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and Their Music |
Luckett |
Cooper and Fayssoux McLean |
with Ellis |
Childers |
Snider |
Unnofficial Half |
Memory of David Stewart |
Home |
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and Their Music |
Luckett |
Cooper and Fayssoux McLean |
with Ellis |
Childers |
Snider |
Unnofficial Half |
Memory of David Stewart |
Home |
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She took a little walk Flowers dangling from her hair Braided hemp around her ankle And faded cutoff jeans She didn’t really care She didn’t want to know Why the old crow died When the rooster crowed She just listened to the wind Deep green wings A river twists towards the sea Like someone twisting our arm Or slapping our knee She didn’t really care She didn’t want to know How a patch of briars Killed the girl next door She just listened to the wind Chorus Everybody wants to die sometime Everybody gets a little tired Everybody needs to cry sometime Find a way to let it go Find a way to let it go Every branch will break Every rope will knot We can try to make believe All the things we’ve forgotten But, everybody breaks Everybody aches For love She didn’t want to talk Sometimes there’s nothing to say Sometimes you’re better walking away She found a little field Changed the twist of fate Everyone is blameless When there’s no one to blame Forty minutes later She just listened to the wind Shades of green Flowers dangle from her hair There’s a broken branch; a rope with a knot She went for a walk And she went somewhere What a colorful way To end the day She just listened to the wind And then flew away ### She’s not a little girl anymore That’s safe to say All the little girl games we used to play They slipped away But I remember the days when She wore braided hemp around her ankle and Faded cut-off jeans She’s not a little girl anymore She’s sweet sixteen All the little girl stories we used to sing Now sing me to sleep But I remember the days when She wore ribbons and bows in her hair and Faded cut-off jeans Chorus The little girl I see Her face is safe in my memory Days of laughter, days of tears Dressed in mommy’s new high heels A little lipstick for her ruby cheeks I remember; she looked so sweet Dancing for daddy so he could see She was just like her mommy The lady he loved The lady he loved She’s not a little girl anymore She’s twenty-one Riding in a little sports car Bathing in the sun But I remember the days when She sold lemonade with her best friend, Jen Jen died that next year She’s not a little girl anymore She’s thirty-five Three kids of her own now She manages to get by But I remember the days when She’d call to ask my advice and then She’d start missing him again Chorus She’s not a little girl anymore She’s fifty-three Her kids are all grown now Now she has me She remembers the days when I could do almost everything Now I barely remember to do anything But I still remember how She’s not a little girl anymore Doesn’t remember 17 Her grandchildren call her Three times a year She remembers the days when He told her she didn’t mean anything Now she knows what he meant Chorus Braided hemp around her ankle and Faded cut off jeans A little girl to a mom To a grandmother now The memories are dreams She lets them sleep when she sleeps Braided hemp around her ankle and Faded cut-off jeans ### There’s a mother, there’s a sister, there’s a brother standing, too All the coffins and the stones; they were made for you A symbol for your sacrifice rests within a growing war A symbol or a life; I wonder which means more? Little children just remember that this war you’re walking through Has nothing to do with me; nothing to do with you It’s covered in a hell that's as red as it gets And every lesson we choose to forget Chorus It’s about time that we’ve forgotten And wars we’ve set aside All the blood that is surrounding us Takes away most human rights It’s about dreams we don’t remember And dreams we’ve somehow lost And children we watch vanish Fall victim to the cost The cost of freedom My Jesus just remember that this war you’re watching from above It’s not the way you taught us, you only taught us love It lays victim to our greed inside and things we don’t need And every lesson we choose not to believe in There is laughter, there is beauty; it is standing everywhere Won’t you stand beside it, don’t pretend that you don’t care The freedoms that we have should never go away They serve as a reminder to remember yesterday ### Nelson, he’s a little different People call him “Zip” instead of his name ‘Cause he raped a ten year-old, so they say But, I think he got framed Nelson didn’t have an alibi Cause he didn’t have any friends He just had his bike, his one and only bike And every prosecutor needs a win When Nelson got out of prison Thought he’d be a free man He got on his bike, rode around town Everyone was watching him His hair is long and stringy He’s tall as Christ, I’d say He prays at the steps of every church in town Every church turns him away I first met him at Wal-Mart At 16, he scared me ‘Cause the way he looked was unlike any Other man I’d ever seen For Halloween he dressed up as Caesar It nearly blew me away ‘He looked like Jesus, just like Jesus In a long robe walking my way Yeah, maybe he’s eccentric But he’s smarter than he looks I’ve listened to him in the corner of the library Answering back those books Jeff’s daughter got raped last Sunday All eyes are on Zip ‘Cause the doors were closed at the church downtown And every prosecutor needs a win Nelson, he’s a little different He leads a poor man's life The landlord tripled his trailer rent But he let him keep his bike Some things go bump in the night But it wasn't Nelson at her door It's the same 'ol story just like before He was riding his bike alone Everybody needs somebody Nelson didn’t have anyone He found a home in the streets downtown But he won’t be living there long What are you that goes bump in the night? Can we ever know for sure? Nelson never harmed a fly in his life But he makes a good jailhouse whore Every prosecutor needs a win sometimes Let’s take another look at Zip He did it before; he’ll do it again And every prosecutor needs a win ### When his bed is empty and his mother weeps When the angles lay him down to sleep When the winter night breathes in his breath At the end of a battle where there’s nothing left You can hear his heart It smells like soul You feel like someone’s taken all you love And just let it go When the rain is falling in a fiery sky When the teardrops ache for reasons why When the morning comes and he’s not there When you want to ask why he fell and where You can feel his heart It smells like soul You feel like someone’s taken all you love And just let it go When there’s a blanket of bodies on the ground When they ship him to you with his dog tags on When you try to believe that he died in peace When you search for answers and where they lead You can feel his heart It smells like soul You feel like