Now I'm a Kite Lyrics and Credits
MOVING TARGET
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
I bet everything I had on a mountain town
Moved a mountain around to get here
So I settled and exhaled and the snow took hold
And it got too cold and too clear
Like at the end of The Graduate they’re sitting on the bus
And staring out at us thinking “What now?”
Well I’m already wondering ‘bout the next place I could go
As my spirits and the snow come down
Why can’t my soul find a home and park it?
Happiness I guess is a moving target
In the summer tornadoes wallop the south
Here the fires come out in a hurry
And my friends are placing bets if I will stick this one out
They know I’m having doubts
Yeah I’m worried
And on top of that I’m wondering if it’s just me
And the grass is greener always
I’ve been so full of longing for so long now
That I don’t know how to see straight
Why can’t my soul find a home and park it?
Happiness I guess is a moving target
I am not the settling kind
Got to see what else I can find
Pack my hope into a suitcase
I’ll put on my best open face
I could be sad in paradise or fine in hell
I don’t trust myself lately
Still I might as well keep looking 'cause you never know
Maybe New Mexico is waiting
Why can’t my soul find a home and park it?
Happiness I guess is a moving target
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocals
Tom Manche: acoustic & electric guitars
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
David Lukens: keyboards
Busy McCarroll: backing vocals
MORE OF THAT
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
I was talking with my father
We were wiping up some crumbs
Just an easy after dinner catching up conversation
Out of nowhere I thanked him
For reading to me when I was young
And the noise in my head
Grew quiet for a minute
And life was so sweet
And I was really in it
Oh I want more of that
Yeah I want more of that
I was walking down Canal Street
It was late in the day
And the sun was slipping sideways
Spilling golden through alleyways
I was so close to feeling what I think they call grace
And the noise in my head
Grew quiet for a minute
And life was so sweet
And I was really in it
Oh I want more of that
Yeah I want more of that
When I wised on up
And I told the truth
And I had the guts
To say “I love you”
Then the noise in my head
Grows quiet for a minute
And life is so sweet
And I am really in it
Oh I want more of that
Oh I want more of that
Yeah I want more of that
Yeah I want more of that
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocals
Tom Manche: acoustic & electric guitars, percussion
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
Steve Conn: organ
Busy McCarroll: backing vocals
Kim Weiss: backing vocals
SHOES
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
I’m taking off my shoes
I’m taking off my hat
I’m taking off my watch
Got no more need for that
Here on a barren shore
I’m taking off my clothes
Old age has worn me down
Cold water laps my toes
I used to have a plan
I used to feel a fire
I had an appetite
I felt so much desire
I used to laugh so loud
People would turn and smile
Everyone fades with time
My spark’s been gone for awhile
The water will fold me in
You can’t follow and I can’t stay
And I won’t return to tell
What it felt like to float away
I’ve never done this before
I don’t know how it’s done
I only know I must
I know my time has come
I have to leave you now
I have to leave this shore
Susan: piano, vocal
Tom Manche: electric guitar, triangle
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: pad
LAST DANCE OF THE NIGHT
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Both my parents are now gone
And I’m the next one up at bat
The grand pretense of being immortal’s gone
And I’m okay with that
But I’m not done, I’m not tired
Nothing lasts so I’m on fire
Now I’m the bright burning edge of sun before it sets
Now I’m the library laughter before the shushing hits
Now I’m the mid-crosswalk samba on a yellow light
Now I’m the 2AM last call
Last dance of the night
Carlos Castaneda said it
Keep death’s shadow as your guide
I kept learning then I’d forget it
Now it’s right here at my side
But I’m not sad, I’m awake
And there’s no endless time to take
Now I’m a shooting star blazing before it’s finally gone
Now I’m a golf ball flying before it hits the pond
Now I’m a party in a condemned building before the dynamite
Now I’m the 2AM last call
Last dance of the night
Everything is brighter now
It’s standing here in sharp relief
The ordinary stuff of life
Looks like a masterpiece
Now I’m the Casablanca farewell before she gets on the plane
Now I’m a tagger spraying “Hello” on a leaving train
Now I’m a chorus girl who steals the show while exiting stage right
Now I’m the 2AM last call
Last dance of the night
Susan: piano, vocals
Tom Manche: nylon & electric guitars, percussion
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: drums
Jim Hoke: clarinet, flute
Teri Lynn Browning: backing vocals
