Kansas Album

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Ahhhh

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high

Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Oh!

Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, none can equal the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry (Don't you cry no more)

No more

Virgin land of forest green, dark and stormy plains, here all life abounds
Sunlit valley, mountain fields, unseen in the rain, here all life abounds
No man rules this land, no human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see, so rich in Earth's delights

Painted desert, sequined sky, stars that fill the night, here all life abounds
Rivers flowing to the sea, sunshine pure and bright, here all life abounds
No man rules this land, no human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see, so rich in Earth's delights

So the maiden lies in waiting, for the sails to reach the shore
Land of beauty and abundance, innocent, you opened wide your door
Wanderers found the waiting treasure, full of gifts beyond their measure
Milk and honey for our pleasure.....

Across the sea there came a multitude, sailing ships upon the wave
Filled with visions of Utopia, and the freedom that they crave
Ravage, plunder, see no wonder, rape and kill and tear asunder
Chop the forest, plow it under.....

Highways scar the mountainsides, buildings to the sky, people all around
Houses stand in endless rows, sea to shining sea, people all around
So we rule this land, and here we stand upon our paradise,
Dreaming of a place, our weary race is ready to arise

I'm woven in a fantasy, I can't believe the things I see
The path that I have chosen now has led me to a wall
And with each passing day I feel a little more like something dear was lost
It rises now before me, a dark and silent barrier between,
All I am, and all that I would ever want to be
It's just a travesty, towering, marking off the boundaries my spirit would erase

To pass beyond is what I seek, I fear that I may be too weak
And those are few who've seen it through to glimpse the other side,
The promised land is waiting like a maiden that is soon to be a bride
The moment is a masterpiece, the weight of indecision's in the air
It's standing there, the symbol and the sum of all that's me
It's just a travesty, towering, blocking out the light and blinding me
I want to see

Gold and diamonds cast a spell, it's not for me I know it well
The riches that I seek are waiting on the other side
There's more that I can measure in the treasure of the love that I can find
And though it's always been with me, I must tear down the Wall and let it be
All I am, and all that I was ever meant to be, in harmony
Shining true and smiling back at all who wait to cross
There is no loss

Sometimes when I'm walking down this lonely street,
Well, it sure don't seem like twenty years,
Since I went walking down this lonely street
And the smell of perfumed ladies filled the air

This street ain't got no name, dead end is in the river,
And I lived where I hated life day by day,
There wasn't nothing I could do to shake a cold night shiver,
'Cause to move up Lonely Street you had to have some say

Gambling is bad luck down on Lonely Street
And it sure ain't no place to be when a man gets sore
You know I killed a man and I paid all I can,
With twenty years on a chain gang,
For the flesh and the blood on that jailhouse floor

Sometimes when I'm walking down this lonely street
I get caught up in a dream that won't let me go
And as the bright lights flash up and down this lonely street
My mind rolls back the years long time ago

I see my baby stumblin' around with tears in her eyes
And as I reach out for her she falls on the floor
She mumbles through bloody lips about a bad man, robber, raper,
And in my gut I know I got one to score

The word was comin' down, down on Lonely Street
That the bad man was a dead man if he crossed my trail
Every night I'd walk up and down this Lonely Street
I get stinkin' drunk, and always in jail,
One night they threw me in with a man they called the mangler
He was caught on the street makin' some old whore,
I remember he was quite proud of that,
So half-crazed I shot him,
And I cried in the blood on that jailhouse floor.

Two began together, lived as one
Each one to the other had become
More than a friend, living to meet a common end
They were true, each one knew all is well

Still the elder knew it could not last
Hidden memories from the young one's past
Drew them apart
Both knew that deep within his heart they must part
Each their own separate way

It puzzles me how we can be so close and yet worlds apart
Can it be, my memory has torn my life in two
From the very start
I screamed for the devil to let me be
I called to the heavens to set me free
Today I prayed for the answer and not one
Of the gods in the sky would rescue me

Dreams of fortune fill the young one's mind
Learn the worldly ways of hope to find
Love on the way, searching to find the light of day
In his soul he had found his own way

But to each other they soon will return
Destiny fulfilled, their words will burn an eternal flame

