This CD was released in Asia only, which was sad for me, but I have learned to be grateful for any and every opportunity to sing and write and be heard!
I spent 9 months writing songs with Jeff Lorber in preparation for this recording. It was great fun. I would go to his house and sometimes he would have started an idea already and I would just start singing melodies and lyrics. On other songs, we would come up with a concept first and then he would quickly whip his magic together with all of his machines. He was amazing! I would then come home and carve out the melodies and lyrics.
One of my favorite songs we wrote is “Far Away”, which I wrote in the car on the way home from his house one night!
The title cut I wrote with Yutaka. I love this song! I had just recently started my love affair with gardening and this song reminds me of the joy I felt!
This record was an adventure for me out of the Jazz world. I have always been a huge R&B fan and this record gave me the opportunity to play around in that genre.
The Language of Flowers
If you close your eyes
And you listen hard
If you use the muse to get you closer
If your heart is soft
And your will is strong
If you dare to try to get to know her
She will give you breath
She will hold your hand
Offer the world but never demand
From the seed to the soil
From the root to the light, the light
You will learn the language of flowers
When your feeling under she’ll smile for you
With a wink she’ll capture your heart
And take you away
Do you know the language of flowers
When your feeling under she’ll smile for you
With a wink she’ll capture your heart
And take you away
Like a lover’s kiss
Lingers on your lips
Like the sound of music whispering with the wind
Few and far between
Ever find their dream
Are you ready to talk to love to let her in
She will give you breath
She will hold your hand
Sweet little stars on earth don’t demand
From the bud to the rose
From the rose to the heart, the heart
You will learn the language of flowers
When your feeling under she’ll smile for you
With a wink she’ll capture your heart
And take you away
Do you know the language of flowers
When your feeling under she’ll smile for you
With a wink she’ll capture your heart
And take you away
Have You Ever Wondered Why
Could it be as simple as a smile
Is that all we need to walk the aisle
A chemical reaction of the heart
Causing this thing called love to start
Or is there a master plan divine
Guiding me gently to your side
Surrounded by love and devotion
Hear the voice calling from inside
Far from pain, a distant emotion
Hear the magic that ignites the mind
Have you ever wondered why
You want me and i want you
Have you ever wondered why
I want you the way i do
Invisible to the naked eye
Attraction is something undenied
Yet where it comes from no one knows
We watch it blossom, we feel it grow
In between passionate glances
Hear the voice calling from inside
In between soft spoken romance
Lives the magic only you can find
Have you ever wondered why
You want me and i want you
Have you ever wondered why
I want you the way i do
Do you believe in destiny
Or have i chosen you for me
Out of desperation and despair
No i don’t think so, no love could compare
Have you ever wondered why
You want me and i want you
Have you ever wondered why
I want you the way i do
Have you ever wondered why
You want me and i want you
Have you ever wondered why
I want you the way i do
Lucky Girl
Found a rusted penny
On an open highway
Picked it up was steam’n blue
Held it close to guide me
Wishing luck would find me
Fairy tales don’t come so easily…but
You’ve had good fortune in your life
You never walk a step behind
You never fear what you might find
You always speak with heart and mind
Had it coming to you
You’re a lucky girl
Angels all around you
You’re a lucky girl
I have wasted lifetimes
Learning lessons and rhymes
Fate has never been real kind
There’s a four leaf clover
Could the spell be over…due
Like a child i’ll always seem
You’ve made wise choices in your life
Your mama taught you wrong from right
You never lost sight of your dreams
You always fought for your beliefs
Had it coming to you
You’re a lucky girl
Angels all around you
You’re a lucky girl
lucky!…….lucky!…….lucky!…….lucky!
When inspirations shallow
Double rainbow follow me
Along the road
Click your heals together
Close your eyes and never
Give up wondering what might be…yeah!
