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Keep smiling - it takes 10 years off!

quote by Jane Birkin
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Keep Smiling

Written by chuck jackson and marvin yancy
Keep smiling, keep smiling, keep smiling, keep right on smiling
I know sometimes your whole world seems blue
Seems like the whole weight of the world is resting on you
But remember when you hang your head, its hard to see the sun
Theres a brighter day, yes it is, just ask and I sure will come
But youve got to keep (keep smiling) well, ooh, yeah
(keep smiling) keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on
(keep smiling) ooh, ha (dont you ever stop smiling)
Oh, dont you ever stop, no, no, no, oh, when youve got to keep on stepping on
You know that youve got to be strong and understand the facts of life
You wont get no place until you make some sacrifice
Try to make it a little easy when youre doing it on your own
Once you think youve got everything, the next day its all gone
But you got to keep (keep smiling), well, well, well, well (keep smiling)
Oh I know its hard, I know its hard, but youve to keep (keep smiling), oh---
(dont you ever stop smiling) yeah, yeah---, oh-----, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh---
Yeah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, (keep smiling) keep a grin on your face yaul
Keep on stepping now, (keep smiling) oh, keep your head up to the sky
(keep smiling) oh-got to notice on the tip of your eyes, (keep smiling)
Youve got to keep on, keep on, keep on, (keep smiling)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, (keep smiling), ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha---
(keep smiling) oh--keep on (dont you ever stop smiling) smile, smile---
(keep smiling)

song performed by Natalie Cole
Added by Lucian Velea
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Thats What It Takes

And now it begins to shine
And you found the eyes to see
Each little drop at dawn of evry day
Your smile, it comes back to me
And whatever you may say
Dont let it stop, never fade away
As we got to get out in this world together, oh
Doesnt really matter if we start to make some changes, oh
If thats what it takes (thats what it takes)
Then Ive got to be strong (thats what it takes)
Dont want to be wrong
If thats what it takes
The closer I get (thats what it takes)
Into that open door (what it takes)
Ive got to be sure
If thats what it takes
And now that its shining through
And you can see all this world
Dont let it stop, never fade away
If we got to be in this life forever, oh-oh
Then wed better be taking all the chances, oh oh
If thats what it takes (thats what it takes)
Then Ive got to be strong (thats what it takes)
Dont want to be wrong
If thats what it takes
The closer I get (thats what it takes)
Into that open door (what it takes)
Ive got to be sure
If thats what it takes
Thats what it takes, thats what it takes
Thats what it takes, thats what it takes
(thats) what it takes, thats what it takes
Thats what it takes, (thats) what it takes
Thats what it takes, oh, thats what it takes
(repeat and fade:)
Oh, thats what it takes

song performed by George Harrison
Added by Lucian Velea
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Whatever It Takes

Face to face we embrace
We drink of loves sweetest wine
Whispered names fan the flames
Each touch is frozen in time
I can feel your heart
And the rhythm of it echoes through my soul
Well surely you know
Whatever it takes baby Im gonna be there
Whatever it takes baby youve got to know
Whatever it takes to be true to you
Baby Ill do it somehow
Promises made to last
These are the hardest to find
Touch me now, let me know
Your love will always be mine
As the years go by
And the fire of my love surely grows
Baby you know
Whatever it takes baby Im gonna be there
Whatever it takes baby youve got to know
Whatever it takes to be true to you
Ill love you to the end
Whatever it takes baby Im gonna be there
Whatever it takes baby youve got to know
Whatever it takes to be true to you
Baby--somehow...
I wanna be true to you
I wanna be hugging you, kissing you
Love you all of my life
Whatever it takes baby
Whatever it takes baby
Im gonna give all of my love, all of my life
Whatever it takes baby
Whatever it takes baby
Im gonna give you all of my love til the end of time
(whatever it takes baby)
Whatever it takes baby (whatever it takes baby)
(all of, all of, all of my life)
I wanna be hugging you, kissing you, yeah
(whatever it takes baby)
(whatever it takes baby)
Whatever it takes baby
(all of, all of, all of my life)
All of my life
(whatever it takes baby)
(whatever it takes baby)
(all of, all of, all of my life)
I wanna be hugging you, kissing you, yeah
(whatever it takes baby)
(whatever it takes baby)

song performed by Amy Grant
Added by Lucian Velea
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True Love Takes Time

