VONDA SHEPARD
Chinatown (2002)


1: Rainy Days
-------------
We were walking above
Pretending to be in love
In phases I watched you float away
I was under the gun
Trying to have some fun
I phases I watched you slip away

Remeber all these rainy says
We saved them up
But tomorrow never came
And now these rainy days
Are clouding up
Even, even the clearest of days

We were sticking it out
Getting used to the doubt
In phases you watched me drift away
Now Im taking a train
Shooting through the rain
Amazed that I'm alone here
Once again

Remeber all these rainy days
We saved them up
But tomorrow never came
And now these rainy days
Are clouding up
Even, even the clearest of days yeah

I watched you float away

Remember all these rainy days
We saved them up
But tomorrow never came
And now these rainy days
Are clouding up
Even the clearest of days

These rainy days
We saved them up
But tomorrow never came
And now these rainy days
Are clouding up
Even, even the clearest of days

And now these rainy days
Are clouding up
Even, even the clearest of days



2: Chinatown
------------
Got a room about 20 feet wide
There's a blue light bulb
Hanging from the sky
Threw a mattress on the floor where we can hide

Hold my hand to the subway door
I can make us invisible
All the way to Chinatown

Steam is rising from the street below
Neon sign like a carnival
You bring the color to a grey rainbow

My guitar and a bottle of the red
So much pain that I want to forget
On our way to Chinatown

Take you over to my side of town
Show you how the real world gets down
Trouble I thought I could hold you down
All the way to Chinatown

Sheets of rain banging on the window
Turning into a blanket of snow
Getting good of pulling over the wool

Miles away there's another world
I know I am the luckiest girl
Found my heart in Chinatown

Take you over to my side of town
Show you how the real world gets down
Trouble I thought I could hold you down
All the way to Chinatown



3: My Whole World
-----------------
My whole world is built on this
To dream about your love
And to live inside your kiss
Well how can I manage to live like this?

Is my fate how finally turning
My favourite kind of yearning
Oh don't it always go to show

My whole world is built on this
A philosophy of how to stay
In a state of bliss
How can I manage to live like this?

I was born in '63
With a peace sign on my knee
I said "Mama I was born to sing"
And I rocked till the dawn
With my baby clothes on
I said "Mama tell me what to think"?

I love you in a different way
Well you let me be myself
And I love it that way
Freedom freedom has a new meaning
Hey hey hey

My whole world comes down to this
To live in inspiration
Without checking off a list
Can anybody manage to live like this

Well music is my life
And love it is my drive
On my shoulders I don't feel no weight
Now I'm dreaming again
And exaggerating
Can you save me long enough to behave?

I love you in a different way
Well you let me myself
And I love it this way
Freedom freedom has a new meaning
Hey hey hey

I love you in a different way
Well you let me be myself
And I love it this way
Freedom freedom has a new meaning
Hey hey hey



4: Lose My Way
--------------
I wanna lose my way
And my sense of direction
Wanna lose my bearings
And my point of reference

Wanna go where everything
Don't remind me of our happiness
That we sacrificed for some unknown bliss

I wanna lose my place
In this world I've created
To know who I am
It's so overrated
Wanna break away until my longing has fated
Wanna change my fate

Wanna dream again
Go out dancing
I wanna laugh again
Till I lose my mind

Heavy heart when will you fall?
Again from the weight of this longing?
Inside of me I believe

I thought I found, found me a home
But all I want is to run away
Run from my life tonight

I wanna lose my way
And my sense of direction
Wanna lose my bearings
And my point of reference



5: Rain Or Shine
----------------
Every time you go
This much I know
That it didn't mean nothing
Cause I've closed the back door

Every night apart you were in my heart
So don't you worry
Cause I'm ready for this love to restart

There is a reason
We came together
Rain or Shine I'll love you all my life
We'll weather the seasons
We'll laugh and cry
Rain or shine I'm yours, you're mine
I'll love you all my life

When I feel afraid
In my own parade
That marches through me
And I don't recognize
A single face

You drew a line in the sand
Then you took my hand
And we crossed over
Now I finally understand that

There is a reason
We came together
Rain or Shine I'll love you all my life
We'll weather the seasons
We'll laugh and cry
Rain or shine I'm yours, you're mine
I'll love you all my life



6: Downtime
-----------
There was a time when I was uncluttered
In my mind and my heart and my soul were fine
I would sit with Alan and have a smoke
But I didn't smoke so I usually choke

Alan and I would talk about life
We never really kissed, never stayed the night
Now I'm twisted into a perfect knot
The pace is a maze and I'm totally caught

I will meet you in Downtime
Has become a crime
I'll be waiting on Downtime
Why is it a crime?

