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Lyrics
Crest a
Wave
CREST OF A WAVE Story songs by Bill Pere
(PART 1 of the AMERICANA TRILOGY)
Crest of a Wave Words and
Music by BillPere
You had salt water in your blood; you longed to be
Another Billy Budd; A sultan of the sea
I longed to be the one to break your fever
But I couldn't have begun to make you leave her
She had more allure than I, so when they signed up a crew
You were first in line; there was nothing I could do
You had to tame the tide; So you signed on.
The sails billowed with your pride, and you were gone...
You said you'd send me your love on the Crest of a Wave
And the water wouldn't keep us apart...
I was blue sky, you were ocean, the horizon was our heart.
You said you'd send me your love on the Crest of a Wave,
But I wonder, do you think anymore
Of the lovestruck, lonely lady you left standing on the shore
It's been almost a year, and I've not heard
In all the thunder of the sea, a single word
I guess you took the sea by storm and you don't need
Someone like me to keep you warm, so I won't plead,
But if your harem is the waves, then what's the good
If they behave as fickle women would?
One day, they'll be kind but the next the they will kill
Though you've cast me from your mind, I love you still.
You said you'd send me your love on the Crest of a Wave
And the water wouldn't keep us apart...
I was blue sky, you were ocean, the horizon was our heart.
You said you'd send me your love on the Crest of a Wave,
But I don't think you think anymore
Of the lovestruck, lonely lady you left standing on the shore
Winter finds the ship's yet not returned...
Some fear it was wrecked
When the water churned like a mistress spurned
But it was me who drowned in your neglect...
You're six months overdue; There's no doubt anymore
I say good-bye to you as I walk along the shore
But then I see there in the sand, surrounded by debris
A scrimshaw by your hand, and the image there is me...
And you said you'd ....
Send me your love on the Crest of a Wave
And the water wouldn't keep us apart...
I was blue sky, you were ocean, the horizon was our heart.
You said you'd send me your love on the Crest of a Wave,
Now I know, you thought evermore
Of the lovestruck, lonely lady you left standing on the shore
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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Crescent Moon words and music by Bill Pere
She felt a chill as he burned with the fever
The doctor said there was no cure that he knew of...
Just a matter of time before he'd leave her
She sat by his side; All she could give him was love
She spent another silent night by the side of her sailor
He tossed restless as the sea as he hung on by a thread
Many times she thought she lost him as she watched him grow paler
Still he hung on; She wondered 'bout the dreams in his head...
Crescent moon, bright in the night sky
The wind whips the waves; He lets go a scream
He clings to the rails; He knows to let go is to die
This is more than just a dream...
Crescent moon, on the horizon
Like her smile that makes him feel warm
Two bright stars, or is it her eyes
With love to guide him through the storm....
Through her vigil every night, she'd recall what would happen
As he'd sail far away; the empty feeling that she'd get.
Now this tropical fever he'd caught from the captain
Was taking him still further yet....
Crescent moon, bright in the night sky
The wind whips the waves; He lets go a scream
He clings to the rails; He knows to let go is to die
This is more than just a dream...
Crescent moon, on the horizon
Like her smile that makes him feel warm
Two bright stars, or is it her eyes
With love to guide him through the storm...
One stormy night while the thunder was crashing
The wind through the window washed the rain across his face
He screamed out loud and his body started thrashing
She pulled him close to her and wrapped him up safe in her embrace
Then his eyes shot open wide and he saw his lady smiling
He said "Last thing I remember...." and the tears rolled down his
neck;
"I was seeing sky all full of storm clouds, the moon was up there
shining
I was falling from the rail;
Someone reached out and pulled me back on deck
There was a....
Crescent moon on the horizon;
The wind whipped the waves, I let go a scream.
I clung to the rail, I knew to let go was to die;
It was more than just a dream
Crescent moon on the horizon,
Like your smile, that makes me feel warm;
Two bright stars, or is it your eyes
With love to guide me through the storm...
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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Tatterdemalion Words and
Music by Bill Pere
She sat and sewed the sails that swept him out to sea
She wove a dream that was never meant to be
She loved the captain, but the captain loved his ship
Her arms were just a place to rest between each trip
As her needle sailed the waves of canvas cloth, she'd often dream
Of a wedding dress of fine embroidered lace
An ocean windstorm dashed her dream, for as the crippled ship came home
Her captain's bunk was just an empty space...
In the tavern you'll still hear them tell the tale
Of the ship that met the talons of the ocean's autumn gale
How the ropes and masts came tumblin' down
How that ship still wears those battered sails
Like a tatterdemalion gown...
