Election Day

"Election Day"

It was Election Day

And I voted for a change

I know you like that status quo

But it's much too predictable

It was Election Day

And red, white, and blue filled the rooms

The result

Something new

I want this

Now with you

So change

Because we always stay the same.

Poem

"Poem"

I have difficulty awakening from sleep

Because when I dream, you might be waiting for me

In the last one

I had a body of ice, my organs frozen solid

It was not a good thing

But one of those wierd melting away and dying things

And you had come to be with me

Even though it's fiction in real life

I can only speak to you in my dreams and in my rhymes

But it becomes clear, clear like pure ice

Out of these poetic dreams is where I'll make my road

And I don't want to walk all those miles alone.

Miss America

"Miss America"

Hello there

Miss

I swear you met me once before

We had a conversation in a diner

On the corner, during dinner

And our words fell to the floor

They were flat, without love

Without any reason to float above

They felt cold, could not hold

That conversation for very long

And I thought there was something else

Honey, there's gotta be something else

For you to say, because I'm tired

It's the end of the day

And it's difficult for me to formulate

Any words to charm you with

Who are you

Miss

I'm sure you have some kind of

Autobiography for me to read

With some lovers, you're a fighter

Battle scars fit for a soldier

And we talked, for hours

You said you lived a little life

In this little town with a big frown

They don't bring you up, only down

And I thought there was something else

Honey, there's gotta be something else

About one of the things you said

I don't know what happened then

At the end of your senior year

But I would've taken you there

To the prom

Miss

I'd have strength at the end of the day

To ask you out in a charming way

And you would've remembered it

But now you too easily forget.

To Settle

"To Settle"

It was

Friday night at home

Boy and girl sitting together alone

Lights out and dark in room

An excuse for curious hands to move

Something says no

Her eyes say yes

Already this far

Shirts taken off chests

In order to help ease the weight

That a heavy heart may resist

Then and done

This night gone

Perhaps the same time next week or in two

Because neither is going to find love anytime soon.

Lyrics Fill Rooms From Top To Bottom

"Lyrics Fill Rooms From Top To Bottom"

I sang a song and

Lyrics fill rooms from

Top to bottom through

The door they plan to make their escape

Destination includes warmer days

I built friendship out

Of fragments found on

An old backyard where

Their hearts never had a chance to bloom

Broken pieces recycle to new

And you could do the same too

I ran miles to

The town limits cause

Here's a place without

Any fear of crossing the outside

New thoughts easily enter my mind

I saw a note that

Spoke of love and so

I wrote a poem oh

One for anyone to read it read

"I like you, I like you, I like you"

And you could do the same too.

Fall Semester

"Fall Semester"

All these bags are filled with clothes
All these days are getting cold
I'm down to my last days here

...at home

I'll be the first one to leave
Don't forget about all our memories
Retell them before I go
Or we won't remember them anymore

All these words are left untold
All these thoughts are unresolved
And I left my dreams of you

...at home

I hope we can keep in touch
You say you'll see me when we both get back
But these things don't work out so much
Because of the distance spread out by months

And hey, I gotta go now
Everything's waiting in the car
You don't like saying goodbye
But I'll still think of you tonight
And hey, there's just this one last thing

Can you call me when you come back home?

Time Travel

"Time Travel"

What a way to know

I fell too easily in love

When I spent my time with you

It's an explanation, not an excuse

After a semester without sleep

I dreamed of going back

Where you would never find me

I'd hide behind all of Berkeley

I could not turn clocks

To when I wanted it to be

I might've done it again with you

If I had time to make an excuse.

The 1950s

"The 1950s"

She had a look of the 1950s

And I made conversation for her to speak to me

She said "why hello, how do you do?"

"Doll, I'm doing real good now that I've met you"

She had that look of the 1950s

So I asked her

"Have you ever listened to Elvis Presley?"

"I fell in love one summer in Memphis, Tennessee"

And she had a smile with some familiarity

From black and white memories

Cause I've seen that smile before

In the movies...

