For DOWN TO EARTH lyrics click here LIGHT THIS CANDLE: Family of Strangers ©1999 Marian Mastrorilli Got my cousin's Christmas card, the usual picture by the fireplace It looks like the kids have grown some, I wouldn't know them anyway He's packing up the family and moving down the interstate I can say it doesn't matter, I've never been there anyway Chorus I can see our lives are changing by the lines in my address book In a family of strangers, we are connected, but off the hook I remember how we used to play, back when we were little things Chasing ghost ships out my window, I got to know their bikes & swings We've seen each other dressed in black We've seen each other dressed in white We've never seen the blue or grey We've never laughed all through the night Chorus I think we really mean it when we say "We've got to get together someday" As we trade numbers and say our goodbyes I wonder if they're happy in their lives I wish we could be this true family I could know them and they could know me But we've got our own stories, we've got our own friends When we are together, we try to pretend Enemy Lines ©1999 Marian Mastrorilli Whispered voices, quiet noises...Someone sound the alarm Rebel forces, pooled resources...Shelter from a desert storm Chorus I want to be there by your side...after every fear has died Penetrate your enemy lines...then I'd let you go Propaganda, soul commander...Help! I'm getting in too deep Undercover, secret lover...Are defenses getting weak? Chorus In this battle of deceit...They may get you where you sleep Pray you don't become too weak...Or you may just face defeat Chorus   Faded Leather ©1997 Marian Mastrorilli Well I was bred to have some morals and it led to countless quarrels With the men whose propositions I'd ignore But there's something I would see in a compelling European And those regulations went out the door (must be the) Chorus Faded leather and a certain attitude Faded leather, what was a girl to do (when faced with) Faded leather, add a fifth of rye Just the thing to get me through the night As I said I have my morals, then again I'm a mere mortal Certainly my barriers were down (down, down, down) Though the images were graven in that temporary haven I was lost and then salvation could be found (wrapped in) Chorus Faded leather has a way of brightening up a bad day Faded leather, any shade will do Don't misunderstand me, I am just an average girl An average girl who needs distraction too Well my life got complicated and my innocence dissipated When the man in faded leather came around Some will call it indiscretion, I'm not running to confession Now you'll find me in another part of town (I'll be in) Chorus At Palisades ©2000 Marian Mastrorilli From the side of the road I still look twice Get caught in the spell of carnival lights Chalk it up to the way I was raised, a regular at Palisades They say that she went out with grace But I cannot forget the day they knocked the Cyclone down A nuisance to the city halls, a whiff of green, a wrecking ball Erased our hallowed ground Chorus Ooh, what I wouldn't trade for another day at Palisades In spring, if you were driving by You'd see that they'd undressed the rides Cause for celebration For vinegar on crinkled fries, the chance to win a tiny prize Divine anticipation Chorus I could board a Jungle Cruise or take a Trip to the Moon Right in my home town The Hootenanny and the Whip, the Caterpillar's gentle dips Oh why'd they tear it down? I miss the things I'd never try, the bigger rides I'd never ride The Funhouse, I was scared to go in The "spook house," with my eyes open You'd hear the screams from miles away, calliope from the arcade Talk of her decline But there wasn't any incidence of foul play or violence No, those were different times Chorus If I Was a Child ©1997 Marian Mastrorilli If I was a child, I'd float on the ocean Drunk on the waves and Coppertone Lying in bed I'd still feel the motion Float on the waves...savor the days If I was a child I'd play in the night Glow of the stars and fireflies Infinite flashes, sparkling, sparkling Chase fireflies...savor the night If I was a child how could I surrender Shimmering days when nightfalls were tender Did I go gently? It's hard to remember If I was a child I'd fly without wings Down all the big hills, again and again and again and again I'd find an adventure in everyday things Fly on a bike...savor the ride Children at Play ©1999 Charlene Donohue & Marian Mastrorilli Round and round and round we go. When we'll stop, nobody knows It's a game, not love, it's a game, not love Tug of war, seeing who can win. Who has the power to hurt who again It's a game, not love, it's a game, not love Chorus But you don't play fair, you bend the rules You touch me then run away Are we two lovers, are we two fools Or are