someone’s taken all you love And just let it go When you hear the echoes of Vietnam When you hear mistakes were made early on When you oppose the war but support our troops When you got to get up for another day of work You can feel his heart It smells like soul You feel like someone’s taken all you love And just let it go I don’t know what the whole world thinks Sometimes I don’t think I know anything But when I read the papers and I see the news When his bed’s as empty as his mother’s womb I can feel his heart It smells like soul I feel like someone’s taken those we love And just let them go ### Driving down the highway My headlights on the road An 18 wheeler passes by I wonder where he’s going Is he thinking what I’m thinking? Does he dream the things I do? Is he just another insomniac, working for a buck or two? All these states he’s been driving through It makes me wonder about the headlights in the night It makes me wonder about the state I’m in tonight Two more hours of driving The clock reads 2:15 45 miles to the next rest area I pull in for a 20 minute sleep There I see the 18 wheeler And I think that’s kind of neat Is he just another truck driver trying to get by In a state of decline where the tread split from our tires All these hours we’ve been driving the same bumpy road It makes me wonder about the headlights that lead us home It makes me wonder if he ever feels alone I walk to the drink machine Get myself a coke I hear footsteps from behind me As my change comes tumbling down And standing there, next in line Was the man behind the wheel Driving that old 18 wheeler; his face a little dirty The name “Tim” was sewn onto his faded football jersey He looked a little worse for the wear; most times I don’t care I just start asking questions and go from there He smiled and winked at me But before he walked away He threw the peace sign up And said he had something to say, “Sometimes I think about the war in Iraq But, I’ve learned to put my worries in place You see this jersey? It’s my boy’s old football shirt These broken highways, yeah, they hold a dream - actually two That my boy could call me, “dad”, not just in my dreams And to kill the son-of-a-bitches who put the drugs on the street Driving down the highway So many headlights on the road I see that 18 wheeler turn around I think I know where he’s going I wish I did I just sip on my coke And wonder about the state he’s in tonight. Sometimes when we feel we have nothing left to lose Someone helps us to remember that we do I’m pretty sure I’m losing I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can do ### Daniel walked out their front door Left blood stains in the hallway Drenched in the scent of aftershave He finished her off in the driveway You could hear her scream a mile away Some folks did and listened Neighbors don’t always kiss and tell Some murders aren’t a mystery CHORUS Oh, it smells like soul A separation from the fighting Here - a storm - ushers in the cold Ending all of the violence Oh, it smells like soul The kind of strength you can’t hold You can compromise every alibi But you can’t take a soul to their grave More than one snake lives in a home Black cats are never far away Oh, the things we think we know in this town It’s anyone’s guess how it got this way Daniel took a match and burned into a flame ‘Cause no one should die alone He left the memories of twenty-five years In the comfort of their home CHORUS The smell of souls has soaked in me I sweat so it may breathe I bought the house; I sit in the hallway And listen to their memory ### She picked up a brush from the five and dime With a picture tucked in the back of her mind Lonely walls became a fantasy When she stroked them like a mystery She painted like a visionary with a dream A labor of love for the world to see A gallery of art lives where she’s been And it smells like soul when she’s been there Chorus The images in the stories tells Takes her away when she feels like hell She doesn’t care if she paints in bars ‘Cause to tell a story, ya don’t have to look far Her art is spread from here to there With the wind she’ll go most anywhere Give her a wall where there’s intolerance She’ll replace it with a beach and sand Not every building holds love inside Most times they’re filled with sacrifice She dedicates her murals to the weary-eyed So they can stop and dream from time to time Chorus I still remember what she said to me We were standing there just out of DC “I’m so happy that I could give this to you” I know it’s not much, Erin, but it’s my turn… I give this to you. J ### What do we do after Taps is played When we bury their bodies under American flags What we do when the world is at war When there’s no in-between the rich and the poor What do we do when the talking is through When the State of the Union is the same ol’ news What do we do when we walk the floors Wearing old man shoes that have never been worn Chorus We play a Train Song And then we sit around We solve the world’s problems As we pass the bowl around We are like passenger trains Of Todd Snider’s brain He’s way more left than right And he’s leaving his tracks, so come and enjoy the ride What do we do when the bills aren’t paid While our money is burning in oil and free trade What do we do when pharmaceuticals breed With our politicians and government greed What do we do when we work in a place Where the toilets are worth more than we’ll ever make What do we do when we can’t speak Chinese When our jobs are shipped to foreign countries Chorus What do we do when there’s egg on our face When we’ve said too much, when it’s much too late When do we do when the lights go dim When we only wake up so we can sleep again What did I do, oh how did I take Love from a home and replace it with hate What do I do when there’s nothing to do When the last cigarette is burning for two I play a Train Song And I sing along Then I hear Sombody’s Coming And I lay my worries down It’s like a dose of drugs, a long lost friend Words that don’t condemn And I know a Todd Snider song’s gonna get me through it again ### He writes songs in the key of life Living on fast food and broken tail lights Skeptics have called him a fair weathered friend But I’m riding with him all over again Some may doubt the words that I write But anyone’s passion is anyone’s fight He talks of his dog and his grandmamma, too He cries for the lonely, the broken and abused Andy the Arab and Jessie the Jew Did you understand it was written for you? We may be different and have different views In the end what matters is just getting through Chorus Jesus and war and loves that he’s lost Trips to the mid-west in a southern fog Picking up strangers, he’s been where they’ve been And sometimes he’s back there all over again He finds solace in drugs; he thinks it’s all right To do what he can to deal with this life He’s not always right, but he’s not always wrong And I fell in love to a Todd Snider song Katrina got ugly and I understand Not everyone agrees with a stubborn man