Lyrics

Sing along to your favorite Unpaved Highway songs.

Seven Bridges

The full 12-track Seven Bridges album. This is a concept album meant to be listened in ord
©Eric Nedelman 2019, 2020, 2021

Foresight

I stand before you like the man of the hour
Brave, proud and strong, radiating power

As I look back on my life I wish I knew true from right
To see with foresight, to show me the way

I’m coming home
Coming home

I’ll remember tonight
How the stars shone so bright
They were jealous of your light
As you soared higher

Our destinies brought us together and tore us apart
The wheels we set in motion forced us to depart

I’m coming home
Coming home

When I walk back up the drive, will it start again?
When I step back in your lives, will we start again? 

Hindsight

Hindsight is 20/20
Hindsight is like a 20/20 vision, darling
You never see it coming, but you always see it go

Hindsight is like a 20/20 vision darling
My hindsight (woah yeah) is like an eagle’s vision
You never see the changes coming, but you always wave good-bye 

Feeling in the Moment

I woke up in the mist of a hazy coastal morning
I shuddered twice, like my death was oh so near
I had a cup of coffee, toked a couple of cigarettes
I haven’t had a good day in years, and this is the best one yet

So many years ago I would have swore that we’d never change
But it’s time for me to leave you

While zipping up my suitcase, I stopped to think how the world had changed
It seems I’ve been running around in circles ever since I came out here
I haven’t had a good day in years, but I never felt like this

Now that the feeling’s in the moment (feel the winds of change)
I know there’s no postponement

There’s static on the radio where you used to be
You know I hate to leave you, the changes came so fast
I haven’t had a good day in years, but the changes feel so right

So many years ago, I would have sworn that we’d never change
But now that the feeling’s in the moment (feel the winds of change)
I know there’s no postponement (no feeling like the present)
It’s time for me to leave you  

Reminiscing

Needles California and just across the border are the sun-bleached sands of time
I’ve just lost an hour and ooh I’ve gotta tell ya there’s no boundaries for my mind

As the tape player plays the music of a past day and takes me back to yesterday
I talk to myself in silence in hopes I can make everything
Okay, all right, I don’t have to fight it if I can just bring it back, oh yeah

I remember when we used to dance all night underneath the cobalt lights
There’s nothing left for me
And I remember Sunset clubs and jamming nights in rundown pubs
And how you wanted one last dance from me

I can still see her smile in every single mile, every tear and passing sigh
The softness of her hips the color of her lips as they slowly said, “good-bye”

I remember when we used to dance all night underneath the cobalt lights
There’s nothing left for me
And I remember Sunset clubs and jamming nights in rundown pubs
And how you wanted one last dance from me

I’ve had my days of rock and roll bands and millions of screaming fans
I was a drop of water in the open sea
I’ve had my fill of broken dreams, everything coming apart at the seams
I’ve gotta bring it back to unity, unity field 

Winslow

I just woke up an hour ago since the last time I saw the road
Hoped in my car and followed the stars all the way to Winslow
Found me a bed a place to put my head and let the evening slip by
Then in the morning when breakfast was warming, I saw a sight that blew my mind

It was a girl standing on the corner looking like she forgot what love was for
With her bags by her side and a look in her eye
I could watch no more and diverted my eyes back to the homeward sky

A red light turned to green and a bullet shot down highway 40
Thought it would stop for nothing until she stepped into sight
She was traveling by her cold steel wits and thumb
I had to stop on a dime of ambivalence to let loneliness win again

Loneliness and an eagle’s cry
And the sun rising in my eyes
Remembering the dreams I dreamt
That night I spent in Winslow. 

High

(Spoken) When you can hear your heartbeat, you know something’s about to happen

We drove all morning into the sky
Hours and hours of road went by
Those funny cigarettes, that look in her eye
Then she told me it was time to fly

My feet were floating, my hands went numb
Myself the car and the road were one
The wild thing was that the highway was gone
She said, “Hit the gas baby, it’s time to run.”

She slides my hand up the hem of her skirt
Flashes a smile as she lifts up her shirt
One hand on the wheel while the other explores
Our hearts were pounding wanting more, more, more

High

Her eyes so inviting her lips so wet
My eyes were hungry together we met
Her kiss felt so good swore I’d never forget
I wished for forever, but time wouldn’t let

I never knew such a figure before
Until she took off the shirt that she wore
Higher and higher we drove so fast
“Let’s step on it baby, this moment won’t last.”

