
The home of singer-songwriter Joe Rosato Jr. and the new album Compass & Sparrow.
Michael Rows
Michael Row your boat ashore, Hallelujah
Michael Row your boat ashore, Hallelujah
Michael this world is slowly crumbling
and dreams are hard to find
can't you seem that you've been rowing
against a cruel and angry tide
Michael rows…. Hallelujah
Michael sees the ship go down, Hallelujah
Michael sees
Michael sees a stormy future
with its lightning and its waves
he paddles with abandon
but it's too late to get saved
Michael rows… Hallelujah
Michael rows into the harbor
Michael rows and rows and rows and rows and rows, Hallelujah
but you should try to steer clear
of the traps and mighty swells
the liars and the shut-ins
and the tolling of the bells
Michael rows… Hallelujah
This world's caught in the tides
getting smashed and getting battered
you're rowing to the shore
will you make it, will it matter
Michael rows… Hallelujah
Sleeper
Sometimes this world gets angry
and i can't relate
so I sleep too late
I can't get up at all
Sometimes it's all too heavy
and i just pretend
I'll sleep until the end
and everything will be ok
You come to me and say
I'm not the answer to your questions now
You come to me and say
I must emerge cause life is slipping by
You come to me and say
I'm not the answer to your questions now
You come to me and say
I must've slept through everything somehow
All the thinkers are out there thinking
this sleeper's in here sleeping
this dreamer's in here dreaming again
Sometime's it all gets crazy
I have to hide my head
crawl into my bed
and dream of nothing at all
The Sparrow
the sparrow rides, on a breeze
like a river through the trees
he says all, i've ever seen
is everything you've ever dreamed
i've seen a road up to the sun
long as the day is done,
maybe there's a road for everyone, to ride
Near the ground, he spreads his wings
sings a song he likes to sing
in a crowd he flies alone
with all this world to roam
He sings when the grass is tall,
in the winter and the fall,
might be singing to us all tonight
He casts no shadow
on the ground
on the ground
The sparrow rides, on the wind
then you'll never see him again
Gone away to points unknown
will he ever come back home
He says there's something more to see
destinations calling me
must be the burden of the free to roam
On a road up to the sun
long as the day is done
Maybe there's a road for everyone
ought to be a road for everyone
there should be a road for everyone to ride
Lonesome Freeway
She's gonna drive 'till her tank is empty
she's gonna drive 'till her tires are low
the radio is set between the stations
playing soft and low
Another love has defeated its purpose
another love has left her blind
she's gonna drive him out of her system
as she swerves between the lines
Chorus
Who's gonna drive her down this lonesome freeway
who'll take the wheel when she changes lanes
who's gonna hold her when she's lost her direction
it's a sad ride, down a sad road
She's taking off leaving everything behind her
she's taking off like never before
she's gonna use the distance as a cushion
and soften up the blow
Chorus
It's a sad road
It's a sad world
See her crumpled up just like a rag doll
see her crumpled like an old toy
sitting there at the side of the embankment
staring at the fast lane
Chorus
Ode to a Disappearing Hill
The view of a hill
got blocked by a building rising like the sun
trapped, within their walls
like a mouse inside a cage, waiting out the days
But the songs, they still came
about a bird on a wire, or a river past a mill
and i could see a field, like a child with a book
sees a castle on a hill
chorus
and I will sing, when the roof is caving, the storm is bearing down
i will sing, when the world is crumbling, the stars rain from the sky
The ghosts, won't despair, floating weightless in the clouds
never contemplate the ground
where i, toil away. putting pen to the page, seeking music in the rage
chorus
Oh lonesome song, bouncing down the street
off the concrete and the steel
down to a hill, disappearing by the inch, beyond the window sill
The Devi Came for Me
Someone called my name one night
Turned around, no one in sight
Tried to run, my legs wouldn't go
Something had my shirt pulling me in tow
The devil came for me, the devil came for me
Devil opened his eyes, and I could see
everything I'd done there in front of me
I saw the broken hearts
heard a mournful wail
saw the broken dreams
by the side of the trail
The devil came for me, the devil came for me
Must've been the devil made me run away
