Resolve: Noble Aim Goes On and On

The final installation of the Yearbook EP has been released! Lyrics below:

Noble Aim
Chances are we are the same
Against the odds, against the grain
We lean like gardends toward light
But we wait like evening for night
Don't we?

Chances are we are alike
Against what better judgement writes
We ache like children for love
For a purpose worthy of
Such a noble aim
Such a noble aim
Such a noble aim as love

Chances are we bruise the same
A family tree desperate for rain
A thirst only deserts know best
A hurt so at home in our chests
Call it stubbornness or bravery
To let our branches continue to reach
With such a noble aim
With such a noble aim
With such a noble aim as love

Every broken branch and loosened leaf
That we've grown to ignore
Is now part of something greater than before
Every nest that rests upon our limbs
Seeking shelter from the storms
Is a purpose worth being broken for

Chances are we are the same
Against all odds against the grain
We lean like gardes toward light
We reach with all of our might
For such a noble aim as love


Goes On and On
Every day you wake
Evermore aware
Than you ever were before
The smallest sound
Is ringing in your ears
Like a grand piano
Slowly falling down a million stairs
But the sound it makes
Are the growing pains of repair

And it goes on and on
It goes on and on

'Til the day you wake up
Miles from here
Where all of a sudden
Dissonance disappears

And like a wrecking ball in reverse
Every wrong will be made right
What was adamant, even permanent
Will have a change of heart and mind
In your disbelief you'll clear your eyes
As if you're seeing light
For the very first time

It goes on and on
It goes on and on


Resolve
Generations wait
Like the river sways
For a father's blood
For a mother's love

Though not the promised land
Nor any perfect plan
Along our neutral path
There was a single lowered branch

What was flawless canvass-white
What was kindness in our eyes
Is now a blemished masterpiece
An astigmatism life
But let's cut right to the chase
To when the best of us was on display

Before we tipped the scale from confidence to doubt
I would hold you now if only I knew how

Concentration breaks
Under frivolous weight
If the right words exist
May they find our lips

Let's stay the course
And let the tension make us new
I don't know if it's virtue
I don't know if it's just dumb luck
Would it matter if it was?
What if we welcomed change in
Or opened up just enough
To let it begin

The doors will open wide for you
It was said just like it was the truth
If we walk right through

No Argument about Households on Page 28

Sleeping at Last Yearbook August :D Only one more EP left though. This = sadness.

Page 28
Have you read the script?
Could you picture it?
...is it worth the risk?

Everything I love
Is on the line
On these neon signs

But I need to know - when you looked away
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I said?
Well okay, okay I need you more than I did before
Now that the concrete is nearly set

Here in the second act I'm living in repair
Strange how the heart adapts when its pieces disappear
And there on page 28 I'm so tired of drying glue
I begin my grand attempt at building something new

Though I tend to write
The epiphany more immediately
I guess I'm trusting that there's such a thing
As elegance in dissonance

God, I'm skeptical of pulling scenes
Was it something that I said?
Was it something that I said?
Please don't get me wrong - I still need your help
As history repeats itself

Here in the aftermath I'm pulling at the seams
Strange how the heart adapts in the absence of routine
And there on page 29 I find "new" and make it mine
But I can't help casting shadows on all I leave behind

Maybe I could afford to change a bit
Even let go of the reigns?
Every torn out page was worth the risk
Now that the stakes have been raised

So here in the final draft
I've given all I have
Strange how the heart expands in the absence of a plan
There's nothing left on the page, but I'm ok with that
For I found my resolution
Was designed for stronger hands


No Argument
Like starting war
Like spilling ink
LIke the empty street
You swore you saw
Before you blinked

There's no second though
There's no turning back
There's no calling off
This avalanche

Every day now spent
Underneath white flags
Every intention eclipsed
By every stain of the past

There's no argument
Fairness is a ghost
There's no argument
It is a rare bird at most

But every sighting is proof
And every heart-beat proves it too
That only love can change the shape
Of such permanent truths
Of such permanent truths
Such permanent truth

Hit or Miss in the Apeture of the Wilderness

Yearbook EP - July is finally out! I've been waiting all day!

