Dolenz Sings Nesmith (2021)

In a long and involved conversation with myself
I saw precious thing come into view
When I poured through the files taken off my mental shelf
I dusted off some memories of you

Then I thought about the times when our affair was green
How the phoenix of our love first flapped its silken wings
All the urgency and passion of a new day as it happened
And how it all mellowed as it grew

I remember the times that our laughter would explode
And how you would turn to hide your smile
Then the hours of silence while the perfumed candle glowed
And both our thoughts meandered on for miles

I remember the time I said I really had to go
I remember the tears that filled your eyes
Then I touched your hand and told you that it really was a lie
And though you never knew it, dear, I cried

“…the magic that didn’t exist…”
“…and I think I will travel to Rio…”
“…the magic that didn’t exist…”
“…the magic that didn’t exist…”
“…the magic that didn’t exist…”
“…that didn’t exist…”
“…that didn’t exist…”
“…didn’t exist…”
“…didn’t exist…”
“…didn’t exist…”

Ba da ba-ba ba…

It’s amazing how time can so softly change your ways
And make you look at things that can’t be seen
How the years that roll by can start you listening
Not just to what they say but what they mean

So forgive me, my dear, if I seem preoccupied
If the razor edge of youth-filled love is gone
But we’re both a little older, our relationship has grown
Not just in how it’s shaped but how it’s shown

You and I travel to the beat of a different drum
Oh, can’t you tell by the way I run
Every time you make eyes at me?

You cry, moan and say it will all work out
But honey child, I’ve got my doubts
You can’t see the forest for the trees

So don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I’m not in the market
For a girl who wants to love only me

And I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready
For any person, place, or thing
To try and pull the reins in on me

So goodbye, I’m leavin’
I see no sense in your cryin’ and your grievin’
And we’ll both live a lot longer
If you live without me

[break]

So don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I’m not in the market
For a girl who wants to love only me, yeah

And I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready
For any person, place, or thing
To try and pull the reins in on me

So goodbye, I’m a-leavin’
I see no sense in your cryin’ and your grievin’
We’ll both live a lot longer
If you live without me
If you live without me
If you live without me

Don’t wait for me, I’ll be a long time comin’
Unless by then you have told me something
That shows how much you care

I’ve done much more than as a man I should have
Why did you not do all you could have
To show how much you care?

Over and again I wonder, “Was I wrong?”
I keep thinking I maybe should have come along
There comes a time in every man’s life
When he must be strong
And my time’s come
And if you’re gone then I guess I’ll cry
And hold to memories of what might’ve been
And when I finally leave, that’ll show how much I care

Over and again I wonder, “Was I wrong?”
I keep thinking I maybe should have come along
There comes a time in every man’s life
When he must be strong
And my time’s come
And if you’re gone then I guess I’ll cry
And hold to memories of what might’ve been
And when I finally leave, that’ll show how much I care

Consider the source and ignore if you can
Whatever is said to undo the plan
Consider the source and ignore it, my friend
You’re doin’ just fine
Keep on keepin’ on

Keep in mind the difference
Between courage and will
Don’t be afraid to stop what you’ve begun
The straight folks think that winnin’
Gives them license to kill
But number good is better than number one

Consider the source and ignore if you can
Whatever is said to undo the plan
Consider the source and ignore it, my friend
You’re doin’ just fine
Keep on keepin’ on

The eye that cast aspersions
On the quiet way of life
Is lost among the past and partly blind
And aggressive undermining
Of what you know is right
Is the work of fools who think without their mind

Consider the source and ignore if you can
Whatever is said to undo the plan
Consider the source and ignore it, my friend
You’re doin’ just fine
Keep on keepin’ on

[break]

With a gentle overturning
Of the darkness for the light
Extend yourself with caution to the call
And should tomorrow find you
Moving slowly through the night
Don’t let their cries of terror make you fall

Consider the source and ignore if you can
Whatever is said to undo the plan
Consider the source and ignore it, my friend
You’re doin’ just fine
Keep on keepin’ on
You’re doin’ just fine
Keep on keepin’ on