We'd write till three in our reverie
We liked simple things
He saw the art in me
So I saw it in myself
Was a woman of wealth
Had no money just Alan and me

Now I work all day and I think all night
In a complicated life will I ever get it right?
Yeah I'm twisted into a perfect knot
The pace is a maze and I'm totally caught

I will meet you in Downtime
Has become a crime
I'll be waiting on Downtime
Why is it a crime?

Downtime has become a crime
I'll be waiting on Downtime
When will we be fine



7: Gyroscope
------------
You live in cool greys
Hiding in the middle
You shine right through the haze
Undoing my riddle

Straighten me when I'm tilted

You spin me round and round
Untwisted this tornado
When I'm lost I'm really found
Turn my heart to play-dough

Straighten me when I'm tilted
Water me when I'm wilted

You're my gyroscope
Levelling out my fear
Making the blurry clear
Make the far seem near
You're my gyroscope
When I burn to bright
You try to dim my light
But I won't let you no, no

I used to be too shiny
For your darker shades of black
But you let my ray of light shine
Through the armour through the crack

Straighten me when I'm tilted
Water me when I'm wilted

You're my gyroscope
Levlling out my fear
Making the blurry clear
Make the far seemnear
Hey you're my gyroscope
When I burn too bright
You try to dim my light
But I won't let you no, no, no



8: In July
----------
We go city to city
The sun sets over Copenhagen
On a bus ride through heaven
Maybe we'll get in by eleven

Take a sip of inspiration
Trigger my imagination
Turn over the pages in my hand
I just wanna be in a great band

I'm waiting for July
Were we just passing by?
I'll see you in July

We go country to country
Moon rise over Barcelona
My best friends surround me
I can see how this life can own you

The lines on the road can mesmerize
Patterns go shooting under
I can hear a lullaby
Through the rain and thunder

I'm waiting for July
Will we be out of time?
I'll see you in July

Maybe we can live by the ocean
Need to quiet down the commotion
Time has stopped ticking by
Maybe it's already July

I'm waiting for July
Were we just passing by
I'll see you July
Are we out of time?
I'm waiting for July



9: The Sunset Marquis
---------------------
There's a place where we hung out
At The Sunset Marquis
And I miss the way your hand felt
Resting on my knee
It was one of the few times
I didn't want to change a thing

And the way the light hit your face just right
Was like a movie, a movie
And the way you laughed
Well it warmed the draft
Running through me, through me
And I wanna go back to try and unwind

A couple is snapping at each other
Like dirty old rubber bands
While a waitress in a cat suit
Is starting to expand
I draw a line around your finger
Like a wedding band

Then I scribble down some poetry
On a book of matches
Cause I realise I am sitting with
One of the finest catches
And suddenly in the background it was you

Playing on that radio
Burning on that stereo
In the bar at The Sunset Marquis

There was a party in my head
Where did everybody go?
One night in the blue light
I sat there all alone
And I tried to remember
The smell of your coat

Then I touched my hand and I
Whispered into my own ear, my own ear
In the background something familiar
Something was so clear, so clear
And I realised that it was me

Playing on that radio
Burning on that stereo
In the bar at The Sunset Marquis singing 'bout
All the laughs we once had darling
Oh the way it felt to me
In the bar at The Sunset Marquis



10: 7 Days
----------
I'm gonna discontinue him like a
Line that's breaking, breaking
Our love seemed to crash
Like a wave that's taking
Taking down everything

Seven days, that's all it's been
Tomorrow will be eight
Feel like I'm counting
The raindrops in a hurricane

In this perfect place
I believe

Swimming through the days
While the world goes crazy
No wonder the state I'm in
Am I wrong to wanna dream
Myself into oblivion, sweet oblivion?

Seven days I am amazed
Tomorrow will be eight
Feeling like I'm counting
The raindrops in a hurricane
In this perfect place
I believe that there
Is someone for me

In this perfect place
I believe that there
Is someone for me

In this perfect place
I believe



11: Promising Grey Day
----------------------
Eighteen and flying
Like every great American
Slept until sundown
And baby your were wild enough fro me

Rolled the night over
In my '72 Nova
Mexican rain on my
Tijuana vinyl beer stain

Watching the sunrise
Lightening in your lazy eyes
And all this time you never let me down

I had a dream
That made me move to New York City
Cause I wasn't about to
About to let this magic slip away

But he did anyway
He was kind of Illusive that way
Like clouds on a promising grey day

The beauty of my life
A moment that's long gone
But so much a part of me
Oh, how I wish it weren't history

I wish it were my future
Rolling, rolling my way
Like clouds on a promising grey day