Sweet child of innocence
Living in the present tense
Father Time will take his toll
Rack your body and steal your soul
What became of all the years
Are you drowning in your tears
Who will catch you when you fall
Who will hear you when you call

I will comfort you, take your hand and see you through
I will take you through the door

Who do you think you are
Try to live forever and you won't get far
I wait behind your door
Makes no difference if you're rich or poor
Though you're weary and afraid
Still you try to flee my blade
Come and walk in my new land
If you'll only take my hand

In the image of those who have walked before me here
I am cast in the web of an ancient spell
I am holding on to life, I'm drifting in the stream
Everything's much clearer now
We live within a dream and never wake

Judge not by what you see
More than you can count are here with me
Give up your foolish pride
All that walk the earth have died!

Well I'm trying to tell you about a thing I thought I saw
It came to me in a dream one night
When a voice began to call
I heard my name being summoned as I looked around to see
A hooded judge and jury
There was no mercy there for me
Well I can't make it, I just can't figure it out
This dream is drivin' me crazy
I gotta know what it's all about
The mark is upon me, and the mark of Cain brings fear

A cold wind's blowin' right down my back
I'm runnin, I'm runnin' from a figure that's dressed in black
I think my legs are made out of lead
Cause I'm runnin' but I'm going nowhere
The bad dream is coming closer and closer
I got a feelin' he'll always be there
Forever is a long time to spend in agony
And the demons of confusion have got a place for me
The mark is upon me, and the mark of Cain brings fear

I was tired, so tired of runnin'
I had to turn and look around
I saw eyes that looked right through me
And a voice that made no sound
My body froze and I stood and stared, unearthly face before me
From the depths of a hooded nightmare, I saw what could not be
Mysteries and mayhem from the pinnacle I see
There's no answer when there's no question
The mark of Cain bears hard on me

I've so much to say, and yet I cannot speak
Come and do my bidding now for I have grown too weak
My weary eyes have seen all that life can give
Come to me, O young one, for you I can forgive

I stood where no man goes, and conquered demon foes
With glory and passion no longer in fashion
The hero breaks his blade

Cast this shadow long that I may hide my face
And in this cloak of darkness the world I will embrace
In all that I endure, of one thing I am sure
Knowledge and reason change like the season
A jester's promenade

Lying at my feet I see the offering you bring
The mark of Cain is on our faces, borne of suffering
O, I long to hear you say it's not been wrong
I stand before you now, a riddle in my song
The answer is that sweet refrain
Unheard it always will remain
Beyond our reach, beyond our gain

Trapped in life's parade, a king without a crown
In this joy of madness, my smile might seem a frown
With talons wrought of steel, I tore the heart of doom
And in one gleaming moment I saw beyond the tomb
I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose
Life is amusing though we are losing
Drowned in tears of awe.

Thirty days have September
In a jailhouse I remember
Well, I got caught with too much soul
Bringing it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

Spanish lights and pretty faces
Trip you out to where the place is
Load you up and let you go
Bringing it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

Across the border is where you'll get her
And when it's good there ain't no better
I think I'll get me some to go
A-brining it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

I'm in a kind of foolish game, I try to get rich quick,
But I'm going insane,
The kind of freaks that hang out on 42nd Street
They're all pimpin' Judys and poppin' speed, well
It's a game of cat and mouse, and I think it's got my soul,
I think it's time for thinkin' 'bout a time to roll on
Down the road

Here comes Big Mike, I kinda owe him some beans,
He must be crazy, I guess that's why he's so mean,
If I tell him I'm leavin', he would sure enough split my gut,
Cause he knows I sold to a sucker, and I owe Big Mike a cut,
But I'll slip him a 20-dollar bill till I get out of town,
When I hit those white lines, I'm gonna be gone like a
Greyhound down the road

Well you told me that I was just not the one,
And you left me standing out in the cold
It's been a long time and I'm so much better now
That I'm looking back and seeing it all
And for the first time there's no pain in my life
Been a long hard road that I've gone
We had a good thing and it made me a man and I know

You got me goin', yeah, pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying what's on my mind

Well I found you or maybe I found myself
And I think we knew it all of the time
We fit together just like a lock and a key
And we opened up each other's minds
Yeah, I was laughing 'cause there was no room to cry
There was too much growing to do
We had a good time and it ain't over yet 'cause I know

