Ballads (2017)












God Bless The Child lyrics - Paula Cole

(originally by Billie Holiday)

Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Yes, the strong get's more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Money, you've got lot's of friends
Crowding round your door
But When your'e gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
No no they don't come around so lonely
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Money, you've got lot's of friends
Crowding round your door
But When your'e gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Give'em light
Give'em hope
Give'em heart
God bless the child

I Wish (I Knew How It Feels To Be Free) lyrics - Paula Cole

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holdin' me
I wish I could say all the things that I should say
Say 'em loud, say 'em clear
For the whole round world to hear

I wish I could share all the love that's in my heart
Remove all the bars that keep us apart
Oh, I wish you could know what it means to be me
Then you'd see and agree
That every man child should be free

Well, I wish I could give all I'm longin' to give
I wish I could live like I'm longin' to live
Oh, I wish I could do all the things that I can do
Though I'm way overdue
I'd be starting anew

Well, I wish I could be like a bird in the sky
How sweet it would be if I found I could fly
I'd soar to the sun and look down at the sea
And I'd sing 'cause I'd know, yeah
I would sing 'cause I'd know, yeah
I would sing 'cause I'd know

Mmm hmm hmm, whoo
Mmm
Mmm hmm hmm hmm, yeah
Whoo

Naima lyrics - Paula Cole

(Instrumental)

Ode To Billy Joe lyrics - Paula Cole

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y'all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And papa said to mama, as he passed around the blackeyed peas
Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits, please
There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow
And mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And brother said he recollected when he, and Tom, and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
I'll have another piece-a apple pie; you know, it don't seem right
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge
And now ya tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And mama said to me, child, what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cookin' all morning, and you haven't touched a single bite
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today
Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge
And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge

A year has come and gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
And brother married Becky Thompson; they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going 'round; papa caught it, and he died last spring
And now mama doesn't seem to want to do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge
And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge

You've Changed lyrics - Paula Cole

I've an awful feeling that
This thought that's been a-stealing
Through my brain
Is not to be ignored

But to really tell the truth
Though I'm not a well known sleuth
I honestly believe
That you are bored

You've changed
That sparkle in your eye is gone
Your smile is just a careless yawn
You're breaking my heart
You've changed

You've changed
You're kisses now are so blase
You're bored with me in every way
I can't understand
You've changed

You've forgotten the words 'I love you'
Each memory that we've shared
You ignore every star above you
I can't realize you've ever cared

You've changed
You're not the angel I once knew
No need to tell me that we're through
It's all over now
You've changed

What A Little Moonlight Can Do lyrics - Paula Cole

Ooh, woo, woo
What a little moonlight can do
Ooh, woo, woo
What a little moonlight can do to you
You're in love
Your heart's a-flutter and all day long
You only shudder 'cause your poor tongue
Just won't utter the words "I love you"

Ooh, woo, woo
What a little moonlight can do
Wait a while
'Til a little moonbeam comes peepin' through
You'll get bold
You can't resist him
And all you'll say
When you have kissed him is
Ooh, ooh, woo
What a little moonlight can do

You'll get bold
You can't resist him
And all you'll say
When you have kissed him is
Ooh, ooh, woo
What a little moonlight can do

I'm Old Fashioned lyrics - Paula Cole

(originally by Nan Wynn)

I'm old fashioned
I love the moonlight
I love the old fashioned things

The sound of rain
Upon a window pane
The starry song that April sings

This year's fancies
Are passing fancies
But sighing sighs, holding hands
This my heart understands

I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it
That's how I wanna be
As long as you agree
To stay old fashioned with me

The sound of rain
Upon a window pane
The starry song that April sings

This year's fancies
Are passing fancies
But sighing sighs, holding hands
This my heart understands

I'm old fashioned
But I don't mind it
That's how I wanna be
As long as you agree
To stay old fashioned with me

The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll lyrics - Paula Cole

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath'rin'
And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face

William Zanzinger who at twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering and his tongue it was snarling
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face

Hattie Carroll was a maid in the kitchen
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle
And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger
And you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Take the rag away from your face

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that ladder of law has no top and no bottom
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way witout warnin'
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now is the time for your tears

Never Will I Marry lyrics - Paula Cole

Never, never will I marry
Never, never will I wed

Born to wander solitary
Wide my world, narrow my bed
No, never, never, never will I marry
Born to wander 'til I'm dead

No burdens to bear
No conscience or care
No memories to mourn
No turning, for I was

Born to wander solitary
Wide my world, narrow my bed
No, never, never, never will I marry
Born to wander 'til I'm dead

No burdens to bear
No conscience or care
No memories to mourn
No turning, for I was

Born to wander solitary
Wide my world, narrow my bed
No, never, never, never will I marry
Born to wander 'til I'm dead

Skylark lyrics - Paula Cole

Skylark
Have you anything to say to me?
Won't you tell me where my love can be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
Where someone's waiting to be kissed?

Oh, skylark
Have you seen a valley green with spring?
Where my heart can go a-journeying
Over the shadows and the rain
To a blossom covered lane

And in your lonely flight
Haven't you heard the music in the night?
Wonderful music
Faint as a will of the wisp, crazy as a loon
Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon

Oh, skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there?

Oh, skylark
I don't know if you can find these things
But my heart is riding on your wings
So if you see them anywhere
Won't you lead me there?

Oh, skylark
Won't you lead me there?

The Ballad Of Hollis Brown lyrics - Paula Cole

(originally by Bob Dylan)

Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
With his wife and five children
And his cabin all broken down

You looked for work and money
And you walked a ragged mile
You looked for work and money
And you walked a ragged mile
Your children are so hungry
That they don't know how to smile

Your baby's eyes look crazy
They're a-tugging at your sleeve
Your baby's eyes look crazy
They're a-tugging at your sleeve
You walk the floor and wonder why
With every breath you breathe

Rats have got your flour
And bad blood has got your mare
Rats have got your flour
And bad blood has got your mare
Is there anyone who knows?
Is there anyone who cares?

You prayed to the Lord above
Please send you a friend
You prayed to the Lord above
Please send you a friend
Your empty pockets tell you
No, that you ain't got no friends

Your baby's crying louder now
It's pounding at your brain
Your babies are crying louder now
It's pounding at your brain
Your wife's screams are stabbin' you
Like the dirty drivin' rain

Your grass is turnin' black
No water in your well
Your grass is turnin' black
No water in your well
You spent your lone last dollar
On seven shotgun shells

Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That's hanging on your wall

Your brain is a-bleedin'
And your legs can't seem to stand
Your brain is a-bleedin'
And your legs can't seem to stand
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That you're holdin' in your hand

There's seven breezes a-blowin'
All around the cabin door
There's seven breezes a-blowin'
All around the cabin door
Seven shots ring out
Like the ocean's poundin' roar

Seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
There's seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
Somewhere in the distance
There's seven new people born

Body And Soul lyrics - Paula Cole

My heart is sad, lonely
For you I sigh, for you dear only
Why haven't you seen it?
I'm all for you, body and soul

I spend my days in longin'
And wonderin' why it's me you're wrongin'
Why haven't you seen it?
I'm all for you, body and soul

I can't believe it
It's hard to conceive it
That you'd turn away romance
Are you pretending?
It looks like the ending
Unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear

My life a hell you're makin'
You know I'm yours just for the takin'
I'd gladly surrender
Myself to you, body and soul

My life a wreck you're makin'
You know I'm yours just for the takin'
I'd gladly surrender
Myself to you, oh, body and soul

Nice Work If You Can Get It lyrics - Paula Cole

Holding hands at midnight
'Neath a starry sky
It's nice work if you can get it
And you can get it if you try

Strolling with the one boy
Sighing sigh after sigh
It's nice work if you can get it
And you can get it if you try

Just imagine someone
Waiting at the cottage door
Where two hearts become one
Who could ask for anything more?

Loving one who loves you
And then taking that vow
It's nice work if you can get it
And you can get it if you try

Just imagine someone
Waiting at the cottage door
Where two hearts become one
Who could ask for anything more?

Loving one who loves you
And then taking that vow
It's nice work if you can get it
And you can get it, won't you tell me how?

