Skylight LP 1999	far beneath and below mp3 goodbye again rings of light mp3 last minute decide mp3 11 hours ago city limits mp3 rainy day sacrifice blush and fade away open mind crashing upon this shore

produced, mixed and engineered by john chamberlin
additional production by cerulean
recorded and mixed summer/fall 1998 at sonic studios, mt washington, ca
mastered by andrew garver at a&m mastering
package design by keith tamashiro
package concept by cerulean

 

far beneath and below

a sweet swallow of the sun
the sun's last drops
she's not waiting
she's more than pleased just to lie there
closing her eyes like butterflies landing
far beneath and far below a skylight glow
is where i knew that i want you...i want you
before she's seen that i am home
i stand frozen
the miles and time in between
won't mean anything when you break me open
how long, how long have you been here?
i can't answer
but for days and hours i could lie here
holding you gently inside my shoulder

goodbye again

in the opening scene
there stands our hero
punch-drunk and too bruised to understand
if he waits too long
then it's too late to walk away
but he won't leave this unscarred
funny how this wound begins to grow inside
and soon becomes too painful
so this is goodbye, this is goodbye again
in the ashes of a wednesday
and a greasy sky hung low
this time, god, i swear i'll say those words
for a foul-mouthed boy
who's trying to stand his ground
the earth's uneven here
quiet mouths unfold, the calm
has shifted inside
i feel the words come softer if i whisper
if i crumble
i won't reach for just anything
though i'm scared of why, i won't hold you under
i won't stay dry by holding you under
funny how this wound begins to grow inside
with nothing left to say but
this is goodbye, this is goodbye again

rings of light

turning wheels, killing time
or is this time just killing me?
lightly shaken and briskly stirred
i thought i wanted to be here
sky high and ten feet tall
buried in these clouds
i'll meet you under the leaves this fall
where you'll surround me
stand there above me
the sun is eclipsed by a smile
hold on, for a moment
i thought that you wore rings of light
coming back to you wasn't my idea
it's a start
with wounds to heal and an empty feel
i wish i hadn't waited so long
green, gold, and daydream blue
waiting for me there
the traffic crawl is beneath me now
beneath me now
drew a line in the air
traced it with my fingers
echoes somewhere
breathing where they linger in my head

last minute

hurry up or you'll miss me.....

decide

in this world i'm walking in
all the cracks have been paved in
and the shadows all lie thin to let me by
and there's safety in these halls
as long as the windows stay like walls
they say "you'll fall, fall, fall if you step outside"
and the crime is that it's taken all this time
to finally decide
it's the soundtrack in my head
shaking fists and face blood-red
"if you play with me instead i will let you go"
and this safety valve will rust
crumble and crystallize in dust
and all that's left for me to trust is what i let go
and the crime is that it's taken all this time
to finally decide
though i can't see over this ledge
i can't see over this ledge
so i'll fall
and the crime is that it's taken all this time
to finally decide
will this tide me over
or just turn me inside out?
i refuse to wonder
so i'll find out

11 hours ago

i know i've woken, yawned, and groaned
in the last place i should find myself
take in the pride that i've disowned
another seed too small to fit its shell
in the slow dim light, there's the finest line
that eleven hours ago seemed so vague
so i rewind within my mind
to where i failed to find the exit signs
and drive as if i knew my way
i'll go, leaving silent and discrete
make sure the door locks tight this time
no trace, just my shape left in the sheet
the empty head you slept beside was mine
in the waking grey, there's the plainest rain
that eleven hours ago was everything
in the darkest dawn an embrace is gone
that eleven hours ago would take me in

city limits

boy-cannonball smiles
he climbs the garden wall
to see if his dream's still there
starch-collared and dry
these days crawl endlessly
shadowed by trees of concrete
all of us chasing the same time
spiral and spin through a muted cry
if i could drift away into a day
where i won't ever
follow the rivers of taillights into the city limits
soft bark-scraped skin
safe and sound in shrouded leaves
a mid-summer storm's out there
tin cups and crowds
this leash is tighter now
taking me back to something
all of us chased at the same time
pale-blue and blinded by screenglow
if i could drift away into days where i won't
follow the rivers of taillights into the city limits
lonely sliver of moon
lies low on swirling snow
set in a crown jewel sky
storm drains are full
i feel the undertow
taking me off to somewhere
i can be everything i am
floating and dreaming in pools of rain
where i could drift away into days where i won't
follow the rivers of taillights into the city limits

rainy day sacrifice

say this to my face
say it so gently
i'll try hard to brace myself i guess
but i'm gonna break
break quickly, cut cleanly
decided it'd make more sense
in silence, without question
i take this cross this martyr wears so well
from the glimmer in my eye
to the grin on my smug-shot face
shouldn't i be struggling by now?
it's the shamelessness that shows again
if i could separate myself
from a conscience of guilty relief
i could see it's just a rainy day sacrifice
i'm nowhere near flinching
i'm ready to take the blow
i'm trying to hide the glow
of a smile that's coming too fast
i've only come this far to let you down
my senses burn down again

blush and fade away

head-first into daylight
cashing all the rainchecks in
wide-eyed and bright as headlights
happy when your eyes begin to
recognize the world outside
as something more than tears and lies
a sleeping child, a moonlit mile
the streetlight hum that makes you smile
and stand and stare for a while
you've gone beyond this trial inside
with the things that made you blush and fade away
grown tired of aimless breathing
leaving all of this behind
shine out the dull-deceiving
this is all for finding something you ignored
an open door to empty spaces you explore
a dreaming sigh, a cartoon sky
where saccharine sunlight makes you try
to stand and stare for a while
you've gone beyond this trial inside
with the things that made you blush and fade away
if those words blind
holding a crowd in the back of your mind
remember the darkest eye
never made you blush and fade away

open mind

in a way i'm hoping to get this through to you
while you're bending, weaving, and hiding from the truth
you get older
so before i tell you the things that you won't hear
you should know it tires me to see you drown in fear
and it's over
if these waves of doubt start slowing
an open mind has started growing in you
hold out your arms and frame a coal-black sky
as a thundering strobelight train goes by
all the desperate lies are gone forever
this won't take us long
there's a day out there that begins when you let go
of the airtight plans and the lockjaw stands you know
are they over?
if these these signs of life start showing
an open mind has started growing in you
if these empty eyes start glowing
an open mind has started growing in you

crashing upon this shore

this is all i know
i'm a drop of melted sky
this is where i grow
traveling distances
now it's time
as i'm moving under you
cradle up and cradle down
shiver in deepest blue
arms pinned to horizon's end
i am approaching you
arms open wide
now it's time
as i'm crouching over you
cradle up and cradle down
all this time
as i'm moving under you
this is why i've come so far
i'm crashing upon this shore, wanting more
soak into this sand
moon pulls me into you
asleep inside your hands
i'm finally home

all songs (c) (p) 1998 moodlight music (ascap)/four Barrel music (ascap).
lyrics used by permission. all rights reserved.