People of color are neither black nor white On behalf of his brothers, he damn sure will fight Last summer we had some angry threads Outta was out and it was Swillies instead Not all is forgiven with war on the board Sometimes we tolerate much less than more He gave an apology time after time He needed to make one, no doubt in my mind We each have our struggles and I can’t pretend That I too should have been a better friend Chorus Lying in bed, I’ve seen him at night Wrestle with nightmares arresting his sight Madness and mayhem, we’ve all been there before It bashes our ceilings, it stands on our floors Sipping down depression on a coffee break I slept three hours and I woke up late When hard times called and sadness appeared He was the one who led me from here I don’t know if I’m in a good place A life alone can be a lonely state But looking back I know my heart belongs To the guy who sang me a Todd Snider song ### A broken heart beats faster When the wind is blowing slow. Holding dreams that hide in laughter They think it’s time they let them go There’s one more window that opens But one less pillow left to hold Beware of memories; they fall and shatter In the treasure of our eyes Caught between a mind that doesn’t matter We’re stuck in traffic and red lights There’s one more horn that’s blowing But one less belt whipping in the night Chorus There’s nothing like falling backwards Then going up in smoke to the sky It’s nothing but a state of matter It’s nothing but state of mind There’s nothing like moving forward Growing old and out of time It’s nothing but a state of matter It doesn’t matter if I don’t mind A mother needs love and affection When her child lies with the sheep Her heart is colder when it’s beating inward She hides to seek his memory There’s one more rattle shaking But one less hand for the devil to feed A husband needs time and attention When his body shakes from coming down His heart is hotter when he sips his Bloody Mary He kicks three stones and walks around There’s one more bill to pay But one less reason to talk about it now People bow their heads and fold their hands They take a breath and don’t make sound Never speaking what they’re thinking Never thinking more than out loud There’s one more “Just forget about it” There’s one more drink in the bar downtown We hang on to what’s left behind There’s not much left behind us now Yeah, well maybe we never talked about it And maybe we never thought about how There’s one more “What the hell do I know?” I only write so I can let it go.” ### I remember sounds of laughter Coming from a shady lane Where my father found his family And left behind a bottle of pain I remember how my mother Would scratch his back and his head He’d rub his eyes then tell her, “God knows I should be dead” Alongside a tear stained sidewalk She helped him understand The only thing inside a bottle Was the outside of a drinking man Chorus Now I feel like falling backwards Back to a shady lane Where my father loved my mother And she loved him just the same Where two brothers and a sister Played Twister and Simon Says Monopoly was just a table game Unlike these games inside my head When the devil kept his distance Or at least, that's what we thought Yeah, he’s got angels inside him That no one else has got My dads been dead for years now My mother sleeps with her dog The snow looks like a blanket But it doesn’t keep her warm The shortest distance is a telephone And she cries herself to sleep I swear I can hear crying When she says she misses me Growing old holds many blessings But it holds its nightmares, too When you’re feeling old and lonely When children forget about you Sometimes at night I hear my father Sing his songs to ease our pain I only wish that we would listen closer To the laughter from a shady lane ### I was doing fine, you know Until just about 12 hours ago I started feeling queasy A little bit uneasy And threw up in a cereal bowl I was doing fine, you know But this shit, it aint fun I put Vick’s on my head Took some pain meds Now I’m looking for a gun But I don’t have a gun And I don’t wanna gun Never gonna shoot one I aint’ that dumb Or am I? I was doing fine, you know “Til I dropped a pile of shit, on the floor You think I’m kidding I wasn’t even sitting I didn’t give a shit, though I was looking for the cereal bowl But it was in the sink Damn, thing stinks I was doing fine, you know “Til I heard my neighbor blowin’ his nose He blew like a freight train Blowing up my right brain Now my left brain has more room to grow Who needs the right side of their brain anyway? Who needs the right side of anything? I’m way more left Or am I right? Hell, I don’t know I was doing fine, you know Until I got this assignment an hour ago I can and will do this Even if I am pissed, I’m not going to let a little vertigo kick me in the butt. So I ate another pill And I took another drink Then I rolled over and thought I would faint My dog was cleaning up the place You’ll never guess what he had on his face A shit, eating grin A dog of my own We’re both a little sick We can throw up all night No one gives a shit, We can hit or miss the bowl To hell with the landlord He never comes here anyway And, what if he did? Do you think he’d throw me out Over a little shit? I don’t think so. But you never know. We might get lucky Or he might get Lucky Lucky, that's my dog's name Pretty clever, huh? Yeah, we're both full of shit. But I was doing fine, you know. ### Standing in red and white and blue A little boy stood with a sign in his hand If standards and values rule this land He could be an American poster Yeah, look a little closer The sign he held said, “Will Work For Food” A little boy was hungry, what could I do? We’ve got signs for this, signs for that We’ve got all these signs of virtue Yeah, this boy is America’s future We’ve got signs that say, “Church Next Right” We’ve got signs that say, “Right to Life” We’ve got all these signs to help us through But take a look at who’s standing next to you Yeah, signs of American rules Rules of conduct and rules of war Does it make you wonder what signs are for? Is it a sign of metal or a sign of the times? What kind of sign will help someone's life? Yeah, we need some kind of sign When I was girl I stood each day With my hand over my heart, I’d proudly say “I pledge of allegiance to the flag…” It meant something when I when younger Now, sometimes I wonder Don’t get me wrong, I love my home And the ideals from which it was born “Liberty and justice for all,” taught me a lesson But there are some who use God as a weapon You know God, the bigger the better If the American dream is our foundation And words that hold together a nation Then values can be summed up by what we're told “I was doing fine, you know?” Yeah, a little boy in the cold A little boy standing with a sign in his hand I stood right by him to try and understand Let Them Work, Let Them Live It’s a sign, but I don’t get it Sometimes it’s easier, to just forget them. ### I was doing fine, you