Can't Get Back Again

No one’s to blame that I can see

Babe, the timing wasn’t right

Maybe wasn’t meant to be

We can pretend that this won’t end

But, I know what’s in your head it’s

Everything you never said and…

Chorus:

Your touch, it gives away

And your voice, it tells

Why your body’s still with me, your heart is somewhere else and I…

Can’t find it anymore though I hold it in my hands

Something’s gone and can’t get back again

Your thoughts are gone, or maybe they’re just free

I don’t know where they are but, I know they’re not with me

Chorus

Don’t ever waste your time on something you can’t feel

Before you look my way, just make sure it’s real

Chorus

Copyright 2018 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Christmas In Sarajevo

On a Sarajevo street, she walks wearing a Christmas bonnet

Under eyes of blue

A present flies through the air, a shell with her name on it

Merry Christmas to you

She never knew his name, the one who changed her life forever

A fragment strikes her head

She never saw his face, as a surgeon tries to put together

Her shattered windows red

Chorus:

Merry Christmas to you, all of the giving

The ones sending gifts from the sky

Merry Christmas to you, all of the living

The living who still have tears to cry

They wheel her around from one dark place to another

Over broken floors

Now, she needs them to live like a newborn baby needs it’s mother

Like soldiers need war

Chorus

From the mortar of my heart sending out a round

It’s arcing through the sky

God will bless its course, and when it hits the ground

Nothing will die

In the Sarajevo winter, there’s a man on the firing line

With ice in his heart standing true

As my shell strikes his soul, his eyes with love shine

To light her way

Merry Christmas to you

Copyright 1993 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Cortez

On vacation in Mexico

Drinking Mai Tais with no ties

Drifting far from the world I know

Long black hair brushes by my chair

Chorus

Then I look into her native eyes

Yeah, I look into those native eyes

And I’m Cortez reborn

And I see a new world to conquer

As we tear through the Aztec lines

She looks so distant ‘till her eyes meet mine

Lost in battle as her brothers fell

We’re trading life stories back in my hotel

Chorus

Then, I look upon her native skin

And I touch that dark native skin

And I’m Cortez reborn

And I see a new world to conquer

Oh, oh surrender to me

Oh, oh surrender

The taste of tender victory

As she surrenders herself to me

But, I’m getting more than I bargained for

I guess it’s all fair in love and war

Chorus

‘Cause when I look into her native eyes

And I make love to those native eyes

I’m Cortez reborn

But, this time… I am defeated

Oh, defeated

Copyright © 2001 by Frank Bengier

I actually took this picture in Chile. Not exactly Cortez and the Aztecs.

Cruel World

Under an overpass out on the interstate

I was trying to wait out the rain

Chorus:

Oh, it’s a cruel world

Ooh, it’s not for me

When you wake up in the morning

In the gutter, in the rain

And all you remember from your life

Is the struggle and the pain

Spent the night awake

Shaking from the cold

Afraid somehow to die

While my soul’s still sold

Chorus:

Oh, it’s a cruel world can’t you see

Ooh, it’s not for me

Copyright 1985 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

The Yankees can be cruel.

L. M. Gottschalk's grave

Dallas Pike

Just stand there, look the other way

We’re going on a road trip today

To the first face I met

Back to that place you know some would like to forget

Like a photograph taken of that other darker half

Chorus:

Back to Dallas Pike again

Had to see for myself

Dallas Pike my friend

Was it me or someone else

Dallas Pike again

Had to see for myself

Dallas Pike my friend

Was it me or someone else driving route 7 alone

I reach way back in time

To seize that one lost moment standing in line

Like a dream I see

All is still as she moves towards me

If only I could touch

She’s dressed in nothing, but wearing way too much

Chorus

Just show me something I can feel

Meet in the backroom and we’ll make it real

When you let me in

I’ll know there’s nothing next to your soft skin

And as the moment dies

I’ll know that emptiness behind your eyes

Chorus

Copyright©1998 by Frank J. Bengier

Destined For Miracles

Am I to see in darkness, am I to walk through walls

Able to fly God knows how high, destined for miracles

Destined for miracles

I was born, I know for a reason, I was loved I was left alone

I was given just what was needed, but many things

I have never known

My life I guess has been average as any life can be

I walk through this world unnoticed, just a drop among the see

Chorus:

