Tom Meltzer

Nice Things (T. Meltzer)

Water is a scarce resource
And we need water to live of course
So we fight wars to live near springs
That's why we can't have nice things

You pay me a compliment
And I question your intent
I can't help looking for the strings
That's why we can't have nice things

We were born to cower in a cave
Waiting for the comfort of the grave
Of which we're also terrified
‘Cause we don’t know what's waiting for us on the other side

Only love can make us whole
It also makes us lose control
Only the Buddha never clings
The rest of us can't have nice things
That's why we can't have nice things

Place Where There's No Parting (T. Meltzer)

We met cute like in the movies
But the movies are pretend
I was sure on the day that I met you
That someday it would end

But perhaps we'll meet again someday
And we'll walk side by side
In the place where there's no parting
Where no more tears are cried

You were the bright-eyed ingenue
The wind behind your sails
And I was the cynical slacker
Who quit before he could fail

But perhaps we'll meet again someday
And we'll walk side by side
In the place where there's no parting
Where no more tears are cried

The decades have passed, the years go fast
Only one of us grew old and gray
I heard that you succumbed to sadness
I hope you hear me when I pray

Perhaps we'll meet again someday
And we'll walk side by side
In the place where there's no parting
Where no more tears are cried

Perhaps we'll meet again someday
And we'll walk hand in hand
In the place where there's no parting
In some far better land

Be Kind (T. Meltzer)

Sometimes I've been unkind
Sometimes I haven't been thoughtful
Sometimes I've just been blind
And sometimes I have been just awful
Regrets I have accrued
In my thoughts intrude all the time
If I'd only known
I would have tried to be more kind

Chasing fortune and fame
Climbing the social ladder
You get caught up in the game
You forget the things that matter
And that's a game you'll lose
You'll get beat or choose to resign
But everybody wins
When you try to be more kind

Overtaken by regret
Cruelties you can't forget
It's been like this since the first humans fell
Is this what the Bible means by hell?

Sometimes I've been unkind
Sometimes I haven't been thoughtful
Sometimes I've just been blind
And sometimes I've been just awful
Someday I'll be gone
Don't know what I'll leave behind
If it's just two words
I hope those words will be "be kind"

Let 'em Go (T. Meltzer)

All the pain down deep inside
And all the tears that you have cried
For broken dreams and foolish pride
You've got to let 'em go

All the stupid things you've said
That keep repeating in your head
And keep you up when you're in bed
You've got to let 'em go

All the lessons there to learn
You learned them long ago
There's no need to learn them all again
There is nothing to be gained
From wallowing in woe
Treat yourself the way you'd treat a friend

Gather them all in one place
And shoot them into outer space
Until they're gone without a trace
You've got to let 'em go

All the lessons there to learn
You learned them long ago
There's no need to learn them all again
There is nothing to be gained
From wallowing in woe
Treat yourself the way you'd treat a friend

Gather them all in one place
Give them all one last embrace
Then shoot them deep into outer space
Wrap them with a bow
You've got to let 'em
You've got to let 'em
You've got to let 'em go

Country Song (T. Meltzer)

I ain't a cowboy
I ain't a redneck
I never say ain't except in songs I'm writing
I ain't Christian
And I ain't Southern
I never found pickup trucks or guns all that exciting
But I love songs about broken hearts
Songs about lives that are torn apart
And songs where every choice that's made is wrong
Yeah I may not be country but I love a country song

And I'm from the suburbs
Never been to a holler
Don't know guys named Skeeter or women with two first names
You know I don't care
That much about the state fair
Don't give a damn about NASCAR or football games
But I love the sound of a mandolin
A D18 and good fiddlin'
And a harmony that's pitched a third above
Yeah I may not be county but it's country that I love

You know, the sound of how I feel is the sound of a pedal steel
Crying across the bar to the sad man at the end
When I need misery and gin, feelin' born to lose 'cause you win again
Then every song on the jukebox is my friend

I like losers
And I like boozers
I like a song that says there ain't no shame in crying
I like the sadness
I like the misery
A song is a feeling you have, it ain't some flag you're flying
So you keep your tailgates and longneck beers
I'll take the whiskey and the tears
If that ain't right, I don't mind being wrong
Yeah I may not be country but I love a country song
I may not be country but I love a country song

