Angst Ridden Writer
Off the Drive (1998)

GET AWAY
© 1988 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

The farthest I could get away
Is only half way 'round this world.
From there every road would lead me
Closer to your "go away"
Your "leave me be, and get on with your life".

And I would go driving, if I had the wheels
And I would go flying, if I had the wings,
And I would go crazy, if I had the sense, oh
I could really get away.

The closest friend that I can trust
Would try to make it all O.K.
And then everyone would tell me
How it's better off this way
And how "you are free, to get on with your life".

And I would go driving, if I had the wheels
And I would go flying, if I had the wings,
And I would go crazy, if I had the sense, oh
I could really get away.

To think anything could save me
From the perils of your love
Your "I need you to be part of my life".

And I would go driving, if I had the wheels
And I would go flying, if I had the wings,
And I would go crazy, if I had the sense, oh
I could really get away - I can't let go -oh no.

I would go driving, if I had a car - yeah, yeah
And I would go flying, if I had the wind - oh
I would go crazy, if I had a mind
To really get away, from myself, from myself
I could really get away.

IN YOUR LOVE
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

An open door, an open book
You cannot hide your fear from love
An open eye, an open ear
Can't stop the tears from raining down.

In your love everything is made known
Every part of a hear that is never shown
In your love, in your love
In your love, my secrets are but memories.

An open wound, and open hand
How to decide which way to reach?
An open heart, an open gift
Love only gives what love can teach.

In your love every ache disappears
Every place that is torn is made whole again
In your love, in your love
In your love, my pain is but a memory.

Picture a man who is angry and alone
Bitter with rage, he is trapped within his skin.

In your love, in your love
In your love, I find that I am more.

In your love, in your love
In your love I find an open door.

MY ADVICE ON LOVE
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

Hold her in the night
With all of your might
And when you hold her
Say, "by the way
You are the reason that I breathe
And I will never leave",
And she'll love you always
My advice on love.

When she starts to cry
Of course you'll ask her why
But be sure to hold her gently
And say, "incidentally
You are the apple of my eye,
I'll love you 'til I die"
And she'll love you deeply
My advice on love.

You may wonder how I know about such things
When I have hurt so many hearts
And lost so many rings
I have never been the victim
But I have to live with me
Wishing I had taken my advice on love.

When she needs a man
Give her all that you can
And when you love her
Be thinking just of her
If you don't then she will know
And she will surely go
And she'll leave you badly
My advice on love.

Well you lonliness is never quite complete
Until you know how much you've had and lost
And how your great defeat
Was at the hands of your own selfishness
Too fearful to compete
With the strength and truth of my advice on love.
Well you lonliness is never quite complete
Until you know how much you've had and lost
And how your great defeat
Was at the hands of your own selfishness
Too fearful to compete
With the strength and truth of my advice on love.
Wishing I had followed my advice on love.

LOVE IN THE KITCHEN
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

Strawberry and cranberry and papaya
Pineapple and yellow banana
I eat raspberry pies
And you watch me with your almond eyes
Well, the season is spring and that brings
So many tasty things.

Love in the kitchen has got to be my favourite way of lovin' you
Between the garlic and the lemon and a gallon of red, red wine
And with a little bit of lovin' in the kitchen
Every single day
Will bring us a little bit closer to the recipe for joy.

Watermelon, a picnic and it's just for two
Lemonade and something on the barbeque
I eat corn on the cob
And you feed me like it was a job
Well, the summer is here and I fear
That it won't last all year.

Love in the kitchen has got to be my favourite way of lovin' you
Between the garlic and the lemon and a gallon of red, red wine
And with a little bit of lovin' in the
Every single day
Will bring us a little bit closer to the recipe for happiness.

Rosemary and green parsley and oregano
A dash of thyme and I watch our tummy grow
I eat spaghetti and bread
And you watch me 'til I'm well fed,
Here in the cold winter time it's so fine
You make a child that's mine.

