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Songs of the Spectrum

by SingSOS

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    ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT LEADING NON-PROFIT AUTISM AWARENESS GROUPS.
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1.
Every waking hour Got to keep an eye on Every aching hour Got to keep a hand on Every bleeding minute Got to keep him in it Got to keep an eye on Got to keep a hand on Got to keep a hold on Every aching hour Someone keep a hand on Every minute every hour Someone keep an eye on When a good thing happens It means no bad thing happens Let it never be said Let it never be said Let it never be said That one went missing We’ve given him the power No longer need to hold on Every minute every hour Don’t have to keep an eye on Every waking hour, every aching hour Never let it be said that we didn’t Keep an eye on Got to keep a hand on Got to keep a hold on
2.
He Can see He can't look But he can see He can hear But he can't listen He Can't join The world He can't talk Or play He could once Some say Falling down a well He’s falling down a well And there go I Where Is he In there? How far Will he fall? Someone find me a ladder To his soul Alone In a corner, Rocking in a chair Staring in the mirror Alone while we're right there Falling down a well He’s falling down a well And there go I Who Will help me? Who Has got a clue? Who’s got the knack To help me bring him back Someone find a rope Someone send a ladder Has he given up hope Or does hope just make you madder Someday Someday We’ll share the light of day Someday
3.
I live in a shiny house So many shiny things to see My shiny house is a shiny world Everywhere I turn things are shining at me Big shiny things little shiny things All the shiny things in a row These are the only things, the only things That I need to know I look at your hand And see your ring I look at your face And see a shiny thing That’s oh so strange And such a familiar sting My day is a shiny day Can’t say hello I’m busy right now Checking out the breakfast tray Where the light jumps over that moon and that cow Shiny house by the shiny lake Shiny gives and shiny takes Shiny days and shiny nights Everything can be so bright I look at my mom One earring is missing You look at my face My eyes are missing Drops run down your cheeks They’re oh so glistening to me I think I might by shiny, too. Do you? You can’t imagine The things I imagine Cause you can’t imagine How real they are to me You can’t visit The world as I see To you one answer Fragments for me Every hour shiny Every day shiny Every face shiny Every eye shiny I live in a shiny house Every window is something shiny to see My shiny house is a shiny world I hear you calling but the light’s calling me Shiny house Shiny shoes Shiny car Shiny stars Shiny light Shiny day Can you see it my way Hey, I’m busy I’m very very very very busy It’s simple I’m busy
4.
Mommy’s here and then she’s gone Playing with her golden son Hide and seek with baby boy Laughing loud with baby joy Hide and seek When will I find you Hide and seek Oh the look in your eyes When you look my way Hide and seek The boy was here and then he’s gone No more games for him and mom Hide and seek, it’s not a game We’re searching through a steady rain What I wouldn’t do for you What planets I would chase you to To find your smile again Come shining star, make darkness end Hide and seek When will I find you Hide and seek Oh the look in your eyes Won’t you look my way Hide and seek When will I see the look in your eyes
5.
Don’t need to know to understand Don’t need to understand to know what’s wrong To have an open heart To see what Not everyone can see Not everyone can see There’s a boy inside Who’s having fun Maybe maybe of a different kind Like anyone Maybe maybe he’s lost inside No more than you Loving hearts can see what loving hearts can see There’s a boy inside Understanding There’s a boy inside Understand that There’s a boy inside Locked away, mocked away, Talked away, not tossed away There’s a time, there’s a time, there’s a time to let go all All of things that used to meet you when you crashed the walls There’s a door just now appearing though it’s not very high And a window you can see it in the corner of his eye
6.
It’s so quiet I can hear them crying They say he’s better Might be lying Always holding his hand Let go and he is gone I’ve got a feeling That something’s wrong I’m afraid there won’t be anyone to catch him he when he falls I’m afraid that he’ll live his life alone behind walls I‘m afraid that he’s slipping away right before my eyes I’m afraid that no one will hear my brother’s cries Boy is playing Not like him at all Laughing and jumping And he cries when he falls Try to talk to him, I try He never responds Sometimes I wonder why He never looks back I’ve got my own lies I’ve got my own eyes I’ve got my own life I’m telling you I’ve got to get away I can’t stay I can’t say Nothing I can do What do they say When he’s not there Yesterday he got angry I wish I was there Everyone was talking He doesn’t know He knows so much How can he show
7.
If it were his legs If it were only his legs How kind the world can be To a boy who can’t stand Whatever it takes Whatever it costs If it were his legs If it were only his legs If there were a pill If there were only a pill How simple the world seems When hope comes in a jar Whatever it takes Whatever it costs If there were a pill If there were only a pill But there’s no pill No operation Nothing easy to understand Just a child with endless demands If there were something to see Only something to see Like a crutch or a wheelchair Then we’d answer the need But there’s nothing to see Except what isn’t there It’s like grabbing the air When there’s nothing to see Brain, brain, invisible brain All too visible pain What the brain needs Like pumpkin seeds Is stuff to make it grow If it wasn’t his brain If it wasn’t his brain Maybe I’d have been sane If it wasn’t his brain
