Lyrics sheet - CD Title: "You Come Walking In"

Horses of Chincotegue

I was born in the grass at the sea's edge
with my face to the wind as it blew
and I nursed from my mother
and I played with brother
with the sand in our manes as we flew
felt the strength in our bones as we grew 

Chorus:
The horses are running on Chincoteague Isle
and I, I shall run there soon
my legs have grown strong
as the seasons have passed
I will run by the light of the moon
I will run by the light of the moon

The land and the sea are still mine
with the open wet sand, I am free
here across the deep ocean
the lights are in motion
and the buildings creep out to the sea
it seems that they're reaching for me

Chorus

the land over here
I don't understand
too many people
and I can't find the sand

I was born in the grass at the sea's edge
with my face to the wind as it blew
and I may die there alone
but on the island I'll roam
right there on the Chincoteague Isle
the last of us all to run wild

Chorus

c 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell
written at the Folk Project Fall Festival

Just One More Day

I walk the road to the open sea.
The wind whips by, and it bruises me.
Upon the shore, two seagulls rest;
I watch the sun set in the west.

chorus:
Just one more day,'till the Laura B. sails,
One more day, she'll take me away.
Just one more day, 'till the Laura B. sails,
And she will take me away.

I soon will travel upon the seas,
This sturdy boat will carry me.
But all my love will stay ashore,
And come to rest upon your door.

Chorus

I beg you please to set me free,
And let my heart heal inside of me.
Please don't beg for one more round.
Let me go, I'm homeward bound.

Chorus

c September, 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell

On My Mind			

I was rising up
Rising from my sleep
I could hear your voice
I was falling deep
You were on my mind
Walking in my dreams
When I crossed that line
Wonder what it means

Like a bluebird song
On that talking wire
I could hear your voice
Set my head on fire
Like a stolen kiss
With no alibi
You were on my mind
And I don't know why

I could see the sun
rising through the trees
All the colors run
I could feel the heat
And it burns my eyes
If I look too long
You were on my mind
Like some ancient song
You were on my mind
Like some ancient song

c1997 William J Hall & Bonnie O'Donnell

Why Can't Girls Marry Girls?

The snow had stopped falling that night in December
And the air had turned bitter cold
We went to bed early, to the warmth of our blankets
And the sounds of the plows in the snow
I awoke hours later, heard my daughter talking
Reviewing events of her day
I was caught in the moment, and I listened in silence
Hoping to catch what she'd say

But unknown to me, my child had a question
One she had struggled with awhile
She climbed into my bed, she wanted an answer
As we watched the moon rise in the sky
"Why can't girls marry girls, and boys be with boys
If that's the way they want to be?
How come people say they are bad, or they're dirty
Is that what God really believes?"

I thought for a moment of ways I could answer
I wondered why she chose then
But I took a deep breath, tried to answer her question
And still let her know where I stand
And when I was finished with my careful attempt
To explain where our history had led us
There was a moment of silence as my daughter thought over
All that I'd not said and said

And then in her own way of stating the obvious
She said as only five year olds can do
"Mom, I don't understand, and I think we should let
Everyone love who they want to"
And as I put her to bed, the moment long passed
I marveled at how five year olds see
That the answer is clear, and it's a question of love
Why can't we love whom we please?
That the answer is clear, and it's a question of love
Why can't we love whom we please?

c  December 1996 Bonnie O'Donnell

Monhegan

From here to the island
I've lost my way
Can't see out of these eyes
I've been driving all day
And I can't seem to find my way

This same time last year
I drove on my own
Each route, each highway
From there to our home
But now, I can't do it alone

Chorus:
The days that you loved me
Are on island time
They're slow, summer drift
In my mind
But don't worry, I'm doing
Just fine

There's grass on the waters edge
And the tide claims the boat
The cliffs meet the sky
On the wind, seagulls float
This island has taken my soul

I'll go to claim it
Take back what I gave
The ashes of lost love
I will no longer save
Let them drown, let them go 
On the waves
Let them drown, let them go
On the waves

Chorus
c 1996 Bonnie O'Donnell

You Come Walking In

Looked out today
saw the sky cold and gray
dirt in the snow
piled in the driveway
everything's washed out
exposed in the cold
no leaves on the trees
nothing to hold
but then,
I feel the warmth in the wind
and you come walking in

Started at sunrise
birds in the trees
sounds of their voices
carry the breeze
opened the window
just for awhile
maybe I knew you
would come all those miles
and then
I feel the warmth in the wind
and you come walking in

promise of spring
dance on the wind, crawls
under my skin, lets my world
take a spin

I'll turn to the sun
I'll open the doors
Fling wide the curtains
I'll let you in more
everything's shifted
nothing's the same
promise of spring
here all since you came
and then
I feel the warmth in the wind
and you come walking in

robins have come
they're in the birdbath
washing the winter
off of their backs
face each new day
as if it's their last
I'll do the same
spring's here at last
so then
I feel the warmth in the wind
and you come walking in

c 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell

Pretty Bird

There's a bird in the meadow
She calls to me
And her voice carries out
Over winds and sea
She does call me away
With a promise of love
She will carry my heart,
Pretty bird, pretty dove


I will follow her call
To a place far away
Where the flowers will bloom
In the snow every day
And the blue of the sky will
Match the eyes of my love
I will drown in their beauty
Pretty bird, pretty dove

And my love, he will hold
My heart in his hand
He will offer the sky
And the sea, and the sand
He will fling wide his arms,
He will give all his love
He will carry me far
Pretty bird, pretty dove

There's a bird in the meadow
She calls to me
And her voice carries out
Over winds and sea
I will follow her song
To the arms of my love
She will give my heart wings
Pretty bird, pretty dove

c December 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell

Move My Heart Around

In the city, in the middle of a heat wave
Louis Armstrong sings on the radio
My baby's dancing to the music, makes me crazy
The sun is rising on his body, oh so slow

Chorus:
That man can move my heart around
Sing my soul without a sound
Keep me longing, for a cold, wet afternoon

He glides right up to me and whispers lovins
Says c'mon, don't go to work, stay home and play
There won't be another chance like this I'm givin
Let's you and me create some heat today

Lord, I'm tempted, you don't know how much I want it
To just give in, and never leave this room
But something deep inside says, "girl, get movin
That man's no good for you, he'll leave you soon."

I'm damned if I do
And I'm damned if I don't 
I'll pay if I will
I'll be sorry if I won't
And I swear, this heat is rising by the minute

Chorus

In the city, in the middle of a heat wave
Louis Armstrong sings on the radio
My baby's dancing to the music, makes me crazy
The sun is rising on his body, oh so slow
The sun is rising on his body, oh so slow
The sun is rising on his body, oh so slow

c 1996 Bonnie O'Donnell

Hand on the Bottle

Hand on the bottle,
Shaking and cold.
Brown of his skin,
Now a purplish rose.
Strength in his cheekbones,
Black raven hair,
Pride of his people, 
Now lost in thin air.

Chorus:
I see him crying, alone in his fears.
Body all battered, and the wind holds his tears.

Taken from family,
At a  young age,
Apart from his people,
Locked in a white cage.
Raised in a city,
Far from the land,
He lets out his anger
With bottle in hand.

Bridge:
I cannot save him.
He just doesn't care.
Lost in his private hell,
I can't reach him there.
I can't go there.

Sits in the shadows, 
Just out of my sight.
Drinks in the darkness,
In the dead of the night.
The call of the eagle
Cannot stir his blood.
He's lost in a blind rage.
He's now given up.
He's lost in a blind rage.
He's now given up.

Chorus

c August 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell

Path to Heaven

My dad works inside of the factory 'cross town
His shift starts at dawn and ends at dusk
With breaks and a lunch deep inside the factory
Some days he has barely seen the sun

I asked him one day if he likes what he does
He smiled and said, "Some days I do.
But it's all how you see things that gives a body hope
And I see the beauty 'round me."

And just as he spoke
The clouds opened above
And in a hushed voice my dad said to me
"Come look at the sunset, I hope you'll understand.
Perhaps you will see what I mean."

chorus:
"You can see the path to heaven in the sky tonight
You can feel the breath of hope upon the wind
If you turn and face the sunset, change your line of sight
You can see the path to heaven in the sky tonight."

Now I never worked in that factory 'cross town
My dad made sure of that, you see
No, I went to school, and I got my degree
And I work where the windows set me free.

But that's not to say that it's always ok
Even windows have seemed to cage me
But whenever I feel trapped, I hear my dad say,
"I see the beauty 'round me."

So I try then to stop, and remember what he said
To the child I was then, long ago
"Come, look at the sunset, I hope you'll understand."
Oh now I do, Dad, yes I know.

Chorus

c 1996 Bonnie O'Donnell

If I Were Your Lover

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
My love would come dancing on wings of the wind.
I'd send it along with the song of the nightbird,
To greet you each evening, I'd send it to thee.

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
I'd plant my love under the cool of the earth.
And there it would nourish the seeds of the flowers,
They'd bloom in your presence, I'd send them to thee.

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
I'd drop my love into the deep ocean blue
The dolphins would carry it safe through the water,
and there you could catch it, I'd send it to thee.

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
I'd weave my love into the words of a song.
And then you could hear my love gently arriving,
Unravel its message, I'd send it to thee.

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
I'd send you a rainbow to cover the sky
The colors would fall to the ground by your window,
Their light would reflect all my love there for thee.

If I were your lover, I'd love like no other,
You'd give me a place in your heart deep inside
Wherever you'd go, I would always be with you,
If I were your lover, I'd go there with thee.
If I were your lover, I'd go there with thee.

c  June, 1997 Bonnie O'Donnell

Child of the Night

I see her day or night.
She's haunting all my dreams;
restless eyes, with closed down mind.
Her body holds the horrors 
her young age does disguise.
She's looking for some subtle sign.
She turns to me in sorrow.
She offers up her shame;
so young, to be so old.
She's carrying the sins of the world.

I try hard not to see her,
look into those nightmare eyes.
I try hard not to see her face.
The tears she holds inside,
so tight against the night,
those demons keep her afraid.
What happened to her childhood?
Where did it all begin?
So young, to be so old;
she's carrying the sins of the world.

This child of the night;
she lives inside the dark.
She feels her way in anger.
She reaches in my heart.

Her voice rings in my head
as her body leans to me.
She whispers in a secret tone.
"Do you know why I'm here?
I'll tell you if you want.
My daddy can't leave me alone.
But I have a brave new friend
who lives inside my head.
She will keep me safe from him."

When heaven sounds its trumpets,
and thunder splits the sky,
this child will not cry.
The walls of hurt around her,
this weight upon her heart,
will lift and open wide.
And  when God in all her glory
claims this little girl,
"My child, in whom I'm pleased;
she's carried the sins of the world."

c January 1997  Bonnie O'Donnell

Clear Light of Heaven

Wherever you are going
Whenever you return
May your tale grow in the telling
With everything you learn
Your footsteps like the twilight
Fade into the blue...
May the clear light of heaven
Always be with you.

May the road reach up to carry you
Forever in her arms... 
Good faith and fortune
Keep you safe from harm...
After all is said and all is done
Beginning to the end...
May the clear light of heaven
Always be your friend.

c William J Hall 1996