1. |
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It's a new day
Outside the sun is shining
It's a new beginning
People grinning as they walk around the town
It's a new day
Outside the parks are open
Children laughing everywhere
You can't compare the wonders all around
So come and play outside
Let's spend the day outside
Let's make our way outside
Everyone will laugh and sing
It's a new day!
We ought to stay outside
It’s a new day
There’s surprises that the mornings bring
It's a new day
There's an excitement as the wind blows in our faces
And our races take us all over the square
It's a new day
With every corner Comes a lovely new adventure
Which was meant for us to dive in on a dare
We're young and we're alive
We're strong and we will thrive
Our time has just arrived
The sun is high and glistening
It’s a new day
So let’s go play outside
We’ll make our way outside
The day is full and promising
You're young and free, you cannot see
The coming danger all around,
The world we cherish slowly gone undone
A rising sea of frightful change
Is creeping onto our horizon
It's a new day
So let's go running free
This is the place to be
Let's race up to that tree
There's no way you'll catch me
All ready? One, two three
I’m way too fast to see
The promises the mornings bring
It's a new day
Everyone will laugh and sing!
Our lives may change in ways so strange
I fear I never fully can explain
The times are rough, and I know enough
That every time the sun goes down,
I fear I'll never see it rise again
It's a new day
So many things to do, let’s get underway
‘cause it’s a new day
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2. |
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It’s like I’ve stepped inside the looking glass
The buildings and the people seem the same
So you do you explain the man who spat at me this morning as he crossed my path
And called me words I won’t repeat even though he knew my name
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
This afternoon I stepped inside the corner store
They yelled at me to leave and then the door practically slammed
My money’s good, I’ve shopped with you a hundred times before
What has happened here, if you’re human, help me understand
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
Our history’s re-written ‘cause the truth was hard to bear
Now the looking glass is cracking and nobody seems to care
Now anger’s always ripe for exploitation
And leaders who are hopeless harness bigotry and blame
Instead of a solution they prefer an amputation
Just remove the nose to spite your face,
The blood covers the shame
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
Everything looks the same
(Everything has changed)
You’ve covered up the looking glass ‘cause you don’t like the crack
It’s just as well because you cannot face the person looking back.
(Everything looks the same)
This was once my home
You were once my friend
I dreamed I’d live here with my children and their children
But I see that dream is coming to an end
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3. |
Quiet Reservation
04:13
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The clock strikes midnight in the station
The train is waiting on the track
And I see my life reduced to what I carry
And I wear upon my back
I have a quiet reservation
I have a paralyzed concern
I have no choice, I have a one-way ticket only for I know I won't return
And if I could feel, I would be terrified
Instead I’ll pray the grass is greener on the other side
I hear the train's acceleration
I see my country fade away
I hold my family, and they're safe and sound beside me
And I know that I'm okay
I'll be okay…
And I've got no time to be terrified
Instead I’ll pray the grass is greener on the other side
I wish I could lose my anger like I've lost my home
However 'cause I was forced out,
I can't be calmed by force alone
They stole my nation and they stole my neighbor they can’t steal my pride
So I will hold my head up high as I cross through this great divide
And I will pray the grass is greener on the other side
Oh, please let it be greener on the other side
I swallow all my desperation
The train slows down and we are there
I see a new day and a new world and a hope that maybe someone's heard my prayer
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4. |
Hold My Hand
03:39
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How can I sit in this crowded room, yet be alone?
I’m just a child thrown in waters much too deep
It’s getting late but I know I can’t sleep here, I want to be home
But home is only what I carry and I’m tired of the weight
Hold my hand and things will start improving
We will make it through the night
Hold my hand, you know we’ve got to keep on moving
You’ll see, everything will be all right
The next day’s better than the first, but better’s nowhere close to good
I’m moving forward like I said I would, like we agreed.
And you’ve assured me I’ll succeed here, but I must confess
That if I had the chance, I’d wish it all away
And go back to before
Hold my hand and things will start improving
We will make it through the night
Hold my hand, you know we’ve got to keep on moving
You’ll see, everything will be all right
If I stand still for a moment then I know the fear will win
But frankly I’m too stubborn to give in.
Hold my hand and things will start improving
We will make it through the night
Hold my hand, you know we’ve got to keep on moving
You’ll see, everything will be all right
Everything will be all right
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5. |
The Wall
03:18
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There are lessons you never taught me, and you didn’t seem concerned
Did you think they wouldn’t hurt me? or hoped I’d never have to learn?