8.
You always wanted to be a daddy Talked for years and years About what you’d do with a son Baseball in the backyard Working in the woodshed Those dreams, well they’ve turned and run Chorus: Living in a house on fire No getting around the short in the wire I know you’re way past tired But will you be sticking around Or will the flames go higher and higher Are you walking? Are you out the door? Can’t say I’d blame you for bailing out He can’t tell even you that he loves you But you know he does, and he does with all his heart Living in a house on fire I won’t cheer you up be being a liar I know you’re way past tired Are you sticking around Or will the flames go higher and higher You’ve got to look at who is now Not at your disappointed dreams now It’s more than your dreams now He’s more than he seems now If you listen he might tell you what it means to be Living in a house on fire Nothing left but your Radio Flyer I know you’re way past tired Are you sticking around Or will the flames go higher and higher Baseball glove is gathering dust Tools in the woodshed rust Maybe it’s time to let go what is not And start playing the part you got
9.
At a little table A little boy is building Building something Cause he is able He's building up He’s making up He’s making up his mind He is making his mind Sometimes it’s just a simple simple thing Making a miracle You know the angels You know they’re working Down in the basement Down at the table Six hours a day Seven hours a day Eight hours a day No more today Nice job! Good work! Keep it up! You’re the best! All right! Go baby!! Maybe someday There will be An easy way To the table What every body knows What every child knows What every creature knows Except those who forget You got to get a little sweaty sometime To make a miracle You got to sweat to make miracle Everything we know and everything we do to make a miracle This is who we are and we do what we can do to make a miracle Slow motion miracle
10.
Day after day Day after day Day after day Just like a flower opening Nothing has ever brought me so much happiness Nothing ever caused me so much pain It’s beyond my comprehension Such a beautiful creation When I came back from the sea, She was silent, Adrift in another world, Enclosed in a shell. Nothing has ever caused me so much pain. Then I heard Padeen whispering, Holding her and whispering the steady whisper of the sea in the shell In his village in County Kerry, he said, such children are said to be touched by the lainhai shee and you hold them and whisper whisper and hold them to bring them out of their shell Into this world rather than another Sure, he has the gift. When I came back again she was with us entirely a darling, a blessing a bud that had opened Into this world.
11.
When you grow up Will you be strong Will you be happy Will you get along When you grow up When you grow up Will you make your way The life that’s chosen Will you have a say When you grow up ‘Cause I’ve seen Where you come from And I’ve seen The beginning till today But what I can’t see Is where you’ll be When I’m gone, when I’m gone Where will you be When you grow up When you grow up Who will you trust Will you get tricked Will you have good luck When you grow up When you grow up Will you be alone The love in your heart Will it find a home When you grow up Who’s gonna be there to give you the love that you need Who’s gonna be there to take you all the places that I can’t be When you grow up
12.
A little bit late A little bit slow A little bit long A hard way to go But he's coming He’s coming back to you A little bit sweet A little bit strange Gonna take a little bit of courage To get past the pain But he's coming He’s coming back to you When the sun rises up O’er the mountain top And light breaks into the valley That’s when you know the night has gone And he’ll be coming with the sweet golden dawn It’s been a long troubled night Gotta keep on going Keep on hoping That he’ll be coming And he’s coming, yes, he’s coming He’s coming back to you Might be a little bit late A little bit slow A little bit long Still got a ways to go But he's coming He's coming back to you
13.
It’s time to call The NIH Tell the American Academy of Pediatrics It’s way past late Hey, all you administrators All you school board members And you special ed directors There’s a simple message You ought to hear We got to get these kids some help! Get these kids some help! Stop messing around Just buckle down And get them what they need I may be just a dad But there’s a reason I’m getting mad We’ve got to get these kids some help Now here’s the deal Here’s what we parents will do Spend every waking hour And half of our dream time, too Promoting social interaction Data book satisfaction We’ll do the flash card lamination Drilling simple computation We’re not complaining We’re just doing our job We’ve got to get these kids some help! Been quite a while More than 20 years Since a randomized, single-blind clinical trial Gave a man a chance to cheer Structured behavioral therapy 30 hour a week intensity It’s been repeatedly validated So why oh why is it still hated? Why do so few kids get it When all the science is clear!
14.
You always have me hearing your side. But I don’t think you can hear mine. My side has to be heard. Nothing is true with a capital T What I mean is that nothing is completely true It’s more than one idea. Your mirror has been touched many times. My canvas has been undrawn The rainbow needs to be spread You’re imagination is like a city My thoughts have just been a forest Someone needs to switch. Your mirror has been touched many times. My canvas has been undrawn The rainbow needs to be spread

