Songs – STEVE LEONARD

Edward Milton Hays

Music by Steve Leonard
Lyrics by JP Garwood

Steve Leonard – Guitars, Vocals
Steve Graham – Lead Vocals
Don Frio – Piano, Organ, Vocals
Steve Leroy – Bass
Ryan Krieger – Drums

Recorded by Steve Leonard, Ryan Krieger, Don Frio, and Steve Leroy (2022-2023)
Mixed and mastered by Steve Leonard (Dec 2023)

Earlier this year, our musical brother and Mindface drummer, Ryan Krieger, moved on to another plane. Ryan was a great friend, father, and musical force of nature. His talent, focus, and friendship inspired every heart he touched. Last year, Ryan recorded some drum tracks for a few songs I wanted to produce, including the ol’ Mindface track “Edward Milton Hays”, which I wrote with lyrics by JP Garwood. I always dug this song, especially how Ryan played it, slathered with extra mustard. He played everything that way and continuously demonstrated what it means to pour your heart into the music and into life. He showed everyone he played with how to treat music-making with the same regard and attention he did. While we miss Ryan’s presence, every beat we continue to make will forever be shaped by the powerful and loving vibration he shared with us.
-Leonard

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Never did the sights and sounds dilute your memory
Nor did the passing of time affect your ears
You were thinkin’ of better days
You were thinkin’ of better days
Weren’t you?
When you were younger

I don’t believe it’s a crime, you lying ’bout your innocence
Pretending you’re not what you seem to be
A simple old man don’t get much praise
Now does he Edward Milton Hays?
For some strange reason

Never did the mindless world stop to remember
Nor did the passing of time reduce its speed
It just keeps movin’ on, it’s just keep movin’ on
And suddenly, find someone else to take your place

So close your tired eyes
Leave on your disguise
Live happy in your lies, they will sustain you
You’re not the only one
Who knows it isn’t fun, to just remain you

If these be the final days
Of Edward Milton Hays
Forget a world that pays no mind
It will only drain you
If these be the final days
Of Edward Milton Hays
Never will the world stop to remember
That’s why no one ever stays
That’s why no one ever stays
That’s why no one ever stays
That’s why no one ever stays

Goodbye Edward Milton Hays
I’ll see you later

Mindface, The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ 2002

Sayonara

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

It’s hard to remember where we’re from
My eyes are open but my mind is numb
Lost upon a shoreless sea
If you’re looking for answers, don’t look to me

It’s hard to float this sunken heart
The maps we made all fell apart
Feeling cold and almost drowned
Alfonso’s nowhere to be found

Take us away
Take us away

It’s hard to not feel in control
We keep on diggin’ out of this hole
It’s a beautiful place here that we stole
Where you can live free, but they tax your soul

Take us away
Take us away

Take us to that other place
Where the desperate feelings are erased
In the healing sound, we’ll find the space
Where the music gives a warm embrace

Beneath the weight of gravity
I think of where we’ll always be
Soaring across a galaxy
Suspended in the symphony

Take us away
Take us away

Take us away
We’re goin’ away

Soaring across a galaxy, suspended in the symphony
Take us away
We’re goin’ away

We Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

I’ve seen lights in the sky that no one can explain
I used to be afraid they’d come and take me away
No one knows what they were, but I never could forget
A deeper river flows and we ain’t see nothing yet

We built all the cities, lived among the trees
Flew through the skies, sailed shining seas
Filled up the museums with all the works of art
Studied all the things we were told would make us smart
It’s all just a fraction, minuscule parts
Of something beyond all the dreams in our hearts
Where it’s revealed how the next song starts

We are all artists perfecting our work
How to be kind, how to be a jerk
How to be cool, how to be free
Yet become what it is that you didn’t want to be

How to send a message, how to receive
Did this song come from you? Because it didn’t come from me
Maybe a drop from the river leaked through
A deeper river flows with water that is new
A deeper river flows, we can’t go with you

We must gamble it all, but nothing is the bet
No need to keep track, no reason for regret
Can’t arrive early, never can be late
It’s made out of love but a side effect is hate
It’s not right or wrong, and there’s nothing to escape
A deeper river flow from an eternal lake
Where the deeper river flows there’s no word for mistake