Each night she'd walk the waterfront, she'd stand awhile and stare
At that ship's shell floating out beyond the pier
The needlepointed starlit sky shone on shredded sails
She'd dream about her wedding dress and shed a tear
Her friends told her not to cling to threads of a love whose time was past
And to forget the maelstrom in her mind
She said she could sew so many things but she could not mend her heart
Though the tapestry is faded, it once hung rich and fine...
In the tavern you'll still hear them tell the tale
Of the ship that met the talons of the ocean's autumn gale
How the ropes and masts came tumblin' down
How that ship still wears those battered sails
Like a tatterdemalion gown...
One restless night she took a boat out to that wreck beyond the pier
And snatched a shred of sailcloth from a broken mast
The townsfolk searched for many days, but it seemed she disappeared
No one was quite sure who saw her last
But in the ocean's mist of memories and tears of yesterday's rain
If you look real close and maybe take a guess
Amidst the rippling remnants of the sails, wrapped 'round the mast
Is what seems to be a fine embroidered dress...
In the tavern you'll still hear them tell the tale
Of the ship that met the talons of the ocean's autumn gale
How the ropes and masts came tumblin' down
How that ship still wears those battered sails
Like a tatterdemalion gown..
...
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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The Other Side of the Wave Words
and Music by Bill Pere
I remember the night I first met you; You reminded me I had a heart;
It's kind of hard for me to be gentle; Maybe it's too late to start;
I never had much practice with loving,
I mean the kind where you don't have to pay;
This big tough old salt was just a scared little kid
When he found himself feelin' that way...
People say I've got a mean-tempered mouth; I even swear in my sleep
Cause a couple of cuss words are easier to spit out
Than talking 'bout feelings down deep
Somehow, you just saw right through it; I needed a safe place to go hide
So I signed up on a ship, but before I sailed off, I told you what I felt
inside.
I said I'd said you my love with day dawning
That's the promise I gave
If you could see through the mist of the morning
To the other side of the wave
You'd see this sailor out standing and looking
At the ocean meetin' blue sky...
Two worlds far apart that make beauty together,
Not unlike you and I
I said I'd send you my love with day dawning
That's the promise I gave
If you could see through the mist of the morning
To- the other side of the wave
You'd see this sailor out standing and wishing
For each wave that this bow's cuttin' through
To send you a sign, spill my love at your feet,
So you know that I'm thinking of you
We caught us a big whale this morning
Now I'm scratching some lines in a tooth
I hoped it would help me forget things
But this picture is telling the truth
I know I'm no kind of artist
But the lines are all finding their place
No matter what I want this picture to be
It'll end up being your face...
I said I'd said you my love with day dawning
That's the promise I gave
If you could see through the mist of the morning
To the other side of the wave
You'd see this sailor out standing and looking
At the ocean meetin' blue sky...
Two worlds far apart that make beauty together,
Not unlike you and I
The weather has been turning angry
There's a dark, jealous sky up above
It's funny what a man can learn about himself
Cause I'm less scared of that than of love...
And I hear this old ship's planks complaining
So if I don't get to see you once more...
I hope that someday, some way, someone will know I love
That lady I left on the shore...
I said I'd send you my love with day dawning
That's the promise I gave
If you could see through the mist of the morning
To- the other side of the wave
You'd see this sailor out standing and wishing
For each wave that this bow's cuttin' through
To send you a sign, spill my love at your feet,
So you know that I'm thinking of ...
That lovestruck lonely lady I left standing ion the shore...
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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Six Candles in the Chandlery Words and Music by Bill Pere
Six Candles in the chandlery, burning in the night
A silver haired old man stands silhouetted in the light
He hears out in the harbor, drifting in across the mist
A chantey being chanted as an anchor starts to lift
As the candles burn down slowly and the anchor is goin’ up
He knows he can’t deny that his boy is growin’ up
There’s a crew out there of fifty; He says a special prayer for one
He asks a safe first journey for his one and only son...
My son, I’ll keep six candles burning in the chandlery each night
And I hope that in your heart, you can forget we had that fight
I know you want to see the world young man, but since your mother died
I confess I’m gettin’ scared of finding no one at my side
The store is all I have to give you, it’s everything I own
Remember, take my love with you, let it guide you safe back home
In the sixth week since his son had gone, he felt something was wrong
He couldn’t quite define it, but the feeling was quite strong
If he could see five hundred miles to look in on his lad
He’d see the ship was drifting aimlessly, for the captain had gone mad...
