Lyrics by John Osinga

RELIQUARY

Genres: Indie, Folk, Christian, Singer-Songwriter

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The locked chambers
Hold in trust my love

[Verse 1]
I have prayed for
My veil of ignorance to be lifted
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani
Leaving me a living crucible
To accept your sacred gift
To save me

[Verse 2]
Your chalice is my holy grail
An eternity on the waiting list
To be one of eight owners
Gifted life by your fate

[Verse 3]
They say surgery went well
Yet I feel unwell
Like those who loved you
I have come to know Charon's hell

[Verse 4]
The soul price
You paid the ferryman
Now I hold the repair bill
One I can never repay

[Bridge]
I have become
A living reliquary
Of you

[Chorus]
I live between the beats
In arteries of silence
The chambers exposed
I hold in trust your love

[Outro]
There in the silence
I listen to this shared heart
Living to hear you say
I am glad

You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

For the donors. For the recipients. For those who loved them.

About Reliquary

A heart transplant (or any transplant), told from the perspective of the recipient. The recipient often can carry guilt knowing what it cost -- someone who passed away so they could live.

However, People signed their donor cards in case of their death. So the gift of life they share is done with love. That is why, at the end of this lyric, I gave voice to the donor.

I am glad
You have become
A living reliquary
Of me

Reliquary: a container built to hold something sacred. A saint's bone. A fragment of the true cross. Here: a human body holding another person's beating heart.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani: Christ's words from the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The recipient's darkest moment alive, and not always sure they deserved to be.

Charon, the ferryman of Greek mythology, who carries the dead across the river Styx. The donor paid him for another to live.

Eight owners: a single donor can gift life to up to eight recipients.

Living crucible: a vessel built to contain something that transforms under heat. The recipient isn't just healed. They're changed for all time in multiple ways.

Promised Land

Genres: Folk, Singer-Songwriter, World

Please, Papa, tell us again

(Verse 1)
Where should I begin?
Well, your Papa was a simple man
Who came to this promised land
Where people sounded funny
At least they did to me

(Verse 2)
To tell the truth
I was a little nervous
I found it hard to make eye contact
As in the old country
We lowered our heads
When walking past
The armed guards

What else, Papa?

(Chorus)
When I first heard
Of this promised land
I begged to be let in
Saying
I own two working hands
They're enough to begin again
In this, your Dar al-Salam

Papa, what do you remember most?

(Verse 3)
I recall when I arrived
I watched for the signs
To tell me I was home
I promised this promised land
Not to ask for a handout
But to welcome each helping hand

(Chorus)
When I first heard
Of this promised land
I begged to be let in
Saying
I own two working hands
They're enough to begin again
In this, your promised land

(Bridge)
I carried such a deep longing
To leave tyranny behind
To savour freedom
I trusted the one above had a plan
To bring Papa to this promised land

Oh, Papa, say it again

(Chorus)
When I first heard
Of this promised land
I begged to be let in
Saying
I own two working hands
They're enough to begin again
In this, your Goshen

(Outro)
Yes, two working hands
They're enough to begin again
In this promised land

Thank you, Papa
For trusting the plan
So, we could be born
In this promised land

Please, Papa, tell us again 

Where should I begin?
Well, your Papa was a simple man

Â© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.


I've been thinking lately about how much of the human story gets left out when a writer only speaks from one tradition. Where does sensitivity begin but in oneself, in reflection of what is important.
 
Initially, I wrote this lyric from one single perspective of a "promised land" and realized it was too narrow in scope, so I wanted it to be more encompassing.
 
So I revised Promised Land so that the longing for a better life belongs to everyone who has ever crossed a border, carrying nothing but hope and two working hands.
 
I wrote this hope into the chorus to shine the light on three different sacred spaces
 
Dar al-Salam,
The Promised Land,
And Goshen 
 
Each has a home and a term from a different faith, but all wish to live in a better place.
 