The lights that I saw are different lights for you
But it’s not the lights we seek, but what they lead us to
Where words don’t exist, we’ll forget all the names
Put away your wallet, let’s stop playing games
Where the lights lead us is one and the same
And as we go further it will seem insane
When numbers disappear along with the alphabet
A deeper river flows
A deeper river flows
A deeper river flows and we ain’t seen nothing yet
A deeper river flows and we ain’t seen nothing yet

When The Floodgates Open

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

Can’t get away from the trepidation
Nobody knows what to do
Must be a bug in the simulation

There’s a ship on the horizon
One that we have yet to see
One day we will ride it through the storm
And we will finally be free
And when that time comes, you’ll see

I’ll be there when the floodgates open
You might be surprised
When the floodgates open
The strange truth will be realized
When the floodgates open
We’ll become the light that’s shining through
When the floodgates open
Once again, the world will be brand new

When the floodgates open
When we become the rain
When the floodgates open
We’ll wash away all the pain
When the floodgates open
We’ll find out that nothing is for real
When the floodgates open
And just let go of the wheel

When the floodgates open
We’ll remember this very moment
When the floodgates open
When we all could sing along
Oh, when the floodgates open
There will be nothin’ left to do
When the floodgates open
And I’ll be drowning
I’ll be drowning next to you

When the floodgates open, oooo oooo
When the floodgates open, oooo oooo
When the floodgates open, oooo oooo
When the floodgates open, oooo oooo

When the floodgates open
We’ll drift away to another shore
When the floodgates open
Where we’ll never want for more
When the floodgates open
All of history gets washed away
When the floodgates open
It never mattered anyway
It never mattered anyway
It never mattered anyway
It never mattered anyway

Be Like Alfonso

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

If you feelin’ like the world’s gettin’ you down
Be like Alfonso
If your beautiful smile’s turning into a frown
Be like Alfonso

Alfonso is just goin’ with the flow
Alfonso knows a lot of things that you don’t know

When you’re feelin’ tired, and it’s all too much
Be like Alfonso
If you are confused or feelin’ out of touch
Be like Alfonso

Alfonso has the patience of a saint
Every single day he is a model of restraint

Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso

If your plans turned out like you didn’t expect
Be like Alfonso
If you tried to log in, but you couldn’t connect
Be like Alfonso

Alfonso never sailed a ship that sank
He stands on solid ground, you can take that to the bank

Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso

Alfonso has a lot of love to share
and there’s nobody that cares like Alfonso cares

Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso
Be like, be like, be like Alfonso

True This Time

by Steve Leonard

Music by Steve Leonard
Lyrics by JP Garwood

Sometimes I think I see you
In places that you’d never be
Maybe that’s a glitch in the system
Or maybe it’s just me
Hoping that it all came true this time

Sometimes I’m sure I hear your voice
Around corners in a crowded place
Is that the echo of strangers?
Or perhaps it is just a trace
Of you whispering, it all came true this time

But songs with words never heard
By the ones they were written for will do for now
Until, somehow, they finally do
And make it all come true

Sometimes when I dream of you
Your image begins to fade
Like lazy days into the evening
The last float in the parade
I watch march by as if it all came true this time

But songs with words never heard
By the ones they were written for will do for now
Until, somehow, they finally do

Songs with words never heard
By the ones they were written for will do for now
Until, somehow, they finally do
And make it all come true

Make it all come true
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true (come true, come true)
Make it all come true

Puttin’ On the Show

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

You can not conjugate the darkness floating overhead
You can not measure the sparseness, it doesn’t have an edge

But here on Earth we’re told the past exists
That the future will persist
But whatever you insist
Right now is all there is

And so, why not let go of any grudges that you hold?
Just let it all unfold, dare to break the mold

There’s no reason to believe them when you’re told you’re growing old
You might believe a lie, that’s one way to get by
You might feel worn, but every day’s the day we’re born
Every day’s the day we’re born

Stop trying to explain it there’s nothing you need to know
We’re always on the go, puttin’ on the show

You can stop searching for an answer, it’s been there all along
You’ll find it in the song where the notes are never wrong
The notes are never wrong

If you hear it, give a listen
If you hear it, give a listen
If you hear it, give a listen
If you hear it, give a listen
You can never sink
Never have to think
It’s over in a blink
It’s over in a blink

