1. BURY YOUR HEART IN WOUNDED ME (5:27)
Didn’t hear the last call sound
And my designated driver
Didn’t bother stickin’ round
It too all the strength I had
To lift my head and find my keys
When a hazy lookin’ stranger
Came and sat down next to me
He was clearly out of focus
As I nursed a watered gin
I could tell he’d known some sorrows
By the way he drank mine in
And he told me I was beautiful
I’d been waitin’ for that line
I half-wished he would hit the road
And half-wished he were mine
Hungry for something to fill me up
Some kind of guarantee
If you’ve got a love that can set me free
Won’t you bury your heart in wounded me
We talked there on those bar stools
So much pain and time to kill
But the hours passed like moments
Until the clock was standing still
And I swear if he’d have asked me
I’d have given him my soul
The more I emptied out my heart
The more he made it whole
CHORUS
He talked about his children
He wore each one on his face
He told me how their broken lives
Had brought him to this place
He said You know it really seems
A father’s day is never done
Sometimes you leave the ninety-nine
To take care of the one
He said Surely you’ve got someone
Who would give his life for you
As his face came into focus
I said I believe I do
Then I looked deep in his eyes
And saw a thousand smoke-filled bars
I guess some of us have broken hearts
And some have other scars
But I never noticed his
Until the stranger took my hand
He said Now I hope My Daughter
You’ll finally understand
Hungry for something to fill you up
Some kind of guarantee
If you need a love that can set you free
Won’t you bury your heart in wounded Me
I am the Love that can set you free
When you bury your heart in wounded Me
Words & Music: Michael & Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
2. OUR LOVE (5:09)
But I’ll follow the Light
And He’ll lead me home
What I leave behind I can’t say
It’s all in the past
I’ve chosen His way
Our love
Will never be the same love
Touched by His Love
Ours must change
It must change
Our love
Will be so much better/sweeter
Just believe
And you’ll see
Wait and see
Through the days and the years
When Time disappears
He’ll always be there
Look past your eyes and you’ll see
All our love can be
If we only dare
CHORUS
One day we all hear His voice
And then make a choice
For what we believe is true
And so I will offer my hand
In the Name of the Man
Who laid down His life for you
CHORUS
Words & Music: Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
3. COFFEESHOPS AND KINGDOMS (3:41)
Gonna build a brand new mini-mall
Gonna send the ball and wrecking crew
Through every memory in every wall
We used to talk all hours there
In the big red booth in back
Sucking down those milk shakes
Chewing on fries
Only eighteen but oh so wise
Coffeeshops and kingdoms
May rise and fall
Like a field of flowers
They bloom for a season that’s all
Everyday we’d meet for lunch
Holding forth at Table Five
Hoping to survive the days to come
‘til that one day we’d finally arrive
Now we’re raising families
And we hardly talk at all
The dreams are different
I guess so am I
Still it’s hard when friendships die
Coffeeshops and kingdoms
Friends who used to call
They planted places inside my heart
But Spring has turned to Fall
When all the walls come tumbling down
And governments change hands
There’s a Prince whose peace is unsurpassed
A Kingdom coming where love rules at last
Coffeeshops and kingdoms
The hopes and dreams of all
Glory for a season
But God’s Love stands
His Love will stand
God’s Love will stand when they fall
Words & Music: Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
4. I’M NOT SUPERMAN ANYMORE (4:01)
The one to trust and lean upon
Safe harbor in a storm
A willing ear, a giving heart
Never guessed he’d lost his way
Until the night I heard him pray
I’m turning in my cape today
It’s taken time to see
The hero business isn’t all
That it’s cracked up to be
There was a time I thought
I could save the world
And maybe I could before
But I’m not Superman anymore
I’m not Superman
I’m just a man
Who’s been afraid to open up the door
Won’t You come in
Help me begin
‘Cause I’m not Superman anymore
I tried to see right through You
But I built a wall ‘round me
I couldn’t take the chance You’d learn
My true identity
Thought I had You fooled
With the shiny suit
I’m really not that strong
But I suppose You’ve known that all along
CHORUS
What are they gonna think of me
What are they gonna say
When everyone finds out
The Man of Steel
Has feet of clay
CHORUS
Words & Music: Michael & Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
5. I WAS THERE (4:53)
How much you mean to Me
I miss you and I hope you feel the same
I’ve sent you other letters
But I know they go unread
Could we sit down and sort through all the blame
I know you think I turned My face
When trouble filled your life
But isn’t it the other way around
I have found a thousand ways
To love and build you up
But still I’m just the God who let you down
Where was I when your sole defense
Was a weak and smothered prayer
Where was I in that time of need
You thought I didn’t care
When the evil swept right through you
And you felt like no one knew you
