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Promises + Lies

by Joshua Lapo

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1.
I hear her whisper that she loves me I feel her next to me I hear her sing the songs I wrote her But it's just a dream She doesn't know me from Adam She doesn't know that I'm saddened She doesn't know that I pine away So I've got to find a way I read the lines inscribed in her eyes While I hold her hand in mine She spells my name out with her finger But it's in my mind She doesn't know me from Adam She doesn't know that I'm saddened She doesn't know that I pine away So I've got to find a way
2.
Adam 02:00
I hear her whisper that she loves me I feel her next to me I hear her sing the songs I wrote her But it's just a dream She doesn't know me from Adam She doesn't know that I'm saddened She doesn't know that I pine away So I've got to find a way I read the lines inscribed in her eyes While I hold her hand in mine She spells my name out with her finger But it's in my mind She doesn't know me from Adam She doesn't know that I'm saddened She doesn't know that I pine away So I've got to find a way
3.
Everybody's pushing to see you by my side Posing like a picture hanging from a wire Captivating smiles masquerading lies Strangling a heartache entangled in the mire Skillful implications I'm running out of time Fearing your reprisal I'm forced to make you mine Ask me no more questions tell me no more lies Surrender your volition and we'll make up your mind And you load another round While you claim you'll wait for me And you say we'll work it out While you make your plans to leave And you talk out of both sides of your mouth While a lie grows in between Plotted intercessions deceptive by design Mislead me to believing your smile and not your eyes Long forgotten whispers fallen by the wayside Hide your true intentions while suggestions light the fire And you load another round While you claim you'll wait for me And you say we'll work it out While you make your plans to leave And you talk out of both sides of your mouth While a lie grows in between
4.
Long Time 04:50
I heard you're in love You've risen above The tide of surprise That left us frightened and immobilized My hat's off to you You've done what I could never do You've left us behind You meant it when you said goodbye I've started making friends My heart is on the mend But it will be a long, long time Before I love again I'm old enough to know alone is not the lowest blow But even so I'm prone to break not bend It will be a long time before I love again I'm dying inside I haven't slept a single night When I close my eyes I'm startled and start up in fright (And) try as I might I can't give up this fruitless fight The schemes I devise Are futile means no ends will justify I've started making friends My heart is on the mend But it will be a long, long time Before I love again If time alone could make me whole I'd be a whole new man I've been forever and then back again It will be a long time before I love again
5.
The Start 04:58
There's no unquestioning acceptance Of the ruse you've used before You're not promoting misconceptions That were known to open doors There are no hues of hope Within the palette you display Only shades of desperation Variations based in pain We saw it from the start That we were headed for the end Too proud to ask for pardon Too hardened to pretend There are shouts that can't be silenced There are doubts we can't suspend So in starting out We're headed for the end There is no wisdom in denying When the writing's on the wall There's nothing right that's worth the fighting There is no height that's worth the fall There is no shame in resignation When the current leads you on There's nothing left for preservation There is no sense of right and wrong We saw it from the start That we were headed for the end Too proud to ask for pardon Too hardened to pretend There are shouts that can't be silenced There are doubts we can't suspend So in starting out We're headed for the end
6.
Act 04:20
When you arise Alone from your bed Heart holding grudges For things I never said Will you assign Intentions that you bred Will you define me By assumptions that you dreamt You may raise the curtain But I might not take the cue You may write the roles out But I just might refuse I can't breathe behind the mask I left unfastened at the door And I can't stay To play this act out anymore When you retire To face another night Knowing sleep begs satiation Of your desire for a fight Will you compile The reasons that you're right Will you revile me For offenses you contrived You may raise the curtain But I might not take the cue You may write the roles out But I just might refuse I can't breathe behind the mask I left unfastened at the door And I can't stay To play this act out anymore
7.
Promises 04:13
Some promises are forgotten As soon as they are said Some promises are remembered With a sense of regret Some promises mean protection Some promises mean dread Some promises are suggestions Some promises are threats I would never use a promise To save a love or a life I would never choose a promise To prove a wrong or a right For all the times you've made a promise I won't believe that it's true I need to leave it with the promise I'll never make another promise to you Some promises are prisons Where you remain confined Some promises are forgiven On the day that you die Some promises raise questions Some promises make sense Some promises are possessions Some promises are debts I would never use a promise To save a love or a life I would never choose a promise To prove a wrong or a right For all the times you've made a promise I won't believe that it's true I need to leave it with the promise I'll never make another promise to you
8.
I never realized that in the moonlight Your eyes reflect a brilliance born a billion years ago When buckets full of stars burst into being Beside the love that we've just come to know The writing's on the wall The cryptic codes of a heart still beating Inscriptions of a timeless hand Did we design these shades of meaning Or are they the colors of some eternal plan Beaming mothers say they saw it coming While others mourn the loss of sons too young to go to war Decisions made before the world's beginning Dictate each step (that we take / taken) on this course The writing's on the wall The cryptic codes of a heart still beating Inscriptions of a timeless hand Did we design these shades of meaning Or are they the colors of some eternal plan
9.
Strangers 04:22