But would I see in darkness

Could I to walk through walls, able to fly God knows how high

Destined for miracles, destined for miracles

In the park late in the day, some children play nearby

As I talk to my creator, but he won’t tell me, no he won’t tell me why

Then a strange sensation covers me like a wave

As a blast shatters the evening

Of the child I was sent to save

Her mother screams as I through her down to shield her from the lead

I feel the burning deep in my heart, in a moment, I know that I’ll be dead

In her eyes I can see all the mistakes I ever made

Wash away in an instant, with the physical world they fade

With the physical world they fade

Chorus:

And I can see in darkness, I can walk through walls

Able to fly God knows how high

Destined for miracles, destined for miracles

Copyright©1989 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Dreams Last Night

I saw you bathed in light

You were lying in my bed last night

I’ll take that distance between us and break it into nothing

And as I hold you to my heart, a brand new day is coming

I saw you bathed in light

You were dreaming it was true and right

I'll take that distance between us and break it into nothing

And as I hold you to my heart, a brand new day is coming

I saw you bathed in light

You were dreaming it was true and right

I saw you bathed in light

You were lying in my bed last night

I’ll take that distance between us and break it into nothing

And as I hold you to my heart, a brand new day is coming

I saw you bathed in light

You were dreaming, and so was I

Copyright 2015 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Empty House

In a small house, in a small room

There’s a man sitting at a table

He’s thinking about ending, ending it all

A woman is gone now, and he’s trying

Trying to remember what she looked like

Before she took the fall

Chorus:

He never thought it could end this way

He never thought it would end this way

He’s got memories of the good times

But they’re lost somewhere in the past

He could find them, but they’re fading

Fading fast

He has no children to take care of

Or a reason, a reason to keep going

The survivors of his lineage

He is the last

Chorus

These thoughts now run through his mind

As he’s waiting, waiting for the ending

Of the last scene of the last play

He has the leading role

Some roads in this lifetime

To drive, you have to pay the toll

The house now feels as empty as his soul

Copyright 1993 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Everything Falls Away

There’s your life way off from mine

You know I’m thinking if I could only cross that line

But, I feel it now it’s all around

Like a broken sky always pressing down

Chorus:

The world outside, things that they say

But, when I’m with you

Everything falls away

I go my way, and you go yours

But, when we’re together, our waves break on the same shores

And at the end of every long day

I know that you will always meet me there halfway

Chorus

It might be wrong, but it ain’t no sin

And if I had it all over now I’d go again

So, place your bets now and lay it down

We’ll run the gauntlet and trample this whole town

Chorus

Copyright 2018 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Finally

From the blindness of the moor on a solitary road

Wounded from your other war, into my quiet life you strode

The guards who met you at the gate, carelessly they let you in

Eventually would lose their faith and never fall in love again

The forces gathered up above, the wind refused to tell

And like welcome rain the story fell

Chorus:

Finally, I can face the morning sun

Finally, the cold night is done

Finally, there’s no need to run

I know you are the one

I made a fortress of my heart, quietly you scaled the wall

And when I tried to run away, you made me turn and face them all

All of my fears my enemies ranging fierce and tall

And like conquered giants they did fall

Chorus

As you wonder through the maze of everything that life can give

There’s at least a million ways to die but only one to live

And if you listen for the song that echoes through the tower walls

You can catch a harmony just before the last one falls

To the unforgiving earth of your dreams that lie awake

Undecided of the road they want to take until…

Chorus

Copyright 1989 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

Free

She was just 13 years old walking barefoot down that road

Doing nothing she was told, trying to grow up not too old

Meanwhile, I was 25 just pretending to be alive

Thought somehow if I could drive, maybe someday I’d arrive

Chorus:

