Grand View Drive                                                Songs from Willow Glen

1.  Grand View Drive

(Inspired by a street in the Hollywood Hills)

Find me a place where time is standing still,

like the taunting silence before a storm,

scanning the wasteland’s boned submission;

the formidable repose through transition.

When did we learn that time is the enemy

and try to transcend it and try to forget?

Resentment can only steal time from the burdened,

and even now with our aspirations, we’re forced to choose.

And here we are watching the city,

spread like a hawk from sky to sky,

and every thigh heaves the night-lights

through the Palisades, into the bay.

If we’d made the choice somewhere in the past,

would we still be trying to hold onto the second hand?

Now we feel the beat, but it’s our bodies’ own,

trying to learn a lesson in a foreign land.

And here we are watching the city,

spread like a hawk from sky to sky,

and every thigh heaves the night-lights

through the Palisades, into the bay.

I feel your touch;

so strange but I’ve known you,

sweet as the night on Grand View Drive;

sweet as your touch on Grand View Drive,

and I know I’ve known you before.

You and I will be travellers on her every vein;

you and I will wear the thorns of her domain;

we’ll wear the thorns of her domain…

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Bass:  Doug BakerDrums & bell-tree:  Neil Sebba

Electric guitar & backwards solo:  Frank Simes

Tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

©1987-1992 Syresham Music/ASCAP

2.  I never meant to change you

(Inspired in part by Kahlil Gibran's book "The Prophet")

I have changed you into someone

you were never meant to be.

I have locked you in and lost the

key to what you meant to me.

Forgive me;  I never meant to change you.

Did I break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears,

break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears?

Forgive me, I never meant to change you.

I have been the rainy one who

saw the sadness everywhere

and I have been no good for you,

overcome with this despair.

Forgive me;  I never meant to change you.

Did I break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears,

break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears?

Forgive me, I never meant to, -

I never meant to change; 

I never meant to change you.

We have danced as one so long

we've forgotten how we danced alone,

and we have shared the cup of life

so long that we still thirst for our own.

Forgive me;  I never meant to change you.

Did I break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears,

break your spirit with my rules,

chill you with my tears,

take away your laughter,

give you all my fears?

Forgive me, I never meant to, -

I never meant to change; 

I never meant to change you.

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Bass:  Jorgen Carlsson

Bell-tree: Neil Sebba

B3:  Robert Fedeli

Doumbek & tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Drums:  Bob Sheehan

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1998 Syresham Music/ASCAP

3.  When I was old 

(Lyrics by Anne Aubourg)

Long ago, when I was old, -

was it just some days ago,

you took me where the grass is greener,

out of my mind, into your dream.

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

You brushed away my inhibitions,

laughed about my imperfections.

You took me where the grass is greener,

out of my mind, into your heart.

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

You threw away my broken dreams,

empty voices, futile choices.

You took me where the grass is greener,

out of my mind, into your life.

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago?

Long ago, when I was old, - was it just some days ago, -

long ago…

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low tom-tom:  Bob Sheehan

Piano:  Adam Chester

Tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Violin:  Charlie Bisharat

Lyrics by Anne Aubourg; 

Music by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1999/Syresham Music/ASCAP

4.  Find a Way

I miss you;  there's no denying.

Nothing can bring you back to me.

Can I carry on; carry on

this way?

Was this lifetime all we had;

with all the lessons we never learned?

Was it good enough; good enough

for you in the end?

It’s not supposed to be this way;

it’s not the way it was explained.

I’m supposed to understand

but instead I feel so sad.

The wild horses are in my head;

wild courage, like a prayer.

Will they rescue me; rescue me

from despair?

It’s not supposed to be this way;

it’s not the way it was explained.

I’m supposed to understand

but instead I feel so sad.

I will find a way, find a way to start again.

I will find a way, find a way to start again…

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic & electric guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Bass:  Doug Baker

B3:  Robert Fedeli

Drums:  Bob Sheehan

Violin:  Charlie Bisharat

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1998/Syresham Music/ASCAP

5.  Be the one

Speak slowly now, - make the moment, make the moment last.

Golden the sun, lingering longer for us.

