MUSIC
New album "In Your Hands" NOW AVAILABLE!
LYRICS
It’s 110˙ at 10:30 am
Hauling across the 60 just to come back ‘round again
It's deja vu every mile or two, on an endless road I find
I’m losing my identity and I think I’ve lost my mind
But from the ashen asphalt the Phoenix rises removing all my doubts
And now I'm lost in the glimmer
Of something bigger!
I wanna start from the place of my being
I wanna start from the place I was born
With my feet in the sand and my eyes on the rippling skyline
I’m wanna make something new
I’m wanna be someone new
Through the essence of being I’ll find that I’m seeing a life with you,
Arizona
With you right by my side, I no longer wonder why
I get up every day and start again on that endless drive
Your every desert road leads me closer to your heart
and your every destination takes me right back to the start
Back to that day when I first opened my eyes and found a paradise
In the land that surrounds me
The land where I live proudly!
I wanna start from the place of my being
I wanna start from the place I was born
With my feet in the sand and my eyes on the rippling skyline
I’m wanna make something new
I’m wanna be someone new
Through the essence of being I’ll find that I’m seeing a life with you,
Arizona
I wanna start from the place of my being
I wanna start from the place I was born
With my feet in the sand and my eyes on the rippling skyline
I’m wanna make something new
I’m wanna be someone new
Through the essence of being I’ll find that I’m seeing a life with you,
Arizona
I thought I’d write a melody today
a little something just so I could say
To me you are the sun’s brightest of rays and the most brilliant of stars up in the sky
I love your every idiosyncrasy
and the way you live with such sincerity
and how wear your positivity
Like a little jewel wrapped around your neck
see the way the sunlight does reflect
and snap me out of worried introspection
to tell me of your infinite perfection
What a joy it is to see your face
to center me when my mind’s all over the place
I love the way you wear your little jewel
Like the precious days of early spring
There is a certain kind of life you bring
The kind that does inspire me to sing and to do everything that I love best in the world
You elevate my spirit when I’m down
you always make me smile when you're around
you’re gorgeous you wear your kindness like a crown
And a little jewel wrapped around your neck
see the way the sunlight does reflect
and snap me out of worried introspection
to tell me of your infinite perfection
What a joy it is to see your face
to center me when my mind’s all over the place
I love the way you wear your little jewel
It’s like a little jewel wrapped around your neck
see the way the sunlight does reflect
and snap me out of worried introspection
to tell me of your infinite perfection
What a joy it is to see your face
to center me when my mind’s all over the place
I love the way you wear your little jewel
Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa
just going our way
Me and Vanessa on a summer day
Sun so bright I can barely see
Where do we go
it don’t matter to me
cause it’s Me and Vanessa on a summer day
Yes it's Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa
on a getaway
Yes it's Me and Vanessa on a summer day
Marigold dress and an immaculate smile
She wears it the best, with the most elegant style
Yes it’s Me and Vanessa
on a summer day
my best friend
I can’t wait to see her again
Hope this day
never Ends
I can’t wait to see her again
Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa
Me and Vanessa, da-da-da-da-da.
Well it's Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa, Me and Vanessa
everything is okay
when it’s me and Vanessa on a summer day
Every step that I take when she’s by my side
Is a pure delight, It’s a pure delight
When it’s me and Vanessa on a summer day
When it’s me and Vanessa on a summer day
When it’s Me and Vanessa
on a summer day
my best friend
I can’t wait to see her again
Hope this day never ends
I can’t wait to see her again
Cause today, my best friend,
I can't wait to see you again.
Hope this day never ends
I can't wait to see you again.
Everyone wants you to be manufactured
Just the way they saw you on their T.V. screen
They think you're made in bulk using recycled plastic
Conveniently packaged for their every need
They're gonna put you inside of their shoes
Dress you up so they can look at their mirror reflection
Teach you how to say things with their own inflection
But you find that the shoes are too small
And the words that come out of your mouth don't mean a thing
When you don't speak the language at all
You were meant to wear what you wanna wear
To say what you want to say
You've got to realize that it's all in your hands
Nobody has exactly what you do
You've got to realize that it's you in command
'cause it's all in your hands
All you gotta do is figure out how the game works
Learn to dance the dance and land back on your feet
Then, once you're on the path
no one can take you on a detour
You set cruise control until your journey's complete
'Cause when I hold your hand in mine
And look upon your open palm and see all the constellations
All the beautiful designs in such unique formations
Tell me why it is you're wasting your time
With the people who simply want to redesign your image
Thinking they might have a shot at a total refinish
Of a masterpiece already set in stone
You hold the key in the palm of your hand
Don't let them distract you from their plan
You've got to realize that it's all in your hands
Nobody has exactly what you do
You've got to realize that it's you in command
'cause it's all in your hands
You've got to realize that it's all in your hands
Nobody has exactly what you do
You've got to realize that it's you in command
'cause it's all in your hands
Look to my windowsill
Just to see her sitting still
and flutter her wings, sending the gentle kiss of a cooling wind
every motion giving life and color to the barren land surrounding her
Early summer morning
Though birds of air and other creatures that catch my eye just move along,
carry on to something new
my butterfly never flies away
and every time that I see her she’s more lovely that the day before
She’s a remembrance of a memory I’m longing for
Out of slumber she pulls me through
to metamorphosis and life anew
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
Look to the girl right next to me
And see the essence of the earth’s beauty
I witness the answer to my humanity right there before my eyes
everything that I ever want to be
ever want to share
is close enough for me to reach out and hold, and yet I’m not there
Late-night summer evening
Your presence is healing miracle
You are a gentle prayer, a painting to the eye
Just a short glimpse of you sends shockwaves through my being
It warms my spirit
Illuminates the darkest hour
Makes my days more meaningful
than they ever had been before
Out of slumber she pulls me through
to metamorphosis and life anew
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
Out of slumber she pulls me through
to metamorphosis and life anew
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
I give all that I am to you, my butterfly
I feel so free
When you talk to me
‘Cause you’re cool like a breeze
Everything that you say
In your particular way
Gives me joy and peace
I Know, I don’t always say it, but
I’ll show you how much you mean to me
I felt so complete
With your love so sweet
From the day that we did first meet
You have made whole
The void within my soul
And my imprisoned heart, you’ve freed
I Know, I don’t always say it, but
I’ll show you how much you mean to me
Only you can take my worried mind
And give it needed rest, my friend
Only you can take my broken heart
And put the pieces together again
Darling, you make me a better man
It feels so right, when you’re by my side
Cause you’re so divine
When all is said and done,
I know that you are the one
You’re the love of my life
I Know, I don’t always say it, but
I’ll show you how much you mean to me
I Know, I don’t always say it, but
I’ll show you how much you mean to me
I Know, I don’t always say it, but
I’ll show you how much you mean to me
I catch your gaze in a crystallized daydream
Peering intently at the far and away
Seems that you are in a world apart from me
Locked behind the azures of your crystalline irises
I know there’s something that you’re trying to hide
it’s okay
you don’t have to say a word cause the silence speaks loud and clear
How dare you take me for a fabricator
What will it take for you to abdicate your throne
step down from your pedestal and talk to me
You can keep on hiding from the times that you confided
In me when he made you cry
You can go on feigning that there’s nothing here remaining
But deep down you know it’s a lie
Because I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember every word that you said.
I told you what I’d been wanting to say
Baby, you just heard what you wanted to hear
It’s ok
I know you have a habit of doing so
I don’t want to just wake up one morning
Finding you gone, but it’s seeming like that’s not so far away
From me today
Cause your silence is loud and clear
Baby, you cut me deep with your jumped conclusions
You’ve made my bed in your head, you think that I have let it go
But you’ll find that I haven’t at all
You can keep on hiding from the times that you confided
In me when he made you cry
You can go on feigning that there’s nothing here remaining
But deep down you know it’s a lie
Because I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember every word that you said.
Please don’t forget what we were
For if you take back your words
I’m reduced to nothing,
I’m reduced to nothing
You can keep on hiding from the times that you confided
In me when he made you cry
You can go on feigning that there’s nothing here remaining
But deep down you know it’s a lie
Because I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember (the words you said)
I remember every word that you said.
I used to think maybe that you were the one
Who was gonna be the hero whose praises we'd sung
But now you do recline in your white collar womb,
and whose gonna heal our wounds?
Who is gonna heal our wounds?
I fell for what was on the surface,
but now I know your smile is just a stupid artifice.
And after all the lies you've been breeding,
why should I believe in you
when you tell me it's gonna be ok?
Cause that's the way it is
with empty promises.
Monday morning ain't what they said it'd be,
Tuesday morning is more of the same
And that's the way it is
with empty promises.
Take it from me
it's all superficiality
and I don't wanna play this game
Now, I look around at all my good friends
and it seems the uncertainty will never end
Underpaid, overworked, dignity undermined
Is that what you had in mind?
What did you have in mind?
We can't take any more of the sweet talk
It's just a glass of heartbreak that's served on the rocks
And as you sugarcoat every word,
your pathetic insincerity is clearly heard
We can hear it loud and clear, yeah!
Cause that's the way it is
with empty promises.
Monday morning ain't what they said it'd be,
Tuesday morning is more of the same
And that's the way it is
with empty promises.
Take it from me
it's all superficiality
and I don't wanna play this game
I used to think maybe that you were the one
but now I can see much clearer, yeah yeah yeah
That's the way it is
with empty promises.
Monday morning ain't what they said it'd be,
Tuesday morning is more of the same
And that's just the way that it is
with empty promises.
Take it from me
it's all superficiality
and I don't wanna play this game
CREDITS
Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3 Organ, Korg MS20, Piano, Farfisa, Pump Organ, Melodica, Clavinet, Bass Guitar, Drums, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Percussion, and Vocals by BENJAMIN CORTEZ
Tenor Saxophone by AUSTIN KLEWAN (Track 7)
All Songs Arranged, Recorded, and Mixed by BENJAMIN CORTEZ
Mastered by JEFF THOMAS
Cover Photo by CYLER RESENDEZ
Cover Design by BENJAMIN CORTEZ AND DYLAN EWING
Recorded at ROXY'S DEN STUDIOS in Mesa, Arizona
All Music and Lyrics by BENJAMIN CORTEZ, except "I Remember", lyrics by BENJAMIN CORTEZ and BENNY ROTHSCHILD