jay brown

Nothing is Yours, Nothing is Mine 

My brother and me on the seashore, Still in the age of wonder 

Such colors we’d never seen before, and of them we made a plunder 

We carried those sea stones back home, across seven states 

But of all those magic colors, there was not a trace 

You lasso the moon,   you won’t see it shine 

Nothing is yours, nothing is mine, nothing is yours, nothing is mine 

You may be a bigshot billionaire, with your own jet airliner 

Buyin up houses everywhere, full of expensive china 

Losin your cool when they get, your order wrong 

You know all the best attorneys, but not the best songs 

Check out the birds,  you won’t hear them whine 

Nothing is yours, nothing is mine, nothing is yours, nothing is mine 

My children and me will see as one, I know they’ll give me their blessing 

Some good things are free like havin fun, jumpin in leaves and laughin 

But some things you have to pay for, so we go to work 

And there’ll be another day for, just goin bazerk 

So sing like a bird,  and feel like you’re flyin 

Nothing is yours,  nothing is mine, nothing is yours, nothing is mine 

 

 

Revelry 

Sometimes I don’t feel,  this thumpin heart of mine 

But I love you,  I’ll prove it every time 

Daydreams can feel more real,  than dayjobs and deadlines 

But I’d love to,  daydream side by side 

Sometimes I don’t feel,  like talkin on the phone 

But I love you,  so I pick up and say hello 

Yeah I know that’s the deal,  and I know where I’m at home 

And I’d love to,  never let you go 

Revelry, well I know it won’t be long 

Till you drop in on me 

Dancin free, like we don’t know right from wrong 

But just what’s meant to be 

Sometimes I don’t feel,  like singin these old songs 

But I’d love to,  if you’ll just sing along 

Some guys cheat and steal,  just to have more empty homes 

But I’d love to,  have just this one with you 

Revelry… 

Sometimes don’t you feel,  like we got swept away 

In a river, that only flows one way 

Riddles hold what’s real,  like how did we end up here 

But I love you,  forever and today 

 

 

Little Brother is Watching 

Little Brother is watchin, with a billion eyes 

Anything you’d wanna hide 

Could be busted open wide 

Just over night 

Little Brother is watchin 

Catch you by surprise 

You’d better act as though you mother 

Sees the way you treat your brother 

Cause she just might! 

Broken web you been spinnin 

Left a sticky mess 

Cookin the books and getting burned 

Well it looks as thought you learned 

It from the best 

You can think you are winnin 

When your time is passed 

And the truth you thought you’d crushed 

Grew like weeds and spread like rust 

It never rests 

Little Brother is watchin 

Every glass eye sees 

Yeah the truth will set you free 

But if you don’t turn the key 

Enjoy your stripes 

Little Brother is watchin 

Fearsome fast and free 

You’d better act as though your mother sees the way you treat your brother 

Cause she just might 

You better act as though your brother sees the way you treat your mother 

Cause he just might 

You better act as though you lover sees the way you treat another 

Cause she just might 

And he just might 

And we just might! 

 

Empathy and Comedy 

Empathy and comedy 

May they fill the lives that come to be 

All this sugar in the sand 

Extracted by the ones who stand up 

For this humanity 

Comedy and empathy 

That double bill is still a rarity 

The pacifist who killed our pride 

Made us laugh until we cried 

The blessed hilarity 

Empathy and comedy 

Let them combat all this misery 

All this screamin in the dust 

Bringing things from bad to worse 

These macho men and drama queens 

But comedy and empathy 

Let you laugh off all your apathy 

And you’ll be grateful if you try it 

To be gentle and a riot 

With graceful delivery 

Empathy and comedy 

Maybe they can save democracy 

When the news is rather bleak 

And the ads they run for weeks 

Just drain the economy 

But comedy and empathy 

May be the only freedoms that stay free 

The silver lining of a laugh 

Even if it’s all you have 

Can stand up to tyranny 

 

Hook and Line 

What did they tell you today?  Did you question what they say? 

The ones who feel by the way, lost their soul connection 

Any time you’re swept up in a crowd, you check out 

Why not shine a light on every doubt? Bring it out 

Open minds and hearts hold every key, and they’re free 

Every war they start starts 2 or 3, history 

Is the writing on the wall 

When in Rome, rise and fall 

What did they tell you to say?  Are you sayin it today? 

They’d buy and sell you away, with their repetition 

From Iran to Land of Liberty, you can see 

Always someone tryin to pull your stings, with their schemes 

Maybe it’s the corporate machine, on your screen 

Or recruiters for Sunni extremes, but it seems 

Such a shame to take the bait 

Hook and line, greed and hate 

 

All the Old legends 

There’s a song for the freeway 

There’s a song for the heartbreak 

There’s a song for the song’s sake 

A song for the loss of the thrill 

And there’s a song that you’re writin 

There’s a song still in hidin 

If you don’t try to find it 

Probably nobody will 

(Chorus #1)  Don’t bar the door she ain’t goin nowhere 

She’s seen better days but she smiles anyways 

Sayin go on and go where the lonely go dear 

Those swingin door might let a song through 

All the old legends are leavin us here 

They gave us their best then they laid down to rest 

Rivers of whisky and buckets of beer 

And the songs that we all sing along to 

There’s a song for a dragon 

And there’s a song to imagine 

There’s a song out of fashion 

That keeps getting better with age 

There’s a song for Muskogee 

There’s a song for the lonely 

There’s a song tryin to show me 

The key to that long lost refrain 

(Chorus #2)  The Muse is amused by her poet’s despair 

He’s seen better days but he tries anyways 

Sayin  “I’ve got to go where the lonely go dear 

Those swingin doors might let a song through 

All the old legends are leavin us here 

They gave us their best then they laid down to rest 

Rivers of whisky and buckets of beer 

And the songs that we all sing along to 

There’s a song for the changes 

Black birds and Brown Angels 

Blues caught up in tangles 

Ribbons that fall from the hair 

Heart of gold tryin to stay free 

Diamond shinin like crazy 

Purple rain kind of and hazy 

Fallin from heaven knows where 

(Chorus #3) You give all you got till you get what you need 

It all seems sublime when she whispers a rhyme 

Sayin I’ll meet you down where the lonely go dear 

Those swingin doors might let a song through 

All the old legends are leavin us here 

They gave us their best then they laid down to rest 

Rivers of whisky and buckets of beer 

And the songs that we all sing along to  

 