I thought that you were everything I wanted and needed You thought that I was everything I seemed We had our chance at love We took it way too far Let's be strangers from now on You listened when I told you all my stories childish worries I opened up you read me like a book Although it went well at the start The story grew too long Let's be strangers from now on If we were strangers you could love me Because you'd see me As everything that you think I could be If we were strangers you'd believe me I'd believe you'd never leave me Let's be strangers fall in love each time we meet It seemed to me the changes that you made were for the better But now it seems you're acting just the same If I could only see you from afar I'd never see you wrong Let's be strangers from now on As far as I could tell you never wanted just to follow It was in your heart to stand apart with me We both were working all too hard Couldn't keep it up for long Let's be strangers from now on If we were strangers we would have no expectations No frustration(s) We couldn't feel we'd let each other down If we were strangers you'd believe me I'd believe you'd never leave me Let's be strangers fall in love each time we meet
10.
Gravity 03:11
There's a force of attraction At work in us all We're being drawn to each other Like a cart pulled along Our stubborn pride tells us It's in our hands to hold But gravity tells us It's beyond our control Gravity There can be no denying It's inevitable Might as well give up trying (And) brace ourselves for the fall We both were insistent We would not love again Gravitation saw different And gravity wins (The) sun holds us in motion The moon turns our tides Both create these emotions They're not ours to decide We suppressed our desires With chains of restraint But gravity smiled And we fell flat on our face Gravity There can be no denying It's inevitable Might as well give up trying (And) brace ourselves for the fall We both were insistent We would not love again Gravitation saw different And gravity wins
11.
Together 03:56
Don't listen because it makes me think you love me Don't say my name it carries me away This path of understanding that we've trodden Together Has led me to a road I shouldn't take Don't smile I'll see something unintended Don't speak because you don't mean what I hear This web of understanding that we've woven Together Has tied me to a feeling I can't bear I love the thought of living life together You're the song I thought I'd never sing Don't love me I will love too much Don't need me I can't give enough But don't leave me I will never stand again
12.
He's leaving her tonight He can't endure another day He's tried and tried and tried He doesn't see another way They've come so far it seems a waste to throw it all away Is there a way to heal a heart, to still save face and stay? You can change your mind when you see the other side If you empathize, apologize, let go of all the pain If you just think twice, take a breath, close your eyes You can write a brand new history when you see the other side She's leaving him tonight She can't go on another day She's tired of feeling tired She thinks it's for the best this way But to come apart after being close for oh so long Is there a way to mend a heart, a way to right the wrong? You can change your mind when you see the other side You can scale that wall, think new thoughts; wipe away your tears If you choose to try, you can make a sacrifice You can find your silver lining if you see the other side If you can forgive, you can forget, then it'll lead you to (the other side) If you can hold on to all the love that you shared then you'll make it to (the other side) With understanding you can see beyond this and into (the other side) If you put in the time and hold on and hold on and hold on You can change your mind when you see the other side If you empathize, apologize, let go of all the pain If you just think twice, take a breath, close your eyes You can write a brand new history when you see the other side You can change your mind when you see the other side (If you can forgive, you can forget, then it'll lead you to [the other side]) You can scale that wall, and make it to the other side (If you can hold on to all the love that you shared then you'll make it to [the other side]) If you choose to try, you can see the other side (With understanding you can see beyond this and into [the other side]) You can win the prize when you see the other side (If you put in the time and hold on and hold on and hold on)
13.
Look Away 03:13
You came too late into my life Was it just fate or circumstances not quite right But to see you is pain, to be near you the same So I’ll just look away My heart breaks a little when I see your face My heart aches a little every single day Maybe if it was another time and place My heart wouldn’t break when I see your face A lonely life is hard to bear But harder still when I see you standing there I see your smile, your eyes, the sweetness inside And I must look away My heart breaks a little when I see your face My heart aches a little every single day Maybe if it was another time and place My heart wouldn’t break when I see your face My heart wouldn't break when I look away
14.
It’s not quite like I remember All the tenderness is gone We’re not prepared to surrender But we’re too tired to carry on Although the heart is still beating We’ve not the will to see it through We put a hesitant hand to the face That’s in the place of the love we once knew There’s nothing we can do And nothing left to prove Since this is not the love The love that we once knew It’s sad but it’s true We have a mountain to move Since this is not the love The love that we once knew The feelings fade to a flicker The flame is dimmer with each day Slim pickings just a bit slimmer With every bit that’s chipped away Can’t push this into a corner Though at the core it’s torn in two We both agree it’s not over But we can see it’s not the love we once knew There’s nothing we can do And nothing left to prove Since this is not the love The love that we once knew It’s sad but it’s true We have a mountain to move Since this is not the love The love that we once knew
15.
The End 01:58
If you can call this life I'm still alive Although the reason for my being here was taken from my side I'd waited for so long my goal in sight And just like that she turned from me I never learned the reason why If I had known that we were over I would have told her I would have said her name and mine a thousand times I won't try to convince her Of how much I've grown to miss her But if I'd known that was the end I would have cried If I had known I would have stopped to say goodbye

about

After a 15-year hiatus I finally got back into the 'studio' to record some new tracks. Some are brand new (written in 2020) and some are oldies-but-goodies from as far back as 1997. The recording process is much-improved over previous albums - mostly due to the availability of an actual drum set for the drum tracks instead of trying to "play" drums on a keyboard. Overall I'm very happy with how this one turned out. I have more songs in the queue for a future album, but that may not happen for a while...

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released February 23, 2021

All music and lyrics copyright Jonathan M. Smith & Joshua B. Lapo.

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Joshua Lapo Pocatello, Idaho

Software engineer by trade, songwriter on the side.

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