Lyrics to original songs on Christiana's debut CD, "My Own Little Heaven".
All songs copyright Christiana Gerstner
Except Dream a Little Dream by Kahn/Andre/Schwandt
My Own Little Heaven
Crickets sing on the summer breeze, my own little heaven
Harmony with the honeybees, my own little heaven
Sunset melts in a pool of pink; the hummingbirds come and take a drink
Climbing high up the garden wall, the roses must be ten feet tall
In your arms as the evening falls, in my own little heaven
Used to be the night would fall, the sun would set, the birds would call
But all I heard and all I saw was one more day gone by
Now I hear a symphony and every sunset that I see
I take as one more gift to me, like sleeping by your side
Crickets sing on the summer breeze, my own little heaven
Harmony with the honeybees, my own little heaven
Velvet skies turning midnight blue, the moon and stars playing peek-a-boo
Lullabies in the words you say, I'm drifting off to sleep this way
In your arms at the close of day, in my own little heaven
In your arms at the close of day, in my own little heaven
In your arms at the close of day, in my own little heaven
Brave Enough for Love
I gotta know if I'm riding the wrong train, I gotta know if it's time to get off
I gotta ask you one burning question: Baby, are you brave enough for love
Would you sail a boat 'cross the ocean, leave your childhood far behind
Just to reach a land of plenty you'd seen only in your mind?
I gotta know if I'm riding the wrong train, I gotta know if it's time to get off
I gotta ask you one burning question: Baby, are you brave enough for love
Would you sink into the muddy water to your elbows, to your knees
Just to find a shiny diamond if you had no guarantees?
Does a fear of fire mean you're never gonna light a candle?
If you're gonna run away before there's more than you can handle,
Tell me now, 'cause...
I gotta know if I'm riding the wrong train, I gotta know if it's time to get off
I gotta ask you one burning question: Baby, are you brave enough for love
Baby, are you brave enough for love?
It Turns Out I Can't
I know I said I'd be better off without you
I was the one who walked away
I know I said I'd be happy on my own
I could smile without seeing your face
But it turns out I can't, it turns out I can't
Tried to make it alone but it seems all I've done
Is to find that I can't
I know I said I could pass you on the street now
Smile and say hello and walk on by
I know I said I'd forget I ever loved you
I'd forget how your hand felt in mine
But it turns out I can't, it turns out I can't
Tried to make it alone but it seems all I've done
Is to find that I can't
Why do you stand there with your arms folded tightly?
You're staring at me with no warmth in your eyes
The words you don't say tell me everything now
It's time I realize
I guess I thought I could come and win your heart back
I thought that you were just waiting for a sign
I guess I thought if I only said the right words
I could get you back into my life
But it turns out I can't, it turns out I can't
Guess I'll go it alone but I wish I had known long ago that I can't
It turns out...I can't...
It turns out...I can't...
It turns out...I can't...
Only a Moment
I picked a flower and was caught by a moment
A memory falling out of the blue
A rose in the garden brought back a day when she was two
My little girl spins around in a pink dress
Her little hands reaching up in the air
Soaking up sunshine, eyes smiling at mine, joy to share
Only a moment, only a child's dance
Smile and it's over, turn and it's passed
Only a moment, only a child's dance
Smile and it's over, turn and it's passed, time goes too fast
My little girl is no longer a girl now
She's far away, where the weather is good
Oh, and I don't see when she goes dancing, wish I could
Now every day I come out to the garden
To see the bloom of each lovely new rose
Knowing the reason to cherish the season as it grows, as it grows
Only a moment, only a child's dance
Smile and it's over, turn and it's passed
Only a moment, only a child's dance
When summer's over, fall comes unasked, time goes too fast
Semper Fi
Oh Johnny, I'm glad you're home, I sleep better by your side
For over a year, you made me a lonely bride
But after the welcome home the smile fell off your face
You don't seem to care, you sit in your chair
Just staring into space, into space
You wore dress blues, I wore white, bridesmaids all in red
A patriotic fairy tale, swore our love would never fail
Semper Fi ...we said
Oh Johnny, what did they do, I don't hardly recognize
The man that I see, the emptiness in your eyes
I've never been all that strong, I've always relied on you
And though I can try, I don't know if I
Can carry the weight of two, the weight of two
You wore dress blues, I wore white, bridesmaids all in red
A patriotic fairy tale, swore our love would never fail
Semper Fi ...we said
Oh Johnny, I still believe the promises that we made
Don't push me away, 'cause I'll be the one who stayed
It's just like you always said, we don't leave our own behind
No matter the cost, whatever you lost
Together we will find,
We will find, we will find, oh, Semper Fi
You Get Me
Nobody laughed at my silly jokes, nobody laughed til you
Nobody asked me about my folks or sang to me when I was blue
I haven't had someone understand even though I've met many a man
No one ever could the way that you can, boy, you get me ...