about

RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

The songs attempt the impossible: to describe the experience of autism from the point of view of the parent and the child, and to go where that experience goes: into despair, hope, exhaustion, exhilaration, awe, anger, bitterness, determination and gratitude.

The lyrics were written by New York Times writer/editor John O'Neil, whose profile of his son with autism capped the paper’s 2004 series. The music is by Jon Fried & Deena Shoshkes of the Cucumbers.

The artists who performed the songs are Jackson Browne (with Valerie Carter), Dar Williams, Marshall Crenshaw, Teddy Geiger, Jonatha Brooke, Richard Julian, Dan Bern (with Mike Viola), Don Dixon (with Marti Jones), Olabelle, Christina Courtin, Ari Hest, Kelly Flint and The Cucumbers.

credits

released April 7, 2010

All songs by John O’Neil, Jon Fried and Deena Shoshkes, except Afraid, by Chris O’Neil and Jon Fried, and My Perspective by James O’Neil

Produced by Michael Visceglia
Additional production by Rob Friedman
Recorded by Rob Friedman at Dangerous Studios, Dubway Studios and The Shed in NYC and Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY
Mixed by Rob Friedman at little life studio in NYC
Additional recording by Deena Shoshkes at The J Club

FOR MUSICIAN CREDITS PLEASE SEE INDIVIDUAL SONGS

Special Thanks: Dan Griffin
Mastered by Phillip Klum
CD art design by Liz Barrett
Web design and CD programming/design: Danny Ho
CD manufacturing help: Ric Sherman
Major all-around help: Mark Drossman
E-commerce support: Tim Smith and Verilion
SingSOS! art contest assistance: Rosa Martinez
Fairy godmother: Annie O’Neil
©2009 SingSOS! (p) SingSOS Publishing (ASCAP)

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/pages/SingSOS/51091626319

www.singsos.org

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Deena/Jon/The Cucumbers & More New Jersey

Jon Fried & Deena Shoshkes started The Cucumbers and found a home in the 80's indie pop scene in Hoboken, NJ. They have created many varied musical projects, which are presented together, here. We hope you enjoy our new music, and newly re-mastered old recordings. ... more

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