we just children at play? You hop-scotch your way across my heart One day we're together, the next we're apart It's a game, not love, it's a game, not love Red light, green light, Mother may I. Cross your heart and hope to die It's a game, not love, it's a game, not love Chorus Leave or stay, what does Simon say. It's at your whim, that's how you play It's a game, not love , it's a game, not love Chorus Round and round and round we go. When we'll stop, nobody knows Please Don't ©2001 Marian Mastrorilli Several years have gone by since the time of the trial But she can't close her eyes to the hell of that night In the dark, she came to Something's wrong here, she knew Everything all askew Someone else in the room Though the details are hazy they start to come back The voice of a stranger, a sudden attack She tried to scream out then the world turned to black, and blue Chorus (she cried) Please don't take me this way I am not ready to die here today I will do anything that you say If you'll only let me go In the dark endless hours she could still smell the flowers From outside her dream house, an illusion gone sour And this was no nightmare, Goddamn it was real What had she done to deserve this ordeal Was anyone listening to her appeal, getting through? Chorus Worn and terrified , something changed inside, got to stay alive She tried to reach out to the person in there She got him to listen, she got him to care Was it submission or was it the prayer, who knew? Chorus Several years have gone by since the time of the trial Locked away, closed the file. But she can't close her eyes Then I Remember ©1995 Marian Mastrorilli Sometimes I feel time travel is real, I often return to awkward times The stranger within who's never fit in Has taken the reins and hijacked my pride Chorus Then I remember I have you...ooh, I have you Sometimes I feel science fiction is real And I have become the invisible girl A travesty they cannot see I'm not in the clouds, I'm here on the earth Chorus You're my reality check when I feel alone When doubt kicks in & it won't let go You send up a flare and it guides me home I know you'll be there Sometimes I hear voices of people I love, Fade in and out like ghost radio It hurts when I hear them, I can't get near them Where they have gone I just don't know Chorus Champagne Afternoon ©1996 Marian Mastrorilli In a tiny room she barely stirred at all The wind was a banshee, it helped her recall A time of tempests raging inside and outside of the door Nicotine, marabou, violin, satin shoes Recipe for a champagne afternoon Candlelight in the day Out went the lights and off went the negligee Luminous glistening of two bodies, two bodies lost in play It's been forever since her body was her own And days revolved around a whisper and a moan The years they go so fast, the hours go so slow How future turned to past she'll never, never know In a tiny room she wrapped a robe around her tight Can't remember what she did the other night Her hands are trembling and her vision's hazy quite Like a champagne afternoon How Did You Get Like That? ©1995 Marian Mastrorilli Crouched beside the escalator, people stop and go There used to be somebody there, but now there's no one home Everybody stares at you but not into your eyes "Can you spare a quarter, can you spare a dime?" Chorus How did you get like that? Sidestepped by the hordes of people rushing to get home They turn you into anecdote, give the dog a bone Late at night the kids tucked in, so safe inside their beds It's probably unlikely that you come into their heads Chorus It must be hard to be a man when you haven't got your pride It must be hard to be a woman when you can't let anyone inside Hard to be a man when you haven't got your pride It must be hard to be a woman, baby Cops are coming, start your running, take it up outside Suddenly you think about a place you used to hide It may have been a cardboard playhouse many years ago Imagine, once a playhouse, and now it's home sweet home Chorus Light This Candle ©1997 Marian Mastrorilli When I was nine my dad bought me a telescope I swear I heard the heavens call my name There were stars on the ceiling, stars in my eyes But I'd never heard of Marilyn Monroe Instead I watched the sky and felt my mind explode At the break of dawn they've gathered around me I bid the Morning Star a fond hello The head physicians give the sign , the engineers, "all systems go" They say, "enjoy the ride, let's get on with the show" Chorus Light this candle, shoot me past the sky Light this candle, kiss the Earth goodbye (bye bye) Light this candle...Feels like going home It's rather small here inside the capsule You don't get in, more like, you put it on But I'm not feeling confined at the cusp of infinite space Every nerve's alive, take me now to this place! Chorus