When I get ice cream, my favorite kind, you never ask me to share
When I encounter a narrow mind, you know my temper will flare
If I got scared just boarding a plane you would say "Next time let's take a train"
And I wouldn't even need to explain, 'cause boy, you get me ...
Many a lover has come and gone, and some of them knew how to woo
None of them lasted for very long, 'cause none of them knew me like you
When other men come knock on my door, I'm gonna tell those fellas I'm yours
Gonna tell 'em all don't knock any more, 'cause boy, you get me
Boy, you get me, oh boy, you get me
Back for More
My chin's rubbed raw from your day-old beard
My hair sticks up and my makeup's smeared
Your couch is short and my neck is sore
Soon as I can I'll be back for more
Back for more, back for more
Take me, shake me to the core
Baby, be good to me, help me charge my battery
My stomach hurts from the takeout food
Your room is cold and your roommate's rude
My feet are all black from your dirty floor
Soon as I can I'll be back for more
Back for more, back for more
Take me, shake me to the core
Baby, be good to me, help me charge my battery
You got three dogs barking in your yard
You work too late and you live too far
Your friends won't stop knocking on your door
Soon as I can I'll be back for more
Back for more, back for more
Take me, shake me to the core
Baby, be good to me, help me charge my battery
Your couch is short...my neck is sore
Soon as I can I'll be back for more
Blue Tan
I used to sunbathe on the beach, footloose and fancy-free
But now the soft blue glow of my computer screen bathes me
I've got a blue tan from sitting all day
Facing my laptop, I can't get away
I should be working, and sometimes I am
But surfing is giving me a deep blue tan
I checked up on the weather in Poughkeepsie this week
I Googled my dad's car to see if it was antique
I watched a cat on YouTube playing chess with a sheik
I looked up how to say "One slice of cheese, please" in Greek
I've got a blue tan...
I looked around for sources of political jokes
I placed a bid on eBay for some brass artichokes
I forwarded a warning about beef to my folks
But I forgot to check to see if it was a hoax
I've got a blue tan...
I Photoshopped a picture to show me in size eight
And posted it on Facebook to announce I'd lost weight
I looked on match.com for handsome fellows to date
And saw my boss's profile (He's not nearly that great)
I've got a blue tan...
My boss sent me an email asking "Is your work all done"
I replied "No it isn't, Mr. lovegod21" 'cause...
I've got a blue tan...
I Wish You Could Love Me
I wish you could love me the way I need you to, but wishing won't make it true
I wish I had never pinned all those hopes on you
There's nothing that I can do, Honey, we're through
Leave now and be gone before I weaken and I call
I can't do that again, I can't face another wall
I look in the window although the store has closed, I can't have the one I chose
I thirst in the desert, I know no rain is due
I know that I can't have you, Honey, we're through
Leave now and be gone before I weaken and I call
I can't do that again, I can't face another wall
I wish you could love me the way I need you to
But wishing won't make it true, Honey, we're through
Leaving New York
I'm leaving New York in a friend's car, heading back home to the mill town
Boxes of clothes in the back seat piled on boxes of dreams
Making my way through the traffic, making my peace with departure
Thinking of home in a new way, city life's not what it seems
I'm leaving New York
Waited on rich people uptown, counted the tips on the bus home
Wondering if I could make rent, order one cafe au lait
Feeling the chill in my jacket, wanting a fur coat and taxi
Watching the haves like a have not, wondering why do I stay
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Don't want to see what I can't buy
Now that I know I'm just another dreamer going nowhere
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Having to run just to get by
Maybe at home at least I'll be a someone from somewhere
I'm leaving New York
Once I was drawn to the skyline, dreaming of valets and bylines
Joining the rush on the sidewalk, you can win if you believe
Wanting to see how success feels, Holly Golightly in black heels
Fixing my eye on the brass ring, how could I be so naive?
