No Oxygen

one more night

stayed up late

looking for love where there was none

there was a fevered touch and hearts that raced

in all that breath there was no oxygen

what will you do with your hour

and how is your sleep so untroubled

how will you stay warm through the winter

now the fields are cut down to stubble

one more night…

now fall back but don’t fall too far

find some arms and call them ‘lover’

find a wall of water that won’t tumble down

a shooting star that will last forever

one more night…

will come a time of nothing to drink

no fragrance in waking or dreaming

no zephyr wind blows sotto voce on the skin

and bloodhounds lose the trail of meaning

one more night...

Nothing I Can Do

you love your mama and your papa

you love your sister too

you used to love me like the stars above

now there’s nothing that says you still do

and all of the snow and all of the sun

and all the wild places we haven’t been to

still blow and burn shiver and mourn

they tell me there’s nothing I can do

you love piano the old time hymns

I can see it in the grace of your hands

you love big dogs you love big oak trees

and every little gift that each new day sends

and all of the snow…

my love grew up where roses grow

where roses grow tangled in the hedge

my love she go to another heart

and thorns are all that are left

and all of the snow…

music and lyrics © Noah Zacharin

Nothing New

there’s nothing new in the world of song

somebody does somebody wrong

somebody finds something on the side

then tries to prove he got nothing to hide

& there’s nothing new in the world of song

nothing new in the world of song

man & woman try to keep it moving along

speed their lives down the middle line

holding blind and tight as ivy vines

& there’s nothing new in the world of song

numb the body cast off the name

it all comes back just the same

phone’s off the hook you wait for her call

boy meets world loses the girl

nothing new in the world of song

dark sky stars the moon (bright gong)

days comes up the dream goes down

stones mark souls set into the ground

& there’s nothing new in the world of song

though we should know better still we try

to mix the words into more than goodbye

pass the bottle wave the and

make something new in this world of song

nothing new in the world of song

candleflame flickers when the night blows long

when the sun marks a sky bright blue

the heart still burns for something new

and there’s (instrumental tag)

1988

On the Corner

it’s rain today, yesterday was sun

you can stand on the corner without meeting anyone

with they turn-up collar coats, they turn-down hat brims

you can watch ‘em walk away never knowing where they’ve been

you can’t predict the past

how it’s written down at last

can’t question all that’s gone

though you’re standing on the corner

of how where why & when

now the world is round and all things come undone

sun betrays the moon betrays the sun and the clock strikes none

and in the wink of an eye, the hand you held today

turns to water & wind & words, and the hour sails away

you can’t predict the past…

and I mix one part pleasure with one part pain

that I’ll always be your never again

lover of my life, now you drift away

into the moving plan, the poem of chance & change

(hired by the clock, to hold another’s hands

my own will drift like doves looking for a place to land)

you can’t predict the past…

love of my life, you drift away but then

you touch my uncovered head by turning into rain

lover of my life, I’ll see you again

at the corner of here & there, the corner of now & then

will come again all that’s gone

at the corner of here & there, the corner of now & then

1987

One Time in Twenty

one time in twenty’s plenty darling if you fall in love

do it for jesus do it for G-d above

there’s a pine tree with the sweetest resin in the darkest wood

we can go for a little while or we can go for good

smoke your cigarette look me in the eye

show me your silhouette I’ll try to draw that fine line

open up your heart do it just for me

do it for yourself little darling we’ll make some cool history

thirteen dreams I had I recall but a single one

we were skipping stones and each one traveled on and on and on

I looked across the water I called out your name 

woke to a single strand of hair threat of thunder in the vacant rain

one time in twenty’s plenty darling if you fall in love

do it for jesus do it for the devil in the mud

one time in twenty’s plenty darling if you fall for real

I hear what you’re saying now tell me what you feel

Over

it’s not about your girl it’s not about your guy

not about they poison left behind

to summarize: the flesh is a precious little lie

all things fall apart in time

see the buildings start to tumble down

the river swelling up with salt

a broken doll

the killer’s hands cannot be found

each one says ‘it’s not my fault’

