Lyrics
We see it on the horizon past the tall ship’s skinny mast
As the ferry bobs and glides us in at last
So let’s unpack we made it back after one more crazy year
To these happy weeks when all worries disappear
Chorus:
Now summer’s come again, there’s no more waiting
And we’re trading in the pavement for the sand
Tell the winter goodbye, we’re relocating
To Shelter Island, Shelter Island
Everyone needs a secret place to dream of better days
Through the strung-out months when we can’t be castaways
I close my eyes and an osprey flies, and it lifts my spirit free
Till I’m heading back out to where I’d rather be
(chorus)
With you, my love, life is full and grand
But we work so hard we can lose sight of everything we planned
Good friends, fun and a world of sun should be what we’re living for
Let’s drop anchor in the harbor of our favorite shore
Now summer’s come again, there’s no more waiting
And we’re trading in the pavement for the sand
Tell the winter goodbye, we’re relocating
To Shelter Isle, rejoicing hand in hand
(chorus)
To Shelter Isle, rejoicing hand in hand
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
She grew up in Dallas too steeped in Texas swing
Now Julie’s gone to Paris to find out everything
She went there once and fell hard, and knew she’d soon return
She’s picked out her arrondisement with confidence to burn
Chorus:
Go on and chase your fantasy, just go for the cliché
Don’t compromise beginnings, this is the time to seize the day
So Julie left her first job, her family and her friends
Was this a good decision? I guess it all depends
‘Cause here I am in Dallas, more bubba than Balzac
Trying to find some clever way to get my girlfriend back
(chorus)
Her life is so enchantée, she’s très Parisienne
Dancing toutes les soirées with older, foreign men
But surely she’ll get lonely by the time I’ve followed there
Ah, who am I kidding? I haven’t got a prayer
I know you’ve moved on from me, and the French have their charms
But how can I let you go, when you should be here in my arms?
Julie’s gone to Paris, in Paris she will stay
Though odds are stacked against me I’m going anyway
I’ve got to keep believing that there’s a shred of hope
I owe it to my feisty heart that doesn’t beat to mope
(chorus)
Julie’s gone to Paris to find out everything
Julie’s gone to Paris
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
Are you home tonight, if you’re free let’s set a date
I’ll call you at 9, clear your schedule don’t be late
Let’s get together I can hardly wait
We’re gonna have a party state-to-state
Chorus:
We’re gonna pop our corks in one synchronized move
Drop the needle on three into the groove
Dance all night, not feelin’ alone
With these cocktails by phone
Well now Monday’s gone, but there’s the rest of this week
Days apart not polishing our technique
Come Friday night I’m on my way to you
But now my long-distance love, there’s one thing we can do
(chorus)
I hope you’re set to be hung over
You won’t regret this when you’re sober
There’s been a whole lot of missin’ your touch
It’s not kissin’ or much
But this’ll tide us over
Let’s pop our corks in one synchronized move
Drop the needle on three into the groove
Stay up all night, we’re gonna get us some more
Cocktails
(chorus)
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
I snuck back in before dawn and watched you as you slept
And made a list of all the promises that we vowed but never kept
The storm outside is raging but you look warm and resigned
Sleep alone protects you from this love we’ve undermined
I step out and let this water try to wash my guilty stain
Now I’ve cheated too, and my heart’s heavy as this rain
Another awkward morning when you finally have to wake
Another rasp of thunder ‘cross the din of our heartbreak
And it’s easy just to feel mad and to hide behind excuses
Well you strayed first and I made it worse and now feel how tight our noose is
But hey we always sought adventure and love is rough terrain
It’s rocky, hard and heavy as this rain
We were sailing on a steady skiff, once so peacefully,
Now we’re tossing into violent bits; is there love in our debris?
We know the innocence is all done, and though the air may never clear
Do we shut this door forevermore or find a way to persevere?
‘Cause I can tell that I still love you from the weight of my regret
And if you feel this longing too can we forgive if not forget?
