Cantor Juval Porat

» Higher Power (J. Porat)

I’ve always wanted to be loved by everyone
And when I was shut out
I chose to shut down
And when I really needed someone to gently lift me
To show me
The paradise that lies within me
You came along and made me see
I guess someone like you
Was all it took to face my truth
With your faith in me I find light in the darkest night

Could you be my higher power
You’re lifting me up when I am down
Maybe you’re my higher power
What took me so long to realize

You’re the proof for more than one truth
And that reality inside
Isn’t like reality outside
Your faith in me is true
You’ve got my best interest at your heart
You made me believe in you
You keep me going
You give me a new sense of belonging
A better version of myself that I never would have found without you

Could you be my higher power
You’re lifting me up when I am down
Maybe you’re my higher power
What took me so long to realize

From my dark into your light
From my earth into your sky
Provide me with courage

I’ve been living fast now
I’ve been living slow
I’ve been getting high from living so low
I want you to teach me the art of letting go
Relinquish my control

Lift me higher
Higher power

Oh, oh, lift me higher

Produced by Robb Torres and Juval Porat

» Weekend (J. Porat)

I was looking forward to the weekend
A time of leisure
Getting away from the pressure
You know I had you in this pretty picture
We could find an easy flow, 2 days in a row

Totally hoping for the best
I didn’t know I’d become so distressed
Darkness inside kept coming up
I’m sorry it messed me up

I got lost
(How did I end up in this dead-end?)
Over the weekend
(When all I wanted was to get away with you)
Got stuck and trapped in 2 days of total freedom
(Feeling hopeless on a sunny Sunday –
Will you help me take these blues away and)
Take me to where I don’t need to pretend
And we can live life like it was the weekend

I was looking forward to some time on the beach
My skin against the breeze
We would feel at ease
We’d be more than ok
Making love on a Saturday

But my sadness somehow found a way
into those promised days
And the best time turns to no time
Right in front of me

I got lost
(How did I end up in this dead-end?)
Over the weekend
(When all I wanted was to get away with you)
Got stuck and trapped in 2 days of total freedom
(Feeling hopeless on a sunny Sunday –
Will you help me take these blues away and)
Take me to where I don’t need to pretend
And we can live life like it was the weekend

They say I gotta stay affirmative
To break the pattern of my narrative
So won’t you stay with me
One more week?

Totally hoping for the best
Didn’t know I’d become so distressed
Darkness inside kept coming up
I’m sorry it messed me up

Produced by Dan Grimmet and Juval Porat

» Driving (J. Porat)

Fearless ground
Open skies
winding roads
You & I
Calm and truthful sounds of landscapes
Passing by
Story lines
Traffic-signs
Our life’s a vehicle and so we drive

You’re the most
Beautiful fellow passenger and

Trust is growing below my wheels
It finds a way through the shield
It befriends who we are already
We watch the road, it’s such a beautiful thing
For everything that it brings
My foot’s on the gas
And you shoot movies while we’re driving

It’s easy not to see where we are
We’re seeking grounds in the ways we’ve gone so far
We’re curiously, continuously, exploring

You’re the most loyal fellow passenger

Holding on to beliefs
(I’ve gotta let go)
Drop my baggage by the sidewalk
(I’ve gotta let go)
As someone who wants to live a fruitful, unrestricted, adventurous real kind of life
We’ll just see what is and drive

Produced by Juval Porat and Ben Weiss

» Fluoxetine (J. Porat)

Fluoxetine,
Will you save me from the state i’m in?
Bring in the light
Into the dark rooms of my mind
And avoid the sadness
The one thing I’m good at
I made you part of my defense
of a life less intense.
Fluoxetine, my love
My melancholy
Belongs with me
I need to be strong without you

Fluoxetine, my heart
my melancholy
belongs with me
We’ll never be lovers

Fluoxetine, I’ve been trying to let you in
You took off the edge,
You wouldn’t let me feel anything
I’d rather walk through life – awake
Can’t seem to separate the joy from the ache

Fluoxetine

A perfect world before the fall
You’ve gotta have them both or nothing at all

I don’t wanna fake it ’till I make it,
I hope you see
I’d rather be me

Fluoxetine…

Produced by Juval Porat & Christian Fiore

» Voicemail (J. Promis)

The other day I walked
By a restaurant and saw
Someone who looked like you and it made me want to call

It’s a strange sort of routine
I’ve done it several times
Even though I know there’ll be no-one on the line

For I know that without fail
When I call I’ll get your voice mail
Get your voice mail

It’s all that there is left
And someday it’ll be erased
But that’s the way I think the system operates

It’s become a strange routine
That the frigid may call a crime
But still it warms me up to hear your voice another time

Yes I know that without fail
When I call I’ll get your voice mail
Get your voice mail

And now there’s no more space
The message says it’s full
So every time I call
Always without fail
Each and every time,
I go straight to your voice mail

Produced by Juval Porat & Josh Friedman

» Uncover (J. Porat)

