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1.
02:01
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2.
02:26
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3.
02:34
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02:34
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5.
02:59
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6.
02:50
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7.
02:25
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02:28
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10.
02:40
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about

We realize that it is possible to actually fall asleep in your own dream—routine sneaks in and the dream-life becomes the everyday. Yet, through our process we have each discovered our own personal masterpieces. Along the way we patiently uncovered the art and the artist within.

We end this musical story with the song “Wake-up Call” which reminds us to “know when we are finished” with one particular process or era and prepare to begin again. We honor and cherish our experiences together. This journey has nudged us into the early stages of a new awakening—hopefully, continued growth and deeper consciousness await.

credits

released February 1, 2010

Cheryl Martlage - Lyrics and vocals
Emerson Martlage - Music, guitar and vocals
Mr Toad's San Francisco - Mastering
Patricia Barry Ryley - Graphic Design
Cover Image - Sunday Afternoon by Georges Serrat

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all rights reserved

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about

Cheryl and Emerson Martlage image

Cheryl and Emerson Martlage San Diego, California

At the age of 48, and after 25 years of marriage, we headed to a secluded town for 6 weeks, to create a new relationship and begin again.

When we arrived as if by magic, we co-wrote our first song ever— "Never Sleep," evoking the mystery and magic of the new adventure. Twenty years later, we're still making music. Join us on our musical storytelling as the adventure continues to unfold ... more

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Track Name: Masterpiece
Within, covered over with age
There may be hidden under the dust
Beneath the crackled layers of paint
Sometimes there sleeps a masterpiece

Found out by chance
A glimpse of color never expected
Obscured, barely there
Something anyone could miss

Years of candle light
Leaving traces of smoke and wax
A closer look reveals
Not a copy, but real

Take a closer look inside
Where the masterpiece hides

What if, just by looking within
You find that you are one of a kind

Beneath the façade
A glimpse of subtle color detected
Narrowly hidden from view
Hardly anyone could miss
This Masterpiece
Track Name: Lighten Up
Life has its ups and downs
The real trick is how to face it
Just try to balance it all and stay
Light-hearted

Life has its twists and some turns
You have to hold your ground
The only way to rise up, high above it is to be
Light-hearted

What’s the use in crying
Where’s the worry payoff
If you spend time fretting
What good does it do

How does it help to
Focus only on the problem
Everyone feels so much better
When they lighten up
Take life with a grain of salt

Life has its good and bad days
Just take each as it comes
By looking at them through rose-colored glasses
They glow

Try to drift up high above the fray
And see the world through rose-colored glasses
Taken with a grain of salt life lightens up

Taken with a grain of salt days lighten up
Track Name: War of Dreams
Gone are the simple times
Made up of hopes for the taking
Butterfly visions for chasing
Captured and held
Drying their wings in the sun
Then taking flight

Her dreams are so different than mine
Yet somehow I figure in all hers
She thinks that I want to chase them
Instead of my own
Seems that we have a war of dreams
Neither giving in

I imagine myself as free
Each day bringing surprise to me
Enthralled with the unexpected
Offering a new course at every turn

She imagines me coming home
Picking up just where she leaves off
Stepping into her daily life there
Disregarding the one that I’ve made
My dreams set aside

So we have dreams at odds
And you can see my dilemma
Tell me whose heart do I follow
Hers or my own
How can our dreams become one

Return to simple times
Track Name: Life Lines
Lifelines run between us
Include and link everything
Each move, weaving and spinning
Yet another thread, whether we know it or not

Lifelines form the patterns
We know, so they comfort us
Daily habits and customs
Mesh into a net, each a perfect design

Hidden, concealed from view
Pressed inside
Carved by repetition
Softly, steady, an engraving

Unobserved—these lines of connection
Breathing, radiating
Animated, strongly binding

Vibrant and dynamic
We sense something words cannot describe
Held within that certain closeness
Somehow we feel more alive
Ever-changing, never-ending web

