Tony Venuto - Lyrics

City and Sand

Go to the Light

When darkness starts to fill your life
And the whole world has it's lost its mind
There’s just one place you can go tonight

Go to the light
Go to the light
Gonna be alright
If you go to the light

Haters don’t like seeing the light in your eyes
But we won’t let them drag us down this time

Not gonna listen to them criticize
Not gonna listen to the little lies they multiply
Not gonna listen to them dramatize
Not gonna listen to the spreading lies they canonize

With a blindfold that covers your eyes
You feel the water, but your hands are tied
You’ve got to break the bonds and

Go to the light
Go to the light
Gonna be alright
If you go to the light
Let’s go tonight
Let’s go to the light

They try to tell you a story, about why it is okay
For them to come around and take it all away

Not gonna listen to them criticize
Not gonna listen to the little lies they multiply
Not gonna listen to them dramatize
Not gonna listen to the spreading lies they canonize

When the whole world has it's lost its mind
There’s still one place you can go tonight

Go to the light
Go to the light
Gonna be alright
If you go to the light

It’s time to restore your faith
And feed your mind
You’ll find it's easy if you try
Just open up and let yourself go
Go to the light
Go to the light
Gonna be alright
If you go to the light
Go to the light!

You Can Come Home

Someone told me that you were the one
The one that lifted them up when they were all alone
It sounds right, yeah you did that for me
Lifted me up when I struggled to breathe
Opened your heart, I handed you mine
Some people focus on the darkest time
But you fall in a pit when you think that way
I try to remember our best days
Like the time we were driving home
And they played your song on the radio

At the end of your rope
How will you cope, how will you cope
At the end of your rope
Where will you go, where will you go
When you are running out of road
You can come home, you can come home
When your tired of being alone

Well the days are long, but the years go fast
On the news today, they talk of your past
They try to dredge up the worst of times
But I know your worth, I pay them no mind
I like to focus on the better things
Like graduation when we felt so free
We went upstate and we tried to stay
We had trouble just putting down stakes
We were just kids, we were singing songs
It felt so right, until it went so wrong

Now I see you wearing all white clothes
Listen to the doctor speaking in drones
But his words are not sinking in
My mind is somewhere far from him
Remembering how you taught me to fly
There's no way I can just stand by

At the end of your rope
How will you cope, how will you cope
At the end of your rope
Where will you go, where will you go
At the end of the road
You can come home, you can come home
When your tired of being alone
You can come home, yes you can come home
When you're running out of road

Imaginary

I saw you take yourself out
Right out of the race now
Couldn't find a place that felt like home
They keep showing pictures, with the little fictions
And the deep fakes starting to explode
I didn't ask for admission
Someone pressed the ignition
So here we go down the hole

All I see is all imaginary
But all I feel, is all too real

They try to manipulate you
They want to complicate you
They don't really care how it's done
So the truth gets buried
And you think this is scary
Just wait 'til the next one comes along

All I see is all imaginary
But all I feel, is all too real

We soon discover, what's undercover
And now we're running for the door
I hear you beg forgiveness
But we can't forget this
So please just get out of our way

All I see is all imaginary
But all I feel, is all too real

My Love For You

An awkward moment as I'm crossing the street
Is soon filled with the building belief
That the lady I've been looking for is sitting across from me
After dinner, we go for a stroll
Sharing things that stir our soul
We get ice cream, sit under the stars
Talk about everything near and far
I feel a fire is growing
But I don't really want to be showing
So I just smile as we say goodnight

Got a feeling, the feeling is strong
Try to tell you, but get the words wrong
One thing I know, that is true
It's my love for you
I've got nothing to lose
I've got nothing to prove
Except my love for you
Except my love for you

One year later and we're getting married
Pretty soon we're having a baby
He's crawling around, making his sounds
We haven't slept in 20 weeks

Now we've been together a very long time
You had some troubles and I had mine
We're always looking for the positive signs
And I keep falling, falling for you

