Lyrics

Josephine
Words & Music by Mark Wells

I know you, never meant, to stay with me that night
I guess I know, the reason, I understand the fright
Perhaps I should have known, how to make things right
But you were gone, at first light

Josephine, you’re so lost, a stranger by your side
Trying, to find a way, across that great divide
You still think it’s all a game but it’s just become so tired
Josephine, open your eyes
Josephine, open your eyes

Josephine you’re always on my mind
Tell me how to reach you
I took a look inside but I can’t find a way to meet you
Half way, any day, will you come out to play
Josephine

Josephine, I beg of you, don’t die inside your head
These demons, you keep alive, should rightfully be dead
I promise that I’ll never take you, back where they were bred
Where the angels fled,
Where the angels fled oh

Josephine I love you so
Tell me where to go to meet you

Josephine you’re always on my mind
Tell me how to reach you
I took a look inside but I can’t find a way to meet you
Half way, any day, will you come out to play
Josephine

Josephine you’re always on my mind
Tell me how to reach you
I took a look inside but I can’t find a way to meet you
Half way, any day, will you come out to play
Josephine

Josephine, Josephine…

<pre class="wp-block-preformatted">Sanctuary
Words & Music by Mark Wells

My working day is over and I’m homeward bound
I glide across the Puget Sound
I never cease to be amazed, how wonderful 
This journey seems to stay, Always new
The mountain soon comes into view
I sit with friends and share the latest news
Are the rumors true
I hear the engines start to slow
We’re drifting to your shore and I know
I am home

On my island, my island, my island, sanctuary

The sheep are in the meadow and the sun is hanging low
The shadows fall and the rooster crows
Another day I thank the twists and turns that brought me here
To where I know, I am home
The tattered broken plans that line
The many roads I’ve travelled through my life
Are here aligned
The mystery of destiny
The hand that guides, beguiles and comforts me
Sets me free

On my island, my island, my island, sanctuary

Tranquility pursued
It always will elude you
Just open up your heart and let it
Find you

On your island, your island, your island
On your island, your island, your island, sanctuary

© 2023 Mark Wells
</pre>

Tramp Harbor Moon
Music by Rochelle Munger 
Words/Melody by Mark Wells

There is no place that I’d rather be than here
Sitting on my porch just holding you near
Watch the moon rise up behind Mount Rainier
Bathed in alpenglow

CHORUS
Why don’t we hitch a ride on a Tramp Harbor Moon
Take it way up high
We don’t have to come down, anytime soon
‘Cause up here in the sky, we don’t have to say goodbye

Wrapped together where the moonbeams kiss the ground
Let this moment last forever, let the world go round
Toss our baggage in the harbor watch it drown 
See the bubbles rise

Why don’t we hitch a ride on a Tramp Harbor Moon
Take it way up high
We don’t have to come down, anytime soon
‘Cause up here in the sky, we don’t have to say goodbye

There is no place that I’d rather be than here
Sitting on my porch just holding you near
Watch the moon rise up behind Mount Rainier
Bathed in alpenglow

Why don’t we hitch a ride on a Tramp Harbor Moon
Take it way up high
We don’t have to come down, anytime soon
‘Cause up here in the sky, we don’t have to say goodbye

No, never have to say goodbye,
Never have to say goodbye,

Why don't we hitch a ride on a Tramp Harbor Moon
Why don't we hitch a ride on a Tramp Harbor Moon

Stone in the River
Words & Music by Mark Wells

I am a stone in the river, smoothed over with time
You are the clear water, that shapes and refines
Wears down the rough edges, with patience and grace
Dissolves all the anger, the lines on my face

And it’s only your love
That shows me the shape of my heart 
And it’s only love
Shows me what, I could not see in me
Sets me free

If you were a sculptor, a chisel in your hand
I’d be the rock laid before you, so raw and unplanned
How you find the right lines, only you understand
Educing my soul, with the skill of your hands

And it’s only your love
That shows me the shape of my heart 
And it’s only love
Shows me what, I could not see in me
Sets me free

