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The title track “One More Day Above Ground” is a reminder to myself that no matter how bad life can seem from time to time its still much better than the alternative. Overall I am optimistic about us (humans) although sometimes it’s hard to understand the things we do to each other. If there's a message here its that having faith in ourselves and each other is our only hope.” – Rob Heath
"I was talking to my dad once about the opposite sex and it dawned on me that no matter how old we get, we (men) never will totally understand women (I'm sure it works the other way too). It’s the one mystery we go to our graves having never solved."
Words and Music Dottie Moore and Rob Heath ©2002 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN, Moore Luckey Songs/BMI
I’ve climbed the tallest mountains Walked the ocean floor Seen the many wonders Shaped by those who came before I sought out life’s great secrets Searched the whole world through But nothing under God compares To the thrill of holding you
I believed that I had answered All the questions that there are Thought my odyssey was over Till I set sail for your heart That’s where you keep the secret And when I’ve done all I can do I’ll still be looking for the answer to The mystery of you
I’ve seen the indigo of oceans The azure of the skies I’ve never seen them shimmer Like the sapphire in your eyes Found wonder in the heavens And rapture in your kiss Nothing short of your love Ever humbled me like this
The more my soul surrenders The more you dazzle me You’re a maze within a riddle Wrapped inside a fantasy
"We all have our good days and our bad days. I started this song on a bad day and finished it on a good day. What began as a fairly dark song wound up being a reminder to myself that if you don't like the weather out the front door then look out the back."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2004 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
She had that smile old barkeeps get, like there’s an inside joke They’re sharing with God, she’d crack the cold ones Their troubles all poured out, she’d just listen and nod
The guys were almost twelve pints deep in conversation About how life was rough They played that sad song complete with violins Until she’d heard enough
She said, “Yeah life ain’t fair boys, so what’s your second choice?"
Sure there’s some days feel like Mondays When just getting up can get you down Some surrender, just remember When every silver lining has a cloud Its still one more day above ground
We all get one brief Happy Hour And we can celebrate or cry in our beer Before we know it Hell its closing time, and last call is here
And after all well, who knows what’s after all
You got to laugh at life Cause if you don’t get the joke You’re gonna just hate the punch-line”
"I wrote a poem for my daughter to tell her that she doesn't have to be perfect for people to accept her, an attitude many young women fall prey to. That poem grew into this song."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2004 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
Its not because you’re always at your best As if the world won’t allow you any less Baby it’s not the perfect picture you try to paint No one is a saint
Its not awards; its not applause Sometimes it’s the flaws
Though you sparkle when the spotlight’s on For me you shine the brightest when it’s gone Those private moments when you’re hiding nothing The struggles when you’re feeling low Tears that you try not to show It’s what I see when you don’t know . . . I’m watching (That’s what makes me love you so)
It’s how you’re willing to go against the flow And do the right thing when your heart says so It’s in those moments when you often forget yourself To cry for someone else
To think that’s weak would be so wrong That’s just what makes you strong
That’s the part that fills my heart with pride Till I can feel it well up in my eyes
"On my second album there is an open letter from a young boy to God called “Dear God. Yours Truly...” is my imagination of how God might have responded."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2006 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
Some argue that I’m on their side That I’m against the rest They say the name they chose for me Is the one that I like best
Careful you don’t buy into their sibling rivalry When they run each other down and say they’re quoting me
Every dogma has its day From a Stone Age idol, to Jim and Tammy Fay I am all things So does it matter really what you call me? Yours Truly, God
I respond to many names cause you are all my own But you must stand together or you will fall alone
Yehweh, Allah, Jehovah Manitou, Zeus or Brahma The Alpha and the Omega All merciful Almighty
Amon Ra, Nymbakulla Supreme creator of Buddha Big guy, Big Cheese, Big Kahuna The Notorius G.O.D Odin father of Thor Also known as the Lord And CEO of the board Of Eternity
"Towards the end of a long relationship I was looking for something to feel hopeful about. Although it was hard to believe at the time opportunity sometimes comes disguised as misfortune."