Got a feeling, the feeling is strong
Try to tell you, but get the words wrong
There's one thing I know is true
It's my love for you
I've got nothing to lose
I've got nothing to prove
Except my love for you
Except my love for you

40th Day of Rain

Been pouring down, such a haze
I think it's rained for 40 days
But when she smiles as we say goodbye
I don't care if it's wet or dry

If I can get through this day
Everything's gonna be okay
'Cause when I see her in the night
Everything's gonna be alright

Got a call from the boss
And he's feeling pretty cross
About something I don't know
He's telling me the one thing I really gotta do
Is just get up and go
So I run to the corner
Jump on the bus and I'm heading on down the road
Check out a van, write out a plan
Start driving to and fro
But I'm sick and I'm tired of zipping all around
Fixing everything that broke
At the end of my shift, I'm not walking quick
And my feet are getting soaked

If I can get through this day
Everything's gonna be okay
'Cause when I see her in the night
Everything's gonna be alright

Yes, I submit every single day
I'm clocking in and getting paid
Clear the path, gonna patch the roof
Trim the tree, gotta upload proof
Mop the floors, gonna fill in the forms
Map the maze, gonna be ignored
Patch the crack, gotta match the paint
Fix the chair, don't click on the bait
But the flood is coming in again today
It's time to go home, but the boss says I gotta stay

If I can get through this day
Everything's gonna be okay
'Cause when I see her in the night
Everything is alright
If I can keep her in my life
Everything's gonna be just fine

Coast to Coast

I see you standing on the edge of that cliff
I can't help but wonder if
If your gonna come down slow
Or if you're gonna just let it go
Shake it off, let's go for a ride
It's not time for you to take a dive

Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Going coast to coast, I really want to play all day
I miss the kiss, careful what you wish

I heard a story about an older man
He thought he had some genius plan
Built a wall all around his home
Slowly turned into a pile of bones
His neighbors didn't even really know
They just wondered where did he go
At the funeral, no one showed
Then the bank took what was owed

Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Going coast to coast, I really want to play all day
I miss the kiss, careful what you wish

There's a place that I often go
Hard to find it if you don't know
They close at 5 every single night
Don't believe in wrong or right
Which isn't odd once you know their side
You got to open up and lose your pride
If you share all that you know
You might find out where to go

Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Going coast to coast, I really want to play all day
I miss the kids, careful what you wish

There's not a lot of love inside tonight
Behind your eyes there's a fluttering light
When you start to break down and hide
Shake it off, let's go for a ride
Doesn't matter if they take it wrong
We got to go out and sing our song
Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Coast to coast
Chase the ghosts away
Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Coast to coast
Chase the ghosts away
Going coast to coast and chase the ghosts away
Coast to coast
Chase the ghosts away

Cubicle Nightmare

After 17 years, you're getting out of school and you're feeling pretty cool
Go downtown looking for a job and you just got robbed
Sign up as a temp and they farm you out
You really don't know what that life is all about
Go up to the 25th floor, sign some forms
They take you down a dark hall, say it's time to choose a cube

At the end of the darkest hall,
where no sunlight comes at all
You've got a cube, yeah it's gray and blue

Send you to the basement to mop up the mess
Just wasting time but they never will confess
They're only using big words trying to impress
But your making your bacon and you can't wait for your first check
Then they're taking half your money and give it to the man
Where it goes, you do not understand

At the end of the darkest hall,
where no sunlight comes at all
You've got a cube, yeah it's gray and blue

There are so many people that barely survive
Working their lives nine to five
Think that you should do the same
But they don't really know any other game
You've got one friend that speaks the truth
Yeah, that's probably why he lost a tooth
Going to the bar after work to have a drink
Telling everybody what you really do think

