ELDORADO (Shaber)
(written for my parents who deserve at least this)

Again I'm squinting
My demons are back and they're so convincing
The world could end if I don't keep up my pace
And you're so patient
You're always open but never vacant
You clear a path so I can feel the space

Like a light through the black
Like a strong hand on my back
Like a cool river flows
Like a break against the cold
Like the value of gold
Eldorado
Eldorado
Eldorado

It's kinda silly
How something as big as New York City
Can be invisible when you're staring at your feet
And it's kinda scary
How much you mean and yet how rarely
I say I love you when we speak

Like a light through the black
Like a strong hand on my back
Like a cool river flows
Like a break against the cold
Like the value of gold
Eldorado
Eldorado
Eldorado

And proud in my face to carry a trace of you
Your song in my voice
And more than a name you have given me a frame on which to
Build any house of my choice

Like a light through the black
Like a strong hand
Like a cool river flows
Like a break against the cold
Like the value of gold
Eldorado
Eldorado
Eldorado

It's kinda scary
How much you mean and yet how rarely
I say I love you when we speak

BARE (Shaber)

No poetry, no pillowshams
No crystal jar perfume
Just leaves falling by the window
Of this Autumn room

And here I am, as I am anywhere
And here I go
Bare

So far from the four walls
Too small but all mine
And the paint peels over the window
After rainstorms everytime
And the drag queens pumping cabarets
Seem suddenly divine

No poetry, no pillowshams
No lipstick-treated smiles
And hundreds of miles

And here I am, as I am anywhere
And here I go
Bare

TEMPTING (Shaber)

You turned around to face me
And I, I lost my stare
'Cause your smile was so accepting
That the rest of me lay bare

And you're so tempting
With your deep river eyes
You're so tempting
A suspected surprise
You're so tempting
With your summer almond skin
It's hard not to rise up and ask you in

Your bones they sank right through me
Your soul it filled my eyes
Your face it burned so brightly
Brought to June December fire

And you're so tempting
With your deep river eyes
You're so tempting
A suspected surprise
You're so tempting
With your summer almond skin
It's hard not to rise up and ask you in

And something gently broke free
As I lay breathing your fresh air
You didn't need a map of me
You just knew the way there

And you're so tempting
With your deep river eyes
You're so tempting
A suspected surprise
You're so tempting
With your summer almond skin
It's hard not to rise up and ask you in

UNCLE BOB (Shaber)

Uncle Bob, Great Uncle Bob
Sweetest smile, waves goodbye
To the darkness in the front yard
After we have pulled away
Voice of gravel, full of life
Hidden down most of the time
Used it then to love his wife
Before old age pushed it inside

And I could watch from where I sit
I could watch all night
Your crooked fingers chase their grip
Your precious blue eyes shine

And I will answer every time
As though you'd never asked before
Just to see your brilliant smile
Smile at me once more

Uncle Bob, Great Uncle Bob
None prettier than your Lenoir
Summers on Moon River dock
Georgia breezes in her hair
Through three big boys and the Sandy girl
Through oyster roasts and Savannah tides
The prettiest woman in the world
Never far from your side

And I could watch from where I sit
I could watch all night
Your crooked fingers chase their grip
Your precious blue eyes shine

And I will answer every time
As though you'd never asked before
Just to see your brilliant smile
Smile at me once more

And I will answer every time
As though you'd never asked before
Just to see your brilliant smile
Smile at me once more

BELOVED (Shaber)

You can take the shirt
Off my back
To lay the tracks of a railroading
You can take the smile
Off my face
Take its place with your hurting

But you can't have my beloved
No you can't have my beloved
You can't take my beloved from me

You might block the sky
From the earth
You're still not worth more than we
And maybe you believe
Your one god
Is reason to rob us of our dignity

But you can't haveour beloved
No you can't have our beloved
You can't take our beloved

As human beings we share this space,
Why can't we see in every face
A line of moments breathing still
Building to this present will
To survive? A history
Mightier than bigotry
A line of love and blood and flesh
Music, dancing, feasting, sex
Anger, sorrow, envy, joy
Boasting, humbling, chasing, coy
In Jasper, Texas, or Laramie
High school heart or refugee
Is there somewhere on this great earth
Where one can love and quench one's thirst
And cool one's face
And hold one's mate
Free and safe
From fear-filled hate?

So go on build your town
Behind walls
And block all calls for interplay
Cause you can mop the floor
With my ass
It won't wipe the past away

Because you can't have the beloved
No you can't have the beloved
You can't have
You can't have