San Augustine

"San Augustine"

I woke up in the middle of the night

Put my jacket on and then stepped outside

And walked to the place where my heart had died

Reminiscent I had my phone

Searched for your name

But deleted it long ago

It was probably best that way

No words I'd say

Would do any good anyway

With one last stare I started home

Though swore I saw

The ghost of the heart I had owned

But it now belongs to this place

As I walked by

I only remembered your face

You were beautiful that spring night

When it was time to say goodbye.

I Wish I Wrote This In Binary

"I Wish I Wrote This In Binary"

He could not escape who he was meant to be

A student of Berkeley EECS

Was tied to computer screens

And it's true

He spends some of the day programming his codes

But at home

Paladins take his time but don't come to life

Still alone

Doing nothing until 4am tonight

He falls into a deep sleep

And forgets he once had dreams

One day he'll meet someone to marry

She'll love money

But at least he'll get his family

Oh not exactly anti-social

But pro-online

Seems an accurate way to describe.

Point Pinole Shoreline

"Point Pinole Shoreline"

I left the golden hills of Berkeley tonight

And went northwest towards the Point Pinole shoreline

It was dark when I entered the trail but

As I came to the Bay I saw the lights

There the San Rafael Bridge was close to me

Cars drive over water so casually

Further I sensed what had taken me here

The Gate which had made me question all fears

I don't have the future but I want my fate

Before my past becomes easily erased

If it's true we're different then tell me why

We feel love and hate like we're all the same

I can't see what lies in dark

I don't know what is my part

Beyond the Bay is where I need to go

Because I have to learn more of this world.

Thursday Night

"Thursday Night"

I left love inside a plastic cup

And set aside a trash can

Where you could throw it up

In case you've had enough

I walked you home late that night

To make sure you'd get by all right

You offered to let me into your apartment

An inviting dark with no roommates inside

But you were unaware of your senses

And slurred too many broken sentences

I wasn't sure if you were just in love

It felt too easy but I'm not one to judge

Cause I stayed over for just a few hours...

Though not long enough for mistakes to matter...

You took in too much of me

But it's hard to want to leave.

The Engineering Album Excerpts

1. Paper Inventions
2. Los Angeles to Saigon
3. 8am Lecture
4. Sustain Me
5. A Human Network
6. This Equation
7. <3
8. The Engineer
9. Continuity

---

1. Paper Inventions

Welcome and here you'll find are the blueprints

For a brand new invention we're building

It will come together so easily

Efficient and even exhausts nothing

So why don't you apply these words and lines

We will begin to synthesize something

Make us the ones who can get it all done

Process it and we can make it happen

Give us the chance to create this

And we swear we won't hit and miss

So we are ready...

Our dream is to make your dreams come true

To get rid of your sorrow and strife and

Make happiness your only virtue

By having the poetry come to life

Oh yes we'll take you for a ride

Hovering on these words that rhyme

Fixing the variables that make fit

Our new invention is almost ready

I'll let you in on a little secret

You're in the beginning stages of feeling it

But the one thing missing is a field test

We'll have you use it or it's all a mess

Don't leave us waiting on and on for it

Read the lines and see if it's a success

Give us the chance to create this

And we swear we won't hit and miss

So we are ready...

Our dream is to make an invention

That runs real love through all your living veins

You'll feel a pulse that's not mistaken

So strong you'll find it in the afterlife

Oh yes we'll take you for a ride

As the poetry comes to life

This is the paper invention.

---

2. Los Angeles to Saigon

I received a letter in the mail one day

The envelope stamped and with a purple seal

Signed in the upper left with Hometown Hero

Inside was a necklace with a silver key

The message said it could open anything

So I wore it waiting for the right moment

Because the engineers are fine without me

But I will join them when I think I'm ready

To unlock the changes the world wants to see

I don't know what will happen but I have dreams

Bridges span from Los Angeles to Saigon

On the way making sure nothing will go wrong

Oh I want to change the world

In the best way possible.