Laugh lines frame our faces
Reflect who we have become
Echo more than time passing
Not another crease
Clearly it’s a lifeline
Track Name: Nothing Much to Say
If I fell on clever words
I could tell you every little thing that I’ve been thinking
Maybe even change the way that you see me
That is, if I could only find the words

With some very clever words
I might weave a story that would draw you even deeper in
Then convince you that it was all your idea
Somehow, if I could only find the words

But, where do they go
Every time I open up my mouth to utter something
Embarrassed, left with nothing much to say
Again, I just can’t seem to find the words

Self-conscious, finding nothing much to say
Scanning my mind in search of tender words

So, where are those clever words
The special ones that take us to a happy ending
Sure to make you feel that I’m the only one
And you see me as I want to be
Until then, I’m left searching for words
Track Name: Good Girl
She is tired but has things she must finish
Wearily she thinks that she might rest tomorrow
After all, she is just who she is
After all, she does what every good girl must do
For everyone

Taking care of life, every detail
Going through all of the motions without question
After all, she is such a good girl
After all, can’t imagine her life any other way

Than to be, true-blue, unwavering
Steady and dedicated

Sure as the northern star shines
Someone that you can count on

Sure as tomorrow’s sunrise
Someone that you can count on

One of the “can-do” sisters
Ever-ready, poised

So her days are made of mindful, selfless giving
Second nature to her, this way of living
Even and abiding
Someone you can always count on
Track Name: Helping Hand
She reaches for his hand
Their fingers weave into a perfect fit
Blurring which one has offered the helping hand
They make their way up, walking together
To reach the high ridge where a picnic awaits

And when they find their place
She turns around to marvel at the view
Then quietly offers a helping hand
Building a fire, laughing together
As they spread a blanket and unpack their things

Always looking out for each other
They’re partners in life
So here they are today, like every other one
Just sharing their way

Found again and again
Going along together
Just sharing their way
As the sun is setting

She reaches for his hand
He lifts a glass to offer up a toast
To “laughter, love, good friends and happiness!”
They end their picnic, talking together
Of how lucky they are to share all their days
Then. . .he reaches for her hand
Track Name: Show Up
They say that the best laid plans
Are often bound to change
If all goes along just as expected
Then it seems strange

But even with a draw-back or two
Somehow we manage to make it through
Do a work-around or take a detour
Find a new way
Even better, let the way find you

Something will show up
To make things all work out right
Just the way we thought it might
Maybe better than we imagined it would be

But even with a setback it seems
Underneath the glitch is a different scheme
Have to figure out just which way to go
Take a new path
Even better, let the path take you

And something will show up
To make things all work out great
Sometimes we just have to wait
Get ready for something
To show up and turn out right

That’s just the way it is
Something always shows up
Track Name: Innocent
I know better
Or at least I should have
Every time things go awry
I’m taken by surprise again
Just as if I were an innocent

I’m no-nonsense
Follow rhyme with reason
Yet I try to keep a sense
Of wonder in the everyday
Hoping not to stray too far from innocence

There were times when
My heart has been broken
Still I choose to remain open to what may be

There are times when
In the face of hardship
Pure and simple is the bravest way to be

Pure and simple is the daring way to be

Through the windows
Of my eyes wide open
You can see into my soul
By looking closely you will find
Someone who reminds you of an innocent
Forever to remain an innocent
Track Name: Wake Up Call
Something slightly brutal about a life as usual
Covered up and over with the things of everyday
Somehow I resisted
Just before I drifted off
So here’s my wake up call

Feeling vaguely bothered, one day like another
Tendency toward boredom: run of the mill runaway
Nothing new or risky
So I find I’m drifting off
Give me a wake up call

We set out to build a life together
Filled the days with our imaginings
Never thought that if we followed passion
We’d tumble into routine

Always thought that if we followed passion
Our days would be exceptional
We’d avoid monotony
Then we fell asleep

Something dull and numbing, feel I’m feeling nothing
Watching as dust settles when our days are commonplace
Not much of a mystery
There can be no drifting off
I hear the wake up call

No more nodding off for me
I must answer the wake up call

Never sleep