like you were
(Not the Holland Tunnel)
When first we met in
Times Square

It is great
Architecture and engineering
(Not George Washington)
And now a symbol of
How I care

You must be real surprised
That I'd do such a thing for you
You haven't said a word since I mentioned
My gift

I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
It's time you thanked me with a
I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
And me

I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
It's time you thanked me with a
I bought the Brooklyn Bridge for you
And me

 
Basque

There were three walls there
Also a net with seating
Number in lights, not my name
Just colors and odds for me

One of my arms is
Made out of flesh and cesta
Used to be thousands
But now I hear everybody breathe

Maybe I'll find a way
To hit the corner in the back and win today
150 mph
A Basque intent on basking in the game I play

Thinking of moving
Test the Miami granite
Maybe in Spain I will finally see
How my life can be

Old doubles partner
He's in Connecticut now
He's number seven
And not as short as the other guys

Maybe I'll find a way
To hit the corner in the back and win today
150 mph
A Basque intent on basking in the game I play

 
Cahersiveen

Out in a right-side-steering car
Stop in a Cahersiveen bar
Late in the evening
A baguette for a snack

It is another country there
Everyone singing Roseville Fair
Drinking and smiling
The libations are black

Both fiddles make the grey-brown windows glow
Through the hills and to the coast and down below
The pennywhistle and the mandolin
I'll be back again

Out where the highway's inches wide
Drive through the brambles on the side
The mini-beach is rocky
And cold

Just past the skelligs in the sea
Is a familiar place to me
Tables are tiny
Woodwork sunken and old

Both fiddles make the grey-brown windows glow
Through the hills and to the coast and down below
The pennywhistle and the mandolin
I'll be back again

I'm travelling the Kerry county road
Through the hills and to the coast and down below
Our freezing bedroom waits while I sing this
So let's go and kiss

 
Changing Trains

I lost my shirt
The day I wasn't wearing pants
I didn't know
If I was in Germany or France

I'm wide awake
I fall asleep and wake again
Gibt es der Rhein
Der Schwarzwald oder Sud Japan?

I don't know the candy
They can't understand me
I asked for water and they brought it in a big green bottle
I don't know which side of
The street to stay wide of
A yellow before green means you're supposed to start the throttle

I'm changing trains
I'm in the Munchen Hauptbahnhof
Is this the train?
And if so, are we on or off?

Now heading south
Can't tell the mountains from the sky
No sleepers left
Two people stuck in 1x5

Berets and machine guns
Those men are the mean ones
They want your ticket passport visa blood test thumbprint eye scan
We go through a tunnel
Hoping that no one'll
Step in our air-conditioned cabin and disturb the silence

Why have countries? They just lead to war
Why have wars when they just lead to more?
Who invented the nuclear bomb?
Don't envision your daughter a mom

We're back in France
We're heading west along the shore
And on the rocks
Nude older men and more and more

And on the coast
The sauce picante is like a stove
An aperitif
A painting by Vincent Van Gough

I don't know the candy
They can't understand me
I asked for water and they brought it in a big green bottle
I don't know which side of
The street to stay wide of
A yellow before green means you're supposed to start the throttle

Why have countries? They just lead to war
Why have wars when they just lead to more?
Who invented the nuclear bomb?
Don't envision your daughter a mom

 
Two Moons

On another planet with a gallium girl
We were dancing slow around an ending world
Two moons rise tonight
In the sky tonight

Through a hologram she said her last goodbye
I didn't touch the floor back on the shuttle ride
Two moons rise tonight
They're your eyes tonight

And now it's light years since that night
And I'm still there inside despite
Knowing that it wasn't right

Flying back I looked over the asteroids and
I could see the flash but couldn't understand
Two moons rose and set
That's the end of it

And there's just one moon where I live
And there's nothing I can give
To go back in time and live
That night again

 
That Sounds Like A Girl's Name

That sounds like a girl's name
It sounds so soft and almost plain
Someone to dream of in the rain
But this is not a girl's name

Don't tell me that I've lost her face in the sun
I've got a name but it takes more than one
This is not what I did want to get done
I'll become silent until this is done

That sounds like a girl's name
It sounds so soft and almost plain
Someone to dream of in the rain
But this is not a girl's name

Don't tell me that I've lost her face in the sun
I've got a name but it takes more than one
This is not what I did want to get done
I'll become silent until this is done

 
It's Blind

If love is blind
Let's poke out our eyes
It'll be a surprise
To say

If love is you
Tie one of your shoes
I'll get number two
Today

And if you're open arms can close to no avail
And if your breadcrumb mind has birds along its trail

I'll try to find
A way
That we'll spend every day
With one of us

If love is blind
I'll poke out your eyes
It'll be a surprise
But hey

If love is new
Can be that way too
And I'll see you through
The day

And if you're worried that this feeling won't prevail
And if your breadcrumb mind has birds along its trail

I'll try to find
A way
That we'll spend every day
With one of us

And if you're open arms can close to no avail
And if your breadcrumb mind has birds along its trail

I'll try to find
A way
That we'll spend every day
And time will turn to stay
With one of us

 
A Tale of Three Cities

Just crossing the street you can hear two heartbeats
One of them's yours, the other explores the tunnels beneath your feet
Bright Chinatown lights light up the fish at night
Little Italy's next, the banners I expect, hung over the streets just right
And you hit Coney Island on Saturday night, try and win someone a prize
You ride on the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel twice and see in the fire-eater's eyes
A surprise

Hey, this is the place I belong
I recognize that accordion song
Hey, this is the place I belong
Until the rest of the world is gone

On the opposite coast I like the weather most
Seventy degrees, slight ocean breeze, never long pants or coats
El Indio Shop, that's where I like to stop
When I get off the plane it's hard to explain, all of my cares just drop
And you go see the Padres one warm summer night, Tony Gwynn's still on the team
There're fireworks every night, yes and my dad, doesn't existence here seem
Like a dream

Hey, this is the place I belong
Tell me the words to that Mexican song
Hey, this is the place I belong
Until the rest of the world is gone

New York is fast, San Diego is slow, London is right in between
Where will I live when I grow up and have everything?

