Carolyn Moses is a wonderful and talented writer and when we reconnected and fell in love again, she wrote some great lyrics which I Matters of the Heart by kjbandput music to, and I wrote some lyrics also about this powerful new start to our lives. These songs became the fourth kjband album, Matters of the Heart. Even though I had written three entire albums of new songs from 1999 – 2006, we just had to make these new songs the next album. Rick’s health had taken a bad turn again and he no longer could work in the studio so I had to find a new studio and engineer. I had been playing a little while with a band called Love Goat (yes, that was the name!) and the leader of this band had a killer studio with a Steinway piano. He was going to give me a great deal on recording of this album. In one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made in my life, I agreed to let this person record this album for a set fee (not an hourly rate which is how it usually works) even after he had fired me from his band! He felt he had to keep his word and probably felt guilty for how he treated me, so took on the project. But this person turned out to be the biggest jerk I ever met. He insisted on recording all female vocals and sax and violin parts without me present in the studio, tried to have Carolyn change her lyrics (and did so without her blessing as we were not in the studio to stop him), delayed for many months at a time, and did many other annoying things. Despite this, the album turned out well, though careful listeners can hear where corners were cut, and the sound and mixes could have been much better. Carolyn and I are proud of this album, but some day we want to re-record all of the songs with a producer who we like and who will let us participate in the recording of our music! Bonus versions of two of the songs, By The Letter, and Due This Time Next Year, the last songs Rick recorded for us, are included on the album. These were the versions used during Carolyn and Ken’s wedding on November 23, 2008. Singing these songs is Monica Pica, the person who introduced Carolyn to me back in (gulp) 1981! Work started on this album in 2010 and was completed in 2011. The album was dedicated to Herb Moses, Carolyn’s father who had recently passed, but who always encouraged Carolyn to be artistic and pursue her dreams.

Songs on Album

(click for lyrics)

Johnston/Moses

Times have changed
But we have not
The clock ticks on
Till death does its part
Forever’s forever
In matters of the heart

The past isn’t past
The future is near
What is this present?
It isn’t clear
But you’re still you
And I’m still here

Hope and doubts
Dreams and fears
Yesterday is tomorrow
Right down through the years
But I’m still me
And you’re still here

Life’s still life
Love’s still love
Joy’s still joy
And tears are still tears
We’re still us
And we’re still here

Ken Johnston

Did this just start
Or was it only out of sight?
Either way there’s no denying
It feels so right!

When the stars align
Others get out of whack
A simple consequence
Of cause and effect

Can’t disregard the damage
Caused to other lives
Looking back there never was a chance
Our future to deny

When you choose the path with heart
No coincidences, they’re all signs
Pieces of the puzzle falling into place
Our future’s there to find

Time will heal us all
The new will obscure the lost
You’ll see when the dust has cleared
Happy ever after’s worth the cost

Ken Johnston

Sing a simple melody
Sing it sweetly, sing it true
Sing the song that’s in your heart
Lend your voice, play your part…

In this passion play
The hero finally finds his way
In this passion play
This dog’s about to get his day

Look at the beauty all around
Bide your time, wait for the day
Sing your songs as you make your way
Direct the outcome of your play …

Sometimes dreams really do come true
And it’s sweeter for the long journey
All these years had to play their part
To bring us here to another start…

Johnston/Moses

Things were going perfectly, I was towing a pretty good line
I had someone who loved me, everything was going just fine
I had no plans to change it up, I liked the steady pace
But I’m the tortoise to your hare, you just had to win the race

I’m a doggie paddler, like my waters calm and clean
And you’re this high dive jumper who cannon-balled onto the scene
I didn’t see you up there, taking your running leap
I always thought I could hold my own, but now I’m in too deep

You got under my skin so quickly
Got into my heart so fast
I tried my best to sidestep you
But you wouldn’t let me slip past

I was out picking clovers and kicking at the grass
You threw me a curve ball that came at me way too fast
I wasn’t prepared to catch it and throw it back to the base
I’m fumbling around out in left field while you’re dug in behind home plate

I’m way out of my depth, so far over my head
Don’t know how this happened at all
You moved in too deep as I stumbled
In that moment it took me to fall

I’m a slow but steady walker, on a path of my own design
I never get too light-headed, no matter how high I climb
Every step I’ve taken’s so sure, how’d I slip over the edge like that?
You’ve got such a hold on me, determined to make it last

Johnston/Moses

The ABCs of both of our lives
Are spelled out on these pages
Sealed inside this catalogue
A love story for the ages

Here we sit, side by side
Walkin’ down memory’s lane
Taking turns, reading it through
Our masterpiece of loss and gain

The best we have to offer
Of our deepest self
Wrapped in ribbons, tucked in a box
But never on the shelf

From love half-formed, and brand new
Enveloped in these phrases
To love full-grown, and so true
The slow progression guages

Carbon copies, at differing times
Stamped in written words
Thousands penned on both sides
The same themes through the years

Perfect matches inside these batches
The longhand does reveal
Present and post, marked for good
Delivering what we feel