This song was first released on the one world album. it is the only album it has been released on.
As I travel down the road and search the empty sky
Waiting for the moment when my eyes will see
Many are the memories the mysteries of time
How they dance around and whisper endlessly
Yes Ive travelled down this road before
Where so many men have come and gone
But you know it takes time
(true love takes time)
You know that true love takes time
(true love takes time)
And its so very hard to find
(true love takes time)
You know that love takes time
It seemed impossible that I could care again
So it seemed I had forgotten how to give
What is this miracle that brings me back my dreams
All at once I can remember how to live
Yes Ive travelled down this road before
Where so many men have come and gone
But you know it takes time
(true love takes time)
You know that true love takes time
(true love takes time)
And its so very hard to find
(true love takes time)
You know that true love takes time
I have been too much alone for oh so many years
Looking for someone to sing with me
Sweet harmony
My heart is open now and tender to the touch
But there is love enough to heal me in your hands
Ill give you all my nights
All my sun and rainy days
Ill give you all the time it takes to understand
Weve travelled down this road before
Where so many fools have come and gone
But you know it takes time
(true love takes time)
You know that true love takes time
(true love takes time)
And its so very hard to find
(true love takes time)
You know that true love takes time
(true love takes time)
(true love takes time)
(true love takes time)
Words by dik dernell and john denver, music by dik dernell

song performed by John Denver
Added by Lucian Velea
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A Little Bit Of Love

Yeah
Woo...ooh...ooh...ooh...
You say you want to be the one i need
You say you want to be the one for me
You say you want to be the one i need
But then you go and act so crazy
You say you never want to let me go
You say you want to be the one i hold
You say you never want to let me go
But then you go and leave me lonely
If you want to make things right
Love can make a way
If you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
You want to be the one who makes me shy
The one who makes me laugh and makes me cry
You want to be the one to change my life
Then maybe you should treat me kindly
You want to make believe you never left
You want to make believe i never wept
You said you'd never ever leave again
Oh, baby, won't you quit pretendin'
If you want to make things right
Love can make a way
And if you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely, oh
Oh
Oh, if you want to make things right
Love can make a way
And if you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes

[...] Read more

song performed by New Edition
Added by Lucian Velea
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Little Bit Of Love

Yeah
Woo...ooh...ooh...ooh...
You say you want to be the one I need
You say you want to be the one for me
You say you want to be the one I need
But then you go and act so crazy
You say you never want to let me go
You say you want to be the one I hold
You say you never want to let me go
But then you go and leave me lonely
If you want to make things right
Love can make a way
If you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
You want to be the one who makes me shy
The one who makes me laugh and makes me cry
You want to be the one to change my life
Then maybe you should treat me kindly
You want to make believe you never left
You want to make believe I never wept
You said youd never ever leave again
Oh, baby, wont you quit pretendin
If you want to make things right
Love can make a way
And if you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love is lovely, oh
Oh
Oh, if you want to make things right
Love can make a way
And if you want to take the time
Act like what you say, yeah
A little bit of love is all it takes
A little bit of love goes a long, long way
A little bit of love is all it takes

[...] Read more

song performed by New Edition
Added by Lucian Velea
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It Takes Two

(sylvia moy, william stevenson)
One can have a dream baby
Two can make a dream so real
One can talk about being in love
Two can see how it really feels
One can wish upon a star
Two can make a wish come true
One can stand alone in the dark
Two can make a light shine through
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
One can have a broken heart living in misery
Two can really ease the pain like a perfect remedy
One can be alone in a bar like an island hes all alone
Two can make just any place seem just like bein at home
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
One can go out to a movie looking for a special treat
Two can make that single movie something really kind of neat
And one can take a walk in the moonlight thinking that its really nice
But two lovers walking hand in hand is like adding just a pinch of spice
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two
It takes two baby
It takes two baby
Just me and you
You know it takes two

song performed by Rod Stewart
Added by Lucian Velea
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Baby You Got What It Takes

