Description
1. Brighter (video)
2. Going Nowhere (video)
3. Money Honey
4. Closer to Glory
5. Again
6. She Got Him (video)
7. Sixty Fifty-Five (video)
8. Golden Sort of Blue
9. Everybody’s Looking
10. Midsummer Lullaby
11. Sooner or Later
Vocals, guitar, percussion, piano, and ukelele by Maria Clymer Kurtz. Vocals, guitar, tracking, mixing, and design by Christopher Clymer Kurtz. Mastering by Chad Altenberger. Artwork by Bonita Stutzman, used with permission.
Lyrics
Brighter
© 2020 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
Come on in, there’s still room
Pull a seat up by the fire
Put your feet up, my friend
You’re looking beat up, mighty tired
Here’s a place where we can sit and rest a while
We’ve all been turned away but we can stay tonight
And as the hours pass the day grows brighter
As the years go past the days grow brighter
Take a look around the room
Leave your disguise at the door
Look in the eyes of someone new
You’ll realize we’re like you
So maybe somebody will think we are crazy
Come closer, sing louder, holding hands together
Going Nowhere
© 2018 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
I thought it was Monday
Turns out it was Sunday
What was I going to do
I got another day to spend with you
No mail in the mailbox
No smiling top-down face of a boss
Just a little sunshine
And a lot of you on my mind
Cup of coffee, butter toast in bed
Sunny window, singing in my head
No reason to stir that blurry hurry
I’m going nowhere
I must have left the clock on
Ring-a-ling of the alarm
Waking me up before dawn
Yelling at me to be gone
It took a pillow to my face
And just a second to change my pace
What was I going to do
I got another day to spend with you
Sunday fever in the afternoon
Counting down to normal all too soon
No reason to stir that blurry hurry
I’m going nowhere
Money Honey
© 2017/20 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
Inspired by Carl Sandburg’s “I Love You”
I don’t love you for your money, honey
Cause you don’t have any
You’re short on money, honey
No, I don’t love you for your sugar, honey
Cause you don’t have any
You’re short on sugar, honey
I love you as you are
and I’ll love you more and more
for everything you’re going to be
I see your weaknesses, I see your ideals
Know all your secrets, yes, and I feel your fears
You’re a rose bud about to hazard ecstasy
You’re blooming
I love you as you are
and I’ll love you more and more
for everything you’re going to be
What you are now may not be
The same tomorrow – As for me
I’m on this ride with you and so I love you
You’re the best kind of novel: fact, fiction, truth
Not yet fully written but as good as proof
We believe in you and me
We’re more than money, honey
Closer to Glory
© 2006 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
He’s made it three days and it’s been hell, but he’s one step closer to glory
Pull back the curtains, trembling hands pour another cup of coffee
If he can make it through today maybe he’ll drink tomorrow
With every second on the clock he’s finding time hard to borrow
He put the bottle on the stand, told God that in the morning
If the bottle was shattered on the floor, he’d take it as a warning
First light of day it’s still there, only now it’s empty
No worries, God, it’s another day
The folks he met three days ago told him, “Just don’t buy it, stupid”
To his surprise, eight meetings later, he’s starting to feel lucid
He makes a call to his ex-wife, drops off his wallet and his keys
He says, “I’m going to do this right. I’ll soon be coming back for these”
He could not go to sleep at night
Without the whiskey by his bed he’s quaking
Now he’s waking, so much breaking
Fever, darkness, light
Purple pumps and black dress shoes, Sunday company that he knew
Now shaking hands and meeting eyes, he tells the preacher, “Good to see you”
The money owed to his ex-wife, she goes to court, forgives it all
Each Friday night he’s with his boys at the coffee shop down by the mall
He put the bottle in the trash, told God that in the morning
If the bottle was standing by his bed, he’d take it as a warning
First light of day it’s still there, from what he remembers
No worries, God, it’s another day
Again
© 2020 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
If I had a bottle
For all the tears I’ve cried
I’d pour it out for you, love
A river dark and wide
I’d swim the chilly water
And walk the lonely sand
I’d do it all for you, love
To hear your voice again
If I had a silver dollar
For every sad goodbye
I’d buy the world for you, love
The ocean, the sky
I’d search the deepest canyon
