These songs were written to spread love, hope, healing, and forgiveness through music. All songs written in Bend, Oregon
Written for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing
Kingdoms (c)2015 Victor Johnson
Yesterday could be tomorrow
Tomorrow could be yesterday
Here we are, on a sunny day
We could be sailing to New Orleans
We could be landing in Paraguay
Floating down an Oregon river
Chorus: Kingdoms rise and fall
The world shifts around us
We are born learning to crawl
Without a watch or atlas
Still better to have loved
Than never to have shown it
To have lived is to have known it
We borrow time we do not own it
Riding camels across the Sahara
Diving deep into the Amazon
Gazing into an Egyptian moon
Hearing the cries of millions
Crying out as one
Making ripples in the churning sea
Sun lights on the Boston harbor
Running in a marathon
Racing to the finish line
Sometimes we are interrupted
Sometimes we trade in our glory
For a moment of grace
Written for the victims of the Charleston AME Memorial Church shooting
Black Sun (c)2015 Victor Johnson
A black sun rose up the sky today
And shone its black rays across the world
Black than the night in its darkness
Darker than the color of black
A black sun peeked out from the clouds today
And gazed down on an ocean of black
Sitting high above black mountain majesty
Ablaze in its blackness and light
Chorus: And the sky was black and beautiful
Brilliant colors for you and for me
The black was sweet and wonderful
From sea to shining sea
A black cathedral cried out its song
Black were the notes in a silent way
The blackness pure light water divine
And black the love of the savior
Chorus: And the song was black and beautiful
Aching hearts of ebony
The black was sweet and wonderful
In glorious harmony
The black was sweet and wonderful
In glorious harmony
A blackbird wept in the pouring rain
The night was black without a moon
And the stars fell down like a million tears
In a town called Charleston
And the sky was black and beautiful
Brilliant colors for you and for me
The black was sweet and wonderful
From sea to shining sea...
Written for a child from Sandy Hook Elementary
Rain Makes the Flowers Grow (c)2015 Victor Johnson
I hear her laughter sometimes when the snow falls
I can almost hear her standing there
The sound of her voice breaks the silence
The feel of my fingers in her hair
I know today is not forever
And to this world we are bound
But part of me seems to be missing
In these seasons that go round and round
Chorus:
Love...
We can forget about it
We can writing in a song
(Love)
We can bury it in the ground
Or carry it along
We can lift it to the sun
Or let it drag us down
The rain makes the flowers grow
In a small New England town
Your saxophone a gentle celebration
'Of the beauty that we knew
It cries out in ecstasy and sorrow
Shades of violet and blue
I can feel her dancing
She moves as the music begins
I hear her whisper softly
That love always wins
Written for the victims of the attack on the Bataclan
J'adore France (c)2015 Victor Johnson
Chorus: J'adore France
La campagne vallonnee
J'adore France
Paris dans sa beauté magique
Quel mal ont ils forgé sur vous
Mon cœur pleure vous ce soir Paris
Oh, Paris
Un jeune romantic desespere
Je revais devos chateaux et vignobles
Soit une fille française voler mon cœur
Je suis toujours fasciné par votre lumiere
Prechorus: Mais ce soir, je pleure comme un ocean
Et les larmes pluerent a travers le monde
Je me tourne vers les enfants pour me inspirer
Leur innocence si saint et merveilleux
Me garder a l'abri de désespoir
Alors que je me sens la lourdeur de la misére
Written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
the attack on Pearl Harbor
Sweet December Day (c)2016 Victor Johnson
Would you look out your window and see paradise
Feel the wind on a sweet December day
Stillness in the sky
The breeze floating by
People going on their way
Lovely mountains beautiful eyes
Gentle showers leave rainbows dancing in the blue
A crescendo of waves where the dolphins play
All the flowers are in bloom
No sadness, no gloom
So enchanting today
Morning stars they're shining through
Chorus: Fire falling from above
Sirens shatter the still
Blackness louder than the planes
Sent to burn and to kill
The water rushing in
Battleships they're sinking below
No one dreamed this could be
How did nobody see
How did nobody know
Wake up to the smell of fresh crysanthemums
Greet the sun laughing so lightly now
Volcano weathered folds
Pele hot lava holds
Red curls bouncing on her brow
A lullaby she hums
Crystal silence wafting through the light of dawn
Soft memories bear love from the night before
Faces all aglow
Time moves oh so slow
I walk out my door
The sunrise seems painted on
Would you look out your window and see paradise
Feel the wind on a sweet December day
Written for and inspired by Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche
On This Train (c)2017 Victor Johnson
Chorus: Tell everyone on this train I love them
Please tell them that for me
Tell everyone that I love them
The way the moon loves the sun-kissed sea
The way the rain falls on the arid ground
Softening the harshness of the day
Leaving hapless souls to wonder
How to wash the pain away
Butterflies dance in the heavens
They throw their light down from above
While angels walk here among us
Teaching us how to love, how to love
Chorus: Tell everyone on this train I love them
Please tell them that for me
Tell everyone that I love them
Cause we're all just one family
We're passengers on a miracle
Hurtling through time and space
Sometimes we meet as strangers
Just to see our divine light and grace
Give shelter to each other
Lend your sister a hand
Hug your brother he's going home
Such a beautiful man, you're such a beautiful man
Bridge: Wash the pain away, wash the pain away
Wash the pain away
Give shelter to each other
Lend your sister a hand
Hug your brother he's going home
Such a beautiful man, you're such a beautiful man
Chorus: Tell everyone on this train I love them
Please tell them that for me
Tell everyone that I love them
Christian, Muslim, black and white
Old and young, I love them
Cause we're all just one family
The way the moon loves the sun-kissed sea
The way we're all born to be
I wish everyone could see
Tell everyone on this train, on this train
I love them
Written for Deshaun Adderley, a Central Oregon teen lost to suicide.
Elegy (c)2017 Victor Johnson
Teach your children to love the earth
Show them a bit of their infinite worth
Scale great mountains and sail the sea
Oh let them be, happy and free
Sing to the morning the song of your heart
Don't let them tear your dreams all apart
You're a beautiful butterfly, just wait and see
Wait and see
Chorus: Oooohhh
Teach me to lay my defenses down
Help me to swim when I'm learning to drown
Make me feel so wonderful
So wonderful
Take my hand love, you're not alone
I'm just a child though I have grown
Sing me back home again
Soft and slow, soft and slow
Written in honor of the victims of the attack in Charlottesville and for all who speak out for love and social justice
Kneel Down (for Love) (c)2017 Victor Johnson
Chorus: I will kneel down
Down to the ground
I will kneel down, my love
Take a look around
We're kneeling on the ground
I will kneel down for love
If I should stand, then what I am standing for
I hear my brother calling out to me
Calling me down, these angels gather round
I know they're waiting to see (that)
Chorus
This is our time. the hour is upon us
A darkness not everyone can see
And the world feels cold, as young legends grow old
But they showed us life's beautiful harmony (and)
The world can't wait, we must rise from our slumber
And open our eyes to what will be
Through the moon, the sun, and the stars we are one
From now through eternity
Written in response to all the conspiracy theorists
Snow Falls on the Ground (c)2018 Victor Johnson
What if they're living on an island
All the people we have lost
And they were paid millions of dollars
To have their lives criss-crossed
What if no one was really hurt
And it was all just a charade
To play with our emotions
To make us feel afraid
Chorus: Oh, and the snow falls on the ground
Time keeps moving around
I was young once now I'm older
Oh, and the sun's gonna fall back down
Comes the night in a star-dressed gown
And the world feels a little bit colder
Wouldn't they miss their mother
Or the smile on their lover's face
Wouldn't it be lonely
To disappear without a trace
Would it feel like living on the moon
All alone in outer space
Would they hope to see their families
Or would they have new dreams to chase
What if they're surrounding us
Watching everything we do
Wondering what will happen
To the world that they knew
Or maybe they're in paradise
On an island in the sea
Drinking margaritas
Laughing, wild, and free
A call for love in the face of violence
What Is Love? (c)2018 Victor Johnson
Love is always beautiful
Love is always kind
Love is learning
Love is blind
Love is attaching
Love is letting go
Love is filled with sorrow
Love needs somewhere to flow
Chorus: What is love, what is love
What is love?
Love is being broken
Love is falling apart
Love is bursting open
Love is a heavy heart
Love is sweet euphoria
Dancing in the park
Love is searching for answers
Stumbling around in the dark
Chorus
Bridge: Love is a wildflower that won't back down
Love is the earth spinning round and round
Love is the roots, digging in the ground
Love is losing everything, love is being found
Love is the springtime
Laughing in the sun
Love is caring what happens
To everyone
Love is not for sale
Love can not be sold
Love is as vast as the ocean
Love will never grow old
Chorus
Bridge
Love is always beautiful
Love is always kind
Video coming soon