Well, it takes more than a robin
To make a winter cold
Then it takes two lips of fire
To melt away the snow
Yeah, and it takes two hearts a-cookin
To make a fire glow
And baby, you got what it takes
(pullin together)
Well, it takes a lot of kissin
To make a romance sweet
And it takes a lot of lovin
To make my life complete
And it takes a lot of woman
To knock me off-a my feet
And baby, you got what it takes
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-we
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-we
Baby, youve got just what it takes
And it takes more than an effort
To stay away from you
And it takes more than a lifetime
To prove that Ill be true
(sing it with me)
Yeah, and it takes somebody special
To make me say, I do
And baby, you got what it takes
Woo-woo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-we
Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-we
Baby, you got just what it takes
Well, it takes more than an effort (hoo)
To stay away from you (ooo, I know it)
And it takes more than a lifetime
To prove that Ill be true
And it takes somebody special
To make me say, I do
And baby, you got what it takes
Oh yeah
And baby, you got what it takes
And baby, you got what it takes

song performed by Van Morrison
Added by Lucian Velea
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Whatever It Takes

Whatever it takes -We gots to separate
Whatever it takes - All these true from the fakes
Whatever it takes - This is how we show and prove
Whatever it takes - Cause we ain't got nothin to lose
Face to face with aggression, De-bolish and molish the opposition
Armored to be the stronger and conquer my competition
This ammunition, Fills a vision that makes decisions
I told you once before but it's obvious you didn't listen
So listen closely, or next time you wanna quote me
And take my advice, It'd be wise to not approach me
And learn your lesson, Hit this class and you're over session
Failed the test and had no idea with whom you're messin..
Whatever it takes - We gots to separate
Whatever it takes - All these true from the fakes
Whatever it takes - Cause this is how we show and prove
Whatever it takes - Cause we ain't got nothin to lose
Whatever it takes
Transforming the mindset, but how quickly do those forget
One hundred miles of runnin', ain't even broken a sweat
Until the death, We won't settle for nothin less
No need to creep you knew we was comin but still you slept
But it's time to rise up, release your spirit from deep inside
Actin like you was down now that leads to a collide
Best to recognize, Starin at me, Because you shook
Whatever it takes, is what it took..
This is our house..
And this is where we live..
And ain't nobody..
Gonna mess with us, in our house..
This is our house..
This is our house..
Whatever it takes - We gots to separate
Whatever it takes - All these true from the fakes
Whatever it takes - Cause this is how we show and prove
Whatever it takes - Cause we ain't got nothin to lose
Whatever it takes - on and on and on and on
Whatever it takes.. Whatever it takes..
This is our house..
This is our house!
Our house..
Whatever it takes.. Whatever it takes..

song performed by P.O.D.
Added by Lucian Velea
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The four Monarchyes, the Assyrian being the first, beginning under Nimrod, 131. Years after the Floo

When time was young, & World in Infancy,
Man did not proudly strive for Soveraignty:
But each one thought his petty Rule was high,
If of his house he held the Monarchy.
This was the golden Age, but after came
The boisterous son of Chus, Grand-Child to Ham,
That mighty Hunter, who in his strong toyles
Both Beasts and Men subjected to his spoyles:
The strong foundation of proud Babel laid,
Erech, Accad, and Culneh also made.
These were his first, all stood in Shinar land,
From thence he went Assyria to command,
And mighty Niniveh, he there begun,
Not finished till he his race had run.
Resen, Caleh, and Rehoboth likewise
By him to Cities eminent did rise.
Of Saturn, he was the Original,
Whom the succeeding times a God did call,
When thus with rule, he had been dignifi'd,
One hundred fourteen years he after dy'd.
Belus.
Great Nimrod dead, Belus the next his Son
Confirms the rule, his Father had begun;
Whose acts and power is not for certainty
Left to the world, by any History.
But yet this blot for ever on him lies,
He taught the people first to Idolize:
Titles Divine he to himself did take,
Alive and dead, a God they did him make.
This is that Bel the Chaldees worshiped,
Whose Priests in Stories oft are mentioned;
This is that Baal to whom the Israelites
So oft profanely offered sacred Rites:
This is Beelzebub God of Ekronites,
Likewise Baalpeor of the Mohabites,
His reign was short, for as I calculate,
At twenty five ended his Regal date.
Ninus.
His Father dead, Ninus begins his reign,
Transfers his seat to the Assyrian plain;
And mighty Nineveh more mighty made,
Whose Foundation was by his Grand-sire laid:
Four hundred forty Furlongs wall'd about,
On which stood fifteen hundred Towers stout.
The walls one hundred sixty foot upright,
So broad three Chariots run abrest there might.
Upon the pleasant banks of Tygris floud
This stately Seat of warlike Ninus stood:
This Ninus for a God his Father canonized,
To whom the sottish people sacrificed.