Farewell, My Friends lyrics - Paula Cole

Farewell my friends, I'm bound for Canaan
I'm traveling through the wilderness
Your company has been delightful
You do not leave my mind distressed

I go away behind to leave you
Perhaps never to meet again
But if we never have the pleasure
I hope we'll meet on Canaan's land
I go away behind to leave you
Perhaps never to meet again
But if we never have the pleasure
I hope we'll meet on Canaan's land

Farewell my friends, I'm bound for Canaan
I'm traveling through the wilderness
Your company has been delightful
You do not leave my mind distressed

I go away behind to leave you
Perhaps never to meet again
But if we never have the pleasure
I hope we'll meet on Canaan's land
I go away behind to leave you
Perhaps never to meet again
But if we never have the pleasure
I hope we'll meet on Canaan's land

I Cover The Waterfront lyrics - Paula Cole

Away from the city that hurts and mocks
I'm standing alone by the desolate docks
In the still and the chill of the night
I see the horizon, the great unknown
My heart has an ache, it's as heavy as stone
Will the dawn come along, make it light?

I cover the waterfront, I'm watching the sea
Will the one I love be coming back to me?
I cover the waterfront in search of my love
And I'm covered by a starlit sky above
Here am I patiently waiting
Hoping and longing, oh, how I yearn
Where are you? Are you forgetting?
Do you remember? Will you return?
I cover the waterfront, I'm watching the sea
For the one I love must soon come back to me
For the one I love must soon come back to me

Blue Moon lyrics - Paula Cole

Blue moon
You saw me standin' alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon
You knew just what I was there for
You heard me sayin' a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper, "Please adore me"
And when I looked to the moon, it turned to gold

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Ooh
Ooh

You Hit The Spot lyrics - Paula Cole

You hit the spot
Like a balmy breeze on a night in May
You hit the spot
Like a cool mint julep on a summery day
You hit a new high in my estimation
I had to fall
'Cause you've got so much on the ball

Oh, you hit the spot
Like the first embrace when the night is tied
You hit the spot
Like a pipe and slippers by a fireside
Matter of factly, I don't know exactly
What it is that you got
But oh oh oh, woah woah woah, you hit the spot

You hit the spot
Like a balmy breeze on a night in May
You hit the spot
Like a cool mint julep on a summery day
You hit a new high in my estimation
I had to fall
'Cause you've got so much on the ball

Oh, you hit the spot
Like the first embrace when the night is tied
You hit the spot
Like a pipe and slippers by a fireside
Matter of factly, I don't know exactly
What it is that you got
But oh oh oh, woah oh oh, you hit the spot

Willow Weep For Me lyrics - Paula Cole

Willow weep for me
Willow weep for me
Bend your branches down along the ground that runs to sea
Listen to my plea
Hear me, willow and weep for me

Gone my lover's dream
Lovely summer dream
Gone and left me here to weep my tears into the stream
Sad as I can be
Oh, hear me, willow and weep for me

Whisper to the wind and say that love is sin
To leave my heart a-breakin' and makin' all a moan
Murmur to the night to hide her starry light
So none can find me sighin' and cryin' all alone

Alone, alone, alone
Sad as I can be
Oh, listen, willow and weep for me

Autumn Leaves lyrics - Paula Cole

(originally by Yves Montand)

The falling leaves
Drift by my window
The autumn leaves
Of red and gold

I see your lips
The summer kisses
The sunburned hands
I used to hold

But since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song

But now I miss you most of all
My darling
When autumn leaves
Start to fall

But since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song

But now I miss you most of all
My darling
When autumn leaves
Start to fall

When autumn leaves
Start to fall
When autumn leaves
Start to fall

My One And Only Love lyrics - Paula Cole

(originally by Vic Damone)

The very thought of you makes my heart sing
Like an april breeze on the wings of spring
And you appear in all your splendour

My one and only love

The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
In the hush of night while I'm in your arms
I feel your lips so warm and tender
My one and only love

The touch of your hand is like heaven
A heaven that I've never known
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are mine

You fill my eager heart with such desire
Every kiss you bring sets my soul on fire
I lose myself in sweet surrender
My one and only love

Hope Is Everywhere lyrics - Paula Cole

Out of the shadows and out of the shame we are rising
No longer accepting the stigma and pain you're providing
All the awakened know love is the last word so listen
Together we'll roll like a hurricane coming for justice

Hold onto your dunce crown as you topple from your wall
Sycophants can't put back humpty dumpty from his fall

Hope is everywhere
(I lift up my head and I look past the pain)
Hope is everywhere
(Growing)
Hope is everywhere
(We're coming together to usher a change)
Hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere

Out of the prisons and closets and backrooms and bathrooms
Keeping us out of the boardrooms and into the bedrooms
Keep us in kitchens and courtrooms and ditches and basements
Cooking your food, making profits and wars, beds and babies

Hold onto your tin crown as your deeds bring you to light
Your own hell of karma's coming for you in this life

Hope is everywhere
(I lift up my head and I look past the pain)
Hope is everywhere
(Growing)
Hope is everywhere
(We're coming together to usher a change)
Hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere

Voting for love, voting for equal rights
Voting for women, voting for immigrants
Voting for peace, voting for civil rights
Voting for planet earth, voting for love
You can't hold a cyclone in your knuckles anymore
Your hating rolls away like rain
We're showing you the door

Hope is everywhere
(I lift up my head and I look past the pain)
Hope is everywhere
(Growing)
Hope is everywhere
(In every leaf, in every tree)
Hope is everywhere
(Growing)
Hope is everywhere
(You can't stop us)
Hope is everywhere
(You can't stop our love)
Hope is everywhere
(You can't stop us)
Hope is everywhere
(You can't stop our love)
Hope is everywhere...

You can't stop a hurricane
You can't ignore a mountain, of love
You can't stop a cyclone
You can't stop us, you can't stop our love
You can't stop us, you can't stop our love

Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere
Hope is everywhere

Jump to the left now, jump
Jump to the right now, jump
Jump to the left now, jump
Jump to the right now, jump

Clap nine times now
Clap nine times again
Clap nine times again
Clap nine times again
Now sing with me
Ooh, ooh, yeah, a hurricane

You can't stop a hurricane of justice
You can't stop a hurricane of love
You can't stop a hurricane of justice
You can't stop a hurricane of love

Jump to the left now, jump
Jump to the right now, jump
Jump to the left now, jump
Jump to the right now, jump

Clap nine times now
Clap nine times again
Clap nine times again
Clap nine times again
Now sing with me, yes
Ooh, ooh, yeah, hurricane

You can't stop a hurricane of justice
You can't stop a hurricane of love
You can't stop a hurricane of justice
You can't stop a hurricane of love

Hope is everywhere
(I lift up my head and I look past the pain)
Hope is everywhere
(Growing)
Hope is everywhere
(We're coming together to usher a change)
Hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere, hope is everywhere

"7" (2015)

New York City lyrics - Paula Cole

You left me standing there
At the top of the stoop
Of a federal brown stone

You left me standing there
With my heart in my hands
At Hudson & Barrow

Oh, life didn't let me
Oh, pity

New York City

You left us standing there
In our favorite cafe
Mon Petit [?]

I saw the future landscape
Of different families
Divided in two states

Oh, life didn't let me
Oh, pity

New York City

All those dreams
On my sleeve
Star maker machinery looking down at me
Laughing at my idiocy

All those dreams
So naive

What am I gonna do now I've lost everything?
What am I gonna do now I've lost everything
In the same city
In the same city that made me?

I left you wiser there
With realizations
Of romance and sorrow

I sailed up North again
Back to my homeland
And left you forever

Oh, she loved you, didn't she?
Oh, pity

New York City

Salt Of The Sea lyrics - Paula Cole

I'm but a lover
I was a map for love
(No)

Leaders or partners
They rule from all their thrones

Give it a, give it a
Give it a go
Give it a, give it a go

I will relinquish
The kingdom and Queen-ship
If you will have all of me

I am not peace
I am not ease
I am the salt of the sea
And if you want me
You have to love me
For all that I am
Sensitively

I am a lover
That's all that I want to be
(Yeah)
But though I'm a poor one
Will you still have me?

Give it a, give it a
Give it a go
Give it a, give it a go

I never wanted
This proclivity
To wear so much heart on my sleeve

I am not peace
I am not ease
I am the salt of the sea
And if you want me
Then love all of me
For all that I am
Sensitively

And I didn't hurt you
And I didn't fall
I'm just a reminder
Of the truth and the known

I am not peace
I am not ease
I am the salt of the sea
And if you want me
Then love me for of me
All of my sensitivity

I am not peace
I am not ease
I am the salt of the sea
And if you love me
Then hold on to me
And love all the salt of the sea

Give it a, give it a
Give it a go
Give it a, give it a go

"Raven" (2013)

Life Goes On lyrics - Paula Cole

Love child accident born to children themselves,
She nearly died on the table giving birth to her first back in ’63,
That was my sister Irene.
Moved into the trailer park in Ithaca, New York,
Took another job while he was going to school,
Another mouth to feed,
Well, that was me.

