VONDA SHEPARD
It's Good, Eve (1996)


1: Maryland
written by Vonda Shepard
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I've been thinking
I've been thinking I've been thinking too much
I just want to live now for a little while
And cast my dreams to the wind
Don't wanna wonder
Don't wanna wonder what it's all about
I'm just working for a living singing with my friends
As I cast my dreams to the wind

Maryland, I'm coming home
Never worry about what I did wrong
And that I'll never be what my daddy wanted me to be
And I'll never see what my mama's dreams were
But I will sing
La la la la la la la la...

I wanna fly
I wanna fly down the highway to my home away from home
This funky funky club on Fairfax Avenue to see you
I'll never give up
Because what is there to give up anyway
I'm just working for a living working for my pay
In Maryland it's raining somewhere in some cafe

Maryland, I'm coming home
Never worry about what I did wrong
And that I'll never be what my daddy wanted me to be
And I'll never see what my mama's dreams were
But I can sing
La la la la la la la la...



2: A Lucky Life
---------------
We've live a long, long time and all the radios are playing our song tonight
We walk a crooked line 'cause there is a counter life in your jailed eyes
You're never a victim of your generation and you shine on me like a holy light
All of the miracles and conversations rain on me tonight

We've got a one track mind, true as a railroad, always on time
I see it in your eyes, you don't have to talk to me, I know what you're thinking
I need my solitude as much as you do darling, to live this life we came here for
Never for one single solitary moment did I need you more

We live a lucky life
I see it all tonight
We sit and close our eyes
Traveling to paradise or to anywhere we like
We live a lucky life

My home is on the road, the pavement caters to, to my gypsy soul
We walk the tightest rope, we live in a circus, circus of hope
All of the melodies and inspirations shine on me like a holy light
Right in the middle of our conversations you wink at me, saying it's alright

We live a lucky life
I see it in your eyes
We sit and close our eyes
Traveling to paradise or to anywhere we like
We live a lucky life



3: Grain of Sand
----------------
I feel like I'm walking on a mine
I'm gonna leave it all behind
I feel like I'm gaining my soul
While I'm losing my mind

And I feel like I understand
And I feel like a grain of sand

I'm gonna walk through that door
I'm gonna see what it's there for
'Cause all I ever want is your skin or your soul, baby
But you couldn't give me either one of those

And I feel like I understand
And I feel like a grain of sand
And I feel like a grain of sand

You use to hold me like a flower
We used to talk for seven hours
I see the bigger picture now

And I feel like I understand
And I feel like a grain of sand
And I feel like a grain of sand



4: The Wildest Times of the World
---------------------------------
I have fallen, I have stood up, I've had the patience of a tree
You have trembled, you have stayed still, you have tumbled like a weed
All the mountains, all the deserts, go for miles and miles around
We have driven for years now, baby, just to get back to a place we had already found
Now you're driving me downtown, baby, on a rainy night
You're driving me crazy, baby, is this really life?

In the wildest times of the world
Oh I never thought I would be here with you tonight
In the wildest times of the world
Let's stay together in this lonely and crazy life

I was mistaken our love was forsaken, worst mistake I ever made
Were you lonely, were you brave, now?
I guess the two are one and the same
Now I'm singing here with my sweet, sweet darling in my eye
Ain't it funny how you're walking through life and it turns on a dime?
I was missing you crazy, baby, are you really mine?

In the wildest times of the world
Oh I never thought I would be here with you tonight
In the wildest times of the world
Let's stay together in this lonely and crazy life

Hey Hey Hey...



5: Like a Hemisphere
--------------------
He sees what I'm lacking and he tells me without attacking my life
He sees what I'm needing and he gives me love without my pleading
I see where his worries lie and I help him to decide
He sees what I'm missing, that sometimes I need to be alone, but sometimes I need him to listen

Like a hemisphere he surrounds me with a wisdom that astounds me
Like the horizon, he draws my eye to him and he makes me see just how lonely I have been

He knows what I'm thinking without a sign, without blinking my eyes
I know what he's asking, in our love there ain't no masking, no disguise
I know what he's after, it's the truth and the laughter
Why can't we see in ourselves, all the beauty we see in everybody else?

Like a hemisphere he surrounds me with a wisdon that astounds me
Like the horizon, he draws my eye to him and he makes me see
Like a radio he calls out to me in the middle of the night
Like a hemisphere he is perfectly clear and he makes me see just how lonely I have been

I don't wanna go through this life just getting by, I want to fly
I don't wanna go through this life not asking why
I need to know why we are here, we are here together now
I don't wanna go through this life just to die
Well, you made me see just how lonely I have been

Like a hemisphere he surrounds me with a wisdom that astounds me
Like the horizon, he draws my eye to him and makes me see
Like a radio he calls out to me in the middle of the night
Like a hemisphere he is perfectly clear and he makes me see just how lonely I have been 



6: Naiveté
----------
Is that all America?
Bad television, living in denial, I know
'Cause I don't wanna know

Wanna run, wanna fly
Let my illusions take me through the night
It's alright, wanna be the light

I was born in a cardboard box
New York City, 1963
Poetry readings and bohemians
Now inspiration floats around me like a cloud, so loud
I can hear you sing like an angel

Merilee, Merilee, she takes forever
But she's always laughing, laughing about anything
I could be so happy
As long as my friends are hangin' around me

Are we all fast food and no introspection?
All done with mirrors, but no real reflection
I wanna live in my own little world
Where inspiration floats around me like a cloud, so loud
I can hear you sing like an angel

Naiveté...this world is lost on me
Naiveté...I don't wanna know anyway

I always pictured my life this way
As two women order their chardonnay
Sitting alone in some dirty cafe
Where inspiration floats around me like a cloud, so loud
I can hear you sing like an angel 