[...] Read more

poem by Anne Bradstreet
Added by Poetry Lover
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Love Takes Over Me

I am lost in the world of you,
Cant believe where you take me to,
As soon as you enter my mind,
Or you crawl over my skin,
Leave me no other choice but to let you in
Love takes over me (I can feel it),
coz, your love takes over me (I can see it),
Oh, your love takes over me (I can taste it),
Yeah, your love takes over me (I can be it)
Take, take me now,
I cant take no more,
Feel me breathe,
Feel the energy,
How did I fall prey to this,
Pleasure is my lonely guide,
Yeah I escaped despite of you,
Now that your inside
Love takes over me (I can feel it),
When your love takes over me (I can see it),
Your love takes over me (I can taste it),
Yeah, your love takes over me (I can be it)
Magic is running through my veins,
Pleasure is coming closer then
So, hurt with me now,
So I wont hurt no more,
Hear me scream,
Hear my suffering
When your love takes over me (I can feel it),
Your love takes over me (I can see it),
Love takes over me (I can taste it),
Love takes over me (I can be it)
(I can feel it),
Love takes over me (I can see it),
Your love takes over me (I can taste it),
Love takes over me (I can be it)

song performed by Kylie Minogue
Added by Lucian Velea
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People In The City

P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
P.e.o.p.l.e.c.i.t.y
People in the city
On the sidewalk (people in the city)
Near the street lamp (people in the city)
At the bus stop (people in the city)
Down the station (people in the city)
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling
Moving, watching, working, sleeping, driving, walking, talking, smiling.

song performed by Air
Added by Lucian Velea
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Smilin'

The cover of a magazine, nothing but a paper dream
Just another fantasy for sale
Telling me what I need, what I should do, who I should be
That stuff don't matter to me at all
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
I'm free as a bird and my spirit's flying
That's enough to keep me smiling
Guru man on my TV set, selling the secrets to happiness
1-800-Change-Your-Life-Today
Dreams, I've got my own; I ain't looking for a yellow-brick-road
I'm just gonna go my own way
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
I'm free as a bird and my spirit's flying
That's enough to keep me smiling
Smiling (smiling), smiling (smiling)
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
I'm free as a bird and my spirit's flying
That's enough to keep me smiling
I'm still smiling, gotta keep on smiling
I'm still smiling

song performed by Tim McGraw
Added by Lucian Velea
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Smiling

(bill luther, aimee mayo, chris lindsey, marv green)
The cover of a magazine, nothing but a paper dream
Just another fantasy for sale
Telling me what I need, what I should do, who I should be
That stuff dont matter to me at all
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
Im free as a bird and my spirits flying
Thats enough to keep me smiling
Guru man on my tv set, selling the secrets to happiness
1-800-change-your-life-today
Dreams, Ive got my own; I aint looking for a yellow-brick-road
Im just gonna go my own way
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
Im free as a bird and my spirits flying
Thats enough to keep me smiling
Smiling (smiling), smiling (smiling)
The sky is blue and the sun is shining
I feel like a bum with a pocket full of diamonds
Im free as a bird and my spirits flying
Thats enough to keep me smiling
Im still smiling, gotta keep on smiling
Im still smiling

song performed by Tim McGraw
Added by Lucian Velea
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Five Years

