Album – Unpainted
Flashing Lights
Written by – Wendy Nichol & Ian Russell;
Production – Ja’Marc Davis, Jonny Wright
Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals – Wendy; BGV – Ian Russell & Wendy; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek
My wisdom’s only something repeated
If you latch on you’ll be defeated
I’ve carried my fear like a badge of pride
Waiting on a sign to fall from the sky
Waiting on flashing lights
Waiting on the stars to align
Some kind of perfect design
As if perfect would make it alright
Why is it that every action tells
A little bit of freedom and a little bit of self
Belief without action is dead and gone
And I can’t sit here and watch life move on
Then, it went black, ’til I saw the LIGHT shine
Show me, show me the light
Do you see the need that’s greater than me
Flown the Coop
Written – Wendy Nichol & Ian Russell
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals – Wendy; BGV – Ian Russell & Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek
There are mistakes you’ve made
And pride makes you afraid, trying to get it back
And the traits of a soul’s divorce
Are like selling things you can’t afford, can’t afford to lose
Oh She’s flown the coop, could not get out too soon
She’s letting go, he’s
How do you save it, take hands full and claim
How do you make two, communicate and make it through
We all reach a point of no return
And hope we can real it in, real it in
But the trials that we face
Are not staring back with grace
Imagine us together, neither passing flight of feathers
You and me, you and me
Imagine
You and me, you and me
Known
Written by – Wendy Nichol
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar – Wendy; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek
She heard goodbye, goodbye
He meant don’t cry, it’s gonna be alright
He knows that he’s fallen from that throne
He wants to be the king of her world
He heard you failed, you failed
She meant I’m proud, no matter what avails
She hopes that she’s the queen of his world
She knows that he depends on every word
The mechanics of a tongue break down
In route, translation can’t be found
And two loved hearts unspoken
When it comes to deeper things
Walls become our tragedy
Two whole hearts are broken
I heard nothing, nothing
You said I’ve given you everything
I hope that you can see me from your throne
But you’re heart’s aching just to be known
To know and be known, to know and be known
I want to know and be known, I want to know and be known
Leaving
Written by – Wendy Nichol
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar – Wendy; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the path that I’m on
Is one crack pipe short of overdosing, a meal that is overdone
But my sneaking suspicion is that all my efforts aren’t undone
Every time things don’t go my way or a challenge comes along
I’m leaving, leaving it all behind,
The weight of doubt is more than I can take this time
I’ve got a new revelation that I don’t endure in vain
I’m one lap short of a victory dance and my drought is one day short of rain
And my new revelation is that my fortress of self-preservation
Is more than just a guarded heart it’s a lonely observation
I have been riding this bike under water for so long
The endurance of timing and worry of chance have given me
But when the waters of doubt recede and freedom finds me free
I’ll be of soft skin and strong mind with more than a care to carry me
Green
Written by – Wendy Nichol & John Shelton
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar – John David Shelton; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek; Mandoline & Violin – Rick Morton
Steppin to a new tune, wear it on my face
No more clinching my jaw, it’s an open space
It’s green on this side of the tracks
Pullin out the stops, breaking every mold
Somehow it’s new and somehow it’s still old
Back and Forth, Up and down
All there is to be found is, green
Tell me it’s a dream and I’ll tell you it’s a plan
Walk a day in mine and you’ll see what I mean
It’s green on this side of the tracks
Thicker skin than before, see through it even more
Still just a mess but it’s beautiful to me
Intoxicating love (repeats)
Your mercy and healing
No tragedy reigning
Your love never waning
Intoxicating (love)
So Close
Written – Wendy Nichol & Ian Russell
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals – Wendy; BGV – Ian Russell & Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek; Violin – Rick Morton
The fog outside is a little bit chilled for the cold dark circles you’re giving me
I will take your heartfelt shutout and hope you hear me
There’s a chain reaction of events ripping through our trust
And I know I am to blame for half of the pain
Love comes so close
I could reach out and touch
Love comes so close
I could reach out and touch
Love comes so close
And then you take it away
I’ve got an empty space beside me that I’ve tried so hard to fill
How do I always push away the thing I want near
You don’t need another Delilah
I could be your Juliet
I could be your universe
But I’d settle for being right by your side
Quitter No More
Written by – Wendy Nichol