At the end of the darkest hall,
where no sunlight comes at all
You've got a cube, yeah it's gray and blue
Tear down the cubes, tear 'em down
let the sunlight through
Let's tear down the cubes, tear 'em down
tear down gray and blue
Tear down the cubes, tear 'em down
let the sunlight through

Let It Go

Going for a walk on a Saturday night and we're feeling fine
Telling us too many times that we gotta get in line
But we're getting ourselves out on the dance floor
Don't let doubts rule no more
People see everything we do
It doesn't really matter, it's time to cut loose
Some things you've just got to let go
Or they'll build right up until you explode
She don't realize, realize herself
Always trying to be somebody else
Got to let it go

Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When you start being fueled by hate
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When they tell ya, you got to wait
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When the wrong guys celebrate
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When they try to intimidate
Let it go, let it go
You just gotta let it go
Uh-oh, got to let it go
If you don't you're gonna explode

Oh, feeling your low now
Oh, the time moves slow
Oh, forgetting the question
Just jump in the river and float on
Float on real slow
Gotta let it go

Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When you want to change the past
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When your name gets called out last
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When you're feeling a little too small
Uh-oh, gotta let it go
When you can't feel a thing at all
Uh-oh, gotta let it go
You just gotta let it go
Uh-oh, gotta let it go `
If you don't you're gonna explode

She's a mystery, mystery don't you see
She's a mystery to me
I try to remember what was said and done
But I can't, it's just begun
We'll I don't memorize any facts for you
You can interrogate someone new
I don't hypnotize, hypnotize myself
I don't criticize anybody else
I don't care, I've got too much to do
Every single day it's something new
She don't realize, realize herself
Always trying to be somebody else
Time to let that go

Let it go
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When they can't pronounce your name
Let it go
When you don't win a single game
Uh-oh, gotta let it go now
When they don't communicate
Let it go
When your friend is running late
Let it go, let it go
You just gotta let it go
Let it go
Got to go with the flow
Uh-oh, gotta let it go `
If you don't you're gonna explode

Flamethrower

Well, here she comes
All the other boys are starting to run
She rolls in like a tank with a gun
Setting sights on me
I don't mind
I'm just happy to still be alive
Long enough to see her stride
Right into the room

She's throwing punching like a rock star
I always knew she would go far
She's a flamethrower, blowing the truth
They didn't know what she could do
Gonna hit them with a 1 2
If they don't change their attitude

I declare, it's so easy just to be ensnared
When she says she is starting to care
I feel I'm walking on air
I lie awake, all the things that I want to say
Spin around in my mind replays
Memories of her

She's a flamethrower
Her truth is molten
She's burning fantasy
She don't like fancy
She likes reality
We are reality
We are reality

Ocean

You've been staying up late, try to keep it together
Head to the ocean, doesn't matter the weather
You're surrounded by your so called friends
Driving you insane once again
I don't know the games they play, I don't know the things they say
I just know you've got to get away today
You've been drifting around, don't make a sound
You run to hide away in your cave

You can still hear them calling, they're calling out your name
They keep calling, they keep on calling
And time keeps ticking, ticking seconds away
Time is ticking, it keeps on ticking
You watch time, as you're waiting for the next day

There's not a part of me here that doesn't want you near
But you made it clear, you want to be alone today
So I've been staying away, I do what you say
But now I see you walking slowly into the ocean
In your shadow is the specter of death
He's getting closer with every step
Now I'm running as fast I can, but I'm sinking in the sand
As he reaches your shoulder and your head goes under the wave

Can't you hear us calling? We're calling out your name
We keep on calling, keep on calling
And time keeps ticking, ticking slowly away
Time is ticking, it keeps on ticking
And you turn and turn and you don't know which way
And time keeps ticking, ticking slowly away
Time is ticking, it keeps on ticking
You try to come back to the shore, but you're drifting away
You try to come back but you're drifting further away

Far beyond the breakers
You sail
Under a red sky
Now you sail, now you sail away
I can see you
You sail
I can see you sail away
Now you sail, now you sail away
You sail, now you sail away
Now you sail, now you sail away
And you sail
You sail
Away

