-
Charlene Kaye & the Brilliant Eyes EP (2010)
- Oh Howard
- Strike a Chord
- Mad Tom of Bedlam
- Different Colored Eyes
-
Dress and Tie ft. Darren Criss – single (2011)
- Dress and Tie ft. Darren Criss
-
Things I Will Need in the Past
- Andromeda
- All the Life Around
- Strike A Chord
- Amber Light
- Magnolia Wine
- Skin and Bones (ft. Darren Criss)
- Bonnie Parker
- Bound Red Gideon
- Human
- Different Colored Eyes
(2008)
He’s wearing cargo pants and Ray-Bans
He blows through the door
He’s into psychedelia and blues
He’s quoting Clement Greenberg
He’s pacing the floor
Each word comes out as sweet as vermouth
Modernist French painting was never so interesting
I’d like to spend my every night and weekend in Auditorium D
Oh, Howard!
You’re a sight for sore eyes to see
Oh, Howard!
You don’t know what you do to me
I’m never late to lecture
I sit way in the back
And try to keep my hands at my sides
I’m not looking at the paintings
I know that it’s wrong
Cuz I hear he’s got a kid and a wife
But I love it when he says my name
“Charlene, how can I help you today?”
As my words fall down all over the place
But no matter
He makes my heart patter
And I’d have him chatter my whole life away
All through the day…
Oh, I’m thinking this could be bad
After all, you’ve been here just as long as my dad has
But age is but a number, so I’m still gonna say -
What a mind!
What a man!
Howard, marry me today!
Cuz you’re handsomer than George Clooney
You’d never mention your Harvard degree
You like the word bourgeoisie
And you don’t know what you do to me
No, you don’t know what you do to me
(c) 2010 Charlene Kaye
Dreaming into the sunlight
Bluebirds fly
Wanting also to unwind
And forget, finally
I know now that silence speaks
To walk away would be so sweet
Let me love again, please
My body grows, but my heart lays
The weight, it’s trying
While leaves drop every autumn day
They go down spiraling
But they don’t put up a fight
Once out of sight, they’re out of mind
So why can’t I?
Walking back from work one night
I saw a man who looked like you
With different colored eyes
Suddenly couldn’t decide
No, i want to walk away from your smile
And feel okay after a while
After a while
After a while…
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
To see Mad Tom of Bedlam,
Ten thousand miles I’ve traveled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
To save her shoes from gravel
It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money
I went down to Satan’s Kitchen
For to break my fast one morning
And there I got souls piping hot
All on the spits a-turning
It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money
These spirits white as lightning
Did on that journey guide me
The sun did shake and the pale moon quake
Whenever they did spy me
It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money
Tonight I’ll go a-murdering
The man in the moon to a powder
His staff I’ll break and his dog I’ll shake
And I’ll howl a wee bit louder
It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no!
To see Mad Tom of Bedlam,
Ten thousand miles I’ve traveled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
To save her shoes from gravel
It’s well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money
Dreaming into the sunlight
Bluebirds fly
Wanting also to unwind
And forget, finally
I know now that silence speaks
To walk away would be so sweet
Let me love again, please
My body grows, but my heart lays
The weight, it’s trying
While leaves drop every autumn day
They go down spiraling
But they don’t put up a fight
Once out of sight, they’re out of mind
So why can’t I?
Walking back from work one night
I saw a man who looked like you
With different colored eyes
Suddenly couldn’t decide
No, i want to walk away from your smile
And feel okay after a while
After a while
After a while…
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
CHARLENE:
Every night I walked the streets
Never dreaming what could happen
Sad and so lonely
I saw in the mirror my reflection
Staring back at me
I thought, will I ever find what I need?
But I’ll wear that dress if you wear that tie
And baby we’ll dance through the night
Cuz no one’s got what we’ve got going
Happiness never held on to me
Until you had me see
That together we’re just better off
DARREN:
Oh, my heart’s been tried
Time and again
Always thought that it was me but
I see now just how wrong I was
No, I haven’t known you for a lifetime
But somehow I’ve never been more sure that you’re for me
Baby please
Don’t leave, just come and dance with me tonight
But I’ll wear that dress if you wear that tie
And baby we’ll dance through the night
Cuz no one’s got what we’ve got going
Happiness never held on to me
Until you helped me see
That together we’re just better off
DARREN:
Don’t be cruel to me
Oh, I’ve wanted more
But I’ve been wrong before
CHARLENE:
So much learning to lose
But you’re not a day too soon
So say you feel the same and
We’ll never be lonely anymore
But I’ll wear that dress if you wear the tie
And baby we’ll dance through the night
Cuz no one’s got what we’ve got going
Happiness never held on to me
Until you helped me see
That together we’re just better off
(c) 2011 Charlene Kaye
Dawn, why were you hiding?
