Superstar Runner

You can download a copy of my album, Olympic Champion, (and pay what you want for it) here:

Olympic Champion Album

Lyrics and Explanations:

Popular Antiquities - (I wrote this song about a friend who, at the time, was 16…and pretty much personified what it meant to be that age. It really is a praise to her.)

Keep your head up.
Please wait.
I’m waiting for Bailie to smile at me.
Make up your mind.
What’d you decide?
Music keeper.
Popular Antiquities.
Don’t be afraid,
To ask who you are.
Folkle traditions keep guessing a name.

Clear - (This is the oldest song that I have. I wrote it when I was 19. A song about finding light inside of darkness.)

My vision is clear ‘cause i’ve put my contacts on.
I lay down, and I look into the mirror.
My mind is passing as my sights begin to fall.
I’m going down, down, down - staring at the ceiling;
staring at the wall.
I slip into the black sheets, and the clarity seems to disappear.
The wind is blowing through a cloud; through a fan. Everything is clear when I close my eyes. 
A neon light glows on in the night.
Boy, get on your feet. Go outside.
As I speak, I’m going down, down, down.
The broken mirror is on the ground.
This was supposed to be a song of clarity,
But seeing how the light’s gone out, it’s pretty hard to see.
As I speak, I’m going down, down, down.
My vision is finally clear.
This turning put in life leads me to the light.
And I’m going down…down…down.

Safety Features (O. Champion) - (This is really the “theme song” or “title track” of the album, if there is one. A song about getting to the end of a long journey, and realizing that the trials we go through aren’t a punishment but rather, a preparation for what’s coming next.)

Thrown from the balcony into the sand.
Gliding and flying you’ll meet their demands.
The day brings in sunset, and our mighty plans.
A wizard sends spells to create new amends.
Suffering, slivering, we give up our stance.
Grinding our gears up, and slapping romance
Straight in the forehead, and shouting “The End!”
Applauding loudly, for the Champion band!
We are all alright. We are all alive. We are safe.

The Volunteer - (One of the first songs I wrote for the Superstar Runner project. About giving everything to someone else and expecting nothing in return.)

You’re dreaming the earthquake away.
Your smile could cure a disease.
Remaining poison, send regard for dreams.
Remember, remember me.
Remember crying on our knees.
Out of your doorstep, I placed a mat to remind you - you’re allowed in. If I said to you, “I love you”, would you make my heaven come true?
Sign you up, you’ll work for free - the Volunteer.
Sign us up, we’ll work for free, on our barefeet.

This Man Lives In Tin - (This is a song about how we shouldn’t take anything for granted…ever.)

And all the things he never knew will fall into his hands. And everyday he reaches out to you, but you reject him; he’s rejected.
And never did you ever think your actions maybe make you seem destructive, on everyone. 
Maybe you should take a look, and maybe your wounded mistakes will make you see him for what he is to you.
He’s the victim; a tin man - trapped inside an oil hike.
The victim; a tin man. A victim; a tin can.

Shades Drawn

with the shade drawn, the wing blocks out the sun.
in the sunny, summer air, I can’t help but notice
a faint, yellow canary whistling my tune.
i’m holding out for something positive.
i’m holding out for something more.
are you trouble by rain?
you’re one of the few.
consider yourself lucky, you’re unique.
not all of us are…at least not on the outside.
but we still make us “us”. and fortunate for me
i’ve got you to remind the country of how lucky I am.
i’m holding out for something positive, and maybe,
i’m holding out for something more.
hanging in, tonight, that’s what I’m doing now.
does your make-up run when it gets wet?
maybe that’s why the rain gets to you.
it’s the smell on the asphalt, baby.
i’m holding out for something positive, and maybe,
i should be holding out for me.

Even I Can Lie - (About 15 minutes of fame; a story from my early childhood. Also, about realizing that my faith then, was not as strong as I thought it was. It is a lot stronger, now.)

