1. |
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Becoming Human
Carolyn Arends
You know Pinocchio had a nose for deception
And I think it’s understood
That you’re doomed from the start if you’re following a heart
That is only made of wood
And it’s the trickiest thing in the whole wide world
To be a real live boy or a real live girl
Becoming human is hard
It’s near impossible
Becoming human is hard
It takes a miracle
You know that old King Lear had a fear of rejection
And I guess it’s pretty clear
That you’re not a good king if you’re only listening
To the things you want to hear
And you can rant and you can rave and you can fret and fuss
But you’ll just grow older without growing up
Chorus
It seems we all arrive with a drive for protection
And we learn to wear these masks
Till it’s hard to believe that we ever can be free
To become ourselves at last
But it’s the most important thing in the whole wide world
To be a real live boy or a real live girl
Becoming human is hard
But not impossible
Becoming human is hard
It takes a miracle
Becoming human is hard
The work is deep and slow
Becoming human is hard
It takes a miracle
I need a miracle
Send me my miracle
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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2. |
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Without Music
Carolyn Arends
This was meant to be a melancholic song
A litany of all that’s gone wrong
But the melody took over, and it started to soar
Till it wasn’t melancholic anymore
I was going to write a cynical verse
‘Cause the bad just seems to keep getting worse
But the notes found their own rhythm, and they started to dance
Till my cynicism didn’t stand a chance
“Without music life would not be fair”
I heard someone say
Well God knows there’s injustice everywhere
But the music will not go away
Instrumental verse
Chorus
So I guess this is my song for all the ones
Who keep singing as the world comes undone
Like a broken hallelujah, their melodies soar
Till the world’s not quite so broken anymore
Yeah like a rumour of glory, our melodies soar
And the world’s not quite as hopeless anymore
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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3. |
Memento Mori
04:13
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Memento Mori
Carolyn Arends
Last night I dreamt that I was dead
And when the eulogy was read
All my friends and family said
“She really tried her best.
We guess it was how she was wired
To work so hard and be so tired
Maybe now that she’s expired
She’ll finally get some rest.”
And then a monk entered my dream and started laughing
And that’s when the whole thing turned into Latin
Memento Mori
Remember you will die
So live the story
You want to tell
Memento Mori
You only get one life
So don’t be sorry
Just live it well
Well then I woke up with a start
Relieved to feel my beating heart
I lay there breathing in the dark
So glad to be alive
And I looked at the world anew
A bit like Ebenezer Scrooge
And all my lists of my To Dos
Just seemed to vaporize
‘Cause when it’s really time to enter the Here After
Love will be the only thing that matters
Chorus
Well if you have a dream like mine please don’t be wary
‘Cause you can learn to live from your obituary
Chorus
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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4. |
Pool of Tears
04:35
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Pool of Tears
Carolyn Arends
There’s a man in my town
Who can tell some tall tales
Works a job roofing houses
He’s tougher than nails
But his voice trails away
When he’s had a few beers
Because he’s got some secrets that nobody hears
Everyone sits by their own pool of tears
There’s a woman I know
Who gets angry sometimes
Treats her friends just like foes
And she doesn’t know why
Says she can’t understand
When she looks in the mirror
Who it is she’s become or just how she got here
Everyone sits by their own pool of tears
We try denial
It helps for a while
And we try a million distractions
But when nothing will work
And everything hurts
What if we tried some compassion?
I’ve been looking around
In my own neighbourhood
We all smile and we wave
And we say that we’re good
But I can’t help but think
Underneath our veneers
We are so close to drowning in sorrows and fears
Everyone sits by their own pool of tears
Chorus
Well I’m not even sure
Why I’m writing this song
Guess it’s just to confess
What we’ve known all along
Pain is part of the deal
For as long as we’re here
But we’re not all alone in this, that much is clear
All of us sit by our own pool of tears
So let’s take a deep breath
And let’s pull up some chairs
Cause our wounds only heal
When we give them some air
There’s a remedy found
In the lending of ears
So whatever goes down through the miles and the years
Let’s promise each other to come and draw near
Where everyone sits by their own pool of tears
Everyone sits by their own pool of tears
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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5. |
To Cry for You
04:01
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To Cry for You
Carolyn Arends
There’s a lump in my throat
There’s a knot in my chest
I am tired to the bone
But I cannot rest
Still it’s only right to feel like I do
‘Cause it is my honour to cry for you
All the memories come back
Like the tide rolling in
And the current is strong
I go under again
So I hold my breath, what else can I do?
It is my honour to cry for you
Blessed are the ones who weep
‘Cause every tear is proof
Of ties that bind so strong and deep
That death cannot undo
So it is my honour to cry for you
I’ve got more than a hunch
That you’re somewhere so good
It’d be wrong to come back
Even if you could
I will see you again, but until I do
It is my honour to cry for you
Chorus
There’s a lump in my throat
There’s a knot in my chest
But the ache in my soul
Tells me I am blessed
‘Cause when the sorrow is great, the love is too
And it is my honour to cry for you
I guess grief is the work that love must do
So it is my honour to cry for you
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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6. |
Gather Me
03:51
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Gather Me
Carolyn Arends
Darling, it’s late, and my body is aching
I’ve been up racing these ghosts round and round
I’ll come to bed and I’ll ask you to hold me
‘Cause when you enfold me my mind settles down
I get so scattered by worries and plans
But when I fall to pieces then you are the only man who can
Gather me, gather me, gather me
Oh you gather me up in your arms
Darling, you know I can get so distracted
I’m chasing rabbits, and then I lose track.
