I Never Knew What Hit Me Until Now
Off the Drive (1995)

WIND WATER FIRE
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

I hear the wind a'howlin', I hear them fire engines roar
I see the water sprayin', inside a smokey burned out store.

Wind water fire, are comin' down the road
A heavenly choir is singin' in my soul.

Flames burnin' up the sky, people's eyes affixed to the glow
There's talk of Mafiosa, insurance profits from the show.

Wind water fire, are comin' down the road
No need askin' why when you see danger 'round that curve.

Wind water fire, are comin' down the road
A heavenly choir is singin' in my soul.

Your love it burns in me
It feeds my thirst, it keeps me cool
I need you just to feel whole and alive
It gives me meaning and perspective
My objective is to try and
Wind water and your fire.

All things indicative, all things relate to us all
Warnings from the Gods, watch your weakest links lest ye may fall.

Wind water fire, are comin' down the road
A heavenly choir is singin' in my soul.

Wind water fire, are comin' down the road
Look like they conspire to finish fates controlled
By wind water fire.

I NEVER KNEW WHAT HIT ME UNTIL NOW
© 1995 Michael Friedman

You meet the elders at the crossroads
They say " Go seek your fortune."
But do you look for love or mine for gold?
And if you find you look too hard
You end up with neither
All you do is end up growing old.

When I was down, you were there
And you offered me your life to share
And ever knew what hit me until now.

I have travelled around the world
Searching for something.
Held auditions for a female leading part
Had one marriage that wound up shattered
Error and trial
Never thought I'd endure that broken heart.

But when I was down, you were there
And you offered me your life to share
And I never knew what hit me until now.

Now I look in the mirror
I see me smiling ear to ear
Could kiss the ground, kiss the clouds
Kiss anyone near.

You can laugh after lightening strikes you
If you can survive it
Heart and mind and soul electrified
When you hear that crack of thunder
After the countdown
You certainly know that you're alive.

When I was down, you were there
And you offered me your life to share
And never knew what hit me until now.

A PERFECT HEART
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Colleen Eccleston

A perfect heart coloured on a page
Little girl watching the colours change
Daddy is so distant, he's slamming all the doors
Mommy don't be tired, don't you want me anymore?

A perfect heart loving all the world
Time tolls as the fates unfurl
Lines are always changing, no telling where they start
So rarely do they fall in the shape of a perfect heart.

A perfect heart drawn on his face
Shades of her desire well from a deep dark place
Adonis, perfect lover, beaten by her need
Empty mask of perfect love is the only one believed.

A perfect heart loving all the
Time tolls as the fates unfurl
Lines are always changing, no telling where they start
So rarely do they fall in the shape of a perfect heart.

A perfect heart starving in her breast
Fantasy of love, time has laid to rest
A wave of final truth slowly wore it all away
Til she feels the love inside she tried so hard to give away.

A perfect heart loving all the world
Time tolls as the fates unfurl
Lines are always changing, no telling where they start
So rarely do they fall in the shape of a perfect heart.

MICHAEL ROW
© 1992 Michael Friedman

Drowning in a sea of words that never lead to action
Oral intentions never lead to anybody's satisfaction
And somewhere on a map people perish
While we're busy keeping score
Michael row that boat to shore!

I used to make believe this world was made of milk and honey
But I've come to believe it's only made of greed and money
Cast adrift in a sea
Of strife and war
Michael row that boat to shore!

I remember all the speeches, all those words are silent echoes in the night
The promise of a new world to be anchored by a thousand points of light
While half a world away, hallaluyah,
We kicked their butt sore
Michael row that boat to shore!

Sometimes I have to dry my eyes, I just can't stand to take it any more
The crying of humanity, the circumstances right outside the door
While on some other planet we'd beat them up
And give them what for
Damn it, Michael row that boat to shore!
We're cast adrift in a sea
Of strife and war
Michael row that boat!

TWO GUNS, TWIN ARROWS
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

Driving through Two Guns in the rain
Visions of heros in my brain
In the horizon a black crow
Upon a sign that says Twin Arrows.

That says all I have to know
Roadside history
Somehow through this insanity
Remains a quiet dignity.