That's How I Know That I Love You (T. Meltzer)

Once I was lonely and blue all the time
The way I was feeling, it should be a crime
Then you came and gave my life reason and rhyme
And that's how I know that I love you

We thought that love would protect us from all
Like Adam and Eve, we were set up to fall
Still I come running each time you call
And that's how I know that I love you

Hard times will come and hard times will go
Leaving us wondering just what we know
But in all my dreams you're the star of the show
And that's how I know that I love you

Love is a mystery, love is a trial
And one little miss is as good as a mile
Still, all I want is to see your smile
And that's how I know that I love you

Hard time will come and sometimes they'll stay
Our best intentions can't drive them away
But I still want you with me at the end of the day
And that's how I know that I love you
That's how I know that I love you

I'm a Stranger Here (P. Foglino)

I thought I knew these roads like they were lines across my hand
Now my feet are disappearing in this shifting sifting sand
I’m walking on strange ground
Seeing unfamiliar sights and hearing unfamiliar sounds
This is mighty queer, I’m a stranger here

I don’t like the people here cause they don’t treat me good
They shake hands like they’re exchanging fish and smile like they’re made out of wood
No one gets my jokes
I’m talking good and loud but here my language isn’t spoke
So let me make this clear, I’m a stranger here
I’m a stranger here

Valderie, valdera ha
Valderie, valdera, ha ha

No one knows my troubles or the rivers that I’ve crossed
This is amazing grace I once was found but now I’m lost
This is not my home
I’ve lived here all my life so I guess I should have known
I’m not what I appear, I’m a stranger here
I’m a stranger here

What Goes Up (T. Meltzer)

You are my sunshine and you're my rain
You're the life-sustaining water
Disappearing down the drain
You're the smile that at any time could turn into a frown
What goes up must come down

When we are young we dream of romance
Our eyes meet across a crowded room and then we dance
And then we talk and then there's laughter
And we think there's only happy ever after

You are my deepest fear and my wildest desire
You are everything I do not need
And all that I require
We are drinking from a half-empty half-filled cup
What falls down gets back up

Love is a myth and love is real
It is everything and nothing, all we know and all we feel
It makes us laugh and makes us cry
It's a dream to fill our days until we die

Moses Never Reached the Promised Land (T. Meltzer)

Moses went to old pharaoh
Told him “Let my people go”
Led them to the desert where they wandered 40 years

Finally climbed up Mount Nebo
That's as far as he could go
Looked down upon Canaan and he shed his final tears

Moses never reached the promised land
He only got as far as God had planned
Things must end for things to begin
New wine goes in a new wineskin
Moses never reached the promised land

Even though we travel far
We always wind up where we are
The young see farther than us olders
Because they're standing on our shoulders

I'm an ally, I like to think
I wear rainbow buttons and badges pink
Got a Black Lives Matter sign on my suburban lawn

But I don't get this pronoun stuff
Or why two genders aren't enough
Fortunately I won't be around for very long

And I will never reach the promised land
There's too much that I still don't understand
Things must end for things to begin
New wine goes in a new wineskin
I will never reach the promised land
Just like Moses never reached the promised land

Every Day I Fall In Love With You All Over Again (T. Meltzer)

They say that love someday grows old
That what is hot someday grows cold
Well, even if that’s true, dear, you never have to worry when
Our love will fade away and die
That cannot happen, this is why
‘Cause every day I fall in love with you all over again

It might be something that you say
Or simply how you look my way
But something happens every day
It’s not just now and then

No, as the sunrise comes each morn
As the phoenix is reborn
Every day I fall in love with you all over again

In a world so insecure
Only sadness can endure
So I’ve heard the skeptics preach but I could never say amen
I know that good things also last
I know it when each day has passed
‘Cause every day I fall in love with you all over again

It might be something that you say
Or simply how you look my way
But something happens every day
It’s not just now and then

No, as the sunrise comes each morn
As the phoenix is reborn
Every day I fall in love with you all over again

That Time We Kissed On the Brooklyn Bridge (T. Meltzer)

I was higher than I should ever be
I was high 'cause it was you and me
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge

It wasn't easy, it wasn't planned
I took your arm, I took your hand
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge

As we left Brooklyn behind I worried that you might be changing your mind
Manhattan rose before us like a glorious hallelujah chorus

Discretion told me that I really should wait
But I really wasn't thinking straight
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge

As we left Brooklyn behind I worried that you might be changing your mind
Manhattan rose before us like a glorious hallelujah chorus

We get burned and we learn to avoid the fire
And lose the chance of ever getting higher than
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge
That time we kissed on the Brooklyn Bridge

The Let's Dance Waltz (T. Meltzer)

There's no time like the present
When desire's incessant
For intimacy and romance
Take my hand, let's dance

Let's take a vacation
From good conversation
It's lovely, but so is the chance
To embrace and dance

We could get started with Leonard Cohen
Work our way up to Al Green
Dancing together beats dancing alone
I think you know what I mean

The music is cueing
What we should be doing
It isn't just happenstance
Take my hand, let's dance

We could get started with Nina Simone
Work our way up to Al Green
Dancing together beats dancing alone
I hope you know what I mean

The music is cueing
What we should be doing
It isn't just happenstance
Take my hand, let's dance

There's no time like the present
When desire's incessant
For intimacy and romance
Take my hand, let's dance

Only Love Can See You Through (T. Meltzer)

When the world has let you down
And your name is mud all over town
For a crime you didn't even do
Only love can see you through

When your luck has turned from bad to worse
And each blessing feels just like a curse
When each lie sounds like it's true
Only love can see you through

All the money in the world won't count for much
When you need a caring word and a human touch

All the promises of youth
They run up against a brutal truth
When you're stuck, it's all too clear to you
Only love can see you through
Only love can see you through

But still, that something there?
It was there
It was something nice and not-that-common
That we both did share
So this doesn't have to be where the story ends
We can be friends, let's be friends

Let's be friends
With benefits
Let's not let
This be the end of it
I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine
Let's be friends with benefits
We can keep it benign

We don't have to get
Into each others' heads
But that doesn't mean we can't
Get into each others' beds
A little drink or smoke could put us in the mood
For a little fun
No vows, no promises
That can't be undone

Let's be friends
With benefits
Let's not let
This be the end of it
I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine
Let's be friends with benefits
I'll bring the wine

Let's be friends
With benefits
Let's not let
This be the end of it
I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine
Let's be friends with benefits
It could be just fine
Let's be friends with benefits
It could be divine

Black Suit and Tie (T. Meltzer)

Going back to Sanford to see an old friend
I haven't seen in far too long
We've been out of touch for so many years now
I didn't even know there was something wrong

We used to go camping, I'd bring the gear
He'd bring the whiskey, he loved his rye
I'm not packing gear, not for this trip
All I'm packing is a black suit and tie

Gonna see the old crowd, anyone who's still around
We'll swap some stories and tell some lies
Relive the days of jeans and t-shirts
Sitting there in our black suits and ties

When we were young we were lots of trouble
Made each other laugh, made our parents cry
We made a promise that we'd never
Be caught dead in a suit and tie

We fell out over a woman
Wouldn't know her now if she looked me in the eye
Thought he'd forgotten me until his wife called
By then it was too late to say goodbye

Gonna see the old crowd, anyone who's still around
We'll swap some stories and tell some lies
Relive the days of jeans and t-shirts
Sitting there in our black suits and ties

So I'm driving south back to where I grew up
Heading towards that Carolina sky
I've got Wild Turkey to take the edge off
What comes of wearing a black suit and tie

What's the Matter Now? (T. Meltzer)

Long ago, we were close as close can be
A pinpoint that contained infinity
But then it suddenly all blew apart
That was the end, that was the start

Since that day we've been adrift
We bob and weave, we shake and shift
And everyday, we're told, is a gift

In the end, there's nothing we can know
Only that we come and then we go
So life's great question isn't why or how
It's what's the matter now?
What's the matter now?

You can see the world in a grain of sand
Hold infinity right in your hand
Every atom belongs to everyone
And equally to no one

If identity is an accident of time
Then egoism is the only crime
And life's great question isn't why or how
It's what's the matter now?
What's the matter now?