John Osinga

Begin

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, World

[Verse 1]
Little lost boy
How does your life begin
When you've lost track
Of your station in life

[Verse 2]
All the signs pointed to
Platform 9.75
And yet you took the wrong
Train, again

[Verse 3]
It would take a wizard
To undo this spell
But the train has left
King's Cross station
Without you

[Verse 4]
Fate rides for a spell
The Manchester to London
It is the write connection
For destiny to arrive on time

[Refrain]
It's time to begin
To book the boy
On the next train

[Verse 5]
Joanne sits in the empty seat
When lightning strikes
And leaves a scar
Upon your forehead

[Verse 6]
In the putty and clay
Of her imagination
You were moulded
To be a Potter

[Verse 7]
We are all authors
Of our own book of life
JK writes to welcome you
Into her magical world

[Refrain]
It's time to begin
To book the boy
On the next train

[Verse 8]
It's 1990
This place in time
Is yours
To find the 9.75 station
Little lost boy pray
There is a Molly
Who will help point the way

[Outro]
Take us to school again
Hogwarts
We've all booked to ride that train
Time and again
To feel the magic, begin.

To feel the magic, begin again.

Â© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

TASTE

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

***  TASTE  ***

My memories are stuck in grade four,
They remind me of a strange taste.
I recall how in art class I asked you,
What was that on your hand?
And you said it was white glue.

Sally said,
Do you know what glue and you have in common?

You both are appealing to me.
Her white lips smiled at me.
I hate to admit it, but I wanted a taste.
Not of the glue, stupid.

You know, I have to hand it to her,
Things like that stick with you.
And to this day, Sally,
I've never met anyone else like you,
Let alone a girl who liked to eat glue.

I can't say I wasn't curious when she said,
This school has the best paste.
If you keep my little secret,
When it dries on my hand, I'll peel it.
And Johnny, I'll let you have a taste.

Last weekâ€¦ I met my old classmate, Sam,
Here at our local bowling alley.
And we reminisced about old times.
I asked if he remembered Sally.

If you mean Snow White Sally,
I heard she works at a glue factory.
And I almost fell from my chair,
When he smiled and winked at me.

Did she ever ask you?
Do you know what glue and you have in common?
We both agreed,
White lips are an acquired taste.

Â© 2025 John Osinga. All rights reserved. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

Cold Feet

Genres: Indie, Pop, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Cold Feet

[Verse 1]
I am so ready
To close the door
On this walk-in freezer

[Verse 2]
All the shelves
Hold frozen promises
Stacks of TV dinners
Lies that say they taste good
That a million microwaves
Can not burn away

[Pre-Chorus]
If you dare
Walk my Arctic
Wear your Baffins

[Chorus]
I would change
Who I am
But I always
Get cold feet

[Verse 3]
The door has frozen shut
On those I care for
I did not intend
All to know me only as
Victor Fries

[Verse 4]
It used to be
Grandmaâ€™s blanket
Warmed me
She left yesterday
She no longer knits for me

[Chorus]
I would change
Who I am
But I always
Get cold feet

[Verse 5]
The owners sometimes come
To check the label of my icy soul
If I have passed the good untilâ€¦

[Verse 6]
I know
I will never hear them say
This one has expired
Showing signs of freezer burn

[Chorus]
I would change
Who I am
But I always
Get cold feet

[Verse 7]
Deep into the ground
Into that gentle cold storage
I take comfort
I wonâ€™t feel the temperature change

[Bridge]
Upon the scrolls of heaven
It will be written
Today is the first time
Hell froze over

[Final Chorus]
I would change
Who I am
But I always

Get

cold

feet

Â© 2026 John Osinga. All rights reserved.

Pinball

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

*** Pinball ***

[Intro]
Game on

[Chorus]
What do you do
When your world is shaken
When the only game in town
Is an ole pinball machine
Destined to tilt

[Verse 1]
You have to be on the ball
Not to fall into a hole
Not to lose your turn
Not to be in deep shit

Not to have your tilt sign lit
To be the only bright light
In the games you play

[Verse 2]
You should know the score
The pinball maker
Holds the repair bill
Like so many
I've paid the price to play

[Bridge]
Even the cheats lose
Playing their rigged game

[Verse 3]
I would like to play this out
If you're game to take me on
I can take the hits
That is
If you honestly give two bits

[Chorus]
What do you do
When your world is shaken
When the maker
Of your ole pinball machine
Has moved on

[Outro]
I guess
We could search iFixit to see
If anyone posted instructions on
How to repair an ole pinball machine.

[Tag]
Game on

John Osinga Â©2025