Travel Safely

You’ll Be Bright
by Craig Minowa

All the things you'll love,
All the things that may hurt you,
All the things you shouldn't do,
And all the things you want to,
They're calling your name — travel safely.

Every first kiss, every crisis,
every heartbreak and every act of kindness,
They're calling your name — travel safely.

Every empire, every monument,
every masterpiece and every invention,
They're calling your name — travel safely.

I found stars on the tip of your tongue.
You speak Poltergeist, so do I. So do I.

What comes will come.
What goes will go.

The wind will blow where the wind is blowing.
Let go of where you think you're going.
We'll never know why it flows where it's flowing.

We've always been what we will always be.
I'm so convinced we have to get there, we can part the sea.
So bring the dead to life, turn your blood to wine.
All your life you have waited for this moment to arrive.

And you'll be bright.

I Don’t Know

Dawn
by Cloud Cult, from Light Chasers

The airport's clear for a landing.
The snow is melting on the garden.
All our anxieties are in a box I mailed to Pluto.
And I feel like the sun.
Gonna burn it all away.

We rest our heads upon one pillow.
Beg for falling stars to break in our window.
Outside the evergreens are blowing out their birthday candles.
And I feel like the wind.
Gonna blow it all away.

Pray to the 'I Don't Know' that made me.
Protect my Love, protect my friends, protect my baby.
I may have worries, but I'm not going crazy.
I feel like the rain.
Gonna wash it all away.

I can't breathe unless you're in my air.
I'm not here unless you're somewhere near.
When old age calls, we'll share a rocking chair.
And I feel like the dawn.
That light is getting near.

Seeing a Song, Dripping with Color

“What happens during a Cloud Cult show is that I start with a blank canvas and the idea is that it is a visual instrument and that people get to see a song being visually rendered on stage each night.”

~ Scott West, Visual Artist & Live Painter for Cloud Cult

Born of Water

Cloud Cult - When Water Comes To Life (Live on KEXP) from Jim Beckmann on Vimeo.

and when the angels come
they'll cut you down the middle
to see if you're still there
to see if you're still there

and underneath your ribs
they'll find the heart shaped locket
an old photograph of you in daddy's arms

and then they'll sew you closed
and give you back to the water
from where we're all born
from where we're all born

and you'll feed the ghosts
and you'll feed the living
you'll be a stranger
and you'll be a friend

you'll be the leper
and you'll be the healer
you'll be the hero
and the tragedy

and when they sew you closed
they'll give you back to the water
from where we're all born
from where we're all born

and when they burn your body
all thats left is sand crystals
two tiny handfuls
all the rest is water, water, water

all you need to know
is you were born of water
you are made of water
you are living water, water, water

Have You Found Where Your Place Is?

Everybody Here is a Cloud
by Cloud Cult

And everybody here is a cloud
and everybody here will evaporate
you came up from the ground
from a million little pieces
have you found where your place is

you've been spending your time
thinking about why you think so much
if there was ever a time
now would be the time to see
your time here is limited

and everybody here is a crowd
we all walk around with a million faces
somebody turn the lights out
there's so much more to see
in our darkest places

everybody here is waiting for the next creation
they say go, go, go, go

*      *     *     *     *

Cloud Cult on World Cafe (12/15/2010)