You got me goin', will you pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying

You came from nowhere and you just jumped in my life,
And I know it never will be the same
You made me love you, now I'm home once again
No, I never want to leave you no more
'Cause I'm attached to the better half of myself
And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be
You filled an empty, you fixed a bad broken heart, yes I know

You got me goin',yeah, pardon me my feelings are showing
I'm only saying what's on my mind

Every day she gets a little weaker
The beauty she once knew has come and gone
We've murdered all her sons and all her daughters
The blood is on our hands, the time has come
And now she's gonna die

We've strangled all her trees and starved her creatures
There's poison in the sea and in the air
But worst of all we've learned to live without her
We've lost the very meaning of our lives
And now she's gonna die

Once she ruled the earth with love and wisdom
But we were much too smart to live her way
With greed and lust we tried to rise above her
The ignorance of man will reach an end
And now she's gonna die

I heard the men saying something
The captains tell they pay you well
And they say they need sailing men to
Show the way, and leave today
Was it you that said, "How long, how long?"

They say the sea turns so dark that
You know it's time, you see the sign
They say the point demons guard is
An ocean grave, for all the brave,
Was it you that said, "How long, how long,
How long to the point of know return?"

Your father, he said he needs you
Your mother, she says she loves you
Your brothers, they echo your words:
"How far to the point of know return, to the point of know return"
"Oh Oh, how long, how long?"

Today I found a message floating
In the sea from you to me
It wrote that when you could see it
You cried with fear, the Point was near
Was it you that said, "How long, how long, how long
To the Point of Know Return?"

How Long? How Long to the point of no return?"
No Return

How Long?
(Repeat and Fade)

From the mountains to the sun, Life has only just begun.
We wed this land and pledge our souls to meet its end,
Life has only just begun
Here my people roam the earth, in the kingdom of our birth,
Where the dust of all our horses hides the sun
We are mighty on the earth, on the earth

You have come to move me, take me from my ancient home,
Land of my fathers I can't leave you now
We will share it with you, no man owns this earth we're on
Now the wheels are rolling hear the howling winds of war
It's my destiny to fight and die
Is there no solution, can we find no other way, Lord let me stay
Under the endless sky and the earth below
Here I was born to live and I will never go, oh no

But we cannot endure like the earth and the mountains
Life is not ours to keep, for a new sun is rising

Soon these days shall pass away, for our freedom we must pay
All our words and deeds are carried on the wind,
In the ground our bodies lay, here we lay

There's a hole in the wall
With a light shining in
And it's letting me know to get up
It's time to begin

Oh there is nothing to lose
'Cause it's already lost
In a runaway world
Of confusion
I'm gonna take it

That's why I fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
I don't want to lose this flamin' desire

Standing alone
In a crowded room
I can feel a chill in the air
I'm shakin'

I'm miles away
I want to cry out loud
I want to fight till the end
I won't let 'em take me alive

And you know I'll fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
'Cause I'm never gonna lose this flamin' desire

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Oh

Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind (All we are is dust in the wind)
Dust in the wind (Everything is dust in the wind)
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind

Look in the mirror and tell me
Just what you see
What have the years of your life
Taught you to be
Innocence dyin' in so many ways
Things that you dream of are lost
Lost in the haze
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause it's closer than you think
And you're standing on the brink
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause there's something on the way
Your tomorrow's not the same as today
Don't you recall what you felt
When you weren't alone
Someone who stood by your side
A face you have known
Where do you run when it's too much to bear
Who do you turn to in need
When nobody's there
Outside your door He is waiting
Waiting for you
Sooner or later you know
He's got to get through
No hesitation and no holding back
Let it all go and you'll know
You're on the right track
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause it's closer than you think
And you're standing on the brink
Hold on, baby, hold on
'Cause there's something on the way
Your tomorrow's not the same as today