Say you’ll be the one, you’ll be the one for me;

you’ll be the one, you’ll be the one for me.

Fragrant the night, silver the moonlight, for us.

In the old garden where the petals fall, we are one.

The way you look at me, you look at me,

I know you’ll be the one, you’ll be the one for me.

Where the sun goes down, near the water’s edge, be mine.

I have left your name in a secret place, so small.

Be the one, be the one for me.

Be the one, be the one for me…

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

Bass:  Doug Baker

B3:  Robert Fedeli

Cello:  Stefanie Fife

Drums:  Bob Sheehan

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

©1998/Syresham Music/ASCAP

6.  Good enough for you 

Good enough for you;

if I were good enough for you,

all the things that I would do

would make us so happy, -

so happy, yeah.

Where the river flows beneath the thorn trees,

I’d hold you close and wash away bad memories,

and in the cool and lucid water, like a dream,

all imperfections pale in one reflection.

Good enough for you;

if I were good enough for you,

all the things that I would do

would make us so happy, -

so happy, yeah.

Where the bridge of time unites all then and now;

where a hundred horses still are running wild;

where the feathered clouds of evening stain a gentle sky,

if I could be the one to take you there, I would.

Good enough for you;

if I were good enough for you,

all the things that I would do

would make us so happy, -

so happy, yeah.

Where the moon is caught between the dusk and dawn

and spills her light across the place where all roads end,

into the garden of perfection where those angels tread, -

if I could walk forever with you there, I would;  I would...

But time, - it slips away;

am I destined to stay

in my lonely room?

Good enough for you...

Good enough for you...

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

Bass:  Jorgen Carlsson

B3:  Robert Fedeli

Drums & tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Electric guitar:  Frank Simes

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1998/Syresham Music/ASCAP

7.  Lay down your arms 

Lay down your arms and embrace me;

lay down your arms and embrace me.

My eyes have seen it all,

and I can’t take anymore of our war.

Lay down your arms and embrace me;

lay down your arms and embrace me.

My ears have heard it all

and my body wants to fall down.

Lay down your arms and embrace me;

lay down your arms and embrace me.

In my words I tried to tell you,

but your mind was full of hell for me.

Lie next to me;

we will agree…

Lay down your arms and embrace me;

lay down your arms and embrace me.

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars: Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

Tibetan finger cymbals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Cello:  Stefanie Fife

Doumbek, Ghana drum & tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Piano:  Adam Chester

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

©2000/Syresham Music/ASCAP

8.  Crack of Light

The white moon rolls slowly around your room,

shining your face on everything that I see.

Through the incense and the pyres

of your history and mine,

we share only this reality:

we are fragments of the restless night,

bonded only by this strange desire.

We are pursued by the moon’s embrace,

tracing every move we make,

persistent as your hair sweeping my face.

But even this much is enough for my heart;

I have no illusions of more on your part.

Watch the crack of light under your door;

I’ll be the shadow that falls.

I’m losing myself in your reckless life,

drifting closer to the edge each time.

The rapture and the anguish

rise and subside as we slide

on sheets that breathe the essence of your touch.

And through it all I watch your eyes catch fire,

bright as light from trains that pierce the night.

But all the sadness that I could ever feel

won’t start to fill the void,

knowing you and I are so estranged.

But even this much is enough for my heart;

I have no illusions of more on your part.

Watch the crack of light under your door;

I’ll be the shadow that falls.

We watch our shadows grow and fall,

spreading like ink across the floor.

You’re seeping into the secrets

and the crevices of my mind;

your indelible eyes have stained me

and I won’t forget your eyes.

I won’t forget, in this life...

Vocal & background vocals: Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars & low-strung guitar: Nicolette Aubourg

Udu & triangle: Bob Sheehan

Violin: Charlie Bisharat

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1987 – 1992/Syresham Music/ASCAP

9.  The waves of time

Smoke is curling the blue haze framing your face,

writing the letters of your name

as if it’s just a game,

and we are pawns in play.

And in this room full of smoke and laughter we hide,

watching the candle breaking down;

tasting all the years

through wine and our own tears.

Should I wait for you;

will you wait for me?