He’d tossed the sextants overboard, the clocks, the compass, gone.
That crew was in for hellfire, as the sunlight brought the dawn
In the captain’s cabin were the ripped up maps and charts
They were hanging on the fine teak walls, with the captain playing darts...
My son, I’ll keep six candles burning in the chandlery each night
And I hope that in your heart, you can forget we had that fight
I know you want to see the world young man, but since your mother died
I confess I’m gettin’ scared of finding no one at my side
The store is all I have to give you, it’s everything I own
Remember, take my love with you, let it guide you safe back home
Somehow, that old man knew there was trouble for his son,
He wondered what to do as he lit the candles one by one
He closed his eyes, he clasped his hands without despair
For he’d never underestimate the power of a prayer...
Out there on the ship, they did not know where or how
But they saw a light off in the distance as the first mate turned the bow
The ocean surf hissed sibilant as it washed across the deck
The chandler's son sat in the crow’s nest straining his stiff neck
He watched that misty midnight beacon, that glow off in the sky
But then the spyglass clouded as the teardrops filled his eyes...
For as they sailed in closer, he could see it clear and plain,
It was his own safe hometown harbor... and the chandlery in flame!
As he finally set foot off the ship, he found himself in the embrace
Of a sooty, silver haired old man with ashes on his face...
My son, I kept six candles burning in the chandlery each night
And I hoped that in your heart, you could forget we had that fight
I know you wanted to see the world young man, but since your mother died
I confess I’d been gettin’ scared of finding no one at my side
That store was all I had to give you, it was everything I owned
His son said “Dad, I’;m here to stay now, you’ll never be alone...”
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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My Tears and the Tide Words
and Music by Bill Pere
In the little village print shop, he;d work late into the evening
He'd only stop when he was tired, for to his scarred and blinded eyes
the darkness had no meaning
He'd set up the next day's work by touch, then walk down to face the ocean
Where the sea spray and his tears would mix, he'd think back on the years
that she had loved him with such devotion
He'd say "my tears and the tide are both salty water,
Come back to me Jenny, I've been such a fool.
I was blaming you for something you didn't do and that was cruel...
All these years I've cried for you and our daughter,
Come back to me Jenny, You're still my wife
I could never see how good you were to me,
I guess I was blind all my life
It was just after their girl was born that their happiness was shattered;
His wife was carrying printer's acid when she was
startled by their crying child and across her husband's face it splattered
Their lives became an endless stream of guilt and blame each day
'Till she couldn't take it anymore; He awoke to find
his wife and child had gone away...
He heard it said that they were seen heading toward the ocean deep
She was screaming that her child and her just had to get away
to find a place for peaceful sleep...
He'd say "my tears and the tide are both salty water,
Come back to me Jenny, I've been such a fool.
I was blaming you for something you didn't do and that was cruel...
All these years I've cried for you and our daughter,
Come back to me Jenny, You're still my wife
I could never see how good you were to me,
I guess I was blind all my life
She made sure that he thought that they had drowned
She wouldn't let him know that they were living across town...
She watched as he struggled to learn to work by touch
She thought revenge would feel so sweet, but she wondered
Why she hurt so much...
The years went by, his daughter grew; One day, he'd almost met her
As they both stood in a local store; She wished to tell him who she was,
She knew her mother wouldn't let her.
As she'd pass his shop,
she'd stop and watch;
In his eyes, she'd see the suffering
That was also in her mother's heart; Both afraid to say that they were wrong
She knew she must do something...
So late one night, she slipped into the print shop,
and through her father's troubled bedtime
She rearranged the letters he had set up for the next day's front page
And so, the morning headline said:
My tears and the tide are both salty water,
Come back to me Jenny, I've been such a fool.
I was blaming you for something you didn't do and that was cruel...
All these years I've cried for you and our daughter,
Come back to me Jenny, You're still my wife
I could never see how good you were to me,
I guess I was blind all my life
There's no way to describe what that man must have felt
When a hand touched his shoulder and a voice from his past said
"Dearest husband, we've both been such fools,
But perhaps we've both grown up at last..."
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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The Promise Words and Music by Bill Pere
The woodcarver's wife looked up from her bed
with those eyes he'd adored all the years
He held back a tear as she said "Life's been good,
but I've not too much time left, I fear"
He said "Remember how you used to stand by my shop
and watch the great whaling ships come and go?
You said some day you'd like to sail on a ship,
and I promised you, some day you'd go...
I said 'You'll stand on the bow of a great sailing ship
To be cooled by the spray that the sea breezes swept
And hear sultry songs that the sirens would sing...
