The evening was a strange one together
We drove around most of the night
We saw a star fall together
And you wished on its fast dying light
We drove away in song together
The old tunes so fresh in our heads
Our voices rang lively together
Though I realized something was dead
You said "Dance with me. Dance with me.
Dance with me. Dance."

We sang “You Are My Sunshine”
Our hearts deeply lost in our song
We sang as we drove up the mountain
Singing “May you Stay Forever Young”
We had all of our hometown below us
Spreadin’ out so far and so free
I was tempted to say my dear Donna
Let’s grab what we have and just flee
"Come on dance with me. Dance with me.
Dance with me. Dance"

We could’ve headed out west to the prairies
Taken both of our hearts on the run
We could’ve made our way south of the border
Where all lovers lie in the sun
But I just stared in silence as the car lights
And I held you as close as could be
And the distance that had grown there between us
Mere dancing could never set free
But you said "Dance with me. Dance with me.
Dance with me. Dance"

I said how can I dance when my feet are so heavy
When I feel only lead in my chest
I thought I was your one and only
Now I realize I’m just like the rest
I said, how can I dance without music
When the tune lies so dead in my heart
How can I believe life has reason
When you’ve gone and torn us apart

We drove to your mother’s in silence
I watched as you waved good-bye
And I couldn’t help wonder what you’d wished for
On that fast falling star in the sky

But if you’d said "Dance with me, dance with me,
dance with me, dance"
One more time. Then I would have
danced with you, danced with you,
danced with you, danced…
all night long
‘til the dawn

*J. H. Webb

Dec. 30, 1989

In the valley of the angels
In the fields of broken snow
On the mountains of the warriors
Where the devil fears to go.
In the passions unapparent
In the tears of a restless child
In the calmness of the country
In the cities growing wild

Wherever love lies sleeping, whenever hope is lost,
A gentle heart forgiving will rise up from the frost

In the heart of bitter conquests
In the nights that never end
In the lies that hold the moment
dangling from a liar’s thread.
In the eyes of well know strangers
In the looks of friends that care
In the path of eminent danger
In the light of all that’s fair

Wherever love lies sleeping, whenever hope is lost,
A gentle heart forgiving will rise up from the frost

In the never ending stories
In the poems of bitter youth
In the ravings of an old man
Who has never faced the truth.
In the silence of the villain
In the victim’s callous laugh
In the arms of lover’s smitten
In the families torn in half

Wherever love lies sleeping, whenever hope is lost,
A gentle heart forgiving will rise up from the frost

In the bending of the willow
In the arrow’s perfect path
In the breath that any minute
Could always be your last .
In the patience of the hero
In the soul that takes a stand
In the seizing of the moment
When the moment is at hand

Wherever love lies sleeping, whenever hope is lost,
A gentle heart forgiving will rise up from the frost*

*J. H. Webb

I would have phoned you
But what could I have said
Dear "daughter of the underground"
Do you remember how you molested me?
And how I was taught not to think
of anything that was not pure pleasure
or pure *******  - one and the same you might say
You think I am not lonely
If I wasn’t I couldn’t write this
I wouldn’t be here alone
Poetry would be unnecessary
It’s open nights in the ball park
and the change of you I live for

J. H. Webb

May 26, 1991

I felt a pain where you touched me, a pain I couldn’t describe
I closed my eyes to recover but the pain just wouldn’t subside
I looked to you for the answer. You pointed at once to my side
The hole there was deep and was narrow and the wound it gaped open wide
You knew when to wait for the moment. You knew when to strike and to hide
And the only blood you got on you, was hidden in the dark of the night

Brother of mine.
Brother of my own.
My only brother.
My once upon a friend.

You ran full of need to take cover never stopping to pull out the knife
It was stronger than all of our friendship. It was longer than all of our life
It sliced the bonds that had bound us to help each other survive
And the ghost of our love for each other simply vanished without even a fight
Now each tick of the clock is an echo. Each minute a god given right
Each promise is held in detention and each truth is held to the light

Brother of mine.
Brother of my own.
My only brother.
My once upon a friend.

You know all of us live life as actors until the moment of truth arrives
So let nobody judge the actions or those who have been and survived
For all who survive are the masters of keeping their feelings alive

J. H. Webb

Mar. 23, 1982

In this life, sometimes, it seems so hard to know just what to say
But the problems they still persist.
You know they don’t just get up and walk away
And the problem with problems is they just get worse
They start off slow and then they grow and grow until they burst

And you can drink, all that you want. And you can sit all morning there alone
But soon your emptiness, and your own soberness, well they eventually bring you back home
And you can face the empty bottle; oh but not the empty feeling
Take a look at your own life and your senses send you reeling
You can’t face up to the truth so your fear sends your reaching…
reaching out…

but for the bottle or for me
that is the question don’t you see
that is the only one matters to me

And in this song, there are no answers, as in your eyes I can see there is no hope
No just a hollow, vague attraction, to your skills up upon that tightrope
I thought I heard a different drummer beating in your blood and brains
But it was just your sense of panic as the world closed in again
And now it’s time to pull down the blinds and close up this shop
turn out the lights and board up my heart
I made a mistake I was wrong from the start
You can’t bud into something that you are not a part

There’s so few people, left in this world, that want to reach out the way that you did girl
There are so few, to reach out to, that can give you more than warmth or understanding
Now I don’t’ know if I am one but I tried my best to be
To open up to you and show how easy it can be to bleed

And you can say, that I was wrong, and that you were right Baby all along
But that ain’t the way it seems, no just a self-fulfilling prophesy
And the way you fill your dreams is such a masochistic scheme
but the pain is overflowing and it’s pouring out on me
and the sights so overbearing that it makes it hard to see if you’re reaching…
reaching out…
for the bottle or for me
That is the question don’t you see
Who comes first and who comes last
That is all that matters to me

And in this life, there are no answers, and you say “then tell me what’s the reason”
Well there’s a sun that shines upon you and a life that runs for many seasons
And there are people that your love who can share your deepest feelings
Holding out a hand that’s also reaching out for healing
I don’t know if there’s a cause but together there’s a meaning. Reaching…
Reaching out…
Not for the bottle or for me
But for your own sake don’t you see
You come first and you should last
Until all of the seasons have past

J. H. Webb

We used to live in old houses together
And smoke joints by candle light

We were friends.
Good friends
Friends that listened and cared
You introduced me to so much different music
We were closer than any friends
I had ever known

I can’t listen to music now

*J. H. Webb

Aug 21, 1988

The clouds are more than half
And the moon is more than full
I miss you deep inside of me
Like the tidal waves that pull
I’m torn into two pieces
I hate you and I cry
I love you and I can’t forget
Or learn how to say good-bye

In my memories you’re naked
‘cause that’s the way I liked you best
With your hair spread on the pillow
And my hand upon your breast
Like babies in a cradle
In each other’s arms entwined
We spoke of lover forever
Far past the end of time

But I loved you far too selfishly
Is there any other way?
Now I drive my bike all through the night
And I’m alone most every day
Now it feels just like I'm falling
Falling all the time
But you’re not here to pick me up
So I just lie down and cry

J.  H. Webb