Your clouds just melted through the horizon
They were gold, red and purple
Peeling backwards in the sun
Like the layers of a rose
The night held me as hostage
With its black blanket over my eyelids
Couldn’t go any further
Than I ever did desire
From the cold comfort of your ghost
Quicksand in the foggy woods behind me
Flashing haunting images of darker times
But like the child who sees only what he’s after
I didn’t spy the other spinning gears in tandem
Gone, but not forgotten
Above, but not beyond it
Tore it down and teased the remnants
But thinking too much means to ache
And we’re better when we don’t
Quicksand in the foggy woods behind me
Flashing haunting images of darker times
But like the child who sees only what he’s after
I didn’t catch the signs pointing towards the better plan
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
So July came in its glory and the sun claimed its rule
Kids held sunburned hands into the ocean to cool
And we lapped up those days which seemed forever endless
And counted the ways we imagined we could make it last
So October rolled along and all the trees were changing colors
Squirrels outside my window stuck together like a band of brothers
We stood still, spellbound by nature’s prowess
Lady fall was quick to swiftly envelope us
So December came a-knocking like a guest comes rudely uninvited
Icy winter snows prowled and possessed us
Saying: run but you can’t hide
Head guarded, made plans while living in the maybe
Held our breath, held hands and hoped the sun would save me
So then April showed her face with bushes bearing sugar, musk and honey
New buds on the branches made me realize that loss is necessary
For new life, new joy, new memories to be made
So we threw up our hands and soaked up all the life around
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
You strike a certain chord in the thick of me
And i’m terrified in seeing how it rings and it carries
You know it’s been such a long time since I felt one inside
Call me too reserved
Cuz my armor’s on
Why should I open a pandora’s box of rude complications?
The risk is too high for one more right gone wrong
Cuz love is a very strong and sacred thing
And you can’t stop it when you want to
Even as bruises start to show
And true, taking chances gets you halfway there
But I’m not ready yet
My heart’s too tattered and bent
And I move too slow
You strike a certain chord in the thick of me
And I’m too aware it’s ringing out in you as within me
I know you’ve had such a hard time to get me by your side
But I’ve heard this song before in a different key
And I fear we might be singing out too late or too early
To set the stage for one more right gone wrong
Cuz love is a very strong and sacred thing
But when he went without a warning
My heart alone did take the blow
So I will trace my musings with this simple tune
And until then, I’m content
Biding time on the fence in the woods I know
So please forgive me if I seem half there
I can’t halt those old emotions
Even though that chapter has closed
But I see the honesty that shines in you
And I’m impressed that I’ve found that you’re still hanging around
And I’m surprised at the sounds coming out of my mouth
When I say:
Okay, lets give it a go.
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
I’ll tell you what
I hope you find
What it is you’re after
And as for me
I will be
Dreaming still of clocks all growing like fruit on my fingers’ branches
And I’m thinking of things I will need in the past
Tell me, where’s the use in that?
It’s no use to regret
And yet
The future sure didn’t look like this when we first met
I’ll tell you what
Time is not:
An arrow moving forward
No, I wade in seas
Of memories
I turn each moment slowly round beneath the amber light
Til I can’t see what it was to start with, or which version is right
In the maze that is my mind
(I’m not so good at goodbyes)
Deep summer grass
Your hair is tousled like a windblown pirate flag
A swirl of color, smoke and ash
Our time’s been had
The clocks are sinking to the bottom of the bank
But i’m always looking back
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
Remove me like the ring you’re wearing
Forget that far away I sleep
Among the hordes of the memories, merlot, women’s magazines
And when the sun comes up tomorrow
Another shady late entry
Another lie among the never-saids buried in between
In sorrow, spirits lure you where they want
While an empty bed hands you forget me nots
But come this time tomorrow, I’ll be out by water, air or land
No more love for nothing, no more hesitating at your hand
Oh, soon I’ll better fill these empty arms
And you’ll melt away like smoke into the dark
Through the dark
He smelled of fine magnolia wine and Dior Allure
She’d long been up when he crept inside
And then, the smash of the china plates, the zing of the cutlery
Says, when we took our vows in silence
I thought your hands would stay in place
Thinking lines would be drawn for love, but some just never change
Must you make me look down at my shoes
When my mother asks benignly about you?