Pushing thru the market square, so many mothers sighing
News had just come over, we had five years left to cry in
News guy wept and told us, earth was really dying
Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying
I heard telephones, opera house, favourite melodies
I saw boys, toys electric irons and t.v.s
My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare
I had to cram so many things to store everything in there
And all the fat-skinny people, and all the tall-short people
And all the nobody people, and all the somebody people
I never thought Id need so many people
A girl my age went off her head, hit some tiny children
If the black hadnt a-pulled her off, I think she would have killed them
A soldier with a broken arm, fixed his stare to the wheels of a cadillac
A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest, and a queer threw up at the sight of that
I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlour, drinking milk shakes cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine, dont think
You knew you were in this song
And it was cold and it rained so I felt like an actor
And I thought of ma and I wanted to get back there
Your face, your race, the way that you talk
I kiss you, youre beautiful, I want you to walk
Weve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
Weve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, thats all weve got
Weve got five years, what a surprise
Five years, stuck on my eyes
Weve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, thats all weve got
Weve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
Weve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, thats all weve got
Weve got five years, what a surprise
Weve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Weve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, thats all weve got
Five years
Five years
Five years
Five years

song performed by David Bowie
Added by Lucian Velea
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Takes A Woman To Know

Guess you think that you're cool
Guess you think that you're smart
Guess you think you can tie up my heart
With a ribbon and pull it apart
You don't wanna get down
You don't wanna go deep
Well I told you I love you
But baby, I figured that you were asleep
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
Cos you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
Did you think that I'd wait
With my arms open wide?
When I sow that it's over
I saw it was written
right there in your eyes
You don't wanna get down
You don't wanna go deep
Well I told you I love you
But baby, I figured thud you were asleep
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
Cos you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman
Takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman
Takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Well I wanted you forever babe
But that ain't your style
So next time I'm kissin you
I'll be kissing you goodbye, yeah
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
Cos you know what it takes

[...] Read more

song performed by Lisa Stansfield
Added by Lucian Velea
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Whatever It Takes

Well, I've been drawing little hearts in the morning paper
Lookin' for a house an' a couple of acres
You'll be mine some time, sooner or later and I can't wait
Like a busy ol' bee savin' up it's honey
Honey I'm savin' up all my money
To have you I'll do anything I have to, whatever it takes
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Well I've been yellin' your name from a lookout mountain
Tossing my pennies in a downtown fountain
Makin' my wishes I'm hopin' they're countin' for love's sake
I swim upstream in a ragin' river
Walk through fire do you get the picture
I swear I bare anything to get there Whatever it takes
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes to win your love
I hire me an airplane, have it paint your name up in the sky above
Yeah I tell the world I'm yours, put it on a billboard out on the interstate
If it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.
Well if it takes forever to get us together
Honey I'll do whatever it takes.

song performed by Kenny Chesney
Added by Lucian Velea
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The House Of Dust: Complete

I.

The sun goes down in a cold pale flare of light.
The trees grow dark: the shadows lean to the east:
And lights wink out through the windows, one by one.
A clamor of frosty sirens mourns at the night.
Pale slate-grey clouds whirl up from the sunken sun.

And the wandering one, the inquisitive dreamer of dreams,
The eternal asker of answers, stands in the street,
And lifts his palms for the first cold ghost of rain.
The purple lights leap down the hill before him.
The gorgeous night has begun again.

'I will ask them all, I will ask them all their dreams,
I will hold my light above them and seek their faces.
I will hear them whisper, invisible in their veins . . .'
The eternal asker of answers becomes as the darkness,
Or as a wind blown over a myriad forest,
Or as the numberless voices of long-drawn rains.

We hear him and take him among us, like a wind of music,
Like the ghost of a music we have somewhere heard;
We crowd through the streets in a dazzle of pallid lamplight,
We pour in a sinister wave, ascend a stair,
With laughter and cry, and word upon murmured word;
We flow, we descend, we turn . . . and the eternal dreamer
Moves among us like light, like evening air . . .

Good-night! Good-night! Good-night! We go our ways,
The rain runs over the pavement before our feet,
The cold rain falls, the rain sings.
We walk, we run, we ride. We turn our faces
To what the eternal evening brings.