Words and Music Sue Fink and Rob Heath ©2000 Terre Music/ASCAP and Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
Who can outrun The setting sun The night is just a part of every day The light will dim The trail will end A dream that seemed so clear Can all but disappear And you may fear that you have lost your way
Oh you may feel your every wish Lies burning in the twilight’s afterglow But just beyond its dying light If only you are brave enough to go The brightest stars shine down the darkest roads
You never know What’s in you’re soul Till all that’s left are shadows everywhere The plans you made May swiftly fade But like the setting sun They’re not the only ones Look up you’ll find a billion more out there
Through uncertainty Lies possibility The universe will chart New journeys for your heart
"This song is a celebration of not conforming to the norm."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2002 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
There were all kinds of birds tattooed on Dad’s skin And I’d sit on his knee and I would point to them He’d say they’re just like us, some are drab and pale Me I’m that big one with the dazzling tail
Peacocks strut chickens cluck When we live life out loud People will always talk Some follow the heart Some follow the crowd Can't always be like them And if you don't fit in Then why not stand out
My first month at school all the kids would gawk Every time we would roll up on Dad’s Harley Hog They’d cackle to themselves, he’d say don’t pay ’em no mind Must ruffle their feathers just to watch us fly
One day Dad stripped down to his pants Did a kind of tattooed belly dance We watched him make that peacock prance
Then the strangest thing; first one kid joined in Then we all went parading round the schoolyard with him
"My mom bought me my first guitar when I was in my teens. I was in and out of trouble a lot, giving both my folks more grief than they really deserved. That guitar started a love affair with music that has lasted my whole life. It’s gotten me through a lot of bad times and never let me down. Both of my parents are extremely creative and so I grew up with that around me. The guitar my mom bought and now the guitars my dad builds for me are only a part of the greater gift of artistic creativity they passed on to me, one which in turn has found its way to my children."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2003 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
He was a kid who had tried, all the wrong ways to fly With a future in windows with bars She was close to the edge, the day that she said Son I bought you this old used guitar
With a body of white spruce and rose wood Strung together by six wires of steel To the untrained eye it will never fly No cockpit, propeller or wheels
In the right hands it’s really a vessel Take you higher than you’ve ever dreamed To soar up and down at the speed of sound On the wings of a finely tuned flying machine
She overheard him one day as he secretly made The first solo he ever tried And each halting note brought a lump to her throat As he practiced this new form of flight
She knew every journey from darkness Had to start with a shot for the sky With guitar on his knee She prayed he’d find the key To break free of his turbulent life
Now I’m standing right here before you tonight And I‘ve got you to thank that I made out all right And you’re watching me as I’m playing this But just you and I know what it is
"I saw a newscast on CBC about the practice of several officers on the Saskatoon Police force of driving inebriated natives out of town and letting them walk off their drunks by forcing them to trek back. This was a common enough practice that they euphemistically called them Starlight Tours. Twice it resulted in deaths from exposure when young native men were driven out of town in the dead of winter and left to freeze to death. This song is about one of those young men."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2000 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
He laughs out loud at the crunching sound, his socks make in the snow The stars light up the long walk home, on this winter’s road He wonders who’s gonna stop for a half drunk full blood Cree Hitchhiking down the highway in a T-shirt and jeans Two headlights speed by, he sticks out a frostbit thumb Sometimes too much to drink, still ain’t enough
Well it was down on the strip where every day’s another Saturday night Two human impersonators noticed he wasn’t white Well liquor talks mighty loud when it gets loose from the jug He floated like an anchor, stung like a lady bug Woke up in a squad car, charged with starting a fight Though history belongs to the winner, they seldom get it right
On the way to the drunk tank cops made a little detour Drove him miles out of town, place not on the brochure Then they took off the cuffs and said go walk off the Coors A little less paperwork for sure, then they said bonjour They call ‘em Starlight Tours
Well it might be the beer but suddenly He doesn’t mind the storm His eyes start feeling heavier and everything gets warm On concrete pillow and sheet of snow He lays is head down, face to the sky and hunters moon Back to the ground then just before the hereafter One breath from paradise, he leaves his body one last time To tour the starlit sky
"In my early twenties I met a Canadian who'd volunteered to go to Vietnam. He came back with a steel plate in his head and a lot of demons."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©1999 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
And I thought the last bullet was spent And the wounds of the war had all healed But you say you were back there last night in a dream And the bombs and the blood were so real We all watched on TV Your tragic black-comedy All the kill-crazy fools Were just kids as a rule That belonged in High School
And I can’t think of what I could say That would chase all your devils away But I am so sorry So sorry
They died so long ago that you should have forgot But the faces come back every night And they won’t go away so you beg them to stay And have a few drinks till its light And your Mom’s doing fine But the girl that you left behind Is still waiting for The boy she adored To come back from his war
"I woke up one morning to find my significant other gazing in a make-up mirror and lamenting her lost youth and I wrote this song for her."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©1997 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
She had this raven hair Was in a cabaret And when she saw me stare I tried to look away But then she winked at me With those espresso eyes The kind that wake you up And keep you warm inside
It’s not the way that she looked It’s the way that she looked at me Like I was the guy that girl Was waiting to see I knew right away Some things are meant to be By the way I could not look away From the way she looked at me
This morning I found you Tissue soaked in tears Trying to find that girl In our bedroom mirror And you can turn back time With mascara and rouge But I don't need all that To still see her in you
So save the lipstick for you ‘Cause I want see the smile that she wore The same one that, said to me "You will be mine and I will be yours"
"I read a newspaper article about a Moslem in the Middle East whose son had been shot mistakenly by Israeli troupes when they confused him with a terrorist they were chasing. The child didn't die right away and so the soldiers took him to an Israeli hospital. The parents watched for several days as the Israeli hospital made a valiant effort to save their boy. When their son died the parents donated his organs to the hospital to ostensibly save Jewish lives even though their son was a Muslim who had been killed by Jews. The man's Muslim neighbors were up in arms about this and so the media got hold of it and interviewed the dad who said the reason he had done this was to show the world that not all Muslims are terrorists, that his son had been a forgiving child and that now in his words his son had "entered every Israeli heart". I couldn't believe the strength it would take to do something like that. When I read that article I thought 'there is hope for us'."
Words and Music Rob Heath ©2005 Rob Heath Music Inc/SOCAN
Last week Israeli soldiers shot a young Muslim boy They didn’t know his rifle was just a toy They rushed him off to Haifa on the Israeli side They tried their best to save him, but tragically he died
Some people say with just one life You can change the world What if they’re right?
His father said young Ahmed was a forgiving soul So in the name of peace and of his twelve year old They would donate his body to save Israeli lives Ignoring voices claiming that that’s who took their child
In worlds like their’s where violence rules You turn the other cheek, you’re marked a fool
His dad said, “If we want peace somewhere it has to start With this my son has entered every Israeli heart The army said they’re sorry, they braced for violence This time unlike the others, there would be no revenge
© 2008 Rob Heath Music Inc.
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