Wilderness
Dear wilderness, be at your best
Her armor is thin as the fabric of her dress
I know the rules: the weaker trees bend
But make her immune
When your temper storms in

When she gains her balance
Be as still as you can be
When she's climbing branches
Be the feathers underneath

When she regains her balance
Be as steady as she needs
When she trusts you blindly
Be her worthy lock and key

Though it goes against
Every grain of your sand
Like turning wolves
Into lambs
Be your best for her
Your best for her

When she holds her balance
Be as gentle as she needs
When she shines her brightest
Let no dark cloud intervene


Hit or Miss
Hurry hurry up and wait
Is how the waiting game is played
A thousand moving parts keep score
Inside we watch we can't ignore

So let's hurry
Let's hurry up and wait

Much too tired to try
Much too stubborn to quit
On an island in between
The coasts of hit or miss
Are we settlers or are we natives of this land
Only time will tell
On which pedestal we were meant to stand

So let's hurry, let's hurry up and wait
So lett's hurry, let's hurry, hurry up and wait

Every cloud above's full of splattered paint
Every seed below lies patiently in wait
But a watched kettle never boils
A watched tree never grows
May we have our tea in the forest
May we reap all that we sow

So let's hurry, so let's hurry hurry up and wait
So let's hurry, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up and wait


Apeture
Happiness is somewhere I have been before
A blurry photograph that I have since ignored
I'll carefully adjust the apeture once more
Until I set the record straight

I'll brush aside the dim make room for the bright
I'll be an editor, no, a curator of light
I'll let my better angels always set me right
Until I even out the score
Until I even out the score

God it has been quite a year
I've lived a little bit and I've died a little more
I know that I've asked it before
But please let the scale tip here in my favor

What was once the sweetest melody I've heard
Is now a memory reduced to little words
I'll tune the orchestra and play the overture
Until I pinpoint every note

Give me the heart of an archeologist
That I may dig until I prove that I exist
A subterranean cathedral in my midst
Where echos come to rest
Where echos come to rest
Is this where echos come to rest?

God it has been quite a year
I've lived a little bit and I've died a little more
I know that I've asked it before
But please let the scale tip here in my favor

Until I set the record straight
Until I set the record straight
Until I can set the record straight.

Hourglass on Atlantic; The Sea of Atlas

Sleeping at Last's Yearbook EP - June!

The Sea of Atlas
Through wires and waves our voices carry
Such careful words that we can barely speak out loud
We found an ocean when we needed land
We drowned in words when we needed a hand
So we plead for night and the sun keeps spilling light

There's a fine line, a fine line in between
Our progress and our instability
We can't help ourselves but hunt for more
A design flaw or the olive branch that proves the shore
The catalyst we've waited for

We live and die under the thumb of fear
As though the finish line will merely disappear
If we take one less step even to catch our breath


Hourglass
We're taking turns
At shattering apart
At least we're taking turns

How did we get so good
At dismantling these hearts
How did we ever get so good?

We dress our best
To receive their sympathy
At our worst we dress our best?

"Time heals all"
According to these greeting cards
Oh how we'd rather time resets

If we could turn the hourglass we would
If we could move a grain of sand we would
If we could find our way back we would

Our minds keep spinning webs
Of question marks and regrets
Will our minds keep spinning webs

I once heard honest words;
"Though nothing may ever be the same
The heart keeps widening for change"

Segue into Silhouettes of Pacific Blues

Sleeping at Last has once again succeeded in expressing my heart perfectly. Silhouettes brought me to tears.

Pacific Blues

If I could rearrange my words
I'd say what I mean
If I could learn to count the cards
I'd risk everything
Imagine how brave I'd be
If I knew I'd be safe
If I could only know the end
I'd be a prodigy of faith

If I had a treasure map
Oh the answers I'd find them
I'd dust off the artifacts
'Til I made 'em all shine

Everything I know is borrowed, broken or blind
And what I've seen of beautiful feels merely implied
Is it the treatment of symptoms or a touch of divine
I guess the truth is that the truth is of complex design

How I ache to know

God knows that I know we're little boats in the great big sea
Setting sail after sail in the hopes of finding a breeze

Every compass I have followed I've trusted and denied
So it goes with an ever-changing definition of right
Is it the treatment of symptoms or a touch of divine
I guess the truth is that the truth is of complex design

If ignorance is bliss then I guess I'm in heaven
But this hesitant kiss sends me back to the grasp of the sea

Setting sail after sail in hopes of finding a breeze


Silhouettes

You wrote your name in invisible ink
For you were so afraid of what they might think
But the scars they left they were loud and clear
Weren't they? Weren't they?