know I was doing alright Living alone for two years now I made myself a home I left behind your quiet nights I am doing alright I hung new prints on new walls Sometimes, I took a fall We live in a town, we work in a place Where everyone knows our name We have the same friends, they never took sides It’s easy when there’s no one to blame Something changed in the path that we chose I guess that makes it okay At the end of the day, I’m happy this way I hope you feel the same I am doing fine, you know I am doing alright Living on a budget without everything Everything never made a home You left behind my weary mind You are doing alright You hung new blinds, you found the time Sometimes, you even cried Chorus We were doing fine, you know We were doing alright The bills got paid when the heat was on But sometimes, things get turned off We’ll be doing fine, you know We’ll be doing alright We realized the most important things in life Don’t shine in diamonds and gold We are doing fine, you know We are doing alright Another year has left us now I'm kinda glad to let it go ### A radio on the dresser, a baton on the bed Colors of pink became strawberry red Ten thousand pills don’t keep us from thinking They just lessen the pain when we’ve been drinking A candle was lit, it became a fire Iced over gossip; the temperature rises The memories are bitter, the memories are deep In the waiting room of an unusual sleep You closed the doorway; not just to undress Laughed off your shame; now I laugh at the madness I told them lies while you sold my innocence Soon I became your willing participant Truth is like fiction, exciting and wild Like a wolf on the river, untamed in silence It’s easier to forgive than to criticize ‘Cause I don’t understand all the wicked things you’ve been Chorus I can’t scratch my back ‘Cause my arm’s still broken And won’t kiss your ass You can just keep talking All the joy I’ve been given Is the joy I have taken I won’t give it back There’s no need in asking If you don’t understand All the wicked things I’ve been Love needs mending when hallucinations collide Mislaid and delusional in your heart and mine Do you know the story? Do I know the crime? Is there anything unusual in an ordinary life? We try to pretend that some things never were It’s easier to smile, say we lived a perfect world I’ll just move ahead and try to forget All the wicked the things I’ve been A radio on the dresser, baton on my bed Trophies and softball, emblems and letters I look at my dog, he looks back at me All the things I believe about me, he never believes And I cry on my lover’s shoulder while he patiently listens “You make this world better, you make a difference” “We’ll get through it together; I’m here ‘til the end,” And I’m beginning to forget, all the wicked things I’ve been ### Suze packed her flannel for a trip to the north Sick of the ghetto’s, she’d lost her self-worth So many places she’d never been She wanted to get a look Joe tossed his backpack on his back Tied his shoes around this neck Smiled at Suze as they got in the van He knew he was never coming back They drove past the mason dixon line Driving all night; losing track of time Watching the moon spinning its wheels Feeling the sun on the leather seats Every one told Suze time and again "Careful with Joe, he’s a boy not a man" But, love feels secure when you’re not sure And Suze was sure of Joe’s love for her chorus I think I see her up around the bend Extending her hand, reaching for him Listening to Randy Travis singing and then They smile at each other ‘cause the road never ends But just when they thought they had everything right Something happens in the dead of the night Listening to Randy Travis singing and then Forever and Ever Amen Sometimes we get lost looking for peace Driving the same road, week after week Out of money, food and a little restless Joe had finally lost his patience He took the next exit off the interstate Got a pack of smokes at the Flying J A cop told him some hippie ass joke And Joe didn’t like his joke He flew out of parking lot; hit the interstate But first he took his gun; blew him away The cop only heard Joe’s final pledge "This one’s for my hippie ass friends" Joe pushed the petal to the floor board Suze saw lights; sirens were heard Joe lost his mind, but he wasn’t alone And Joe never liked being alone Chorus This world can make you crazy This world can make you hate It can do almost anything But it can’t stop the breaks Driving down the interstate There were Suze and Joe He put the gun to her head Pulled it and then, shot himself, too Suze packed her flannel for a trip to the north Sick of ghetto’s, she’d lost her self-worth So many places she’d never been She finally got one look Chorus ### I had a few thoughts Just as I came in the back door So I went to my laptop And sat down on the floor Thoughts about conflict The war and its cost I put them in writing So they’ll never be lost… Where is he dreaming Where does he lie Where is he resting Where does he cry Where is his laughter Where is his joy Where is his future Oh, where is my boy We’ve become soldiers The field’s our backyard We fight with our passion We fight with regard We’ve become soldiers Your pen made us so Without our permission You let them go Where is she dancing Where does she sing Where is she sleeping Where are her wings Where is her pleasure Where is her worth Where is her treasure Oh, where is my girl The water has spirits The ocean’s a sky The moon is relentless Its beckoning cries We cling to its forces We cling to its night Without your permission We cast you aside Where is your country Are we standing alone Where is your courage To bring them back home Where is your brother Where is your faith Where is the armor That fills you with hate The earth it has heavens The world’s paradise The sun is a shower To all of mankind We cling to its energy We cling to its light Without your permission We cast you aside Bring back his laughter Oh, bring back my boy Bring back her future My girl and my joy ### All these questions in my head Drive me crazy now and then Pondering and wondering What’s the cost of death? All the answers seem so clear But I’m only shedding tears I’m not the one who’s fighting Sometimes … not even trying All the worry and the want All the bodies how they haunt Me when I see the news I feel I have no use I want to bring them home From the battlefield where they roam What can one voice do Can it add a voice or two? I sit and write my songs Wonder where my words belong Are they lost among the soldiers Are they useless? Are they bolder? I guess in my regret I can say I fret and fret But who am I deceiving? I’m not worthy of believing That I damn sure tried. Until that day arrives Will we open up our eyes Will I picket or revolt Will I write a thousand notes I would like to believe That at the very least When our troops fell down and died That I damn sure tried Tonight, I only cried But, I damn sure tried Yeah, I damn sure tried I tried not to cry. ### I read