[Chorus:]
Oh round and round and round we go,
The seasons melt away like snow,
Oh round and round and round we go,
The years they pass away and life goes on.

Couldn’t stop trying too damned hard,
Being everything to everybody but he couldn’t hold up his heart,
And it broke him down.
So he left that town.
Moved again to the cold blue North, little town on the sea,
Innocent dreams of hope that they’d grow to be,
A little better than what he had.

[Chorus]

Father, eagle-scout, mentor, boy.
Silence the table with that bear in your voice.
My frozen fear, my swallowed tears,
Always coming down the hardest on the ones that you love best.
All my life I’ve looked to your eyes.

I’m looking back on the younger me trying so hard,
A fragile bird in the golden girl seeking love,
Her father’s child, walking in his stride.
And I’m looking now at the older man you’ve turned out to be,
The hardness has softened to empathy,
We’ve made amends, we’re better friends.

[Chorus]

Strong Beautiful Woman lyrics - Paula Cole

Strong, beautiful woman, oh so don’t let the world get you down,
Look within yourself and remember who you are.

Ten years old in braids and skirts, I’m flying down the hill,
Down the street to Grandma’s house, I step inside her world.
First she’d hold me, feed me, scold me, patiently she’d heed my moaning,
Then she’d sit me down and tell me this.

You’ll be a strong, beautiful woman, and I won’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember who carried you forth.
You’ll be a strong, beautiful woman, and I won’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember who you are.

Twenty-six and leading the band, the troubadour traveling show.
Working in a world of men, broken-hearted and alone.
I lift my head up just long enough to cease self-pitying and doubt,
I feel her spirit with me now.

You are a strong, beautiful woman, so don’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember who carried you forth.
You are a strong, beautiful woman, so don’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember, who you are.

Decades come and decades go, the thirties, forties, on it goes,
Seems I’m always holding on to this.

You are a strong, beautiful woman, so don’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember who carried you forth.

You are a strong, beautiful woman, so don’t let the world let you down.
Look within yourself and remember who you are.

Eloise lyrics - Paula Cole

I know I’m not the woman you married,
those things we promised aren’t true
Like better for worse and loving as well as we could.
The most beautiful woman I witnessed,
I knew when your eyes met my eyes,
I thanked sweet Mary cause inside I died

Eloise, Eloise, forgive me please

So how did dark clouds come over,
and hurricane through our home,
you fell out of love,
And started to look around.

the jealousy I feel inside me,
is a tiger I cannot control.
I'm loving you, hating you
Spiraling down to hell.

Eloise, Eloise, forgive me please

You borrowed my Ford 55’ pickup,
I found it parked in the lot
[?]
You alone in my truck.

And then I don’t’ know what came over,
cause I don’t’ remember the blood,
From the bullet holes, the handcuffs, the cops,

Eloise, Eloise, forgive me please

Still you arrive at the hour,
still you stay married to me,
Our love will live through this.

Eloise, Eloise, forgive me please

Sorrow-On-The-Hudson lyrics - Paula Cole

Saturn returned to Aries and my star rose and rose,
I found my little town shoes walking down a red carpet,
Naively placed by flashing bulbs.
At school we were lovers then reunited in the eye of this storm,
But love and luck collided and I followed the work,
Arm in arm at the shining top but crumbling inside,
Smiling for the public but still holding back the nervous breakdowns.

Saturn returned to Aries and my love dove and dove.
The separation ache forked our way,
And you silently withheld.
With trust and courage we confessed to a steely-eyed counselor,
But it was too late we had paved our fate,
An abyss behind Saturn’s door.

There’s a sorrow on that Hudson,
There’s an eagle who is flying looking for
a single treetop to alight and make her nest.

Saturn returned to Aries in this house I bought for two,
So cavernous and lonely in this ivory tower,
Here without you.
Oh pain my teacher, my embittered friend,
Here you come to guide me again and again and again.
And I look outside my window and all I see is you:
Sorrow-on-the-Hudson, sunsets withering West,
I wake up, palpitations screaming in my breast,
I will get over this, I will grow past you,
Sorrow-on-the-Hudson show me what to do.

There’s a sorrow on that Hudson,
There’s an Indian who’s crying to the buildings
that are built upon his fathers’ fathers.
There’s a me who dying in your cold and mighty waters.

Manitoba lyrics - Paula Cole

Falling North, of the Arctic Circle inside of you,
The bleakness, the cold eye of ice in you.
Tundra-heart, you banish all memories, all feeling,
You’re a distant cold-shoulder, I’m reeling.

Oh, we’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba.

(oh, oh, oh, oh)

Therapy, that big trigger-word that changes you,
And touches the bulls-eye of rage in you.
What’s your fear?
Remembering the abandoned little child,
Retreating in books while your father’s wild,

Oh, we’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba
Oh, we’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba.
(oh, oh, oh, oh)

Right by your side, naked and wide,
I feel my insides, start to come up inside my mouth.
It’s what I give, into this sieve,
It’s worse than lonely,
It’s hot tar on my innocence.

We’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba,
We’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba,
We’re as dead as doors, we’re as dead as ashes,
Walking through your Manitoba, walking through your Manitoba.

It’s what I give, into this sieve, it’s worse than lonely,
It’s hot tar on my innocence,
Right by your side, naked and wide,
It’s worse than lonely, it’s hot tar on my innocence.

Scream lyrics - Paula Cole

Everyone is happy here
Until you walk in
Tossing your poison around and
Silencing with your toxicity
You cannot hear me scream.

Morning routines, bedtime routines,
Going through our motions here
Living inside the romanticizing,
That trapped us in a wicked dream.
I have lost my scream.

I am all alone on the rooftops
Wanting to fall.
I will let the wind hold my body
Drowning me out.

Can’t believe, can’t believe,
I’m back here at the table,
Watching your crooked ways
As you sashay through the kitchen scene,
God where is my scream?

I am all alone on the rooftops,
Wanting to fall.
I will let the wind into my heart
and devour these killing thoughts.

Somehow, somehow,
I’ve gotta pull myself through this,
There is a way to peace,
Discovering the dormant beast.
The one lost in my scream.
Open up my feelings.
God where is my scream?

Imaginary Man lyrics - Paula Cole

I see him in my father,
I sense him in my mother,
My sister holds it in her hands,
It’s the heart of the Imaginary Man,
Oh I’ll do everything I can,
For the heart of the Imaginary Man,
I want to give all I can.

I look around me, the crowd about me,
There’s nobody to call to, nobody to hear me,
I’ll turn my back on them, I’m, I’m giving you my heart,
There’s somebody who loves me, who’s in my arms.

He comes to me when I’m sleeping,
To confess and tease and keep me bound,
He comes to me when I’m dreaming,
To ask me for my hand in vow,
Oh I’ll do everything I can,
For the heart of the Imaginary Man,
I want to give all I can.

I look around me, the crowd about me,
There’s nobody to call to, nobody to hear me,
I’ll turn my back on them, I’m, I’m giving you my heart,
There’s somebody who loves me, who’s in my arms.

Call me a lunatic for what I care, who on earth is better than the air –
Spiking the hair upon the small of my back,
Keeping me collared, enslaved and daggered,
No one knows my man, no one knows my secret plan –

I look around me, the crowd about me,
There’s nobody to call to, nobody to hear me,
I’ll turn my back on them, I’m, I’m giving you my heart,
There’s somebody who loves me, who’s in my arms.

Billy Joe lyrics - Paula Cole

The snowstorm blankets Cinncinnati.
A black crow flies straight to my window
He looks me in the eye and tells me,
The price for this will bring you sorrow.

Billy Joe, I cast a shadow, from the darkness in my soul,
Billy Joe, I lost control, the little girl who can’t say no.

The bus pulls in another city,
Wake up and don’t know where we are.
Four months without a loving shoulder.
At night I cannot fight the loving you start.

