Bill Nash Music

----------------- Mostly True Stories (1996) ------------------

Open Book - Standard Tuning, Full Capo on 1, 3 String Capo on 3 from the low note side - 4:59
 

I am an open book, just look into my eyes, it's not so hard to see
It's just a short trip down, down into my soul, to get to the heart of me
I am an open book, always was and will be, I've worn my heart on my sleeve
But it got tossed around, till one day I found, that it was gone from me
 

Chorus 1
Now there's blood on my sleeve where my heart used to be
She came along and she made history, she took from me every dream I ever had
Walked away, left behind this shell of a man, without a heart left to me
 

So I stumbled 'round in the pouring rain, trying to see what my life means
Picking up the pieces, fallen to the ground, of a broken heart and forsaken dreams
I found that all my dreams were made for loving her, I had not one to claim for me
It's a very dark road to climb out of that hole, when your love sinks deep
CH1
 

Now I begin to try to learn to live again, I ask you to come with me
There's a place I know where we can sit and talk, won't you come and see?
'Cause I am an open book, questions fill your eyes, I know you want to ask me
When will I love again? I tell you when I find, someone I trust will see
 

Chorus 2
She will love me for me, she'll let me be
She'll take from me only what she needs
She'll hold me for me and then she'll see
How easy it could be, to pin that heart back on my sleeve
 

Gentle Winds - DADGAD - Full Capo on 2 - 4:24

Walking down this city street, my whole life in front of me from here
Trying to learn from where I've been
Lots of lessons learned traveling down the road away from her
 

I never thought the day would come, when I'd want to live without her
It took a long time to finally see, lots of time and loneliness
Learning how to be alone, now I live and wait to feel
 

Chorus
The gentle winds of love again, floating down from high
From a clear blue sky
The gentle winds of love again, oh when will I see when love will come to me
Through the gentle winds of love
 

When I see you then I'll know, the soft fragrance through the breeze
That blows your life into mine, until then I'll be working hard
Preparing for another start, the chance to love again
Then never will another day come when I'll want to live without you
It takes a long time to finally see, lots of time and loneliness
I learned how to be alone, now I live and wait to feel
 

CH
Through the gentle winds of love
Through the gentle winds of love, you'll come to me
Through the gentle winds of love, you'll come to me
 

Expectations - EADGAD - Full Capo on 3 - 3:46
 

When I look into your loving eyes, I can see the reflection
Of a man you think you see in me, there's no doubt of your perception
You're reading so much more in me than I ever have expected
And you know it breaks my heart to see your expectations unrequited
 

Chorus 1
No one could live up to the image of that shadow
It's like a specter in your dreams
The shining knight riding a horse of white
To sweep you off your feet, it's not me
 

This comedy of miracles has left you in the dust
When the rains come dust turns to mud and you're mired in it now
Oh I wish that I could make you see how I'd love to be the one
But I only know how to be the me that I am and always was
 

Chorus 2
How can one hope to meet all the expectations of the lovers we perceive
For the ones that we will want to hold in the twilight of this scene
 

CH1
 

House of Rhapsody - DADF#AD - Full Capo on 3 - 4:29
 

The people come to hear the music, they come to forget about their failures
And to ease the pain of living in this life
Some are looking for a message to let them know everything's going to be alright
 

We're all looking for peace of mind, you know it's always so hard to find
 

The people come to hear of romance, they want to hear of love that's working
And to hear of the times when love just didn't fly
They want to hear a passion story of how love goes and to know the reason why
 

We're all looking for peace of mind, you know it's ever so hard to find
 

Chorus
I have found my heart in this haven, it has come back to me
From the depths of where it was driven, now it strives to be free
I have found it here in this haven, where the love flows free
In the warmth of the stage lights glowing from the heavens down to me
It is warm inside this house of rhapsody
 

Repeat Verse 1, Bridge, and Chorus
 

Melissa and Michael - Standard Tuning, Capo on 1 - 4:45
 

Melissa is my daughter
She's got red hair and a personality to match
Sometimes dark, sometimes fiery, but always she's my love
I love to sit with her at her little table
For a spot of tea and childlike conversation
 

Melissa's mind is sharp, she knows her dolls
But she's happy playing with matchbox cars
And the train I bought, for her last birthday
Is still the best toy she ever found
 

She's my daughter, and I love her so
Couldn't live without her, I hate to see her grow
 

Michael is my son
So much like me it scares me half to death
Same kind of shy, loner kid I was, with a smile that lights the world
He can hit a ball so far, I have to race to catch it
And he runs so fast, I can't keep up with him
Michael rides his bike to the train tracks, and back home several times a day
The engineer waves, and throws him candy while the train goes on it's way
 