my soul is reckless like a runaway train
I hope you forgive me one of these days
Cause if I broke these chains I'd come to your side
across the broken glass and the blood red tide
but I wore this path and it's mine to ride
my bill to pay
Before the devil turned and walked away
he said you'll never learn, and you'll never change
then he disappeared in a firery blast
and I was left a slave to my past
The devil came for me, the devil came for me
The Bridge
I'm hoping to find some love just in time
if one person smiles, I'll turn back and all this is done
I walk through the town, there's no one around
past the old school, where children would play in the yard
Chorus
Bridge you're there waiting, I'm going, you're staying
I hope someone's praying for me
Bridge there'll all sleeping so here I come creeping
There's no one praying for me
I'd like to see what life holds for me
but fate has been cruel and time keeps on waging its war
From where I stand the world's icy hands
reach in my soul, I stare at the water below
Chorus
Bridge… I step to the ledge of your heart
I'm restless and cold and I'm tired of voices I can't explain
Bridge… I step through the edge of the dark
I furious and alone I'll find beauty in ways they can't explain
Chorus
Goodbye Maria
You say life comes at all cost Maria
Surviving on a few crumbs, and a few prayers
Tell me what are they saying down on the corner these days
Another nickel, get a dime
Numb those years that you lost on the way
I heard you saying you should've been long gone by now
Chorus
I hate to say goodbye to Maria
Who knows when I'll see you my friend
I've gotta get back home to Alabama, she's calling again
They rolled up all the welcome mats in this city
left us here in the doorways and the roads
it's hard to see when you can't make out
what you were looking for
Another nickel get a dime,
I bought a 40 down at the liquor store
Maria looks as though she needs a little something
to ease her mind
Chorus
I can hear your voice through this rumble
from this alley I can see the great divide
but it's hard to go on living
once you're living on the outside
Chorus
Unsinkable(Ida & Isidor's last ride)
Oh… a starry night.
A ship in flight
They'll never find us here
a razor in the dark
hits its mark
will they find us here
Oh, a ship goes down
without a sound
will they find us here
hope floats away
will they find us here
Chorus
And on and on and on and on…
a journey's ending
on and on and on and on
we're descending
Autumn fills the sky
a last goodbye
will they find us here
a finger toward the night
slips from sight
will they find us here
Chorus
Love never dies
on a ship of lies
will they find us here
here we'll remain
a sandy grave
will they find us here
chorus
Dallas
She was a wandering Texas girl
the friend of a friend of a friend
we sat on a sidewalk outside the club
life never felt the same again
All night truck stop - coffee shop
Merl singing how "Mama Tried"
Time was marching somewhere else
as I fell into the darkness of her eyes
I'm going to Dallas
to find a girl I used to know
life is short so start the show
chase the wind, let it go
you wonder where it blows
I'm going to Dallas
Cigarettes and songs
and the great unknown
too young for the years to take their toll
back then love would walk the wire
and never fear the ground far below
I'm going to Dallas
to find a girl I used to love
life has turned to push and shove
chase the path from above
all I'm thinking of
I'm going to Dallas
One day she said she had to go
broke the news over a pay phone
all alone, all alone, all alone
The years fly away like a frightened bird
You cannot cage what you what don't own
You chase the thing you never had
Cause cutting down the rose just makes it grow
Chorus
It's Not What You Think
It's not what you think
it's not what you heard
nothing's in tatters
we're just ditching this road
dumping this load
nothing else matters
And I like feeling the world at my back
and I would trade in my past
and I think life would be better for now
It's not like they said
nobody's dead
no one's been battered
It's not like you read
nobody screamed
nobody scattered
And I feel like running away
and I keep calling your name
and I think life will be better for now
Chorus
And why, why won't you wake up baby
We've got nothing fear
the ghosts have all cleared
no mirrors have been shattered
we're just shedding this town
it's crumbling down
the vultures have gathered
And I like seeing the world in my mirrors
and I see everything clear
and I think life would be better for now
Chorus