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar – Wendy; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek
I can read it on your face
I can see it in your eyes
But I know there’s a disguise and a silence over-taking
But you can have it
You can have the fleeting thoughts
I’m not gonna sit here and build a case against you
Oh there will be days, days to overcome
And there will be the hours, hours we need prayer
Some days are easy and some are hard and overwhelmed
But here’s my promise, I’m not going anywhere, going anywhere
I know well the push and pull
We all know I tend to run
We all have caves and fields but mine are overgrown
I often throw away
All that threatens to be broken
But my tool belt is armed and ready to bare my heart and heal
Quitter no more (repeats)
Home
Written by – Wendy Nichol
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Piano – Wendy; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek; Violin – Rick Morton
I’m sitting here on the empty floor
Seems like we’ve been here before
No depth of light can shine into this heart of mine
And bring me back the prayers once prayed in overtime
I can’t take back what I lost today
No words describe my inner pain
I don’t know… why you’d take him home
There will always be things I don’t understand
People making choices breaking trust and then
There’s death and life, and theft of a much deeper kind
We fight or flight, and can’t decide which truth to mind
I can’t take back what I lost today
No words describe my inner pain
Cause I don’t how to call this home
Home’s with you, no matter where you are
I feel cracked and broken down
Wondering how I’m gonna get around
But I’ve seen your face, I know things this can’t erase
My hope past due, I find it only works in you
I can’t take back what I lost today
But you’ll redeem this tragedy some way
That’s why I know… Your arms make this
Friend
Written by – Wendy Nichol
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar – Wendy; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Electric Guitar – Jordan Phillips; Drums – Jesse Sprinkle; Bass – Ryan Creek; Violin – Rick Morton
The war in the living room has forgotten I’m even there
My invisible walk to school, all the faces there that don’t care
A constant uncertainty, the reward of the hungry
A state of emergency, without alerting an authority
You called me friend (2x)
You called me loved
You called me
There’s no defense, believe me, I tried to play
Every need gets met, but some in the worst of ways
I was walking alone
Till you came in and held my hand
You called me your own
Said I was your best friend
I held my eyes closed
You waited till I let you in
Now you’re in, you’re in my friend
And you still call me
You call me loved
You call me
Love You Breathe
Written by – Wendy Nichol & John David Shelton
Production – Ja’Marc Davis
Acoustic Guitar 1 – Wendy; Acoustic Guitar 2 – John David Shelton; Lead Vocals & BGV – Wendy; Bass – Ryan Creek; Djembe -Wendy; Congas, Shaker & Tambourine – Amira Al-Jiboori
For those who curse themselves
For those who covet those who’ve held
For the size two and the size twenty
Those not let down gently
Who shouldn’t have been let down at all
Never wish you could just dissolve
To become unremembered and unmentioned
Neither place yourself at the heights of dissension
But the LOVE that you breathe in each day
Makes it worth this lonesome way
Empty is in what you choose
You can win or you can lose
Blasted genes that make me unique
Colored stripes that shade my physique
My voice, my thoughts they’re all wrong
The lie that my name says belong
A family line of blessing or curse
A look, yeah that connection of course
And the responsibility that I will not carry
For the man that walks next to me
My rock is my thoughts, my hard place my will
I’m stuck in a rut that makes me think that’ll I’ll fail
And I try and I try but I cannot perceive
That the day will arrive that I can achieve
Strength in my fist, endurance on my knees
I’m made with a purpose you can not stop me
The plight of a lie has brought days of misery
But the joy in today’s light has surely found me
Album – Steppin Up‘
- Steppin' Up
- Thinkin'
- What If I...
- There Have Always Been
- Light To Your Demise
- I Just Do
- Seeking You
- Beauty Queen
- This Is For All The Girls
- You Will Love Again
- It's Called Not Meant To Be
Steppin’ up to the mic
Trying to say hello, legs like jello
I’m caught, it’s what I’ve sought
Can’t walk off now
Plagued with the shakes, calling on God to remove the quakes
Reaching, out breaching the commitments of smoothness
Placing my fingers to each string, hoping it will bring
Calmness to my nerves
I open my mouth to pour the words from my soul
The room fills, and then the chills, unspoken thrills
Understanding comes to each didn’t have to preach
Can they relate to at least one trait
Do they comprehend the stories I lend
Can they hear through all my fear
How do they feel about the things that I spill
If I was only better, does it really matter
The trials, and defiles of my minds I put aside
To see something change through my expression, and confession
Have you caught a piece, of the inner treason of which I have released.