it’s over and late

a broken heart a busted gate

it’s over and past

what don’t come and what don’t last

the oracle has spoken

smoke from the prophet’s mouth

greed and garbage where the elders used to dance

a ring of orphan keys a rusted door and one way out

a hole in the sky the size of France

it’s over…

I hope some cure is rolling down the line

I pray it gets here soon

something going on in that court on high

it’s still cold and it’s still raining and it’s June

it’s over…/…it’s over and done/falling leaf and setting sun

Quiet Man

sometimes I want to kill the quiet man in me

whose love lies dormant deep down where the choir sleeps

whose love lies lost where wind will never give it wings

the quiet man who never sings the love he brings

sometimes I want to cure the killing man in me

with kisses light as song the wind will never repeat

with kisses from the fingertips of fine white hands

the killing man who never sings the love he can

1982

Ready to Fly

when you hear the trumpets blowing

angels fill the sky

you know the hour’s approaching

you’re off to the sweet by and by

the Lord Who lives in heaven

is waiting for you to fly

are you ready to fly

did you drink your time like water

flowing beneath a tree

and the sun that shone upon you

did it give the branch its leaf

or did you grow bare and rootless

live under a pale blue sigh

are you ready to fly

when you hear the trumpets…

sometimes your prayers go unanswered

your days go rushing by

your back is bent your heart is sure

there is nothing left to try

just go a little deeper

to reach the One Who lives on high

are you ready to fly

when you hear the trumpets…

I know my feet may stumble

and stones are in my way

His hand will reach to guide me

and I all I have to say

is Lord won’t you help me

I’m coming now cause You say it’s time

and are you ready to fly

when you hear the trumpets…

words and music: Noah Zacharin

Red Red Bird

oh my darling sometimes you feel so far away

I got the stumble of an infant child

the embrace of a man of clay

and you work to find sweet water

a place where you can pray

oh my darling sometimes you feel so far away

but my heart is a red red bird

soars above the dust and dirt

sings a song you never heard

my heart is a red red bird

nothing we can count on to face the rising flood

best we get might be to hold each other

slip together in the mud

taste the racing water feel the cooling of the blood

nothing we can count on to face the rising flood

my heart ...

nothing in the word can put the leaf back on the tree

or colour the ghostly outline of those

who hover just out of reach

teach me how to find this better hour that you see

nothing in the word can put the leaf back on the tree

my heart ...

let your heart ...

make your heart ...

may your heart ...

words and music © Noah Zacharin

Reflection

it’s too late

the sun’s gone down

it’s comin’ up again

the night bird sings

the light begins

love makes my pale head spin

was too short

the time we had

the moon was nearly full

the quiet lake

the silver waves

the tide of you beauty pulled

was too short

the time we had

like some unfinished song

hello hello

goodby goodbye

I'll miss the foreign tongue

it’s too late

the stars are out

now they’re lost behind the dawn

your eyes are green

you know what I mean

I’m sorry that you’re gone

Say Yes

say yes

looking in the mirror

see so many colours

which one will carry me away

red of the rooftop

blue of a freighter

orange of the dust of the last parade

I say yes I say yes

even if it’s just a guess

tip my head back hear the sky say stay

…or carry me away

muzzle in the corner

snarling calls me foreigner

says it’s time I went down with the ship

do you think you’re better

than any nightingale in fetters

keening at the lean end of a whip

I say yes I say yes

even if it’s just a guess

tip my head back hear the sky say stay

…or carry me away

perhaps there is a heaven

ah! the ancient question!

perhaps that’s where the loved ones have gone

take these words to slaughter

what’s left is wind and water

and how long how long how long

I say yes I say yes

even if it’s just a guess

tip my head back hear the sky say stay

…or carry me away

words and music (c) 2023 Noah Zacharin

Seasons of Glass (for James Wright)

