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