Billy Joe, I cast a shadow, from the darkness in my soul,
Billy Joe, I lost control, it was just a passing whimsical…
Billy Joe, Billy Joe, Billy Joe
Billy Joe, Billy Joe, Billy Joe

The price for this will bring you sorrow…

Billy Joe, I cast a shadow, from the darkness in my soul,
Billy Joe, you think you know - once burned twice sociological,
Billy Joe, don’t be cold, my mistakes are no worse than yours,
Billy Joe, this lonely road, conjures up the inner ghosts,
Billy Joe, I let you go, spread my legs to ease this woe,
Billy Joe, It was just a moment, don’t you see that I am yours.
Billy Joe, Billy Joe, Billy Joe.

Secretary lyrics - Paula Cole


I’ll be your secretary, oh.
I’ll fetch your vodka on the rocks,
I’ll be your secretary, oh,
I’ll reach up towards the highest shelf and,
You’ll sidle up behind me,
I do not know you’re there,
Until I feel your hands are sliding hands up my two thighs and I…

And I want it violent,
And I want it mental,
And I want it gentle.

I’ll be your secretary, oh,
I’ll kneel down on the floor (in front of you)
I’ll be your secretary, oh,
I’ll open up my mouth and you will
lift me up and lay me over
Your secretary,
Until I feel your hands are sliding hands up my two thighs and I…

And I want it violent,
And I want it mental,
And I want it gentle.

I’ll be your secretary, oh,
So kneel down on the floor in front of me,
You’ll be my secretary, oh,
Now come and be my Florence Nightingale.
I want you in my apron,
I want you to paint the walls,
I want to come and smack you,
Make you hot and sore, now get down on the floor, and I…

And I want it violent,
And I want it mental,
And I want it gentle.

I’ll be your secretary, oh.

Why Don't You Go? lyrics - Paula Cole

Don’t believe, you’re still with me,
How much pain, can we take?

Why don’t you go?
Why don’t you go?
Why don’t you go a-lookin’ boy,
and find another girl,
Why don’t you go.

Do you really want me?
All of my ugly?
Seems I bleed the one,
the one I love this deeply.

Why don’t you go?
Why don’t you go?
Why don’t you go a-lookin’ boy,
and find another girl,
Why don’t’ you go.

A plague of low self-esteem.
Pathetic, fulfilling needs.
Just leave me emptier.
The shame to face the mirror.
I see her she’s calling, calling.
She’s crying for freedom, freedom.
The light in her eyes is an angel’s.
With love she’ll break from her shell.

Red Corsette lyrics - Paula Cole

I am not your enemy, I am not your dream unlived.
I am just this song I have today.
All I have is melody and string.

If Frida Kahlo could see us here together, here today,
She’d paint us in some churches, in some feathers, in some gray.
She’d see us in our suffering and cut our arteries,
And there would flow down fountains, flow down fountains

From my Red Corsette.

Whale bone from the killing of the largest peaceful being,
Is blue and bound around my waist and will not let me sing,
I cannot breathe, I feel too faint just as they’d have me be,
But I do not belong here, I am shedding off this, shredding off this

Red Corsette.

I am not your enemy, I am not your dream unlived.
I am just this song I have today.
All I have is melody and pain.
I don’t have the words inside for oceans upon oceans cried,
All I have is this song today.
And I’ll sing it now for those who cannot,
Sing it now for those who dare not,
Sing it now for those who know not,

Red Corsette.

"Ithaca" (2010)

The Hard Way lyrics - Paula Cole

What a fall from Grace, what a cruel deceit,
What a lack of love behind the sociopathy.
Used me for your secrets, used me for some dimes,
Breaking blood upon this single mother’s whipping hide,
And this bitter wisdom makes me quiet and still.

Peace and happiness, in our hearth and home,
Just optimistic wishes from my blind and trusting hope.
If only I had listened to that inner voice,
I never would have carried out that people-pleasing choice.
And this bitter wisdom makes me scared to trust again.

I found out the hard way, I tasted the apple.
Found out the hard way, abandoned the garden of innocence.

Yes I walked the aisle to make a man of you,
But those very papers brought me unexpected truth.
Crawling back to zero, these lessons in my life,
Bring me closer to the tender mortal life am I,
And this sober wisdom brings silver linings to light.

I found out the hard way, I tasted the apple,
Found out the hard way, I played in the lightning,
Found out the hard way by pushing the boundaries,
Found out the hard way, abandoned the garden of innocence.

Found out the hard way, discovered a backbone,
Found out the hard way, I learned to love myself,
Found out the hard way, the payment for freedom,
Found out the hard way, abandoned the garden of innocence.

Waiting On A Miracle lyrics - Paula Cole

A tree it grows in Brooklyn, the force it grows in me,
I’m cracking up the concrete of a life that nearly killed me.
A woman’s just a man away from Welfare so they say,
And Lord I know it to be true, when you’re married by the State.

Yes I’m waiting on a miracle, yes I’m waiting for the sun to shine in,
Waiting, on a miracle, yes I’m waiting for the sun to shine in.

No restraining order, what a fool was she,
A trusting small-town innocent in love with mystery,
You can take the boy from the ghetto, but the ghetto from the boy?
I guess he won his fool’s gold from another woman’s life.

Yes I’m waiting on a miracle, yes I’m waiting for the sun to shine in,

Waiting, on a miracle, yes I’m waiting for the sun to shine in.

Thank you for the laughter, thank you for these tears,
Thank you for my daughter and teaching me no fear,
The money never mattered, just to pay to get us free,
I have my girl, now leave my world, good luck back on the street.

Yes I’m waiting on a miracle, yes I’m waiting for the sun to shine in,
Waiting on a miracle, waiting for the sun to shine in.

Music In Me lyrics - Paula Cole

The echo of shame, the voice inside my head,
The need for love, the insecurity.

Cutting me down, to the fourteen year old girl,
The Father Figure criticizing me.

Go on – through the darkest night,
Cause I know inside the answer’s here in me.

There’s blood on my soul, for speaking out my pain,
Perpetuating hurt in family.
My mother in me – I cannot explain,
My need for love from her will never wane.

Go on – through the darkest night,
Cause I know inside the answer’s here in me.
Go on – the shadowboxing fight
Disappears when all the music’s here in me.
Like an oracle the music’s here in me.
And I thank you God for music here in me.

Go on – through the darkest night,
Cause I know inside the answer’s here in me
Go on – the shadowboxing fight
And I’ll heal with understanding,
And I’ll deal with patient loving,
And I’ll make it cause the music’s here in me.

Elegy lyrics - Paula Cole

Who is this hurting mother?
Don’t want to be her now.
Who in the hell’s that sad reflection?
How did I lose myself?
How many times I walk the river, wondering what life’s for,
Sobbing beneath the staid performance,
Too scared to let it out.

Duty calls…duty calls…

Who is this hurting daughter,
Going down the rabbit hole?
Falling into a crushing darkness,
Shedding skins of the soul.
How many times I walk the river, wanting to lose myself?
Weight of an overcoat of sorrow,
Too sensitive for this world.

Duty call…duty calls…

Time to do the drop off, time to make the meals,
Time to greet the neighbors, be a perfect ten,
Smiling in the exterior, but nervous and distressed,
Plodding on this treadmill, take another pill.
Start another morning, wake to the alarm,
Rise up in the darkness, get inside the car,
Join the rank and file, thousands in the flow,
Minnows on the freeway, on and on it goes…

I don’t want to go.
I don’t want to live this.
I don’t want this life.
There is more than this.

Who is that serious child,
The one left alone?
Mother is in the kitchen crying again,
No use to ask for help

So it goes...so it goes...

Come On Inside lyrics - Paula Cole

You mean the world to me, I knew that moment then.
Your eyes poured into mine, I saw myself.
You now are home to me, it’s in the little things.
We now have years between, silences of knowing,
Eternities in seconds, unfolding in dreams I feel the future of our lives.

Come on inside this broken heart and make a home.
Come on inside these empty arms and hold me close.
Come on inside the bedtime covers, feel my warmth.
Come on inside my secret places, I am yours.

There is a universe, there is a galaxy,
There is an easy chair, here inside of me.
Waiting here for you and me,
Let’s build a life together - I’ve waited too long.

Come on inside this broken heart and make a home.

Come on inside these empty arms and hold me close.
Come on inside the quilted covers, feel my warmth.
Come on inside my secret places, I am yours.

Maybe fire raged, maybe karma played its way,
Maybe all my life was blind so I could find you.