He's my son, and I love him so
Couldn't live without him, I hate to see him grow
 

Now if you know me well, then you must know I have no kids of my own
They were planned for later, later never came, now they live just in my dreams
They'd be my kids, and I'd love them so, I live without them now, I'll never see them grow
(2 times)

Snow Day - Standard Tuning - Capo on 6 - 4:09
 

It's late the night before the day I say hello to her
I've watched her image every day in school
She caught me looking at her once, I quickly looked away
Like I had violated some unwritten teenage rule
 

Her friend Kristie said, "Why don't you go talk to her?
Oh, she likes you, don't you know?"
But trying to get your courage up when you're only 12 years old
Is like trying to stop the winter skies from snow
 

Chorus
So I'm looking at the moon tonight out my bedroom window
With hands folded, I kneel down to pray
Oh God, please make it snow tonight, at least 10 or 12 inches
So tomorrow school'd be canceled, saved by a snow day
 

Now I know that this is all a part of learning and helps me grow up to be strong
But why is it, lessons learned come so slowly and why we so often think that we are wrong?
But I guess tomorrow I'll have to take my chances, that I'll live through this and go on
'Cause there isn't one damn cloud in the sky tonight
It's going to take divine intervention for it to snow
 

CH
(Spoken)
Dear God, I'll do anything you say, just give me this one request
Please make it snow tonight, I'll never ask for anything else ever again
(Sung)
So tomorrow school'd be canceled, saved by a snow day
 

So Long - DADGAD - Full Capo on 3 - 5:38
 

It was nighttime, I was grounded, had this hollow ache, my heart was pounding
And the rush of the wind through the trees, in the forest was chilling me
I was dreaming, I was flying, then a face appeared, oh what are you doing here?
On the steps, in the hallway, through the room, in the doorway, I'm not ready
 

Chorus
I don't want to leave this precious home, to put out on my own
Don't want to lose the love I've known, so long
 

In the courtroom, with the man there, looking down at me with a cold stare
"Is it true, is she gone, will she never come back?", I said, "No sir"
Then I walked out, with a shadow, it was trailing me like a moonglow
And I looked to the sky and I asked, "Dear Lord, where do I go now?"
 

CH
Bridge
So long to the times we've known, and where have the good times gone
Now comes the time to be alone, so long
 

In the darkness there's a light there, it's a full moon, it's the night air
And the stars falling down give me reason to smile, I'm still breathing
There is time now for reflection, to look at my life with an introspection
But I live for the time when I find my home, it's gonna be so long
It's gonna be so long, so long
 

James Dean's Genes - DADGAD - No Capo - 3:53
 

I guess I've led a sheltered life, lo all these years
They tried to keep me from feeling strife, trying to stem my tears
Wouldn't let me try out for the team, "You're gonna break your leg"
It didn't matter how much I'd plead, or how much I'd beg
 

I guess I'll never be much of a wild man, they've got me programmed so well
I never learned how to take my chances, strange way to insure I don't go to hell
 

I've never driven a motorcycle, I guess it's not my style
Fly down the highway, the wind blowing, easing through the miles
No, I just watch those old movies, of Marilyn and James
And when I see old Marlon Brando, it sets me all aflame
 

Bridge
You know it just might be genetic, at least that's how it seems
No matter how hard I try I guess I didn't get any of James Dean's genes
 

Chorus
James Dean's genes were too tight for me, his chromosomes just frighten me
Our DNA formed so differently, I guess I blame it all on heredity
 

So I go on living safely, trying to find my stride
It's kind of boring, never racy, that's my kind of ride
You know I never do miss the spotlight, oh that's not my scene
Yes I live on the conservative side, never in between
 

BR
CH
 

Along This Road - DADGCD - Full Capo on 3 - 6:00
 

I'm lost, got off the trail a little and I can't seem to find my way back
So I'm looking all around me for some familiar sign
I always thought I knew this place like the back of my hand
But now unfamiliar scenery leaves me wondering
Off to the left the cliff reaches high, up ahead the trees are dense
There's a stand of blue spruce and some aspen lining the way
But one of those aspen, it strikes me quite strange
It's miss shapened somehow
Then I see the lightning's handiwork and I know that it's seen brighter days
 

So I sit down on a boulder to catch my breath and to take a closer look at this tree
When I see a tiny ribbon hanging from a near branch and a heart and arrow carved in deep
With the initials JW and RL, carved with the love only these lovers see
And a feeling overwhelms me, such pure love, but something here still bothers me
 

