Firestarter

Words and Music by Todd Daniel

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin and Backup Vocals - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys and Backup Vocals - Mark Bower

They always say
“Won't you meet me in the middle?”
But the middle has lost its shine

They always hide
Like beggars in the sunlight
And skulk away in time

Ohh no
You're sorry to a fault
But you cant take it back this time
Ohh no
You're tearing down the sun
In fits and starts and rhymes

They always say,
“Won’t you meet me in the center?”
But the center has lost its mind

They always lay
Like canyons in the crescent
Their shadows cast in time

Ohh no
Setting fires in the hall
With no way out in sight
Ohh no
Like the pull of the moon
Leaves miles of coastline dry

Ohh no
You’re sorry to a fault
But you cant make it right this time
Ohh no
You're spitting at the sun
Convinced, then came the night

Fireflies

Words and Music by Mark Bower

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys - Mark Bower

Originally, the first verse talked about fireflies, so Fireflies became the working title of the song. Eventually that verse was cut, but we had been playing it long enough that the name just stuck.

Cardinal, Blue Jay, Robin, Crow  
Sights I’ve seen, the names I  know  
Nothing  new, nowhere to  go
Just Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Crow   

But my friends are laughing in the kitchen
A kind of  laugh that you can’t fake  
OK  sure, you know 
We’ve heard that one before
What difference does it make?  

Well, I'm never gonna be a sweepstakes winner
But I'm pretty sure that I've got what it takes  
To be an extra in a  scene 
From the feel-good movie of next summer
Where the hero's waking up to find
That it all was a dream

And my friends will all be laughing in the back row  
A kind of laugh that you can’t fake  
OK, sure, you know we’ve all seen that one before
What  difference does it make?

In a Little While, Evermore

Words and Music by Todd Daniel and Mark Bower

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys and Backup Vocals/Spoken Word - Mark Bower

We had been playing this one for awhile when Mark pitched the idea of having a spoken word part in the song, inspired by R.E.M.’s “Belong.” At shows he’d read text from random books, but eventually adapted the original first verse that was cut from Fireflies.

Runnin' down that great big hill  
Singin' angels feign to thrill  
Singin' out their sad, sad song  
Knowin' that you never will  

In a little while, you're told,
That the worst will go
In an other way, walk that line
That they all walked before
Never more, nevermore

Couples in a deep decay
Urges they're all kept at bay
Spin around a great big sun
Orbits they were bound to break

In another world you're told
That the worst had gone
In another world weather's fine
And the stars are aligned
Nevermind, nevermind

Sitting on the back porch
In an uncomfortable silence
As the sun went down
We watched the first two fireflies of summer
Connecting in light
I envied the simplicity, the sufficiency 
Of Here I am, there you are
And my mind drifted as it often does. 

Running up that great big mound
Devils they are heaven bound
Singing out the chorus song
Run it all into the ground

In a little while you're told
That the worst will go
In a little while walk that line
That they all walked before
Evermore, Evermore

As the rising moon illuminated your half smile,
I felt I had deciphered the fireflies’ messages— 
Really see, and let yourself be seen. 
See the light in you, in me
In everything, everywhere
Evermore, evermore

Never Had Much of an Arm

Words and Music by Mark Bower

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin and Backup Vocals - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys - Mark Bower

Another example of a song that kept its working title even though the phrase “never had much of an arm” was cut from the chorus.

Pull the ladder down and climb
Into the dark and dust above a life
Worth livin’, livin’ well, and doin’ fine.

Artifacts arranged
Behind the cardboard barricades
Still tell a story of the story of the incandescent days

Blink and shrug your shoulders like you lost it
Blame it on that  pocket with the hole
But it only flew as  far as the dark  corner of the yard   
Now it’s hiding back there where the tall grass grows        

Funny what survives
The empty case to mix-tape number five
A ring of keys to nowhere anymore 

Stacks of unread books and rolls
Of undeveloped film, the summer clothes
You’ll never wear again,
Some that you never wore 

Blink and shrug your shoulders like you lost it
Blame it on that  pocket with the hole
But it only flew as  far as the dark  corner of the yard   
Now it’s hiding back there where the tall grass grows        

NMS

Words and Music by Todd Daniel

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys - Mark Bower

NMS is the abbreviation for New Mandarin Sky that we used for the working filename.

 I used to live in a screen door town  
One small step from a duty bound life
Somewhere the lights blinded me to the time
I used to live in a screen door town

I used to move in a mandarin sky
Slicing away all that held me dow
But the weight that we carry lies just round the bend
I used to move in a mandarin sky

I used to lie with impermanent souls
Their right and thier righteousness kept me alive
‘Til the earth opened up and swallowed them whole
I used to die with impermanent souls

Done and Said Again

Words and Music by Mark Bower

Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar - Todd Daniel
Violin - Lynn Rovelli
Drums - John Cunningham
Bass - Marc Kannenberg
Elec Guitar - Aaron Lowenberger
Keys and Backup Vocals - Mark Bower

Written by a guy who is an awful giver of gifts at Christmastime for his lovely wife after he briefly considered paying to name a star for her.

There’s a star in the sky
And i’m trying to name it for you
But some guy in Ohio 
Is claiming that he beat me to it

He’s got a gold certificate
I got a letter saying “cease and desist”
But If he thinks I’m gonna quit
Then he’s not fit for naming a star 

If it’s all been said, and done,
And done and said again, 
What can I do?
See that star in the sky?
Honey, I named that for you

Wrote a song instead
Started way down deep in my heart
Now it’s stuck in my head
And I can’t help but pick it apart

It was a bold experiment
I aimed for something you'd never forget 
Though it said just what I meant,
It was ten thousand other songs

If it’s all been said, and done,
And done and said again, 
What can I do?
Well this song, might not be mine
But Honey, I wrote it for  you

If it’s all been said, and done,
And done and said again, 
What can I do?
Well this song, might not be mine
But Honey, I wrote it for you

See that star up in the sky?
Honey, I named that for you         

Sunday Everywhere

Ballad of the Seven Deadlies

April Fools

Cocaine Hippos

On the Banks

Firestarter - The Reprisal