Test Patterns - Lyrics (hint - go to the end for thoughts behind the songs)

Dreaming Eyes
Someday I want to meet a girl like you
With a bounce in her step, everlasting smile on her face
A boy can dream all day long  
No one knows so how can it be wrong    

Someday somebody’s gonna get a girl like you
Could it be that boy from down the street
If I dream all day long
Summer’s over before the end of this song

I want to tell you what’s going through my brain
Is there more to lose than any of us has to gain
Sometimes I watch, as you walk on by
Suddenly your looking up, we’re locked eye to eye
A boy can dream all day long
No one knows so how can it be wrong
Someday somebody’s gonna get a girl like you
With a bounce in her step, everlasting smile on her face
A boy can dream all day long
No one knows so how can it be wrong    
I can see from the look in your eyes
That you feel the same and realize
There’s no more use in this old disguise
A dreaming boy with  dreaming eyes
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Old 57
Wake up every morning way before the dawn
Stumble out of bed and throw my clothes on
Put the key in the car and my foot on the gas
Won’t be too long if I don’t have too many to pass 

Can’t ever imagine how it would go
If I woke up in the morning to a foot of snow
Driving right behind you, you’re going to slow
And with no way to pass I got nowhere to go

Living in God’s country, Old 57
You may think it’s heaven, old 57

Better watch it now if it’s a Buick or a Caddy
Cause chances are the driver’s older than your daddy
Where you going so early in the morning
Wish there was a way you could give us a warning

Looking through the wheel to see the road
I hope the Lord takes me before I get this old
No matter what the signs say, you’re driving your way
And it don’t matter if you get there tomorrow or today
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Test Patterns
The devils in the air
The mayor’s got his mouse
Spirits beware
Cos their tearing down the house Test Patterns, Their playing all night

Test patterns, Their groove is tight
Test patterns, I’m in too deep
When it’s all over I’ll get me some sleep

He’s the one in the band
And he's playing them blues
He's a one man band
And I'm digging those shoes

Thick  smoke in the air
Sipping scotch on the rocks
He’s got one foot on a chair
And the other on his soap box

Getting near the end
Of another day
Can't fall asleep
So I'm gonna stay up
Everything is TK
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Lonesome Smile
I saw you walking, you were on your own 
Slowed down my pace, so I could see your face
Your Mona Lisa mystery seems to be your style 
But all I could see was your lonesome smile 

Maybe you’ve got worries on your mind
A man too far away, another lonely day
Do you feel like you’re on a desert isle
Cos’ all I can see is your lonesome smile

Can the wind keep blowing you my way 
Heavens are calling across the Milky Way

I turn and look, did I catch your eye
When you looked my way, why did you turn away
Now I’m ready for the next long mile
Since I’ve seen your lonesome smile

But the road can be long, steep, and winding 
I really don’t mind and
My curiosity’s got the best of me
And I won’t let it rest until I get it off  my chest 

Da Vinci stares upon the empty frame
As he paints the part, what’s in his heart
But your Mona Lisa lovers style
Cannot hide your lonesome smile

I saw you walking you were on your own
Stepped up my pace, so I could see your face
Your Mona Lisa mystery’s your style
But all I could see was your lonesome smile
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Fine Bottle of Wine
Your suit and your tie, you look so distinct
Get what you want with a smile
Take all their money, give ‘em a wink
The end from the means makes it all worthwhile

Take good care of what you got
Don’t leave it behind
Getting better every day like a fine bottle of wine

Ask your fathers and mothers who came before
Your friends, your brothers, or the girl next door
Diamonds and gold, well, they keep their shine
But they lose their luster over time

Fine bottle of wine, (take good care of what you got) Fine bottle of wine, (give it more than your best shot)
Fine bottle of wine, (take good care of what you got)

Will you recover from your undercover lover?
Was that part of the plan all along?
Open your eyes you may discover
That everyone else was right and you were wrong
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Walking the Cat

TV and radio say all there is to know
Making up the story of the day as they go
If they had their way, you’d pay by the drink
As it is now they only tell you what to think

Some people say we never walked on the moon
Elvis lives in Vegas singing the same old tunes
There had to be two shooters on the grassy knoll
And we’d all be better off if there was no rock and roll

Walking the cat, Walking the cat
You may be a clever diplomat
Or a French aristocrat
But one thing I can tell you is
You’re never gonna walk this cat

