The Absence of Applause

It's December in New York City

And the chief is on TV

He plays the audience like a fiddle

But he'll never convince me

I firmly believe he's on the wrong course

So please accept my apology 

For the absence of applause

Oslo brings clear skies

As he strolls the boulevard

He'll be accepting his peace prize

With his wife and bodyguard

But outside the protest is full force

So please accept my apology 

For the absence of applause

He would stop the war in a minute

If his children were on the line

But it's only collateral damage

When the casualties are yours or mine

He's got spit shined shoes

And he says he wants peace

But he ordered 30 thousand troops

And I see gloom on his face

He says they'll be fighting a worthy cause

So please accept my apology 

For the absence of applause

Now somewhere in Afghanistan

Our enemy takes aim

A scream fills the air

As the bullet makes its claim

Another beautiful life is lost

So please accept my apology 

For the absence of applause

He would stop the war in a minute

If his children were on the line

But it's only collateral damage

When the casualties are yours or mine

It's December in New York City

And the chief is on TV

He plays the audience like a fiddle

But he'll never convince me

I firmly believe he's on the wrong course

So please accept my apology 

For the absence of applause

Just Let Go

It’s a New York evening

It's eight o'clock

But she's feels such anxiety

So she's popping those pills

From her psychiatrist

To try and drowned her memories

There's something deep inside

She needs to hide

If she could just let go

She's be better than fine

There'd be no rules, no boundaries

She'd be safe to live her life

Come and go as she pleases

If she could just let go

Friday nights he's out with the boys

He's a legman

He's no gentleman

Still he wants her home

Waiting by the phone

She's his back up plan

I wish she could see him 

As clearly as I do

If she could just let go

She's be better than fine

There'd be no rules, no boundaries

She'd be safe to live her life

Come and go as she pleases

If she could just let go

In a raven black dress

With a split on the side

Tonight she's not going to take it

She's gonna tell him off

She's gonna say goodbye

She's gonna break this nasty habit

Then from somewhere deep inside

She feels her hope rise

If she could just let go

She's be better than fine

There'd be no rules, no boundaries

She'd be safe to live her life

Come and go as she pleases

If she could just let go

Stop the Car

In a flash I saw her, waiting for a ride

Smoking a french cigarette

She must have been poured into that dress

Now I'm an engine in perfect tune

Like the string on a gypsy violin

And my life has new direction

I can feel a change is coming

Stop the Car

Can you feel the love surround us

Falling from the sky like star dust

This could be our special night

So come on baby hold on tight

While I stop the Car

Positively lost on a never ending trail

Till I heard someone whisper her name

All at once she's the color in my vision

I can see the future and she's wearing something red

Dancing in a soft warm breeze

I'm smiling like a visitor in heaven

I can feel a change is coming

Stop the Car

Can you feel the love surround us

Falling from the sky like star dust

This could be our special night

So come on baby hold on tight

While I stop the Car

I can tell you what the future brings

And I promise I'll always be there

Stop the Car

Can you feel the love surround us

Falling from the sky like star dust

This could be our special night

So come on baby hold on tight

While I stop the Car

The World of Silence

I'm listening but somehow your words aren't clear

It's a stream of useless debris

Like a jig saw buzzing in my ears

Causing an audio calamity

I'm listening in silence completely strapped in

Your words could fill an empty sea

Like a runaway train headed for brooklyn

My heart stops and then starts to scream

Come enter the world of silence

It's peaceful and beautiful here

Feel a velvet wave passing through your ears

Like a comforting cloud washing away your cares

When you enter the world of silence

You tell me you're trying some new type of drug

That will slow down your endless chatter

Like a swimmer drowning in her own bath tub

In the end it's not the distance that matters

You Need a Real Love in Your Life

It's two o'clock in the morning

As she runs through her lines again

Tears wash her makeup away

Somewhere on the lower east side

She's been up all night

Her boiling emotions cascade

Then she calls me on the phone

And I have to say

You need a real love in your life

Feel the healing warmth of someone

Who brings you to new heights

You need a real love in your life

She lives in the very worse section

But the F train takes her to freedom

She's the actress and the character

She looses herself in the role

Watch as she let's herself go

As she leaves this world for another

Then she calls me on the phone

And I have to say

You need a real love in your life

Feel the healing warmth of someone

Who brings you to new heights

You need a real love in your life

Take a chance feel my heart beat

This love is real not fantasy

And I'll be waiting in the wings

You need a real love in your life

A gentle loving spirit

To hold you close at night

