Change Scroll down or click a song title to see the song's lyrics:     Time - includes streaming audio!     Crawl Inside     Your Smile - includes streaming audio!     Walking In Your Footsteps     Power of Pride     Ten and a Half     Winterclear     Mi Luna     Keep the Change - includes streaming audio!     History Teacher     Madison's Tune     Let Me Go     Prayer Without Words Time I guess it's time The silence is waiting for me Words rising up from my lungs Like a baby coaxed out of the womb Not without pain But there's something so right For a small sacred moment we see The old know no more than the young I'm stepping in out of the rain I think it's time Reading my lines Weaving my own history Words flowing over my tongue Filling the space in the room Speaking your name Held in the Light And all that it shows me to be And all that I'm sure to become You're taking my hand just the same It's time Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Audio: Time David says: love it when a song that I wrote is powerful for someone else in an entirely different way from its power for me. I intentionally left a lot of space in this song for it to weave into any sort of rite of passage, but for me it is very specifically about my own Quaker wedding (we had two ceremonies). For some people this song sounds heavy, but for me it's all about reverence and powerful expectation. DavidLaMotteFan.com thanks David for his generosity in letting us share his songs. If you enjoy David's songs, you may order them here. Listen to more songs in the Audio Library. Crawl Inside Gonna crawl inside your head Gonna move a few things around You got your furniture up against the doors It’s bound to be slowing you down You've been getting in your own way And that’s a silly thing to do I’m gonna crawl inside your head Make it work a little better for you I’m gonna crawl inside I’m gonna crawl inside I'm gonna crawl inside your heart And bring a whole bunch of paint From the outside it’s so beautiful From the inside it just ain’t And I know this will be hard for you but your graffiti's got to go I’m gonna crawl inside your soul So you can see what we all know I want to crawl inside your soul Gonna cook you up a little meal ‘Cause you’ve been feeding yourself this garbage Makes you feel the way you feel You got stuff in your refrigerator That’s way, way overdue I’m gonna crawl inside your heart And give you something that’s good for you I’m gonna crawl inside I’m gonna crawl inside And when we’ve got the dishes washed And soaked the brushes in turpentine I was wondering if you might have a minute To help me work on mine I’m gonna crawl inside I’m gonna crawl inside Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2005 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Your Smile So you wore out your clothes You wore out your shoes You sweated and struggled You paid all your dues And this is your moment Just look what you've done Feel your heart pounding You've already won And if anyone's wondering Was it all worthwhile... You lifted that weight When your body was sore You ran for the finish You shot and you scored You jumped in that water When the water was cold It took your breath from you But you held to your soul And if anyone's wondering Was it all worthwhile They can look at your smile Look at your smile Fall into my arms now I'll wrap them around Raise up your hands and Wave to the crowd You are a champion And we're all so proud Look at our smiles When we look at your smile Just look at your smile Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Audio: Your Smile David says: this song could be about any number of things, I suppose, but I wrote it when I was asked to play the opening ceremony for the 2004 North Carolina Special Olympics state games. That was quite an honor, and this song was written specifically for, and about, that event. DavidLaMotteFan.com thanks David for his generosity in letting us share his songs. If you enjoy David's songs, you may order them here. Listen to more songs in the Audio Library. Walking In Your Footsteps Fifty million years ago You walked upon the planet so Lord of all that you could see Just a little bit like me Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Hey Mr. Dinosaur You really couldn't ask for more You were God's favourite creature But you didn't have a future Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Hey mighty brontosaurus Don't you have a message for us You thought your rule would always last There were no lessons in your past You were built three storeys high They say you would not hurt a fly If we explode the atom bomb Would they say that we were dumb? Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps Fifty million years ago They walked upon the planet so They live in a museum It's the only place you'll see 'em Walking in your footsteps Walking in your footsteps They say the meek shall inherit the earth They say the meek shall inherit the earth Words and Music by Sting Power of Pride She’s in an old long sleeve t-shirt On a sunny summer day But I can see the bruises in her eyes She tells me someone hurt him A long, long time ago Says it’s not for me to judge or criticize Look at all these hand-me-downs What are we supposed to do with all this history? And the power of pride The power of pride He heard the windows breaking in 1938 His family disappeared, he was alone That railroad led to nowhere and he ran for all he had Now tanks roll through other houses and other children throw their stones Look at all these hand-me-downs What are we supposed to do with all this history? And the power of pride The power of pride September came with smoke and flame No one could believe the scene was real Now by my own hand the children of a foreign land Know just how I feel Look at all these hand-me-downs What are we supposed to do with all this history? And the power of pride The power of pride Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Ten and a Half I've got a size ten and a half mouth Fits my foot just perfectly Looking back it's a good thing now That they took out my wisdom teeth They must have taken out my wisdom too 'Cause I can't believe that I said that to you I've got my heart in a double knot And my forehead in my hand Like a crook who has just been caught It's too late for a better plan It's like the time I asked that heavy woman when she was due I can't believe that I said that to... You're so good to me You'd never beat me up or sue But just one time I'd like to be the one to forgive you So should I get on one knee or two? With my hands full of my hat Well I wrote you this little tune Do I get half a point for that? You'll let it go like you always do But I can't believe that I