20 Years

Ghost in my Head

We gather here today
Grab your old guitar and play
Feel rich to know you’re there
Trying not to stare
Please don’t you leave
I finally do believe
You’re right there in the wind
If I call, you come right in
It’s nothing we should fear
But I feel you standing near
For once I was not wrong
Never are you gone

On and on, on he goes again
Ghost in my head, telling me what he thinks
On and on, on he goes again
Ghost in my head
Ghost in my head

I can hear your words inside
Much more since you died
They echo in my brain
Really could drive a man insane
But it is not you inside
Just a memory alive
Wanting to survive
Tries to claw its way outside
It’s gonna break me down
Gonna rip myself away
If I don’t let it go
Let you go and float away
So I go out all alone
I leave my ghost at home
Try hard not to take a dive
I think I just saw you walking by

On and on, on he goes again
Ghost in my head, telling me what he thinks
On and on, on he goes again
Ghost in my head
Ghost in my head

I can talk to you at night
When the feeling is not right
And you tell me what you’d say
If you were here today
If you were here today

Out To Sea

Sally woke up on a Saturday torn,
Knows if she goes, she will feel their scorn
She’s been hiding behind the roses
Between the concrete and supposes
But they only give what they want to receive
They never even try to give her what she needs
When the night gets quiet, she starts to drink
The thoughts spin around until she starts to sink

I’m heading out to sea
I can take you with me
Flash the light twice tonight
Pack your bag, pack it light

Now her dad Joe, acts like he’s CEO
keeps giving out answers,
but they never really know
Was he the best in class, or is it just a dance?
Is his heart full of stone,
does he ever take a chance?
Well, I could not find my way without her today
But he is telling me to go away
So I hide on the other side of the engines
And listen to what they say

I’m heading out to sea
I can take you with me
Flash the light twice tonight
Pack your bag, pack it light

Don’t you talk too proud
There’s a monster underground
And he wants to pull you down

Don’t you talk too proud
There’s a monster underground
And he wants to pull you down
Where you’ll never make a sound

I’m gonna get the words right
I’ve got to get to you tonight
I try to reach out, but step on your hand
How can I make you understand?

I do promise, I will stay
All my time, all my days
All my nights, all our fights
In the dark and in the light
It’s not much, I do confess
I’m not right, I am a mess
But I will stay with you forever
Wherever you want me to be

Yeah, I will stay with you here forever
If that’s what you want from me
I’ll stay right here with you forever
If that’s what you want from me
I’ll stay right here with you forever
If that’s where you want me to be

Radio

I like turning on the radio
When I’m running a little too low
Hear the melodies that came before
Stretching out across the floor
When the signal is coming in
I remember how to live again
But all the talk is getting old
It sounds like mind control

Gimme no more lies, no more hysteria
No lies, coming through in stereo
No lies, no more hysteria please.
I want no more lies, no more hysteria
No lies, coming through in stereo
No lies, no more hysteria please

When you start to get long in years
Pretty soon you got to change your gears
If you got to break down in tears, go ahead
There is nothing stopping you here
When I want to get outside the crowd
Turn on that radio, clear and loud
But I’m only finding talk today
And I don’t care what they say
Treat the world like it’s some kind of zoo
Feeling clever in the interview
But the guests are just versions of you
Repetition doesn’t make it true

Keep telling lies on the radio
Try to spread the fear, they got a lot of fear
I really want to listen to what I don’t know
Got a lot to hear, there’s a lot to hear
I love any song that stirs the soul
My spirit was raised by rock and roll
It’s not a game, so stop keeping score
I don’t want to listen to you talk no more

Gimme no more lies, no more hysteria
No lies, coming through in stereo
No lies, no more hysteria please
I want no more lies, no more hysteria
No lies, coming through in stereo
No lies, no more hysteria please