‘cause I’m craving your protection now that you’ve said your farewell,
The cruelty surrounds me and it feels like...
People take shots at me and I try to roll my eyes
A smile and some laughter is a pretty good disguise
But there’s a crack in the foundation, there’s a weakness in my heart
If I even stop to think, I know I’m gonna fall apart
So I will build a wall around me
It’ll be a hundred miles tall
And even if you say you’ll love me
I’ll leave you waiting in suspense outside the entrance hall
You’ll never know what lies behind the wall
I’m wilting from their insults and I’m ducking from their glares
But I’m not gonna show them, I’ll pretend that I don’t care
I’m gonna let it dribble off me, just like water off my back
But water has a way of finding every single crack
So I will build a wall around me
It’ll be a thousand miles tall
And even if you say you’ll love me
I’ll leave you waiting in suspense outside the entrance hall
You’ll never know what lies behind the wall
Now my heart is at a distance and my soul is out of touch
They have no power over me, well really, not so much
And I never crack a smile, ‘cause what would I smile for?
But at least I’ve won the battle;
Wait what happened to the war?
But still I build this wall around me
It’s now a million miles tall
And even if I know you love me
I’ll leave you waiting ‘cause I don’t think I could face it all
You’ll never know what lies behind the wall
You’ll never know what lies behind the wall
Even I forget what lies behind the wall
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6. |
What It Takes
03:04
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I know things could be worse, that doesn’t help me
We’ve been shut out, told we don’t belong, though we’ve done nothing wrong
You say there’s justice in the universe?
Very well, we need a sign, a small direction, if you’re so inclined to
Tell me what it takes to make it better
I will not hang my head and live life with regret
You’re gonna have to give me some assistance
‘cause I’m not about to break, but I have lost my inspiration
Tell me what’s it gonna take to make it better?
I’m not a soldier or a leader I’m just a person
They would cast me aside, Heaven knows how they’ve tried.
But I won’t be a victim either,
They can’t treat me worse than I will let them treat me
I won’t let them defeat me
I will find out what it takes to make it better
I will not hang my head and live life with regret
You don’t have to give me your assistance
‘cause I’m not about to break, and once I find my inspiration
I will know just what it takes to make it better
You have no idea the strength that lies inside me
And I won’t be denied my right to be a human
And my right to be free
I will work my fingers to the bone until finally I see it getting better
It’s gonna start getting better
It’s gonna start getting better
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7. |
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Put the book away now
Let’s leave the past behind
It’s a brand new day, now
Can’t we just look forward
Must we be resigned to let the pain continue to define us?
Why tell it at all?
It’s such a sad story
Why pass on the past?
Just keep it all buried deep.
The wounds will scar over,
I’m tired of being broken.
If the past can’t be corrected
It should be hidden in a drawer
And I’ll stay unaffected
If I just keep moving like we promised once before
And we won’t have to feel this anymore.
Why tell it at all?
It’s such a sad story
Why pass on the past?
Just keep it all buried deep.
The wounds will scar over,
I’m tired of being broken.
Our parents worked throughout their lives
To make sure you and I’d survive
The greatest gift we can return
Is to keep their memories alive
(Why tell it at all? It’s such a sad story)
The past will bring us to our knees
(Why pass on the past? Just keep it all buried deep.)
If we don’t let the story free
(The wounds will scar over)
But maybe we’ll find peace
Maybe we will find peace
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8. |
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It’s not the place
It’s not the town
It’s not the buildings all around me
That can tell me I’m home
That means that I’m home
It’s not a book
It’s not my things
It isn’t flowers people bring to me
That tell me I’m home
That means that I’m home
You’ve been looking for a home?
It’s here in my arms
It’s here in my arms
It’s when you call out of the blue
And then we talk the whole night through
And then I know that I’m home
I know that I’m home
It’s in the laughs and in the prayers
And the connection that we share
That brings me right back to home
They mean that I’m home
You’ve been looking for a home?
It’s here in my arms
It’s here in my arms
If you ever have a problem, if you’re ever feeling beat
You just reach a hand out to me, I will get you back onto your feet
We keep each other grounded and we fuel each other’s flight
As long as you are standing by me I know everything will be all right
And we’ll be home
Yes, we’ll be home
Oh, we’ll be home.
You’ve been looking for a home?
Well, it’s here in my arms
So if you’re here in my arms,
Then we’re home.
Yes, we’re home.
We are home.
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Geha New York, New York
Andrew Geha is an award-winning playwright and theater teacher who has worked at Friends Academy, a Quaker school in Locust Valley, NY, since 2001.
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