SET LIST SIXTEEN (16)

1 Hypocrites……………...169

2 Tom's Psalm

3 Lost and Found………….170

4 Triangle

5 Crystal Ball…………...172

6 Walking Paradox

7 How and When………….174

8 Kneeling

9 Best Left……………...176

10 Chameleon

11 the Light………………..178

12 Learn From the Masters

13 Never Be………………...180

HYPOCRITES

Well it’s three o’clock in the morning

And I ain’t been to bed

I’m still trying to

sort out all those hopes and dreams

That’ve been floatin’ around in my head

It’s just so hard to focus

When you’re as talented as me

There are about a million things

That if I wanted to then I could be

Well, I’m a born teacher

But I ain’t no preacher

For I’ve never been close to god

I follow the golden rule

I went to Catholic school

But all them people sittin’ in their pews

Whipping out the green to pay their church dues

I think they’re all getting robbed!

You see, I’ve never been a fan

of playing follow the leader

The priest might be a pedophile

And the guy kneeling next to you

You know he’s a wife beater

No I don’t want to raise my kids

To grow up to be hypocrites

Organized religion will give you fits

You know that it might be time to quit

When the time that

you’re sitting in church

Is the only time that

you’re safe from getting’ hit...

TOM'S PSALM

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?

LOST AND FOUND

I see what you have

And I want it

It will be mine

For I'll pay any cost

Someday you'll turn around

And she will not be there

For I will have found

What you have lost

You will begin to hate it

But it was all premeditated

Just when you thought

You had everything together

I finally convinced her

That she can do better

Because no matter

where you go

Pick any corner of the world

There's one thing I know...

There are only

four types of girls:

Either...

For now

For later

Forever

Or forget it

And if she's three of the four

Then you're gonna live to regret it

For now comes and then goes

For later keeps you on your toes

Forget it never shows

But when forever arrives

Then everybody knows

There is no such phrase

As setting standards too high

So be forewarned...

When forever appears

She catches everybody's eye

TRIANGLE

I could tell you

a thing or two about love

I could whisper into your ear

All of the sweet words

you long to hear

Calm and quiet every fear

A soft caress

as we gaze west

Towards the ocean's

reflecting mirror

Love you forever,

for the rest of my years

I'd always be here

to dry your tears

Cherish you above

any other one

Above all else

that I hold dear

If only I didn't have

this cross to bear...

I love someone

but she don't care...

Yes, people come

and people go

But emotions never fade away

Some things will

never happen...

This you know

Yet still you hope and pray

The nature of the beast is cruel

Though acceptance

must be learned

As the dwindling hourglass

of time has taught

That it cannot be turned

Her love came and left

It disappeared into the night

Floated up by the moon

Then vanished out of sight

My love came

But it never went away

It still rattles

around in my mind

It's how I start my day

I heard her voice today

It nearly brought me to my knees

I felt the beating of my heart again

It nearly brought me to my knees

After all the tears I've wiped away

I never thought I'd ever see this day

It only shows that time

goes on to tell:

After one word...

After one breath...

I fallen back under her spell

Let me trade her eyes

for yours

Maybe then she'll see

everything so clearly

Let me trade your ears

for hers

Maybe then she'll

be able to hear me...

CRYSTAL BALL

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

WALKING PARADOX

Searching for an escape...

to leave my mind

for just a little while

Praying for eyes brand new...

seeking second sight

through the eyes of a child

When it hurts to reminisce...

the only thing to do

is ask yourself why?

Things can't carry on like this

So your life goes up on trial

I got exactly what I wanted…

And now I'm looking

to give it away

Because I'm being haunted

by the price I had to pay

I pride myself on freedom...

yet I've found myself

slowly turning into a slave

I try to practice what I preach

but I'm a walking paradox by trade

So pay no attention to what you read…

And even less to what you hear

For when you start to hate your life

You act without thinking and without fear

I've got so much left to give...

but it seems I'm a hypocrite

My words may speak of peace and love

and yet my mind is clenching a fist

Everything I have

I'd gladly give away

to take a trip through time

to go back to yesterday

For some thoughts

That you find

flowing through your mind

you know you should never say

I blasphemized to hell

with Adam and Eve

Yet I'll still be apprehensive

on the day that I die

I say I wear

My heart on my sleeve...

and then I proceed

to build a wall ten miles high

I let all the cats out of the bag…

when I’d have been better off to

let sleeping dogs lay

This is the life I have to live

after finding my guide

And then beginning to stray

I found the time to pen this rhyme…

during my wife’s exile from the house

I screamed bitter words of anger...

