You Taught My Soul to Dance

The Dream (Written to David Lanz's Cristofori's Dream)

In the fading light of sunset
It’s a moment we can steal
Our eyes drink deeply from our souls
Of a love we can’t reveal
I stroke your hair, you touch my face
I crave all your body now
You whisper how you want me to
Have you in your dreams somehow
I gaze at you and I sense there
A soul both wounded and true
We talk of dreams, our hearts’ desires
Fears and hopes, of what we knew
You wonder what you do for me
What you give me in return
You worry, can you measure up
What’s there for me to learn

   So now I need to tell you
   How much you’ve changed my life
   You’ve given me direction
   You’ve taken away my strife
   You’ve helped me open up myself
   You let me take a chance
   But above all else you’ve given me
   You taught my soul to dance
   You taught my soul to dance

Oh how I want to be with you
Though we remain with others
While in my mind I think of how
We make such perfect lovers
Perhaps someday, somehow, somewhere
This will turn out for the better
We’ll find a way within our hearts
To always be together

CHORUS

I had a dream she came here,
touched me, and we became one --
out of two, became one.
Came from a time
she's the kind
slipped right on into my mind,
into my thoughts, into me.
Dancing and swirling and piercing and twirling
she spins in my head and she looks
through me deep to my soul,
where she rummages through till she finds
what she came for
and gently caresses my heart with her love.
Then she takes me where I do not dare
go alone, where she holds me so safe from
all of my fears. (I'm safe...)
Is she an angel or is she just mystical?
What did I do that she came here
to me tonight?
How can I know her?
Oh, how can I show her the wonders she brings
to me, or does she know that, too?
Stirring a yearning and turning a memory
of how I dreamed someday she'd come
here deep in the night
to give me insight
to shine a light on the darkness, my fight,
to cast away all doubt.
What's this about?
Open my eyes.
Tell me, is this just a dream?
Or is it really much more than it seems?
What do I see?
Am I the dream?
Show me now what to discern.
What does Reality want me to learn?
Could she be me?

A Choice of Fate

Ever wonder how
Struggling through, we made it up till now
Living separate lives
Good-byes
Lovers came and went
After each we thought our love was spent
Sad and lonely days
Now it's all a haze

   When we look into each other's eyes we'll see
   There has never been a love like ours will be
   Two as one in every move we make
   It is our choice, it is our Fate

Life's a funny game
Throws you curves and never stays the same
Seconds turn to days
Takes the past and throws it all away
Lying here with you
Love you like I never thought I'd do
Love me back awhileJust like summer's child

CHORUS

Here are some lyrics I've written that haven't yet found a singer or musical home. Perhaps someday...

I Believe

(Written to the Dave Koz song of the same name)

(Sax intro)

The candle flame
Flickers gently in the night
I look at you
And my heart just feels so right
You tell me that you love me and
It sets my soul on fire
I’m sure that this is what I want
You are my one desire

            I believe in the magic
            That you and I can create
            I believe that each moment
            Brings us closer to our fate
            I believe we’re a fire light
            Just like the rising sun
            I believe we’ll be
            Together as one

When we’re apart
How I yearn to see your face
I need you here
Cause your touch I can’t replace
I’ve got to have you now
I’d gladly take the chance
For your love is wonderful
You taught my soul to dance

CHORUS

Oh come be with me now
Just hold me tonight
And I promise I will be
The one you’ve dreamt about
I’ll never go
Away from your side
Come to me, I’ll give all I have
‘Cause I believe in our love

  CHORUS
   I believe we’ll be
Together as one
I believe we’ll be
          Together as one

Remember

(Written to the Mindy Abair song of the same name)

Lights flicker on
As we stroll along the park and night closes in
People come and go
Up and down the avenue and hurry by
With a smile
It does all seem
Romantic somehow
As we walk slow
Flowing on and on

Just walking along
We’re arm in arm
Walking along
I’m remembering all
Just walking along
We’re arm in arm
Walking along
I’m remembering moments
My moments with you
Pictured in my mind
Picturing you

A church stands there
As a harbor for the troubled in life’s storm
So we go inside
To light a single candle, our holy light
It burns bright
As we move on
In this life’s flow
Our candle holds
Our memories

(Instrumental free form)

Morning

Early morning, morning sunshine
Peeks through the window pane
And you stir so gently
As I whisper your name

I look into your eyes
And it's so plain to see
The big smile on your face
Says how you feel about me

     But love's not just a feeling
     And love's not just what I do
     Love to me is more than that
     Cause really, love is you
     Love is you

Oh something sure is different
Never felt like this before
So I know in days to come
I'll love you even more
All the time I spend with you
Are the best I've ever known
So I'm sure our love will grow
As we head on down the road

CHORUS

Just In My Mind

Here I am
I'm lonely
Here I am
I ache just to hold you
One more time
For always
One more time
Till time just passes away