Thinkin’
I wish I would’ve hugged you last night
Why’d we have to say goodbye so soon
After we had talked for hours
We finally saw the moon
I can hardly believe
How beautiful you are to me
A few days ago we were nothin’
Now we’ve shared so many things
Thinkin’ of you
And I’m wonderin’
If you’re thinkin’ of me too
And I…want to see you again
Dreamers dream
Lover’s hopelessly love
Drivin’ themselves crazy
But never givin’ up
Could it be true that I
Finally met you
The irony of love
I must say goodbye so soon
Oh the thought never again
Yes the doubt did descend
Into my mind recently when…
Oh you fill my mind every now and again
And I was wonderin’
If you’re thinkin’ of me too
What If I…
Too many chances to say the profound
Slipped from my lips still encrypted within my self
Too many moments that have passed
Things I didn’t say that would last
And it seems maybe others have forgotten too
But I can’t bare my neglect of you
I must tell you what I’ve thought of you
Tell you what I’ve thought of you
What if I never said the words
Told you how I care
Told you how I need you near
What if I never showed you love
Let you always know how you truly rock my world
Then I wonder have I ever moved the emotions of your soul
Have I ever stirred heart-felt thoughts
Have I tugged at the forgotten strings attached to your parts
Or have I moved like the unnoticed breeze today
Like the wanderer whom I paid no mind to
I must tell you what I’ve thought of you
Tell you what I’ve thought of you
There Have Always Been
I feel your arms wrap one at a time
I begin to shake on the inside
I don’t know a feeling that compares
To this moment here with you
There have always been things in the way
There have always been games I have to play, to play
There have always been the long silent pauses that draw me into you
There has always been, there has always been you.
I have always sought to the moment’s thrill
I knew they’d never really fill
I have finally reached the point
Where I don’t want the ones who inevitably say goodbye
Tryin’ for the things that bring me
Pleasure for the temporary
Then I’m broken by early mornin’
Why does it never seem
To hurt anyone else as
Much as it hurts me
I never want to hinder
Your arms again
Light to Your Demise
Black hats to black shoes, impression on the streets
Open windows to the soul, covered as heaven weeps
Do we keep learning even when we die
Or do we remain vacant as on earth because we don’t try
I am not my hair nor my clothes, not even the things that I do
I may come close to words that from my soul do pour
Then I realize that it’s someone else’s words
Someone else’s thought or idea or set of chords
And I don’t have time
I don’t have time to be like you
I won’t absorb your negativity anymore
I want to see the sunrise
And bring light to your demise
Made me unique he said so many times
I only wish that I could see through my fleshly crimes
Up and down roller coaster calls for faithful walks and faithful hands
Ripped with good intentions but plagued with name brands
Stealing from my surroundings the ashes to everyone else’s cigarette
Claiming from the crevices the winning side to every bet
Blue shaded glasses when I want to see it blue
Yellow shaded glasses when you see it that way too
Hats of every kind, words to match to moment
Clothes of all designs to give witness to the remnant
I just want to be me, who I am and what I want
But I want to be you and what to you is always pleasant, go figure
Go figure…
I Just Do
I’m supposed to be over you
You’re supposed to be gone
It’s time to let go
And not write another love song
But how can I…. when every song on the radio’s a love song?
How can I…when every subject that I think on leads me back to you?
I suppose our emotions
Can always lead us astray
And moving on is best
Regardless of what you did not say
I just do (repeats)
Cause I don’t find my peace in you
Seeking You
You’re on the road I can see there are signs ahead
The fog is thick so is the grief and
You’re trying hard to figure it out and trying to ignore it at the same time
It’s broken glass swept under a rug, a memory already forgotten
Pushed away, blamed for who you are and everything you’ve had.
I don’t know if you’ll ever find your way
I don’t know if peace will ever find your pain
I don’t know if you’ll see the truth or find true love
Find true love but I know Love is seeking you.