Her only remark was a closing remark
That one sometimes hears between friends
She began to emerge, without speaking a word
Into something quite different from him
For she usually would start
Where he usually would stop
And then blissfully wade right on through

Still, the ideas unfolded in their perfect array
Only hinting at what lay beyond them
Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth

I recall how a carnival meeting in late fall
Had brought me together with them
With no real direction, just simple reflection
Of movement as clear as the wind
We both stood there gazing
And not quite believing
Nor willing to change points of view

Still, the ideas unfolded in their perfect array
Only hinting at what lay beyond them
Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth

[break]

So I’m watching another exceptional flower
Beginning to blossom and grow
As yet, still unspoken, but with more than a token
Reminder of times yet to go
And the frequent suggestion
Is that time is the question
And not so much which one you choose

Still, ideas will unfold in their perfect array
Only hinting at what lay beyond them
Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)
(Hidden behind all the logic one finds without truth)

There’s a certain something in the way
You looked at me and said you’d stay
That let me know that I was out of line
But I didn’t know what else to do
And like a fool, I tested you
By demanding things of you that weren’t mine

And now I feel like such a fool
For making you crawl back to me
But you did it with such love
That you’re standing far above
Me and all I did to you
I’m sorry now, what can I do?

I know that never in the world
Could I have found me such a girl
Who’s there to pick me up before I fall
So if in the end, we should go
Both our separate ways, I know
The lesson I’ve learned here is worth it all
I know the lesson I’ve learned here is worth it all

(Ahh…)

Little red rider, ride on the railroad
And she cried
Little red rider, ride on the railroad
Wave goodbye

So long sunshine, ride away
I know you’ll come back someday
And light my light, uh!

Little Miss Red’s asleep on the railroad
There she go
Little Miss Red’s asleep on the railroad
No one knows
Little Miss Red is Little Miss Blue
And she looks a lot like you
Around the eyes

Nobody was home in town
Nobody was home in town
Nobody was home in the town I called home
Somebody said they all had drowned

Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
Then I’ll go
Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
Don’t let it show
Then turn your brown eyes to the wall
Was that message there before
You were so wise?

[break]

Nobody was home in town
Nobody was home in town
Nobody was home in the town I called home
Somebody said they all had drowned, ah!

Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
And then I’ll go
Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
Don’t let it show
Then turn your brown eyes to the wall
Was that message there before
You were so wise?

I’ve forgotten how long I’ve been sittin’ here
Watching my reflection in a disappearing beer
The loneliness is so thick you can slice it
The emptiness is too much for me to fight it

And while tomorrow must be met, it seems
That life’s become a jewel that dimly gleams
From its perch atop a ring that’s slightly out of round
Casting the reflection of a crying clown

Oh-oh, the closeness is gone
Still, the memory lives on

The distance now is growing as the highway sings
Changing the complexion and the scheme of things
As the world begins to turn, I feel the time has come
To accept apparent loss as a battle won

And with that in mind, I close my eyes and kiss your cheek
Push the loneliness aside and stand on shaky feet
Then reimplant the smile that never really leaves
Gently place my heart back on my sleeve

Oh-oh, the closeness is gone
Still, the memory lives on

[break]

The distance now is growing as the highway sings
Changing the complexion and the scheme of things
As the world begins turn, I feel the time has come
To accept apparent loss as a battle won

And with that in mind, I close my eyes and kiss your cheek
Push the loneliness aside and stand on shaky feet
Then reimplant the smile that never really leaves
Gently place my heart back on my sleeve

Oh-oh, the closeness is gone
Still, the memory lives on and on and on

Circle sky
Tellin’ lies
Here I am
Happy man

And it looks like we’ve made it once again
It looks like we’ve made it once again

Color sound
All around
Wing-tip smile
See for miles

And it looks like we’ve made it once again
It looks like we’ve made it once again

[break]

It’s a very extraordinary scene
To those who don’t understand
But what you have seen you must believe
If you can, if you can