Let’s go down let the clear rushing river
Cool our naked bodies down
Won’t you wrap your hungry legs around me
Feel the rush, of the passion between us
It’ll set us free

I could look back in anguish, at the bends in the road
That I never saw coming, and the damage that flowed
From this rush to conclusion, this push to be free
But I thank the sweet fingers, that twined you and me

And it’s only your love
That shows me the shape of my heart 
And it’s only love
Shows me what, I could not see in me
Sets me free

© 2023 Mark Wells

Rear View Mirror
Music by Luke McQuillin
Words/melody by Mark Wells

She saw him in her rear view mirror
Led him home to her place
He didn't notice he was following her there
She stepped out and flagged him down
Said come on up I need a new friend
You seem like the right one right now

You and I might live forever 
Then again this might be all we get
Climb aboard we’ll ride this moment into heaven
Take a chance it’s there, and if it’s not, we’ll say
Looking back, at least we tried, what a ride

In the morning he awoke
She lay sleeping in the sun
He knew right then that he was following her there
They went riding down the road, throttle full
Then walking down the aisle
It seemed like the right thing, right then

You and I might live forever 
Then again this might be all we get
Climb aboard we’ll ride this moment into heaven
Take a chance it’s there, and if it’s not, we’ll say
Looking back, at least we tried, what a ride

I don’t know if you asked her if she’d say
She’d do it all again
She can’t see clearly through this veil of salty tears
She looks in her rear view mirror
Smashes glass upon his grave
He looks down says
It’s OK, just let it go Babe

You and I we’ll live forever
Even though this time was all we got
And you know we rode that moment into heaven
And we found it there, and looking back we’ll say

You and I we’ll live forever
Even though this time was all we got
And you know we rode that moment into heaven
And we found it there, and looking back we’ll say
Throttle full, what a ride, what a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride
What a beautiful, beautiful ride 

© 2023 Mark Wells & Luke McQuillin

Stopover
Words & Music by Mark Wells

Stepping out into the night, on Orchard Road
The jet lag has robbed me of my sleep and I am hoping that,
The still and soggy air will somehow
Keep my brain from overload
And from the sidewalk a stranger calls
Hey mister you look lonely, how about a skin job for an hour
And I reel in my revulsion of this, city for sale

She was the legacy of a love affair
We drifted through an evening bathed in moonlight and streetlight
Seeping through her bedroom window
Where she viewed me in the light of common sense
She said ah come on now, I can see it in your eyes
You won’t make love with me tonight

Stop trying to fool me, you belong to someone else
Stop trying to prove you can

I wander back to my hotel room, I’m tired and I am worn
Beneath the doorway is a card that’s telling me
I need not be alone
Love is only a phone call away
Ah these temptations, I am hanging by a thread
I’m recalling what she said

Stop trying to fool me, you belong to someone else
Stop trying to prove you can

Finally I fall asleep
It’s fifteen hours to London, the waiting’s almost done 

© 2023 Mark Wells

Tired Lines
Words & Music by Mark Wells

The cars above me, are sliding through the driving rain
I guess they’re going somewhere, I wish that I was doing the same tonight
And the worst part is the loneliness
I see you in the distance

You’re walking through the midnight, trying to look away
I say hello to your sorry face, you say you cannot spare your change
I say I never asked, then only for an instant,
You see me through the creases on my face and I say oh

These tired lines, are weathered by frustration
At your self delusion and outright lines,
Oh these tired lines, that leave me here and keep you where you stand
There’s a social contract, that’s been denied
That’s put me in this field of mines

You sit beside me, and ask me how it came to be
Well this life you see, it’s not what I intended it to be
And this god damned rain keeps falling
My future keeps dissolving

If I had my choice, this is not the way that I’d choose to go, but if you
Listen to the mantra, of that fat man on his right-wing radio
He speaks of us as if we were an infestation
Leeches on the life blood of a nation, and I say now

These tired lines, are weathered by frustration
At your self delusion and outright lines,
Oh these tired lines, that leave me here and keep you where you stand
There’s a social contract, that’s been denied
That’s put me in this field of mines