Had it coming to you
You’re a lucky girl
Angels all around you
You’re a lucky girl (you don’t know much about it…hey)
Had it coming to you
You’re a lucky girl
Angels all around you
You’re a lucky girl (how’d ya get to be so lucky!)
Had it coming…angels all around you Smiling down…smile’n on you Smile’n all around you…..(fade)
Little Things
A letter from home
The throw of a stone across the water
A walk in the rain
The sound of your name
A smiling stranger
A cat by the fire
A choir for hire serenading
Stars in the sky
A sweet lullaby
Knowing you love me
Sometimes it’s hard to find
It’s kind of like we are blind
To the subtleties along the ride
Living life unaware
Of the beauty we share
It’s the little things that matter most
The laugh of a child
A garden gone wild
The ring upon my hand
Table for two
A room with a view
A new beginning
Is it so hard to see
That the birth of a dream
Carries with to part of you and me
True love will succeed
If we can agree
It’s the little things that matter most
Solo
Sometimes it’s hard to find
It’s kind of like we are blind
To the subtlety along the ride
Living life unaware
Of the beauty we share
It’s the little things that matter most
I’m Better at Hello
The further i go, the more i learn,
The less i know
About saying good bye
People will come,
But in time they will always go
Sometimes long before your ready though
Now and then i try to ask myself to reason
Was this really ever meant to be
I wanna be walkin’ where you walk
I wanna be talkin’ what you talk
I have to believe that what you see
Is always the very heart of me
Once you were standing by my side
We had it all, nothing to hide
If this is what letting go is like
I am better at hello
After the love, how do we find our way
Back to friendship’s door
You give and you take,
that’s the way it’s supposed to be
Nothing in between
Now and then i find an answer in the memory
We were children much too young to know
Like a flower,
reaching out to touch the sunshine
Blindly following a feeling
I wanna be walkin’ where you walk
I wanna be talkin’ what you talk
I have to believe that what you see
Is always the very heart of me
Once you were standing by my side
We had it all, nothing to hide
If this is what letting go is like
I am better at hello
The Heart of my Heart
Time to get ready, the party is startin’
Everybody’s gathering in the streets tonight
From the top of the steeple,
The murmur of people
Excitement is in the air
Follow the lights and the laughter
It’s joy that we’re after
Swaying and dancin’ ’til the dawn
Indulge in the feelin’ the power is healin’
Everywhere that you go!
Calling every nation, in creation
Will you join us in a song
It’s a story of love
The tale of two becoming one
With the beat of the drum
And the heart of my heart,
I say, I wannna tell the world
With the heart of my heart
The joy you bring today!
Mama is cookin’
The whole town is lookin’
Summer sunset
Gracing the treetopped city linesv The history we’re making’
It’s ours for the takin’
To carry us through the years
Love is contagious, completely outrageous
We’re young and old holding hands
We greet the night
Delight in the rapture
The moonlight will capture
The passion of life
Calling every nation, in creation
Will you join us in a song
It’s a story of love
The tale of two becoming one
With the beat of the drum
And the heart of my heart,
I say, I wannna tell the world
With the heart of my heart
The joy you bring today!