TINY HOPEFUL SIGNS
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
When the morning sun cracks in and I’m glad to be awake
When there’s just enough milk left for the coffee I just made
When I don’t head back to bed and turn on the TV
When I take my sweats off, put on real clothes that are clean
Then I believe I’ll get through this time
I believe in tiny hopeful signs
When the old car starts right up though it’s been acting weird
And that cool song from 7th grade’s the first one that I hear
Some old friend is calling asking where the hell I’ve been
I say I have been down in the dirt but I’m coming back again
Then I believe I’ll get through this time
I believe in tiny hopeful
I roll down a window and I hear a hundred birds
Some guy’s playing bagpipes and I laugh it’s so absurd
I couldn’t ask for help before I didn’t have the words
But now I do
When I pull into a market and my head feels pretty clear
And I don’t fill up the cart with ice cream, pizza, cake, and beer
When I get in the line that has the chatty checkout guy
And when I pay and thank him I look him in the eye
Then I believe this dark mood will end
I believe I’ll get through this time
I believe I’m on the mend
I believe in tiny hopeful signs
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocal
Tom Manche: electric guitar, bass, percussion, vocal percussion
Waldo LaTowsky: drums
Jim Hoke: harmonica, Wurlitzer
Teri Lynn Browning: backing vocals
Renée Hayes: backing vocals
Kim Weiss: backing vocals
I QUIT BLAMING YOU
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
I got home late and walked the dog
Watered flowers in the yard
Did the things I have to do
And I quit blaming you
All my bad moves, every slip
I can trace back to your grip
Such an easy thing to do
But I quit blaming you
Forgive, forget
Took time but I knew I had to
Rethink, reset
I let go and I quit blaming you
You’re the villain of this piece
With a savage cruel streak
Bit of sadness peeking through
I quit blaming you
And now my life is the same
Same old friends and laughs and pain
But I feel peace sneaking through
‘Cause I quit blaming you
Forgive, forget
Took time but I knew I had to
Rethink, reset
I let go and I quit blaming
I can forgive and I can be better
You know I can be better
Forgive, forget
Took time but I knew I had to
Rethink, reset
I let go and I quit blaming you
Susan: piano, vocals
Tom Manche: acoustic & electric guitars, percussion
Dave Francis: upright bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
Jim Hoke: clarinet, flute
Teri Lynn Browning: backing vocals
Renée Hayes: backing vocals
FLOAT
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Work hard, long hours
Eat walking out the door
Run miles, call friends
Does it it feel like a chore
Race through your endless list
Maybe keep the wolves at bay
Stay nice, stay strong
But try to seize the day
Your gut knows what to do
A river’s calling you
It’s okay to hang your hand in the water
The current can move you
That’s the antidote
You don’t have to be everything for awhile
It’s okay to float
It’s okay just float
You were a smart girl
It was expected
You had to show the world
How well you transcended
That murky home life
When the crap was flying
Tried to be perfect
You know you’re still trying
You know what to do
A river’s calling you
It’s okay to hang your hand in the water
The current can move you
That’s the antidote
You don’t have to be everything for awhile
It’s okay to float
It’s okay just float
Your life’s a tug-of-war
But no one’s keeping score
It’s okay to hang your hand in the water
The current can move you
That’s the antidote
You don’t have to be everything for awhile
It’s okay to float
It’s okay just float
It’s okay just float
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocals
Tom Manche: electric guitar, percussion, backing vocal
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
Jim Hoke: pedal steel, percussion
John Rangel: piano
MOURNING 101
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Sitting in the house in my underwear
Papers everywhere
I don’t care
You aren’t ever gonna be right here
Right here
Got to let you go
Yeah I know
Got to lose the undertow
Here I go
No, I’m gonna keep sitting here
Right here
I’m driving my friends crazy I know
Used up their good will long ago
No end in sight I’m no good no fun
It’s Mourning 101
Everybody says walk a little bit
Talk a little bit
Cry a little bit, breathe
And you’ll be fine
Just fine
Get a regimen, any regimen
You can stand to do again
And again and again
Stay in line
In line
But that would require energy
And I’m sunken deep in lethargy
No end in sight I’m no good no fun
It’s Mourning 101
Putting in the time
Putting in the time
Takes a lot of time
Takes a lot of time
Who knows how much
Time it will take
Well time will tell
So I know my ceiling very well
Here on the floor I’m no good no fun
It’s Mourning 101
Susan: piano, vocal
Tom Manche: electric guitar, percussion
Dave Francis: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