Centuries of backward ways
Have many left behind us
Who can count the good men gone away
The fruits of all our labours
Have left us as we started
We've come to far to end it in a day
It seems that everything we do is wrong
A one-way trip to nowhere all along
Just look around and tell me what you see
Another stupid page of history
No one together
No one is touching ground
Look at each other
Chaos is all around
Same situation
Nothing is really new
No one together
No one is me and you
Lo! the horn of plenty
Is bursting at the seams
The harvest of the world will be our prize
We claim to know the secrets
The answers have been found
But how can one fool make another wise
There's nothing better than it used to be
To live and die is still a mystery
We take away and we give nothing back
We just consume it all and still we lack
No one together
No one is touching ground
Look at each other
Chaos is all around
Same situation
Nothing is really new
No one together
No one is me and you
Each day passes by us
So quickly now
You can feel is drawing much closer now
The signs are in the faces
Of the people in the streets
The signs are in the sounds I hear
Their voices filled with pain and fear
You can feel it drawing near you now
The multitudes are searching
And wondering in vain
For what they seek cannot be found in men
The truth that lies before us now is plain for all to see
To grow without is not to grow within
For in the promise is a victory
To see the way that everything should be
To feel the joy that we were meant to know
We should've realized so long ago
We're all together
Harmony will abound
Look at each other
All that was lost is found
New situation
If our directions to
We're all together
Everyone is me and you

You think that something's happening
And it's bigger than your life
But it's only what you're hearing
Will you still remember
When the morning light has come
Will the songs be playing over and over
Till you do it all over again

Play, play the game tonight
Can you tell me if it's wrong or right
It is worth the time, is it worth the price
Do you see yourself in a white spotlight
Then play the game tonight

And when the curtains open
To the roaring of the crowd
You will feel it all around you
Then it finally happens
And it's all come true for you
And the songs are playing over and over
Till you do it over again

Once carried through the current
And being swept away
The king is in the closet
He's hiding from today
And though he owns all fortunes
This room is where he'll stay
And his world is filled with darkness, turning grey

Gazing out the window
Of the 42nd second floor
He is separate from all others
No one knocks upon his door
And it might as well be raining 'cause the sunlight hurts his eyes
And his ears will never hear the children's cries

Once proud and full of passion
He fought the cause of man
Many people loved his courage
Many followed his command
He changed the old into the new
And the course of things to come
And then one day they noticed he was gone

At first it didn't matter
Nobody seemed to care
They all became too busy
To find him anywhere
So no one knew not even him
The problems he would find
On the day he journeyed deep into his mind

I close my eyes I go far away
Away from this battlefield
In my dreams well here I will enjoy it
Where innocence plays with all the laughing children
The kind who are crying right now
A taste of freedom from the pain
Of everything here I see
Life is sweet but I took it all for granted
And now I don't know if I could even tell you
Just what we permit, we allow

Allow me to forget the life I've made my own
I've held this nation in my hand
And yet it's not my home
Allow me just one answer just one reason why
Why this refugee of the family of man must die
Tell me why

Daydreams filled his nighttimes
And night dreams filled his days
Confusion and uncertainty
A puzzled mind of haze
You thought he was so powerful
And set upon his ways
Well he left us all to travel through this maze

I heard the king was dying
I heard the king was dead
And with him died the chronicles
That no one ever read
The closet's fully empty now
It's occupied by none
I'll draw the drapes now destiny is done

The sparks of the tempest rage a hundred years on
The voice of the dreamer screams, the cause of the pawn
The King and the Queen are gone, each piece is the same
The difference between us is a part of the game

Darkness is spreading like a spot on the sun
The dead are the living in the age of the gun
While everyone clamors for the justice they seek
The Word is corrupted and the strong take the weak

They mold you and shape you, they watch what you do
The sparks of the tempest are burnin' you through
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

The future is managed, and your freedom's a joke
You don't know the difference as you put on the yoke
The less that you know the more you fall into place
A cog in the wheel, there is no soul in your face

Run for the cover, Millennium's here
Bearing the standard of confusion and fear
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

Blood in the sand, a cry in the street
Now the cycle is nearly complete
Ten thousand years, and nothing was learned
No turning back, now the wheel has turned

Big Brother is watching and he likes what he sees
A world for the taking, when he's ready to squeeze
The King and the Queen are gone, each piece is the same
The difference between us is a part of the game

Soothsayer saying now tell me no lies
What is this madness that is filling the skies
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

