Keyboardists

"Well I rode a while, for a mile or so Down the road to the 18th Avenue And the people I saw were the people I know And they all came down to take a view"

"Oh I can’t keep it in; I can’t keep it in, I’ve gotta let it out I’ve got to show the world; world’s got to see, See all the love; love that’s in me"

"Sing a song of love and truth We’ll soon remember if you do When all things were tall And our friends were small And the world was new"

"Her clothes are made of rainbows And twenty thousand tears Shine through the spaces Of her golden ochre hair"

"Her breath a warm fire In every lovers heart A mistress to magicians And a dancer to the gods"

"She moves like and angel And seven evening stars Dance through the window Of her universal house"

"As years went by the boy grew high And the village looked on in awe They’d never seen anything like The boy with the moon and star before And people would ride from far and wide just to seek the word he spread "I'll tell you everything I've learned," And "Love", is all he said."

"Now I’m not making love to anyone’s wishes, Only for that light I see ‘Cause when I’m dead and lowered low in my grave, That’s gonna be the only thing that’s left of me"

"Oh I’m on my way I know I am, But times there were when I thought not Bleeding half my soul in bad company, I thank the moon I had the strength to stop"

"Oh I’m on my way, I know I am, Somewhere not so far from here All I know is all I feel right now, I feel the power growing in my hair Sitting on my own not by myself, Everybody’s here with me I don’t need to touch your face to know, And I don’t need to use my eyes to see"

"Now come and join the living, its not so far from you And its getting nearer, soon it will all be true Oh peace train sounding louder"

"Now I've been crying lately, Thinking about the world as it is. Why must we go on hating? Why can't we live in bliss?"

"Now I've been happy lately Thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be Something good has begun. Oh, I've been smiling lately Dreaming about the world as one And I believe it could be Someday it's going to come."

"And if I ever lose my hands, Lose my power, lose my land. Oh, if I ever lose my hands, Ooh, I won't have to work no more.And if I ever lose my eyes, If my colors all run dry. Yes, if I ever lose my eyes, Ooh, I won't have to cry no more.Yes, I'm bein' followed by a moon shadow, Moon shadow, moon shadow. Leapin' and hoppin' on a moon shadow, Moon shadow, moon shadow."

"If I make a mark in time, I can’t say the mark is mine I’m only the underline of the word Yes, I’m like him; just like you, I can’t tell you what to do Like everybody else I’m searching through What I’ve heard"

"How can I tell you that I love you, I love you But I can’t think of right words to say."

"Don't you feel a change a coming From another side of time, Breaking down the walls of silence, Lifting shadows from your mind."

"If I laugh just a little bit Maybe I can forget the chance That I didn’t have to know you And live in peace, in peace"

"Ruby my love, You’ll be my love"

"I listen to the wind To the wind of my soul Where I’ll end up well I think, Only God really knows"

"Bring tea for the Tillerman, Steak for the sun, Wine for the women who made the rain come, Seagulls sing your hearts away ‘Cause while the sinners sin, the children play"

"All the times that I’ve cried, keeping all the things I knew inside, It’s hard, but it’s harder to ignore it"

"It’s always been the same, same old story. From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go — away"

"But take your time, think a lot, Why, think of everything you’ve got For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not"

"It’s not time to make a change, Just relax, take it easy You’re still young, that’s your fault, There’s so much you have to know. Find a girl, settle down, If you want you can marry Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy"

"Then I found my head one day when I wasn’t even trying And here I have to say, ‘cause there is no use in lying, lying Yes the answer lies within, so why not take a look now? Kick out the devil’s sin, pick up, pick up a good book now."

"So on and on I go, the seconds tick the time out There’s so much left to know, and I’m on the road to find out."

"I built my house from barley rice Green pepper walls and water ice – And everything emptying into White"

"Longer boats are coming to win us Hold on to the shore, or — They’ll be taking the key from the door"

"I don’t want to work away Doing just what they all say"

"I love everything So don't it make you feel sad 'cause I'll drink to you, my baby I'll think to that, I'll think to that"

"Lord, my body has been a good friend But I won't need it when I reach the end Miles from nowhere, Guess I'll take my time Oh yeah, to reach there"

"Baby, I love you But if you wanna leave, take good care I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world It's hard to get by just upon a smile Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world I'll always remember you like a child"

"Now that I've lost everything to you You say you wanna start something new And it's breakin' my heart you're leaving Baby, I'm grieving"

"I know many fine feathered friends But their friendliness depends on how you do They know many sure fired ways, To find out the one who pays And how you do"

"Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry? Will you tell us when to live; will you tell us when to die? I know we've come a long way, We're changing day to day, But tell me, where do the children play?"