7: Long Term Boyfriend
----------------------
I try so hard I don't know what to do
I'm gonna lose my mind if I can't have you
The brake lights are on and nobody's home
I can hear you talking on the telephone
And my baby has the blues again
Somehow they just seem to hit him
And I'm breaking up again with another long term boyfriend

I believe that you're leaving
And I believe you're already gone
You're already gone

If you can't find love, you've gotta find a method
Of learning to live in the world today
I don't know what it was that I expected
I guess I'm a fool to want perfection
And I'm breaking up again with another long term boyfriend

I believe that you're leaving
And I believe you're already gone
I better believe what I'm seeing
'Cause I believe that it's so long
It's so long (as in "see ya")

I try so hard I don't know what to do
It's obvious I won't end up with you
The brake lights are on and it's so clear
You can't pretend you wanna be here
This train of thought has arrived at the station
We don't need anymore contemplation
And I'm breaking up again with another long term boyfriend 



8: Every Now & Then
-------------------
He says everybody's crazy
No one knows how to live
He takes another drink of whiskey and says
No one knows how to give
He says everybody's lonely
And they love to talk about it
They say if I could have you only
You know I'd never doubt it
I'd never doubt it

Every now and then you were in love with me
Every now and then you came to find me

Every now and then you'd be in love with me
Surprise, surprise it's me again
It's every now and then

My boyfriend's on the fringe
He says that I'm naive
He says this world makes him cringe
Sometimes he'd rather leave
My boyfriend's on the blink
He says he can't pretend
He's had too much to drink
And it's coming to the end
It's coming to the end

Every now and then you were in love with me
Every now and then you came to find me

Every now and then you'd be in love with me
Surprise, surprise it's me again
It's every now and then
Every now and then you'd be in love with me
Surprise, surprise look in my eyes
It's every now and then
Every now and then you'd get down on your knees
And cry to me, 'cause once again
It's every now and then 



9: Mischief & Control
---------------------
There is a fire within all of us
There is a river flowing in your soul
To put out the fire when it gets out of control
There is a stranger in all of us
That we try to get to know
There is a wise woman in there, too
She's trying to run the show

I can not escape the constant equipoise
In between the mischief and control
Swinging from the pendulum of desires
In between the mischief and control

There is a painter in all of us
She knows exactly which brush to choose
She knows exactly where to make a stroke
But there's an army of voices
She might have to get through
There is a writer in all of us, yeah
He knows what to say and he knows when it's done
But then there's this twenty-foot blank page
You gotta fill, darling
Or you think your life has no meaning

I can not escape the constant equipoise
In between the mischief and control
Swinging from the pendulum of desires
In between the mischief and control

Excuses piling up like junkyards
We never want to sort through
Efficiently we hide our needs
And all along a voice is calling out please, please
'Cause I'm so hungry and I'm so tired
I feel so lonely, I feel so wired
I need my angel...where is my angel



10: Hotel Room View
-------------------
Above all things there must be love
And following your deepest soul
You look like you need some fun
I'm dying to sail into the sun
Dreamers ask what've I become

I can see that shoreline star
Pulling me to worlds so far
Taking me and pulling hard
Away from judgment's own backyard
Away from judgment's own backyard

Why should I change for anyone?
Why should my chains break or come undone?
And I'll sing glory hallelujah I'm coming home
Baby don't rescue me, don't rescue me
'Cause I'm gonna be what I'm gonna be

Do you hear my melodies?
Do you hear my Van Gogh's cry?
Will it be my brother's purchase?
Even only when I die? Even only when I die

Why should I change for anyone?
Why should my chains break or come undone?
And I'll sing glory hallelujah I'm coming home
Baby don't rescue me, don't rescue me
'Cause I'm gonna be what I'm gonna be

I been up and down, I been all around
In the sky and baby on the ground
High as the sun, deep as the sea
Rain has been falling all over me
I wanna live in harmony
I know what I need to be free
Baby, please don't rescue me 'cause I'm gonna be...



11: This Steady Train
---------------------
The antennas on the rooftops
Make collages in the cloudy sky
Sort of like a black and white photograph
Now it's raining in my eye

It's enough to feel the wind blow
It's enough to feel the rain
I'm in love with a man that don't know
As I ride this steady train

There's a storm in the distance
But I have always loved the rain
I want a love without resistance
Can there be love without any pain?

It's enough to feel the wind blow
It's enough to feel the rain
I'm in love with a man that don't know
As I ride this steady train

Well, this street looks so familiar
I ain't been here for twenty years
At what moment do you turn you head around
And walk a straight line, straight and clear?

It's enough to feel the wind blow
It's enough to feel the rain
I'm in love with a man that don't know
As I ride this steady train



12: Serious Richard
-------------------
I was so lost and you were so profound
You taught me how to fly with my feet still on the ground
And you told me to be what it is that I was
No matter what all of the businessmen said

Serious Richard, why do you frown like you do?
Why do you think the whole world is after you?
Well, you're probably right and it's probably true about me, too

'Cause sometimes the world ain't sweet
Oh these days, when was it ever?
Maybe it's just this city hurts
Oh Richard, I love you worse

Serious Richard
I often recall the time in the doorway in Paris
The time of the broken sinks and the broken hearts
And the broken weeds that we tore apart
Thinking they were flowers, thinking they were art

We were so smart, Richard
We liked our love, we loved to live
Out in the streets we knew how to give
We were alive, happy to be alive

You don't know my memory lingers
Or the message of your fingers

Serious Richard, where did you go?
I never thought an ending we would ever know
Now it's so cold without your love