Hamilton
Smiling down
Telling more
Than before

And it looks like we’ve made it once again
It looks like we’ve made it once again

And it looks like we’ve made it once again
It looks like we’ve made it to the end

I’ve known for a long time the kind of girl you are
Of a smile that covers teardrops
The way your head yields to your heart
Of things you’ve kept inside that most girls could not bear
Well, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

Yes, I’ve known of all the heartaches, I’ve known of all the pain
I’ve seen you when the sun shines
And I’ve seen you when it rains
I’ve seen you make a look of love from just an icy stare
Well, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

Oh, I know I’ve been blind
To not have loved you all this time
But the image of you wasn’t clear
I guess I’ve been standing too near

And it’s taken me a while, but I have finally found
What you are to me, and that’s what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
Well, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

[break]

Oh, I know I’ve been blind
To not have loved you all this time
But the image of you wasn’t clear
I guess I’ve been standing too near

And it’s taken me a while, but I have finally found
What you are to me, and that’s what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
Well, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care
I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care
Yes, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

Reasoned verse, some prose or rhyme
Lose themselves in other times
And waiting hopes cast silent spells
That speak in clouded clues
It cannot be a part of me for now it’s part of you

Sunshine, ragtime
Blowin’ in the breeze
Midnight looks right
Standing more at ease

Careful plays on fields that seem to vanish
When they’re in between
And softly, as I walk away
In freshly tattered shoes
It cannot be a part of me for now it’s part of you

Da-da la-da, da-da la-da, ya da da da…

Sunshine, ragtime
Blowin’ in the breeze
Midnight looks right (??? midnight)
Standing more at ease

Silhouettes and figures stay
Close to what he had to say
One more time, the faded dream
Is saddened by the news
It cannot be a part of me for now it’s part of you

Oh my lonely world
Only world I see
Oh my wilting world
Tilting world and me

Clinging to a vine of promises
Grown from her nobility
When she and her gentle hand
Were only bound to me

She was only bound
Only bound to me
I was always around
Crawling around on my knees

Tales of time
Slowly set me free
Paths unwind
In lonely harmony

Now I’m holding hands
Folding hands to see
Waving hazy plans
Drifting sands and me

Clinging to a vine of promises
Grown from her nobility
When she and her gentle hand
Were only bound to me
When she and her gentle hand
Were only bound to me

(She was) She was only bound (She was only bound)
(Ah, ah) Only bound to me (She was only bound to me)
(She was) She was only bound (She was only bound)
(Ah, ah) Only bound to me (She was only bound to me)
(She was) She was only bound (She was only bound)
(Ah, ah) Only bound to me (She was only bound to me)

(She was) She was only bound (Only bound)
(She was only bound) Only bound to me (To me)
(She was) She was only bound… (Only bound…)

You are my one
You are mine

You are my one
You are mine

You are my one
You are mine

You are my one
You are mine

I was overland tourin’ in my new Ferrari
At just about a hundred and ten
I was on my way home from a sophisticated party
Where I got a little drunk on gin

And as the headlights cast
A glow on the road
I heard a voice inside of me
It said, “You lost the light
Now you’re movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui (Runnin’ from the grand ennui)
Runnin’ from the grand ennui”

Well, I reached in my pocket and I pulled out the Omega
That never was a second behind
I knew the horse that I was runnin’ at the southern Talladega
Had won for the twenty-second time

And then the countess I was with
Bent over with a kiss
And put a jeweled hand on my knee
I knew I’d lost the light
And I was movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui (Runnin’ from the grand ennui)
Runnin’ from the grand ennui

[break]

Well, that night passed in a blaze of glory
With the countess and the car, both mine
And each day passes with the same old story
But the countess has a brand new line

Yet still at night
I’m haunted by the fright
And the distant memory
Of the day I lost the light
And movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui (Runnin’ from the grand ennui)
Runnin’ from the grand ennui
Runnin’ from the grand ennui (Runnin’ from the grand ennui)
Runnin’ from the grand ennui