Come on inside this broken heart and make a home.
Come on inside these empty arms and hold me close.
Come on inside the nighttime covers, feel my warmth.
Come on inside my secret places, I am yours.

P.R.E.N.U.P. lyrics - Paula Cole

Prenup, babygirl, prenup baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.
Prenup, babygirl, prenup baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.

This is a page from my own life,
Here’s some advice:
Before you sign on the dotted line,
Filled with hope for the perfect life,
Love yourself enough for peace of mind.

Prenup, babygirl, prenup, baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.
Prenup, babygirl, prenup, baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.

Think of the years you dedicate
Think of today.
Billie and Aretha sang - mind yourself with some self-respect,
Self-love indeed is highest love.

Prenup, babygirl, prenup, baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.
Prenup, babygirl, prenup, baby, P.R.E.N.U.P.
In a D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
Self-R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

F.Y.I., I’m T.C.B.
Cause I.O.U. nothin’ baby,
My P.O.V.’s here for posterity
So you’ll be free A.S.A.P.
P.R.E.N.U.P,
P.R.E.N.U.P.

Violet Eyes lyrics - Paula Cole

Years keep dripping away, I notice the little things,
Moments in a mirror, holding the paper farther.
Moving slower and feeling colder,
Scared to trust my heart to another.

But I realized in the bottom of my well, that I was nowhere: safe but still in hell.
I had to pick myself up and believe that I would love again.
Yes, I will love again.

And I’ll love you for life, heart of my cry, darling of mine.
And I’ll walk through this fire, lay down my life, my violet eyes.

Oh Universe, oh Godly place, delivered you in a Christmas cake.
Sweaters and cheddars and knowing your mother,
Poems, and lamas, and children among us,
Valentines, and showing spine,
Going after what was mine
So divine, those kisses on our first night,

And patience and wisdom pulling us to each-other, blessings in finding our life together,
I’m picking myself up and believing that I will love again.
Yes I do love again.

And I’ll love you for life, heart of my cry, darling of mine.
And I’ll walk through this fire, lay down my life, my violet eyes.

A notarized paper will never together make our unity.
The wreckage of marriage, the bloody damned baggage between you and me,
Won’t tarnish this silent of sacred decrees,
That I will, I will be
Yours eternally.

And I’ll love you for life, heart of my cry, darling of mine.
And I’ll walk through this fire, lay down my life, my violet eyes,
Violet eyes, violet eyes.

Somethin' I've Gotta Say lyrics - Paula Cole

I lost but I did not lose the lesson,
No, I was so lonely there at the top of my mountain,
And I can be the Joan of Arc of courage,
But with one touch of lust I crumbled in his arms.

Maybe I don’t understand what it takes to make it last,
It doesn’t help when little girls are pushed too far and too damned fast,
They grow up to be the woman dancing in a cage,
And learning too late the acquiescing turns to rage.

There’s somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say.

What I love is also what I hate.
This music kills me then forces me to stand up straight,
So don’t confuse positivity for naïveté,
The great ones walked through hell to become that way.

And oh my God the tests get harder,
My love and I are torn apart,
Why do I feel I must choose between my music and my heart,

Futile pressure running on this hamster wheel,
I will walk down the path of motherhood I feel.

There’s somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say, say, say, say.

All my life I strove to be the first one in my family to achieve,
Grab a hold of that brass ring,
But money’s so empty, the road will leave you lonelier than lonely, I’m sorry,
I learned my lesson late in life and love, forgive me.

There’s somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
Somethin’ I’ve gotta say,
There’s somethin’ I’ve gotta say, in my life, in my time, talking about it.
There’s somethin’ I’ve gotta say, say, say, say and today’s gonna be my day.

Sex lyrics - Paula Cole

Come down here and lie with me,
Tonight the soil is wet and ready,
I watched the way you danced tonight,
And I’m picturing you as I touch my inside.
Full pink lips and fingertips,
I’m drinking you in little sips,
God I love you, God I love you,
I’m going to do some things I never dared to do.

I’m going to whisper in your ear,
Tell you little things,
Nasty, trashy, dirty love letters,
More creative than the magazines,
I’ll breathe until you come,
Kiss you ‘til you’re done,
Three thousand miles away,
In another state,
Talking on the telephone.

My sugar’s down deep in South America,
Singing in Brazil,
Where the women shake their nature,
Greased up with fuck-me-pumps and a postage stamp thong.
Better go back to your room,
And call me on the telephone,
Get on my roller coaster ride,
My tilt-a-whirl,
My tunnel of love will make your heart unfurl.

I’m going to whisper in your ear,
Tell you little things,
Nasty, trashy, dirty love letters,
More creative than the magazines,
I’ll breathe until you come,
Kiss you ‘til you’re done,
Three thousand miles away,
In another state,
Talking on the telephone.

Now that you're gone and I'm on the road,
Now that you're gone, I'll love you from afar.
Now that you're gone and I'm on the road,
Now that you're gone, I'll love you from afar.

Get back down upon your knees.
Rip, unzip, undo me, please.
My legs are oiled up, Mamita's down.
I've got my brand new four-inch high heels on.

I’m going to whisper in your ear,
Tell you little things,
Nasty, trashy, dirty love letters,
More creative than the magazines,
I’ll breathe until you come,
Kiss you ‘til you’re done,
Three thousand miles away,
In another state,
Talking on the telephone.

Now that you're gone and I'm on the road,
And now that you're gone, I'll love you from afar.
Now that you're gone and I'm on the road,
And now that you're gone, I'll love you from afar.

2 Lifetimes lyrics - Paula Cole

We were born into this life to cry and yearn and learn and die.
We lose the plot, we play the parts,
But only once we have this heart,
This chance between...

2 lifetimes, constellations-sparkling-lectric-energy,
The pull between,
2 lifetimes, take my hand and walk upon the path with me,
Reality, is love.

All we leave behind is lost,
Just things to gather lust and dust.
The house for sale, the grand estates,
The echoes of the somebodies,
Who sought love in...

2 lifetimes, constellations-sparkling-lectric-energy,
The pull between,
2 lifetimes, blessed holy moment in the unity,
The most sacred thing,
2 lifetimes, take my hand and walk upon the path with me,
Reality,
2 lifetimes, rivers under bridges past and future meet,
The way between...
2 lifetimes.

All that lives is love.

"Courage" (2007)

Comin' Down lyrics - Paula Cole

Lord make me a lightning bolt to burn off this ring
(comin' down, comin' down),
Lord make me a Skilsaw to cut through these chains
(comin' down, comin' down),
Lord give me the clarity to see through this smoke,
And salvage the woman comin' down.
Lord make me an arrow to pierce through the lies
(comin' down, comin' down),
Lord make me a lens to better see my life
(comin' down, comin' down),
Lord make me an instrument to sing away the pain,
This rushing river, comin' down.
I'm free, here in the mountains of peace may I be.
I see the greatness above and the smallness of me.

Lord I'm mistaken in the choices that I made
(comin' down, comin' down)
I made me a prison that should've been a man
(comin' down, comin' down)
Lord help me discover the courage to Be,
To handle these changes comin' down.
I'm free here in the mountains of peace may I be,
I see the greatness above and the smallness of me.
So free, here in garden awake consciously,
I see the greatness within; the greatness in me.
Lord I'm your instrument, I'll shoulder the weight,
Of feeling emotions in a deeper shade.
I'll be the one who puts them to song,
And liberate the heartache comin' down.

Love Light (Cardinal) lyrics - Paula Cole

Crimson cardinal sees his life,
Into the glass he fl ies.
The perfect partner he does spy,
A moment's glance of eyes.
Refl ections of a future love,
Feel the pull of fate.
The perfect love turned out to be,
Himself in haste and vain,
Passion's fl ash of red,
Bloodied on the pane.
In your eyes I fi nd,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight.
Blinded by surprise,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight.
All the qualities I loved,

Now bite me black and blue.
All the joys you loved in me,
Come biting back at you.
So innocent we found ourselves,
Becoming what we feared.
'Til death do us our shadows part,
Make room through all these tears,
'Til something new appears,
Reborn in this nadir.
In your eyes I fi nd,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight.
Blinded by surprise,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight,
You are my lovelight.
I won't fi nd happiness, looking outside myself.
I'll fi nd my happiness, looking inside myself.