20 Years Gone

It’s 20 years gone and you’re feeling fine
Everybody thought you would lose your mind any day
but you made but you made it okay
You step around all the sideline fights,
everybody's seeing that you’re keeping it right

It’s 20 years gone, 20 years today
Turn to face your fear, don’t you run away

Break down the words, and you throw out the lies
Take it easy, it’s the fourth of July, everyday
It’s bombs away, so you pray and pray
It’s not easy just to change your mind
Too many opinions can make you go blind

All light is gone and you can’t find your way
Close your eyes until it’s a brand new day

When the bombs keep dropping, taking your breath away
light is gone, you can’t find the words to say
Just close your eyes until it’s a brand new day

Heart’s sinking down like an elevator going underground
He keeps trying to go a little bit faster
Taking swigs from a recipe of disaster
but we don’t make a sound

It’s 20 years gone, it’s 20 years today
Turn to face your life, don’t you run away

Line them all up, shake the rust into dust,
Everybody needs somebody to trust
They try and crush what they cannot sell, they want more

It’s 20 years gone, 20 years today
Face down on the concrete is not okay
20 years gone, 20 years today
Close your eyes until it’s a brand new day

Heart Thru School

I’ve been asking you questions
And I’m getting back lies
I never hear nothing
that does surprise
You’ve been selling stories
You’ve been selling dreams
Watching our world
Fall apart at the seems

Please don’t you throw me to the wolf
Don’t you throw me to the wolf
Please don’t you chain me to the fool
Don’t you chain me to the fool
I got a hard enough time
just to get my heart through school
I got a hard enough time
to avoid you looking so cool

Ready, steady now I go
Learned it from a video
Now I’m putting on a show

Please don’t you throw me to the wolf
Don’t you throw me to the wolf
Please don’t you chain me to the fool
Don’t you chain me to the fool
Got a hard enough time
to avoid you looking so cool
I got a hard enough time
just to get my heart through school

Taking a break again
gonna run for the minimum
Better rent you a gentlemen
Who can yell at me again and again

Don’t take it back, get it right
if you want to shine a light
Look at us, living life
don’t you want a slice?
Flip the script, take a bite
Why do you want to fight?
Take a chance, you can dance
You might find it nice
You might try it twice.

Choked Up

My friends told me to stay away
but not the reasons they felt that way
Couldn’t listen to them throwing shade
Telling me that we’re not gonna make the grade
(Okay, okay)
She keeps dishing out the alibis
can’t she see, I see through the lies?
I saw her car on Dillon’s drive
didn’t stop to ask her why
(I roll by)

I choked up. So what?
I woke up, just as she’s walking away
So what? I choked up, watch her leaving today

She came around here, she didn’t hesitate
I played along like it wasn’t getting late (stay awake)
I turned around, she wasn’t there
Ran out the door and down the stairs
Bright lights buzzing like a hive.
She slides up
I come alive

I choked up. So what?
I woke up, just as she’s walking away
So what? I choked up, watch her leaving today
There is no reason for me to stay, so I’m sailing away

Here comes another, so make some room
She amplifies the attitude
Said yesterday is ancient history
She tries to burn all our memories
I feel my mind reel, I feel it spinning away.
I see her lips moving, I can't hear what they say
I can’t hear the words she say,
I can’t hear a thing today

I choked up. So what?
I woke up, just as she’s walking away
So what? I choked up, watch her leaving today

Fires From Space

I wake up, I go down, start clearing off the ground
I don’t mind, I’m just picking up sticks,
Filling up those barrels, and I’m filling them quick
Building fires so high you can see them from space
Keep doing it fast like it’s some kind of race
I can taste the smoke going down to my lungs
I listen to the echoes of the songs we sung

Get yourself out of the way,
Get yourself out of your own damn way
She’s waiting to take you away
Taking you to a new school today
Go and learn all you can,
you don’t have to understand
Give her all that you have
give her all you can give
What she’ll give you back
is the best reason to live

