The music of Second Story was carefully crafted, but so, too, were our words. Please enjoy this repository of our song lyrics!
Note: All lyrics are ©copyright Second Story, 1996-2004, all rights reserved.
No One Really Knows
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
Here we sit in the park
It's two A.M. and we're getting nowhere
I had to walk away and think
But I can't stand watching you crying there
We seem to have drifted apart
Was it the miles that took you from me?
I guess no one really knows…
We've shared so many words
Now words don't seem to be enough
We made so many plans
But plans are for people in love
I thought you cared
The things we shared
Meant nothing, I suppose
I guess no one really knows.
Now you're a memory
I read your letters, wish I could understand
I can't make the pieces fit
I crumple the paper in my hand
Was it something I said or did?
What made you change your mind?
I guess no one really knows…
Empty Dreams
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Scott Lewis
So lost and lonely
I've been led astray
I realize now
That's the price I'm to pay
Worldly pleasures are not real
Only you can stop the pain I feel
Stop the pain, stop the fear
Empty dreams are all I feel
All I know
When I look in the mirror
What do I see
Is the mirror lying?
Is that really me?
Worldly pleasures are not real
Only you can stop the pain I feel
Wake
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
Wake me up, pull the covers back
Call to my senses, move my mind
Can you move my body?
Wake me up, slap me if you've got to!
Open my eyes that I might see your face
Wake me from this state I'm in
What good is being
Without the feeling?
What point the living
With no chance for healing?
Wake me up, stop the drip
Stop the blip, pull the needle out
I can't take the Nothing on my lips
Wake me up, yank the cord if you've got to!
Open your mind and let me go
Take me away from this state I'm in
Return to Youth
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
When I need a place to hide, there's a world deep inside
Away from all this madness
When there's hate all around, there's a place that I have found
Away from all the sadness
I return to the days of my youth;
When to dream was all that was expected of you
And you could run and play the day away...
Is this the great wisdom of childhood?
These memories and dreams...
The place we regress when reality isn't what it seems
We embraced the song in youth
Lacking the knowledge that experience brings
Now that we have come of age will we comprehend these things?
If the walls around your soul are closing in to take their toll
And you cannot fight the pain
If your time is running out and your heart is full of doubt
You feel there's nothing left to gain
Just return to the days of your youth
When to dream was all that was expected of you
And you could run and play the day away
This is the great wisdom of childhood
These memories and dreams...
The place we regress when reality isn't what it seems
We embraced the song in youth
Lacking the knowledge experience brings
Now that we have come of age we can comprehend these things...
Sometimes
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
sometimes i wonder
does it matter
if i live my life right or not?
i'm thinking
if there's no payoff
i've tended my path for what?
sometimes i'm feeling
there's no answers
to questions we cannot find
and my eyes
see things that shock me
in memories we left behind
i shut it out
sometimes i'm wanting
for something better
than what i have come to know
it's disappointing
to be trying
so hard and have nothing to show
sometimes i notice
when i'm watching
things aren't what they seem
is it prophetic
when you realize
you'll never achieve your dream?
i shut it out
Don’t Know
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
We've only just started to know each other
But it seems you're always on my mind
I cherish the time we spend together
It just seems I'm thinking about you all the time
Don't know what it is that makes it so right
Don't know what it is that makes me happy to be with you
And I want to be with you tonight
Don't want to spend my time with anyone else but you.
I see a picture of your face
Inside my head, my dreams; it never goes away
No one could ever take your place
Is there anything I can do to make you stay?
It seems it's happened once more
I told myself I'd never fall in love again
Your love has opened up a door
All I could ask for is more time to spend... with you
Voices
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
losing my mind
shattered sanity
lost in time
and inanity
making no sense
fragments of fact
so intense
those sounds are back
voices in my head; they just won't go away
like a trance
can't let go
another chance
friend or foe?
a mind at war
which has no end
can't ignore
or comprehend
voices in my head; are they echoes of yesterday?
do i imagine them?
or can they be real?
should i defy them?
how should i feel?
awakened senses
open mind
no more fences
to be climbed
echoes ringing
in my ears
voices singing
no more fears
Drifting Away
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Scott Lewis and Mark Gollihur
Voices in the wind, they call but no one hears
The sound of lost hopes within their silent tears
As weeping willows lament with rainy skies
Parting friends depart with tears in their eyes
We're drifting away
One lonely star among a sea of sky
Shines through tomorrow until the day it dies
With darkness around you, it seems all hope is gone
But soon we'll find solace with the coming of the dawn
Don't leave me now… I'm trying so hard to hold on
Don't let the current take you away… It's pulling me under
Stay with your mind, your body, your soul…I'm losing my grip on you
Am I talking to the dark?