      I cannot tell you what is real
     All that I know is how I feel
     Being alone
     Nobody home

Why'd you go
You know how much I love you
Why'd you go
I wish that you could come
Back to me
If only for a moment
Back to me
To heal the hurt in my soul

     Because my life has lost its theme
     All that I have is what I dream
     Late in the night
     Gone with the light

Life goes on
That's what my friends say
Life goes on
But for me there'll always be
Pain inside
Down deep there is the
Pain inside
Where I hide

     Days go by
   I can't ask why
     Makes me cry
     No reason to even try
     To explain
     What's there to gain
     Only pain
     And so for now I'm learning how to

Live each day
Think of what it means to
Live each day
And how to remember
Loving you
Remembering how we used to be I keep on
Loving you
But now it's just in my mind

CHORUS 1

As Good As It Gets

(Written to the Mindy Abair song of the same name)

You kiss my cheek, you take me away
You grab my hand, you just want to play
You tell me that, you want me to stay
You look at me, you ask me to dance
You lead the way, you must take the chance
You whisper that you like the romance

We float on across the floor in a beautiful pirouette
We are all the music that’s made we’re such a great duet

Oh it’s the way I feel
   Dancing with you
     All night
     You make it all so real
     Living a love
     So right
     Yeah, it’s the love I feel with you that keeps me alive
     And in our hearts we feel the passion fire burn bright tonight
     Just hold me tight

You touch my face, you gaze in my eyes
You flirt with me, you are my surprise
You stop the rain, you make the sun rise
You want me now, you don’t want to wait
You smile at me, you don’t hesitate
You are my love, you are my soul mate

     The dance that we’re doing tonight
     Reminds me that we chase sunsets
     We know that our dance will be
     As good as it gets
     Oh it’s the way I feel
     Dancing with you
     All night
     You make it all so real
     Living a love
     So right

Yeah, it’s the love I feel with you that keeps me alive
And in our hearts we feel the passion fire burn bright tonight

The fire burns for you, my love, tonight
Our dance will go on all throughout the night

(Sax improvisation)

We float on across the floor in a beautiful pirouette
We know that our dance will be as good as it gets

Oh it’s the way I feel
Dancing with you
All night
You make it all so real
Living a love
So right

Yeah, it’s the love I feel with you that keeps me alive
And in our hearts we feel the passion fire burn bright tonight
Just hold me tight

The Quest

(Written to the Ron Korb (with Hiroki Sakaguchi) song “The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari)” from the CD Japanese Mysteries)

Life is such a mystery
With its twists and turns
Think you've got it, but alas
How your heart still yearns
Other layers to unfold
One more time you try
Never give up on the quest
Hearts won’t be denied

            Seeking, searching for the secret
            Looking everywhere
            Feeling helpless in the shadows there
            Pining, crying for the wisdom
            Wondering what’s true
            And hoping to discover it with you

(Instrumental interlude)

How long must I journey on
Till I live my hope
I am not alone this time
Else I could not cope
Show me now, give me a sign
Look inside my heart
Gotta force me to surrender
Take me all apart

CHORUS (2 times)

Here I Am

Here I am, Lord
In answer to your call
     Here I stand, Lord
     Ready to give my all
     For you, my Lord
     To you, my Lord

There's a fire that's burning in my heart
There's a longing in my soul
There's a feeling deep inside of me
A need that I must fill

CHORUS

I hear a whisper calling out my name
A voice from deep within
It speaks to me in what I do
It speaks when I am still

CHORUS

You've been calling me for a long time
But I refused to hear
But all of that is changing now
I feel you very near

CHORUS

What We've Got (Will Be Just Fine)

I got your message this evening
You say you have to talk to me
But before you get started
I've got to tell you honestly
Really couldn't stand to lose you
Don't want you as a memory
Can't we work with what we've got?
It could be fine

Yeah, maybe in some other place
Maybe at some other time
Things would have been different
Maybe you'd have been mine
But let's not talk about maybes
Maybe's really nowhere in time
Let's just talk about what we've got
It could be fine

      Now you're telling me it's alright
     You're saying that it's not the end
     You tell me for the rest of my life
     You'll be my friend, oh yeah
   You'll be my friend

Do you think we could get started?
How about if we give it a try?
We'll go back and start over
I really think that we can get by
Then when you tell me you love me
I'll finally know the reason why
You're just telling me that what we've got
Will be just fine.

CHORUS

We Should Have Been Together Then

When we’re together
I can’t help but smile
“Cause you’ve made me so happy
With your grace and your style

You know that our paths
crossed long ago
You showed me the photographs
We were that close, you know

Because you’re
real
I feel
revealed
to you--
It’s true
I knew
We should have been together then

So what can you say?
Chalk it up to fate
It was destiny shaping
The path we had to take

We won’t understand
Why we passed on by
Why we had to wait so long
At last to get to fly

REFRAIN