a letter written in the 70’s From my boyfriend when I was ten It said, “I’ll love you when you’re 70 I hope we’re still together then.” Quinn played football for the Bulldogs I dressed in a blue and white skirt I cheered for him with my pom-poms A ten year-old quarterback and his girl Chorus Life is easy without ceilings Two young kids only saw the sky Life is easy when you’re dreaming Children do it all the time Life is painful when you’re older When those we love die before their time When the only football’s on the television And an old love letter makes you cry His hair was yellow like the sun His eyes were blue, mine, green My hair was as red as the fire in my blood He hoped our kids would look like me One summer night I had an accident I spent four weeks home in my bed He didn’t play with his other friends He tended to me, instead Bridge I moved away from state to state Sometimes thinking of him I learned of love and learned of hate Learned the meaning sin Sometimes better is sometimes worse Sometimes love is a curse But there’s nothing better Than to find an old love letter And remembering what it’s like To feel loved for the first time In your life Quinn went to college to become a teacher I quit college to become a wife Years went by, we turned into drifters I forgot about those letters ‘til tonight Thirty years ago I met Quinn Sometimes I stop and think of him Our love was sweet, so very sweet The love of two childhood friends Chorus 2 Life isn’t easy when there are ceilings I don’t have kids; I wish I did at times Life isn’t easy when you’re dreaming And hoping chances don’t pass you by Yeah, life is painful when you’re older When those we love die when it's time When the only football’s on the television And an old love letter makes you cry ### In our living room, in our bedroom In our quiet little town There’s a silence, I can’t deny it It’s all around me now I touch your face, I see your eyes I recall our wedding day A covered carriage, two young lovers Holds a living memory Chorus Now I wait for the day You walk through our door You’re protecting a country But you can’t protect my heart I sit at our table I cry myself to sleep I dream of the nights when You’re dreaming safely next to me There’s a bow, it's tied in yellow On the tree in our yard Spring is blooming warm and gentle Like the first breath at dawn Bridge When can I take that yellow ribbon down? When will your laughter wake our quiet little town? When will our living room be a room that’s shared by two? Unlike the silence of an empty room Just like Christ, I talk to God I guess he answers me somehow I sit and wait, I try to listen It doesn’t help me now The day goes where the wind blows It falls beneath the stars After dark there’s a fountain A cloud floats above the park It hears me whisper, a simple whisper It echoes in the sound When he’s sleeping bring him peace Then bring him home to me … And our quiet little town When the wind blows Where we don’t know When we cry ourselves to sleep When we search for the answers When we pray his soul to keep He’s protecting a country I can’t protect his life Where the wind blows there’s a soldier And the love, of a soldiers wife ### I’m living in an old second hand store Everything I own has been owned before Each piece has its story, each piece has a song Now it’s near me, right where it belongs I use to be wealthy, I could have had more But I found that more is living more poor Some people say they don’t understand My second hand store with my second hand man Some things are old Some things are new Some things are borrowed And some things are blue Some things are shiny Some things are bright Some things are dusty And some space is tight I once had a fortune, more money than time I never made my bed, the maid made it fine I had ceramic tiles, heart pine wooden floors And an iron rod fence and an iron rod door Now I have a second, sometimes even less I never look at living this way as living second best I have most my dreams and then I have more With my love and our home in a second hand store Sometimes I feel old Sometimes I feel new Sometimes I feel borrowed Sometimes I feel blue Sometimes I’m shiny Sometimes I’m bright Sometimes I’m dusty And sometimes I’m uptight We planted tomatoes, we started with three One for David, one for Jon and then me To feel love in our home, you don’t have to look far 'Cause the second time around really isn’t that hard I’m living in an old second hand store Everything I own has been owned before Each piece has a story, each piece has a song And there’s nothing like living where you belong This love isn’t old This love isn’t new This love isn’t borrowed This love isn’t blue This love is shiny This love is bright This love’s a little dusty That’s what makes it a life ### There's a cold wind that separates you from me Blowing through the Blue Ridge and Tennessee Lighting up the sky, our words, like fire Burn in the sting of what transpired Caught in a moment of something to lose Your money or your freedom; you get to choose A thousand miles behind me, won't let me forget 86 thousand seconds of one regret Chorus 1 If I could ask one thing of you If I could only speak The words that haunt my one regret Please forgive me God knows I don't want to argue I don't want to fight Lifes lessons are the weight of the world We live them as we die There's a cold wind that separates you from me Blowing through the Blue Ridge and Tennesee Darkening the sky and splitting our days Who would imagine it would end this way? Caught in a moment with something to lose Money or your health, we both got to choose A thousand miles behind me won't let me forget 86 thousand seconds leading up to death If I could ask one thing of you If I could only speak The words that haunt my one regret Please forgive me God knows I don't want to argue I don't want to fight Lifes lessons are the weight of the world We learn them as we die ### Belle of the ball, ivory pins for her chignon A widow's drape became a royal blue gown Needles to say, we all need affection Sometimes confused, there is no direction So she walked down the staircase Just walked down the stairs to unwind Like a music box trapped in her mind The light from the windows shone like a candle She closed the french doors, stood by the mantel A cigarette burned like the sun at its hottest Nothing seemed simple, not like she wanted So she just went upstairs to bed Went to bed and watched the ceiling fan Spin like the web in her head Chorus There's happiness, there's discontent There's pleasure and beauty, time well spent But there's nothing like change To change your mind And there's nothing like nothing When you can't find it Believe in mantels, believe in candles Hide in the skin of your emotional scandal It all fades in time, like love at first sight Its mystery she figured out one night Turning and twisting to the fragrance of fire It becomes alluring when we taste desire She stopped for a moment, looked for honesty Found it lying in what others believed