Angry Men
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
They send their angry soldiers into the night
The angry army of the enemy they are to fight
They will see which of them has more might
How can this anger possibly be right?
The angry men who push the trigger are in control
Waging war with guns and missles to overthrow
Saying God is on their side
How could they have lied?
They want to show the enemy that they're strong
Apparently they feel that they can do no wrong
They march into war, singing their battle song
How could this madness have gone on so long?
Never There
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
I died inside when I realized
To you I'm just a joke to be told
You feigned interest when convenient
And took off when it got old
All your friends at all your parties
Drink their beer and grin
You tell stories to make them laugh
Of all the things I've never been
I tried my best for you
I poured out my soul for you
I ruined my life for you
And you were never really there
I can see how cold you were
Now that I've had time to reflect
You'll never realize how much it hurts
To behold the truth in retrospect
You said I held your soul for ransom
Your performance rivaled mine
I trusted in your faith in me
But I was left behind
So when I've finally made my mark
Don't say you don't belong
The book will be open, pages will turn
You'll know you've got this song
Wind
From the release “Second Story”
Written by Mark Gollihur
I live to run against the raging wind
Its gusting is a worthy foe
Would you care to run with me,
And seek the things we long to know?
I much prefer my windblown hair
To finding solace from the storm
I take my only shelter in you
Your strong embrace will keep me warm
We break through to the field
Such a wide open space
There's no one around
Feel the sun on your face
Remember this feeling (such freedom)
Ignore what they've said ("you're not like me at all")
Then reach for your coat
For there's clouds overhead
Were the storm more forgiving
You could spend this afternoon with me
But the winds have stripped your spirit bare
And laid your weakness out to see
Can you see me through the pour?
Reach out for my open hand
You cannot find me, cannot reach
Cannot understand...
Wrapped in the Arms of Mountains
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur, John Lewis, Scott Lewis, Danielle Capoferri, and Tom Bardsley
Wide open, feeling the air
Ripples of water mirror the sky
Evergreens freely sway
Crisp breezes pass me by
Unspoken, unspoiled, unreal
Perfection fixes my gaze
The unabashed beauty
Takes away the haze
Wrapped in the arms of mountains
Blessed by the warmth of the sun
Showered by mist from this river
Taught by the antelope's run
Over the edge I see
The virgin soil of creation
A complete emotional connection
Time's very foundation
Wrapped in the arms of mountains
Blessed by the warmth of the sun
Showered by mist from this river
Taught by the antelope's run
Fed by this nourishing soil
Protected by shade of the tree
Freed by the cries of the eagle
Nothing to do but to be.
Shooting Star
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by John Lewis
Just a small town kid, you've heard this song before
Working in a nowhere job, looking for something more
But he's not just some small town kid; he's special in many ways
He's got something to offer this small world, pay mind to what he says
Hold on to the dreams you have inside you
Hold on, don't ever let them go
Take all of the dreams you have and grasp them good and tight,
'Cause someone stole my shooting star and let it fade into the night
The two of them are family, very close in age
Praying for the same things, but on a different page
They all want to make a difference, be remembered for who they are
They could be right there next to you, I'm sure they're not very far
Vicariously
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Danielle Capoferri
She can't remember the day she noticed
They were not what she knew
So clear to her now; it's not the same
Can't believe how things have changed as she grew
She said, "I never wanna be you, I don't even wanna see you
I hear your voice when I speak - you have taken over me"
Now that she's found the truth, she wants someone to take her away
Maybe I'll play that role today
"Every time I try to belong something pushes me further to the edge of sanity..."
Autumn
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur, based on a concept by John Lewis
The season's chill warms my memory
Warm, so warm; I feel no cold
Not who, not what, nor when; but how
I feel the dreams of years of old
From death comes life
With rain the sun
With time comes peace
When the summer is done.
I know my springtime in autumn
The cool grays illuminate me
Not a time for dying, but remembering
Of a time that used to be
Abducted
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Danielle Capoferri, John Lewis, Scott Lewis, Mark Gollihur, and Tom Bardsley
Bright shining darkness pulsing walls emanate radiant black
The insistent throb beckons seductive primal dancing
Abducted by the multitude
Vertigo peaks with the wildfire of erotic oozing sex
Euphoric masses rise and fall in undulating waves
Abducted by the multitude
Clay
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur with Danielle Capoferri
If I could sculpt your hands of clay
They would conform to mine
If I could shape your stony heart
Our souls could intertwine
If I could forge your mind anew
I would understand its scope
If I could paint our circumstance
I'd know a shade of hope
If I could change you to be what I want you to be
You would still not be what I want you to be
If portraits were reality
Would they suffer by design?