Our hands are hot and raw with the stones we have laid,
We have built a tower of stone high into the sky,
We have built a city of towers.

Our hands are light, they are singing with emptiness.
Our souls are light; they have shaken a burden of hours . . .
What did we build it for? Was it all a dream? . . .
Ghostly above us in lamplight the towers gleam . . .
And after a while they will fall to dust and rain;
Or else we will tear them down with impatient hands;
And hew rock out of the earth, and build them again.

II.

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poem by Conrad Potter Aiken
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The Victories Of Love. Book II

I
From Jane To Her Mother

Thank Heaven, the burthens on the heart
Are not half known till they depart!
Although I long'd, for many a year,
To love with love that casts out fear,
My Frederick's kindness frighten'd me,
And heaven seem'd less far off than he;
And in my fancy I would trace
A lady with an angel's face,
That made devotion simply debt,
Till sick with envy and regret,
And wicked grief that God should e'er
Make women, and not make them fair.
That he might love me more because
Another in his memory was,
And that my indigence might be
To him what Baby's was to me,
The chief of charms, who could have thought?
But God's wise way is to give nought
Till we with asking it are tired;
And when, indeed, the change desired
Comes, lest we give ourselves the praise,
It comes by Providence, not Grace;
And mostly our thanks for granted pray'rs
Are groans at unexpected cares.
First Baby went to heaven, you know,
And, five weeks after, Grace went, too.
Then he became more talkative,
And, stooping to my heart, would give
Signs of his love, which pleased me more
Than all the proofs he gave before;
And, in that time of our great grief,
We talk'd religion for relief;
For, though we very seldom name
Religion, we now think the same!
Oh, what a bar is thus removed
To loving and to being loved!
For no agreement really is
In anything when none's in this.
Why, Mother, once, if Frederick press'd
His wife against his hearty breast,
The interior difference seem'd to tear
My own, until I could not bear
The trouble. 'Twas a dreadful strife,
And show'd, indeed, that faith is life.
He never felt this. If he did,
I'm sure it could not have been hid;
For wives, I need not say to you,

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poem by Coventry Patmore
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II. Half-Rome

What, you, Sir, come too? (Just the man I'd meet.)
Be ruled by me and have a care o' the crowd:
This way, while fresh folk go and get their gaze:
I'll tell you like a book and save your shins.
Fie, what a roaring day we've had! Whose fault?
Lorenzo in Lucina,—here's a church
To hold a crowd at need, accommodate
All comers from the Corso! If this crush
Make not its priests ashamed of what they show
For temple-room, don't prick them to draw purse
And down with bricks and mortar, eke us out
The beggarly transept with its bit of apse
Into a decent space for Christian ease,
Why, to-day's lucky pearl is cast to swine.
Listen and estimate the luck they've had!
(The right man, and I hold him.)

Sir, do you see,
They laid both bodies in the church, this morn
The first thing, on the chancel two steps up,
Behind the little marble balustrade;
Disposed them, Pietro the old murdered fool
To the right of the altar, and his wretched wife
On the other side. In trying to count stabs,
People supposed Violante showed the most,
Till somebody explained us that mistake;
His wounds had been dealt out indifferent where,
But she took all her stabbings in the face,
Since punished thus solely for honour's sake,
Honoris causâ, that's the proper term.
A delicacy there is, our gallants hold,
When you avenge your honour and only then,
That you disfigure the subject, fray the face,
Not just take life and end, in clownish guise.
It was Violante gave the first offence,
Got therefore the conspicuous punishment:
While Pietro, who helped merely, his mere death
Answered the purpose, so his face went free.
We fancied even, free as you please, that face
Showed itself still intolerably wronged;
Was wrinkled over with resentment yet,
Nor calm at all, as murdered faces use,
Once the worst ended: an indignant air
O' the head there was—'t is said the body turned
Round and away, rolled from Violante's side
Where they had laid it loving-husband-like.
If so, if corpses can be sensitive,
Why did not he roll right down altar-step,
Roll on through nave, roll fairly out of church,
Deprive Lorenzo of the spectacle,

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poem by Robert Browning from The Ring and the Book
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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