He had a thousand ideas
You might have heard his name
He lived alone with his vision
Not looking for fortune or fame
Never said too much to speak of
He was off on another plane
The words that he said were a mystery
Nobody's sure he was sane
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
He was in search of an answer
The nature of what we are
He was trying to do it a new way
He was bright as a star
But nobody understood him
"His numbers are not the way"
He's lost in the deepest enigma
Which no one's unravelled today
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
And he tried
But before he could tell us he died
When he left us the people cried
Oh, where was he going to?
He had a different idea
A glimpse of the master plan
He could see into the future
A true visionary man
But there's something he never told us
It died when he went away
If only he could have been with us
No telling what he might say
But he knew, he knew more than me or you
No one could see his view
Oh, where was he going to
But he knew
You could tell by the picture he drew
It was totally something new
Oh, where was he going to

The empty page before me now, the pen is in my hand
The words don't come so easy but I'm trying
I'm searching for a melody or some forgotten line
They can slip away from us so quickly
Don't be unkind I'm not complaining
I only feel it needs explaining

(Chorus)
Though I've said it all before I'll say it once again (one more time)
Everyone needs something to believe in

So turn around, turn around it's on the other side
Feel the sound, feel the sound, it's coming from deep inside
It will fill you with emotion, if you let it be your guide so
Turn around; turn around, it's on the other side

I'm waiting for the day to end another to begin
Somehow I've forgotten what it stood for
I look into your face and see the searching in your eyes
I will he your servant till the end
The music plays, and for a moment I feel
That all there days an so fulfilling

(Chorus)

Desperation shows its ugly face in many ways
No one can escape the times we live in
The answers are so simple and we all know where to look
But it's easier to just avoid the question
And if I seem too inconclusive
It's just because it's so elusive

(Chorus)

There are some who can still remember
All the things that we used to do
But the days of our youth were numbered
And the ones who survive it are few
Oh, I can still see the smiling faces
When the times were so good
All in the old familiar places
I'd go back if I could (to the)

People of the south wind, people of the southern wind
It's the people of the wind, I got to be there again

Well, it's a hard thing to face the music:
But it's something everybody has got to do
So I hope that I can always remember
All the crazy times we had to go through
Now it's a dream that is slowly fading
And I don't want it to go
All of the memories are evading
And I want you to know (it's the)

People of the south wind, people of the southern wind
It's the people of the wind, I got to be there again

Now we've traveled all across the oceans
And we've seen what there is to see
But I guess it's not the proper solution
Cause it's all about the same to me
Now I look back and it makes me wonder
Why we just couldn't see
All of the battles we fought and won there
And I wish that I could be with the

People of the wind
I want to see 'em again
It's where we used to be free
And that's the place for me
It's just a state of my mind
A thing that's so hard to find

When I was very young so many songs were sung
So much wasted time on an uphill climb
But you where always there, a feeling in the air
There was nothing to fear you were so near
Now you are here once again
As I stand in your presence
I can feel the quiet patience of your gaze
Like an old superstition
You are haunting all my dreams and waking days

(Chorus)
All my life I knew you were waiting, revelation anticipating
All is well, the search is over, let the truth be known
Let it be shown (give me a glimpse of home)

There's no resisting you among the chosen few
It's hard to be sure, it's hard to endure
And when I hear your voice
I know I have the choice
To pursue an ideal, something so real
Now I've got nothing to lose
As I see your reflection
All the answers I desire become so clear
Like a page that is turning
I can look into the future without fear

You're in my rock and roll, you're in my very soul
Though it's heavy to bear, it's a feeling so rare
And it's a mystery, the way it's meant to be
Can we ever know, we're moving so slow
There ain't enough time in the world
As I reach up the ladder
There is something ever higher to perceive
Like a fire that is burning
In my heart I know I surely must believe

Instrumental:
a. Father Padilla Meets the Perfect Gnat
b. Howling at the Moon
c. Man Overboard
d. Industry on Parade
e. Release the Beavers
f. Gnat Attack

This foolish game, oh it's still the same
The notes go flyin' off in the air
And don't you believe it's true, the music is all for you
It's really all we've got to share
Cause Rockin' and Rollin', it's only howlin' at the Moon.
It's only howlin' at the Moon.