Terah Cox
  • HOME
  • About
  • Truing-Up Your Life
  • 72 Angels
  • BOOKS
  • Heaven & Earth Works Shop
    • WORDS MATTER SHOP
  • Services
    • Writer-for-Hire Services
    • Services for Writers & Creators
    • Webinars for Writers
    • Simple Website Creation
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Product


​DIFFERENT SHIPS, SAME BOAT ~ Songs for the Soul of America

Book of lyric poems by Terah (Terry) Cox, with CD/streaming and music/speaking events to follow.

DONATE HERE
Donate at GOFUNDME.com
Picture
Thank you for being here!
The name of this project was inspired by a visionary who was at the forefront of social justice action in our country during one of its hardest passages. Today, as we try to navigate the turbulent waters of our current national crises of social and economic divides, disparate value systems and the long-term effects of marginalization and special interests, Martin Luther King Jr.’s paradoxical words: “We may have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now,” are as timely and urgent as when he first spoke them.
 
The lyrics for the Same Boat book and music project are inspired by stories of plight and potential—giving voice to people who are hurting and people who are helping, the hope that connects them, and some of the visionary voices of our time who are calling on the human heart in all walks of life to help heal the still-festering transgressions of our yesterdays, ease the narrowness of tribal thinking that is fragmenting us today, and contribute to the growing desire for a more caring and inclusive tomorrow-soul of America and our impact in the world. The Same Boat project intends to join those voices, and those of the individuals, communities and investor-partners that we hope to inspire and showcase – as well as to benefit initiatives and organizations that are bringing more heart into their operating protocols and bottom lines.

 
Truth matters, but that's not what will save us. We are at a time in our world when every voice matters, words matter and truth matters. But while the pursuit of truth is vital to the integrity and noble aspirations of our civilization, truth has more and more become a pawn for power, barter and bias. And so truth is no longer a reliable go-to for moral behavior, right action or even civility.  

As a lifelong “truth-seeker,” I’ve learned three important things about the nature of truth
:  it’s relative, it's always evolving, and truth by itself is not enough. If we are ever going to heal the great divides in our country, and world, we will have to look beyond our stubborn truth-sparring to the one language we all understand–the language of the heart. For only the heart can conjure the willingness to listen. Only the heart can serve up the kindness, compassion and understanding that reveal a more loving, universal and truer truth: that beneath our different perspectives, circumstances, creeds, colors and cultures, we share a sameness of heart. We all want to love, be loved, and give something worthwhile to the world from the love and truth of who we are. And if we want to "save the soul" of our America, we will need to bring more heart into more of our personal, professional, political and socio-economic bottom lines.​


Scroll down
to see sample lyrics
from the
Same Boat
​
project.
Picture
These themes permeate the Same Boat project. As I often like to say, every individual is a seed of our collective humanity–as we each are, so the world becomes. And so this project is a seed planting of love–from the inner and outer inspirations that conjure the words, to the diverse collaborations that will fuel the project and take it all the way "into the light." Please email my office if you are interested in reviewing our Proposal.


Project Vision

This is an ambitious project, but one that my long time work as an author, songwriter and speaker has equipped me for. This fundraising campaign addresses the first phase of what I envision to be a three-phase project, Phase I of which is intended to roll out in the Fall of 2020:

- Phase 1: The writing, design and publication of the book, a 3-song sampler, and several small public performance presentations; along with a companion booklet featuring organizational and corporate partner-sponsors who are integrating value-based initiatives into their business protocols and bottom lines.

- Phase 2:  Collaboration with music writers, guest musicians, artists, producers and studios to co-write and record a full CD (and digital streaming platforms) of 10-15 songs using lyrics in the book; and

- Phase III:  Live events with a combination of music and speakers on the topics of the book and songs. It is envisioned that this phase will involve setting up a benefit component for several visionary organizations
 that are working to help re-draw our socio-economic landscapes into the higher ground of more inclusive and heart-based initiatives in vital areas of human life at local and planetary levels. 
​
Book Description & Logistics
​The Different Ships book will contain around 24 lyric-poems and commentaries which explore the different kinds of hurt that are shredding the collective soul of America, and the hope so many of us have in our hearts and in our initiatives to bring about the healing that we must believe is possible. The funding received for Phase 1 will help to provide time for writing, research, interviews and the hiring of a cover illustrator, as well as book design, layout and printing. The new targeted publication date is late Summer 2020.  See below for samples of lyric-poems from the book, some of which will be chosen for the CD and streaming platforms. 
​

