Music Reflects Life

   © 2018 by Dominic Spano
 

 With back against the wall,
 This modern–day Saint Paul,
 He shook my mind and made me stand, take note.
 What he did, it took some guts,
 Taking no 'ifs–ands–or–buts',
 And from that moment on he had my vote.

 He surprised me, I must say,
 I thought there was no way,
 He'd be the guy who'd build a bridge to me.
 But Kanye proved me wrong,
 He sang my favorite song,
 Instilling pride in our country's history.

 He sang it loud and smart,
 He sang it from the heart,
 Reminding me of how it ought to be.
 He said love's at the core
 Of every path and door,
 To days that move away from 'used–to–be'.

 To those who foment strife,
 He said "look inside your life
 To latent talent that lies deep within.
 It grows in you and me,
 In every human tree,
 Extinguishing the clamor and all sin."

 He's the first since MLK
 Said 'put our melanin away',
 'Cause underneath it all we bleed the same.
 There's no Left and there's no Right,
 Only wrong mixed in with right,
 And what's goin' round is merely needless blame.

 But those who castigate
 Cast him plenty of their hate,
 And he took their arrows and some vicious slings.
 Some folks claimed he ain't right,
 But he wouldn't share their plight,
 And went on to show that freedom's bell still rings.

 Our history's gonna show
 That he helped our nation grow,
 And he did it all with pride and head held high.
 He didn't take the bait,
 Instead, he spurned the hate;
 By God, I now know love can never die.
 And I'll move on singing that lullaby. 

© 1991 by Dominic Spano

He had named her Mona Lisa,
Said her smile could steal the day;
And for eight years he was papa,
He'd read her stories, kneel and pray,

Her hazel eyes and hair of gold
Brightened up his empty day;
But before her time, he grew too old
And to cope, he ran away,

Saying "Lisa, Mona Lisa ... good-bye."

The void appeared in both her angel eyes
And she prayed for his return
Bravely donning a young girl's disguise,

While her heart forever yearned.

Time flew by, she'd laugh and cry,
And a beauty she became;
A lingering memory that could never die,
Sought a place to lay her blame.

Saying Lisa, Mona Lisa ... don't cry.

Searching band-aid bars each lonely night,
Looking for her self–esteem,
In bar-room papas who could not requite
But who reject and don't redeem.

Too close meant that he'd never stay
And her mask was nonchalant.
A debt still hovered, someone had to pay,
Called 'I can't give you what you want'.

Lisa, Mona Lisa, don't cry;

Lisa, Mona Lisa, good-bye.

Mid–life came and found her all alone,
Though the suitors came galore;
She had reaped all of what he had sown
And she chased it more and more.

He had named her Mona Lisa
But her smile kept me at bay;
'Cause 'I love you Mona Lisa'
Means 'Mona Lisa, go away'.

Yes, Lisa, Mona Lisa ... good-bye.

© 2001 by Dominic Spano

We strolled hand in hand, Roseanne and me,

Trying to recreate a used to be,

Trying hard to find

A love that once was blind,

A love that never quite learned how to see.

Nights along the sand, I do recall;

Nights that turned a winter into fall;

Strolls along the beach,

Our hearts just out of reach,

Hiding out behind some made-up wall.

Oh Roseanne, how did we go astray?

How did we let those feelings slip away?

We could have kept on trying.

Were we so afraid of crying?

Tell me, do you ever long for yesterday?

On an icy road, south-east of Thunder Bay,

I lost Roseanne but found me along the way.

We had tried so hard to cope,

Though at times it seemed just hope,

But something kept us mired in yesterday.

But things change, she acted strange on Route 17,

I saw a side of Roseanne I'd never seen,

She said, proverbially,

"It isn't you, it's me";

Said "something's up." She called it unforeseen.

Oh Roseanne, how did we go astray?

Should we have let those feelings slip away?

I wish we'd kept on trying,

Of that, there's no denying,

So many times, I'm back in yesterday.

'Unforeseen' is a jilting lullaby,

Just one more hurtful way to say good-bye,

A way for one of us

To move on without a fuss,

While the other waits behind, wondering why.

Like a ship with broken sails, battling the shore,

In a raging sea, with fog and rocks galore;

Just like Roseanne and me,

And our stormy misery,

Battling rain and wind and fog and a whole lot more.

Oh Roseanne, why did we go astray?

Were we ever gonna find a safer way?

Should we have kept on trying?

Does the thought ever leave you crying?

Tell me, do you ever long for yesterday?

 © 2020 by Dominic Spano

The old man standing at my door is looking up at me;

His grizzled face and mournful scowl still claim some victory.

He says "I know my time is up but there's lots I've yet to see,

Maybe you can wat until tomorrow."

Well I've seen that look, so many times, in other old men's eyes;

But none of them has ever seen it's just a veiled disguise.

I know it's never easy when it's time for your goodbyes,

Some call me death, some call me Life Eternal.

Well he looks at me, reluctantly, and waivers at my door.

He knows that once inside these walls he's here for evermore.

His eyes so tired, still full of fire, look at me and implore:

"Just one more night and I'm out of fight tomorrow."

I said, "My friend, you've reached the end, and some call it nowhere.

From here, you'll never greet another day.

There's no wrong , no right, and there's no requite, and there's no such thing as fair,

Out here, you only live in yesterday."

Some call me death, some call me life eternal,

Some live in fear and some refuse to see,

Some choose to sit and wait until tomorrow,

Hoping for their soul to be set free,

Some never see the other side of me.

He stood his ground, made a mournful sound, and mutters with a sigh:

"I don't wanna stay, but I've got no say in when I.m gonna die,

How I got here, is not quite clear, but it somehow all flew by;

None the less, I crave one more tomorrow."

When he came inside, he couldn't hide from the man he used to be.

In this here town, whether up or down, in the end he'll be set free;

Now freed from fear and from all that's dear, he finds what he couldn't see:

Eternity is just a new tomorrow.

"My friend, you're at the end, of maybe nowhere.

From here, you'll never need another day.

There's no wrong, no right and we don't requite, and there's no such thing as fair,

Out here, you're only living yesterday."

Some call me death, some call me live eternal,

Some seek the end and some refuse to die,

Some live in fear and use up each tomorrow,

Some spend all of their days just wondering why,

Some never learn their life has been a lie.