So she sung with the Victrola Sung to the record and the dog The dog howled as the glass hit the wall It's a pale glass of tea that makes us wonder Why the things we see through make us shudder Understanding silence, she'd walked away Took a sideways glance at a backward day Then she got out of bed Got out of bed and took down her chignon Then down fell the belle of the ball ### Three young girls Making their way through high school Passing notes in the hallways Laughing at what each of us said It was about as good as it gets For three young girls Two went to college They never stopping calling One married at twenty Life was really something It was about as good as it gets For three young girls CHORUS They each took a step of faith Lost and found dreams on their way In between time and a little luck They stuck together and got through the mud On that good old red road Sometimes they’d call and say, "Could you take a minute for me and pray? I’m feeling lost I don’t believe, That I’m going to make it." But somehow they made it, On that good old red road. Another soon married Working full time they got a little weary I remember how she loved him so Twelve years later he decided to go She lost her job and then her home We cried for Hope Carole had a family She’s the only one who’s still married She nearly died birthing two sons I stood by her hospital bed Cradling her newborns in my hands It was as good as it gets Bridge (kinda-sorta) God gave me Carole And God gave me Hope We often ride down to the railroad That runs alongside the red road It hasn’t been easy for any of us But, there was always love The good always outweighed the bad And life’s about as good as it gets For three best friends CHORUS ### I tried to touch the sun The day had just begun I kept on reaching The sun it was feeling The break in my heart again I tried to climb a tree It got the best of me The branches kept falling Your name I was calling so I got down on my knees I tried to kiss the wind It blew away again I kept on listening Wished you were kissing me I stopped to pray again Chorus The moon was almost full On the night you had to go Sometimes I sing along Sometimes I dream along Sometimes I never know Jesus, what a long, long road The night he had to go The moon was almost full I tried to find your eyes The window to your mind I’ll keep on looking My sweetheart folksinger You're not with me tonight I tried to mend our dreams They break so easily I’ll keep on dreaming That you’re still loving me Safely as you sleep I'll sit and talk to God He’s all I’ve got right now I’ll keep on talking And He’ll keep on listening Sometimes, I don’t know how ### I didn't want to love you but I do I fought the feeling when you walked into the room We could have walked away Back on to yesterday I didn't want to love you but I do I didn't want to love you but I do You're like a puzzle with a bit of attitude I like a mystery That's what you are to me I didn't want to love you but I do I didn't want to love you but I do I'm like a dreamer with a bit of attitude Sometimes I'm a child inside A little plain, a little wild I didn't want to love you but I do I didn't want to love you but I do You took my love and you tied it to the moon True love can never be owned It's give and take and letting go I didn't want to love you but I do I didn't want to love you but I do I never fight the feeling when you walk into the room Your voice is the last I want to hear When God takes me home from here I didn't want to love you, but I'm damn sure glad I do I didn't want to love you but I do You keep me going on those lonely afternoons You are my dearest friend Please hold my hand and then Say you didn't want to love me but you do ### There’s once was a farm I knew it well Watched it grow Called it ‘home’ The farm changed hands Again and again A fence was built Upon the land The fence had a gate So all could see Great-grandpa ‘Neath the old oak tree No one ever did foresee Pending industries Restaurants Replace our ancestry How dare you disturb those who live inside the fence? The gate is high; a padlocks nest Bones settled in for a long, long rest Light from the east, night from the west There on the hillside, a shady knoll And woods to shade our family home All that I loved who I called my own Lie buried beneath that earth and stone Wind blows where my family sleeps Unsafe, but sound It enters the gate Without a key No intruders this go-round No more deals Or revenue To turn around The fence is high upon the land Great grandpa, ancestry Your reward Is your family tree There still is a farm On a grassy knoll Upon the hill Our family home ### In the 50's I was a cowboy In the lower part of the state I ate with mosquitos; swam with fish Folks said I didn’t have any sense A dairy plow, a mule and a cow A red road under my feet I didn’t have a dime of any kind But I swam in a pretty big creek I don’t know what’s going on here I don’t know that I care I got nowhere to go and nothing to do Except sit here in my chair If I could thumb my way back to Georgia I’d walk that red road tonight But a Georgia peach with three square meals Is as close as I’ll ever get I got married once, once was enough Bessie was her name I didn’t like her much, but her dad was tough God, how things have changed Bessie died young, bearing a son The boy lived about a week I buried them near the red road Right along that pretty big creek I don’t know what’s going on here I don’t know that I care I got nowhere to go and nothing to do Except sit here in my chair If I could thumb my way back to Georgia I’d walk that red road tonight But a Georgia peach with three square meals Is as close as I’ll ever get Grandpa Duncan taught me lessons I still remember what he said If I could thumb my way to Georgia I might remember what he meant Now I got rails by my bed, a roof over head My twelve siblings are all dead I’m 94 and some think that’s old But I still got pretty good sense You don’t know what’s going on here I don’t think that you care You’ve got somewhere to go, something to do You still got all your hair If I could thumb my way back to Georgia Maybe then I’d forget That a Georgia peach with three square meals Is as close as we’ll ever get ### I'm sittin' by my window In a little corner house I'm thinkin' just a little How to work things out It was only yesterday When world was mine It doesn't stay that way We change with the time I promised you faithfully I'd never let you go But when the good started going I started going down (Chorus) you never even tried to go When I turned my back to let you go You never even tried to say That I never even tried You never even let me know Even though you told me so You never even tried to say That I never even tried I'm lookin' at a hillside From a little corner lot I'm thinkin' just a little About this little house It was only yesterday I was seventeen I dreamt about a prairie then I dream about the same I still believe in Robin Hood I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that