When the deed was done unto you
I was there
Do you love your son and daughter
Does it hurt each time they fail
Don’t you want to pick them up before they fall
Just multiply that fear
By all the people in the world
Imagine you’re the father of them all
Would their suffering be wrong
If it helped them count the cost
Would you let them face the trials so they’d know
Would you have the faith to let the fire
Burn away the dross
And the courage to stand back
And watch them grow
Where was I when love was lost
And you thought it wasn’t fair
Where was I when sin crept in
And caught you in its snare
When the evil swept right through you
And you felt like no one knew you
When the deed was done unto you
I was there
I was there
Through every ache and episode of savage loss
I was there
I earned the right when My blood
Trickled down the cross
Please lift the veil of anger
Long enough for you to see
Nothing touches you My child
Which hasn’t first pierced Me
Where was I when your sole defense
Was a weak and smothered prayer
Where was I in that time of need
You thought I didn’t care
When the evil swept right through you
And you felt like no one knew you
When the deed was done unto you
I was there
Words & Music: Michael & Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
6. BRAND NEW PARTS (7:12)
A man whose life and measure
Were the seeds he chose to sow
But now as passing summers
Slip the bonds of gravity
I feel the weight of everything
My grandpa was to me
Grandpa was a dreamer
And the stories he would weave
Were intertwined around the truth
Like moonbeams up his sleeve
His tall tales made you marvel
If he had no other gift
He’d sleep well because today
He gave your heart a lift
What do you do
I asked my gramps
When I was five
How do you earn enough
To keep your dreams alive
He manufactured brand new parts
At least that’s what he said
Installed inside defective hearts
Of folks whose hope was dead
Brand new parts for worn out hearts
For hearts aren’t so easy to mend
Brand new parts for broken down hearts
So hearts can be whole once again
So proud he was a doctor
With questions by the score
I grilled him all that day in ways
I never had before
How does hope die Grandpa
And how do you make a part
That’s small and light but strong enough
To fix somebody’s heart
You ask some real good questions, Girl
But where you want to start
Is how do you get someone to admit
They need my brand new part
You reach out nice and gentle
Like your hand out to a fawn
‘Cause when you try and help too quick
You spook ‘em and they’re gone
Time went fast
Ten years passed
Finally so did he
When Grandpa’s heart gave out
We laid him ‘neath his favorite tree
It’s funny I told Grandma
They say Physician heal thyself
Instead he gave his brand new part
To everybody else
CHORUS
Your grandpa was no doctor
Though healin’s what he’s done
But Grandma said he had the parts
Inside him from day one
The old man he told tales
And sometimes couldn’t stop
So here’s the key it’s time you see
What’s really in his shop
In the center of the room
I saw a vintage printing press
With reams of paper everywhere
He sure left us a mess
Searching for some sign of how
He fixed defective hearts
I stumbled on a carton marked
Fragile brand new parts
I dropped down on my knees
I was almost scared to breathe
And prepared myself for one of life’s great shocks
I took the lid off carefully
But all that I could see
Were a couple dozen new books in the box
So I opened to page one
And read these simple words
In the beginning God created
The heavens and the earth
Brand new parts for worn out hearts
For hearts aren’t so easy to mend
Brand new parts for broken down hearts
So hearts can be whole once again
My grandpa was a treasure we buried years ago
A man whose life and measure
Were the seeds he chose to sow
Now every time I ink his press or use his bindery
I feel the weight of everything
My grandpa was to me
Words & Music: Michael & Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
7. HONEYMOON SUITE (12:11)
a. My Happy Ending Is You
And the trees have all gone bare
I’ll plant you a garden of stars up where
The harvest I’ll be reapin’
Will be fairytales come true
And my happy ending is you
In the coldest grayest winter
Through a forest with no light
You shone through the black woods
My perfect knight
And my deepest darkest secrets
Were the dragons that you slew
Now my happy ending is you
You are so alive to me my fantasy
From a fabric so real I can touch the seam
You’re the texture of the ache as I wake
Must all my happy endings be a dream
In a world that’s lost its magic
In a time that’s cold and still
I’ll keep believing in you until
You ride out from the pages
Where fairy tales come true
And my happy ending is you
Won’t you ride out from the pages
Where fairy tales come true
And my happy ending is you
Words & Music: Michael & Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
b. Beat The Silence Back
She reaches for a pint it’ll be okay
She feels a draft her shoulder’s bare
Lonely where he used to touch her there
Just a quick nip to take away the chill
Then a long sip so her heart will be still
Then turn on the TV and crank up the sound