Love in the kitchen has got to be my favourite way of lovin' you
Between the garlic and the lemon and a gallon of red, red wine
And with a little bit of lovin' in the kitchen
Every single day
Will bring us a little bit closer to the recipe for happiness.

Love in the kitchen has got to be my favourite way of lovin' you
Between the garlic and the lemon and a gallon of red, red wine
And with a little bit of lovin' in the kitchen
Every single day
Will bring us a little bit closer to the recipe for joy.

ANGST RIDDEN WRITER
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

When I was younger with dreams so vibrant
I had a hunger to build a new means
And now I wonder why the world is so violent
Dragging me under, suppressing my dreams.

And now the colours of dreams have faded
Disappointments have taken their toll
I'm rearranging with what I am given
Trying to rid this angst from my soul.

Science has rid of us of wonder
Explained to us in foreign code
And the sceptics tear away at the dreamers
Acid tongues don't talk, they corode.

Have you every chased a rainbow ?
Others ask, "what's wrong with you ?"
Have you ever tried to make some changes ?
And have others tried to stop what you do ?

The critic romances the angst ridden writer
As if it's a spice of nobility
To be a seeker of all that's creative
But writers fight angst off through poetry.

As you drive along now, how come so many
Songs of desire of mobility ?
Caught in the airwaves, the angst ridden writer
Seeking asylum from uncertainty. (Chorus)

One day I felt restless, so I started writing
A song of desire of mobility
Then transformation, my thoughts started changing
Instead of them freeing, they imprisoned me. (Chorus)

YOU ONLY LOVE ONCE
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

We met in much the same old way
That many strangers do
Were you surprised how instantly
I could relate to you?
From far I'd come to where you're from
Our distance was no more
And on that day I heard you say
You only love once, just one.

We watched our love drift far away
But never did our souls
Was love like that made for this world
Where man tries to control ?
You cannot numb the tides that come
Or tides that now must go
I cried the day we moved away
You only love once, just one.

An now we met again today
More distance now through time
Did something wake within my soul
To see an old love shine ?
I want so dear to hold you near
Yet I'm with someone else
Who says sincere right to my ear
You only love once, just one.
You only love once, just one.

HER DOORWAY
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

How 'bout a cup of coffee ? How 'bout a glass of wine ?
I know I really blew it, I guess I do it all the time
And then she said, " I think, that everything has changed"
I acted like a fool, there in her doorway.

Lorelei, I'm wrong
Lorelei, I'm sorry, don't make me go along
And then she said,"just wait"
There in her doorway.

Above a frozen doorstep, an icicle hung down
Waiting there and pointing, toward a jester's crown
As if to say, "you fool, now everything has changed"
And I stood in the cold, there in her doorway.

Lorelei, I'm wrong
Lorelei, I'm sorry, oh don't send me along
And then she said," hang on "
There in her doorway.

It gave me time to think, how everything has changed
I grew up then and there, there in her doorway.

Lorelei, I'm wrong
Lorelei, I'm sorry, don't make me go along
She laughed and said," you fool", for everything was changed
And took me by the hand
There in her doorway.

VALENTINE'S DAY
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

Some of my best lessons in life were from the fathers of lovers I've discarded
Like I remember Jack, the father of five and of Donna-Mae
A thick old man with sausage hands, he broke his children down
And wanting to understand, I joined in his vodka confessional
Where he said that he'd lost everything
The one woman tender to him
And wouldn't you know it
On Valentine's Day.

Oh,oh, oh - broken hearts of broken men,
Broken bottles, broken homes and bones and dreams
And broken dreams
Of Valentine's Day.

Then there was Helen, who I really got stuck on, I've always had a thing for redheads
And her old man was rich, the kind that protects, and he sat me down
He told me some things about his life and about earning respect, things he learned the hard way
And though I didn't take it well at the time, I reflect on it now and use it well
And it makes me think of Jack, father of Donna-Mae
And the massacre of hearts
On Valentine's Day.

Oh, oh, oh - young loves were nothin'
But practice and preparation for the real thing, for real love
For what we all deserve
On Valentine's Day.