The snowy peaks, and then
I’d bring it all to you, love
To see your face again
If I had another lifetime
Another night, another day
I’d spend it all with you, love
And never go away
I’d cherish every moment
And hold you till the end
I’d give eternity, love
To feel your arms again
She Got Him
© 2015 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz
She sings her songs to Jesus
He sings his songs for her
He’d rather cuddle up on Sundays
But she wakes him up for church
She wished bad for a man with her daddy’s hands
Folded at the supper table
She got him, and he’s no saint
She got him, he gives her everything that he can
And they both understand
Front row, she’s singing praises
He sneaks a peek, amazing graces
She bows her head, he dreams of daisies
A little touch tells her he’s crazy
She wished bad for a preacher man, good Samaritan
What she got is a big fan
Saving grace, they get to live it
Taking turns having to give it
Old rugged tunes from the hymnal
Cut a rug to the stereo
He thanks his lucky stars, she says a dinner prayer
They’re both happy to be there
She’s got him, and he’s no saint
She’s got him, he gives her everything that he can
And they both understand
Sixty Fifty-Five
© 2020 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
I don’t need an alarm clock, my cold feet hit the floor
Three hungry kids pounding on the bedroom door
Laundry’s waiting in the hall, piled high
Another day at my house, number sixty fifty-five
Here’s a song about the everyday, for all of us at home
‘Cause even with a full house we can feel alone
The list to do is way too long even when we try
What’s your number? Mine’s sixty fifty-five
I see people cruising into town to shake the daily grind
A minivan and groceries are my sort-of-a-good time
Revolutions in the news – I hung laundry out to dry
Another day at my house, sixty fifty-five
Spaghetti’s boiling over, the laundry’s still not put away
Look around the table, these must be good days
Tuck the kids into bed with a book, kiss them goodnight
Sneak a bowl of corn flakes on the porch in the moonlight
I could be dancing but sleep is keeping me alive
Another day at my house, sixty fifty-five
Golden Sort of Blue
© 2019 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz
There’s a golden sort of blue
Leaves against the sky
Summer falls to you
Autumn sunlight
Let the everyday float away on the breeze
Swirl into the sky, fall away like leaves
Rest my back against the ground
Breezes like a sigh
Gone before, come around
Autumn sunlight
Spread my arms, take it in
Lying low, flying high
Give me peace, give me wings
Autumn sunlight
Summer falls to you
Golden sunlight
Autumn sunlight
Everybody’s Looking
© 2016/20 by Christopher Clymer Kurtz
Everybody’s looking for something
How about you
Maybe you’re looking for something
I am, too
Don’t be a stranger
Come take my hand
Dance with me now
I wake up looking for sunshine
To sing the blues away
Do you wait all night for the sunrise
Uncloudy day
Don’t be a stranger
Come take my hand
Dance with me now
Like it’s your only chance
Look at the storm clouds, Look at the rain
But remember the sunlight, remember the way
Things look in the morning, the blue of the sky
And sing it through the night
Hold my hand, let’s dance
It’s how we take a stand
Nothing’s going to keep us down
Not right now
Midsummer Lullaby
© 2008 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
Sleep little darling, good night my love
Sleep, now close your eyes
The moon and the stars are a-sailing above
Dream of the deep blue skies
The rain on the rooftop is playing a tune
The wind in the pine hums along
The swallows cover their young with their wings
And dream to the whippoorwill’s song
The foxes yawn and slip out of their dens
The frogs settle under the leaves
The meadow is flashing with fireflies
The fish are asleep in the stream
Sooner or Later
© 2016 by Christopher and Maria Clymer Kurtz
Everybody says you are wise
If you’re out of bed before the sunrise
Mama’s calling, rise and shine
Every day a surprise
Everybody says you are wise
If you make hay in the sunshine
Take that door to the outside
Every minute counts in the sunlight
Playing at saving the daylight, get while the getting’s alright
Soak up the sun in the daytime, chasing the dream and a good life
Sooner or later the sun goes down, turn off the lights on the runaround
Savor every second before the sunrise and thank the Lord for the nighttime
Trimming every day like a hemline
Little bit of you like a fine wine
Downright happy in the moonlight
Nighttime never looked so bright
Here comes the moonlight
Here comes the moon