"My Lady D'Arbanville, why do you sleep so still? I'll wake you tomorrow, and you will be my fill, Yes, you will be my fill"

"The first cut is the deepest, Baby I know — The first cut is the deepest 'Cause when it comes to being lucky, she's cursed When it comes to lovin' me, she's worst But when it comes to being loved, she's first That's how I know The first cut is the deepest."

"I love my dog as much as I love you But you may fade, my dog will always come through."

"Life is a journey, you know; and a lot of journeys, you go out, you come back."

""Peace Train" is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions. There is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution."

"In 1989, during the heat and height of the Satanic Verses controversy, I was silly enough to accept appearing on a program called Hypotheticals which posed imaginary scenarios by a well-versed (what if…?) barrister, Geoffrey Robertson QC. I foolishly made light of certain provocative questions. When asked what I’d do if Salman Rushdie entered a restaurant in which I was eating, I said, “I would probably call up Ayatollah Khomeini”; and, rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author, I jokingly said I would have preferred that it'd be the “real thing”. Criticize me for my bad taste, in hindsight, I agree. But these comments were part of a well-known British national trait; a touch of dry humor on my part. Just watch British comedy programs like "Have I Got News For You" or “Extras”, they are full of occasionally grotesque and sardonic jokes if you want them! … Certainly I regret giving those sorts of responses now. However, it must be noted that the final edit of the program was made to look extremely serious; hardly any laughs were left in and much common sense was savagely cut out. Most of the Muslim participants in the program wrote in and complained about the narrow and selective use of their comments, surreptitiously selected out of the 3-hour long recording of the debate. But the edit was not in our hands. Balanced arguments were cut out and the most sensational quotes, preserved."

"I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini — and still don’t. The book itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis. When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a lie and confirmed that — like both the Torah and the Gospel — the Qur’an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you’re looking for them. However, the application of such Biblical and Qur’anic injunctions is not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole."

"Here's a chance, I think, for us to kind of remind ourselves, of those things we all commonly enjoy and love and share, try to get back together. You know, singing out for a more peaceful world today, I think, can only do good. … I do believe that … a lot of Muslims have yet to learn, you know, the incredible great history and contribution of Islamic civilization — and its become very, if you like, in some way puritanical — that puritanical approach will become narrower and narrower and even become more fragmented. Its that vast middle ground where people actually live, you know, that we have to reclaim; and in that area, everybody should be able to live together. And I don't think that God sent us prophets and books to fight about these books and these prophets. But they were telling us, actually, how to live together. If we ignore those teachings — whichever faith you belong, you profess, then I think we'll be finding ourselves in an even deeper mess."

"A big turning point happened when my son brought back a guitar into the house — You know, 'cause I'd given all those guitars away to charity — way back in 1979 and hadn't really touched the instrument, you know, for like two decades. … So then one day … when everybody's asleep and nobody's watching, I pick it up — and lo and behold, I still know where to put my fingers and out comes this music. I said, "Maybe I've got another job to do." And in this time and period it's probably the best thing I can do because lecturing, politics, God, I've got nothing to do with that. I want to just get heart-to-heart, make sure people understand some of the real subtle beauties of what I've discovered."

"I was a sitting target, in a way, for anybody who wanted to make some kind of headline. … I certainly never supported the Fatwa, but when I was asked about … the actual principle of blasphemy and capital punishment, well, like the Bible, I said, "You know, yeah, it's there, it's in the Koran." And I couldn't deny that."

"A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing … You come to a point where you have sung, more or less … your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."

"I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I've done it all and there's a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again."

"I wrote a song called "Father & Son" about the son running off to do his own thing. Now the story is about my son coming back and bringing a guitar into the house. A couple of years ago, one morning after prayers, his guitar was lying around. I picked it up and my fingers knew exactly where to go. I'd written some words and when I put them to music, it moved me and I realized I could have another job to do. Things just grew from there."

"The last place I wanted to return to was the music business. But it's the people and the cause that matter and right now there's an important need, which is bridge-building. I wanted to support the cause of humanity, because that's what I always sang about. Music can be healing, and with my history and my knowledge of both sides of what looks like a gigantic divide in the world, I feel I can point a way forward to our common humanity again. It's a big step for me but it's a natural step. I don't feel at all irked by the responsibility — I feel inspired."