You need a real love in your life

Love Makes Things Right

Heaven opened up my heart                                    

I found you hiding there inside 

You must have been there from the start

Just hiding waiting for a sign                              

So let's go rollin' out tonight                               

Love makes things right             

I didn't have a plan at all

Just wandering quite aimlessly

My expectations were quite small

You blew my mind and set me free

So Let's go rollin' out tonight    

Love makes things right          

Love makes things right

When life throws you off course

Love makes things right

When your compass is lost

Love makes things right

Love makes things right

I searched the world both high and low

For a heart that beats true blue

So come on baby don't me slow

Let's think of something wild to do

So let's go rollin' out tonight    

Love makes things right        

Bluesman

His parents knew when he was young 

He had a driving force                          

His soul was set on something else        

That he could not ignore

Singing corner harmonies

The blues will set him free

He's a bluesman, that's right

He's a bluesman, that's right

He roamed throughout the country side       

Trying to find his voice        

Wading through a sea of words

Contemplating every choice

Tossing it all together now

Feel the sadness and the joy

He's a bluesman, that's right

He's a bluesman, that's right

Listen in the darkness

You can hear him take flight

Come on Bluesman

Sing us a song tonight

Come on Bluesman

Make us feel alright, tonight

You can hear him every evening

Listen to him wail          

Pounding on the strings        

It's blood and sweat and steel        

Just give him a minute          

And he'll stop time tonight

He a bluesman that's right

He a bluesman that's right

The years have given evidence

Of crimes against the night        

The equipment just gets heavier

The lift takes all his might

The pleasure still out weighs the pain

That's what keeps him sane        

He a bluesman that's right

He a bluesman that's right

Listen in the darkness

You can hear him take flight

Come on Bluesman

Sing us a song tonight

Come on Bluesman

Make us feel alright, tonight

Someone to Believe in

Like a feather in a sky of emotion

We sail the future with no forecast

Our love may not be perfection

But this connection has no hourglass

We all need

Something to believe in

Something to commit to

Something we can trust

We all need

Someone to believe in

I choose to believe in you

We're dancing in the light of a candle

I never felt so alive

Your eyes reveal your true intentions

My pounding hearts electrified

Here, it's only you and me

We melt in perfect harmony

Here, we were meant to be

You set me free, free, free

We all need

Something to believe in

Something to commit to

Something we can trust

We all need

Someone to believe in

I choose to believe in you

The Lower East Side

There is no wall high enough to keep me from the sound

That percolates nightly on the lower east side of town

Hear the interaction of the bass and drum

Like a lovers quarrel based in mixolydion

The sax makes a statement, the trumpet swears it's true

On the lower east side of town

Where everyone sings the blues

Jimmy cranks the guitar, while Oli strokes the keys

His fingers run the keyboard like a swarm of bumblebees

The bass and drum are thumpin' and the sound is really clean

The waitresses are dancing like they're high on toxaphene

The music is rocking, it's a hot steamin' tune

On the lower east side of town

Where everyone sings the blues

Come on baby close your eyes

Inhale deep and you'll be fine

Come on baby open wide

Let it the music get you high

The band is rocking steady as they play their last encore

We echo every verse, just like we memorized the score

The crowd jumps to their feet, let's have another round

We stumble to the street, like a buch of cartoon clowns

We're waiting for a taxi, we'll be cruising down

On the lower east side of town

Where everyone sings the blues

Hello, I Love You, Goodbye

She says she wants to leave him

But she's said that before

She calls me on the phone

Then she knocks on my door

We call in for dinner

It's candles and wine

We make love 'till we're breathless

Then she starts to cry

That's how it is every time

It's hello, I love you, Goodbye

In the beginning

I thought it was cool

Covertly exciting

With each rendezvous

But lately I'm thinking

This can't go on

The lyin', the cheating

The living alone

And this is the very last time

For hello, I love you, Goodbye

Every time I touch her

I realize we've no future

I'm just a small part of her life

In a moment of weakness

I fell for her promise

But I feel so hollow inside

When she leaves before the morning light

It's never easy saying goodbye and

Seeing the pain in you lovers eyes

But today is the day

And I've got a plan

I gonna disappear like a wave

On the summer sand

Cause this is the very last time

For hello, I love you, goodbye

The Lyric Vault

This blog will serve as a central place for me to save and update the lyrics that I compose on an on going basis.  As a songwriter I am anxious to find others with which I can collaborate. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested. 

Bill Hennessy

cleanjazz2@aol.com