That promise will be kept
That promise will be kept, Oh my dear..' ."
In the kindness of evening, she died in his arms
and he knew then what he had to do...
When all was done in the graveyard, he ran to the tavern
to look for an old friend he knew...
There was the captain he'd known many years,
who said he'd be sailing next day
They talked for awhile, there was a faint touch of smile
as the woodcarver hurried away...
He said "You'll stand on the bow of a great sailing ship
To be cooled by the spray that the sea breezes swept
And hear sultry songs that the sirens would sing...
That promise will be kept
That promise will be kept, Oh my dear..."
The dark cloak of midnight was draped over the town
and the only light you could see
Was the flickering flame through the small window pain
in the woodcarver's shop by the sea...
Since early that day, he held hammer in hand,
and asked that God give him strength for awhile.
Though his arms cried for rest, his heart moved him on
as he put the last touch on the smile...
He said "You'll stand on the bow of a great sailing ship
To be cooled by the spray that the sea breezes swept
And hear sultry songs that the sirens would sing...
That promise will be kept
That promise will be kept, Oh my dear..."
That great piece of oak would yield to his touch
as she had done in quiet moments they'd find
Though his age dimmed his eyes he recreated that face
from the image love etched in his mind
At the first break of dawn, the captain showed up
to mount up his his new figurehead...
He saw the woodcarver slumped in a chair, cold and pale,
And he heard the last words that he said...
"See that she stands on the bow of your great sailing ship
To be cooled by the spray that the sea breezes swept
And hear sultry songs that the sirens will sing...
Then the promise will be kept
Then the promise will be kept, Oh my dear..."
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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Cerulean Blue -- Words and Music by Bill Pere
I am the ship called Cerulean Blue
These are the stories I tell
Of the seagoing sailors, the captain and crew,
The voyages made on the wings of the wind's magic spell...
First break of dawn, the captain shows up,
the goodbyes to his friend have been said
The men chant their chantey and the anchor is up,
On my bow is a new figurehead...
Up in the crow's nest is a strapping young lad
First time he's ever signed on with a crew
Seems that he just had a fight with his Dad
But the boy's growing up, He felt it's what he had to do....
In a cabin below is a good sailing man;
Been sailing in whaling crews nearly a year
Spends his days carving scrimshaws
And dreams of a lady who's taught him that love is nothing to fear..
I am the ship called Cerulean Blue
These are the stories I tell
Of the seagoing sailors, the captain and crew,
The voyages made on the wings of the wind's magic spell...
Six weeks at sea and the wind wizard's choir
Is singin' up a storm and the sky's lookin' bad;
A tropical fever's got the captain on fire,
Five hundred miles from shore, he went mad....
One of the crew's got the same fever too;
He stares at the moon and he clings to the rails
The sea is a cauldron of hot witches' brew;
I feel the wind's dragon claws startin' to rip through my sails...
On the tip of the bow stands the good sailing man
.When up from the sea swells the Crest of a Wave
Grabs the scrimshaw right out of his hand;
As he dives into the storm, he remembers the promise he gave...
Up in the crow's nest the young lad cries out;
He sees the man overboard and a beacon of light
Again the sea reaches up as the bow turns about
And a wave rips the figurehead into the teeth of the night
Must be God held the helm cause I made it back from this trip
Only one crewman lost, and the captain had drowned
The lad from the lookout was first off the ship
As he embraced with his father whose store had just burned to the ground
Wherever men sail, there are stories it seems
Of the ladies who wait through the long lonely days
Now one nurses her sailor through feverish dreams
As he runs from the nightmares
that wind through his mind's troubled maze...
I am the ship called Cerulean Blue
These are the stories I tell
Of the seagoing sailors, the captain and crew,
The voyages made on the wings of the wind's magic spell...
In the tavern you'll still hear the tale sometimes told
Of the captain who found that this trip was his last
And the lady whose dream would never unfold,
And the wedding dress wrapped 'round my mast...
The morning after the storm had died down
One lonely lady was walking the beach
she saw in the sand as she looked at the ground
Her face on the scrimshaw a wave had washed up at her feet...
Through the thick morning fog I couldn't hear what she said
As she looked out on the waves through the mist of a tear
For washing in with the tide was my lost figurehead
And hanging on for dear life was the sailor she'd missed for a year...
All time stood still as she felt his embrace
And a woodcarver smiled in the grave where he slept
For the great figurehead where he carved his wife's face
Saw not only one, but two of love's promises kept....
© Copyright Bill Pere, MysticMusic/KidThink Music All Rights Reserved
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