High

The radio blasted our favorite tune
The air was rich with smoke and perfume
All that is now will be then soon
Arms hold tight but can’t lasso the moon

I never knew any body so fine
Until she pressed hers against mine
Higher and higher we drove ‘til dawn “
Let’s step on it before this moment is gone.” 

Dreams

If you don’t have dreams, you can’t have dreams come true

The best of times are these times, rage is in the air
Everything is vital, and everybody cares
You know I’ve always wanted, you know I’ve always dreamed
Why the hell did I give up and stop believing in me?

And the dreams that came in the night, oh the hour we slept
Filled my heart with desire, maybe we’ll never part

Sometimes life feels like survival, like no one really cares
All I need is some of your revival, baby clears the air

And the dreams that came in the night, oh the hour we slept
Filled my heart with desire, maybe we’ll never part, and she said

“If you don’t have dreams, you can’t have dreams come true” “
But,” I whispered, “Everywhere I look the sky still turns blue.”
It’s turning, oh baby turning me on to my dreams.

I saw a hawk circling a church praying on the lord
Even if we hold true and never slam the door
I don’t know if I can last, we’ve been driving way too fast, and she said,

“If you don’t have dreams, you can’t have dreams come true” “
But,” I whispered, “Everywhere I look the sky still turns blue.”
It’s turning, oh baby turning me on to my dreams.

The best of times are these times, rage is in the air
Everything is vital, and everybody cares
You know I’ve always wanted, you know I’ve always dreamed
Why the hell did I give up and stop believing in me?

Driving with my eyes on her, knowing she has to go
Little Rock is now her home, tonight I’ll sleep alone

(Still) If you don’t have dreams you can’t have dreams come true 

Seven Bridges

There are seven bridges in my hometown
That’s where I grew up and created our sound
I used to sit on the parapets and practice my slide
I would strut across them before I could drive

Iwear my heart on my sleeve like a color tattoo
All for the chance to build a bridge between me and

You are the headlights on the road ahead
You are the reflection in my rearview mirror
You are the road beneath my screeching tires
You ride shotgun

I’ve spent a lot of days watching the traffic fly by
I’ve spent a lot of days dreaming about this night

I wear my heart on my sleeve like a color tattoo
All for the chance to build a bridge between me and

You are the headlights on the road ahead
You are the reflection in my rearview mirror
You are the road beneath my screeching tires
You ride shotgun 

Railway Bridge

I live to walk the tracks of Railway Bridge

I love the sound of the train roaring above my head
With that heavy, heavy rhythm and pounding beat
I feel it coursing through my body and right out through my feet

I feel the rumble and the grind churning me up inside
It’s the wheels on the steel and thumping beat
I feel it coursing through my body and right out through my feet

So, I found a drummer who could pound, a bassist who could rumble, growl and grind
Taught my guitar to talk, to be my voice for what’s inside

I live to walk the tracks of Railway Bridge
After the train has passed, it’s my heritage
I stare across the span of Railway Bridge
Parallel lines converge, it’s my lineage

I have to shout above the din, I want someone to let me in
Rise above deafening noise, singing at the top of my voice
I feel it pumping through my body, like I don’t have a choice

There’s a vanishing point as far as the eye can see
This seems to be the story for a young boy like me
But the chasm below is like the distance I put between us
I thought we’d succumb to the emptiness, but we will rise above

I live to walk the tracks of Railway Bridge
After the train has passed, it’s my heritage
I stare across the span of Railway Bridge
Parallel lines converge, it’s my lineage  

Unsheltered

Henry is pushing and pulling his cart down Second Avenue
It rattles and shakes, and people turn away from his gaze as he mumbles to himself about his milieu

He sits on the concrete, leaning against the brick wall
His cup is empty, and his face is long and drawn
So, I sit down beside him and take out my guitar
I sing with all my heart to fill his cup within the hour

I sing this song for the ones without a voice
The ones who feel life has given them no other choice
For the men, women and children who need to be heard
I sing this song for the unsheltered
For the unsheltered

Henry slept under Remedy Bridge for years upon years
Before the black tar seeped in and the traffic changed the scene
I guess the world never stopped moving and uncovered the unforeseen

I take Henry for lunch and he buys me a cup of coffee
We talk about who he was before things ended so badly
How his home became the city and the streets became his home
He told me about his darling wife who passed before his kids were born