El Greco lyrics - Paula Cole

I'm black on blacker velvet,
Milk skin and veins,
Like some El Greco painting,
So full of pain.
So full of longing for light of day.
I thought I knew who I was in the world.
But here I am twice blind at being born,
Crawling to my buried voice, within.
And I've forgotten who I used to be.
And I've forgotten the woman in red,
Living her dream.
And I've forgotten the courage I used to be.
Happiness is overrated,
It never lasts.
Skating the surface of oceanic depths.
Oh may the fruit of my life be meaning.
So please forgive me all my seriousness,
My so-called spirituality,
I'm just a mess.

I'm tears and anxiety,
But I'm unafraid to See.
And I've forgotten who I used to be,
The leader in her glory shining, divining.
And I've forgotten, the courage I used to be,
The middle passage is so damned humbling, persona crumbling,
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.
And I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, and I try.
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know,
And I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, and I try.
Like some El Greco painting,
No sun or sky.
No lantern, no candle needed to light,
The holy radiance behind the eyes.
And I've forgotten who I used to be.
And I've forgotten the woman in red, living her dream.
And I've forgotten the courage I used to be.
I don't know...

Lonely Town lyrics - Paula Cole

Spin the globe, stop and start.
Come to a place that's torn apart.
Here's a secret, it's my heart,
Oh well,
It's only...
Broken shutters, whistling wind,
Vultures circling overhead,
Tumbleweeds fl y,
Dust in my eyes,
Guess it's not my feelings crying.
Peeling paint on empty homes,
Where people lived in this town long ago,
Packed their bags, nailed down the door,
To Lonelytown.
Oh I once had a love of my life,

The sun of my soul.
But I took him for granted,
Ignored all the signs,
And now it's just memories and passing ghosts.
Spiderwebs and weeds waist high,
Abandoned schoolyards and rusted wire.
Looking for love,
Looking for life,
In Lonelytown.
If you're lucky with a love of your own.
Remember this in a nutshell I've told:
Hold them close and don't let go,
And cherish forevermore.
Or you will live in Lonelytown.

14 lyrics - Paula Cole


Your eyes, they conjure up those cliffs of Moher
Far away I'm not listening anymore
Dreaming of life on another shore
Not here, not now with me the bore

So I stopped talking and fade to bleak
Feeling insignificant after feeling weak
Even though it's not who I know myself to be
The queen, the confidence doesn't speak

[Chorus]
But I was 14 with my passion and 15 with my best
16 with ego and zero with the rest, oh yeah
My heart is a POW tangled in my chest
I don't know how to communicate in a cardiac arrest

Your eyes they, drown me in your sadness
Your words, they bring hurricanes
I'm braving Shakespearian tempest

The mighty tiger doesn't blink

[Chorus]

I think you were the one
Silent suffering inside
The one got away
I was too dangerous to hide

[Chorus]

So I stopped talking, baby
Cause you always want me to shut up
Take this ever stage me
While I become you trusted silent prop
So take good care
This mighty woman's ready to explode
Fire here on the surface of my volcano

Hard To Be Soft lyrics - Paula Cole

Where's my white knight,
My prince to save the day?
I've always paved my own way.
I'm all alone, Bringing home the bread,
Raising the kid, fi xing the bed.
I wanna be a star, Like Marilyn Monroe,
A Cinderella Fantasy, A naive Clara Bow,
A princess and the pea, I try to play the part,
Surrounded by society, Hypnotizing me,
It's hard to be soft.
I'm all alone, At the mommy and me,
Wishing for some company,
I'm the only one, Keeping the home alive,
Making the meals, She's 9 to 5.
I wanna have a star, Like Marilyn Monroe,
A Cinderella fantasy, A naive Clara Bow,
A princess and the pea, We try to play the part,
Surrounded by society, Hypnotizing me,
It's hard to be soft.
Out there on my own,
Successful in the world,
It works to be so strong,

But when I come home,
My pendulum's outta control,
I'm passive or I let my fi re blow.
In a man's world it's hard to be soft.
I don't want to be a star,
Like Marilyn Monroe,
A Cinderella fantasy,
A naive Clara Bow,
A princess and the pea,
I try to play the part,
Surrounded by society,
Hypnotizing me to be,
Home-baked apple pie,
A centerfold in heels,
A Betty Crocker Pamela,
Complacent to believe,
In my Mr. Right,
A pipe and slippers guy,
A ready, steady, rock-hard Eddy,
Oops not always, guess it's only,
Hard to be soft.

It's My Life lyrics - Paula Cole

That quiet voice inside of my soul
It's rising up again
Oh I know it's the time again, life is short
Gotta grab the wheel of life.

Indecision, should-haves, could-haves
will only rip my joy away.
This inner cross-roads may define me,
but it's the only way.

'Cause it's my life
And I am free
To live my life
The way I feel

For all the people who hear my song
Why not take a chance?
By keeping the child alive in our heart
There's truth and meaning there.

Trusting beauty

Truth, perfection
I'll never lead my light astray
Listen to my intuition
Gather up my faith

'Cause it's my life
And I am free
To live my life
The way I feel

Deep inside I know I can,
Deep inside I'm beautiful,
Tell myself I won't give up,
Tell myself have courage now,
Willingness and openness
Step by step and day by day,
Over time a thousand fields,
Will have passed beneath my feet.

'Cause it's my life

Safe In Your Arms lyrics - Paula Cole

Sometimes I'm too bold for my own good
I go out swinging hard and fast
This world is beating me broken
I need a home to rest

Too quick in the first round
Too slow in the second
Now I'm here in the third
And I need your attention.

I wanna be safe in your arms.
I wanna be safe in your arms.
I wanna be safe in your arms.
Safe in our home.
Safe in our land.
Safe in our world.
Safe in your arms.

It don't matter how strong I think I am.
I always need another heart.
To bind me in the moment.
To help me see myself.

Alive in the fourth round.
Collapsed in the fifth.
Now I'm here in the sixth
And I need your belief.

I wanna be safe in your arms.
I wanna be safe in your arms.
I wanna be safe in your arms.
Safe in our home.
Safe in our land.
Safe in our world.
Safe in your arms.

I Wanna Kiss You lyrics - Paula Cole

I wanna kiss you. I wanna kiss you.
I wanna stop the conversation,
I wanna kiss you.

Oh, lie beside me now,
Funny papers, morning sunlight streams,
Oh fantasize me now,
I'll kiss your neck and make your toast and tea,
Oh won't you marry me?
I see a little church atop a hill.
But in the meantime I wanna lose my shame.

I wanna kiss you. I wanna kiss you.
I wanna stop the conversation.
I wanna kiss you. I wanna feel you.
I wanna feel you.
I wanna lean my body into yours.
I wanna feel you.

Oh believe me now,

Walk with me upon the path I see.
Oh a cozy home,
Nestled in an English garden scene.
You will write your books,
And I will paint my paintings by the sea.
But now I'll be Lolita if you please.
I wanna kiss you. I wanna kiss you.
I wanna stop the conversation.
I wanna kiss you. I wanna hold you.
I wanna hold you.
I wanna wrestle you down to the ground.
Oh...

I wanna kiss you. I wanna kiss you.
I wanna stop the conversation.
I wanna kiss you. I wanna have you.
I wanna have you.
I wanna be a possessive girl.
I wanna have you.
Hold you, hurt you, love you, need you, love you, wrestle you down to the ground,
Bite you, love you, hold you,
I wanna kiss you.

In Our Dreams lyrics - Paula Cole

(Holding on, holding on, holding on...)
Here in this vacancy,
Where we existed,
I carry on in life like some puppet acting her part.
The very core of me,
An empty garden.
The tree of life once fl owered her arms to open sky.
An angel guided you home, now I'm alone, now I'm alone,
The living on's the hardest part,
And the days are endless hours.
This house is silent now.
The bed's much bigger.
The television's constant to keep me company.
The Maker guided you home,
Now I'm alone, now I'm alone,
The living on's the hardest part,
And the days are endless hours,
But then at night when my soul is in fl ight,
And together we meet in the galaxy,

Love know no lease,
We're here in the meadow of grace and peace,
We meet again in our dreams.
So if you hear me now,
'Cause I know you're out there.
Wait for my homecoming when I cross the other side.
A little bird fl ew you home,
Now I'm alone, now I'm alone,
The living on's the hardest part,
And the days are endless hours.
But then at night when my soul is in fl ight,
And together we meet in the galaxy,
Love knows no lease,
We're here in the meadow; our secret place.
We meet again in our dreams.
In our dreams.
In our dreams.
Some days we meet again in our dreams.