 Maybe It’s the Weather 

Maybe it’s the weather but I been feelin overcast and grey 

I don’t think I’m alone in 

Lookin up and groanin 

It’s just that it feels that way 

Even if I never saw another golden sunlight ray 

If I could see your dark eyes 

I wouldn’t mind the dark skies 

And you could kiss the clouds away 

Maybe it’s the weather but I can’t get you off my mind tonight 

The way the restless wind blows 

Rain against my windows 

Just shows me how I’ve been so dry 

If a star was fallin I’d be callin it my guiding light 

Clouds hang around and cover 

Skies of star-crossed lovers 

And I can’t see no stars tonight 

Maybe it’s the weather but I don’t see me getting out today 

I’ll hold up in my shelter 

Remembering how it felt here 

When I had you here to stay 

Rain don’t last forever and the sun will shine again, they say 

If I could hold you to me 

It wouldn’t seem so gloomy 

And you could kiss the clouds away 

 

The Stage by the Bar 

I give thanks for the kindness of strangers 

They open their mangers, put tips in my jar 

Songs have their lines and their changes 

Days have their dangers, nights have their charms 

And the hours run circles round me 

Flowers fade fast when they’re free 

Stars come and go, on with the show 

Love is the one trick I know 

I give thanks for the road that I’ve traveled 

The gold and the gravel, got me this far 

Songs find a way to unravel, I’m back in the saddle 

The stage by the bar  (chorus) 

 

Rainbow Children 

Turned on the news today, then I wondered what I’d done that for 

It’s another doozy of a day with the bombins and the guns and war 

Then the president will have his say, and he’ll say it like he just turned 4 

How did findin meanin get this hard? 

I walked out to feel the day and to hear a little morning song 

They sing it out as they jump and play and they never heard of singin wrong 

There is something make you feel alright when every other little thing feels wrong 

Rainbow Children, dancin in the yard 

I started thinkin what the world could be if it didn’t have to be so tough 

If hungry people had their needs for free and all the wealthy said enough’s enough 

People say it isn’t nature’s way, but you’ll never see a greedy wolf 

How did greedy people get this far? 

If you take all their BS for true, well I guess that that’s the true you get 

If they get you in their game you’re through and you’re losin any way you bet 

Somethin true that I’ll bear witness to, a son and daughter sunny day duet 

Rainbow Children, dancin in the yard 

 

Get Over That Wall 

Alright I get it you like the way he gives ‘em all hell 

I’ll give him credit he can give ‘em all hell pretty well 

You think he’d slap your back and by you a beer 

Call the waitress fat and bartender queer 

And then you’d hang on every word that he said 

To himself in a mirror 

Well hey if that stuff makes you yell yehaw 

What’s the use of tellin you that he’s all flaw 

But before you cast your ballot better think how you’ll get over that wall 

Alright I get it he’s sayin the stuff you’ve felt all along 

Deck stacked against you and the cards you’ve been dealt are all wrong 

So let the fascist guard your liberty 

Huddled masses yearning to breath free 

We’ll send their asses back from whence they came 

Accept Norwegians and Swedes 

Well hey if that stuff makes you yell yehaw 

What’s the use of tellin you that he’s all flaw 

But before you cast your ballot better think how you’ll get over that wall 

What if we let it get a little more like daytime TV 

What if we said piss on our future, and our history 

Let Jerry Springer moderate the debates 

Come out swingin for the United States 

Instead of slingin all that mud let ‘em wrestle 

In it for a change 

Well hey if that stuff makes you yell yehaw 

What’s the use of tellin you that he’s all flaw 

But before you cast your ballot better think how you’ll get over that wall 

 

My Name is Truth 

Please pardon me 

I hate to beg your spare change, but I gotta eat 

Seems hard to see 

I still recall the strange days they called me elite 

My name was spoken with reverence 

Held in the highest regard 

Leaders enlisted my leverage 

Knowing I’d bestow rewards 

You ask me my name so I’ll tell you 

You knew me well in your youth 

These days I don’t know what they call me 

All the same my name is Truth, All the same my name is Truth 

These days it seems 

Positions of power are bought, with no thought for me 

Was it a dream? 

I still recall how they fought, and sought only me 

Children were taught to respect me 

A reverence for me was instilled 

Now they don’t know where to find me 

I don’t know if they ever will 

You ask me my name so I’ll tell you 

Just don’t expect any proof 

These days I don’t know what they call me 

All the same my name is Truth, All the same my name is Truth 

You ask me my name so I’ll tell you 

You knew me well in your youth 

These days I don’t know what they call me 

All the same my name is Truth, All the same my name is Truth 

 

Truth is a Pathless Land 

You’ll be walkin on your own before long little child 

Even while you’re holding my hand 

Truth is a pathless land 

I’ll be holding you in my heart and mind 

In a way that you have yet to understand 

Truth is a pathless land 

All the beauty of the earth 

And an ever-changing sky 

Have filled my eyes 

And I’ve tried to sing my songs 

For the preciousness of time 

But still she flies 

And you’ll be walkin on your own before long little child 

Even while you’re holding my hand 

Truth is a pathless land