---

3. 8am Lecture

This scene so usual to me

The girl sitting in the same seat

During the 8am lecture

I could not escape this sleep

But don't wake me up, I won't wake up

Just let me stay, I won't wake up

Because then I started to dream

Just a mix of unfinished thoughts

That still made so much sense to me

It seemed like reality

And even though my eyes were closed

I imagined I still took notes

All of my writing was unclear

But I understood ideas

She appeared sitting next to me

It felt more and more like a dream

This morning with this lecturing

We were both falling asleep

Her heavy eyelids were too much

Resting her head on my shoulder

My cheek was pressed against her hair

In that moment then and there

I woke up

But with no notes on my paper

She didn't come any closer.

---

4. Sustain Me

I once met

An environmental engineer with sights so clear

She always made better resolutions for New Year's

Like multi-colored papers saved in her room's corner

Only to be recycled later

In high school she used to have visions of the future

The journey had mixed blue and gold to green together

But it was clouded by the black backdrop of machines

I asked her how she saw the picture

She told me

"Say anything, but do what you dream

It's not imagination"

Because imagination is only in the mind

But it's the beginning and a strong showing of signs

She wanted to plan the seeds for years and years to come

Before roots went reverse and undone

Hometowns, my part, one life, some start

Bad habits carried through summer solstice

Getting so caught up cause I didn't know

How to water this sustainable growth

This time, not late, rewrite, our fate

I didn't take notes on how to begin

But she smiles and whispers in my ear

A message she wants everyone to hear

Telling me

"Say anything, but do what you dream

When you say the world's like this

Your life is the change"

It's not imagination

It's simply someone doing something so amazing.

---

5. A Human Network

Impulse to reaction

I think I can make it happen

My chains here I'll make them broken

I look up and see the sun filled sky

The air is clean and clear and all the birds pass me by

I see outside the coming of night

And all the light bulbs glow with green energy all right

I take a deep breath and deep inside

All the pollution is gone from the earth and my mind

Impulse to reaction

There are things I would like to do

To save this world for me and you

While we enjoy our time playing

Men and women sometimes struggle to make their living

Over and across all continents

They come home and what I will try to provide for them

Sources of power stabilizing

And water so clear thirsty souls can finally mend

As I open my eyes one more time

The only thing I have yet to have done

Is connect everyone under this undying sun

We're here forever don't forget it

Our different lives left our results unexpected

I attempt to build these bridges here

To keep our communication from having to fear

Fear from ever losing human touch

On them cars run on electricity and I see

From a distance a while away

Hearts traveling on the highway on this sunny day.

---

6. This Equation

Any given night you might be out

With your friends you're painting the town

But most nights I'm sitting here at home

Studying problems all alone

Sometimes I wonder how we ever became friends

Because behind your closet

Is that dress you're so stunning when you wear it

And look inside your cell phone

Yeah these outgoing calls have my first name shown

Oh on your computer screen

There are conversations between you and me

You think I'm a gentleman

Someone you've found to become a rarity

For some reason you like being close to me

And I really do enjoy your company.

---

7. <3

This situation showed symptoms of the heartbreak blues

The best Berkeley students backed it up with solid proofs

Misunderstandings he never knew

So he set up his own investigative review

Evidence unmistaken brought to realization

Misunderstandings he never knew

And there was a girl

Who was the intended criminal

But the mathematicians said she committed no crime

When she wrote to the boy the given line:

"I <3 you"

It was found out that

<3 isn't "heart" but really "less than three"

Arguing the equation was valid and it might look

Like a heart but they found on thing missing:

A live beat

Technically true she was less than three of the boy

So a confession of love could not be admitted

Both were free to do as they wanted

She was released on all charges of the heartbreak blues

And all this complication caused the boy confusion

Caused a means for a love of nothing.

---

8. The Engineer

Oh how sometimes

There's something perplexing

Kills me inside

And leaves my head aching

Inside and out

I'll prove all laws hold true

But this one thing

I can't understand you

I'm checking the math on every line

But there's no formula here for this

These solutions take far too much time

If I get it right please tell me when

Because I can't understand you and

I'll try over and over again.

---

9. Continuity

Turn one last page

Did you learn something about us?

Maybe you were too quick to judge

We tried to make the greatest invention

Leave us here

We are trying to figure out more equations

About how

Our numbers light up the sky

And this is something we can't explain why

When we translate them to read

They transform themselves and we are amazed

As they put smiles on each face

We marvel at the result with tears in our eyes

Cause we are content knowing

That the numbers turn to words turn to

Poetry right before they come to life

Cause we are content learning

That everything we do we are satisfied

At the result as we are living our lives

We hope you enjoyed your time here

Our dream is to make your dreams come true

This is the end of the paper invention.

At Night

"At Night"

La la lies of

Love keep us up at night

Cause we don't feel quite right

And

A long walk home

What a slow pace we own

We take our time because

When

They all cross the finish line

They drop us well behind

We're not good at the chase

We're not ever first place

La la la, la la lies

We're never anyone's first place

La la la, home at night

Sometimes wondering why we try.

---

The sun sets fast

Baby our time...won't last

I was thinking

You should stay here...tonight

It was springtime

When I wrote these lines

The warmer air comes in

When we left the window open

And we'll lie here

But not to each other

But rather on this bed now

Not waiting for time to run out

Cause we're not in the race for this

They're in the lead and leading us on

And if it means giving up our first place

We'll run together at our own pace

I'll forget those dreams

They mean nothing

If you would stay

And I could love you

If I had to

If you would stay

Here, at night.

Sustainability

"Sustainability"

Temperatures rose

To over one hundred degrees

We took some shade

Underneath this gnarled oak tree

Its trunk twisted this way and that

Look closely and you'll see

Outer bark shaped itself to resemble a heart

For our lives I thought this was a reward

What a misconception for our warmth

I breathed the distinction of sulfur in my lungs

As the smoke from the fire made its way along

I created this fire, didn't I?

A while back, I must've left some lights on at home

I was in such a rush to get to you I was careless

Something short circuited and sent a flurry of flames

I'm sorry, I'm to blame

We should start thinking

Of sustaining you and me

Or what we have will turn to nothing eventually

Because I'm feeling this fire more and more

And the smoke makes its way into my veins

The pollution it spreads into the air

I took in eight hundred pounds of despair

And I know it doesn't feel so good now

But with a little bit more time we'll work it out

I'll recycle my thoughts again and again

With every use they gain more meaning

Temperatures rose

To over one hundred degrees

And we'll stay here

Underneath this gnarled oak tree

Soon we'll be self-sustaining

With this brand new start

Reused from the ashes of broken hearts.

Springtime!

"Springtime!"

It was a warmer springtime day

And had warmer currents carry drifted hearts astray

I don't know about you

But I'm witnessing something great

This spring everyone will have someone to be with

Because when we step outside

We'll catch these hearts like catching butterflies

I don't know about you

But it's a lovely springtime day

And I could chase you until March, April, May.

Let's Save the World For All

"Let's Save the World For All"

Let's smoke some cigarettes

I think it's time for a change

I breathed through the filter but

Nothing in my mind became clearer

Everything stays the same

Let's hike through redwoods

I think I know how it feels

When I stare up towards the sky

I can only see traces of sunlight

And it makes me feel small

Let's leave the music on

I think I'd like to sing the chorus

The passion still remains in words

But I mumble during the verses

This I know is not perfect

Let's walk on Shattuck again

I think my father's been here before

When he was younger he would

Go on this street and not be so alone

With you this is something I also know

Let's save the world for all

I think if we were honest with

The things we say there'd be no pain

I'd understand you cause you for me

Would let me know how you're feeling.

The Carrie Lacoeur / Hometown Demos

The Carrie Lacoeur / Hometown Demos

1. Gentle Boys
2. Carrie Lacoeur
3. The Hometown
4. Familiarity

---

1. Gentle Boys

These gentle-boys meet club mix girls

Get all worked up

And write 'em poems

Oh this is how they like to roll

These gentle-boys can't bust a move

On the dancefloor

They don't get loose

Staying at home waiting like fools.

