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Stop, Drop, and Roll

by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

/
1.
Because the spark falls The wires are crossing And the heat is thick Your mind is tossing You’re alone, awake A figure on the fray Because the smoke rolls A slow train coming And you can’t recall When you left home and In the room the lines Are blurring into gray One small window swollen tight Can’t crack open to the night You feel the singe, the choking air No more wondering when or where You’ve got to stop, drop, and roll That’s all Because the flame licks The paint is peeling And you can’t escape The headlong feeling Of the tick, the tock The chances slipping away Because you bang and bang And bang your fist Against the wall and still The hard resistance And there’s not a dent You can make today One small window, can’t jump down Too far distant from solid ground You feel the singe, the choking air No more wondering when or where You’ve got to stop, drop, and roll That’s all Because the spark falls The wires are crossing And the flame licks Your mind is tossing And the tick, the tock The chances slipping away Because you give until There is no giving And you lose the life Inside the living And there’s not a shred Of reason to delay One small break and you roll on through You choose the exit that chooses you When you do the thing you do not dare You find yourself in the clearing air You just stop, drop, and roll That’s all
2.
Packing On 03:29
Got a long thin shadow on an empty road Got the morning light and a heavy load Can’t say for certain just where I’m bound Got to lose direction until I’m found I’m packing all I know is true I’m doing all I got to do Got a long time coming and a long time gone I’m no king but I ain’t no pawn Got a heap of troubles I can’t explain Got to keep on walking through the wind and rain I’m packing all I know is true I’m doing all I know to do Got a young girl growing and calling my name Got a young boy leaping into every frame Got a friend for jamming a song or two Got a simple gift I want to share with you This is all I know is true I’m giving all I got for you I’m packing on Packing on
3.
Unknown, unsaid Untied, unfed Unseen flicker on the sea No stars, no storm This night still warm Undone, bending on my knee Take me in your arms, possibility Take me in Take me as you see One match, one stone No one alone No one is speaking silently Too late to sleep I’m in too deep Hear my still, small plea Take me in your arms, possibility Take me as I am Falling short, longingly Break another day Blaze another tree Take me in Take me as you see God only knows where I’ve been to by now God only knows if there is a plan Only a seeker of the one true call Stumbling on somehow Repeat second chorus
4.
The day after yesterday I lost my luck Sped right off in an old milk truck Oh I heard it clinking away The sky was yellow and the sun was black Rise or set—I can’t keep track sometimes It’s been a very big day The ladders climbed, the quarters played The babies cried, the blue jeans frayed Crack in the rear view mirror The final round of truth or dare The dorky sprout of facial hair Are closer than they appear On the day after yesterday The day after yesterday I lost my spot The line stretched on, the day was shot Looks like it’s really here to stay Dropped my nickels and I spun the dial Let it ring a good long while Oh I will get an answer someday In black and white suspended space The gap-tooth smile, the breathless chase Wheeling it into town The ice comes down, the branches gleam The slipping slope, a child’s dream Never to touch the ground On the day after yesterday The vinyl hour I take a spin The needle pops again again Stuck in the Memphis blues Forever young, forever gray Forever spun the same old way Nobody can refuse The day after yesterday The day after yesterday and still I find I fall ahead, I spring behind Sometimes I just take my time
5.
What I never said How you would reply Trapped inside my head Trailing in a sigh Where we never went What we would have found Never to regret Seeking higher ground Written in the sand Just a step away Follow to the end What I never say Trace another route On the great divide Linger in the light Of what we never tried Written in the sand All that we have missed Offering a hand Opening a fist This is where we stand Traveling so far Letting go instead Being as we are
6.
Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree Sprouted from a tiny seed Did someone plant you there for me Sycamore sycamore tree? On a soft and sunny afternoon My parents bring me home and soon They tie a bunch of blue balloons Right around the sycamore tree The grass tickles on my feet When I’m rocking in my bouncy seat The summer breezes smell so sweet Blowing by the sycamore tree I stand right up and fall back down And search for treasures on the ground Like the fuzzy seeds lying all around Underneath the sycamore tree We roll a snowman up so big And on his head we make a wig With a pile of knobby little twigs Fallen from the sycamore tree Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree Sheltering a family Did someone plant you there for me Sycamore sycamore tree? I can see the tree right from my bed All bony smooth where the bark has shed The leaves are as big as a daddy’s head Wise old sycamore tree In our front yard I kick the ball But now that space is getting small Some weeks I don’t go out at all To run by the sycamore tree I’m off to high school and one day To a leafy college far away But in my dreams I still play In the shade of the sycamore tree I move to the city, and then in time My parents long for more sunshine I hate to see that “For Sale” sign On the corner by the sycamore tree Sycamore sycamore sycamore tree, Forever in my memory Did someone plant you there for me Sycamore sycamore tree? I’m a husband now and a father too We drive for miles to catch a view Of the shady place where I grew Loving that sycamore tree There’s a red-haired girl with a lemonade stand I put three quarters in her hand So many footprints are on this land Remembered by the sycamore tree I sip the juice and the memories My little boy is on his knees Stuffing pockets full of fuzzy seeds Children of the sycamore tree Each seed is a promise that if you try If your roots dig deep And your trunk stands high Your leaves will stretch and taste the sky Growing like a sycamore tree

about

Acoustic rock with a big heart and a deep groove, featuring percussionist Joshua Dekaney.

credits

released April 16, 2010

JPR: vocal, acoustic guitar, bass
Joshua Dekaney: multi-percussion
Tim Burns: backing vocals
Melody Calley: backing vocals
Judy Stanton: violin
Rosie Rion: cello

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about

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers Syracuse, New York

John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize winner and founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine.

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