1. |
I’m Still Standing
03:12
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See these lines on my face?
They’re a map of where I’ve been
And the deeper they are traced,
the deeper life has settled in
How do we survive living out our lives?
And I would not trade a line
Make it smooth and fine
or pretend that time stands still
I want to rest my soul
here where it can grow without fear
Another line, another year
I’m still standing here
See these marks on my skin?
They are the lyric of my life
Every story I begin
just means another end’s in sight
Only lovers understand
Skin just covers who I am
See these bruises, see these scars?
Hieroglyphs that tell the tale
You can read them in the dark
through your fingertips, like Braille
And I would not trade a line
Make it smooth and fine
or pretend that time stands still
I plan to rest my soul
here where it can grow without fear
Another line, another year
I’m still standing here
I’m still standing here
I’m still standing here
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2. |
Resist
04:29
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She is. She is. She is.
She is. She is. She is
She is. She is. She is
too short too fat too skinny
Too tall too plain too pretty
Too hot too wet too sticky
Too… picky
Oh, what an ugly girl. Oh, what an ugly girl.
Put her in high heels, so she can’t run
Carve out between her legs so she can’t come
Get her a dress, for easy access
Tell everybody that she’s just like all the rest
How long? How long, how long, how long
How long? How long, how long, how long
Tell me I’m ugly so I’ll buy your crap
Tell me you want me ‘cause I don’t talk back
Tell me I carry the original sin
Tell me I’m holy when I cover up my skin
Tell me that my body bears a permanent stain
Tell me we can marry if I give up my name
Call me your baby so I never grow up
Tell me you love me when you only want to fu-fu-fu-
Funny how I whisper and you think it’s a roar
You ask me to the table then you seat me on the floor
You want me to be sexy. You want me to be pure.
I cannot be your virgin and I will not be your whore.
Resist. Resist resist resist.
Resist. Resist resist resist.
It’s a funny kind of thing, when you sing a little song
and you get a couple people to sing along
It’s the power of community.
Authenticity changes your reality
I know it’s hard to believe when they’re yelling in your ear
and it’s the only voice you’re able to hear
But you raise up your fist and you learn to resist
and you say “I will not disappear”
I will not disappear. I will not disappear.
I will not disappear, I will not disappear.
I will not disappear.
Resist. Resist resist resist.
Resist. Resist resist resist.
Resist, resist, resist. Resist, resist, resist, resist
Resist
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3. |
Stranger
03:04
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I was once a stranger here
Running from a land of fear
Left my home and friends behind
Left the love I knew was mine
I was once a stranger here
Did not know a single word
Only knew what I had heard
Land of opportunity
built by people just like me
I was once a stranger here
In my old town, there’s a lot of fear
One wrong word and you disappear
No one dares shed a single tear
It gets smaller every year
Now I have to leave again
Leave my family, leave my friends
Don’t know where they’re sending me
Only know that I will be
a stranger there
Yes I will be a stranger there
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4. |
Swannanoa
03:28
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Swannanoa, I can hear you
call my name upon the wind
If I fall behind, don’t worry
You will see my face again
You will see my face again
Swannanoa, I am longing
for my home so far away
I will carry you within me
from the cradle to the grave
From the cradle to the grave
And the mountains, and the mist
and the white clouds they kissed
And the sweetgum’s perfume in my hair
When these hard times have passed
I will see you at last
Swannanoa, I’ll be home to stay
Oh my darling, I’ll be home to stay
When these hard times have passed
I will see you at last
Swannanoa, I’ll be home to stay
Oh my darling, I’ll be home to stay
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5. |
Wherever Good Dreams Go
04:58
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Paint the walls in fairy tales
A ceiling full of stars
Mobiles hung in gay displays
above the cradle bars
Sometimes I think I hear
your laughter through the door
Then I remember
what I won’t hear any more
Do you see me down here?
Talking to the empty air?
In my memories of you,
I’m just a little closer to
wherever good dreams go up there
I was once the only one
to brush away your tears
If ever you are lonely,
I will always be right here
and if you need me,
you can wish upon a star
‘cause I will always hear
your prayers in my heart
I wonder where you are tonight
are you warm, and tucked in tight?
And do you ever visit me,
in your memory?
People think I’m crazy
to be holding on so long
but how can I get over you
when you’re not really gone?
I wonder where you are tonight
are you warm, and tucked in tight?
And do you ever visit me,
in your memory?