Then let’s face these sins and start again and try to drown this pain
With the strength of love that’s heavy as this rain
With the help of love that’s cleansing as this rain
This gift of love redeeming as this rain
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
My neighbor built his wife a wishing well
Out behind the deck he built her too
Well that wasn’t quite my level, so I settled on a table
To be my lover’s monument to you
But disaster struck as the drawers were all stuck
And I had to give up after a while
I must’ve glued too much, and it wobbled to the touch
So my masterpiece just joined the firewood pile
Chorus:
I must admit it’s true
I’m not so handy here for you
I’m hardly Mr. Perfect, but I’m yours
Well I don’t have much to show you, but I’ll move the earth below you
And the secret to our happiness endures
To show you how my love grows deeper still
My presents get more meaningful each year
But today I was unable, with just my broken table
To even give a simple souvenir
You just smiled and laughed as you marveled at my craft
Saying this isn’t why you chose to marry me
That there is no need to measure all our joy in earthly treasure
Or keep score on every anniversary
(chorus)
But still I want to show you where my heart stands
Though my wishing well’s not something to display
So I’ll play you this song that I built with my own hands
Just close your eyes and wish your dreams my way
(chorus)
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
The house is unguarded, devil’s in the easy chair
Slipped in uninvited, like we were caught unaware
But we all saw it coming, and now we’re hiding behind
Our hunger for winning fed by the ties that blind
We’re in this together, a country divided in three
Between the haves and the have nots, and the ones who can’t see
That honor and glory come to those seeking to find
Respect for each other, more than the ties that blind
We all double-crossed the true vision we lost chasing ideologies
There’s no majesty in refusing to see the forest for the trees
We’re losing the moment and we haven’t even started yet
We can’t choose a leader without playing Russian roulette
The camps were divided when the Declaration was signed
But they sought higher purpose over the ties that blind
We all double-crossed the true vision we lost chasing ideologies
There’s no majesty in refusing to see the forest for the trees
If freedom’s light which we’ve defined
Should fade from our future, blame the ties that blind
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
There’s this Starbucks at O’Hare and I am always heading there
When I’ve got the time to spare for a little pick-me-up
She’s in a rush, the line’s a crawl, I let her cut, she spills her tall
She doesn’t hear last boarding call as she takes another cup
Chorus:
This is the story of how hearts find homes
Measuring lives in cappuccino foams
‘Cause love’s just a coincidence away
So now up we go, thanks to the world’s happiest delay
I run with her up to her gate, the agent says, “you’re here too late.”
But her good news, just an hour’s wait, and mine too, she’s on my plane
I guess by now you’ve figured out, she’s next to me, we talk throughout
Then love arrives without a doubt, in a rush we can’t explain
(chorus)
There may not be such thing as luck, or fate, but there’s an opening
Sometimes in life’s window, and when you see it jump right through
‘Cause if it happened to me, it sure can happen to you
There’s this Starbucks at O’Hare, my favorite Starbucks anywhere
But there’re an awful lot of Starbucks there, and there’s love in every one
May all the strangers waiting for their brews find true lovers among the queues
They’ll come by ones but they’ll leave in twos, and so our story’s just begun
(chorus)
This Starbucks at O’Hare, this Starbucks at O’Hare, mmmm
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
Aboard 4000 score tons, magnificently free
Southampton to America we sailed in ‘63
You stood in the Verandah Grill, your beauty drew me in
I smiled at you, you touched your arm to let the games begin
Those two weeks were our happiness, brief lovers in our prime
And now I’m back to chase a mystery
CHORUS:
A drink with your photograph from 1963,
Queen Mary, the moon and me,
Annie,
Queen Mary, the moon and me
Now Mary lives a life less grand, this vessel turned hotel
But here I’m tracing footsteps out of stories I still tell
Of two young hopefuls leaving home in search of promised lands
Who find each other’s heartbeats till one heart misunderstands
I’m sure we could have talked it through but didn’t have the time