One man’s opinion weighs no more than the rest
Too complicated to find out who’s best
Rube would be proud of this mousetrap we made
And the devil still laughs at the price that we’ve paid

So you might think there’s only one right way to be
But one and one and one don’t always equal three
And there’s plenty of sheep on that ship of fools
Happy to take a drink of that Jonestown juice
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Too Many Years
Turned my back on the past then walked away
Down that gravel lonesome pine highway
Leaving from the west hills 1st of February
Only doing what was necessary

Out in the woods with my first bottle of wine
Pass it around one more time
I lost my innocence with that second sip
With the taste upon my lips and your cold fingertips

Too many years, so many tears (have fallen, fallen)
So many years, its all getting clearer
It’s the past in my rear view mirror.

Waiting for the Grand Trunk train underneath the bridge
Dreaming of the days when we’d both be rich
The walls keep getting higher and higher
Trying to grab on to what we desire

What were we thinking with that first cigarette
We didn’t know what we’d come to regret
We were so headstrong
We only wanted to belong

Remember that girl, how she spun your world
With her sheepish grin and those brown-eyed curls
Watching her walk away,
You dreamed about her almost everyday
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Not About You

Sitting down to write another love song
You know it’s been so long,
yeah it’s been so long

And with this paper and pen
I write down these words
Something you’ve never heard
You’ve never heard

It’s not about you
It’s not about you

I know someone will ask
Maybe it’ll be you
Are your words really true
Are they true

Sometimes it so hard to say
Wishing you had one more day
But that’s the price that you pay
When you’re oh so far away

It’s not about you.
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Unbelievable
What do you do when you’re so far from home,
What do you do now that you’re on your own?
Spread your wings, I got to let go
You got too many seeds that you got to sow.

So many ladders that you’re gonna climb
Just remember to take it one rung at a time
Give it your all, give it your best
And the good Lord above will take care of the rest.

It’s unbelievable, not unreasonable,
I knew this day would come,
When you’d leave me in this lonesome town

What do you do when your world falls apart,
What do you do with your broken heart
You pick up the pieces and get out the glue,
Put it back together, that’s what you do.

Laugh when you can, sing from the heart
Don’t be afraid to go back to the start
We gave you the tools to help with your quest
Now it’s up to you, we wish you the best
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

Dancing in the Rain
The sun begins to set as we wrap up the day
Cold, hungry, and tired, have we lost our way?
The ripples of the stream and the heaven’s moonbeam
Puts us hundred miles east of all of our dreams

The stars so bright and the campfire light
Your blanket around us keeps us warm through the night
The ground is hard and covered with rocks
As we search for the keys to open your locks

Life’s complications are hard to explain
Like a young child laughing and dancing in the rain
The answers to the questions seem just out of reach
But maybe they’re moments when we’re called on to teach

Holding your hand as the embers burn down
The answers to our questions may never be found
Like the little child laughing and dancing in the rain
We can live in the moment and forget all our pain.
We can live in the moment and forget all the rain.
© 2012 by Fran Tesorero, all rights reserved

This album of songs started out before Sweetwood was released.  It started with the bluesy Not About You. As a writer people are always asking if the songs are true life, about someone in my life, etc. The cold hard facts are that the songs are songs, written to tell stories.  Are they influenced by things I have experienced in my life? The easy answer is yes. Are they autobiographical? Not at all.  Songwriting is a craft, and just as a painter doesn’t paint his backyard over and over again, nor do I as a songwriter. 
Here is a little background of the inspirations for each song:

1. Dreaming Eyes – I wrote this trying to write a song through the eyes of a young boy/man and his first attraction to a girl
2. Old 57 – This is a rant towards my daily commute
3. Test Patterns -  As the title track this is about a fictional band. I wound some of the names of the places I’ve played before into the lyrics on this one.
4. Lonesome Smile – Ever come across the woman with the shy smile.  Just me daydreaming.
5. Fine Bottle of Wine – My scathing criticism of those who pillage our financial system for their own gain.
6. Walking the Cat – If you  know me, you know I usually go my own way.  Ever try taking a cat for a walk?
7. Too Many Years – This one is probably more autobiographical than any other. It recounts some of my early days as a troubled teenager
8. Unbelievable – This started as a parents words of wisdom to their child heading off into the real world.  It changed a bit  through numerous edits and that’s why the original version is included as  a bonus track
9. Dancing in the Rain – Why do bad things happen? Who knows and maybe we shouldn’t try to figure it out. Just like a kid splashing in the rain