Brief Bio for Terah Cox

Picture
TERAH COX is an author of several inspirational books offered on this website and at amazon.com, as well as a speaker, coach, freelance writer and writer-designer for the greeting cards and word-art offered in the Heaven & Earth Works Shop. As TERRY COX, her songwriting doppelganger, she has been a lyric writer of over 150 recorded songs for CDs, film, television and advertising, mostly while under contract to various major music publishers in the U.S., Europe and Asia – including Columbia Pictures Music, BMG/Universal Music, Warner-Chappell Music and more. Visit www.FisherQueenSongs.com to check out some songs she's co-written and some of the artists, producers and writers she's worked with. 


Inspirations and Potential Beneficiaries of the Same Boat Project

​The events in our country over the last couple of years have rocked many of us to the core. Along with my own inner excavations, I’ve mined for understanding in conversations with friends, colleagues and clients, and in the works of various thought-leaders and visionaries—as well as dipping in and out of social media and relentless news coverage chronicling the waves of socio-political disparity and upheaval. I can see that there are gifts in the chaos, gifts that will become more evident as we realize that our scattering norms can make way for new, more heartful paradigms in our bottom lines, better and kinder ways of relating with those whose circumstances and worldviews differ from ours, and awareness that the rights and privileges of our democracy can only be sustained and continually improved by citizen responsibility and inclusivity. Click here to view some of the people and organizations that have inspired me and which I envision the Same Boat project benefiting down the road..

Samples of lyric-poems from the Different Ships, Same Boat book & music project
​

The Trouble with Bootstraps
 © 2017-19 Lyrics by Terry Cox, inspired by Joshua Wilkey article,
“My Mother Wasn’t Trash,” May 10, 2017: www. thisappalachialife.com/single-post/2017/05/10/My-Mother-Wasnt-Trash


A flower can push through
a crack in the concrete
as long as it’s got somewhere to root
But you can’t ask a man
to pull up by his bootstraps
if he doesn’t have any boots
 
Every now and then
They throw him a bone
Just when he’s about to go under
But sooner or later
What they give him with one hand
They’re takin’ back with the other
 
The trouble with bootstraps
is you gotta have boots
But the bankers and bootmakers
are all in cahoots
Keepin’ all your half-a-chances
just out of reach
Like pie in the sky
and carrots on strings –
There’s no use for bootstraps
if you’re cut off at the knees
 
He worked in a steel mill
Slaved in a coal mine
Worked till the work used him up
His cup might be half-full
Instead'a half-empty --
‘Cept now he doesn’t even have a cup
 
The trouble with bootstraps
is you gotta have boots
But the bankers and bootmakers
are all in cahoots
Keepin’ all your half-a-chances
just out of reach
Like pie in the sky
and carrots on strings –
There’s no use for bootstraps
if you’re cut off at the knees
 
He used to be a proud man
with a dream in his eye
But there’s no use for dreams
under a low-hangin' sky
 
The trouble with bootstraps
is you gotta have boots
But the bankers and bootmakers
are all in cahoots
Keepin’ all your half-a-chances
just out of reach
Like pie in the sky
and carrots on strings –
There’s no use for bootstraps
if you’re cut off at the knees
There’s no use for bootstraps
if you’re all outa' dreams....

but...hang on, hold up a minute...what if...

[ending fades into the beginning of this next song:]
​
*****

Every Bottom Line
 © 2019 Lyrics by Terry Cox

What if every bottom line
was more than dollars and cents?
What if Wall Street went to Main Street
to make a difference?
What if every ladder's top rung
launched someone else's dream?
What if every bottom line
put someone’s moon on a string?
 
What if every bottom line
would send a needy kid to school?
What if every bottom line
had a built-in golden rule?
What if everytime time runs out
for somebody in lack
Someone's big fat bottom line
would pick up the slack?
 
