Study Abroad

Backpack and Eurailpass
Jet lag kicked my ass
I'm on a train awake and it's dawn
Journal's out, headphones are on
I write a mile a minute

And tell myself this is better than my bed
Or my friends going back to school
Instead of thinking about me
They go on without me

Hilltowns and colloseums
Stone walls and art museums
I didn't know that cathedrals were so cold
I've never been somewhere 900 years old
I took a thousand pictures

30 days on the road will spoil you fast
Now I'm mad that I have to go to class and stay in one spot
But I love the girls on my floor and the guys downstairs
They call me "Yank" and they tease me about my hair
I call them "Limey"
I think they like me

They play bands I've never heard before
And take me down to the castle for the bonfire
They draw Pearl Harbor on my door
I draw the sun setting on their empire
I go on a day trip every weekend
Run around with the other JYAs here
We hang out at the pub on the canal
And try to think up ways that we could stay here

Take my leave of the queen
God save the village green
I'm going to sleep on the train to catch my flight
I was up on the Internet all night
Chatting with a certain person

I'll miss you all and I hate to have to go
But things are getting really interesting back home
It may never happen
But we'll see what happens

Let's see what happens
We'll see what happens (when I get back home)
I want to see what happens (when I get back home)
Let's see what happens



While You Were Out

I bought that sugary cereal you hate
Been wearing my favorite jeans now 8 days straight
I put the Christmas tree up again
And finally watched those movies you never want to rent
Well you're not here for it to bother you
I'm doing better than I expected to
But the cat is sad and she thinks you should come home

Been drinking all of your favorite Belgian beer
Been playing songs it would drive you nuts to hear
Been letting my clothes pile up on the chair
And I've been talking to people who aren't really there
Well you're not here, it doesn't bother you
I know you're doing what you've got to do
But I'm inclined to agree with the cat, you should come home

I could pretend you're asleep on the couch
Or out at the bar, you drunken lout, you
Or I could pretend all this freedom is fun
And I'm having such a great time here without you

Remind me why I thought that any of this was a good idea
I should have grabbed you by the ankles
To stop you from leaving here
And if that's childish or co-dependant, well, I don't care
Cause what was so important that kept me here
And sent you out there?
I fixed up the house just like we've wanted
I still sleep on my side of the bed
So like I already said, you should come home



Desu Ka?

Watashi wa gaijin desu
Watashi wa amerikajin desu
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu ka?
Fuji-san wa doko desu
Ginza wa doko desu
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu ka?

Chikai desu ka?
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu ka?
Chikai desu ka?
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu...

I am an American
I am visiting Japan
Can you tell me where the McD*&@%#$ is?
Mount Fuji is over there
The Ginza district's over there
Can you tell me where the McD*&@%#$ is?

Is it nearby?
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu ka?
Chikai desu ka?
"Maku donarudo" wa doko desu...

Ka?



Tollbooth Girl

I'm in love with the tollbooth girl
But I don't have time to ask her name
I'm in love with the tollbooth girl
Though I highly doubt she feels the same
She must see a thousand people every day

I'm in love with the coat check guy
He takes my stuff, and then that's that
But I'm in love with the coat check guy
So I'm back in line with my claim check
He says "but you just got here" and I laugh
Perhaps in half an hour I'll come back

There isn't any way I can talk to her
She's got all these other people lining up in back
I only ever see him for 15 seconds
And he's probably forgotten me right after that
What kind of romance is that?

(I don't mind...)

I'm in love with the checkout girl
"Is that card debit?" "No, it's credit"
I'm in love with the checkout girl
But I'm not asking her out like this, forget it
"Did you find what you were looking for?" You said it!

I'm in love with the ticket taker
I'm in love with the cappuccino maker
I'm in love with the dim sum waiter
I'm in love with the ski lift operator
I'm in love with the tollbooth girl



Watching The Trees

One smell of the wood smoke and I'm back to that fall
After five minutes walking to town
It wouldn't feel so cold after all
Used to have a cup of hot chocolate
After tromping round through the leaves
Tease my friends about hogging all the marshmallows
Now it's just me sitting here watching the trees
They're off in amazing places, doing outrageous things
They've waited a long time
For a chance to chase those dreams
And I'm so proud of them right now

Thought an old friend from out of town was going to
Surprise me the other day
Well she never showed up but I was excited all day anyway
Hey you know it's all right
It taught me some things I needed to know
I learned I still have hope
I still have faith that I'm not, not alone
And that the most amazing things can tiptoe up on you
And then act like they've been there the whole time
Right in front of you
I wonder what's sneaking up on me right now

I'm trying, but an empty house is hard to feel like home
And I can think of a thousand reasons why it's fine to be alone
But I can't fool myself, no I can't fool myself
The time always comes to hang up the phone

Hey thanks for listening, wherever you are
Made you a cup of hot chocolate
But I don't think you can drink it from that far
It's a wistful consolation, a comfort in a bittersweet sort of way
And to know that you're hearing my voice
Makes me wish all the more I could see you face to face
Meanwhile, back over here, life keeps going and
I'm gonna walk until I've seen a whole lot of leaves
Before I go back home
And in a way you're with me right now



The Emily Dickinson Game
Lyris: Scot Ninnemann and Jenifer Parks

I played computer solitaire
Until the crack of dawn
Cause sleep is for the weak of will
And so I carried on
I would not break or bend an inch
Until my quest was won
So sure that I would win it soon
Now my whole weekend's gone

The tree outside my windowsill
Is dead as dead can be
I know cause I'm responsible
Oh woe, oh woe is me
With ribbons and with lacy things
I caught my lover's eye
And buried him beneath the tree
Before the boy did die

We'll start off with my line of eight
Then one of six from you
And back and forth we'll alternate
Like this until we're through
We'll sing it to The Yellow Rose
The scansion is the same
I bet that Emily'd approve
She came up with this game



These lyrics appear by permission, and are
(C)2006 Scot Ninnemann except
"The Emily Dickinson Game",
(C)2006 Scot Ninnemann and Jenifer Parks.
All rights reserved.