Mother Earth Will sleep with me tonight ### Sometimes we have to just agree We all have a right to disagree We all a voice, we all have a song Differences don't make us wrong We all want a place where we belong The road is tough, the road is long It's wide enough to stand beside Too short to sit and criticize We all have eyes, we all can see Sometimes we're blind, as blind can be But if we only stop and try We'll see a lot of love inside We'll see a lot of love inside Chorus Life is long, it keeps coming at you It gets to us, it doesn't have to We're held together by a thread Long distance words stick in our our heads I'd like to see you face to face To see your eyes and feel your grace Talk about our highs and lows Take the stones and let them go Through a broken window Through a broken window What makes us laugh? What makes us sad? Are we talking behind anothers back? You said this, I said that Hurtful words, we can't take back Some think I think I'm better than them I invite you all inside my head You'll see I'm trying to understand Things I said, things you said Words can hurt and words can harm They can cut us deeper than a song No need to try and pretend That jabs are not your intent That jabs are not my intent Chorus Bridge Some say they don't give a shit I've felt that way before But before I put my window down I'd like to stop and look around I'd like to stop and just believe We can agree to disagree We all have a story, we all have a song Differences don't make us wrong Sometimes they even make us strong When the road is long ### There's a rising wind Blowing through like time There's an old dry boat Drifting through his mind There's a dream and a wish in a broken bedroom kiss There's a rising wind Blowing through the time There's an old oak tree 'Neath a midnight wish There's a cup for three On a broken dish There's a hand and a heart and it's falling apart There's an old oak tree 'Neath a mid-night wish There's a merging drift Resting on the sea There's a skylark singing She barely breathes There's a wing and prayer, I wonder who'll get there There's a merging drift Resting on the sea There's a house in a field Where wildflowers grow There's a little mountain They used to know There are stars in the sky, sometimes they wonder why There's a house in a field Where wildflowers grow There's a little trail Where horses run There's a big white cloud Just beneath the sun There's time and stares, empty lovers chairs There's a little trail Where horses run There's an old man sitting Next to me His eyes are older And he's wiser than me Yesterday is in his mind, I see it all the time There's an old man sitting Next to me There's a rising wind Blowing up the time There's an old dry boat In his stolen mind There's a dream and wish in a broken bedroom kiss There's a rising wind Blowing bye again ### I wish I had a full tank of gas 'cause the light is green But there's nothing in my pockets To fill up this machine There's a dude who knows crude It spills from his pockets He's got a full tank of gas And missiles and rockets He's deals with the past By spending our future Tends to his brother Without any sutures A pocket full of puppets Within a federal pie Lets cut them all up It's a good way to die With God's mighty hand He shows us the way Money well spent Is the American way With a fist full of greed And a hand on the bible He gives them some more of his slander and libel He's a genius with words If you like tongue twisters Brussel sprouts made him famous With Beligium officials Oh what a visionary Oh what a leader Walking with God And someone to spoon feed him Missiles and rockets I need some gas What's a killing field Compared to cash? Someone said billions of dollars Goes a long, long way I'm thinking, "Yeah ... it did," We're killing them daily Forget education, forget kid's health we'll empty their pockets With bloodshed and tears And missiles and rockets With missiles and rockets We'll go to war We'll call it holy A tax dollar whore I got a full tank of gas and the light is green Yeah, I filled up my tank And then fled the scene The cops will probably find me And empty my pockets for bloodshed and tears and missiles adn rockets The light is green I've got a tank full of gas I'd be lying if I didn't wish I could run over his ass Shit, even the very thought of that makes me a little sad I'm becoming immune to killing Just a tad Just a tad! That's it! He's a Tad on a pole Maybe I'll sink him In a fish hole! It would be better than Empty pockets for bloodshed and tears and missiles and rockets .... that's all I got ... it doesn't even have a tune ... how appropriate ### I've got a mythical band in my room We can't play a lick, but we can carry a tune We've got air guitars, we never break strings Lip synching a song in my mythical dream I like a musical drama, I like the deli lama I like twisted people who look like my mama I like a good ensemble, a life uncommon Come join the band, you know that you wanna We've got a mythical band for all to hear My dogs say they like it, it doesn't hurt their ears One plays the piano, the other the harmonica The other just dances to the fake synthesizer Come play along if you wanna have fun We'll have a throw down without any guns We can dance to Todd Snider or Waylon and Wilie We don't need a dime if we wanna act silly I've got a mythical band in my mythical mind I don't have any rhythm but I move my behind In my mythical dance, I move like Madonna I'm sexy and hot, Like a Virgin who wants to ... I'm getting older, I don't give a damn I'm gonna play air guitar for my mythical band I turned my telephone into a microphone When somebody calls, they think nobodys home There's nothing like entertainment when it's cheap And in my mythical band, everythings free You can be a star that nobody knows Have your own label, perform your own shows You don't need a lesson to play the guitar You don't need a liquor store to play in a bar Just come in my room and take off your shoes In my mythical band, you've got nothing to lose ### I was born in the mid-west and you can tell I like to have fun and raise a little hell My hair is red, some say it's a sin Witches and Catholics are my next of kin Sitting on a rock, a river runs under me I wanna run with it justa taste the freedom Yesterday is gone, today is mine So I'll hold on to this moment in time Chorus I like rolling meadows where a wild rose grows Watching a muskrat doing the dosie doe Home grown tomatoes, a glass of tea Feels just like home to me I like my peanuts right out of the dirt I like long dresses and I like short skirts Dress up or down, doesn't' matter to me Folks are gonna see what they want to see Somtiems I'm fancy, sometimes I'm plain In jeans and a t-shirt, I feel just the same My middle finger holds lots of class So, if you don't like it you can kiss my ass There's a fountain of youth in an ounce of truth There's a lot to gain, if there's a lot to lose I found my fountain and I found my truth I gained a lot, but I lost some, too