I look into the night and I see

That I don’t know where to go

But I’m free

So, she stopped me for a ride and

As she climbed inside

She said anywhere was fine

But, somewhere I missed a sign

She said she had run away

From a past all dark and gray

And if I would let her stay

Then she’d not get in my way

Chorus:

And I look into her eyes and I see

I don’t know where I’m going

But I’m free

Well, I let her go in time

Just before we crossed the line

Someday, I don’t even know when

I knew our paths would cross again

That’s just how this strange world seems

Like an old man’s twisted dreams

When you finally find the nerve

Well she throws another curve

Chorus

Copyright 2017 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

I Don't Want To Be That Man

I was just wondering what makes a man

Give up on everything and settle for less than

Something he wanted, always just beyond his touch

Someone he needed, needed oh so much

Well I don’t want to be that man Karen

No, I don’t want to be that man

So, come here close to me and become reality and

I won’t have to be that man

Sometimes I doubt myself, and I don’t know what it takes

To become a part of you, the part that won’t give in to fate

The fate that fells a man who loses sight of land even though it’s plain to see

He doesn’t know the true direction is to you and maybe that man is me

But I don’t want to be that man Karen

No, I don’t want to be that man

So come here next to me and I won’t have to be

No, I won’t have to be that man

Now, as I think of you and you seem so far away,

I turn to the night and I dream of the day

The day when you are here, the nights when you are near

And I know I won’t ever see the man who wakes to find that he’s been left behind

Become a part of me ‘cause

I don’t want to be that man Karen

No, I don’t want to be that man

So come here close to me and I won’t ever be

No, I won’t ever be that man

Copyright 1989 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

I Understand You

You and I, we are like wine

Pressed from the grapes of that vast rocky hillside struggling to survive

We’ve been through some hard times

Rain not for months and then, floods that tear your heart from the earth

Some days were so dark, I photosynthesized only in my dreams

Chorus:

It was up to me (I understand you)

Likely to commit the sins you tell

I understand you well

Pausing at the flame (I understand you)

Staring at the mirror of your hell

I understand you well

Step across the line into a world where saving grace doesn’t matter

Only in your mind

I’ll be waiting there too under a needle-blanket of time

I’ll save room for you

Chorus:

Crossing a narrow line (I understand you)

Throwing away the promises you sell

I understand you well

Cut from a different vine (I understand you)

Waiting for dawn, I’m thinking of you now

I understand you well

As the sun starts to break, I can see the dew like tears on your face

Moving high above the leas, you know the day holds no guarantees

Chorus:

Lean into the wind (I understand you)

You can feel it

I understand you well

Portrait of the self (I understand you)

Framed in branches

I understand you well

Copyright 1995 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

I Want The way You Used To Be Back

It used to be so easy, I never had to try

And when I said I love you, I didn’t have to lie

You used to touch my shoulders

Now, I don’t know where to start

And when you wrote me letters, you touched my heart

Chorus:

I want the way you used to be back

When love was free

I want the way you used to be back with me

There wasn’t any distance when you were away

And when we were together, it was to stay

But something came between us

What we couldn’t see

And changed the whole direction of you and me

Chorus

I want you more than ever

Not thinking of today

I’m living in our past now anyway

I want the way you used to be back

I want the way you used to be back

I want the way you used to be back

I want the way you used to be back

Repeat Chorus

Copyright 2015 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.

I Can Take You

I can take you far away from here

I can take you so far you cannot hear

All the screams that never made it past your wall

Lying there, still his footsteps in the hall

I can take you to the other side

I can take you in my car we’ll ride

And we’ll go faster than your memories ever could

And you’ll forget all of the bad things now for good

I can take you if you let me girl

I can take you to another world

I can take you, we can make it real

I can take you so far you cannot feel

All the words that always burned into your soul

We can find all of the parts of you they stole

I can take you if you let me girl

I can take you so far from this world and

In your arms, we can soar across the sky

In the end oh, I know we’ll never die

I can take you to the other side

I can take you, in my car we’ll ride

Copyright 2015 by Frank J. Bengier Jr.