Stop trying to explain it
there’s no secret you need to know
We’re just puttin’ on the show
We’re just puttin’ on the show
We’re just puttin’ on the show
We’re just puttin’ on the show

The Good Wheel

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel

You probably can’t remember when you took off on this ride
The flame was just an ember of the comfort it supplied
Now the fire’s burning you with anger, fear, and pride
You can’t stop for nothin’, don’t even care to try

Stuck inside yourself, ignoring all the signs
Repeating in your mind, “all of this is fine”
You’re lookin’ like you’re closer to the end of the line
But we’re waitin’ right outside and you can get off any time
You can get off any time

You feel it for a while, but it’s taken you away
It hurts you, and you let it, it’s got plans to make you stay
A choice is right before you, only you can make
There’s a place where you can burn the bags of blame
Only takes a step to get off that nowhere train
Get off that nowhere train

Right when you get off, you’re back on the main line
You may find you left yourself in the bags you left behind
As you approach the rift, don’t feel that you’ve been stiffed
Be the fool who takes a chance and dive right off the cliff
Only then will see your intent start to shift
Then become a myth and live outside the grift

The whole world is a festival constrained by our minds
There’s nothing to be figured out but there’s truth beneath to find
Insanity makes it wobble, but the good wheel can never break
It’s a waste to squabble, love is always changing shape
When you’re bouncin’ on the cobble, the good wheel might test your strength
The tighter you hold on the more your heart will ache
But on the good wheel we don’t have no breaks
So put your arms up and scream “I am awake!”
“I am awake”
Awake

The price to be paid is one you can not steal
The scars left behind you are free to heal
Ignore all the announcements, no one can tell you how to feel
But the wounds are growing bigger and harder to conceal
In a moment that you look for, you can finally make a deal
To put the hard road behind you and dance on the good wheel
Dance on the good wheel

The rim is bent and broken, tire’s long been lost
We wobble on the mainline, but there’s no falling off
If you feel all alone, know you always have a friend
When you’re lost or think you’re at the end
Go back to now and you’re on the good wheel again
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
You’re on the good wheel again
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
You’re on the good wheel again
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
You’re on the good wheel again
Ride on the good wheel, good wheel, ride on the good wheel
Ride on the good wheel

What It’s All About

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

Long before we were in this dream
A quiet man swam up the stream
Found a little clearing where he built a house
Had five kids with his only spouse

Discovered what it was to be a man
Takin’ his children by the hand
Protect them from the source of doubt
That they should never know
But they’re gonna find out
They’re gonna find out

Back when there was only you and me
You were barely twenty-three
Oblivious to the endless drought
Thought you had a clue what it’s all about

Now we live a little further on up the stream
Dreaming in a dream inside a dream
Where echos from the past are felt
And remind us to forgive ourselves

Through the song that’s sounding in the air
It’s hard to sing along when you’re in despair
But they didn’t write the melody
For you not to sing the harmony

If you listen inside you’ll hear a voice
Every moment we make a choice
Keep carryin’ all the lonesome pain
Or accept the things that we can’t change
Accept the things that we can’t change

It’s not about you, what it’s all about
Thought you knew what it’s all about
But it never came through, what it’s all about
Because it’s up to you what it’s all about
Yeah, it’s up to you what it’s all about

Just singin’ the song is what it’s all about
Just singin’ along is what it’s all about
Just singin’ the song is what it’s all about
Just singin’ along is what it’s all about

Trains Are Runnin’

by Steve Leonard

Music and lyrics by Steve Leonard

Bundled up inside a glass shell
Standing on the platform in the rain
Tryin’ to get back to a better place
Where I can take the mask off of my face

Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
I’m just gonna have to wait
Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
I’m running a little late

Feein’ stranded at the station
The 5:15 has been delayed
The Raritan Valley Line stops in Plainfield
My time machine’s just a couple stops away

Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
I’m just gonna have to wait
Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
I’m running a little late

I hear one coming in the distance
And I’m hoping it makes this stop
I’m tired of waiting along
I just wanna go back home
And make a stop at the barbershop

Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
We’re just gonna have to wait
Trains are runnin’, there another one comin’
We’re running a little late

We’re runnin’ a little late, we’re runnin’ a little late
We’re runnin’ a little late, we’re runnin’ a little late
We’re runnin’ a little late, we’re runnin’ a little late
We’re runnin’ a little late, we’re runnin’ a little late