Autumn comes from Summer

The leaves they turn to brown

I took my bottle to the river

and I drank that whiskey down

Water swirls

The night wind curls

Sky grows black and wild

Strong as a prayer

To a god who isn’t there

I am neither father nor child

Water flows through Summer

and it freezes up past Fall

I drank that bottle empty

and it did me no damn good at all

Dusk moves in over daytime

Stars start to shine above

Later moon cast the colour of a white wine

Breathed to make me dream cold love

Mouth opened round

Gave birth to no sound

Lost in a jar of sleep

Eyes rolled back

Stared at all that I lack

And the kiss of shame tongued deep

Dreams are made in the daytime

Turn to fear by the light of the moon

I gathered up the bottle of a lifetime

Drank the empty taste of empty doom

1978

The Green Album

Sick At The Heart

sick at the heart

and I don’t know what to do about it

ferris wheel got pretty lights

I got rusted quarters in my pocket

and she stands at my right hand

like cotton candy

sick at the heart

I can’t look at the roses

I see them torn from the earth and bleeding

locust in the wheat field knows

from birth we are starved for bread and blessing

when the lights grow dim

we begin to learn our lesson

sick at the heart

nothing adds to one hundred

they should have used ray charles’ piano for his casket

all the drunken masters

smear sienna ochre and umber on canvas

the jug is cracked

the light is jagged and refracted

sick at the heart

sick at the heart

I said it once it was so easy I say it once again now

bang the pipes at midnight

why won’t the gods just let us sleep ah just keep the noise down

I write these words to cross them out

and forget ‘em

music and lyrics © Noah Zacharin

Small Town Novel

sunrise over the barn old hound in slow steep howl

never knew he mourns

lousy neighbours and I know it now

all roads lead to ruin so I lie back in my own heat

fresh bread and coffee smell like flesh burning in my sleep

my thoughts are darker than they’re deep

from an old abandoned well

stick around I’ll write the end of this small town novel

‘fix that broken glass’ torn screen whines on rusted hinge

bloodshot eyes roll past the finish line of another binge

sweating alcohol I lunch on pickled eggs and a dozen smokes on the porch

this year’s schoolgirls are the youngest yet

my thoughts are darker…

oh my sweet relief I got to cash you before five

I got nothing to offer same as what I got to hide

and all you wanna know about me you can get from what my enemies say

there’s notches on my barrel

all I'm afraid of is walking away

my thoughts are darker…

you start out bored you get used to the running creek

you get used to the smiles for every thief and whore and thug and cheat

I looked in every window and I know who loves his wife

I know who tells the dirty little lie

I know who lives the dirty little life

my thoughts are darker…

blue steel oiled and racked

someday my Sunday bell will ring

the paddies stripped me down love hung the rest on a wicked west wind

keep a bottle by the bedside an orphan key around my neck

a few pale blue forget-me-nots grow where I last stole someone’s breath

my thoughts are darker…

So Much Work to Be Done (for Guy Clark)

this whisky made it through the winter

it’s still got a bite

I lift one to the master

farewell farewell goodnight

too many losses for my fingers

hands can’t steady anyone

here on crumbling mountain

there is so much work to be done

I was driving my particular darkness

radio voice placed him in the past

the whole world dimmed a little

Texas stars at half-mast

can’t blame the constellations

the spirit or the son

on a one-lane road of moonlight

there is so much work to be done

I don’t have much to hold me here

no pistol pony wife or kid

but I got a sweet cabin and a guitar from Austin

and what little good I did

and if I get another morning

I’ll know it by the sun

angling in on a whisper

there is so much work to be done

he wore denim and a Stetson

had a chisel a pencil and a grin

master with a job don’t ask how or why

he just asks ‘what’ and ‘when’

so play it on your daddy’s dobro

or fire off a 21-gun

there’s salt in the Rio Grande

and there is so much work to be done

words and music © Noah Zacharin

Starlings

next time you see this man

tell him what you want and when

summer and winter in his hands

doesn’t always know which one to send

to find a word that’s true

sky says ‘speak your truest name’

I don a cape of blue

sea myself and sky are the same

every hour of every night

starlings wishing they were stars

hear them all through the night singing

‘how’d you get so cold and far’

one two three four five

number my left and my right hand

laugh and then you cry

things don’t always end up as you planned

a stone thrown through your song

you had to walk cause you felt bad

someone touched you wrong

or didn’t want what you had

every hour…

another simple song

another smoldering straw

another road to gone

lit by the distant star

Still Life (with train & river)

he’s sitting on a train going nowhere

wondering if the train is derailed

on a train by a river a seat of black leather

a casual jug at his side

he’s looking down the empty aisle

to ask conductor what’s this trip all about

the wheels have stopped moving scenery’s still tearing past

long time since you shouted ‘all aboard’

hey river keep on flowing

you clouds just keep drifiting by

sun keep on rising my eyes are going down

a train whistle starts to cry

he cast a stone down the wishing well

chasing after a time and a name

wide window white curtain invite him to look ouside

rusty wheels sit on silver rails

hey river…

he’s sitting with a hand on a pistol

in his head lost days of sun swarm like bees

fixing his hat in the greasy window glass

sun spills on the rip in his knees

1990

Take Me Away

sirens blow the silence away

in the streets where the dogs & the drunkards play

in the city where the cats & the cowards say

take me away, take me away

trainwheels rumble the rumours away

of the pleas & the tears that old lovers trade

of the noises that the old & the dying make

take me away, take me away

you know there were nights when her eyes

held all the tumblers falling right

and days breaking over loving

when you wanted to deny the light

now night’s a deeper darkness

and there’s no one to grant you sight

to grab your fear

ain’t no one here

take it away, take it away

closed eyes call the lonely away

from the empty arms that clutch at strands of the day

from the silent hours that run too cold, deep, & grey

take me away, take me away

1979

Ten Tons of Road

there's a blue cloth on the table

a pint or two to hold it down

you know how the wind blows wild

in the dim light of this town

there's a pair of hands I've held

a pair of eyes in which I've drowned

where's the paradise I've been shaken in

when love made the sirens sound

ten tons of road beneath my wheels

a million miles of skies above

cannot take me far enough

to ever forget our love

I keep a couple of pieces of gravel

in the heel of my left shoe

they remind me as I travel

of each step I took away from you

there's a carving in an old oak tree

my sweet edge pen-knife made

where are you my darling

it's cold here in the shade

ten tons…

now the tulips they are opening

as the daffodil begins to wilt

the crocus it's just history

see this house I've built

I wanna know everything

I wanna love everyone

and when you come to me and my money's gone

I'll buy you drinks with gold of the sun

ten tons…

Noah Zacharin