On the waves of time

will our love subside?

On the waves of time

how fragile are our lives.

Clothes that tangle in moonlight flooding the floor,

fragrant with secrets that we shared

whisper in the dawn,

whisper the unknown.

And in this séance we search for answers again.

Finding the pictures out of place,

the images unchained

fall through our hands like rain.

Should I wait for you;

will you wait for me?

On the waves of time

will our love subside?

On the waves of time

how fragile are our lives.

And maybe the voices in my head

can wrestle with the demons in your bed

and make sense of this…

Should I wait;  will you wait?

Should I wait;  will you wait,

on the waves of time…

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars & low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

Cello:  Stefanie Fife

Low tom-tom & tamborine:  Bob Sheehan

Piano:  Adam Chester

Tibetan finger cymbals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 2000/Syresham Music/ASCAP

10.  No more fallen angels

And if I cling a bit too long

to what we had and what is gone,

I will forgive myself;

I’ll learn this lesson very well.

I will be strong.

A broken angel is all I find,

sifting through the ashes of this fire.

You’ve become the petals pressed between the

leaves of time;

another chapter over without reasoning or rhyme,

- an unfinished song.

How many times do I have to tell myself

I’m over you?

How many times do I have to tell myself

I’m over you, over you?

The valley calm, the river wide,

the cricket’s song, the joker wild,

bestow on me the secret you’ve been holding deep inside

that grants you the strength to be yourself without denial,

and I will be strong.

How many times do I have to tell myself

I’m over you?

How many times do I have to tell myself

I’m over you, over you?

No more fallen angels in my life;

I will let you go and watch the wind lift you high.

No more fallen angels in my life;

No more fallen angels in my life...

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Nicolette Aubourg

B3:  Robert Fedeli

Cymbal, low tom-tom & “xylojunk”:  Bob Sheehan

Piano:  Adam Chester

Violin:  Charlie Bisharat

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1998/Syresham Music/ASCAP

11.  Dust on dust

We are stars thrown across the earth;

who knows how long we’ll burn this time.

You’ll leave your mark and I’ll leave mine;

who knows how long we will burn this time.

Watch the headlights passing in the night

that fill the falling rain with sparks of light.

A thousand stars of reason break like glass;

a thousand lives in silence quickly pass.

And there is nothing here but dust on dust;

still, I hold you in my heart, - a lovers’ trust.

And I believe in you, believe in you:

the spirit recognizes all things true.

Watch me curl beside you as I sleep;

be the last to feel my heart beat.

Wear the moon’s white face as we embrace;

your presence at the end will be my escape.

And there is nothing here but dust on dust;

still, I hold you in my heart, - a lovers’ trust.

And I believe in you, believe in you:

the spirit recognizes all things true.

I do not come to you for your rescue;

I do not come to you for your knowledge.

I do not ask for more than what we have;

who could ask for more...

Vocal & background vocals:  Nicolette Aubourg

Acoustic guitars:  Nicolette Aubourg

Low-strung guitar:  Gavin Lurssen

Cello:  Stefanie Fife

Cymbal, low tom-tom & djembe:  Bob Sheehan

Ebow:  Gavin Lurssen

Music & Lyrics by Nicolette Aubourg

© 1998/Syresham Music/ASCAP

The Invitation (single) released 2011

Lyrics by Oriah Mountain Dreamer; Music by Nicolette Aubourg
© Oriah Mountain Dreamer & Nicolette Aubourg

“The Invitation” by Oriah Mountain Dreamer ©

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you’ve touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you’ve been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Vocals, guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards & percussion by Nicolette Aubourg
Mixed by Steve Holroyd
Sound Recording © 2011 Nicolette Aubourg


 1. Learning to live without you                 

There must be some advantage to

living without you;

some kind of compensation for the

pain of missing you.

They say that I’ll recover - 

they say that people do.

But I’m not them and they’re not you,

so how can I believe it’s true?

The more I think about it,

the more I think of you.

So I go online, I choose a few,

but their faces are not you.

I drink some wine, I take a hike,

talk on the phone, see if you’re home.

I read a book, I try to cook,

I write a song, I try to be strong.

