The Donz
© November 26, 2021 Bob Anderson
From: Painter
Rest in Peace Brother

He was born on March thirty-one, almost an April fool
A pencil and a sketchbook were his only choice of tools
He couldn't hold his head up right, he had no muscles in his neck
A brace from Doernbecher was his only mobility tech
    And he always shared a smile; A kind word for everyone
    Everybody loved him; He was a favored son

He had an operation, they fused his vertebra
He lived in an apartment in Santa Monica, LA
He drew for Walt Disney, but he always had a dream
He wanted to make movies, his storytelling eyes were very keen
    He led as if a follower sparking hope where he appeared
    Everybody loved him and held him so very dear 

        His friends ask each other,
        “What would Don do?”
        Whenever they were in a jam or two

It started with a stomach ache that would't go away
They found it much too late; The big “C” was there to stay
I was with him at the hospice, my younger brother of six years
I held his hand as he departed letting go of the pain and the tears
    How I wish I knew him better, we grew up in the same house
    I regret “I was so busy,” so wrapped up in myself

.       Just like James Bond, an agent with a pencil
        And the passion of a storm
        He lives on, drawings on walls hanging
        Waiting to be reborn

        I miss you Don

Soul Mate
© 2002 Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

Long ago, you were the princess, I shoveled coal
Just a glance, our eyes fixed like the striking of a lance
  We tried to touch but we were worlds apart
  I risked my life but we were doomed from the start
  As my head lay on that chopping block
  My only thought was the music of your voice
     When you talked

The distant past, our tribes at war, the die was cast
Sneaking off, we loved so deep we didn’t hear them creeping up
  When they sacrificed us to the Mother God
  Traitors, both of us, to the noble cause
  As the blade plunged deep into your chest
  You smiled and said we’d meet again
    When the time was best

        Days turn to years, smiles change to fears
        Pleasures become tears, I’m alone without you
        At the back of my brain, you whisper my name
        Cruel fate remains, the same

Next time around, you were my daughter, I was a clown
Years apart, we can’t be lovers but we held each other’s heart
  Fate isn’t cruel, it’s diabolically obscene
  Cursed to fondle through these unfulfilled reviens
  I watch you walk into the sunset
  My clenched heart cries out in pain
    And regret

So Much Time
© 1985 Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

The little boy ran out to play to build castles in the trees
Or to tramp through the shady woods, doin’ just as he pleased
     And there was so much time to wonder, and so much time to be free
     It’s a me I remember, but who is the real me?

And then he met a girl who showed him the magic of the night
She taught him love and hurt, all about tears and delights
     And there was so much time to wonder, and so much time to be free
     It’s a me I remember, but who is the real me?

        The innocence is gone, but the dance of life goes on
        Just like the freshness of the dawn, my old self dies
        And is reborn

He learned to play guitar and to sing in a band
Hoping he could skip the years it would take to make him a man
     And there was so much time to wonder, and so much time to be free
     It’s a me I remember, but who is the real me?

        On the whole, nothin’s changed, but yet we’re not the same
        The “mes” I’ve been I still remain, but the me I’m now
        Will soon change

As I gaze into the night wonderin’ who I’ll be next
There’s so much life to explore and no time for regrets
     And so much time to wonder, and so much time to be free
     I’m a me I don’t know so well, so tell me who is the real me?

Sacred Cow / Trees
© 1991 by Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

Sacred Cow
When the past is gone, all we have is memory
Thoughts washed to the shore of the endless emotional sea
The singer sings his song to a room filled with mirrors
Each face in the crowd reflects just one more of his tears

    Come gather ‘round right now
    Let us roast the sacred cow
    And celebrate all the things that we take
    ‘Cuz tomorrow may just be too late

A weed grows in the lawn, but the mower reaps it all
No matter how strong, someday we all must fall
The place behind my eyes is who I call me
But the truth of who we are extends way beyond eternity

    Come gather ‘round right now
    Let us roast the sacred cow
    And celebrate all the things that we take
    ‘Cuz tomorrow may just be too late

Trees
Raindrops patter on the forest floor
But we don’t hear them no more
The chainsaw rhymes with the pockets that it lines
Leaving just the roots and core

    Maybe there’s just too many people
    Too many mouths to feed, too many needs to meet
    Maybe there’s just too many people
    To take from the plate and not reciprocate