I sing this song for the ones without a voice
The ones who feel life has given them no other choice
For the men, women and children who need to be heard
I sing this song for the unsheltered

Let’s band together for the unsheltered
Let’s raise the roof and reach out a hand
Let’s put the hammer to the nail and create a plan that can’t fail
Let’s band together for the unsheltered

I sing this song for the ones without a voice
The ones who feel life has given them no other choice
For the men, women and children who need to be heard
I sing this song for the unsheltered
For the unsheltered 

We’re an Even Seven

Now we’re an even seven

Love found you, I could tell by the way you stood still
Love found me, unexpectedly, you were the key

We were on cruise control, nothing could slow us down

It was more than destiny that made us great
It was speeding up time and racing against fate
Time has stood still since a quarter past eleven
Now we’re an even seven

You and I became a whirlpool, spiraling friendships closer
You came to me, unsuspectingly, you were the key

We were on cruise control, nothing could slow us down

It was more than destiny that made us great
It was speeding up time and racing against fate
Time has stood still since a quarter past eleven
Now we’re an even seven

You were influential
He was influenced
Your lives intersected
In blindsided confluence

Suddenly I’ve lost control, no one to slow us down

It was more than destiny that made us great
It was speeding up time and racing with fate
Time has stood still since a quarter past eleven
Now we’re an even seven 

Unplanned Encore

We built this bridge with our own hands
Our words, passions, turned to treason

Then you ignited the spark
I set the fire
You fanned the flames
I added fuel
You readied the charge
I laid the fuse
You hit the switch
I burst, you fumed
You watched it explode as I walked away into the dark plume

Though our love grew cliché, even routinely risqué
Smiles became decadent tears, burned and scarred as raw souvenirs

Embers still glow as you watched alone
Ashes smolder all season

When I committed the crime to leave you behind
Found sometimes love is not enough
Had to hold my head high
At least I should try before the going got too tough
It was hard to pretend we’d make amends
I fell for my own bluff

I am not a mirage, this is not déjà vu
I can’t stand this Façade, I walk an old road in new shoes

My knock
Your door
Unplanned encore
As you search for some reason 

Thank You

Thank you, thank you for standing beside me
Silently beside me
I know it’s been too many years
And we’ve shed too many tears
Still, there’s no one I trust more to cry with than you

This place strips away my essence and leaves an empty shell surrounding my heart

You’ve shown strength even in the silence
The harsh and cold silence
Who knew someone could find me in my time of grief and misery
Still, there’s no one I trust more to hold me than you

How will it be a year from now?
Will it feel anything like this?
Is that the true test of love?
Can only hindsight know the truth?

You wrote, “Meet me at Conflux Bridge” and told me the story
Of how these two rivers first met and how we’re destined to be
And how there’s no one you trust more to love you than me

This road leads away from where my heart will stay
Only you conceived our love could start again
How can we start again? 

Mile Marker One

The full album is a compilation of the three previously released EPs:
Fragments of My Life, Braking Down Walls, and Behind the Wheel.
©Eric Nedelman 2019, 2020, 2021

Back at Home

I love your kiss
The temporary bliss
I love to see you smile
(Even for just a little while)

I love your touch
Sometimes I need you too much
I love your feel
(It makes everything real)

Not once have I said what I’m feeling inside
Not once have I told you that we’re do or die

I can’t seem to find the words
I can’t seem to find my way

It’s a miracle we live each day
Two souls so close are far away

How we beg
How we plead
Can you feel the need to be

Back at home

Only One Kiss

I can’t remember yesterday
I can’t live in the now
I can’t plan for the future
Or get in touch with my Dao

I can only dream of your lips
I can imagine only one kiss

I can’t focus on what you say
As you brush the hair back from your face
I reflect on the colors in your eyes
To discover where your heart truly lies

I can foretell the way you will twist as I kiss you the way a girl should be kissed
I want to know the touch of your lips
I can imagine the bliss of only one kiss

I know you don’t want one kiss to lead to another
And another to lead to something else
But I want you to recall the feelings of it all
Not just have the longing and the moment unfolding

I can only dream of your lips
I can imagine only one kiss

I can foretell the way you will twist as I kiss you the way a girl should be kissed
I want to know the caress of your lips
I can imagine the bliss of only one kiss
It’s only one kiss, just one kiss, only one kiss, only one kiss

9000 RPM

How does it feel behind the wheel of seamless steel never to yield?
How does it feel to be the real deal with fuel for a meal, the pedal under the heal?

