Michael Gutierrez-May with album producer Eric "Snake" Gulliksen
FIREFLY IN A JAR OF EMOTION
The lyrics for the album:
Air (Michael Gutierrez-May)
Sometimes I can't sing high, sometimes I can't sing low
And every time I ask, "Where did my breath go?"
I strive for breath control, I aim for accurate tone
But sometimes it's not there and I'm all out of air!
Chorus:
Air, Air
Air, Air, Air
I know my breath is there somewhere.
I never seem to make it to the end of a song
Without my vocal tone cracking up
And so I try again to reach up from my diaphragm
And I hope it will be there
And I won't run out of air!
(chorus)
My vocal teacher tells me not to despair
Breathe deep, find the air!
(chorus)
You Can't Take My Carrot (Michael Gutierrez-May)
My boss gave me a carrot because I was good
But now I gotta give it away
A cute little carrot with long green hair
I don't want to give it away.
Chorus:
No, you can't take my carrot
You can't take my carrot
I won't let you take it away
No, you can't take my carrot
I earned my carrot
And I want my carrot to stay, right here
So I gotta give my carrot to someone else
Someone who's helpful to me
But maybe they would like an apple or a peach
Because the carrot is staying with me.
(chorus)
The HR people came for my carrot
I kept it for more than a day.
So sue me if I am not a team player,
I don't want to give my carrot away!
(chorus to end)
Once There Was Paragon (Michael Gutierrez-May)
At the turn of the century, this was the place to be
Down by the sea by the shore
Dad took the family to the summer cottage
At the end of the Second World War
We would go visit Paragon, we would spend the whole day
Down by the sea by the shore
Oh, once there was Paragon, now it's gone, now it's gone
Once there was Paragon Park.
I worked at Klondike not far from the Buddah
Down by the Johnstown Flood sea
I never saw anything as strange as the Circle Swing'
Nor as awesome as the Galaxie
Today I paid my respects to the Carousel
Down by the sea by the shore
Oh, once there was Paragon, now it's gone, now it's gone,
Once there was Paragon Park.
I once stumbled out of the Schlitz Palm Gardens
And down the Mill Rapids I went
Laid down face flat in an old gondola boat
Don't know what happened to me after that.
But I went with my Laurie to hear the band play
Down by the sea by the shore.
Oh, once there was Paragon, now it's gone, now it's gone
Once there was Paragon Park
Oh, once there was Paragon, now it's gone, now it's gone
Once there was Paragon Park.
You Don't Know My World (Michael Gutierrez-May)
We may travel the same paths, but you don't know my world.
You don't know my pain, my beauty, you don't know my joy.
But we are still together in this neighborhood called Earth
And I will try to do no harm, I will care for you.
We are clear across the country, you don't know my world.
You don't know my streets, my sidewalks or the places that I rest
But we are still together in this neighborhood called Earth
And we are all connected, I will care for you.
I am here for now, I will be gone someday
You will go about your life
Our paths may never cross
We are awake when you are sleeping, you don't know my world
It will be several hours later when life's shadows reach your shores.
But we are still together, we are all connected
I will try and do no harm, I will care for you.
(repeat bridge and last verse, last line twice)
Life Is Beautiful (Bicycles to Somalia) (Michael Gutierrez-May)
So they say life is beautiful, we are fortunate to survive
Bring a bicycle to Somalia and let the children ride
In the face of death where there is little rain
And you're waiting for food to arrive
Won't you bring a bicycle to Somalia and let the children ride
So they say life is beautiful,
So they say life is beautiful.
Children taking turns riding the bicycle
Keeping hopes and spirits alive
Bring more bicycles to Somalia and let the children ride
So they say life is beautiful
So they say life is beautiful.
And the men and women refugees form a nation in the sand,
And where once they were powerless, they rise up, take a stand
Bring us bicycles, bring us bicycles, let all our children ride.
Yes, they're saying life is beautiful
Yes, they're saying life is beautiful.
Neponset River Murder Ballad (Michael Gutierrez-May and Colette O'Connor)
He died in the estuary, he was found under a bridge
He was missing a couple of days, then he was found
He didn't pick up his mail, something was wrong.
Murder by the Neponset River...
He said he was going out before he hung up the phone
He didn't say where he was going, then he was found.
An anonymous call from a phone, they traced the call.
Murder by the Neponset River...
Chorus:
Murder by the Neponset River, sins and a price on his head
Murder by the Neponset River, a man and a cellphone are dead.