As buried thoughts dug themselves out

Now I'm the undisputed

king of the castle

but I'm a husband

without a spouse

HOW AND WHEN

Today I lost

my best friend…

So here I am

with just my pen

Alone, here I am

with just these tears

Running down

the side of my face

Wondering how

did I find myself

Here all by myself

in this lonely place?

Wanting, waiting and wishing

for your warm embrace

Seeking to find an escape

from this soulless solace…

I find that I’ve been

Drifting far away

From whom I used to be

Just the other day

I have to pick up the pieces

And carry on again

I have to regain my trust

Have faith in my race again

Yet here I am in isolation

For fear of a broken heart

I have to pick up the pieces

But I know I have yet to start

I can find some

comfort for now

By turning my

hurt into art

And letting you know

that if you feel like me…

We’re are not alone

nor are we apart

I promise you

a better day ahead

Yes, it’s okay to be sad

It’s okay to stay in bed

It’s alright to cry

It’s alright to ask why

It’s alright to sigh

And want to just hide

It’s alright to feel pain

Emotionally broken

and blood-stained

It’s alright to feel doubt

It’s alright to let it out

That’s how and when

We can begin to let love in

For that’s how we become

Stronger and better

Women and men

KNEELING

It's time to inspire

I think that I'm ready

I finally stopped shaking

Though I'm still not

Quite fully steady

It has come that time

To try to walk by myself

If I need some assistance

At least I have someone else

Someone's who's vowed to help

You see I've fallen down

And just laid there

on the floor

I never made a sound

No, I never asked for your help

I thought I could do it by myself

But that just led

to empty feelings

As a deeper sadness

grew inside

When what I needed

was healing

And to gain back

some of my pride

That would bring

back to life

The part of me

that died...

But it never really died

I found it was only sleeping

So, I wasn't afraid to cry

No, I wasn't afraid of weeping

I knew I was

growing cold inside

When my tears

they started freezing

That's when I knew

I had to open my eyes

I couldn't yet stand

So I began by kneeling

And I got to where

the air was warm

As slowly, I went

from the lowly

To where I started

to regain my form

It's time to inspire

I think that I'm ready

I finally stopped shaking

Though I'm still not

Quite fully steady

It has come that time

To try to walk by myself

If I need some assistance

At least I have someone else

Someone's who's vowed to help...

BEST LEFT

One single ray of light

broke through the clouds

Touched down upon the ground

that I was standing upon

My lover right beside me

just stood in my shadow

By the time she made up her mind

to move the light was gone

Though it was never discussed

This scene said so much about us

This strange phenomenon

Either she didn't notice or else didn't care

Just stood there in the cool, crisp air

At six minutes past dawn

But I know another girl

who is made up of sunshine

She's waiting but I'm not sure

if she's been waiting for me

She's someone who knows

Just how I'm feeling

Yet she's uncertain

If we were ever meant to be

So I asked her if

I could come and see her

For it seems

she's now ready to settle down

After five years

of traveling across the country

She picked out a state

And said, "No more moving around"

And I've been searching for inspiration

For a new picture to place inside my frame

I have grown bored with everything around me

But I'm unsure of whom or what I blame

I've been seeking a new set of surroundings

A new life, a fresh face, a new name

I'm getting tired of waiting

For the time to be perfectly right

I'm packing my bags when I get home

And I'll be leaving some time later tonight

I'm unsure of my exact destination

I desire somewhere with a warmer locale

Maybe then I'll kick these winter time blues

And brighten up my entire morale

Yes, I've been searching for inspiration

For a new picture to place inside my frame

I have grown bored of everything around me

I've decided that things just can't stay the same

So I won't say that this story's finished

Only that soon I'll be heading west on a train

Sometimes you can't wait you must create your own fate

Find out if some things are best left...