If an artist's brush could change a man
Would the painting be as fine?
But you are not of clay or stone
The only heart to shape: my own
I can't change the artist's rendering
Nor think about surrendering...
If I could change you to be what I want you to be
You'd just be more like me
Light and Silence
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur
Coming home from a dream
Looking out through the frost
The light and silence fills the longing
Floating down to the ground
Waving at the other angels
The light and silence surrounds me
Feel the cold warmth of the symphony
I'm adding my own instrument silently
Going back to my dream
Finding the story's end
The light and silence consumes me
Floating down to the ground
Joining with the other angels
The light and the silence...
Feel the cold warmth of the symphony
I'm adding my own instrument silently
It's almost as if the heavens are calling
It seems to me the world has stopped...
Dancing on the Hill
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur
The sun rises, I gaze at the stars
I wash my feet in the sand
The gods of science and gods of faith
Are standing hand in hand
I see you speaking, I hear your gaze
As the wise man babbles his prose
The windless sky takes my kite so high
That our hearts can only suppose
We're dancing on the hill, we're reaching for the sky
We're dancing on the hill, watching the world go by
The sound comes to awaken me
Monotony takes control
When living forces itself on me
It takes a small piece of my soul
It's this that takes our life away
It's this that makes us die
The dreams I dream when dreaming
Are my heaven; this is why...
Truth Is…
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur
I guess there's no room in your heart for me
It doesn't seem there ever was
Looking back, it feels like you were using me
But then... everyone does
I must be the kind of person who's easy to abuse
But this time it's different; I had nothing to lose
Truth is I never loved you
So it doesn't hurt as bad
To know that you never loved me
I can't lose what I never had
I hope you come to realize, now that you've gone away
You'll never find a woman better than me, but you never had me anyway
"Love" was just a word we said;
A selfish means for a selfish cause
"Love" didn't ask to share my bed
Truth is... love never was
The Silent Giants
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by John Lewis
A welcome apprehension.
Crowded in loneliness
Unknown faces seem strangely familiar
Uneasy comfort
So close and so foreign
Separated from the known by a thin twisting line
Lonely, gloomy, casting shadows
The silent giants stand by (We can see the silent giants...)
Leaning towards the sky (...Climbing towards the sky)
A reluctant arrival
Strangled by apathy
Solemn places shine with hope
Stirring stillness
So calm and so moving
Watch closely and hear the thoughtful mind
Lonely, gloomy, casting shadows
The silent giants stand by (We can see the silent giants...)
Leaning towards the sky (...Climbing towards the sky)
The silent giants join hands and look to the sky...
Dishonest
A Tribute to Kevin Gilbert
From the release “Thin Twisting Line”
Written by Mark Gollihur
Click Here for a full lyrical analysis of this song
You could've just suffered for your art or
Been a troubled troubadour
Instead you had to be a martyr
The tragic king who came before
Fell victim not to compromise
Nor being someone's Spartacus
A chipped heart led to your demise
The patsy for your own distrust
I listen with a biased ear
To tales I know through words alone
Perhaps the legacy I hold dear
Would be better served by stick and stone
So I'll wheel in the tea cart
We'll sit and sip and reminisce
I'll speak not of your tragic art
We'll just catch up on chapters missed
I eavesdrop and I empathize
I listen to your dreams collide
But I never really knew you like did a blessed few
If there were one thing I would take
It'd be disdain for all things fake
I won't be dishonest; no shame here for the true
Wise
Unreleased
Written by Danielle Capoferri
When I shut the door behind you
I guess you thought I'd be all right
For what we're feeling now, I'd ask you to close it a thousand times.
Can't be sure of what we're doing
Can't be sure if this is right
Sliding down, falling to the floor, all I really want right now is you
With my wide eyes closed
I dream and always see you
Taking all the wise things
Making love that sets you free
Where we're standing now, almost at the end
I constantly wonder why I ran
I'll tuck this one with all the others
Often wish I never bothered
Can't be me you're always doing
I just know this isn't right
Sliding down, falling to the floor, oh I really want to go home
I swore I wouldn't break down, you can't take my inspiration
You think you left me crying, I'm not dying, you're mistaken