Window pane in the forest sings the song
We may have been here too long
The trees that remain are tryin’ to refrain
From tellin’ us we don’t belong

    Maybe there’s just too many people
    Too many mouths to feed, too many needs to meet
    Maybe there’s just too many people
    To take from the plate and not reciprocate

Run Like a River
© 1986 Bob Anderson
From: Painter

I wished upon a star but it fell from the heavens
So I went to a bar hoping I'd find it there
I saw through the haze a new star born on the horizon
And I reached for it; yeah I reached for it
   But it was so far; It was so far

I walked the main roads but I was run down so often
That I now make my abode in the jungle core
Once upon a dream I thought I knew where I was going
And I reached for it; yeah I reached for it
  But it was so far; It was so far

    Run like a river, weave in and out with the flow
    The path of least resistance is the way you should go
    Run like a river, fluid yet strong
    Inevitables seem conquerable
    When you're right where you belong!

I danced on the clouds but I knew it couldn't last forever
And in the end I tumbled Earthward bound
Now I dance on the edge knowin' I can't capture tomorrow
Yet I reach for it, yeah I reach for it
   But it is so far, it is so far

    Now I run like a river, weave in and out with the flow
    The path of least resistance is the way I must go
    Run like a river, fluid yet strong
    Inevitables seem conquerable
    When you're right where you belong!

Painter
© April 24, 2004 Bob Anderson
From: Painter (Title Track)

The colors swirl in madness, the longing and the breach
I feed my ego vanity, but still she does not speak
One hand shackled to the loadstone, the other clutches passion's flame
It seem I'm still human, and in some ways we're all to blame
  Yet we're all the same

Oh twisted that tangles the walls around my heart
I feel I'm standing naked in daylight out in Couch Park
I stare at that painting I've worked on all my life
It seems so cold and empty, devoid of so much life
  Of so much light

    Paint yourself on the canvas of my life
    Take your time, paint something you like
    Use shades and hues so subtle and so free
    Bring out the colors, the colors in me

And that smell of summer, it blows strong through this spring
The winds of change are howling, I can't escape their sting
I want it over, I long so to be free
The waiting seems forever, a brutal eternity
  Eternity!

    Paint yourself on the canvas of my life
    Take your time, paint something you like
    Use shades and hues so subtle and so free
    Bring out the colors, the colors in me

A tear falls on the paper and it melts into the ink
This hurricane of emotion, it makes it hard to think
I climbed up the mountain, I was drowning in the sea
Now I've become an island, won't you paint a boat for me
  Come resque me!

    Paint yourself on the canvas of my life
    Take your time, paint something you like
    Use shades and hues so subtle and so free
    Bring out the colors, the colors in me
    Bring out the colors in me… 
    Bring out the colors in me!

Oracle
© 1992 Bob Anderson
From: On Letting Go

        The faster I push to get over the hill
        The harder the journey becomes
        What will the journey become?

Without warning, like a feather in the wind
I am soaring, through the window of my mind
Ecstasy, weighless without form
I wait to see, what mysteries I will find
    Can I find the answer?
         Who is it who asks?
    Will I live forever?
        How can you go back?
    Who made the illusion?
        Look deep into your past
    What is the solution?

        The faster I push to get over the hill
        The harder the journey becomes
        What will the journey become?

To be one with life, to ride the mystic currents to nowhere
With no plan or aim in sight
On the Tao, trusting the water will guide us
To fully opened eyes
    Where are all the answers?
        Who really wants to know?
    I don't like the journey!
        Then learn and love and grow!
    I reach into the silence!
        What do you want to know?
    I'm alone, I'm scared, and I'm tired!

        The faster I push to get over the hill
        The harder the journey becomes
.       What will the journey become?

    Breaking through the wicked web of fear
    Riskin' failure, riskin' success
    Rise above the grey twilight
    That knows not victory, knows not defeat

On a distant peak, I gaze at the unfolding
Of history, sped up a million times
Beauty, like a flower in the spring
It flows naturally, with no meaning to find
    Why must there be answers?
        The questions tell it all
    What makes me ask the hard ones?
        Listen to the call
    I'm trapped in the illusion
        Climb over the wall
    What is the solution?