I came here from the east, I was filled with passion and dreams
When an unseen car hit me from the side, and I never managed to rise above these,

Tired lines, you rob me of my chances 
With your self delusion and outright lies,
Oh these tired lines, that leave me here and keep you where you stand
There’s a social contract, that’s been denied
That’s put me in this field of mines

The cars above me, are sliding through the driving rain
I guess they’re going somewhere, I wish that I was doing the same

© 2023 Mark Wells

Vietnam
Words & Music by Mark Wells

He was a man grown old, before his time was done
The blisters on his wretched hands, they sparkled in the autumn sun
He said I’m going back again, to the place where I belong
I hate the screams in waking dreams, but at least I’m not alone

He said I’m proud of my country, and my country’s served me well
It rescued me when I was down, when I was almost gone
He said God knows I love my country, and I served beneath her flag
But I wish that I could stop the pain
And the memories that haunt my brain
And I wish to Christ that I was not still fighting,
The God-damned Vietnam War

But don’t you get me wrong he said, the worst has been and gone
Now I’m working for a decent man, for once I feel like I belong
But God I hope that when I die, my crimes will stay behind
And when I come before the man, I hope his judgment’s kind

He said I’m proud of my country, and my country’s served me well
It rescued me when I was down, when I was almost gone
He said God knows I love my country, and I served beneath her flag
But I wish that I could stop the pain
And the memories that haunt my brain
And I wish to Christ that I was not still fighting,
The God-damned Vietnam War

© 2023 Mark Wells

The River Man
Words & Music by Mark Wells

The river man is weary now, his days are almost gone
He's crippled by the autumn evening chill
His wooden boat, lies bruised and broken
Day by day he sees it weather in the open
And he's sure these days grow colder still

Clothed in folds of morning mist, the river glides below
The serpent holds the old man's vacant stare
His peace denied, in his mind he toils
He's in the hustle and the bustle of the boiler room, he's in turmoil
And he's dreamed himself on a Murray River boat

Can you hear those paddles turn?

Adeline still mends his clothes, and dusts the English lace
She builds a fire, and lights the kerosene lamp
Her pitiful regret, the old man cannot see
To be half a world from home, without friends, and just the company
Of a river man she fears may die

The river man is weary now, his days are almost gone
He's crippled by the autumn evening chill
His wooden boat, lies bruised and broken
Day by day he sees it weather in the open
And he's sure these days grow colder still

Can you hear those paddles turn?

© 2023 Mark Wells

Bahnhofplatz
Words & Music by Mark Wells

This is a roller-coaster ride in some strange amusement park
But nothin’s funny, just a dirty swirl of light and dark
I summon all my courage, walk out into Bahnhofplatz
She’s got me on a string, she’s got me goin’ nuts

I step onto the platform, feels like an assassin’s lair
The steel arches, and the smell of burnt electric air
I hold her letter in my hand, she said she thought I’d understand
If she could not make the train, there’s always another train

Waitin’ at the station, at the end of the line
Can’t escape the irony, this metaphor’s a sign
She could not say it but she knew she’d never leave 
It’s just the traveler’s creed, you pack your memories
And a bottle of wine, for the end of the line

I hear the rhythm of her voice, I run my fingers through her hair
Feel the heat of every breath, as she is lying there
A memory in every scene, I close my eyes the train pulls in
The passengers unload, I feel my hope erode

Waitin’ at the station, at the end of the line
Can’t escape the irony, this metaphor’s a sign
She could not say it but she knew she’d never leave 
It’s just the traveler’s creed, you pack your memories
And a bottle of wine, for the end of the line

Waiting at the station for the train to take me far away from here
Gotta keep on moving, Rome is nice this time of year
I could meet her in Milan, but then that's not much of a plan
She'd only have to go. Couldn't stand to watch her go

Waitin’ at the station, at the end of the line
Can’t escape the irony, this metaphor’s a sign
She could not say it but she knew she’d never leave 
It’s just the traveler’s creed, you pack your memories
And a bottle of wine, for the end of the line

Waiting at the station for the train to take me far away...

© 2023 Mark Wells