When it's too much to bare memories erase
A disappearing act deserving of our thanks
When it surfaces just hold your breath
And swim just swim

You begged and begged for some kind of change
Maybe they'd wake up tomorrow and regret the pain
That they've passed down to you like DNA
But no luck, no luck

It seems only by the hand of God or death
Will they truly change their silhouettes
For a miracle or consequence
You wait and wait

Maybe distance is the only cure
Far away from hurt is where healing occurs
But all you really want to do is make them proud
Don't you? Don't you?

It must be hard in the mess you're always cleaning up
To believe in the ghost of unbroken love
But I promise you
The truth is that you're loved. So loved.

In the Meantime, Tethered Intermission

Yearbook April EP from Sleeping at Last! Woota. Just got back from W. DC. Will post more on that later

Tethered
We were married by the ocean
We were tethered by the sea
We tied strings around our fingers
To remember our ideals

I'll be brave when you are frightened
You'll be strong when I am weak in the knees
I'll be calm when you have had enough of these washing waves
You'll be the oxygen I need

We'll take turns to untangle the knots
Though our hands may be tied
It's all a part of the plot
Cat's cradle etiquette, we oblige
As we learn to unlace for the rest of our lives

You'll be balance when I waver
I'll be warmth when you are shivering cold
You'll be patience when I've had enough of this waiting game
I'll be the anchor cast below


Intermission
I'm so tired but I can't sleep
My mind is full but I can't speak
Among the dust of the hard-to-reach, I'm stuck
Right here somewhere between side a and side b

I could call it a compromise
Or just an intermission
Some kind of consolation prize
For the race I never finished

I want to turn these tired gears
I want to feel the follow-through
Some kind of equilibrium
Something to set my watch to

I'm here somewhere in between
Victory and a white flag
Caught in this purgatory dream, I'm stuck

But I want to set the record straight
I want to retrace my every step
If I could just rewind all the tapes
Then maybe I'd find my loose thread


In the Meantime
Maybe there's no answer here
At least one we're ready to hear
No string of words will satisfy
No simple equation to edify you

Here, in the meantime
May questioning nurture life

Fear is illogical math
An impractical skill to have
Still we talk of our future til we have no voice
We'll try to outsmart it with noise

But here in the meantime
May the unknown harvest life

We're conditioned to mourn our empty glass
Long before it ever poured out our past
Though patience is always short in supply
We'll leave our farsighted worries behind

Here in the meantime
In the gospel of nearsight
May we learn to live a nourished life

Birthright:Outlines of the Pacific

Super excited about this installment of Sleeping at Last's Yearbook EP!! Why? Jon Foreman is in one of the songs!! Lyrics below.

Outlines
Hidden in plain sight
The world is an outline
Of shapes I used to know

Like pulling ribbon
All of a sudden
The curtains draw back slow

Though I've been distracted
I am caught up in static
No more

Garden of Eden
Lower your branches
For another year

I'm dust unsettled
Until they reappear

Though my hands are prone
To trial and error
I'm crossing my fingers
For something to hold

I can't help but hope for brighter
Here in the shadows of letting go

God, may these good intentions
Be the outline of so much more

When I breathe from now on
I'll mean it more than ever I did before


Birthright
She was raised by wolves
In the warmth of their fur
Surrounded by fangs
She knew that she was secure

Language barriers
Made no difference at all
When you're truly cared for
There's no purpose for walls

His fences stood tall
As the shoulders of old
But he dreamt that one day
Maybe he'd break the mold

But time shyly stands still
When you watch it unfold
From these ivory towers
Freedom is only a ghost

Privilege and pain
When compared look the same
Comprehension begins
When we pull back the lense

Right or wrong
Tension makes us stronger
By making us weak
When we needed to be

They made her their queen
On the day she was born
They placed on her a crown
She wasn't ready for

But all impossible odds
Foreshadow our means
Like paving a road
To a kingdom we've never seen

He woke up one day
Written out of the will
They swore he'd be ok
With lesser shoes to fill

What doesn't kill us
Makes us stronger they say
Our only birthright in this life
Is the breath we take

Our fables tell our truths

Dear True Love, Land or Sea is a Learning Curve

More Sleeping at Last :) I know I say it.. but I do love them. February EP Lyrics below:

Dear True Love
Dear true love
I'm a writer without any words
I'm a story that nobody heard
When I'm without you

I am a voice
I am a voice without any sound
I'm a treasure map that nobody found
When I'm without you

Dear true love
I'm a lantern without any light
I'm a boxer much too afraid to fight
When I'm without you