I’m learning to live without you.

I’m learning to live without you.

I can walk around naked

without any makeup.

I can have all the covers,

I can take on a lover.

I can cry when I want to,

I can dance like I once did,

but there’s one thing I can’t do:

I can’t seem to learn to live

without you.

There’s a place beside me

where you used to sleep.

There’s a space inside me

where you used to be.

I watch the moon so pretty,

I watch it on my own.

Driving through the city,

I can’t seem to find my way

all alone.

But I’m learning to live without you.

I’m learning to live without you.

I’m learning to live without you.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass & Percussion

Jeff Young:  Piano & Hammond B3 Organ

Stefanie Fife: Cello

 2. Wild One

Wild One,

caught in the streetlight,

safe in my arms,

you don’t know where you’re going,

you won’t say where you’re from.

Am I supposed to tame you

or are you here to save me?

Are our lives intertwined just to

hold a mirror to each other’s eyes, -

with the same lessons in life?

We could heal each other’s pain -

hold on till the sun comes up again.

You see I think we’re both confused

who to trust and what we’ll lose,

Wild One.

Am I supposed to tame you

or are you here to save me?

Are our lives intertwined just to

hold a mirror to each other’s eyes, -

with the same lessons in life?

I see ghosts and premonitions

walking hand in hand.

How can there be such contradictions

in my life and in my head,

Wild One?

Am I supposed to tame you

or are you here to save me?

Are our lives intertwined just to

hold a mirror to each other’s eyes?

Or was I right from the start -

that you would take and break my heart,

leave me lonely, leave me alone

in this empty, empty home?

Or was I right from the start -

that you would take and break my heart,

leave me lonely, leave me alone

in this empty, empty home?

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2007

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass & Electric Guitar

Jeff Young:  Hammond B3 Organ

Stefanie Fife:  Cello

3.  I should have saved myself 

The first time that I saw you

your eyes told a story.

Your smile was full of pain

and I wanted you to stay.

I tried to be near you.

After all these years

I thought that you would hear me.

But the candle you burn in my heart

is wax that keeps falling,

and I hold on to the pain

just to be near you.

Slip away, before I give it all again -

slip away.

Slip away, before I give it all again -

slip away.

I hold on to the pain just to be near you.

Is there a reason

you came into my life?

That you should have taught me

humility, there is no doubt.

But I was slow to learn,

slow to learn,

and my heart still burns for you tonight.

Slip away, before I give it all again -

slip away.

Slip away, before I give it all again -

slip away.

I hold on to the pain just to be near you.

I should have saved myself -

saved myself,

before I tried to rescue you

into my life;

saved myself, saved myself -

before I tried to rescue you

into my life.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©1992

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass, Electric Guitar & Percussion

Kenyon Frazer the dog: Dog Collar

4.  Craig’s List

“Craig’s List” is a tongue-in-cheek song about online dating on the

website “craigslist”.  I wrote this song before I knew that there is a

real Craig behind this hugely successful website!

Dear Craig,

Thank you for the list.  I must admit at first I thought of everyone I’d kiss!

There was the artist, and frugal Martin, and everyone that I dissed -

so many emails, so exciting - a whole new world, so inviting!

Dear Craig,

Thank you for the list.

You gave me hope when I had none -

I thought I was dismissed.

Lots of photos, lots of typos - why can’t we even spell?

And why does it take so long to make the transition to the phone?

Behind the profile we can be the person of their dreams;

post a photo ten years old and maybe we will fit their mould!

Dear Craig,

Thank you for the list.

You gave me hope when I had none -

I thought I was dismissed.

And now and then there is the one who makes it seem worthwhile.

We even talk and meet, and swap the details of our lives!

But then he emails less and less - did I misread something he said?

I check the saved ones to be sure, but I’m no wiser than before.

Dear Craig,

Thank you for the list.

You gave me hope when I had none -

I thought I was dismissed.

Dear Craig,

PS.  Who are you?

Are you single?

Do you get my gist?