Chorus I listen for the spirit of the wild Mustang Running like thunder out across the plains A free roaming symbol of speed and grace I guess the wild gets what it takes I was born in the mid-west and I can tell ya In order to live you gotta go through hell My hair is red, some say it's a sin Witches and Catholics are my next of kin ### Sitting on the front porch She's all alone Her dreams have broken Like brittle bones Sometimes she's falling She can't get up And all these worries They never stop There's a carpenter rose A bottle of red There's all these reminders They never end Who needs a sunrise? Who needs a fall? Who needs a mirror, To remind us all? We're growing older and wiser If we grow at all Oh God help her get up From this bitter fall I want to tell her She's got friends I want to help her Feel love again "Where is the justice?" There's none at all Sometimes the only comfort Comes after the fall (bridge) Holding on by a thread, my friend I've held that thread before Letting go would've been easy But I came up for more Sitting on the front porch She's alone again I wanna walk to her back door And help her walk back in Back into comfort Back into "home" Back into December When she didn't feel alone Life as she knew it If she knew it at all Oh God, help her get up From this bitter fall ### I've forgotten the reasons for loving I've forgotten the reasons to care I've forgotten the reasons for living And wonder why I'm still here I've forgotten the sun in the morning I've forgotten the moonlight at night I've forgotten the things worth knowing And wonder if I'm all right I've forgotten our steps on the sidewalk I've forgotten our morning coffee I've forgotten our dance at the cafe' And wonder who sleeps next to me I've forgotten your smile at the backdoor I've forgotten your eyes and your tears I've forgotten what time that old clock reads I've forgotten each day and year A necklace hangs from a lampshade It matches the ring on my hand I've forgotten who gave them to me I've forgotten why I don't understand I've forgotten so many memories I've forgotten so many friends I've forgotten why I try to remember Then I hope I'll remember again I hope I remember my children I swear, I haven't seen them in years I hope my husband can find me And brings me back home to live My therapy...LOSERS ... about a lady at work... smart as a whip and sharp as tack but only in the moment ### This ones for mr. murphy ... I've got one foot on the floor And the other one on the bed I've got a bottle of pain killers I've got a helluva pain in my head All these years of being lonely All these years of this abuse Look at my wife, yeah look at me It's got me thinking, "What's the use?" chorus Say something sweet, whisper to me Tell me it's all gonna be okay We'll hide the truth, just like strangers Just like that, it'll go away I've got a casual life and a casual story I know about dangers and disease I know about hard times and worry It's about time I know about me God's been good, he's been mighty Mighty fine friend he's been to me He picked me up when I was lonely Showed me some lonelier than me I've got kids, I've got brothers Yeah, my brothers are everywhere One hand on the door, one on the bible We'll share just like brothers share chorus I don't like guns, I don't like needles And I don't like this restlessness I just need something to ease the pain Take away this emptiness I've gotta bottle of pain killers I've gotta helluva pain in my head Look at my wife, yeah look at me I say to myself, "Yeah, go ahead." ### Talking to myself about growing old Talking to myself again tonight I know there's someone else I could talk to But I don't want to talk tonight I turned on the tv, it's all the same It turns me off all the time Another bomb at another embassy Another family without a dime Remember when I was just a little girl How I danced in circles around the world A little pink dress and little white socks I thought I knew a lot I guess I just forgot How to dance in circles around the world I walk in circles now, I walk in place I look at the clock on the wall I brush my hair, then I brush my teeth Most times, I never see me at all The dogs are sleeping, it's another night The fans are blowing like the wind My head is aching with the thought of you One day, never waking again Remember when you were just a young woman You danced in circles for me around the room In a long pink dress and long stockings You got me though a lot I guess I just forgot How you danced in circles around the room Tomorrow is here, but I'm awake again Soon I'll be coming through your door Taking out the garbage, giving you a bath One last cup of coffee before work Work is work, I guess I can't complain Really, it's just another day to me I'll pick you up in the afternoon We'll go over and sign the deed I remember when grandma was still alive I remember how she laughed just like you A long knitted sweater and straight white hair She reminds me of you a lot I guess I just forgot A little pink dress and little white socks Maybe I'll sleep for just a little while Maybe I'll wake feeling fine Maybe the world will be a different place Maybe there'll be peace tonight Maybe I'll wake to find that little girl The one who danced around the world Sometimes I think my dreams forgot Little pink dress and little white socks ### I had a dream when I was seven It was as clear as it could be I was looking up towards heaven Angels smiled at me There stood beauty, never danger It was a peaceful feeling Now I'm older, I feel anger Was I wrong to believe The promises someone told me long ago That one good deed deserves another Now there's soldiers robed in blood I can't tell one from the other Everyone dares to be different Me, I can barely dare to be me It's hard enough when there's not enough love I'm tired of pretending Do you remember, have I forgotten, All the good that Jesus brings? Is he an angel? Is he a demon? I'm just wondering There is suffering, it's never ending Can I solve the mystery? Am I unworthy ... condecending? Is Jesus simply history? I want to see Jesus face to face I won't bow my head to pray There's blood on every single hand Where's His Word and what's it say? The promises someone told me long ago An eye for an eye for your brother We've got soldiers robed in devils blood And we stand here, looking at one another Everyone dares to be different I guess Jesus dared to be It's hard enough when there's not enough love I guess it's better forgetting It's another empty bed, another fallen night It's another lay me down to die It's another waisted road that I'll never ride Fooled by dreams of a seven year-old child ### | Little Addiction | | Stuff | More Stuff | Thread Songs | The Most Recent Stuff | | Artists and Their Music | Erika Luckett | Peter Cooper and Fayssoux McLean | Storyhill with Ellis | David Childers | Todd Snider | The Unnofficial Half | Pictures | In Memory of David Stewart | Theresa | Return Home | |
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