But when I get lost in the thoughts I am thinking
You are the beacon who helps me get back
Sometimes I’m scattered by so much to do
But when I fall to pieces then baby the only glue is you
Chorus
If I am a kite, baby, you are the string
I can fly without coming untethered
And if you are a riverbed, I am a stream
I can flow while you hold me together
Chorus
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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7. |
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God’s Speed
Carolyn Arends
Inspired by God Walk by Mark Buchanan
What’s your hurry
Little pilgrim
Always running
So behind
Why the worry
When God’s children
All got world enough and time
We’ve got to slow down
To catch up
Grow young
To grow up
No more chasing the wind
Let the Spirit lead
Till we slow down
To God’s Speed
May we slow down
To God’s speed
Why so frantic
Little human
You’ve been racing
Long enough
It’s time for planting
Time for blooming
Growing at the
Speed of love
Chorus
Anything worth anything
Takes a while, it’s true
But God has all the time He needs
To see the changes through
He’s making us brand new
And all we’ve got to do is …
Chorus
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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8. |
Maladjusted
04:39
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Maladjusted
Carolyn Arends
I aimed to stayed within the normal range
I did not go against the flow
I tried to never be too loud or strange
I was at home with status quo
Then cracks were forming in the plaster
And all the structures came undone
What we call normal’s a disaster
So now I just want to become
Maladjusted
Maladjusted
‘Cause everything we trusted has gone bad
This dysfunction
Needs disruption
So let’s all get maladjusted to a world gone mad
I know in Michigan in ‘63
A preacher made this message clear
And ringing in those words from Dr. King
There is another voice to hear
‘Cause Jesus said the first would be the last
In every place His kingdom comes
And if we give our lives we get ‘em back
And that is why we must become
Chorus
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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9. |
All Flame
03:35
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All Flame
Carolyn Arends
I am a vapour with a value beyond measure
What shall I do then with the wild and fleeting treasure
Of my life, my life
You are the fire at the center of existence
What shall I do then with my fear and my resistance
To Your love, Your love
I know to heal me You must burn me
And yet You tell me You can turn me
Into someone who can become
All flame
All flame
Drawn into Yourself
Until nothing else remains
All flame
I am for now only the tiniest of embers
I can but offer You an incomplete surrender
Still I do, I do
So won’t You kindle my desire
Lord lead me on into the fire
And hold my hand until I am
Chorus
I am a vapour in a never-ending story
I’ll live forever in the fire and the glory
Of Your love, Your love
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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10. |
Let Love Lead You Home
04:09
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Let Love Lead You Home
Words by Laura Funk and Carolyn Arends
Music by Carolyn Arends
Based on the poem “When It Comes” by Laura Funk
Every day the chaplain comes
To sit beside the dying
She listens when there are no words
And helps with the goodbye-ing
And when they ask her how to die
She says she’s never tried it
But then she takes them by the hand
And whispers in the quiet
When it’s time for you to leave
Gather all the love you’ve known
The love you gave, the love received
And let it lead you home
Oh, let love lead you home
Sometimes there are photographs
They look at them together
A wedding dress, a bassinet
A tree every December
And if the family can come
They tell so many stories
And with their laughter and their tears,
They make that room so holy
Chorus
Well sometimes all the memories
Have faded past retrieving
And sometimes there’s no loved ones left
To come and do the grieving
But the chaplain knows their song plays on
Though only God can hear it
And so she takes them by the hand
And whispers for the Spirit
Chorus
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP and LauraFunk/SOCAN
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11. |
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Almost Didn’t Recognize You
Carolyn Arends
Woke up early to my consternation
I had planned on sleeping long
Wasn’t looking for an invitation
To the breaking of the dawn
But the sky became a burning ember
And I could not look away
With the moon I made a slow surrender
To the glory of the day
That was when I realized
I almost didn’t recognize You
Always such a sweet surprise
Every time I recognize You
I was standing at the intersection
Waiting for the light to change
There were passersby in each direction
All just faces without names
Suddenly it seemed my vision shifted
Until right before my eyes
It was just as if a curtain lifted
And every stranger seemed to shine
Chorus
Well I thought You were mostly incognito
I could not have been more wrong
The whole universe is Your cathedral
And every heartbeat is Your song
I can’t count how many times
I almost didn’t recognize You
Always such a sweet surprise
Every time I recognize You
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP
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12. |
After This (Bonus Track)
04:22
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After This (Bonus Track)
Spencer Capier and Carolyn Arends
We have never in our lifetime
Known a shadow like this one
Still, however long this nighttime
Rest assured the dawn will come
And after this, the sun will be shining
And all we missed, will come to us in a whole new light
And then may we never waste
The sweet gift of a warm embrace
When at last we are face to face
After this
May we never lose these lessons
Till we take our final breath
And when we finally reach the ending
May we know there’s something next
‘Cause after this, the sun will be shining
And all we missed, will come to us in a whole new light
And there we will never waste
The sweet gift of a warm embrace
When at last we are face to face
After this
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP and Charles Spencer Capier/SOCAN
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Carolyn Arends Vancouver, British Columbia
"One of the most affecting communicators in any genre." - Billboard Magazine
Carolyn Arends
has released 14 albums and is the author of 3 critically-acclaimed books. 15 of Arends’ songs have become top 10 radio singles on the Canadian pop and US Christian charts. Arends has earned 2 Dove Awards, 3 Juno Nominations, and was recognized as the West Coast Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year.
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