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg:  Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass & Electric Guitar

Erik Eldenius: Drums & Percussion

Jeff Young:  Hammond B3 Organ

5.  Never trust a Gemini

(These lyrics were written “tongue-in-cheek” and were not

intended to be offensive to anyone, - in particular those born

under the sign of Gemini, against whom I bear no prejudice!)                   

You carry your cat to bed;

you’ve beautiful things in your head.

Your eyes are the colour of the woods,

where no-one has spoken or stood.

And I will never trust a Gemini -

I will never trust a Gemini again.

You give and you take it away -

you make me a fool every day.

I’m stupid - I don’t understand

the warmth in the touch of your hand.

And I will never trust a Gemini -

I will never trust a Gemini again.

I have your hands in my memory -  

the same hands that paint with poetry.

I see your creations in every tree;

I see your door closing in front of me.

And I will never trust a Gemini -

I will never trust a Gemini again,

Gemini, Gemini, Gemini…

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass, Electric Guitar & Percussion

6.  Garden of Remembrance/Nine-Eleven

(Like many, I was very affected by the 9/11 terrorist attack

on the USA and the subsequent events.   To kill in the name

of God strikes me as being absurd, senseless and a waste

of God-given lives.  The images of the huge, broken towers

stayed with me, and I pictured a beautiful garden of

remembrance one day taking their place.)     

In the garden of remembrance

we sat down and thought about

those final hours and what it is

that we all share:

the same God,

or the same fear.

In the garden of remembrance

those left behind cling to their grief,

or feel the guilt of being alive,

bathed in sunlight -

as it is now,

as it was before.

There’s nothing sacred, nothing holy in the aftermath -

the twisting of the truth, twisting of steel, beauty and youth:

no holy war, no sacrifice.

In the garden of remembrance

we sang songs into the night

in candlelight, sorrow and pride.

And we all shared

the same God,

the same fear.

There’s nothing sacred, nothing holy in the aftermath -

the twisting of the truth, twisting of steel, beauty and youth:

no holy war, no sacrifice;

no holy war, no sacrifice …

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass, Percussion, & Tibetan Finger Cymbals

Stefanie Fife: Cello

7.  Crazy                       

I’m sorry that I was crazy;

I promised I would change.

It must have been hard to never know

if I would stay or go.

I miss you in the morning,

I miss you every day.

I wish that I could have been the one

to make your life ok.

But I’m like a fish that is floundering, -

swimming up and down against the wake.

Can’t you see that I’m as lost as you;

can’t you see I need forgiveness too?

I’m sorry that I hurt you.

I wish you knew how much it hurt me too.

If I was older, younger, wiser,

I’d have known what to do.

But I’m like a fish that is floundering -

swimming up and down against the wake.

Can’t you see that I’m as lost as you;

can’t you see I need forgiveness too?

So “grant me the serenity to accept the things

I cannot change,

grant me the courage to change the things I can

and the wisdom to know the difference…”*

Music by Nicolette Aubourg

Words by Nicolette Aubourg

except *last verse quotes “The Serenity Prayer”

©2005 Nicolette Aubourg

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass & Percussion

Jeff Young: Piano & Hammond B3 Organ

8.  Gratefully       

I’m changed forever,

I’m helpless:

I saw the sweet surrender

in your final breath.

Take away my weakness

with your newfound strength.

Take away my sadness

with your peacefulness.

And in time, if I let go,

forgive me if I stop to grieve.

You know that there will always be

a part of you inside me.

I’m changed forever -

I’m changed forever,

gratefully.

I need a sign from you -

something that I can feel.

I need a hundred reasons

this was meant to be.

And in time, if I let go,

forgive me if I stop to grieve.

You know that there will always be

a part of you inside me.

I’m changed forever -

I’m changed forever,

gratefully, gratefully, gratefully.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2003

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass & Percussion

Stefanie Fife: Cello

9.  Ode to a Dog

(One night I was rehearsing some songs

in front of a very happy dog.  He lay near me,

smiling and intently focused on me, so I made up a

song for him and sang it to him.  This is what came

to me, but I believe it came from him, on behalf of all

dogs, who so generously give their love to us,

unconditionally.)

If I could learn from you - your smiling face,

If I could learn from you - your simple grace,

If I could learn from you,

I’d be renewed.