Maybe out to a movie or a night on the town
Laugh a little louder
Sing a little harder
Maybe you can beat the silence back
Blast your ears with music
Blind your eyes with pictures
Try to beat the silence back
Live so fast that death can’t catch you
Fill up every crevice and crack
Try to beat the silence back
He collects knick-knacks antique brick-a-bracs
Shelves of books that he’ll never read
They fill up the spaces and still-hurting places
Of a heart too broken to bleed
CHORUS
There’s a storm that rages inside
Frozen passion and thundering pride
And the wall between them ticks off the years
Numbing feelings and stillborn tears
And I look at them and think of us
And I wonder what our children will see
A love that stands the test of time
Or a silent scream in you and me
A love that stands the test of time
Or a silent scream in you and me
CHORUS
Words & Music: Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
c. The Love That Never Fails
And read about the one
Who’d kill the witch and kiss the princess
Someday soon he’d come
And he would slay all my dragons
Climb the tower and rescue me
With one embrace he’d break the spell
But then I’d wake up from my dream
I’m looking for a love that never fails
Sifting through first kisses, lifting up old veils
One that sees through each broken part
To the hope still hiding in every heart
I’m looking for a love that never fails
A moonlit night some candlelight
And roses led me on
I danced on ceilings trusted feelings
One day they were gone
And there we stood almost strangers
Not looking out not looking in
Too many words between us now
Wondering how to end or where to begin
I’m looking for a love that never fails
Sifting through first kisses, lifting up old veils
One that sees through each broken part
To the hope still hiding in every heart
I’m looking for a love that never fails
Then I heard a voice whisper
Won’t you see him as I do
Love him like I love you
For My Love can move mountains
Raise the dead to life
Stir ashes to flame
Between husband and wife
And My Love is in you
There’s only one true love that never fails
Can’t be found in kisses or modern fairytales
I hear it when my Savior calls
To forgive each one who stumbles and falls
I’ve found in Him a Love that never fails
You’ll see He is the Love that never fails
Words & Music: Sally O’Connor
© Copyright 1993 Improbable People Ministries
8. ON THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM (4:33)
Meet a man with pierced hands
On the road to Jerusalem
His back was striped deep with wounds
His feet were pierced and from His wounded side
Living water with His blood flowed
His face was marred and scarred
Great tears of sorrow from His eyes
O Jerusalem He cried
Jerusalem, the one that stoneth men
How I long to comfort thee
The blood of Godly men
Cries deep from in thy midst
O my Bride Jerusalem
Jerusalem, I long to gather you
As a hen her chicks beneath her wings
But you would not be gathered
You would not be gathered
O Jerusalem
Jerusalem, I’ll not be back again
‘Til the day you say to Me
Blessed is He who comes
In the Name of Adonai (Lord)He’s Mashiach Ben David (Messiah, Son of David)
On the road to Jerusalem
Meet Messiah risen King of Kings
He’ll take away your sins
Give new life to you
If only you’ll believe
On the road to Jerusalem
Meet Y’shua (Jesus) risen Prince of Peace
Take His yoke upon you
Come and learn of Him
He’s Emmanuel, your King
Words & Music: Louis C. Homfeld Jr.
© Copyright 1991 Louis C. Homfeld Jr.
Bury Your Heart in Wounded Me: A Music Review
Bury Your Heart in Wounded Me, the latest offering by Sally Klein O’Connor and husband-lyricist Michael, is a must-buy, demonstrating the kind of artistry we’ve learned to expect from this multi-talented team.
In every song, well-crafted lyrics do more than tell a story as, in compact, well-chosen verbal strokes, they deftly evoke character, mood and scene.
From the Country-Western saloon-ballad title song, to the rousing Coffeeshops and Kingdoms, reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s They’ve Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot, to the dreamy and lush Our Love, to the powerfully prophetic soft-rock ballad I Was There, this is a most diverse and listenable recording, made more so by tasteful, lean arrangements by Sally and producer Denny Bouchard.
Of special note are the string synthesizer parts, often relegated by others to chordal padding but here, well-written and sensitively conceived.
Sally’s richly emotional vocal treatments display an artist near the apex of her powers. Never does she just sing words and notes; she sings the song. If you don’t know what that means, you will after hearing this wonderful presentation.
This is a very human, healing recording. Track after track reveals the heart of man and the heart of God, as for example, in these words from I Was There:
When the evil swept right through you
And you felt like no one knew you
When the deed was done unto you
I was there.
Listening to this, I sensed the Great Physician using these songs as tools in my life. The same will be true for you.
Stuart Dauermann
Messianic Times, Winter 1994