Until I Met You lyrics - Paula Cole

Crumbling down, My life,
All these lies, I put on a pedestal.
Walking around, Broken down shoes,
Broken down vows, My same broken heart.
And I know the silence is good for me. And I know how to be alone.
And I know I'm trying to wait this out. And I know, I gotta go.
Then our eyes meet 'cross the room, And I feel like I'm flying outside myself.
I can't catch my breath, I just feel something switch,
Can't explain myself.
I thought I was happy, Until I met you.
I see a house, There's a child,
Alone on a swing, Where's his mother been?
She's in the back, Hiding her tears,
Making it work, The way it's worked for a thousand years.
I don't know why I walk through the same charade,
I don't know what I'm feeling right now,
But I know I'm tired of the same old tears,
And I know something's gotta change.

Then our eyes meet cross the room, And I feel like I'm flying outside myself.
I can't catch my breath, I just feel something switch,
Can't explain myself.
I don't know why I walk through the same charade,
I don't know what I'm feeling right now,
But I know I'm tired of the same old tears,
But I know I gotta go.
Then our eyes meet cross the room, And I feel like I'm flying outside myself.
I can't catch my breath, I just feel something switch,
Can't explain myself.
We meet cross the room, And I feel like I'm flying outside myself.
I can't catch my breath, I just feel something switch,
Can't explain myself.
I thought I was happy, Until I met you.
Until I met you. (Something inside of me tells me to change my life)
Until I met you. (Something inside of me tells me to fly)
And now I've met you.

"Amen" (1999)

I Believe In Love lyrics - Paula Cole

It all started nine years ago
You sat to my left back in school
The future showed itself to me
The god in you, the god in me, stood together like two trees
I was so shy to inquire If you would like tea sometime
Then in my Mercury
Hand on hand, hand on knee,
mercy, mercy, mercy me

And I believe in love To be the center of all things
And I believe in love to be the way
And I believe in love To be the center of all things
And I believe in love to be the way
To find our inner light

I saw a vision where we
Were opening presents Christmas Day
But we were not all alone The wedding was shotgun
We had a daughter and a son
So how cruel to realize
You had a woman all the time
But my love burns bright as the sun
The clouds may come, the clouds may go
And I'll still be here at your door

And I believe in love...

Thank you for waiting through my lovers
Knowing we could come home to each other
Yes, I have waited through these winters
My true one was waiting here

And I believe in love...

Amen lyrics - Paula Cole

I'm siphoning gass from the high school bus
Into the tank of my beat-up bug
So I can drive away from the shouting and misery
I drive into the night, to the hill, to the water tower
To lie on my back and drink in the meteor shower
Knowing that many men have lain as I do now
Ptolemy, Copernicus, Carl Jung Pondering his existence,
pondering, Is God with me now?
And I look to the sky And I ask these questions
Yes, I feel something I don't understand
Can somebody say Amen?
My life is but a short and precious seed
Like three seasons of life in a leaf on a tree
And when I cascade to the ground I will not be done
I will mingle with the earth and give life
To the roots again
Can somebody say Amen?
And I look to the sky And I ask these questions
Yes, I feel something I don't understand
Can somebody say Amen?
Amen for the drivers in their garbage trucks
Amen for our mothers, for the lust to fuck
Amen for the child with innocent eyes
Amen for Kevorkian and the right to die
Amen for NASA, The NSA It's all a front anyway
Amen for Marilyn Manson, Saddam Hussein
Amen for America and the Milky Way.
Amen for Elvis, for Betty Page
Amen for Gloria Steinham and Ronald Reagan
Amen for O.J., Clinton too
Amen for the Republican witch hunt coup
Amen for Gandhi, for Malcolm X
Amen for the uprising of the weaker sex
Amen for Babylon, the third world's call
Amen for the unity of us all
Amen, Amen, Amen
And I am not unique.
We are all leave on this great big tree
This tree that is life, that is God, that is you, that is me
And I lie under my tree like the Buddhas before and after me
And I ask the stars, "What for?"
Yes, I feel something I can't explain
A light that flickers off and on again
And I look to the sky And I ask these questions
Yes, I feel something I don't understand
Oh, can somebody say Amen?

La Tonya lyrics - Paula Cole

(Didn't your Mama tell you how to behave, girl?
Didn't your Daddy tell you not to wear that little thing?)
Been told you never get something for nothing
My stepfather Dickie say I just might get hit If I don't give
The girls all shisper 'hind my back They try to break me with cruel attacks
The boys they want only one thing And so I give it, don't complain
Daddy's gone, Mama lost her job Our house ain't a home no more
Still my faith's unshaken in God I feel so lonely for hope and company
I don't take much and I give everything for free
(So, don't you want me?) The girls all whisper'hind by back
My baby brother's smoking crack The boys they want only one thing
And so I give it, don't complain
Daddy's gone, Mama lost her job Our house ain't a home no more
Still my faith's unshaken in god I dream I get a record deal
I'll buy a way out of here Or maybe a new Lexus jeep Or just a friend
(Am I dreamin'? Am I dreamin'?)
There's Mr. Roberts, Juan and Paul All waiting for me down the hall
But then tomorrow they don't call Still a moment's better
than none at all Daddy's gone (My name is La Tonya)
Mama lost her job (I am a sophomore)
Our house ain't a home no more (I'll be sixteen in August)
Since Mama broke her soul (I like to sing in chorus)
Daddy's gone (My name is La Tonya)
Mama lost her job (I am a sophomore)
Our house ain't a home no more (I'll be sixteen in August)
Still my faith's unshaken Lord won't you please save me?
Is this the new slavery? Here on the ghetto pavement?
But I believe in you baby
Yes, my faith's unshaken In God.

Pearl lyrics - Paula Cole

Humility on Bleecker Street Exposed my faults until
I'm left defeated It's been three years into this relationship
This is longer than I ever could commit But I feel I'm near
But I feel my fear I'm standing at the edge of another precipice in life
Gotta face my steppenwolf Gotta drag you through the mud
When I get there I will see myself
I will look for strength within I will be a better woman
Hang in there baby, I'm the grain of sand Becoming the pearl
There are no roll models in rock 'n' roll
No women who could have it all
The long career, the man, the happy family
And here I stand and god I do demand it
And I feel I'm near But I feel my fear
I'm standing at the edge of another precipice in life
Gotta face my steppenwolf Gotta drag you through the mud
When I get there I will see myself I will look for strength within
I will be a better woman Hang in there baby, I'm the grain of sand
Becoming the pearl
It's dark in here-Don't know who I am
Memories come-I'm wading through the moon
Evil side-Wants to drag me down Will power-God,
please give me some (I'm hanging onto hope now)
I'm standing at the edge of another precipice in life
Baggage from my family Going back to therapy
I will kneel, be humble, tow the weight
I will look for strength within I will be a better woman
Hang in their baby, I'm the grain of sand
Becoming the pearl.

Be Somebody lyrics - Paula Cole

I wanna be somebody...
I wanna make a difference...

Little boy caught in a drive-by
Witnessed the killer who made his daddy die
And 'cause he identified and signed the dotted line,
He could feel it in his stomach, he signed away his life
Little boy who once was the leader of his class
The little source of joy, always neatly dressed
Now would hang his head and be left crying at his desk,
Was found with his mother, lying in her lap
With two bullets in his chest

And, oh my God, what is this madness?
I will not let it kill my gladness
And, oh my God, what is this sadness?
My joy inside will send this message

I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children of the Mother
I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children of the Father

Outspoken man, leading sisters and brothers,
Picked himself up from hustling, drugs and gutters
Doing time on the inside, he found a higher power
Now, back with a mission to help us help each other
Respected from bourgeoisie to homeless in the street
From universities, Africa, the Middle East
And throught the threats of death he spoke truth and set men free
But the power of the truth made enemies of the weak
He was killed by his own people

And, oh my God, what is this madness?
I will not let it kill my gladness
And, oh my God, what is this sadness?
My joy inside will send this message

I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children of the Mother
I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children

Ignite This Fire inside, this light that is the Truth
Shake off the system's chains, no longer be their fool
In the face of brutality, show the other cheek
Trigger-happy policing will never kill our dignity

And, oh my God, what is this madness?
I will not let it kill my gladness
And, oh my God, what is this sadness?
My joy inside will send this message

I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children of the Mother
I wanna be somebody
I wanna make a difference,
For we all are children of the Father

(Lift up your heart and See
Open your heart and See
Lift up your voice and Sing...)