Fly into Heathrow, take the tube when you go
Pop up by Big Ben, go walking and then, see five thousand things you know
In Trafalger Square no football riots are there
But there's always tonight as the Piccadilly Lights cause you to stop and stare
And you look all around you at people that talk like this is just everyday life
You walk round the corner and into the park feeling that you're just a trifle
Small

Hey, this is the place I belong
Trips to the continent aren't very long
Hey, this is the place I belong
Until the rest of the world is gone

Hey, this is the place I belong
Hundreds more cities to add to this song
Hey, this is the place I belong
Until the rest of the world is gone

 
The Bells and the Whistles

Millions of creatures
Surround us tonight
Even by blinking we're doing them harm
It's easy for us
But it's hard to pull up
When both of your elbows are on the same arm

Try and imagine
A city of five
Million inhabitants, none with a car
Not in the future
And not in the past
It happens today in dimensions afar

They've got the bells and the whistles
But the bells are all broken
And the whistles are out of tune
When there's way more Eyores than thistles
Then the bells and the whistles
Will be out of there soon

There was a mountain
For one afternoon
Towering over the town where I live
And when the sun set
The mountain was moved
I never could figure out where it hid

There were rivers of orange
A bright yellow pond
Fields of pink and a village of grey
The people that lived there
Had cumulus cars
And only drove west so they'd stay in the day

They've got the bells and the whistles
But the bells are all broken
And the whistles are out of tune
When there's way more Eyores than thistles
Then the bells and the whistles
Will be out of there soon

 
Spooky Tricks

At Grapevine Elementary School
In Vista, California
A book sits in the library
A legend in its time

The picture on the cover's kind of eerie
Just to warn ya
The information bound within
Can mystify your mind

I remember when I checked it out
And brought it home to read
My room turned into a castle tower
Lightning in the sky

You don't need any magic words
Or to say "quiet please"
Just listen and I'll try
To summarize

A two tipped finger floating freely in the air
You can stick a pin in your thumb and give the other kids a scare

Spooky Tricks
Supernatural command
Spooky Tricks
Mere mortals cannot understand
I wonder if they have a book like that one in Japan
You can see right through your hand

The kid who checks it out that week's
The envy of the class
It's better than a choose your own adventure
Any day

It doesn't teach you how to fly
Or see through someone's pants
Just everyday amusements
And tricks anyone can play

If you haven't read this book
Your life is incomplete
It's part of growing up
Like having pets or playing kazoo

One day they'll make a movie
Starring me and Jeremy Street
And maybe they'll come out with
Volume Two

Open up this box and find a disembodied finger
Try and impress a girl with Spooky Tricks and you will win her

Spooky Tricks
Supernatural command
Spooky Tricks
Mere mortals cannot understand
I wonder if they have a book like that one in Japan
You can see right through your hand

Spooky Tricks
Supernatural command
Spooky Tricks
Mere mortals cannot understand
I wonder if they have a book like that one in Japan
You can see right through your hand

 
No One in the World

No one in the world's in love but me
Cause they don't have the thing you need to be
You are love personified
And I can look right in your eyes
And I can really tell you love me too
There's no one in the world but me and you

No one in the world's in love but me
Cause they don't have just what you need to be
And without you right by my side
I am just preoccupied
With getting back to where I need to be
By your side's the only place for me

 
When The Vetivers Die


(by Ben Champion, Clyde Kim, and Paul Solecki)

When The Vetivers die, and they're going to
Something falls from the sky and breaks them in two
Or a big evil monster dismembers them
Anybody around to remember them?

Twenty-five years from now will you remember this?
Anyone in the band that you wanna kiss?
Ever wonder just what they would look like nude?
Maybe now they thinking the same of you

When The Vetivers die, and they're going to
Something falls from the sky and breaks them in two
Or a big evil monster dismembers them
Anybody around to remember them?

Will the Vetivers' lives ever be avenged?
Will there be a memorial at Stonehenge?
Were there entire lives just a big fat pun?
Who will take care of Ben's illegitimate son?

When The Vetivers die, and they're going to
Something falls from the sky and breaks them in two
Or a big evil monster dismembers them
Anybody around to remember them?

Look at my feet and can you tell me where they've walked?
Some people tell time by their shoes instead of clocks
Look in my eyes and can you tell me what they've seen?
Some people never want to look at anything

If the world's about to end
Then we're all our final friends
But we've got a lot of time
Not to get along

On the last day of earth before the sun explodes
Historians will gather everything they know
And for a fond farewell they'll recognize this tune
And broadcast stills of Bob and David, Flex, and June

If the world's about to end
Then we're all our final friends
But we've got a lot of time
Not to get along

When The Vetivers die, and they're going to
Something falls from the sky and breaks them in two
Or a big evil monster dismembers them
Anybody around to remember them?

When the City of Champions is in front of you
And the darkened sky seeks to envelop you
Quickly think of the fate of The Vetivers
Take a train to the farthest place you've ever heard