Sometimes he feels like a light
That’s waiting to shine
There’s so much he holds back inside
Sometimes he’s feeing so tired so uninspired
Then he truly hates this town
So he picks up a fight
Only to realize
That behind all the clouds that darken up his mind
There’s comfort in the air
So precious and rare
Like an ever saving light
Then one moment departs and another arrives

And music helps him recover
He shares a cupcake with his lover
He dances freely like no other
When darkness falls he thinks about the difference he makes to others
When darkness falls these are the moments he’ll uncover

Sometimes he’s feeling so stressed
Unbearably depressed
And he sees right through all the parts that are so blessed
He can’t seem to find a way to let humour in the day
just a little piece of grace
then one moment departs and another arrives…

Produced by Juval Porat and Dan Grimmett

» Codependency (J. Porat) – contains elements from “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes” by James Warren

I – want to meet the kind of friend
you would call multiple times
When they’re the first person
you think of after
anything happens
I just couldn’t wait to tell you
about it

I want to meet
the kind of friend that you don’t have to plan
anything with
You just love to hang out
and be with them until
whatever else
happens
I swear, i just couldn’t wait to ask you
about it

Darling won’t you come home to me
Lover won’t you come back to me
My heart can’t live with all this uncertainty
It lives in perfect codependency
A perfect codependency

I was feeling lost and found
addicted to the sound
of your voice
approving
And now there is silence and darkness in my house
I guess i just couldn’t stop myself from hurting

Darling won’t you come home to me
Lover won’t you come back to me
There is only empty space where you once used to be
Let’s live in perfect co-dependency
Only you can set me free
Can’t live a life of uncertainty
Take it away from me
Yeah

Let’s live in perfect co-dependency
(I need some of that clarity)
Can’t live a life of uncertainty
(Let’s live in co-dependency)

I need your loving
Like the sunshine

Darling won’t you come home to me
Lover won’t you come back to me
My heart just can’t live with all this Uncertainty

It lives in perfect codependency

Produced by Juval Porat & Ben Weiss

» Lamdeni (Lyrics by Leah Goldberg; Music by Juval Porat)

למדני אלוהי
ברך והתפלל
על סוד עלה קמל
על נוגה פרי בשל
על החירות הזאת
לנשום לחוש לראות
לדעת לייחל להיכשל

למד את שפתותי
ברכה ושיר הלל
בהתחדש זמנך
עם בוקר ועם ליל
בהתחדש זמנך
עם בוקר ועם ליל

לבל יהי יומי
עליי כתמול שלשום
לבל יהי עליי
יומי הרגל
יומי הרגל

Translation:
Teach me to pray and to bless you for all.
For the ripening fruit and the fading in Fall.
For the freedom to breathe
and to sense and to hold
and to know and to wish
and to fly and to fold.
Teach me to sing you the songs of your praise
for the cycling of moon and the opening days
so that each of my moments for ever be new,
so that each of my moments will always be true,
so that each of my moments I walk here with you.
(Interpretation by Orit Perlman)

Produced by Juval Porat & Josh Friedman

» Just for Today (J. Porat)

They say you’re only as happy
As your saddest child
When everyone you meet is fighting a battle
you know nothing about, so be kind

Who knows if we should have ended it
Who knows if we’d change anything if we could
I know nothing beats the feeling of being connected and understood

So just for today i’ll emerge from my dark abbys
Living some kind of bliss
We’re here, we’re alive, we create – everything’s ok
Oh, just for today.

Sometimes the journey is all about
Figuring out what the journey is all about
Here’s a struggle-free approach made just for me to pave my way
Just for today

I can remember my fear (holding me back)
My vision so clear
I’ve been thriving in the gloom
Avoiding the bloom outside my window
I’m gonna believe everything you say
Just for today
Everything you love, my dear
Is already here

Ride into the sunset and think of me
I know i’ll think of you
We will forever be bonded by memories
Now rest in peace

We won’t forever feel this way
Just for Today

Produced by Juval Porat & Josh Friedman

» Embrace (J. Porat & R. Torres)

Embrace me
Hold on to me
Let’s embrace
What we can be

Revive the gift
Of openness, of gentleness
Of innocence, of warmth
Let’s dance, let’s open our hearts
Let’s reach out, ’cause we’ve been here before

I’ll embrace you
We’ll revive the gift
Revive the gift

Produced by Robb Torres and Juval Porat

» Optimism (J. Porat)

Love me, don’t judge me
Hold me tenderly
Embrace the hope that lies within a possibility
I’ll make no demands
I’ll give you the same
I won’t blink an eye as we see each other
Unconditionally
This is what it takes
To shift the current state into

Optimism
See it for yourself
Wherever we are
Is our optimum state

Optimism
You can’t stop the rain
Don’t let it stop you
Don’t let it stop you
You can’t stop love from flowing

I might not drive a fancy car
I might not be the superstar you thought I’d turn out to be
But I’m standing right in front of you
Whole and complete
Why focus on what’s lacking
While life is slowly passing
Before we turn to dust
Within ourselves we simply must find

Optimism…

Produced by Juval Porat

Thanks to the kind people in my life » my friends, family and community for being there and providing feedback, support and inspiration » thanks to all the producers and musicians for lending their talent and contributing to this album