Rhythm Of Life lyric - Paula Cole

To the critics and the cynics who don't understand the lyrics
To the atheists and the pessimists
Wanting company in their darkness
You may see me as a fool,yes, a charlatan, an egotist,
But I'd rather be this in your eyes
Than a coward in His

I began as Isis, the high priestess
My arms stretched to Sirius, me, the serpent Venus
Awaken the fetus, fertility to Jesus
Come and meet us (you are the seed in us)

Looking within I can see beyond my sight
The cities, the sky, the planets roll by
I awake and I die, yeah, I awake and I die, yeah
This is the rhythm of life

Next I was lightning, God energy fighting
To tell my widow surviving I was still alive in
Another place of life n' I struck him seven times
He finally looked to the sky
Shed a tear and joined me dying

Looking within I can see beyond my sight
The cities, the sky, the planets roll by

I awake and I die, yeah, I awake and I die, yeah
This is the rhythm of life
Rhythm of life, rhythm of life, this is the rhythm of life

Now I am me, in diffident lead, responsibility
Trying to face my fear, from the trailer park to here
Over mountains, through my death
From Harbinger to Amen
May my actions outweigh my words
May my lifetime be of worth

Looking within I can see beyond my sight
The cities, the sky, the planets roll by
I awake and I die, yeah, I awake and I die, yeah
This is the rhythm of life

All the word's a stage,
And all the men and women,
merely players
They have their exits,
And their entrances
And one man in his time,
Plays many parts.

Free lyrics - Paula Cole

I keep walking down the same city streets
The same city lines, to the same lonely beat
People say hello but I don't know what to say
I don't know how I feel, I just can't act that way
I wanna hide form all these strangers
I wanna run home to you
All I need is your compassion
Then we can be free, yes
I wanna be free, yes
I wanna be free
I wanna be free

Oh the way I'm shut out by your silence
It's the loudest thing I've ever known
You leave me, leave me hanging
'til I feel useless with my hope
Oh it's lonely in the city
It can be lonely next to you
Just have the courage to open up to yourself
Then we can be free, yes
I wanna be free
I wanna be free
I wanna be free

Suwannee Jo lyrics - Paula Cole

Idiot kitty to New York City
Living in a kennel and lookin' big and pretty
Meet the munch for business lunch
But your feet bleed under the table

But Suwannee Jo, you're dark and slow
You dance with a broom and you're filled with ghosts
You smell like liquor and you're high as a hawk
You laugh to yourself but you talk like a rock

Scaredy Kate, back in the Haight
Doesn't answer the phone and eats like a tapeworm
She met Mr.Mike in'89
But she's a hundred pounds heavier and won't go outside

But Suwannee Jo, You're dark and slow
You dance with a broom and you're filled with ghosts
Suwannee Jo, strange beautiful gold,
You can take a woman's husband
but you don't want to marry him
You just want to hold him

Nora Mable, behind your table
Expensive knowledge from ten years of college
But when it comes to livin', the book isn't written
Your brain's under "M" in the library missing

Suwannee Jo, you follow your soul
(Nothing more important than following your soul)

God Is Watching lyrics - Paula Cole

Whether it be across that sea
Kosove, Baghdad, Korea
Or here at home, right under our fingertips
In new slavery prison systems

Holding one in four black American brothers
The one percent wealthy profiteering
From the business that is war
Yeah, go to war

God is watching us play our ghetto wars
God is watching us play our games
God is waiting for us to overcome
God is wating for us to just love one another

Whether we be cracker or black or

Brown, red, yellow
From the land of sky or sea
We are family
Wake up and see

Our planet is a tiny atom in God's kingdom
It's our only home
A new millennium
Can we all just get along?

God is watching us play our ghetto wars
God is watching us play our games
God is waiting for us to overcome
God is wating for us to just love one another

"This Fire" (1996)

Tiger lyrics - Paula Cole

Where do i put this fire
this bright red feeling
this tiger lily down my mouth
he wants to grow to twenty feet tall

[CHORUS:]
i've left bethlehem
i feel free
i've left the girl i was supposed to be and
someday i'll be born

i'm so tired of being shy
i'm not that girl anymore
i'm not that straight A anymore
i want to sit with my legs wide open and
laugh so loud that the whole damn restaurant
will turn and look at me and say
look at the tiger jumping out of her mouth

[CHORUS:]

no more sex-starved teachers
trying to touch my ass
i can finally be a teenager at age twenty-six
go to hell lions, tigers, and bears
i'm not afraid of you anymore
and my fear broke apart like fifty balloons
and i'm thrown around the room like party confetti now

[CHORUS:]

someday i'll be born
someday someday someday i'll be born
someday someday someday i'll be born
high and noon [x13]

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? lyrics - Paula Cole

One two three four

Oh you get me ready
In your '56 Chevy
Why don't we go sit down in the shade
Take shelter on my front porch
The dandelion sun scorching
Like a glass of cold lemonade

I will do the laundry
If you pay all the bills
Where is my John Wayne
Where is my prairie song
Where is my happy ending
Where have all the cowboys gone

Why don't you stay the evening
Kick back and watch the T.V.
And I'll fix a little something to eat
Ohh I know your back hurts
From working on the tractor
How do you take your coffee my sweet

I will raise the children
If you pay all the bills
Where is my John Wayne
Where is my prairie song
Where is my happy ending
Where have all the cowboys gone

I am wearing my new dress tonight
But you don't, but you don't even notice me
Say our goodbyes
Say our goodbyes
Say our goodbyes

We finally sell the Chevy
When we had another baby
And you took that job in Tennessee
You made friends at the farm
And you join them at the bar
Almost every single day of the week

I will wash the dishes
While you go have a beer
Where is my John Wayne
Where is my prairie song
Where is my happy ending
Where have all the cowboys gone
Where is my Marlboro Man
Where is his shiny gun
Where is my lonely ranger
Where have all the cowboys gone

Where have all the cowboys gone

Where have all the cowboys gone

Throwing Stones lyrics - Paula Cole

So call me a bitch in heat and
i call you a liar
and we'll throw stones until we're dead

there you go again you cut me off from talkin'
you bask in the glory
the center of the circle
all the friends think you're a fuckin' comedian
so kind and generous
but i am suffering

away from here
i wanna be
away from here
away from here
away from every little thing I have
every little thing
i used to love your every little every little thing

now you call me a bitch in heat and
i call you a liar
and we'll throw stones until we're dead

you're the puppeteer and i'm the puppet
you manipulate me with your real catholic shit
everytime i try to talk it through
you turn it around and make us out like david and goliath

away from here
i wanna be
away from here
away from here
away from every little thing I have
every little thing
i used to love your every little every little thing

now you call me a bitch in heat and
i call you a liar
and we'll throw stones until we're dead

your arms beneath me
you're lying inside me
i used to love your every little every little thing
your eyes grews stars
your hand in my purse
and now i hate your every little everything

oh mama
i didn't know life was this hard
oh mama
my innocence has been tarred

my inner vision, dulled and darkened
i give myself away to you
i felt my sorrow humble me
and throw my crown upon the ground

it's you i hope for
and us i pray for
and me that i believed that was wrong
and now my anger is my best friend
be careful i may bite your head off

liar

so call me a bitch in heat and
i'll call you a liar
and we'll throw stones until we're dead

so call me a bitch in heat and
i'll call you a mother fucker
and we'll throw stones until we're dead

Carmen lyrics - Paula Cole

Carmen, i don't know i don't know i don't know if i can go back
carmen i'll never be never be never be the same again
carmen [x6]

the way you set the table
the way you lean to tell me something soft
the way i can see into you
the way you tell me i talk too much about myself
it's true i talk too much about myself
but right now all i wanna talk about is you now

carmen, i don't know i don't know i don't know if i can go back
carmen i'll never be never be never be the same again
carmen [x6]

i love the way you think
is it biological or all the acid
you've eaten
just take me into your body
i wanna be drunk i wanna be high
i wanna be drunk i wanna be high on you

carmen, i don't know i don't know i don't know if i can go back
carmen i'll never be never be never be the same again
carmen [x6]

i don't know i don't know i don't know
i don't know i don't know i don't know
if i can go go go go go go go go back home

i don't know i don't know i don't know
i don't know i don't know i don't know
if i can be seen again

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