What it’s gonna take
is a change to somethin' better
Somethin’ to remind us
that we’re all in this together

 
Then every bottom line
and quarterly report
might line some family's pockets
that keep comin’ up short
And every corporate coup
might fund a mom-and-pop new start
If every bottom line
would have a little more heart
Yeah if every bottom line
had just a little more heart


But this song is not to say
there aren’t good folks out there
Puttin’ their money and their time
into helpin’ out somewhere
We can’t ask more of any
than the will to do their best
And we hope that you can be
an inspiration to the rest
 
‘Cause what if every bottom line
would do what can’t be done
And every bottom line
had room for everyone?
Like if every bottom line
valued everybody's worth
And every bottom line
cared about the Earth?

And what if your own bottom line
found a way to start?
'Cause little by little your bottom line
found a little more heart?
Then someday every bottom line
might have a little more heart

Yeah someday may every bottom line
have just a little more heart

​*****           
​
A New American Dream
© Music: Jorgen Elofsson / Lyrics: Terry Cox
See a short version of the song performed for NBC Olympics pre-show


I’ve got a picture in my head
Got an idea on my mind --
What if we lived in a world
where no one’s ever left behind?
‘Cause I believe --
every heart has a dream
every dream has its hope
and every hope has a prayer  
at the end of its rope
 
And this is what I see
behind the darkest cloud -- a new reality…
 
Together you and me
will dare a new American Dream
Where everybody gets a chance
to be who they want to be
And no one gets left out
and everybody gets to do
Whatever it takes to make a new
American Dream come true
 
They say there’s only so much room   
at the top of the dreamer’s game 
Seems only a few lucky ones
come close enough to hold the flame 
 
But that doesn’t have to be --
We can dream
 a new reality
 
Together you and me
will dare a new American Dream
Where everybody gets a chance
to be who they want to be
And no one gets left out
and everybody gets to do
Whatever it takes to make a new
American Dream come true
 
Not a single heart will go unexpressed 
Not a single voice will be stilled
in this brave new world --

 
Together you and me
will dare a new American Dream
Where everybody gets a chance
to be who they want to be
And no one gets left out
and everybody gets to do
Whatever it takes to make a new
American Dream come true

​***



Into the Light
 © 2017 Lyrics: Terry Cox, inspired by Sikh interfaith leader, filmmaker, activist-author Valarie Kaur’s riveting New Year 2016's "Watch Night" speech with spiritual leaders from multiple traditions. (Permission granted from V. Kaur)
​​(www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCenwgheIBs)


A fearless young Sikh woman
stood up one New Year’s night
with her story and her passion
and her heart’s second sight
Like a beacon at the pulpit
of love’s holy might
She dared us to look
at the dark of our world
in a whole different light
 
She said that all our labor
Our history of hurt
All our worldly battles 
Over heaven and earth
Are more than we know
More than they ever seem
Maybe this nightmare
is really the birth of
our heart’s greatest dream
 
And she said…
Maybe this darkness
is not the dark of our tomb
but the hard hurting labor
of a new humanity’s womb
Maybe this darkness
is just the long hard night
That will finally bring us all the way
into the light

 
If you and I are willing
we can cross our great divide
And use our hearts to see
what’s on each other’s inside
But if we keep looking through the lens
of everything we fear
We’ll miss our chance
to let go of the past
and be reborn together right here
 
Maybe this darkness
is not the dark of our tomb
but the hard hurting labor
of a new humanity’s womb
And so let’s push with our hearts
through this long dark night
Until we come all the way

into the light
 
In the meantime, she said,
tonight let us breathe
While we share heart to heart
the things we each believe
Come morning we will labor
with the softer breath of love
to birth the better world
our hearts are dreaming of
 
‘Cause I believe this darkness
is not the dark of our tomb
but the long and winding labor
of a new humanity’s womb
And so let’s pull together
through this hard dark night
Until we come all the way,

all the way into the light

*****

​#MeToo #WhatAboutYou
© 2017-20 by Terah Cox

One woman speaks
Alone she stands
Till another steps up
with heart and hand
Then two become three
and three become twelve
And soon there are hundreds
with stories to tell

No longer silent
No longer compliant
We’ve traded lip-sync
for vocal and defiant
No turning a blind eye
or the other cheek
Read our truth-telling lips
and weep --
#MeToo #MeToo
#WhatAboutYou

All people want
what hearts dream of
But barter and sale
are not about love
And favors stolen
or favors sold
are nothing less than
a forgetting of soul

​And so,
No longer silent
No longer compliant
We’ve traded lip-sync
for vocal and defiant
No turning a blind eye
Or the other cheek
Read our truth-telling lips
and weep
#MeToo #MeToo
#WhatAboutYou

You good men may think
this song’s not for you
But we invite you and you
to speak out too
‘Cause all your bad bros’
are puttin' you to shame
And if you just stand by
are you partly to blame?