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6. |
Perfect Little Girl
03:18
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Pretend that you’re a girl,
for the rest of your life
Pretend it for the world,
though you know it isn’t right
If life’s a fairy tale,
you can play your role and be
Be a perfect little girl
for all the world to see
but there’s a sacred place inside
and it’s a place you just can’t hide
If this whole wide world would only see
they’d know you tried to be
a perfect little girl
Pretend it’s all a dream
and one day you’ll wake inside
to be somewhere in-between
where you left, and you arrived
And you’ll know that dreams come true,
‘cause it’s happening to you
Like a redbird finds the spring,
you will find your season, too
‘cause there’s a sacred place inside
and it’s a place you just can’t hide
If this whole wide world could see
they’d know you tried to be
a perfect little girl
Blame it on the sun
Blame it on the moon
Blame it on the stars that shine
the same on me as you
‘cause there’s a sacred place inside
and it’s a place I just can’t hide
If the world could see inside of me
they’d know I tried to be a perfect little girl
Perfect little girl
Perfect little girl
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7. |
Nina
03:25
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Nina, I can see your face,
caught up in the song’s embrace
Alphabets of lightning falling from your lips
Raining on your fingertips
Any kind of fool could see,
you were always meant to be
Miracles in moonlight, worshipped from afar
Burning like a falling star
And how were you to know this world
was so damned hard on beauty
Frightened by your lightning song
Nina, can’t you see?
You were always beautiful to me
Crazy as a loon. In your own cartoon
What a world those eyes must see
When you hit the mark, you stopped my heart
Then you’d turn around and grind it
right into the ground. I’d find it
Cradled in the arms of song
Right where miracles belong
Melody and madness.
Sanctity and sadness.
A heart at war – nothing more
But how were you to know this world
was so damned hard on beauty
Frightened by your lightning song
Nina can’t you see?
You were always beautiful to me
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8. |
Dancing With the Dark
03:18
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Take these burdens from my heart
Lay them down beside the sea
They are tearing me apart
Let them drift away from me
Take this sorrow from my soul
I have prayed to find some rest
It’s a weight I cannot hold
It lays heavy on my breast
This long night cannot last forever
This long night, sorrow shields the stars
Give me light
Illuminate the darkness in my heart
Dancing with the dark
I’m dancing with the dark
Take these tears that blind my eyes
I have lived too long in shadows
Unbind these shuttered skies
My horizons are too narrow
Take my weariness and sorrow
Take the troubles I have borrowed
They will all be here tomorrow
This long night cannot last forever
This long night, sorrow shields the stars
Give me light
Illuminate the secrets of my heart
I’m dancing with the dark
Dancing with the dark
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9. |
Dark Side of the Sun
03:05
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Things are different down here
People say they love you, then they disappear
I’m the king of all I dreamed of,
but nobody seems to care
Things are different down here
When I sat at His right hand
Passing judgment on the world at His command
How He loved me, from above me
That’s the thing I could not stand
when I sat at His right hand
It doesn’t seem so far to fall
when you are up there, looking down
but from the ground you see eternity
and a distance so profound,
there’ll be no forgiveness now
A race that can’t be run
A war that can’t be won
A song that can’t be sung
just to feed my hunger
I don’t need your love
I don’t need your love to see what I’ve become
but look at me, now
I am free, now
Free to build my kingdom come
on the dark side of the sun
Things are different down here...
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10. |
Summer In New York
03:23
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Summer in New York
Skies are blue, but I’m across the river
Missing you, but nothing like before
Summer in New York
Jazz in Central Park
Chocolate kisses stolen in the dark
Rooftop romance. Sugar by the shore.
Summer in New York
What a time we had!
Gone from good to bad
Remember how we would strut
and promenade the Strand
The men were hat in hand
Fifth Avenue was oh, so grand!
The heat
came rising through our feet
When sin and sidewalk meet
you’re dancing to a very different band
Oh, man
Now that we’re apart,
the memory’s more precious than forever
You’ll always be my Coney Island heart
Summer in New York
Summer in New York
Summer in New York
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11. |
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It’s the end of the line
and I know it’s been rough
Oh, but time after time,
it was always enough
You were there when I laughed
You were there when I cried
You are there as I tell you “Good-bye”
It’s the end of the line
and whatever they say,
I was yours, you were mine
Just a heartbeat away
Close enough to be kissed
Far enough to be missed
From the cradle to silver and grey
In due time, there will be
someone else who will see
all the good in your heart,
even though we’re apart
Oh, how I’ve loved your heart
In the blink of an eye,
all that’s left is the past
and the memories fade
‘til there’s silence, at last
But the song will remember
The spark will still shine
It’s the light at the end of the line
There’s a light at the end of the line
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12. |
Better Times Will Come
07:29
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Better times, better times will come.
Better times, better times will come.
When this world learns to live as one,
oh, better times will come
When we greet each dawn without fear
knowing loved ones soon will be near
And when the winds of war
cannot blow any more
Oh, better times will come
Better times, better times will come.
Better times, better times will come.
When this world learns to live as one,
oh, better times will come
Though we live each day as our last
we know someday soon it will pass
We will dance, we will sing
in that never-ending spring
Oh, better times will come
Better times, better times will come.
Better times, better times will come.
When this world learns to live as one,
oh, better times will come
Oh, better times will come
Better times, better times will come.
Better times, better times will come.
When this world learns to live as one,
oh, better times will come
Oh, better times will come
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Janis Ian Florida
Janis Ian began her iconic career at age 14 when she wrote her impactful song “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance between teenagers. Her honest songwriting has translated into culturally significant tracks including “At Seventeen,” “Jesse,” and “Stars.” She has been nominated for nine Grammys and won two: one in 1976 for “At Seventeen” and one in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Recording. ... more
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