September
(for the Gloucester boys)

at dusk when the falling leaves glow orange
and the street light shadows creep
where the air makes your fingers stiff
and they end up curled around the inside of your sleeve

after the sun shown and set
the first star appeared
in between the glowing leaf unfallen off that tree
the night blue sky filled in between

september solitude where the leaves have yet to fly
september breezes trick summer to pass by
i look up through the orangy red
to the blue through the green we leaves fall to my feet
and a rain spot drips onto my face around my smile and onto my sleeve

[chorus]

my summer stood before me today
he was wearing a plaid shirt and he hadn't shaved
when he spoke his breath steamed from his face
and then he left and wished me well with my replacement days
i saw a comet burn by the moon
it seemed to linger longer than you

Moon Song
(for Andrew)

frustration faced her in the mirror in the morning
she's a beautiful catastrophe again
everybody stood for something all around her
her gravity pulled her toward the moon instead

and for a second once she thought she was in love
for an hour she believed
in between a kiss and a grin she thought she knew
but it would never be

wrapped up inside him away from friendship closer to his hands in her hair
the beauty of the dark night gave up to the sunlight
she knew the color that the sun painted his skin laying there

[chorus]

remembering the night before when she confided in the moon
i'm laying in a man's arms who does not love me she said
she whispered quietly and no answer came back
so she drifted off to sleep, she drifted of to sleep, she drifted off to sleep, again
and again and again and again (etc.)

frustration faced her in the mirror in the morning
she's a beautiful catastrophe again

Blue

and inspiration bites at my heels when I am too close to it
and satisfaction sometimes finds me speechless
but when the snow-filled ground consumes the color from the sky
I see Blue

i'm only searching for the words when I feel them
fumble through the wrong ones and stay silent before deciding to keep any
its all thoughts and pencils and silence, but sometimes,
i see Blue

contentment can consume you but only if you let it
and the critics will smother you but only if you give into them
so listen to yourself, listen to yourself
and color in the spaces for everybody else

certain shades of emotion stand out in my mind
and sometimes things are better left undefined

but they are biting at my heels
keeping me awake
making me crazy
its restless imagination
pulling me to something
pushing me away
surrounding me in everything and sometimes
i see Blue

Joy

once upon a time there was a girl who used to write
she wore all of her honesty in her eyes, he said
there were a couple of boys she sang about sometimes
and everything she knew was beautiful

some amazing silence she'd seen before
but nothing like the one she'd been trapped under
so she sang along sang along sang along and watched
and she prayed for joy and found the beautiful

and there was her joy her smile reclaimed after the fight
a gift given, realized
five months taken back, she put it in her pocket
so she would not forget - she would not forget the beautiful

she took her piece of the road and walked on
with her amazing grace

Rowley Shore

i was in between the ocean and next to you
in front of a real life postcard it seemed
we watched the sun sink into the land
and the colors dissolve into the water and sand
peacefulness found me today
i fell asleep to one thousand bird songs
and the songs of the ocean

and you dared me to write a happy song so I did
now you're smiling back at me
have you ever seen heaven i asked 'cuz I think I saw something today
something like heaven

we were reading about shadows of reality
the unfamiliar feeling that perfection brings
the never ending second sliding away sunlight stretched tight over everything

and now I'm sitting here on the best years of my life
wondering where I'm going next and whose coming along
singing to the sounds of a summer night
but the weather only pretending it won't be here for long

[chorus]

Surrender

the worlds a hell of a lot bigger than you and me
i'm having some trouble fighting for what I can't see
it's a little bit ironic all of my invisible
where the inspiration is laying low
surrender your self inside the outside lines
before you fade away

i'm in between fire and flowers
staring at my reflection for hours
in the windows glassy stare again
i am still her I am still here

she's undone so many words - simple complexity
singing perfectly - crying beautifully

[chorus]

surrender yourself inside the outside lines
before you fade fade away

Listen

among the sea of faithlessness I see
i'm wondering who looks anything like me
among the questions answers pointless hypocrites
the holy people are the ones hiding

i am listening
someone's gotta be the audience
for all this silence around me
someone's gotta be the silent one, quiet one to listen
down on your knees sister

breathing slowly watching your chest rise
watching you dream - watching you open your eyes
we are a beautiful distraction to everything that matters
why can't we get it right

[chorus]

and the fiery ball is rolling on behind the distance
and in my prayers I say - there go my perfect visions
as the color spread out and collided with the night
restlessness is fading, but so am I

[chorus]

Credits

All Lyrics and vocals - Erin
All music - Erin (except Surrender and Joy - Adam Moritz)
Acoustic guitar - Erin (with Adam Moritz on Surrender and Joy)
Lead guitar - Aaron Butt
Bass - Joseph Rodriguez (and Kenny Lewis on Moon Song)
Keyboards - Peter Valentine
Cello - Jen Townshend
Percussion - Todd Richard
Background Vocals - Missy Biagini
Fiddle, mandolin - Jake Armerding

All lyrics and songs (except as noted above) © 1999 Erin Dooley.
Produced and engineered by Kenny Lewis
Mastering by Johnathan Wyner at M Works

thanks:
Sara "my other half" Johnson, Laura Snell, Sarah Petryk, Alison "jham" Kadamus, Bry (no, your pretty), Aaron (for the ocean side), Steven, Nathan, Sanne (wherever you are), Todd, Courtney, Jen, Joseph, Missy, Laura E., Dan Russell, Mike Weaver, Robin Day, Adam Moritz, Anna LePley, Kevin Roberts, Jessie, and especially Matthew Doil, Aaron Hutchins & Chris Kersker for their patience with me.

Special Thanks to my family for all the laughter and love, The Butt Family for the sweater and a guitar with character, Brian Bishop for the blue guitar and Diane for your generosity.

Extra important thanks to Kenny Lewis for his exceeding generosity and patience with recording this project, to Chris Carlson who spend hours of fun doing layout and to Minna for the beautiful photographs.

In between later and before is now and You are there...thank you.