        And the faster I push to get over the hill
        The harder the journey becomes
        What will the journey become?
        What will the journey become?

Nothin' to Stand on
© 1980, 2018, & 2021 Bob Anderson
From: Painter

From early falls, I learned to build strong walls
So I'd have a fortress to survive in
And one by one they crumbled in the sun
From the light that grew and shown within

And I know that one day I'll go
Into the heart of creation
When the time is right, I won't put up a fight
'Cuz I remember where I came from

    Let go of your troubles
    Let all your pain be gone
    Let go of passions and beliefs
    ‘Cuz they’re nothin' to stand on

A mighty fortress is your God
The Rock of Ages you cling on to
But it's all a dream, babe, it's not what it seems
‘Cuz nobody’s gonna save you

Even Jesus Christ, he tried with all his might
To tell the people that they were deceived
And they killed him too, like they'd kill me or you
If we told them there was nothin' to believe

    Let go of your money
    Let all your fears be gone
    Let go of religion
    ‘Cuz there’s nothin' there to stand on

With guns in hand, you try to command
The respect of Mother Nature
You don't understand, she's not “just land”
And in your heart you feel lost for sure

The science faith promises to make
Some sense of this world you just don't comprehend
But it's really fear that you cling to so dear
You'll die alone in what you think is “The End”

    Let go of your science
    Let your ideals all be gone
    Stop trying to to define who you are
    ‘Cuz you don’t got nothin' to stand on

If you treat the world as if a young girl
Instead of something to be conquered
You'll find she rhymes, she dances in time
The joy will keep your heart reassured

But you say you must find a way
To the gates of salvation
It just goes to show you just won't let go
‘Cuz you don’t see the relation

    Let go of your politics
    Sing a brand new song
    Stop tryin' to contend with the world
    ‘Cuz even the world can’t be stood upon

With my guitar I look at the stars
And I see beauty and perfection
I see a tree and I recognize it's really me
It's only a different reflection

I'd like to be just like the breeze
So light that you can't hold me
And yet be strong, kind'a like a song
I'd sing through life and set the world free

    Let go of your sorrow
    Stop tryin' to hold on
    Real faith is havin' no beliefs
    ‘Cuz there’s no beliefs worth standing on
        No ya don't got nothin' to stand on!

The Mystic Sea
           (For Cara, RIP)
© 1988 by Bob Anderson
From: Serpent Power

You think at 24, you’ve unlocked the door
But there is so much more, you just barely found the shore
Now you must construct a storm worthy boat
And you can call it hope, but you must keep it afloat

    If you should falter, remember this, my friend
    A battle without struggle is a war lost in the end
    And everything of value, is won for a price
    But if you are patient, you will never have to fight

Start out slowly, the current moves real fast
Don’t get lost in the past, you know storms never last
The nights are long, when you’re out on the sea
Don’t get trapped in misery, and in the end you shall be free

    If you should falter, remember this, my friend
    A battle without struggle is a war lost in the end
    And everything of value, is won for a price
    But if you are patient, you will never have to fight

Let my love for you be your best friend
But without it you can win, real strength lies within
Arm yourself with the shield of truth
And the sword of justice too; let your wisdom shine through

    If you should falter, remember this, my friend
    A battle without struggle is a war lost in the end
    And everything of value, is won for a price
    But if you are patient, you will never have to fight

Move Away
© 1979 Bob Anderson
From: Painter

Nothing seems to work out right and I just can't seem to find
That special place where all the words rhyme
I feel caught in a storm at night far out on the raging sea
Tossed about on a tiny raft that's coming apart under me

Worn pebbles by the side of the road remind me of where I've been
All the problems that I thought I escaped return and haunt me again
I don't know, but I've been told you stand and you fight or you die
But sometimes all I want to do is just turn, run, and hide

    That's when I want to move away
    And start all over again
    Just take the pain away
    I need peace today
    Or I'll just fade away

The beaten paths of yesterday's dreams have lost all their sex appeal
Everybody wants a piece of your soul if you want to make a deal
And the walls I've so carefully built crumble before my eyes
Empty hopes and shattered dreams and lies, so goddamned many lies

    That's when I want to move away
    And start all over again
    Just take the pain away
    I need peace today
    Or I'll just fade away