We only found the words to break the spell
(chorus)
I’ve heard this ship is haunted, that the ghosts can never leave
And though I watched you disembark, in these shadows I believe
So California lunar light please conjure up for me
A vision of the girl I loved but lost away from sea
What good’s an old location, a snapshot’s fading smile
And years of recollecting what will never reconcile
But still I’m coming back to her, this ship that never sails
To see again your amber hair as you lean against the rails
I’ll toast to our short, happy life, our magic maritime
Until my memory slips from this exile
(chorus)
My Annie, Queen Mary, the moon and me
My Annie, Queen Mary, the moon and me
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
A Facebook-set reunion’s finally led us here
I read your posts but don’t know what to expect
No need to be nervous, but it still feels weird
After all this time to reconnect
You look the same, it’s crazy, Tara, how’d these feelings got let go
‘Cause they’ve all come rushing back to me and I’ve got to hide the flow
So let’s sit and tell our stories as we drink our beer
And I brace myself for that same cause and effect
Chorus:
Still I’m longing for that kiss, and after twenty years I’ll hide it
‘Cause you were the last one, you were the last one
You were the last one of the unrequited
So life pitched you some strikeouts, but your kids are great
And you’ve been much better since your last divorce
I wonder as I watch you, but I hesitate
If I tell the truth I could throw us both off course
Do I carry on living with these feelings overthrown?
‘Cause all the what-ifs in the universe won’t reverse these chances blown
Even if I could win you, well it’s just too late
For anything but victory saddled by remorse
(chorus)
Well truth be told I’m happy now with a love I think could last
But with this sociable technology we can drop in on our past
So Tara yes I looked you up, but I’m not even gonna tell you
That the devil in me tempting fate almost convinced me to compel you
To come to me
But instead I take my quick hug and we say goodbye
With promises to stay in touch, on line
(chorus)
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
When the doctor shared the crazy news that sometimes blessings come in twos
We had to hear it twice to understand
We’d be getting one of each, a Popeye and a peach
And we’d have to double everything we’d planned
Now all the wait in worrying is done
It’s time to meet my daughter and my son
Chorus:
So it’s first a girl and then a boy
And wow! A sudden burst of joy!
You changed so fast the world I thought I knew,
How I love you!
I’ve built tiny beds of matching wood, learned things I thought I never could
And promised Mom I’ll make the time we’ll need
Because now I’ve realized my life was compromised
Misconceiving every reason to succeed
For my drive was aimed at just acquiring things
And now I know I’m here to guide your wings
(chorus)
So this is how it feels to start a family,
Overwhelmed with only wonder, and not a trace of fear
A bright, new generation gazing up with hope at me
Knowing wholly that you’ll always find me near, year after year
(chorus)
How I love you two
© 2012 Rob Berretta
Lyrics
There is a place in every life when you need to learn,
Son, how to keep the spirit growing
When motivation’s dried up, and you have to stretch for something new
Risk gets your circulation flowing
Look to your heroes and the crossroads they all faced
‘Cause everyone has fears that must be chased
Just keep pressing on past the temptation of complacency
That isn’t the way you should be going
Chorus:
Walk among giants
Don’t walk out on your own
Keep walking and you’ll see you’re not alone
Everyone dreams, but the few who dare are far ahead
Of those who take life sure and slowly
So which route do you follow when you know it’s time to make that choice?
One side feels safe, the other holy
Look to your heroes, how they struggled just as much
Against the freeze that held them in its clutch
Till they learned to stare their self-intimidating demons down
And channel their greatness from the lowly
(chorus)
I’ve reached the place now in my life when I have to choose
So do I leap or do I waver?
And where then is the promise of new confidence that’s bound to lead
To some enlightenment timesaver?
I look to my heroes, trying to take my own advice
Much harder in the face of sacrifice
When you look at me, the chain of inspiration’s obvious
I’ll teach you to jump, you’ll make me braver
(chorus)
© 2012 Rob Berretta