Ken Johnston

Is it really you who smiles back at me now
Who kisses me while I’m kissing you
Is it really you that’s here with me now
Holding me while I’m holding you

Never let go
Never lost sight
Never thought for a minute that you were really gone

Was it a lifetime ago when we were young
And we had our moments out in the sun
Is it a lifetime that we have spent apart
What was in those years that brought us back around

Never lost hope
Never forgot
Never thought for a minute that we were really done

A second chance at our first life
It’s not too late for a brand new start
A second chance for us to do it right
To live the life we have dreamt about

Ken Johnston

Living like a child
In the world’s largest playground
Thinking this is what you want
‘Till I came back around

This time I was ready
To sweep you off your feet
The time was finally right
Two lives again to meet

All I want now
Is to love you
And for you to love me back … in kind

I like to watch
You try to resist me
To convince yourself you’re not
Finally ready

It’s time to stop the fight
And give in to your heart
After all your playing around
Your real life’s about to start

Johnston/Moses

I’ve got my life
I’ve got my kids
I’ve got a home
But what did I do?

I’ve got my freedom
I’ve got a job
I’ve got my friends
But what did I do?

Nothing, nothing means a thing without you
Nothing, nothing holds a candle to you
I’ve got people
Counting on me
I’ve got stuff
That I need to do

I’ve got a place
But it’s not much
Got no one I owe
But what did I do?

Nothing, nothing comes close to lovin’ you
Nothing, as green as the grass under you

I’ve got something
That you want
I’ve got something
That you need
I know where
I’m going
I’m not sure
Where I’ve been

Nothing, nothing means a thing without you
Nothing, nothing holds a candle to you
Nothing, nothing comes close to lovin’ you
Nothing, nothing’s as green as the grass under you

Ken Johnston

You say that you need some space
And time to think things through
Things have been a bit intense
It’s something that you need to do

Then you call and say you changed your mind
After just one day
You just wanted to see me
And you know I couldn’t stay away

The time you need is by my side
The space between us a blurry line
So let yourself go and trust me
Everything will turn out fine
Everything will turn out fine

Sometimes you don’t know what you want
So just listen to your heart
It will lead you where you need to go
You’ll see there’s just no keeping us apart

Now you can see there is no doubt
We can stand up with no fear
Our future is waiting for us
Our happy ever after is so near

Johnston/Moses

Fear of moving forward into the unknown
Fear of sinking back into the comfort zone
Impatient sitting where I am, know I can’t keep foolin’ around
Old habits die hard, change is tough on solid ground

Frozen in quicksand
Got to make my move
Time waits for no man
Can I move fast and true

The stable seems unsure to me uncertainty’s all I know
No harm would come from going fast but my only speed is slow
This single life I’ve built I don’t want to share
A life alone is not for me, know I’m not playing fair

Gotta pull my lives together and take that leap of faith
Stop this game I’m playing to have one life that’s great
Your love just might get me to where I need to be
It’s not really a chance I’m taking if I get the life I see

Johnston/Moses        

Goodbye old love, so long my friend
Though we tried  to deny it, we knew there’d be an end
Didn’t want to face it, couldn’t own up to defeat
Your love wasn’t strong enough to keep us on our feet

You’ll forever be, someone special in my life
But now the time has come for me to be a wife
We were just two magnets who for a while did dance
But the ions lost their charge, now it’s another’s chance

Packing up the memories and sealing them with tape
Things we bought and used together I long now to escape
Music that we listened to, all the clothes you wore
Books we read together, ‘fore you walked out our door

You won’t be forgotten, you’re a phantom limb to me
But the time has come for us to forge single destinies
We were just a flame that for a while did burn
That flame has turned to ember, now it’s another’s turn

You’re more real to me in thoughts, then we were as a pair
We tried to make it work, but not enough was there
I know that you loved me, couldn’t show it like you should
I know I gave my love more than you ever could

It’s time for us to move along, to both get what’s in store
You saw a different life for you, I just needed more
We had our hand to play, the cards were dealt upfront by fate
My queen trumped your joker, now another lies in wait

We had our share of moments, we had some laughs to spare
But just because you wish it, doesn’t mean it turns out fair
It doesn’t make you bad, it doesn’t make me right
Just makes us mismatched lovers in all other’s sight

Johnston/Moses

All was perfect when you asked
Just like I thought it would be
The promise offered a final time
This life I saw is owed to me

Wearing white and walking the aisle
All our friends are here
By The Letter plays as we meet
With nothing left to fear

This life seemed so uncertain
My vision wasn’t clear
The day I thought would never come
Is due this time next year

Sitting at the table in the kitchen of my dreams
Talking over tea and bills it’s not as far-fetched as it seems
Sitting at the table with family all around
The holidays are here again but this time we are bound

Cuddling on the sofa in this home we call our own
Folding laundry, watching TV tied for real no longer alone
Cuddling on the sofa, your hand feels a kick
Three months more and he’ll be here, the pieces finally fit