I am 9000 RPM
I see a blinding need for speed
I race 200 MPH
I face an unrelenting pace

I’m drifting, shifting, leading, believing

I’m one with the tires, one with the road, one with the driver who’s putting on the show
I’m one with the engine, in tune with the sound, one with the crowd who’s screaming out loud
And I’m one

I am 9000 RPM
I see the air draft over me
I am caught up in the chase
Escape and leave you in my wake

I’m drafting, passing, leading, believing

I’m one with the tires, one with the road, one with the driver who’s putting on the show
I’m one with the engine, in tune with the sound, one with the crowd who’s screaming out loud
And I’m one

Jack it up. Hear the whine. Guzzle gas. Pull all four tires.
Tape the bumper. Clean the screen. Punch it, push it. Merge is clean.
It’s the best time ever. Laying down the rubber. Nearly kissing the barrier. It’s the best time ever.

I am 9000 RPM
I see a wreak form ‘round me
I taste the urgent sense of haste
Swap paint with everything at stake

I’m bumping, pumping, leading, believing

I’m one with the tires, one with the road, one with the driver who’s putting on the show
I’m one with the engine, in tune with the sound, one with the crowd who’s screaming out loud
I’m one with the tires, one with the road, one with the driver with one lap to go
And I’ve won

Stand Up

I want everybody standing up in front of me (Stand up)
I can feel you standing right behind me (Stand up)
Raise my assent like a church gallery (Lift me up)
Restore my faith in a higher calling (Lift me up) 

That’s the power of Rock ‘n’ Roll
I give you everything, my heart and soul and we’ll

Stand up for what we believe
Stand up for how we are feeling
When you feel completely exposed
We’ll know why we’re set to explode and we’ll
Stand up for who we love

We may be young, but we’re not getting younger (Live it up)
With hearts alive, inspired, never compromise (Live it up)
Bursting with passion, burning enthusiasm (Strike it up)
Light my fire, ablaze with desire (Strike it up) 

You give me strength, you give me all
Invite me in and let me touch your soul and we’ll

Stand up for what we believe
Stand up for how we are feeling
When you feel completely exposed
We’ll know why we’re set to explode and we’ll
Stand up for who we love

When you stand with me, I’ll stand up for you
I won’t back down, we’ll stand together for what is true

Stand up for what we believe
Stand up for how we are feeling
When you feel completely exposed
We’ll know why we’re set to explode and we’ll
Stand up for who we love
Stand up
Be yourself and we’ll Stand up
Live true to yourself and we’ll Stand up
Believe in yourself and we’ll Stand up

Maybe We Need Some More

Maybe we need some more

I’m a stranger in my skin
Dangerous to be me
The walls are closing in
I can hardly breathe

Less isn’t more
This is love not war
There’s no keeping score
When we’re breaking down walls

Maybe we need some more space to share

Alone my thoughts untie
A moment for me
Then I rush to your side
I can hardly breathe

Less isn’t more
This is love not war
There’s no keeping score
When we’re breaking down walls

Maybe we need some more time to share

There’s truth in the lie
A future without me
Reflected in your eyes
I can hardly breathe

Maybe we need some more love to share

Maybe we need some more

It’s All Happening

This is how it’s gonna be
Just between you and me
This is how it’s gonna stay
Dancin’ ‘til the break of day

Open highway, open throttle, open heart, the rest will follow
Open mind go with the flow, movin’ like there’s no tomorrow

This is how it’s meant to be
Like the feeling waking from a dream
This is how it’s meant to stay
We’ll find that it’s the only way

We’re living the dream (It’s all happening)
Creating the moves (It’s all happening)
Fashioning more (It’s all happening)
We own the floor
We’re getting swept away
It’s all happening now

This is how it’s supposed to be
We move in step, wild and free
This is how it’s supposed to stay
Our obsession never fades away

Open highway, open throttle, open heart, the rest will follow
Open mind go with the flow, movin’ like there’s no tomorrow

We’re living the dream (It’s all happening)
Creating the moves (It’s all happening)
Fashioning more (It’s all happening)
We own the floor
We’re getting swept away
It’s all happening now

