Mike Berman

La Ciudad del Sol (Berman/Waller)

Copyright © 2025 Michael Berman and Rob Waller

Published by Tanager Way Music

In La Ciudad del Sol
The cops all carry flowers
They while away the hours
Listening to Nina Simone
The walls are alabaster
And broken yellow plaster
They ring with children’s laughter
As a distant church bell tolls

In La Ciudad del Sol
The ground is never shaking
There's beauty for the taking
Always enough to go around
The ocean cleanses the shoreline
And disappears the ashes
The theatre searchlight flashes
In La Ciudad del Sol

Oh city of the angels
Where the skies are always blue
Till the rain comes down pulls the green from the brown
In the sunset’s vivid hue
The angels fly above us
And they wash us with their tears
They tell us not to fear
We will survive, me and you

In La Ciudad del Sol
Tender hearts are winning
A generous beginning
Has awakened in us all
The sisters and the brothers
Embracing earth, our Mother
Respecting one another
In La Ciudad del Sol

Respecting one another
In La Ciudad del Sol

Music by Michael Berman and Rob Waller © 2025

Produced, engineered, mixed by Ed Tree

Mike Berman: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Ed Tree: Bass Guitar, Nylon-String Guitar, Keyboard, Baritone Guitar

Kintsugi (Campfire Edition)
Copyright © 2023 Michael Berman
Published by CD Baby

I remember you when you were tough as nails
The one who stood up proudly when everybody bailed
You tell me you are tired now but they can’t keep you down
Cause you’re the strongest person that I’ve found

When you find yourself broken, bruised and sore
When you see yourself in pieces on the floor
We’ll find a way to fill each crack and heal you to the core
And you’ll find that you are stronger than before

This is not the first time that you’ve cried
You stood up to the devil when he laughed at you and lied
You wrestled with the tigers, you walked through broken glass
You won and lost so many in your past

When you find yourself broken, bruised and sore
When you see yourself in pieces on the floor
We’ll find a way to fill each crack and heal you to the core
And you’ll find that you are stronger than before

I can see each scar and line upon your face
The ragged badge of courage that cannot be erased
Every jagged edge and broken seam is beautiful and bright
Like a tattered flag defiant in the night

And when you find yourself broken, bruised and sore
When you feel yourself in pieces on the floor
We’ll find a way to fill each crack and heal you to the core
And you’ll find that you are stronger than before

… like a mended bowl of porcelain with gold in every pore
You’ll find that you are stronger than before

Music by Michael Berman ©2023

Produced, engineered, mixed by Ed Tree

Mike Berman: Acoustic Guitars, Lead Vocal
Ed Tree: Bass Guitar
Scott Babcock: Percussion
Steve Kobashigawa: Harmony Vocals
 

Angels Flight
Copyright © 2023 Michael Berman
Published by CD Baby

Previously appeared on the album Where I’m From

Last night I woke to the devil wind
Blowing warm through the pass again
Raymond Chandler followed me downtown
Drinking whisky sodas til the bars close down
Thought I saw an angel in Pershing Square
Pushing a shopping cart in her underwear

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night               
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight

Met Warren Zevon outside the chicken stand,
Told me he and Linda are gonna form a band
Going to the canyon, gonna smoke some grass
On the lawn with Morrison and Mama Cass
Gram rode his Harley past the deputy
Heading for that motel room in Joshua Tree

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night               
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight

Standing by the telescope in Griffith Park
Saw the angel rising in a trail of sparks
Far above the haze I saw her fly
Silver wings waving me goodbye
And on the front page of the LA Times
An inventory of the city’s crimes

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight
Tonight we’ll ride 
On Angels Flight    

Music by Michael Berman ©2023

Previously released on the album Where I’m From

Produced, engineered, mixed by Ed Tree

Mike Berman: Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocal
Ed Tree: Bass Guitar, Nylon-String Guitar
Carl Byron: Accordion
Scott Babcock: Percussion
Darice Bailey: Harmony Vocal

Drive ‘til you find a freeway
The ocean or a mountain     
Head east on Sunset Boulevard
And double back on Fountain  
And if you find you lose your way
You can consult my Thomas Guide 
I would never leave my home 
Without it at my side

And there is hardly any reason 
Why you would go downtown
The air is thick and brown 
And there’s nobody around
The Strip has Tower Records, 
And Hollywood’s nearby
We can stand outside the Tommy’s 
With a side of chili fries

Drive
Drive

The city backs against the hills 
Golden legs flow in the sea
Gasping as she draws the poison air into her lungs
She looks beautiful to me

And if you say she’s just a freeway 
You don’t know her like I do
You’ve gotta try out every exit 
As you go driving through
And it surely doesn’t matter 
If you never see the stars
It takes a thousand miles 
Just to find out who you are

Drive
Drive
Drive
Drive

With the Very Good Band

Music by Michael Berman ©2023

Recorded live at Studio 41, Burbank California

Produced by Mike Berman

Mike Berman: 12-String Guitar, Vocals
Ed Tree: Electric Guitar
Carl Byron: Organ
Taras Prodaniuk: Bass
Scott Babcock: Drums