But come this time tomorrow, I’ll be out by water, air or land
No more love for nothing, no more hesitating, no regrets
Oh, soon I’ll better fill these empty arms
And you’ll melt away like smoke into the dark
Through the dark
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
CHARLENE:
Darling, why am I not surprised it rained today?
Doesn’t it seem my broken heart just tends to ride the wind
But what will break the weight that’s held up by a string?
You don’t reminisce like me ’bout how it was
Romanticizing these redundant thoughts
I’m never free
So I wait for your parade to come rain down on me
I’m running around hoping to find
Somebody like the boy that I left behind
Who loved all of me
My fingernails and scatterbrain and crooked teeth
DARREN:
Dreams don’t carry quite the weight they used to have
Two kids looking through rosy colored glass
Like fools in love
The summer drugged our senses, filled our eyes with stars
CHARLENE:
But now we say goodnight confined to separate sides
And you’ll never compromise your current life to look behind
You never planned to love me for this long a time
I’m running around hoping to find
Somebody like my one, though in time I’m sure
I’ll grow to know
Another’s eyes, another’s laugh and skin and bones
But til then, I’ll keep on wanting you who I can’t have
Cuz with the distance came this awful dam
And being in in love
With someone I can’t feel or hold or see or touch
I’m running around hoping to find
somebody like my one, though in time I’m sure
I’ll grow to know
Another’s eyes, another’s laugh and skin and bones
Love, come and take me
Love, come and take me away with you
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
I would like to run away to
A place where
The clouds would roll high in the afternoon
Where sidewalks light up by the harvest moon
I would like to run away to
A place where
Stars could be seen as a warning
Where we could rise clean in the morning
The dust storms are spiraling fast
Just bury your face in your hands
And follow the river that just keeps flowing
I would like to find a place
Where the taste of
Blood in my mouth could evaporate
Where my soul could just rest from all this weight
And then you and I could live in peace
You and I could dine like kings complete again
The dust storms are spiraling fast
Just bury your face in your hands
And follow the fire that just keeps growing…
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
I’d been road bound, drunk on summertime
When you up and left
Saying doubts about me’d slow been surfacing
Like grass through the cement
Hotel held a bound red Gideon into which I sunk my teeth
Searching for love unconditional, dreaming without sleep
Alone, you see
With answers few and far between
Are you taking sips of loneliness and mouthfuls more of grief?
Cuz I don’t know just what I’m looking for
A town or a person, a painting, a face
A song on my stereo telling me good love is on the way
Oh me of such little faith
There’s no sense in wondering what was meant or what will be in time
But time and time again, i think of you and hope you’re doing fine
Apart and free
Just a ghost, how you’re meant to be
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
Worshipped a deity
A false god I praised
He had two legs to walk
And a smile on his face
He seemed infallible
I thought someone this great
Surely must be from above
Not from this place
And what a gorgeous view for me
I would follow you to anywhere you traveled with a rose in my teeth
Thought you were a god in skin
But you’re only human
Human
You said it all
Human
Human
By saying nothing at all
Well, time saw us take the fall
But you stayed in one piece
Cuz if you bleed after all
It ain’t over me
Baby, you let me down
And just my blinded eyes are to blame
Cuz who could love, still, without the power of sight
Across the sea that holds us in place?
So get out of my mind
And get out of my heart
It’s only midnight here in Arizona
But the sun’s come up where you are
I don’t blame you for wandering…
Cuz you’re only human
Human
You said it all
Human
Human
By saying nothing…
You’re only human
Human
I thought you were so much more.
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
Dreaming into the sunlight
Bluebirds fly
Wanting also to unwind
And forget, finally
I know now that silence speaks
To walk away would be so sweet
Let me love again, please
My body grows, but my heart lays
The weight, it’s trying
While leaves drop every autumn day
They go down spiraling
But they don’t put up a fight
Once out of sight, they’re out of mind
So why can’t I?
Walking back from work one night
I saw a man who looked like you
With different colored eyes
Suddenly couldn’t decide
No, i want to walk away from your smile
And feel okay after a while
After a while
After a while…
(c) 2008 Charlene Kaye