Soulmates don't just appear and stay, I don't care what the eighties say
E.g. Annie was the bolt of lightening that flashed on my heart and struck me down
It took everything her father had to push us apart, it nearly killed him
Instructed by this consequence I now view life this way
I see love as a balance scale, one side life and wife, kids and job and home
Weighing heavily down against a circle
On a calendar page.

Oh, oh, oh - passion flashbacks
Flare up and disrupt everything, every year
Ideals eroded by a letter from you On Valentine's Day.

HO HUM
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

Ho hum
Hum drum
So, so
You know
Down, down
Hard ground
Hey?

Oh, well
Oh, oh
See you
Solo
Downtown
What's new ?
Hey ?

Well I read ten books this week
Now I'm caught up on my reading
And this one was on the Spanish Civil War.
All the other nine were boring
Nothing new, just like you.

Ho hum..........

LESSONS IN LIVING
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Sam Masich

There is a failing man, who now contemplates ending
For there is another man, who has conquered all his dreams
There is a younger man who asks why they're both crazy
But I wouldn't give anything for any other way.

Lessons in living, are not here just for nothing
There's a way to find a way back to the way we need to go
Travel with courage, be not afraid of dying trying
Ashes to ashes, we are not as we appear.

There is a crooked man, who steals for his survival
And there is another man who catches him in rage
Younger man thinks that things should change, I know I once thought that way
But I wouldn't give anything for any other way.

Lessons in living, are not here just for nothing
There's a way to find a way back to the way we need to go
Travel with courage, be not afraid of dying trying
Ashes to ashes, we are not as we appear.

There is an ailing man who lost his hearth defending
The will of another man who conquered all his lands
There is a peaceful man who thinks that we must change this world
But I still say that it must be, for this is how it is.

Lessons in living, are not here just for
There's a way to find a way back to the way we need to go
Travel with courage, be not afraid of dying trying
Ashes to ashes, we are not as we appear.

NEW YEAR'S EVE
© 1998 Michael Friedman

On New Year's Eve
You put the old year to sleep
And you make your plans
Vows you know you won't keep
And you stare out the window
Into the cold deep snow
It's so damned cold out there
Where did the summer go ?

On New Year's Eve
Just a few years ago
My Daddy died
I still can't believe it so
Now I stare out the window
And up to heaven's door
And I see my plans
Can't include him anymore.

Why on New Year's Eve ?
Why on any day ?
Why on New Year's Eve ?
Why'd he go away ?

Why on New Year's Eve ?
Why on any day ?
Why on New Year's Eve ?
Why'd he go away ?

Now on New Year's Eve
And any day forseen
I swear I'll get more exercise
And keep my nose clean
And I'll break some o' them promises
And with a smile on my face
I imagine that he's watching
From some place.
I imagine that he's laughing
From some place.

SCROLLS OF DESINY
© 1998 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

Graduate
Authority reads out a speech
Of future kings
And how great things can come from each
Drunken royalty
Surveilling sunrise from a hill
The royal shoes seem big to fill.

We all have goals, we all have plans
Like frenzied ants upon the land.

Things of instant urgency
So important, things to be
Sacred visions of the free
Found by archaeology
Spices, all life's mystery
All on the scrolls of destiny.

History dig
Like dogs searchin' for a bone
They found a scroll
From a king who was unknown
Ancient wisdom
Expecting hieroglyphic code
Puzzled face as they unroll. (Chorus)

Secret key
For all the trials and all their worth
Eagerly
Awaited, great event of earth
Secrecy
The unveiling of a birth
The scholars broke the code -

And had to ponder in the mind
What was the secret so sublime ?
We all have goals, we all have plans
Like frenzied ants upon the land.

Things of instant urgency
So important, things to be
Sacred visions of the free
Found by archaeology
Spices, all life's mystery
All on the scrolls of destiny.

Order Angst Ridden Writer

Also check out:
Diamond Space      I Never Knew What Hit Me Until Now