---

2. Carrie Lacoeur

Oh Miss Carrie Lacoeur

With a name like that

I know you could melt my heart all away

It's cause of your radiance and just like the sun

If I stare too long my eyes are forever stunned

Oh Miss Carrie Lacoeur

Take me for a ride

Yeah we can get out of park anytime

But even though your speech is my ignition spark

I fear the fumes I'd inhale when hearing you talk

And your image is placing a filter on my rhymes

Cause everything I dream of has your face on it

So now the more and more I think I think it's perfect

My pulse is pumping but I need to find a cure

Because my heart would die for you Miss Carrie Lacoeur

Oh Miss Carrie Lacoeur

I rarely see you

In real life and you never have the time

And yet you're still running for miles in my mind

Adrenaline in my system not really mine

Oh Miss Carrie Lacoeur

I'm sick of all this

But I can't quit even now I need a fix

I never understood how you did this to me

Memories manipulated so easily

And I'm not even taking you in through a filter

I dream when it's day and lie awake when it's night

There's a battle and I don't think I can win this fight

My hands are shaking and I need to find a cure

Because I'm addicted to you Miss Carrie Lacoeur

Oh Miss Carrie Lacoeur

With a name like that

I know you could melt my heart all away

Oh Carrie.

---

3. The Hometown

"Wilson, I just want to go"

You're always talking about

Leaving this town getting out

This place caused you pain for years

Really nothing for you here

And you're counting the days

You're thinking away

The people here broke your heart

You never got that new start

The answer to this problem

Is a new life without them

And you're counting the days

You're thinking away

And you hate this town I know

You're dying, you're dying to go

You say goodbye to your friends

Hey Hometown Girl they loved you so

Memories you put aside

Making way for your new sights

But it doesn't hurt inside

You're feeling, you're feeling just fine

Cause you're counting the days

You're going away

Now you're walking past that street

Where you got your first sweet kiss

You tell me it makes you sick

All that love passed by so quick

Did you know we weren't all like him?

We loved you and you were something

And oh how your heart turns so dim

Cause you're counting the days

You're going away

And you hate this town I know

You're dying, you're dying to go

You say goodbye to your friends

Hey Hometown Girl they loved you so

And you start this life I know

Inside leaving nothing behind

And now you leave this city

Hey did you remember to miss

Did you remember to miss me?

Me and our biggest dreams

Packed away like your clothes so clean

We never had a dance

Hometown boys never get romance

You'll find someone out there

A gentleman with all that care

Like how you imagine

And I am I'm no exception

And yeah you thought this was the truth

The things, the things you never knew

And you hate this town I know so

Your love for here is growing old

And you love this town I know

You're crying, you're crying for home

Upstate it's not quite the same

Nobody up there knows your name

And you try this life I know

Inside everything's left behind

And so you come back to here

Remembering those now so dear

So dear to you and it's true

It took you so long to learn

You never had to start new

Hey Hometown Girl we love you.

---

4. Familiarity

Whenever I come back home and walk these streets

I remember the days that meant so much to me

But these memories I can't catch so clearly

I think I might've forgotten everything

All the words that I would try to say to you

It feels like they left and left me with nothing

There's a problem and I can't find any trace

I'm turning the room upside down and around

In this state I can almost recall your face

I think I once took a photograph

And all these old thoughts came running back

What happened to the memories we once shared?

They're lost somewhere in my mind somehow

Only captured in this faded photo now

In the process I was unaware

That you took all my memories away

On that final summer day

Every little bit of this town helps me remember

High school flirt track spike dirt and what do I see?

The hearts that were revealed so effortlessly

Maybe this was just a part of your bigger plan

To leave me here after you finished your crush

After I spent my time loving you so much

I think I once took a photograph

And all these old thoughts came running back

What happened to the memories we once shared?

They're lost somewhere in my mind somehow

Only captured in this faded photo now

In the process I was unaware

That you took all my memories away

I can't find the words to say

I hope you find someone to love out there

I hope I'll forget enough not to care

I hope you find someone to love out there

When we come back and breathe the hometown air

You will be so unfamiliar to me

Lost in the chain of memories.