The fire goes up, the smoke falls down,
It’s time to leave, no messing around
The flames are coming, burning trees like sticks,
it’s burning houses, it’s burning ‘em quick
The fire’s so high you can see it from space
Leaving here fast like it’s some kind of race
I taste the smoke going down to my lungs
Spitting out the ashes that land on my tongue

Dig It Up

Dig it up, dig down as far as you know (x2)
You dig deep, pile it up wherever you go (x2)

Hey little sister, don’t you listen when they tell you where to go
Keep on driving and you’ll find your road I know
Everybody thinks that you’re going too slow
But the jokers and the chokers just can’t go with the flow

She keeps on digging, she really is starting to glow
Does it on reflex, don’t know where it’ll go
She just keeps smiling, finally found a place to call home

Dig it up, dig down as far as you know (x2)
You dig deep, pile it up wherever you go (x2)

Hey my brother, I know you’ll find another
don’t you let it break you down
You got to keep on moving, keep on making your sound
You’ve been digging all night, and now you’re completely out of sight

He keeps on digging, he really is starting to glow
Does it on reflex, don’t know where it’ll go
He just keeps smiling, finally found a heart of gold

Dig it up, dig down as far as you know (x2)
You dig deep, pile it up wherever you go (x2)

They keep on digging, they really do put on a show
Do it on reflex, don’t know where it’ll go
When love will strike, you never really know
Me I’m just watching, I’m waiting for a UFO

Broadway Rose

This story starts on a peaceful evening
We all know looks can be deceiving
A band was playing down at the Street Scene
When the crowd got big, some people got mean

It was some kind of protest, some kind of rally
When a bomb exploded in the alley
Police are coming on the left and right
Smoke is clouding out the light
Stage caught fire, I can feel the heat
Running for our lives down on Main Street

A bus pulls up. Yeah, we jump right in
Pretty soon, we can breathe again
Come to stop a few miles away
finally see who saved the day
and she’s singing a beautiful song
grab a guitar and play along
We keep playing on until the dawn
with Broadway Rose

Don’t you know what hate can do?
Turn up the heat until you blow a fuse
Give you a tip, try something new
might find a good friend when you do
We’ve been out in the Redwood trees
Saying thank you, saying please
All the people living in peace
But when we get back to our town
Everybody’s tearing each other down

People talk about all their wishes
Think they’ve got it a little bit twisted
But She, she’s singing everyday
Makes our blues just melt away
The band is loud, the dancers sway
In our city by the bay
Its Broadway Rose and Omega Tones
It’s Broadway Rose and Omega Tones
They’ll shake your what?!
Gonna shake your bones!

Don’t you know what love can do?
It’s good for me, it’s good for you
can lift you up from the hole you’re in
Remind you how to smile again
Some people say that we’re not right
Keep telling us they want to fight
So all our friends are stepping out
Stand in a line, don’t have to shout.
The bullies run as fast as they can
Wave at them with the back of our hands

Dominos

Woke up to trouble,
Johnny better get your guns
They rolled into town, hoping we would run
They try to take all that we own
But nobody here stands alone

They’ve been bombing bridges along the way
Only care about yesterday
But we’ve got the light that we need
Shine it down upon our seeds

How the mighty fall
You don’t take nothing from this life
But you still try to cut a slice as you go
How the mighty fall - All fall like dominos
Now they all will fall - All fall like dominos

Keep on drifting from all you’ve known
What’s inside you’ll never show
When all is well, you raise a toast
But don’t say a word when we need you most

How the mighty fall - All fall like dominos
Now they all will fall - All fall like dominos

We don’t want to be a part of you
Now we know what we must do
Bring the fight right to your coast
Yeah, it’s time to vámonos
Let’s go!

How the mighty fall - All fall like dominos
Now they all will fall - All fall like dominos