From this building, I overlook the city in which I grew up. My thoughts and discontents have gone away since I went away - if you know what I mean. And I tried harder to be myself. Rather than paying for friends, I just made love instead. There’s no anicdote to change from green to red.
On this building, we stumbled on a sewer pipe when we were kids. The stinky sludge and fumigating toxins were our lunch.
And every step closer was a chance we had, at kicking down doors and then turning back. who’d ever have thought we were bandits at best? We were all good kids. And I was just good, kid.
The swings that we swung from. The gardens we ran from. The lacrosse goal where we first learned I could fly. And I swear that I would be closer to God but, even I can lie.
From this building, I overlook the city in which I grew up.
My thoughts of discontent have gone away, since I went away.

Row, Row, Row (Your Boat) - About not trying to hard…and what can happen if you do. (Down the creek without a paddle.)

You work out 3 times a day. Exercise at 5. Weekends are fun and play. And we all go around.
Row, row your boat - we found a stream.
Row, row your boat - we’re down it.
We shall soon be together. Soon, I promise. We’re at the gym. We’re going for a swim. And the clencher’s getting close.
Row, row your boat - we’re down a stream.
Row, row your boat - we found it.
Work out 3 times a day, but don’t over do it.
PADDLE PADDLE PADDLE PADDLE!
PADDLE PADDLE PADDLE PADDLE!

Suburb of Nowhere - (This song really wasn’t written to my grandmother at all, initially. I wrote it as some friends of mine were nearing graduation from Missouri State, and at the same moment, since I’m a multi-tasker, I was ordering some flowers to be sent to my Grandma for Valentine’s Day. The two events just kind of worked together that way. This is a song about recognizing the value and need to wander; about letting go. And letting your loved ones go where they need to.)

Dear grandma, I’m sending you some flowers. You may place them in your garden. And water them with sunshine.
Dear grandma, I haven’t much to send here, but I’ll send you anyway. There’s a fortress in the back of my apartment, that only I am protecting.
I will keep it safe for you.
One day I went out walking. Walking a distance.
I waited for the future. I would not be taken.
Miles and miles go by, as silence fills the air.
The waiting room’s a classroom. Meltdown averted.
Dear Grandma, I think we have a problem - we’re only seconds away. This day will end. Tomorrow will begin. And we will float from this earth, again.

After New Jersey - (This is a song about recognizing that sometimes there’s nothing left that you can do about a situation than to just move on from it. And that sometimes, you’ve got to step back from a situation before you could learn how to deal with it.)

after new jersey, i decided it was failure.
i wasn’t gonna be a part of the trauma that comes
with being trapped in the same place.
(i loaded a van and headed westward.)
after new jersey, i realized there were better gardens to water.
and i would prosper greater from running away, than staying put.
after new jersey, i forgot you existed. what was your name?
i can’t remember.
cuz after new jersey, there was only laughter, cuz you and i were finally moving on.
after new jersey, i thought it better to surrender.
and let someone else do the walking; talking; driving,
after new jersey, it was only laughter.

Hey, Guess What? (Selling Out) - (A song about not selling yourself short. You don’t have to sell your soul in order to live your dreams. Live for honesty. Live honestly.)

Stick your foot in and put it out, you gotta shake it all about. You gotta do this hokey dance and then they’ll tell you what “it’s all about”. Well, wake me up and send me out, I’m gonna play this song for you. Even if it’s out of tune, you know it’s gonna be alright with you because
We’re selling out, but not until we’re getting paid!
Take a breath, and yell it out. We’re gonna scream and shout for love! We’re gonna take a lucky one because we know just what we’re up against. We can be the ones they say will never make it big. Cuz we know what our value is, and it’s more than what they say.
They’ll speak of love, as if they’d know what it was.
Well, we’re selling out, but not until we’re getting paid!
We can all send a letter, telling them we’ll do it better.
But if they don’t like the look in our eyes, then they’ll just keep staring at our skies. and we’ll tell it straight to their face that this is nothing good to us. and we’ll say, “Nah nah nah-nah, nah nah, nah. Nah nah, nah-nah, nah nah nah.”
Cuz we’re selling out, but not until we’re getting paid!