Tim Lorsch: violin, viola, cello
Renée Hayes: backing vocal
SHE CAN MAKE ANYTHING (RUTH ASAWA)
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Someday she’ll walk outside and the
Sun will hit her like love
Like sugar
Just like freedom
Like the freedom she finally has
And the buildings look like blocks
She played with as a child
When she could make anything
She could make anything
Someday she’ll leave Manzanar
The camp that’s not a camp
Barbed wire round tar paper homes
And waiting days with no end
She spends the hours sketching
Losing track of time
And she can make anything
She can make anything
Someday no one will believe her
When she says the good war made her strong
When she says it made her who she is
And she can make anything
Someday she’ll go to a park
Where her sculpture’s on display
And the sun will hit her like love
Like sugar
Just like freedom
And she’ll lay down on the grass
Ice cream melting down her hand
‘Cause she can do anything
She can do anything
Someday no one will believe her
When she says:
“Good comes through adversity”
When she says it made her who she is
And she can make anything
Susan: piano, vocals
Tom Manche: electric guitars, keyboards, percussion
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Teri Lynn Browning: backing vocals
Renée Hayes: backing vocals
YOU CAN GO AHEAD
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Everything will be all right
Hold my hand
Hold my hand
We can sit here in the quiet
Hold my hand
Hold my hand
Someday we’ll be side by side
Flying through lavender skies
You can go ahead of me
You can go ahead
You’re already halfway there
Hold my hand
Hold my hand
I won’t leave this bedside chair
Hold my hand
Hold my hand
Somewhere you’ll be warm enough
There’s no pain
There’s only love
You can go ahead of me
You can go ahead
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocal
Chazz Frichtel: bass
John Rangel: piano
THAT’S WHAT YOU’D SAY
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Catch a red-eye to Rome
Don’t forget the camera
Get out of my head
Take a tour or two
Find a local bar
Where no one speaks my language
Drink too much wine
Toast the end of you
I know, I know
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d tell me to do
To get over you
Start that novel I said I always had in me
Put in all the good dirt
Write obsessively
I could make you the villain
I could change the plot
Build a happy ending that stars just me
I know, I know
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d tell me to do
To get over you
To get over you I’ve got to use everything I can
I’ll dredge my brain
Cry as much as I can stand
And all the while I hear you saying
Let go
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d say
That’s what you’d tell me to do
To get over you
But I’m not ready to get over you
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocal
Tom Manche: nylon & electric guitars, percussion
Chazz Frichtel: bass
Waldo LaTowsky: percussion
David Lukens: organ
Dana Cooper: backing vocal
KITE
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
She used to be a table
Now she’s a kite
So steady and dependable
Till she took flight
She’s somebody else now
Meant for the sky
He didn’t mean to die like that
He didn’t mean to leave her flat
She became someone no one could recognize
She shook so hard she splintered
Her legs gave in
Couldn’t trust gravity
Couldn’t trust a damn thing
And grief was going to freeze her
So she took flight
Change blew in hard and she let it move her
And now she shifts course easily
Sends notes from everywhere to me
She had to go through hell to feel this free
She used to be a table
Now she’s a kite
She’s solo and soaring and it feels right
She’s somebody else now
Meant for the sky
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocal
Tom Manche: electric guitar, percussion
Dave Francis: bass
Busy McCarroll: backing vocals
I DON’T THINK WE’VE MET
© 2025 Susan Anders/Son of Zanna (ASCAP)
Sharp edged bark
Some neighbor’s dog
Who knows if he’s friendly or not
Chimney smoke from nearby
Everyone’s staying inside
Boxes stacked, just moved in
In a sec I’ll begin
Lonely but it’s okay
It comes with new territory
Lonely on a cold day
I don’t know this town’s story
And I don’t think we’ve met
Change pulled hard
So I up and moved
Can’t pretend that I am brand new
No I’m bringing my past to this
Santa Fe scenery
Bringing the dark to light
Hope they can intertwine
Lonely but it’s okay
It comes with new territory
Lonely on a cold day
I don’t know this town’s story
And I don’t think we’ve met
I don’t know if I’m reckless or brave
To think that I could make a mark here
But I swear I can feel a spark here
Lonely but it’s okay
It comes with new territory
Lonely on a cold day
I don’t know this town’s story
And I don’t think we’ve met
Susan: acoustic guitar, vocal
Tom Manche: electric guitar, keyboard, tambourine
Dave Francis: upright bass
Steve Conn: accordion
Busy McCarroll: backing vocals
Kim Weiss: backing vocals