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Here are the lyrics to four of the songs on "Exact Change" -- two by me, and two by a couple of my favorite songwriters. Enjoy.

Nine Gold Medals
Pirate's Bounty
Bye, Bye Future
Exact Change

Nine Gold Medals
by David Roth/Maythelight Music/ASCAP

The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many the weeks and the months of their training
All coming down to these games
The spectators gathered around the old field
For cheering on all the young women and men
As the final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin

The blocks were all lined up for those who would use them
The hundred yard dash was the race to be run
There were nine resolved athletes in back of the starting line
Poised for the sound of the gun

The signal was given the pistol exploded
And so did the runners, all charging ahead
But the smallest among them he stumbled and staggered
And fell to the asphalt instead
He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish
His dreams and his efforts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure as I'm standing here telling this story
The same goes for what next occurred
The eight other runners pulled up on their heels
The ones who'd been training so long to compete
One by one they all turned round and went back to help him
And brought the young boy to his feet

Then all the nine runners joined hands and continued
The hundred yard dash now reduced to a walk
And the banner above that said "Special Olympics
Could not have been more on the mark
That's how the race ended with nine gold medals
They came to the finish line holding hands still
And a standing ovation and nine beaming faces
Say more than these words ever will
So much more than these words ever will

Pirate's Bounty
by Sandy Cash, Bud-Man Music/BMI

I've never been a swimmer
But the kids are out of school
So I pack 'em up and drive them
To the local swimming pool
They jump into the shallows
Bodies flashing in the sun
But soon they're at my deck chair
And begging one by one

Ride me on your back so I can sail across the ocean
Lift me up so I can brave the stormy sea
Hold me in your arms and I'm the fiercest pirate captain
And I'll rescue you if you'll believe in me

Now my first grade swimming lessons
Left a memory blue and cold
Dropped with strangers by the poolside
Trying to do what I was told
The teacher saw me waver
And kind, said, try once more
But no matter how she coaxed me
My feet never left the floor
For three whole weeks I faked it
And believed that no one saw
Nine fat zeroes on my swim card
My mom's silence said it all
Guess she was embarrassed
Didn't know quite what to say
But I know that I was thinking
On the long ride home that day

Ride me on your back and I can sail across the ocean
Lift me up so I can brave the stormy seas
Hold me in your gaze and I will never more be frightened
And I'll believe in you if you'll believe in me

I walk through the water, feel the warmth of the sun
Feel the clutch of their arms that says
I am the one
Once a small, lonely child, now a mother and a wife
Looking back, moving forward
It's the journey of my life

Still walking through the shadows
But in a very different way
I stand firm as they float weightless
Venturing further every day
The bounty they bestow on me
My glorious pirate crew
Is to know I can weigh anchor
I have sailing still to do
Now my little one's sweet breathing
Blows a whisper in my ear
And before I feel quite ready
She kicks off and disappears
The bubbles grow more distant
Then her head breaks through the waves
The jubilant girl overboard
That no one had to save

She says, Watch me swim, I'll show you
How to sail across the ocean
Let me go and I can brave the stormy sea
Held within your love I learned what freedom's really made of
And I'll teach you, if you'll believe in me
I'll teach you, too, if you'll believe in me.

Bye, Bye, Future
by John Forster, Limousine Music/ASCAP

I hear my dad come home
I hear my mommy call
I watch them read the letter
I see their faces fall
I may be only three
But I am not a fool
I've just been rejected by the
Riverside Nursery School

I'm bad... bad, bad, bad
What am I gonna do?
I'm fine in a sandbox
But I choke in an interview

Bye, bye future, bye, bye dream
Bye, bye happy, bye, bye self-esteem
My epitaph will be she hit her peak at three
And then took eighty years to die
Bye, bye future, bye, bye

Oh, no, another letter
Must be from my safety school
I'm breaking out in hives
I can't control my drool
They're reading, read, read, read
They're talking, say, say, say
They're laughing, oh, oh, oh!
I thinking I'm on my way

What a proud girl am I! Rivka Mizrachi's playgroup!

Hello future, hello clout
Old boy netowrk, that's what school's about
And years from now, when Time and Newsweek
Interview my sitter
She'll say "Early failures hurt her, yes
But did not leave her bitter
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood
The sun is out and life is good
Hello future, hello!

Exact Change
By Sandy Cash, Bud-Man Music/BMI

Old debts come due, I dig my hands
Into pockets full of home town sand
No bills can be paid off in this currency
Payment terms might be arranged
If you could promise Exact Change
But the price we pay for change is the uncertainty

I packed it all up years ago
Too old to stay and too young to know
The reason for my wild and weary travel
Tomorrow was my only friend
It dared me time and time again
To swing high on that thread as it unraveled

I didn't need a reason I only needed rhyme
Not looking where I leaped became a specialty of mine
That we fell into this love must surely be a sign
That there would be some changes for the better
I was counting on some change for the better

You built our house of brick and steel
And fed me love in three square meals
Security in solid weights and measures
Your path to me was straight and true
I hardly knew myself with you
And that was my most closely guarded treasure
But the change so blindly counted on could never be exact
I heard myself start cursing you for all the things I lacked
The rock of my salvation filled my glass house till it cracked
And shattered in the shards was my reflection
I stood with you and saw my own reflection

We spent all that afternoon
Side by side, with pail and broom
Sorting through and mopping up and clearing
And as you kissed me on the eyes
It startled me to recognize
How little of your song I had been hearing
'Cuz if it's change I'm looking for we're changing all the time
I start to feel it when I leave my bitterness behind
And If I find the change is not exact, well, never mind
As long as we can make this change together
I'd say that we'd be changing for the better.

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