This Time
So the grass is always greener
So you say your heart will never mend
You know you can’t fool a joker
Honesty will surface in the end
Never far away
From emotion telling you what to say
With a word or two
You could change any point of view
This time, let your heartbeat show you the way
Give in to desire
This time, won’t you say you’re ready to try
So the night is like a stranger
So you say you have a lot to learn
What’s the color of forever
I can taste it, feel the fire burn
Take it as it comes
We can greet tomorrow with open arms
Out among the stars
We will find forever with common ground
This time, let your heartbeat show you the way
Give in to desire
This time, won’t you say you’re ready to stay, ready to stay
This time. let your heartbeat show you the way
Give in to desire
This time, won’t you say you’re ready to try, ready to try
Take it as it comes
We can greet tomorrow with open arms
Out among the stars
We will find forever with common ground, common ground
This time, let your heartbeat show you the way
Give in to desire
This time, won’t you say you’re ready to stay, ready to stay
This time. let your heartbeat show you the way
Give in to desire
This time, won’t you say you’re ready to try, ready to try
This time, gonna give on in to desire we’re gonna go higher
Show Me the Way to Your Heart
Lost in the moment
Trying hard to forget
The love you once offered to me
I found some kind of wonder
Where do i go to from here
I remember the way you held me
With my head to your heart
Trying hard to pretend we were one
But, somehow we knew the ending
The sadness behind every smile
Two lovers making history
I’ve been saving every memory
Oh won’t you show me the way to your heart
I’m living with the mystery
All i want is you here next to me
I wanna show you the way to my heart
Every child’s enchanted story
Of a queen and her groom
he will fight for her honor and win
Why did we change the ending
We are happy ever after no more
Two lovers making history
I’ve been saving every memory
Oh won’t you show me the way to your heart
I’m living with the mystery
All i want is you here next to me
I wanna show you the way to my heart
I long to hear your laughter
Sweet music of the night
And when i want to touch you
I feel you inside
And i know
In my heart
That you’ll always be with me
Cause every dream
I dream for you alone
You Can’t Go Back
Was a time in my life
When i wandered away
From all i’d loved and known
Turned my heart strings off
Filled my ears with talk, i was on my own
Not a day not a night went by
When i thought my world would crumble down
Threw my conscience out
Buried fear and doubt
hoping it would never show
So the story goes, mother nature knows
Everything will come to pass
What goes up comes down,
What you hide’ll be found
No matter how hard you try
Now is the time to celebrate today
And you can’t go back
But you can go on
Keep lookin’ to tomorrow
Yesterday is gone
No you can’t go back
You can never never go back
But you can go on, on
I’m awake, i’m alive
I can feel again, i will survive
Here and now i believe
Got my eyes on love, it’s you i need
So the story goes, mother nature knows
Everything will come to pass
What goes up comes down,
What you hide’ll be found
No matter how hard you try
Now is the time to celebrate today
You can’t go back
But you can go on
Keep lookin’ to tomorrow
Yesterday is gone
No you can’t go back
You can never never go back
But you can go on, on and on and on and on
A New Way
You said you’d lost the fire
Did you turn away too long?
Where do we find desire
Does it leave us like a passing storm?
I never saw your heartache
You never let me really know
Just how to hold you closer
Give you strength enough to help you grow
I found a new way of loving you
Now my heart is open wide
You showed me a new way of loving you
The magic was always in your eyes
The moonlight made me kiss you
The way we’d loved so long ago
And all at once the feeling
How i’m needing you to make it through
I found a new way of loving you
Now my heart is open wide
You showed me a new way of loving you
The magic was always in your eyes
Hand in hand together
With honesty we can’t go wrong
My heart has room to hold you
Here at home, is where you belong
I found a new way of loving you
Now my heart is open wide
You showed me a new way of loving you
The magic was always in your eyes
I found a new way of loving you
Now my heart is open wide
You showed me a new way of loving you
The magic was always in your eyes
Far Way (Japanese Bonus Track)
Listening to the rain
All sounding the same
Now that you’re gone
Where are the plans we made
Caught up in yesterday, far away
Playing with your hair
Whispering the words I want to hear
I can remember when
Nothing was said or done from far away
Why does this happen
No one really know
It’s hard to believe
When your heart is up and gone
Just another day
Looking for a way to make it through
Everything comes and goes
Promises never known, you’re far away, hey yeah
Why does this happen
No one really know
It’s hard to believe
When your heart is up and gone
Your footprints in the sand
The way you’d understand
My ups and downs
Color is fading past
Will the memory last from far away
I can remember when
Nothing was said or done from far away
Everything comes and goes
Promises never known, you’re far away
Color is fading fast
Will the memory last, from far away, far away…….