Whatever’s clever, whenever we’re together, we can never get together enough
Come to think of it, everything just seems to click.
We’ve got the fit.
The best part is that It’s all happening now

I’ll Stay

My cuffs are stained with blood from wiping away the tears from this heartbreak you gave me on the night I thought you’d say

I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay with you through the rain and the sunshine
I’d never dream of leaving
I’ll never have an inkling
I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay

My grief’s turned rain to flood now I can’t conceal the pain from this heartache you left me on the night I thought you’d say

I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay with you through the rain and the sunshine
I’d never dream of leaving
I’ll never have an inkling
I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay

It’s unbelievable
It’s unforgettable
It’s unforgivable
how you touched me
you last touched me
on the night that I proposed and I thought you’d say

I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay with you through the rain and the sunshine
I’d never dream of leaving
I’ll never have an inkling
I’ll stay with you for a lifetime
I’ll stay

Hung in Custody

I’m inbound going outbound
That’s a clue I’m passing through
I’ve been diverting and returning
I’m overdue for our rendezvous

I only know this city with the streetlights on

My love is hung, hung in custody
Our love is sung like a rhapsody
I know how to make do
‘Cause, I’ve had this breakthrough
If you can’t see my mirrors I can’t see you
My love is hung

I’m on the inside looking outside
I just withdrew my point of view
I want pretension and retention
It’s our connection that ignites my mood

I only know this city with the streetlights on

My love is hung, hung in custody
Our love is sung like a rhapsody
I know how to make do
‘Cause, I’ve had this breakthrough
If you can’t see my mirrors I can’t see you

I’m stricken with wanderlust
Now the road’s the only place I trust
It’s been one of those days
Another passing phase
I drive tonight with my headlights off

My love is hung, hung in custody
Our love is sung like a rhapsody
I know how to make do
‘Cause, I’ve had this breakthrough
If you can’t see my mirrors I can’t see you
My love is hung, hung in custody

Aline’s Song

A dream a time, baby you’re my
Lifeline
Intertwined in the
Nexus of the seasons and the
Ecstasy of our love

Diamonds in Style

I’ve got something special to say to you
I want what we got here to stay true
We’ve got so much to learn about each other
So many questions to ask one another

I’ve spent my lifetime looking for the right time of day
It’s been such a long time searching for the right kind of way

I thought about the sunshine and as the sunshine is going away
I thought about the springtime, maybe in the month of May

What will she wear?
How will she smile?
Hand over hand
Diamonds in style

I’ve got something special to say to you
I want what we got here to stay true
We’ve got so much to learn about each other
So many questions to ask one another

Let’s take an airplane to the city by the bay
Talk over dinner after we see a play

What will she wear?
How will she smile?
Hand over hand
Diamonds in style

I’ve got something special to say to you
I want what we got here to stay true
We’ve got so much to learn about each other
So many questions to ask one another

She’s Smiling Back at Me

She’s a brown-eyed girl in a black-haired world
Doesn’t even know her name
She wears sky-lighted colors she has psychedelic lovers
Doesn’t even know their names

Every time I look at her she’s smiling back at me
And every time I walk away she’s nowhere to be seen

She fights for equal rights, she lives for starry nights
She loves E. E. Cummings, hangs on every word he writes
She’s got dreadlocked hair and a corner-eyed stare
Her laughter echoes like a love affair

Every time I look at her she’s smiling back at me
And every time I walk away she’s nowhere to be seen

She’s got fifteen earrings all in one ear
She’s got several more, but I can’t say where
She’s got a locomotive heart, pumps love through her veins
Energized art running ‘round her brain

Every time I look at her she’s smiling back at me
And every time I walk away she’s nowhere to be seen

She’s got love all around her, it’s her universal home
She’s got love that surrounds her, but her past remains unknown

Every time I look at her she’s smiling back at me
And every time I walk away she’s nowhere to be seen

Release Me

The tear has to be deep
The break has to be clean
It’s hard to see through the streaks and blurs
The pain’s too much to endure

I’ve come to the crossroads of love
The crossroads of love
This torture is wearing me low
The end is near, but my heart screams, “No!”

Release me

Photographs line my wall
Like a movie on the cutting room floor
Fragments of my life lie all around
Like a score read without a sound

I’ve come to the crossroads of love
The crossroads of love
This torture is wearing me low
The end is near, but my heart screams, “No!”

Release me

How long, so long, hold on, so long

Release me