There’s a time and place mixed between fear and faith
And you’re caught in the middle of a tug of war
It’s perception mixed with distraction
It’s those same broken glasses passed down for generations… it’s just your turn
Beauty Queen
Size ten is too big it just won’t work
It doesn’t fit the image I hide here in my heart
I’m ugly and bound to forever be free
Cause no one ever likes what they see
She cries cause she believes her beauty will never be seen
She lies, she heaves one last time to fill the need
One more pill that just won’t fill
The pain in my stomach is far too real
My clothes are too tight they’re all looking at me
They think I’m gross, why can’t they see
I can’t watch you do it anymore
The beauty of your rays of light penetrate the darkest night
You’ve got a sea of beauty queen flowing from inside of thee
This is for All the Girls
This is for all the girls
Who wanted to live up to the dream
Of being someone else’s world
This is for all the girls
Who bought the after morning thrill
Because of last night’s unprotected pill
This is for all the girls
Who couldn’t wait long enough
And now all you can do is wait… to find out
I’ve been there and I’ve done that
You’re gonna make it through
There’s better don’t make that
A pattern you’ll have to break through
This is for all the girls
Who hide behind the tough guy mentality
To protect themselves from the cruelty
This is for all the girls
Who think they have to control
So someone doesn’t try to mold them into that role
This is for all the girls
Afraid of the future pain
That any close relationship might bring
You’re not alone, you’re not condemned
You need to break away from that
You can be healed, of the pain
You deserve better than that
Hold onto faith, He’ll be the way
You can be truly free
Breakaway, expect the best
Don’t be afraid toBreakawaye rest
You Will Love Again
I’m no expert on life but I think I am sometimes
In my eyes it should match up but life’s poetry never rhymes
Not until we look back and see what we didn’t know
So I’ll stick to what I know and learn the rest as I go
How tragedy can so often be what’s best
Even when we don’t understand broken hearts do rest
They mend, they grow, they love again
When God comes in a lends a healing hand
You will love again (repeats)
Don’t forget to express the feelings inside
Good or bad they’re your own not to hide
It’s okay to love when someone doesn’t love back
It’s okay to give when they’re giving lacks
Admire with an open heart, fear not rejection
Let your mind not be subjected to dissection
Love doesn’t love in order to receive love
And mercy is not something unheard of
It’s Called Not Meant To Be
Days amazed with walks and barefoot grassy-laced dreams
Rain fallin’ but only on you and me
As we dance under tears of heaven
And special stars painted sparkly words
Just for our eyes to see, just for us to dream
Oh candid place to be, I’m dreamin’ of you and me
But time goes by
I was in love with you
And you were in love with me
But it’s called not meant to be
Called not meant to be
Anywhere with you was my place in your eyes I’d long to stay
Mind’s contentment to be true I knew I had to be with you
Clouds of disarray broke the heart-shaped words you spoke
Passion it took but love awoke… anyway
I’m tired of
on
the that
dream and I’m
Tired of
on to you and me and I’m
Tired of my heart ache just from
your name
I’m tired of
of you and me
Some Extras‘
Mountain
You have got to find a way to be
Cause everything you’ve done has changed me
I want to climb that mountain that’s staring, staring me down
And look toward that summit without a single glance at the ground
You have made me look deep within
A depth of character only struggle can bring
If I could open the floodgates and let love pour in
I’d shower you with kindness and empower you to win
I’d give up nearly anything to know you’re never lost
It’s not a challenge at all to count the very cost
I’d run races for what is sacred
I’d tear down walls of self hatred
Cause if you’re never told, what has been bought and sold
You’ll give it all away and you’ll never know
Last chorus:
So climb that mountain that’s staring, staring you down and look toward that summit without a single glance at the ground
Ignored
Perfection
Perfect is my enemy
Captive it has kept me
Contemplating so much failure
The what-ifs and the maybes
How long with I hold on?
Judgments and comparing
Descriptions by the “caring”
Aggressive from the passive
and the voice inside of my head
How long will I hold on?
I cannot see in front of me
But it must be good
Every time I look into our eyes
Everything is understood
Stretch me but not breaking
I exhale all life gave
Exchanging for redemption
And the hands that cover me
How long will you hold on?