Peter Mayer

Music

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Million Year Mind

$15.00 +S&H

1.	Fall	Fall What if the highest destination Of any given human life Was not a place that you could reach if You had to climb Wasn’t up above like heaven So no need to fly at all What if to reach the highest place You had to fall Fall, like a drunkard on your face Like a parachuter jumping from a plane Fall, like an astronaut from space Or an acrobat from making a mistake And what if all the sages Talking about realms out of reach Would memorize the pages Of gravity What if getting to the highest place is Like learning what you know Or like going to where you are now Like coming home Fall, like Adam falling down From the strange, unearthly angels whence he came Fall, finding a way of trusting in the ground As if the highest and the lowest places Are the same What if the highest destination Wasn’t up above at all What if, to reach the highest place You had to fall What if you had to fall
2.	John's Garden	John's Garden Farmer John wandered back And when he reached the pumpkin patch, began to speak He said “the weather’s getting colder Summer’s over and it’s almost Halloween That’s the day, the reason you were raised When everything about your life will change You will have eyes to see, and for that night, you’ll be A bright lamp burning in the darkness But remember that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart” The pumpkins held a meeting then Some were very apprehensive and afraid “Could this really happen to us? What could be the meaning?” is what they were saying “This is home, it’s all we’ve ever known” Then one bold, outspoken pumpkin spoke He said “I don’t need eyes to see , it sounds like a lie to me I like it just fine here in John’s garden And remember that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart” There is much to ask and to ponder in the pumpkin patch When imposing old October shows up at last Then a pumpkin from the farther end Who had been silent up till then Over the commotion, said “What would you rather have my friends A chance to shine, or die here on the vine? The better way seems very plain to me You will have eyes to see, and for that night, you’ll be A bright lamp burning in the darkness And maybe that candle shines for only the briefest time In a jack-o-lantern’s heart Oh, but one goblin’s smile should make it all well worth while You know you might even see the starlight And knowing that time is brief, makes it that much more sweet When you have a jack-o-lantern’s heart”
3.	Like a Mountain	Like a Mountain Driving near Mount Shavano It seemed to be looking me over Feeling that gaze down below I pulled the car off on the shoulder Staring at the rock and the sky My heart began beating more slowly Till I lost track of time And forgot where it was I was going CHORUS: Suddenly, I saw life from the brink I watched an age pass me by like a wink For just one heartbeat, I believe I could think Like a mountain Mountain, we measure our lives By tens and by twenty years only Teach us the ways of a million-year mind What a million-year heart could be hoping CHORUS: And oh, if I’m wise I will strive and I’ll pray To turn that one tick in time into a day And lead this poor picture-flash life in that way Like a mountain
4.	The Dark	The Dark Edgar Allen Poe had it In his tell tale heart It’s the finest time to strike Said Napolean Bonaparte Inmates make their break into it Cavemen make their art Spy planes fly and spelunkers hunker Somewhere in the dark Batman catches criminals in the dark of night Saving Gotham City from evil designs Darkness, lovers love in and Dreamers tend to like And if you think you’re neither one Well, in the dark, that’s just what You might become Some celestial bodies like to Strut their stuff alot But we know Mr. Black Hole is the Big boy on the block King Tut looked pretty comfy In that old dark tomb What’s good for an Egyptian mummy Might be right for you What’s the fun relying on something you can see? That’s just so passe when you run toward the light Why not make a dangerous tryst with mystery? It’s a downright frightening hole Watch your head Down you go Larry lost his inhibitions Sally felt a spark Jacob saw a mystic vision Somewhere in the dark Black cats eke out a descent living Monsters make it far You might find what you’ve been missing Somewhere in The Dark
5.	Holy Now	Holy Now When I was a boy, each week On Sunday, we would go to church And pay attention to the priest He would read the holy word And consecrate the holy bread And everyone would kneel and bow Today the only difference is Everything is holy now Everything, everything Everything is holy now When I was in Sunday school We would learn about the time Moses split the sea in two Jesus made the water wine And I remember feeling sad That miracles don’t happen still But now I can’t keep track ‘Cause everything’s a miracle Everything, Everything Everything’s a miracle Wine from water is not so small But an even better magic trick Is that anything is here at all So the challenging thing becomes Not to look for miracles But finding where there isn’t one When holy water was rare at best It barely wet my fingertips But now I have to hold my breath Like I’m swimming in a sea of it It used to be a world half there Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down But I walk it with a reverent air ‘Cause everything is holy now Everything, everything Everything is holy now Read a questioning child’s face And say it’s not a testament That’d be very hard to say See another new morning come And say it’s not a sacrament I tell you that it can’t be done This morning, outside I stood And saw a little red-winged bird Shining like a burning bush Singing like a scripture verse It made me want to bow my head I remember when church let out How things have changed since then Everything is holy now It used to be a world half-there Heaven’s second rate hand-me-down But I walk it with a reverent air ‘Cause everything is holy now
6.	Charlie Porter	Charlie Porter My name is Charlie Porter I was a union soldier In ‘61, I signed up to fight And it was a great adventure But I have to tell you Not the fairytale I had in mind And when General Lee surrendered And victory finally arrived I heard no one hoot or holler No hip-hurray for the stars and stripes We only cried Back when it started Proud and foolish hearted I thought I had a taste for rebel blood But we were only children They killed us and we killed them And the misery and the dying made us numb By then, holding back the sorrow Was kind of like holding back the tide The men did not hoot or holler Nor hip-hurray for the stars and stripes We only cried And oh, victory seems hollow At the price of half a million lives A cold and weary stillness follows You hear no hip-hurray for stars and stripes You only cry
7.	Africa	Africa They say the sights and sounds down in Africa Seem like ones you’ve seen and heard before Even though you arrive For the very first time You have a sense of returning They say there is a dream down in Africa Dreamt about 5 million years ago It’s a dream to survive A dream of standing upright And setting out on a new life CHORUS: So I say to my hands, can you remember Africa? And I say to my feet, do you remember Africa? Do you remember? Do you remember Africa? You can hear a song down in Africa Between the eastern mountains and the coast It’s a song that you know Rising up from the bones And it’s telling your story There is a human heart born in Africa Beating now for eons, it is your own A tenacious, ancient will Quite alive inside you still And it’s dreaming on Dreaming on CHORUS:
8.	Now Touch the Air Softly	Now Touch the Air Softly Now touch the air softly, Step gently. One, two... I’ll love you till roses Are robin’s-egg blue; I’ll love you till gravel Is eaten for bread, And lemons are orange, And lavender’s red. Now touch the air softly, Swing gently the broom. I’ll love you till windows Are all of a room; And the table is laid, And the table is bare, And the ceiling reposes On bottomless air. I’ll love you till Heaven Rips the stars from his coat, And the Moon rows away in A glass-bottomed boat; And Orion steps down Like a diver below, And Earth is ablaze, And Ocean aglow. So touch the air softly, And swing the broom high. We will dust the gray mountains, And sweep the blue sky; And I’ll love you as long As the furrow the plow, As However is Ever, And Ever is Now.
9.	Magic Beans	Magic Beans That’s not how the story goes When do heroes play it safe? You’ve got a job and a family-o But not a single golden egg And a pocket full of possibilities Hey ho Jack, when Will you plant them Magic beans? Jack, Oh Jack, what scared you so? Made you hide those beans and run Did you hear the rumors-o Of the fee, fi, fo, and fum? Were you frightened of the things you Just might see Hey ho Jack-o If you plant those Magic beans? Jack, it’s not too late you know To sow those seeds of fate So throw them out your wind-o Go to sleep, and when you wake Things will happen Things you never dared to dream But they won’t happen Unless you plant them Magic beans
10.	Brand New Harley	Brand New Harley You might think I’m a banker, and on weekdays, it’s true But underneath this poly-cotton blend is a skeleton tattoo Which I got when I was drinking And I’m showing off this weekend On my brand new Harley-Davidson I may work in an office and look respectable and clean But you should see me dressed in leather on my American machine You would swear that I’m blue-collar On my 15-thousand dollar Deluxe, brand new Harley-Davidson Come Friday evening I don’t shower, I don’t shave And I put my little earring in And it’s time to misbehave Yes I will clean your teeth on Monday Or put braces in your mouth But don’t flash ‘em at me Sunday, boy Or I just might knock them out My psychologist, he told me that it’s important that I ride So I recreate my warrior who is pent up nine to five And it’s therapy for hours On my fifteen-thousand dollar Deluxe, brand new Harley-Davidson I kick off my loafers Put on my big black boots And I swear and curse while I rehearse for My nasty attitude Yes I will do your taxes Tuesday So you get some money back But call me CPA on Saturday And I’ll have to kick your ass No I’m not in a costume, I’ll bet a junk bond I’m real I am an archetypal man astride a stallion made of steel I’m a rebel, I’m a gangster I’m a whiskey-drinking prankster On my brand new Harley-Davidson
11.	One More Circle	One More Circle We have been weighed down by sadness like a stone And we have yearned, we have yearned And we have sometimes felt so utterly alone While we turn, while we turn And we’ve been stricken by the wonder of it all Stricken dumb, stricken dumb And we have sometimes felt so faint we want to fall Overcome, but all in all CHORUS: I’d say this year in flight together has been fun What say we make one more circle around the sun We have raised our fists in anger and we’ve tried To work it out, work it out That we need each other, we cannot deny There is no doubt, there is no doubt So let us weave another dream in outer space While we’re turning, while we’re turning On this planet home that holds our human race We still are learning, but all in all CHORUS: I’d say this year in flight together has been a good, good one What say we make one more circle One more circle One more circle around the sun

Mayer's Clean, percussive & melodic guitar style, clear, rich vocals and refreshing, intelligent lyrics, combined with a warm, personable approach to his music make him stand out among the best of the singer/songwriters on the scene today... All of this is captured beautifully on his latest CD Million Year Mind
-Presenter: Home Town Music: New Jersey

Aug 18 7:30 pm	Grand Marais, MN Arrowhead Center For The Arts - Presented by North Shore Music Association
Sep 29 7:30 pm	Hartford, CT Meeting House Presents and the Unitarian Society of Hartford
Oct 13 7:30 pm	Boulder, CO Hullet House Concert - Boulder