Two Guns to fire for new ideals
Twin Arrows fly among the wheels
Two visions struggling to conceal
A wasted harmony.

Where rock and sky converge
Two cultures strangely merge
Two Guns blaze with arrogance
Twin Arrows die in self defense.

Blinded by the eyes of pride
Building visions come to life
But when they kill the other side
Part of themselves die.

Two Guns to fire for new ideals
Twin Arrows fly among the wheels
Two visions struggling to conceal
A wasted harmony. (two lose).

Two Guns fire one salute
Along this curving road of truth
Twin Arrows mute irony
A sad and final harmony drives along with me.

IS IT A GAME?
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

Now I'm sittin' here, thinkin' back on younger years
I see a different man, with the same old hopes and fears
Mid-life crisis looms, is it a change in my chemistry?
It seems like just a couple years ago, I turned from 22 to 23.

Is it a game, is it a play?
Watching stories change a little on the way
Is it a game, is it a play?
Do I make a difference in your life day to day?

My babies are growin', becomin' what they wanna be
It seems they're growin' up, much faster than me
I still love the same kinda songs, nice melody with somethin' to say
The song stays forever young, while the singer gets a touch of gray.

Is it a game, is it a play?
Watching stories change a little on the way
Is it a game, is it a play?
Do I make a difference in your life day to day?
Is it a game, is it a play?
Do I make a difference day to day?
The only answer that I find
Is I love you.

But now the crowd files in, it's time for another show
I'm hopin' for the chemistry, to touch them with the words I wrote
I don't know why I'm up here, I guess I never will see
Just tryin' to make a connection, with the universe 'round me.

Is it a game, is it a play?
Watching stories change a little on the way
Is it a game, is it a play?
Do I make a difference in your life day to day?
Is it a game, is it a play?
Do I make a difference day to day?
The only answer that I find
Is I love you.

TIED IN KNOTS
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Colleen Eccleston

Brother Sister Daughter Son, fashion who you are
Father Teacher Mother One, reaching in too far.

When every string in your heart is tied in knots
Cacophony no matter where you turn
When every thought in you mind leads to a knot
Endless repeating lessons never learned.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

Words that echo what's inside, never sound the truth
Knots that in your youth were tied, never letting loose.

When every string in your heart is tied in knots
No symphony will your life ever hear
So automatic the responses tied in knots
Sheer mastery of not but guilt and fear.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

If all the knots could disappear, naked would you be
In the moment you could live, wonders could you see.

When every string in heart is tied in knots.
When every string in heart is tied in knots.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

RIVER SWIM MOUNTAIN CLIMB
© 1994 Michael Friedman, Kevin Vogen & Hugh McMillan

I've come from the river where time has no meaning
As I gaze at the water I am drawn to the undertow
The scariest part is the vision
The fear that I might lose control
It's a leap of faith to be one with the current's flow.

They say that life is a river
If life is a river, swim
If love is a mountain
Love is a mountain climb.

As I stand at the mountain it's size overwhelms my senses
I could slip and fall or merge with it's boundaries
Winds of fate at my back say go now
You're alive and you must be free
To grab hold of the passion oneness universally.

They say that life is a river
If life is a river, swim
If love is a mountain
Love is a mountain climb.

LOVE IN MIND
© 1994 Michael Friedman & Kevin Vogen

I am the voice of your love
Calling from within
Questioning the value of your life
If you don't let your love begin.

As long as you've got love in mind
We live on if you've got love in mind
When I'm gone I'll have your love in mind.

Oh, keep your love in mind.

All wounds try to heal
With your love in mind
All pain comes from those
Who have other things in mind.

Greedy souls with no love in mind
Black holes sucking space and time
Cynical with no love in mind.

Oh, keep your love in
Forgive the souls unkind
May you be blessed with love in mind.

Hard to make ends meet
With your love in mind
Love will keep stability
While the pressures build you can unwind.

Only as long as you've got love in mind
You are strong if you've got love in mind
Nothin's wrong with your love in mind.

Oh, keep your love in mind
Forgive the souls unkind
May you be blessed with love in mind.

Order I Never Knew What Hit Me Until Now

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