The heart was severed perfectly, right down the middle
The lightning bolt had done this deed
And I wondered if I'd ever know just what this means
Like so many other things I can't perceive
Then the boulder I am sitting on seems to rock a bit
So I stand and move it to one side
Underneath I found a rusted locket on a silver chain
And the emotions I cannot hide
 

When I opened the locket to find what's there I see some words inscripted inside
Inscribed "Love you forever, forever is ours" and my imagination takes me for a ride
I imagine he came back here long after she'd gone and saw the split heart for the first time
Collapsing to the ground, clutching at his heart, just like me he felt it and he cried
 

I see the both of them when their love was young
With all the hope and promise lying ahead
Planning for a future of unbridled love, leaving nothing left unsaid
But somewhere down the road they walk things just go wrong
No one really knows quite why
Sometimes there's no one to blame for the love that fails, we can only try
 

So I pick myself up and gather up my stuff and try to figure out which way to go
I put the locket back, I rolled the boulder back in place
To leave this shrine intact and whole
And I wonder why love so often ends up here in an unknown place with nowhere to go
And I touch that little ribbon and resume my search for grace
Along this road I do not know
(3 times)

Carry On - Standard Tuning - No Capo - 4:08
 

The snow is falling, my love I'm calling, I haven't seen you in a long time
I've missed your smile for quite a while, so hard to live on my own now
 

Chorus 1
And I wish that I could change things, rearrange things
To let you know the way we might have gone
And I get to wondering sometimes in words that rhyme
How it is I'll come to carry on
 

I still remember that last December, there wasn't anything we needed
Everyday a lifetime in our joining lifelines, it seemed like nothing's in between us
 

Chorus 2
But you know if I could change things, the telephone rings
Telling me another lover's gone
And I get to wondering sometimes, in winter sunshine
How it is I'll come to carry on
 

BRIDGE
You didn't give me the chance I needed to show you I'm your man
All the warning signs went unheeded and how you left I still don't understand
 

The snow's still falling, and I'm still calling, I won't see you for a long time
I'll miss your smile for quite a while, gotta learn to live on my own now
 

CH1
And I get to wondering sometimes in words that rhyme
How it is I'll come to carry on
And I get to wondering sometimes in winter sunshine
How it is I'll come to carry on
 

The Folly of it All - DADGAD - Full Capo on 5 - 6:37
 

Everything dies in the winter, everything holy goes to hell
Anything left is a reminder of all we've lost, we can't tell, (can't tell)
And when I look into the future I see the promise of all time
Time that's filled with good intentions, I wish that we were not so blind, (so blind)
 

Blinded by our arrogance, thinking all we do is permanent
Taking all we need for now, death to all that's heaven sent
A world we call ours, attack it with our armament
Never looking back to see the folly of it all
 

Earthly waters spring from down below, looks so pretty in the mist
But we dare not dive below, we can only reminisce (in the mist)
And this air we're forced to breathe, it's not like we have a choice
Filled with pollutants we could never clean even if we raised our voice
 

We voice our arrogance, thinking all we do is permanent
Taking all we need for now, death to all that's heaven sent
Trash this world we call our home, who cares about it's detriment
Never looking back to see the folly of it all
 

How many forests will we clear before we have enough room to live
And who will be left here to mourn, who will be left to forgive, (forgive)
And the species long since passed away, you know they're never coming back
What is the price our children pay for all we make fade to black
 

Who'll forgive our arrogance, nothing here is permanent
Giving back's the only way to make this earth what heaven meant
A very wise man once said, "Those who don't learn from the past
Are destined to repeat it", the folly of it all...
 

The Time is Too Short - Standard Tuning - Full Capo on 2 - 4:03
 

Here I am, thinking about the two of us again
Wondering if we'll ever win the game or if we'll even ever feel the same
When I see the beginning of another shiny day
The ending of another night with you, every day the world is looking new
 

Chorus
Don't you know the time is too short, let it flow, the love in your heart
It's time to show, so give up all you can, the time is too short, we must make a plan
 

If I knew all the words there ever were to say
To tell you how I'm feeling here today I know we would surely find a way
When I see the love that you have given to me
To show the way that I can make you mine and the love I know we're bound to find

CH
 

CH
 

Question - DADGAD - Full Capo on 6 - 1:43
 

In response to your question
I say even though the bloom of romance may whither
Real love survives
And though the fire and the passion may fade
This love never dies
You can hold it in your heart, this love, hold it in your dreams, this love
And forever may it keep you in the glow of it's warmth, my love

(Hidden track with my manager Putsie the Cat)