said that I can't believe that I said that I can't believe that I said that to you Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2006 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Winterclear The barren branches stark against the sky too cold to breathe They hold the golden sunlight as it were a fragile thing And stand outside my window, beckoning to me But I list the warmth of sunlight among things I once believed The leaves were brown and brittle and they broke beneath your steps They rustled all around your feet and settled as you left I listen for your whisper and the sigh of your regret The trees and I are waiting, but we haven’t heard them yet Winterclear The first storm of the winter took a tall and ancient tree She gave in to the tempest like a worn Terpsichore Now I can see her graceful strength was hollow underneath The graying sky and I must read the rings of history Winterclear Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Mi Luna Mi luna ha visto tanto Que cuando le canto su plata me acuna como a los santos Y los prisioneros, los amantes Los locos errantes y los pordioseros que amamantamos tu luz Cuando no hay amigos, pan ni dinero Solo la poesia que flota en el aire sincero Y en las bancas solas que hay en los parques Que mueren de frio esperando amores amanazqueros Ay mi luna llena, escucha la pena Cuando un hombre canta al amor que muere Ay mi luna llena, escucha la pena Cuando un hombre canta al amor que quiere Ay mi luna llena, escucha la pena Cuando un hombre canta al amor que espera Ay mi luna llena Translation My moon has seen so much when I sing to her, her silver cradles me as she cradles the saints, and the prisoners, the lovers the crazy wanderers, the beggars and all of us who are nourished by her light When there are no friends no bread nor money only the poetry floating in the air full of truth and the lonely benches in the park dying of cold waiting for the lovers at dawn Oh full moon of mine listen to the pain when a man sings to love that is dying Oh full moon of mine listen to the pain when a man sings to love he desires Oh full moon of mine listen to the pain when a man sings to love he waits for Oh full moon of mine Words and Music by Salvador Cardenal Barquero Keep the Change Maybe twenty years ago now You were waiting tables and wiping chairs He never looked up from his menu Like you weren’t even there You just knew that he would stiff you So put together and self-absorbed He slapped a fifty on the ticket And he muttered these few words, he said There isn’t much you get to keep Here’s a little tip Keep the change So this morning you were driving It came screaming through your head How nineteen turned to forty Like yellow turned to red How waitress turned to mother How love bug turned to van How that money turned to nothing When he put it in your hand, and said There isn’t much you get to keep Here’s a little tip Keep the change Just a rich guy in a diner Left a bad joke with his bill The cash was gone by Sunday But the words are ringing still Now you’re crouching in the front yard With your fingers in the ground And the weeds keep pushing up While your own body’s slowing down Don’t waste your breath on wishing No need to raise your voice Change is always optional If dying is a choice, and There isn’t much you get to keep Here’s a little tip Keep the change Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Audio: Keep the Change David Says: This lyric evolved gradually, but was originally sparked by my brother-in-law Eric saying "Change is optional, y'know - you can always die." In other words, change isn't optional. That percolated in my cognitive crockpot for a while and I wrote a lyric around it, but there were parts of it that weren't working. I was talking with my wife Deanna about it one night and she helped me overhaul the song. She's a wonderful poet, and it's great fun to have our first co-write together on this song. DavidLaMotteFan.com thanks David for his generosity in letting us share his songs. If you enjoy David's songs, you may order them here. Listen to more by David LaMotte in the Audio Library. History Teacher High school basketball, Friday night Little kids playing under the bleachers The coach is a history teacher Nothing looks great under flourescent lights But the home team’s looking half-decent tonight That one’s my nephew, which one is yours? Number twelve, he’s one of the new guys His age is the same as his shoe size Little boys watching their brothers Strutting and trying to look tougher Hoping they’ll grow tall enough for High school basketball, Friday night And we can’t understand the gym speakers But the coach is a history teacher Do you see 23? That whole row is his relatives His Mom looks sad, sitting over there next to his Red-faced Dad, trying to hold back the expletives The kid's not bad, but he’s not resurrecting his Dad’s old broken dreams See how he screams Three generations in tow His grandfather almost went pro And it looks like the roots will take hold So it’s root, root, root for the home team If they don’t win he'll be shamed It’s not only a game It’s high school basketball Friday night With the shouts and the squeaks of the sneakers And the coach is a history teacher The coach is a history teacher Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2004 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Madison's Tune Instrumental Music by David LaMotte ©2006 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Let Me Go It’s been such a nourishing evening The laughter, the food and the wine I admit to a bit of soft sorrow To come to the end of this time But mostly I’m warmed by your kindness And lifted by stories you told They will sing me back home through the darkness Like a wind at my back down the road Let me go, let me go Like the last leaf of autumn, the last April snow Let me go, let me go Time is a river and rivers will flow Let me go When I come to the end of the highway When at last the long journey is through I will stand at the door and remember The time was spent well here with you So raise your glass in a toast to real living Kill the wine while the candle burns low Spend a breath just to savor the moment Draw me close and then just let me go The hour and the daylight are passing We reach for a fist full of wind So give me your hand and your blessing And I’ll pray that I see you again Let me go, let me go Like the last leaf of autumn, the last April snow Let me go, let me go Time is a river and rivers will flow Let me go Words and Music by David LaMotte ©2005 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP Prayer Without Words Instrumental Music by David LaMotte ©2006 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP