new year's eve

countdown by Alistair Chong

waiting for the countdown
in this silent quiet room
no one to share
this empty chair
and to see the number zero
ending the year
what a year

why am i

seriously by Alistair Chong

i forget what we do
that makes sense at all
i don't understand why
i'm here any more
an aimless cause
for nothing more

western bored

back where i came from by Alistair Chong

take me with you
when you go back
there's nothing here to do
flying over
over where the sun rises
just let me go

mum

mothers by Alistair Chong

mothers,
can't be grateful enough for one
thankful for being a son
to a mother
mothers,
giving ever selflessly
such a mystery
is a mother
mother,
thanks for your love
endless love.
happy birthday

not much at all

another one by Alistair Chong

just a day
where the sun came up
followed the line
til the west arrived

boxing day

sale by Alistair Chong

the rush of feet beneath
into the lights and signs
of the street
the sound of the money on a table
of savings and credit being lost in hands
between one and another
it's only boxing day

christmas

baby Jesus by Alistair Chong

the birth of a child
rocks the world
turns it upside down
those who don't believe
still changed unknowingly
on such a night

christmas eve

only night by Alistair Chong

waiting, waiting
in a farmhouse barn in the night
the birth of one
one to change the life
of the world
belief or not
we live in a world
changed and drawn
by this one's hand
oh the night

coastal

house by the sea

house by the sea
watches me go free
in the empty breeze
the taste of salt
and the smell of freedom
washes me through

treetops

the horizon by Alistair Chong

on top of the world
i'm on top of the world
without you here
these wings failing on me
i can see the horizon
but not the dawn
just beyond
because you're not here
like the sun
rising soon but not soon enough

rolling road

road trip by Alistair Chong

we're taking on the road
won't be back
so pack my load
and hit the track
finding the ocean strength
hearing the roar
breaking beyond the end
coming back for more

air

gasping by Alistair Chong

at the bottom of this pool

i don't hear anything

all i see

is th sun washing in

not much at all

swim just swim by Alistair Chong

at the bottom of this pool
i don't hear anything
all i see
is th sun washing in
in a symphony of light

the city

king's park by Alistair Chong

find the place
where grass meets the sky
where the blue finds a dye
in a tainted green
tis garden is for us
i can see the lights

someone come along

what to do by Alistair Chong

sitting here
with nothing to say
nothing to think
just me and a day
waiting for something to come along
wanting for you to join this song
knowing full on
that you're not here

flying

western country by Alistair Chong

west
go fly west
through the desert
and over sky blue sea
to a place i don't know
watching out for me
alone, alone

result

what is it by Alistair Chong

here you are
the future in your hold
are you taking it
or throwing it out cold
there's more than a number
writing out your play
don't consume this lie
they feed you every day

nearly result

who said i wanted by Alistair Chong

one day
until the plane
i don't want to go
but three hours away
i don't think i can do
twenty days

the sounds

rain under by Alistair Chong

i can hear rain
and it doesn't feel like summer
but it's nice to hear it
soothing me down
i remember the train
coming down the line
taking me back home
keeping me dry this time around

where the light is

blues by Alistair Chong

bring us where the light is
i can feel the love
through the music
the notes and light
the blues i can hear

beds

home sweet by Alistair Chong

home is nice to go
but sometimes alone
let's get to the time
we're missing someone with me

you will be

i want that by Alistair Chong

tenth let's go
let's go away
but i miss where you are
with you here
but there's some time

from afar

throw it by Alistair Chong

drive the darts to the wall
the soft thud
all i can think of
is the time we spend

sleeping

morning days by Alistair Chong

staying up to the high hours
let's go to the light
the morning comes
and goes
but let's go for the rest

weeks

forget by Alistair Chong

a week
and i can't remember
what's been going on
it's buried in my head
what's happened again?

stay

crash by Alistair Chong

we don't know why
we've left the day
just staying here
and i'm stuck on a couch

end of year

finished by Alistair Chong

finally
the end of a year
what did we do with ourselves
hoping for the better
the next year comes
but now is the way

near so near

soon by Alistair Chong

one more day
one left
until we're free
and the rest beckons over
waiting for freedom
is so near

memory

choral by Alistair Chong

the voices of man
rising up to heaven
nothing could or can
give sweet enough
stained glass windows
tell a story
different every time

i want a hug

ball by Alistair Chong

so much today
packed in my bags
something good my way
don't know how to say it
but it's downhill from here
a highpoint

the results

those kind of days by Alistair Chong

it doesn't turn out how you want
but maybe it's better
to teach you something
so hard to get that letter
but what's the lesson
you tried for no reward
nothing you could find
to look toward

a while

back by Alistair Chong

got to look at the calendar
where did the days go
i swear they were here
just a moment, a second ago

city lights again

the same by Alistair Chong

another day
another rise
another call
i'm not surprised
another stop
another train
another wait
held up again

taylor

taylor by Alistair Chong

bright wound strings
shimmer and sway
and show the way
into the night
sing a song
music comes along
more than notes
and words and music
this is a way of living

i can see it

just look by Alistair Chong

there's an album in a day
every second i breathe
i can hear words to paint it
every picture i see
shapes onto my tongue's tip
there's a song in everything
the melodies swim through every thought
i hear the lines in the air
there's nothing that falls short
of a song in my head.

a song in here

one for another day by Alistair Chong

you can't stop the plane
from taking off the runway
and i don't know how to stop it
from separating us today
because i'm leaving over the horizon
and you're staying right here
which means it's going to hurt
hurt a lot i fear
i'll write in this terminal

they're old

beach sick by Alistair Chong

what's it like to see the horizon again
after months in the dark
to see the water meet the sky
and the sunlight give water spark
it's a good thing, i tell you.
and what's it like to feel the sunlight glare
off the river shimmered surface
and catch in your hair
and to minutely feel no purpose
it's something. oh it's something.

d string heroes

take a left by Alistair Chong

he said "kid, take a left"
try something different on your feet
than to take the same old way
so down we went the Wooden Street

and what we found
was something better to try
than to follow the leader everyday
and take that right

we took a left against the lines
and found a different station
but ended up perfectly alive
in a better situation

sometimes it's hard to go against
what the traffic light says
but when you do
there's something better for you

one left

last by Alistair Chong

final quarter
the whistle blows
and the ball's in play.
i can't do anything but watch
with my broken ankle
and it hurts to see us score.

lifetime

no i'm no John Mayer by Alistair Chong

sometimes an obsession can be a dangerous thing
but i can't keep myself from this fling
the way i hear the words
and his fingers on the frets make it worse
makes me want to go underground
come out firing all my rounds
and becoming a better man
because i feel i can

your song

perfect harmony by Alistair Chong

so here we are precious memories
by the riverside in the breeze
we're so alive
with your voice inside my ear
no insecurities or fear
you're my lullaby

but i struggle to find the perfect words
or to hold a melody down
fighting to find what you deserve
well this is all i have now

don't take a step in time
this is all i want your hand in mine
hold me
because this moment is everything
we're held in this perfect harmony
you and me

describing all you are to me
such an impossibility
i can't get near
but i want you to know
that i am hopeless when i'm alone
without you my dear

still i struggle to find the perfect words
or to hold a melody down
fighting to find what you deserve
well this is all i have now

don't take a step in time
this is all i want your hand in mine
hold me
because this moment is everything
we're held in this perfect harmony
you and me

wo-oh-oh
wo-oh-oh
wo-oh-oh
wo-oh-oh

you and me
we're perfect harmony

88

in the night sky by Alistair Chong

you see the city
and it makes you feel like more
part of something big
fallen from heaven's door
you take the hand
of someone close
and you understand
what life is in prose
it makes you want to live for more

logistics

such an impossibility by Alistair Chong

finishing is a nice thing
can't stop thinking about it
and how it's going to work
let's just leave this
i'll figure it out tomorrow.

skill

artist by Alistair Chong

art
it's harder than you think
to make things mesh and link
songs
are more than just words
they're harder written than heard

speaking up again

distracted by Alistair Chong

hope i'm okay
a few more til the home way
come already, and just leave
give me something free
like freedom

cycle

broken wheel by Alistair Chong

there was a time when i thought words could weave their magic
but now it's the same to me, i've lost the mystery
there was once when i thought i could write a spell
and send my insecurity to hell, but i was deceived

i can't find the words to say anything
they're the same cliché
i can't pull my head out of this grey painting
it's the same every day

so i find my inspiration in recorded signings and deals
these words i thought i pulled from my head
my writing in hypocrisy, it turns out i steal
in a prison of mediocrity, gets me so damn depressed

i can't find the words to say anything
they're the same cliché
i can't pull my head out of this grey painting
it's the same every day

someone tell me how to do it
if you'd tell a kid
tell me how you see your dream
just like you'd tell a kid
but please don't see the irony
in telling me, please

i can't find the words to say anything
they're the same cliché
i can't pull my head out of this grey painting
it's the same every day

no such thing

dreams by Alistair Chong

dreams
they let you let them in
they watch you falling
in love with the idea
dreams
they dangle before your eyes
they give you visions
and they tantalize
dreams
they cloud your mind
then you're fed with a lie
and you see them die
dreams
once in a while
live on inside
in the greatest of lives

band

last day so they say by Alistair Chong

the start of the end
how many times has that been said?
but it's always heard
before we start and ahead
we'll be in the home straight
and we'll miss the nights we took
opportunities we wasted
and failing to look
for ourselves into the future.

as always

mortal concentration by Alistair Chong

hitting me in the chest
shattering my bulletproof vest
at a loss, what to do
missing you.
keeping find it hard to breathe
without you here with me
that's how it feels
missing you.

chill

spared by Alistair Chong

three classes and i'm fine
school is taking its sweet time
but it's alright
what else is there to do
i'm happy to be sitting
in this room
it's all downhill from here