If I could learn from you – priorities:

play hard, sleep long, don’t bear a grudge

no matter how you’re wronged -

I’d be at peace.

“Give more than you take,

accept with grace,

appreciate anything at all”:

words of wisdom from the mind of a dog.

If I could learn from you - trust everyone;

don’t see their faults, don’t be their judge.

Be their best friend

to the very end.

“Give more than you take,

accept with grace,

appreciate anything at all”:

words of wisdom from the mind of a dog.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson:  Percussion

Jeff Young:  Keyboards

Stefanie Fife:  Cello

10.  Caught in your flame

I wish that you would hold me all night long.

I wish the words you told me would make me strong.

But I am only human, and I go on

thinking you will want me, as time goes on.

You think I’m the same but you don’t know how much I’ve changed.

Like a bird caught in your flame, I will never be the same.

I wish that you could see me for who I am.

I wish that you could be me, and understand

the tides of emotion that bring me back,

every time I’m leaving - every time I heal.

You think I’m the same but you don’t know how much I’ve changed.

Like a bird caught in your flame, I will never be the same.

I want to be alone again without the loneliness;

I want to be whole again without the broken heart.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass, Percussion, Electric Guitar

11.  You don’t care    

You make me question everything I thought I was,

I thought I knew.

I’m drowning on the waves of you that make me feel

so abused.

And even if I could defend myself to you,

it would not change the fact that you don’t care.

And even if I gain a little self-respect,

it does not change the fact that you don’t care.

I have no power to change you past, your pain,

your sadness, your cold heart,

and it makes me feel so helpless, -

like a song without a start.

And even if I could defend myself to you,

it would not change the fact that you don’t care.

And even if I gain a little self-respect,

it does not change the fact that you don’t care.

But I won’t abandon you; I won’t put out your flame.

I’ll find a place that I can’t reach, - high on a shelf,

to store the pain.

And even if I could defend myself to you,

it would not change the fact that you don’t care.

And even if I gain a little self-respect,

it does not change the fact that you don’t care.

Don’t treat me this way anymore.

I’m here with a heart that has a door.

You know the way in, -

open the door

if you want more.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson: Bass, Electric Guitar & Percussion

12.  Cloths of Heaven           

“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

 of night and light and the half light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”*

Tread softly,

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams…

Words by W. B. Yeats, Music by Nicolette Aubourg © 2006

* Quotation from “He wishes for the cloths of heaven” by

W. B. Yeats (1865–1939)

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Stefanie Fife:  Cello

13.  City of Angels

(I lived in the Hollywood hills for a long time.  I found

the natural images and the creative history of the

people who’ve lived there very inspiring…)

The ghosts of the hills hang their misty breath

on trees that wait for rain.

Red-tailed hawks bear the cry of idols

long since gone, -

now immortalized

in digital.

Desolate, spectacular,

ominous, promising:

land of plenty,

plenty of pain.

A place called the City of Angels;

a place called the City of Angels, -

waiting, waiting for rain.

The mystery of the hills as they wind within

the secrets of the minds of that dwell therein,

will deepen still, deepen still.

And the trees that brace the desert sun

forget their roots that began in different lands,

and call this their home.

A place called the City of Angels;

a place called the City of Angels, -

waiting, waiting for rain.

Some are forsaken, forgotten, forgiven here.

Some are the lost souls watching through a coyote’s eyes -

waiting, waiting for rain;

waiting, waiting for rain.

Words & Music by Nicolette Aubourg ©2005

Nicolette Aubourg:  Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jorgen Carlsson:  Bass, Percussion, Electric Guitar

Jeff Young:  Hammond B3 Organ

14.  To the Moon              

“Art thou pale for weariness

Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,

Wandering companionless

Among the stars

That have a different birth, -

And ever changing, like a joyless eye

That finds no object worth its constancy?” *

…Wandering companionless

Among the stars

That have a different birth,

Companionless

Among the stars

That have a different birth …

* Quotation from “To the Moon”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822)

Words by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Music by Nicolette Aubourg © 2006

Nicolette Aubourg: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

Jeff Young:  Keyboard