Be
No longer silent
No longer compliant
Trade lip-sync
​for vocal and defiant
No turning a blind eye
Or the other cheek
No more hiding it
No more meek
Read our truth-telling lips
and weep
While we tell it
like we've never
told it before
Read ‘em and -- sisters,
Weep no more!
#MeToo #MeToo
#WhatAboutYou


​*****
The Truest Truth
  © 2017-19 Lyrics by Terry Cox, inspired by the crisis of truth in our time

​We’re living in times when truth has become 
a pawn of money and power
And whether we swing to the left or right
This is not our finest hour   
We spar over different truths
as if there were only one
But while we argue every “only one truth”
our world is coming undone! 

The truest truth 
is not in the facts 
The truest truth
is not in the news  
But the truest truth
just might be had
by walkin’ in another man’s shoes
And for every truth in all the Earth
And all the Heavens above
The only truth
that can save our world
is a truth shaped by love

Every truth has its shining moment
Every truth has its glory day
But the truest truth, as time will tell
is one that’s willing to change  
We can wave our patriotic pride
And draw our lines in the sand
But the only truth that can heal a divide
Is the kindness of a helping hand

The truest truth 
is not in a book 
The truest truth
is not in a place 
But the truest truth
just might be found
in the smile of a small child’s face
And for every truth in all the Earth
And all the Heavens above
The only truth
that can change our hearts
The only truth 
that can save who we are
is a truth shaped by love


*****

Pebbles on the Road to Peace
  © 2018 Lyrics by Terry Cox

Every hopeful heart
Every helping hand
Every kindness that dares
to understand
Every wish, every dream
that strives for good
Every mountain of faith
That knows we could
Every trial and trouble
ready to release
Every mind opening
to possibilities
is a pebble on the road
a pebble on the road
to peace
 
Every top dog reachin’
back for his brother
Every stranger or neighbor
doin’ for another
Every hope and prayer
‘stead of push and shove
‘Cause there’s nothing or no one
we’re not a part of
Every difference with the same
desire to be free
Every soul on Earth
with the heart to believe
is a pebble on the road
a pebble on the road
to peace

It's a matter of trust
or a matter of time
Till we really understand
what's on the line
We can rise up together
or we can fall apart --
In the end it's gonna be
a matter of heart

So in the meantime...
 

Every chance taken
to heal a divide
Every bridge built
to the other side
Everytime nobody
has to back down
‘Cause we’re willin’ to meet
on some middle ground

Every song of love
Every note of harmony
Every word that creates
a better world for you and me --
the world our hearts see…
is a pebble on the road
a pebble on the road
a shiny pebble on the road

to peace


*****


Different Ships, Same Boat
 © 2017-20 Lyrics by Terry Cox, title inspired by MLK Jr. quote,
​"We may have come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."


In a not so distant time ago
On wooden sailing ships
The brave and desperate crossed the sea
with a hope and a prayer and a new-world wish
In the land of opportunity
Hard work paved the way
Any kinda' dream could start from nothin’ 
And build a proud new day
 
But somehow the land of the free
became the land of every man for himself
We forgot we can’t keep doin' the dream 
without each other’s help
 
We may have come on different ships
But we’re in the same boat now
And if we keep goin’ on like this
Gonna sink our stern and our bow

We may have come on different ships
But we’re rockin’ our only boat
Got to steady the raging drift
If we wanna keep this dream afloat
           
Once we were all immigrants here
We were all refugees
Runnin' from hate, oppression and fear
Looking for a place to live as we believe
But in the land of opportunity
How soon we forgot
A dream come true can be a cruel thing
When some have and some have not
 
Somehow the land of the free
Became a free-for-all of greed and control
But what does it gain us to fill our cup
and lose our very soul?