Unexplained

CHAMELEON

She changes the color of her eyes

Every once and awhile…

But that’s all right with me

Sometimes strangers take her by surprise

So she’s always quick to flash a smile

Because life is full of compromise

And that’s not a bad way to be

She hates it when I preach

And she knows that she was born to teach

And baby, dreams are free

Anything you seek is achievable

Once you convince yourself it’s believable

I think I’ve found it…

And I can’t wait for you to see

I think I’ve found it…

And I can’t wait for you to see

I think I’ve found it…

To any locked door we have the key

Will you take my hand and follow me?

Here and now and eternity?

I think I’ve found it…

And I can’t wait for you to see

To any locked door…

We have the key

Will you take my hand

And follow me?

LIGHT

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 exited 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

LEARN FROM THE MASTERS

Today is the day

I know that I will make it

When I was cast from the mold

Who would know that I'd break it?

In bitter fits of jealousy

There are those who can't take it

Pretend to walk in my shoes

When they know that they fake it

Be yourself don't try to be me

Open the door that'll set you free

My pen name Bob Dylan Junior is gone

I've stepped into the shoes

of a man named Tom

A poet, a writer, who dabbles in song

And learns from the masters

What he's known all along

Since I am a poet

I will fight you only with my pen

I'll drag your name through the mud

And then drag it through again

There's no need for fists

For fighting only leaves you bruised

I've learned that paper cuts never heal

When everybody has heard the news

When made known is your reputation

Then I win and you lose

Since I am a poet

I will try my very best

To separate myself from all others

And try to stand above the rest

Searching for what

hasn't yet been written

Though there's not much

that Dylan left

Be yourself don't try to be me

Open the door that'll set you free

My pen name Bob Dylan Junior is gone

I've stepped into the shoes

Of a man named Tom

A poet, a writer, who dabbles in song

And learns from the masters

What he's known all along

NEVER BE

If you got it then flaunt it

If you don't then fake it

If you think it and want it

If you need it then take it

But I once told myself

That I was willing to wait

To make my mark

But I've been looking up lately

And I notice the sky

is getting dark

If things keep

progressing at this rate

In the sense that

the light is growing dim

It might be...

my destiny...

to be...

A never was...a never be...

As opposed to a has been

Even though I

Live it

Breathe it

Speak it

And eat it

I give all

I have to give

To something

As important as this

I told myself that

I am willing to deflate

My own ego

And try to silence

any feelings of hate

That deep inside of me grow

Though these toxins are innate

I swallow hard

Try to bury them alive

I got nothing but time...

and my mind...

These years in my prime....

And this

dedication to rhyme...

To use as my tools

to allow me to thrive

And I plant it

I seed it

Water it

And weed it

I give all I

have to give

For I am

Not a hypocrite

I told myself that I am

willing to bear

My inner soul

For the more voices

I hear inside my ear

The harder it is

to maintain total control

The more likely I am

to be persuaded by fear

For in this line of work

very few will ever make it

So many much more

talented than me...

Can get driven to the

brink of insanity...

End up losing themselves,

their lives and their family...

When their music

never makes the radio

No videos on MTV...

I must be able to give it

as well as take it

Yet I know it

And I say it

I believe it

And I pray for it

I give all I

have to give

I got one shot

No regrets if I miss

I told myself that I am

willing to share

Won't keep inside

My thoughts, like clothes,

I will openly wear

When you have

nothing to hide

You have no reason

to be scared

When you don't

Cheat or steal

And I...never lie...

Nor do I try...

to portray any

emotion that I...

Don't honestly feel

No fake tears

in my eyes...

Or some false

face of cheer

Only what is real

I could never conceal:

That I strive for it

Survive for it

I live for it

And would die for it

I give all

I have to give

To whatever it is...

And this is

And this is

And this is

IT!