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Don't want to see what I can't buy
Now that I know I'm just another dreamer going nowhere
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Having to run just to get by
Maybe at home at least I'll be a someone from somewhere
I'm leaving New York
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Don't want to see what I can't buy
Now that I know I'm just another dreamer going nowhere
Don't want to be poor in a rich world
Having to run just to get by
I'm going home and now you know I can't wait to get there
I'm leaving New York
Leave the Castle
She wakes up in her bedroom lying on the floor
Her left eye swollen shut from his fist the night before
He crouches there beside her, his face held in his hands
He cries can she forgive him; she whispers yes she can
Oh, Belle
He goes off to the office in a suit and tie
She lays there and she thinks up a new convincing lie
Explaining her condition, absolving him of fault
'Cause facing disapproval would just rub the wound with salt
Leave the castle, Belle, get out while you can
All your love for him hasn't made the beast a man
Leave the castle, get out while you can
All your kindness and forgiveness
Cannot make the beast a man
She looks into a mirror, sees a haunted face
How did such a beauty come to such disgrace
Keeping to her promise after all these years
In sickness and in health and in danger and in fear
Leave the castle, Belle, get out while you can
All your love for him hasn't made the beast a man
Leave the castle, get out while you can
All your kindness and forgiveness
Cannot make the beast a man
You are not to blame for the hurt and shame
It is not you who failed
There's a love that can make a beast a man
Only in fairy tales
She goes and gets her camera, points it at her face
She wants a good reminder of this time and place
To carry in her suitcase, to show her what is true
Even if he vows to change, she knows what to do
Leave the castle, Belle, get out while you can
All your love for him hasn't made the beast a man
Leave the castle, get out while you can
All your kindness and forgiveness
Cannot make the beast a man
Leave the castle right now
Leave the castle right now
Leave the castle, Belle
Now I Hear the Music
Alone, sure I'd always be, one more refugee, weary of the game
I stayed, building fences high, watching days go by, every one the same
A wish whispered to the wind one day blew my way again, carrying your name
And now I hear the music that I never knew was there
The harmony my song has never known
The rhythm of your heartbeat with my own
My life began anew when I first sang with you
Just when I had closed the door, choosing to ignore, softening the blow
You threw windows open wide, drew my soul outside with your first hello
I still feel it every time, and it's telling me that I'm never letting go
For now I hear the music that I never knew was there
The harmony my song has never known
The rhythm of your heartbeat with my own
And if our song were to end, the silence would cut deeply
Deeper than what I could bear
Now that I hear the music that I never knew was there
The harmony my song has never known
The rhythm of your heartbeat with my own
My life began anew when I first sang with you...My love
You Carried Me
In an old family movie, there I was at the age of just three
Hit the beach, started running then I felt the hot sand on my feet
When I held my arms up, you carried me
You carried me when I couldn't stand on my own
You carried me in ways that I could not have known
Now with my child sleeping by me
Now I can see why you carried me
On the day I turned seven, rode my bicycle training wheel-free
With my smile growing bigger as I pedaled off down the street
Your hand was behind me holding the seat
You carried me when I couldn't stand on my own
You carried me in ways that I could not have known
Now with my child sleeping by me
Now I can see why you carried me
The love you gave to me, I can give
And with that love, you still live
Every time that I falter, every time that I wonder again
How can I be a mother on my own without your helping hand
I hear your voice saying "I know you can"
You carry me even now that I am grown
You carry me in ways that you could not have known
Now with my child sleeping by me
Now I can see you still carry me
Now I can see you still carry me
Dream a Little Dream
By Kahn/Andre/Schwandt
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say nightie-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger til dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams til sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams and leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Dream a little dream of me
Dream a little dream of me