The call was traced to Dorchester, when they found the phone it was broken
It was a Samsung Galaxy III bought in a store.
The buyer was someone named Sammy whose home address was Miami.
Murder by the Neponset River...
It's now an interstate crime, so they called in the FBI
The deceased was identified, he lived alone.
He once knew someone named Sammy living down in Miami
Murder by the Neponset River...
(chorus)
So why was Sammy perturbed? What had gone so terribly wrong?
Sammy was found on the beach near Biscayne Bay.
Sammy said that he didn't do it, the FBI couldn't prove it was him.
Murder by the Neponset River...
The moral of the story: bury your dead in a quarry
Don't bury them under a bridge, they wash up on shore
And if you go out somewhere, leave a note for someone.
Murder by the Neponset River...
Two People Walking (Michael Gutierrez-May)
Two people walking out of a building,
They never met before
One who was carrying something heavy, the other held the door
One who was leaving to go far away, the other right next door.
Two people walking out of a building
They never met before
One who was married with adult children, the other was married no more.
One who was worried she would be late,
The other was going to the store.
One spent a while looking at the other.
That could be me, she guessed
Then she got a text saying "Where are you?"
Maybe it's all for the best.
Two people walking out of a building
Some city somewhere, late afternoon.
And they never met except for that one time.
Two people walking, two people walking...
May, 1970 (Michael Gutierrez-May)
Opened the door, early morning and the terrible news was right there
Four students dead in Ohio, four students dead protesting the War.
I heard the reasons for fighting that war
I heard but I just don't remember
Was it worth all the lives that were lost in that fight?
Was it worth it to prove to the world we were right?
A couple days later, at my high school
A protest erupts against fighting that War
And the students are angry because two days before
Others died in Ohio protesting the war.
Some defending the war were enraged and upset
How it started, I don't quite remember
But those jocks charged the crowd, chased the protestors down
And fractured the skull of their leader.
A couple years later, that leader returned
To complete his high school education
His father had died in the Korean War, his father died serving this nation.
The protests continued, five years later.
The protestors ended that war.
I heard the reasons for fighting that war
I heard but I don't quite remember
Was it worth all the lives that were lost in that fight?
Was it worth it to prove to the world we were right?
Under The Sky (My Diane) (Michael Gutierrez-May)
Chorus:
Under stars and moon above, under trees and clouds, my love
Promise to me you'll always be my Diane.
It's been a year, going on two
Not very old but not brand new
When things I feel are hard to say
Your loving covers me anyway
Over the hills, traveling roads, under the sky.
(chorus)
This is an act of faith and love
A quiet promise, angel dove
Still a lot more to understand
But I still like holding your soft hands
Walking around, talking out loud, under the sky.
(chorus)
We have been many places, learned many names and faces
It's a big world out there, you make it softer.
We'll be together and apart
Keep your love here in my heart
Until the time when we are one
We'll keep it loose and just have fun
Traveling light, morning and night, under the sky.
(chorus to end)
I Will Live (Michael Gutierrez-May, chorus lines adapted from the poem "I Will Live in this World" by William F. DeVault)
Chorus:
I will live in this world that's around me
I will kiss only lips presented to me.
And look away from folly of cowards and fools
I will live in this world.
I am over my suspicions that keep others far away
I know I only hurt myself by making others pay
For the times I have been angry and the times that I've been wronged,
Better to move forward than hang on.
(chorus)
I am over ways of being that are unique to myself
I am over my indifference to science and to health
For it is better to be caring to others and myself
Better to find compassion and move on.
(chorus)
I am over being violent as the cure for any cause
I will not stand for aggression that hides behind the law
Raise my voice against oppression, we are equals on this earth.
Better to make peace and live longer.
I won't let blind faith ground me
I will live in the world that is around me
I will live in this world.
Firefly In a Jar of Emotion (Michael Gutierrez-May)
A nerve is touched, you hear a song
Your mind then goes into motion
You pick up paper, grab a pen
Catch a firefly in a jar of emotion
Sometimes, inspiration is hard
You can lead the mind to water, it just won't drink
Then you relax, maybe bite your tongue
It's not as hard as you might think.
Crumble the paper, try it again
Try to make everything come out right
Sketch out the meaning, add a new line
You know that you might have a song.
Then like a flower, a song is in bloom
It sails, a boat on the ocean
Passes its light onto everything near
Firefly in a jar of emotion,
Firefly in a jar of emotion.