We may have come on different ships
But we’re in the same boat now
And if we keep goin’ on like this
Gonna sink our stern and bow

We may have come on different ships
But we’re rockin’ our only boat
Got to steady the raging drift
If we wanna keep this dream afloat 
 
We may have come on different ships
But we’re in the same boat now
So before our boat starts to list

Before our hopes start to drown
Got to brave the tidal winds
Got to weather the storms and stalls
Got to have all hands on deck
With every heart holding on
Yeah it’s all hands on deck
With every heart holding on --
 
Cause yeah we came on different ships
But we’re in the same boat now!

***

Breathe
  © 2018 Lyrics by Terry Cox, inspired by Solutions for Interrupted Education,
an organization helping refugees and migrants 
whose education has been interrupted by war, social/political upheaval, trafficking and extreme poverty.

There is no darkness so dark
as the place where light has died
No hurt so hard as leaving
where the path of return is denied
But your heart dares to see
the dark in a different light
And a dream keeps taking you on
through the long hard night

 
'Cause all you've got left
is that dream in your heart
and the in-and-out of your breath
 
So you just
BREATHE
and hope your heart
keeps movin' your feet
BREATHE (breathe)
and hope your heart
can keep the beat
For while there's
breath and heart
Hope is still dawning
Calling you toward the light
of a hard-won new belonging
So you just
BREATHE

 
There's no journey so hard
As a road that has no end
Will they take you in or turn you out
in the days and weeks ahead?
It's hard for some people to see
why you had to leave your land
But if they can walk in a poor man's shoes
Maybe you'll find some helping hands
 

'Cause all you've got left
is that dream in your heart
and the in-and-out of your breath

 
So you just
BREATHE
and hope your heart
keeps movin' your feet
BREATHE (breathe)
and hope your heart
can keep the beat
For while there's
breath and heart
Hope is still dawning
Calling you toward the light
of a hard-won new belonging
So you just
BREATHE

​

*****

​When He Said “Imagine”
  © Adapted from song by Kaya/Andre LeClair/Terry Cox
Inspired by John Lennon


His story is not over
And he’s still on our minds
Looking over our shoulders
Still a voice of the times
One man who did his part
To help keep alive the dream
One word from one timeless heart
That challenged everything –
When he said “imagine”
 
Just imagine -- 
No chosen few, no power-mongers
No left-behinders, no non-belongers
No have-nots and nobody grabbin’
‘Cause everybody’s too busy havin’
Just like when he said “Imagine” --
If we come together, we can make it happen
 
Said his God had no religion
‘Cause there’s no heart love can’t find
Some say the man had a vision
Born and died before its time
But what’s dead is never gone
When we carry on the dream
One word in one timeless song
Says what he still means
When he said “imagine”
 
Just imagine -- 
No chosen few, no power-mongers
No left-behinders, no non-belongers
No have-nots and nobody grabbin’
‘Cause everybody’s too busy havin’
Just like when he said “Imagine” --
If we come together, we can make it happen
 
It’s no good to be stuck on my side
With you over there on yours
Let’s put some windows in our walls
And open some welcoming doors
 
Just imagine -- 
Everyone on their feet and dancin’
A rainbow of hearts all romancin’
I sing with you, you sing with me
Singin’ out of this world-ly harmony
Just like when he sang “Imagine” --
If we come together, we can make it happen

​                                          
Usage Permissions   |   Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use
Heaven & Earth Works Wholesale Inquiries 
Terry Cox Music Website:  www.FisherQueenSongs.com 
Email: [email protected] | 845-797-0902
Staunton, VA & Nyack, NY
​All content on this website © 2004-2021  by Terah Cox,  except photography by Stacie Florer, Gittel Price and additional images as per credits.
** JOIN EMAIL LIST **

​Professional Affiliations:
Picture
Picture
Follow your heart, and your feet will find a road!
Connect with me!
  • HOME
  • About
  • Truing-Up Your Life
  • 72 Angels
  • BOOKS
  • Heaven & Earth Works Shop
    • WORDS MATTER SHOP
  • Services
    • Writer-for-Hire Services
    • Services for Writers & Creators
    • Webinars for Writers
    • Simple Website Creation
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Product