So with this ring
May you always know one thing
What little that I have to give
I will give it all to you
You're my one true love

I am a memory
I'm a memory bent out of shape
A childhood already bruised with age
When I'm without you

Dear true love
I'm an artist without any paint
I'm the deal that everyone breaks
When I'm without you

I am a whisper
I'm a secret that nobody keeps
I'm a dreamer of someone else's dreams
When I'm without you

Dear true love
I'm a farewell that came all too soon
I'm a hand-me-down that dreams of being new
When I'm without you


Land or Sea
One day we'll wake up and realize
To make any difference one must simply try
Try to use words less than our hands
For change is a direct result of our plans

We've got no stakes in the ground
We've got no anchors tied down
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here, we know
There is nothing but our fears of being free
\
It feels deeper than any ocean floor
Our lungs no longer believe in any shore

So let's dry out our clothes and catch our breath
Our process implies our progress

We've got no stakes in the ground
We've got no anchors tied down
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here, God knows
There is nothing but our fears of being free

Finally, there's a mountain beneath us
But up here our lungs fight against us
Land or sea, there are no guarantees here
God knows there is nothing but our fears


Learning Curve
I had a good dream
We built a home
It was far from perfect
But we made it our own

We lived a good life
We gave and we borrowed
It was far from perfect
But we made it our own

When everything around us changed, we felt okay
No learning curve could ever bend us too far out of shape

When we took one step forward, and five steps behind
We were still more than able to walk a straight line

We had a white picket fence in the front yard
Where our grass was plenty green
Every window in our house
Welcomed in the sun's company

We had hardwood floors and unlocked doors
Our grass was plenty full
Though our bills were only barely met
Our hearts were plenty whole

When everything around us changed, we felt okay
No learning curve could ever bend us too far out of shape
When darkness was the price of light, we weren't afraid
For the time we've spent was more than worth
Any interest that we've paid

We lived a good life, a good life
When my eyes were closed
Though the question marks were all the same
And the burdens never left
We gambled everything we loved
As though there was some kind of safety net

And when my good dream
Came to an end
I woke up more than ready to bend

Accidental Light From the Ground Up... Snow

Sleeping at Last - December Yearbook EP released today!!! Happiest day of my life! lol. Lyrics :) Snow is my favorite!

Accidental Light
On your mark, get set...
A million miles past the finish line
My heels lift
At this imaginary starting line
The trigger slips
My heart was racing well before it's time
Time's running out, it's always running out on me
As the road up ahead disappears

Though it's all been said
And this empty dictionary's all that's left
I'll try to change the world in a single word
My hands are shaking, ready or not
Invisible ink well it's all I've got
So I'll concentrate and pick from these barren trees

Cause time's running out it's always running out on me
And every road that I discover disappears under my feet
Some call it reckless, some call it breathing

Have I said too much or not enough?
Is it overkill or is it giving up
Just to measure out the distance of an echo's reach

If it's all broken mirrors and a chance roll of the dice
Then I'll risk everything for a glimpse of accidental light


From the Ground Up
One by one the knots we've tied will come undone
Like picking locks, we'll sow our seeds beneath the sun
Our accomplice is the rain
With patience, that of saints

It grows and grows
Our home sweet home

It took me 27 years to wrap my head around this
To brush the ashes off everything I love
Where courage was contatious, confidence was key

Right as rain, soft as snow
It grows and grows and grows
Our home sweet home

We'll try to document this light
With cameras to our eyes
In an effort to remember
What being mended feels like

We're home sweet home


Snow
The branches have traded their leaves for white sleeves
All warm-blooded creatures make ghosts as they breathe
Scarves are wrapped tightly like gifts under trees
Christmas lights tangle in knots annually

Our families huddle closely
Betting warmth against the cold
But our bruises seem to surface
Like mud beneath the snow

So we sing carols softly as sweet as we know
A prayer that our burdens will lift as we go
Like young love still waiting under mistletoe
We'll welcome december with tireless hope

Let our bells keep on ringing
Making angels in the snow
May the melody disarm us
When cracks begin to show

Like the petals in our pockets
May we remember who we are
Unconditionally cared for
By those who share our broken hearts

The table is set and our glasses are full
Though pieces go missing may we still feel whole
We'll build new traditions in place of the old
Cause life without revision will silence our souls

As gentle as feathers, the snow piles high
Our world gets rewritten and retraced every time
Like fresh plates and clean slates, our future is white
New year's resolutions will reset tonight